Chapter 65

Chapter 65: Title

Beneath the broken eaves, Mother soothed her gently, making all prior terrors feel like illusions. Only here did she find warmth and comfort.

"Shang’er, so you were hiding here. Why haven’t you come home? Mother’s been so worried."

The tone was ordinary, just like whenever she’d scampered home before. Her vision blurred with tears as she flung herself into that person’s arms, whimpering, "Mother…"

The figure crouched and lifted her. "Shang’er, my dear, don’t be afraid."

Don’t be afraid…

Yes, with Mother here, all would be well…

Ye Qingshang clung to the woman’s neck, desperately inhaling any familiar scent from her memories. But when she glanced up, a shadow crept closer, bringing bloodstained dread. She recalled her missing playmate and froze in horror.

"Ah!" The child’s shriek pierced the air as immense power erupted. Crumbling walls collapsed, and the shadow vanished.

Later, Ye Qingshang would learn her innate core was exceptionally potent. Overwhelmed by fear, she’d unleashed its force—wounding the demon gravely. But her young, untrained body failed her, plunging her into unconsciousness.

Her parents knew none of this. Finding their daughter barely breathing, they panicked. Just then, Frostbite Sect received news of the demon and sent an elder for demon-slaying: Ning Jiwei.

Ning Jiwei, already renowned as a grandmaster, drew many admirers. Impressed by his bearing, the parents sought his aid. Yet beneath white robes hid unfathomable darkness—their misplaced trust left them dead with unclosed eyes.

Ye Qingshang only grasped this when she woke again, hearing the tale from Ning Jiwei himself.

Soft light suggested an inn’s inner room. But everything felt alien. At ten and traumatized, she yearned to flee like a startled bird. Yet movement proved impossible—she was pinned in place.

"Awake?" A voice, cool and detached as its owner, cut through the silence.

Unfamiliar with the man, Ye Qingshang shuddered at his glacial aura, fear mounting.

"Ah… I forgot. Spiritual power binds you—no speech or motion. No matter."

He drew nearer, his icy visage deepening her dread. She stared, frozen in terror.

He chuckled faintly. "Never met me, yet so fearful? What if I’m kind?"

She shook her head wildly—too terrified to believe, craving only home…

Her defiance ignited him. His eyes turned arctic. "Strangers, yet you judge like others? A glance, a whisper—enough to condemn?!"

"A grandmaster, living by others’ words? Fear or awe—all falsehoods!"

His face contorted. Fingertips pressed against her chest. "Your core’s rarity defies this mortal realm. Countless immortal sect devotees spend lifetimes failing to match you. Talent…" His breath frosted her skin. "…so cruel. No effort bridges its lack."

She trembled violently, eyes stinging with unshed tears.

Noticing her distress, he sighed abruptly. A spiritual barrier shimmered into place as he stood. "A story?"

Frantically, she shook her head.

He spoke regardless, voice calm. "Years ago, a youth dreamed of godhood—to transcend mortality’s wheel. He left home, joining an immortal sect."

"Mediocre talent drew no notice. But resolve fueled his rise. Step by step, he reached grandmastery. Twenty—unprecedented in the cultivation world. He thought godhood within reach… until his core’s limits trapped him in stagnation."

"Everyone had high hopes for him, including himself, but he was hindered by so-called talent and inability to break through, stuck in place! Didn’t you think… that was a pity?"

Ye Qingshang understood nothing of what he said; she felt this person had gone mad, probably not a cultivator—it was more like he was delusional. But she couldn’t speak; she wanted to say something but could only whimper, looking very pitiful.

Forcing a ten-year-old child into such a state was truly inhumane, yet that person seemed utterly unconcerned. He leaned down, his fingertips resting on her chest.

His gaze was complex.

"Many people in this world had desires, seeking wealth and fortune, and they achieved them one by one. However, I sought only one thing, and there was no reason I could not obtain it. Even fate could not stop me!"

He coiled spiritual power around his fingertips; the pressure pressed against her chest, making Ye Qingshang very uncomfortable. She shook her head in distress, unsure how to ease the pain, tears streaming down her face.

Then, that person’s spiritual power intensified several times. As it strengthened, the power at his fingertips began to glow with a golden light, gradually condensing and swirling above her, full of danger.

"Perhaps it was truly fate that brought me to you. I was very pleased with your inner core, so… as a gift, I would give you the Gold Spirit. Did you like it?"

"From then on, it would become one with you, and you… would be my most cherished creation."

Her vision blurred by tears, his face and words became hazy, floating lightly in her heart, seeming unreachable. Ye Qingshang felt confused, as if she were living in the clouds for a moment, but then the pain of the Gold Spirit entering her body made her tense up completely.

The pain penetrated deep into her soul, expanding continually. Fear and unease were clearly reflected in her eyes as she watched that man force the Gold Spirit into her inner core…

Ye Qingshang had not practiced cultivation; she had not a trace of spiritual power in her body. Moreover, her untrained body was very weak; the impact of the Gold Spirit was like tearing her apart.

And this happened while she was fully aware, feeling as if she were being torn apart.

After that, even when Ning Jiwei used spells to connect his life with hers, intentionally erasing her memory and fabricating a false past, in her early days at Frostbite Sect, she still felt restless.

Night after night, she was haunted by terrible nightmares; the fear lingered even after she woke up.

Ye Qingshang lost all her memories under Ning Jiwei’s guidance, forgetting the past she both wanted to remember and wished to forget, along with Ning Jiwei, the true culprit, forgotten completely.

From then on, she was simply Ye Qingshang, an orphan saved by Master Ning while she was wandering in turmoil, a person from Fengyuan.

"Hahaha…" She fell into Mu Huaiyun’s arms, laughing sorrowfully, tears mixed with laughter, a sadness beyond words.

It turned out that for these ten years, all the harmony and respect between master and disciple were nothing but a farce! Ning Jiwei treated her well, differently from other disciples, but all the care and gentle words were merely for one inner core, an inner core that held the Gold Spirit.

And she, from beginning to end, was merely a vessel to nurture the inner core!

Once the time was ripe, after extracting the inner core, her life in Ning Jiwei’s eyes would be no more than a blade of grass, discarded at will and trampled casually!

What a master-disciple bond! What a master of a generation!

"Hahaha…" Blood continuously seeped from her chest, staining her robe red. She laughed recklessly, her immense pain unable to overshadow her complex emotions, laughing as she couldn’t tell if it was hatred or disappointment that dominated.

Mu Huaiyun used Heart Vein Power to barely keep Ye Qingshang’s consciousness from fading. Tears fell from his eyes as he said heartbrokenly, "Qingshang, stop laughing… look at me…"

He bent down, pressing his forehead against hers. A tear slipped down Ye Qingshang’s cheek; she felt as if burned, abruptly falling silent.

She slowly closed her eyes, feeling extremely tired, and when she spoke again, her voice was barely a whisper, "Ah Yun, I’m so tired… I want to sleep for a while…"

Mu Huaiyun took her hand, continuously pouring spiritual power into her. He kissed the corner of Ye Qingshang’s eye, his voice trembling but pretending to be calm. "Don’t sleep; I’ll stay with you. Can you hold on a little longer?"

Ye Qingshang could hardly hear Mu Huaiyun’s words, straining to keep her eyes open but seeing nothing. She murmured to herself, "If I wake up, could everything return to the beginning? Back to before I was ten, when Mother was here…"

"Qingshang…" Mu Huaiyun called softly. His calm demeanor could no longer hold, and his face was full of pain.

Meanwhile, Ning Jiwei held Ye Qingshang’s inner core, his cold gaze sweeping over everyone present. His scheme had succeeded; he no longer cared about reputation, deciding to stop hiding and directly cast a formation to trap everyone.

Before entering the main hall, he paused briefly, glancing toward Mu Rongyan from less than ten meters away. He cast a light glance, but it was only a glance, and then he turned away without a word, leaving.

He had remained in the position of master long enough. After over ten years, he was tired of it. The mundane world should not have forced him down. Now, with favorable timing, location, and allies, it was the perfect opportunity for ascension; he would not miss it."

“A’shang…” After Ning Jiwei left, Qiu Huayi stumbled over and tried to apply medicine to Ye Qingshang. But the injuries were too severe; even high-quality medicines couldn’t stop the bleeding.

She cried anxiously, wanting to help Mu Huaiyun, but before she could gather her spiritual power, Mu Huaiyun shook his head at her. “It was useless. Even Heart Vein Power couldn’t save her, let alone spiritual power.”

Mu Huaiyun paused, then suddenly thought of something, his eyes brightening. He said, “Huayi, use the Sound Transmission Spell to contact Qiao Zhu. She had a South Ridge Ghost Orchid with her, and that medicine might save Qingshang!”

Qiao Zhu was among the guests at the master’s crowning ceremony. Since the ceremony had just ended, she must not have gone far.

Hearing that Ye Qingshang could be saved, Qiu Huayi was overjoyed and immediately tried to transmit her voice to Qiao Zhu using spiritual power. But she hit barriers from the formation. Each time her spiritual power gathered and touched the formation, it bounced back.

Ning Jiwei’s formation was extremely hard to break; it was meant to stop any contact with the outside world. Just as Qiu Huayi felt hopeless, a voice came from behind her. “I’ll help you.”