Chapter 50

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Chapter 50

Yun Chuyou did not answer the question; instead, she asked, "Are you the Senior Sword God? Where are my junior martial siblings?"

Li Baiyi’s voice replied, "You are quite the good senior martial sister. Don’t worry, they are safe now."

After all, he was a cultivator who nearly succeeded in ascending to become an immortal, and he easily created several separate small spaces to perform the time-reversal secret technique.

Although the Sword Tomb Secret Realm opens once every hundred years, not every opening allows cultivators to see the three remaining souls. Sometimes, by the time the secret realm closes, the Sword King Palace hasn’t even opened.

It would take a few hundred years for a cultivator to be lucky enough to find themselves in this area, to pass through the illusion, and to appear in front of them is even rarer.

Watching how different people behave is one of the joys for the three lingering souls; they have been here for far too long, and they need to find some fun to entertain themselves.

This time, the three lingering souls are not in very good shape. If there are no surprises, this might be the last time, but thankfully, there are quite a few interesting fated ones this time.

One is the daughter of destiny, surrounded by a thick white aura of luck. One is the Buddha Child covered in golden light of virtue, and one is someone with natural sword bones just like he once was.

These few students with ordinary talents were certainly not overlooked by Li Baiyi and the others. While they liked to hear evaluations, they didn’t want to hear about everyone personally.

Even though twenty people entered the room, some of their performances in the second round of illusions were not up to standard.

This time, only four lucky people out of the twenty who could watch the short film are the daughter of destiny, Song Mingzhu, Buddha Child Shi Rujing, sword bones Ye Xuanye, and two disciples from Hehuan Sect, along with four disciples from Qingxu Sect. The other ordinary disciples, as soon as they touched this wall, were teleported to another place in Sword King Palace, where they would join others in a battle of pure fighting strength.

Xie Fuzhi is an old acquaintance of theirs; this time, the secret realm opened early due to the key Xie Fuzhi provided. As a being from that era, Xie Fuzhi knows more details than what the short film shows.

As soon as Yun Chuyou mentioned the younger martial brothers and sisters, Li Baiyi couldn’t help but add, "What kind of people does your Qingxu Sect accept? Do you know your younger martial brothers and sisters’s true identity?"

One is actually a person with Demon Bone, one is a person with a ghost child body, and one is a half-demon that can’t even form a demonic pill.

If it were the young and ambitious Li Baiyi from years ago, he would surely slay demons and monsters. But he has been dead for a long time now, and as just a lingering spirit, he is much more forgiving towards non-human races.

However, it makes sense since the leader of Qingxu Sect is an ancient great demon, a phoenix. Taking a purely human disciple would seem rather unusual.

But the reaction of these few guys really annoys Li Baiyi. After watching the story, Meng He’s focus is not on their love story at all; he only looks at the intense fight scenes, "So this is Sword God? It’s all just talk; I feel it doesn’t live up to the name. I don’t understand; if you want a woman, just fight for her, don’t hesitate, it doesn’t seem very manly."

As someone who relies on instinct in battle, Meng He does everything based on nature. When he competes for the affection of his senior martial sister, he doesn’t overthink it; he acts completely on instinct.

Ideally, he wants to win favor and gather the most resources. Even if he can’t, things must be fair enough. If other disciples have something, he should have it too. Romantic entanglements don’t exist in Meng He’s mind at all.

If we made a pie chart of Meng He’s obsessions, thirty percent would be about winning Elder Martial Sister’s favor, twenty percent about beating Yu Jiu, and the rest would be purely about fighting and getting stronger—just battle, nothing but battle.

Although he is a young demon, he is still a demon, and his tone is quite annoying. Plus, the other party doesn’t seem to understand; their comments are not meaningful at all—this is what the sword cultivator said after angrily pushing Meng He away with a sword technique.

Meng He is somewhat like the young Li Baiyi, eager to fight and filled with the pride of being the best in the world. When he says he can’t do it, Li Baiyi insists on using sword techniques to impress and win over the opponent.

The other person was trapped in a separate small space, where there was only a book of sword techniques and a wooden puppet for practice. Meng He would not let anyone out until they had practiced that book of sword techniques enough to defeat the puppet he had left behind.

As for the ghost child Yu Jiu, who was clearly a young junior, Li Baiyi felt a strange chill. The three lingering souls discussed it and decided to give him some benefits before sending him away.

After all, in a way, they were ghosts, ghost children, the heirs of the Ghost Realm, capable of commanding various spirits. Although they were powerful remnants of souls, facing Yu Jiu made them feel like they were up against a nemesis. For the glory of the past and to maintain their elders’ dignity, they did not want to confront Yu Jiu.

That half-demon was weak-hearted and very sensitive, shedding tears throughout the process, feeling only pity for Liu Ruyi.

Her opinion was similar to that of most female cultivators; she had heard such words too many times. After listening, Zhong Wei was also sent away.

As for the young Buddha Child from the Buddhist sect, he was mainly managed by Shi Mingkong.

However, to Li Baiyi, although both were equally expected by the Buddhist sect, Shi Rujing seemed much more annoying than Shi Mingkong from back then. Neither his level of cultivation nor his abilities matched those of Shi Mingkong.

Although he and Shi Mingkong were rivals, he had to admit that Shi Mingkong was an impressive Buddhist cultivator, with great compassion for all things in the world. It was because he was so good that he could move Liu Ruyi.

Shi Rujing was different; his young and proud demeanor was exactly like the older, oppressive figures who troubled Liu Ruyi in the past. The Buddhist cultivators had not changed at all over the years; the only difference was their strength. The younger generation was becoming increasingly inferior to the previous one.

But Shi Rujing is a younger member of Shi Mingkong’s family, a very close one. Even if Li Baiyi doesn’t like him, it is not his place to interfere in the private matters of the Buddhist sect.

While Li Baiyi was thinking about these things, Yun Chuyou said, "No matter who they are, they are now disciples of the Qingxu Sect and they are my younger martial brothers and sisters."

"Don’t you care about your master? He came in with you all."

Yun Chuyou replied, "My master doesn’t need me to worry about him."

Her master is actually the great villain in the original story. When Yun Chuyou first learned about the plot, she was quite confused. Even though it is common for long cultivation stories to jump through time, it still seemed strange. No matter how much time passed, with so many powerful Transcendency Stage beings around, her master was just a low-level late-stage Nascent Soul Stage cultivator. How could he cause turmoil in the spiritual world?

But when she learned that Xie Fuzhi was a phoenix, everything became clear. Perhaps the Sword God and Liaokong in their prime could threaten Xie Fuzhi, but her master’s weak soul could not do anything to Xie Fuzhi.

This was evident from a secret realm that only allowed cultivators below the Nascent Soul Stage, yet Xie Fuzhi, a powerful phoenix far stronger than the Astral Projection Stage, could enter freely.

"It seems you know everything. By the way, that phoenix seems to really like you."

Li Baiyi initially did not plan to let Xie Fuzhi join, but he actively pulled Yun Chuyou in. To forcefully separate the master and disciple, he even used some of his limited spiritual energy.

The phoenix, forced to part with its disciple, quickly saw through the little illusion they had set up. It was now breathing fire and causing trouble. He couldn’t waste time chatting with Yun Chuyou and urged, "Let’s not talk about this anymore. If you have any thoughts, hurry up and say them." He was worried that he wouldn’t be able to hold on for much longer.

From these little moments in the secret realm, he already knew that the pretty-faced, determined little girl in front of him was clearly the disciple most valued by that phoenix.

Moreover, there seemed to be some unusual feelings between the master and the disciple. A master is a master for life, like a father. Although cultivators don’t have so many rules, the master-disciple relationship is still quite taboo.

However, the former Wild Sword Li Baiyi didn’t see this taboo as a big deal. After all, Xie Fuzhi wasn’t human and wouldn’t care about human rules.

Among demons and beasts, many races have complicated ethics. It’s not surprising that a master with no relation at all could be together with even a biological father.

But the phoenix is still very special. As an ancient great demon, the phoenix tribe, despite being a creature of the dark, is exceptionally pure-hearted. They do not easily fall in love throughout their life, and once they do, they can love only one until the end.

Because he caught a glimpse of the special closeness between the master and disciple, Li Baiyi focused on observing Yun Chuyou. Although she was a pure human and her sword skills were quite average, the three of them still regarded Yun Chuyou very highly.

In this small space, only he spoke, while the three lingering souls waited in silence for Yun Chuyou’s answer. They were very curious about what this Qingxu Sect’s top disciple thought about their relationship.

Yun Chuyou didn’t rush to share her thoughts and didn’t intend to deliberately please the lingering soul of Senior Sword God. Instead, she asked, "When you say insights, which aspect are you referring to? Character development, story plot, or editing techniques?"

The male voice said, "Of course, I want all of it. What do you mean by editing techniques?"

"This is not that important."

However, one thing is very important. Yun Chuyou was a quite successful content creator in her past life and had worked with many advertisements. To her, the Sword God was like a movie producer, asking her to write a small essay for their autobiographical film.

She took a professional approach, discussing the details before starting the work to understand what the other party wanted.

Yun Chuyou then asked, "How many words do you want for the feedback? Is there a word limit? Do you want a general opinion or details?"

"Do you want an objective evaluation or a subjective one? Can I only hear praise and not criticism? Do you want feedback for each person or for everyone as a whole?"

This small film with three people often switches perspectives; overall, it feels like an immersive third-party viewing.

However, perhaps because she is a woman, she mostly puts herself in Liu Ruyi’s shoes, but this part is not that detailed.

The story mainly focuses on the entanglement between Li Baiyi, Shi Mingkong, and Liu Ruyi. Liu Ruyi’s past and background are told by a very beautiful female voice as a narration, without any visuals or specific details.

As for Li Baiyi and Shi Mingkong, one is a sword training enthusiast, and the other is a devoted follower of Buddhism. There is even less information about the two of them.

The voice grew a bit impatient, "Don’t say what’s not important. There is no limit on the number of words. You can say as much as you want, whether it’s nice or not, as long as it’s your true feelings."

He purposely misled Yun Chuyou into thinking that in this small space, what everyone said must be their true thoughts at that moment. Some cultivators might not agree, but when they heard Sword God speak, unless they were complete fools, they would usually choose their words carefully.

It wasn’t that he was targeting Yun Chuyou on purpose; they found it so boring here that back in the early days, when their spiritual strength was strong, they would randomly pick people who entered Sword King Palace to listen to their evaluations. The rule of only telling the truth was established back then.

After all, they were very unamusing, so sometimes watching certain hypocritical cultivators change their expressions could add a little fun to their long and dull days.

Once they entered this special little space, the words they could say were basically their thoughts at that moment. That’s why he praised Yun Chuyou as a good senior martial sister, and after seeing so much content, the first thing that came to his mind was her younger martial brothers and sisters.

Yun Chuyou pondered for a moment and gave a brief comment, "It’s a very cliché love story about two men competing for one woman. Each character is quite typical, and that’s all."

Hearing such a dull comment, Li Baiyi exclaimed in disbelief, "Is that it?"

"The senior said there is no limit on the number of words; this is my first impression."

"Don’t you have any other opinions about the feelings between us? This is too simple!" Even that young demon, whose mind was filled with battle and whom he disliked very much, had more to say than Yun Chuyou.

At least the way the other person looked at him showed real feelings, unlike Yun Chuyou, who was so calm and indifferent.

He thought the other person would be very emotional, just like that half-demon girl, but Yun Chuyou quickly detached herself and was overly cold.

He thought of a possibility, "Are you practicing the Heartless Tao?"

That shouldn’t be the case; how could the Heartless Tao be related to his master?

"No." Yun Chuyou denied it without hesitation. "I don’t practice the Heartless Tao."

Although the early stages of practicing the Heartless Tao are relatively easy, she had never heard of anyone who truly succeeded in ascending with it. She had read many literary works, and the Heartless Tao in this world was fairly normal; you didn’t need to kill your wife or child to prove your path; if your heart was broken, you could abandon that path and start over.

However, changing your path and starting over is very difficult; not everyone has the talent and willpower to begin again, and the resources needed for restarting are enormous. She had once been a poor little disciple of a small sect, so how could she choose such a strange path?

Besides, Heartless Tao cultivators usually have weak family ties; either their parents are deceased, or they might as well not have any, having no feelings at all in their hearts.

Yun Chuyou always thought about her parents and friends in another world. Even though they were separated by a world, the love of family never faded.

"Then why are you so calm?"

Yun Chuyou said, "This is a story of the seniors, not my story. Besides, my life is very different from theirs, so it’s hard to feel their emotions."

When there are similarities, it is easier to feel moved by someone else’s story. No one can truly feel another person’s emotions. Before I knew Zhong Wei’s story, her real anger was understandable because Zhong Wei is the younger sister, and when the younger sister is bullied, it is natural for the elder sister to be angry.

And also, her own parents are very good, so seeing such a scoundrel as her birth father makes her feel righteous anger.

Romantic stories are different. Even when Yun Chuyou watched the most classic romantic movies, she never gasped at someone else’s love story.

She isn’t really the type to be interested in romantic movies; she often went to see new love stories with her roommate.

More importantly, Yun Chuyou is a fan of pure love; she is always moved by one-on-one pure love stories, but Liu Ruyi is a player.

Thinking of this, Yun Chuyou sincerely said, "If I have to share my thoughts, I do have a few. Senior Liu Ruyi is truly amazing. Without any resources and starting from a hard place, she overcame hardships through her own abilities. This relationship has brought her a lot of misfortune."

Liu Ruyi’s story, set in modern society, teaches us not to fall in love, as love can bring unhappiness. Before, Liu Ruyi only focused on her strength, without letting her heart get involved.

Liu Ruyi’s path of development was fine; she even created the Hehuan Sect, but unfortunately, her former lover, who had lost his memory, betrayed her.

If Liu Ruyi did not love Shi Mingkong, this Buddha Child, she might have achieved even more; she truly was held back by her partner.

This kind of story before Yun Chuyou is like a terrible warning.

"I love what you just said." A voice, as sweet as silver bells, filled the pure white space, "I see you are a serious girl, but I never expected you to say these things."

The two disciples of the Hehuan Sect mostly looked up to her with admiration; this is the natural respect a junior feels for the founder of a sect. The cultivators of Hehuan Sect have different ideas from other sects.

But Yun Chuyou was different; she had a serious face and a clear gaze, making her the type that Liu Ruyi disliked the most.

This type was adored by the mainstream and enjoyed looking down on someone like Liu Ruyi, who practiced seductive cultivation in the Hehuan Sect.

Thinking of all the past events, her tone was light, but in her heart, she always felt uneasy, "They always throw dirt at me, claiming that I played with others’ feelings and ruined their good talents."

Yun Chuyou shook her head, "In the story, Li Baiyi caused trouble for Liu Ruyi for money, and Shi Mingkong was asked to help Liu Ruyi, both for their own reasons. They deserved what happened to them."

Li Baiyi and Shiru were famous, but the trouble they brought to Liu Ruyi was far worse than any good. The previous troubles were caused by Liu Ruyi herself, but these two were not.

Liu Ruyi laughed heartily, "You are right! Those nasty sword cultivators always act like I was delaying Li Baiyi, but I actually couldn’t stand him at all!"

When she mentioned Shi Mingkong, her feelings became very complicated. After all, he was the only one who truly touched her heart, but he also hurt her the most, bringing her disaster.

Even though she was dead and Shi Mingkong was dead too, if she reflected honestly, her initial pursuit was not love, but becoming stronger, to survive, and to live a very long time.

Yet she didn’t have time to become strong enough, because Shi Mingkong died, full of resentment before his death, and his end was extremely tragic. If it weren’t for Li Baiyi, she wouldn’t have even kept this tiny remnant of a soul.

There might still be some love, but after so many years of entanglement, this relationship was no longer as pure as before; it had more obsession and unwillingness, and perhaps even more resentment than love.

As for Shi Mingkong, he had too many burdens on his shoulders. His feelings for her likely couldn’t compare to his guilt.

Yun Chuyou politely said, "Matters of the heart are like drinking water, only you know if it’s cold or warm. But when it comes to being a cultivator, you are very impressive, just as good as the Sword God or Buddha Child."

"Is it real or fake? I thought you would say I rely on men."

"We need wealth, partners, laws, and the right path; all are important. Senior Sword God is supported by the big Tianheng Sect, and Senior Liaokong relies on the Buddha Sect, but in the end, Senior relies on himself. To be precise, you are even stronger than both of them."

Living in a time of information explosion, I have seen many fascinating stories, and out of curiosity, I have also learned some social psychology.

In such an era, she will always be moved by simple and pure feelings; complicated and chaotic love stories cannot touch her heart.

She admires Liu Ruyi, but Liu Ruyi is Liu Ruyi, and Yun Chuyou is Yun Chuyou; they are two completely different people with different worldviews. Although Yun Chuyou admires Liu Ruyi, she will never become her.

She is grateful for her luck; the heavens have treated her well. Similarly, she will not judge or point fingers at others’ misfortunes.

When commenting on the characters in fake videos, Yun Chuyou can point fingers without hesitation, but when it comes to real people, even if they are just a faint spirit, she is very cautious. This is her heartfelt respect for real people.

Liu Ruyi knows that Yun Chuyou speaks from her heart. She is not being polite because she is the woman Sword God Li Baiyi likes, nor does she see her as a Demon Woman who seduces men; she treats her well simply because Liu Ruyi is an amazing female cultivator.

"A string of jingling golden bells and a seemingly plain storage ring appeared in the white space: ‘Little girl, I really like you. Here is a small gift for our meeting.’"

Li Baiyi in the empty space was very surprised. He thought Liu Ruyi would give the string of bells to the young member of the Hehuan Sect, but instead, she gave them to Yun Chuyou.

At that moment, the pure white space turned into bright red flames, the true fire of a burning phoenix.

Xie Fuzhi, who successfully found this place, forcefully broke through the small space and just heard Liu Ruyi’s last words.

He stood fiercely in front of Yun Chuyou and said, "What do you mean by liking? You are not allowed to like!"

Xie Fuzhi knew Liu Ruyi, a flirtatious practitioner from the Hehuan Sect, who had no restrictions regarding food or gender. She couldn’t think about claiming his precious disciple!