Chapter 51

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Chapter 51

Liu Ruyi let out a light laugh, and as the space collapsed, three lingering souls appeared before Yun Chuyou. These three people were quite unique. Li Baiyi looked like a charming swordsman, dressed in white, with a carefree demeanor that matched Yun Chuyou’s stereotype of a Sword Immortal.

Shi Mingkong had a bald head, a small red mark on his forehead, and his gaze was gentle and kind.

As for Liu Ruyi, she wore a smoky purple silken dress that wrapped her body in light, sheer fabric, revealing yet concealing her skin, with every smile and frown showcasing her enchanting charm.

The senior from the Hehuan Sect wasn’t particularly showy or beautiful, but when she smiled, she became exceptionally alluring. She didn’t need to use any charm magic; just a glance from her captivating eyes could make an inexperienced young man feel faint. If they caught her gaze filled with affection, they would feel dizzy and lost.

"Why are you so nervous, Taoist Friend Xie? I am just a lingering soul now and cannot do much."

Xie Fuzhi watched her with wariness and disgust. "Who knows what you want to do? She doesn’t need your gifts."

"I want to give her a gift, and it should be this young person’s decision."

Xie Fuzhi originally wanted to firmly say, "I am her master, so I can naturally decide for her." However, remembering Yun Chuyou’s personality, he held back. Chuyou had always been very independent, and if he was too forceful, it might damage the bond between teacher and student.

He cannot make decisions for Yun Chuyou, but he can give a warning, "Chuyou, you must stay on guard. They are about to disappear, and who knows if that bell has some tricks left. Maybe she wants to take over your body."

Xie Fuzhi speaks openly, without hiding from the other three lost souls. Even Liu Ruyi, who has seen much, is left speechless by Xie Fuzhi’s words.

Before she could say anything, the hot-tempered Li Baiyi couldn’t hold back, "What nonsense are you saying, Xie? If she wanted to take over, she would have done so long ago."

Xie Fuzhi replied, "Before she could choose carefully, but now she is fading quickly with no options left. Of course, she might want to do something like that. Besides, my Chuyou is exceptionally beautiful, gifted, and now has the cultivation level of Nascent Soul Stage. Isn’t she the perfect candidate for that?"

Xie Fuzhi doesn’t believe Liu Ruyi is a truly wicked person who deserves punishment, but someone who can think of such schemes for gaining power definitely isn’t good.

He has seen too many people; even those who save many lives can, when old and desperate, commit heinous acts.

It’s hard for bad people to become good, but easy for good people to turn bad, and Liu Ruyi is definitely not a good person.

In short, when it comes to matters related to Yun Chuyou, Xie Fuzhi always considers others with the worst possible intentions. Moreover, Liu Ruyi is not innocent and is quite deceitful.

She is the ancestor of the Hehuan Sect, having deceived countless people, and Xie Fuzhi cannot take the risk of anything happening to Yun Chuyou.

"You!" Li Bai’s anger was rising, but now, as a mere soul, he wasn’t sure if he could defeat this phoenix.

If he faced a younger person who knew nothing, he could use some energy to scare them. But Xie Fuzhi knew his own weaknesses; scaring the other person wouldn’t help at all and could make things worse, wasting his spirit force for nothing.

Xie Fuzhi was right; all their remaining energy as souls was very limited. He hadn’t found someone suitable to pass on his teachings to, and still wanted to spend more time with Liu Ruyi, so he couldn’t waste his strength on meaningless fights.

The woman in the smoky purple dress looked down, sadness in her eyes, making her seem very pitiful, "Yun Chuyou, that’s your name, isn’t it? Chuyou, do you look at me the same way?"

She sniffled, "I know many people misunderstand me because of my identity. I just feel lucky to meet someone who understands me, so I wanted to give you the bell I once used. It’s a unique Divine Artifact in this world, especially useful against illusions and for strengthening the spirit. If you worry that I’ve set any traps, I promise by my heart’s true intention."

The woman looked down, but there was a hint of mockery in her smile. She liked Yun Chuyou and wanted to give this heavy gift to this younger person.

If Yun Chuyou accepted, it would mean she had made a mistake; she would still promise and give the bell, but would tell the other person she wouldn’t give her the more valuable gifts she had prepared.

If Yun Chuyou submitted to Xie Fuzhi, then Liu Ruyi would still make a promise but would give the bell to another cultivator, like that girl named Zhong Wei. They were senior martial sisters, and this way, Yun Chuyou would see the bell every day and remember this moment.

Only if Yun Chuyou firmly chose herself and trusted herself would Liu Ruyi freely give her the bell. Of course, to make up for it, she would also give the girl other gifts.

The two men beside her owed her a lot; as long as she spoke up, they could give what they had to Yun Chuyou.

Doing this would also make Xie Fuzhi angry because Yun Chuyou was going against him.

Of course, one important reason for her to say this was to provoke Xie Fuzhi, making him react more strongly and show a more aggressive attitude, forcing Yun Chuyou to choose between opportunities and her master.

She could see that Xie Fuzhi truly disliked her; he was just short of saying, "You can’t have her filthy things."

She pushed him a bit, making the ancient teacher’s attitude even worse and more stubborn.

Liu Ruyi had endured countless harsh words before; such comments didn’t hurt her, but as a lingering spirit, she didn’t need to be cautious like when she was alive. Since Xie Fuzhi upset her, she wanted to upset him too.

This simple and old trick worked well. In the past, when Liu Ruyi ended things with those she was feeding on, she often did this to their elder relatives. Those targets would feel guilty, and later on, when they remembered being forced to choose, it would feel like a thorn in their hearts, causing sharp pains from time to time.

Wasn’t it the same with Shi Mingkong in the beginning? The more aggressive and cruel that group of old men were, the more they pushed the compassionate and guilty Buddha Child into her arms. Human nature has always been like this; thus, no matter how old the trick is, it works.

There was a hint of playfulness in Liu Ruyi’s eyes; she looked forward to what would happen next. One was her master, and the other was an opportunity; how would this special little girl choose?

Her teasing worked well on the hot-tempered phoenix. Xie Fuzhi couldn’t stand Liu Ruyi’s behavior, but he did not act like the cold and strict teacher Liu Ruyi imagined, forcing Yun Chuyou to refuse.

The phoenix, with a youthful face, took a few deep breaths; his black hair had a hint of red and even sparked a little, yet he still didn’t make a strong decision. In fact, while Liu Ruyi thought a volcano was about to erupt, the boiling lava turned into warm water.

"Chuyou… please don’t want that bell, okay? I’ll get you a bell ten times better, a hundred times better. Whatever you want, I’ll give it to you. I don’t have a good relationship with her, and I’m afraid she will try to harm you."

He looked pitiful and on the verge of tears, "My master doesn’t like you having things from someone I hate. I won’t be able to eat or sleep well, and I’ll lie awake all night."

That bell was a tool of the Demon Woman to play with hearts; it was an item that was kept close by day and night. It was too ambiguous, and he couldn’t accept that.

Not to mention that Liu Ruyi had just said she liked Yun Chuyou. To casually say you like someone you just met is a cheap kind of liking.

Xie Fuzhi didn’t think Yun Chuyou needed this unnecessary affection. As a teacher, he would absolutely not allow his student to go down the wrong path under someone else’s influence.

His relationship with Liu Ruyi was not good at all, so it was normal to suspect she might be plotting against his most important student.

What Liu Ruyi offered was nothing; he could find better things for Yun Chuyou. The items Xie Fuzhi had brought back before were not meant for anyone else, they were all saved for his own Chuyou.

By the way, besides what is buried in the Tianyuan Sect, he should have left things in many places. Many birds, after learning how to fill their stomachs, work hard to gather a dowry. Some male birds spend years building a beautiful nest to welcome the future lady of the nest, while others practice their dances to show off their graceful moves when they meet a female bird they like.

As a phoenix over thirty thousand years old, Xie Fuzhi shares some behaviors with these birds. Although he has not built a perfect nest yet, he has saved a lot for his future bride over the years.

He can leave those things for Yun Chuyou, and he pleads with her not to use other people’s things, and definitely not to use the bell given by Liu Ruyi.

That’s right, Liu Ruyi will act pitiful, and he will too. What does face matter? In front of his beloved apprentice, Xie Fuzhi has long since lost any pride.

This is also Liu Ruyi’s loss from the information gap. Although the second round of illusions was created by those lingering souls, Xie Fuzhi has long controlled the core of the illusions. Many things that happen in there are only known to Xie Fuzhi and Yun Chuyou.

Liu Ruyi does not understand the current Xie Fuzhi, just as Xie Fuzhi has a bias against Liu Ruyi; Liu Ruyi feels the same way about Xie Fuzhi.

She thinks Xie Fuzhi looks down on her as a female cultivator of the Hehuan Sect. In reality, that’s not true. Xie Fuzhi is cautious of all cultivators, but because of Liu Ruyi’s troubled past, he is especially wary of her.

As an ancient great demon, a phoenix looks down equally on everyone.

If Liu Ruyi had seen how they interacted in the secret realm, she would not be so naïve as to think she could sow discord in their master-apprentice relationship.

Yun Chuyou finally spoke up, "Senior, I’m sorry. Thank you for your kindness, but I cannot accept your gift."

One is a senior who she admires but has only met once, and the other is her mentor, who has been by her side for more than ten years.

She didn’t need to think long; she would certainly choose the latter. If Xie Fuzhi’s attitude was too forceful, she might feel a bit unhappy. But with his manner, even if he was just pretending, she couldn’t bear to be upset.

"It’s okay."

Liu Ruyi was no longer as angry. She was able to see this proud phoenix acting like a spoiled flower, and it was quite an eye-opener for her.

"I apologize for my mentor’s unfounded accusations toward you. He means no harm; he just feels quite nervous and sensitive about my affairs."

Yun Chuyou was not just speaking; she genuinely showed her willingness to apologize, "This Soul Fixing Pill should help strengthen your spirit. I am truly sorry."

Liu Ruyi’s attitude towards Yun Chuyou softened a bit, and she waved her hand, "It’s fine; we are not fated to be friends, so there’s no need for apologies."

She always felt a bit tangled and awkward. It was one thing for others to be mean to her, but when someone was nice to her, she didn’t know how to handle it.

Thinking about how she had just been scheming against this younger one, Liu Ruyi felt a bit guilty and didn’t want to make Yun Chuyou uncomfortable now. That heartless phoenix really was lucky to have such a good disciple.

Yun Chuyou said, "Master, please give this pill to the elder as a token of gratitude."

Seeing Xie Fuzhi not move, she quietly sent a message, "Xie Fuzhi…"

In front of others, she still called him Master, which was a sign of respect for Xie Fuzhi, but that didn’t mean she was foolish; she wasn’t angry with Xie Fuzhi at all.

Hearing her call him by his full name, Xie Fuzhi reluctantly handed the Soul Fixing Pill to Liu Ruyi.

Just as she was about to refuse, the Soul Fixing Pill melted into her body, instantly strengthening her weak spirit.

Now it was Liu Ruyi’s turn to widen her beautiful eyes, "What is this?"

She had thought of many ways, but couldn’t stop her spirit from weakening as time passed. However, this pill restored her by thirty percent.

This is a great thing, a really great thing! With such a big gesture of apology, she now owed Yun Chuyou a huge favor.

Yun Chuyou repeated, "This is the Soul Fixing Pill. It is a small gift from me, and I hope you can forgive my master for their careless words."

Liu Ruyi quickly waved her hands, "No, no, no! Just because you say the gift is small, it doesn’t mean it is really small. I owe you so much."

The law of heaven decides cause and effect; it is not enough to just say things are equal. What happened between me and Xie Fuzhi was just a small disagreement. If my power is much greater than theirs, it is only fair for the other person to pay me back with their life or belongings to earn my forgiveness for their offense.

But Xie Fuzhi was stronger than me, so it was just a small disagreement. Yun Chuyou did not need to give a gift, so I owe her a lot.

However, things that have already been used cannot be returned. Xie Fuzhi is also very careful and does not want to let Yun Chuyou use their belongings.

Li Baiyi was very happy to see her change in condition. He had tried many ways in the secret realm, but couldn’t save Liu Ruyi’s weakness. Unexpectedly, Yun Chuyou only had to take out a pill for such a great effect.

If one pill is this effective, then taking a few more should be even better. If I could stay in this world a little longer, it would be much better than disappearing right away.

He quickly asked, "Do you have more of this kind of thing? I can give you items from the Sword King Palace in exchange!"

"Besides the things I own, I also have clues about opportunities in the secret realm, which I can trade with you."

Yun Chuyou shook her head. Yes, the Soul Fixing Pill can be mass-produced as long as you have the blueprint and materials, but right now she has no materials. The one she gave to Liu Ruyi was a reward for completing a system task.

This kind of precious pill does not come in large quantities as system rewards, only a total of six. She would keep such good things just in case: she wants to save some for herself, some for her master, and some for a few younger martial brothers and sisters in the sect.

The five most important people in their sect each need to keep one, so she gave the extra one to Liu Ruyi.

On one hand, it was a real apology; on the other hand, she wanted to try the pill’s effectiveness. After all, she couldn’t weaken her own soul just to test the pill.

Although Li Baiyi is an idol in many people’s hearts, Yun Chuyou does not admire him much. She doesn’t want to change, "The Soul Fixing Pill only works on weak spirits. The weaker the spirit, the better it works. For a strong soul, having a few more won’t help; it would just be wasting the pills."

This medicine is not a tonic or a blood-replenishing pill. If the body has no negative conditions, taking too much blood-replenishing pill can even cause a nosebleed.

Xie Fuzhi didn’t ask Yun Chuyou where she got such a magical pill; he only looked pained, "Using such a good thing to apologize really lets her off easy. Next time, let me handle this kind of thing."

He has so many things he can’t use; any of them could serve as an apology. It’s okay if he takes a little loss, but he feels bad for using Yun Chuyou’s. A pill that can strengthen a soul like Liu Ruyi’s is truly a great advantage for her.

Yun Chuyou glanced at him. She wanted Xie Fuzhi to feel pain; if he didn’t feel pain, how would he learn a lesson and be willing to hold back a little?

The master’s personality is strange, and he even has serious paranoia. It is fine to be careful, but Xie Fuzhi has long gone beyond being cautious; he is simply too sensitive.

Yun Chuyou knows he cares about her, but she cannot allow him to slowly bind her with chains disguised as love.

She knows Xie Fuzhi very well; he is best at pushing his limits. If she does not control him, Xie Fuzhi will become more and more excessive, which will be bad for both of them.

Master Liaokong, who always watches everything calmly and gently, spoke up, "Young friend Yun only mentioned that the Soul Fixing Pill’s effectiveness has weakened, but did not say that he has no stock left."

"Chuyou, don’t worry. If you don’t want to change, we won’t change. With me here, these old ones cannot force you to do anything."

He is a phoenix, but just a chick. These three are all humans, who have lived many years, and after becoming ghosts, have lived even more years. Any one of them has eaten more salt than Yun Chuyou has eaten rice; they are genuine old ones.

No cultivator who can reach such a high position has ever been foolishly sweet.

Although Yun Chuyou has a strong heart, sometimes she is too soft-hearted and can easily be tricked by others.

Master Liaokong privately transmitted a message, "I do not wish to force anything. If I am not mistaken, young friend Yun should be someone from another world, a variable in the spiritual world."

Yun Chuyou was startled and instinctively looked at Master Liaokong.

In this world, body snatching exists; even if the original soul has faded away, the snatcher and the new body may not be compatible.

When Yun Chuyou came to this world, the six-year-old girl did not look like her at six.

After all, the original girl was very thin, dry and small like a bean sprout. But when Yun Chuyou was little, her parents took very good care of her; her father was a great cook, and among her peers, Yun Chuyou was even a bit plump.

But she was not the kind of fat person who is all over with fat; her cheeks were round like the lucky children in New Year paintings, which adults particularly loved.

Later, as she grew and exercised more, she quickly became slim like her mother. She wasn’t too thin, nor could she be called fat; she had the strength of muscle in her arms and a flat stomach.

Indeed, at that time, Yun Chuyou had a flat stomach; after all, a food vlogger had to lift heavy pots, and many complex dishes required a lot of strength, so she was not weak.

However, the longer she stayed in this world, the more her features opened up, and she started to resemble her past self more and more.

Now, compared to her past life, she was definitely much prettier; after all, practitioners have good skin, and she was much fairer, needing no makeup to cover up as her face was flawless.

But she did look very much like she did in her past life, and she had secretly used a magical mirror that could show one’s spirit. What was reflected in the mirror was not the appearance of herself wearing a hooded sweatshirt in her previous life. Whatever the body looked like, the spirit in the mirror looked the same.

Sometimes Yun Chuyou wondered if she had actually been born again, and that a huge shock on the battlefield had awakened memories from her past life, making her believe she had come here at the age of six.

However, now the things that could not be seen by the magical tools were spotted by Master Liaokong.

Liaokong said, "Young friend Yun, I did not see anything specific. I have calculated countless times that Ruyi is destined to disappear, but her fate has been changed by you. Only someone who has stepped outside of fate can change a predetermined destiny."

Whether it is through a story or rebirth, such a disruption of the timeline can be considered stepping outside of fate’s arrangement. Moreover, the Soul Fixing Pill that Yun Chuyou could produce is something that had long disappeared from this world.

However, he was sure that Yun Chuyou was an outsider, a spirit from another world, and he wanted to learn about her origins because he had just calculated her destiny.

He did not dare to calculate Yun Chuyou’s past, for those who have stepped outside the timeline have uncertain futures, and any calculation would yield no results.

Also, just calculating Yun Chuyou’s past had already drained a lot of his spirit, and if he continued, he might not be able to protect Liu Ruyi at all.

When Yun Chuyou’s biggest secret was revealed, she showed no signs of panic on her face. Even if she had taken over a body, she had never taken an innocent person’s life, and when she arrived in this body, there was absolutely no other spirit within her.

Master Liaokong said, "I mean no harm."

He knew that Yun Chuyou was not a bad person; pointing this out was just to make her pay attention.

Because of the magical Soul Fixing Pill, the atmosphere became a bit awkward, but Liu Ruyi was the first to speak up, "Alright, getting one pill is already very lucky. If it lasts for a few decades or even a hundred years, I think that is enough, no greediness."

She was supposed to disappear in just a few years, but these two companions could hold on for a while longer. However, she knew that if she disappeared, they might not last much longer either.

Right now, things were good; she wanted to walk behind these two, not be the first to go.

Liu Ruyi rummaged through her stash and ordered Li Baiyi and Liaokong, "Take out all your good things. Li Baiyi, you should also bring out those broken swords."

She only wanted to repay her debts, "The things you gave me are too precious; I can’t repay you. Look in here to see if there’s anything you like; take it if you want."

In any case, Yun Chuyou could pick first, and whatever was left could go to others.

Li Baiyi mumbled, "Those are not broken swords."

To a sword cultivator, a sword is like their wife. Liu Ruyi is more important to him than the sword, but he cannot disrespect the sword.

A large pile of swords, along with matching scabbards, sword tassels, and a mountain of precious crafting materials… were piled high in front of Yun Chuyou.

Although Xie Fuzhi has many treasures, Li Baiyi is the most powerful sword cultivator in the spiritual world; Xie Fuzhi cannot compare to him in terms of materials.

The Sword God crossed his arms and spoke about swords with great pride and confidence, "Choose one; if you can’t find a suitable one, pick materials. I can help you forge a weapon that is perfect for you."

Xie Fuzhi originally wanted to say that he didn’t need to worry about it; with his master around, there was no need for anyone else to help.

However, when it came to swordsmanship, he did not measure up to Li Baiyi, so this time he chose to remain silent. He wanted to give Chuyou the best things in the world; for Chuyou, the proud phoenix chose to step back.