Chapter 49
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Chapter 49: Title
The turmoil in Xingzhou proved more troublesome than Mu Huaiyun expected. The city brimmed with demonic energy, especially at Quan Village near the border, where nearly everyone was tainted.
They descended by sword to Quan Village, focused on demon-slaying and caution. Yet they fell into a trap set by Yin Huai disguised as a child, remaining trapped for days. When they finally emerged, it was too late.
This marked Mu Huaiyun’s first killing.
Though Quan Village residents had been dead for days—poisoned into puppet-like states—they were once living people. Now their corpses required destruction, denying them peace.
Mu Huaiyun hated witnessing this. As he wielded Qianyu, his fingers trembled uncontrollably. He lost count of bodies destroyed, remembering only the suffocating filthy aura. By the end, his vision blurred.
This, perhaps, was true damnation. He saved no one in Quan Village and became no flawless Immortal Lord—only watched three thousand lives vanish…
Amidst this desolation, Ye Qingshang’s serene face appeared before him like silent spring rain nourishing the earth.
She then plucked an unnamed wildflower: "Your killing aura is too heavy. Have this flower—smell its fragrance."
"Smell its fragrance…"
These words became Mu Huaiyun’s eternal midnight obsession in the years that followed.
He never imagined Ye Qingshang—once utterly at odds with him—would gift him flowers. Yet her solemn expression held no pretense. In her focused gaze, he saw his own reflection, clear and undisguised.
Was she comforting him? Or did she truly care?
Mu Huaiyun’s heart stirred like unsettled waves. Wide-eyed with astonishment, he couldn’t accept the flower.
Xingzhou’s flower-giving custom flooded his mind. Her gesture ignited a blazing fire in his chest—scorching and painful—forcing him to retreat.
After the Xingzhou conflict, he fled back to the sect under pretense of quiet cultivation, truly seeking to calm a restless, lovelorn heart.
Ye Qingshang only knew their separation began with his return. She never learned that over years apart, his feelings grew indelible, leaving him in perpetual longing.
But self-deception and avoidance cost them years of possibilities.
Until the day Sparrow Prison Tower fractured, and Mu Huaiyun came alone to aid its repair.
Monster roars shook the tower’s peak beneath darkened skies. The tower’s spells interfered with his cultivation method. After enduring severe injuries, he could no longer hold on and released his spiritual weapon.
"Mu Huaiyun!" Ye Qingshang’s glare burned with fury. "What are you doing?! You scoundrel! Do you realize what withdrawing means now?!"
"Are you killing me?! Mu Huaiyun!!"
Her screams reached him clearly. Had any spiritual power remained, he’d never have yielded. But depleted by the tower’s magic, he could only watch the formation’s backlash strike her.
Their earlier precaution—sealing the area with treasures to contain the spells—now meant no witness or aid for their struggle.
As his beloved collapsed before him, breath faint at death’s door, Mu Huaiyun’s heart shattered. Summoning final strength, he crawled to cradle her.
Sensing its master’s despair, Qianyu trembled nearby. Unsummoned, it activated itself and floated before Mu Huaiyun.
He recalled a Yunshan Sect healing technique—using Heart Vein Power to sustain the dying, preserving their core and spiritual power. If Ye Qingshang endured a little longer, his recovering strength could break the seal and get her to Yunshan Sect for treatment.
"Qianyu, take my Heart Vein Power. Transfer it to her."
The Heart Vein Power was fundamental, connected to the inner core. Ordinarily, any injury to the heart vein proved unbearable, let alone extracting its power—akin to carving out one’s heart. Mu Huaiyun was already severely wounded, and this ordeal plunged him into deeper agony, leaving him writhing in pain for ages.
After mustering a sliver of spiritual power, he carried Ye Qingshang down the tower only to encounter Ning Jiwei below.
Master Ning hadn’t been present when the Sparrow Prison Tower collapsed, missing the chance to aid them. Now, rushing to the scene and seeing Ye Qingshang half-dead, his expression darkened unnaturally.
"Hand Qingshang over," he commanded, his voice icy and absolute.
Blinded by pain and vision blurred, Mu Huaiyun barely recognized him but refused to relinquish his hold. "Master Ning, the Yunshan Sect is nearby. I’ll take her back for treatment. She’ll surely—"
Ning Jiwei cut him off impatiently. "I will heal her."
Discarding all dignity as a master, he wrested Ye Qingshang from Mu Huaiyun’s arms. Outsiders mistook this for profound master-disciple devotion, unaware that Ning Jiwei’s spiritual pressure further ravaged Mu Huaiyun’s injuries. Months of recovery later, Mu Huaiyun still hadn’t regained his peak strength.
Unconscious throughout, Ye Qingshang knew nothing of this. Convinced Mu Huaiyun had intended to harm her, she awoke consumed by hatred. She proclaimed to the entire sect: henceforth, she would never see Mu Huaiyun again, severing all ties.
Mu Huaiyun learned this a month later.
Though still healing, he forced himself to the Frostbite Sect, desperate to explain. But Ye Qingshang had branded him a hypocrite. Burning with unresolved fury, she barred him from her presence.
The young master of Yunshan Sect waited three full days at Frostbite Sect’s gates, reputation and pride discarded, hoping for a single glance—yet received nothing.
Later, Ye Qingshang recovered, her cultivation advanced, and she ascended to master rank. When her crowning ceremony date was set, Frostbite Sect dispatched invitations, welcoming guests at their gates that day.
Excluded from the guest list, Mu Huaiyun seized the lax security as his sole chance to see her. Unable to resist, he sneaked into Frostbite Sect.
Perhaps due to the Heart Vein Power he’d once shared with her, he sensed her location within a certain range. He soon found her in the main hall.
Dodging all patrols, his heart soared at the prospect of seeing his beloved. But upon entering the main hall, he witnessed a tragedy he’d spend his life trying to forget.
