Chapter 138.3

The chains instantly loosened, and Shen Suwei’s hand fell, almost unable to move. The harsh restraints of these days had one benefit—it had suppressed the boiling demonic energy within him.

Shen Suwei kneeled for a moment, then picked up the sword manual and silently began to flip through it.

When he looked up, he saw the illusion of his mother in the sky. Princess Mingxia, dressed in black, looked down at him with pity.

This was his nightmare. Whenever he felt trapped, he would see his mother’s apparition.

Now he understood what his mother had been trying to tell him in his dream that day—”You were born of a heart demon; how can you achieve greatness? Without even freedom, how could you guard others?”

Surrounding silence filled him, and as the sky darkened, endless darkness reminded him of the years spent in the dungeon, accompanied by endless terror.

But doing nothing was absolutely not an option.

If he couldn’t hold on, he would forever remain trapped in this cage, never able to escape.

Back then, he only had a piece of broken porcelain, but with it, he fought his way to freedom.

Now he had a sword by his side.

Shen Suwei touched the sword. The red cord on it had golden double fish that swayed back and forth.

He wiped the cabbard with his sleeve. Xu Qianyu always picked the best things, and when giving them, he was generous.

The sword was indeed a good one. With a flick of his thumb, the blade was unsheathed with a ringing sound, and the sword’s light shone like silver waves, illuminating the entire room.

Shen Suwei gripped the sword in his hand, twisting it like the wind returning after snow, cutting through the fierce wind.

Xu Baopu, standing on the long bridge outside, saw the sword light in the cave, and his expression gradually changed. This sword was exquisite, a masterpiece that could only be perfected after a century of practice. Shen Suwei had suddenly made such progress, which was astonishing.

More importantly: “Looking at it this way, his Yuan Ying is already perfected. But Junior Brother hasn’t broken through.”

Xu Binglai coldly replied, “He could have condensed the Void into a sword long ago. Now he’s only practicing swordsmanship with common iron, not focusing on mental cultivation, suppressing his own level.”

Shen Suwei thought to himself, Now Master sees him as a threat, doesn’t he?
He had since willingly stopped at the seventh layer of Yuan Ying, not wishing to progress further. Sooner or later, Xu Qianyu would surpass him, as would others. By then, he would no longer be a threat, and he could finally leave.

Xu Binglai still remembered how Shen Suwei had once been so devoted to the Great Way and how hard he had worked for it. Now he had suddenly abandoned it all. His face turned cold as frost, and he quickly walked away. “Madman.”

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Xu Qianyu didn’t want to return to the Hua Qingyu Pavilion to stay with Senior Brother and his sister-in-law for a few nights.

However, since Fu Shuangshuang became pregnant, her belly and face had rounded out a bit. Her gaze towards him was full of affection, and she gave him a lot of snacks, which made Xu Qianyu so startled that he fled to Yu Chu’s place.

When she arrived at Yu Chu’s, she noticed a disciple from the Magic Palace quietly serving tea and water beside him, glancing at her secretly whenever he could. But Yu Chu was so focused on controlling the fire that he didn’t notice.

On their way back, Xu Qianyu told Yu Chu, “That disciple from the Magic Palace, he seems to like you.”

In the middle of Yu Chu’s pavilion, there was still a large alchemy furnace, and the bed was piled with clothes. To make room for Xu Qianyu, Yu Chu shoved the clothes into the cabinet, almost getting overwhelmed by them spilling out. He forced the clothes back in. “Oh.”

Xu Qianyu asked, “If you like him, you can be Taoist Partners with him.”

If they wanted, they should be able to form Taoist Partners freely, right?

Yu Chu said, “I don’t want to be a Taoist Partner.”

Xu Qianyu was a little surprised. Yu Chu pulled her down onto the bed, seeming a bit annoyed, and said slowly, “Why must I form a Taoist Partner?” He added, “Do you remember my wish?”
Xu Qianyu replied, “I remember, you wanted to be a turtle spirit, living unnoticed for ninety-nine years.”

Yu Chu exclaimed in surprise, “You actually remember?”

“It’s half come true now. I can live to ninety-nine, but the downside is that I thought I’d have more leisure time, but I’ve somehow become the chief disciple in alchemy, always busy.” Yu Chu said, “I still prefer it when I was outside. I’d bake cakes for you, attend alchemy classes for you, and you’d help me with swordsmanship lessons.”

Xu Qianyu was silent for a long time before saying, “I also wish I could go back to that time, except for my cultivation.”

Yu Chu tugged at her hand: “Why can’t we be like we were before? I’ll bake some cakes for you to eat tomorrow.”

Xu Qianyu smiled, closed her eyes, and for the first time, felt a surge of courage from Yu Chu.
The next day, as Xu Qianyu passed by the shores of Taize Lake, she suddenly saw an old fisherman who had been fishing for golden lotus waving at her.

“Little friend, what makes you unhappy?”

Xu Qianyu was confused. “Nothing.”

“Every time you walk this road, you are smiling, but today your steps are heavy, as if dark clouds are closing in.”

Since Shen Suwei left, she no longer had to wake up early; no one forced her to practice, and she spent her days idle. Seeing the sky was clear, Xu Qianyu sat by the shore. She watched the rippling lake and the golden lotus spinning in the water. Xu Qianyu said, “My mother doesn’t love me, my father doesn’t love me, and no one in this world loves me.”

The fisherman seemed to find this amusing: “Most people in this world walk alone, entrusting themselves to others, which inevitably leads to disappointment. Many people live without love; you’re not the only one.”

“Besides, are you sure no one loves you? Perhaps their love just isn’t in the way you want it.”

Xu Qianyu was at a loss for words.

She wasn’t a wooden statue, incapable of feeling. She knew her grandfather loved her, her mother loved her, her older brother…

But none of them could possess her; they only pushed her away, causing her to fall into difficulties.

“But I just want someone to love me.” Xu Qianyu picked up a stone and threw it hard into the water. “I just want someone to love me. Is that wrong?”

“Your obsession is too strong; it may hurt both others and yourself,” the fisherman sighed, pulling up a golden lotus and scooping it into the water. “Here, take it.”

Xu Qianyu took the lotus; inside it was water, and a golden carp swam within, flicking its tail and splashing water on her face.

The fisherman laughed: “You want someone to love you, and it loves you. Take it, and keep it.”
Xu Qianyu held the lotus as she walked back.

She was deep in thought about the fisherman’s words. In her previous life, she cared too much about being loved. It was precisely because of this obsession that she fell into the false warmth of Xie Yuzhen and ultimately caused her own death.

Now that she had been reborn, did she really want to repeat the same mistakes?
Suddenly, she remembered what the fisherman had said: “It loves you.” She dipped her finger into the water, and sure enough, the golden carp swam around her finger, kissing it. Xu Qianyu pulled her hand away, and the fish seemed disappointed, as if it had withered, its tail fin sinking.
Xu Qianyu looked at the fish but didn’t feel comforted.

It turned out she didn’t lack love; she just wanted love from a specific person. If a stranger, or a fish, loved her like this, circling around her, it would seem rather frightening.

Moreover, she was often busy. How could she find the time to accompany a fish? If the fish spent its days in a tank, yearning for her, and she couldn’t reciprocate, wouldn’t that become a burden?

Looking at the fish in the golden lotus, which had now withered, she felt pity for it. She understood the feeling of not having love. Looking at it now, it seemed like seeing her own reflection.

Thinking of this, Xu Qianyu suddenly turned around and walked back to the pond. She tilted the golden lotus and released the fish with a splash.

“I don’t want it to love me. Let it go.”

She watched the fish fall into the water, and suddenly it transformed into golden light, spreading across the sky and gradually tinting the clouds. Xu Qianyu’s hairpin was blown by the wind, and her golden core blossomed, embraced by the consciousness that grew limbs, merging together to form a golden Yuan spirit that ascended to the first level of the Yuan Ying!

The fisherman solemnly bowed to her: “Congratulations, Yuanjun, you have broken through.”

Xu Qianyu stared at the pond, confused. “The fish?”

“It was never a golden carp.” The fisherman smiled. “What you grasped from the pond was your obsession.”

Xu Qianyu felt much lighter inside. She wrote her name on the golden lotus and threw it into the pond. “I’m signing up for a spring departure.”

Inside the pavilion, Hua Qingyu was arguing with Wuzhen about who should go look for Xu Qianyu. The door opened with a sound, and Xu Qianyu returned, carrying a bundle of baked cakes. Both of them froze.
“Master, let’s start the next step, heading toward the half-step transformation into divinity.”