4: Master is dead

In his eyes, there was a century of longing and guilt, along with a hint of complexity, unsure how to speak.

And in her eyes, after a brief flicker, it returned to the calm of a deep well.

Mu Qingxue scrutinized Su Lin, her brow furrowing almost imperceptibly.

This man before her, whether it was his build, his appearance, or the sense of weakness from his diminished Qi, was far more convincing than those two fools from earlier, especially his gaze.

But, it was only a hint.

In these hundred years, she had seen too many liars.

"Your imitation is more diligent than the previous one," Mu Qingxue's voice remained calm, yet carried a deep weariness.

"What, do you think their acting was too poor, so you decided to take the stage yourself?"

"Xiao Qi, I..."

Su Lin spoke with difficulty, only wanting to utter that familiar nickname.

However, he had only spoken three words when a majestic Divine Sense pressure surged like a tide!

"Pfft!"

Su Lin spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, his body seeming to be crushed by a thousand-pound weight.

His bones creaked, and his internal organs felt as if they were shifting out of place.

He wanted to look up, to speak, but he couldn't even move a finger.

"Enough."

She said softly, as if to herself, "Today, I don't want to kill anymore. My mountain gate has already seen blood."

"You may leave."

"Don't let me see you again."

With that, she turned, her moon-white figure transforming into a streak of light, disappearing into the depths of the sea of clouds, as if she had never appeared.

The pressure also vanished with her.

Only Su Lin remained before the mountain gate.

As the pressure dissipated, the world regained its clarity, leaving only the bone-chilling cold to prove that the owner of this place had briefly descended.

The Cultivators guarding the mountain gate finally dared to breathe heavily, their gazes towards Su Lin a mix of complexity and fear.

But more than that, it was a kind of numbness.

Su Lin slowly stood up from the ground, each movement sending excruciating tearing pain through his limbs.

He ignored the gazes of the Disciples, merely wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth and looking deeply at the cloud-shrouded mountain gate.

He did not leave.

The path of direct recognition was already blocked.

Mu Qingxue's heart, frozen by a hundred years of time, could not be melted by a few words.

Under the uncertain gazes of the surrounding mountain-guarding Disciples, he slowly extended his hand and reached into his storage ring.

This action made the leading mountain-guarding Disciple's heart tighten, and he instinctively gripped his sword hilt, sharply shouting, "What do you want to do!"

Su Lin ignored him, simply rummaging through his ring.

Soon, a half-piece of a dim jade pendant appeared in his palm.

The jade pendant looked ordinary, even somewhat broken, covered with tiny cracks, its spiritual essence completely lost, like a common stone.

The mountain-guarding Disciples were all stunned, not understanding what he meant by taking out such a tattered item at this moment.

Su Lin held the jade pendant, looked at the leading Disciple, his voice somewhat hoarse from his injuries but unusually calm: "Fellow Daoist, I trouble you to hand this item to your Sect Master."

The Disciple frowned, "What kind of status does the Sect Master have? How can you just see her or send her things as you please!"

Su Lin did not argue with him, but used his last bit of strength to circulate his spiritual power, slowly sending the jade pendant before the other party.

His tone carried an undeniable certainty:

"You only need to tell her," Su Lin looked deeply in the direction of the mountain peak, "an old friend has returned the jade pendant."

With that, Su Lin no longer lingered, not even looking at whether the Disciple took it or not, and dragging his heavily injured body, he turned and disappeared step by step into the vast forest below the mountain.

The leading Disciple looked at the half-broken jade pendant floating before him, and then at the direction where the man had disappeared, caught between a rock and a hard place for a moment.

"Senior Brother, what should we do? Should we... throw this away?" a Disciple next to him whispered.

"Throw it?" The leading Disciple shuddered. He recalled that the man had just endured a Divine Sense pressure from the Sect Master, yet only spat out some blood and could still stand and leave. This was definitely not something an ordinary Core Formation Cultivator could do. Coupled with his strange gaze and this mysterious jade pendant... "What if... what if this is some important token..." He dared not think further, only feeling that this half-broken jade was extremely hot to handle.

"You... you all guard the mountain gate! I'll be back soon!"

He gritted his teeth, carefully picked up the jade pendant, transformed into a sword light, and flew towards the Sect Master's main hall on the mountain peak as if his eyebrows were on fire... Qingyao Sect, mountain peak.

Inside the Sect Master's main hall, it was empty and cold.

Mu Qingxue sat alone on the highest ice jade throne, her eyes closed, seemingly adjusting her breathing.

But her heart was far from as calm as it appeared.

That man's gaze, like a needle, pierced into her heart, which had long been as still as an ancient well.

That single call of "Xiao Qi" echoed repeatedly in her mind like a curse.

"Impossible..." Mu Qingxue suddenly opened her eyes, a trace of struggle flashing in her glazed pupils.

"Revered Master is dead, I saw it with my own eyes! In this world, no matter how good an imitator a liar is, it's ultimately fake!"

A hundred years had passed; she had hoped, and she had despaired.

Every time she was full of anticipation, it only brought deeper disappointment and hurt.

Just then, a hurried footsteps sounded outside the hall.

"Sect Master!" It was the same mountain-guarding Disciple from earlier; he scrambled into the hall, holding up a wooden box in his hand, "Outside the mountain gate, that person just now... left this!"

Mu Qingxue frowned slightly, a hint of impatience rising in her heart. Another one of these mysterious tricks.

"Bring it up."

An exquisite wooden box was presented.

Mu Qingxue waved her hand, and the lid opened, revealing the item quietly lying inside.

It was a half-piece of a dim, lusterless jade pendant.

Buzz!

The moment she saw the jade pendant, Mu Qingxue's mind went blank, as if the entire world had lost its sound.

Her perpetually icy expression, at this moment, completely cracked.

Her body trembled uncontrollably, and her breathing stopped.

She reached out to touch the jade pendant, but then recoiled sharply as if burned.

It was real... that faint Soul imprint on it, almost on the verge of disappearing, was personally carved for her by Revered Master!

"Revered Master...?"

A faint hope, almost inaudible, quietly sprouted in her frozen heart.

But the next moment, this hope was replaced by raging fury and chilling cold!

How dare he?!

This liar, how dare he use Revered Master's relic to deceive her!

He must have fortunately picked up this jade pendant from the battlefield ruins back then!

He was not only a liar but also a thief who stole Revered Master's relic!

This was a sin more unforgivable than all the previous liars combined!

A terrifying spiritual energy storm erupted from within Mu Qingxue, and the entire Sect Master's main hall shook violently.

Ice spread from beneath her feet, instantly freezing half of the hall.

"Issue my Sect Master's command!"

Her voice, trembling slightly from extreme rage, carried an unprecedented killing intent.

"Seal off a thousand-li radius of the Qingyao Mountain Range! All Disciples, heed my command!"

"At all costs, bring that person who delivered the jade pendant... back to me!"

"At all costs, bring that person who delivered the jade pendant... back to me!"