Su Xuan’s reaction was too natural. His hand was still resting on her face. As a member of the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan, his body temperature was higher than average—his hand was warm and dry, forming a sharp contrast with Sang Dai’s slightly cool skin.
She blinked, her gaze dazed.
Su Xuan snapped out of it as if burned, quickly retracting his hand. His expression shifted swiftly, returning to that of the haughty, aggravating fox from before.
“Miss Sang, aren’t you supposed to be so resilient? Why are you crying just because of a little fever?”
His tone was mocking.
But Sang Dai only looked at him.
【This Sovereign one’s heart aches to death. Does it really hurt that much? Liu Lixue, that useless fool, can’t even heal such a small injury. This Sovereign one will immediately go to the Divine Healer Valley to capture that little monster—he must have a way.】
Now, Sang Dai could confirm she could hear Su Xuan’s inner thoughts, but it seemed to only happen when they made eye contact.
If she wasn’t looking at him, she couldn’t hear anything, or it was unclear, which explained why she had previously only heard fragments of his inner voice.
Moreover, it seemed she could only hear Su Xuan’s inner voice. For example, the maid’s inner thoughts were inaudible to her.
As for other patterns, she hadn’t figured them out yet. However, just being able to hear Su Xuan’s inner thoughts was shocking enough.
Seeing Sang Dai staring at him, Su Xuan’s fox ears almost popped out, his entire form frozen in place.
【Why is Dai Dai staring at me? Does she want to pick up her sword and cut me down again? But the Zhiyu Sword is broken… She must be feeling terrible now. Should I just stand still and let Dai Dai hit me a couple of times to vent her anger?】
Sang Dai: “…”
She couldn’t hold it in anymore and said, “Su Xuan, my eyes are just sore. Can you move so I can sit up? You’re sitting on the quilt, and I can’t get up.”
Only then did Su Xuan realize he was sitting on the edge of the bed, right on top of the thin quilt. Given her current weak state, she indeed couldn’t free herself.
【Damn it, I didn’t even notice Dai Dai’s eyes were sore. I’ll have Liu Lixue prepare medicine right away.】
Yet Sang Dai saw a certain fox lazily rise to his feet, looking down at her from above. “Miss Sang, your life is still useful to this Sovereign one. There are thousands of captives from your Immortal Realm. If you don’t want them to die, then stay alive and let this Sovereign one have his fun.”
Su Xuan’s words contrasted sharply with his inner thoughts—both in tone and meaning—making Sang Dai momentarily wonder if he had been possessed by someone else.
She ignored his words, propping herself up to sit on the bed. She noticed that the broken meridians in her body had been partially mended, giving her more strength than before. Someone must have treated her while she was unconscious.
Sang Dai’s lips were bloodless, her face free of makeup, and her black hair fell smoothly over her shoulders. She raised her head to look at Su Xuan.
“I’ll live well, Su Xuan. I won’t give up my life again.”
On the battlefield, without any spiritual power, she had been as good as dead. To avoid the humiliation of being torn apart, she had once harbored thoughts of taking her own life.
But now, with a chance to live, why would she choose death?
Her master had not yet been found, and the mysteries of the past were still unresolved.
Su Xuan turned his head aside. “I don’t care. This Sovereign one only wants you to die by my hand.”
“Liu Lixue, heal her injuries,” Su Xuan said as he brushed aside the bead curtain and walked out. “This Sovereign one has other matters to attend to. Don’t let her die.”
The other person, who had been in the room all along, suppressed a laugh and nodded. “Yes, my lord.”
Naturally, Su Xuan caught the hint of amusement in his tone. As he passed by Liu Lixue, he cast him a cold glance, scaring him into immediately stifling his smile and responding seriously, “Understood, my lord!”
Liu Lixue, having followed Su Xuan for many years, naturally excelled at reading people’s expressions and moods. He could tell that his lord’s mood wasn’t particularly good at the moment—likely due to this Miss Sang.
More accurately, it was because of her injuries, which had been troubling the Beast King for quite some time.
Sang Dai was severely injured, but the most significant issue was the drastic fall in her mental state. For a sword cultivator to lose their life-bound sword was akin to losing an arm.
Su Xuan had already left. Both Liu Lixue and Sang Dai knew he must have gone to the Divine Healer Valley again. Who knew if the rare celestial herbs and spirit fruits, cultivated over hundreds of years, would suffice for him to harvest?
Liu Lixue fanned himself as he looked at Sang Dai, raising an eyebrow and speaking in a playful tone. “Little beauty, it’s been such a long time since we’ve seen each other.”
Sang Dai nodded. “It has been a long time.”
The person before her was dressed in flamboyant red robes. His features were strikingly beautiful, with an intense allure, and the corners of his eyes carried a hint of red. His face was undoubtedly captivating.
Sang Dai knew his true form—a peacock. They had met numerous times, usually after she and Su Xuan had fought, when this peacock would leisurely arrive to retrieve his gravely injured lord.
He would also casually toss a bottle of refined spiritual pills to Sang Dai, which she accepted without hesitation. The pills weren’t poisoned, and in the cultivation world, Liu Lixue’s pills could sell for a thousand high-grade spirit stones each—something Sang Dai would never be willing to buy for herself.
Over the years, she had accumulated quite a few of these pills in her storage pouch. Whenever she went out to train or got injured in a fight, she would consume one, sleep for a night, and be mostly healed, ready to fight again.
However, this was their first meeting in the Beast Realm.
“Look at you now—what’s happened to you? It’s quite heart-wrenching to see,” Liu Lixue said, shaking his fan as he floated lightly to Sang Dai’s side, lowering his gaze to look at the icy beauty seated on the bed.
She was indeed beautiful, but undeniably cold. Her face, so stunningly attractive, was perpetually expressionless. Over the years, Liu Lixue had tended to his gravely injured lord dozens of times, and thus met this number one little monster of the Immortal Realm just as often, yet he had never seen her smile.
Liu Lixue didn’t dare sit on Su Xuan’s bed. Instead, he pulled a chair over and sat in front of Sang Dai, speaking nonchalantly, “Miss Sang, the lord spent quite a lot of spirit stones to save you—”
He shifted his tone under Sang Dai’s gaze.
Sang Dai, still expressionless, continued to look at him. Liu Lixue didn’t mind and simply raised his fair hand, gesturing for her to extend hers.
Sang Dai offered her right wrist.
Liu Lixue’s fingertip hovered lightly over it.
His expression turned serious—a rare sight. Sang Dai had scarcely seen him like this before. Even when his lord was barely clinging to life, Liu Lixue could still joke and tease with a smile.
Suddenly, Liu Lixue spoke. “Your spiritual root has been significantly stripped, which explains why your cultivation has stagnated all these years. Otherwise, with your talent, you would have already entered the Grand Ascension stage and become the youngest Grand Ascension cultivator in the Four Realms. There’s no way you’d still be stuck at the Nascent Soul stage. Do you know that you’ve been poisoned?”
Of course, Sang Dai knew. The poison was given to her by Sect Leader Sang and Madam Shi. More accurately, it was the entire Sword Sect conspiring to poison her—everyone was keeping it from her.
For years, her cultivation had hit bottlenecks, and her realm had ceased to progress. Initially, Sang Dai thought it was merely due to changes in her mental state. She had even considered entering the mortal world for some trials or going into seclusion, but matters in the Sword Sect kept her from taking time away, delaying her cultivation.
It turned out the problem wasn’t with her—it was the medicinal decoctions she had been consuming.
Lowering her head, she said coldly, “I know.”
“Why?” Liu Lixue asked.
“…For Shi Yao. To transfer my spiritual root to prolong her life.”
At this point, she couldn’t help but find it laughable. Spiritual roots were essentially meridians. Even if transplanted into someone else’s body, what didn’t belong to them could never truly become theirs. Spiritual roots acknowledged their owners and would naturally reject others. Ultimately, such an attempt would only result in mutual destruction.
In the cultivation world, no one had ever successfully transplanted spiritual roots.
Liu Lixue wasn’t surprised by her answer. It was within his expectations. Instead, he asked, “Does Shi Yao know about this?”
Sang Dai remained silent for a long time.
After a long pause, her hoarse voice finally broke the stillness: “She knew.”
How could Shi Yao not know?
Drinking blood once a month—how could she not know where that blood came from?
Many times, the medicinal decoctions meant to strip away Sang Dai’s spiritual root were brought to her by Shi Yao herself. When Shi Yao saw her drink the decoctions, her expression was often complicated.
When Sang Dai awakened her Heaven-grade spiritual root at the age of three, she lost her memory. But Shi Yao hadn’t lost hers. How could she not know that her weak body was something she was born with, entirely unrelated to Sang Dai?
Shi Yao knew everything but chose to turn a blind eye. She silently watched as Sang Dai, driven by guilt, doted on and protected her at every turn. She allowed the entire Sword Sect to sacrifice Sang Dai to save her. She allowed Sang Dai to remain in the dark while faithfully serving as the Sword Sect’s sharpest blade.
Liu Lixue remarked, “The news of your death has spread. Word is that you died on the battlefield, yet they didn’t even retrieve your corpse.”
“Miss Sang, you’ve lived your life so arduously. What was it all for?”
What for?
Sang Dai also thought herself foolish.
She had always believed in the deep bond of blood ties, only to realize she had been used from beginning to end.
The sectmates she risked her life to protect, the senior brothers and sisters she respected—they had all conspired against her.
Sang Dai looked at the spiritual seal of the Sword Sect on her right wrist. It had grown dull, a reflection of her frail state.
Suddenly, she asked, “Is there still a chance for my Golden Core to recover?”
Liu Lixue replied, “The lord won’t let your Golden Core shatter completely.”
Sang Dai didn’t respond. From his words, she could tell there was hope.
She turned her palm over and tried to circulate her spiritual power. She could only muster a faint trace, so weak it was barely perceptible.
At the time, her Golden Core had nearly shattered. Su Xuan had arrived just in time to shield what remained. Now, a foreign and extraordinarily powerful spiritual energy was wrapped around her half-shattered Golden Core in her dantian. This energy had prevented her core from breaking completely.
Sang Dai asked, “What do I need to do to restore my Golden Core?”
Liu Lixue handed her a pill. “Start by taking this. Your meridians were disrupted earlier, and your fever was severe. Your body is still weak.”
Without hesitation, Sang Dai took the pill and swallowed it.
Liu Lixue had never harmed her before. Despite the ferocity of Su Xuan’s followers, they disdained underhanded methods like poisoning, living their lives with surprising straightforwardness.
Seeing her take the pill, Liu Lixue felt relieved. His task was done, and he could now report back to Su Xuan.
“Do you know about the Immortal Velvet Grass?” he asked.
Sang Dai nodded. “I know. A Heaven-grade celestial herb, there’s only one in the world, and it was in my master’s possession. It can repair a Golden Core. He had planned to use it to help me during my tribulation.”
But later, when Ying Heng betrayed the Four Realms, he took the Immortal Velvet Grass with him. Sang Dai had never seen it again.
Liu Lixue said lightly, “Immortal Velvet Grass not only repairs Golden Cores—it can also aid in the fusion of spiritual roots.”
The hand resting on the thin quilt curled slightly. Sang Dai asked, “What do you mean by ‘fusion of spiritual roots’?”
“A spiritual root can be extracted. If it can be extracted, it naturally means there’s a market for it. Someone without an awakened spiritual root isn’t necessarily fated to miss out on the path of immortality. They can transplant someone else’s spiritual root into their own meridians, and Immortal Velvet Grass helps facilitate the fusion.”
Sang Dai’s heartbeat suddenly quickened. “…You said Immortal Velvet Grass can aid in the fusion of spiritual roots? Spiritual roots can really be replaced?”
Liu Lixue replied, “Of course. It’s not unheard of. Otherwise, why do you think Immortal Velvet Grass has been driven to extinction? For someone like Miss Sang, born with a Heaven-grade spiritual root, it may be hard to understand the desperation of those without a root, who face the Five Decays of Heaven and Man as mortals. Their yearning for the immortal path is so intense, they’d sacrifice anything for it.”
Sang Dai thought of a certain book.
The book mentioned how Shi Yao suddenly awakened an Earth-grade spiritual root out of nowhere. At the time, Sang Dai thought it was just her protagonist’s good fortune.
But if spiritual roots could truly be transplanted, was it possible that Shi Yao’s spiritual root wasn’t originally hers?
Liu Lixue, seeing her deep in thought, continued speaking to himself, “In Bairen Alley of the Underworld, the once-in-a-decade Ghost Market Auction is happening in a month. Immortal Velvet Grass is one of the items on auction.”
Sang Dai’s pupils contracted slightly. “Immortal Velvet Grass has been extinct for five hundred years! My master owned the only remaining plant!”
“So, Miss Sang, it’s obvious whose Immortal Velvet Grass this is.”
The revelation was so shocking that Sang Dai began coughing softly. Liu Lixue, terrified that something might happen to her, quickly sent spiritual energy into her body. After all, if anything happened, that certain fox lord might just skin him alive and use his hide as a kite.
He anxiously reassured her, “Auntie, please don’t get so worked up. Let me explain it slowly.”
“In one month, Immortal Velvet Grass will be auctioned in Bairen Alley of the Underworld. The lord will definitely go to buy it, as it’s the only thing that can restore your Golden Core. But if you want to uncover the person behind this Immortal Velvet Grass, you’ll need to repair your meridians within this month. Without spiritual energy to protect you, the ghostly aura in Bairen Alley will kill you.”
Sang Dai nodded. “I understand.”
Liu Lixue stood and handed her a jade bottle. “This is for healing. Your mental state has taken a severe hit and needs nurturing. As for your life-bound sword… the Zhiyu Sword is already broken. Even after a month of repairs, the lord couldn’t save it. Once your Golden Core is restored, you’ll be able to bind yourself to a new life-bound sword.”
Sang Dai accepted the jade bottle, nodded, and thanked him. “Thank you.”
As Liu Lixue was about to leave, he paused and turned back to remind her, “By the way, the Beast Realm hasn’t been peaceful lately. It’s best for Miss Sang to stay within the Beast Palace.”
Sang Dai lowered her head, rubbing the jade bottle in her hands.
She knew exactly what Liu Lixue meant.
Sang Dai was familiar with the situation in the Beast Realm.
The royal family of the Beast Realm had many heirs. During the reign of the previous Beast King, the designated successor was Su Xuan’s older brother, a nine-tailed fox whose talents and abilities paled in comparison to Su Xuan.
As a fellow prince, Su Xuan rarely appeared in public. The Four Realms knew little about him, except that he was a Heaven-grade spiritual root awakener.
At that time, the Beast Realm was in turmoil, with its forces fragmented. Though the nine-tailed foxes were the royal family, they only controlled a third of the Beast Realm’s power. The majority of the military strength was in the hands of the Twelve Palaces. The spirit beast royal family teetered on the brink of collapse, while the Twelve Palaces, known for their prowess in battle, frequently waged war with the Immortal Realm, leading to heavy casualties on both sides.
Then, somehow, Su Xuan’s cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds. He became the most powerful cultivator in the beast royal family at the time. Alone, he slaughtered all those in the royal family who opposed him, seizing power amid a sea of corpses.
He then went to the Twelve Palaces alone. Over the course of a month, he killed all the leaders of the Twelve Palaces.
The Twelve Palaces were merged into the Xingque Palace, and the Beast Realm’s power became concentrated under the Xingque Palace, with Su Xuan in charge.
He took control of the entire Beast Realm.
Even when Sang Dai first heard of it, she thought it was nothing short of miraculous. At that time, Su Xuan had still been a mere youth. Facing countless Nascent Soul cultivators and innumerable demon cultivators, what Su Xuan had endured and accomplished during that month remained a mystery to all.
But that battle cemented his reputation. When people spoke of Su Xuan, the Four Realms were awed.
After Su Xuan ascended the throne, the Beast Realm never waged war against the Immortal Realm again.
So this time, when the Beast Realm suddenly attacked the Immortal Realm’s defensive gate, Yumen, the Immortal Realm responded as usual by deploying its forces for defense. However, the Beast Realm’s forces were significantly larger than before. Sang Dai saw many demon soldiers, and it became clear that the Demon Realm had received aid from the Beast Realm. The Immortal Realm was caught entirely off guard.
Sang Dai fought on the front lines for seventeen consecutive days but never saw Su Xuan himself appear. It was then she realized that this war had not been approved by Su Xuan. In fact, it could be said that someone from the Beast Realm had taken advantage of Su Xuan’s closed-door cultivation to secretly provide support to the Beast Realm and launch an attack on the Immortal Realm without his consent.
As long as Su Xuan was around, he would never proactively attack the Immortal Realm, let alone form an alliance with the Beast Realm. Su Xuan had always been at odds with the Demon Lord Ji Cang.
Su Xuan was likely preoccupied with dealing with unruly forces within the Beast Realm. Sang Dai could faintly sense the protective barrier of the Beast Palace, a Heaven-grade magical artifact combined with Su Xuan’s spiritual energy. It was extraordinarily strong, clearly set up to prevent anyone from entering the palace. For this reason, he had also restricted her from leaving the palace without permission.
Thinking of this, Sang Dai tightened her grip on the jade bottle and asked, “Is it someone from the royal family?”
“Yes,” Liu Lixue admitted.
“Can Su Xuan handle it?”
Liu Lixue smiled. “Of course. Does Miss Sang really think the lord has survived all these years by chance? He’s only in closed-door cultivation—it doesn’t mean he has relinquished his authority.”
Those who needed to be dealt with—Su Xuan would not let a single one go.
“Alright, I understand,” Sang Dai replied with a nod.
Her gaze dropped, the signs of her frailty painfully obvious. Liu Lixue found it difficult to reconcile this image of her with the sword cultivator he remembered, who once roamed the world alone with her sword.
Though he knew it was inappropriate, Liu Lixue watched her for a long time, opening his mouth as if to speak. But in the end, his thousands of thoughts condensed into a single sigh.
“Miss Sang, in the path of swordsmanship, your talent is unmatched.”
No matter her fallen mental state or her damaged spiritual root, her talent remained, as did her Heaven-grade spiritual root. In swordsmanship, she would one day reclaim her peak.
As long as it’s Sang Dai, it can be done.
thanks! ohh a side character who knows both leads, nice!