Are you really trying to cultivate immortality? Something feels off.

Long-buried guilt and fear, along with self-denial, all broke through the ground and almost devoured her completely.

*

The candlelight in the room suddenly flickered wildly, a cold wind swept through the room, and the shadows of the ancestral tablets swayed erratically.

Nie Zhao's youthful figure was still kneeling on the ground.

She lowered her eyes, seemingly lost in thought.

A sudden sharp pain shot through her fingertips. She looked down and saw that her fingers were digging hard into her palm.

I suddenly woke up.

This is not Nanchuan Chidi.

No, this is... but it's all an illusion.

"Ah Zhao, keep an eye on your junior brothers and sisters!" A figure flashed in her mind, and Feng Jilan, hands on her hips, shouted angrily, "Where did my osmanthus cake go?!"

"Now you've even learned to steal drinks, huh?" A gentle male voice followed, accompanied by a ticklish sensation in her ear. "You only learn bad things, not good ones, huh? Tell me, who came up with the idea?"

Nie Zhao's mind was in turmoil.

She is not alone.

She was never alone.

Behind the red-haired girl, a taller figure slowly emerged.

It was herself.

Standing in the center of the illusion, Nie Zhao slowly raised his eyes.

For the first time, a bright, cold, and sharp spark ignited in those once extremely cold eyes.

She was raised by her master and senior uncle, and their relationship was like that of father and daughter.

Although her master appears strict, he actually remembers her preferences when she eats, secretly prepares her favorite dishes in the small kitchen, and then finds some excuse to have them delivered to the back mountain.

Her master would take her down the mountain to celebrate the Lotus Lantern Festival, and would gently cover her ears, saying that Ah Zhao was not afraid.

She is not alone; she has teachers, fellow students, and her own mission.

She embodies the hopes of many people.

The lingering coldness of her mother's voice still hung over the ancestral hall.

Nie Zhao stepped forward slowly, his clothes fluttering without wind, and the dormant spiritual energy around him suddenly trembled, causing the solemn atmosphere in the room to drop by three points.

The woman looked up at her and realized that her daughter had grown to be as tall as her.

Nie Zhao stood beside his younger self, his gaze calm, looking directly at the person high above him, his voice clear and cold, with a slight tremor.

"I believed what you said for many years."

When she spoke, there was no longer a trace of timidity in her eyes, only a hint of stubbornness and a clear-eyed determination.

"I believe that my mind is restless and I have too much anger. I believe that my obsessions are wrong and that valuing family ties is wrong. I believe that only by being detached from emotions and desires can one cultivate the Tao and achieve longevity."

The woman's brows furrowed sharply: "How dare you disobey your elders!"

"But I realize today that I was never the one who was wrong."

Nie Zhao abruptly interrupted, his tone low but resounding, shattering years of inner demons.

The woman stared at her intently, her eyes filled with shock and surprise.

"Mother," Nie Zhao began, her eyes red-rimmed, "have you ever truly considered me your daughter?"

The other party was stunned.

Nie Zhao stared directly at the other woman, whose brows and eyes were just like hers, and tears streamed down her phoenix eyes: "Mother, I was born from your womb after ten months of pregnancy. Have you ever loved me? Even a little bit, just a little bit would be enough. Have you ever thought for a moment that you wanted me to be happy, that you wanted me to be safe?"

Her voice broke into a sob, like the cry of a fledgling bird: "Mother—"

"You say I'm too obsessed, but all I ask for is for you to look at me more, to care about me more, to sit down and have a meal like an ordinary mother and daughter. I work hard to cultivate so that you will feel that I am the daughter you can entrust to Nanchuan Chidi with peace of mind. I don't want to be despised, I don't want to be abandoned."

Nie Zhao's chest heaved, she closed her eyes, letting tears roll down her cheeks: "Mother, I know this is an illusion, and this is the only place I can say these things."

She opened her eyes, her gaze filled with tears, and looked at the face that had appeared countless times in her nightmares: "Because I already knew that my father, Ayun, and I were all just tools for you to seize power."

The candlelight in the room suddenly stopped.

The woman's face darkened completely: "Insolence! Cultivating the Dao requires severing the seven emotions and six desires. Your obsession with worldly matters will prevent you from ever attaining the Great Dao!"

Nie Zhao raised her hand slightly and slowly wiped away her tears.

"Then I will not cultivate your great path," she said in a hoarse voice. "I will cultivate my own path."

"I do not abandon love, nor am I cold-blooded for the sake of immortality. I have attachments and vulnerabilities. I can be ruthless and decisive, but I can also be warm-hearted."

"You forced me to be ruthless before, and I thought ruthlessness was the only way to survive. Now I know the truth."

"These are just shackles you've put on me; this is just you, going your own way—"

The moment the words landed.

The young Nie Zhao, kneeling on the ground, straightened his back slightly, as if the heavy shackles that had been pressing on his shoulders for so long had quietly shattered.

All the candles in the ancestral hall suddenly went out, and the illusion crumbled and disintegrated inch by inch.

The white mist returned, and the light and shadows dissipated.

Nie Zhao stood once more amidst the thick fog of the Sword Tomb.

Her eyes were red-rimmed, and there seemed to be tears still clinging to her eyelashes, which trembled slightly.

She is not a tool to protect the glory of Nanchuan.

She is Nie Zhao.

People who frequently look back cannot go far.

I have struggled with myself for so long, I would rather remain myself.

*

"vomit--!"

Yu Xintang finally vomited as he wished. He staggered and leaned against the wall. His stomach was empty, but he vomited up a bunch of sour water.

Su Boyu, with her deep green eyes, looked at him coldly: "What are you pretending for? Didn't you force me?"

"It's laughable, really. What would Xie Weixing and Tan Suiting do if they knew you had betrayed me and were having an affair with me?"

He thought the other person would be scared and horrified, but he never expected that.

Yu Xintang took a few deep breaths to calm herself, looked up at him, her brows furrowed, utterly bewildered: "What do you mean by suddenly popping up here? It's not Qingming Festival yet, not even the seventh day after death."

Su Boyu was stunned.

Yu Xintang slowly stood up, tossed her messy hair behind her, and sighed.

He curled his lips into a slight smile, his eyes filled with utter malice: "What I did in the illusion has nothing to do with reality? Using this to threaten me is a bit too far-fetched, isn't it? I feel nothing but disgust right now, you know that?"

Su Boyu frowned, her eyes instantly turning icy and ruthless.

"I'll blow up the Feng Hua Sect's barrier?" Yu Xintang pointed at herself, raising an eyebrow slightly, her eyes filled with the arrogance of someone accustomed to being a privileged child. "I'll force you? Who do you think you are? Brother, is anyone in your illusionary realm even working properly? Using this as a mental demon, are you trying to make me laugh to death?"

Yu Xintang laughed as she spoke: "I would set the mountain on fire? I've fed those pigs down the mountain to Shen Chunri, Xie Weixing, and I. If you don't eat them for the New Year, I will."

Su Boyu: ...

A crack appeared on his flawless face, slowly widening until it broke through the boundary.

"Bang."

Yu Xintang was startled and raised her hand to block it.

If you're going to die, die somewhere far away, and don't let your body parts land on his face.

It was quiet.

He paused, then his long, slender, white fingers gently fell, and the illusion vanished.