Severing Ties: The Sect Regrets My Departure Chapter 13

"It’s the Earth Fiend Soul Seizing Array!"

"It really is the Earth Fiend Soul Seizing Array!"

"To think Gu Xiu would set up such a vicious formation right inside the sect!"

Qin Moran was originally a talisman master, so she naturally possessed deep knowledge regarding the Dao of Arrays. Although she had only glimpsed the tip of the iceberg, she recognized the formation immediately. Her entire face was filled with shock.

Lu Qingyao asked curiously, "Fifth Senior Sister, what is the Earth Fiend Soul Seizing Array?"

"It is an evil formation!"

"An evil formation?"

"Yes, an exceptionally malicious one," Qin Moran stated gravely. "The so-called Earth Fiend Soul Seizing Array is a technique commonly used by demonic sects."

The moment the words 'demonic sects' left her lips, Lu Qingyao sensed something was terribly wrong.

Sure enough, Qin Moran continued, "The Earth Fiend Soul Seizing Array, as the name implies, is an evil magic array set up at an Earth Fiend position to forcibly seize and command souls."

"This array is extremely cruel. Any soul wandering near this place will be instantly dragged into the array and refined into nourishment to sustain the user!"

What?

Lu Qingyao was appalled. "How does Gu Xiu know such a technique? And why would he set it up within the sect?"

"He is likely unwilling to accept a life as a cripple and wants to force his way back into cultivation!" Qin Moran’s expression was as dark as stagnant water.

"A disciple of our Qingxuan Holy Land actually learning demonic arrays!" Lu Qingyao fumed with indignation. "And right here in the sect! Does he intend to harvest the souls of his fellow disciples? Does he treat everyone in the sect as mere food?"

Qin Moran did not answer.

She simply looked at Nian Zhaoxi. "Senior Sister, perhaps we lacked proof before, but with this array exposed, surely you see Gu Xiu's true colors now?"

The matter needed no further explanation. Setting up such a malicious magic array within the sect made it hard not to suspect the worst.

Facing Qin Moran’s accusation, Nian Zhaoxi frowned deeply, momentarily speechless.

Her intuition screamed that this couldn't have been set up by Gu Xiu. He would never truly harm the sect!

But... what about this array?

She thought of the spirit stone powder she had seen in that cave dwelling. Gu Xiu had likely already restored his cultivation. Why did Guan Xuelan clearly state he had no chance of recovery, yet he had suddenly recovered? And why was this array precisely here?

Could it be... he really used some demonic cultivation method?

"I don't believe Gu Xiu would do such a thing!" Finally, Nian Zhaoxi declared.

Although she hadn't interacted deeply with Gu Xiu in the past, she had always held favorable feelings toward this junior brother.

Moreover, she had divined for Gu Xiu more than once. Although other aspects remained uncertain, Gu Xiu’s destiny chart had always shown 'respect for teachers and reverence for the Dao.' She didn't believe someone with that kind of destiny chart would commit such atrocities within the sect.

"This..."

Seeing Nian Zhaoxi’s resolute demeanor, Qin Moran and Lu Qingyao felt somewhat helpless. "Senior Sister, this array already explains everything."

"Yes, Senior Sister, we know very well what kind of person Gu Xiu is."

"This is merely one corner of the formation. Do you dare claim you can see the full picture?" Nian Zhaoxi challenged Qin Moran.

Qin Moran hesitated. "This..."

"I also know a little about arrays. Many formations have overlapping structures. Don't you think it's rash to judge the entire Grand Formation based on a single fragment?" Nian Zhaoxi argued.

This time, Qin Moran couldn't deny it, for what the senior sister said was technically true.

But... was there even a need to look further?

Although it was just the tip of the iceberg, one could tell this array was undeniably related to soul manipulation. Placing such an array in this location... no matter how you looked at it, it was wrong.

Nian Zhaoxi couldn't possibly misunderstand this logic, yet she remained stubborn. "Since this array has been revealed, why don't we uncover the whole thing?"

As she spoke, Nian Zhaoxi walked to the remains of the wooden hut and began carefully clearing the debris, placing pieces into her storage ring one by one. It looked like she intended to dig out the entire Grand Formation.

The two beside her, Qin and Lu, exchanged helpless glances.

This Senior Sister... why is she so stubborn?

It’s all Gu Xiu’s fault!

His acting must have been too good; he had even fooled Senior Sister!

They cursed him internally but couldn't let Nian Zhaoxi work alone. They joined in clearing the ruins. According to their thinking, simply burning it all would suffice; why bother cleaning up meticulously? But Nian Zhaoxi wouldn't allow it. They could only follow her example and carefully place every piece of debris into their storage rings.

In doing so, they actually discovered quite a few things.

"I wondered where my talisman book went! It was here with Gu Xiu all along! He actually stole it!" Qin Moran scowled deeply.

Beside her, Lu Qingyao added resentfully, "Senior Sister, look! Isn't this the horn of my spiritual beast that died years ago? He swore back then that he had nothing to do with it!"

Both found incriminating items. There were even objects related to other senior sisters. For a moment, both were furious beyond measure.

Listening to their inventory of complaints made Nian Zhaoxi feel increasingly unable to accept the reality.

Junior Brother Gu isn't like that!

He couldn't possibly be like that!

Gritting her teeth, Nian Zhaoxi felt powerless to refute them. She could only shake off these chaotic thoughts and decided to stop sorting slowly.

In one go, she swept all the debris before her into her ring.

As she cleared the area, the Grand Formation beneath them gradually became more complete, piece by piece.

When three-tenths of the entire formation appeared, Qin Moran was already shaking her head. "Senior Sister, I don't think we need to look further. This is clearly a complete Soul Seizing Array."

"I don't believe it!" Nian Zhaoxi replied and continued cleaning.

Not long after, six-tenths of the formation was revealed.

Qin Moran spoke again: "Senior Sister, this is the Earth Fiend Soul Seizing Array. This part isn't just about seizing and absorbing souls anymore; it's about melting and transforming them! Once a soul is captured by this array, it will directly become nourishment!"

Nian Zhaoxi felt uncertain, but she still gritted her teeth. "I don't believe it!"

But when nine-tenths of the entire array appeared, Nian Zhaoxi's heart sank completely to rock bottom.

"Senior Sister," Qin Moran said gravely as she pointed at another section now fully revealed on the ground—a complex web of glowing lines etched into the earth, pulsing with a faint crimson light like veins under skin. "This part here... it refines captured souls bit by bit into pure nourishment."

"The person who laid down this formation ensured maximum efficiency... so much so that the souls used as fuel lose even the chance of reincarnation."

"Junior Sister thinks we shouldn’t continue cleaning up anymore," Qin Moran concluded quietly yet firmly, gesturing towards the remaining clutter around them. "Such an evil formation should be destroyed outright."

Beside them, Lu Qingyao’s face twisted in anger upon hearing the explanation; she couldn’t hold back anymore. "That Gu Xiu! He is too vicious!"

"Before, we took good care of him and fed him well; the sect spent resources supporting a cripple like him! Not only did he show no gratitude, but he does such a thing?!"

"This place is the sect! Setting up such a formation here obviously means he intended to harm others!"

"Someone like him deserves to die!"

"..."

Hearing these words made Nian Zhaoxi's face turn pale, then flush red. She wanted to defend Gu Xiu but momentarily didn’t know how to refute them.

Looking at the final remaining one-tenth portion yet uncovered beneath the last pile of ash-covered debris near the hut's foundation stone, she clenched her jaw hard. "I still don’t believe it! Let’s finish seeing it first!"

This made both Qin Moran and Lu Qingyao shake their heads heavily, sighing inwardly. The truth might be cruel, but it was better to let Senior Sister see clearly what kind of person Gu Xiu really was.

However—

When the last bits of wood ash were finally swept away, revealing the complete circle of intricate symbols connecting all previously seen parts together into one coherent whole—

Nian Zhaoxi suddenly choked, a sob escaping her lips before she burst into tears, streaming down her cheeks uncontrollably.

"Senior Sister, don’t be sad! Someone like Gu Xiu isn't worth it!" Lu Qingyao hurriedly tried to comfort her, inwardly despising Gu Xiu even more—if not for him, why would Senior Sister hurt so much?

"No..." Nian Zhaoxi shook her head vigorously between sobs, wiping her eyes roughly with her sleeve, though the tears kept coming. "Gu Xiu never intended to harm anyone!"

"He always cared about the sect... he always did! I knew he cared about the sect!" She repeated almost desperately through hiccupping cries that sounded heart-wrenching enough to leave Lu Qingyao bewildered.

How could she still believe him after all this evidence? What kind of bewitching soup did Gu Xiu feed Senior Sister?!

But right then—

Qin Moran’s voice rang out beside them, filled with utter disbelief. "How is this possible?!"

"How can this be?!"

"Clearly, it uses the structure of the Earth Fiend Gathering Spirit Formation, so why... why does the formation change?!"

"This..."

"It's a fake, right?"

Lu Qingyao, confused, turned to see Qin Moran staring with wide-eyed incredulity at the now fully revealed formation disk, which was glowing softly with different hues, shifting slowly.

Change formation? What does that mean? Isn’t this the Earth Fiend Soul Seizing Formation? Changed into what?

Just as she was about to ask, she heard Nian Zhaoxi’s voice, hoarse from crying, ask instead: "Junior Sister Qin, do you see what formation this is now?"

"This..." Qin Moran glanced between the formation and the tear-streaked face of her senior sister. Finally, she lowered her voice to almost a whisper. "...It is the Scatter Cultivation Transform Soul Formation..."

Scatter Cultivation Transform Soul Formation?

Lu Qingyao still didn’t understand—what kind of formation was that?

But she heard Nian Zhaoxi already speaking, her voice trembling yet clear despite her tears: "Scatter my cultivation, transform my spirit soul... only to bless the land!"

"This is not any Earth Fiend Soul Seizing Array! It isn't any evil formation!"

"This signifies the will to die for the sake of the sect! To be willing, after death, to let one's spirit soul transform and become part of the sect, helping to continue the blessings of the Grand Formation!"

"Those soul-seizing and soul-refining parts..."

"Gu Xiu aimed them all at himself!"

"He planned to seize his own soul and refine it away after his own death."

"At the cost of never entering reincarnation, scattering his spirit completely!"

"He was sacrificing his soul to the Dao, praying for blessings upon the sect!"

After saying these words, she finally couldn’t hold back anymore and wept bitterly again.

As for Lu Qingyao, she stood frozen on the spot, utterly stunned with disbelief.

Wh-what???

That sinister, vicious formation... was actually targeting himself?

How... how is that possible?

How could someone like him possibly have such resolve?