Severing Ties: The Sect Regrets My Departure Chapter 136

Inside the Falling Rain Valley.

"Huh? Wasn't it said that in this valley, the rain is always heavy, with droplets as big as soybeans? Why is it just a fine drizzle now?" Wan Xiaobei looked around, her face full of curiosity.

At this moment, the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion's group of one hundred had entered the valley. It was indeed a valley, surrounded by lush forests, with only a single path leading forward. The area was shrouded in mist, reducing visibility to less than ten zhang.

Even Divine Sense exploration artifacts were useless here.

"Perhaps after raining for so many years, it's finally stopping?"

"Maybe the descriptions were just exaggerated."

"The Five Sects and Three Clans have all run off. They're probably afraid we'll catch up. They always treat us like easy marks—taking our money but never sharing the benefits."

The group chattered away, but Gu Xiu narrowed his eyes, surveying his surroundings.

He had visited Falling Rain Valley over five hundred years ago. He knew this place.

And he knew one thing for certain: The rain... had lessened.

"What's wrong, Elder Feng?" Wan Xiaobei asked, noticing his silence.

"Nothing." Gu Xiu shook his head. "Let's hurry. Perhaps we can still pick up some opportunities."

He didn't dwell on it. In his "Ten Thousand Years in a Glance" dream, the secrets of Falling Rain Valley remained unsolved even ten millennia later. The weather had never changed then. Why would it change now?

"I heard a legend," a disciple whispered nearby. "They say a fairy maiden sits by a window above this valley, shedding tears every day. That's why it rains."

"Pah! Mortals and their stories," another scoffed. "Once you become an Immortal, you sever all seven emotions and six desires. Immortals can cover the sky with a hand and overturn worlds with a palm. Why would they cry over some mortal love affair?"

"You're such a blockhead! It's romantic!"

"It's nonsense!"

As they bickered, Wan Xiaobei turned to Gu Xiu. "Elder Feng, who do you think is right?"

"Neither."

"Ah? Then what do you think this place is?"

"Ascension Immortal Ruins."

"Ascension Immortal Ruins?" Wan Xiaobei stared at the sky, incredulous. "You mean... this is where the Heavenly Ladder descended? Where someone tried to ascend to Immortality?"

Gu Xiu nodded but said no more.

Wan Xiaobei's eyes lit up. "Legend says if someone stops mid-ascension and gives up, the Heavenly Gate closes and the ladder dissipates, leaving behind ruins. But... would anyone really give up Immortality when they were just one step away?"

"Perhaps... there is someone," Gu Xiu replied softly.

Wan Xiaobei couldn't fathom it. "Immortality! Eternal life! Who would refuse that?"

Gu Xiu was silent for a moment. "In this world, there are many people, and many paths."

Wan Xiaobei still looked confused, but Gu Xiu didn't explain. His mind drifted back to the clues he had found in the ruins five hundred years ago. Perhaps... someone really did choose to stay.

"We've reached the White Water Lotus Pond!" someone cheered.

Ahead lay a vast lotus pond, shimmering under the drizzle. Lotus leaves drifted on the surface, and faint blossoms peeked through the mist. The other side was invisible.

"This is the first layer of restriction," a Pavilion disciple explained. "The pond has a powerful formation. No flying, no swimming. The only way across is the Broken Bridge."

Suddenly, someone gasped. "There's someone over there!"

In the hazy rain, a figure stood by the water—a woman in a jade-green dress, holding a paper umbrella, her back to them. She looked lonely, desolate.

But as they approached, she vanished.

"Don't panic," the guide said. "That's just a time remnant. A mark left by someone who stood here for too long. It's not a ghost. It won't hurt you."

Indeed, they saw the green-skirted woman several more times as they walked. Eventually, they reached a long white bridge stretching into the mist.

"We're here! The Broken Bridge!"

As they stepped onto it, someone exclaimed, "Wait... this bridge is made of Ever-Bright Stone!"

"My heavens! Ever-Bright Stone? A piece the size of a quail egg sells for eight thousand Spirit Stones! And they built a whole bridge out of it?"

"This must be an Immortal's work. No mortal sect could afford this!"

The group marveled as they walked. Behind them, the illusory figure of the green-skirted woman appeared once more.

Only this time... she turned her head.

And looked directly at Gu Xiu.

No one noticed.

"Ahead is the break," the guide announced.

Sure enough, the flawless white bridge ended abruptly, severed by a clean cut. Dark, sinister energy coiled around the fracture.

But before they could inspect it, they stopped.

Blocking the path ahead were one hundred and fifty cultivators—the combined forces of the Four Sects and Two Clans.

And leading them were the ten prodigies of the Azure Mystic Sacred Land.

"Fellow Daoist Bian," Yu Xueqing of the Bibo Sect said coldly, "now that everyone is here, explain yourself. Why block the path?"

Bian Yifei swept a glance over the newcomers. "Simple. I want to unite everyone to seize the opportunities of Falling Rain Valley!"

"Tch," Fan Yangtai of the Golden Saber Sect sneered. "Bian Yifei, do you believe that yourself?"

"Since when is Azure Mystic so generous?" Sha Zhaoyu giggled, her eyes cold.

Bian Yifei remained impassive. "For five hundred years, our gains here have been mediocre. We all know this. But Azure Mystic has found a way to enter the inner courtyard. What we lack... is manpower."

He looked at the group. "If we join forces, we can break the restrictions. We share the intelligence, we share the effort. As for who gets the treasure... we decide that later."

"How do we know you won't betray us?" Sha Zhaoyu asked.

"Do you think you can get the treasure on your own?" Bian Yifei countered. "If we stay separate, we all fail. If we unite, we have a chance."

The logic was sound. One by one, the sects agreed. Even Wan Xiaobei, realizing she couldn't fight the combined alliance, prepared to agree.

But then, Bian Yifei turned to her.

"The Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion is not part of the Five Sects," he said coolly. "If you want to join, you must agree to two conditions."

"What conditions?" Wan Xiaobei asked, wary.

"First, your people obey my commands. Unconditionally."

"And second..."

Bian Yifei’s eyes flashed with killing intent as he pointed a finger directly at Gu Xiu.

"This person... cannot follow!"