Severing Ties: The Sect Regrets My Departure Chapter 95

Half an hour later, Su Rumei took her leave.

Gu Xiu personally escorted her to the gate of the Listening-to-Rain Pavilion. Nestled in his robes were five jade slips, each containing a precious Earth-grade cultivation technique—a gift Su Rumei had presented with trembling hands.

These were treasures beyond measure.

In the world of cultivation, Earth-grade techniques were the core inheritances of first-rate sects. The jade slips themselves were ancient relics, their numbers dwindling with each passing century. A single slip appearing on the open market would spark wars; if one were to assign a price, it would easily fetch millions of spirit stones.

But in truth, they were priceless. Rare and highly sought after, yet unavailable at any cost.

And Su Rumei had given him five.

"Fellow Daoist Feng need not see me off," Su Rumei said, pausing at the threshold. She turned, a gentle smile gracing her lips. "Your formation shielded the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion from the Four Seas Gang, preserving our reputation and dignity. Compared to your service, these five slips are trivial."

She hesitated, her smile faltering slightly.

"However... I must ask a favor. When our Proprietor arrives, I hope Fellow Daoist Feng can be... accommodating."

Earlier, Su Rumei had hinted at this. She feared a clash between the enigmatic "Feng Bugui" and her young, unpredictable boss.

Gu Xiu understood the subtext. "For the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion to thrive for five hundred years, your leadership must be wise. I doubt your Proprietor is unreasonable."

"This..." Su Rumei looked awkward. "The current Proprietor is actually our Young Miss. She is... young. Her words can sometimes lack consideration."

Gu Xiu blinked, then laughed softly. "I understand. Rest assured, Shopkeeper Su. I am not easily offended."

"That is good to hear." Su Rumei bowed deeply. "Then I shall not disturb your cultivation further."

She walked away, her steps graceful but her heart heavy with unease.

As soon as they were out of earshot, a shadowy figure materialized beside her.

"Is it worth it?" the Shadow asked, its voice a rasp of disbelief. "Five Earth-grade techniques? You even gave away your own Peach Blossom Art! Why help him to this extent?"

The Shadow saw clearly what Su Rumei feared. She was buying insurance. She was terrified that her Young Miss would offend this terrifying man, undoing all her careful diplomacy.

Su Rumei sighed. "The old Proprietor raised me from nothing. I swore a Dao Oath to serve the Wan family with my life. This Feng Bugui... he is a dragon in a shallow pond. He will rise. If five manuals can prevent a war between him and the Pavilion, it is a cheap price to pay."

"But have you forgotten my warning?" the Shadow pressed. "This man is an opportunity, yes, but he is also a calamity. Are you not afraid of pushing the Pavilion into a fire pit?"

"Impossible."

"Why?"

Su Rumei shook her head, offering no answer.

They arrived back at the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion just in time to witness chaos.

"Aiyo!"

A body tumbled down the grand staircase like a rolling gourd, bouncing painfully off each step until it landed at their feet. It was a fair-faced scholar, now sporting a collection of fresh bruises and a look of utter misery.

From the top of the stairs, a haughty, furious voice rang out.

"Before, this Young Lady was alone and vulnerable, so I had to play nice! But now I’m back on my own turf! Did you really think I was that easy to fool?"

"Men! Seize this pretentious lecher!"

Whoosh!

A dozen high-level managers materialized from the shadows, pouncing on the scholar and binding him with spirit ropes in seconds.

Meanwhile, a young girl in a pink dress descended the stairs. Her eyes shone like stars, and her hair was adorned with sparkling jewels. She looked like a porcelain doll, but her stance—hands on hips, chin jutting out—was that of a local tyrant.

Su Rumei froze for a second, then quickly bowed.

"Su Rumei, Chief Manager of the Cloud Firmament Branch, pays respects to the Proprietor!"

This was the ruler of the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion: Wan Xiaobei.

"Ah! Sister Su is back?"

Wan Xiaobei’s fierce expression instantly melted into a beaming smile. She bounded down the remaining steps and launched herself into Su Rumei’s arms, nuzzling against her chest like a kitten.

"Hehe, Sister Su! You’re so beautiful, it makes Xiaobei jealous! Let me get a feel..."

Su Rumei’s face darkened. She peeled the girl off her. "You’ve grown so big, yet you still have no dignity! What happened here?"

She gestured to the bound scholar.

"Him?" Wan Xiaobei’s face twisted in disgust. "I snuck out to travel alone, right? I met this guy on the road. I thought we could travel together, but he started reciting poetry and acting all deep and sentimental!"

"If he were truly a lovesick fool, I could tolerate it. But I found out he’s actually a 'Flower-Picking Thief' who prides himself on ruining women!"

She glared at the scholar, her fists clenching. "If my cultivation wasn't so weak, I would have torn him apart on the road! I had to smile and endure his creeping until I got back here. Now? He’s going to pay!"

Su Rumei sighed. "Is that really necessary?"

"Of course it is!" Wan Xiaobei stomped her foot. "I’ve decided! In this life, I will marry only that person. Everyone else is just dirt in my eyes!"

"This scumbag dared to have designs on me? Just thinking about it makes me vomit!"

Su Rumei raised an eyebrow. "You? Marry? Didn't you always say you’d stay single forever?"

Wan Xiaobei grinned, a look of pure, starry-eyed adoration washing over her face. "I heard a story. And because of that story, I decided. I will marry no one but him."

"Whose story?"

Wan Xiaobei cleared her throat and recited, her voice filled with reverence:

"With no one to support my lofty ambitions, I tread through the snow to reach the mountain peak alone."

"Looking down at the bones of the proud and talented, I look back and see the Sword Immortal of Qingxuan!"

She clasped her hands together. "The only person I will marry is the Qingxuan Sword Immortal... Immortal Venerable Gu Xiu!"

Listening-to-Rain Pavilion.

The former Sword Immortal in question, Gu Xiu, was blissfully unaware that he had become the romantic idol of a teenage tyrant.

He sat cross-legged in his meditation chamber, his mind focused inward on his Dantian Qi Sea.

Using his Qi as a brush, he was rewriting his destiny. Stroke by stroke, he inscribed the five Earth-grade techniques Su Rumei had given him into the Wukui Secret Manual.

With every completed character, the mountain of spirit stones piled around him evaporated, transforming into a dense fog of spiritual energy that rushed into his body. His Qi Sea, already nearing the Great Perfection stage, began to fill rapidly.

Deep within the churning ocean of Qi, a golden Foundation Dao Platform began to emerge.

As he fused the fourth technique, the platform became solid, radiating a heavy, ancient power.

But Gu Xiu stopped.

He opened a small wooden box and took out the Heaven’s Path Foundation Establishment Pill—Su Rumei’s earlier gift. Without hesitation, he swallowed it.

BOOM!

His Dantian erupted. The Foundation Platform trembled, threatening to rise from the sea and ascend into reality.

But Gu Xiu ignored it.

He picked up his mental brush and began to transcribe the final Earth-grade technique.

He wrote with furious precision. When the final stroke landed, the Wukui Secret Manual shuddered. The text dissolved and reformed, evolving from Earth-grade to something far more terrifying—a Half-Step Heaven Rank technique!

It fused with his foundation.

In that instant, the world held its breath.

Myriad Dao Rhymes manifested out of thin air, swirling around the pavilion. In the forests surrounding the city, thousands of birds and beasts stopped their cries, bowing their heads toward the city in instinctive reverence.

Above Cloud Firmament City, the heavy cloud layer was crushed by an invisible hand, parting to reveal the infinite void.

A phantom image appeared in the sky—an ancient, colossal bell.

HUMMM—!

The Primordial Bell tolled. It was a sound not heard with the ears, but felt in the soul, a vibration that shook the foundations of the world.

Accompanying the bell, a giant gate of blinding golden light materialized in the heavens. It was majestic, terrifying, and impossible to ignore.

Primordial Bell Toll, Heaven's Gate Manifestation!

The sign was clear to all who knew the ancient lore:

This Dao... can prove Immortality!