For the Common People, Not for One Person

"Plant your feet firm by the camp, set out the incense altar, and invite the immortals."

"First invite the fox, then the weasel; invite the great python, the spirit marten, and the Sorrow King."

"The fox clan takes command, the weasel clan leads the vanguard, the great python holds the ground, and the Sorrow King keeps the hall..."

Ling Xuanxiao did not understand why the old man, a dignified Shushan Sect Leader, was teaching him this Art of Invoking Deities.

And the deity he was inviting was the old man himself.

Very soon, Ling Xuanxiao felt another power enter his body.

Then his body began moving beyond his control.

"Only a pure Path of Ruthlessness can wield the Shushan Sword! If your heart is not pure enough, the Shushan Sword will surely wound you."

The old man's voice rang in his mind.

Ling Xuanxiao opened his eyes. They now blazed with brilliant golden light.

He formed a sword gesture with his right hand and raised it high above his head.

Then he brought it down in one clean, decisive motion.

As though he were severing something, he shouted at the same time.

"Die!!"

At the same instant, Sword Qi crisscrossed within the sword formation, sweeping toward Fanyue like a violent storm.

Fanyue struck back the countless raining swords one after another.

Yet in the midst of that fierce clash, the Shushan Sword suddenly erupted with tremendous power. Its blade hummed, instantly transforming into a dazzling streak of golden light.

"No... don't! Don't kill me, I'm begging you."

Knowing he no longer had the strength to struggle, tears filled Fanyue's eyes.

"I only ask that you let me see Lin Wanqing once. I only ask this of you. This Venerable One has never begged anyone before—will you truly refuse to spare me? I have already paid the price for this.

"Even if I did wrong in the past, why can't you give me one chance?

"You say I slaughtered innocents, but all they lost were their lives. What I lost was love!!

"I have already repaid my sins. Why can't you spare me? Give me a chance!"

There was no needless talk. With a muffled pfft, the golden light pierced through Fanyue's body without resistance.

No blood flowed from Fanyue's body. Instead, strands of golden thread slowly emerged from the wound.

Those golden threads seemed to possess lives of their own. They rapidly spread, winding around Fanyue's body.

As more and more golden threads wrapped around him, Fanyue's once-solid body began to peel away piece by piece like shattered porcelain.

Every fragment flickered with faint light before gradually dispersing in midair, ultimately turning into nothingness.

"..."

Ling Xuanxiao removed the talisman and formed a hand seal.

The wandering soul in the back mountain of Tongtian Peak vanished from the world without a trace.

That wandering soul had originally been a ghost servant he had captured before.

When someone was killed by a Tiger Demon, they could become a ghost servant, helping the Tiger Demon lure even more innocent people to their deaths.

As for the mechanical little dog, it too had been reduced to dust in the explosion. The corrosive liquid inside spilled out, leaving not even dust behind.

After erasing every trace he had left behind,

Ling Xuanxiao finally spat out a mouthful of blood.

"The Shushan Sword Formation really is powerful..."

Had the old man not possessed him, and had Ling Xuanxiao's Path of Ruthlessness not been pure and clear,

even knowing the incantation for the Shushan Sword Formation would have resulted in him being devoured by the formation.

Ling Xuanxiao swallowed the prepared pill but did not hurry to leave.

Instead, he continued replaying this operation in his mind—about seven, eight... ten times.

Mm, there should not be any problems.

The smoothness of this plan had surpassed Ling Xuanxiao's expectations.

He had originally prepared five backup plans.

He had also simulated hundreds of possible accidents.

After all, not everything could proceed according to plan.

What if Fanyue happened to encounter a Shushan Disciple on the way and casually helped him catch the mechanical little dog?

What if Fanyue reached the back mountain of Tongtian Peak but did not stubbornly search for the mechanical little dog?

What if Fanyue ignored the sound of the flute...

And whether the Shushan Sword Formation could truly kill Fanyue had also been an unknown.

In short, there had been many possible mishaps.

Yet when the plan was carried out, everything went unexpectedly smoothly.

Li Xuanxiao never showed his face from beginning to end, and not even a trace of his aura leaked out.

Three reincarnations... could there be a fourth?

Do everything within one's power, then heed heaven's decree.

"..."

The Shushan Sword Formation trembled, alarming all the upper ranks of Shu Mountain.

When the Deputy Sect Leader arrived with his people, they had no idea what had happened.

They even thought that the sect leader had entered the Shushan Sword Formation.

After all, within Shu Mountain, only the sect leader knew the incantation for the sword formation.

With no other choice, they sent someone to summon Daoist Lingxu, who was in seclusion.

When Daoist Lingxu opened the Jade Gate, he quickly discovered the anomaly within the sword formation.

There were clearly traces of battle here.

Yet there were only traces of battle. Nothing else had been left behind.

Lingxu inspected the place inside and out. Someone had definitely entered the sword formation.

But aside from the Shushan Sect Leader, who else could enter the formation?

Who could even stir the Shushan Sword!?

Daoist Lingxu was full of doubts.

To get to the bottom of the matter, Shu Mountain was placed under martial lockdown for more than three months.

It could not be said that they found nothing at all, but they truly uncovered no useful clues.

The man named Fanyue, whom Lin Wanqing of Silver Sword Peak had brought back, had vanished without a trace.

Some disciples said that the last time they saw him, he seemed to have been riding atop a white crane.

After that, no one paid much attention.

Nor had the Shushan Sword Formation been damaged, and nothing unusual occurred within Shu Mountain.

Thus, the matter was dropped. However, after this incident,

Shu Mountain assigned dedicated disciples to guard outside the Shushan Sword Formation.

The day Li Xuanxiao emerged from seclusion happened to be the day Third Senior Sister Lin Wanqing was preparing to descend the mountain.

Lin Wanqing believed Fanyue must have gone down the mountain.

"He's so foolish, so innocent. What if someone tricks him? I have to go find him," Lin Wanqing said.

Li Xuanxiao consoled his senior sister. "Senior Sister, perhaps he suddenly recovered his memories.

"And forgot the memories from the time when you had both lost your memories, naturally forgetting why he was in Shu Mountain.

"That is why he hurried down the mountain.

"Isn't that simply how things are in the mortal world? Some people come, and some people leave.

"Everyone has a unique mission and journey of their own.

"Some people meet and come to know us perhaps only because the god of fate gently plucked a string at a certain moment.

"And when they turn and leave, it is no more than a small interlude in this grand symphony.

"Since fate allowed you to meet, then even if you must part in the end, why cling to it too tightly and force it so bitterly?

"After all, life is filled with countless changes and unknowns.

"Let everything take its natural course. Trust that what is meant to come will come, while what is meant to leave cannot be kept."

Faced with Li Xuanxiao's persuasion, Lin Wanqing merely shook her head.

"You don't understand. Ever since I met him, he has been my only hope."

Li Xuanxiao fell silent for a moment. "Senior Sister, when you traveled thousands of miles and endured countless hardships to enter the immortal sect, was it truly only to meet someone to whom you could entrust your life?

"Shushan Disciples never act for one person, only for the common people."

Lin Wanqing smiled bitterly. "I do not possess such a steadfast heart as yours... It seems I truly am not suited for cultivation. Actually, being able to live one's life according to one's own wishes—even if only briefly—is already remarkable."

Li Xuanxiao said nothing more, only bidding her to take care.

If you can't find it by searching the book title, try searching for the author instead. It may simply have been renamed!