All Are Cause and Effect

The fastest update to Seeking the Dao in the Mortal World!

As the grayish color on the Ghost Cultivator's body gradually dissipated, the bloodthirsty look on her face slowly faded away, and her form began to become more ethereal, almost invisible.

If you were an ordinary person, you really wouldn't be able to see it.

Without the manifestation of Qi and Blood, not every soul can solidify into a small form that can be seen by others, like Liusu.

However, those present were all highly skilled cultivators, and they could still perceive the blurry, ethereal figure with their Divine Sense, like a thin mist. They could see her slender figure, revealing her former beauty and elegance.

Liusu pouted.

"Why... don't you kill me?" The woman knelt on one knee, looking up weakly.

This Red Lotus Tribulation Fire burned away her malevolent energy and karma, awakened her reason, but also weakened her. Ghost Cultivator, lacking that kind of "attachment," easily dissipate. It was only because she had cultivated through the "gate" for many years and reached the Yin Spirit of Qian Yuan that she was able to maintain her strength.

But in the short term, they have no fighting power left...

The fire was one thing... but looking at the Little Ghost sitting on Qin Yi's shoulder, a hint of fear flashed in the woman's eyes.

That seemingly identical Primordial Yin Spirit of the Qian Yuan realm could almost completely suppress her, a dimensional attack that was utterly irresistible. She also knew that her current state was actually a boon to the other party.

She has nowhere to complain even if she eats it.

"No matter how you look at it, we have no reason to kill you!" Qin Yi plopped down on a rock, wiping away sweat weakly. "Senior, this is a misunderstanding."

"It's a misunderstanding..." the woman said slowly, "You didn't kill the Gu Song?"

Ju Yunxiu immediately separated the painting from the scroll. "If we had killed them, we wouldn't have kept this painting all this time."

Qin Yi quickly replied, "This painting once contained a mark left by the Gu Song Layman, used to unlock his specific restrictions. After being unlocked, the mark disappeared. If he hadn't told me himself, no one would have known. Can this serve as proof?"

The woman finally fell silent, gazing at the painting without uttering a word.

Sure enough, once the resentment was dispelled, he turned out to be a very rational and reasonable person.

Qin Yi continued, "Senior Gu Song's obsession at the end of his life was all for you, wasn't it? He almost lost his mind and became Drought Demon, but he regained his senses briefly after seeing your portrait and was able to communicate with you."

The woman looked dazed, it was hard to tell whether she was sad or relieved.

"I used to think that he didn't know I would become Ghost Cultivator, so I couldn't blame him for leaving. But over the years, if he had thought of me even a little, he would have come back to visit and pay his respects... Then we could have met. But year after year, I never got to see him."

Everyone lowered their heads and remained silent.

Qin Yi thought to himself that this couple was really not easy. The Gu Song Layman had completely lost his mind at the time, but when he saw the woman's image, he regained his senses; while the woman went crazy as soon as she saw the Demon Slaying Sword.

Although their appearances differ, their cores are essentially the same.

Who says you can't have romantic feelings for someone while cultivating immortality? What else could this couple be but true love...?

"I thought he had lost his heart, that he had completely forgotten me..." She looked at the painting and murmured to herself, "The more I thought about it, the more resentful I became, the more I hated him, and even seeing other couples filled me with hatred... I never imagined that he was dead... Actually, I should have known that the hidden wound he suffered back then was very serious, that kind of strange injury, very difficult to heal..."

Qin Yi said, "The senior's remains are still intact and retain a spiritual light. If you go there, perhaps you can..."

"It's impossible." The woman said softly, "His cultivation can preserve his body from decay, but it's impossible for him to preserve his spiritual light. It's probably because of the fragment he took with him... But that fragment is so small that it would have been annihilated even if it could have allowed his spiritual light to revert once. Huiyang is ultimately far, far away from immortality."

He paused, then asked, "Are the fragments with you?"

Qin Yi had no choice but to admit, "Yes."

The woman looked up at the sky, lost in thought. After a long while, she said, "I took the fatal wound for him so he could live. Ironically, I'm the one living in this way, while he's dead. I don't know if this is heaven's reward or punishment?"

I really don't know if this is a reward or a punishment.

If she could, she would never want to live like this.

This was perhaps the first time Qin Yi, aside from Li Qinglin, had met someone in this cultivation world where everyone sought immortality who thought it was useless. Although the nature of their feelings was different... they fundamentally pointed to the same problem.

If there is no meaning to living, or even if one is trapped in one place, suffering loneliness and torment, what is the use of such longevity?

"Perhaps this is my just deserts... Over the past few centuries, I've killed many innocent people... If he knew, he would be furious..." The woman suddenly smiled, "It's time for the end."

Li Qingjun suddenly said sharply, "Don't you have anything else to do while you're alive?"

The woman was taken aback. "You..."

Li Qingjun angrily retorted, "The Penglai Sword Pavilion raised and nurtured you, and you left without ever returning? Didn't you even consider that?"

The woman stared blankly at Li Qingjun for a while, then looked down at the Sword Imprint on Li Qingjun's hand. After a long pause, she said, "Senior Brother Duan Xuan?"

"Yes, Li Qingjun of the Penglai Sword Pavilion greets Martial Uncle."

The woman's expression softened further. "How is Senior Brother Sect Leader?"

"Martial Uncle Yu's swordsmanship has improved so much that it is said he is already beginning to glimpse the Dao of Formlessness."

"Very good." A rare hint of joy appeared on the woman's face.

Li Qingjun, observing his expression, knew that he still had a deep affection for the sect, so she said, "The elders have always missed Uncle-Master. If Uncle-Master were to return, they would be very happy."

The woman shook her head slightly and asked again, "You are considered one of my closest relatives and a junior, so why didn't you say anything before?"

Li Qingjun paused for a moment, then whispered, "I don't know what to say..."

The woman looked at her strangely for a while, as if she had understood something, but she didn't say anything more.

He then looked at Qin Yi and asked, "You came here to retrieve the fragment?"

"Yes," Li Qingjun said, "We have provoked a powerful enemy and need the power of the fragments."

"I sense you might have used the fragments..." the woman asked. "Was it this man who gave them to you?"

Yes. It's still on me.

The woman chuckled, "Not bad... This kind of thing is a strange phenomenon, something that can cause husbands and wives to turn against each other and siblings to kill each other, yet you two share it and use it without any worries... It seems that although this man is a bit of a womanizer, his character is still acceptable."

Qin Yi coughed dryly, Ju Yunxiu tilted her head, and Li Qingjun didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

The woman glanced at Ju Yunxiu, her expression turning indifferent. "Ye Bieqing was our close friend back then, but after this incident, I realized that he was not trustworthy. So I had already tampered with the mark he left behind, and the entrance restriction from back then was now ambiguous, all to trick him."

Ju Yunxiu: "..."

The woman said, "So... if you had killed me just now and forced your way to that place, you would have certainly died. Even with this strange ghost helping you, it wouldn't have made a difference."

Liusu scoffed, but didn't refute.

After all, even the most narcissistic person wouldn't truly believe they're omnipotent. If they were, they wouldn't have ended up in this state... being treated like a puppet, and after being played with so much, they've started calling themselves "the puppet"...

The woman sighed, slowly turned around, and floated away into the distance. "Come with me, kind people shouldn't be taken advantage of."

The three of them breathed a sigh of relief and followed.

The fact that they helped her purify her resentment and had connections with the Gu Song Layman is useless. Their being guided by Ye Bieqing's painting is their original sin; they're just trying to trick you.

If it weren't for my own niece being in the group, who knows what would have happened...

To be honest, the cause and effect of this matter is quite subtle. Qin Yi never imagined that he would have this connection with the person in the painting he met not long after his debut. If it were anyone else here, they wouldn't even be able to get in the door.

Looking at the woman's lonely figure, Li Qingjun felt a little worried.

The question she had previously raised about the sect's responsibilities had gone unanswered, clearly an attempt to evade the issue. In other words, this senior still didn't want to continue existing and was determined to perish.

Li Qingjun felt reluctant to do it, and both publicly and privately, she felt there should be another solution.

(I'll try to update more tonight, please vote, please vote, sob sob~)