In the blink of an eye, ten years had passed in the Book of a Hundred Lives.
Originally, Jiang Qingyi had been a cultivator who couldn't even enter the Qi Refining Stage.
But now, Jiang Qingyi had reached the Golden Core Realm.
To go from Qi Refining to the Golden Core Realm in just fourteen years—throughout the entire world, that talent was already among the very best.
Jiang Qingyi was now an attendant of the Dragon Spring Sword Sect.
Once Jiang Qingyi reached the Nascent Soul Realm, she could become an elder of the Dragon Spring Sword Sect.
The truth was, the Dragon Spring Sword Sect was simply a major sect.
Otherwise,
throughout the world, cultivators in the Nascent Soul Realm could already found their own sects.
"Cough, cough, cough, cough."
On the bed, Xiao Mo kept coughing.
His face was pale, and he looked terribly unwell, as if he didn't have long to live.
After Jiang Qingyi reached the Golden Core Realm, Xiao Mo no longer needed to sacrifice his lifespan to use the Heaven Continuation Art on her.
But over the past ten years, every use of the Heaven Continuation Art had taken a heavy toll on Xiao Mo.
And as Jiang Qingyi's cultivation grew, Xiao Mo had to use the Heaven Continuation Art on her more frequently, with each use shaving away even more of his lifespan.
By now, Xiao Mo felt he might not have even thirty years left to live.
Even if he lived another thirty years from this point on, adding the fourteen years he'd already lived—
it still wouldn't add up to more than forty-five years.
He still wouldn't reach the Book of a Hundred Lives' limit of "fifty years."
But did Xiao Mo regret it?
There was no way he regretted it.
If Xiao Mo had another chance to choose, he would do the same thing again.
Without the Heaven Continuation Art, Qingyi would never have become one of the world's top Sword prodigies.
She might not even have set foot on the path of cultivation.
What Xiao Mo was thankful for was that after every cultivation session, he used Spells to hide how terrible he looked.
And from time to time, he went on missions.
Every time he returned from a mission, Xiao Mo would deliberately dispel the Spell concealing his appearance, making himself look awful.
Otherwise, if Jiang Qingyi learned the truth,
there was no need to even think about it—she wouldn't let him use the Heaven Continuation Art on her again, even if it killed her.
She would even blame herself terribly, and in the end, it would affect her Dao Heart.
Then all his efforts would truly have been for nothing.
Now, there was only one last thing Xiao Mo had yet to do.
His body still had a little fighting strength left. After all, he was in the Nascent Soul Realm, and could still protect Jiang Qingyi as she cultivated.
Once Qingyi reached the Nascent Soul Realm, he could do that last thing.
"I only hope Qingyi won't blame me when the time comes."
Xiao Mo leaned against the bed and murmured to himself.
But as soon as he finished speaking, he couldn't help laughing and shaking his head.
What would it matter if Qingyi blamed him then?
This was only an experience of a life. Qingyi had never truly existed in the first place.
Once he left the Book of a Hundred Lives, this "world" would come to an end.
Thinking of that, Xiao Mo did feel a little reluctant to leave.
After all, the time he'd spent living in the Book of a Hundred Lives had been real.
Over more than ten years, he and Qingyi had been together day and night, and had long since formed a bond like family.
"Ah, I really got too deep into the role. Cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough." Xiao Mo coughed several more times, each one worse than the last.
He hurriedly grabbed the handkerchief beside his bed and pressed it over his mouth.
The handkerchief was stained with bright red blood.
"Master."
When Jiang Qingyi came in carrying medicine and saw her master coughing violently, she hurried over.
"Master, are you all right?"
Jiang Qingyi set the medicine on the bedside table, knelt beside the bed, and looked at her master with worry.
Over the years, her master's health had grown worse and worse.
After she entered the Golden Core Realm, her master's Life Fire was like a candle in the wind, as if it might go out at any moment.
Jiang Qingyi didn't know why.
Her master said that he had injured his foundations while away on a mission.
At first, Jiang Qingyi had believed that was the case.
Whenever her master returned, his face looked terrible, and he would go to the Medical Hall for treatment.
But gradually, Jiang Qingyi began to feel that something was wrong.
No matter what mission her master went on—even a minor one—he would somehow run into some Great Power who injured him.
Even if her master had bad luck, it couldn't be that bad, could it?
"I'm fine. Don't worry." Xiao Mo quietly moved the handkerchief away.
But Jiang Qingyi had still seen the bloodstains on it.
The young woman pressed her thin lips tightly together.
"Master, let me give you your medicine." Jiang Qingyi picked up the bowl.
"No need. Your master still has hands; I can do it myself." Xiao Mo reached for the bowl, but Jiang Qingyi refused to hand it over.
"Master, just lie down. Do you remember what happened after the New Blood Martial Arts Competition? I was injured, and you gave me medicine every day. Now that you're unwell, it's only right for Qingyi to give you your medicine."
"Very well." Seeing Jiang Qingyi's determined expression, Xiao Mo didn't refuse.
After the medicine was finished, Jiang Qingyi helped Xiao Mo lie back down. "Master, get some good rest. Don't worry, you'll be all right."
"Don't worry. Your master won't die just yet. Besides, I still haven't seen you find a reliable Dao Companion." Xiao Mo smiled.
"Master, stop making jokes like that. I don't need a Dao Companion or anything like that."
Jiang Qingyi gave her master a bashful look. After tucking in his blanket, she took the medicine bowl and left.
But just as Jiang Qingyi closed the door, her lovely eyes furrowed. She set the bowl down on the stone table in the courtyard and flew straight to the Medical Hall!
Jiang Qingyi had only just left when someone knocked on Xiao Mo's door.
"Qingyi, is something wrong?" Xiao Mo asked.
The door opened, and a woman stepped inside.
When Xiao Mo saw her, his gaze froze for a moment, and a trace of Killing intent even appeared in his eyes.
Xiao Mo knew who she was.
She was from the Xiao Royal Mansion of the Liang Kingdom.
More precisely, she was Xiao Mo's Sword Attendant.
Ever since Xiao Mo could remember, she had grown up by his side.
When Xiao Mo left the Xiao Royal Mansion and severed ties with it, he had wanted to take the Sword Attendant who'd grown up with him.
But she had refused.
Only afterward did Xiao Mo understand.
She wasn't his Sword Attendant, but the Sword Attendant of "the Xiao Prince's son."
"Xia Chan, what are you doing here?"
Xiao Mo furrowed his brows, his tone hostile.
It wasn't because she hadn't left with him more than ten years ago.
He could understand her choice.
The reason he was so wary of her, even hostile, was entirely because someone like Xia Chan, who was loyal only to the Xiao Royal Mansion, had appeared here.
Perhaps the Xiao Royal Mansion was about to make a move against him.
"Young Master, it's been a long time."
Xia Chan stepped forward and bowed to Xiao Mo.
Xia Chan was still just as she had been before. Not a trace of warmth touched her words or her every gesture.
Ever since Xiao Mo had known her, she had always been this cold.
It seemed nothing could stir her emotions.
"Spare me the small talk. I'm no longer the heir of the Xiao Royal Mansion. Say what you came to say. What did my father send you here for?" Xiao Mo said coldly.
Xia Chan didn't answer his question directly. Instead, she asked, "Young Master, do you know how much thought the Prince put into finding you a Sword Bone when you were young? How great a price he paid?
"It was the Prince who made you a gifted Sword Cultivator. The reason you reached the Nascent Soul Realm at eighteen was entirely because the Prince had that Sword Bone transplanted into you."
Xiao Mo sneered. "Then do you know that if I'd known the Sword Bone transplanted into me belonged to someone else—and to a four-year-old girl, at that—I'd rather have been an ordinary person my entire life?
"Do you know that the little girl nearly died after losing her Sword Bone?
"And in your eyes, when you transplanted a Sword Bone into me, was it really for my sake, or was it for my father's ambitions?
"Go ask him!"
"Young Master is still the same." Xia Chan shook her head and sighed. "You're good in every way, except that you inherited the Princess Consort's kindness. And the Princess Consort was good in every way, except that she raised you to be too soft-hearted."
As soon as Xia Chan finished speaking, a strand of Sword Qi sliced past her face.
A lock of hair was cut cleanly and drifted slowly to the ground.
A thin gash opened on Xia Chan's fair cheek, and blood welled from the wound.
Xiao Mo looked at Xia Chan coldly. "That strike was for the sake of our growing up together. If you say another bad word about my mother, the next strand of Sword Qi will slice your throat open!"
"What exactly did you come here for? Say it and get out!" Xiao Mo had lost his patience.
Although Xiao Mo knew this was an experience of a life, he possessed all the memories of the "Xiao Mo" in this world.
"Xiao Mo's" mother was his mother.
Although his mother had died when he was seven, he would always remember her tenderness and guidance.
He would never allow anyone to speak ill of his mother.
Xia Chan paid no attention to her wound. She simply looked at Xiao Mo calmly and spoke slowly. "In the third year after you left, one of your younger brothers was born. Unlike the Sword Bone transplanted into you,
"the Second Young Master was born with Double Pupils.
"Double Pupils were in no way inferior to a Sword Bone.
"If nothing unexpected happened, he could reach at least the Immortal Realm in the future, perhaps even the Ascension Realm!
"And the Xiao Royal Mansion's dominion would last forever!
"For generations to come, the Liang Kingdom's imperial family would all be puppets of the Prince!"
"Heh heh heh." Xiao Mo chuckled. "My father sent you here just to tell me all this?"
Xiao Mo naturally understood his father's intentions.
In this world, Emperors had to shoulder an enormous burden of karma.
If a cultivator who had achieved great cultivation became an Emperor, karma would entangle him. Advancing to a higher realm would become difficult, and he might even die because of karma, unseen forces pulling the strings.
And once an ordinary person became an Emperor, cultivating became extremely difficult. No matter how gifted he was, he could cultivate only to the Qi Cultivation Ninth Layer at most, unable to establish his foundation. His lifespan would be only thirty or forty years longer than an ordinary person's.
His father wanted to have his cake and eat it too. He wanted the power that came with ruling a great kingdom like Liang, but didn't want to bear the karma. So he controlled the government and kept the current Liang imperial family as puppet Emperors.
But doing that would certainly stir discontent in the court.
At times like that, he needed an exceptionally powerful force to keep everyone in line.
The "force" before had been Xiao Mo.
Now, that "force" was his half-brother.
Although Xiao Mo had never met this younger brother of his, he still felt sorry for him.
"Of course not."
Xia Chan shook her head.
"It seems you still don't understand what I mean.
"It's true that when you left, the Prince regretted it somewhat, because he needed you.
"At first, the Prince did consider calling you back.
"But you kept refusing, and the Prince gradually lost faith in you.
"Then the Second Young Master was born.
"After that, the Prince gave up on you completely.
"You had nothing to do with the Xiao Royal Mansion, and I wouldn't have come looking for you.
"But what you've done these past few years has made the Prince pay attention to you again.
"The Prince never expected that the girl from back then had survived.
"Even more surprising, he never expected that you would actually find her, and even teach her to cultivate."
"..." Xiao Mo furrowed his brows. "How long have you been watching me?"
"Ever since you left the mansion and entered the Dragon Spring Sword Sect."
Xia Chan answered calmly.
"Young Master may not know this, but the Sect Master of the Dragon Spring Sword Sect is a friend of the Prince's, and they share common interests. Everything you do in the Dragon Spring Sword Sect is seen by the Prince.
"Just as I said before,
"after the Second Young Master was born, if you had kept your head down, or if Jiang Qingyi had been unable to cultivate,
"the Prince wouldn't have bothered paying attention to you.
"But you disregarded your Dao, disregarded your lifespan, and used a Spell like the Heaven Continuation Art on Jiang Qingyi.
"To everyone's surprise, it actually worked.
"Not only could Jiang Qingyi cultivate, but her talent was terrifying. In just fifteen or sixteen years, she had reached the Golden Core Realm!
By this point, the Prince could no longer sit by and do nothing."
"What are you planning to do?" Xiao Mo clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his flesh.
"What we're planning to do, young master, is something you already know. The second young master has boundless prospects. If nothing goes wrong, he can reach at least the Immortal Realm, perhaps even the Ascension Realm.
But all of that depends on 'nothing going wrong.'
And Jiang Qingyi is the one thing that could go wrong for the second young master."
"You're afraid she'll take revenge, so you want to kill her?"
Xiao Mo smiled.
"Do you think you can pull it off? The highest-realm cultivator in the Xiao Royal Mansion these days is that decrepit Attendant, isn't he?
Or are you going to have the Dragon Spring Sword Sect's sect master act?
But they're both in the Jadepo Realm, aren't they?
Don't forget.
Although I'm in the late Nascent Soul Realm, my Sword Bone is enough to let me kill enemies above my realm.
Would they dare make a move?"
"You're mistaken, young master. They don't need to make a move."
Xia Chan shook her head.
"What do you think Jiang Qingyi would feel if she learned that you had her Sword Bone?
And that your father killed her parents for the sake of that very Sword Bone.
If Jiang Qingyi learned the whole truth, how do you think she'd feel?"
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