Only Love Wounds the Deepest

In a world of endless white, Xu Changqing wore black. His thick hair swayed in the wind and snow, and his cold, sharply chiseled face bore no expression.

He was very handsome—not the delicate, pretty sort. At a single glance, he exuded an overwhelming pressure. Even from far away, one could feel that extreme chill.

He was also tall and broad. Though his black robes made him appear somewhat lean, the breadth of his back was still apparent.

His feet pressed into the soft snow, leaving a continuous trail of footprints. Xu Changqing no longer knew where he should go. He wanted to Sever Dao, but his accumulation was still insufficient. He needed to go out and witness the allure of the Mortal World.

In his heart, he was also questioning his own Great Dao.

"Changqing... I'm sorry. Because of me, all the resources you gathered for Severing Dao are gone. But I asked my master for some Divine Medicine. Take it."

Mu Miaomiao came before Xu Changqing and spoke softly. With her head lowered, she did not quite dare to look at him. Her hands, white as mutton-fat jade, opened to reveal two glowing rings.

Milky-white halos drifted around them like ethereal immortal energy. Just looking at them made it clear they were extraordinary.

Yet Xu Changqing still refused. Looking at the stunning woman before him, he slowly said, "You needn't do this. From the moment you saved me from those Demonic Cultivators back then, my life was yours."

"You don't need to feel guilty either. This was what I should have done."

"Besides, I've already repaid that life-saving grace."

Xu Changqing spoke calmly. He stepped forward, passed around Mu Miaomiao, and walked straight ahead.

Snowflakes drifted down from the sky. Beneath the raging blizzard, the two passed each other.

Mu Miaomiao stood frozen in place, looking at the rings her master had given her. Tears welled up in her bright, watery eyes, and her heart suddenly clenched with pain.

It was as though something important had left her.

Because of her recklessness, everything Xu Changqing had painstakingly collected was gone...

And Xu Changqing had warned her many times not to follow him, or she would be unlucky...

But she had refused to listen, because she had always been lucky.

She had never expected her willfulness to bring their relationship to this point.

Mu Miaomiao could not help recalling the three years they had spent traveling together. Back then, they had wandered through mortal towns, before Xu Changqing rose to prominence. He had been warmhearted then.

He could not bear to see others suffer. She had brought Xu Changqing through mountain villages and war-torn lands.

Xu Changqing's knowledge at the time had thoroughly astonished her. Whether it was teaching others or surviving in chaotic times—

Even how to become an emperor in troubled times, he knew it all.

He often helped beggars find work, taught beggar children to read, and taught them various skills as well.

"Little Qingzi, help this fairy carry something..."

"Little Qingzi, this fairy has made a breakthrough. I'm in a good mood today, so I'll reward you with a Spirit Fruit."

"Little Qingzi, come shopping with this fairy..."

Countless memories suddenly flooded her mind. Her heart turned sour, and tears fell from Mu Miaomiao's eyes as she bit down hard on her lip to keep herself from making a sound.

She realized that she seemed to have fallen for Xu Changqing.

"Miaomiao, why put yourself through this? I just observed Xu Changqing's fluctuations. His emotional fluctuations seem to have vanished. In other words, he will become someone without humanity, without attachments."

"That is terrifying. Without attachments, he may even use you."

A voice sounded in Mu Miaomiao's mind, as though it had crossed through time, yet also as though it were speaking beside her.

"Master..." Mu Miaomiao's voice trembled with tears. For some reason, her heart hurt terribly now.

"Come. We're going home. Don't take part in the Emperor's Road. I'll take you to see it instead." A hazy black figure emerged from the nearby void, took Mu Miaomiao's hand, and vanished into the void.

Mu Miaomiao instinctively turned her head toward the direction Xu Changqing had left.

Within the blizzard, that black figure appeared so solitary and proud. There were no living beings here, only snowflakes and a black silhouette.

"Tsk, tsk, that Female Demon is truly formidable. She broke into Misty Holy Land alone and rescued Wuqing."

"I wonder what her name is. But she's very strong. Quite a few Divine Bodies of this generation have fallen victim to her."

As soon as Xu Changqing arrived in the Eastern Wasteland through a Teleportation Array, he heard this rumor.

"In this era, there are two powerful Mortal Bodies. One is Wuqing, and the other is the Female Demon." The people around him marveled.

The Wuqing everyone spoke of was Xu Changqing. Few knew his real name, but because he had done many merciless things, many people called him Wuqing.

"Indeed. I heard that when Wuqing was in the Transforming Dragon realm, two Divine Bodies besieged him within the Slaying Emperor Dynasty. He unleashed the strength of the Eight Prohibitions, killed one Divine Body in return, and let the other go."

As Xu Changqing walked the streets, he heard people everywhere discussing Little Nannan and himself. The two of them were simply too unusual.

In this Golden Age, they had defeated Divine Bodies as Mortal Bodies.

"What a pity. The Feathered Divine Son has gone to the Starry Sky and entered the Ancient Trial Path. Otherwise, he alone could suppress the Twin Demons of the Era."

Twin Demons of the Era was the nickname people had given Xu Changqing and Little Nannan. In everyone's eyes, the two of them were simply too wicked.

Some said that Xu Changqing had a son with a Divine Body. Yet when the two met back then, they had fought, and that Divine Body had nearly been killed. In the end, the Holy Master of Misty Holy Land intervened and saved him.

Others had seen Xu Changqing being hunted by enemies. When he finally underwent tribulation to reach the Immortal Platform, he destroyed everything his enemies possessed.

He had not even spared newborn infants or pregnant women. An entire clan had turned into a Ghost Domain overnight.

There were even rumors that Xu Changqing cultivated some kind of demonic art that devoured people, slaughtering an unknown number of billions of mortals.

Yet he had never stepped forward to deny any of it, making everyone believe it was true.

Xu Changqing did indeed possess a cultivation art that devoured people. It was part of the Great Sage Inheritance he had obtained, but those he devoured were cultivators and enemies.

Golden light bathed the earth beneath bright sunshine. People flowed through the streets, while merchants called out loudly.

Xu Changqing changed his appearance and build, then quietly walked through the streets. Because of his temperament, few people approached him. A large empty space even formed around him.

He naturally carried an icy aura. Expressionless, he walked with cold eyes, making it obvious at a glance that he was not someone to provoke.

"You actually dared betray me, you slut! You already have a child, yet you still dared fool around outside!"

"I'm a slut? What about you? You drink every day, and whenever you have nothing to do, you steal my money to visit brothels. You think you're so noble, so pure!"

"Old Wang next door and I fell in love and had an affair. At least he truly treats my daughter and me well, and he takes care of me! What about you?!"

"Slap!"

"I'll kill you!"

Within an alley, a husband and wife were arguing, even coming to blows. Xu Changqing silently watched as the woman enraged the middle-aged man and was killed by him.

His Dao became a little clearer once more, and he continued traveling across the Big Dipper Star Domain.

The Heavenly Prides of the current generation were either in seclusion or wandering the world, searching for Divine Medicine that could preserve their lives should they fail to Sever Dao.

Others chose to venture into the Starry Sky and fight upon the Emperor's Road.

Over the following years, Xu Changqing traveled through countless places and witnessed the suffering of the world. He remained expressionless, because he had experienced all of it himself.

He also saw weak cultivators sacrifice their lives for their attachments. He saw cultivators threatened through their Dao Companions, forced to pay a price before being released.

After everything was over, those cultivation partners began fiercely arguing over the matter.

"It's all your fault! If it weren't for you, I would have become a Dragon Transformation Cultivator long ago! I had only just obtained that Dragon Marrow, and it was all because of you!"

"Blame me? Without me, how could you possibly have obtained a cultivation technique?"

Xu Changqing watched the arguing pair from the void, his face expressionless. In the end, he turned and left again, murmuring, "Feelings? See? This is attachment. Some people pay for ridiculous feelings with their lives."

"Others pay a tremendous price for the ones they love, ruining their own futures. Yet their beloved may not necessarily love them forever."

"Little Nannan embarked upon the Emperor's Road because of an obsession. Countless great emperors had their tender places, their own attachments. Feelings..."

"I was once passionate too. I was once filled with ambition. I once enjoyed helping others."

Along the way, Xu Changqing saw far too much—people arguing and fighting over feelings.

He had also seen beautiful women captured by others, only for passionate men to step in and save them, then be killed in the end.

To sacrifice one's life for someone entirely unrelated to oneself seemed utterly foolish in Xu Changqing's eyes.

There were also people who broke through for the conviction in their hearts, who climbed mountains of blades and crossed seas of fire for those they loved.

When he returned to the Southern Ridge, he saw an Ethereal and Immortal young woman in a dense forest. She was crouched on the ground, teasing a Golden Frog.

The Golden Frog was only palm-sized, with incomparably pure eyes. It looked at the young woman with a bewildered gaze, a gentle smile on its lips as it croaked softly.

Milky-white halos radiated from the delicate young woman's hands as she gently stroked the Golden Frog.

The frog was covered in wounds. Its limbs had been twisted and broken, its flesh split open, and blood dripped from its body.

But it knew that this young woman was healing it.

Soon, the milky-white glow faded. Smiling, the young woman stood up and clapped her hands. "All right, your injuries are healed now. You can go."

"Croak, croak..."

The Golden Frog possessed intelligence. Through a spiritual resonance, both Xu Changqing and the young woman understood what it wanted to convey.

"Me? My name is Bai Li, and I come from Jade Pool Holy Land." Bai Li smiled sweetly, then rose and left.

The Golden Frog watched the young woman's retreating figure with deep reluctance.

Xu Changqing silently watched. In the end, he appeared and gave the Golden Frog several cultivation techniques and resources.

Afterward, he continued observing the Golden Frog's cultivation progress and trials from the shadows.

At this moment, Xu Changqing was in a wondrous state. He had fallen completely silent, walking through the Mortal World, observing all the facets of life and examining his own memories.

It was as though he had become a mortal, a cultivator without cultivation.