A transformed state of mind, origins exposed

"Hum!"

The void trembled as vast spatial fluctuations swept in all directions, forming ripples through heaven and earth that spread across the wilderness.

"Whoosh!"

A girl of sixteen or seventeen in a red dress flashed out of the void.

The girl had a graceful figure, bright eyes, and pearly teeth, with lively mischief in every glance.

Every inch of her skin gleamed like jade, and waves of fiery-red Sword Qi swirled around her, making her look like a sprite amid flames.

The instant she appeared, the red-dressed girl's gaze fell on Xia Yuwei, and she asked urgently, "Little Weiwei, did you really meet Fairy Yu?"

Surprise flickered through Xia Yuwei's eyes as she marveled, "You got here so quickly, Senior Sister!"

"A precise teleportation over eighty thousand li-did you use a Great Void Translocation Dao Platform?"

"Hiss, those are single-use teleportation Dao Platforms!"

"That one trip cost you the equivalent of a magical treasure a Marquis spent a lifetime refining!"

"You really do have money to burn!"

The red-dressed girl quickly cut her off with a huff. "Enough of that useless talk!"

"If the person you met really was Fairy Yu, then this is a great fortune for me, Mu Qingyan!"

"Even using up ten Great Void Translocation Dao Platforms would be nothing!"

The red-dressed girl's eyes shone. She brandished her little fist fiercely at Xia Yuwei, putting on a ferocious look. "Little Weiwei, if you dare lie to me, I'll beat your bottom raw!"

Xia Yuwei's grandfather was a supreme elder of the Purple Firmament Holy Land, while Mu Qingyan's grandfather was the current Purple Empyrean Holy Lord!

The two had grown up together and were extremely close. Otherwise, Xia Yuwei would never have notified Mu Qingyan to come.

Xia Yuwei sighed softly and opened her mind to her, saying with feeling, "Look for yourself. She struck my Dao heart with her sword. I could sense that she held back. Otherwise, I'd have been cold long ago!"

Mu Qingyan had been about to ask where Fairy Yu had gone, but upon hearing this, she temporarily suppressed her urge to seek her out.

A flicker of flaming sword light appeared faintly between Mu Qingyan's brows. After carefully sensing the sword mark on Xia Yuwei's Dao heart, excitement flashed in her eyes. "Chaos as the foundation, ten thousand swords born and unfolding!"

"It really is Fairy Yu's Sword Intent!"

"Although Fairy Yu never used this strike in the Sword Ruins of Creation, there's absolutely no mistaking this presence!"

At this point, Mu Qingyan frowned slightly and asked gravely, "How exactly did you run into Fairy Yu? Why did you fight her?"

Xia Yuwei gave a self-mocking smile and recounted everything to Mu Qingyan. "The Divine Spirit ruins are about to emerge. My grandfather paid an enormous price to find me a treasure-seeking compass that can detect all sorts of treasures."

"I was exploring the treasure-seeking compass's functions, and over the past few days, I actually found some spirit herbs and ores."

"Today, I followed the treasure-seeking compass's directions here and found that its light was more brilliant than ever before. I knew there had to be a precious treasure behind the waterfall."

"Just as I was about to go inside to investigate, Fairy Yu flashed out from behind the waterfall, and all the light on the treasure-seeking compass faded away."

"Someone had beaten me to the treasure I'd worked so hard to find. Naturally, I was displeased, so I rebuked her."

"She acted decisively. A single sword chime shattered all my attacks and left a tiny crack in my Dao heart. After giving me a verbal dressing-down, she drifted away."

"I knew she had shown mercy, so I asked her name. The name she gave was Han Yuyao."

As for being slapped, that was too humiliating.

Even though Xia Yuwei and Mu Qingyan were extremely close, she did not mention it.

After hearing her out, surprise flashed through Mu Qingyan's eyes, and she asked, "When Fairy Yu struck you with that sword, you still didn't know who she was, did you?"

"With that spoiled temper of yours, you actually just took it after someone struck your Dao heart?"

"You couldn't bear to use any of those protective treasures Grandpa Xia left you?"

Xia Yuwei's eyes were perfectly clear as she said with feeling, "That strike cracked my Dao heart, but it also cut open my horizons and severed many of my distracting thoughts!"

"After taking that strike, it was as though I suddenly saw the light. The way I viewed everything became completely different from before!"

"Once I repair the crack in my Dao heart, I'll surely rise to another level!"

Hearing this, Mu Qingyan clicked her tongue. "Who would have thought that spoiled, willful Little Weiwei would actually undergo a transformation in her state of mind after taking a strike from Fairy Yu! Can you tell me where Fairy Yu went now?"

Xia Yuwei ignored Mu Qingyan's teasing. Her delicate brows furrowed slightly as she mused, "Fairy Yu headed toward the Cold Moon Holy Dynasty. She didn't conceal her identity or destination, so there's no need to rush if you want to find her."

"But I have a vague guess about Fairy Yu's inheritance. I'm just afraid it might frighten you if I say it."

Mu Qingyan looked skeptical and asked doubtfully, "So many Divine Spirit ancestors across the Three Thousand Great Worlds couldn't divine Fairy Yu's origins. You must be joking, right?"

Xia Yuwei rolled her eyes at her. "If you don't want to hear it, I won't say it."

"Let's hear it! I'd like to see what kind of news could frighten me!"

Unable to contain her curiosity, Mu Qingyan urged her repeatedly, her eyes full of anticipation.

Ignoring her haughty act, Xia Yuwei took a deep breath and enunciated each word. "Fairy Yu might be from our Purple Firmament Holy Land!"

Mu Qingyan blinked her large, limpid eyes hard, then burst into laughter without the slightest regard for her image.

Mu Qingyan shook like flowering branches in the wind, laughing so hard that tears nearly came to her eyes. Breathlessly, she said, "Hahaha... Fairy Yu is... is from the Purple... Purple Firmament Holy Land... hahaha... that joke is just... just too funny... ha..."

Xia Yuwei watched Mu Qingyan quietly, waiting for her to calm down.

Mu Qingyan laughed for a long while and took several deep breaths before barely managing to settle her excitement.

Just as Xia Yuwei was about to speak, Mu Qingyan doubled over laughing again. "Hahaha... I usually don't... don't laugh... un... unless... I can't help it... haha..."

The sword prodigy who had burst onto the scene in the Sword Ruins of Creation might be from our Purple Firmament Holy Land?

How come I didn't know the Purple Firmament Holy Land had a sword prodigy like that?

Forget me-even my grandfather, the Purple Empyrean Holy Lord, didn't know!

Even our Purple Firmament Holy Land's Divine Spirit ancestor didn't know!

Do you really take everyone for blind fools?

Mu Qingyan laughed until she nearly passed out, feeling that Xia Yuwei had played an enormous joke on her.

"Mu Qingyan!"

Xia Yuwei gave a sharp shout, her voice carrying a Dao resonance that cleared the soul.

Mu Qingyan's mind cleared, and her excitement finally began to settle.

Yet an unconcealable smile remained on her face; she simply could not suppress it.

Looking helpless, Xia Yuwei pointed into the distance with her jade-like hand and said slowly, "Fairy Yu left in this direction. Tens of millions of li ahead lies the Cold Moon Holy Dynasty!"

"She probably went to make trouble for that innate Dao fetus!"

"If Fairy Yu has been traveling in a straight line, look for yourself-what lies in the direction she came from?"

Mu Qingyan glanced back, her pupils contracting slightly.

There lay the Purple Firmament Holy Land!

Mu Qingyan put away her smile and said seriously, "If Fairy Yu really came from this direction, perhaps she does have some connection to the Purple Firmament Holy Land!"

Xia Yuwei said softly, "I called you here because I wanted you to verify it with me."

Mu Qingyan looked behind the waterfall and toward the Purple Firmament Holy Land, then said in a clear voice, "Then let's start by tracing the route she came along."

The two entered behind the waterfall together and followed the winding cave to its deepest point, where they saw the enormous pit left behind when Han Yuyao dug out the ten-thousand-year earth core milk.

"It really is Fairy Yu's sword Dao presence! I wonder what treasure she dug out?"

Mu Qingyan clicked her tongue in admiration.

They found little in the cave. After looking around, they left and headed toward the Purple Firmament Holy Land.

A short while later, the two arrived above a pitch-black lake spanning several hundred li. Mu Qingyan called out from afar, "Blackwater Serpent King, have you seen a young female sword cultivator pass through here?"

"Splash!"

A black serpent a thousand zhang long soared out of the lake and nodded to Mu Qingyan from afar, speaking in human words. "So it's Miss Qingyan! A few hours ago, a girl did indeed arrive riding a sword. She didn't stop here and headed northeast."

Mu Qingyan nodded and left with Xia Yuwei.

Several days later, they arrived near the Purple Firmament Holy Land.

Along the way, they had questioned several demon kings and confirmed that the place where Han Yuyao had first appeared was not far northeast of the Purple Firmament Holy Land.

Mu Qingyan and Xia Yuwei exchanged a glance, their eyes lighting up. Raising her hand, she sent a message through a communication jade talisman and said, "I've asked Grandfather for a roster of all the Purple Firmament Holy Land's disciples. Once he sends it, we can see whether Fairy Yu's name is on it."

In mere moments, the Purple Empyrean Holy Lord sent back the roster.

"Well?"

Xia Yuwei was somewhat nervous.

Mu Qingyan examined the roster and blinked, her expression peculiar. "There's no Han Yuyao on the roster, but there is a girl registered as 'Yuyao' who joined Martial Uncle Jiang's lineage on Clear Void Peak!"