Chapter 55: Sunstone

This outcome was within expectations. After all, erasing only the photo wouldn’t have sufficed—only by burying all information related to it could the Heavenly Dao truly maintain the balance of its order.

If Ji Xingyao’s memories were erased, then the same must be true for Xie Yun, the inner sect disciple of the Clear Sun Sect.

And yet…

Lu Yan subtly studied Ji Xingyao, whose demeanor toward him had grown noticeably warmer. Compared to before, her attitude now seemed to reflect a much greater sense of goodwill.

Previously, Ji Xingyao had merely turned a blind eye to him using her name to deceive others. There was no indication that their relationship was particularly close.

But now, when Lu Yan hinted at things indirectly, Ji Xingyao had actually taken the initiative to offer him a feng shui technique capable of forming a spiritual vein.

“Her memories of the photo may have disappeared, but the favorable impression I earned by giving it to her still remains?”

That was the only explanation Lu Yan could come up with.

For him, it was undoubtedly a good thing. He still had to operate within the Clear Sun Sect’s territory, and being able to cling to the thigh of a true disciple—even one who had fallen from grace—was of tremendous value.

With that thought, Lu Yan cupped his hands respectfully.

“Many thanks, Senior Sister Ji.”

Only then did Ji Xingyao nod with satisfaction.

Her gaze shifted outside the cave abode, and a glint of spiritual light flashed in her eyes. Her vision seemed to pierce the walls and fall upon the market’s perimeter.

Seeing that Xie Yun and the others who had once surrounded the market had long fled, Ji Xingyao let out a cold snort.

“Ran pretty fast, didn’t they?”

Lu Yan, curious, couldn’t help but ask, “Senior Sister Ji, did you already know they were going to make a move on Green Valley Market?”

“Three days ago, five inner sect disciples had already started lurking around outside my cave,” Ji Xingyao replied casually. “Every time I showed signs of leaving the sect, they tried to stall me. You’d have to be a fool not to realize something was off.

They just overestimated their tricks. I left the sect in secret and came to Green Valley Market just to catch them red-handed.”

Her tone was nonchalant, filled with disdain toward those scheming disciples.

Lu Yan was surprised. Though Ji Xingyao’s situation wasn’t ideal, she didn’t appear as weakened as the rumors claimed. In fact, she handled the conspiracies of her fellow disciples with remarkable ease.

Especially considering the terrifying strength she had just demonstrated—it only further confirmed the profound foundation of a true disciple of the Clear Sun Sect.

Still, one thing puzzled Lu Yan, and he couldn’t help but ask:

“If Senior Sister Ji had already arrived at Green Valley Market, why didn’t you step in earlier and stop them from tarnishing its reputation?”

It was the part he found most baffling. If Ji Xingyao had revealed herself from the beginning, not even ten Xie Yuns would have dared to make a move against those rogue cultivators.

Now, although her sword intent had sent them fleeing, the market’s reputation was already in tatters. At best, her appearance could only recover a bit of the lost credibility.

In the grand scheme, Ji Xingyao still looked like the biggest loser.

To his surprise, Ji Xingyao didn’t seem to care in the slightest.

“Why would I stop them?” she asked, turning the question back on him.

“Of course—to protect your position as a true disci—” Lu Yan began, but she cut him off before he could finish.

“To others, being a true disciple may seem invaluable—something worth fighting and bleeding over.

But to me, the title of ‘true disciple’ is meaningless. What I’ve always pursued… is the Great Dao of Immortality.”

She paused, then asked him suddenly:

“Do you know why I was able to become a true disciple of the Clear Sun Sect? And why I’ve fallen to this point?”

Lu Yan shook his head.

Her eyes, cold and steeped in sword intent, flickered as her chilly voice echoed through the cave.

“I began cultivating at thirteen. By twenty-one, I had comprehended the Sword Intent of Heaven and Man, and formed my Foundation using the Way of the Sword. Among all my peers in the sect, I was the first to achieve a genuine Foundation Establishment.

Over the next few years, I swept through all the sect’s secret realms, defeating every so-called genius of my generation. It was then the sect master granted me the title of ‘true disciple.’”

“But three years ago, during a trial in the Murk Law Forbidden Grounds, my luck turned.

A Golden Core cultivator from the demonic path infiltrated the forbidden area in secret, targeting the rising stars of the righteous sects. His first target… was me.”

“In order to defeat him, I lured him deep into the forbidden grounds and used their special properties to kill him. But I was grievously injured in the process.

I barely clung to life for several months in the heart of the forbidden zone. To survive, I had no choice but to absorb its filthy spiritual energy.

By the time I escaped, my cultivation had been utterly corrupted. My path to the Golden Core stage was all but destroyed.”

As she spoke, her emotions surged again. A crisp sword hum echoed through the cave.

“After leaving the forbidden grounds, I sought a way to cleanse the corrupted energy from my meridians.

But the pollution ran too deep—even high-grade pills couldn’t expel it, and instead only compounded the poison in my body.

The only solution was a rare heavenly treasure capable of purifying the body from the inside out.

But such treasures are nearly extinct. I searched every major immortal city, but found not a trace.”

“In the meantime, others began to stir.”

“Those same arrogant so-called prodigies who I had once crushed in battle saw their chance.

Because a true disciple is entitled to a Five Element Core-Forging Pill before advancing to the Golden Core stage.

That pill can increase the chances of forming a Golden Core by 30%. But since I had no hope of forming a core, the sect wouldn’t waste it on me.

That gave them an opening.”

Ji Xingyao sneered.

“If they had offered me a proper price, I might have given up my position willingly. After all, the pill is useless to me.

But they thought I was worthless. They didn’t want to pay—they just wanted to scheme until I was stripped of the title.

So I gave them a chance.”

“I had planned to let Xie Yun beat up a few rogue cultivators and frame them as demonic spies, then step in at the perfect moment to capture them all and collect evidence.

Then, I would use the power of a true disciple to challenge them to life-or-death duels on the Sword Arena.”

“If they refused, they’d lose even their inner sect status.

If they accepted… I’d kill them all.”

She could indeed wipe them all out through formal duels. But those so-called prodigies all had friends and relatives in the sect.

Taking such drastic action would certainly bring trouble.

But after what happened in Bamboo Grove Market and now in Green Valley Market, Ji Xingyao no longer cared about consequences.

If the path to the Dao was broken—then let the killing begin!

Her aura surged to its peak, and a green flying sword appeared in her hand.

With a single step, the seeds of sword intent she had planted earlier detonated—locking directly onto Xie Yun, who was fleeing dozens of miles away.

Ji Xingyao was about to strike when, in the next moment, an intense and pure spiritual energy caught her attention.

She turned her head and saw Lu Yan holding a delicate rhomboid-shaped gem in his hands. The pure, blazing energy radiating from it was like the sun itself.

“What is that?”

Her eyes sparkled—she didn’t know why, but she felt a strange longing toward this crystal.

Holding the gem in both hands, Lu Yan spoke solemnly:

“This is called a Sunstone.”

(End of Chapter)