After Faking Her Death and Fleeing, the Emotionless Daoist Master Regretted It - Chapter 23

Chapter 23: Obsession – Shizun Forces Her to Attack

Ling Yunyue did not respond. Judging by the increasing coldness emanating from her, she was clearly unwilling.

Bing Que had anticipated this. She walked over to the girl with a smile and sat down, pressing close to her.

“Lingqing, look at your Master. She is quite petty about certain things.”

The girl had already come to her senses. Seeing the atmosphere in the dwelling gradually turn sour, she immediately took the blame upon herself.

“I once mistook Aunt Bing for Shizun. Shizun changed Aunt Bing’s appearance to prevent similar incidents. Ultimately, it is my fault, I…”

Mid-sentence, she was stopped by the approach of a slender, jade-like finger that blocked her next words.

“The fault is not Lingqing’s. Don’t speak like that.”

Bing Que knew the girl’s background and knew that she had suffered many hardships before meeting her master.

She knew a lot about the rumors concerning the innate Fiend Body. Such a person living among mortals would inevitably face exclusion, and over the years, their heart would become extremely sensitive.

Just like now, the root of the problem clearly lay with her Master, yet Lingqing voluntarily took the blame.

A sword spirit is inherently emotionless, but at this moment, Bing Que felt genuine heartache for the girl.

She wanted to pull her into her arms for comfort, but her Master’s gaze grew colder.

Bing Que inwardly scoffed. She clearly cared deeply for Lingqing and didn’t want anyone to get close, yet she wouldn’t say it aloud. She was completely incapable of expressing herself.

Never mind cultivating the ruthless path, even if she cultivated the emotional path, with her current attitude, it would be impossible to win the girl’s heart!

Bing Que felt a sense of frustration.

She began to consider whether to use this opportunity to provoke her Master.

As the spirit of a Dao artifact, she prided herself on being powerful and resilient. Even if her Master attacked her, she should be able to hold out until the anger subsided, right?

Bing Que quickly made a decision.

While Su Lingqing was momentarily stunned, she quickly pulled the girl into her embrace. She picked up a spiritual dish with her chopsticks and intimately began to feed her.

The girl was surprised by her action, her mind blank for a moment. Seeing her favorite spiritual meal, she instinctively opened her moist lips.

In Ling Yunyue’s eyes, this looked like mutual willingness.

Watching this scene, she felt particularly stung, and a surge of bitterness welled up in her heart.

At this moment, action preceded thought. She walked forward and forcefully separated the two.

“Shizun?”

Su Lingqing, who had recovered her senses, felt helpless. She looked up, filled with unease, but the divine figure who had always been so gentle was now radiating coldness and did not respond to her call.

Bing Que looked at her Master with icy eyes. To achieve her intended goal, she braced herself and continued to court trouble.

She casually smoothed her hair and said seemingly nonchalantly: “What is wrong, Master? I merely wanted to feed Lingqing some food. Does Master not permit even this?”

Ling Yunyue’s tone was frigid: “Since when did feeding require holding someone in your arms?”

Bing Que said as a matter of course: “I like Lingqing and want to be closer to her.”

“Don’t forget you are a sword spirit, not human!”

“What does it matter? Looking back through history, there have been examples of cultivators and artifact spirits being together in the Xuan Tian Realm. As long as Lingqing is willing, and Master agrees, who in the world would dare to object?”

“I absolutely will not agree to this matter. You should dispel these inappropriate thoughts immediately!”

Ling Yunyue’s fists, hidden in her sleeves, clenched tightly. Her neatly trimmed nails dug into her palm, bit by bit.

Bing Que knowingly asked: “Master is not an inflexible person. Why do you object?”

Ling Yunyue said coldly: “There is no reason. If I say no, then it is no!”

“Master, if you don’t give a reason, I will not give up.”

“Bing Que, have I indulged you too much over the years, making you forget your place?”

Seeing signs that Shizun was about to strike, Su Lingqing quickly lunged forward, trying to do her best to prevent anything bad from happening.

“Shizun, please don’t be angry. This disciple will not like anyone. This disciple only wants to cultivate.”

Ling Yunyue looked at the girl’s slightly pleading eyes and said with an ambiguous tone: “Is Lingqing worried about Bing Que?”

“This disciple… this disciple doesn’t want Shizun and Aunt Bing to fall out because of me. It is all this disciple’s fault. Shizun, please don’t be angry, okay?”

The girl’s apricot eyes began to fill with tears, their corners tinged with a delicate crimson.

Ling Yunyue watched for a moment, then somewhat awkwardly averted her gaze.

“Since Lingqing says she only wants to cultivate, then begin practicing the fifth set of sword techniques immediately.”

The girl nodded repeatedly: “This disciple will follow all of Shizun’s instructions.”

Bing Que watched from the side and sighed inwardly.

She had tried her best. Since her Master refused to admit it, she could only let nature take its course…

As a sword spirit, since the dawn of her consciousness, she had followed her Master and witnessed all the affairs of the world, and she knew the principle that those involved are often confused.

The lifespan of a cultivator is long. There might be infinite possibilities in the future.

Having angered her Master earlier, Bing Que was now trying her best to minimize her presence.

However, Ling Yunyue did not seem willing to let the matter go easily.

After leading her disciple out of the cave dwelling, she cast a cold glance at the silent sword spirit and ordered faintly: “I hear there has been recent unrest among the demon race on the True Martial Continent. Go and scout the specific situation first. Return when you have results.”

Hearing this, Bing Que, who was silently pretending to be a quail, immediately bristled: “Is Master looking for an excuse to deliberately send me away?”

Ling Yunyue’s expression remained unchanged, and she continued: “The True Martial Continent and the Azure Profound Continent are adjacent. The demon race on that continent is powerful, and keeping an eye on them is necessary.”

Bing Que was still unhappy. She clearly understood her Master’s true intention and wanted to argue further. However, considering her Master’s formidable martial strength, she ultimately chose to bow to the ‘evil forces’…

Su Lingqing watched Bing Que’s gradually receding figure, a trace of worry surfacing in her heart.

“Shizun, the demon race on the True Martial Continent is powerful. Will Aunt Bing be in danger going alone?”

Ling Yunyue slightly pursed her lips and said faintly: “Don’t worry, Lingqing. With Bing Que’s strength, the number of demons who can harm her does not exceed five fingers.”

“But…”

“But what? Is Lingqing reluctant to see Bing Que leave?”

The girl quickly shook her head: “No, this disciple is just worried about Aunt Bing’s safety. There is absolutely no other meaning.”

“She will be fine.” Ling Yunyue waved her sleeve, taking out the Bing Que Sword and flying to an open area. She continued: “Stop worrying about trivial matters. From now on, begin practicing the fifth set of sword techniques, Cloud Water Boundless.”

As her words fell, the wind rose. Su Lingqing focused her gaze, seeing snowflakes fill the sky, scattering onto the ground accompanied by Shizun’s graceful, cloud-like figure.

The sword began with a ripple, moved like flowing clouds, and was as powerful as a soaring waterfall.

The moment it ended, it returned to stillness.

The summit of Xuantian Peak was perennially cold and frozen. When the sword technique concluded, Su Lingqing looked at Shizun’s posture, standing with her sword, which appeared even more solitary and aloof against the backdrop of the snowy landscape.

A moment passed, and the girl composed her thoughts, fully immersing herself in sword practice.

Due to her mastery of the Profound Ethereal Water control incantation, the practice of the Cloud Water Boundless sword technique went smoothly, and she mastered it in less than half an hour.

Ling Yunyue put away the Bing Que Sword, gazing at the girl who displayed extraordinary talent. A smile finally appeared on her face.

“Now that Lingqing has mastered all five sets of sword techniques, I will suppress my cultivation. Lingqing can flexibly use the five sets of sword techniques to launch an attack against me.”

Hearing this, the girl’s expression instantly changed: “How can this disciple strike at Shizun?”

Ling Yunyue gently warned: “After mastering the sword techniques, you must continuously gain experience through real combat. Otherwise, they are merely theories on paper. When you encounter a true enemy in the future, you will be easily defeated.”

“But this disciple…”

“Lingqing should be aware of my strength. There is no need to worry about accidentally injuring me. Stop hesitating, and attack now!”

Su Lingqing bit her lip, repeatedly shaking her head.

She couldn’t do it. The sword was meant to deal with enemies. How could she point it at Shizun?

Ling Yunyue saw the painful look on the girl’s face and felt a pang of reluctance, but this matter had to proceed.

“Is Lingqing no longer listening to your Shizun?”

“Disciple… Shizun, I’m sorry. This disciple truly cannot do it…”

“A disciple of mine, Ling Yunyue, should not be so weak. If Lingqing refuses to strike, then effective immediately, you and I are no longer master and disciple.”

Hearing these words, the girl looked up in disbelief, the color draining completely from her face.

Shizun was going to abandon her?

No… she still had a chance… Su Lingqing slowly lowered her head, looking at the precious sword held in her right hand, which glowed with a silvery light. Shizun had personally selected it for her in the Treasure Pavilion. Now, she was about to use this sword against Shizun…

Two lines of clear tears rolled down her cheeks, dripping past her chin into the snow, instantly freezing into ice.

At that moment, large goose-feather flakes of snow continuously fell from the sky. The girl’s ink-dark hair gradually became dusted with frost, adding a sense of fragile beauty to her entire being.

Ling Yunyue watched this scene. For a split second, she wanted to take back the words she had just spoken.

From the moment she took Lingqing as her disciple, she had accepted this disciple and never once considered expelling her.

Her previous words were only meant to force the girl to strike at her.

She knew that saying this was cruel to Lingqing, but she also clearly understood that it was the only effective method.

Everyone said she was cold and ruthless, and she truly believed this herself. If not, she wouldn’t have been able to say such words.

Ling Yunyue thought that perhaps after today, she would no longer be the perfect Shizun in her disciple’s heart… This might be for the best. With the original filter broken, those inappropriate feelings might slowly dissipate like smoke.

But why did she feel a pang of heartache when she considered this possibility?

Xu Miaoluo had warned her to not forget that she cultivated the ruthless path. Could she truly be…

Ling Yunyue did not delve deeper into the thought. Or rather, she chose self-deception. She firmly believed she cultivated the ruthless path and would not harbor affection for anyone…

Not far away, the tear stains on Su Lingqing’s face were still damp. Her right hand, holding the sword, trembled slightly. She constantly convinced herself that Shizun was incredibly powerful. Even if she gave it her all, she could not harm Shizun in the slightest.

Her nearly shattered heart was slowly mended under this repeated self-suggestion.

Shizun had saved her from distress and was the divine being in her heart. This would never change.

She would not give her divine being the chance to distance herself. Absolutely not!

At this moment, the girl’s inner obsession grew wildly. Her right hand, gripping the Flowing Light Sword, finally stopped trembling. The sword tip slowly aimed at the ethereal, fairy-like woman. The almond eyes, previously filled with tears, now held absolute determination.

“Shizun, please forgive this disciple’s offense…”