By ‘alive,’ she was, of course, referring to the real Shangguan Jing, not the remnant of his consciousness. In fact, he couldn’t be deemed as a consciousness if he was able to leave the Yuan instrument and live independently—he was a proper piece of soul!

Chu Liuyue’s question made Shangguan Jing fall into silence. It was a while later that he finally let out a long sigh and said, “I… don’t know…”

His voice sounded a lot deeper as if he had aged quite a bit at that moment. It contained deep-seated emotions like loneliness, regret, and a hint of helplessness.

It was the first time Chu Liuyue had heard such a melancholic tone from him. He really… doesn’t seem to know.

“Having spent a millennium in the Tianling God Realm alone, I’ve forgotten a lot of things, including… my death.”

Chu Liuyue’s heart skipped a beat.

The Tianling Dynasty’s secret records only stated that Shangguan Jing’s failed attempt at breaking through had led to his demise. After his death, the Long Yuan Sword was left in the half God Realm that he had formed with much difficulty, becoming a divine object of support. He, on the other hand, naturally dissipated.

Chu Liuyue had never once questioned this matter because what she had previously seen matched the entries. Even though she previously did find it weird that his consciousness remained intact after the Long Yuan Sword acknowledged her as its master, she didn’t think too much about it at the time. It wasn’t until now that she realized that Shangguan Jing was capable of leaving the Yuan instrument and that he had actually forgotten how he had died. How could an expert like him possibly forget what had happened in the last moments of his life? There’s something fishy about this!

“Chu Yue. Chu Yue?” Luo Shishi and Zhuo Sheng only realized that Chu Liuyue wasn’t keeping up with them after walking for some distance. When they looked back, they found her standing at the spot and seemingly in a daze.

Zhuo Sheng, thus, raised his voice a little louder. “Snap out of it, Chu Yue! We have to get going!”

It was only that Chu Liuyue returned to her senses and proceeded to walk toward them. “Coming.”

“What’s wrong?” Zhuo Sheng looked at her strangely. What’s gotten into him? He was fine just moments ago.

“Chu Yue, are you okay?” Luo Shishi furrowed her eyebrows in concern. Although he appears somewhat calm, it’s rare to see him being so absent-minded.

Chu Liuyue closed her eyes and calmed herself down. “Don’t worry; I’m fine. I was just thinking about something and got lost in thoughts.”

“What is it that got you so distracted?” Zhuo Sheng asked curiously.

Chu Liuyue smiled. “It’s nothing important. It’s not even worth mentioning.”

It was clear that she didn’t want to tell them.

Zhuo Sheng—who wasn’t the nosy type of person in the first place—didn’t ask her anymore after seeing that she didn’t want to talk about it. “You can always go back and think about it! We should hurry along now! We’ll be doomed if we get out of here late!”

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Luo Shishi frowned slightly, but she didn’t ask any questions either.

The trio then continued making their way down the mountain.

…

This time, they managed to make it out of the mountain in time. They were already at the foot of the mountain and out of the barrier when they heard the vague sound of wind and thunder coming from the top.

Chu Liuyue looked back. Although she couldn’t see anything with the barrier in place, she could seemingly sense the colorful lightning bolts falling from the sky. It’s a shame that we couldn’t stay…

She then retracted her gaze and said goodbye to the other two before going back to their own respective lodging.

…

It was already late at night by the time Chu Liuyue returned to Jiuheng Peak, but Rong Xiu’s bedroom light was still on. It just so happened that he walked out of his room at that moment. “Oh, you’re back.”

Chu Liuyue felt comforted to see that, although she didn’t know if it was because Rong Xiu was patiently waiting for her. For a second, she could clearly feel a sweet and gentle warmth spreading from her heart to the rest of her body.

She nodded. “Have you been waiting for me?”

Rong Xiu smiled. “Not exactly. I happened to be looking at a rather interesting item.”

That got Chu Liuyue’s attention, for that item must be something extraordinary for it to be of interest to Rong Xiu. “What is it?”

Rong Xiu walked over to her and grabbed her hand. “Come with me.”

As his warm and broad palm enveloped her somewhat cold hand, his familiar scent made her increasingly at ease.

She obediently followed Rong Xiu to his room and was led to the study table, where a book was placed on it. By the looks of its yellowish pages, she could tell that the book was quite old.

“Is this the interesting item you were talking about?” Chu Liuyue looked at Rong Xiu with puzzlement.

Rong Xiu, however, lifted his chin and smiled. “Take a look at it.”

It was only then that Chu Liuyue picked the book up. It didn’t take long before she realized with a start that this thin and worn-looking book was very heavy. If it weren’t because she was physically strong enough, she might not have been able to pick it up.

“What is this…” Her voice trailed off when she saw the book’s cover.

On it was an exquisite drawing of a sword—it looked ancient, dignified, and majestic, and the lines appeared powerful. Just one look at the drawing was almost enough to take one’s breath away, but all that wasn’t important because the sword in question was the Yuan instrument she had obtained not long ago.