Chapter 6:

Since they met, Mur Xuanling had confessed her affection to Xie Xuechen over a hundred times. Yet only in this moment did Xie Xuechen suddenly feel a flicker of doubt.

He had never believed in Mu Xuanling’s seemingly frivolous affection. After all, demons were cunning and the demonic race was ruled by desires—how could they possibly understand true love?

Xie Xuechen, devoted to the path of the sword, had always lived an ascetic life, free from worldly desires. He neither understood emotions nor believed they should exist. Even after losing his powers, he remained steadfast in his convictions—his sole purpose was to protect humanity at all costs. Unable to bear the sight of cultivators being slaughtered by demons, he would rather provoke Mur Xuanling and face death at her hands than compromise his principles, accepting such an outcome without regret.

Yet when he saw the grievance in Mur Xuanling’s eyes, he wavered and felt lost for a moment, even doubting that she might truly have feelings for him.

But he quickly dismissed his absurd thought.

Because Mur Xuanling had already attacked.

Drawing a magical sword from her spatial pouch, she slashed at Xie Xuechen with a flash of silver light.

Xie Xuechen, the greatest swordsman of the age, instantly spotted countless flaws in Mur Xuanling’s sword techniques. Still, he focused intently—after all, she was unpredictable and full of strange tricks. Mur Xuanling’s aura was far stronger than Xie Xuechen’s, and if she truly used her divine abilities, she could defeat him in an instant. Yet she seemed to have no such intention, attacking recklessly as if venting her anger while entangled in battle with him.

Gao Qiumin glanced at Xie Xuechen’s back and realized he was a human swordsman. Vaguely, she felt his back looked familiar, yet she couldn’t recall where she had seen it before. His face was utterly ordinary—once he turned around, she had already forgotten what he looked like.

The other three cultivators had now recovered. Seeing Gao Qiumin dazed, they hurriedly grabbed her arm and whispered urgently, “Senior sister, let’s run!”

“But that person…” Gao Qiumin hesitated. Could she really watch him fight alone without helping?

The swordsman had no spiritual energy and was definitely no match for the demonic cultivator. From their conversation, it seemed the demonic cultivator might have feelings for him?

(Note: “魔修” is translated as “demonic cultivator,” a common term in xianxia/wuxia contexts for practitioners of unorthodox or dark cultivation methods. The phrasing maintains the original ambiguity about the nature of their relationship.)

“Senior sister, we can’t save him here. If that person dared to confront a demonic cultivator, he must have some confidence. We should hurry back to our sect and report!”

Hearing this, Gao Qiumin hardened her heart and wasted no more time, immediately fleeing swiftly with the three juniors.

Mur Xuanling had no interest in pursuing them—whether those people lived or died was of no consequence to her. She simply felt that her pent-up grievances and anger had finally been released. Coming back to her senses, she sheathed her sword.

Xie Xuechen staggered back, half-kneeling on the ground, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

Seeing this, Mur Xuanling hurried forward to check on him, but as she took one step, she sensed something strange.

Suddenly, everything became hazy, as if thick fog had descended, making everything unclear and indistinct.

Mur Xuanling stilled herself, and her mood turned cold.

“The blood sword was fake—the illusion array was the real trick,” she took a deep breath, chuckled softly, and lowered her lashes to conceal the bitterness in her eyes. “You pretended to fight me while secretly using your blood as a medium to set up this illusion array. The blood of a Fajiang cultivator is a pure spiritual material. You must have drawn it on stones and scattered them, gradually forming this illusion array.”

From outside the fog, Xie Xuechen’s weak yet clear voice drifted in: “This formation is called Linglong Jia. It doesn’t harm people—it only traps you for twelve hours.”

Outside the formation, Xie Xuechen could clearly see Mur Xuanling’s expression, but she couldn’t see him or determine where his voice was coming from. Her gaze was somewhat lost and confused.

“You could have set up a killing array and taken my life,” Mur Xuanling said with a touch of bitterness.

Xie Xuechen honestly replied, “Killing formations require too much spiritual energy. I don’t have enough to sustain one.”

Mur Xuanling sarcastically smiled, “Then I suppose I’m lucky.”

Xie Xuechen fell silent for a moment before asking, “Why did you use the sword just now? Sword techniques aren’t your forte. If you had employed demonic arts…”

“Then you’d be dead,” Mur Xuanling interrupted, dispiritedly. “You’re too badly injured and have no spiritual energy to protect yourself. You couldn’t have withstood my demonic arts.”

Xie Xuechen’s heart trembled slightly. A strange flicker passed through his clear phoenix eyes—an unfamiliar emotion brushing past his heart too quickly for him to savor or contemplate.

“Sister, can’t we get out?” the Treasure-sniffing rat lifted its head, sniffing around in surprise with wide round eyes. Its sense of smell and sight were extremely sharp—ordinary formations and restrictions couldn’t block its perception. Yet inside Linglong Jia, its senses seemed dulled, as if submerged in thick water, unable to hear clearly or smell properly.

“It’s useless,” Mur Xuanling shook her head lightly. “Formations encompass the Four Symbols—Defense, Confinement, Killing, and Oddity. The more complete a formation’s Four Symbols are, the weaker each individual aspect becomes. Take the Hexagram Destroying Flower Formation, for instance—it concentrates solely on killing, which makes it easier to break. But the Linglong Jia is the world’s foremost confinement formation precisely because it focuses exclusively on trapping enemies, rendering it even harder to dismantle.”

Mur Xuanling took a deep breath, concentrated her energy, and unleashed her demonic aura outward, only for it to dissipate into the white mist like a punch into cotton.

Without following Linglong Jia’s correct method to break the formation, one could only remain trapped for twelve hours.

The world knew Xie Xuechen as a peerless swordsman, assuming he was incapable of using formations. In truth, it was simply unnecessary. He had mastered formations, but when faced with the myriad challenges of the world, a single stroke of his sword could cut through them all—why trouble himself with the cumbersome setup of formations?

Mur Xuanling had forgotten this, thus falling into this trap.

“Xie Xuechen!” Mur Xuanling irritably shouted but received no response.

The Treasure-sniffing rat nudged Mur Xuanling with its nose, chirping, “Sister, it seems Brother is gone.”

“He left so quickly!” Mur Xuanling angrily stomped her foot. “I… I still have something very important to tell him…”

She let out a despondent sigh, gradually crouching down as she wrapped her arms around her knees, gazing vacantly at her toes. Qiansi Footwear was colorless and scentless, yet it could morph into any shoe style. In the demon realm, she often went barefoot, but in the human world, she transformed it into delicate embroidered slippers.

Gao Qiumin said there were no shoes under the bed—humph, her shoes were high-grade magical artifacts, so she didn’t need to take them off.

That woman was both stupid and mean, and Xie Xuechen still helped her—just because she was human…

Feeling wronged, Mur Xuanling hugged herself—”I want to be human too…”

Xie Xuechen had walked far before realizing one thing.

He had once again owed Mur Xuanling his life.

The first time, she rescued him from the molten abyss. The second time, she spared him just now.

But she was a half-demon, practicing demonic arts. Good and evil could not coexist. The only way he could think of to repay her was simply not killing her.

Xie Xuechen softly sighed—unaware that this was his first sigh in over twenty years.

He had encountered the first problem in his life that couldn’t be solved with a single sword strike.

After galloping in the opposite direction for a long time, dawn broke. Xie Xuechen found a post station, allowed his mount to rest briefly, and then continued on his way.

The inn staff mentioned seeing cultivators from Mirror Flower Valley galloping past in a hurry. Xie Xuechen guessed that those four were heading straight back to Mirror Flower Valley to report. Within twelve hours, they probably wouldn’t return, so he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

His goal was to return to Yongxue City as quickly as possible. If he rode day and night, he could arrive within four days. With Mur Xuanling’s Ghost Shadow Hairpin, he didn’t need to worry about revealing his trail.

Thinking of this, Xie Xuechen couldn’t help but zone out.

Morning sunlight gently fell on his face. Slightly tilting his head up, Xie Xuechen suddenly thought of something.

A half-demon practicing demonic arts would endure scorching agony under blazing sunlight…

In the quiet forest, the cool morning breeze softly kissed the earth.

In a clearing, a plump black cloth bag suddenly trembled slightly.

“Ahbao, why has your mother been gone so long?” Mur Xuanling muttered.

Two hours earlier, an adult Treasure-sniffing rat had come to reunite with the young one in her arms. The young rat was named Ahbao, and the adult was named Xiuxiu.

Ahbao wasn’t very smart, clearly influenced by his mother. After five hundred years of cultivation, Xiuxiu transformed into a human form—a cute, almost simple-minded young girl. She anxiously ran around outside Linglong Jia, wanting to rescue her child but helpless.

Seeing her clumsy appearance, Mur Xuanling sighed, saying, “It’s impossible. Linglong Jia consists of 64 hexagrams, with over 16 million possible paths. Only the array master or an extremely intelligent cultivator skilled in the Eight Trigrams could find a way out.”

Mur Xuanling had only cultivated for seven years and hadn’t learned these things her master considered unimportant.

Upon hearing this, Xiuxiu’s eyes lit up. She said she knew a very smart person nearby and would go fetch them. Then she ran off without looking back.

Mur Xuanling waited for two hours until dawn, but Xiuxiu still hadn’t returned with anyone.

The more she thought about it, the worse it seemed. Given Xiuxiu’s lack of intelligence, she probably thought everyone looked smart.

Mur Xuanling had previously taken out a black cloak from her spatial pouch. While it couldn’t completely block sunlight, it somewhat reduced the pain from exposure. Fortunately, she was in the forest now, with some tree shade providing cover. Otherwise, being exposed to sunlight all day might have left her half-dead.

Sigh, Xie Xuechen’s heart was so cold…

Feeling heartbroken, Mur Xuanling squatted on the ground, drawing circles.

“Master Nan, it’s right here!”

Xiuxiu’s voice came through the fog. Hearing it, Mur Xuanling instinctively lifted her head but then remembered she couldn’t see outside the formation.

Only a clear, gentle male voice drifted from afar.

“Hmm? Linglong Jia?”

The voice was light but not shallow, like a mountain stream or spring rain, possessing a strange calming power. It made one imagine a refined, elegant young man with a gentle smile and affectionate eyes.

Mur Xuanling was stunned before regaining her senses, blurting out, “You recognized Linglong Jia at a glance?”

Xiuxiu had indeed brought someone powerful.

Mur Xuanling shivered inwardly—thankfully her magical artifacts were strong, or she might have become a trapped fish if this person discovered her half-demon nature.

The young man’s warm voice continued, “The world’s foremost confinement formation, the Linglong Formation, traps without harming—it’s a merciful formation.”

Mur Xuanling scoffed, thinking, “Trapping me here like roasting meat—what mercy?”

The man appeared to survey the surroundings before remarking, “The formation stones are smeared with blood, and the blood faintly glows golden. The adversary must be a Fajiang cultivator. If a Fajiang cultivator intended to kill, why employ a formation? If deploying a formation, why use blood? It indicates the cultivator’s desperate state, resorting to extreme measures. Xiuxiu, the girl you seek to rescue must be no ordinary individual.”

Mur Xuanling’s spine tingled. This person had deduced everything in just a few words—who was he?

Xiuxiu urgently said, “Master Nan, please help me!”

Ahbao also loudly pleaded, “Yes, yes, Master Nan, save Ahbao!”

The young man chuckled softly, “Even if the Linglong Armor isn’t destroyed, it will dissolve on its own after twelve hours. Why the hurry to break it… Could it be that the demon fears the scorching sun?”

Mur Xuanling’s breath caught. A strong sense of danger made her instantly draw her defensive artifact, assuming a defensive stance.

“Young lady, no need to be tense,” the young man gently said. “I mean no harm.”

Mur Xuanling naturally didn’t believe him.

“Ahbao’s instincts are exceptionally sharp,” the young man said slowly. “If you were an extremely evil demon with murderous karma, it wouldn’t willingly approach you. It’s already the third hour of the morning. You’ve been exposed to the morning light without showing any signs of pain, so you must be a half-demon practicing demonic arts rather than a true demon.”

Mur Xuanling thought she had hidden well, yet before this person, she had no secrets left. Just as Xiuxiu said, he was indeed extremely intelligent…

“Do you wish to help me break the formation?” Mur Xuanling no longer doubted his ability.

“Since you’re Ahbao’s friend, naturally I’m willing,” Master Nan paused. “If you trust me.”

Mur Xuanling lowered her gaze, thinking, “I trust you.”

Master Nan seemed to chuckle, saying, “The Linglong Formation is based on the Eight Trigrams. Each step creates a new Bagua diagram beneath your feet. Only by continuously taking eight correct steps can the formation be broken. One wrong step, and you must start over.”

“Young lady, please stand up and take a step southeast—your left front.”

Following Master Nan’s instructions, Mur Xuanling stepped left forward, immediately seeing the mist swirl, the ground transforming into a Taiji Yin-Yang fish.

“Next, take a Qian step.”

Mur Xuanling stepped toward the Qian hexagram, seeing the formation beneath her feet change again. The Qian hexagram transformed into a Taiji fish, with new Bagua appearing around it.

“This means I got it right?” Mur Xuanling asked.

“Whether you step right or wrong, the formation changes in the same way. This inability to distinguish correct from incorrect steps is why this formation is called unsolvable,” Master Nan explained.

Mur Xuanling inhaled, narrowing her eyes, “You really think you can break it?”

“Why not try?” Master Nan smiled. “After all, you’re stuck anyway.”

Mur Xuanling felt a surge of frustration.

“Take the Dui hexagram.”

Mur Xuanling heavily stomped on the Dui hexagram.

Master Nan chuckled again, “Xun hexagram.”

Mur Xuanling stopped talking, lowered her head, and followed Master Nan’s instructions step by step.

“Final step, Kan hexagram.”

Mur Xuanling slightly raised her eyebrows, thinking, You’re so confident these eight steps are correct. Yet as her foot landed, the surrounding mist instantly vanished.

Before her stood Nan Xuyue from Yunxiu Manor—gentle, refined, elegant, and transcendent. He unfolded his folding fan, shielding Mur Xuanling from the sunlight, and smiled warmly, “Young lady seems puzzled as to how I managed to break the formation on my first attempt?”

Mur Xuanling suddenly realized their proximity. She stepped back, creating distance, warily scrutinizing the man before her.

He looked around twenty, tall and upright, with a very handsome appearance. His eyes were bright and clear, filled with warm smiles. Basking in the morning light, even someone hating sunlight couldn’t help feeling warmth and closeness.

Bright as the moon, elegant as orchids.

Mur Xuanling was momentarily distracted before quickly regaining her senses, “Who exactly are you?”

He not only shattered the formation in a single attempt with absolute confidence, but also carried himself as though he were the master of the array himself.

The young man slightly nodded, smiling, “Yunxiu Manor, Nan Xuyue.”

After her shock, Mur Xuanling understood.

No wonder… No wonder he was so confident…

This Linglong Jia was originally his creation.

The lord of Yunxiu Manor, Nan Xuyue.

Even in the demon realm, she had heard his name.

They said he was incomparably intelligent.

They said his medical skills were unparalleled, known as the Medicine King.

They said he was refined and handsome, resembling a celestial being.

Everyone praised him with admiration, then sighed with regret.

Because he was born with ten spiritual orifices, his talent rivaling Xie Xuechen’s.

Yet now, he had become a cripple, a broken man.