Little Black had skin paler than white jade, painted red lips and large, wild eyes. She also looked older than I’d thought. Strangely, I had never seen her before. No, that wasn’t exactly true. I had noticed her hanging out around the Indomitable Peak’s treasure pavilion. Just another face in the crowd. Probably trying to coerce new victims.

“Well, if it isn’t my dearest customer,” the smile she gave me made her look like she didn’t care that she was tied up. It was like she thought she’d get out of this.

I’d make sure that didn’t happen.

“Ah, Senior Lin,” Mad tongue said. “What is she talking about?”

Spear That Weaves, Justice and Little Spring had curious expressions on their faces while the others looked the other way.

This damn clear-eyed teen. “Don’t let a demonic cultivator distract you.”

“We’ve been interrogating her for a while now.” Justice Reaching gestured to her. “This is the first thing she’s said.”

She smirked. “Maybe you just didn’t ask the right things. Because it’s obvious why I’d betray a sect that kicks out the orphaned children of its core disciples...”

Unyielding glared down at her. “The Indomitable Will Sect would never—”

“—Instead, shouldn’t you first ask me how many merchants work under me in this sect? How about asking what would happen to this sect’s black market if you kill me?” Her laugh rang out sharply. I wanted to punch her in the face.

“Stop talking nonsense. You’re a traitor who joined the demonic sect,” Unyielding said.

“Am I, or did the sect betray me first?” She grinned. “That’s the thing with you, righteous cultivators. You all think you’re sooo right. You never consider the possibility that we’re right, too.”

“You might have a reason for your betrayal,” I said, “but that doesn’t make your actions justified. Demonic cultivators always have a reason. Always.”

If she was trying to seed doubts, similar to how she worked to give me an inner demon, she needed to die now.

She had also witnessed Little Spring appear out of nowhere. While she had made up a reasonable excuse for it, I didn’t want to give her time to think. The bitch might suspect that we had a treasure we weren’t strong enough to protect. Unfortunately, in this Xianxia universe, being poor while owning jade was considered a crime... or, in other words, our asses were too weak to own a precious item like the space.

Aside from that, she betrayed me multiple times. The worst one was when she sent us to that forest to get killed. If not for her Little Spring would never have become so injured.

She’d also turned her back on the sect. Only she knew how much of the current chaos was her doing. How many disciples died because of her.

I grabbed her by the throat. She coughed and struggled. “Before you kill me, you should know that my death would make a large portion of the sect’s underground economy vanish. All of my contacts will disappear when I die. There are things this sect can never get again if I’m gone. Herbs that can be used to heal injuries. And precious materials that only my people can get their hands on.”

“It doesn’t matter how useful something is. If it’s rotten to the point it can’t be saved, kill it.”

Her eyes widened. “Wait! Don’t you want to know who my master is and what her goal is?” Then she lowered her voice. “Have you thought about all the spirit stones you’d make off me if you let me live?”

“I let you live once. I won’t allow this sect to make the same mistake.”

I placed my finger to her glabella. Now that I was in Foundation Establishment, I could just barely use Any Item is My Sword. In this case, I was using my fingernail.

I silently pulled her hood on and used a Hundred Cuts, executing her on the spot.

Her lifeless body collapsed to the ground. To make sure she was dead, I stored it inside my ring.

Little Spring covered his glabella while Clear Eyes rubbed the spot on his forehead I’d flicked a couple days ago.

“Ah. Great Aunt Lin,” Unyielding said. “Wouldn’t it have been useful to keep her alive for information? She sounded like she was ready to confess everything there.”

“What do you want to learn from her that we can’t figure out on our own?”

“How did she smuggle in so many demonic archers, for one,” Clear Eyes said.

“She used the gaps in our sect’s formation to smuggle items in to sell in the black market.” Holes that I fixed in my past life when I was in the Immortal Bone Creation realm. “It’s not that big of a stretch to figure that’s how she brought them in.”

“Then what about her master?”

I shrugged. “I’m not sure but, knowing the demonic cultivators,” or more accurately, the genre, “we’ll find out soon.”

“Why didn’t you leave her to the sect enforcers?” Justice Reaching Divine Blade asked.

I just stared at the large sword cultivator. “If she’d attacked you during your tribulation, would you let her live?”

“Ah, no.” Justice awkwardly pulled at his sleeve.

“But,” Unyielding said, “don’t you want to learn who was behind this whole situation?”

I shrugged. “My martial nephew is probably fighting them right now.”

As if emphasizing my point, a thunderous sound echoed from Beast Tamer’s peak. My juniors all turned their heads toward it.

“They’re really going at it.” I gestured to Mystical Bamboo Peak. “We should go back so we can take care of some traitors. Or help those who are injured.”

Jujube spoke up. “Great Aunt Lin! Before we go back, I need to ask, how did your tribulation get so large?”

Everyone turned to stare at me.

My face became hot.

I cleared my throat, clasped my hands behind my back, and prepared to lie my ass off.

“It’s my fault!” Little Spring said before I could open my mouth. “I wouldn’t let my sister face it alone so we transcended our tribulations together.” He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. “I didn’t know it would become so dangerous either.”

“That’s so scary,” Third Peach said.

Gracious Blue Luan from Beast Tamer’s Peak suddenly appeared standing in the air above us, her eyes red, wide and furious. It was like she was trying not to cry.

She glared down at me, then used her cultivation base to pressure us. Everyone coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Fuck!

We couldn’t handle this bitch by ourselves.

I pulled out the token Peerless Resolve gave me before we left for the golden walnut mission. It was thin, and warm to the touch. With a snap, I broke it.

“You! You! You killed my disciple!”

As expected. This genre never failed to provide a more powerful enemy cultivator once a weaker one died. I just wasn’t expecting Little Black’s master to be in Immortal Bone Creation.

Wasn’t this escalation a bit extreme?

Actually, I never thought the ringleader of all this was Beast Tamer’s Peak’s master. I knew she’d eventually betray the sect, but that was supposed to be over a hundred years later! How had she concealed herself and her demonic cultivation for so long?!

“This despicable sect just keeps taking and taking from me.”

Several tamed beasts appeared next to her, either in human form or in the form of tigers, boars, predatory birds or bugs. Dozens of them surrounded her.

Shit. If even one of them made a move on us, we’d only survive if Little Spring sent us into his space.

“I asked her to kill you at any cost, but I didn’t expect she’d actually die trying,” Blue Luan said. “You were in the middle of a tribulation. It should have been easy to pick you off!”

My head ached and my muscles strained as I locked my knees. I had to figure a way out of this situation.

Little Spring used his sword to stay standing, just like you’d expect from a little protagonist. He glared up at the peak master.

Meanwhile, poor Jujube and Third Peach hugged each other for support but ended up falling onto their asses.

Spear that Weaves’ eyes rolled into the back of his head before he passed out.

The others tried their hardest to stay standing, with varying degrees of success. Considering that we were dealing with a cultivator in the Immortal Bone Creation realm, enhanced with demonic energy, the only reason we hadn’t been flattened was because she didn’t want to give us an easy death.

The sect leader suddenly appeared above us and used his own cultivation base to block hers from pressuring us. His robes were torn in places, and his jade crown was askew. He’d definitely been on the losing end of a fight. “I don’t believe we’re done yet, Blue Luan. And I’m not so weak that’d I’d let you pester my sect’s Foundation Establishment disciples.”

“Peerless Resolve. I thought I’d left you to my falcon tamed beast?”

He glared at her. Then several of the peak master and peak elders appeared around the sect leader. Even Verdant Bamboo came.

Shit. We needed to get away from here while these old monsters were distracted by each other... But we also couldn’t retreat fast enough.

“This is the end of the line,” Peerless Resolve said. “We’ve already discovered and taken down all of your other demonic disciples.”

Tamed beasts ran at the sect elders and started mauling them.

A massive tiger spiritual beast took a bite out of a Nascent Soul peak elder’s neck, forcing him to escape in soul form.

A spiritual boar was thrown to the side by a body cultivation elder. When it landed on the scorched valley, it created a trench. When it stopped moving, it stood up and shook its head before returning to fight again.

Holy shit. This was a real skirmish with the demonic sect.

“You righteous sect people are a bunch of lying hypocrites. Killing left and right for resources! Letting innocents die for your greed. Like my boys! At least demonic cultivators are honest about what they’re doing.”

She wasn’t wrong about the killing part. This world was a real-violent shit show. The original author designed it that way. But that didn’t mean that all of it sucked.

Just look at all my precious juniors who came to help me out of a fucked situation.

Look at all the cool plants that existed in this world and the amazing things cultivators could create, from immortal cuisine, to kitchen tools, to armor.

This might be a shit universe, but it was still fun to live in it.

“This sect has taken away everyone I love, so I’ll do the same to everyone in it! And I’ll start with the brat who killed my disciple.” Wind whipped her hair around and her bony finger pointed toward me.

Motherfucker.

And here I was all out of Immortal Bone Creation protective items.

A level 5 boar and several more of Luan’s lower level beasts charged at us. Likely, the only reason she wasn’t taking care of us was that she considered it beneath her to make a move herself — one trope in this genre I was grateful for.

The sect leader tried to intervene by sending a fiery burst toward the creatures. Unfortunately, it didn’t reach them because Blue Luan countered it with her own rage-filled blast.

The beasts neared. It wouldn’t be long before they pulverized us.

Little Spring’s jaw firmed.

Oh, no. I’d been hanging around this kid for too long not to know that look of determination. This brat had decided that he would bring everyone into the space, hadn’t he? But that would just make everything so much worse.

There was a better way to do this, and that would be to send the beasts to the food-only-time-freezing area where they would die instantly. That would also destroy all the ingredients we had stored there. Including the expensive items we prepared for our Foundation Establishment Body Cultivation meals.

I grabbed his shoulder. “Wait.”

Before I could pull the monsters in, the illusory image of a giant red pagoda appeared around us. The beasts all crashed into the ghostly walls. The boar hit it the hardest, causing the structure to shake.

Hey… I recognized this pagoda!

“Sword Master Salamander?!”

He soared over to us, standing on a flying sword. While he wasn’t Nascent Soul yet, he was almost there. All he needed to do was to raise his hand to call down his tribulation. Yet, he was using his best protective item on us instead of saving it.

He rushed to attack the boar, who had done the most damage to his spiritual tool. His new stance was the same one I’d used. He’d changed it! Perfect!

Several of the peak elders picked off the lower-ranked beasts that had attacked the pagoda.

While they fought with the creatures, the sect leader and Gracious Blue Luan fought. It was difficult to look at with my Foundation Establishment body, but I could study their fight using my divine sense. After they exchanged several attacks, I noticed him discover something significant about his pseudo-laws.

He sent a massive fiery blast toward Blue Luan.

When these new flames hit, her body vanished into the pseudo-concept of fire. However, she still had her soul. Peerless Resolve brought out two boulders. With a quick gesture, they slammed together in midair. The rock morphed into a huge head sculpture that looked eerily similar to Luan and fell onto the burnt grass.

Ah. Looked like he was replacing the face statue he crushed in our slap-tastic hall.

When Gracious Blue Luan died, her contracts broke, causing all of her beasts to experience an enormous backlash. This was enough to turn the tables. The peak elders slaughtered the remaining beasts.

Salamander raised his silvery blade into the air and thousands of thick and vibrant sword Qi rose from the ground underneath the boar spiritual beast. It made one last attempt to break the pagoda before collapsing.

Well, I bet no one would be eating that pork for breakfast.

***

After Luan died, the beasts and demonic cultivators throughout the sect were quickly taken care of.

Little Spring and I started helping with the aftermath by joining the alchemists and physicians. We treated the injured who had only eaten a blood coagulation dan. While those pills would stop the bleeding, they would do shit to actually heal the wound. Mostly I would set bones and hand the cultivator a Healing Dan the sect stored for emergencies like this. Little Spring and I also handled a couple complicated injuries where we worked together to remove lingering evil energy.

During this time Early Rise Swift Brush sent me a compiled report on the damages to the sect. There were around a hundred fatalities and two thousand wounded. The demonic traitors had done most of their damage to important sect structures. It would take a significant amount of funds to repair everything.

By the time we saw our last patient, it was several hours later.

Then, just before I could take a break, Peerless Resolve gave me a mission to quickly clear and carefully demolish a few ruined buildings that held sensitive sect information.

A vein ticked on my forehead. I’d accepted it because I needed the spirit stones. Because I was fucking broke.

I knew there were other disciples who could handle this so I wondered if he was using the infamous secret delegating technique: If You Want Something Done, Give it to Someone Who’s Busy?

Little Spring looked at me with a furrowed brow. “Sister Lin. Why don’t you rest first?”

That... wasn’t a bad idea, but…

“How about we have a conversation instead?”

I set up our tent outside and entered it. Once Little Spring joined me, I activated the obfuscation array.

“I saw you reading the letter I left you. I’m glad you did, but I wanted to make sure you understood everything.”

He sat down and bit his lip.

I waited.

He looked off into the distance.

The kid was dragging this out on purpose, wasn’t he?

I cleared my throat and he jumped, then blushed.

“Ah… You mentioned that in our previous timeline, the one who killed you wasn’t actually me, but was some strange soul that inhabited my body. But I don’t understand how you can be so positive about that. What... what if it really was me? What if I was just a terrible person in my past life? What if I still become someone like that?”

I sighed. “The reason I didn’t tell you about this was so you wouldn’t need to ask these kinds of questions. You’re a kid. You should be playing and learning. Not contemplating complexities like this.”

“I’m almost ten, you know. Shouldn’t I be old enough to think about these things myself? Just because you don’t want an awkward conversation about it doesn’t mean you should hide them from me.”

“Hey! When have I ever shied away from those?”

“Chef Garlic.”

“That... Fairy Garlic is a kind of monster. The only way to fight her is by ignoring her.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “Anyway. I’ll answer your questions.”

He nodded and stayed silent as if waiting for me to respond. Oh, right. He’d already asked if that idiotic bastard really was him.

I poked his chest. “I’ve seen evidence that shows your alternate self was taken over. My hypothesis is that Bloodsword was an amalgamation of your soul, Bloody Crimson Sword Edge, and Ghosty McGhostFace.”

The kid looked disgusted.

“Of course, this happened because you had cultivated a powerful technique that left your soul vulnerable.”

“So, if I hadn’t learned from you I would have lost to him...” The kid’s expression looked similar to a creeped-out cat’s.

I nodded sagely. “That proves to me that you weren’t the same person who got me killed.”

His hand shook, then he clenched it into a fist. “What if I still become someone terrible like that man? Would it be possible for the universe to make that happen somehow?”

He must have seen the hesitation on my face because his eyes widened. “You don’t know!”

“Karma exists.” Also plot armor. “If I hadn’t helped so many cultivators after returning to this timeline, I might not have survived my tribulation on top of being attacked by demonic archers. That proves to me that, if this world has a destiny for you, the way to fight against it is through building karma. Your own actions can change the universe.”

“Then what should I do so I don’t become like that guy?”

I looked at the kid more seriously than I ever have in my life and said, “Never get married and never get into a romantic relationship.”

He coughed. “S-sister Lin? I may be too young to think about that, but isn’t saying to never—”

I squeezed his shoulder tightly. “You think I’m joking about this?”

Dealing with all of Bloodsword’s wives had made my life difficult. Like hell would I allow Little Spring to gather a bunch of partners just so I could go through that all over again.

“Then what about you?” The kid looked upset. “You must have had a Dao companion in your previous life.”

I smirked. “Of course not!”

At first, Little Spring’s expression looked like everything made sense then he narrowed his eyes at me. “So, no one—”

“By choice. I did not get into a relationship by choice.” I crossed my arms and looked down at him. “It’s not unusual for cultivators to choose to focus on their way over romance.”

He nodded, then froze. “What about in the world you came from?”

Did I really have to answer these personal questions? I was a thousand-year-old monster, damn it!

“Sister Lin, me not knowing about your past got us into a mess earlier.”

Could the brat be wrong for once?

I stared at the tent wall. “Where I came from, it was normal for people to be monogamous. Even if they later divorced, a majority of individuals would still choose to have only one partner at a time.”

“Like taking a Dao companion then leaving once their path differed only to take another Dao companion?”

“Similar.” I held up a finger. “Sadly, even in that world, some partners would be unfaithful to each other.”

I approved of the disgusted look on his face. “Did you marry there?”

I flicked his forehead. He rubbed it exaggeratedly.

“Do you think I would murder my husband if they brought home a second wife?”

He nodded very seriously.

“Of course, I would! And if I couldn’t kill the asshole, I would divorce him and make his existence a living nightmare for decades afterward.” Because I was spiteful like that. Muahahaha!

He did not look surprised.

What the hell? Had I mentioned this before, or did this kid just know my personality because we’d been living together for so long?

“And that’s why I should never, and will never, get into a relationship.” At least in this world, it was normal to be a multi-millennia-old virgin. “Anyway, it’s perfectly fine to live your life without romance. You can find joy in good friends, good work, and doing things you love.”

Wait a second... wasn’t telling the lead of a harem Xianxia to never marry raising some kind of flag? One that would turn him into another harem lord? Shit. I couldn’t let that happen. I would absolutely go insane if I had to live in a world where I was harassed by dumbass wives again.

I gently cleared my throat. “Actually, it’s not that you can’t ever have a relationship.”

He scowled.

I sighed. “After I ascend to immortality you can marry anyone you set your mind to.” Because it would be somebody else’s problem. Muahahaha!

The kid looked like I’d said something profound. “That makes sense.”

I grinned. Of course, I made sense!

“Then are there more things I can do to prevent myself from going down Bloodsword’s path?”

“Start by not becoming an asshole.”

“How—“

“Do things that make you happy and enjoy life when you’re not training. Make reliable friends. While that… guy was stronger than me, I don’t think he ever had fun. And judging by how he brought back wives like souvenirs, I frankly question if he liked and respected any of them, either.”

Little Spring blinked. “He was stronger than you?”

That was what the brat had picked up?

I shrugged. “It’s not like we really fought. However, we would spar now and then. And he would kick my ass almost every time.”

“So, to avoid becoming like that guy, I should do things that I enjoy. And I should wait to get married until I reach immortality?”

“Exactly.” Wait a second. There had been something off about that last sentence. Well, whatever. It was close enough, and it sounded like somebody else’s problem.

“The last advice I can give you is — if you end up needing to kill someone, research their background so you know if you’ll have to run from their more powerful ancestor.”

He gestured toward the tent’s exit. “Like what happened to that demonic cultivator earlier?”

I nodded. “Of course, we have our own backing. So, if you run across someone who really has to die, make sure the Sect Leader is available to smooth things over.”

“The only people I want to kill are part of the clan that killed my mother. I don’t plan on getting the sect involved in my revenge.”

Good kid.

“But, I would like to know if Bloodsword managed to kill them.”

“He wiped out several clans so it’s possible. But I don’t think he was too interested in fulfilling your revenge. He wasn’t you.”

The kid had a complicated look on his face then he clenched his hand into a fist. “If he didn’t, then that proves we’re two different people more than anything else.”

***

A few days after my conversation with Little Spring, after we’d all been working non-stop repairing the sect and handling paperwork, I forced... er, gently requested that my old friend have a drink with me.

The weary expression on his face aged him. From how he sat so stiffly, I could tell his shoulder ached. Unfortunately, I couldn’t make pills that would work for someone in his realm. Other alchemists would have to cure him.

I poured him a cup of spiritual wine and myself one of spring water.

“If it wasn’t for your hint about Gracious Blue Luan all those months ago, the sect would have been in a lot worse state than it is now.”

“It was more of a gut feeling.” I only knew that she had betrayed the sect in the future and not when.

At this point in time, everyone would have been coming out of mourning for Unyielding’s death. So, technically, it was worse than it should be. That said, what we did was like extracting a tick. If we’d left it alone, we would become crippled from a debilitating lime disease. Removing it made us bleed, but we could recover from it in a short amount of time.

“How are your injuries?”

He frowned. “I’m well enough. It’s nothing that can stop me from running the sect. Which is what I have to focus on after such a horrible attack.”

I frowned. “Nephew, while your dedication is appreciated, it’s not what you should concentrate on. You need to go into closed door cultivation within the next few days or you’ll miss your chance to improve.”

He raised his eyebrows.

“Despite my age, I am your martial aunt for a reason.”

He chuckled. “I don’t feel comfortable going into closed door cultivation after this battle. Many promising disciples died leaving power vacuums. The sect needs my leadership now more than ever.”

“The sect isn’t as devastated as it would have been if you let the infestation continue. Imagine what would have happened if the demonic cultivators started a war. Those traitors would have made the situation worse. Tens of thousands would have died instead of a hundred.” I knew because I’d lived through it. The loss of life had been staggering. Even though we were the biggest and most powerful sect on the continent, that single war gutted us down so we couldn’t even compete in the top ten sects in terms of size and power. It took many decades and Bloodsword’s intervention for us to return to being number one.

“I can’t. The sect needs its leader.”

“Nephew, I’m going to reach the immortal realm, and I want you to join me there someday. The sect has good, well-trained people in it who can handle everything for a while. I didn’t spend all that time creating a paperwork system for nothing.”

“Running this place is more than paperwork.”

“I know.” There was a reason I refused the sect leader position in my last life.

“I’m not sure that there’s anyone I trust to run everything during the aftermath of this crisis.”

“You have your inheriting disciple.”

“The peak masters and elders won’t respect him.” He must have been referring to his low realm.

“They listen to Little Unyielding. It’s enough.”

This was the guy the whole sect had mourned for two years in my past life! The sect fucking adored him. Just look at what he did over the past few days. He handled the cleanup effort, spoke to the peak masters with confidence, and helped organize disciples to rebuild things. Everyone gave him face.

From the twitch of my old friend’s lip, I knew I had him on the fence. I just needed a little more of a push.

“I estimate your closed-door cultivation will last five years. That’s a short time for immortals. The elders of Indomitable Peak know their jobs and do them like clockwork.” I gestured toward the door. “Now go contemplate the laws of the universe, so you don’t get stuck in Immortal Bone Creation. And trust in the junior sect leader.”

He frowned.

Maybe he needed one more push. “Just let me recite a lecture about pseudo-laws to help you.”

He scoffed. “While I’m glad that you’re now in Foundation Establishment, I don’t think you can give me a lecture... Actually, how could you possibly know anything about the Earthly Laws?”

I lifted my chest, acting like a proud eleven-year-old. “I remember everything my master told me about them in my dreams.”

He nodded, but still looked skeptical.

I smirked and began. “While the heavens deemed that the universe must be made from Earthly Laws, they take on different forms. The lesser ones that are studied at Immortal Bone Creation are called Pesudo-Laws. The hardest to understand is fire because a chaotic flame requires an indomitable will to control...”

***

I landed my flying sword next to Little Spring.

Xiao Bai watched him work through the beautiful flowing sword art the Foundation Establishment equivalent sword cultivators practiced. The puppy lolled its tongue happily and barked in approval when he jabbed his sword forward finishing the set.

Fuck. I’d only demonstrated these moves to him before I left to drink with my nephew. From how he held each position exactly, he looked like he’d already mastered it.

Just how was this brat so scarily proficient?!

Damn protagonist halo.

He turned to me with a bright smile. “Did the sect leader agree?”

I grinned. “He did. Which means we’ll be spending four years studying and cultivating in the sect.” Because I wasn’t taking the chance with our lives while he wasn’t around to have our backs. At least not while we were only in Foundation Establishment.

He blinked. “No sect missions?”

I nodded. “After what we’ve just been through, I think peace and quiet is what we need.”

His brow furrowed. “What about the Alchemy Convention next year?”

Xiao Bai jumped in front of the kid, asking for something.

I lifted my chin up. “Of course, we’ll visit the convention, but that will be a nice and peaceful trip. They’ll teleport us there and back.” That might strain the sect’s already tight budget, but it was worth it since we, along with a few seniors, would be its representatives.

He frowned and picked up the puppy. “Are you sure it will be okay?”

“Of course! Nothing bad ever happens at the Alchemy Convention.”

He looked at me skeptically. Xiao Bai tilted its head cutely as if also skeptical.

Why did no one believe me? I was always right, damn it! Well, almost always.

“Forget about the convention. For now, I want to study this together.” I pulled out the manual I found on that assassin a week ago. “I have a feeling that this technique is going to kick ass.”

The End of Volume 2

Fairy Lin’s next adventure will be in Story 9.