Mu Xuanling, seriously injured, lay on the ground as Xie Xuechen hurried over. Mu Xuanling complained of severe pain, to which Xie Xuechen responded that he knew and had lifted her up before leaving. Gao Qiumin watched their departing figures and said, “It wasn’t intentional.” Just as she finished speaking, she heard someone call her from behind. Gao Qiumin was startled and quickly turned around to see Fu Lansheng.
Fu Lansheng thought to himself that originally, the engagement was between Gao Qiumin and Xie Xuechen. Now, it seemed that Xie Xuechen and Mu Xuanling were entangled. Fu Lansheng feared that Gao Qiumin would be upset, so he came to comfort her. However, Gao Qiumin was actually worried that Fu Lansheng would see her harming Mu Xuanling.
The two ended their conversation amid mutual misunderstandings. Gao Qiumin quickly left, taking her sword and Mu Xuanling’s sword with her. Shortly after, people from Xuantianmen arrived but found no one there. The leader remarked, “They’ve escaped,” and immediately thought that if Mu Xuanling was truly that strong, she could have opposed him directly. It now seemed that someone had rescued her.
Xie Xuechen looked at Mu Xuanling lying on the bed, crying in pain. He felt deep sympathy and used his spiritual power to try to heal her. However, Mu Xuanling couldn’t absorb the healing energy. Xie Xuechen recalled that Mu Xuanling had previously mentioned that her spiritual orifices were damaged, making it impossible for her to cultivate spiritual energy. He realized that since spiritual energy couldn’t be cultivated, Mu Xuanling couldn’t absorb it either.
Determined, Xie Xuechen pulled Mu Xuanling’s hand and transferred the curse from her body to his own. Instantly, Mu Xuanling’s injuries healed. Nan Xu Yue remarked, “Xie Xuechen, you did this for Mu Xuanling,” to which Xie Xuechen replied, “I have the Jade Que protecting my body, so I don’t feel much pain,” while Mu Xuanling, on the other hand, couldn’t endure the pain. Nan Xu Yue said, “It’s the first time I’ve seen you so afraid of someone’s pain.” He then asked Xie Xuechen what his feelings for Mu Xuanling were now. Xie Xuechen responded, “I brought Mu Xuanling to Yongxue City; I should be responsible for her.” After saying this, Xie Xuechen told Nan Xu Yue to watch over Mu Xuanling here as he felt it was inappropriate for him to stay and left.
Nan Xu Yue watched Xie Xuechen’s departing figure and thought, “Loving someone like this is truly exhausting.” Xie Xuechen alone repaired the curse on his body. His disciple approached him, informing him that his actions weren’t worth it. Xie Xuechen asked how Mu Xuanling had behaved over the past few days. The disciple replied that her ten curses were almost used up and she was about to be expelled from Yongxue City. Xie Xuechen instructed him to bring over the notebook, which the disciple erased all memories from. He told the disciple that having him follow Mu Xuanling wasn’t to remember her mistakes.
Mu Xuanling woke up and recalled that she had been brought back by Xie Xuechen. As soon as she woke up, she heard someone enter. Panicked, Mu Xuanling ran back to lie on the bed, and Nan Xu Yue brought her food.
Mu Xuanling asked about Xie Xuechen. Nan Xu Yue explained that Dark Race members had infiltrated, and Xie Xuechen needed to handle it. Mu Xuanling remarked, “The curses from Xuantianmen are nothing special.” Nan Xu Yue responded, “She isn’t in pain because someone else is taking care of it,” explaining that Xie Xuechen had transferred the curses to himself. Mu Xuanling retorted, “Who let him transfer them to himself?” As she spoke, she attempted to find Xie Xuechen. Nan Xu Yue told her there was no use in looking for him now. Mu Xuanling declared that she would go find him herself, but Nan Xu Yue insisted she stay behind, leading to a confrontation with the possessed individual Zhi Ying. Gao Qiumin mistakenly thought Mu Xuanling was attacking a human and struck her down. Subsequently, the Xuantianmen incantation severely injured Mu Xuanling. She recalled how she had defeated everyone and approached Sang Qi.
Mu Xuanling sat beside, observing as Nan Xu Yue questioned her about her continued presence despite her physical ailments mentioned to Elder Cang. She expressed her reluctance to interact with members of the Celestial Alliance and questioned Nan Xu Yue’s reasons for staying. Nan Xu Yue clarified that he wasn’t part of the Celestial Alliance and preferred not to get involved. Mu Xuanling probed whether they would detect the demonic aura within her, to which Nan Xu Yue assured her that her spiritual rune would remain concealed under normal circumstances. She further inquired about unusual situations, and Nan Xu Yue responded that it would depend on her fate.
Turning her attention to Su Ningzhen, Mu Xuanling remarked that enemies always find narrow paths. Nan Xu Yue shared that back at Mingyue Mountain Villa, he had a conflict with Master Gao. Mu Xuanling reminisced about how Sang Qi had come to kill their Gao family and how Gao Qiumin’s father had Mu Xuanling and Gao Qiumin change clothes, emphasizing that it was her honor to let Gao Qiumin die in her stead. Observing the arrival of Celestial Alliance members and Bixiao Palace, Nan Xu Yue introduced Fu Lansheng to Mu Xuanling, who then engaged in a brief interaction with Fu Lansheng, leading to the introduction of Abao’s “father” and Fu Lansheng’s awareness of Bixiao Palace.
As the Celestial Alliance members convened to discuss their strategies, Xie Xuechen declared the necessity to avenge his father and focus on the Chaos Pearl. Su Ningzhen’s ambition to become the Alliance Leader led to conflicts, but Xie Xuechen deferred the decision to another day, instructing others to remain present.
Later, after completing his father’s funeral, Xie Xuechen sought out Elder Yu to discuss an unfinished game of chess. Elder Yu questioned why he still wanted to finish the game after all this time. Xie Xuechen revealed that if he won, Elder Yu would disclose the identity of the Xiuxian Sect leader. Shocked that Xie Xuechen knew, Elder Yu’s subordinates attempted to attack, but Xie Xuechen swiftly defeated them, knocking Elder Yu to the ground. Elder Yu admitted that his magical power had surprisingly recovered, but Xie Xuechen asserted that he had regained it before returning.
Confronting Elder Yu about his alliance with the Xiuxian Sect, Xie Xuechen questioned whether it was solely out of fear of death. Elder Yu replied, “Is it solely?” and added that for Xie Xuechen, death didn’t hold much significance. He emphasized that for them, surviving was essential to accomplish other tasks. Xie Xuechen inquired about the current whereabouts of the Xiuxian Sect leader, to which Elder Yu responded that his location was a secret and that they only communicated through letters. When asked who killed his father, Elder Yu stated that he only removed the guards at his father’s door and didn’t know the rest. Ultimately, Xie Xuechen killed Elder Yu. Mu Xuanling remarked, “He can even kill humans,” to which Xie Xuechen replied that he only cared about right and wrong. When Mu Xuanling asked about the Spirit Race, Xie Xuechen affirmed, “It’s the same.” He had brought Mu Xuanling to Yongxue City to change others’ perceptions of the Spirit Race.
Mu Xuanling hadn’t anticipated that coming to Yongxue City would require her to attend classes daily. After a day ended, Elder Cang informed her that it was her duty day to clean. Mu Xuanling eventually arrived at Xie Xuechen’s courtyard to clean and noticed a Lingling tree there. She questioned, “This tree only grows in the Dark Domain, so why is it here?” Xie Xuechen replied, “It has been here for a long time.” Thinking that Mu Xuanling must have her place here as well, he took her to select a sword. Mu Xuanling named the sword, “First Sword.” Sang Qi had completed his seclusion and instructed Yu Ying and Zhan Ying to inform the leader of the Xiuxian Sect that the most important task now was to determine whether Xie Xuechen’s magical power had fully recovered. He also mentioned having other matters to attend to next.
