When Control Begins to Fracture

In fact, the many elders of the righteous sects had not lied.

Before long, the demonic sect’s formation was indeed broken.

However, Second Senior Martial Brother Chu Jiao did not return.

Neither did Li Wangyan.

Qi Xiao returned to the midst of the disciples.

“Senior Martial Brother Chu has another task,” she said calmly. “You will take control of the flying vessel and obey sect orders. I just resisted the evil miasma and need to rest and recuperate carefully.”

“We obey Senior Brother’s orders!”

Qi Xiao wandered around the flying vessel for a while, then formed hand seals and entered a special chamber.

Inside, Dao Sword True Master was already present.

“Master. Senior Martial Sister.”

She greeted them briefly, then fell silent.

Lin Wushuang’s gaze instinctively avoided hers.

After that day, she no longer dared to face Qi Xiao directly. When dealing with Li Wangyan, she could at least console herself that her looks might prevent him from going too far. But the Qi Xiao from that day—cold, detached, and terrifying—made her instinctively recoil.

Dao Sword True Master sighed.

“Li Wangyan prepared this long in advance. Your Second Senior Martial Brother would never remain calm upon seeing the Green-Bearded Old Fiend. His former cultivation partner died at that man’s hands. That has always been his heart demon. Even for the sake of his own cultivation path, he could not ignore it.”

“How strong is the Green-Bearded Old Fiend?” Qi Xiao asked.

“Golden Core, perfected.”

“Second Senior Martial Brother was no match for him.”

“But he could not ignore him.”

Qi Xiao asked again, “So… this really was Junior Brother’s arrangement?”

“Yes.”

Qi Xiao fell silent.

Her mood was terrible.

It wasn’t because she had deep feelings for Second Senior Martial Brother, nor because she felt such a thing was morally unacceptable.

It was because Li Wangyan had not discussed this matter with her at all.

That made her deeply uneasy.

As everyone knew, when things start happening at a company without involving you, it usually means one of two things: either you’re about to be fired, or you’re about to take the blame.

If you’re someone who’s already given up, you just make sure not to shoulder responsibility.

But for someone like Qi Xiao—someone who intended to rise—this was an extremely bad sign.

Combined with the matter involving Yu Lian, she had reason to conclude that Junior Brother was beginning to indulge in women.

Whether it was Master, Senior Martial Sister, or Yu Lian—perhaps for different reasons—their relationships with Junior Brother were becoming increasingly intimate.

This was extremely dangerous.

She had overlooked something.

As the saying goes: the deeper the love, the sharper the hatred.

If Junior Brother truly felt nothing for Master, then his revenge would never have involved sealing her inside the Mystic Maiden’s Mirror and tormenting her repeatedly. He would have simply killed her with a single sword strike.

From a cost–benefit perspective, obtaining a Nascent Soul–stage puppet wasn’t a bad deal.

If Master’s case could still barely be justified, then Senior Martial Sister’s case could not—Senior Martial Sister was only at the Golden Core stage.

Once Junior Brother had already taken Master, the most logical course would have been to directly kill Senior Martial Sister and Second Senior Martial Brother, not exact revenge in such a convoluted manner.

Of course, one could argue that his hatred toward them simply hadn’t reached that level.

But something was already wrong.

If one insisted on explanations, anything in the world could be justified.

Yet with the two women standing before her like this—

Qi Xiao felt things slipping out of control.

Junior Brother was supposed to like her.

But feelings were never immutable.

Just as some children hate bell peppers and tomatoes, only to grow up loving stir-fried peppers with pork and tomato-and-egg dishes.

Human preferences changed over time.

While Junior Brother was doing those things to Master and Senior Martial Sister, they were also shaping him in return.

It was highly likely that he would gradually grow attached to them.

And once that affection fully shifted—

Her position as the “white moonlight” would become detestable.

He would come to see women like Master and Senior Martial Sister as “genuine,” while viewing her as an affected, scheming green-tea woman.

And what would someone like Junior Brother do to a green-tea woman?

Qi Xiao didn’t even need to think—he would definitely force himself on her, humiliate her, break her, and discard her.

It was truly disastrous.

Even though she had made preparations—accepting that she might need to have relations with Junior Brother if necessary—

She absolutely did not want that kind of outcome.

What she wanted was to become his true Dao companion—someone he could entrust his life and death to.

Not an ordinary collectible sealed inside the Mystic Maiden’s Mirror.

That was something Qi Xiao absolutely could not accept.

Otherwise, how could she ever turn the Mystic Maiden’s Mirror into her own possession?

Thoughts surged like lightning.

A look of worry appeared on her face.

“In that case, Second Senior Martial Brother will probably also fall into Junior Brother’s hands… Master, Senior Martial Sister—can we really just watch this happen?”

Lin Wushuang looked at Qi Xiao’s restrained yet pained expression.

The cold, indifferent Qi Xiao who had once said, ‘Senior Sister, what value is there in being saved?’ now felt like a hallucination.

Perhaps it truly had been something she imagined during a mental breakdown.

“After this Demon Extermination Campaign, I will enter Oblivious Meditation,” Dao Sword True Master said weakly. “Though I’ve delayed it as much as possible, it’s unavoidable.”

She no longer carried even a trace of her former sword-immortal presence. She looked fragile—utterly defeated by Li Wangyan that day.

“Master, please rest assured. We will find a way to bring you back, no matter the cost!”

Dao Sword True Master shook her head.

“No. You cannot.”

She was weak, yet her words were unwavering.

“Wu Shuang’s Ruthless Sword has already shattered. Under your Junior Brother’s influence, she can no longer cultivate that path—unless your Junior Brother chooses to release her.”

Lin Wushuang opened her mouth, but no rebuttal came.

“Your Second Senior Martial Brother walked straight into your Junior Brother’s trap today. Since he even arranged the Green-Bearded Old Fiend… I fear his intentions go far beyond what we imagine. I do not believe your Second Senior Martial Brother will still be able to uphold the righteous sword.”

Her gaze finally settled fully on Qi Xiao.

“As for you, Qi Xiao—your sword remains unchanged, but your heart wavers. However, this is no longer something you can influence. Whether Master returns depends entirely on your Junior Brother. If he wishes it, he will naturally use the immortal artifact. If not… then so be it.”

She let out a bitter, helpless smile.

“Qi Xiao, you are the one most like me. Your method for breaking through mid- and late–Golden Core stages is astonishing. But I fell to this state precisely because I tried to take shortcuts toward Nascent Soul. In the future, do not pursue progress too hastily.”

“This disciple accepts Master’s teachings.”

Dao Sword True Master knew Qi Xiao wouldn’t truly listen.

She understood what Qi Xiao was thinking.

This girl believed everything lay within her control—especially cultivation.

She believed her plans were flawless, incapable of error… just as Dao Sword True Master herself once had.

Only when catastrophe struck would she question whether she’d been too hasty—and by then, it would already be too late.

Qi Xiao would not heed her words.

After all, she cultivated the Only-Self Sword Dao.

It was ironic.

Qi Xiao didn’t actually devote herself to sword cultivation.

She liked artifact refinement, pill refinement, talisman crafting, formations, and Dao techniques.

If there were a “Six Arts of Cultivation” examination, Qi Xiao would excel in all of them.

Yet it was precisely this scattered cultivator whose Only-Self Sword had advanced farther than anyone else’s.

Dao Sword True Master could sense the Only-Self Sword Intent hidden deep within Qi Xiao’s body.

If she truly unsheathed her sword, it would shock everyone.

Because everything she did was for herself.

Any method that could increase cultivation—she studied it, perfectly aligning with the essence of the Only-Self Sword.

Thus, even without focusing on that sword path, she continued advancing steadily upon it.

“This Demon Extermination Campaign—every clue was deliberately exposed by certain demonic sects. That was also your Junior Brother’s arrangement. I don’t know why he insists on destroying the Life-Severing Sect, but I know he has another purpose. If you truly cannot oppose him… then stop fighting him. Submitting to the strong is not shameful in the cultivation world. Such things are common. Even though your Junior Brother’s cultivation is shallow—compared to us, he is indeed strong.”

Master looked like someone who had been utterly beaten into submission.

Only then did Lin Wushuang cautiously add, “Moreover, even if we wanted to stop him, what could we do? You yourself said earlier—if we couldn’t resolve Second Junior Martial Brother’s matter, it would endanger all of us. Once news of the Mystic Maiden’s Mirror leaks, we’re finished. Since Junior Brother arranged things this way, it proves he has confidence that Second Senior Martial Brother won’t cause trouble. I think… this is already the best possible outcome.”

“Master, Senior Martial Sister—you are both right. Qi Xiao has learned her lesson.”

Qi Xiao maintained her respectful demeanor and left the room.

“Master… why do I feel Junior Sister Qi is very angry?” Lin Wushuang asked quietly.

“She is angry,” Dao Sword True Master sighed. “She always believed herself immovable, secure. But now… she’s panicking.”

She paused.

“But she’s overthinking it. How could we truly fall in love with Li Wangyan? And even if we did—how could Li Wangyan love us? She hasn’t experienced what we have. She cannot understand.”

“Li Wangyan hates us, takes revenge on us… and don’t we hate him as well? We wish we could flay him alive. She will never understand us.”

Dao Sword True Master slowly closed her eyes.

“She only fears that once our relationships with Junior Brother grow closer, her status will change—things will slip beyond her control. Just like back then, when she couldn’t understand why she suddenly reached out to help Li Wangyan.”

“She did it so that everything would remain under her control.”