The Price of Discovery

“It seems the earlier one uncovers the truth, the sooner death claims them,” He Suosi said with a bitter smile. “For cultivators, blood truly is a crucial element.”

Pei Nishang’s ability to control his actions likely stemmed from the blood she had drawn from his finger when she bit him previously. It had been a calculated move from the start.

“To think you even unraveled that detail,” Pei Nishang feigned an exclamation of surprise. “In that case, if your cultivation were higher, I doubt I’d even be able to trap you.”

‘That’s certainly true,’ He Suosi thought. ‘If I were in my original body, you’d be nothing but a punching bag for me.’

He gazed at Pei Nishang, his mind racing. “Late Nascent Soul stage, really? How old are you? How could a genius like you be cast aside and sent into this harem?”

Pei Nishang offered a saccharine smile. “That’s because I was never a ‘discarded piece’ to begin with.”

‘Just as I suspected,’ He Suosi sighed. “How many truths have you actually spoken to me?”

Pei Nishang merely smiled, offering no reply. Instead, she approached and wrapped her arms around He Suosi’s, her slender limbs gradually tightening as if she intended to sever his arm. The intense pressure brought a subtle ache.

“Didn’t I say I’d take you away from here? That much is true,” she said, tilting her head and flashing a charming, dimpled smile.

The next second, He Suosi found his body moving uncontrollably. He tried to speak, but even his mouth and vocal cords were beyond his command.

Time and space had been solidified.

He Suosi quickly realized this. While the surrounding scenery remained familiar—the rock gardens, the flowers, the cracks on the bluestone slabs—the total absence of people was unnatural. Moreover, Pei Nishang had chosen the main thoroughfare, a path where even in the dead of night, patrols should have been constant.

‘Ah… Pei Yong.’ At this moment, He Suosi recalled a name from his past.

‘This technique… I believe that man used it before. Was it called the Star-Shifting Array? Something like that.’

‘Then, the father Pei Nishang spoke of must have been Pei Yong.’

Although his confrontation with Pei Yong had occurred a long time ago, when He Suosi was still a minor, unknown cultivator, the unique nature of that technique allowed him to recall the scene of him breaking it.

‘Pei Yong’s daughter…’ He Suosi couldn’t help but glance at Pei Nishang, searching for any features that might remind him of her father. Unsurprisingly, he found none.

‘If only I had remembered earlier that she was Pei Yong’s daughter, would I have avoided this predicament?’ He Suosi wondered, but he ultimately had to admit that if Pei Nishang hadn’t displayed this specific technique, he likely would never have associated her with Pei Yong at all. Even the reason for their enmity was vague; he could only recall that it was likely due to the man’s abuse of power.

Still unable to move, He Suosi’s thoughts wandered aimlessly as he realized they had taken an unfamiliar route. Pei Nishang calmly led him past the increasingly towering rockeries, eventually arriving at the edge of a vast lake.

The tranquil surface of the lake shimmered with countless ripples under the gentle breeze and moonlight, spreading like scattered gold into the distance. Where the sky met the lake, starlight and ripples merged into a glowing, delicate line, creating a dreamlike scene.

“Lake Heart Sea Sky?” He was astonished to find he could speak again.

Pei Nishang looked at him in surprise. “You know this place?”

The scenery was breathtaking, yet He Suosi couldn’t bring himself to smile. He sighed. “I’ve heard of it.”

Pei Nishang swept her gaze over He Suosi with an admiring look. “I never knew Immortal Fairy Lin was such a learned person. I thought you were just an ordinary, unrefined woman.”

He Suosi shot her a glance. “You’re probably complimenting yourself by saying you’re the one who isn’t ‘unrefined’.”

Pei Nishang laughed, her eyes curving into crescent moons. “Do you think I am?”

He Suosi’s face was rigid. “If you’re not planning to throw me into a spatial rift, then no.”

Pei Nishang shrugged. “Then I’ll be the ‘unrefined woman’ in your eyes. I don’t mind either way.”

‘As expected.’ He Suosi took a deep breath.

Lake Heart Sea Sky, despite its beautiful name and picturesque appearance, actually referred to the junction of two worlds. The chasm between them was riddled with spatial storms, lightning, and corrosive air—a death trap for most cultivators. Pei Nishang was indeed taking him away from the Guangyu Immortal Sect, but the destination was the Road to the Underworld.

In the rustling night wind, the lakeside reeds swayed like ghostly figures. Clouds obscured the already dim crescent moon, plunging the world into deeper darkness.

In this profound stillness, Pei Nishang spoke. “Are you wondering why I want to kill you?”

“While I have some suspicions, there are still points of confusion,” He Suosi replied. “If it’s merely because the Immortal Monarch showed me favor, aren’t your methods a bit too extreme?”

‘It’s just inner-court jealousy; it shouldn’t escalate to outright murder, should it?’

Pei Nishang pouted, as if cooing to an elder. “But I truly found that I couldn’t contend with you.”

“Are you truly being sincere when you say that?” He Suosi retorted.

“It’s true,” Pei Nishang insisted, tilting her head. Her brows were slightly furrowed, and in the inky darkness, her features seemed shrouded in melancholy. “The Immortal Monarch likes you too much. So much so that I felt extremely afraid.”

“I hadn’t noticed.”

“The moment I first saw the Immortal Monarch, I fell in love with him. I disregarded my father’s objections to enter the Guangyu Immortal Sect and served the Monarch for hundreds of years. Although he never touched me, nor did he ever make any promises, I believed that to him, I must have been special—the most special among all his concubines.”

Her sorrowful expression almost made He Suosi empathize.

“Why did you have to shatter my dream?”

“…So, should I say I’m sorry?”

Pei Nishang dispelled her sorrow and smiled. “You remain remarkably composed. I don’t seem to be getting the terrified, ashen-faced reaction I expected.”

He Suosi’s face was earnest. “Don’t doubt me; I will return.”

‘It’s just Lake Heart Sea Sky. Does she really think I haven’t been there before?’

Despite his outwardly calm demeanor, He Suosi felt quite aggrieved. At this point, his only option was to attempt a forced soul detachment and quick possession. This meant abandoning Yu Anlin’s body and starting everything anew, which he truly felt sorry for. However, sometimes, the gap in cultivation was simply too wide to bridge.

Just as before, when he had shattered Pei Nishang’s father’s solidified world, he had done so by crushing it with a “smaller world” technique. This was only possible because his cultivation at the time was higher than Yu Anlin’s current state, whereas Pei Yong and Pei Nishang’s cultivations were roughly on par.

The current situation was a desperate one. He Suosi was acutely aware of this. His only glimmer of hope was that Pei Nishang did not know that Lake Heart Sea Sky was not a death trap for his specific soul.

Pei Nishang undoubtedly thought He Suosi was just being stubborn, so she merely chuckled and said, “Is that so?”

Then He Suosi found himself unable to speak again.

The lake water shimmered like a rippling mirror. Pei Nishang suddenly walked to He Suosi’s side, scooped him up in a princess carry, and stepped onto the lake’s surface. Being carried by a delicate girl felt somewhat peculiar, leaving He Suosi momentarily dumbfounded.

Pei Nishang carried him with ease, treading on the waves as if walking on flat ground.

“Do you know why I restrained your movements? I later heard that my father lost to your lover precisely because he was overconfident and didn’t restrain his opponent’s movement ability. Frankly, my father isn’t smart, and I’ve always looked down on him a bit.”

She spoke in a casual, understated tone.

“But he is my father, after all. A brother’s death is one thing, but one only has one father.”

He Suosi desperately wanted to comment on Pei Nishang’s twisted morality—she had practically admitted to not caring about her brother’s death—but he couldn’t speak.

“Some things, if you don’t go to extremes, it’s truly hard to imagine what kind of outcome you’ll face.”

‘Ah, that much is true. Getting into this situation was indeed due to my own carelessness.’

He Suosi’s gaze swept over Pei Nishang’s soft jawline, then lifted to the dazzling starry night sky. The closer they drew to where the lake met the heavens, the denser the starlight became. He Suosi knew those were not stars, but lightning generated by the friction of spatial rifts.

“This should be about right. Throwing you upward from here should send you straight into Lake Heart Sea Sky.”

“You haven’t been there, have you? They say it’s not as beautiful inside as it looks from the outside.”

‘Of course I know what it’s like inside: incessant lightning, blade-like storms, and corrosive gas that can destroy most magical treasures. It’s a place no one goes except desperadoes—and even they wouldn’t dare without Soul Splitting stage cultivation.’

His gaze met Pei Nishang’s. At that moment, a strange yet familiar warm current suddenly surged within his body.

‘This feeling…’ He vaguely recalled having felt something similar.

Yes, it was the day before he discovered he had become Yu Anlin. He had been studying an ancient immortal art found in a previous ruin. Had he operated according to the instructions? He Suosi couldn’t be sure, but he thought he had been careful. Now, looking back, it seemed he had indeed unconsciously practiced the spiritual energy circulation method described in that jade slip.

And so, a comfortable warmth surged through his body, almost as if he were drunk. His spiritual energy began to circulate automatically; he seemed to merge with heaven and earth, forgetting everything about being human.

Just like now—

‘What exactly am I looking at?’

Amidst the boundless starlight, He Suosi lost consciousness.