Chapter 21: Dissolution

The next morning, golden rays of dawn pierced through the clouds, casting dappled light diagonally across the window lattice.

Bai Yue awoke from her meditation, feeling refreshed after a night of cultivation.

She stretched her limbs, changed into her customary fiery-red Daoist robe, and pushed open the door.

On the deck, Xiao Yueluo and Su Qingyan were already up, even earlier than her.

The morning breeze was cool, stirring their hair and the hems of their clothes.

Xiao Yueluo was quietly saying something to Su Qingyan, who was listening with a distracted air.

“Why are you up so early?”

Bai Yue drawled lazily.

As soon as she spoke, Su Qingyan shot her a complicated look—part helpless, part amused—and said with a sigh, “Because someone kept me up all night.”

At that, Xiao Yueluo’s face flushed crimson in an instant, as if she had been caught red-handed.

Her lips parted as if to retort, but no words came out.

She could only glare at Su Qingyan in vexation.

Bai Yue watched her flustered, indignant expression, and an inappropriate thought popped into her head—memories of those blush-inducing CG scenes from the game.

…Stop.

She quickly nipped that dangerous thought in the bud, cleared her throat, and said matter-of-factly:

“Since you’re both up, we might as well set off for the Du Xian Sect early and get settled in.”

With a wave of her hand, the flying boat, which had been cruising at a steady speed, transformed into a streak of crimson light and shot through the air.

In the blink of an eye, the city below was reduced to a tiny speck.

Inside the boat, the spiritual energy barrier blocked out the outside world—no turbulence, no fierce winds—as smooth as strolling in one’s own backyard.

Smooth as it was, however, the violent fluctuations of spiritual energy caused by high-speed travel were not something everyone could endure.

Su Qingyan, being a mere mortal, was oblivious to the changes in spiritual energy.

She was currently pressed against the porthole, marveling at the rapidly receding mountains and rivers below with little gasps of wonder.

Xiao Yueluo, on the other hand, was not so fortunate.

After about two hours of flight, her face had turned as pale as paper, her lips completely devoid of color.

She looked like she had been dragged out of water, leaning weakly against the cabin wall.

The dense, turbulent spiritual energy around her felt like countless tiny needles, tormenting her with every breath.

“I… I can’t take it anymore…” she begged weakly, turning her pleading gaze toward Bai Yue.

“C-Can we… travel by land… please…”

Bai Yue didn’t even bother to lift an eyelid, merely casting her a faint glance.

“No.”

Two words—crisp and final—shattered Xiao Yueluo’s last shred of hope.

She didn’t slow down.

She didn’t stop.

The next moment, under Xiao Yueluo’s disbelieving gaze, Bai Yue lifted her foot.

That foot, clad in an exquisite cloud-patterned boot, traced an elegant arc through the air, and then…

THUMP!

One kick sent Xiao Yueluo tumbling to the floor.

“Ugh—”

Xiao Yueluo felt her stomach churn violently.

The breakfast she had eaten earlier, mixed with bile, surged past her throat’s defenses.

“Blaaarrgh—”

Red, green, white—everything came rushing out like a breached dam.

It was instantly dissolved by the flying boat’s built-in cleaning array, transforming into specks of spiritual light and vanishing without a trace, not even a lingering odor.

Xiao Yueluo, who had nearly vomited out her very organs, lay limp in the corner after that fatal blow.

She didn’t even have the strength to move a finger.

She stared blankly at the ceiling for a long moment, then slowly turned her head and squeezed out a few words with all her remaining strength:

“Bai… I’ve got you figured out now!” she cursed weakly.

“This whole ‘taking me to the Du Xian Sect to fix my spiritual roots’ thing—it’s all a scam!

You never intended to help me!

You just want to torment me!

Watching me suffer like this—does it make you happy?!”

At this point, her fear of Bai Yue had been completely replaced by overwhelming fury.

“You’re nothing but a demon in human skin—”

Summoning her last reserves of strength, Xiao Yueluo pushed off the floor.

She had only one thought:

Smash that face!

That perpetually superior, hypocritically cold face!

Her fist tore through the air with a desperate whistle, aiming straight for Bai Yue’s cheek.

But the fist never landed.

It didn’t even brush the edge of her robe.

Bai Yue merely tilted her head slightly and took a half-step back with her right foot.

The movement was fluid and lightning-fast, impossible to follow.

Thud.

Xiao Yueluo’s feet gave way beneath her.

Her body, losing its center of gravity, crashed heavily at Bai Yue’s feet like a discarded rag.

Her chin struck the wooden floor with a dull thud.

Bai Yue slowly turned around and looked down.

Her face was expressionless, aloof and cold.

But beneath that emotionless mask, Bai Yue’s heart skipped a beat.

Hiss—

Bai Yue’s heart tightened, and she sucked in a quiet breath, though her expression remained perfectly composed.

Sure, her real reason for bringing Xiao Yueluo to the Du Xian Sect was to build a good relationship to make it easier to farm points later.

After all, once we’re good sisters, it’s perfectly normal to swipe a few things and mess with her a couple of times, right?

“You just want to torment me”—that was only half right, but it was uncomfortably close to the truth.

Favorability crisis!

She absolutely could not let her keep digging in that direction, or this perfect stepping stone would be ruined.

Bai Yue took a quiet, deep breath, burying the flicker of panic deep within her heart, and made her face even colder.

As long as I show no expression, she’s the one who’ll feel awkward.

“Have you had enough?”

She slowly crouched down, bringing herself eye level with Xiao Yueluo, who was gasping for breath on the floor.

“Do you really think I kicked you just to torment you?”

Xiao Yueluo gritted her teeth, glaring at her with unyielding defiance and resentment: “What else could it be?!

Don’t you dare tell me you didn’t do it on purpose!”

“Foolish.”

Bai Yue let out a cold, merciless snort, pointing at Xiao Yueluo’s dantian.

“What do you think you are right now?

Your Heavenly Spiritual Root is destroyed, but your body’s foundation remains intact.

It’s like a water tank with a huge hole in the bottom, with the lid wide open.”

“The flying boat is speeding along, and the external spiritual energy is extremely turbulent.

That energy is being forced into your meridians through your pores, through your breath, without any resistance.

Your body instinctively wants to absorb it, but your spiritual roots are completely ruined—you can’t retain a single wisp of spiritual power.”

“Excess spiritual energy accumulates inside you, unable to be expelled or absorbed.

Do you know what happens in the end?”

Xiao Yueluo froze, the fury in her eyes momentarily faltering.

“Dissolution.”

Bai Yue uttered two words.

“What is… Dissolution?”

Su Qingyan, who had been huddling nearby listening, couldn’t help but ask in a small voice.

“Dissolution is returning to the heavens and earth.”

“Your flesh will slowly harden, turning into cold stone.

Or your blood will boil away, becoming a pool of clear water.

Your bones will weather into sand.

Your soul will be extinguished entirely, and you will become nothing more than a wisp of free-floating spiritual energy in this world.”

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