Chapter 32: Scarlet Petals, Silent Snow

Back when all five of them had gathered and were just about to set off, Yu Xiu had no excuse to slip away on her own.
Fortunately, Zuo Chi had spoken first, striking up a conversation about her spiritual sword. He Xiuze quickly joined in, steering the topic elsewhere.

And yet now—things had unfolded in precisely the way Yu Xiu least wished.

She truly did not understand what it was about her that drew Zuo Chi so persistently.
In Five Elements Immortal Domain, his capture difficulty wasn’t even rated at the lowest tier—his twin brother, Zuo Ci, was the one designed to be easily won over.
Yu Xiu had done nothing at all. Her manner toward others was always courteous yet distant, just as she had been with Zuo Chi—treating him as nothing more than a fellow sect brother.

So why has Zuo Chi clung to me all this time?

With the faintest sigh, Yu Xiu walked toward him, closing the distance to rejoin him.
The danger in this sector of the secret realm had far exceeded her expectations. In such peril, she would do her utmost to ensure her companion’s safety.

Seeing Yu Xiu—for once—take the initiative to approach, Zuo Chi did not let his thoughts run astray. Instead, he offered a gentle, somewhat self-deprecating smile.
“Lady Yu’s character is indeed lofty and pure.”

His warm expression carried an undertone of loneliness, a wisp of quiet self-mockery.
Without placing further burden upon her, he stood beside her—keeping a respectful pace’s distance—and relayed what he had learned of the graveyard.

“Each burial mound holds between one and three ghosts,” Zuo Chi explained. “Draw closer than three feet and there’s a chance of rousing them. Their strength ranges from early to late Foundation Establishment, with late-stage ghosts making up over eighty percent. Occasionally, one may even reach Foundation Establishment Perfection.”

Zuo Chi himself was among the finest cultivators at late Foundation Establishment, and even he had been left disheveled—either because the numbers were overwhelming or because some ghosts surpassed him.

Yu Xiu glanced around. There were at least two to three hundred burial mounds spread in every direction.
So he faced both problems at once.

“I’ve already scouted every corner of this space where an exit might be,” he continued gravely. “Nothing. To leave, I fear we must destroy every last ghost. I’ve managed to eliminate perhaps fifteen percent. They possess high resistance to spiritual energy. Compared to talismans, physical weapons prove far more effective.”

As a talisman cultivator, all his battle methods revolved around charms. Against enemies resistant to spiritual power, his strength was blunted.
Yet in a few sentences, he had given Yu Xiu a comprehensive grasp of this domain. A reliable companion was indeed invaluable.

“I see.” Yu Xiu’s hand tightened around the Silver Sand Sword. “Leave it to me.”

No matter how numerous these ghosts, they were not her equal.

Zuo Chi blinked, startled by her readiness.
“Wait, Lady Yu—take these talismans!”

Even here, though talismans were weakened, they could still provide defense and minor support. He had noticed the nine floating alert talismans already circling her, but those only warned of danger; they did not protect, nor attack effectively in such swarms. Zuo Chi, however, lacked nothing if not talismans of the highest grade.

But Yu Xiu was already moving.

She plunged straight into the burial mounds, leaving him far behind. Finding the nine talismans around her cumbersome, she recalled them into her silver hairpin, leaving only the bronze wrist-guard on her arm for protection.

From every mound, ash-gray ghosts surged forth in countless swarms, surrounding her in layers upon layers.
To Zuo Chi’s eyes, it looked as if Yu Xiu had hurled herself into a vast sea of spirits.

His face, normally calm and warm, tightened with strain. He ached to charge in beside her, but reason—and training—held him back.
Yu Xiu’s swordplay was fierce and domineering. In the chaos of her strikes, any ally near her would risk grievous harm. The wisest choice was to remain back, defend himself, and await the outcome.

And soon enough, the proof arrived.

What had been a sea of gray and black was suddenly split apart.
A flood of crimson-gold spiritual light erupted like a tidal wave, tearing open every direction.

At its blazing core stood Yu Xiu, sword in hand, her movements like the dance of a fiery phoenix.
Where her sword-light swept, no ghost survived.

The sect’s Senior Sister—her reputation was no exaggeration.

Zuo Chi knew Yu Xiu had already reached half a step into Core Formation. But never had he imagined that two years of seclusion would transform her swordsmanship to this level.
Across both immortal and demonic realms, sword cultivators were the most numerous, and Zuo Chi had seen many.
Yet never—not once—had he seen a cultivator who had not even condensed a Golden Core wield swordplay at the level of a master.

And the sword in her hand was not even her natal blade.
With his discerning eye, he could tell—the Silver Sand Sword was utterly mismatched to her metal-fire spiritual roots.
Even so, with a weapon she had acquired barely two months ago, she had seized overwhelming advantage over hundreds of formidable ghosts.

Zuo Chi parted his lips, as if to speak—yet the words faltered.
Swordplay so fierce, yet so graceful…
Only Yu Xiu could wield it so.

His gaze clung to her figure, unblinking, filled with awe and longing.
But at the corner of his mouth curved a bitter smile.
The gulf between them… seemed harder and harder to bridge.

It took Yu Xiu nearly half an hour to cut down every ghost.
At last, the final spirit disintegrated under the Silver Sand Sword’s blade, and the entire graveyard trembled.
Soil slid from the burial mounds until they all collapsed, leveled flat.

From the center of the grounds, a stone gate slowly rose.
Both Yu Xiu and Zuo Chi recognized it: the exit that appeared only after clearing a trial.

Yu Xiu had already passed through two sectors. Zuo Chi, before arriving here, had cleared one together with He Xiuze.
They both knew—once they crossed this gate, they would inevitably be separated again.

Zuo Chi cast her a reluctant glance.
So rare, the chance to be alone with her.
Even in their younger days, before he fully understood his own heart, such moments had been few.

Yu Xiu had always been accustomed to solitude.
She stood closer to the gate, and true to her nature, she did not hesitate.

“Farewell,” she said, distant yet polite.
And then she pushed the stone door open. Her figure vanished from his sight.

At the sight of the gate, Yu Xiu’s first instinct had not been to leave.
The sheer number of ghosts, combined with the mismatch between her attributes and the Silver Sand Sword’s—wood, water, and earth versus her metal and fire—had consumed more of her strength than she liked.
If her companion had been anyone but Zuo Chi, she would have paused to rest.
But with only him nearby, Yu Xiu chose to depart at once.

The Silver Sand Sword chuckled, delighted.
“For a little girl of the Path of Emotionlessness, you’ve quite the burning tangle of peach-blossom debts.”

“Burning?” Yu Xiu’s brow furrowed faintly.

Zuo Chi’s feelings for her, no matter how one described them, were restrained.
If one wanted to call something burning… it should be someone like Bu Xiwei.

Yu Xiu froze mid-step.
…Why had she thought of that Demon Lord again?

“Oh?” The Silver Sand Sword caught the shift immediately, its tone gleeful.
“Your heart is pounding so violently—you’ve already broken the most basic tenet of the Path of Emotionlessness: calmness of mind!”

It was well-versed in such matters. Clearly, this was not about an object, but a person.
It teased with pointed curiosity:
“Whom were you thinking of?”

Faced with such irreverent probing, Yu Xiu still answered with honesty.
“Someone I once held… rather high regard for.”

In her past life, the moment she had first seen Bu Xiwei’s character art, she had felt a strong liking.
If not for the fact that Bu Xiwei had been unplayable in Five Elements Immortal Domain, with little screen time, Yu Xiu might have played the game solely for her.

Her reply was so frank, so unguarded, that the Silver Sand Sword found it far less amusing than expected.