Fusang Sword Heart Diagram

one year later.

In the Cuiwei Tower of Shangling City.

A young girl dressed in a light gray-purple brocade dress with lotus patterns looked at the map in front of her, her voice echoing in the dark room.

"It's been a whole year, and they still haven't figured out the truth about those three?"

The sound of the shuttle was tinged with resentment. A year ago, after the banquet hosted by the Hermit of Luoxia, she had the people of the Quan Sect follow the woman in yellow, the young Taoist nun, and the girl in black, but without exception, they all failed.

In the past year alone, so many members of the Izumi sect have been lost, yet the information obtained is still pitifully scarce.

Within the Quanzong sect, there was great dissatisfaction with her decision, which left Zhubei even more exhausted. She was unable to explain to everyone why she had to investigate these three people.

It concerns the secrets of the Merfolk, and Zhu Bei does not want other non-human races to know about them.

A year has passed, and all Zhu Bei knows is that the woman in yellow is named Huang Wan, with the Taoist name Taizhen Sanren, and is not from Shangling City. The young Taoist nun is a female Taoist priest from Zhexiu Mountain, who uses a bamboo forest as her Taoist temple. Outsiders are forbidden from setting foot within a radius of two hundred miles, and the people from Quanzong cannot infiltrate her at all.

As for the girl in black robes and arrow sleeves, even less information was available. All that was known was that her Daoist name was Yaoling, and her origins and identity remained shrouded in mystery.

Later, Zhu Bei went to Guixinzhai again, hoping to ask Gu Xinian to paint the face of the person who took away the things he had entrusted to Ku Ge, but he couldn't even get through the door of Guixinzhai.

As Zhu Bei had imagined, Gu Xinian did not pursue the matter of the "Floating Life Dream Tea," but the friendship between Quan Zong and Gui Xin Zhai was completely severed after that cup of "Floating Life Dream Tea."

Whether it's the sorrow of parting or the separation from the past, the only time we can meet again is when we're storing things away, and we can exchange a few words.

The merman youth lowered his eyelids and said, "Sister Zhubei, after Huang Wan left Shangling City, there has been no trace of her. We can't enter the Taoist temple of the female Taoist priests of Zhexiu Mountain, and the female cultivator Yaoling has disappeared without a trace, as if she has vanished into thin air. Continuing to investigate them will not do any good for Quanzong."

“Especially recently, there have been more and more voices of rebuttal within the Quan Sect regarding this matter, and even the morale of the sect is somewhat low. If this continues, I fear that the Quan Sect may become unstable.”

After a long silence, Zhu Bei said, "Alright, you can go now."

A sliver of sunlight seeped into the sealed room, but it quickly returned to darkness.

Zhu Bei sat on the stone steps, looking at his palm, where a faint blue light shone. The more people the Spring Sect absorbed, the harder it became to reach a consensus.

Each elder harbored selfish motives, seeking to benefit their own clansmen. Had she not used the Floating Bubble Forbidden Technique, allowing her cultivation to advance by leaps and bounds, quickly reaching the eighth level, she probably wouldn't have been able to control these sect members with their own ulterior motives.

But Zhu Bei knew very well that this couldn't go on. Within the Quan Sect, the Merfolk must have absolute say.

Heaven gave them useless tears that could turn into pearls, silk that could be woven from water, and beautiful songs, but it did not give them the corresponding ability to protect themselves.

Without strength, there is no voice.

Perhaps one day, the position of sect leader of Quanzong will change hands.

Zhu Bei's gaze turned slightly cold; she would never allow such a situation to occur. After thinking for a long time, she sent a message to Li Shuo.

Before long, the door to the secret room was pushed open. Li Shuo's gaze swept around the room before he saw Zhu Bei sitting in the shadows.

"Is there something you need me to do?" Li Shuo asked proactively.

Zhu Bei raised his head, looked at him, and said very seriously, word by word: "Li Shuo, go and find some more promising young merfolk and have them start learning the forbidden technique of floating bubbles."

Li Shuo remained silent for a long time before asking, "How many clansmen do you need to find?"

"The more the better." A look of madness appeared in Zhu Bei's eyes. "Look how fast our cultivation has improved after using the forbidden technique of Floating Bubble?"

“But… even if they become human, will they still be merfolk? They won’t want that.” Li Shuo felt a pang of pity: “The Floating Bubble Forbidden Technique is irreversible and will shorten their lifespan. Most importantly, it means they have to abandon their identity and the blessing of the Sea God…”

Zhu Bei interrupted him coldly, "The goddess's flower hairpin falls, the mermaid weaves a sorrowful brocade. It is clear that the sea god's blessing is not a good thing."

“Li Shuo, this is a disaster falling on our heads, not a blessing.”

Li Shuo remained silent for a moment, not arguing with her. Merfolk possess lifespans longer than humans, the ability to weave tears into pearls and water into silk, and ethereal, melodious songs—these are not faults. The fault lies with insatiable and unscrupulous individuals.

But he knew that no matter what he said now, Zhu Bei wouldn't listen.

From the moment she changed her name to Zhu Bei at a young age, she revealed her deep-seated hatred for this talent and for the human race.

“Li Shuo, even though I hate the human race, I still chose to become human. Besides the helplessness I had when I was fleeing, it was also my own willingness.”

She looked at Li Shuo, her tone regaining a hint of calm, "After using the forbidden technique of Floating Bubbles, at least we can walk openly in the Zhongling World without worrying about being captured by human cultivators one day and forced to weave endless threads, right?"

Zhu Bei said in a very soft voice, "Li Shuo, I can hardly suppress the various voices within the Quan Sect anymore. I need someone to help me."

Touched, Li Shuo replied, "Alright, I promise you, I will persuade more of my people to learn the forbidden technique of floating bubbles."

Zhu Bei then smiled with relief.

*
Forests, springs, caves, and mansions.

Ning Fusang's cultivation is stable; he is a true mid-stage Knowledge Realm cultivator.

At the same time, Rong Jiang emerged from seclusion, carrying the refined magic treasure Soul Dream Pearl, and went to Ning Fusang's house.

The final shape of this magical artifact resembles a gray-gold round coin, with a milky-white bead inlaid in the center and small beads inlaid around the edges, making it look like an ordinary piece of women's jewelry.

Rong Jiang explained, "This item inherently contains powerful spiritual energy. When you use it, you only need a tiny bit of spiritual energy as a guide to activate it."

"Because the main ingredients of the Soul Dream Pearl are the beast cores of the Eight-Tailed Celestial Fox and the Dreamwing Bird, the magic weapon also retains some of the characteristics of the two demon beast cores. It looks white now, but under the rain, the Soul Dream Pearl will become transparent."

"If you wish to refine the Soul Dream Pearl, it is simple; you only need the beast cores of Illusion Path and Dream Path demonic beasts. However, the most suitable materials for refining the Soul Dream Pearl are the Heavenly Fox and the Dream Winged Bird."

Ning Fusang nodded. "I understand."

She looked at Rong Jiang, handed him a storage bag, and said, "Go pack your things. After today, you will leave Shangling City."

Rong Jiang had been mentally prepared to leave Shangling City after this seclusion, but she didn't expect it to happen so soon.

He clutched the storage bag and asked, "Sir, where should I go?"

"In the storage bag I gave you, there is a map of the entire Zhongling World. You can choose to go wherever you like."

This arrangement seemed to be to set him free, but Rong Jiang knew very well that her life and death were still in her hands.

Ning Fusang looked at Rong Jiang and said, "I will grant you ten years of freedom. Whether you travel to famous mountains and rivers, find a valley to live in seclusion, or cultivate diligently, it is up to you."

"I will not care about you for the next ten years. If you die, I will not avenge you, nor will I avenge the Valley of Withered Glory."

(End of this chapter)