When the Female Lead Becomes Obsessive – Chapter 87

Volume Four: Those Years When I Was a Master

[Rough and not set in stone: Foundation Establishment → Enlightenment → Integration → Temptation → Golden Core → Nascent Soul → Soul Division → Body Integration → Void Glimpse → Mahayana → Void Shattering → Tribulation Transcendence → Supreme Immortal]

The Immortal’s Inheritance

Almost no one knew that the truth of what happened back then was so unexpected, so utterly shocking.

At that time, everyone believed that Yu Wen Nuan had ruthlessly cleaned up her own sect to protect all living beings in the world. Now, they suddenly discovered that the only person Yu Wen Nuan had wanted to protect from beginning to end was her little disciple, Yu Wan Zhao.

Zhong Baixuan had left Yu Wan Zhao and Liu Qingsui in the Qianyuan Upper Palace and brought Yu Wen Nuan to the Forbidden Chamber.

Yu Wan Zhao stood right outside the Forbidden Chamber, refusing to leave, staring helplessly and despairingly at the tightly shut stone door.

With her current cultivation, she could have broken it open.

But she didn’t dare. But she was not worthy.

Liu Qingsui stood beside Yu Wan Zhao and sighed deeply. “To think that back then, it was Elder Yu who sacrificed her life to save us.”

He knew in his heart that he had been at the end of his rope back then, carrying a heavily injured Yu Wan Zhao. If that group of cultivators had caught up to them, they would have undoubtedly died.

The sealing of the rift had been a godsend for them.

At the time, he had merely thought that Yu Wen Nuan wanted to seal the Demon Race away again, never realizing she had done it so they could find a sliver of hope for survival.

Yu Wan Zhao stood woodenly, her face devoid of expression, staring at the Forbidden Chamber without even blinking.

Right now, she was more like a person with a shattered Primordial Spirit—indifferent and numb, her heart like dead ashes.

“Don’t worry, Sect Master Zhong will find a way to save Elder Yu,” Liu Qingsui comforted her.

Zhong Baixuan looked at the lifeless Wen Nuan, who was like a puppet. His heart was filled with a myriad of emotions, which finally coalesced into a sigh. “Wen Nuan, why did you do all this?”

He had tried many methods and scoured every forbidden text, yet he still couldn’t figure out how to resolve Wen Nuan’s shattered Primordial Spirit.

“Just as you said, to protect Wan Zhao.”

“Is that so!?” Zhong Baixuan snapped back to his senses and shot his head up, only to see the Wen Nuan of this moment. Her eyes had regained their spirit, and her gentle gaze was fixed on him.

“Wen Nuan? You’ve recovered?” he said, stunned.

No, a shattered Primordial Spirit doesn’t recover so easily.

Wen Nuan shook her head. “No, my Primordial Spirit is still shattered. I just left myself a way out, allowing myself to regain consciousness for one shichen¹ each day.”

Zhong Baixuan was deeply perplexed. “For that Yu Wan Zhao, is doing all this worth it?”

“It’s worth it.” Wen Nuan gave a faint smile. “She cannot die. Even if I die, she cannot die.”

“For a person like her who would deceive her master and forsake her ancestorsn ungrateful wretch, why must you protect her with your life?”

If Wen Nuan hadn’t used her Primordial Spirit to protect Yu Wan Zhao, Zhong Baixuan would have killed that demon spawn, even at the cost of his own life.

“Senior Brother, I am in love with her.” Her voice was faint, but the words she spoke were as heavy as a thousand catties of gold, sending Zhong Baixuan’s head spinning.

He was momentarily dazed, asking blankly, “…What… what do you mean?”

Wen Nuan smiled faintly. “Senior Brother, I am in love with Wan Zhao.”

“Not the affection between a master and disciple, but romantic love. It is desire. It is what I seek for a lifetime.”

Zhong Baixuan’s eyes widened, and he sucked in a sharp breath. “You are… Since when?”

Yu Wen Nuan was clearly the most pure-hearted and desireless person in the Qianyuan Upper Palace. She treated everything with a cool indifference. He had never seen Wen Nuan care deeply about anything, nor had he ever seen her express her thoughts so directly and fervently.

But for a fleeting moment, the image of Yu Wan Zhao flashed through Zhong Baixuan’s mind.

Her little disciple, Yu Wan Zhao.

She gave her a surname, she raised her to adulthood, she protected her completely, she preserved her righteousness.

So there had been traces to follow all along.

“For women to love each other is, to put it mildly, shocking to the world,” Zhong Baixuan said through gritted teeth. “Did that demon spawn deliberately seduce you?”

“No. She was so young, how could she have seduced me?”

When they first met, Wan Zhao only came up to her waist. The little girl was so thin that she seemed to be nothing but a pair of pitch-black eyes, like two large, crystal-clear marbles that were utterly endearing.

Back then, Wan Zhao was small and exquisite. She would follow behind her every day, sweetly calling her ‘Master².’ Every call of ‘Master’ was cloyingly sweet, enough to make one’s heart melt.

How unlike the present, where every time Yu Wan Zhao called her Master, her words were filled with veiled barbs and thorns³, making it unpleasant to hear no matter what.

Zhong Baixuan thought of the Yu Wan Zhao from that time. The little girl was delicate and bright, especially charming and lovely whenever she met people, making one’s heart fill with joy. Moreover, Yu Wan Zhao’s talent was outstanding, and she cultivated diligently. In less than a few years after coming to the Qianyuan Upper Palace, her cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds. In less than a decade, she became the youngest Nascent Soul cultivator in Juzhou.

For a time, her fame was unparalleled.

But no one could have expected that this heaven’s favored child actually had the bloodline of the Demon Race.

“When did you fall in love with her?” Zhong Baixuan sighed and asked.

A deep longing surfaced in Wen Nuan’s eyes as she curved her lips. “I’ve loved her for a long time. So long that I can’t even remember.”

Zhong Baixuan: “….”

It’s over. She can’t be swayed back.

He had thought that if it had been a short time, he could persuade Wen Nuan a few more times and perhaps make her change her mind. But seeing her now, he was afraid Wen Nuan had fallen for Yu Wan Zhao long ago.

The two remained silent for a long time.

Zhong Baixuan was the first to speak. “Does… she know?”

“Perhaps she knows,” Wen Nuan lowered her eyes, “and perhaps she doesn’t.”

Zhong Baixuan opened his mouth, but in the end, he could only let out a weary sigh. “The matter between you and Yu Wan Zhao, I don’t want to manage it, nor can I be bothered to. Right now, your Primordial Spirit is shattered, yet you’ve left yourself a sliver of hope. Do you have a way to repair your Primordial Spirit?”

Zhong Baixuan was right. Wen Nuan had indeed left herself a sliver of hope.

A shattered Primordial Spirit was not without a cure.

She looked at Zhong Baixuan. “The South Sea Weiyang Mystic Realm.”

“The South Sea Weiyang Mystic Realm?”

His eyes shifted, and he immediately understood Wen Nuan’s meaning. “Are you talking about the Immortal’s Inheritance in the South Sea Weiyang Mystic Realm?”

“Yes.”

“The South Sea Weiyang Mystic Realm has already been tread upon by countless human cultivators and members of the Demon Race. The Burial Ground has been practically turned inside out, and all the treasures have been looted clean. Even if there was an Immortal’s Inheritance, if we go now, I’m afraid there’s nothing left.”

When the three great mystic realms opened, people flocked to them⁴.

The Qianyuan Upper Palace was the first among them, heading to the South Sea Weiyang Mystic Realm first. As for the Burial Ground, members of the Demon Race could not enter, and those with a cultivation level below Nascent Soul were barred from entry.

Numerous powerful cultivators poured into the Burial Ground, turning the Weiyang Mystic Realm upside down. Aside from some rare treasures, they did not discover any Immortal’s Inheritance.

“It’s still there.” With the world’s main storyline in her grasp, Wen Nuan naturally knew that the Immortal’s Inheritance of the South Sea Weiyang Mystic Realm was still there.

Zhong Baixuan’s brow furrowed. “Where is it?”

He had entered the Burial Ground back then but had not sensed any Immortal’s Inheritance.

“The Void Barrier.”

Zhong Baixuan froze. “The Void Barrier?!”

Wen Nuan had also guessed that the Immortal’s Inheritance of the South Sea Weiyang Mystic Realm must also be inside a Void Barrier based on the one in the Ancient Battlefield Ruins.

When the three great mystic realms appeared, the main storyline given by the system had stated that all three of these mystic realms would have an inheritance.

As for where they were, they were likely all within Void Barriers, their whereabouts unknown.

“Correct,” Wen Nuan told him truthfully. “The Ancient Battlefield Ruins has a Void Barrier, and inside it is the Demon Soul Inheritance. From this, we can deduce that the South Sea Weiyang Mystic Realm and the Central Marshwood Mystic Realm also have Void Barriers, and within these barriers, there must be an inheritance.”

It was impossible for the earth-shattering three great mystic realms to only contain some rare treasures. The Immortal’s Inheritance must exist in the depths of the mystic realm, waiting to be discovered.

“You are a fated one⁵. Without fate, one can neither enter nor exit a Void Barrier.”

Zhong Baixuan naturally knew what a Void Barrier was, and he was also clear on the fundamental reason why Yu Wan Zhao and Wen Nuan were able to retreat unscathed from one.

“So, the Immortal’s Inheritance is the way out you left for yourself?” Zhong Baixuan looked at her.

“Mhm.”

“Alright then, I’ll accompany you to the South Sea Weiyang Mystic Realm.”

Wen Nuan shook her head. “There’s no need. The Qianyuan Upper Palace cannot be left unattended at this time. Junior Brother Rong Qi⁶ and Junior Sister Zi Fan⁷ are both in seclusion cultivating. If you accompany me to the mystic realm now, wouldn’t the Qianyuan Upper Palace be like a group of dragons without a head⁸?”

“In your current state, how can I be at ease letting you go to the Weiyang Mystic Realm alone?” Zhong Baixuan said worriedly.

“Who said I was going alone?” Wen Nuan said with a faint, enigmatic smile.

Zhong Baixuan was momentarily at a loss for words, but he soon sighed helplessly. “…Alright, if you insist, then have it your way.”

Wen Nuan glanced at the time the system had calculated for her. “Senior Brother, I’m about to return to the state of a shattered Primordial Spirit. When that happens, please tell Wan Zhao not to worry, okay?”

Zhong Baixuan shot Wen Nuan a disapproving look and pursed his lips, only to see her clear, cold eyes instantly turn numb and vacant.

He thought to himself: I’m not telling her. Let Yu Wan Zhao be tormented with anxiety⁹ for a while.

He sighed, flicked his sleeve, and opened the great door of the Forbidden Chamber, shouting, “Yu Wan Zhao, get your ass in here.”

Before his voice had even faded, a flash of white light appeared before him.

Zhong Baixuan looked at the panicked Yu Wan Zhao before him, and thinking of the words Wen Nuan had just spoken, his heart was a tangle of emotions.

Yu Wan Zhao saw it in Zhong Baixuan’s eyes—resentment, dissatisfaction, difficulty, and helplessness. All sorts of emotions were mixed together, complex and bewildering, making one feel deeply uneasy.

That grieved yet helpless expression, in particular, truly made Yu Wan Zhao unable to comprehend its deeper meaning.

“Sect Master Zhong, have you… found a way to save Master?” she asked cautiously.

She looked at Wen Nuan, who was still like stagnant water, and pressed her lips together. “Sect Master Zhong, as long as you can save Master, you can even kill me, grind my bones to dust and scatter my ashes until I’m completely annihilated. Anything is fine.”

Zhong Baixuan’s brows furrowed tightly. “…Do I look like such a bloodthirsty person?”

“Of course not.” Liu Qingsui walked in, smiling apologetically. “Who in the world doesn’t know that Sect Master Zhong is a man of noble character and sterling integrity, a great benefactor who rights the wrongs of the world and aids all living beings?”

“Hah, no need to flatter me,” Zhong Baixuan shot him a sideways glance. “Even if I have a way to save Wen Nuan, it’s not because of you two. Wen Nuan is my junior sister, a member of my Qianyuan Upper Palace. It is my duty to save her. If it were either of you two, I would wish for nothing more than for you to die without a burial place.”

Liu Qingsui pursed his lips, indicating that he was not the least bit bothered by Zhong Baixuan’s harsh words.

“Yes, yes, Sect Master Zhong, you are right. I deserve to die.” Yu Wan Zhao was overjoyed to hear that Zhong Baixuan could save Wen Nuan. “As long as Sect Master Zhong can save Master, I would even take my own life right now.”

“Your life is still useful for now. When your master is well, whether she beats you or kills you will be entirely up to how she deals with you. After all…” Zhong Baixuan glanced at Wen Nuan, “…you are still her disciple.”

Even if he had expelled Yu Wan Zhao from the Qianyuan Upper Palace, as long as Wen Nuan still acknowledged her, she was Wen Nuan’s disciple, without a doubt.

Yu Wan Zhao’s eyelashes trembled. She said in a hoarse voice, “…Thank you, Sect Master Zhong.”

Zhong Baixuan sighed. “Currently, there is only one way to save Wen Nuan’s shattered Primordial Spirit, and that is the Immortal’s Inheritance from the South Sea Weiyang Mystic Realm.”

“The Immortal’s Inheritance?” Liu Qingsui said in surprise. “Ever since the South Sea Weiyang Mystic Realm was discovered, countless people have gone there. I’ve never heard of any Immortal’s Inheritance in the South Sea Weiyang Mystic Realm?”

“Can you let me finish speaking?” Zhong Baixuan looked at Liu Qingsui helplessly.

Liu Qingsui shrugged. “…Please, go on.”

“You two said that there was a Void Barrier in the Ancient Battlefield Ruins, and inside it, you discovered the Demon Soul Inheritance. Therefore, I speculate….”

Yu Wan Zhao said in a deep voice, “You suspect that the South Sea Weiyang Mystic Realm has an Immortal’s Inheritance, and that it is hidden inside a Void Barrier?”

“Correct,” Zhong Baixuan said. “So, you will take Wen Nuan on a trip to the South Sea Weiyang Mystic Realm. Obtain the Immortal’s Inheritance, and perhaps you can restore your master’s shattered Primordial Spirit.”

Yu Wan Zhao’s eyes were sincere as she nodded. “Yes.”

“I’ll go with you,” Liu Qingsui said, unable to rest easy.

“No need,” Yu Wan Zhao accepted his sentiment. “The Demon Domain cannot be without a master for a single day. It’s enough for me to go with Master.”

“But can you manage on your own?”

The South Sea Weiyang Mystic Realm was fraught with danger. For Yu Wan Zhao to bring along a Yu Wen Nuan who was like a walking corpse was undoubtedly increasing the difficulty.

“It’s fine. I am already in the Mahayana Realm. There are few under the heavens who can harm me.” Yu Wan Zhao clutched the corner of Wen Nuan’s sleeve and looked into her eyes, a faint smile on her face. “If anyone dares to touch Master, even if it means mutual destruction, I will not let them harm Master in the slightest.”

In the past, you protected me completely. Now, I will guard your well-being.

Master, I only wish for you to be well. I would die without regret.

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The author has something to say:

Zhong Baixuan: rolls eyes.

Liu Qingsui: Heartbroken.

Yu Wan Zhao: Grieving.

Wen Nuan: Currently offline…

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