There are countless types of cauldrons, but “dual cultivation cauldrons” are the most well-known among cultivators due to their commonality.
Many cultivators from prominent families, lacking in various aspects, would seek out a woman or man with good aptitude and excellent appearance. Through techniques of yin and yang complementarity, they would seize the spiritual energy and cultivation of the other.
Although an immortal imperial emperor established immortal rules ten thousand years ago, explicitly prohibiting “using people as cauldrons,” it remains the easiest method for many cultivators with inherent flaws to break through their limitations.
Therefore, even now, the snatching of young men and women as cauldrons within immortal families is still common, merely disguised as forced marriages. This is prevalent in immortal families and even more so among demonic cultivators.
Gu Ming Xin’s beauty was second to none among demonic cultivators. Since childhood, when she was found by Yu Yan and brought to the Tian Mo Sect, she was targeted by many demonic cultivator clans.
The Mei clan of the Hehuan Sect, the Xuanyuan clan of the Ming Gu Sect, and even the He clan of the Tian Mo Sect…
To the demonic cultivators, the child Gu Ming Xin, only a few years old, was a rare cauldron that appeared once in a millennium. They all wanted to abduct her before Gu Yan valued her or before she grew up.
Even He Bu Qun ordered his fourth son, “He Mi,” to abduct Gu Ming Xin.
But everyone failed.
The Xuanyuan clan was annihilated by a Demonic Path Rogue Cultivator, and He Mi died encountering a level seven evil beast…
And none of these were done by Gu Ming Xin or Xue E herself.
Even Xue E didn’t know that during the period from Gu Ming Xin being brought to the Tian Mo Sect until she formed her core at fourteen and gained self-preservation strength, there was someone who had only met Gu Ming Xin once, who had been guarding them in the dark where they couldn’t see.
This person was He Qing Jiao.
The clan leader of the Xuanyuan clan took a liking to Gu Ming Xin, so He Qing Jiao disguised himself as a rogue cultivator and annihilated the Xuanyuan clan of the Ming Gu Sect…
He Mi, under He Bu Qun’s orders, tried to abduct Gu Ming Xin, so He Qing Jiao secretly summoned a level seven evil beast and sent her fourth brother into the beast’s mouth…
Boom—!!
Thousands of feet away, a Tian Mo Sect flying boat was pierced through by Xiao Yun Luo’s heavenly lightning technique and crashed into the dark forest below, exploding in a white light that illuminated the night.
This white light also illuminated two people confronting each other at a stone table by some rocks.
He Qing Jiao looked calmly at Ye An Ping, ten feet away, but felt a strange sense of incongruity, as if this person wasn’t from this world, but rather from beyond.
The spiritual sword in her hand gently turned, as if contemplating drawing it.
However, Ye An Ping directly reversed his grip on the “Bai Yue” in his hand, placing it behind his shoulder, appearing as though he didn’t want to fight. Opening his left hand, he simply asked, “Miss He, why must you do this? You have no loyalty to Yu Yan, nor to the Tian Mo Sect. Even He Bu Qun is insignificant to you, so why do you stand opposite me? Helping the Tian Mo Sect against the immortal families?”
“…”
Seeing that she still remained silent, Ye An Ping shrugged and smiled, “You’re A’Gu, right? Speaking of which, for A’Gu, you even didn’t hesitate to kill your own fourth brother?”
Hearing this, He Qing Jiao finally couldn’t help but speak. She seemed to understand the incongruity she felt from the person before her. This person knew her…
“Who told you?”
“Does it matter?” Ye An Ping extended his hand, “Miss He, we can be friends.”
“…”
“Yu Yan’s original purpose in bringing A’Gu back was for the Tian Mo Book Scroll and her physique. She is the cauldron Yu Yan cultivated for himself. My goal is to kill him…”
“I know,” He Qing Jiao interrupted with a frown, “I can’t kill Yu Yan.”
“I can.”
“Should I thank you then?” He Qing Jiao tilted her head slightly, her eyes instantly revealing a killing intent, and asked, “Where is A’Gu? This mountain just now was collapsed by her…”
“Miss He, why are you so stubborn?” Ye An Ping scratched his head and said, “Don’t you just want to wait until A’Gu catches up to you, and then kill her? After Yu Yan dies, I’ll give you that chance…”
“I’ll ask you one more time, where is A’Gu…?”
“…You don’t trust me that much?”
As soon as the words fell—
Whoosh—
He Qing Jiao moved from stillness to motion almost without warning. The ten-foot distance between them seemed to non-existent. By the time Ye An Ping saw her sword, it was already at his throat.
But he made no counter-measures. The Bai Yue behind his back didn’t move an inch.
He Qing Jiao looked at Ye An Ping’s calm face, suddenly feeling a sense of being toyed with. She tightened her grip on the sword hilt and pushed the spiritual sword forcefully towards Ye An Ping’s throat.
But at that very moment, two shadows, one black and one white, leaped from behind Ye An Ping, swooping down to his sides.
The blood-colored spiritual sword and the pitch-black spiritual sword crossed, intercepting the tip of He Qing Jiao’s spiritual sword.
Boom—
The dust around the four people was blown away by the air wave, and countless cracks appeared on the ground. He Qing Jiao was not surprised. Seeing Ye An Ping’s expression just now, she had guessed he had a backup plan. But upon seeing that one of the two people who blocked her sword was Gu Ming Xin, her stern face could not help but show emotion.
“A’Gu, you…”
Gu Ming Xin’s eyes widened, and she grinned, “Senior Brother He, long time no see!”
Since Feng Yu Die’s sword was crossed behind Gu Ming Xin’s sword, she didn’t hesitate. Relying on Gu Ming Xin to block Ye An Ping, she immediately withdrew her sword and swept out a golden sword qi, aiming straight for He Qing Jiao’s neck.
Noticing this sword strike, He Qing Jiao instinctively wanted to block it with her killing aura, but was surprised to find that this white-haired girl’s sword seemed to be able to cut through her killing aura. Moreover, the sword was extremely fast, comparable even to the girl holding the Xuan Bing sword just now.
So, she immediately withdrew her sword and dodged with a backbend, preparing to counterattack. But almost simultaneously, Gu Ming Xin’s spiritual sword had already reached her waist.
Seeing that she couldn’t dodge, He Qing Jiao gritted her teeth and flipped her left hand, instantly retrieving a jade bowl from her storage bag.
Jingle—
The jade bowl collided with the blood spirit sword and shattered into countless fragments. A boundless killing aura erupted from between the fragments, swallowing everything within a hundred-foot radius before exploding into a blood-red light that shot straight into the sky.
Boom—!!!
However, in the next moment, a golden light directly severed the blood-red light that shot into the sky. The six-colored formation flags buried around them slowly floated up, connected by six-colored threads, directly outlining a regular hexagonal spiritual realm around the mountain.
When the smoke and dust dispersed, what was revealed was a hundred-foot-deep hexagonal pit, as if cut by a sharp object.
Ye An Ping stood on a piece of rubble at one corner, his left hand forming a sword finger against his chest, and uttered, “Formation, set!”
The six formation flags floating above the six corners fell down with a roar, planting themselves on the high platform, constructing walls made of spiritual energy. This transformed the pit, approximately fifteen mu in size, into a inescapable cage.
He Qing Jiao knelt on one knee in the center of the pit, using her spiritual sword as a crutch. She looked around and immediately understood that this was likely a formation from which escape was impossible, unless the one who set it up was killed.
But to this, she merely snorted disdainfully, “Heh…”
Then she stood up, swung her spiritual sword to her right, glanced at the white-haired girl in one corner, and finally shifted her gaze to Gu Ming Xin, a hint of killing intent in her eyes, “A’Gu…”
“Senior Brother He, oh no… Senior Sister He, let me introduce you, this young master’s name is Ye An Ping, and he is my cultivation partner,” Gu Ming Xin smiled with narrowed eyes. “You just wanted to kill him, right?”
“…”
“Even if you didn’t want to kill him, I would have to kill you. You’re one of that old man He Bu Qun’s people…”
Ye An Ping glanced at her and sighed, “Miss He, I’ll give you another chance… why bother? Put down your sword, and I guarantee…”
Before he could finish speaking, He Qing Jiao raised the spiritual sword in her hand and directly swung a blood-colored sword qi at him, silencing his mouth. Ye An Ping helplessly had to block it with Bai Yue.
Clang—
At this exact moment, Gu Ming Xin’s eyes widened, and in an instant, she flashed to He Qing Jiao’s side.
“Who told you to move?!”
Clang—
The two swords clashed. However, He Qing Jiao looked at Gu Ming Xin with no emotional fluctuation, as if she was simply dealing with an opposing cultivator.
Two streams of killing aura scattered around them. In just three breaths, their swords had let out more than ten hissing sounds.
Feng Yu Die, watching from the side, had roughly understood their fighting styles. She turned to Ye An Ping for confirmation. Seeing Ye An Ping nod, she also swooped into the fray between the two.
“White idiot!!” Feng Yu Die said with disgust, “You cut your target! I’ll cooperate with you…”
“Who wants your cooperation!! Get out of the way!!”
Rustle—
The two people’s sword fighting, which had been somewhat predictable, became chaotic the moment Feng Yu Die entered. He Qing Jiao, who had been at ease, couldn’t help but break out in a cold sweat. She could block A’Gu’s sword with her own, but this white-haired girl’s sword could only be dodged with footwork.
However, she didn’t show fear or panic despite falling into such a dire situation. Instead, she curled her lips, as if enjoying it.
“Hiss— White idiot!” Gu Ming Xin also couldn’t adapt to fighting with someone else. She had been holding back a little due to Ye An Ping. But seeing Feng Yu Die darting around, she couldn’t suppress her anger.
Whoosh—
The blood-colored spiritual sword directly slashed towards the back of Feng Yu Die’s neck. But the moment it made contact, Feng Yu Die ducked her head, losing a small clump of silver hair. However, He Qing Jiao, who had been blocked by Feng Yu Die, didn’t have time to react. The blood-colored spiritual sword slit into her shoulder, forcing her to retreat hastily. But her footwork was intercepted by Feng Yu Die, and her calf was cut.
“Hiss—” He Qing Jiao gasped in pain and immediately retreated dozens of feet, planting her spiritual sword in the ground and squatting to a halt. Feng Yu Die touched the back of her head where a tuft of hair had been cut off and glared, “Blacky!! You stubborn woman!!”
Gu Ming Xin’s eyes widened as she cursed, “White idiot, do you want to die? You blocked my sword!! Who asked you to come over?!”
“Young Master Ye asked me to help you!!”
“Who asked for your help?!”
…
Watching the two from a slight distance, about to fight, Ye An Ping felt a ache in his heart. He sighed. Xiao Tian and Xue E, who had been sitting on his shoulders, also had complex expressions of indescribable emotions.
“Sigh…” “Sigh…”
“Blacky, why are you sighing?!”
“My sighing has nothing to do with you…”
…
Ye An Ping glanced at each of them, but in the next moment, his attention was drawn by a sudden burst of laughter.
“Hehehehe… Hahahaha…”
He Qing Jiao, hobbling on her right leg, threw back her head and laughed heartily. Her expression became increasingly contorted. She then looked at Gu Ming Xin and pointed her sword at her, “A’Gu, you’ve made friends.”
Upon hearing this, Feng Yu Die and Gu Ming Xin, who had been glaring at each other, both turned to look at her and said in unison, “Who with this white idiot…” “Who with this black idiot…”
However, at this moment, a voice suddenly came from afar, causing Feng Yu Die and Gu Ming Xin’s backs to tremble:
“It is indeed Senior Brother. Senior Brother!!!”
The four people inside the formation looked up almost simultaneously. They saw Pei Lian Xue, Xiao Yun Luo, and Liang Zhu had already arrived overhead. Following them were over a hundred Xuan Xing Sect disciples, all wearing light purple sect uniforms, standing on flying swords.
Pei Lian Xue ignored the other two and plummeted into the formation, intending to rush directly into her Senior Brother’s arms. But seeing Gu Ming Xin and He Qing Jiao, who had just fought her, present, she assumed her Senior Brother and the “Second Idiot” were dealing with them and suppressed her urge to act cute, landing in front of Ye An Ping.
Whoosh—
With a wave of the Snow Jade Myriad Spirit Sword, Pei Lian Xue glanced at her Senior Brother’s shoulders but said nothing. She frowned and asked, “Senior Brother, who should we cut down first?”
“…”
Ye An Ping remained silent. He stepped forward and patted her head, then looked again at the solitary He Qing Jiao.
At this point, he didn’t need to say anything. The question had already been posed by the Xuan Xing Sect disciples surrounding the formation from above outside. How to answer now depended on He Qing Jiao’s choice. Life or death…
However, He Qing Jiao merely glanced around at the sky, then tightened her grip on the spiritual sword in her hand, turned to look at Ye An Ping, and took a step towards him, “Young Master, I still don’t know you…”
Ye An Ping preempted her, “Ye An Ping.”
“This… then please, Young Master Ye…” He Qing Jiao took a deep breath, her eyes widening, “Meet your death!!”
Ye An Ping nodded in assent, “En…”
Then, he simply closed his eyes, cleared his mind, and stopped looking.
Boom boom—
The roar of spiritual and killing energy entered his ears, but it was meaningless.
Jingle jingle—
The clanging of swords meeting was piercing, yet also meaningless.
“You dare touch my Senior Brother?!”
Clang—
Ye An Ping felt He Qing Jiao’s sword for the last time, it was only inches from his neck, but he still didn’t open his eyes to look. The sword wind brushed his face, the gale raged, but it would eventually subside.
Swish—
When the surroundings fell silent, Ye An Ping slowly opened his tightly shut eyes. He Qing Jiao was now pierced through the chest by a blood-colored spiritual sword, lying in a pool of blood. But her eyes were not wide with regret; they were closed, and there was no trace of remorse on her face, serene as water.
Pei Lian Xue looked at Gu Ming Xin with some confusion. She had initially thought Gu Ming Xin was allied with He Qing Jiao. To her surprise, it was Gu Ming Xin who had pierced He Qing Jiao through the heart, destroying her nascent soul.
Ye An Ping walked over slowly, patting Pei Lian Xue’s head as he passed her. He then stopped beside He Qing Jiao, his lips parting slightly, but no sound came out. He simply took out a high-grade Fire Element Talisman Script from his storage bag and sprinkled it onto He Qing Jiao’s chest. In the faint flames, he witnessed the demise of another grain of sand in the vast ocean.
…
