After Cutting Off Love And Emotions, I Was Pestered By The Demon Sect’s Enchantress - Chapter 27

Severing Affections (Part II)

The wooden door gave a soft “creak” as A-Xu closed it. She said calmly, “Using the secret technique this time requires you to open your spiritual consciousness to me.”

Because A-Xu had mentioned this before, Zhu Shengxi had no suspicions. She murmured an “um” in response, then condensed a spell-seal with one hand and tapped it against the center of her own brow.

A-Xu looked at her with a complex gaze. After a long moment, she walked slowly to her side, gathered spiritual power in her palm, and pressed it against the side of her shoulder.

A-Xu closed her eyes and focused her mind. Soon, she saw Zhu Shengxi’s spiritual sea—it was vast and crystal clear. She mobilized her spiritual power and went straight into the other woman’s memories to search.

From her entry into the Guiyun Sect to her standing out during the sect trials, A-Xu watched everything with great patience as a bystander. Finally, she found what she wanted to know in one particular place.

“Hundreds of years ago, the demonic beast Lin Yuan appeared in the world, bringing calamity to mankind. At that time, the Grandmaster was already in the Great Transformation stage, only a step away from ascension. But for the safety of all, she sacrificed her entire cultivation to seal the beast Lin Yuan beneath the Guiyun Sect.” Immortal Voruo spoke slowly, looking at the three people before him, and said solemnly:

“This scroll is closely related to the seal of the beast Lin Yuan. You must guard the seal well and never allow the Demonic Cult to summon Lin Yuan again.”

Jiang Lixu, Chu Yu, and Zhu Shengxi spoke in unison: “We will keep Master’s words firmly in our hearts.”

Seeing this scene, A-Xu became thoughtful. So the scroll was indeed related to the seal of the demonic beast Lin Yuan; the Cult Leader’s suspicion was correct.

As the memories continued, having obtained the information she needed, A-Xu no longer had the heart to keep watching. She controlled her spiritual power and withdrew from Zhu Shengxi’s consciousness.

The feeling of having one’s spiritual consciousness pried into was not pleasant. Zhu Shengxi suppressed the metallic taste of blood in her throat and asked in a low voice, “Is it done?”

A-Xu withdrew her hand and replied flatly, “Yes. The cold poison in your body has been completely removed. I’ll say it again: do not use your spiritual power for the next few days.”

After speaking, A-Xu prepared to stand up. Seeing that she seemed about to leave, Zhu Shengxi felt a pang of panic and grabbed her sleeve.

“Wait.”

A-Xu’s gaze fell back on her, her expression indifferent. “What is it?”

Zhu Shengxi took out a wrapped square handkerchief from her bosom and slowly unfolded it, revealing the jade hairpin inside.

A-Xu was somewhat surprised. “You…”

Zhu Shengxi said softly, “You said a few days ago that you liked this jade hairpin. I… so I bought it.”

A-Xu stared at her, the emotions in her eyes unreadable. No one had ever been like this—taking every word she said to heart.

“Why… are you doing this?” A-Xu closed her eyes and asked in a hoarse voice.

Her reaction was completely different from what Zhu Shengxi had imagined. Zhu Shengxi looked at her and asked uncertainly, “You don’t like it?”

A-Xu’s heart ached with a dull pressure. She lowered her eyes to avoid the other’s gaze and whispered:

“Put it on for me.”

Zhu Shengxi gave a soft “um,” leaned in close, and with a serious expression, tucked the hairpin into the other woman’s hair.

“There, it’s done,” Zhu Shengxi said gently. But in the next moment, her smile froze on her lips.

A sharp, stabbing pain spread through her belatedly. Zhu Shengxi slowly looked down. Half of a dagger was buried in her chest, and the remaining half of the blade brightly reflected her own frozen expression.

Blood surged in her chest. She stared blankly at the person in front of her. As soon as she opened her lips, blood slid uncontrollably from the corners of her mouth.

“Why… why?”

A-Xu pulled back the dagger expressionlessly and let the blood on it drip into a small vial. Cold words spilled out one by one: “The thing I wanted to take is your heart’s blood.”

“From beginning to end, everything I did was only for this.”

The indifferent expression of the person before her felt extremely foreign. Zhu Shengxi looked at her in disbelief, but the chilling words in her ears and the sharp pain in her chest proved that none of this was an illusion; it was real.

“You risked your life to save me before, and you even cleared the cold poison for me…” Zhu Shengxi murmured, ignoring the blood in her mouth.

A-Xu interrupted her impatiently:

“Don’t you understand yet? Those were all just means to get close to you. It was all a lie!”

Zhu Shengxi gritted her teeth, grabbed A-Xu’s hem, and stared at her. “Then why didn’t you strike that night, when I had no defenses?”

A-Xu gave an ambiguous laugh. “On such a beautiful night with a fine view, it’s never good to do something involving blood.”

Her lips trembled involuntarily. The pain from the dagger was far less than the tangled chill in her heart. Zhu Shengxi’s voice shook: “You said… you wouldn’t lie to me again.”

A-Xu’s gaze was cold. She leaned down slightly, patted her face lightly, and said word for word:

“The one who made promises to you was the nameless cultivator A-Xu, not me—the Left Protector of the Demonic Cult, Ning Xu.”

Ning Xu… Zhu Shengxi’s mind reeled. The person in front of her was actually the ruthless Demonic Cult Protector others spoke of.

“I told you, you don’t understand me at all. I just like killing people for no reason,” A-Xu laughed lowly. “The Northern Hall Master of the Guiyun Sect is nothing special. Not only could she not distinguish a member of the Demonic Cult, but she actually fell in love with me. It’s absolutely laughable.”

With that nearly humiliating sentence, her sincere feelings became a complete joke in this person’s mouth.

Zhu Shengxi’s expression went blank. Looking at the malicious smile on the person’s face, she felt an endless chill in her heart.

The once burning affection cooled instantly at this moment. All that joy and heartbeat turned into blades, finally stabbing her heartlessly.

A few scalding drops fell on the back of A-Xu’s hand. A-Xu’s breath hitched, and the smile from a moment ago froze instantly.

She lowered her gaze slightly and found that Zhu Shengxi’s eyes were rimmed with red, tears sliding down her pale face one by one.

A-Xu hurriedly withdrew her hand, hiding the various emotions in her eyes.

Whether it was the outbreak of the cold poison or every time the secret technique was used, it was extremely painful, yet Zhu Shengxi had never cried then. But at this moment, this person was actually crying…

Why? Was it because she had lied to her? A-Xu’s heart was in a mess, but she had neither the courage nor the right to wipe away the other woman’s tears.

Zhu Shengxi asked hoarsely, “Why did you pry into my spiritual consciousness?”

A-Xu didn’t answer her. She simply took out the jade hairpin from earlier and stuffed it into her hand. “Keep it for yourself.” With that, A-Xu immediately turned around and left without looking back.

Zhu Shengxi clenched the jade hairpin, her breath rising and falling unevenly. Shock, anger, resentment, and other negative emotions she had never felt before surged in her heart.

Having just used the secret technique, she was already weak. Coupled with the massive emotional upheaval, Zhu Shengxi’s face turned deathly pale, and she couldn’t help but cough up a mouthful of blood.

Her white clothes were stained with blood, looking extremely piercing to the eye.

The momentum of breaking through her cultivation stage quietly receded. She could feel that her Taoist heart (Dao heart), which she took pride in, was now filled with various negative emotions and was teetering on the edge of collapse.

That person really just left like that. Approaching her, leading her to feel affection, utilizing her sincerity, and then leaving without any lingering attachment after taking her heart’s blood.

How ridiculous. A few days ago, she had even defended A-Xu in front of her Senior Sister, confidently stating that A-Xu would not harm her.

No wonder A-Xu was unwilling to form a bond with her. From beginning to end, the “liking” was fake, the “saving and protecting” was fake—only the calculation was real.

When Jiang Lixu returned, this was the scene she saw. Zhu Shengxi’s gaze was heavy, the spiritual power around her was in total disarray, and her cultivation realm had dropped to an unknown level.

“Junior Sister!” Jiang Lixu hurried over, quickly pouring in spiritual power to help Zhu Shengxi stabilize her chaotic breath.

Zhu Shengxi’s face was expressionless. She said slowly, “Senior Sister, your suspicions were right.”

“She is not an ordinary cultivator. She is… the Left Protector of the Demonic Cult.”

Jiang Lixu looked at her with concern. “Yes, I know. Don’t think too much. Follow me back to the Guiyun Sect first.”

At the Guiyun Sect, on Zhaoxia Peak.

A woman in green clothes checked the pulse of the person beside her, then frowned in silence.

Jiang Lixu: “Junior Sister Chu, how is the situation?”

Chu Yu shook her head and said deeply, “A-Sheng’s heart meridian is damaged, and she has suffered a great emotional upheaval. The drop in cultivation can be mended with further practice, but if the Taoist heart is compromised, I’m afraid…”

Jiang Lixu understood her underlying meaning. If there was a flaw in the Taoist heart, heart-demons would grow. One wrong step could lead her astray.

She said hatefully, “That Ning Xu is truly a witch. My Junior Sister trusted her so much, yet she teamed up with other cult members to lead me away so she could strike her.”

When Jiang Lixu brought Zhu Shengxi back to the sect, Chu Yu had heard the beginning and end of the story, so she echoed, “It is indeed detestable.”

She wrote down a prescription. “For now, we can only stabilize A-Sheng’s spiritual power. As for the rest, we’ll wait until she wakes up to make plans.”

Jiang Lixu glanced at the person on the bed and sighed, “That’s all we can do.”

Consciousness gradually returned. Zhu Shengxi slowly opened her eyes. What entered her sight were familiar furnishings. She propped herself up and realized this was her own living quarters.

The Guiyun Sect was divided into three peaks. Jiang Lixu, as the Sect Master, lived on the main peak. Second Senior Sister Chu Yu was on Zhaoxia Peak. She lived on Xiyin Peak. The sect had North and South Halls; the South Hall was managed by Zhao Qicun and handled discipline, while her North Hall was responsible for maintaining the various secret realms within the sect.

A residual pain lingered in her chest—it was unclear whether it was from the injury or something else. Looking at the familiar objects around her, Zhu Shengxi couldn’t help but feel dazed. The events of the past few months since leaving the sect felt like a dream.

Now, the dream was over.

“A-Sheng.” The familiar address brought her back to her senses. Zhu Shengxi looked at the newcomer and replied, “Second Senior Sister.”

Chu Yu nodded slightly and handed the medicinal soup to her. “Drink your medicine. Rest well these few days.”

Zhu Shengxi took the bowl and only then noticed her right hand was bandaged. Chu Yu followed her gaze and seemed to suddenly remember something. “Oh, right. When I found you, you were tightly clutching a broken jade hairpin. To bandage your wound, I took it out for you. I put it…”

“No need,” Zhu Shengxi hooked her lips in a self-mocking smile. “Second Senior Sister, please throw it away for me.”

Throw it away? Chu Yu looked at her expression, remembering how she had gripped it tightly even while unconscious, and couldn’t help but feel surprised.

She didn’t ask further and replied, “Alright.”

Zhu Shengxi was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, “Second Senior Sister, do you know where thousand-year-old serpents usually live?”

Chu Yu pondered for a moment. “Thousand-year serpents are not common. You can check the various secret realms within the sect.”

Zhu Shengxi understood. Chu Yu observed her expression, remembering that this Junior Sister of hers always liked to push herself, and immediately warned her: “Your cultivation has dropped and your spiritual power is unstable. Your priority is to rest. Don’t go overexerting yourself again.”

Zhu Shengxi gave an “um.” Seeing this, Chu Yu stopped disturbing her, took the medicine bowl, and left.

As soon as she closed her eyes, those cold and heartless words circled in her ears. Zhu Shengxi couldn’t help but clench her hands; her expression was calm and indifferent.

If she took the “Affections-Severing” Gu, could she forget the pain and act as if none of it ever happened?