Chapter 3

As he watched Xu Feiniang's sword light disappear into the horizon, Yue Qing shook his head. He was eager to find a quiet place to sort out the chaotic memories in his mind, but he was also worried that Jiang Xuejun might not be satisfied with saving just one child and might return. This time, without his senior sister's help, he would not be a match for that violent girl.

Just as he turned to leave, he suddenly saw a child still tied to an altar. The boy, no more than two or three years old, had a thin and frail body bound with hemp rope to a pillar. He trembled, neither crying nor shouting, his eyes filled with tears, looking at Yue Qing with fear.

Seeing the boy, two conflicting emotions surged in his mind.

One was from the original Yue Qinbin: This child is the son of a sworn enemy of my senior brother Jinshen Luohan Fayuan. Although the Divine Infant Sword cannot be forged, this child cannot be left alive. I will strike him down with one sword, eliminating a future threat for Brother Fayuan!

The other was from the original Yue Qing: Using a living person to forge a sword is an unforgivable act of a perverted demon! Moreover, this is just a small child. It was wrong to use him to forge a sword, and now I cannot abandon him here. I must take him back and raise him properly.

The two thoughts clashed and struggled in his mind, neither gaining the upper hand.

Yue Qing tapped his head: No matter what, I'll take the child away first!

He walked over, cut the ropes, and tore off the terrifying talismans, then picked up the child. He remembered that this was the territory of Mount Hua. Because he lived in Mount Heng, where there were several sword immortals who were not on good terms with him, including one of his greatest enemies, the Chasing Cloud Elder Bai Guyi, he did not dare to forge the sword there. Instead, he came to seek refuge with three fellow Daoists from the Mount Hua Sect. Jiang Xuejun's hurried escape was also due to her fear of being surrounded and attacked by the Mount Hua Sect if she lingered too long.

Yue Qing's three friends were called Ye You Taishui Qi Deng, Bai Guilian He Xiaoshan, and Gui Yingzi Xiao Longzi.

In fact, the Wutai Sect and the Mount Hua Sect had always been on good terms. For hundreds of years, the Grand Master Taixu Huanyuan had been the leader of the Central Plains Daoist sects, and the Mount Hua Sect had always followed his lead. The disciples of both sects often interacted, and many were close friends or partners. Yue Qinbin had studied in his youth and even passed the examination to become a scholar. He had a refined and scholarly demeanor and could not stand the practices of his fellow disciples who specialized in yin-yang cultivation and other heterodox methods. Therefore, he had few friends, and only these three from the Mount Hua Sect were on good terms with him.

The three sword immortals had established their residences on the eastern slope of Mount Hua. Qi Deng lived in the Heavenly Soul Cave, He Xiaoshan in the Human Soul Cave, and Xiao Longzi in the Earthly Soul Cave.

Since the Divine Infant Sword was one of the ten sacred swords of the Wutai Sect, and its forging method was a closely guarded secret, these three had voluntarily stayed away and did not accompany him. Instead, they had prepared a celebratory banquet in their caves, waiting for him to return after forging the sword.

As soon as Yue Qing landed on the Ghostly Slope, Qi Deng's seventeen-year-old female disciple, Qiuluhong, saw him: "Master Yue is back! Master Yue is back!" She chirped as she ran over. "Master Yue, my master and the two other masters have prepared a fine banquet for you at Master He's place to celebrate..." She was oblivious until she noticed Yue Qing's disheveled appearance, with his chest torn and exposed, revealing a pale chest.

Yue Qing waved his hand: "Go back and thank the three masters for their kindness. I'll go to Xiao Longzi's place first." His mind was in turmoil, and the failure of the sword forging, coupled with the emotions of the original Yue Qinbin, left him feeling depressed and sad. He had no interest in the banquet, so he dismissed Qiuluhong and headed for the Earthly Soul Cave.

Xiao Longzi's cave was luxuriously decorated. The stone chambers were square and intricately connected, with over ten rooms. The ceiling, floor, and walls were all lined with sandalwood panels. Cloud beds, soft couches, golden lamps, and jade lanterns were among the various furnishings. As soon as he entered, he saw two copper incense burners, each over four feet tall, emitting a sweet fragrance.

A girl in a green robe was tending to the incense burners. She looked surprised to see Yue Qing in such a state: "Master Yue is back? The masters are all in the Human Soul Cave. Would you like to bathe and change clothes? I'll prepare the water for you."

Yue Qing knew the girl's name was Zuo Qingfeng, and she was only thirteen years old. She called Xiao Longzi master but was actually his concubine, responsible for household chores and serving him. If she pleased him, she could learn some magic. Originally, he did not find this unusual, as it was common in both the Wutai and Mount Hua Sects, as well as many other sects. However, with the mixed thoughts from his two lives, he began to feel uncomfortable being served by such a young girl.

He returned to the western cave where he was temporarily staying, placed the boy on the bed, and began to quietly sort out his thoughts.

First, he was Yue Qing, a young man from modern society who grew up in an orphanage. After completing the nine years of compulsory education, he started working to support himself, taking on various jobs such as waiter, mover, and promoter. Later, he used his savings to buy and sell old books, constantly dealing with city management officials. One day, he was forced to jump into the cold Qingliang River by the city management.

He was a good swimmer and managed to swim to shore, but the books were soaked and lost in the river.

He sighed as he walked back and saw a boy about to be run over by a car. He quickly lunged forward to grab the boy's arm and pull him to safety, but was hit by a speeding truck himself.

Yue Qing's last memory before dying was of that boy, around eleven or twelve years old, wearing a light yellow short-sleeved shirt, smiling at him as he was pulled to safety. His life's memories were frozen at that moment, followed by intense pain and loss of consciousness. He thought he had died, but when he opened his eyes again, he saw the domineering girl, Jiang Xuejun.

At the same time, he was also Yue Qinbin, a highly regarded disciple of the Grand Master Taixu Huanyuan of the Wutai Sect. He had practiced Daoism for over three hundred years and still looked like a young man in his early twenties, with a handsome and refined appearance. Because his name contained the character for "qin" (琴), he had gone to great lengths to find a phoenix zither and often played it on the peaks of Mount Wutai, earning the respect and admiration of his fellow disciples. After his master's defeat in a sword duel and subsequent death, the Wutai Sect fell apart, and to avoid retaliation from former enemies, he established a new cave in Mount Heng.

The Wutai Sect had very loose rules, and disciples practiced on their own initiative. The Grand Master rarely imposed restrictions, leading to a mix of good and bad practitioners. The sect's teachings were both orthodox and heterodox, and disciples often used their magic to commit various crimes, such as rape, theft, and soul extraction.

Yue Qinbin was relatively self-disciplined. On this trip to find materials for forging the sword, he encountered a wealthy man named Wang Dashan who had been betrayed and killed by his concubine and her lover. Because Wang Dashan had done many good deeds in life, his soul lingered, filled with resentment, and he stopped Yue Qinbin's sword light, pleading for help.

Yue Qinbin, being righteous, went to Wang Dashan's house and found the lover and the concubine plotting to kill Wang Dashan's two children. He killed the lover and the concubine, allowing Wang Dashan to die in peace.

While using his sword qi to kill them, he sensed a divine sword resonating in the house, as if challenging him. In the backyard, he found a divine sword vibrating and a blood letter.

From the blood letter, he learned that one of Wang Dashan's two children, named Situ Ping, was the son of his senior sister, the female owl spirit Jiang Sanguni. However, there was a twist: his senior brother Jinshen Luohan Fayuan had once pursued Jiang Sanguni, but she refused him and married the heir of the Wutai Sect's enemy, Situ Xingming. They both betrayed their sect and fled. Situ Xingming was recently injured by Fayuan and died here, leaving a blood letter and a family heirloom sword, asking Wang Dashan to raise his son.

Fayuan, his close friend and a highly respected senior brother in the Wutai Sect, who had entered the sect before Xu Feiniang, hated the couple with a passion. Yue Qinbin initially planned to kill Situ Ping but, seeing the two children's excellent physiques, decided to take them to Mount Hua to forge the Divine Infant Sword.

However, just as he began the ritual, Jiang Xuejun descended from the sky, shattered the soul-sealing bottle, and drove away the guardian spirits, nearly killing Yue Qinbin. He was saved only by Xu Feiniang's sudden intervention.

Jiang Xuejun saved Wang Dashan's son, and the one left behind was Situ Ping.