On the second day, Qin Zichen took Su Qingyi to Nanshan. As the only cultivator of the Heavenly Sword Sect, Xuanhua lived at the peak of Nanshan Mountain. When Qin Zichen went, Xuanhua was sitting in the house and making tea. Seeing him bring Su Qingyi in, Xuanhua seemed to have known them for a long time. When you arrive, you place two cups of tea in the position and say indifferently, "Are you here?"

Qin Zichen and Su Qingyi respectfully saluted Xuan Hua, and then sat down. Xuanhua is still the same as when they met eight hundred years ago, wearing a black robe and a golden crown, and his features have not changed in the slightest. Except for his warmer temperament, the years seem to have left no trace on his face.

The fragrance of tea permeated the hall, and Xuanhua's eyes fell on Qin Su and the two of them, and he seemed to miss them quite a bit. After a long time, he slowly said: "Zichen, is this your Fu Xiu disciple?"

"Yes." Qin Zichen nodded, rubbing the edge of the teacup, as if thinking about how to speak. Xuan Hua looked at the two of them, and after a while, sighed and said, "After I broke through to the calamity three hundred years ago, I had a hunch that one day, the two of you will come back to find me."

Qin and Su were stunned for a moment, Xuan Hua smiled and said gently: "Qing Xu, Liu Hui, long time no see."

Hearing this, neither of them responded. After a long time, Su Qingyi smiled slowly and cupped her hands: "Indeed, we've been apart for 800 years, long time no see."

"Back then, when I heard about the ascension of fellow Daoist Liuhui, I was actually very sorry. Later, when I made a breakthrough, I felt something was wrong. Although I didn't know what happened, I knew in my heart that he would be me in the future. There must be a catastrophe in the hands of the two of you. When I saw Zichen for the first time, I knew that there must be a connection between him and Qingxu. I just never thought about it, and it is only today that you remember the past."

"The ancestor..." Qin Zichen's words were bitter: "Why didn't the ancestor kill me first?"

To a certain extent, a person who cultivates the Tao will have a sense of his own destiny. Most people will find a way to avoid their doom, so as to successfully survive the catastrophe.

Xuan Hua smiled calmly, with a bit of bitterness in his smile: "I'm not afraid of death, why should I kill you? If you can save the Heavenly Sword Sect, what are you afraid of?"

"What is the fate of Tianjianzong?" Qin Zichen frowned, Xuanhua lowered his brows, and said lightly: "All causes in this world will have consequences, and all evils will be paid for. The things of the past... will not end here."

"I used to divination in the Moon Palace. In my lifetime, the Heavenly Sword Sect will definitely collapse. The only variable is you. So in those years, I took your birth date and traveled all over the world of cultivation, and finally found you. Bring it back to Tianjian Sect and give it to Yun Xuzi."

"Yun Xuzi was your first apprentice back then, and he's different from someone like me. His heart is mellow and upright, and he's not contaminated with karma. I thought back then that it would be more appropriate for him to teach you."

"So, Ancestor Xuanhua," Su Qingyi asked directly, "What happened back then? Who were involved?"

"1,500 years ago, I just founded the Heavenly Sword Sect. At that time, the Heavenly Sword Sect was only a small sect, without the support of the spiritual veins, and the disciples' cultivation speed was always poor. At that time, Penglai was also a small sect, but suddenly there was a spiritual vein. , the disciple's cultivation speed has skyrocketed, and after quickly swallowing up other sects, it became one of the ten major sects. I became friends with Xiao He, the head of the Huanyin Palace, and went to Penglai together as an ordinary disciple, and finally stole a copy of them to practice with people. The formation of the spiritual veins. We don’t understand the mystery of the formation, so we went to the head of the Xingyun Sect, Guanglan, and planned to follow the method of Penglai and squeeze into the ranks of the big sects.”

"This formation was used by Xingyunmen for research, and then a large formation was created, which can train the best amethyst spiritual veins. The formation of thousands of people to offer sacrifices. This method is too sinister and evil. If it was known by the big sects at that time, they would definitely not allow it. So we can only do it in private, and we can use our strength at that time, only with our three sects, It was impossible to complete this formation silently. So Guanglan united some small sects to do this together. At that time, we trained a total of five amethyst spiritual veins, which were originally intended to be divided equally with these small sects, but were completed in the spiritual veins. Before, Xiao He came to me and said... I want our five medium sects to steal the spiritual veins, and then divide a part to appease the big sects, and then directly destroy these small sects, we can kill two birds with one stone, not only have the spiritual veins, but also To annex other sects to grow and develop. I felt that what Xiao He said was very true at the time, so I agreed to this method, and Xiao He, Guanglan, Yijian Sect head Pansheng, Hehuan Palace head Hua Huanxiang started the formation in advance, and then The spiritual veins were removed by hand. Those small sects did not dare to grow this matter, and the outside world can only say that the spiritual veins of the previous life were robbed, and then we fought with these sects for hundreds of years."

"But not long after the spirit vein was moved back, the heads of our five sects discovered that the spirit vein was full of resentment and was calling for evil to ravage the sect. After we suppressed this matter, Guang Lan came to me and said Liu Hui He came up with a method, which is to sacrifice people who are pure yin and pure yang to suppress grievances. The people he wanted at that time... were you and Penglaimei Changjun." After speaking, Xuanhua looked at Su Qingyi with guilt in his eyes. .

Su Qingyi didn't change her expression, she already knew most of these things, but she just listened to it again from Xuan Hua's point of view.

"But then they failed to catch the two of you, and finally caught a cultivator in the Foundation Establishment period, and exchanged this cultivator for decades of peace. This cultivator was placed under the Soul Chasing Charm by Guang Lan, and every time he reincarnated, he was The body of pure yang, so every time, our five sects will find him early, and then raise him and sacrifice him in exchange for a moment of peace. Until one day... After he died, there was no trace. At that time, Xingyunmen Yuan Zhenzi has a disciple named Ran Yan, who is a pure yang body, and what is even more rare is that this woman has a pure and kind heart and excellent talent. If she can be allowed to practice the way of doing good, it will be an excellent sacrifice. Taste."

Saying that, Xuan Hua closed his eyes in pain.

Su Qingyi did not speak, her face pretended to be calm, but the hand holding the armrest trembled slightly.

"So," her voice seemed to be calm, but Qin Zichen heard despair from it: "How many people were involved in this matter? How many people were arranged by the woman named Ran Yan's side? of?"

"Liuhui," Xuan Hua couldn't change his words, and said bitterly: "The art of practicing pulse by people has been passed down to this day, and the beneficiaries have long been not the five major sects. In most of the cultivation world, how many people have nothing to do with this matter? If it is suppressed If the grievances accumulated over thousands of years cannot be stopped, the cultivation world will be finished."

"So, how many people killed Ran Yan?!" Su Qingyi raised her head abruptly, Xuan Hua was a little surprised, looked at Su Qingyi and said, "Why does Daoist Liuhui care so much about Ran Yan?"

"You are the one who killed one life after another. It's Ah Qi," Su Qingyi lowered her eyes, soothed her riotous heart, and said with a reason: "And what about the other innocent person? I know how Ah Qi lives. I want to know what this other innocent person is like. Ancestor Xuanhua, all sins can only be redeemed to avoid the worst situation. If you don't pay back the sins you did, I will help you pay them back."

Xuan Hua didn't speak. He stared at Su Qingyi blankly. After a long time, he turned his head and said slowly, "I didn't participate too much in Ran Yan. The last life of the reincarnation who kept offering sacrifices was a man named Ran Yan. Yuan Han's man, he cultivated all the way to Yuan Ying, and he was quite friendly with me before his death. After his death, I suddenly got tired of it, so I broke through the Mahayana and entered the calamity."

"I have long regretted the past. If I hadn't asked for this spiritual vein back then, perhaps the Heavenly Sword Sect would have already fallen, but it would not have come to this day and overturned with the entire cultivation world. Destiny should never be forced, the cause and effect of everything in this world has long been It was destined, it should be your natural return, not your forcing it. So... when they told me that they wanted to cultivate this child named Ran Yan into the most perfect sacrifice, I did not participate in it. The only thing I know...is that this child was given to Yuan Zhenzi by her parents."

"What's the meaning?"

Su Qingyi raised her head in disbelief, and Qin Zichen grabbed her hand.

The warmth passed from Su Qingyi's hand all the way up, Su Qingyi calmed down and turned to look at Qin Zichen.

He looked at her quietly, his eyes were calm and calm, and although he didn't say anything, Su Qingyi suddenly understood that the man in front of him would be like a mountain, always behind her, silent and reliable, for her to rely on and accompany her.

Xuan Hua lowered his head to pour tea, and his voice was full of sighs: "Her parents are Yuan Ying cultivators sheltered under Xingyun Sect. They used it to exchange it with Yuan Zhenzi for their family's chance to freely enter and exit the mountain spirit pool behind Xingyun Sect in the future."

"Just so that she can go to a sect's back mountain and take a dip in Lingchi every day, her parents gave up on her regardless of her life and death?" Su Qingyi said hoarsely with mockery in her voice: "What about her clan? Growing up, her brothers and sisters, her relatives and friends, who have been raised for so many decades, wouldn't they have feelings? When it comes to sacrifice, won't they be reluctant?!"

At the end, Su Qingyi couldn't help raising her voice.

Xuan Hua seemed to understand something, he lowered his eyes, looked at the green soup in the tea bowl, seemed to accept his fate, and said slowly: "I went to see her once, when she was six years old. She is very cute. She was also very sensible. At that time, she was playing hide-and-seek with her senior brother Shen Zhu, master Yuan Zhenzi, junior sister Ran Shu, and brother Ran Mo in the yard. Looking at it from a distance, she couldn't help but feel that this was the most beautiful thing in the world. happy children."

"At that time, I asked her uncle, Jiang Chen, what would she do if she couldn't bear it when she grew up?"

"Jiang Chen told me that the life of an ordinary person is only a few decades. It's good to let her live a good life for a few decades. When she lives, she will be happy and happy, and when she dies, she will die without knowing anything. It is also a kind of happiness.”

"Happiness..." Su Qingyi murmured, and after a while, she couldn't help laughing out loud: "What kind of happiness is this?! Since I was a child, I was planned by my own relatives and sent to the guillotine. What kind of happiness is this?! Xuanhua, you guys Don't these people have no feelings, don't they feel that what they are doing is crazy?!"

Xuan Hua didn't speak, his face remained calm, and he continued: "I can't face such a world, the longer time and the more contact I have, the more I feel that what I have done is too absurd. So I have since then , I have never been out of the Tianjian Sect. One day later, Yuan Zhenzi came to me, and he begged me to save Ran Yan..."

He didn't say any more, Su Qingyi gradually waited, she thought about the appearance of Yuan Zhenzi coming to ask Xuanhua, thinking about Su Qinglian saying that Yuan Zhenzi was subdued and watching her being sent to the altar to die, thinking about Yuan Zhenzi finally committing suicide The scene, her eyes slowly turned scarlet.

"What happened later?" Seeing that Xuanhua was silent for a long time, there was a humming sound in her sword palace. Xuan Hua finally spoke and said bitterly, "He knelt all night, and I... rejected him."

As soon as the words came out, Wu Dao instantly appeared in Su Qingyi's hands and broke away. The sword qi overturned the utensils in the whole house, and the monks in the Mahayana period burst into rage. Qin Zichen suddenly changed his face and shouted: "Qingyi!"

Xuan Hua sat on the couch, motionless, and stopped in front of him without a path, the sword qi ripped through the white skin around his neck, blood flowed down, Su Qingyi trembled, and said with difficulty, "Why didn't you save her... "

Why not save her? Why did everyone give up on her?

Since he felt guilty and regretted, why did he choose to refuse when Yuan Zhenzi, who looked the most vicious, knelt down to beg him?

Xuan Hua's face was pale, as if he was caught in an endless nightmare. He raised his head tremblingly, looked at Su Qingyi, opened his mouth, and said slowly, "I'm sorry..."

Su Qingyi didn't speak, the tip of his sword pointed at him, he didn't seem to intend to resist, looked at Su Qingyi, and said with a trembling voice: "You kill me... If this can quell your anger, you kill me... let go... past innocent people..."

"Qingyi," Qin Zichen finally couldn't stand it anymore, stepped forward, grabbed her sword, held her in his arms, and said gently, "Put down the sword, Qingyi."

After listening to Qin Zichen's words and looking into Xuan Hua's eyes, Su Qingyi slowly calmed down.

She suddenly felt very tired, and the ignorance she was accustomed to was extremely heavy in her hands. She slowly put down her sword and lowered her eyebrows.

"On the night of Ran Yan's sacrifice, how many people participated in it?"

"I...I don't know." Xuanhua said with difficulty: "I said everything I knew. After rejecting Yuan Zhenzi, I closed the deadlock. When I came out of the retreat, Ran Yan was dead, Yuan Mako passed away too. I know no more than others."

"Does her senior brothers know about Ran Yan's affairs?"

"I don't know, but her uncle Jiang Chen knows..."

Su Qingyi nodded and said nothing. She put Wudao into the sword palace, and turned around a little tired. Qin Zichen followed her and walked out, Xuanhua looked at her back, stood up suddenly, and shouted her name: "Ran Yan!"

Su Qingyi paused, and when Xuan Hua saw her stop, tears welled up in her eyes, and she said excitedly, "You forgive me... Forgive us... OK?"

"You and Yuan Han..." He staggered forward and knelt on the ground suddenly, as if he saw Su Qingyi as an incarnation of something, and said excitedly, "And the people of Chen country... and those who died. Together, forgive me! For a thousand years... I have been thinking day and night, whether what I did is wrong or right, I hope that the Heavenly Sword Sect can flourish, and I don't want to let Sublimation's efforts drown in the world... …But……"

Xuan Hua crawled down with a trembling voice, crying bitterly: "You are all innocent! I thought I would not regret it... But I saw Yuan Han die in reincarnation and death, and I saw you die in despair... I penetrated the avenue. , I finally let go of Ninghua, and I was subjected to endless condemnation and torture day and night."

"Forgive me...please..."

Su Qingyi listened to Xuan Hua's confession, but she did not look back. In the distance is the appearance of Tianjian Sect, with a main peak surrounded by seven peaks, which is completely different from the small sect with only one main peak back then. However, Su Qingyi never felt the slightest joy. She was at a loss when she heard the howling voices behind her.

Should go back and kill him?

Should go back and forgive him?

Killing him, but listening to his confession, she couldn't feel any anger.

Forgive him, but what he has done is completely incomprehensible.

Su Qingyi remained silent. After a long time, she finally said, "You live, Xuan Hua."

"During your lifetime, you go to atone for your sins. Death has no meaning, only making up for it is valuable." Xuan Hua didn't speak, he raised his head tremblingly, his face was full of tears, and he didn't know why.

"If you had promised my master to save me, Xuan Hua," Su Qingyi turned to look at him and whispered, "You wouldn't be in such pain now. I know you want to protect the Heavenly Sword Sect, but you are afraid of the sky. Jianzong became the target of public criticism and was involved in this huge conspiracy dispute, but everything you do will have retribution, if you don't solve it, you can only make these things get bigger and bigger."

"One day," Su Qingyi turned to leave and whispered, "It will get out of hand."

Su Qingyi walked away, Xuan Hua was still lying on the ground, tears all over her face. Qin Zichen helped him up, Xuanhua turned to look at Qin Zichen, and said blankly, "Zichen, are you afraid?"

"What are you afraid of?" Qin Zichen raised his eyes indifferently, and Xuan Hua pointed to the sky and said, "The punishment will come that day..."

"Since what should be paid back, what's there to be afraid of?" Qin Zichen helped Xuan Hua to the seat, and said lightly: "The ancestor, the disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect, is never as fragile as you think. You don't have to worry, Even if the punishment comes, my sect has nothing to fear."

After speaking, he respectfully said goodbye, then turned around and followed Su Qingyi out.

Su Qingyi walked all the way, Qin Zichen quickly caught up with her, pulled her into his arms, frowned and said, "What are you running!"

Su Qingyi struggled to move forward, wiping her tears with her hands, her hoarse voice pretending to be calm: "You let me be quiet... I want to be alone..."

Qin Zichen didn't speak, he held her hand for a long time before he said slowly, "I want to help you, Qingyi."

Su Qingyi raised her head blankly and saw a serious man with frowning brows in front of her.

"I don't want you to hide and cry when something happens to you."

Su Qingyi didn't speak. After a long time, she finally said, "But Zichen, there are some hurdles in life, and I'm destined to go through it myself."

"At least, let me watch and stay with me. Qingyi," he wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes and said gently, "You are not alone, you know?"

These words seemed to carry some kind of magic, slowly seeping into her chest.

The past appeared in front of her eyes one by one. She walked through the difficult ten years alone, climbed through the dark years alone, and now someone finally told her that she was not alone.

She threw herself into his arms and hugged him tightly. Qin Zichen hugged the girl who was sobbing softly in his arms and listened to her increasingly louder and more wanton cries. He was sad and happy at the same time.

Sadness about why such a beautiful girl encounters these sad things;

Fortunately, at this moment, she met him.

He will share all the pain, hardship, suffering, and hardship for her. With him, he can stand in front of her, so that she will not be left alone to face these despairs that destroy people's hearts.

"Why...why can you be so cruel?" She burst into tears: "They are my parents and my relatives! If they were destined to send me to death from the beginning, why did they treat me like this? Well, why should I have high hopes for them!"

Qin Zichen didn't speak, he just held her and listened to all her cries without saying a word.

After crying for a long time, she gradually fell asleep in his arms. Qin Zichen saw her face full of tears, carried her to the room, and let her sleep peacefully.

He used a handkerchief to clean her hands and wipe her face. In the warmth, she opened her eyes in a daze, leaned her head beside him, and watched him wipe her fingers thinly one by one.

The people under the lights were a little less immortal, and the handsome face was enveloped in a warm light, like a husband who was the most common in the world, silent and gentle.

She stared at him quietly, and said hoarsely, "Zichen, just smile..."

Qin Zichen turned to look at her with some doubts in his eyes. She stared at his face and said slowly: "I feel sad, you look good when you smile, I want you to smile."

Qin Zichen didn't speak. He asked her to lie in, then closed his clothes and lay down beside her, holding her hands, and said gently, "I'm by your side, don't be sad."

Su Qingyi rested her head on his chest and stopped talking. Qin Zichen thought about it, and suddenly said, "You touch my creaking nest."

"Huh?" Su Qingyi was a little strange, but after thinking about it, she stretched out her hand and scratched him.

Qin Zichen moved and said in a hoarse voice, "Go on."

Although Su Qingyi didn't understand what he was doing, she still stretched out her hand and continued to scratch. Qin Zichen's body trembled slightly. After a while, she heard his low laughter.

Su Qingyi raised her head abruptly and saw that he seemed to be holding back an awkward smile, and finally realized that he wanted to show her a ticklish smile.

The smile he held back was not good-looking at all, Su Qingyi was stunned, and looked at him with red eyes, Qin Zichen was slightly taken aback, sat up, and said helplessly: "I'm sorry, I can't smile..."

Before he could finish speaking, Su Qingyi threw himself into his arms.

His soft hair fell on Su Qingyi's face, and Su Qingyi suddenly felt that it didn't really matter.

The past is gone, he is still by her side, that's enough.

Qin Zichen lowered his eyebrows and looked at the girl in his arms quietly, not quite understanding why she was suddenly moved again. But he was keenly aware that she didn't seem so sad. So he held her quietly and let her hold him. After a while, Su Qingyi raised her head in his arms and said seriously, "Qin Zichen, you have been cultivating for so many years, why are you afraid of itching?"

Qin Zichen froze slightly, but before he said anything, Su Qingyi's hand became restless and started to tickle him.

Qin Zichen grabbed her hand and said with red ears, "Stop making trouble."

"Let go, or I'll cry for you to see!" Su Qingyi seemed to have a red-eyed posture again. Qin Zichen froze, turned his face away unnaturally, and slowly put down his hand.

After a while, Xue Ziyu came outside Qin Zichen's house with Wen Jianfeng's document, and before he got close, he heard Qin Zichen's low-pitched laughter.

"no kidding……"

Xue Ziyu froze suddenly, turned around and ran away after a while.

Su Qingyi was tired after fussing for a while, lying on Qin Zichen's chest, listening to his fast and powerful heartbeat.

"Zichen," she said softly, "thank you."

Qin Zichen didn't speak. He stroked her hair and listened to her: "without you, I might not be able to get through this hurdle. I'm very grateful, really."

"Qingyi," Qin Zichen slowly straightened up and looked at her seriously: "I hope you remember one thing—"

"I just need you to love me, not your gratitude."

"I'm your husband," he lowered his head to kiss her, and said in a low voice, "you must remember."