Leaving This Place, Our Fate Ends Here

"Senior, would you truly act so heartlessly and ungratefully?"

A simple question, yet it was enough to make Danxia freeze in place, speechless for a long time.

Seeing the icy flames halt, Ye Shu breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.

I'm saved!

Since Danxia hated him because his future self would be heartless and unjust, it showed she was someone who valued bonds and loyalty. Thus, appealing to those very concepts right now was the best solution!

"Senior, this junior does not understand the future you speak of."

Ye Shu continued,

"You say that I will betray you in the future, but right now, nothing has happened yet. Everything is still undetermined."

"Can we condemn and punish someone in the present for a crime they might commit in the future? If that were the case, every man should have his manhood cut off at birth, and every woman should be fitted with a chastity belt the moment she is born."

"You..."

Recovering her wits, Danxia's eyes were filled with shock.

To think her disciple would utter such... vulgar words, yet... there was actually some truth to them?

Indeed, to kill someone in the present for a crime of the future.

How would that be any different from the demonic paths? Whenever someone wanted to kill, they could just point at a person's nose and say, "Boy, I see wickedness in your features. You will definitely bring disaster to the region in the future, so I am going to act on behalf of the heavens and slaughter you!"

Wouldn't that be utterly absurd?

The reason she died back then was precisely because she upheld the principles of loyalty and righteousness, refusing to associate with those demonic cultivators, only to be ultimately murdered by her best friend...

If she used this as an excuse to kill Ye Shu today.

Wouldn't her Dao heart be tarnished?

But if she didn't kill him, what about the multiple times she was betrayed in the future, and that final, ultimate abandonment?

A breath of frustration was pent up in her heart, unable to be released.

After a long time, Danxia finally spoke with difficulty,

"I... I am not heartless and ungrateful."

"It's just that in the future, you betrayed me many times, harbored wicked thoughts toward me, and ultimately abandoned me completely. With such villainous behavior, how can you expect me to trust you? To trust that the present you won't repeat those same mistakes?"

Hearing this, Ye Shu kept his head lowered and said, neither servile nor overbearing, "Senior says I will betray you in the future, but that is ultimately something that has not yet happened."

"However!"

His voice suddenly rose. He lifted his head to look straight into Danxia's eyes, meeting her gaze as he enunciated every word clearly, "My fifteen years of nourishing you with spiritual energy, falling from a genius to the laughingstock of my family just so you could awaken from your slumber—that is a real, tangible, and unalterable fact that has already happened."

"If Senior wants to kill me, it wouldn't just be heartless and ungrateful."

"It would be... a treacherous betrayal of trust!"

Every single word was sharp and profound, falling just short of pointing at Danxia's nose and cursing her as an ungrateful beast. She had consumed fifteen years of his spiritual energy, turning him into a crippled laughingstock who suffered endless disdain. He had finally endured until the clouds parted to see the moonlight, only for her to trick him into coming to this godforsaken Magical Beast Mountain Range, and now she wanted to kill him?

This clearly spelled out the words 'murdering one's benefactor'.

Even though Danxia had lived for countless years and weathered endless storms, Ye Shu's words still made her blush with shame.

Yes... no matter what the 'future' held, it could not change the ironclad fact: for the past fifteen years, it was this young man before her who had used his own blood essence and spiritual energy to nourish her remnant soul drop by drop, allowing her to awaken from her long slumber. Because of this, over these fifteen years, he had fallen from a family genius to a laughingstock, suffering endless humiliation.

This karma was absolutely real.

But that future... was illusory.

However, Ye Shu's next words completely shattered the frost in Danxia's eyes.

Ye Shu rubbed the ring on his hand and said calmly,

"Since Senior distrusts me so much and firmly believes I am a shameless villain, I won't defend myself any further."

"You brought me to this Magical Beast Mountain Range to cultivate. Have you ever thought about how long it will take you to leave this place after killing me, since the ring won't be able to move?"

"Killing me harms us both; cooperating benefits us both."

"Surely Senior understands this principle?"

Ye Shu knew very well that talking about feelings could be costly. Since he had finished playing the emotional card, it was time to talk logic.

"Since Senior does not trust me."

Ye Shu shook his head and gave a self-deprecating smile. "Then the solution that will satisfy us both is actually quite simple. Senior just needs to guide me out of this Magical Beast Mountain Range."

"Once we leave this place, our ties will be severed."

Hearing this, Danxia's delicate body trembled, hardly daring to believe her ears. She slightly widened her eyes, her phoenix eyes churning with astonishment, embarrassment, and a trace of... shock.

"Wh... what did you say? Our ties... severed?"

Her voice trembled slightly.

Not out of reluctance to part, but because she was caught completely off guard by this sudden decisiveness.

"That's right, severed."

Ye Shu smiled. "Once we walk out of this Magical Beast Mountain Range, I will take Senior for a few strolls around the city. When the time comes, if Senior spots a fated individual, just say the word, and I will naturally hand the ring over to them."

"Afterward, Senior can even erase my memories of you to prevent any leaks about your continued existence in this world."

His smile was faint, as if he were merely discussing the weather.

"This..."

Danxia was completely stunned.

This method could be said to perfectly resolve her dilemma. Since she was afraid of Ye Shu's betrayal, they would simply sever their ties. Ye Shu had even thoughtfully offered to let her erase his memories.

Once this was done.

That future she feared... would completely dissipate.

The person who would betray her would have already left her from the very beginning. How could he possibly betray her then?

This method was so perfect.

Looking at Ye Shu's amiable smile, for some reason, Danxia felt a stifling heaviness in her chest.

This guy... actually had absolutely no lingering attachment to her?

What a wicked disciple!

After a long while.

She finally spoke, her voice trembling slightly, "But if our ties end here, what was the point of all the suffering you endured for those fifteen years?"

Hearing this, Ye Shu paused.

He genuinely hadn't expected Danxia to ask this.

"Is Senior... pitying me?" Ye Shu blinked, then shook his head with a calm smile.

"There is really no need."

"The cultivation methods Senior has imparted to me and the vast horizons of cultivation you have shown me already far exceed the limits of what my family could ever provide. Compared to that, what do a mere fifteen years matter?"

"Sometimes, starting early or late is far less important than climbing high and seeing far."

He gave a free and easy smile.

"It was just fifteen years. With the fortuitous encounters Senior has given me, I will be able to save thousands, even tens of thousands of years in the future. Speaking of which, it is still I who owe Senior more."

Perfect. Impeccable.

Off to the side, Xiaobai listened, completely dumbfounded.

This guy had given Danxia the face, the substance, and the perfect out, effortlessly resolving a life-or-death crisis.

As expected of the transmigrator she had personally selected.

She had hit the jackpot!

On the other side, Danxia remained silent for a long time.

It was clearly a proposal full of benefits for her, and it even untied the knot of indebtedness in her heart, yet her chest still felt stifled, harboring a pent-up breath of frustration.

"What does Senior think?"

Seeing her remain silent for so long, Ye Shu could not help but prompt her.

After all is said and done, if Danxia really wanted to kill him, he truly had no tricks left up his sleeve.

What should you do if you run into an evil cultivator the moment you step outside?

Answer: Just die right in front of them.