Today, I ask my senior to slay this inner demon for me.

That voice drifted over faintly, landing perfectly in Su Ji's ear.

The hairs on the back of Su Ji's neck instantly stood on end.

He didn't even need to turn his head to imagine the expression on Su Jiu's face right now.

For this question, there was simply no correct answer among the choices.

Across the giant crater, the Golden Core vendor who had just narrowly escaped death also froze in surprise.

He looked at Su Ji, then followed the source of the voice, catching sight of the white-clad woman with an exquisite figure and a beautiful, clear face.

A sense of bewilderment rose in his heart.

Seeing the atmosphere about to freeze, Su Ji's mind raced at an unprecedented speed.

"When I said 'new', I meant a new life, like a phoenix reaching nirvana and being reborn from the ashes! I didn't mean getting a brand new replacement!"

Su Ji spoke with righteous conviction; his awe-inspiring aura of righteousness almost convinced even himself.

"Junior Sister, you still remember that spear you helped me repair, right?"

He smoothly changed the subject and looked at Su Jiu.

Su Jiu didn't speak, but her clear eyes continued to stare at him, devoid of any emotion.

"Wasn't that spear also damaged in battle?"

"Now, hasn't it gained a new life, with power surpassing what it used to be?"

"How could the words I, Su Ji, have spoken be a mere joke?"

"In this life, no matter how far I walk, I will never abandon my original intentions from when I first entered the Dao!"

These words were spoken with impassioned fervor, resonant and powerful.

The Golden Core vendor stood on the sidelines, listening quietly.

What spear?

A thought popped into his mind.

Could it be that spear he casually made out of Flashstone just to get rid of a beggar back then?

Could that piece of junk even be called a spear?

However, what exactly did this senior mean?

He had never been able to figure out why Su Ji would stay in the Xiangsi Sect, nor why he would disguise himself as a weak cultivator.

Could it be...

Legend has it that some cultivators manage to walk their Dao path to its very end, only to realize then that they were wrong.

But a cultivator lives their life fighting for a sliver of heavenly opportunity, fighting for a single breath of resolve!

Those with immense courage dare to slash their own cultivation, letting themselves fall back into the mortal dust to walk the path they came from all over again.

A bold thought surfaced in the Golden Core vendor's mind.

What exactly... is at the end of the Dao path?

Opportunities vanish in the blink of an eye; it all depends on whether one dares to reach out and grab them!

He thought back carefully and realized he didn't seem to have done anything to offend Su Ji.

The path that a mighty figure is walking for the second time—even just listening to a few words of it would bring him endless benefits.

Thinking of this, he mustered his courage and bowed deeply to Su Ji.

"Senior, what was it that you said?"

"This junior is dull-witted and wishes to listen to Senior's teachings."

Su Ji was already feeling somewhat guilty. Being asked this, and feeling Su Jiu's unfriendly gaze from beside him, he only felt his scalp go numb.

But since things had already reached this point, he could only bite the bullet and keep up the act.

He cleared his throat and brought out the exact same rhetoric he had used to coax Su Jiu back then, word for word.

"The people of this world are restless and chaotic. In their pursuit of stronger magical treasures, they can easily discard the very weapons that accompanied them through their most difficult years..."

As he spoke, he secretly observed Su Jiu's reaction from the corner of his eye.

Good, no reaction.

Su Ji felt slightly relieved and continued.

"...It's just like how I reminisce about my childhood. Was it the cicada that I failed to catch that day, or that summer which I can never return to..."

However, even Su Ji himself didn't expect what happened next.

Listening to these words, the Golden Core vendor's eyes gradually became glazed over.

His thoughts were pulled back to more than a hundred years ago by an invisible force.

That year, he was still a sixteen-year-old boy.

On a sweltering afternoon, holding a wooden sword carved for him by his father, he was sweating profusely in the courtyard.

He had no talent.

But he refused to admit defeat.

One time, ten times, a hundred times.

Until his arm was so sore and numb that he couldn't lift it anymore.

Just at the moment he was about to give up, a faint trace of spiritual energy surged out uncontrollably, flowing along his meridians and merging into the sword.

Buzz—

A soft hum.

A pale white sword qi, about an inch long, flickered from the tip of the sword.

The boy stared blankly at that wisp of sword qi. Feeling the faint power contained within it, he was first stunned, and then a smile of wild ecstasy bloomed on his face.

He succeeded!

He threw down the wooden sword, running wildly and laughing loudly in the courtyard. That pure joy was enough to drown out the cicadas' chirping of the entire summer.

Later on, he established his Foundation, formed his Golden Core, and his cultivation base grew higher and higher, while his magical treasures were replaced with better and better ones.

Whenever he had a major breakthrough or encountered a great opportunity, he would also feel joy.

Yet he always felt that something was missing.

So... so this was what was missing.

The Golden Core vendor slowly lowered his head, looking at the broken sword tip in his hand, and then at the broken sword that had accompanied him for a hundred and thirty-seven years.

He suddenly laughed.

His laugh was somewhat bitter, yet carried a sense of relief.

He understood.

He had always thought of himself as a person who loved swords.

But in reality, what he loved was only the powerful strength this sword could bring him, along with the vanity and status it provided.

He was no longer the boy from back then who would go wild with joy over a single wisp of sword qi.

"I understand now..."

The Golden Core vendor muttered to himself.

He slowly raised his head and looked at Su Ji. In his cloudy eyes, there was actually an unprecedented clarity.

"Thank you for your guidance, Senior!"

He bowed deeply to Su Ji once again.

This time, the gratitude came from the bottom of his heart.

Su Ji was a bit dumbfounded by his sudden action.

Wait, you actually believed what I said?

You attained enlightenment just like that?

Isn't your comprehension ability a bit too good?

Su Jiu also looked at the Golden Core vendor in surprise. She could feel that the aura around him seemed to have undergone a subtle change.

It lost a bit of the overbearing nature of a Golden Core cultivator, and gained a touch of the perfect harmony of returning to one's natural state.

Just as the two of them were filled with uncertainty and bewilderment.

The Golden Core vendor made a move that no one expected.

He slowly raised his hand.

The broken sword, which he treated as a precious treasure, was held horizontally in front of him.

"Senior."

The Golden Core vendor raised his head, his face carrying an unprecedented calmness.

"This sword is not my Dao companion; it is my inner demon."

"Today, I ask Senior to slay this inner demon for me."

As he spoke, he knelt down before Su Ji, his forehead knocking heavily against the ground, holding the sword above his head with both hands.