"Six, Souls, Banner!"
Ji Mingyu almost spat out each word with clenched teeth.
Chu Xuan had never seen such overwhelming anger on his master's face. Her eyes were filled with shock, realization, hatred, and disgust, a myriad of emotions beyond words.
Suddenly, panic seized Chu Xuan, "Master, listen to me..."
Before he could finish, Ji Mingyu turned her head away, laughing sorrowfully, as tears streamed down like broken pearls from her eyes while gazing at her "beloved pupil."
"How amusing, it's actually you!"
It was the first time Chu Xuan saw his master in tears. He desperately wanted to explain, but when Ji Mingyu uttered that final 'you,' she struck a palm at him!
The blow landed squarely on Chu Xuan's chest, sending him flying as he spat blood. The snow mink that had been bewildered in his arms screamed and fell mid-air.
In that instant, the suspended Six Souls Banner plunged directly into Chu Xuan's forehead and vanished.
This sight confirmed the banner was indeed his life-bound artifact.
The strike left Chu Xuan gravely wounded. As darkness overtook him, a memory suddenly flashed:
When he was born, he had been abandoned at the village graveyard under a tattered banner.
Although the shape of the Six Souls Banner differed from his memory, its color was the same, and it felt familiar. Could they be the same?
No, no, no! This isn't mine.
Chu Xuan felt darkness cloud his vision, his organs threatened to rupture. Yet more painful than his body's agony was the fact his master acted against him.
Although she withdrew more than ninety percent of her strength at the last second, saving him from death, it still filled him with profound sadness.
Could our eight-year bond mean nothing compared to this inexplicable banner falling from the sky?
"Master, Master." Coughing blood, Chu Xuan struggled to rise from the ground, "Let me explain."
"Leave!" Ji Mingyu angrily dismissed, flicking her sleeve. A fierce wind whipped up, hurling Chu Xuan out of the secret ritual site, landing him into icy snow.
Shivering, Chu Xuan pulled out a bottle of elixirs from his sleeve, recklessly pouring them into his mouth. During this, tears streamed down, his expression devastated.
"Master!" Having regained some strength, he shouted at the snowy cliff: "Listen to me; the black banner isn't mine. Regardless of what enmity its owner has with you, I am not involved."
But no matter how Chu Xuan pleaded, the frigid wall remained silent.
Kneeling before the cliff, blood from his forehead mingling with tears, he cried, "Master, Master, at least let me know my fault! I'll change, I promise!"
The wind and snow in the Land of the Far North swirled endlessly.
No matter how Chu Xuan cried, pleaded, or shouted, Langhuan Grotto Heaven remained unresponsive, even as his tears and blood mixed to form ice.
As if Ji Mingyu had utterly forsaken him, sparing his life was her greatest mercy.
"Ming Yu!"
In the end, Chu Xuan raised his head, shouting despondently.
The voice was filled with despair, even tinged with resentment.
Unexpectedly, Ji Mingyu reappeared.
She stepped out from the cliff, though her tears hadn't dried, her demeanor was no longer soft. It reverted to the coldness of their first meeting, even chillier.
Delighted, Chu Xuan softened his tone, "Ming, Master, listen to me. I have no wronged you."
Expressionless, Ji Mingyu scrutinized him, her gaze icy and knife-sharp.
Never had his master looked at him so piercingly, the sharpness felling him like a blade.
"You want me to listen to your explanation? Fine, I'll give you a chance." Ji Mingyu spoke hoarsely and coldly.
"Answer me, is the Six Souls Banner your life-bound artifact?"
"I, I..." Chu Xuan initially wanted to deny it but realized this was his final chance—lying was futile.
After a pause, he reluctantly bowed his head, "Maybe, but I know nothing of its origins, why it came for me, or why it entered my body."
Quickly glancing up, he said, "Master, please remove it; I don't want such a thing."
Still cold, Ji Mingyu addressed him, "Chu Xuan, henceforth, you shall not claim to be my disciple."
"Speak a single word, and I'll know—even if you escape to the ends of the earth—I'll flay you, grind your bones, cast your soul into the abyss, trapping you there for eternity!"
The words left Chu Xuan frozen, as if soulless.
With the owner secretly accompanying him, the little snow mink knelt, pleading with clasped hands, eyes also overflowing with tears.
Yet, Ji Mingyu didn't give it a glance, walking to Chu Xuan and striking his crown!
The blow resounded with shattering noise; his Twelve-Story Tower, Five Cities Illusion inside crumbled instantly, ruining his dantian, his meridians snapped, blood spilled from his lips.
Henceforth, Chu Xuan, gifted and promising, became a cripple—unable to cultivate.
Ji Mingyu released him, turning away into Langhuan Grotto Heaven without looking back.
The icy mink cried out, pouncing at the hollow-eyed Chu Xuan, wavering, slowly crumbling.
But before contact, an unseen force drew it into the wall, vanishing.
And so, Chu Xuan lying in the snow, was gradually buried by the wind and snow...
"Heh, hehe, hehehe."
After a while, Chu Xuan chuckled bitterly, painfully struggling from the snow.
Tears seemed unending, yet he didn't linger; battered and bruised, he stumbled away.
Descending the mountain, Chu Xuan took in everything around him repeatedly—to remember this place, promising to return one day!
Suddenly, a gust swept from behind, lifting Chu Xuan skyward.
This time, the wind persisted, carrying him higher, further south.
During the journey, Chu Xuan suffered greatly, fading in and out, unsure how long before landing heavily.
The impact jolted him awake.