After all the help Fairy Xuanwei had given him, Xiao Fan felt he had no reason to refuse her small request. Besides, he had many questions of his own that he wanted to ask her.
Instead of giving Xuanwei a disjointed account of the mortal realm, Xiao Fan thought it would be better to tell her everything through the lens of his life experiences, weaving them into stories.
He led her to a pavilion in the Immortal Palace and began recounting his past.
"I was born into a wealthy mortal family in the lower realm…"
As Xiao Fan recalled his past, his emotions grew heavy. When he spoke of how his parents had been killed by a notorious bandit named Leng Feng, Xuanwei clenched her fists in rage, furious at the injustice. She wished she had been there; she would have torn that scoundrel to pieces and prevented the tragedy from ever happening.
Who said fairies couldn't get angry? When a fairy unleashes her wrath, it's something no mortal can withstand.
Seeing Xuanwei stand up for him, Xiao Fan was surprised to discover that this seemingly cold and aloof fairy had such a strong sense of justice, a stark contrast to her serene image.
He hesitated, unsure whether to continue. The events that followed at Qingyun Sect were dark and inhumane, and he feared that telling Xuanwei would only make her angrier. However, he didn't want her to think that the lower realm was entirely a cesspool of corruption—there were still many beautiful things in the world. The ugliness was only a small part of it.
After a brief moment of contemplation, Xiao Fan decided to continue. He knew that running from the truth wouldn't solve anything. If he ever returned to the lower realm, he would seek justice for the innocent souls wronged by Qingyun Sect.
As expected, when Xiao Fan described the massacre he witnessed at Qingyun Sect—the mountains of corpses and rivers of blood—Xuanwei jumped to her feet, stomping in fury. The sheer evil of it was unbearable. For the sake of their cultivation, those heartless cultivators had slaughtered countless innocent lives.
Xuanwei had once yearned to see the lower realm, but now, after hearing Xiao Fan's story, she wished she could descend immediately and bring justice to those who deserved it. But she knew this desire was nothing more than a dream.
Defeated, Xuanwei slumped back into her seat in the pavilion and asked, "What happened next? Did you return to your homeland to seek revenge on that scoundrel Leng Feng?"
"I did return home eventually, and I did face my old enemy…" Xiao Fan began recounting the story of how he met Leng Ruoxue, Leng Feng's daughter, and took her as his disciple.
At first, Xuanwei listened with keen interest as Xiao Fan described how taking on Leng Ruoxue as his disciple brought a glimmer of light into his dark life. She was genuinely happy for him. But when she heard that Leng Ruoxue was the daughter of that despicable Leng Feng, it was as if a sword had pierced her heart. Even as a listener, she could feel the agony Xiao Fan must have endured. How much more painful must it have been for Xiao Fan himself?
Xuanwei looked at Xiao Fan with sympathy. Poisoned and on the brink of death, Xiao Fan had found a fleeting light in his life, only to discover that this light was a blade, stabbing him straight in the heart. Even though Xiao Fan didn't describe his emotions at that moment, Xuanwei could sense the torment and anguish he must have felt.
One was his sworn enemy, the other his cherished disciple. Xiao Fan must have lived in constant agony during that time.
Even now, recalling those days brought a heaviness to Xiao Fan's heart. He sighed deeply before continuing his story, describing how Leng Feng eventually revealed his true, treacherous nature, attacked him, and how Leng Ruoxue's mother, Xia Jing, sacrificed herself to kill Leng Feng.
Hearing that Leng Feng had finally met his end brought a sense of satisfaction to Xuanwei. However, she also felt a pang of sorrow for Xia Jing, who had made such a noble sacrifice. When Xuanwei learned that Leng Ruoxue had mistakenly believed Xiao Fan to be her father's killer, she was both shocked and deeply curious about what had happened between Xiao Fan and his disciple afterward.
Xiao Fan explained how, to ensure that Leng Ruoxue wouldn't be consumed by hatred like he had been, he spent ten years caring for her from the shadows, posing as a stranger. In the end, he chose to sacrifice himself, letting Leng Ruoxue stab him and sending him plummeting off a cliff into the river below.
By this point, Xuanwei's eyes were brimming with tears. Xiao Fan's life had been filled with too much suffering. Just hearing it was almost too much to bear.
Outside the Vast Heaven Mirror.
Leng Ruoxue listened to her master Xiao Fan recounting all this, and it felt as though a thousand blades were stabbing into her heart. "Master! Master!" she cried, tears streaming down her face as she looked at Xiao Fan, now a lifeless shell in the Primal Emperor City. "It was all my fault! I misunderstood your intentions. Please wake up! I will stay by your side from now on and take care of you!"
Beside her, Wen Yaxian and Huo Ling'er were equally grief-stricken. Now that they knew everything Xiao Fan had done for them, they were determined to do whatever they could to make amends.
Long Xiaoxiao looked at Xiao Fan with unwavering resolve. "Master, this time it's my turn to protect you. I will never leave your side again!"
Gongsun Yarou, on the other hand, looked at the others with disdain. In her heart, she found it laughable. They hadn't appreciated Xiao Fan when he was with them, and now they wanted to make up for it? Wasn't it far too late?
As she gazed at Xiao Fan, now reduced to a living corpse, Gongsun Yarou's eyes were a mix of love and hatred. "Xiao Fan, you will pay for your sins. I will never forgive you!"
High above in the void, the Jade Pool Empress sneered. It would be most entertaining to see their reactions when they realized all hope was lost. She could hardly wait for that moment.
Meanwhile, the God Clan Empress, Xuanwei, furrowed her brows as memories of her past with Xiao Fan began to surface. Her missing memories were slowly returning. Perhaps it wouldn't be long before she fully regained them.
Back in the Vast Heaven Realm.
After finishing his story about Leng Ruoxue, Xiao Fan went on to recount his experiences with Wen Yaxian, Huo Ling'er, Long Xiaoxiao, and Gongsun Yarou.
By the time he had finished telling all the stories, Xuanwei could no longer control her emotions and burst into tears. The endings of Xiao Fan's relationships with each of his disciples were all too heartbreaking. Xiao Fan had sacrificed so much as a master, but his life had been filled with nothing but suffering. Perhaps death was his only release.
But there was one thing that Xuanwei was deeply curious about. After calming down, she asked, "Out of all of them, who do you care about the most?"
Outside the Vast Heaven Mirror.
The disciples, who had been lost in sorrow just moments before, now watched the mirror with bated breath, waiting intently for Xiao Fan's answer.
To read the manga version, please click the YouTube link https://youtu.be/GnU613H6xm8