SWNOVELXO Chapter 16:
Chapter 16: The Sinner Stained With Her Brother’s Blood:
After eliminating all the demonic cultivators who invaded the Heavenly Sword Sect, Xu Moli finally felt a fleeting moment of relief from the despair consuming her heart.
She scanned her surroundings. The belated reinforcements from the righteous sects had arrived, yet no one dared meet her gaze. Even the disciples of Heavenly Sword Sect, her acquaintances, retreated a few steps, their fear palpable.
What was this gaze?
Anger?
Sadness?
No, it was something far more extreme—a hollow void where everything had been completely lost. This emptiness radiated from her, sending chills through anyone who dared look at her.
At this moment, she no longer appeared human.
She was like a “living dead body,” utterly devoid of vitality.
Without sparing a glance at anyone, Xu Moli sheathed her sword, took to the air, and flew back to Heavenly Sword Sect.
“Brother, what really happened three years ago?”
The question haunted her thoughts.
She wasn’t foolish. After avenging her brother, she began to piece together a realization.
If Xu Xi truly saw her as a burden, there was no way he would have rushed to her rescue so coincidentally.
This meant that, all along, he had been silently watching over her.
But if that were true…
Why had he left so coldly?
Why had he severed all ties and abandoned her, leaving her to fend for herself?
These doubts gnawed at her mind as she flew toward Forest Sword Peak. If anyone could give her the answers, it would be her and her brother’s master, Li Wanshou.
Before long, Xu Moli found the old man resting and recovering from his injuries after the war. She recounted everything that had transpired, from her brother’s sudden departure to his sacrificial return.
Li Wanshou listened in silence for a long time. Finally, he let out a deep sigh.
“That’s all, that’s all… What’s the point of hiding it now?”
His gaze fell upon the blood-stained wooden sword in Xu Moli’s hand. Stroking his beard, he shook his head and began to speak.
The old master revealed the truth. Xu Xi had sacrificed everything—his life, his cultivation, and his spiritual roots—to create an external spiritual root and save Xu Moli. To prevent her from discovering the cost of his actions, he had chosen to leave without a word.
The revelation hit Xu Moli like a thunderbolt.
Her mind reeled. She couldn’t fathom the depth of her brother’s sacrifice.
A disease that had plagued her for seven years…
And the price of her recovery had been her brother’s everything.
He had burned his life, his cultivation, and his spiritual roots. Even on the brink of death, he had dragged his shattered body to save her one last time.
“I…”
Xu Moli’s pupils quivered violently.
Images of her brother’s tragic final moments replayed in her mind, each scene amplifying her pain and despair.
It hurt.
The pain tore through her body, twisting her insides like a relentless vice. Her stomach churned, her chest tightened, and her eyes burned.
But no tears came.
She looked down at her hands, feeling as though they were drenched in blood—her brother’s blood.
“It’s all my fault… It’s all my fault!”
If not for her, her brother would still be alive. He would still be the prodigy admired by all, basking in the glory of his achievements.
Instead, he was gone.
No remains left behind.
Yes, it was her fault. She was a burden, a sinner stained with her brother’s blood.
“Brother…”
Overwhelmed by guilt, Xu Moli left Forest Sword Peak in despair. She returned to the cave where she and her brother had lived together for twelve years.
Desperately, she searched every corner, hoping to find something—anything—that her brother had left behind.
Finally, after a long and frantic search, she discovered a small storage ring.
Inside was a treasure trove of cultivation materials—resources painstakingly gathered by Xu Xi.
But Xu Moli didn’t care about the value of the materials. What mattered to her was that these were remnants of her brother, items imbued with his presence.
In the days that followed, Xu Moli locked herself in the cave. She ignored the sect’s summons and neglected her cultivation.
Instead, she spent her days in the deepest room of the cave.
She emptied the contents of the storage ring, surrounding herself with the items her brother had left behind.
It felt as though, by doing so, she could recreate the warmth of his presence.
Among the many items, one stood out. It was neither a precious treasure nor a cultivation resource.
It was a jar of candy.
The jar was filled to the brim with brightly colored sweets.
“This is…”
Xu Moli’s dull eyes lit up faintly as she held the jar in her trembling hands. She picked out a piece of candy and placed it in her mouth.
The taste was familiar… but not quite right.
It was stale, its flavor diminished by time.
No, the candy wasn’t too old—it was that she had found it too late.
Fresh tears streamed down her face.
If she had discovered the jar earlier, perhaps she could have savored its sweetness while it was still fresh.
But she hadn’t.
She was too useless—so useless that she hated herself.
“I must atone… I must… bring my brother back… No matter the cost…”
Her voice was filled with both sorrow and unyielding determination.
The next day.
Xu Moli vanished from Heavenly Sword Sect without a word.
Rumors soon spread.
Some claimed to have seen her in Blackstone City, moving a wooden house with great spiritual Qi, shedding blood and tears.
Others spoke of her exploits in a heritage cave, where she reached the Nascent Soul Realm and slew a God Transformation Realm cultivator with brutal efficiency.
The tales of her vengeance shook the cultivation world.
She slaughtered demonic cultivators with such ferocity that they were nearly driven to extinction. Even tribulation-level demonic giants could not stop her.
Eventually, Xu Moli broke through to the tribulation realm herself.
With a single swing of her wooden sword, she obliterated the tribulation realm demon and the sect that had supported him.
Her legend grew beyond the mortal realm.
When the lower world could no longer contain her, Xu Moli ascended.
She forced open the Heavenly Gate, defying the laws of ascension, and stormed into the immortal realm.
“How dare a mortal enter the immortal realm uninvited!”
“Bow before the Immortal Emperor, or your name shall be carved on the Death Monument!”
But Xu Moli cared for none of it.
With her wooden sword in hand, she cut down all who stood in her way. Her ferocity earned her the title of “Immortal Killer,” a name that resounded across both the mortal and immortal realms.
Even the aloof Immortal Emperor eventually fell to her blade.