"Is there nothing I can do for you to fully gain my freedom?"

"Let's see...ah! I want the jade pendant. If you can give it to me, I'll let you go and even send you off with some rewards."

Xian frowned scowling at Ren. "Why do you mock me?"

Ren shrugged his shoulders facing the entity. "It's usually wise to realize the situation one is in. Other than the sword, you willingly gave me your primary body and I gave you my..." He didn't finish out of embarrassment. "If you want to continue living, you have to submit to me and stay here. If not, I'll just take away your heart and you'll cease to exist."

Xian came closer to Ren, letting him realize it was over five inches taller than he was as it glared down at him condescendingly. But Ren had confidence he could now destroy it. Killing it was still a mystery, but at least it wouldn't overpower him in a fight.

"Then take me back where you found me."

Ren, refusing to be intimidated just because of the slight height difference, looked up into its green eyes while crossing his arms on his chest. "Leave the jade and you can leave."

"You!" It grabbed Ren by the neck of his clothes with anger filling its body. "I owe you nothing. You don't have-"

Ren's roots shot out of his body and immediately wrapped themselves around Xian's wrists and ankles, pulling it away from Ren.

"I'm exhausted, demon plant or whatever you are. If you keep resisting, I'll lock you up in the darkest place I know with nothing to see or feel."

He was indeed fatigued from the days he had been meditating. All he craved for right now was some good uninterrupted sleep.

"Let me go!" Xian hissed struggling in hopes of freeing itself. But the roots only tightened the more it struggled. "I'll rip you to pieces if I-" An explosion of pain in its chest left it groaning and writhing while crucified in the air. "What are you...ngh! Stop!"

Pain. It had never felt pain since it transformed. Nothing and no one had managed to inflict pain in its secondary body.

Ren's eyes were drawn to the strange golden spot that was glowing faintly under its wrist. Mesmerized, he held out its hand using the roots and studied it closely.

"Hmm...about time. Seems like it's starting to work. But not as strong as I expected it to be. Is it because you're more powerful than they are?"

"Stop...this!"

Ren put on a small grin as he retreated his roots, confident that Xian was no threat to him. "Hit me, come on." He offered Xian his left cheek, a smug spark in his red eyes. "Hit m-"

Xian thrust its right fist, which was hard as steel, at Ren, smacking his cheek and jaw and sending him flying out of the barn along with a part of the wall. It had braced the pain just to get back at him because as soon as it had hit him, it collapsed on the ground pressing its chest as tears rolled out of its eyes from the unbearable pain in its chest that felt like a thousand needles poking nonstop.

"What...is...this?" Xian groaned noticing the golden spot on its wrist that was glowing.

Touching and feeling it from the inside, it realized that the breath coming from that particular spot was similar to the breath from Ren's roots. It was only now that it remembered the thing Ren had given it back in the cave.

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"Aargh! That sure hurts," Ren moaned after his body peeled off the wall Xian's fist had sent him into. The large dent made it look like a large object had been thrust into the wall that was five times heavier than he was.

He massaged his jaw to soothe the ache under his skin and bone.

How?

Dusting his clothes, Ren glanced into the barn where the entity was writhing and trying to crawl out after him.

"Good for you Xian. Because now you've managed to piss me o-"

His head whipped to the east where the familiar breath was coming from. Frowning, he quickly locked Xian in a barrier. "Stay here like a good dog, I'll be back."

He stepped into his portal to appear in the front courtyard in front of the guest hall.

Flying from the clear sky was Elder Jun in the company of Xu'er.

While Ren could not tell the elder's cultivation level, he could at least feel that Xu'er had improved slightly.

"Sect leader." Elder Jun bowed with a fist-palm salute, and so did Xu'er. "I have just been informed that you've come out."

"So the eyes I spotted earlier were your doing?"

Lifting his head, Elder Jun chuckled to lessen the tension that had formed between them. "I have been watching your sect for you. There were many people curious to see what it looked like after the incident while some wanted to loot the sect."

"Oh? Do you have a list of these people? That would be immensely helpful."

The teacher and disciple exchanged a glance before returning their eyes to Ren, who seemed serious about the matter.

"I can make one for you."

"Please do so... You see, I hate it when people take advantage of my time of weakness for their gains."

This was true after his family had grabbed the settlement money from the construction company while he was slowly dying in the hospital. Back then, he couldn't do or say anything due to his paralyzed state. But not now.

Now, he had the power to flatten cities. A power that that made him feel invisible though he didn't want to misuse it unless in dire situations.

A blank book appeared in Elder Jun's hands before a wisp of his power came out of his forehead to flow down into the book, filling some pages with names and details of the people Ren wanted. All this while, Xu'er stared at Ren, her eyes full of admiration and fear from what she had witnessed over a fortnight ago. The events were still fresh in her memory as in the memory of all the disciples and elders in Soul Sect. A calamity that could have easily claimed the lives of hundreds, all caused by one single person.

She felt deeply grateful that he did not hold a grudge against her for how they first met. If he were to punish her, not even her soul would be spared.

The image of her existence being obliterated by the Dao punishment or even Ren's lightning left her trembling on the inside. No, it was all fate that she had obeyed and brought her master to talk to him. They now even seemed a little closer from how freely Ren was speaking to them. A good sign. Yes, a good sign.

"If you need something done, I can lend you my people to help you take care of these-"

"No thank you. I'll do it myself."

"Okay, but..."

"What is it?" Ren asked outing away the book in his ring.

"The realm appears in five days. Will you still go?"

"Why not? That was my compensation. Or have you forgo-"

"No, no, no. That's not what I meant... After what happened, the other sects might target you, especially your disciples."

Ren chuckled turning to the side to admire the moss. "I never go out finding trouble. But whoever seeks it from me will receive exactly what they were looking for. If anyone harms my people, why should I go easy on them? Yet at the end of the day, I'll be called the villain. Ha! This world is as funny as Earth."

"Then...let Xu'er stay with you so that she can learn how to get along with your disciples to avoid disputes between them when you all leave for the realm, please."

Ren eyed her for a split second.

"Fine. But she should behave and follow the rules here."

He just wanted to sound sophisticated even though there were no rules for outsiders to follow. He'd just make up a few and send them to Liuyue who'd take Xu'er in for the few days they'd be living in his courtyard.

"Thank you, sect leader. Here is the fee for her stay. If she gets in trouble, please punish her like you would punish your own disciples. Discipline is the only way to cultivate an upright mind and heart."

In his hands was a rectangular wooden box that was full of gold bars.

Ren could never turn away from money. He wasn't as cultured as these cultivators, so of course, he still desired to live comfortably while working towards the major goal.

"Xu'er?"

"Yes, Master." She saluted her master.

"Be a good girl and follow the rules you will be taught. I won't spare you if I hear you've caused any kind of trouble. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Master."

She then turned to Ren while holding her respectful salute and bow. "Xu'er presents herself to you, sect leader. Guide and punish me like my Master would. I won't complain."

'So unnecessary. But I need to play along.'

"Good. You're just in time. Liuyue was about to leave for the city. You can accompany her."

He just wanted her gone, both of them, so he could go to his room and sleep till the next day. He also wanted to check on Han who hadn't left his consciousness for weeks. Making Ren a little worried about whether he was still alive.

With only a fraction of a soul in him, Han was almost as soulless as Xian. The major difference was that Han was born out of a being's core while Xian was born from an object that possessed obsessions and regrets of its owner.

This discovery had Ren feeling thrilled to dig up the past and unravel these mysteries. He had already confirmed that the sword and the jade pendants were indeed strongly related.

The person Wu Tao's mother had spoken of was probably the wielder of the sword he now possessed.

Could this be one of the adventures his future self spoke of?