Chapter 1

The day Master Alistair brought Vivica, the realm’s premier swordmaster, into the Cloudcrest Sect, Mistress Heather was in the alchemy chamber brewing the elixir he needed for his breakthrough.

Cultivators across the continent claimed Heather was blessed. They said an alchemist without a combat core was lucky to catch Alistair’s eye and share his life for a hundred years.

Yet Heather always told me, “Our love has nothing to do with power. If he ever betrays me, I will leave without looking back.”

Garrett, my senior martial brother who grew up alongside me, held my hand tightly in front of her and swore to cherish me alone for the rest of his days.

Later, Alistair spent a fortune in red silk and treasures to marry Vivica. True to her word, Heather vanished without a trace.

Garrett also gave his heart away to Empress Vespera.

Watching their tangled, affectionate figures from afar, I suddenly felt the urge to pack my bags and search for Mistress Heather.

01.

When Master Alistair led Vivica back to the Cloudcrest Sect, Mistress Heather was still nursing the furnace in the alchemy chamber.

I pushed the door open to deliver the news, only to find Heather clutching the bronze cauldron, coughing up dark blood.

Shocked, I rushed forward to support her trembling frame. She merely offered me a bitter, exhausted smile.

“Hallie, did your master return with another woman?”

I looked at the red cord around her wrist, which was meant to pulse with Alistair’s heartbeat. It hung dull and lifeless. I knew then that she had already felt the change in his heart.

A month ago, Alistair stood on the verge of a major cultivation breakthrough.

Unable to find his breakthrough catalyst, he left the mountain to roam the mortal realms. During his travels, he crossed paths with Vivica as she subdued a mythical beast.

Vivica was hailed as the continent’s finest swordmaster, one of the few high-tier masters who stood as his equal.

Alistair fell in love with her at first sight. They spent a month wandering together under the moonlit sky until sect affairs forced his return.

He brought Vivica right through the front gates of Cloudcrest.

He did this despite having married my mistress thirty years ago.

At this very moment, Heather still held a freshly refined Solar Elixir in her palm.

This pill was notoriously hard to make because it required the alchemist’s pure heart blood.

Heather had already sacrificed two drops of her heart blood for Alistair ten and twenty years ago.

Legends say every mortal possesses only three drops of pure heart blood. Once the third drop is spent, the body is left like a lamp running out of oil.

Seeing her pale, ash-grey complexion, I broke down in tears.

She gripped my fingers tightly with what little strength she had left.

“Do not cry, Hallie. I was simply blind.”

“Garrett is a fine young man. I only hope you will find true happiness with him.”

The Garrett she spoke of was my fiancé.

Before Alistair went wandering, Garrett had traveled down the mountain with him.

Now, Garrett was spending all his time flirting with Empress Vespera of the Azurestone Empire.

Mistress, Hallie is just like you. Neither of us could hold onto the men who claimed to love us.