The Side Character Who Wins by Doing Nothing

Lu Sangjiu glanced at the person who had spoken. He looked familiar.

She had seen Yi Ze by his side before. ’So even if they aren’t master and disciple, he must be an elder close to Yi Ze.’

In that case, it was perfectly normal for him to dislike her and target her deliberately.

After his accusation, if Lu Sangjiu delayed her answer any longer, the others would likely start to suspect her too.

So, she had no choice but to speak, her face a picture of sincerity. ”Seniors, you’ve misunderstood. It’s not that I can’t bear to part with the Demon Artifact, but because...”

She looked troubled. ”Because it formed a contract with me... a Lifebound Magical Treasure contract!”

Everyone was stunned, even the Sect Leader of the Gold and Silver Gate hadn’t expected such an answer.

Elder Lin was the one who had originally brought back Domination Map, so he was more invested in the matter. He couldn’t help but question her harshly, ”You knew this was a Demon Artifact. Why would you form a Lifebound Magical Treasure contract with it? Did you do it on purpose?”

There was a huge difference between a Lifebound Magical Treasure and an ordinary one.

Normally, after reaching Foundation Establishment, a Cultivator would gather materials for refining a Magic Treasure that was perfectly compatible with them.

Once it became a Lifebound Magical Treasure, it could be nurtured within their Sea of Consciousness and grow alongside the Cultivator, making it far more important than any other Magic Treasure.

However, the many advantages of a Lifebound Magical Treasure came with certain limitations.

Each Cultivator could only have one Lifebound Magical Treasure in their entire life. If it were destroyed, the Cultivator would suffer immense trauma.

Breaking a contract by force was even worse. It could even damage a Cultivator’s innate constitution and aptitude for Cultivating Immortality, affecting their entire future path.

In other words, if Lu Sangjiu agreed to leave Domination Map behind, it would be tantamount to personally destroying her path of Cultivating Immortality!

What should have been a simple matter had suddenly become exceptionally complicated.

Even if the others didn’t say it aloud, they were all thinking the same thing: ’What was Lu Sangjiu’s motive for forming a lifebound contract with a Demon Artifact she knew to be dangerous?’

Pressed by everyone, Lu Sangjiu put on a terrified expression and hastily explained, ”It wasn’t me who formed the lifebound contract with it! It... it did it itself!”

She said anxiously, ”I only reached Foundation Establishment a short while ago and haven’t forged my own Lifebound Magical Treasure yet. How could I have known it would exploit that opening?”

”This saber...” She glanced at Domination Map with a look of fear, her voice tinged with a sob. ”I suspect this saber is on the verge of birthing a Sword Spirit, which is why it took the initiative to form a lifebound contract with me!”

’Hmph... Of course, Lu Sangjiu was the one who formed the lifebound contract. After all, how else could she justify taking Domination Map with her?’

’But the saber can’t talk. If she let it take the blame, who could find any evidence that she was lying?’

’Besides, she only said it was *on the verge* of birthing a Sword Spirit. That makes any timeline for its actual birth reasonable.’

Whether Domination Map was about to birth a Sword Spirit was unknown, but it had long possessed its own consciousness.

Seeming to understand Lu Sangjiu’s words, the saber’s blade began to hum and vibrate—whether in cooperation or in anger, it was hard to say.

It was a Demon Artifact to begin with, and everyone was already wary of it. This sudden movement startled them all.

But before they could speak, Lu Sangjiu began to soothe it in a helpless and clumsy manner. ”You... you have to calm down. You’re going to scare people.”

”You’re my Lifebound Magical Treasure now. We rise and fall together. If you just listen to me, maybe the seniors won’t make things difficult for us, okay?”

Then, strangely, Domination Map actually did quiet down. It even seemed to make an effort to retract the surging Demonic Qi around its blade, becoming as calm and ordinary as a common saber.

Lu Sangjiu and Domination Map’s performance was so convincing that, for a moment, the crowd was inclined to believe her.

After all, if a weapon was powerful and possessed the intelligence to be on the verge of birthing a Sword Spirit, it really could forcibly form a contract with a Cultivator...

Of course, such a situation was extremely rare. Powerful weapons typically had their own pride; why would one so easily choose a master? Especially a Demon Artifact choosing an Immortal Cultivator!

But everyone knew that Domination Map had been sealed in the Sword Tomb for several hundred years.

If it had gained sufficient intelligence, it was entirely plausible that it would deliberately seize the opportunity to sign a lifebound contract with Lu Sangjiu. It would know that, by doing so, the Cultivator would be unable to abandon it easily.

If that were the case, then Lu Sangjiu truly was just an innocent victim in all this.

But with Domination Map in her hands, they couldn’t just let her go... It was quite the dilemma.

As everyone fell silent, unsure of what to do, Bai Heng finally spoke.

”In that case, Niece Lu has indeed suffered an unexpected disaster. For the Gold and Silver Gate to still demand compensation for the Muxian Sword would be putting her in a difficult position.”

The moment Lu Sangjiu heard him speak up for her, she knew he was about to spew some bullshit.

Sure enough, his next sentence was: ”For the peace of the Cultivation World, Niece Lu, as a disciple of the Seven Emotions Sect, will surely choose to sacrifice herself for the greater good.”

”So, why doesn’t the Gold and Silver Gate just write off this debt? Consider it compensation for Niece Lu. That way, everyone can feel a bit better about this. What do you all say?”

Lu Sangjiu: ”...”

’Bai Heng, you’re so fucking shameless!’

’This master and disciple pair really have the whole moral blackmail schtick down, don’t they? How disgusting!’

The expressions of the others turned strange. They clearly thought so, too.

But to be honest, no matter how outstanding Lu Sangjiu was, she wasn’t one of their own disciples. Her death had little to do with them.

Compared to the chaos a newly unleashed Demon Artifact would cause in the Cultivation World, they would much rather see Lu Sangjiu make a selfless sacrifice. It would make things simpler for everyone.

It was just that they had some sense of shame, so they couldn’t bring themselves to say what they were thinking.

They hadn’t expected her own sect’s elder to be the one to step up and say it. Now, what reason did they have to object?

So, after a brief silence, they all began to nod and voice their agreement.

”That’s right! Since Lu has chosen the path of righteousness, the Gold and Silver Gate should drop the matter of the Muxian Sword!”

The Sect Leader of the Gold and Silver Gate’s mouth twitched. In his heart, he couldn’t help but curse Bai Heng for his shamelessness.

’So he gets to be the good guy, while our Gold and Silver Gate bears the loss, is that it?’

But things had already come to this, and he knew that dealing with the trouble of the Demon Artifact was more important. As for the loss, he had already been mentally prepared for it.

So, even though he was cursing Bai Heng internally and felt a bit of sympathy for Lu Sangjiu, he still didn’t speak up for her.

He just nodded and said, ”Since Lu is willing to sacrifice herself for the greater good, my Gold and Silver Gate naturally won’t quibble over such a small sum.”

Going back and forth like this, they had decided for her before Lu Sangjiu could even say a word.

Looking at the sanctimonious, hypocritical faces of the crowd, Lu Sangjiu sneered inwardly... ’Just when my opinion of Cultivators was starting to change, this bunch scrambles to show their true colors right in front of me.’

’This hypocrisy is exactly the same as before. Their mouths are full of righteousness and morality, but their actions are so shameless it’s laughable.’

Her eyes turned ice-cold. Just as she was about to speak, amid the chorus of harmonious agreement, Sword Bu Gui suddenly slammed his teacup down on the table...