“Master, was that Senior Sister’s sword just now? I remember it was called ‘Wait, Wait.’” Yuan Dawei had sharp eyes. He had seen a sword fly straight onto the flying vessel and head directly toward their master.
It looked vaguely familiar, so he immediately ran over to ask whether Senior Sister needed their help.
“Master? Master, why are you spacing out?” Yuan Dawei was startled and hurried over to give his master a push.
Only then did Xu Guan manage to tear his gaze away from the treasured book in his hands.
“Dawei, surely I haven’t gone into seclusion, have I? And I haven’t been burned by the Fire of Fame and Profit, either.” Xu Guan frowned. “Otherwise, how could something capable of shaking my Dao heart have appeared?”
“Master, what’s the Fire of Fame and Profit?” Yuan Dawei asked curiously.
Having only just broken through to the Dao Infant Realm before being dragged out by his Senior Sister for experience, he had yet to figure out even what the Three Winds and Four Fires were.
“You don’t know about the Fire of Fame and Profit? Good. That proves you’re not something I imagined.” Xu Guan could not help touching his own face. “Let’s go. Fly back to the sect at full speed. I have a feeling things are rather dangerous right now.”
“Dangerous?!” Yuan Dawei immediately stood up. “Master, is someone following us?”
“No. It’s a danger of an entirely different magnitude.” Xu Guan looked seriously at the treasured book in his arms. “Don’t worry about your Senior Sister. Even if you died and went through reincarnation dozens of times, your Senior Sister still wouldn’t die.”
She had actually managed to snatch the cultivation manual of the Profound Spirit Dao Sect right under the noses of so many people—and this treasured book belonged to the Everlasting Dao Sect?
What exactly had Shu Xin been up to?
Was she planning to turn the entire cultivation world upside down?
For the first time, Xu Guan felt that it was truly fortunate that the Questioning God Sect had Senior Book Spirit.
He no longer dared to meditate. He would return to the sect at full speed and ask Senior Book Spirit for protection.
The Flawless Realm was still far too weak!!!!!
Everlasting Dao Sect.
Gong Changshou had already announced that he was entering seclusion.
As for Fu Ge and Wen Jingshu, Situ Jian had visited them both and explained Gong Changshou’s intentions.
Fu Ge and Wen Jingshu were both intelligent people. They knew perfectly well whom they should choose between Zong An and Gong Changshou, and they also understood that since Gong Changshou had sent Situ Jian to find them, he was clearly forcing them to take a side.
At first, the two had planned to use this opportunity to wring a few more benefits for themselves. Who would have thought that a few words from Situ Jian would completely shatter their defenses?
“Master asked me to pass on a message.”
“In a remote place devoid of spiritual energy, there is a mortal town beneath a great mountain called Wen Family Town. Yet overnight, every mortal in that town died. I wonder if Junior Uncle has heard of it?”
Though Fu Ge and Wen Jingshu had never discussed it beforehand, both of them performed the exact same sequence of emotions in front of Situ Jian.
First came shock, followed by an urge to silence him.
But in the end, both of them returned to calm.
“Since Senior Brother Gong thinks so highly of me, this junior naturally must lend a hand.”
“Please tell Senior Brother that I will certainly pay Senior Brother Zong An a visit in the near future.”
“Then this disciple shall await Junior Uncle’s good news.” Situ Jian slowly withdrew.
He had not gone far when he heard movement from both Fu Ge’s cave dwelling and Wen Jingshu’s.
Good. They had not forgotten after all.
Situ Jian could not help smiling.
But just as the corners of his lips began to rise, they inexplicably fell again, and his mood grew even heavier.
He raised his head and looked at the red sun in the sky. The sun beneath the evening clouds looked no different from the sunset he had watched during those days when he had once waited for death.
The only thing that had changed was the person watching it.
What was the person who had once come riding upon the sun to save him doing now?
Faced with the many corpse puppets brought by Juechen, Shu Xin was not frightened in the slightest. Instead, her face was filled with delight.
“You think adding one more sword can turn the tide?” Juechen stared fixedly at Shu Xin. He was increasingly certain that she was the female cultivator who had wounded him thirty years ago. As long as he killed her, his inner demon would be eliminated, and he might even have a chance to attempt a breakthrough into the Flawless Realm.
Juechen formed a hand seal before his chest. At his gesture, the surrounding corpse puppets surged forward all at once.
Xie Xianzhi and Qu Yougu, who were nearby, both grew somewhat anxious.
But the more desperately they tried to escape, the more deeply they became entangled in the fight.
No one knew how many people the Blood Demon Sect had brought. Not only had they tied down the Flawless Realm cultivators guarding the Scripture Repository, they had also ensnared the young disciples of the Grotto-Heaven Realm.
“Fellow Daoists, please lend us a hand!” Qu Yougu, unable to break free for the moment, could only shout loudly. “We request the assistance of the Flawless Realm elders!”
Yet not a single person nearby was willing to answer.
The Grotto-Heaven Realm cultivators did not dare intervene. The corpse puppets on Juechen’s side were so numerous and powerful that throwing in a few more Grotto-Heaven Realm cultivators would only amount to sending them to their deaths.
As for the Flawless Realm elders, who would willingly go out of their way to save a Grotto-Heaven Realm cultivator from a minor sect?
“Qu Yougu, you’re an heir of the Myriad Dao Sect, yet how can you be so naive?” Yang Fei burst into laughter when he heard him. “If you were the one trapped by Juechen, the cultivators around you might go save you out of consideration for your sect. But Shu Xin is merely from the Questioning God Sect, and her master, Xu Guan, has offended so many Flawless Realm cultivators. If they don’t take the opportunity to trip her up, they could already be considered merciful. Who would risk their life for a cultivator with no value?”
“Senior Sister Long, please help us.” Xie Xianzhi had no choice but to look toward Long Ling. “Fellow Daoist Shu was ambushed only after coming to the Scripture Repository. Surely the Everlasting Dao Sect bears some responsibility?”
Qu Yougu also turned his gaze in that direction.
Long Ling merely frowned slightly. “If Shu Xin were still a disciple of the Everlasting Dao Sect, I would naturally lend her a hand. But she has already left the sect. If I intervene now, I would have neither a proper justification nor the authority to do so. Besides, I truly lack the strength at present.”
“Hey, don’t try to pin this on me. If you intervene, I can refrain from attacking you as well.” Yin Rushi was not about to let Long Ling shift the blame onto her. “I’d also like to see whether your Everlasting Dao Sect’s Everlasting Spring Technique, famous for its vast and unending spiritual energy, can outlast the corpse-puppet army of the Yin Corpse Demon Sect.”
Long Ling merely snorted. “How can the words of a vile demonic cultivator like you be trusted? If I intervene, you’ll certainly launch a sneak attack.”
“Oh, spare me. It’s the sanctimonious faces of you Daoist sect disciples that are truly disgusting. If you don’t want to save her, then don’t—but why dress it up in such lofty language?” Yin Rushi exposed the hypocritical mask worn by the cultivators without the slightest courtesy. “When we demonic cultivators kill someone, those with a little decency will at least let their victims die knowing why. Those without decency will still openly admit that they killed someone. Unlike you Daoist cultivators—you sell someone off, then expect them to help you count the money. After all these years, how many prodigies from minor sects and small clans have actually lived out their natural lifespans? Whenever there’s an expedition, aren’t the ones who die fastest always the cultivators from those minor sects and small families?”
Why did the great clans band together? Why did the minor sects have to unite for self-protection?
When all was said and done, was it not because these major sects and powerful clans were simply too unscrupulous?
Rongyun did want to spare some attention to save her, but when he saw that his junior sister was still locked in a bitter struggle, he naturally chose to save his own junior sister first. After all, there were degrees of closeness.
Xiang Peiyao chose to save her fellow disciples.
It seemed that, for a moment, everyone had their own reasons.
Anyone could save Shu Xin, but no one had to.
Seeing this, Qu Yougu and Xie Xianzhi could not help but feel a pang of sorrow.
Were sectarian prejudices truly that important?
Every so often, a genius would emerge in the cultivation world. Even among medium-sized and small sects and minor clans, there was no shortage of outstanding talents.
Yet when faced with the same crisis, the favored geniuses of the major sects could often survive. They had countless opportunities to make mistakes, and the cost of those mistakes was bearable.
But for geniuses born in obscure places, one careless step was enough to ruin everything.
Even if Shu Xin died here today, she would be nothing more than a topic of conversation among cultivators after dinner.
Apart from her master, fellow disciples, and friends, who would actually investigate why she had died—or whether she could have survived?
And from everyone’s current perspective, any Grotto-Heaven-realm cultivator who encountered Shu Xin’s predicament would be almost completely helpless.
However, just as everyone believed Shu Xin was certain to die, the situation suddenly changed.
The army of corpse puppets that had thrown itself at Shu Xin did not tear her to pieces. Instead, the limbs of quite a few corpse puppets went flying.
Boom!
Accompanied by the ringing of a sword, Shu Xin cleaved a path through the densely packed corpse puppets.
The powerful, straight sword light turned the corpse puppets at the front into dust. Though the path was filled once more in the blink of an eye as more corpse puppets pressed forward, everyone could still see Shu Xin’s eyes shining and her expression brimming with spirit.
Shu Xin even had enough leisure to flash everyone a V-sign.
See? I’m not dead yet.
I just love the look on your faces when you think I’m dead, only for me to keep bouncing around right in front of you, alive and well.
Even after being weakened by the corpse puppets, the lingering force of that sword light slammed into a nearby mountain peak and carved a deep sword mark into its side, sending an enormous shock through everyone present.
“…Wasn’t she promoted to the Grotto-Heaven realm less than ten years ago?” Yang Fei muttered to himself. “Even a late-stage Grotto-Heaven cultivator might not be able to unleash an attack like that.”
No wonder Juechen had insisted on switching opponents with him. Could the person who had injured Juechen thirty years ago really have been Shu Xin?
But at that time, she had only been in the Dao Infant stage.
What kind of joke was this?
Before the battle, they had carefully studied the various techniques and past exploits of the Dao Sect’s geniuses. They had wanted to strike with a single decisive blow, then tell the entire cultivation world that the Dao Sect’s so-called geniuses were all worthless and no match for demonic cultivators.
Yet now they realized that they had bet on the wrong people entirely.
The truly formidable one was not any of those Dao Sect geniuses.
It was a cultivator from an obscure minor sect whose name had barely been heard.
“Yin Rushi, make your move and kill that Shu Xin first.” Fairy Mochou sent a voice transmission directly into Yin Rushi’s ears. “Can’t you see it yet? You saw that sword strike clearly. Among the younger generation, the strongest person isn’t Long Ling, Qu Yougu, or even Situ Jian, who hasn’t come here. It’s Shu Xin. Our Hehuan Sect used certain means to find out that Shu Xin most likely has a hidden Grand Ascension sword cultivator standing behind her.”
However, after Shu Xin joined the Asking Deities Sect, she had never again been associated with any Grand Ascension cultivator. As time passed, everyone gradually forgot about the matter.
But the combat strength Shu Xin was displaying now was absolutely not that of an ordinary Grotto-Heaven cultivator.
“If even Juechen’s army of corpse puppets can’t defeat Shu Xin, then you go kill her yourself. I’m not getting involved in this mess.” Yin Rushi had seen the situation very clearly. Even she found Juechen’s army of corpse puppets troublesome, and might have to use one of her trump cards to deal with it.
If Shu Xin truly had a way to defeat Juechen, then she would unquestionably be the number one person among the younger generation.
In that case, why would Yin Rushi go looking for death? She should hurry back and enter seclusion to break through to the Immaculate realm. That was what truly mattered.
The expression on Long Ling’s face also changed repeatedly.
Hadn’t they said that Shu Xin had no connection with the Grand Ascension demonic cultivator who had infiltrated the Longevity Dao Sect? But judging from the current situation, it seemed they had all been mistaken.
[Beautiful. Now none of them dare underestimate you.] The Sword Spirit could not help praising her. [Let’s strike a few more times and kill that Immaculate-realm demonic cultivator corpse puppet first.]
The Sword Spirit was already practically drooling over it.
“Don’t worry. They all wanted to watch me die. Do you really think I should keep hiding my abilities and let them bully me?” Shu Xin said without the slightest hesitation. “I’m going to become their inner demon. From now on, they’ll only be able to stare at my back and chase after me for the rest of their lives.”
With that, Shu Xin gripped two swords and attacked from both sides. Almost every corpse puppet that came near her had its blood essence sucked dry by the spirit swords before it crumbled into white bones.
To Juechen, the sight was no different from a bolt from the blue.
“You… What exactly are you?” Juechen could only feel the corpse puppets under his control severing their connections with him one by one. Even the flesh on their bodies was vanishing without a trace.
Even the most terrifying demonic cultivator would need to use some special method to kill so many corpse puppets.
Yet Shu Xin seemed to have done nothing except wield her sword.
If that was the case, how had she turned his corpse puppets into white bones and drained away all their flesh and blood?
“Could it be that you’re a demonic cultivator?” Juechen could not help asking.
If that was true, why had those sanctimonious Dao Sect cultivators not already killed or suppressed Shu Xin?
“Are immortal cultivators and demonic cultivators really all that different?” Shu Xin split the Grotto-Heaven-realm demonic cultivator in front of her in two with a single sword strike. With a flick of her sword tip, the opponent’s flesh and blood were sucked completely dry. “I don’t see any great difference between the two of you.”
Seeing this, Juechen could not help retreating several more steps, trying to put more distance between himself and Shu Xin.
The movement unquestionably exposed the unease and cowardice in his heart.
It was just like thirty years ago, when Shu Xin had unleashed a single sword strike and then left.
Even though he knew that the female cultivator’s cultivation was inferior to his own, Juechen still had not dared to gamble on that possibility. In the end, he could only watch helplessly as she escaped.
Juechen changed his hand seals several times in succession.
But no matter what method he used, everything seemed to become ineffective once it reached Shu Xin.
Whenever the corpse puppets approached her, their movements seemed to slow considerably. As a result, controlling them consumed far more spiritual energy than usual.
Shu Xin used both hands and feet, occasionally hacking apart a corpse puppet for fun while attacking every part of Juechen’s body at the same time.
“This corpse puppet is your father, isn’t it? He looks a little familiar, but you’re much uglier than your old man.”
“And this one is your mother? She’s actually still protecting you at the very front. Did she know before she died that the son she was protecting would be the very culprit who refined her into a corpse puppet?”
“You people from the Loan Sect are all rotten to the core. No matter which world you’re in, you’re capable of turning people against their own kin and making them lose everyone around them.”
“You named yourself Juechen? Why not call yourself ‘Cut Off from Sons’ or ‘Cut Off from Grandsons’? Either name would suit you better. After all, if you ever marry and have children, your wife and children won’t escape the fate of being refined into corpse puppets by you.”
“Thirty years ago, I couldn’t beat you, and you wasted your best chance to kill me.”
“But now? Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west—never bully a poor young girl. You’re no longer my match.”
…
Before long, Juechen’s blood churned from Shu Xin’s taunts, and he was beginning to find it difficult to hold on.
Shu Xin showed not the slightest mercy. Taking advantage of Juechen’s shaken state of mind, she destroyed several of his corpse puppets at the Cave-Heaven Realm in a single burst.
Juechen felt his spiritual energy draining far faster than he had expected.
Controlling so many corpse puppets at once was originally meant to overwhelm his opponent through sheer numbers and end the battle as quickly as possible. Yet now, everything seemed to be developing contrary to his plans.
Not only had Shu Xin failed to be worn down—she seemed to be growing more excited the longer she fought. It was downright eerie.
And the sword light from the two swords in her hands seemed even more ferocious than before.
[Hahaha! This feels great! Bring me another one.]
[The one on the left has plumper flesh. I want that one.]
[The one on the right isn’t bad either. Damn it, that Wugou-Realm demonic cultivator is hiding too well.]
[Come at me head-on, you damn Loan Sect! Why are you all hiding like flies?]
The Sword Spirit was furious.
As the wielder of the sword, Shu Xin cursed Juechen to his face.
As the Sword Spirit, it cursed Juechen inside Shu Xin’s mind.
One person and one sword—this could be considered a true unity of human and sword.
“Since the Cave-Heaven Realm corpse puppets can’t deal with you, I have no choice but to get serious.”
Juechen bit the tip of his finger and used his own blood to draw a talisman in the palm of his hand.
With his abilities, he could originally only control the Wugou-Realm corpse puppet in a crude manner.
But if he used his vital essence and blood as a conduit, he could control the Wugou-Realm corpse puppet with far greater precision for a short period of time. The price was that he would need considerable recuperation afterward.
Based on Juechen’s guess, either Shu Xin had secretly cultivated some formidable demonic technique, or there was something wrong with the two swords in her hands. That was the only explanation for why the Cave-Heaven Realm corpse puppets were almost completely countered by her.
But the Wugou Realm was an entire level higher. Shu Xin would have a much harder time dealing with it.
Before long, the Wugou-Realm corpse puppet erupted with tremendous power. The other corpse puppets nearby hurriedly retreated to avoid being caught in the crossfire.
“This time, I will take your life for sure!” Juechen silently swallowed a mouthful of blood, his expression twisting into something vicious.
He had suffered such a heavy loss and lost so many corpse puppets. He certainly wouldn’t receive any leniency when he returned to the sect.
If he paid such a huge price and still failed to kill Shu Xin, he could forget about advancing any further in the future.
“Sword Spirit, it’s been a long time since I last used a sword formation, hasn’t it?”
Seeing that the Wugou-Realm corpse puppet had finally appeared, Shu Xin simply released the swords in her hands and let them resist the enemies on their own.
At the same time, she slowly took hundreds, even thousands, of spiritual swords from her storage bag.
Did they really think she had obtained all those spirit stones and resources for nothing?
Money had to be spent where it mattered most.
And this was exactly the right time to use it.
[…Fine. After you use the sword formation, all these spiritual swords will just go back into your storage bag and gather dust. I won’t allow you to have any other swords.]
The Sword Spirit had originally intended to protest, but when it thought of the Wugou-Realm corpse puppet that it would soon be able to kill, it managed to suppress its temper.
When one’s sword was under someone else’s roof, one had no choice but to bow one’s head.
“Understood.” Shu Xin spoke with a hint of affection. “Then let’s have some fun with him. Sigh, I can’t end the battle too quickly, or I’ll really frighten the others.”
Shu Xin brought her hands together, then rapidly formed more than a dozen spell seals in succession.
“Sword formation, rise—”
Just as everyone stared in astonishment, hundreds and thousands of spiritual swords suddenly fell from the sky like rain.
Long Ling and the others had no choice but to retreat at once, lest they be injured by the swords.
The spiritual swords hovered at different positions, completely sealing in the entire army of corpse puppets from the outside. Sword energy flowed between every two adjacent swords, forming an incredibly intricate sword formation.
Even more astonishing was the fact that every one of these spiritual swords was of a high grade.
“Wasn’t it said that the Seeking-God Sect had fallen into decline?” Rongyun stared at Qu Yougu in shock. “Yougu, even you would have trouble producing so many high-grade spiritual swords all at once, wouldn’t you? Lingxin, how many spiritual swords did we obtain from the Artifact-Refining Hall again?”
Chai Lingxin was equally puzzled by what she saw.
“This is very strange. The grades of these spiritual swords vary, and there are both new and old ones among them. They also carry different auras, so most of them must have belonged to different owners. Shu Xin hasn’t even spent much effort refining them into her own spiritual swords.”
Chai Lingxin could not understand it. “Then how can they still form a sword formation? Is it because there’s something unusual about the technique Shu Xin cultivates? Or did a formation grandmaster prepare a sword-formation diagram for her in advance? Or perhaps the grade of the spiritual swords in her hands is simply so high that the other swords don’t dare refuse to cooperate?”
Regardless of which possibility it was, it was enough to prove that Shu Xin possessed far greater foundations than they had imagined—and was far more terrifying as well.
Xie Xianzhi could not help inhaling sharply.
The cultivation world truly was full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers.
No wonder his master and Martial Uncle-Master, the sect leader, had both told him to travel down the mountain more often. There were simply too many outstanding talents in the world.
The others also understood that the sword formation was no ordinary technique.
If Shu Xin truly managed to survive the hands of the demonic cultivator from the Yin Corpse Demon Sect, she might really become the strongest of her generation in the future.
That would never do.
For a moment, no one knew how many people present were secretly hoping that Shu Xin and this cultivator from the Yin Corpse Demon Sect would perish together.
They certainly wouldn’t begrudge her their praise. They would gladly leave her with a fine reputation after death.
Juechen and the army of corpse puppets were completely sealed within the sword formation.
To leave the formation, they had to kill the woman controlling it.
How could there be anyone so foolish in this world? She had trapped herself and a Wugou-Realm corpse puppet inside the same sword formation. Wasn’t she cutting off her own escape route as well?
He glanced around uneasily, realizing that the situation seemed to have exceeded his control.
Even though he could now control the Wugou-Realm corpse puppet, he somehow felt no more reassured than before.
“Don’t worry. This sword formation isn’t meant to kill you. It’s only to prevent anyone outside from breaking in—or from hearing what we’re saying.”
Shu Xin revealed a warm, harmless smile.
“This way, you won’t be able to escape, and I can also ensure that nothing you see here will ever get out. I’m sorry, but I’ll do my best to make your death as painful as possible.”
