The prison of the Enforcement Hall stood on a small island in the middle of a lake, surrounded by layer upon layer of mountains. The area was low in spiritual energy, and the lake lay within one of the many mountain ranges belonging to the Longevity Dao Sect.
This was worth mentioning, because the Longevity Dao Sect occupied an astonishingly vast territory.
Shu Xin had been in the sect for nearly a century. To put it simply, she still had not visited every corner of the sect’s domain—even though she could fly.
By her rough estimation, the Longevity Dao Sect covered an area at least as large as Asia in her previous life.
As for the “Clearheart Lake,” where the Enforcement Hall was located, it was practically an ocean in its own right, albeit a somewhat smaller one.
For cultivators imprisoned in the Enforcement Hall, escape was nearly impossible. Every mountain surrounding the lake was guarded by a cultivation clan. Once they activated their formations to seal off the mountains and sent their disciples to search inch by inch, they could catch an escaping disciple even if they had to dig three feet into the ground.
Thus, although the Enforcement Hall did not enjoy a particularly good reputation, it still commanded considerable authority within the sect.
From the outside, the prison of the Enforcement Hall looked like a tower that rose into the clouds. The cells were assigned according to a cultivator’s cultivation level and the severity of their crime. Under ordinary circumstances, disciples who violated the sect’s rules were confined to the lowest level, where they were made to reflect on their actions.
The cells on the lowest level were each roughly a hundred square meters, and equipped with everything one might need.
The three members of Shu Xin’s group had been temporarily confined to one of those rooms.
Since their crimes had not yet been determined, they were being held together. The enforcers had not even confiscated their magical weapons, which showed just how little importance had been attached to them, despite their imprisonment.
After all, what need was there to go to such great expense using a prison forged by the Longevity Dao Sect for people who were destined to die?
It was only on the way there that Shu Xin learned that the Elder of the Enforcement Hall who had come to arrest her was surnamed Hu, while the spirit-fruit merchant was surnamed Chen.
She did not bother remembering their full names. Given the intelligence of those two, they probably would not make it to the next episode anyway.
And sure enough, Elder Hu still had no idea what he was about to face.
“Shu Xin, once you’re locked away in the prison on the lake, your fate will be clear enough. When you reach the Yellow Springs, remember not to name the wrong enemy when you seek revenge. I was only acting on orders; I have no personal grudge against you. If you must blame someone, blame the fact that you were born without any backing, yet happened to possess talent bright enough to draw attention.”
As Elder Hu spoke, there was a trace of personal resentment in his voice. His words were steeped in jealousy.
Who could possibly not envy Shu Xin?
She was clearly nothing more than a lone rogue cultivator, yet she had managed to break through the Dao barrier and successfully seek the Dao in an environment where spiritual energy was so thin. Even the Longevity Dao Sect had been reluctant to let such talent go and had recruited her into the sect.
Unfortunately, over the past century, Shu Xin had exhausted her potential in her efforts to form her Dao Infant and had been unable to advance even a single step further. She had even turned down the goodwill of countless cultivation clans, and so had gradually fallen into her present predicament.
Elder Hu resented Shu Xin for being so proud that she had wasted her opportunities, yet at the same time, he wished he could take her place.
“If you’d broken off your engagement with Situ Jian back then and married into one of the great clans sooner, your outstanding talent would have been more than enough to secure you a match with a direct descendant. Once you gave birth to a gifted heir, you would have become a true member of the clan. How could you possibly have fallen to such a state? Don’t you find your persistence back then laughable? Situ Jian still broke off the engagement with you, and he’s even going to become part of the Lin family. But you... you have nothing left.”
“Sounds like Elder Hu finds that terribly regrettable. Back then, if you’d just been ruthless enough to stab yourself once and remake yourself as a woman, wouldn’t all your wishes have come true?” Shu Xin showed him no courtesy whatsoever.
In earlier years, those great clans really had approached her. The resources they offered had indeed tempted Shu Xin.
If even one of those clan disciples had been excellent in every regard, Shu Xin might not have been able to resist.
She could sell her life—why not sell herself in a proper marriage?
Unfortunately, those so-called clan disciples who had been selected were either so talentless that their only use was producing heirs, or they were arrogant, cruel, and depraved. Even Shu Xin, who did not consider herself a good person, had been thoroughly disgusted by them.
In any case, she had secretly used the flesh and blood of those so-called clan disciples to cleanse the Sword Spirit’s blade—and it had actually worked. That alone showed just how inhuman those people were.
“Elder Hu, will someone really let us go later?” Chen, the fruit merchant, was already growing anxious. “We’ve been locked up here for an hour, and no one has come to see us.”
“What are you panicking for?” Elder Hu snapped. “They need time to make the necessary arrangements. When the time comes, just do as we discussed beforehand.”
The two of them had already begun openly discussing how they would use the resources once they got out.
How stupid.
They actually thought they were getting out.
Then again, if they had been any smarter, they would never have come so smugly to do such foolish work for the Lin family.
Shu Xin simply found a meditation cushion and sat down to cultivate, too lazy to look at the two idiots who were on the verge of death without even realizing it.
[Wow, Shu Xin. There are quite a few demonic cultivators imprisoned in the upper levels of this tower. If I could use their flesh and blood to cleanse my blade, I reckon I could wash away at least half the bloodstains on me.] The Sword Spirit could not help sighing. [But that’s only wishful thinking. There are powerful cultivators stationed on every floor above us. They may not be able to detect me, but killing you would be effortless.]
“Of course. The sect spent such an enormous price to build this prison in the middle of the lake. It can’t possibly be meant just to punish small fry like us,” Shu Xin replied casually.
[But you humans really are strange. Didn’t you used to believe in uprooting the weeds and eliminating the roots? Why capture so many demonic cultivators instead of killing them, only to keep them imprisoned here?]
“Of course it’s for deterrence—and to leave themselves a way out,” Shu Xin answered. “Only by holding so many demonic cultivators captive can the Longevity Dao Sect show that it is different from the other sects: it has the ability to capture people, and the ability to release them as well. Besides, how do you know these demonic cultivators are useless? Perhaps they can be made to do plenty of dirty work.”
[Humans are so despicable.]
“Congratulations. You understand humans a little better now.”
【They’re here. Three Grotto-Heaven Adepts. Be careful.】
Shu Xin opened her eyes at once.
She had waited for so long. At last, someone who looked like a worthy opponent had arrived.
The moment the Sword Spirit finished speaking, three indistinct figures appeared before Shu Xin in unison. Their faces were hidden behind masks.
The masks were likely some kind of magic treasure, capable of blocking divine sense and preventing anyone from seeing their faces or cultivation levels clearly.
Well, they even knew enough to conceal their identities when coming to silence someone.
Shu Xin let out a soft laugh. “Someone finally came. I was beginning to think you planned to keep me locked up here forever.”
“Shu Xin, your time has come!” Elder Hu’s eyes lit up. He hurried forward and bowed respectfully, while Chen, the fruit merchant, knelt on the ground beside him.
“Senior True Persons, you must have come to deal with her, right? We’re on the same side. We followed your orders and brought her here to the enforcement hall for detention…” Before Elder Hu could finish, his head—and that of Chen, the fruit merchant beside him—had already been severed from their bodies.
“I…I’m an elder of the enforcement hall. How could you kill me?” Elder Hu’s head still retained a trace of spiritual awareness. His face was twisted with terror, as if he could not believe he was about to die just like this.
“Shu Xin killed someone and escaped from prison, only to be slain on the spot. That’s the script from here on out. What could be more convenient for framing me than having the two of you, who were locked up with me, turn up dead?” Shu Xin said calmly from the side. “The moment you were imprisoned with me, your deaths were already decided.”
“It was you!” Elder Hu’s eyes widened. “You planned this!”
“I merely made a suggestion. I wasn’t the one who actually struck the blow. Elder Hu, you’re about to die, yet you’re still bullying the weak while fearing the strong. Tsk, tsk.” Shu Xin sighed twice.
The next moment, one of the Grotto-Heaven Adepts slapped Elder Hu into a smear of flesh.
If you chose to be a dog for the powerful, you shouldn’t expect them to show you any mercy.
“You’re very clever,” one of the three said. “Hand over the spirit stones and the Five Directions Landscape Seal you carry. Perhaps you’ll still have a chance to preserve your divine essence and true spirit and reincarnate.”
“Do I look as foolish as those two?” Shu Xin burst out laughing. “On the other hand, the three of you are hiding your faces and identities, yet you’re still willing to say so much to me. I’m afraid it isn’t convenient for you to fight me seriously, lest you attract the attention of the true enforcement-hall elders guarding the prison above us.”
Someone like Elder Hu could not even get close to the inner gates of the enforcement hall. He merely carried the hall’s title, yet he had actually mistaken himself for someone important.
“Dealing with you won’t be enough to alert anyone above!”
With that, one of the True Persons struck out with a palm, intending to kill Shu Xin where she stood.
“Wait! Hold on!” Shu Xin shouted.
The True Person’s palm slowed for the briefest instant. But in that split second, the two swords fastened at Shu Xin’s waist had already leapt from their sheaths and shot toward the three men.
The two swords moved like thunder. Their blades looked ordinary—even somewhat ugly—yet within this confined space, they displayed astonishing combat prowess.
The long swords tore through the air, carrying an indomitable sword cry. Faint arcs of lightning flickered along their edges.
Lightning governed the transformations of yin and yang, and its destructive power was astounding. It had always been regarded by countless cultivators as one of the most formidable arts.
The sword was the foremost of all weapons, and when imbued with the power of thunder, its destructive force was even more terrifying. The flying swords darted back and forth, moving so swiftly that they were nearly invisible.
“What is that?”
The two True Persons who had not yet had time to strike were caught off guard and drawn into the assault of the two flying swords. They hurriedly launched attacks of their own, trying to stop them.
One activated the defensive power of the magic robe he wore, attempting to withstand the flying swords.
Another pulled out a magical treasure, hoping to knock the swords from the air.
The last relied on his formidable palm techniques, trying to snap the two swords with his bare hands.
But even though the original sword had been broken and reforged into two separate blades, it had once been a formidable immortal sword capable of slaughtering immortals as easily as cutting through vegetables. How could three Grotto-Heaven True Persons possibly knock it down?
While the three men were thrown into confusion by the flying swords, Shu Xin had already leaped forward. Her five fingers curled into a fist, thunder crackling in her palm. With a booming roar, she slammed her fist directly into the dantian of the elder nearest to her.
“Pfft.”
The elder who had taken the blow head-on staggered rapidly backward.
“Don’t retreat!” someone shouted.
But it was already too late. As the elder struck by the fist retreated, the flying sword that had been darting around suddenly accelerated. It pierced into his chest from behind, running him through before flying back into Shu Xin’s hand.
Shu Xin gripped the hilt as several drops of blood slowly dripped from the tip of the sword.
“What an astonishing spirit sword!”
Seeing Shu Xin take the life of a Grotto-Heaven True Person within the span of a breath, the remaining two Grotto-Heaven True Persons realized that something was wrong.
“You’re not in the early Dao Infant stage!”
“You concealed your cultivation, and you’re carrying such formidable spirit swords. You must have ulterior motives for infiltrating our sect!”
Shu Xin’s cultivation was clearly infinitely close to the Grotto-Heaven realm. Combined with the two strange and powerful spirit swords in her hands, even ordinary Grotto-Heaven True Persons were no match for her.
But she had actually taken the life of a cultivator whose cultivation surpassed hers in the blink of an eye.
The remaining two Grotto-Heaven True Persons no longer wished to continue fighting. There was no reason to throw away their lives over Shu Xin.
It would be wiser to leave and summon the elders atop the tower to kill her.
They were not fools. The grade of the two swords in Shu Xin’s hands was undoubtedly even higher than they had imagined.
The more powerful a magical treasure was, the greater the strength its master needed to possess. If one rashly refined a powerful treasure without sufficient strength, one would only suffer a backlash. The only exceptions were the use of some secret technique or spending an extremely long time refining the treasure bit by bit.
Regardless, a magical treasure this powerful would have been more than worthy of serving as a sect’s ultimate guardian treasure. How could it have ended up in the hands of Shu Xin, a Dao Infant cultivator who had come from the ranks of rogue cultivators?
“Trying to run? Too late.” A faint smile appeared on Shu Xin’s face. “From the moment I set foot in this place, I already laid down a formation here. You’ll cry out to Heaven, but Heaven won’t answer; you’ll call upon Earth, but Earth won’t respond.”
“Since you’ve come, why bother leaving?”
Shu Xin’s face was filled with an arrogant, wanton, and wicked smile.
…
An hour later.
Shu Xin crushed the masks on the faces of the three corpses beneath her feet, revealing three old, withered faces.
【What formation? It was obviously my sword qi that sealed this place off. You’re really good at taking credit for yourself.】 Although the Sword Spirit was a little annoyed, it was fairly satisfied with Shu Xin after that fight, so it didn’t say anything more.
Shu Xin had far too many tricks up her sleeve, but her combat instincts were practically innate.
And she claimed she was an upstanding citizen?
Hmph. As if she could fool the Sword Spirit.
“I told them I’d sealed the area with a formation so they’d realize they couldn’t escape and start panicking. Once they were afraid, they’d leave openings, which would make it easier for us to strike.” Shu Xin answered casually.
Anyone who frequently played PvP games knew that before a fight, it was best to talk some trash or brag a little to disrupt the opponent’s state of mind.
In a life-or-death battle, victory or defeat often hinged on a split-second decision.
【Speaking of which, these three Grotto-Heaven cultivators are incredibly weak,】 the Sword Spirit remarked.
“Just look at them. Their lifespans are nearly exhausted, and their backgrounds probably aren’t any better than mine. I know the one in the middle. He’s a rogue cultivator like me, though he’s been throwing his weight around for many years. Apparently, he’s taken over a hundred concubines and established a cultivation family in some city outside the sect.” Shu Xin shrugged. “You didn’t seriously think that after becoming administrators, these three Grotto-Heaven cultivators would still go out and fight people, did you?”
As the saying went, even the strongest boxer feared a young opponent. What they were really lacking was the will to fight.
These three probably hadn’t had a proper battle with anyone for several hundred years.
As long as they became the patriarchs of a family in some small city, countless people would scheme to curry favor with them and deliver resources straight to their door. Or they could wag their tails and beg to serve more powerful clans. Oppressing the weak brought them endless wealth—so who would still bother cultivating in earnest?
Besides, when it came to administrators, it was perfectly normal for them not to understand frontline work.
Shu Xin crouched down and searched all three corpses from head to toe.
“They’re pretty loaded. This should cover the one-hundred-thousand-spirit-stone tuition fee for joining the Ask-God Sect.” Shu Xin grinned happily. “I really hope more people like this come along. This is my compensation from the victims.”
【My sword qi won’t be able to keep them trapped for long. The people in the tower will soon realize something is wrong, and the place is heavily guarded. How are you planning to escape?】
“Hmm, let me think.”
Shu Xin only needed a moment before she came up with a plan.
Using the blood of the three dead cultivators, she wrote a huge character—“Injustice”—on the roof of the room, then signed it: “Shu Xin was here.”
“I’ll write the word ‘injustice’ in blood and then run. That way, I’ll have an excuse to claim the moral high ground later.” Shu Xin put her hands on her hips. “My blood writing looks pretty good, doesn’t it?”
She had used her enemies’ blood to write “injustice.” But in the end, who was truly the wronged party?
