Ling Luo was still contemplating the idea that Yue Liangze loved her, but she couldn’t believe it no matter how she thought about it. It was too incongruous, nothing matched up. It was as difficult to understand as accepting that fish didn’t swim in water but flew in the sky.

The more deeply she thought about romance and love, the more it disgusted her.

But if it was Yue Liangze—she tried to think about it while suppressing her disgust but ultimately gave up the deep contemplation.

Anyway, Yue Liangze couldn’t stop her.

While Ling Luo was muttering to herself, Yue Liangze went with his Second Senior Brother to wander around the neighboring mountain outside the sect. Meanwhile, he sent her a message asking: “Where are you going to search for swords?”

“I’m going to Shangwu Ravine.”

Yue Liangze raised an eyebrow slightly as he read this message.

Shangwu Ravine is a place that existed in legends.

Records about it were very scarce, and its exact location was elusive. Some said it was in the southwestern sea, others said it was underground in the northeast. One could only say it existed somewhere in this world, possibly appearing in any direction.

Many cultivators had spent their entire lives searching but never found it.

Shangwu Ravine was also known as the Divine Sword Tomb.

Those divine swords that had lost their masters or were unwilling to choose new ones, closing themselves off, would voluntarily enter Shangwu Ravine, waiting for destined people to arrive.

Every sword in Shangwu Ravine could be considered above divine weapons.

They had existed for a very long time, at least several thousand years, even tens of thousands of years. No one could say for certain.

This was why countless cultivators devoted their entire lives to searching without giving up.

Due to the scarcity of records, it seemed more like an intangible legend, and many people believed it didn’t exist at all.

But Yue Liangze knew that Shangwu Ravine truly existed.

His senior brothers’ swords had all been obtained from Shangwu Ravine to the extent that he once thought Shangwu Ravine was the Sacred Sword Sect’s sword repository.

Later, after asking his master, he learned that cultivators didn’t have to find Shangwu Ravine; rather, Shangwu Ravine would actively find the cultivators.

Divine swords would enter dreams and reveal the direction of the entrance.

Wusheng had once stayed in Shangwu Ravine for a period. It complained about having to share territory with other swords there. Shangwu Ravine had all kinds of swords, constantly fighting each other to be number one, which was very annoying, so it left to establish its domain.

Even if it was a tomb!

The invincible me can only accept being with my invincible scabbard! Other swords, get lost!

After Yue Liangze explained the rules of Shangwu Ravine to Ling Luo, he asked: “Have you received guidance from a divine sword in your dreams?”

Ling Luo looked at the message in silence.

Of course, she had received it.

A long time ago.

It was when she was ten years old.

Ten-year-old Ling Luo often dreamed of being surrounded by a thin white mist, sometimes in the sky, sometimes on water. Although the scenes varied, that white, almost transparent mist would always arrive punctually.

It carried a slight dampness, yet it would change with the movement of her fingertips, as if gently comforting her, telling her not to be afraid, desperately trying to convey its gentleness, wanting to be close to her.

When she reached the end of the white mist, she saw a pond leaning against a mountainside. The pond water was crystal clear, with no living creatures at the bottom. Mountain flowers bloomed all around, and with the swirling mist, it looked like a realm of immortals.

In the center of the clear, cold pond, a sword hovered vertically above.

It seemed to be formed from transparent mist, appearing very thin, like an icicle. The sword was slender with a slight curve, subtly revealing a noble golden phosphorescence.

She walked into the cold pond and came beneath the sword, seeing it more clearly.

The sword was glowing with a warm, translucent luster, emitting a transparent, thin mist.

Each wisp of mist flowing from the sword blade would flash with the colorful beauty of the world on its edge. When battling others, the sword energy bursting from the clash of blades was unique, one of a kind in the world, impossible to replicate.

Every stroke of sword energy wielded with this blade was breathtakingly beautiful, making people intoxicated, even unable to perceive the fear of death.

It was known as the world’s most beautiful divine sword.

Usually, it attached to Ling Luo’s waist, and because it was nearly transparent and could disperse into mist, basically no one could tell whether she carried a sword or not, unless she activated its sword energy to materialize.

It was the same when battling with this sword. Occasionally, one wouldn’t know where the sword had gone or from where it would reappear.

This sword was formed from the world’s mist; it existed everywhere in this world.

The dream repeated over and over. At that time, Ling Luo didn’t understand its meaning. She wanted to take the sword but couldn’t get close. Yet she was determined to grasp it, struggling with the dream, often waking up feeling very frustrated.

After waking, Ling Luo was still dejected, clutching her blanket and rolling around. Her sister Yuzhi, sleeping beside her, woke up and asked drowsily: “Sister, why are you awake again?”

“Can’t sleep.” Ling Luo threw off the blanket and got up. The little girl, with a gloomy expression, said, “I’ll go outside to practice sword for a while.”

“Eh? How late is it, and you still want to practice sword?” Yuzhi, huddled in the warm blanket, said softly, “Sister, don’t go. I only came to find you because I’m afraid of the dark and don’t want to sleep alone. What will I do if you leave?”

“Didn’t Mother light an eternal lamp in your room? The whole room is bright, why are you still afraid of the dark?” Ling Luo got out of bed and put on her clothes.

Both sisters’ voices were tender and clear.

Yuzhi tilted her head to look at her, whispering a plea: “Sister, please don’t go.”

“I can’t sleep.” Ling Luo lit a lamp and returned to pull up Yuzhi’s blanket. “Don’t kick off the covers.”

Yuzhi blinked at her: “If you leave, and Mother hasn’t come back, it means neither of you wants me.”

Ling Luo frightened her: “What nonsense are you talking about? Do you want me to set the Yan Beast to watch you sleep?”

“No, no! The Yan Beast is so ugly, it’s even more frightening! I’m going to sleep right now!” She quickly pulled the blanket over her head.

Ling Luo took a wooden sword and went outside. The courtyard was lit with small lights. Even in the deep night, every corner of the entire Residence remained brightly lit, and many places never extinguished their lights.

All because the second young lady of the Residence was afraid of the dark.

Ling Luo didn’t go far, staying just outside the hall, in case Yuzhi couldn’t sleep or woke up from a nightmare crying.

Inside the high walls grew several cherry trees in full bloom, transplanted from the cherry forest of Western Sea Taichu, one of the great immortal sects—something only wealth could achieve.

The girl practiced her moves with the wooden sword under the cherry trees, recalling what she had seen in her dream, feeling extremely frustrated.

The maidservant guarding the hall door called softly. Ling Luo put away her sword and looked over to see a beautiful woman in a light blue robe walking leisurely toward her.

She inwardly exclaimed “Oh no” and quickly turned to run back inside, but was stopped by a gentle voice.

“Why aren’t you sleeping so late at night? What are you doing here?” her mother came over to ask. Noticing the wooden sword hidden behind her back, she frowned slightly and called her name, gently yet with a hint of authority.

The girl blinked and said: “I was just looking, not practicing sword.”

Her mother bent down to take the wooden sword from her hand and handed it to the maidservant.

Ling Luo looked very honest.

Her mother didn’t question further, but her expression and gestures clearly said there was no room for negotiation.

“Can’t sleep?” She tugged at her sleeve to gently wipe the fine sweat from her daughter’s forehead.

Ling Luo shook her head and told her mother about the strange, frustrating dream.

The night wind was cool. Her mother led her to sit at a stone table beside the cherry tree and cast a fire spell to dispel the chill.

As Ling Luo spoke, she raised her hand to gesture: “That sword is very beautiful, both in its luster and shape, even more beautiful than your sword, Mother.”

Her mother listened patiently, her expression gentle, answering her curious questions: “A divine sword entering your dream is Shangwu Ravine giving you directions.”

“Shangwu Ravine?” The girl looked confused. “What place is that?”

Her mother said: “A place many people dream of visiting, spending their entire lives trying to reach.”

“The sword you described is formed from the world’s mist, slender with a slight curve, pure and flawless, reflecting the beauty of all things in the world. It can disperse throughout the vast world and is known as the world’s most beautiful divine sword. It disappeared without a trace a thousand years ago. When you grow up, you can follow Shangwu Ravine’s guidance to find it in the place you saw in your dream.”

Her mother stood up, lightly tapping a spell with three fingers as she approached her, “But… swords are the things you need least… Forget it…”

Her cool fingertips gently touched her forehead, sending the spell into her.

“Mother…”

Her mother said softly: “Don’t practice sword in secret anymore. I’ve told you before, as long as I’m alive, I won’t let you learn sword techniques.”

Ling Luo pressed her lips together: “I won’t learn sword techniques then, but Mother, you don’t teach me spell rules either.”

Her mother stroked her head lovingly, “…After Mother finds a way, I’ll teach you to spell rules. Except for sword techniques, whatever you want to learn, Mother will teach you.”

The door creaked open, and a girl wrapped in a shawl peeked out, sniffling: “Sister, please come back. I can’t sleep alone, I’m scared.”

Ling Luo: “…”

My useless sister.

She lifted her skirt and walked toward the steps, saying: “Mother, you can’t go back on your word.”

“Mother?” Yuzhi peeked over.

Her mother smiled and said: “How old are you now, still clinging to your sister to sleep?”

Yuzhi said quietly: “That’s because you come back so late every day, Mother.”

“Alright, I’m back now, let’s go in.” Ling Luo took her hand and went inside, closing the door.

The window reflected the silhouettes of the two small figures walking further away. Outside the window, the beautiful woman silently watched for a while and cast a spell to summon two guardian light beasts to stand guard outside the door, making the light surrounding the hall door appear gentle and warm.

But not long after, the Residence was swallowed by darkness, with no one to light lamps to illuminate the night anymore.

Ling Luo wasn’t afraid of the dark before, but after several years of wandering destitute, she became terrified.

Terrified to death.

The guidance Shangwu Ravine gave her was intercepted by her mother, who made her forget everything in the dream. Only this year did the spell’s power fade, allowing Shangwu Ravine to find her again and awaken her memories.

In her previous life, Ling Luo had spent some effort to find that pond, but now, experiencing it again, she could save a lot of trouble.

Yue Liangze waited for a long time before receiving Ling Luo’s reply.

She said: “Don’t try to get information from me. Wait until I get the sword and come back, then you can compare Wusheng with mine to see which is more powerful.”

Yue Liangze: “…”

Who wants to compare with you?

He told Ling Luo to be careful, but she didn’t take it seriously. In her previous life, she had obtained the sword smoothly and wasn’t afraid at all.

At dawn, she set off again with Qin Yuan, traveling by sword for three to five more days, crossing two continents, and entering deep mountains.

Qin Yuan held a lantern, looking around the deep mountain: “We’ve come so far, are we going to get a very powerful sword?”

“Moderately powerful.” Ling Luo walked in front, glanced at the sky, and then turned to hand Qin Yuan a spiritual tool that could drive away mountain spirits. “It’s not far ahead, but if you’re afraid, you can wait here. It shouldn’t take long.”

________________________________________

This area was relatively spacious, not as gloomy as the forest.

Qin Yuan shook her head: “I want to go! I want to go! How could I be at ease letting you go alone? What if there’s danger!”

“Then let’s go together.” Ling Luo didn’t care much.

Deviating from the mountain stone path, they passed through the deep forest and arrived at a pond leaning against a rock face. Night had fallen, and various bird and beast calls echoed through the forest. As they approached, they could hear the unhurried sound of water.

Wild mountain flowers bloomed around the edge of the pond. Fireflies danced nearby in the night, and the new moon emerged from behind dark clouds, silently watching.

“Is this it?” Qin Yuan looked around, unable to understand what was special about this place, apart from the beautiful scenery.

Ling Luo nodded, walked to the edge of the pond, and rolled up her sleeves, saying: “I’ll go down to get the sword. You wait here outside.”

“What? Go down?” Qin Yuan turned back in surprise, only to hear a splash as the person beside her had already leaped into the water.

Qin Yuan: “…”

Suddenly left alone, she felt a bit dazed.

Who knew how deep this pond was? Would Ling Luo be all alright?

Qin Yuan held up the lantern and examined the pond water. It was clear but bottomless. She could only see the rippling waves, the dappled reflections of light, but not a single floating object.

Not to mention fish or shrimp, there wasn’t even a petal or leaf.

Clean to the point of being eerie.

Qin Yuan instinctively wanted to stay away from the pond, silently praying for Ling Luo to return safely and soon.

After Ling Luo entered the water, she soon noticed a mist forming underwater. She swam following that white mist, and when she surfaced, she was still in the pond, but it matched her dream exactly.

The deep mountain was engulfed by a white mist with golden phosphorescence. Suspended above the pond water and surrounded by mist, the long sword emitted a faint sword hum that somehow sounded a bit aggrieved.

Ling Luo shook off the water droplets on her face, and just as she opened her eyes to look, she saw the transparent long sword fly toward her face. A familiar voice of the sword spirit came from within the divine sword: “Master, you’ve finally come to get me!”

“I’ve been waiting for you here for several years! Suddenly, without warning, I was back to the time when I was still in Shangwu Ravine waiting for your summons. I’m fed up with this Heavenly Dao—it has issues! If it wanted you to be reborn, why did it throw me back into Shangwu Ravine? Why didn’t it let me stay with you? You don’t know how bored I’ve been in Shangwu Ravine these years! Those ancient, stupid swords in Shangwu Ravine almost made me cry with their questions about you and Danshui!”

Ling Luo felt the cold sword against her face and blinked in confusion.

She raised her hand to grasp the hilt and asked: “Are you still the same Suiwu from before?”

Suiwu wailed pitifully: “Of course I am me! I remember every moment we spent together! I haven’t forgotten anything! I’m the only sword in the world that knows you slept with True Lord Danshui!”

Ling Luo: “…”