After Little Skull left, Su Zhuyi glanced at the yellow dog and said, “Finding food on Luoxue Peak isn’t difficult. Hide yourself somewhere recently and don’t let me see you.”
She raised her hand in a chopping motion. “Otherwise, death.”
The yellow dog Xiaoxiao whimpered and ran off with its tail between its legs. Its pawprints in the snow created a trail of plum blossom shapes, gradually extending into the distance.
…
To participate in the sword dao competition, one first needed a sword.
Ordinary iron swords used for practice wouldn’t do—they’d be cut into sections by others’ flying swords in one strike. How could one spar then? Though countless flying swords had been forged in this world, good swords were rare, and immortal swords could be counted on one’s fingers.
Su Zhuyi knew of only two immortal swords: Qin Jianglan’s Songfeng Sword and Luo Ying’s Qianlong Sword. As for the Longquan Sword currently with Qinghe, it was a fierce sword, also called a demonic sword, whose power surpassed even Luo Ying’s immortal sword.
None of these three swords was forged by people of this era. Qin Jianglan’s Songfeng Sword was obtained from the Sword Tomb in his youth.
Luo Ying’s Qianlong Sword was crafted by predecessors imitating the legendary Longquan Sword, passed down from her master. As for Qinghe’s Longquan Sword, that was the legendary flying sword itself.
To obtain a good sword, or even an immortal sword, one could only search within the Sword Tomb.
In sword cultivators’ eyes, all swords had life—flying swords possessed spirits. No one knew when it began, but sword cultivators approaching their end who hadn’t found suitable successors would bury their lifelong flying sword companions—thus the Sword Tomb formed. Later, these spiritual flying swords began gathering together somehow. After sword cultivators perished, masterless flying swords would return to the Sword Tomb, awaiting those with fate.
The world’s sword cultivators competed every thirty years because the Sword Tomb opened once every thirty years.
Only sword cultivators with a bone age under one hundred could enter to select flying swords. Those over one hundred who tried to force entry would either be powerful enough to destroy the Sword Tomb, but that tomb contained immortal swords, and even in Jianglan’s previous life, Qin Jianglan couldn’t handle so many flying swords. True sword lovers held reverence for the Sword Tomb, and those who achieved mastery in the sword dao wouldn’t destroy it, knowing it was their own flying sword’s final resting place. The other possibility was that those insufficiently powerful who forced entry would be directly shredded to mincemeat by countless flying swords. Over time, no cultivators over one hundred were foolish enough to risk breaking into the Sword Tomb.
Qinghe’s original sword was also found in the Sword Tomb—a high-grade spirit sword, only inferior to immortal swords. If Qinghe could nurture that flying sword long-term, achieving unity of man and sword, the flying sword might even undergo tribulation to become an immortal sword. So his sword wasn’t bad either, except now that Qinghe had become one with the Longquan Sword, his flying sword was essentially ruined, possessing only a sword body without a sword spirit.
In her previous life, Su Zhuyi was a demon who favored rapid advancement and powerfully effective techniques with quick results, staying away from the sword dao. Most sword cultivators were weak in the early stages compared to other cultivators, requiring sect elder protection—otherwise, their limited strength truly wasn’t sufficient. Similarly, excellent sword cultivators became extraordinarily powerful in later stages, breaking ten thousand techniques with one sword, like Luo Ying or Qin Jianglan. But for many, early weakness meant death, so few rogue cultivators learned swordsmanship. Sword cultivators all grew up under sect protection, like Gujian Sect disciples who couldn’t leave the mountain for a hundred years of cultivation.
Now, she learned swordsmanship only for show, so she had no particular requirements for flying swords.
Three flying swords lay on the table—all found by Qinghe for her to choose from slowly.
Master Luo Ying’s face showed no expression as she sat quietly beside, watching Su Zhuyi, then swept her gaze to glance at Qinghe.
She saw Qinghe point at the row of flying swords: “Qingfeng, Luoxue, Zidian—which do you want?”
The cultivation world’s treasures was divided into magical treasures, spirit treasures, and immortal treasures, each with low, mid, and high grades. The three swords before her included two mid-grade magical treasures and one high-grade magical treasure—none were spirit swords, much less immortal swords.
Su Zhuyi casually picked up Qingfeng. Before she could speak, Luo Ying, who’d remained silent, suddenly opened her mouth. “Zhuyi.”
“Master.”
“I’ve seen you use a magical treasure multiple times before. I’ve never seen that treasure, but it protected you in your youth. Is it your natal magical treasure?” At the seal’s bottom, Luo Ying had seen Su Zhuyi’s magical treasure, and yesterday she saw her summon it for flight. Luo Ying kept this in mind and thus asked.
Su Zhuyi: “…”
She was too embarrassed to say it was a hoe.
Luo Ying had grown up on an immortal mountain, so she simply didn’t recognize hoes!
“It’s my natal magical treasure, low-grade.” Under Luo Ying’s gaze, Su Zhuyi summoned the hoe. As soon as it appeared, it bobbed and bowed, looking extremely bizarre. These years, she’d replaced the hoe’s wooden handle and reinforced it with artifact-refining materials, but the foundation remained unchanged. While the color and material looked somewhat better now, the peculiar shape couldn’t be altered.
She smiled at Luo Ying. “Master, when might you help me change my natal magical treasure?”
“It’s indeed rather weak.” Looking at that natal magical treasure, Luo Ying nodded. “Once my cultivation recovers somewhat, I’ll find a way to replace it for you.”
Great masters capable of replacing others’ natal magical treasures needed at least Nascent Soul cultivation and sufficient trust. In this world, only Luo Ying barely earned her trust. At the seal’s bottom, Luo Ying’s appearance sacrificing herself with the sword had touched her. She still remembered Luo Ying, covered in blood, severing her arm to send them out.
Su Zhuyi smiled and was about to answer when she felt a chill on her back, her scalp tingling. She immediately said, “Master, focus on healing your injuries. I’m not urgent about this.” She laughed awkwardly, speaking word by word: “Not urgent at all.”
“Mm. These days, I’ll personally teach you swordsmanship.” Luo Ying added.
“No need, Master. Focus on healing. Senior Brother teaches very well—he was so patient this morning.” Su Zhuyi hurriedly said.
Luo Ying looked toward Qinghe again.
Qinghe met Luo Ying’s gaze directly, his voice somewhat low: “Master, I already know my error.”
The two stared at each other for so long that Su Zhuyi felt chilled. Luo Ying didn’t like talking but preferred observing people with her eyes. Whether due to a lack of a heart, she could seemingly see into others’ hearts through their eyes. So she enjoyed staring at people, examining them with those clean, clear eyes like cool lake water, penetrating their hearts.
Su Zhuyi disliked meeting Luo Ying’s gaze, always feeling guilty when their eyes met.
But Qinghe clearly understood Luo Ying’s temperament—when she looked at him, he never looked away.
Tsk tsk, eyes could convey emotions. Surely Qinghe couldn’t have developed deep feelings from being stared at by his master?
After a moment, Luo Ying finally nodded. Su Zhuyi took the Qingfeng sword and left the room. Walking alongside Qinghe for a while, she saw him stop and say, “Today I’ll teach you the second level of Tianxuan Nine Swords.”
After demonstrating once, he asked, “Understand?”
Su Zhuyi shook her head.
Qinghe demonstrated again, then sheathed his sword and walked away.
One time doesn’t work, try twice. Twice doesn’t work, just leave!
This was your so-called patience? What confidence did you have to stare at Master for so long without feeling guilty? Stop teaching me swordsmanship—teach me that instead! Su Zhuyi grumbled internally but said nothing more, turning back to her room.
Hmph, too lazy to argue with a three-hundred-year-old brat she couldn’t beat.
Three months passed in a flash.
During these three months, Su Zhuyi still hadn’t broken through to the Golden Core stage, though she felt she couldn’t suppress it much longer. She constantly felt dark clouds overhead, as if tribulation lightning could strike anytime.
Feeling uneasy, she wanted to ask her master, but was blocked by Qinghe, who wouldn’t let her disturb Master’s secluded cultivation. So she asked Qinghe instead: “I remember cultivators wouldn’t face tribulation lightning if they didn’t attempt breakthroughs themselves. Why do I constantly feel dark clouds gathering overhead recently?”
Qinghe: “It’s been overcast recently. Everyone has dark clouds overhead.”
Su Zhuyi was about to say more when she heard Qinghe say, “Tomorrow we all descend the mountain together, heading to the Yunxiao Sect.”
Su Zhuyi immediately closed her mouth.
These three months, she’d been unmotivated to cultivate because she urgently wanted to know who that Qin Jianglan was, whether he was truly the person in her heart, and if so, whether he retained memories of their previous life.
She wanted to know the answer and resolve this obsession. She hadn’t been so attached originally, but not knowing the answer made her unable to forget.
The next day, Su Zhuyi left her room. She didn’t wear all white or Gujian Sect disciple robes, but the red dress she’d had someone buy from outside. The trailing red gown was breathtaking, like heavenly clouds mistakenly fallen to earth.
Her hair wasn’t simply bound with a wooden hairpin as before, but styled in an elaborate coiffure with pearl ornaments. Sixteen-year-old Su Zhuyi’s features still showed slight youthfulness, but her eyes already held bewitching charm—an allure between pure and seductive that was endearingly captivating with every smile and frown.
Su Zhuyi was extremely confident in her appearance. Upon seeing Senior Brother Qinghe, she instinctively flashed him a brilliant smile.
Then…
She heard him say, “Going to the Yunxiao Sect this time, you represent the Gujian Sect. Go change into disciple robes.”
“Though Master is a Luoxue Peak successor not bound by Gujian Sect rules, she strictly follows regulations and never violates them.” Qinghe’s expression was cold, his voice carrying unquestionable authority.
“What if I don’t change?”
“Then don’t expect to see Qin Jianglan.” Speaking these words, Qinghe emphasized each of the three characters in “Qin Jianglan.”
Su Zhuyi: “…”
Damn it, how unlucky! Reluctantly, she could only return to change into disciple robes, transforming from heavenly fire clouds into a little white cabbage in the fields. Wearing disciple robes made her elaborate hairstyle look cumbersome, so she had to undo her hair and style it in a simple dao bun. The garnet flowers she’d previously worn in her hair had all been given to Little Skull. Su Zhuyi’s head was completely bare of ornaments. She hadn’t left the mountain for these years, only having Zang Peak people bring one outfit and a few accessories from outside. Now she couldn’t wear any of them, forced to meet Qin Jianglan looking plain and simple.
She’d never dressed so elegantly in front of him before. Even on the Yunxiao Sect’s Wangtian Tree, whatever color or style of clothes she wanted to wear, he’d satisfy her requests.
So back then, she loved wearing thin gauze that occasionally revealed shoulders and arms, flaunting before his eyes.
Flaunting until that pure, passionless person eventually transformed into a wolf.
Meeting again in this life, what kind of scene would it be? This descent from the mountain held another purpose in Su Zhuyi’s heart.
She wanted to know how much this world had changed because of the Liuguang Mirror and because of her.
Whether the Xueluo Sect had risen, whether Changning Village in the northwest had been destroyed, whether this world’s trajectory remained the same as her previous life, or had completely changed.
All this she must personally confirm to feel at peace.