The Songfeng sword intent flew out from the Zhuxin Curse, rushing toward the lightning striking down from the sky.
The moment she saw the Songfeng sword qi surge from her body, Su Zhuyi felt that patch of green freeze the rainwater itself. Her bones creaked and groaned throughout her body as she supported herself with both hands and slowly, slowly climbed to her feet.
She could barely stand steady.
Her body swayed unsteadily, as if she might collapse at any moment. Though she was such a tottering figure with no support, her steps were chaotic and unable to find her center of gravity.
Looking as if a single gust of wind could knock her down, she stubbornly persisted without falling.
That lightning came with tremendous force, like a golden giant sword severing the green intent of the Songfeng sword qi, striking down toward Su Zhuyi. She gripped the broken sword, the Tiangang Five Thunder Formula slowly circulating. At this moment, she had no strength left to execute any sword techniques—she simply swung the broken sword like a cleaver, slashing up at the heavenly thunder tribulation.
“My heart nature is unstable?”
“I don’t suffer enough hardship?”
“My foundation isn’t good enough?”
A mere Golden Core Tribulation—how could I fail to pass it? What gives you the right to say I can’t pass? Even if you strike twice, three times, I shouldn’t lose, and I won’t lose!
“To hell with your Heavenly Dao rules—you don’t even follow your own rules, yet you dare make me submit to your restrictions!” The broken sword collided, and Su Zhuyi felt her entire body go numb. That lightning power barely followed the guidance of the Tiangang Five Thunder Formula, with just traces entering her flesh and meridians, while more of it severely injured her while pressing down on her like a tremendous force, like a great mountain.
There was an invisible hand in the sky that, through this Golden Core lightning tribulation, wanted to erase her.
Thunder rolled overhead with tremendous power. Though no more lightning struck down, the force of that thunder sound was like beating drums, hammer after hammer, heavily pounding on her body, as if trying to crush her bones and flesh inch by inch, to grind her ambitions and aspirations bit by bit into powder.
She gritted her teeth and endured. The sword in her hand seemed to weigh more than a thousand jun, yet that force wasn’t pressing on her but was contending with the lightning tribulation. Just then, pine needles rustled down from overhead, falling on her hair and shoulders, on her brows and eyes.
Faint green intent surged forth, like a gentle breeze slanting the curtain of rain.
The Songfeng Sword was helping her.
At this, Su Zhuyi was even more unwilling to give up. Her body had already sunk halfway into the earth, yet now she used both hands together, raising high that broken sword to contend with the power of the Heavenly Dao’s lightning tribulation. Her body sank bit by bit—though her body was buried in wet mud, her feet seemed to step on scalding magma, or rather, like the scalding liquid of melted flying swords…
Her mind was becoming somewhat hazy. She seemed to sense the resentment of countless flying swords.
“Why, why, why does no one choose me?”
“Take me with you…”
“I don’t want to stay in a graveyard.”
“I don’t want to fall into the sword river, I don’t want to turn into water, I don’t want my sword body melted and refined, inch by inch to ash…”
“If you won’t take me, then you come down too, come down and keep me company.” It seemed a powerful force gripped her ankles, dragging and pulling her downward. Su Zhuyi was very familiar with this force—it was the same dragging power from the bottom of the cliff when she had fallen before.
This was the graveyard of swords.
Some flying swords never waited for their masters. When they entered the Sword Tomb, they were already broken and damaged swords, completely inferior to those good swords, unable to attract the attention of sword cultivators.
Thirty years, another thirty years, one thirty-year period after another—each time expecting, each time disappointed, and they would become more and more worn down, their sword bodies turning to ash or falling into the sword river to melt into water. Even if they had once been famous swords that all under heaven competed to pursue, they would disappear into the sword river due to the passage of long years, silent and without a trace.
Yet flying swords have spirits, and ultimately, their grievances remained unsettled.
“If you won’t choose me, then come down and keep me company.” The sword spirits had already dissipated, but those sword spirits that melted into the river had only this one consciousness in life. All the sword spirits’ consciousness gathered together—even though the sword spirits had long since dissipated, the resentment still existed.
The pressure overhead gradually lessened, the dark clouds slowly dispersed, and through those cloud layers, a ray of heavenly light shone through.
However, Su Zhuyi’s body was pulled by tremendous force—her feet, calves, and knees, bit by bit sinking into the sword river. Even though the Songfeng sword qi flew out, another strike into the ground, it was still useless. Her hands were raised high outside, her fingers slightly moving to form hand seals, wanting to use the Great Grasping Technique again.
Like when she fell from the cliff before, grabbing the azure pine. The azure pine trembled slightly, and Su Zhuyi saw hope.
However, she didn’t notice that the broken sword in her hand also emitted a very faint light. After this light appeared, even the azure pine became completely still.
Su Zhuyi didn’t know the reason. She grabbed the edge of the soil with one hand, desperately trying to struggle out. She hadn’t given up hope of survival, but the force below was too strong—so strong that her thighs, waist, chest, shoulders, and neck were bit by bit submerged into the earth, leaving only her head.
The Sword Tomb would also have disciples encounter danger. Su Zhuyi hadn’t expected she would truly perish in the Sword Tomb. She had come here only for a sword.
For the Songfeng Sword.
For Qin Jianglan’s sword.
Did she regret it?
She didn’t know. But at this moment, she suddenly looked at the broken sword gripped in her hand. The resentment below was so thick—if no one took it away, it would eventually fall into the sword river too, wouldn’t it? That’s why she had been able to pick it up.
She hadn’t planned to abandon it—taking it back for Little Skull to play with would be fine too. Though it was rather pathetic, since she had picked it up, it was hers. Just like that little hoe—she hadn’t thrown it away either, it was still packed in her storage bag.
But now, she might not be able to take it out with her.
Su Zhuyi exerted force with her wrist, throwing the broken sword in her hand toward a direction away from the cliff edge. Perhaps you can wait another thirty years, but if I hold you in my hand, you’ll only be dragged down into the sword river…
Her chin, her lips, slowly sank into the soil. She raised her head to look at the azure pine overhead, murmuring, “I truly came here for you.”
As her words fell, it seemed a breeze blew past, and wisps of green intent also fell. At this moment, Su Zhuyi noticed that the broken sword seemed to flash with light.
Just then, a glowing figure appeared in the clearing.
Immediately after, a voice cried out in alarm, “Little Senior Sister, how did you get buried in the earth?”
At this moment, most of Su Zhuyi’s body had already sunk into the earth, with only her head and raised hands outside. Seeing this, Little Skull became anxious and panicked, directly embracing Su Zhuyi’s head with both hands and pulling her outward…
Little Skull had considerable strength and was quite powerful—after all, it was a five-thousand-year-old ghost entity, raised as a mountain and river spirit. Even though it ultimately hadn’t succeeded, its strength was still extraordinary. It gritted its teeth and used all its nursing strength, pulling and tugging like pulling up a radish to extract Su Zhuyi.
Then Little Skull frantically patted the mud off her body, tears already welling in her eye sockets. “What happened, what happened? Little Senior Sister, are you alright?” It looked up at the sky—the dark clouds overhead hadn’t completely dispersed yet.
“Were you struck by lightning?” Realizing this, Little Skull burst into tears with a “wah.” “I said I would block the lightning for Little Senior Sister—how could you secretly get struck while I wasn’t here?” Little Skull shouted at the dark clouds overhead.
“I…” It picked up something hard and threw it directly at the sky. Of course, that thing couldn’t hit the gradually dispersing clouds above and fall back into Little Skull’s hands.
It was a rusty short sword, altogether just over a foot long, about the size of a dagger…
After Su Zhuyi emerged, she lay on the ground gasping for breath. Her entire body was injured, her clothes torn and tattered into strips, completely unable to cover her body. However, her body was now also torn and bloodied with charred areas, completely lacking any beauty.
The Golden Core Tribulation had been passed. Normally, successful tribulation would bring surging spiritual energy, restored spiritual consciousness, and advanced cultivation. But because of that pull from the sword river’s resentment, though she felt her meridians had become more resilient and could contain more spiritual energy, her injuries hadn’t recovered at all. Her internal meridians had expanded, but the consumed spiritual energy still hadn’t been replenished.
Su Zhuyi reached to touch her storage bag, only to discover that the storage bag tied at her waist was gone—it had very likely fallen into the sword river…
The pills were gone, the spirit stones were gone, the array discs, talismans, Straw Man substitutes, and the little hoe were all gone…
Su Zhuyi paused in slight bewilderment, then gathered her spirits and slowly sat up. She had Little Skull support her to sit under the azure pine, which at least hid half her body behind the pine tree.
Having chosen a sword in the Sword Tomb, one should be able to leave. She didn’t know why she hadn’t been sent away, but right now, barely clothed, she couldn’t very well lie in the middle of the road. Of the hundred cultivators, some would surely break through Four Sides Mountain and come here—it would be laughable to be seen in such a sorry state.
She needed to sit behind the tree and meditate to recover some strength.
Su Zhuyi hoped the next person to arrive would be a female cultivator.
If it were a female cultivator, she could ask to borrow some pills and a set of clothes. At this moment, Su Zhuyi was quite glad she was now on the Righteous Path and was also a disciple of the Gujian Sect—if she asked to borrow something, ninety-nine out of a hundred would lend it to her. If this were the Demonic Path, never mind borrowing things—as soon as she showed her head and was discovered, she’d probably be reduced to bones and dust.
“Little Senior Sister, does it hurt…” Little Skull saw Su Zhuyi covered in wounds and tears pattered down. Crying and crying, it suddenly remembered, “Ah, Little Senior Sister, I have medicine.” With that, Little Skull lowered its head to get its pendant. Upon seeing its little butterfly, Little Skull’s expression became stunned—it was so startled its jawbone dropped.
“I, I, I…”
“The little butterfly Little Uncle gave me, how did it become like this?”
That had been a pair of little butterflies with embedded jade and inlaid pearls, so lifelike they seemed ready to flap their wings and fly away at any moment. The wings were even movable—when touched, they would tremble slightly. When he ran quickly, the butterflies would flutter as if about to take flight. Now, how had it become like this?
Su Zhuyi struggled to lift her head to look at the pendant around Little Skull’s neck.
Little butterfly?
Its wings seemed broken, looking quite worn down. The jade color was very aged and looked as if it had been crushed by tremendous force, about to shatter. Where had Little Skull scavenged such a broken-down antique pendant?
Just as she was wondering, she saw him grip one wing of the butterfly and shake it downward, actually shaking out a red dress.
Seeing the dress, Little Skull cried even more fiercely.
“The beautiful dress Little Uncle gave for Little Senior Sister, how did it end up like this, too?”
That dress had splotches of red and stains, torn and tattered, looking equally as if ravaged by storms, seeming as if it would turn to ash and blow away with the slightest force.
Little Skull continued pulling things out, crying as he did. “The spirit stones are broken too, the pill bottles are broken too…”
The pills that fell out had all become blackened medicinal dregs. He pulled out half a jade slip. “The jade slip is broken too.”
The next moment, his head seemed to disappear entirely, extending into that worn butterfly storage magical treasure. “The meat and bones for Xiaoxiao are all gone!” He then pulled out a jade disc and a jade hairpin. Of those two items, the jade hairpin looked relatively intact, while the circular jade disc was covered in cracks, looking as if it had been dropped.
“Only the jade hairpin is somewhat better.” His voice choked with grievance. “This is what Little Uncle personally polished, carved, and made by hand—Little Senior Sister, it’s for you.”
Little Skull sat down dejectedly. “What do we do now? I broke everything.”