She lacked the sword intent to convince the Songfeng Sword, so she took an unconventional approach and thought of another method.
The Songfeng Sword had stayed in the Sword Tomb for so many years, keeping the appearance of an azure pine for so many years—no one else could know what its sword body looked like, yet she knew. She had come for it. She explained why she had such mixed and complicated thoughts about the Sword Dao, and likewise, she wanted to prove that her sword dao talent was not lacking. She was only sixteen now, and she had learned the first two levels of the Tianxuan Nine Swords just by watching them once. She even knew a bit of the Songfeng sword technique, even though it didn’t contain such upright sword intent.
Su Zhuyi urgently wanted to prove herself, to take the Songfeng Sword away, even if it didn’t acknowledge her as master—as long as she could keep it by her side, that would be enough.
When she spoke of that dreamscape, her thoughts were drawn into it, so that afterward she didn’t think much about it. Having no weapon in hand, she picked up the broken sword from the ground, carefully wiped it clean, and demonstrated her sword techniques.
She only wanted to tell it: Actually, I’m not that bad. I want to take you with me.
But now…
Su Zhuyi didn’t know what to say.
The “no turning back” rule in the Sword Tomb didn’t mean that once you walked past something you could never return—just like when she reached the Four Sides Mountain, she couldn’t return to the cave, and when she left Four Sides Mountain and completely leaped out of that well, she could no longer see Four Sides Mountain when she looked back. Now, if she left this cliff area, she wouldn’t be able to return either. But just now, she had only pulled Qin Chuan forward a few steps, still at the cliff’s edge, so she could still see the azure pine.
It was just that she was holding the broken sword in her hand and had used sword techniques with it, so this sword had become the one she chose from the Sword Tomb?
But she hadn’t even infused her spiritual consciousness into it—surely one couldn’t acknowledge a master just by picking it up casually.
However, there was also a saying that the Sword Tomb was the graveyard of flying swords, and being picked up proved one’s willingness to be taken away. In truth, many flying swords were unwilling to just be buried and decay in a graveyard—they wanted to meet new masters, to appear in the world again, as if living anew.
So in the Sword Tomb, as long as a flying sword was picked up, it meant the sword had already been chosen.
This sword was broken beyond knowing how many years it had been buried here, with only a foot remaining, the upper half completely gone, the break covered in rust stains—even thrown on the ground, no one would want it. But since it had been picked up, it probably proved it didn’t want to stay in the graveyard forever. Su Zhuyi thought about it—since she had already taken it, she might as well bring it back for Little Skull to play with. But the Songfeng Sword…
Su Zhuyi felt restless. Once a sword was obtained, one should be transported out of the Sword Tomb, but she hadn’t been sent out yet. Since that was the case, she wanted to struggle once more. What if she could draw out the Songfeng sword intent again? That sword intent was inseparably connected to the Songfeng Sword, and it had always protected and guarded her—could it be that the Songfeng Sword truly wouldn’t be moved by this?
She kept thinking and thinking, seeming to catch a whiff of strange fragrance, as if she had fallen under some kind of enchantment, with the spiritual energy around her body beginning to stir restlessly.
Su Zhuyi stood there in contemplation. In Qin Chuan’s eyes, she looked like she was gazing at the azure pine in thought, and she had a spiritual energy halo around her, as if resonating with someone. Could it be that the broken sword also had some mystery to it? Of course—how could Little Master’s discerning eye choose an ordinary broken sword?
Qin Chuan understood every place in the Sword Tomb very clearly. The cliff before them was the Sword Water River, where damaged and broken swords would eventually fall and melt into water, after which those swords would never exist in the world again. That broken sword was by the Sword Water River’s edge—broken to such a state yet not melted into the river, which showed it must have something extraordinary about it. It was just that his sword dao cultivation wasn’t deep enough yet to see through it.
And Little Master stood there motionless—could it be that she was having an epiphany because of the broken sword? Qin Chuan didn’t continue to disturb Su Zhuyi. Since this was her opportunity, her sword dao, then he couldn’t linger here—he needed to go seek his opportunity.
Qin Chuan continued forward. With each step, it seemed like a voice was softly calling to him, making him somewhat reluctant to leave.
Was it because Little Master was still there?
But precisely because Little Master had already found her opportunity, he should move forward even more. Qin Chuan steadied his mind and walked determinedly to the cliff’s end, where there was no more path at the cliff’s edge. Just as he was hesitating, he discovered a suspension bridge had appeared before him.
And when he looked back, the cliff behind him had vanished without a trace.
…
The third person to arrive was not the female disciple of the Vast Sea Sword Sect.
It was Hua Yining.
She climbed up the sword dao, climbing on the sword blades. Her body was cut and bloody all over, blood flowing freely from her hands, but she didn’t give up. She gritted her teeth and persisted. Though her flesh was mangled and bloody, her eyes grew more and more determined.
After climbing several steps of the sword dao stairs, the sword dao seemed to become much flatter, the sword shadows became thinner, and the resistance gradually lessened. This made her advance faster, and finally, she even stood up, reaching the mountaintop faster than the other disciples. After resting briefly in the cave, Hua Yining passed through it and directly crossed Four Sides Mountain.
She had been here once before, so she was fairly familiar with the Sword Tomb.
After Four Sides Mountain came the Sword Cliff, after the Sword Cliff was the suspension bridge, after the bridge was the Sword Washing Pool—her Dongxue Sword was in the Sword Washing Pool. And after the Sword Washing Pool was Sword Mountain. Legend had it that someone once climbed Sword Mountain, passing through mental trials to the summit, where they saw peach blossoms competing in beauty across the mountain and found an extra Peach Blossom Sword in their hand.
The Sword Mountain she conquered was itself a sword. An immortal sword.
This time, Hua Yining wanted to pass Sword Mountain.
Therefore, she passed through the earlier sections quickly. After crossing Four Sides Mountain, she discovered Su Zhuyi standing at the cliff’s edge. She stood there with an odd expression, her spiritual energy somewhat unstable, her aura rising steadily—this looked like she was about to undergo Golden Core Tribulation!
When undergoing tribulation, one must first steady one’s mind and firm one’s conviction, but Su Zhuyi likely had an unsteady dao heart, so now her aura was somewhat chaotic. Thinking of this, Hua Yining’s eyes lit up, a cold smile appearing on her face. The Heavenly Dao’s cycle of karma was unfailing—so quickly, retribution had come!
You ruined my Golden Core Tribulation; today, I will return everything I suffered in full.
The Dongxue Sword in her hand emerged, and Hua Yining struck at Su Zhuyi without hesitation.
Su Zhuyi’s breathing was somewhat rapid, her spiritual consciousness somewhat dazed, as if she were possessed by some nightmare. The nightmare had arrived silently while she was contemplating, seeping bit by bit into her heart, like covering her eyes and shrouding her heart.
It made her unable to open her eyes, her spiritual consciousness blurred into a mass. She desperately circulated her spiritual energy to resist it, but unexpectedly, the spiritual energy in her body became threads that tightly bound her, constricting her throat and binding her body, making it hard for her to breathe.
She could only continue operating her cultivation method, instinctively circulating it to break through, but the spiritual energy became more and more violent, making her meridians barely able to withstand it.
Just then, a sword light struck from outside, seeming to pierce a hole through the nightmare that entangled her. Su Zhuyi suddenly awakened. Seeing Hua Yining, she immediately pressed down with her soul pressure, then raised her hand to strike with the Blazing Flame Palm. When she raised her hand, she realized she was still gripping the broken sword’s hilt.
The broken sword clashed with the Dongxue Sword. The Dongxue Sword rang with a clang and chipped, while the broken sword in her hand remained completely unmoved. This truly stunned Su Zhuyi.
Hua Yining was also startled. Seeing that Su Zhuyi’s eyes had returned to clarity, she immediately knew her mind had stabilized, and the opportunity for a sneak attack was lost.
And there was something strange about the sword in her hand that made her wary.
Having failed in her sneak attack, Hua Yining was unwilling to become further entangled. Since Su Zhuyi was going to undergo tribulation in the Sword Tomb, countless flying swords would deal with her. Right now, she absolutely could not stay in the same place as her. Therefore, after her sword missed, she immediately retreated, running swiftly toward the suspension bridge. Though Hua Yining was fleeing, Su Zhuyi had no way to pursue her, because she discovered she seemed to have gotten into serious trouble.
She had always suppressed her cultivation level, never attempting to break through to Golden Core Tribulation.
For the past two years, she hadn’t even practiced her cultivation method, at most only cultivating the Meridian Moistening Formula, using the spiritual energy already in her body to nourish her meridians. She had never absorbed spiritual energy from heaven and earth. But just now, possessed by the nightmare, she had instinctively operated her cultivation method, thinking to break through the nightmare and shatter those bonds and shackles. Who would have thought that absorbing spiritual energy into her body while trying to break through constraints would break the nightmare, but also nearly break through her bottleneck…
Above her head, the sky filled with dark clouds, thick cloud layers like dry cotton soaked with ink, even the rain falling was inky black.
She had originally planned to leave the Sword Tomb and undergo tribulation after returning, but now the Golden Core Tribulation had appeared in the Sword Tomb itself. Never mind whether she could survive the Golden Core Tribulation—even if she did, causing such a disturbance in this sacred place would result in the countless flying swords here burying her alive.
Why had she been possessed by nightmares? Could it be, could it be the broken sword in her hand…
Thinking of this, Su Zhuyi’s heart trembled twice, but now she had no time to think of anything else.
Dark clouds gathered overhead, fierce winds howled, lightning flashed, and thunder roared.
With a tremendous crash, lightning fell. Su Zhuyi circulated the Tiangang Five Thunder Formula, thinking she could barely absorb some lightning to share the pressure, but unexpectedly, just this one lightning tribulation directly shattered her spiritual energy barrier, damaged the high-grade defensive magical treasure she wore, and the Straw Man substitute she held crumbled to dust. Her Shadow Without Trace technique was completely useless—the lightning tribulation struck her body, directly knocking her down.
In just an instant, she was already torn and bloodied. She wasn’t dead—fortunately, she had the habit of carrying Straw Man substitutes with her. Thinking of this, Su Zhuyi breathed a sigh of relief.
The next moment, her heart seemed to tighten again.
Golden Core stage lightning tribulation clearly only had one strike, yet now a second one was appearing! Seeing golden light manifest overhead again, Su Zhuyi’s expression changed drastically. Her body lay on the ground, her back nearly charred. Straw Man substitutes couldn’t be used consecutively, and she couldn’t even deploy a spiritual energy barrier. She struggled desperately to get up, but the effect was minimal.
Her body was soaked through, yet her heart felt a burning heat—was the Zhuxin Curse stirring? Would the Songfeng sword intent appear again? Sensing such movement, Su Zhuyi suddenly felt the lightning tribulation overhead didn’t seem so terrifying anymore.
In that instant, she felt warm and at peace.
Torrential rain poured down, Su Zhuyi was drenched through and through. She looked up at the sky, then at the azure pine, rainwater blurring her vision.
And in the True Spirit Realm, it was also raining.
“Your little senior sister is in trouble,” Qin Jianglan said gravely.
“Mm, I’ll go save her.” Little Skull’s figure gradually faded, first his feet, then his body, with his head remaining, a beautiful little butterfly hanging around his neck. Finally, his head and the little butterfly also disappeared.
It returned to Su Zhuyi’s side.