From what she knew of Yun Shouxi, this man was truly angry.

But it would be strange if he weren’t angry.

The substitute he had carefully cultivated and meticulously protected was being intimate with another man right in front of him.

Not to mention that in previous years, Ling Luo had been completely obedient and very well-behaved toward him.

Now her sudden rebellion had directly ignited the fuse of the powder keg.

Ling Luo wasn’t worried at all. Yun Shouxi couldn’t lock her up now anyway.

She formed a sword seal with one hand and said: “Master, you should take this seriously.”

Yun Shouxi felt that his little disciple’s temperament had grown much wilder after being away for a while. She wasn’t wearing the hair ornaments he required, nor was she wearing the clothes he demanded. Even the sword energy she wielded had changed.

It was truly unforgivable.

Yun Shouxi’s expression turned cold as he wielded his sword. The pale golden spiritual energy and sword aura seemed gentle but were filled with murderous intent. When the two sword energies collided, they produced small bursts of spiritual sparks.

Everyone in the cultivation world knew how powerful Immortal Lord San Xi’s Divine Martial Passing Spirit sword was, said to be capable of slaying celestial immortals with a single strike, eliminating both ghosts and gods.

And it carried its sword formation.

What appeared to be a single slash contained thousands of sword intents within.

Sui Wu was excited to battle against Passing Spirit again after such a long time.

It spoke rapidly to Ling Luo: “Happy to be able to kill him again, A Luo! This time I’ll slice him before Ying Xi shows you! Listen to me, Ying Xi is useless! Useless! It’s just a broken fan, what does it know about sword techniques? A thing that can’t even tell warm winter from cool summer when fanning!”

It was bullying Ying Xi because the artifact spirit hadn’t awakened, so it couldn’t respond no matter how much Sui Wu disparaged it.

After criticizing Ying Xi, it turned to criticize the Passing Spirit sword across from them.

“It has no taste. Back in Shang Wu Ravine, it was always saying ‘no fighting, let’s coexist peacefully,’ but every master it chose turned out to be some cold-blooded psychopath!”

“Your master is also a rare kind of psychopath!”

“A Luo, in the future, whenever you see someone wielding the Passing Spirit sword, you’ll know they’re a psychopath. Don’t doubt it, just attack!”

“But even though Ying Xi is useless, you didn’t have to just give it to Immortal Lord Danshui! How could Immortal Lord Danshui want Ying Xi when he has Wu Sheng? Besides, Ying Xi isn’t worthy!”

Ling Luo let the words go in one ear and out the other. If she hadn’t focused on watching Passing Spirit’s sword formation, she would have blocked Sui Wu long ago.

Since entering Sky Extreme, her swordsmanship, incantations, and techniques had all been taught by Yun Shouxi.

Yun Shouxi had indeed taught her cultivation with dedication, watching her grow stronger and transform into the image he had in mind.

The white mist was ice-cold against her face, like being frozen by frost, causing her body to pause momentarily. Yun Shouxi raised his sword to cut through the mist before him, but it collided with an invisible long sword, producing a harsh sound.

Sui Wu had now become nearly transparent like water. Through it, Yun Shouxi could see Ling Luo.

His expression darkened as he said: “After not seeing you for many days, is this all the progress you’ve made?”

Ling Luo smiled: “Master is truly strict.”

There was a smile in her eyes, but her movements were fierce.

Sword seals and incantations emerged simultaneously. The two fought at such speed that their afterimages blurred before the eyes. Those without skill couldn’t see clearly, only feeling sharp sword winds sweeping past. The surrounding trees and branches shook wildly, some even breaking with a crack when struck by the sword intent.

The courtyard pool also rippled. As sparks flew with each sword cry, the still water in the pool was stirred by the sword’s momentum and splashed outward.

Ling Luo was forced back against a wall by the powerful sword momentum. In the blink of an eye, the white-robed figure appeared before her, a long sword slashing down. She raised her sword horizontally to block, and Sui Wu trembled slightly as it met this powerful strike.

The distance between the two fighters had become very close. Yun Shouxi’s sword momentum pressed in again, his long sword pushing downward. Across their crossed swords, he looked at Ling Luo who was resisting him.

Yun Shouxi asked: “Have you been with him all this time?”

Ling Luo feigned ignorance and replied: “Master, I sought the sword with Qin Yuan.”

Yun Shouxi asked again: “Why didn’t you return after obtaining the sword?”

“Because I was following Master’s teachings—obtaining a Divine Martial sword to protect the mortal realm, slaying demons and saving people, splitting mountains and forging paths,” Ling Luo smiled and asked Yun Shouxi, “Master, was I wrong? You seem angry.”

Yun Shouxi’s eyes darkened slightly, his sword momentum pressing down again. Ling Luo’s sword dipped, and she skipped incantation, releasing a seal from her fingertip. Yun Shouxi countered with his seal, giving her no chance to escape.

Ling Luo: “Master is taking this seriously with me?”

Yun Shouxi forced her back against the wall, with flower branches from over the wall trembling gently above her head. Pink petals fell between them in the night.

Ling Luo raised her sword in an upward slash but was trapped against the wall by Yun Shouxi’s incantation seal.

Earth Branches, Forty-Nine Paths, Spirit Binding.

Golden, slender spiritual threads like a spider web bound her entire body to the wall.

The spiritual thread around her neck forced Ling Luo to raise her head, highlighting her graceful neckline. Though bound and seemingly vulnerable, her beautiful eyes were full of defiance. Her proud wildness further provoked desire, making one want to bend down and bite.

The agitated Sui Wu began hurling crude language at the enemy.

Passing Spirit sword, rarely addressed directly by Sui Wu, was stunned by such verbal attacks.

Looking at Ling Luo thus restrained, Yun Shouxi finally regained his gentle demeanor.

He said softly: “Ling Luo.”

“Didn’t I warn you not to get too close to people from Sacred Sword Sect?”

Ling Luo thought that even if she didn’t play with people from the Sacred Sword Sect, Yue Liangze would come looking for her anyway.

“Sacred Sword Sect isn’t as scary as legends say,” she fearlessly poked at Yun Shouxi’s sore spot. “Besides, we were just normally discussing swordsmanship and incantations—”

She said this without the slightest hint of shame.

“Is that so?” Yun Shouxi stared at her and asked, “Just discussing incantations?”

Ling Luo wanted to nod, but the Spirit Binding prevented her from moving, so she answered: “Yes.”

“Discussing with a Skin Spirit?” Yun Shouxi asked.

His expression remained unchanged, but his tone was cold.

Ling Luo smiled and asked: “Master, why can’t I use a Skin Spirit?”

When Yun Shouxi recalled glimpsing Yue Liangze casually kissing the fox’s ear earlier, he could hardly control his strength. His sword pressure intensified, causing Sui Wu to emit another ringing sound.

“Using a Skin Spirit to normally discuss incantations prevents others with ulterior motives from misinterpreting and gossiping. Isn’t that good?”

She smiled at Yun Shouxi, looking into his unfathomable eyes, seeing jealousy that she had never noticed or discerned before.

Ling Luo had liked Yun Shouxi before.

It was a fondness of closeness.

Including admiration and respect.

Because Yun Shouxi had been very good to her, extremely good. Having experienced hardship and witnessed the coldness and warmth of human hearts, when suddenly someone was endlessly kind to her, she was naturally moved.

Not to mention that this person was the Third Sect Leader of East Island Sky Extreme.

He was lofty and incredibly powerful, able to guide someone as weak as her, pointing her direction, leaving an impression of being unattainably high.

Gentle, powerful, and wonderful.

There was no reason not to like him.

This gentleness and power had made Ling Luo overlook certain details.

At that time, she had lost her sister and finally picked up the sword again, determined to become stronger. It was Yun Shouxi who guided her step by step.

Yun Shouxi had always wanted to see the desire in Ling Luo’s eyes when she looked at him, but from beginning to end, Ling Luo only had the respect of a disciple for her master.

One day, he suddenly discovered that Ling Luo’s eyes held the feelings he most craved when she looked at another man.

So he destroyed his favorite little disciple.

Now Ling Luo’s explanation was jarring to Yun Shouxi’s ears. His sword momentum pressed down on Sui Wu, the cold blade slanting across Ling Luo’s neck, forcing her to raise her head again.

Sui Wu launched another mental attack on Passing Spirit’s sword, leaving it stunned into silence.

“You didn’t return to Sky Extreme just to discuss incantations with him?” Yun Shouxi said with a low hiss. “What? Are there incantations that only he, Yue Liangze, can solve, but I, your master, cannot?”

“Master, this incantation is a contest between him and me. I don’t want to win by relying on others,” Ling Luo’s fingertips curved slightly as she smiled and said, “But Master, don’t be distracted by such matters when dueling with me.”

Suddenly, four huge pillars of light rose from beneath their feet. The pillars shattered into thousands of swords flying toward Yun Shouxi.

Heavenly Stems, Eighty-One Paths, Star Shattering.

The fierce sword technique, Star Shattering, forced Yun Shouxi to retreat. Sui Wu dispersed into a white mist, dissolving the golden threads of Spirit Binding. Ling Luo flashed to appear before Yun Shouxi, sword in hand, taking the initiative to attack.

Yun Shouxi was somewhat surprised.

She could use such large-scale incantations without chanting?

But what surprised him more was yet to come.

All the sword techniques Ling Luo had used before were familiar to Yun Shouxi; he even knew where her next strike would land because he had taught her all of them.

But now, the sword techniques Ling Luo was using were ones he had never seen before.

Sui Wu wasn’t just the most beautiful Divine Martial sword in the world, though this reputation was more widely known.

Its mist dispersion and transparent blade offered too many possibilities. Within its attack range, when it would strike, and where the sword would come from kept opponents constantly on guard.

Perhaps you thought you were outside its attack range, yet its sword tip had already silently appeared above your head.

Every sword Ling Luo wielded with Sui Wu allowed Yun Shouxi to see the beautiful visions he had longed for in his heart. Tempting one’s spirit was also a fatal point to be aware of when battling against Sui Wu.

What Sui Wu evoked wasn’t fear in human hearts, but a yearning for beauty.

An intense desire for something so beautiful one would sacrifice life for it, willing to sink into it and never wake up.

This was no easier than confronting one’s fears.

Why had Ling Luo used Ying Xi to kill Yun Shouxi instead of Sui Wu?

Because she didn’t want Yun Shouxi to die immersed in beauty.

Also, Ying Xi had been given to her by Yun Shouxi.

“Master, when this sword disperses into mist, I can somewhat sense what visions my opponent sees,” Ling Luo wielded her sword, slashing down at Yun Shouxi, forcing him back a step. “I’m very curious about what you see, Master.”

She was doing this deliberately.

In her previous life, she would never have dared use this technique on Yun Shouxi, feeling it disrespectful to her master.

Now that Ling Luo had said this, Yun Shouxi had to be even more cautious because he didn’t dare let Ling Luo see.

The fierce clash of spiritual energies from their battle was intense, and the brilliant light emitted by several large incantations attracted attention. However, once people sensed the spiritual energy fluctuations of the Third Sect Leader of East Island Sky Extreme, they sheepishly walked away, not daring to gather around.

Only Yue Liangze, who hadn’t gone to the banquet with his Senior Brothers, was observing from neither too far nor too close a distance.

He wasn’t worried that Ling Luo couldn’t win but leaving with his Senior Brother without ensuring her safety made him uneasy.

Because Yun Shouxi’s gaze when Ling Luo came out continued to trouble him.

It easily sparked possessiveness from the depths of his heart.

Due to Yun Shouxi’s estimation of Sui Wu and the unfamiliar sword techniques Ling Luo was using, she caught a momentary gap. With the aid of incantations, she used his methods against him, pressing Yun Shouxi back against a flowering tree, her slanting sword against his throat.

Ling Luo raised her eyebrow slightly: “Master, you were careless.”

But she hadn’t expected this position to bring them so close.

Yun Shouxi looked up at her, ignoring the cold blade at his throat, directly reaching behind her head to pull her into his embrace. However, Ling Luo flashed away, putting distance between them.

From far away, she laughed playfully: “Master, don’t be angry. It was just one move you lost. I just wanted to prove to you that I’ve improved during this time.”

Yun Shouxi said: “Come here.”

But Ling Luo shook her head, slowly backing away: “Master, you look very angry. I don’t dare come over.”

Yun Shouxi stood straight and said: “I’m not angry.”

Ling Luo smiled as she dispersed Sui Wu, using the Wind Riding incantation to flash into the void: “If Master isn’t angry, then let’s go to the banquet. I’m afraid Senior Brother will eat all the good food.”

Better to escape when possible.

Yun Shouxi’s gaze flickered for a moment before he composed himself and went to Moon Palace for the banquet.

But when he arrived at the banquet, there was no sign of Ling Luo.

Because while in the void, Ling Luo had seen Yue Liangze waiting below. She had thought Yue Liangze had been taken to the banquet by Chu Yi and the others.

Yue Liangze looked up at Ling Luo above, his expression calm.

Without a second thought, Ling Luo changed direction and descended toward him.

Yue Liangze stood on a water corridor. After Ling Luo landed, she pulled him toward a curtained pavilion, making a hushing gesture as they walked: “Don’t let my master see.”

“Why can’t he see?”

After passing through the curtains, Yue Liangze pulled her hand, drawing her to him and pressing her against a pavilion pillar. With one arm around her shoulders, he enclosed her in his embrace and asked softly: “What is there that can’t be seen?”

Hearing this, Ling Luo’s eyes widened: “You dare ask? Who was being improper in the room earlier?!”

The man’s broad, warm palm gently caressed her cheek. Ling Luo heard him say softly: “Don’t worry, I won’t be improper outside.”