Sword!

Jian Chou’s heart jumped violently, and she almost instinctively turned to meet his gaze, but due to her eye injury, she could only see his blurred outline and couldn’t clearly make out the expression on his face.

The traitor of Yashan, saying he would take her to draw a sword…

The doubts that had remained unresolved throughout the journey from Mingri Star Sea finally all surfaced at this moment. From Qu Zhengfeng voluntarily requesting to join her in the surprise attack on the snow domain, to his deliberately avoiding the Chanzong after the snow domain affair was concluded and traveling with her, even saying that this trip wouldn’t go to the Eastern Extreme Ghost Gate but would return to Yashan instead.

These were already highly suspicious, not to mention Fudao Shanren’s attitude.

Though he was unreliable, he was ultimately a Law Enforcement Elder who kept his word. Yet from beginning to end, he had seemed indifferent to this matter, but in reality, not interfering or inquiring was tantamount to tacit approval!

With the yin-yang realm war restarting, could these elders of Yashan, who had almost become human spirits, truly have no thoughts or plans of their own?

After all…

Once bitten by a snake, one fears well ropes for ten years.

Thinking this way, Jian Chou showed no objection to Qu Zhengfeng’s words, but instead vaguely sensed something and said calmly: “The armory mostly contains swords. Being able to draw a sword would naturally be good, but if not, forming connections with other magical artifacts wouldn’t be impossible either. Now I’m not so fixated on the sword itself.”

Hearing this, Qu Zhengfeng let out a mocking laugh: “Isn’t it because you can’t obtain it?”

It.

Just this one word made Jian Chou suddenly feel a bone-chilling sensation!

In the vast Yashan armory, among the swords that had some connection to her and could be mentioned by Qu Zhengfeng at this moment, there was no second choice besides that one!

At this moment, she finally belatedly realized what Qu Zhengfeng’s earlier words truly meant.

For a moment, she couldn’t respond.

Qu Zhengfeng merely continued forward on his sword, his gold-woven black robe fluttering, saying indifferently: “How can one draw a sword without being a disciple of Yashan?”

Jian Chou suddenly remembered the old days at Yashan, when on the sword-drawing platform, Fourth Junior Brother Shen Jiu had disagreed with Qu Zhengfeng and drawn his sword against him, only to be thoroughly taught a lesson.

That was the first time she had gained a clear understanding of Yashan.

Her emotions became somewhat turbulent. Flying through the air beside him, she only said: “I still remember when His Majesty the Sword Emperor was still at Yashan in the early years, it was always others who drew swords against you, rarely were there times when you drew your sword against others. No matter how one looked at it, you didn’t seem like someone from the sword-drawing school. I never expected that now, you would attach such importance to this…”

Once old matters were mentioned, memories came flooding back.

Qu Zhengfeng fell silent for a moment, and in his previously clear, refined, and scholarly features, there was a rare touch of deep, sharp pride.

“When truly drawing a sword, who would keep the words ‘drawing sword’ on their lips?”

The true sword-drawing school had always been about drawing swords without speaking.

He didn’t know how much Jian Chou could understand or comprehend, and seemed not to care what she thought. After saying this, he appeared to lose interest in conversation and merely continued forward on his sword.

Jian Chou couldn’t help but frown.

But her relationship with Qu Zhengfeng was indeed somewhat awkward now. Even if she still had things to say, it wasn’t convenient to speak at this moment, so she fell silent and simply hurried forward.

The two returned to Yashan together.

The cultivators from both Yashan and Star Sea who followed behind them didn’t understand why they had come to Yashan instead of using the teleportation array to rush to Star Sea, but they all maintained unified silence. Even with doubts in their hearts, they didn’t voice questions and simply followed arrangements.

Yashan cultivators naturally returned to Yashan.

Mingri Star Sea was originally filled with desperate outlaws, but now that the yin-yang realm war had restarted, all cultivators participating in the war were comrades. The original sectarian barriers had been set aside, and even the greatest grievances had been put down. So they also accepted Jian Chou’s invitation and temporarily settled at Yashan to rest.

The solitary peak, thousands of zhang high, stood beside the Nine-headed River.

The Thousand Cultivators’ Tomb flashed by beneath their feet.

Jian Chou and Qu Zhengfeng simultaneously passed through the mountain-protecting great formation and landed on Lingzhao Peak. Almost the instant the two landed, a gray shadow “whooshed” over like lightning and landed on Jian Chou’s shoulder.

“Wu wu, ao wu wu wu!”

It was a familiar cry.

Jian Chou only felt her shoulder grow heavy, and when she turned her head, she saw Little Marten happily call out twice, open its mouth, stick out its tongue, and move to lick her.

Fortunately, she was quick and directly poked its head with her finger, hurriedly stopping this behavior that would clearly cover her in saliva.

Little Marten’s tail immediately drooped dejectedly.

But its soft, chubby paws waved angrily as it complained to her: “Ao ao ao ao ao ao!”

“Alright, stop making trouble, I still have matters to attend to.”

Having raised it for decades, how could Jian Chou not know its temperament? Just from the pitch of its cries, she knew it was scolding her. She smiled helplessly and didn’t mind.

Looking up, she saw that the unusually long-lived Da Bai’e was still swimming in the Returning Crane Well.

On its snow-white feathered back, Little Guyu was lazily sprawled, eyes closed, mouth open, sleeping soundly.

Under the morning sunlight, it unusually revealed some warmth.

Yashan had received news from Jian Chou early on, knowing that cultivators from Mingri Star Sea would also enter the mountain gate, so they weren’t surprised when they saw them land.

But when someone came up, it gave Jian Chou a shock.

Because the person who appeared before her was none other than Yashan Elder Qi Boyuan, who had gone to Star Sea earlier and should now be attacking the extreme domain alongside cultivators from Nineteen Continents!

“Eldest Senior Sister, Your Majesty the Sword Emperor.”

Qi Boyuan had a stern face and was the father of Qi Changfeng, a former Yashan disciple who had some interaction with Jian Chou. His cultivation was at the middle stage of Spirit Severing.

He came before the two and bowed with cupped hands.

There were also some Yashan disciples around Lingzhao Peak, and more Yashan disciples from the cave dwellings in the mountain walls, who had sensed the commotion of these hundreds of cultivators returning to Yashan and came out to look.

But many people hadn’t expected to see Qu Zhengfeng.

That person should have been the most familiar to them, a Yashan disciple, yet at this moment he wore a face of light indifference, standing beside Eldest Senior Uncle Jian Chou like a proper external guest.

Complex.

And vaguely hiding an indescribable vicissitude…

No one could describe the feeling in their hearts at this moment, not even Elder Qi Boyuan, who had been at Yashan for hundreds of years. He only had deep cultivation and a serious personality, so he concealed this complexity in his heart well.

Jian Chou looked at him and returned the courtesy, but thinking about the fact that he was actually here, she couldn’t help but frown and ask with concern: “Why is Elder still in the mountain gate at this time?”

“Master Uncle Fudao and the Sect Master ordered me to return, saying to leave someone to look after the rear and guard against any unexpected needs. They said if Eldest Senior Sister has any instructions, I should follow them.”

Clearly, Qi Boyuan also had doubts.

At such a critical moment of war, instead of deploying people to the front, they were sending people back. This was truly puzzling.

Jian Chou was fine not hearing this, but once she heard it, she had that same heart-pounding feeling as before.

The more it was like this, the more she could sense something fishy behind it.

But since Qi Boyuan had said this, he obviously didn’t know more, so she only continued asking: “Then do you know what the situation is at the Eastern Extreme Ghost Gate now?”

“When Eldest Senior Sister launched the surprise attack on the snow domain, True Person Hengxu and Master Uncle Fudao simultaneously ordered the attack on the Eastern Extreme Ghost Gate. By dawn, they had forcibly opened the Ghost Gate. Two hours ago, with Master Uncle Fudao leading the way, the advance cultivators had already entered the Ghost Gate. Up to now, all life tablets remain intact, so their lives should be safe. However, due to the temporary inconvenience of communication between the yin and yang realms, the specific situation inside is unknown.”

Qi Boyuan gave a detailed and truthful account.

This progress was within expectations and nothing surprising. Qu Zhengfeng merely glanced at the high mountain wall, appearing completely unaware of the gazes falling on him from all around, his expression indifferent.

But Jian Chou’s tightly furrowed brow didn’t relax.

She had been to the extreme domain and knew its dangers, so she couldn’t be completely at ease.

After learning about the current overall situation, she asked Qi Boyuan about many more detailed matters, not only understanding the situation at the Eastern Extreme Ghost Gate, but also comprehensively learning about the current situation at Mingri Star Sea in Qu Zhengfeng’s absence, showing quite a watertight approach.

Finally, she also instructed Qi Boyuan to take care of the visiting Star Sea cultivators.

After Qi Boyuan left, Qu Zhengfeng smiled: “The Master of Star Sea is standing right beside you, yet you still ask about Star Sea’s situation. You’re truly not afraid of making me suspicious.”

“If I don’t ask, you won’t be suspicious?” Jian Chou turned to look at him, but what came to mind was True Person Hengxu Kunwu, who had taken over the management of Mingri Star Sea’s overall situation after Qu Zhengfeng left. She said meaningfully: “Those who should be suspicious will be suspicious no matter what. Why should I worry about what others think?”

“You finally have the bearing of an eldest senior sister…”

Qu Zhengfeng looked at her, watching for a moment. His eyes were as deep as the sea, but not a trace of emotion leaked out, and one couldn’t tell if it was praise or mockery. Then he withdrew his gaze and actually transformed into a stream of light again, soaring into the air and heading southeast.

Only his calm voice remained in the air: “Let’s go, retrieve the sword.”

Seeing his direction, Jian Chou naturally knew where he was headed. She hesitated for a moment but ultimately followed.

Dozens of li of mountains and rivers passed in moments.

When Jian Chou landed on the platform jutting out from the high mountain, Qu Zhengfeng had already drawn his Sealight Sword and struck out with it. Sword qi surging like tidal waves shook the basin surrounded by mountains, cutting out a huge fissure. Amidst the trembling, massive stone pillars had risen, supporting Yashan’s magnificent armory.

This scene was just like in the past.

Standing behind him, she could only see Qu Zhengfeng’s back, the hem of his robe fluttering in the wind, and the imposing sword shadow of the Sealight Sword.

Thus she sighed with the feeling that things remained the same but people had changed: “In these decades, I never thought there would be a time when I could stand here with Senior Brother Qu and split open the armory…”