“You don’t deserve to know,” Shu Wuxi replied coldly. “Get out.”
That person scrambled to his feet and hurriedly fled, stumbling as he went.
But there were still three people lying in the room. Lu Xiaochan crouched down, about to reach for the swords at their waists, when Shu Wuxi grasped Lu Xiaochan’s hand and pulled him up.
“Don’t touch those messy things.”
After saying this, he took out “Clear Night Falling into Dark Sky” and dripped it onto Lu Xiaochan’s hand.
“I was just curious about their swords. I’ve seen Jiang Wuchao’s Minglang sword, and also the Thousand Autumn Pavilion Master’s sword, but these people’s swords seem different from theirs.”
“These people’s swords are just ordinary spirit swords. They have no spiritual energy to speak of. Jiang Wuchao’s sword is already a true immortal sword, while the Thousand Autumn Pavilion Master’s sword is a spiritual sword.”
It sounded like Shu Wuxi had a much better impression of the Thousand Autumn Pavilion Master than of Jiang Wuchao.
“Brother Wuxi, do you know the Thousand Autumn Pavilion Master?”
Although Lu Xiaochan had only exchanged a few words with Mo Qianqiu, he felt a familiar fondness, though he couldn’t explain why.
“Mo Qianqiu has a profound spiritual foundation and excellent talent. If he focuses on cultivation, entering the realm of great power is only a matter of time.”
For Shu Wuxi to speak well of someone meant that person’s talent wasn’t just “excellent,” but once in a thousand years.
“Then what about your sword? I’ve never seen it. Is it also a spiritual sword?”
“No, my sword was forged by Yehua Yuanzun from the remains of an ancient spiritual beast that accepted me as its master. It is the ultimate sword in the world.”
Lu Xiaochan carefully pondered the meaning of the word “ultimate” – it meant the best of the best, probably referring to the limit that human cultivation could reach.
“Wait! My future immortal sword is also made from the remains of an ancient spiritual beast! Chang Yan’s rib, right? Does that mean my sword is also…”
Suddenly, Shu Wuxi flicked Lu Xiaochan’s forehead.
“Your sword would certainly be an ultimate sword, if Yehua Yuanzun were to forge it.”
“…But, my cultivation…” Lu Xiaochan held out his fingers to measure, “it’s just this little bit. Won’t I be unable to wield it?”
“With me around, how could your cultivation possibly remain at such a low level?”
After saying this, Shu Wuxi took Lu Xiaochan’s hand and walked towards the door.
“Where are we going? The whole Peng City is cold and deserted, there’s nothing interesting to see!”
Being with Shu Wuxi made Lu Xiaochan feel fearless, not at all worried about the Meng family from Pengyuan Mountain coming to cause trouble.
But Peng City was even colder and more boring at night than Lushu Town. Lu Xiaochan didn’t want to go out at all, preferring to stay in the room and watch Shu Wuxi while resting his chin on his hands!
“They were coughing up blood earlier, polluting this room. Let’s change to another one.”
“Okay!”
Who knew that as soon as they changed to another room, just as Lu Xiaochan was about to discuss cultivation matters with Shu Wuxi, they heard sounds coming from outside.
It was the sound of people walking, and quite a few of them.
Lu Xiaochan thought, this is really something, has the entire Meng family sect come to cause trouble?
Although they were just a motley crew, it wouldn’t be exciting even if they dealt with all of them!
To their surprise, the group stopped in front of the door, and the sound of people kneeling in unison rang out.
Lu Xiaochan tilted his head and blurted out, “What drama is this now?”
A clear male voice came from outside the door.
“I am Meng Ningsheng, the sword master of Pengyuan Mountain. Having learned that there are esteemed immortal guests here, I’ve come to pay my respects!”
Lu Xiaochan finally understood and leaned towards Shu Wuxi, whispering, “The Meng family disciples must be afraid of death and planning to abandon their master! They’ve come specifically to ask you to help remove the death mark so they can leave this place!”
“No, they want me to save Meng Yuandao,” Shu Wuxi replied.
“That is correct. Earlier, my disciples were disrespectful to your esteemed self, all because they were forced by our master. Our master has been coerced by an evil spirit and has lost his mind. I hope that your esteemed self will consider the greater good of the immortal sect and eliminate this evil to protect our way! Please lend us your assistance!”
Immediately following this, there was the sound of several disciples kowtowing together.
Shu Wuxi had no reaction at all, just sitting at the table drinking tea.
The sound of kowtowing didn’t stop. Lu Xiaochan, drawing from experience, thought it best not to meddle in others’ affairs. Getting involved could easily lead to big trouble and make Shu Wuxi unhappy.
But they kept kowtowing for nearly an hour, determined to either get Shu Wuxi’s help or die there with cracked skulls.
Lu Xiaochan guessed that the evil spirit coercing Meng Yuandao was not to be underestimated, probably on the same level as the evil god from He Family Village!
Lu Xiaochan’s hearing was especially acute, and the sound of skulls almost cracking open made him feel irritated.
Lu Xiaochan gently kicked Shu Wuxi under the table. “Didn’t Kunwu use immortal method on me in the Tailing Pavilion? You should learn from him and use tea to block my ears!”
Shu Wuxi finally spoke. “Stop kowtowing.”
The disciples of Pengyuan Mountain finally quieted down.
“Does this mean you’re willing to help us, esteemed one?”
Before Shu Wuxi could speak, Lu Xiaochan lost patience.
“You keep kowtowing here endlessly, but your goal isn’t to eliminate evil and uphold righteousness. You’re using the greater good of the immortal sect to coerce us. If you really cared, how could you have aided a tyrant and helped your master abduct young maidens? You should have fought that evil spirit to the death long ago for the sake of ‘eliminating evil and upholding righteousness’ and ‘the greater good of the immortal sect’! In the end, aren’t you just afraid of dying?”
After Lu Xiaochan spoke, the people outside the door were suddenly speechless.
“That’s your master! You knew there was an evil spirit, but you didn’t even have the courage to fight! Now that you’ve met us, you want to push us out as shields. You’re thinking too beautifully! Get lost! Get lost! Get lost!”
Lu Xiaochan grabbed a teacup and smashed it against the door.
Outside, Meng Ningsheng’s face turned ashen. He opened his mouth but couldn’t say a word.
At that moment, a disciple behind Meng Ningsheng suddenly reached into his neifu and grabbed his elixir core!
(TL: “内府” (nèifǔ) typically refers to the Inner Mansion or Inner Palace of the body, which is often a metaphorical or spiritual concept. “内府” is seen as an internal area within the body where a cultivator stores or refines their qi (life energy) or other forms of energy.)
Fortunately, Meng Ningsheng reacted quickly, grabbing his junior brother’s wrist, but he couldn’t move. Even if he pulled his junior brother’s hand out, his own elixir core would be dragged out too.
“Junior brother… when… when were you possessed by the evil spirit…”
The other disciples panicked and retreated in disarray.
“Heavens! Second Senior Brother has been possessed by the evil spirit too!”
“Run quickly! We’re no match for the evil spirit!”
Cold sweat poured down Meng Ningsheng’s face as he was about to draw the sword at his waist, but his second junior brother also drew his sword. Meng Ningsheng could only block it behind him, pressing down on his junior brother’s sword to prevent him from striking.
The two were at a stalemate, and the rest of the junior brothers actually fled, crawling and rolling away.
Lu Xiaochan could see their spiritual energy through the wall and naturally understood what had happened.
He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Are you kidding me? It’s just an evil spirit, isn’t it? Any disciple could have drawn their sword, formed a sword formation to force the evil spirit out of the body, or at the very least cut off that second junior brother’s arm with their sword to protect Meng Ningsheng’s elixir core!”
Shu Wuxi nodded but still showed no intention of intervening.
Meng Ningsheng was in unbearable pain, with blood dripping down.
His second junior brother’s eyes were covered by a layer of black mist, and his voice became hoarse and vicious.
“You dare to try and deal with us! I’ll make sure you die a horrible death!”
Lu Xiaochan took the cup from Shu Wuxi’s hand, drank the tea, and then leaned towards Shu Wuxi.
“I don’t understand! If the evil spirit knows you’re a senior expert, why would it act right in front of you? Isn’t that seeking death? With one move from you, it would be done for!”
Shu Wuxi looked up and refilled Lu Xiaochan’s cup on the table with tea.
“Do you really not understand why?”
Lu Xiaochan smiled. “I’m not a fool, of course I understand! The evil spirit coercing Meng Yuandao must know a powerful person has arrived, so it sent a low-level subordinate evil spirit to die as a test, to see just how capable you are! Brother Wuxi, are you going to take action?”
“There’s no need. A true orthodox cultivator of the mystic arts has arrived.”
Shu Wuxi’s voice was calm, but Lu Xiaochan knew that someone Shu Wuxi referred to as an “orthodox cultivator” must be a person with impeccable cultivation and character.
Without realizing it, Lu Xiaochan felt the air he breathed become chilly, and even his skin seemed to be covered with a thin layer of frost.
But even so, Lu Xiaochan didn’t feel the need to add more clothes or warm up immediately. On the contrary, he felt this chill invigorating his whole body.
He instinctively turned his face to look out the window.
Under the moonlight, frost flowers had begun to fall without anyone noticing.
They were crystal clear, falling gently and elegantly.
Lu Xiaochan thought it was beautiful and left the table, running to the window to reach out and touch the frost flowers.
“It’s so beautiful! But… how can there be frost flowers in this season?”
“If these were ordinary frost flowers, they would be a natural phenomenon without spiritual energy. How could you see them?” Shu Wuxi said calmly.
Lu Xiaochan blinked. “So these frost flowers are the result of spiritual energy! No wonder they’re so beautiful! This person’s cultivation must be very high!”
At that moment, a layer of frost flowers as thin as cicada wings covered the body of Meng Ningsheng’s second junior brother. Each piece was only as big as a fingernail. The frost flowers emitted a spiritual light, silently seeping into his skin. The second junior brother’s body seemed to stiffen completely, and a mass of black energy spurted out of his mouth. His eyes regained clarity.
He realized his hand was inside his senior brother’s body and was shocked. Trembling, he let go and carefully withdrew from Meng Ningsheng’s back.
Meng Ningsheng immediately stopped his bleeding and slowly sat down against the wall.
Only then did Lu Xiaochan understand that each tiny frost flower was a miniature sword formation.
He remembered Shu Wuxi telling him that for cultivators in the realm of borrowing power, the power of sword formations could be as vast as a Kun Peng or as tiny as a speck of dust.
This person’s control over the power of sword formations was already extremely refined. Lu Xiaochan wondered if this person was more formidable, or if the Thousand Autumn Pavilion Master was.
Lu Xiaochan listened and heard someone walking slowly down the corridor. Each step was unhurried, yet when their foot touched the ground, not a speck of dust was stirred.
“Senior Brother! Senior Brother, are you alright? I didn’t mean to!” The second junior brother came to Meng Ningsheng’s side, pressing on his continuously bleeding wound.
The evil spirit suddenly rushed into the room where Lu Xiaochan was. It faced Shu Wuxi directly, recklessly testing him and revealing various horrifying forms.
Shu Wuxi’s expression remained unchanged. A pale blue mark flashed on his forehead, like a brand, searing the evil spirit and causing it to scream in agony.
“…Tailing… Purification Spell…”
The evil spirit was terrified and crashed towards Lu Xiaochan.
Lu Xiaochan remembered the method Shu Wuxi had taught him to activate his elixir sea when learning the Blocking One’s View with a Leaf technique. Spiritual energy gathered at his fingertips, and the Tailing Qingyuan Spell appeared in the air. The spell characters became clearer and clearer, instantly branding themselves into the evil spirit’s body.
The evil spirit struggled violently. Lu Xiaochan’s mind pressed down, the spell characters boiled, and in an instant, it refined the evil spirit.
Pale blue dust floated down.
Lu Xiaochan excitedly tugged at Shu Wuxi’s sleeve. “Brother Wuxi! Look! I refined that evil spirit!”
Shu Wuxi raised his hand and lightly brushed Lu Xiaochan’s cheek with his knuckles.
“You dared to confront Demon Lord Luli, let alone a mere low-level evil spirit.”
“So it’s a fellow cultivator from the Tailing Pavilion. My apologies for the lack of courtesy.”
A frosty voice came through the door. Lu Xiaochan instantly imagined autumn leaves frozen before they could fall from the branches – a different feeling from Shu Wuxi’s ethereal coolness.
Shu Wuxi put down his teacup and said to Lu Xiaochan. “Sword formations condensing frost flowers – it must be Ye Linshuang, the Sword Master under Miao Chen of the Nanli Jingtian.”
“I am indeed Ye Linshuang of the Nanli Jingtian. I’ve come on my master’s orders to mediate the dispute between Pengyuan Mountain and Chenhuan Cave.”
Lu Xiaochan’s eyes widened in excitement. He couldn’t help shaking Shu Wuxi. “Brother Wuxi! He’s the Sword Master under the Nanli Jingtian! Does that mean he’ll be the next Sword Master of the Nanli? He must be very powerful, right?”
Shu Wuxi looked at Lu Xiaochan’s excited expression and said, “Who did you just say was powerful?”
Lu Xiaochan froze instantly.
“Of course, not as powerful as you…”
His voice was as small as a mosquito’s hum.
But with cultivation like Ye Linshuang’s, how could he not hear?
“May I come in to pay my respects?”
Lu Xiaochan wanted to clap and say “come in, come in,” but Shu Wuxi beside him didn’t speak, so he didn’t dare to speak either.
The person outside didn’t rush or become impatient, just standing quietly waiting for Shu Wuxi’s response.
Just from this patience, Lu Xiaochan knew the other’s cultivation was excellent.
“Come in,” Shu Wuxi finally put down his teacup.
The door was silently pushed open by a stream of spiritual energy. A tall figure stood there, hands behind his back holding a sword, his body emanating a sense of power.
The spiritual energy around him clung to his body, outlining a form like a steep cliff pine. Lu Xiaochan couldn’t help but keep staring at him.
The Immortal-Locking Ribbon fluttered up, just brushing past Lu Xiaochan’s eyes. Lu Xiaochan immediately came to his senses, almost knocking over the teacup.
Oh no, he had been staring at someone else for so long. Would Shu Wuxi be unhappy?
“It’s been a thousand years, and the cultivation of the Linshuang Sword has improved considerably,” Shu Wuxi said.
Ye Linshuang lowered his head towards Shu Wuxi, the lines of his back and waist taut like a bowstring.
“Since the esteemed one has arrived in Peng City, why don’t we go together to see what kind of evil spirit is coercing Meng Yuandao?”
It was polite and restrained, yet carried a hint of pride.
Just from hearing him speak, Lu Xiaochan admired him greatly.
As expected of the Sword Master of Nanli Jingtian, his cultivation level should be even higher than the sect leaders of various immortal sects under Nanli Jingtian.
“I’m not interested in watching spectacles or meddling in others’ affairs,” Shu Wuxi replied.
“Then this junior has disturbed the senior.”
Ye Linshuang did not try to persuade him further, but retreated three steps and was about to turn and leave.
When he first looked at Shu Wuxi, he knew that he was using the Blocking One’s View with a Leaf technique, but the fact that he couldn’t see through his true appearance with over 1,500 years of cultivation indicated that Shu Wuxi’s cultivation level was higher than his own.
In this world, only the Four Directions Sword Master surpassed his cultivation level.
This person dressed as a scholar couldn’t be his master Miao Chen, so it could only be Hao Fu of Xiyuan Jingtian, or Yang Cang of Wuyi Jingtian.
Judging by this scholar’s temperament, he was undoubtedly the aloof and desireless Yang Cang.
However… Yang Cang had always been solitary, so why would he have a young man by his side?
But Ye Linshuang had never been interested in inquiring about other people’s affairs.
Lu Xiaochan occasionally raised his head to steal glances at Ye Linshuang’s back.
Lu Xiaochan could see that spiritual energy was seeping out of the scabbard of the long sword on his back, like a stream formed of frost.
“Xiaochan,” Shu Wuxi’s brow furrowed, which was rare.
“Oh…” Lu Xiaochan lowered his head and continued drinking tea pitifully.
Although Ye Linshuang wasn’t interested in others’ affairs, he noticed that since he entered, this young man’s gaze had never left him.
Others were reluctant to get close to him due to his cold demeanor, and some disciples with lower cultivation levels didn’t even dare to look at him twice. Yet this young man was gazing at him with admiration, which piqued his curiosity.
Ye Linshuang rarely turned around and looked at Lu Xiaochan, who was lowering his head but still raising his eyes to steal glances at him.
“Young friend, may I ask why you keep looking at me?”
Lu Xiaochan’s ears buzzed, and his face immediately turned red.
Shu Wuxi’s eyebrows raised slightly.
Although it was just a little, and others might not have noticed, Lu Xiaochan could see the fluctuation of spiritual energy around Shu Wuxi.
“I wasn’t looking at you, I was just looking at your sword,” Lu Xiaochan hurriedly explained.
Looking at people might not be okay, but looking at a sword should be fine, right?
“My sword?”
Ye Linshuang reached back and drew the Linshuang Sword from its scabbard. Immediately, a pure white spiritual light overflowed, forming frost flowers. Lu Xiaochan opened his eyes wide, watching.
“Since young friend wants to see, then look.”
Ye Linshuang didn’t mind at all. He held the sword hilt with his right hand and lifted the sword tip with his left hand fingers, bringing it in front of Lu Xiaochan.
“I…” Lu Xiaochan looked towards Shu Wuxi beside him.
Shu Wuxi nodded. “Go ahead and look.”
Perhaps because he discovered that Lu Xiaochan was interested in the Linshuang Sword, not in Ye Linshuang himself, the spiritual energy around him became as calm as a mirror-like sea again.
Lu Xiaochan couldn’t resist reaching out to touch the blade of the Linshuang Sword. Ye Linshuang initially wanted to stop him, worried that Lu Xiaochan might be hurt by the cold energy contained in the sword. However, as soon as Lu Xiaochan’s fingertips touched it, a faint ripple of spiritual energy spread across the sword’s body.
Ye Linshuang’s face remained impassive, but in his heart, he knew that only cultivators with pure thoughts and over a thousand years of cultivation could resonate with the spiritual energy of the Linshuang Sword.
This young man had just used a major medical spell from the Tailing Pavilion. Although his spell formation was somewhat clumsy, the power of the medical spell was not weak.
Ye Linshuang’s thoughts stirred, and he suddenly understood.
“Xiaochan, you should return the sword to Sword Master Ye,” Shu Wuxi said.
“Alright. Sword Master Ye,” Lu Xiaochan stood up and bowed towards Ye Linshuang, “Thank you for being so generous and letting me see your Linshuang Sword.”
“You’re welcome,” Ye Linshuang took back the sword and turned to leave.
With each step Ye Linshuang took, it was as if the cold night followed him away. The thin frost covering the entire room slowly disappeared, and it gradually became warmer.
Outside the room, Meng Ningsheng was being supported by his second junior brother, stumbling after Ye Linshuang.
“It seems they won’t bother us anymore! Because Ye Linshuang will solve the evil spirit problem for them!”
“Did you like the Linshuang Sword?” Shu Wuxi asked.
Lu Xiaochan was about to nod and say he liked it, but then he thought, what if Shu Wuxi said, “Since you like it, I’ll get the Linshuang Sword for you”? What would he do then?
“It was okay! I was just curious if there was frost on his sword too. But there wasn’t, though the spiritual energy was very pure,” Lu Xiaochan shrugged.
Then, as if he had thought of something else, he tugged on Shu Wuxi’s sleeve.
“Brother Wuxi, where’s your sword? Isn’t your sword made from the spine of the ancient spirit beast Chang Yan? What’s its spiritual energy like? Where is it? Is it hidden in your qiankun pouch to keep a low profile and avoid attention?”
“Its spiritual energy is too strong. You can’t approach it like you did the Linshuang Sword.”
“Why not?”
“Because… you are special to me… my thoughts also influence my sword. If I carry it with me, it would constantly want to sense your spiritual energy.”
“So does that mean it would protect me like you do, Brother Wuxi?”
“Yes. But not just protect… it might want to devour your spiritual energy.” Shu Wuxi stood up, holding Lu Xiaochan’s hand, “You should rest now.”
“But I’m not tired. Why don’t you tell me stories about how you subdued evil spirits in the past?”
“My stories of subduing evil spirits are all the same. Encounter an evil spirit, form a sword array, refine it, and store it in the elixir sea.”
“…But each evil spirit is different, right? And the reasons they possess people are different too…”
“Xiaochan.” Shu Wuxi’s voice suddenly became softer than before.
“What is it?”
“I’m a boring person. I can’t tell interesting stories to amuse you.”
Shu Wuxi’s eyelids drooped slightly, and Lu Xiaochan saw that although the spiritual energy around him was still abundant, it seemed dejected.
Lu Xiaochan reached out and pressed firmly on Shu Wuxi’s forehead.
“You’re very boring, so I’ll tell interesting stories to amuse you instead!” Lu Xiaochan stretched, “Let’s go to sleep. We probably only have less than two hours before dawn. We should leave here early and head to Yechuan!”
Lu Xiaochan sat on the edge of the bed, resting his legs on Shu Wuxi’s lap.
Shu Wuxi didn’t get angry. He held Lu Xiaochan’s ankles, removed his shoes and socks for him, and tucked them under the blanket.
“Sleep now.”
“Mm.”
Lu Xiaochan closed his eyes, snuggled towards Shu Wuxi’s direction, and buried his head in the other’s chest. Inhaling the scent of light dew in the clear night, he fell asleep.
Outside the window, the moonlight gradually dimmed, and the night breeze blowing in carried a damp smell. It was as if something vast and heavy was pressing down from above, making it hard to breathe.
