As if sensing his emotions, Shu Wuxi lowered his head and gently pressed Lu Xiaochan’s head into his chest.
“They will come back.”
Shu Wuxi’s words always made people believe without doubt.
“This junior is grateful for your care of Lianyue and Linshuang, but the power that Lianyue Sword borrows doesn’t exist in the Demon Capital’s purgatory,” Miaochen said.
“What does Lianyue Sword borrow? Since it’s called ‘Lianyue’, does it borrow from water, or from the bright moon in the sky?”
Lu Xiaochan thought about whether there was any way to provide power to Lianyue.
“My Twilight Sword and Lianyue Sword are a pair. Twilight Sword borrows the temperature of the sun and moon, while Lianyue Sword borrows their radiance.”
Lu Xiaochan then remembered that Ye Linshuang had once said that Lord Lianyue Yuan had once used the Northern Aurora in a formation to defeat the Demon Lord at the Northern Sea.
Aurora was the most common light in the cold nights of the Northern Sea.
But…in the Demon Capital’s purgatory, there was complete darkness without a single ray of light!
Lianyue… it seemed Lianyue really couldn’t return!
At this moment, Shu Wuxi’s fingertip gently tapped Lu Xiaochan’s forehead.
“Are the sun and moon the only lights in the world?”
Lu Xiaochan looked at Shu Wuxi with partial understanding.
Shu Wuxi calmly said, “Wuhen Sword’s awakening was partly helped by Lianyue. I, Shu Wuxi, never owe debts. Therefore, I will wait for him to reach the great power realm, and borrow light from darkness. If by the time the first ray of dawn arrives, he still hasn’t achieved enlightenment, then I will wait no longer.”
Lu Xiaochan finally understood why Shu Wuxi treated Lord Lianyue Yuan and Ye Linshuang differently – not just because their current situation was similar to Shu Wuxi and Lu Xiaochan’s from a thousand years ago, but also because Lord Lianyue Yuan had given him a favor.
At this time, Lianyue rose with his sword, though heavily suppressed by evil energy. But he held Ye Linshuang, and even though exhausted, he refused to give up!
If it were just him alone, he wouldn’t mind if his original body perished!
But Linshuang – he would not let Linshuang suffer any more harm!
Not even the slightest bit!
Without light, Lord Lianyue Yuan couldn’t form sword formations, so he simply used his spiritual energy as a shield to protect Ye Linshuang as they slowly ascended.
The Demon Capital was where evil energy was strongest. Lianyue felt as if he was being crushed by ten thousand mountains, his bones about to crack.
In his arms, the small beast made soft murmurs, its little eyebrows furrowed, its small ears weakly flapping.
“Linshuang… don’t fall asleep… we will definitely get out… definitely get out!”
Lianyue adjusted Ye Linshuang in his arms. At this moment, he was more fragile than an infant, weakly opening his eyes and making a muffled “wu” sound.
Lianyue’s heart twisted – those were injuries from entering the karmic fires of purgatory, and he was still in pain.
When he looked down, Lianyue discovered Ye Linshuang was watching him.
Though barely breathing, those eyes were full of expectation, shining brightly into Lianyue’s heart.
In that instant, Lianyue had an awakening, his momentum surging.
Who said only the radiance of sun and moon was light!
Even in complete darkness, if there was light in one’s heart, it could shine with infinite brilliance!
Lord Lianyue Yuan’s spiritual energy poured forth like a waterfall, shooting straight to the heavens. The sword formation, only as large as a palm at first, suddenly expanded to become as vast as an endless river, spreading in all directions. The thick evil spirits had no way to avoid it and were drawn into the formation like a whirlpool.
The more evil spirits that were refined, the grander the sword formation became.
The light in one’s heart was different from the light of sun and moon.
The brighter one’s heart, the more it could illuminate the void and cosmos!
The Lianyue Sword formation was unstoppable, sweeping away the Demon Capital’s evil spirits like dried twigs!
At this moment, Lianyue’s mind was completely focused. His elixir sea seemed unable to contain the endless evil spirits being refined and began to burst.
In that moment, he felt his heart and soul ascending to the universe, breaking through everything, reaching an infinitely vast and open realm!
Above Xiyuan, Sect Master Yu could no longer contain herself. She dared not say anything to Shu Wuxi, but looked at Lord Miaochen Yuan and said, “Sword Master, I know you care about your younger brother and your disciple, but if we miss the chance to suppress the Demon Capital’s evil spirits, the world will fall into chaos!”
Everyone looked at Lord Miaochen Yuan. Miaochen’s hand was gripping the Twilight Sword as she looked toward the horizon, where a thin line drawn by sunlight was becoming increasingly clear – dawn was approaching.
Mo Qianqiu, who was guarding Kunwu and Haofu, snorted lightly, “It’s just waiting for dawn, Sect Master Yu is really impatient. Or is Sect Master Yu worried that when Lord Lianyue Yuan achieves enlightenment and enters the great power realm, he’ll replace Lord Miaochen Yuan as the Sword Master of Nanli Jingtian? You offended him before, are you afraid he’ll make life difficult for you?”
Mo Qianqiu exposed Sect Master Yu’s thoughts without giving any face. Sect Master Yu gritted her teeth and snorted, her face alternating between green and white with anger.
Kunwu spoke, “Since Yang Cang is here, if he says to wait until dawn, he must be confident in sealing Xiyuan’s crack.”
Just then, Zhang Rongxiu pointed into the deep abyss and exclaimed, “Look quickly!”
They saw a sword formation bright as the sun rising through countless obstacles in the thick evil energy.
Xiyuan was illuminated!
Lu Xiaochan’s eyes widened – he knew Lord Lianyue Yuan had understood the meaning of “light from darkness” and was breaking through!
Shu Wuxi’s hand reached over to cover Lu Xiaochan’s eyes, protecting them from being hurt by the dazzling radiance.
After all, this light wasn’t from the sun or moon, but the spiritual light of Lord Lianyue Yuan breaking through to the first level of the great power realm!
In the light, Lord Lianyue Yuan emerged carrying Ye Linshuang, with countless starlight particles showering down – truly a magnificent sight.
The remaining light of the sword formation gathered around Lord Lianyue Yuan’s body. He raised his head to look at Lu Xiaochan and Shu Wuxi.
His elixir sea was full, his spiritual energy abundant, completely different from when Lu Xiaochan had seen him before.
It was as if he had been reborn anew.
Just then, a rumbling sound came from the north, like thousand-year-old glaciers breaking.
Following that, an aurora streak crossed the night sky, like a fully drawn bowstring.
“It’s the Northern Sea Sword-Releasing Stone!”
“Who has the Sword-Releasing Stone acknowledged as Sword Master?”
Lord Lianyue Yuan turned his face to see the aurora from the Northern Sea, reaching across thousands of miles to land on his Lianyue Sword.
Everyone was amazed – who would have thought the Northern Sea’s Sword-Releasing Stone would acknowledge Lord Lianyue Yuan as Sword Master?
Lianyue was also extremely surprised. He raised his sword – the Lianyue Sword’s edge was now vastly different from before, like the clearest ice in the world. Though the bright moon in the sky had been obscured by dawn’s sunlight, the mysterious moon reflected in the sword blade remained clear.
This was the true moon in water – Lianyue.
Lord Miaochen Yuan smiled gently. “Junior Brother, you became possessed yet kept your true heart. Now you have been reborn through demon bath, entering the first level of the great power realm, becoming Northern Sea’s Sword Master.”
Lianyue held Ye Linshuang tightly, overwhelmed with mixed emotions.
No one had expected that after being possessed for over a thousand years, Lord Lianyue Yuan could still purge the demonic nature from his elixir sea and greatly increase his power – truly, the world was full of surprises.
The Sword-Releasing Stones of various regions were spirit stones left from when the ancient world was first created. Usually, the four direction sword masters would pass on the responsibility of guarding their region to the next generation. But when chosen by the Sword-Releasing Stone, it was heaven’s will that could not be defied.
Even if the various immortal leaders had previously criticized Lord Lianyue Yuan, they now had to sincerely bow to him and address him as “Sword Master.”
But Lu Xiaochan saw no joy on Lord Lianyue Yuan’s face – fame and fortune had always been external things to him, far less important than the weakened Ye Linshuang in his arms, who could no longer maintain human form.
“Now that Lianyue has returned, we have no more concerns. Please, Senior, lead us in sealing this Xiyuan crack!”
Lord Miaochen Yuan turned to entreat Shu Wuxi.
“It is time to conclude this matter and restore peace,” Shu Wuxi’s expression was calm, as if sealing the Xiyuan was no difficult task.
Only Lu Xiaochan understood in his heart that Shu Wuxi’s “peace” meant wanting them to live a quiet life soon.
Lianyue carried Ye Linshuang to Lu Xiaochan.
The closer he came, the clearer one could see Ye Linshuang’s wounds and dying state.
If Lianyue hadn’t been constantly protecting Ye Linshuang’s elixir core with spiritual energy, he probably couldn’t even maintain his beast form.
“Lord Liche, your medical skills are profound. Please save him… whatever happens in the future, I will surely follow your lead, without hesitation.”
Lianyue, usually an unrestrained person, lowered his head to ask for help for Ye Linshuang’s sake.
Lu Xiaochan let out a breath and carefully touched the top of Ye Linshuang’s head. He whimpered in pain, his body curling up and trembling severely.
“Lord Lianyue Yuan, although I am skilled at using medical spells to purify evil thoughts from people’s hearts, my senior brother Kunwu is more skilled at healing physical wounds.”
Lu Xiaochan knew that every time Ye Linshuang felt pain, it struck Lord Lianyue Yuan’s heart.
Just as back then, when Chaos’s karmic fire burned Lu Xiaochan’s body, it was Shu Wuxi’s heart that was tormented.
Kunwu took the small beast from Lianyue’s arms and immediately began healing his wounds with medical spells. They saw the originally curled-up young beast gradually stretching out his body, his little ears twitching, and Lord Lianyue Yuan’s brow finally relaxed a bit.
“Sword Master, please focus on sealing this crack, and I will do my best to heal disciple Sword Master Ye.”
With Kunwu’s promise, Lianyue finally turned around to face the crack.
Though the Demon Capital’s evil spirits’ foundation had been shaken, they were still stirring restlessly, with countless evil spirits unable to contain themselves, scattering in all directions.
“Xiaochan, do you know how to seal it?” Shu Wuxi asked.
Lu Xiaochan frowned, thinking for a long while.
The Xiyuan crack was so deep – surely they couldn’t forcibly close the two sides together?
Unless there was still a true god in the world, even Shu Wuxi couldn’t do that.
Even if they moved the world’s highest mountain here, it still couldn’t fill this crack!
Unless…
A flash of inspiration crossed Lu Xiaochan’s mind. “Borrow all the world’s water to flood the Demon Capital! There’s no crack that water can’t fill!”
“Exactly so. Then use the sword formation’s pressure to enter purgatory directly and destroy the Demon Capital’s foundation.” As Shu Wuxi said this, the others seemed to understand what needed to be done.
“Finally, I will borrow the sun and moon’s warmth, and Lianyue will draw forth the Northern Sea’s extreme cold to freeze the Xiyuan,” Lord Miaochen Yuan answered.
“This is excellent!” Ling Nianwu turned to look at Lu Xiaochan, “Please unsheathe the Wuhen Sword!”
Lu Xiaochan really hadn’t expected that his Wuhen Sword, having just awakened, would be put to such important use!
He couldn’t help feeling nervous.
But Shu Wuxi said, “You need not worry, this task is far from when you sacrificed yourself for me back then.”
Lu Xiaochan immediately understood Shu Wuxi’s meaning – he wanted to seal the Demon Capital, ensuring no evil spirits or demon lords would ever dare covet Lu Xiaochan’s elixir core again!
