Like a passage to the Netherworld, an enormous pitch-black vortex, deep beyond sight, hung inverted in the sky, like some demon of the Nine Hells opening its terrifying maw to devour all beneath heaven. The gale was bitter, sweeping away the tattered clouds. Thunder rumbled, lightning writhed.
Zhang Xiaofan darted in close, the fire poker flashing with a dark cyan radiance, especially conspicuous beneath the black clouds that filled the sky. Lu Xueqi watched Zhang Xiaofan’s figure come charging toward her wrapped in that blue-green light, her jade-like face deathly pale.
The “Divine Sword Thunder-Commanding True Art” was a supreme marvel among Daoist immortal arts, using a mortal body to summon the mightiest power of heaven and earth. One could imagine the immense pressure Lu Xueqi’s body was now enduring. “Tianya” was an unparalleled divine weapon, originally the perfect blade for executing the “Divine Sword Thunder-Commanding True Art,” but compared with it, Lu Xueqi’s own cultivation in the Daoist arts was still insufficient.
At this moment, she only felt that from within the dark clouds in the sky, boundless colossal force was surging into her body like raging, billowing waves. To outsiders, her whole body seemed unchanged, yet within her, blood and qi churned so violently that she was nearly about to burst from that mighty power. If Tianya had not been continuously drawing away the surging force gathering toward her, Lu Xueqi would probably have been unable to hold on long ago.
The wind howled, thunder and lightning roared. Standing suspended in midair, she almost dazedly thought herself a helpless blade of grass in the wind. In the next moment, she remembered the words her master Shuiyue had said when she taught her this wondrous art: “Xueqi, your aptitude is the finest I have ever seen in my life, but the power of this True Art is too great, and so the force of its backlash is even more overwhelming. Your days of cultivating the Dao are still shallow. Though you can barely grasp it, you must never cast it lightly, lest you invite disaster upon yourself.”
“Boom!”
A thunderclap exploded almost directly above Tongtian Peak. Everyone vaguely felt the ground beneath their feet tremble lightly, as though some ancient Thunder God had been disturbed from his slumber and was roaring in fury!
For a time, everyone’s face changed!
Zhang Xiaofan was now only two zhang away from Lu Xueqi. Seeing such might, anyone would know that once Lu Xueqi completed the spell, he would likely be annihilated into ash and smoke. But suddenly, his whole body tightened, and he came to a stop as if he had slammed into a soft wall, unable to advance.
In that instant, Zhang Xiaofan’s face turned ashen. The “Divine Sword Thunder-Commanding True Art” was one of Qingyun Sect’s mountain-guarding wonders; how profound and miraculous it was. While being cast, it naturally formed, through the divine weapon, a layer of invisible barrier around the caster. Zhang Xiaofan could not get through.
The fire poker’s light grew even brighter, yet it could no longer move forward by even half a step. Perhaps in terms of spiritual power and might, Zhang Xiaofan’s fire poker was not inferior to Tianya, but in cultivation method, the gap was far too great. He was only using his own spiritual power to unleash the fire poker’s might; it could in no way compare to Lu Xueqi’s supreme wondrous art, tempered and refined over a thousand years by successive generations of Qingyun Sect patriarchs.
But in that moment of despair, just as the enormous vortex in the sky spun faster and faster, lightning flared violently, and the radiance of the divine sword Tianya grew ever brighter, just as this peerless immortal art was about to be completed, Lu Xueqi suddenly shuddered. Her originally snow-white face flushed crimson in an instant, and with a “wah,” she spat out a great mouthful of blood, which nearly formed a mist of blood before her.
The divine sword Tianya’s light immediately wavered, as if unsteady. Lu Xueqi clenched her silver teeth, closed her eyes, and concentrated all her mind, strength, and spirit upon Tianya. A moment later, Tianya’s light stabilized, and instead surpassed what it had been before, dazzling and resplendent, impossible to look upon directly.
A tremendous sound came from within the dark clouds. In the deepest part of that huge vortex, a streak of brightness seemed to appear; countless bolts of lightning were gathering into one, faintly aimed at the divine sword Tianya in Lu Xueqi’s hand.
Yet in Lu Xueqi’s heart, there was a wave of despair. Amid the wind, as expected, a sharp whistling sounded. She was devoting all her strength to protecting Tianya and no longer had any strength to spare for the barrier at her side. Overjoyed, Zhang Xiaofan and the fire poker transformed into a dark cyan pillar of light, slicing across the sky, charging toward this beautiful woman swaying in the wind.
Was this it?
Would everything end here?
Her heart suddenly became calm, and in that instant, she thought this faintly to herself.
In that instant, that brief instant, heaven and earth were silent, frozen. Everything was fixed in place. Only she stood in the wind, robes fluttering, black hair stirring, opening the eyes she had closed and looking toward the blue-green light speeding toward her.
That moment seemed eternal!
Zhang Xiaofan saw her, and saw her eyes!
She stood alone in the wind and rain, facing the vast might of heaven and earth, yet so tranquil. Only her face was faintly pale, and in her eyes there was actually a trace of sorrow, and a hint of fear.
Wind and rain howled, heaven and earth were desolate. This beautiful woman gazed quietly at him.
Whose eyes were those, sorrowful and so bleak, as though last night, that person had been wounded by love! That pain had sunk deep into the marrow, deep into the soul.
Deeply! Deeply!
Was it you, that woman in love with someone else?
Were you thinking of him with such iron certainty, without regret for all your life?
Zhang Xiaofan suddenly smiled, carrying a trace of sorrow and a heart already dead, as though it were last night.
The fire poker merged into the light of the divine sword Tianya, and no one could see the figures of the two of them anymore, nor could they see the fire poker’s light suddenly dim. At this moment, a tremendous sound rang out in the heavens, and an incomparably huge pillar of lightning descended from the sky, falling upon Tianya.
All of heaven and earth, all the gods and Buddhas in the sky, seemed in that same instant to chant together.
A massive pillar of light refracted out from Tianya, bearing the force to destroy heaven and earth, rushing toward Zhang Xiaofan. At the brink of life and death, the fire poker soared into the air and blocked in front of its master.
In the next moment, Zhang Xiaofan was swallowed by the light.
For a long time! A long time! A long time!
The dark clouds in the sky scattered, and the light vanished.
People stared blankly at the sky, watching that young man tightly clutching a black fire poker, like a stone tortured and covered with wounds, plummeting straight down.
He did not fall to the ground. Tian Buyi appeared beneath him like a ghost and caught him. Tian Buyi’s expression was solemn, his movements swift as the wind. He immediately pried open Zhang Xiaofan’s unconscious mouth, took a small bottle from his robe, and without caring how many there were, poured the yellow pills directly into Zhang Xiaofan’s mouth.
The pills melted upon entering his mouth. Without a word, Tian Buyi sprang up, and a streak of red light immediately rose, carrying him away like wind and lightning. He did not even look back at the arena again. Judging from the direction, he was returning to Dazhu Peak.
Su Ru and the others of the Dazhu Peak line also followed one after another.
At this moment, the pale-faced Lu Xueqi descended and was immediately surrounded by the overjoyed people of Xiaozhu Peak. Amid the support of her senior and junior sisters, she said nothing, only lifted her head and gazed at the streak of red light gradually receding and vanishing in the sky, standing there in a daze, silent.
※※※
It was as though he had slept in darkness for a thousand years, yearning to wake yet unable to open his eyes. In the heavy, boundless darkness, there was only him, alone.
Yet he absolutely refused to yield, and so he walked on alone in that darkness. But aside from darkness, there was no road to take.
And so he was grieved and enraged. In the depths of his heart, a raging fire burned without cease. Thus he swore a solemn oath to the demon god of the Nine Hells: even if his body and soul together were reduced to ash, he would ignite that one point of light, even if, for this, he had to bury all things in the world together with himself.
That trace of ferocity from time immemorial remained as unruly as ever!
Zhang Xiaofan slowly opened his eyes.
Soft light entered his vision. The familiar scent of his dwelling drifted through the room.
It seemed there was no one here.
He slowly sat up, and just as he was about to raise his hand to wipe a bit of sweat from his forehead, he felt sharp pain explode at once in his shoulder, chest, and lower abdomen. He immediately sucked in a breath of cold air, his face going pale from pain.
He sat on the bed, not daring to move again. Only after a long while did that piercing pain slowly fade away.
It should be afternoon now. The door was half-closed, and both windows were propped open; faintly, he could see the still-green grass and slender bamboo in the courtyard. Xiao Hui, who always followed him, and Da Huang, who always followed Xiao Hui, were both gone. Could they have found another meaty bone?
He smiled, facing this empty room, smiling to himself.
With a creak, the door was pushed open, and the dignified, beautiful Su Ru walked in. Zhang Xiaofan moved and called out, “Shiniang,” but before he could rise, his face immediately twisted again.
Su Ru quickly walked to the bedside and sat down, saying softly, “Don’t move, Xiaofan.”
Only after the pain eased somewhat did Zhang Xiaofan say to Su Ru, “Disciple did not know Shiniang had come…”
Su Ru gave him a reproachful look and said, “You’ve already lost more than half your life, yet you still have the mind to remember this! Enough nonsense. Sit properly.”
Zhang Xiaofan smiled sheepishly. Su Ru examined him for a while, then nodded and said, “Your external injuries have mostly healed, but the damage to the meridians inside your body is too severe. You won’t recover unless you rest quietly and at ease.”
Zhang Xiaofan said, “Yes. This disciple has brought shame to Master and Shiniang, truly—”
Su Ru cut him off. “You’ve brought great honor to your master instead. In nearly three hundred years, aside from the time your master himself participated in the Seven Peaks Martial Tournament, Dazhu Peak has had no disciple more outstanding than you.”
Zhang Xiaofan’s face reddened, and he lowered his head. “Th-that was all because this disciple was lucky.”
Su Ru smiled faintly and patted his shoulder. Zhang Xiaofan then remembered something and said, “The competition has ended, hasn’t it? Who won in the end? Was it Senior Sister Lu?”
Su Ru shook her head slightly and said, “No. It was Qi Hao of Longshou Peak.”
For some reason, a wave of sourness suddenly rose in Zhang Xiaofan’s heart. He said softly, “So it was Senior Brother Qi. He really is formidable. Even Senior Sister Lu, who had Tianya, was defeated by him.”
Hearing him say this, Su Ru seemed to have some thought stirred as well. She sighed softly and changed the subject. “Your injuries this time were far from light. Your master spent great effort treating you. I heard him say that with the divine sword Tianya used to execute the Divine Sword Thunder-Commanding True Art, even though Lu Xueqi’s cultivation was insufficient, if it weren’t for that fire—fire, that magic treasure of yours blocking it for you, even immortals would have been unable to save you.”
Hearing her words, Zhang Xiaofan suddenly remembered and looked around, but he could not find that ugly black fire poker.
Su Ru looked at him and said blandly, “That magic treasure of yours was taken by your master.”
Zhang Xiaofan was stunned for a moment, then said softly, “Yes.” Then he could not help asking again, “Master, he…”
Su Ru said, “You were unconscious for five days and five nights. Your injuries only stabilized last night. Early this morning, the Sect Leader on Tongtian Peak sent a message asking your master to go over. He should be on Tongtian Peak right now.”
Zhang Xiaofan slowly nodded. In his heart, he could not tell what he was feeling. He himself also felt that there should be no problem, but in these two years, that fire poker had left him for the first time, and there was always a faint sense of loss.
Su Ru glanced at him, and a trace of strange expression seemed to flash through her eyes, but she still said, “You’ve only just woken up. Don’t tire yourself too much. You must rest more. I’ve already instructed them not to come disturb you. Bishu will bring your meals to you.”
Zhang Xiaofan said, “Many thanks, Shiniang.”
Su Ru nodded and said, “Then rest. I’ll have Bishu bring the food over later.” As she spoke, she turned and walked outside. Just as she was about to step out of the room, she suddenly heard Zhang Xiaofan call from behind her:
“Shiniang.”
Su Ru turned. “What is it?”
Zhang Xiaofan looked at her, seemed to hesitate for a moment, then said, “Shiniang, I wanted to ask, do you know how Lin Jingyu of Longshou Peak did in this competition? At the time, I was on Tongtian Peak and truly had no time to find him and ask.”
Su Ru looked at him again and said, “He entered the top eight, but lost to his fellow disciple Qi Hao.”
Zhang Xiaofan was stunned for a moment and said, “So he also… Thank you, Shiniang.”
Su Ru shook her head slightly and said, “Rest.” With that, she turned and walked out.
Zhang Xiaofan slowly lay back down, gazing at the ceiling of the room, silent.
※※※
On Tongtian Peak of Qingyun Mountain, inside Yuqing Hall.
Reverend Daoxuan sat in the center. The chief seats of the other six lines were also present. Aside from them, there was no one else in the great hall.
Everyone was silent. Reverend Daoxuan lowered his brows and eyes, looking at the black fire poker he was turning over in his hands.
“Junior Brother Tian,” Reverend Daoxuan broke the silence and said, “what do you think?”
Tian Buyi was silent for a moment, then said, “When Zhang Xiaofan first came up the mountain, he did not have this item. Most likely, during these years, through some chance encounter, he happened to obtain such a treasure somewhere.”
Daoist Cangsong said coldly from the side, “This rod can contend with Tianya and is already of the class of divine weapons. Yet looking through all the world, I have never heard of such a treasure.”
Tian Buyi’s face darkened, and he said coldly, “The vast lands of Shenzhou are immeasurably broad. Who knows how many rare and extraordinary treasures have yet to appear in the world? You and I, at best, are no more than frogs at the bottom of a well.”
A flash of anger crossed Daoist Cangsong’s face. Before he could flare up, Master Shuiyue of Xiaozhu Peak said icily, “We are naturally frogs at the bottom of a well, but when this black rod is used, demonic aura billows from it. It is clearly an evil object. I wonder why Senior Brother Tian cannot see it?”
Tian Buyi snorted and said, “If it emits some black qi, it is demonic aura? If it has a few red threads, it is an evil object? If that is so, when I return and paint my face black, will all of you also treat me as an evildoer of the Demonic Sect and cut me down?”
Reverend Daoxuan frowned and said, “Junior Brother Tian, don’t speak like that. Why would you, for no reason, call yourself an evildoer of the Demonic Sect?”
Tian Buyi gave a cold snort, turned his head aside, and said no more.
Reverend Daoxuan sighed and placed the fire poker in his hand on the tea table beside him. “I asked all of you here today to discuss this matter. First, during this Seven Peaks Martial Tournament, Dazhu Peak disciple Zhang Xiaofan suddenly had this strange magic treasure in his possession. Its origins are unknown, yet its power is immense. Second, when we originally discussed sending the top four disciples to Kongsang Mountain’s Ten Thousand Bats Ancient Cave to investigate, no one had any objections to the other three. Only this Zhang Xiaofan…”
The more Tian Buyi listened, the angrier he became. Originally, he too had been somewhat puzzled by Zhang Xiaofan’s sudden rapid advancement in cultivation, and he also had suspicions about this fire poker. But here in Yuqing Hall, others said nothing and instead nitpicked endlessly at his own disciple. How could he not be angry? At once, his face darkened. He shot to his feet and said loudly, “Sect Leader Senior Brother, what exactly do you intend?”
Reverend Daoxuan had not expected Tian Buyi to react so strongly and was startled. Everyone turned to look. Zeng Shuchang, chief seat of Fenghui Peak, who sat beside Tian Buyi and had always been on fairly good terms with him, tugged at Tian Buyi’s sleeve and said, “Buyi, Sect Leader Senior Brother hasn’t said anything much. Sit down first.”
Reverend Daoxuan’s face darkened slightly. “Junior Brother Tian, this matter is indeed somewhat strange. As the head of the sect, I will naturally handle it impartially. You may rest assured.”
The anger remained on Tian Buyi’s face, but seeing Reverend Daoxuan’s expression and hearing Zeng Shuchang beside him offer a few words of persuasion, he finally sat down.
Reverend Daoxuan said slowly, “Everyone, you all examined this rod just now. Outwardly, it is ordinary and without aura, but within, there is a faint baleful energy. Most importantly, with our cultivation, none of us can control this item. Instead, that young disciple, at most only at the fourth level of the Yuqing Realm, can command it. What is the reason for this?”
Everyone, including Tian Buyi, fell silent. They were all first-rate cultivation experts; how could they not understand this reasoning? It was only that no one was willing to say it aloud.
In the end, Reverend Daoxuan said, “In my view, this black rod is most likely a thing of ‘blood refinement.’”
Although they had already been mentally prepared, the faces of the chief seats present still changed slightly. A so-called thing of blood refinement meant using a person’s own blood essence and merging it into the forging of a treasure. This kind of wondrous art was not only bizarre and dangerous in method, but also demanded an exceedingly strict material for the magic treasure, one in ten thousand, and the refining process was perilous to the extreme. One careless mistake and the refiner would suffer backlash from the magic treasure’s fierce, baleful, bloodthirsty qi, dying in unspeakable agony. Of course, if it succeeded, the magic treasure would inevitably possess peerless power. Moreover, it had another advantage: the treasure and its master would be linked by blood and qi. Unless one shared the refiner’s bloodline, no one else could use it. Yet because blood was used as the medium, such treasures often carried a fierce baleful aura.
Legend said that this method of blood refinement had been passed down from ancient demon gods and, since antiquity, had been inherited from generation to generation among evildoers of the Demonic Sect. Yet no famous blood-refined magic treasure had ever been heard of, most likely because this method was far too dangerous, so even those of the Demonic Sect did not dare attempt it lightly.
And yet now, such a magic treasure had appeared on the body of a young disciple of Qingyun Sect.
Reverend Daoxuan looked toward Tian Buyi. Tian Buyi’s face was livid. He slowly stood and said, “Senior Brother, perhaps what you say is reasonable, but I still must say this: Zhang Xiaofan is only sixteen. How could he understand the art of blood refinement? Moreover, since he came up the mountain, he has never descended in five years. When he arrived, he had nothing on him. Where could he have found magic treasure materials so difficult to obtain in all the world?”
Daoist Cangsong suddenly said coldly, “Perhaps he is someone from the Demonic Sect who was planted in my Qingyun Sect with painstaking calculation. That would not be strange either!”
Tian Buyi was furious. “If he truly had such scheming, why would he use this item in the Seven Peaks Martial Tournament before the eyes of nearly a thousand people? Furthermore, if he really is a spy of the Demonic Sect, hehe, Senior Brother Cangsong, that Lin Jingyu under your own sect may not be clean either!”
Daoist Cangsong seemed to have been struck in a sore spot. He rose in anger and said, “What did you say? How can Jingyu be mentioned in the same breath as that foolish disciple of yours?”
Tian Buyi’s face grew even darker. He snorted, glanced sideways at him, and said, “Yes, that disciple of mine is foolish. But I heard he still entered the top four. I wonder what ranking that prodigy under Senior Brother Cangsong, the one called Lin Jingyu, achieved this time?”
Cangsong said angrily, “He had poor luck and encountered his senior brother Qi Hao. If not for that, how could he have failed to enter the top four!” At this point, he sneered and said, “In any case, he didn’t have someone else’s good luck, advancing all the way by relying on others forfeiting and drawing byes, and still daring to boast shamelessly!”
Tian Buyi said loudly, “Was his match with Lu Xueqi also luck?”
Daoist Cangsong immediately replied, “Exactly because it was not luck, he lost, and lost so miserably that he nearly lost his life as well!”
Tian Buyi grew even angrier. His tongue had never been especially nimble, and he could not outargue Cangsong, but the rage in his heart only grew greater. His face flushed crimson as he said angrily, “What do you want, then? Do you also wish to see whether my reputation is undeserved?”
Daoist Cangsong showed not the slightest intention of yielding. He immediately stood and said proudly, “Then I shall experience Senior Brother Tian’s Red Flame Immortal Sword!”
Tian Buyi said nothing more. He stepped forward, his right hand already forming the sword incantation. In the great hall, the air suddenly seemed to freeze.
“Presumptuous!” With a loud bang, Reverend Daoxuan struck the tea table beside him with his palm. His face full of anger, he stood up. “Do the two of you take me, the sect leader, for dead?”
Daoxuan had ascended to the sect leader’s seat nearly three hundred years ago, and his virtue and prestige were lofty. Though he was usually amiable, once he became angry, Tian Buyi and Daoist Cangsong were both greatly startled, their hearts shaken. They immediately stepped back and said in low voices, “Yes. Sect Leader Senior Brother, please calm your anger.”
Reverend Daoxuan looked at these chief seats. Only after a long while did the anger on his face slowly recede. He pondered for a moment and said, “Junior Brother Tian.”
Tian Buyi stepped forward. “Sect Leader Senior Brother.”
Reverend Daoxuan looked at him and said, “No matter what, the origins of this black rod are strange. If it truly is an object of the Demonic Sect, then whatever connection Zhang Xiaofan has with the Demonic Sect, we cannot tolerate him. Do you understand?”
Tian Buyi lowered his head slightly and remained silent for a long time before saying, “Yes.”
Reverend Daoxuan continued, “Junior Brother Tian, I know you feel ill at ease, but this matter is of great importance. We cannot act without caution. For today, return first. When Zhang Xiaofan’s condition improves somewhat, question him carefully, then bring him here. We will discuss it further then. How is that?”
Tian Buyi’s face alternated between white and red. Suddenly, he stamped his foot heavily and nodded. Without saying a word, he turned and walked out.
Outside the hall, there was a whistling sound; most likely he had left by controlling his sword.
In the great hall, Zeng Shuchang said to Reverend Daoxuan, “Sect Leader Senior Brother, Senior Brother Tian Buyi’s Dazhu Peak line rarely produces a talent, yet such a matter has occurred. Naturally, he is not feeling very happy. Please do not take it to heart.”
Reverend Daoxuan sighed and shook his head. “Naturally, I will not mind. I know Junior Brother Tian’s character, and he can be trusted.”
At this point, he seemed to remember something and turned to Master Shuiyue of Xiaozhu Peak. “Junior Sister Shuiyue, these past few days, that female disciple under you, Lu Xueqi…”
Shuiyue said indifferently, “Many thanks for Senior Brother’s concern. Xueqi’s body has more or less recovered. If not for that strange person and strange treasure under Senior Brother Tian Buyi, which consumed more than half of Xueqi’s vital energy in that match, she would not have lost to anyone!”
Cangsong’s expression changed, but Reverend Daoxuan had already waved his hand first and said, “Aiya, the matter has already passed. Do not argue over it anymore.”
Cangsong and Shuiyue glared at each other, then turned their heads away. Reverend Daoxuan saw it all and sighed inwardly. His gaze involuntarily moved to the tea table beside him, where that black and ugly fire poker lay quietly upon it.