Chapter 35

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Chapter 35: First Clash

“Clang—”

The sword light shone brightly, and the sword energy soared. Ming He heard the ringing of the sword and lunged forward, while around her, the branches momentarily ceased their swaying, then fell to the ground like leaves caught in the wind; the momentum of heaven and earth seemed to tremble.

Ming He focused solely on the sword, the whip, and her enemy in front of her. In the blur, it seemed as if some understanding flashed by, only to slip away before she could grasp it.

She did not dwell on her disappointment. Accepting Sun Yue’s whip strike was a step toward her future; nothing mattered more than this moment with this sword—it was her weapon to attack and save herself.

“Sword cultivator.” Sun Yue murmured, finally awed by her stunning sword attack, putting aside all his previous disdain for Ming He.

Even if he did not practice Swordsmanship, he could see the brilliance of this sword. When the sword came forth, the world moved with it; she had already approached the threshold of understanding.

A genius, a true genius, surpassed only by other geniuses.

An inherited disciple of Liu Yun Sect, was she?

He secretly confirmed his suspicion about Ming He’s identity, realizing that she had the qualifications to appear in this cave without wearing the inner sect disciple robes, pointing to her status as an inherited disciple.

An inherited disciple had a master and a backing, unlike him; even as the top figure of the loose cultivators alliance in the Spirit Guiding realm, he struggled with other cultivators for a single pill, a weapon, or a scroll of secret techniques, bloodied and beaten.

Sun Yue thought this, his teeth clenched in jealousy and unwillingness, wanting to kill her under the whip. Yet the bright sword light revealed his sinister appearance; before the three-foot azure blade and the resonating sword sound, he had no choice but to retreat.

Du Lei, a fellow sword cultivator, watched closely from the side, eagerly searching for a weak spot. He couldn’t withstand Ming He’s sword.

Damn it!

Sun Yue cursed under his breath, hearing footsteps approaching from afar amid the rising dust. The Liu Yun Sect disciples were coming.

Reluctantly, he shot a deep glance at Ming He, memorizing the appearance of this inherited disciple who had thwarted his plans for the Dragon Saliva Fruit. With lightning speed, he withdrew the whip from the battle circle, channeling his inner spiritual energy to its peak. In an instant, while Ming He and Du Lei were still concentrating on how to respond to his attacks, he turned and ran, disappearing into the forest with a few leaps.

“Thank you this time, Su, the inherited disciple.” Du Lei brushed off the dust on his clothes and smiled gratefully at Ming He.

If it hadn’t been for Ming He’s sword at the critical moment, he would have been slain by Sun Yue’s force; if she hadn’t persisted in fighting together, he could not have protected the Dragon Saliva Fruit he had obtained and wouldn’t be standing calmly here now.

Du Lei sighed, reflecting on her previous sword strike. She was only at Spirit Guiding Sixth Level, yet her strength was remarkable. She truly was a genius.

Previously, his willingness to follow her lead had been out of respect for the Sect Master, but now he genuinely recognized her talents.

As an inherited disciple, she genuinely had extraordinary qualities. He believed that one day, Ming He would defeat Sun Yue with just a single sword strike without needing his assistance, and he felt that day would not be too far off.

“It’s nothing,” Ming He casually nodded, unconcerned. “As long as Brother Du is fine.”

As fellow disciples of Liu Yun Sect, she could not simply watch him die, and even before she attacked, she calculated that with her and Du Lei joining forces, Sun Yue couldn’t kill them both quickly.

She had even accounted for the noise of battle and the time it would take for other Liu Yun Sect disciples to arrive; she just hadn’t anticipated that Sun Yue would be much stronger than she had imagined.

Ming He narrowed her peach blossom eyes, her expression slightly heavy. Having been in this world for nearly a year, she felt she had unknowingly learned to gamble. As long as she had chips, it seemed she could bet on anything, including her life.

Thinking this, she suddenly smiled—her luck had been quite good; she had managed to keep winning.

“Su, the inherited disciple.” Du Lei stood by, observing her change in demeanor. The girl in blue was clearly smiling, her pretty face illuminated by the light in her peach blossom eyes. Yet he sensed that a layer of sadness shrouded her, making her look… heart-wrenching.

Instinctively, he interrupted her thoughts and, with a hint of sincerity, took out a green fruit the size of a child’s fist from his storage ring, handing it to her. “This is for you.”

His words were warm and filled with gratitude, and there was no hesitation as he extended his right hand.

“This is… the Dragon Saliva Fruit!” Ming He paused, gazing at the fruit swirling with spiritual energy in his palm, her tone filled with surprise.

She had heard Sun Yue mention wanting the Dragon Saliva Fruit, and Du Lei was unwilling to give it up, drawing his sword, which had led to everything that followed.

But the thing he would rather die than give up was now in her hands? After her initial surprise, Ming He felt not happiness but suspicion and contemplation.

She wondered, what was Du Lei plotting?

Why would he give her the spirit fruit he would rather sacrifice his life for? What was his purpose?

“Su, the inherited disciple, actually I got two in the Dragon Xuan Cave,” Du Lei said, meeting her intense gaze, feeling a bit embarrassed as he scratched the back of his head to explain.

After they parted ways to seek their fortunes, he stumbled upon the Dragon Xuan Cave, a rare treasure trove within the ancient cave dwelling, said to have been used by the cave’s master to cultivate spirit plants.

As soon as he entered, he encountered the once-in-five-hundred-years Dragon Saliva Tree bearing fruit. In the ensuing chaos, he decisively seized one and placed it in his storage ring. Noticing no one was watching, he boldly took another and ran.

As a result, he caught the attention of Sun Yue.

Ming He replied, “…Oh.”

So, the fruit was more important than life; it seemed everyone was a gambler.

With this thought, her previous gloom vanished, and she looked down at the Dragon Saliva Fruit Du Lei handed her.

Ming He curiously examined the fruit, recalling the many accounts she had seen in the Liu Yun Sect’s scripture repository. She understood the origins of the Dragon Saliva Tree.

No records could be found on how the Dragon Saliva Tree originally came to be. According to the jade slips in the repository, the tree’s growth conditions were extremely harsh, requiring materials including but not limited to ten-thousand-year-old black soil, true dragon saliva, and rare earth core milk for irrigation.

As an ancient spiritual tree, the Dragon Saliva Tree needed to be nourished by spiritual energy for a whole thousand years before it began to bear fruit, producing a fruit once every five hundred years. Du Lei had indeed caught it at a good time.

The Dragon Saliva Fruit.

Ming He glanced at the fruit in her palm, which was about the size of a child’s fist. According to records, it was rather ordinary among the fruits of the Dragon Saliva Tree, but to her at this moment, it was akin to heavenly materials and earthly treasures.

With this Dragon Saliva Fruit, her cultivation could at least break through two more realms. Du Lei could refine it to push into the Xuan Wei realm, and Sun Yue could stabilize himself in the Xuan Wei realm, so it was no wonder he was so bold and confident and unwilling to part with it.

Heavenly materials and earthly treasures, breakthroughs in cultivation—who wouldn’t want that? In the end, it was given to her.

“Su, the inherited disciple, the cave will close in half a month. I plan to find a place to refine the Dragon Saliva Fruit. Do you have any plans? Would it be better to join other disciples for support?” Du Lei asked, looking at the Liu Yun Sect disciples approaching in small groups from afar.

The ancient cave dwelling held many opportunities, with spiritual energy denser than outside. He wanted to use this chance to refine the Dragon Saliva Fruit and break through to Spirit Guiding stage nine levels so he could push into the Xuan Wei realm after exiting.

“I…” Ming He began to answer, locking eyes with his gentle gaze when suddenly, she felt a shiver run down her spine—someone was watching her!

This realization startled Ming He. She declined Du Lei’s proposal, saying, “Brother Du, I have other things to do. I haven’t had the chance to thoroughly explore this cave; I want to venture out a bit more.”

“Alright,” Du Lei agreed, gazing at Ming He with increased admiration. As expected of an inherited disciple, her courage and dedication to her cultivation were remarkable.

After bidding farewell to Du Lei, Ming He casually glanced back over her shoulder, her eyes deepening as she chose a path, heading toward the dense forest beyond the black stone cliffs.

She exited the area surrounded by the wutong trees where she had fought with Sun Yue, crossed a small peak, and lightly tapped her toes on the water’s surface to pass over a river. The birds’ calls grew quieter; she seemed to intentionally select routes filled with obscure obstacles.

Of course, any spirit herbs or fruits worth her attention along the way were thoroughly collected by her, true to her nature of being exceedingly stingy.

After walking for about half an hour, Ming He spotted a stone forest, with tall and thick stones standing unevenly, arranged in a way that resembled a stone formation. An ancient, profound aura emanated from it, both dangerous and mysterious.

The stone forest stretched endlessly; no one knew what lay within or where it led. Ming He stared silently at the winding entrance and then smirked, lightly tapping her toes.

Activating the Phantom Steps, her figure in blue flared and effortlessly slipped into the stone forest, quickly disappearing from sight.

Not long after she entered, a girl in black clothes, carrying a sword, approached the stone forest at a leisurely pace. When her black eyes fell upon the forest, she paused for a moment, channeling her inner spiritual energy to sense the aura of the world, and then swiftly entered the stone forest.

“Hmm?” The girl in black exclaimed in surprise again. Where had the aura gone?

She had not anticipated this and sensed again; the sounds of wind, water, and rustling leaves filled the air, but there were no sounds of footsteps or fluctuations in spiritual energy.

Interesting.

A flicker of interest passed through her eyes, the first time she had felt anything other than curiosity for formations within this ancestral cave dwelling—the ninth prefecture of the Eastern Region, Luoyin City.

She murmured softly, exuding a confidence of inevitable success as she released her spiritual sense, sweeping it inch by inch from the entrance of the stone forest. Her smile froze the next moment.

Her spiritual sense revealed the stone forest to be empty, clearly showing that she was alone. Yet, she had just seen the girl in blue slip swiftly into the stone forest.

How could that be?

The person had vanished right before her eyes.

She withdrew her spiritual sense and accepted this fact; a practitioner capable of concealing their aura and evading detection was something she had only encountered in the Pursuit of Life Tower.

But the people in the Pursuit of Life Tower all possessed at least Wind Master cultivation; those below that level were not permitted to walk the world.

The girl in blue couldn’t possibly be from the Pursuit of Life Tower.

Breath Control Technique, sword intent of heaven and earth—was the Eastern Region on the rise?

As this thought crossed her mind, she turned to exit the stone forest. Relying solely on physical strength seemed foolish; even with the Breath Control Technique, she had her own methods.

After all, she was still a formation master.

“Whoosh—”

The sound of a sword being drawn from its sheath broke the air in an instant, and the girl in black felt a wild warning in her senses—danger approached from behind.

Without a moment’s hesitation or showing any signs of nervousness, she instinctively sidestepped just as she unsheathed her sword, its tip gleaming as it met the incoming sword.

Ming He looked at the seemingly unremarkable sword that nevertheless could not hide its sharpness, her expression shifting slightly. This sword, though simple, contained a realm of sword intent far beyond her own.

To strike with such primal instinct was not something she could match.

This realization weighed heavily on her heart. The girl in black, a young woman with a sword—did she have some impressive background like Ji Wu Xu and Qin Chu Yi?

As she pondered these thoughts, she withdrew her sword and stepped back, using a protruding black stone to conceal her figure. With a few light steps, she once again vanished from sight.

The girl in black, witnessing her draw the sword and retreat in an instant after realizing she was no match, felt a lump rise in her throat. Her usually calm attitude nearly faltered. After wandering the world for so many years, she had truly never encountered such a person.

Where was the dignity and grace of a sword cultivator? Where was the persistence to seek the direct approach rather than the indirect? Where was the bold and confident resolve to venture into danger knowing the risks?

“Hmph!” She scoffed, sheathing her sword and stepping out of the stone forest. Taking a few array flags from her storage ring, she glanced at her surroundings to begin setting up her formation.

Under the array flags, she would make her vulnerable!

As the thought of being toyed with crossed her mind, her spirit surged. For the first time, she desired to match forces with this girl.

Breath Control Technique and evasion—what of it? Merely external forms.

With the flags in hand, she gleefully calculated the distance between the flags and the distribution of spiritual energy. The next moment, she saw a beam of light rise from the west.

The spiritual energy of the entire cave dwelling was drawn there, the winds and clouds rising, the sun and moon shining together, the roars of beasts echoing through the air, and practitioners engaging in endless battles—was it… a spiritual artifact revealing itself?

She paused for a moment, contemplating her purpose for coming here, a hint of battle intention in her gaze as she looked toward the hidden presence deep within the stone forest. Then she waved her hand to gather her array flags and rushed toward the gathering storm of energy.

Inside the stone forest, Ming He watched the swirling winds and clouds from the west with an unreadable expression, knowing without thinking that it was connected to the Star Lock mentioned by Qin Chu Yi.

Star Lock.

She silently whispered the name, her inner spiritual energy circulating as she executed the Breath Control Technique to the utmost. Touching the jade pendant made of Spirit Gathering Stone at her heart, she flickered her form, exiting the stone forest quietly to follow behind the girl in black, just as she had tracked her moments ago.

Outside the cave, in the Meditation Pavilion,

Qin Chu Yi sat observing the beam of light rising into the sky, the commotion so great that even the cave’s Restrictions couldn’t suppress it. Other sects must have guessed that a spiritual object was emerging.

Once the cave closed, another confrontation awaited.

“Young Master, that is…” Duan Wu stood excitedly behind her.

Qin Chu Yi paid him no mind, her white sleeves hanging as her fingers gripped tightly, reflecting her current emotions.

Ming He.

She repeated the name in her mind, pinning all her hopes on it.

In the next breath, she thought, even if it wasn’t Ming He who obtained it, as long as it emerged from the cave, she would still have a chance to seize it.

With this thought, the coldness around her intensified, but her heart felt a slight relaxation.