I Have a Sword to Ask the Heavens

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Chapter 74: Title

Within moments, the desert creatures reduced all Canghai disciples to blood mist. Jiang Feng barely survived by yanking Young Master Yu as a human shield.

Sweat poured down the leader’s face as he met Young Master Yu’s murderous glare.

"Pathetic," the man sneered.

Jiang Feng kept his head down, trailing behind like a scared puppy. Survival trumped dignity now.

Xia Shi’s barrier protected only her group of five. Frustrated by the inaccessible prey, twin monstrous shapes burst from the sand – massive enough to blot out the sun, four glowing eyes fixed on the ant-like cultivators below.

"Two of them?!" Suiyin gripped her weapon tighter, staring at the nightmare creatures.

This creature had fur like a dog, four wings on its back, and six legs, with no face. Its strength was terrifying; even within the Taiji Golden Seal’s barrier, the pressure from these two fierce beasts made it hard to breathe.

Among them, Wen Zhishu looked the worst. Blood seeped from her lips, which she wiped away with her hand.

Leaning against the Book of All Knowledge, she told the others, "This is the ancient fierce beast, Chaos."

"Chaos? Wasn’t that thing wiped out a thousand years ago?" Lu Ciyou exclaimed, gripping her spear while clutching A Li.

"Never thought Canghai hid this so well," she snorted, glancing at Jiang Feng who’d panicked completely.

Clearly, this new Leader hadn’t known such beasts lurked in his own forbidden area.

The two Chaos beasts glared at each other – their hostility aimed not just at the cultivators, but at each other too.

"Elder Wuwei! Do something! Kill them now!"

Jiang Feng’s shout made everyone grimace.

Kill them? These were ancient beasts even immortals struggled against.

His yell startled the motionless Chaos. Instantly, the endless Desert erupted, sand whirling violently. Without the golden seal’s barrier, they couldn’t have seen their own hands.

Xia Shi now lost track of Jiang Feng and Young Master Yu.

Wind-driven sand battered the barrier relentlessly. This couldn’t last.

"Does Chaos have a weakness?"

She turned to Wen Zhishu. Against such beasts, only cunning could save them.

Though frightened, Wen Zhishu steadied herself at Xia Shi’s words, channeling her faint spiritual power into the Book of All Knowledge.

She kept muttering, "Weakness… weakness…"

*Crack*

A sharp sound made them look up. The stable barrier now had hairline fractures spreading rapidly.

Wen Zhishu panicked further. Her shaky breath made the book’s glowing words flicker uncontrollably.

"Steady." Xia Shi grasped her wrist firmly.

Her calm tone drew Suiyin’s sideways glance.

"Mm." Wen Zhishu smiled weakly at her.

Suiyin’s eyes lingered on their connected hands before looking away.

She pressed down the odd twinge in her chest.

"Its weakness is–"

The barrier shattered. Chaos stomped through the golden seal. Xia Shi felt her waist seized before being swallowed by yellow sand.

Suiyin had clearly grabbed her.

The arm around her waist tightened desperately against the storm.

Xia Shi patted Suiyin’s tense hand, sending a spiritual voice transmission: "Loosen up. You’re crushing me."

Suiyin: "……"

As the grip on her hand loosened, Xia Shi let out a relieved breath.

She cautiously extended her spiritual sense to locate Yan Li and the others, but found nothing. The emptiness around them suggested only she and Suiyin remained.

Even the two Chaos beasts had disappeared.

Something felt terribly wrong.

When the arm around her waist slackened, Xia Shi lowered her gaze slightly. She recaptured the wandering hand, interlacing their fingers firmly.

Blinded by spiritual power shielding her eyes from sand, she heard a soft chuckle brush her ear – deliberate and unmistakable.

Suiyin was teasing her again.

Xia Shi retaliated with a warning squeeze to the other’s hand, then yanked her closer until their bodies pressed together, shared breaths warming each other’s necks.

"What now?"

"We find the others."

They moved forward, tracking faint breaths through the scorching air. The relentless sun baked the moistureless atmosphere, turning each inhale into dry heat.

Suiyin’s steps slowed. "This feels like an illusion."

"Mm." Xia Shi’s agreement came instantly.

The collapsing barrier must have dragged them here. Young Master Yu’s handiwork, no doubt. But why bother with illusions when his Chaos beasts could kill them outright? Unless survival was intended – yet this parched replica of reality offered no escape routes.

"Suiyin." The name scraped through Xia Shi’s parched throat, heavy with unspoken weight.

Suiyin answered automatically, "I’m here."

I’m here…

The response echoed through years of fractured memories. She knew their bond ran deeper than recalled – Xia Shi mattered more than forgotten history could explain. Why else would her pulse quicken at mere proximity?

"Would you stay here forever?" Xia Shi finally asked.

Suiyin’s cracked lips parted. "Never."

This wasteland held nothing worth keeping.

The world shattered like glass. Lu Ciyou’s sobs pierced through dissolving illusions.

Suiyin stared as Xia Shi avoided her eyes, Long Sword gleaming in suddenly steady hands. The guilt-tinged revelation hung between them – escape had always been within reach.

“A Li!”

Hearing the desperate cry, both paled and rushed toward the source.

The two Chaos beasts had inexplicably turned on each other. Jiang Feng and Young Master Yu were nowhere in sight. Wen Zhishu lay motionless nearby, her state between life and death. Lu Ciyou knelt on one knee, gripping the Soaring Dragon Spear as she glared at the figure suspended midair.

Yan Li.

Though Yan Li’s Golden Core had been destroyed—leaving her unable to wield spiritual power—she now floated without even a sword beneath her.

“Demonic energy.” Xia Shi narrowed her eyes at the thick miasma clinging to Yan Li.

Suiyin steadied Lu Ciyou. “What happened?”

“A Li absorbed the dragon’s core.” Lu Ciyou swallowed hard. “A shred of the dragon’s consciousness remains. It’s trying to possess her body.”

“Foolhardy!”

Xia Shi’s gaze hardened—whether at Yan Li’s recklessness or the dragon’s greed remained unclear. She soared upward until she faced the half-transformed Yan Li.

Her fingers flickered through sealing gestures before pressing against Yan Li’s forehead. A blade of sword energy slashed toward her in retaliation—the full might of the Shenwu Sword’s power.

Xia Shi twisted aside, but not fast enough. Blood bloomed across her white attire from the gash along her ribs.

“Leave!” Yan Li snarled, eyes blazing.

Xia Shi exhaled sharply. Sword intent coalesced around her fingertips as she commanded, “Eject yourself.”

The dragon’s consciousness clung stubbornly to its host. Yan Li’s arm jerked upward for another strike, but the uncontrolled swing held neither form nor force.

Xia Shi dodged easily. Without hesitation, she drove spiritual power—carrying Four Hundred Years of honed sword intent—into Yan Li’s brow.

Icy energy pierced the residual consciousness. The dragon’s presence shrieked into smoke, attempting to flee. A crimson blur shot from Xia Shi’s sleeve, devouring the vapor before perching on her shoulder. Zhuque’s newly feathered tail brushed her hair as the phoenix chirped contentedly.

Xia Shi descended, thrusting the unconscious Yan Li at Lu Ciyou. “Her consciousness is fractured.”

Lu Ciyou blanched. A damaged mind meant madness—or worse, the loss of all reason.

Her A Li… reduced to a hollow shell.

“And those?” Xia Shi nodded toward the brawling Chaos beasts.

Lu Ciyou adjusted Yan Li’s weight across her back. “Miss Wen said Chaos reflects the hearts of those who enter the forbidden area. Both virtue and wickedness influence them.”

Before Xia Shi could respond, the twin beasts whirled in unison. Four wings thrashed, whipping yellow sand into a blinding storm.

Although they had no faces, Xia Shi felt as if they were staring at her.

She slowly lowered her gaze and saw bloodstains at her waist.

They craved human blood.

The moment this thought struck, Xia Shi darted away.

The two Chaos beasts gave chase, charging straight at her.

Suiyin gasped and bolted after them.

She lashed out with sword energy to distract the beasts, but even full-strength strikes left no marks on their hides.

Desperate, she pressed Wugui sword’s blade against her left arm. The weapon shuddered, resisting her will.

Seeing Xia Shi’s speed falter—nearly getting struck by the beasts’ blows several times—Suiyin stopped hesitating.

She clenched her teeth and slashed—

“Don’t you dare!”