Chapter 75
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Chapter 75: Title
Sandstorm grit stung Suiyin’s eyes as she crashed into arms smelling of medicinal herbs. A woman’s voice hissed in her ear:
“Why disobey me!?”
Suiyin leaned into the embrace, carefully shifting her injured arm to avoid staining pristine white robes. “I couldn’t stand by while you were in danger.”
Xia Shi’s jaw tightened. She flew them past the Chaos beasts, shoving a blood-congealing pill between Suiyin’s lips.
Her thumb roughly smeared blood from the girl’s lower lip. “I had everything under control.”
“But I didn’t know that.” Suiyin stared up stubbornly. “I saw you struggling. I had to act.”
“Think I’m getting in your way?”
The Heartless Sword wobbled mid-air. Xia Shi’s arms instinctively tightened around Suiyin.
“No.”
A small smile curved Suiyin’s lips.
Xia Shi sighed but held her tongue.
Their figures streaked across the sky toward Lu Ciyou’s position.
Yan Li had already woken up, her right eye glowing unnatural sapphire. Thick demonic energy rolled off her—the core’s power was being absorbed.
“Stay close!”
She hurriedly left those words behind and lured the two Chaos beasts elsewhere.
Xia Shi tilted her head toward the person behind her. "Take over flying the swords."
Her hands settled on the other’s waist, and with a small shift of strength, they swapped positions.
Suiyin maneuvered the Heartless Sword with practiced ease, though the Wugui sword at her hip quivered faintly like a sulking child.
Xia Shi summoned the Taiji Golden Seal, channeling spiritual power through it as her eyelids drifted shut.
If both artifacts originated from the Immortal Capital, some connection must exist between them.
Her spiritual sense flooded the forbidden area. The two Chaos beasts matched the Desert’s hue perfectly, camouflaged within the withered landscape.
These weren’t ancient Chaos beasts – merely guardian creatures conjured by hidden barriers beneath the wasteland.
Among the five elements, fire conquers metal. And what was sand, if not fragments of stone?
"Lu Ciyou!" Xia Shi’s voice carried on a ripple of spiritual power.
"What?" The young lady’s retort crackled with defiance.
"They’re made from yellow sand. Fire works against them!"
"Who’s scared of these dirt clods? Watch your tongue!"
Lu Ciyou’s Soaring Dragon Spear flared as she charged the beasts, phantom dragon roars echoing her assault.
Yan Li kept pace with Wen Zhishu close behind.
"Does it hurt?" Wen Zhishu’s question brushed against Yan Li’s strangely glowing eye.
Power thrummed beneath Yan Li’s skin. The absorbed core had taken root in her Dantian, its energy pushing her toward the realm’s barrier between life and death.
"Never better."
Her lips curved as she watched the spear-wielding figure ahead. Soon she’d fight at that side again.
Wen Zhishu’s gaze dropped, unreadable emotions swirling beneath her lashes.
Since when could cultivators reshape foreign cores into Golden Cores?
Lu Ciyou’s battle cry split the air. Her spear blazed, birthing a firestorm that twisted into draconic shape.
The pursuing beasts wheeled away from the flaming serpent, torn between hunger and self-preservation. They circled beyond the firelight, waiting.
The group clustered within their ring of flames.
Perched on Xia Shi’s shoulder, the little Zhuque cocked its head at the roaring fire dragon.
"Bai Bai Mama, you like them big?"
Distracted by her search for hidden entrances, Xia Shi only hummed in reply.
The bird blinked thoughtfully.
Suiyin nudged Lu Ciyou with an elbow. "Not bad."
The young lady lifted her chin. "Obviously. I’m the young master of Liujin Pavilion."
"Clearly. No one else could make showing off look so effortless."
"Coming from the sword immortal’s disciple? That’s praise indeed."
The two exchanged smiles, happily complimenting each other.
“Found it.”
Xia Shi murmured, twisting a strand of golden light between her fingers. She flicked it forward, watching the glow snake ahead before vanishing into the Void.
The two Chaos beasts completely blocked that Void space.
The creatures reacted instantly when Xia Shi looked their way, unleashing crushing waves of oppressive energy.
Lu Ciyou—who had just been bantering and exchanging praises with Suiyin—felt sudden tightness in her chest. Blood trickled from her lips.
She wiped it away angrily. The dragon coiling around their group roared fiercely, answering the challenge as its master glared.
The beasts spread six massive wings, sealing the space behind them completely.
Xia Shi clenched her jaw against the discomfort, face pale.
Though not true Chaos beasts, their oppressive aura matched late-stage transformation stage experts.
Among their group, the strongest only reached Nascent Soul realm. Confronting these monsters would be like throwing eggs at stones.
Xia Shi’s expression darkened.
These youths faced certain death.
Four Hundred Years Ago, people had died because of her. Now history repeated with these youngsters in peril.
The ornate hilt of Heartless Sword bit into her palm. She traced its cold patterns through sheer willpower.
What could she do?
Sweat dripped down her temples. Her ice-aligned spiritual root normally made her skin cool, sword energy frost-tinged—yet now anxiety warmed her clammy hands.
Facing both beasts alone might work… but how to protect the others?
No gambles. No risks.
Not another tragedy like Four Hundred Years Ago…
Her breathing hitched as panic swirled.
Suiyin had been monitoring her friend. Xia Shi’s spiritual power leaked away while her State of Mind crumbled.
Poison flare-up?
“Xia Shi?”
The woman turned sluggishly, glassy eyes taking moments to focus. “Hmm?”
Suiyin gripped her trembling hand, feeling knuckles locked like frozen joints.
“What troubles you?”
What thoughts could shake you so deeply?
Xia Shi avoided those worried eyes, staring at the beasts instead. When Suiyin expected more silence, the woman spoke:
“I might fail to protect everyone.”
The words came out thin and brittle.
“Who needs your protection!” Lu Ciyou’s voice cut in from behind, brimming with defiance. “Don’t assume you’re the only genius here with the Heavenly Spirit Body. This isn’t the time for solo heroics.”
Yan Li stood beside her, eyes mutated to heterochromatic hues yet retaining the righteous spark of youth in her gaze.
She stared at Xia Shi, silently declaring: We’ll protect you instead.
Xia Shi’s lips curved faintly. “Not afraid to die?”
The young lady snorted, chin lifted. Yan Li shook her head in unison, their resolve clear.
“Follow your path,” Suiyin clasped Xia Shi’s hand as spiritual energy flowed between them. “Remember – you’re Xia Wuwei, Nine Realms’ greatest sword cultivator.”
Remember.
You’re Xia Wuwei.
Greatest sword cultivator.
The words brushed tenderly against Xia Shi’s heart. Through Suiyin’s bright eyes, she glimpsed the moonlit swordsman practicing at Star Viewing Platform – white robes and pale blade, that familiar silhouette from Wentiang Peak’s snowy summit.
Though praised as peerless in swordsmanship, the Xia Wuwei who’d once vowed to challenge heaven with one sword still drilled moves relentlessly. Days spent repeating swings, mastering single techniques till dark – tedious yet necessary.
Through endless blizzards, one voice had persisted: “Xia Wuwei’s the greatest sword cultivator.” Young Xia would preen at these words, swirling snow around her frost-draped figure with extra flourishes.
Now the same phrase brought only bitterness. Meeting Suiyin’s earnest gaze, Xia Shi whispered hoarsely: “…You remember?”
Confusion flickered in Suiyin’s eyes. “What?”
Xia Shi looked away, relief and regret warring. “Nothing.”
Suiyin’s transferred spiritual energy pulsed through her.
The Chaos beasts spread twelve wings wide, crushing pressure flooding the air. Blood tinged Xia Shi’s breath as she lunged forward, Lu Ciyou’s fire dragon roaring behind.
Suiyin and Yan Li flanked the beasts, Wugui and Broken Stream singing in unison. Their coordinated assault targeted winged weaknesses, sword energy slashing through the Void.
Only Suiyin moved freely under the crushing aura, her strikes drawing the beasts’ fury.
From her distant post guarding Wen Zhishu, Lu Ciyou fretted.
“Aid them,” Wen Zhishu urged, patting her sleeve where Ye Xiao’s sword energy glowed. “Sect Leader’s protection remains, and…” She pointed skyward at Xia Shi’s shimmering Taiji Golden Seal.
She thought for a moment before saying, "Be careful."
Wen Zhishu nodded.
Lu Ciyou gripped her silver gun and turned into a streak of light as she charged forward. With her arrival and the flaming dragon, the Chaos beasts’ movements became awkward and constrained.
Xia Shi saw her approach and glanced at the distant figures but stayed silent.
If they could keep these two creatures occupied, Wen Zhishu would remain safe.
Perhaps enraged by the ever-present dragon, the fierce beasts suddenly intensified their oppressive aura. Xia Shi, Lu Ciyou, and Yan Li all coughed up blood simultaneously.
The scent of blood spread through the air, making the beasts agitated.
Suiyin flew over on her sword and shoved an elixir into Xia Shi’s mouth. Though unsure of its exact purpose, she knew it was beneficial—Sister Hongling had given it to her days ago.
"Better?"
The elixir dissolved instantly, clearing Xia Shi’s mind and easing the pressure-induced stiffness in her spiritual power.
This was no ordinary pill.
Before Suiyin could ask questions, Xia Shi shoved her away. A boulder crashed where they’d stood moments earlier.
These beasts could truly shape sand into stone.
Dodging another falling rock, Xia Shi glanced back. Only one of the twelve wings had been destroyed.
All their efforts had barely damaged a single wing.
At this rate, they’d never survive long enough to break all twelve.
Nearby, Lu Ciyou and Yan Li leaned against each other, their medicine bottle empty.
Xia Shi pressed her lips together, resolve hardening in her eyes.
It was time to attempt that forbidden method.
Whether she lived or died afterward mattered little.
These women shouldn’t perish here—they were the Nine Realms’ hope, not sacrifices for her sake.
The blood-red formation materialized, staining heaven and earth crimson.
At its heart stood Xia Shi, her red dress fluttering as wind tore through her once-tidy hair.
Ignoring the raining debris, Suiyin darted toward the formation like a ghost, screaming "NO!"
Though unaware of Xia Shi’s plan, her pounding heart screamed warnings.
A plummeting stone smashed Suiyin’s right arm. The Wugui sword clattered away unnoticed as she lunged forward, desperate to intercept.
Too late.
The formation glowed complete. Blood streamed from Xia Shi’s eyes and mouth, dyeing her white clothes scarlet.
Tears blurred Suiyin’s vision as the blood-soaked figure reached toward her.
The blood-stained hand rose and slowly fell.
A smile of unprecedented ease surfaced in Xia Shi’s gaze before she walked past Suiyin.
Suiyin’s limp right hand barely grasped the damp edge of Xia Shi’s sleeve.
The fabric slid through her fingers—she couldn’t keep hold.
Piercing sword energy radiated behind them, cloaking the desert in White Frost within moments.
This was a sword immortal’s power.
Xia Wuwei had never been the Half-step Sword Immortal people claimed. She was the genuine sword immortal.
Suiyin turned slowly as restraining forces around her dissolved.
The twelve wings lay shattered. No trace of Chaos beasts remained.
A solitary figure knelt with sword in hand, frost binding her hair—from afar, she seemed crowned with white.
