Chapter 77
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Chapter 77: Title
Fragmented memories ignited like wildfire across Xia Shi’s mind, scorching her consciousness until the world swayed.
Cultivators fleeing in thousands. Comrades struck down by thunder tribulation. Pei Jiu’s maniacal laughter ringing above the chaos…
She remembered now.
Though gaps remained, the chain of events became clear. Not entirely her fault, yet rooted in her naive trust – her fatal lack of caution toward Pei Jiu.
Xia Shi kept her eyes shut until the raging fury subsided to embers. When she finally opened them, Suiyin stood vigil beside her. Across the chamber, Lu Ciyou, Yan Li, and Wen Zhishu watched with matching concern.
Collective relief swept through the group as awareness returned to Xia Shi’s gaze.
"Where…?" Her voice scraped raw as she scanned their surroundings.
During her studies at Sword Pavilion, she’d uncovered records of a forbidden formation – one requiring living sacrifice to briefly harness celestial power. This desperate gambit had succeeded beyond expectation. The unleashed energy not only repelled the fierce beasts but shattered her Master’s seal, restoring her stolen memories.
Bitter understanding flooded Xia Shi. How much her Master had sacrificed…
Xia Wuwei must have returned from Qinghu Region to Sanqing Realm already broken, teetering on the edge of demonic cultivation.
"We’re beyond the Void now." Suiyin’s whisper barely stirred the air, her eyes tracing Xia Shi’s downturned face as if memorizing each feature. The ache in her chest tightened.
Beyond the Void…
Xia Shi’s attempt at a smile fractured into nothingness. Grief and relief warred beneath her lashes.
These lives had been spared. That mattered.
But how could she rejoice while ghosts of the past clawed at her throat?
Her attention shifted to the crumbling palace around them. Faded murals clung to the walls, their pigments leached by time. Among the blurred figures, one stood crowned by the coiled shadow of an ancient dragon.
There were rumors that the first Leader of the Canghai Sect once kept a Canglong by her side. After her death, the dragon let out sorrowful cries and retreated into the East Sea, never to reappear.
Though unverified, every Canghai disciple firmly believed the Realm of Canghai remained under the Canglong’s protection.
Could this mural depict the founding sect Leader and her dragon?
Xia Shi rose slowly and approached the mural. Suiyin shadowed her steps, prompting the others to follow.
They stood before the only relatively intact mural, tilting their heads upward. The artwork showed the Canglong bowing its head in reverence, forehead pressed against a blade-wielding figure.
“What’s this supposed to mean?” Lu Ciyou blurted out. “Did they form some pact?”
Ancient records mentioned cultivators making contracts with intelligent beasts, but with the decline of such creatures over centuries, such practices had faded from common knowledge. Few remembered their existence, let alone the rituals involved.
The group turned as one toward Wen Zhishu.
They might not know, but the Book of All Knowledge surely did.
Wen Zhishu nodded and summoned the ancient tome. “Human-beast contracts require a cultivator’s blood essence and the beast’s core,” she explained while flipping pages. “The cultivator must anoint the core with their blood during the pact.”
They studied the mural’s forehead-touching pair again. Silence lingered.
This clearly wasn’t an ordinary contract.
“Found it!” Wen Zhishu’s voice lifted. “When forming this bond, both parties connect consciousnesses through forehead contact, achieving… mutual understanding.” Her words slowed as realization dawned.
“What bond?” Lu Ciyou demanded.
Wen Zhishu’s finger trembled on the final line. She shut her eyes. “Matrimonial vow.”
The group: “……”
The most familiar covenant across the Nine Realms – yet none had recognized it.
After prolonged stillness, Xia Shi finally spoke. “Let’s move.”
No one questioned where. The suggestion simply felt right.
The Palace’s immense scale meant hours passed before they reached another chamber. This room contrasted sharply with the last – where ancient dust had reigned, here everything gleamed like new. Walls of white jade and gold supported draperies embroidered with golden dragons, every thread exuding opulence.
A white jade coffin dominated the central platform. Before it sat a green-robed woman, head bowed, blade planted firmly before her. Her posture radiated authority, her complexion lifelike… yet as devoid of vitality as the coffin behind her.
“Broken Soul Blade,” Xia Shi identified the weapon.
“Wait,” Lu Ciyou frowned. “The founding Leader? She looks nothing like the mural figure.”
“That’s not the Leader,” Suiyin murmured. “She’s the Canglong. Guarding her partner’s tomb.”
“Such devotion through the ages…” Wen Zhishu’s gaze drifted, lingering on either the mourning dragon or some private memory. “Truly enviable.”
As the group prepared to withdraw respectfully, Xia Shi’s gaze abruptly locked on something.
Suiyin noticed her movements and whispered, “What’s wrong?”
“Found it,” Xia Shi murmured, lowering her head slightly. The golden seal in her hand pulsed—a faint thread of golden light now connected it to the white jade coffin. “The Glazed Purification Brush is here.”
They’d have to trespass after all.
Pale golden spiritual energy snaked forward, halting before the white jade coffin’s base. The brush lay inside. Xia Shi’s brow furrowed. Did this mean opening the coffin?
But with the Blood Demon unleashed, the Glazed Purification Brush couldn’t wait. She’d apologize properly to the coffin’s occupants later. Never had she imagined committing such a grave offense.
Her sigh echoed as she stepped into the chamber.
The instant her foot touched stone, a vicious blade energy pierced through the air toward her throat. Xia Shi froze—until Suiyin’s hand yanked her sideways.
“I’m fine,” Xia Shi reassured, patting the trembling hand at her elbow. Suiyin didn’t release her grip, breath still ragged.
On the opposite side, Yan Li and Lu Ciyou tumbled across the floor in a tangled heap. Wen Zhishu stood unharmed behind them—the blade’s energy had dissipated inches from her robes.
“What was that?” Lu Ciyou demanded, brushing dust from her sleeves.
Suiyin snapped, “Use your eyes!”
The Canglong sat motionless before the coffin, Broken Soul Blade across her knees. No longer dormant, her slit-pupiled glare pinned the intruders like insects.
“Leave,” the dragon hissed, “or die.”
Xia Shi bowed deeply. “We beg forgiveness for this disturbance.”
“Leave!” The blade shivered in Canglong’s grip, its tip glinting murderously. She envisioned beheading them all—then discarded the thought. Liufeng rested here. She wouldn’t stain his sanctuary with their blood.
Her fingers twitched behind her back as the lead sword cultivator dared approach. A mere Nascent Soul practitioner, advancing where even seasoned immortals would falter?
“Deaf fool!” Canglong barked when Xia Shi took another step. The blade rose. “Move and die!”
Xia Shi halted, unflinching. With deliberate slowness, she raised the golden seal. Its connecting thread to the coffin blazed brighter.
“Esteemed one, we’re only here for the Glazed Purification Brush. We mean no disturbance.”
Canglong stared at the small square seal in the woman’s hand, struck by its eerie familiarity.
“This belongs to the Immortal Capital.”
Yet this was merely a Nascent Soul cultivator. How could she possess such an artifact?
“Why seek the Brush?”
“The Blood Demon has returned. We must rebuild the demon suppression array.”
“Returned?” Canglong’s eyes widened before hardening. “Lies! Tiansui sealed that abyss-dweller a thousand years ago!”
“We’re not lying!”
Lu Ciyou stepped forward, tearing the gauze from her right eye. Fresh claw marks framed an empty socket.
“Ah Ciyou!” Yan Li lunged too late. Her voice shook. “You… knew about this?”
Lu Ciyou turned with half a world’s vision, smile unwavering. “Lost an eye, not my life. Hardly matters.”
The casual words cut deeper than any blade. Yan Li’s fists clenched as demonic energy writhed beneath her skin.
“True Blood Demon marks.” Canglong traced the scar’s outline with her gaze. “But Tiansui gave her Divine Bone… Twenty-four immortals fell… How?”
Her retreating heel met cold jade. The coffin’s chill pierced her grief-clouded mind. Old habits surfaced.
“Liufeng,” she whispered to the ghost at her shoulder, “what should I do?”
Only silence answered. The strategist’s voice would never counsel her again.
She shuttered her eyes, burying sorrow beneath frost.
“Any Canghai disciples here? Leader’s command token?”
No movement. Her lips curled. “None? Then you leave me no choice.”
Screeching steel tore the air.
Canglong’s brow furrowed at the blade-song. The Broken Soul Blade surged forward in her grip—
A shockwave hurled the intruders from the hall. Suiyin barely kept her footing, sword-arm trembling as spiritual power frayed.
Then—winter’s bite at her back. Mountain-cold power flowed through her.
“Steady.”
Xia Shi’s voice brushed her ear. Suiyin’s half-smile died as her Wugui sword shuddered violently. Across the hall, Canglong’s blade bucked like live steel.
“Release it!”
As Xia Shi shouted, Suiyin released her grip, the force at her waist yanking her backward.
The Broken Soul Blade slipped from Canglong’s control, flying toward the white jade coffin alongside the Wugui sword.
Canglong panicked, abandoning the intruders to chase after them.
“No!”
The blade and sword hovered before the coffin, facing each other like old friends.
Canglong froze.
A faint human figure had materialized beside the Broken Soul Blade.
It was Jiang Liufeng—the one who should’ve been resting eternally in the white jade coffin.
