Chapter 85: That Sword Strike

When Song Zhihuai woke up, he was the only person left in the room.

Was it safe? Although the interior was simple, it felt serene and free of danger. His spiritual platform was clouded with gray and black, with waves of sharp pain—the final struggles of the suppressed heart demon.

Song Zhihuai clutched his chest and threw back the quilt to get out of bed. In truth, he had a hazy sense of the outside world while unconscious; he seemed to have heard Junior Sister Zora's voice in a state of semi-consciousness.

And then he was buried.

...

Was I dead?

Junior Sister Zora was truly kind-hearted; even in such a dangerous situation, she still established a headstone for him. Song Zhihuai thought in a daze.

Perhaps being a "dying man," he began to look back at his life like a revolving lantern. A mediocre childhood that could be called that of an ordinary young master. Then the tragedy of his mother's death and his father's massacre of the family; his heart had forgotten the specific pain, leaving only a sense of torment.

The moment Si Shaoyu entered the Heartless Path, his expression turned abruptly calm. His blood-red eyes stared quietly ahead. After a long while, amidst the boy's suppressed sobbing, he slowly lowered his head and spoke to the dazed Song Zhihuai kneeling on the ground: "Zhihuai, it turns out that being heartless is not truly without feeling."

Song Zhihuai lifted his head. The scent of blood lingered between father and son. The bluestone floor was covered in viscous, disgusting blood, its original color obscured. A fiercely burning golden sun hung in the sky, scorching his skin.

Si Shaoyu picked up the woman's corpse, staring down at her pale, gray face—her eyes refused to close in death—and a sliver of tenderness and sorrow flickered across his face.

"I can still feel those affections; I can still feel that hatred. It's just that they have become faint, become light. If it were the me of a moment ago, I would be in excruciating pain."

Song Zhihuai said blankly: "...You don't love Mother anymore?"

Si Shaoyu: "I don't love anyone anymore."

"Then what about Mother?"

"Why bother with a hypocritical concern for a corpse? A proper burial is enough." Si Shaoyu drew the woman into his embrace and placed a pill in her mouth to ensure her body would not rot.

"If I didn't protect her while she lived, why put on an act now that she's dead," Si Shaoyu said flatly. "Regret has already become like a shadow; I must preserve it well."

Song Zhihuai watched him. They buried her in the earth where she used to plant medicinal herbs and erected a headstone. Si Shaoyu pondered for a long while, recalling memories of the woman without deep emotion, and easily found her favorite title.

The headstone was carved simply with the word "Healer." Perhaps in her eyes, the identity of a healer was even more important than her own name.

Then came his entry into the December Sect. Song Zhihuai often woke up startled in the deep of the night. Regret was indeed a shadow, but heart demons emerged alongside that regret. He would not show his emotions; no matter how his heart churned, his face remained impassive.

One day, after waking up again, Song Zhihuai looked at the bright moon outside the window and thought:

I want to cultivate the Heartless Path.

In truth, purging the heart demon was the most insignificant reason. What he wanted most was to return to a state of calm, to truly follow his own Dao and move forward without being hindered by anything.

I'm sorry, Mother.

You were so powerful that you could hold onto your desires tenaciously without the Heartless Path, but I cannot.

Song Zhihuai truly wanted to make friends, but he never sought obsession; what he wanted was a friendship as clear as water, a steady companionship. Like a dragonfly skimming the water—whenever the rain arrives, it dips its wings, touching the lake's surface and creating a tiny ripple.

Song Zhihuai wanted more than anything to see his path clearly. But his mind was never at peace, and his cultivation was always obscured by a mist of pain—to the point where he wanted more and more to see it clearly, to see his own destiny, to see his own heart.

Peace. He needed peace. By purging the heart demon and reaching a realm as clear as a cloudless sky, he would be able to see the road beneath his feet.

I'm sorry, Mother. I'm too useless; I still need the Heartless Path to save me.

Among the family of three, the strongest was actually that healer. The one who least looked back or hesitated was her.

While he was thinking such sorrowful thoughts, the Junior Sister Zora who had buried him patted the ruins over him and seemed to leave. It was a long time before Song Zhihuai realized in a daze that his nose was still exposed.

Junior Sister Zora... didn't finish burying me...

His thoughts cut off completely, and Song Zhihuai fell into a deep coma.

Now, he looked around the room and hesitantly pushed the door open. The first thing he saw was Yiling Ke crying her eyes out. She was clutching Turi Qi's waist, her legs dragging on the floor as she wailed: "Senior Sister Turi! Senior Sister Turi, I actually didn't die! Heaven has eyes!!"

Zora, who had been talking to Zhou Shijin, poked her head out from behind Turi Qi and said matter-of-factly: "It was Senior Sister Turi and Master who saved you, not Heaven."

Yiling Ke shifted her words smoothly while crying: "Senior Sister Turi and Immortal Zhou have eyes! They have much better eyes than Heaven!"

Turi Qi gave an awkward smile, then looked up: "Senior Brother Song? Are you feeling better?"

Song Zhihuai judged that he was alive and not that they had all died and gone to hell. He nodded: "Yes. Thank you." He performed a formal bow.

Zora glanced at him, then turned back to Zhou Shijin: "There is someone named Mu Qiong. She said she knew you."

Zhou Shijin: "Mhm?" She thought carefully, and a smile suddenly broke across her face. "A fleeting encounter."

Zora nodded: "Before she dissipated, because she was going to die, she was crying very sadly."

Zhou Shijin waved a hand indifferently: "Eh, it's fine. I'll go down to accompany her eventually anyway."

Zora's eyes brightened slightly: "You said the same thing I did."

"Hahahahaha!" Zhou Shijin suddenly burst into a loud laugh and roughly ruffled Zora's head. "That's why we're master and disciple."

Vane had no intention of eavesdropping, but he was simply too close to them and heard everything. The youth thought more deeply; for instance, this time Zora spoke with a slightly happy emotion. If it were before, she likely would have felt more curiosity and wonder.

"Alright," Zhou Shijin withdrew her hand, scanned the people around her, and smiled. "We should head to Drunken Lu Bay." She added: "It seems the Sect Leader's plan to find the mole failed; the Bright Mirror Sea is showing movement this early."

Inside Drunken Lu Bay.

A few hours ago, the array masters from Tao County fled into Drunken Lu Bay, seeking help from the Sect Leader.

The Sect Leader gave a bitter laugh: "Drunken Lu Bay has already sealed its boundary. Only entry is permitted; no exit."

—

What?!

An array master said in shock: "Sect... Sect Leader, has it reached this point?"

The first step to entering Drunken Lu Bay was for a cultivator to read the Rule Stone at the entrance.

—

Guarding the array is the primary duty of a Drunken Lu Bay cultivator. No retreat.

Deserters will be executed on the spot.

When the Bright Mirror Sea fluctuates, the arrays will activate spontaneously to stop deserters. This is a clearly stated rule. If you want the resources and status of a Drunken Lu Bay cultivator, you must shoulder the responsibility. It is a trade. The cultivators of Drunken Lu Bay all knew this, but there would always be those who regretted it and fled when battle was imminent.

To them, it was just a stone, a sentence; when they entered Drunken Lu Bay, they never thought a real upheaval would occur.

"Did you think Drunken Lu Bay was the December Sect? The December Sect has been loose and disorganized since its founding, but Drunken Lu Bay is not. Its birth was for the sole purpose of guarding the array."

The Sect Leader's booming voice, questioning a captured deserter, echoed through the sect.

The Buddhist cultivators who had come to help guard the array all looked as calm as usual. Both the Zen Meditation Temple and Drunken Lu Bay could guard the array; the Buddhist seals and the sealing arrays shared common properties. However, these Buddhist cultivators had all volunteered to come.

Qingding listened to the Sect Leader's healthy roar, finished her story with a lingering sense of satisfaction, and then shifted her tone: "Qingyin, you should know that once the seal breaks, you must stay far away. Just help the wounded. Your cultivation isn't enough; going up there is just a death sentence."

"I understand, Senior Sister." The woman named Qingyin had an exquisite face, but her head was completely shaven.

She was once named Chunling, the top courtesan of the Hall of Three Refinements. She was accidentally saved by Zora, and Turi Qi had arranged for her to join a sect. Who would have thought that she would encounter Jinzhi on the way? He had offered her a compassionate smile.

"You have a destiny with Buddha."

And so he brought her to the Zen Meditation Temple, and she became a Buddhist nun.

The former top courtesan had actually become a Buddhist; how ironic.

Jinzhi said with pity: "Do not care about those things. It wasn't your fault; there is no need to feel inferior or guilty. If you wish to discard them, then discard those memories. Buddha will not care."

Qingding laughed from the side: "Right, we're really short on people at the Zen Meditation Temple right now. We're the sect with the fewest people among the Four Great Sects and the most deserters."

Chunling: "..."

Jinzhi paused, then continued compassionately: "If you do not believe in Buddha, that is fine. Then believe in yourself."

Qingding said with a smile: "Exactly. It's called the Zen Meditation Temple, but there are actually Buddhist cultivators who don't worship Buddha. Some just use the name of Buddha as a title. It's just that the Dao they cultivate overlaps with the Buddhist path. We can agree with Buddha and practice the Buddhist way, but there's no need for worship. After all, we're all trying to defy heaven; who is there to worship?"

Jinzhi cast a long look at his junior sister. As the Eldest Senior Brother of the Zen Meditation Temple, he carried too much in this understaffed sect.

Qingding didn't notice his gaze and marveled: "But it's quite a coincidence that you were saved by Zora."

Only then did Chunling show a bit of surprise: "Does the Immortal also know my benefactor?"

Qingding: "Naturally. She is quite famous right now."

The woman's expression softened as she nodded gently: "I am willing to join the Zen Meditation Temple."

They came to the temple filled with incense. It was a mountain, but upon entering, it felt as if the world opened up—another world altogether, higher and wider than a single mountain. The Buddhist statue stood compassionately in the center of the hall, embracing all things. Its pupils held the myriad phenomena of the universe, making one enter the path of purity in a daze, unable to leave for a long time.

Jinzhi only asked: "Shave your head for cultivation, or keep your hair?"

Chunling thought for a moment: "Shave it."

As the senior sister, it was naturally Qingding's task to shave the woman's head. They entered a wood-colored room. Qingding picked up her smooth black hair and asked: "Are you sure?"

Chunling looked at her jade-like, intensely beautiful face in the mirror and gave an "mhm."

"I'll trouble you, Miss Qingding."

Qingding laughed: "It's no trouble." She gently rolled up her sleeves, revealing arms with exceptionally clear muscle lines, but her movements were very, very light.

A lock of black hair fell to the ground.

Qingding suddenly spoke: "Is it Chunling? In our Zen Meditation Temple, anyone with even a bit of talent has suffered through hardships, so there is no need to worry."

Chunling was stunned, then smiled. "Thank you, Miss Qingding. I... am different from you all."

"How are you different? Isn't it just being a top courtesan?" Qingding lowered her eyes and said, "Cutting hair is like cutting thoughts. After this, you will no longer be confined to the past. Whatever love or hate you have, you can let go now. What you regret cannot be undone, so you might as well speak it out and discard it forever with your hair."

Locks of black hair fell one by one. Chunling suddenly felt the weight on her head gradually lightening. She looked in the mirror. After a long while, the woman spoke slowly.

"I loathe those customers."

The customers who lay atop her, atop all the prostitutes.

"And I loathe my powerless self."

Among the women in the brothel, some were sold into it, and some were taken in. She had been sold. For a better life, Chunling had been climbing up until she finally reached the position of top courtesan. That day was exceptionally lively, with countless talented men and young masters writing poems and painting for her.

But from the moment she stood on the stage and received the title of top courtesan, she felt the crowd's gaze was no different from usual. What was there to be proud of? Why did she ever think that being the top courtesan was a symbol of charm? The crowd's gaze was fervent and loving, their words full of praise and pursuit—as if she were a beautiful object. Not even a painting; she wasn't that elegant.

"Once I am settled and cultivate diligently, I want to take the sisters from the Hall of Three Refinements elsewhere."

Black hair fell lock by lock. The long hair that the woman had been praised for countless times became shorter. Until the final lock fell.

Qingding stopped: "Done."

Chunling looked at the person in the mirror. Without hair, her face was inexplicably much more serene. She offered a soft smile, her features as gentle as water.

"From now on, you shall be called Qingyin."

"Yes."

Inside Drunken Lu Bay.

Qingyin asked once more: "Will my benefactor really come?"

Qingding nodded solemnly: "She will. Her cultivation grows very fast."

So Qingyin continued to look forward to it: "I wonder if she remembers me."

Qingding: "Your hair is gone; she probably won't."

Qingyin: "..."

Suddenly, the seal was broken. Countless array masters and Buddhist cultivators mending the array were thrown out, their wails rising and falling. Qingyin stood ready. A towering demonic Qi surged out, and demonic cultivators and monsters poured out in droves.

"Do you still want to trap me for a lifetime! Hypocritical bastards! What 'cultivation'? I'll kill you all—"

New grudges and old hatreds—the battle was triggered in an instant. Qingyin didn't have enough cultivation; she stayed on the edge of the battlefield, watching for any wounded or cultivators who needed minor help.

The array was broken, and the sword cultivators arrived.

"—It's the December Sect!"

The demonic cultivators, their eyes red with killing, looked up. Clearly, the reputation of this sword cultivator sect was thunderous. Sword after sword suspended in the air, joining the battlefield.

But the demons were too powerful. Demonic Qi continued to spill out, and the plants and trees of Drunken Lu Bay began to wither. Severed limbs and corpses piled up. The battlefield of cultivators changed in a heartbeat; one corpse after another fell. The scene was incredibly tragic, and the soaring smell of blood made the place like a mass grave.

"Hold the boundary! Don't let them out!" the Sect Leader shouted, his arm already a bloody mess.

Qingyin was kicked by a monster, coughing up a mouthful of blood. As she was crashing backward, a hand suddenly braced her. She turned her head to see the familiar, soft face of a young girl. Zora, having just arrived, had casually caught a person who was crashing backward. She stared intently at a point in the air.

"Ben... benefactor?"

Zora didn't hear her; she was still looking at that spot. Qingyin followed her gaze.

A person stood high above everyone, looking down. His sword gathered a towering spiritual power, and both demonic cultivators and monsters trembled.

Qingyin was overjoyed: "It's the Sword Sovereign!"

"The Sword Sovereign has finally arrived!"

"Demons! You won't leave Drunken Lu Bay!"

The Sword Sovereign was like a stabilizing force, easily raising everyone's spirits. He was indeed strong enough; one sword strike could shatter ten thousand mountains. Everyone watched him in a daze. It was a strike like the creation of heaven and earth. The pressure made people unable to move—this was a strike from the Sword Sovereign. Magnificent, vast, making it impossible to even conceive of resistance, leaving only room for admiration and worship.

"Wonderful, benefactor! This time the demons won't..." Qingyin recovered from the magnificent sword Qi and turned her head to smile, but her voice gradually vanished.

Zora watched for a long time, then suddenly spoke: "Stronger than Master's."

Zhou Shijin stood not far away with her arms crossed, watching this sword strike with a smile. Qingyin was about to ask in confusion, but seeing her expression, she shut her mouth. Amidst the crowd of worshipping, excited people, the girl's expression was so out of place. It was as if she had finally seen the opponent's strength; she stared fixedly, a spirit of wanting to go forward and fight igniting within her.

This was the most powerful sword cultivator in the original work. The girl's amber eyes reflected the sword light, her features radiant. That sword strike was one that forced her to move forward. At this moment, she didn't once think of her goal of killing the demons of the Demon Realm.

If the final villain was even stronger than him. Then, she

must

be able to take this sword strike. If there were no task—Zora thought for a moment. She would also be willing to take this sword strike. Just as in the arena, the deepest rule she had learned was to always go up. Up, constantly upward, to shake off death and run toward survival.

Qingyin looked into the girl's eyes. There were clearly no intense emotions, yet it left her stunned. Vane, a few steps away from them, glanced at Zora, then looked up at the sword light, showing no trace of respect or fear.

I wonder when he will be able to defeat the person who made this strike,

he thought indifferently.

Everyone's thoughts varied. Qingyin suddenly heard her benefactor's voice.

"—It's about to open."

...

What? What's about to open?

Ripples spread across the Bright Mirror Sea. The secret realm that everyone considered certain death opened, but no one cared, no one dared to imagine it—it was as if it had been completely forgotten. So when Zora entered the secret realm without hesitation, even Vane didn't have time to react.

"Wait—!"

He flashed over, only to be blocked outside the boundary of the newly closed secret realm. The realm only opened for an instant; those who were late were not welcome.

The boundary enveloped the secret realm, and there was a distance between the entrance and the boundary—a relatively safe area for comprehension. Vane pressed against the transparent boundary, looking at the piles of corpses and white bones outside the secret realm door; there wasn't even a place to step. The girl stepped on a corpse, looking around curiously, as if unaware of the danger ahead.

"Vane! Come back!" Jin Chuyang saw his disciple and called out from afar.

The seawater of the Bright Mirror Sea gathered around, encroaching from beneath the boundary, pouring in bit by bit. Soon, the youth's calves were submerged in water. The vision of the crowd was blocked by the seawater enveloping the boundary, leaving only the two of them.

He was oblivious, his hands touching the boundary, staring fixedly at her, his jaw clenched tight.

She had abandoned him once again.

Don't go, please don't go.

It's dangerous, don't go.

—

Don't go alone.

Yet it was as if his throat were blocked, and he couldn't speak.

Zora only then realized there was someone outside the boundary. She turned her head, not entering the secret realm door immediately.

"Go back."

Vane: "Why..." He said urgently: "With your cultivation and talent, even if you hit a bottleneck, you will definitely break through in time! This secret realm is far too dangerous; almost no one survives. This is the safe zone of the realm; don't go in... don't go in. We can wait for the next opening; I will accompany you—"

Zora interrupted him: "What are you talking about?" She said calmly: "This is cultivation. What are you afraid of?"

"I..." He was almost at a loss, stammering. "I'm afraid you'll die."

Zora hadn't paid much attention at first, but she suddenly paused, approached the boundary, and examined him closely. She felt a sense of wonder: "You're crying."

The youth was unaware of his own appearance. The corners of his eyes were slightly red, and tears slid down. Such a sharp, aggressive face now looked like a pitiable canine. He was clearly much taller than she was, yet he presented a sense of humble pleading. His knuckles were white, pressing forcefully against the boundary's surface.

Zora looked at his face—crying silently, pitiably, and yet extremely beautiful. To her, the fact that he bled for her was only because of the Master-Servant Oath. But tears were different; tears were a true manifestation of emotion. Zora had always naively believed this. Blood had no value in her eyes; only tears did.

This was the first time she had seen tears shed for her. Perhaps the tears were hot; as she watched, she felt as if her eyes were being burned. That tear exceptionally attracted her, and she couldn't look away.

Vane touched his own face in a daze. Zora stared at him.

"So this is how it feels when someone cries for me."

"...What?" He was lost, oblivious to his situation; the seawater had already reached his waist.

"I like it very much."

Zora touched her chest, not knowing if it was because he was crying or just because of the tears. This posture of his—crying without regard for life or death—was like a nudge to Zora's soft heart. It was as if the barrier between her and the world, and between her and the name "original character" he carried, was finally broken, and they truly merged into one.

The Master-Servant Oath made him the person Zora trusted most in this world, so his tears could easily enter her vision. He seemed to be truly grieving for her.

If Yiling Ke had cried for me then... the feeling would probably have been different. It's just as the System said: there's a difference,

Zora thought.

Perhaps these were tears that could exclude the reason of the Master-Servant Oath, yet he didn't seem like the servant in Zora's impression. Although this posture was humble, it wasn't filled with the loyalty of a common servant. He seemed to have some other things mixed in. Zora didn't know what those things were. There had been a barrier before, making her never care about anything regarding him. Now, abruptly torn open by the tears, her gaze finally cast upon him truly and without hindrance, and she was moved by it.

While Vane was in utter despair, wishing he could follow her and seek death together, the girl curiously touched her chest again.

My heart is beating so fast.

Thinking this, she continued to stare at his face.

Vane's thinking seemed to have halted; he only murmured: "Don't go..."

Zora was oblivious. Amidst a heartbeat that had grown slightly faster, she stared at him intently.

When he was wounded and bleeding for her, she didn't care.

When he blushed in private, missing her like he was possessed, she was unaware.

When he actively said he was more afraid of her dying and didn't hate the Master-Servant Oath, she felt a sense of confusion.

When the youth worked for her with all his heart and became exceptionally useful, she noticed him and looked over occasionally, and was briefly attracted by his extremely handsome shell, unable to help watching.

And when he offered his most important tears.

She finally, naively, felt her heart move.