The girls burst out laughing again. Behind them, a soft creak of bamboo sounded as Wei Liang and Zhuo Jin emerged from the guest room.
Zhuo Jin appeared more serene than before, the chill in his presence noticeably softened. When his eyes met Xu Ping’er’s, a faint, slightly boyish smile tugged at his lips.
Wei Liang still wore that same nonchalant expression as he told him, “Have you fully thought it through? Are you sure you want to leave here and live in the mortal world? The struggle among ants is no less brutal than that of cultivators. The next time something like that happens, who do you expect to save you?”
“I can save myself.” Zhuo Jin smiled again, the same boyish smile. “I used to think the battlefield was hell. Only now do I understand that true purgatory lies in the human heart. I used to avoid confronting people’s intentions, assuming that aside from devils, everyone must be good—but that was a self-deceiving lie. Now that I’ve chosen to walk with my eyes open, I won’t stumble so easily again.”
Wei Liang frowned slightly.
Zhuo Jin continued, “You’ve already done more than enough for me. From now on, let’s each go our own way. No need to worry about me anymore. Life and death are ruled by fate. I made my choice back then, and I won’t regret it.”
“As I told you,” Wei Liang said, “Within forty-nine days, you still have a chance to return. You and I are different. Wherever I stand, that is my true self.”
Zhuo Jin took two steps forward and slowly shook his head. “No need. Truly, no need. I’m fine now—better than ever. Only now do I realize there’s no real divide between immortals and mortals. If I continued drifting through life like before, what meaning would ascension even have? Gaining clarity about life’s truth as a common man may not be a lesser path. You helped me let go of my old obsessions and delusions. Now, I finally understand.”
A faint light slowly rose within his otherwise plain features.
Xu Ping’er stared, dumbfounded. “C-Cousin…”
At that moment, she felt her cousin—a person so weak he couldn’t even slaughter a chicken—seemed more like… a Buddha than real cultivators like Wang Weizhi or Qin Yunxi.
She hastily shook her head—‘No, no, Cousin must never have thoughts of becoming a monk! Buddhas must sever all worldly ties, but I still want to be his wife, to bear his children!’
Xu Ping’er watched Zhuo Jin nervously.
He was gazing into the distance, eyes sweeping past the bamboo forest and toward the far-off mountains.
Between heaven and earth, something indescribable resonated with him faintly.
This feeling…
He had never felt it before! He was a prodigy who had once become the most powerful man of his time, unrivaled in swordsmanship. And yet, in all his cultivation, he had always lacked the “truth”—no wonder enlightenment had eluded him for so long!
Now, with the guidance of this person, the former Sword Monarch had finally… realized his Dao!
Following the subtle trembling in his heart, ‘Zhuo Jin’ spirit reached across ten thousand miles, landing in a dense forest.
There, half a broken sword lay embedded in a swamp, surrounded by scattered fragments of shattered blades.
Trusting his instincts, he clenched his fist—
In that fleeting instant, across both cultivator and mortal realms, every person who wore a sword suddenly felt a mysterious pull!
It was as though the swords at their waists had become sentient—paying homage to their sovereign, the Monarch of Swords.
In the forest, a chorus of clear metallic clangs rang out. A beam of radiant light quickly took shape, faintly forming the image of a sword. With a force that tore through space itself, it shot across the sky, heading straight toward Wanjiangui Sect!
The sword, broken and unrecognizable, moved so fast that it cut through the air, sparking a blazing trail.
As if the sky itself had been torn open, bleeding celestial blood; the wound congealed, as if eternal. Under the refinement of this otherworldly flame, the broken sword slowly began to transform…
A journey that would take even the fastest cultivator three days was completed by the sword in the time it takes to burn a single stick of incense.
“What… what is that?!”
The spectacle was visible across a third of the continent.
Trailing a blood-colored tail, the sword swept over the seven peaks of Wanjiangui Sect, plunging into the rear of the main peak.
“Did… did the Sword Monarch ascend?!”
“Master has ascended?!”
“Heaven! Our Sword Monarch ascended!”
Outside the boundary of the Cliff of Reflection, young disciples in charge of guarding the place cheered and ran off excitedly.
Liu Qingyin, still trapped inside a sealing barrier, was pacing restlessly when she heard the shout—and instantly felt like her heart was being clawed apart.
“Don’t go! Let me out!” Her sword had been confiscated, and she could only kick at the glowing barrier with her foot.
“He ascended? No! Impossible! He’s a devil—how can he ascend?! Lies, all lies! That person isn’t Master! I should’ve guessed back in the underground tomb! Why did I lie to myself… why…” she muttered, pacing in circles, hugging herself.
“Zhuo Jin, Zhuo Jin—yes, Zhuo Jin is Master! He even called me ‘Qingyin’—and I didn’t recognize him!” She clutched her head in despair, squatting down. “I should’ve recognized him sooner! How could I not? It’s all that Xu Ping’er’s fault! She must’ve seduced him while he was vulnerable—otherwise, why would Master avoid me?!”
“This is all the Devil Lord’s scheme! He plotted against me! Drove a wedge between me and Master… No wonder he’s taken a liking to Lin Qiu! Lin Qiu—so vicious, so evil—she’s clearly cut from the same cloth as those devil scum!”
Liu Qingyin was in utter agony, eyes burning with hatred. “Damn devil! He’s not my master, yet he dares wear his face to humiliate me! I… I won’t let this go! I want him dead! And Lin Qiu too—I will… exterminate them and purge all evil! I’ll personally send these vile creatures to hell!”
Through the barrier, she heard a faint sigh: “Finally figuring it out?”
Liu Qingyin looked up in surprise.
There stood Qin Yunxi, his long sword stained with blood, standing wearily outside the barrier, meeting her gaze. On the mountain path behind him lay the corpses of two disciples, in charge of guarding this place.
“Eldest Senior Brother…” In Liu Qingyin’s bewildered eyes, a flash of clear astonishment appeared.
“Qingyin, I’ve come to rescue you.” Qin Yunxi gave a faint smile and used a bloodstained jade token to unlock the barrier.
The farther they walked down the mountain, the more disturbed Liu Qingyin became. “Senior Brother… why… why did you slaughter our fellow disciples?!”
Qin Yunxi’s lips still bore a smile, and his gaze was gentle, but the words he spoke were chilling: “Should I leave them alive so they could inform the Devil Lord?”
Liu Qingyin shivered. A moment later, a glint of cruelty surfaced in her eyes. “Yes. The Devil Lord has usurped the body of our master and will bring untold disaster to the world! To restore order and eliminate evil, what’s the sacrifice of a few people? It was Master’s excessive kindness that let the Devil Lord take him!”
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Extra chapter on Sunday~
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