Wei Liang raised his hand. With a resounding clang, the sword, appearing just as cold as its wielder, was unsheathed and transformed into a streak of light that swiftly soared into the night sky. He wrapped his arm around Lin Jiu’s slender waist, and in the blink of an eye, they shot into the air like birds, landing steadily on the sword’s surface.
The powerful wind caused Lin Jiu’s face to sting, forcing her to seek shelter in Wei Liang’s embrace. Her face was buried in his chest and she clung tightly to his waist, afraid to make any sudden movements. As they flew at a rapid speed, the wind crashed crazily against her back, making her feel as if she might spit out blood.
“Too weak,” Wei Liang commented, clearly unimpressed. His voice even contained a scarce hint of contempt that did not match his otherworldly appearance.
Lin Jiu shut her eyes and accepted the mockery in silence. Nevertheless, the man gently placed his hands around her, cradling her head protectively as he further accelerated.
Shortly after, they landed in a pitch-black cave that was so dark that it was impossible to see anything. Wei Liang grabbed Lin Jiu’s wrist and strode forward with large steps.
Despite the numbness in her legs, Lin Jiu took a deep breath and pushed herself to keep up.
After about five or six steps, Wei Liang seemed to bump into something, causing him to stop abruptly. Lin Jiu didn’t see it coming and continued walking. As a result, her nose collided straight into his back.
“Who dares trespass into the forbidden area?!” From the depths of darkness, a voice emerged, accompanied by the sharp sound of swords cutting through the air. Almost simultaneously, bright sword beams swept from the flanks and slashed towards them.
Wei Liang tightened his grip on Lin Jiu’s wrist and pulled her aside, easily avoiding the oncoming attacks.
The light slowly filled Lin Jiu’s vision. As she looked on, she saw Wei Liang extend his left hand and press it against the empty air in front of him, as if there was an invisible glass wall there. When his palm made contact with the void, a pale white light emerged, quickly expanding in a web-like pattern.
About ten meters to the side, three cultivators in long robes looked on in shock. “Send word immediately! A powerful enemy has breached the barrier!”
One of the three swiftly turned and ran away, while the remaining two maintained their stance, their sword tips instantly emitting a bright glow. The next moment, the condensed sword beams slashed forward, charging at the intruders with great force.
Wei Liang didn’t even turn around. His long sleeve flapped as he released Lin Jiu’s wrist, sending the two sword beams off their original course—
‘Bang!’ With a deafening sound, they crashed into the barrier.
Right then and there, the barrier, already covered in cracks, splintered into pieces!
Ignoring the two men behind them, Wei Liang took Lin Jiu into his embrace again and, with a light tap of his foot, effortlessly passed through the crumbling barrier, arriving in a cavern illuminated by a soft, glowing light.
Lin Jiu was dumbstruck by the mythical scenery she witnessed. They were surrounded by a serene stream of water, with semi-translucent stalactites hanging from the ceiling, emitting soft glows in various colors. The rays from the stalactites illuminated the smooth stone surfaces of the inner cavern, intertwining and blending colors to form a mesmerizing and breathtaking spectacle.
But the stunningly beautiful display did not seem to impress Wei Liang, who kept his gaze straight as he proceeded into the depths of the cavern.
“Hm?” A deep grunt echoed from ahead, and a powerful oppressive force rolled forward, almost tangible in its intensity. Along with it came a sweeping wave of fire, and in the blink of an eye, the surrounding stalactites turned a vivid red, as if they were molten lava, about to drip from the cave ceiling.
“The Flowing Fire Sword Immortal, Wang Shanzhi,” Wei Liang murmured, his voice low and ominous, with a hint of menace—completely unlike his usual self.
An elderly woman in red leaped out from between the stalactites, her arms spread like a large bird. Just as her sharp gaze was about to land on Wei Liang, he swiftly pulled Lin Jiu into his arms and charged directly into the inferno Wang Shanzhi had unleashed.
“Oh?” Wang Shanzhi let out an eerie chuckle. “Rushing to your own death, are you?”
But her laughter did not even last a second. Like a phantom, the man’s figure suddenly emerged from behind. His cool hand extended, gripping her neck and giving it a slight twist—
Crack.
Wei Liang didn’t even pause or look back as he headed deeper into the cave.
When Lin Jiu turned her head, she saw the red figure collapse like a kite cut off from its string, plummeting straight into the flowing stream below. Stunned, she glanced at Wei Liang, who had his eyes slightly narrowed, his gaze deep and serene.
‘Well… that’s the bad guy who died, right?’ She muttered inwardly.
They had not proceeded for long when she caught sight of a small opening up ahead, through which bright sunlight was streaming into the dark cavern.
‘Sunlight?’ Lin Jiu was startled. If her sense of time was still correct, it should be the middle of the night now. ‘Where is this light coming from?’
Amid her puzzlement, Wei Liang had stopped in front of the opening. Lin Jiu peeked inside and was overwhelmed with shock. The opening did not connect to the outside but was actually an entrance to a small natural stone chamber. In between the dense stalactites, just like the ones she had seen on the way, was a pool of crystal-clear spring water where countless transparent, rainbow-colored fish swam around, illuminating the chamber as bright as daylight. Upon closer inspection, she realized the colorful rays did not come from the fish, but from the semi-transparent substance dripping off the stalactites.
“This is the Stalactites Spiritual Essence,” Wei Liang said softly. With a firm push on Lin Jiu’s back, he sent her tumbling into the spring with a splash.
Lin Jiu spluttered to her feet, wiping her face. She saw that Wei Liang had closed his eyes slightly, forming some sort of hand seal. Suddenly, the spiritual essence in the pool sprang to life, sticking to her like a plaster and quickly solidifying, as if turning her into a statue. Horrified, Lin Jiu glanced down and found that her exposed hand had already turned into something resembling a plaster cast.
Meanwhile, the colorful spiritual lights from the pool permeated her body, attaching to her meridians and constructing a tough yet flexible layer.
In no time at all, Lin Jiu had been turned into a plaster statue.
Wei Liang’s eye twitched. With an exasperated sigh, he lifted the hem of his robe and stepped into the pool, peeling Lin Jiu out of her plaster cast.
In a daze, Lin Jiu suddenly remembered something from the original Lin Qiu’s past. Back then, Zheng Ziyu had arranged for her daughter to become a concubine furnace for the Wang family without her husband’s consent. When he found out, he was furious and stormed into the Wang family to annul the engagement, but he eventually relented when they gave him a single drop of water that had been infused by the Stalactites Spiritual Essence.
Lin Qiu’s father’s drastic change of heart showed the preciousness of this water—taken directly from this pool. Every direct descendant of the Wang family was fed a small cup of water at birth to improve their constitution, the primary reason for their unshakable position as the only cultivation clan on the continent.
‘But now…’
Lin Jiu glanced around at the empty pool and the scattered shards of plaster at the bottom, feeling utterly bewildered.
‘So, the leader of the righteous faction is taking his newly-wedded bride out for a midnight excursion to destroy the foundation of the sole cultivation clan?’
‘This guy’s stirring out a big trouble!’
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