Chapter 111: Dao Heart’s Clarity
(This novel is translated and hosted on Bcatranslation)
In the Heaven Resonance Stage, the suppression of the Dao Fusion Stage was absolute, let alone against someone in the Profound Enlightenment Stage.
With such an insurmountable gap, the outcome of a clash left no room for surprises.
Thus, as the clattering noises echoed continuously from the room, Zhuo Wan Qiu and Ding Yao both assumed that Ji You was undoubtedly the one being overwhelmed.
Even when the sounds ceased abruptly, they were still murmuring, wondering if Young Master Ji had been toyed with to death.
Inside the room, Yan Shu Yi sat on a bamboo cushion, her cold demeanor tinged with a rosy hue. Her fair and flawless jade foot was slightly stretched out, bearing a conspicuous bite mark.
“Scoundrel,” she spat.
“I couldn’t beat you otherwise, so I had to resort to underhanded methods,” Ji You said, his expression pure and gentlemanly, showing no trace of embarrassment.
However, Yan Shu Yi’s accusation wasn’t solely about the bite. During their earlier scuffle, he had taken the opportunity to embrace her multiple times.
Pinching her cheeks and touching her feet were bad enough, but he even dared to hug her.
They had only met three times. Why did this man always act so bold in her presence?
Yan Shu Yi rarely interacted with men and thus didn’t know that when a man’s Dao Heart achieved clarity, even the mightiest figures could not stop him.
Her proud figure, imbued with the fragrance of orchids, had closed in with an almost domineering presence. Even the most upright of gentlemen would find it hard to resist.
Looking away, Yan Shu Yi spoke, “The Sword Forest has four layers. Each layer is more formidable than the last. After crossing the fourth, you’ll face Elder Qi’s lifelong sword technique. If you can withstand it, it counts as a success.”
Ji You adopted a more serious tone. “You know so much—have you attempted it yourself?”
“The mountain was dull, so I tried breaking through the array,” she replied.
“How difficult was it?”
“With your Profound Enlightenment Stage, you might make it to the third layer, but the fourth is beyond you. Even brute force would struggle to pass it.”
Ji You contemplated. The fourth layer would indeed be challenging, and the final sword even more so.
But that was enough. He hadn’t intended to conquer the entire Sword Forest or claim the Sword Dao inheritance, as Yan Shu Yi had earlier mentioned.
As a disciple of the Heavenly Script Academy, even if he reached the end, Spirit Sword Mountain wouldn’t allow Elder Qi to pass down his sword to him.
But just glimpsing the Spirit Sword Mountain’s sword technique would undoubtedly bring him enlightenment.
Lost in thought, Ji You absentmindedly picked up a pumpkin seed and began peeling it, his gaze inadvertently falling on Yan Shu Yi’s flawless profile. Her long, curled lashes quivered delicately as she lowered her head.
The first time they had met during his enlightenment, he had been mesmerized by those lashes and had uttered the words “peerless beauty.”
Now, seeing her in person again, he couldn’t help but admire her for a long moment.
[This is bad. I’m tempting fate again…]
Yan Shu Yi extended her hand, waiting for the pumpkin seed. Noticing no response, she turned her head, only to catch Ji You’s entranced gaze. She instinctively pursed her lips.
Earlier, they had been sitting apart, but after the playful tussle, they ended up seated quite close. Yet neither felt uncomfortable.
Back in Ningcheng County, Yuan Cai Wei had mentioned how there seemed to be no concept of personal space between them—they were entirely accustomed to being near each other.
Feeling slightly uneasy, Yan Shu Yi lowered her head again. Suddenly, she noticed Ji You’s hands seemed to be reaching for her slender waist.
In that instant, her cold expression gave rise to a surging Sword Intent.
As the Mirror Master of Spirit Sword Mountain, Yan Shu Yi’s Heart of the Sword was pure, and her Sword Intent moved according to her will.
At this moment, even the swords of Zhuo Wan Qiu and Ding Yao outside the room sensed it. They trembled violently in their sheaths, growing increasingly restless.
“What’s happening?”
“It’s the Mirror Master…”
“Is the Mirror Master about to draw her sword?”
Zhuo Wan Qiu was startled, her gaze flitting nervously toward the room’s door not far away.
Earlier, the clattering and ringing had carried no trace of Daoist techniques or Sword Intent, so there had been little cause for alarm. However, the razor-sharp aura now emanating from within was like a silent proclamation: the Mirror Master intended to kill someone.
Despite how the Mirror Master’s demeanor had grown delicate and soft-spoken in recent days due to his presence, both Ding Yao and Zhuo Wan Qiu understood the truth. For the Mirror Master to hold such a position, there had to be an unyielding side to her. And that side was imbued with a terrifying murderous intent.
Just what had Young Master Ji done to so thoroughly provoke the Mirror Master?
Zhuo Wan Qiu swallowed nervously, hesitating on whether she should enter the room. What if…what if this was some new kind of game?
She couldn’t help stomping her foot in frustration. Before she could decide, the menacing aura dissipated as swiftly and silently as it had appeared, as though it had never existed at all.
Inside the room, Yan Shu Yi was cradled in the arms of a man she had only met three times before. She found herself at a loss for words.
Instead, she picked up some pumpkin seeds from the table, gently cracking them between her teeth, her deep and intelligent eyes darting around the room.
Ji You harbored no ulterior motives; he simply found her quiet and obedient manner irresistible, making him yearn to hold her. Though he typically carried a carefree air and was rumored to have numerous fiancées, his actions were awkward and unpracticed. When he reached to embrace her, he nearly tugged off the Mirror Master’s waistband.
Perhaps it was this clumsy sincerity that prevented a sword from flying his way. In fact, he even felt Yan Shu Yi subtly lift her arm to make room for him.
After a long while, Yan Shu Yi finished cracking the pumpkin seeds in her hand. Unsure of what else to do, she shifted slightly in his arms. When Ji You didn’t react, she decided to remain still, her slender hands gently massaging her previously bitten foot.
The midday sunlight shifted quickly, its rays streaming through the window, gradually moving from the corner of the table to its underside.
“Are you going to the Sword Forest or not?” she asked.
“I’ll go right away,” he replied.
“Then why aren’t you going yet?” Her tone was slightly petulant, despite how docile she had been while nestled in his arms.
Ji You tightened his hold on her briefly before letting go, leaving Yan Shu Yi’s body tingling and her eyes lifting involuntarily to meet his gaze.
“Do you truly think I wouldn’t dare to kill you?”
Ji You couldn’t help but press his lips together, smiling faintly. “If I were afraid of dying, I wouldn’t have come to Spirit Sword Mountain. The Sword Dao demands straightforwardness, and just now, I couldn’t resist following my heart.”
“I must kill you…”
“Your words lack conviction,” he replied.
Surprisingly, Yan Shu Yi didn’t argue. She likely realized her voice had wavered. The moment reminded her of when he pinched her cheek in the capital city of Sheng Jing. She hadn’t drawn her sword then, and she doubted she would do so now.
Ji You once again pulled her into his embrace, holding her for a long time. Outside the room, Zhuo Wan Qiu, growing increasingly uneasy at the silence within, finally mustered the courage to knock on the door.
The sound jolted Yan Shu Yi from her reverie. Rising from Ji You’s arms, her jade-like feet stepped lightly onto his hand as she adjusted her clothes and walked toward the door, allowing the sunlight to stream in anew as she pushed it open.
At the threshold stood Zhuo Wan Qiu and Ding Yao, their expressions peculiar but carefully composed.
Yan Shu Yi’s gaze was frosty as she addressed them. “The two of you, escort this audacious disciple of the Heavenly Script Academy to Elder Qi’s Sword Forest.”
“Yes, Mirror Master,” they replied.
After a pause, Yan Shu Yi added, “The mat on the floor is too hard and cold. Replace it with a blanket so that no one can say Spirit Sword Mountain treats its guests poorly.”
Zhuo Wan Qiu took a deep breath, nodding resolutely. Her gaze shifted skyward to the Mirror Master, who suddenly ascended with a surge of Sword Qi that pierced the heavens. Although controlling flight in the Heaven Resonance Stage rarely required such intensity, the Mirror Master unleashed his aura without reservation.
Turning to Ji You, she noticed his breath had already stilled. [This young scholar has grown bolder. Truly, even the Heavenly King couldn’t deter him today.]
Dangerous as it was, he would certainly try again next time. Ji You’s arrival at Spirit Sword Mountain had been for one purpose: stealing people and swords. Now, it seemed he’d succeeded at least partially.
“Young Master Ji, the Mirror Master has ordered us to escort you to the Sword Forest,” Zhuo Wan Qiu said.
Ji You nodded and followed her and Ding Yao to Heavenly Sword Peak, the next phase of his plan unfolding—stealing swords.
The three descended from Mystic Sword Peak, soaring through the air with Spiritual Qi, traversing perilous paths, and circling several peaks. At last, they reached a verdant expanse, the Sword Forest, cloaked in an emerald gloom.
The Sword Forest earned its name not from a bamboo grove resemblance but due to the scarcity of open ground across the precipitous ridges of Spirit Sword Mountain. Here, Elder Qi had hidden layers of Sword Intent, dividing the forest into four levels.
To avoid suspicion, Ji You dismissed Ding Yao and Zhuo Wan Qiu at the edge of the forest, walking alone to the entrance. The area bustled with disciples from Dao Seeking Sect, Mountain and Sea Pavilion, and others. Many were familiar faces from the mountain gate earlier, now drawn to test the famed swordsmanship of Spirit Sword Mountain.
As Ji You approached, clad in the immortal robes of Heavenly Script Academy, the gathered cultivators frowned.
“Ji You? He’s entering the Sword Forest too?”
“Does the Heavenly Script Academy seek to study the swordsmanship of Spirit Sword Mountain?”
“Impossible. He’s probably here for the spectacle.”
“They say if Ji You hadn’t been born in Feng Prefecture, he’d be a disciple of Spirit Sword Mountain by now.”
Among them stood Steward Yan Ye, who had welcomed Ji You and his companions earlier. Now scowling deeply, he barked, “What business does a Heavenly Script Academy disciple have here? Do you think staying on our mountain makes you an honored guest?”
Ji You offered a respectful bow, his iron sword in hand. “Steward Yan, I’ve come to disgrace the Heavenly Script Academy.”
Yan Ye blinked. “What?”
“I’m but a mediocre Mystic Enlightenment Stage cultivator,” Ji You replied with a self-deprecating smile. “Failing here in the Sword Forest—or even dying—would make me a laughingstock. Even if the Heavenly Script Academy triumphs in this Dao gathering, they’d lose face thanks to me.”
Yan Ye scrutinized him for a moment before muttering, “Such a glib tongue…”
Ji You’s eyes sharpened. “I cannot possibly succeed, Steward Yan. At least allow me to fail.”
“I’ve heard some say that, were it not for geography, you’d be a natural disciple of Spirit Sword Mountain.”
“I wouldn’t dare claim such a thing,” Ji You answered humbly.
Yan Ye found himself unable to retort harshly. After a pause, he chuckled coldly. “Elder Qi didn’t prohibit Heavenly Script Academy disciples from entering. If we barred you, the world might think Spirit Sword Mountain feared you’d break the Sword Array.”
“Many thanks for your leniency, Steward Yan,” Ji You said, turning to the shadowed forest.
Yan Ye stepped aside, clearing the path. Ji You drew his sword, its aura resonating. Around him, waves of air stirred, and a crisp Sword Chant rang out.
In the Sword Dao, neither tricks nor deep foundations mattered—only the heart of the sword. Spirit Sword Mountain valued directness above all; the straighter the sword, the stronger its wielder.
With steady breath, Ji You stepped forward. The crunch of fallen bamboo leaves beneath his boots heralded his entrance into the verdant labyrinth. As he ventured deeper, Sword Intent roiled in the air, filling the forest with palpable energy. Wind gusted, loosening his hair tie.
The deeper he walked, the darker the light grew, until only the unending clash of Sword Intent echoed. Behind him, cultivators from the entrance followed cautiously, their curiosity piqued. They were eager to test themselves against the forest’s challenges but more intrigued by how far Ji You could advance.
A hum reverberated as a tide of sharp Sword Intent surged forward. The oppressive aura roiled, igniting the tranquil First Layer Forest into a storm of power.
Ji You gripped his iron sword tightly. Spiritual Qi flowed through his body as he launched himself forward, meeting the oncoming storm with a wave of his own Sword Qi, each layer stacking upon the next.
The battle had begun.