Chapter 64: A Deceptive Trap
Ye Zhao Zhao stood in a daze, as if caught in a swirling mist on a lonely mountain path.
The disciples, who had earlier etched the Sword Energy Cleansing Technique onto their jade slips, now studied its mysterious contents.
One disciple whispered, “If this technique is used with care, it will not harm the Sword Spirit. It might bruise the meridians a little, but with Ye Zhao Zhao’s strong cultivation, she should mend quickly.”
Another nodded, saying, “Senior Sister Li Shuang mastered this method even when she was still at the Golden Core Stage. She performed it perfectly without injuring her Sword Spirit. Now, Junior Sister Ye is at the Nascent Soul Stage, so it should be even safer for her.”
“Moreover, Junior Sister Ye and Long Yan share a Master-Servant bond. Their minds are linked like two warriors in battle. This connection may help them clear the foul energy with greater ease,” added another voice.
Ye Zhao Zhao’s eyes flickered with quiet anger. [I never wished to harm my own inner pathways for someone like him!] she thought.
She clenched her teeth. Now she saw clearly: Li Shuang had offered the technique freely as bait.
This was a trap!
“Junior Sister Ye, look at Long Yan. He is barely holding on. Why do you still hesitate? Delay too long and he will vanish like mist!” Li Shuang urged. “He betrayed me, and I have no duty to save him. But since you all bowed before me and pleaded, I will guide you so that your injuries may be kept to a minimum.”
As she spoke, Long Yan’s eyes met Ye Zhao Zhao’s, filled with desperate hope.
Who would choose to fade into nothingness when the body remains firm as an ancient oak?
Li Shuang had achieved this technique even at the Golden Core Stage. Now, Ye Zhao Zhao was at the Nascent Soul Stage. Surely, cleansing impurities should be even easier for her.
Sheng Yuan agreed, saying, “Little Junior Sister, even if Senior Sister Li Shuang’s cultivation may seem lacking now, she is willing to guide you. Why not try it?”
Ye Zhao Zhao’s lips trembled. “I… I… The duel today drained too much of my spiritual energy. I fear I have not the strength for this.”
Li Shuang raised an eyebrow. “The contest today confined everyone to the Foundation Establishment Stage. How much energy could you have lost?”
Ye Zhao Zhao gritted her teeth. “I have little practice…”
“This technique is simple. Learn it now and put it to use immediately. The greatest risk is a small hurt to your meridians.” Li Shuang’s gaze grew sharp as she fixed it on Ye Zhao Zhao. “Junior Sister Ye… don’t tell me you are unwilling to take this risk for Long Yan?”
She arched an elegant brow. “He sacrificed all for you. And now, for such a trivial matter, you refuse to repay his loyalty? He is your Sword Spirit!”
“Little Junior Sister?” Shen Yue looked at Ye Zhao Zhao with confusion.
This was such a small matter—what was there to fear?
“What do you mean by forcing Zhao Zhao to save Long Yan? If she wishes to help, she will; if not, then she won’t. It is not for you to command her,” Chang Le An spoke fiercely.
Li Shuang chuckled softly. “Oh? Then why were you all on your knees just now? Were you not urging me to save Long Yan?”
“He betrayed me, and my cultivation fell to the Energy Refining Stage. Yet, you all insisted I save him.”
“Now the balance has shifted. Ye Zhao Zhao has reached the Nascent Soul Stage and is Long Yan’s Master. Isn’t it more fitting for her to act?”
Her words cut like a sharpened blade.
Chang Le An found himself speechless.
All eyes turned toward Ye Zhao Zhao.
Long Yan’s jaw set firm. His eyes burned with determination.
He refused to vanish like falling leaves in the autumn wind, or to be left crippled and broken.
With pleading eyes, Long Yan looked at Ye Zhao Zhao. “Master, save me.”
A chill crept into Ye Zhao Zhao’s bones.
She had planned to set Li Shuang in a dilemma, yet now she found herself trapped by fate.
Her voice trembled, “I… I will try.”
If she did not try, she feared she would regret it for all her days.
Ye Zhao Zhao swept her divine sense over the jade slip, her heart heavy with irritation.
To condense spiritual energy into a sword—she did not know the first step.
And this Long Yan! A swindler in the guise of a master.
Where was the promised Peerless Sword Spirit?
Instead, he proved to be a troublesome, defiled Sword Spirit.
“Junior Sister Ye,” Li Shuang’s voice floated lightly with a hint of mockery, “could it be that you do not know how to summon Sword Energy?”
Ye Zhao Zhao’s body stiffened.
Sword Energy was a fundamental art for disciples of the Sword Sect. Failing to summon it would make her the laughingstock of the entire school.
“If you truly cannot do it, use a Sword Stone as an aid. The Sword Energy born of a Sword Stone is harder to control, but there is no other way now,” Li Shuang said coolly.
“I have a Sword Stone here,” Sheng Yuan offered quickly, producing a crystal-clear stone.
Then, a flush of shame touched his cheeks.
This Sword Stone had once been part of their Eldest Senior Sister’s prized possessions.
He had taken it for granted in his youth. But now, as Eldest Senior Brother, burdened with many trials, he knew nothing was free.
He glanced at Li Shuang.
Her face remained calm, like still water under a clear sky, as she regarded the Sword Stone.
Sheng Yuan pressed his lips together, feeling a weight in his heart.
“Eldest Senior Brother… This precious Sword Stone—must it be sacrificed here?” Ye Zhao Zhao asked with hesitance.
“Saving Long Yan is more important,” Sheng Yuan urged, “Little Junior Sister, do it quickly.”
With no other choice, Ye Zhao Zhao took the Sword Stone in trembling hands.
She carefully guided a wisp of her spiritual energy into the stone. The energy traveled within it, returning to her body now sharpened like a honed blade.
Releasing this keen energy would create the elusive Sword Energy.
It sounded so simple, yet it was her first attempt.
The moment the sharp energy reentered her body, a searing pain exploded through her.
A piercing scream burst forth as her face turned as pale as moonlight on a winter night.
“Zhao Zhao!”
“Little Junior Sister!”
The disciples of Spirit Void Peak rushed forward in alarm.
Chang Le An glared at Li Shuang in fury. “Was it you? What have you done to Zhao Zhao?!”
Li Shuang remained serene. “What harm could I bring? It is only the edge of Sword Energy. Every sword cultivator must endure its trial.”
Sheng Yuan quickly examined Ye Zhao Zhao. His eyes were troubled.
Such a small wound, yet Zhao Zhao reacted as if struck by a mighty blow.
For true sword cultivators, such pain was a daily trial.
“Ye Zhao Zhao, if you do not wish to save Long Yan, simply say so. Why play this act?” Luo Ming Yue mocked, stepping forward to add to the tension. “At first, you believed Long Yan to be a Peerless Sword Spirit, so you schemed to seize the Dragon’s Roar Sword. Now that you see he is merely a Defiled Sword Spirit, do you wish to abandon him?”
Her lips twisted into a sneer. “Fine then. If you choose inaction, Long Yan will fall to the corruption of tainted energy. When his spirit collapses and he sinks into slumber again, you will have the perfect excuse to search for a new sword, will you not?”
This novel is translated and hosted on Bcatranslation