Chapter 59

Chapter 59: Contaminated

Meng Yi Fei pressed down the surge of emotion in his chest and stayed silent for a long while.

Immortal Ling Xu grew flustered and blurted out: “The Ancestor’s Emotionless Sword Art? We all examined that jade slip. There was nothing special about it. How could that unfilial disciple of mine grasp the Emotionless Sword Art? There must be some other reason.”

He was the one who had driven Li Shuang out of Ling Xu Peak. He had even announced to the whole sect that he had severed their master-disciple bond.

He did it to make Li Shuang a joke. He had not meant to make himself a joke.

Regret crept into his heart. He should not have been so impulsive. From now on, the higher Li Shuang rose, the more people would haul out his name and mock him. He was an Integration Stage Immortal. How would he face others in the future?

Lin Qing Ling cut him a sidelong look and chuckled, saying: “Ling Xu, keep lying to yourself if you like. We saw nothing special in that jade slip, but since Little Shuang has entered the Emotionless Path, perhaps it shows a different face in her hands.”

She paused, the corner of her mouth curling with a slight smile, and added: “Either way, I should thank you, Immortal Ling Xu. You personally handed me such a good disciple. If you had been a little less foolish, with Little Shuang’s nature, she would have served you loyally all her life for the small kindness you once showed her. So again, thank you for the favor of discarding your disciple.”

Immortal Ling Xu’s face darkened at once. He said nothing, turned on his heel, and stormed off.

Watching his back, Lin Qing Ling clicked her tongue and muttered under her breath: “What a joke.”

Meng Yi Fei’s gaze flickered again and again. No one could tell what he was thinking.

Back on Ling Xu Peak, Ye Zhao Zhao checked the Sword Spirit Space. Long Yan’s face was pale, his spirit body curled up tight and very weak. Seeing him like that, all she felt was a spike of irritation.

She had worked so hard to seize the Dragon Roar Sword, planning to use it to cut down all enemies. But what then? Long Yan bragged about how strong he was. The moment he met Li Shuang, he lost miserably. What good was a sword that could not defeat Li Shuang?

Long Yan tried to smile and said gently: “Zhao Zhao, I’m fine.”

He thought to himself, [She admitted defeat for me. She must have her own reasons, right?]

Her voice came out full of disgust as she snapped: “Useless. What do I need you for? You are no help at all. You only drag me down.”

Long Yan froze. His spirit body trembled. He wanted to speak, but no words came.

[So the excuse on the stage was just that, an excuse. Because I lost, she does not want me anymore, does she?] His eyes reddened. He had turned his back on Li Shuang and rushed to Ye Zhao Zhao’s side without looking back. Ye Zhao Zhao did not understand the Way of the Sword, and he did not mind. Ye Zhao Zhao disliked practicing the sword, and he did not mind. As long as he could stay with her, he would do anything. These days, without the tempering of sword qi, his whole being felt wrong, but he had never complained. He loved Ye Zhao Zhao, so he had no regrets. [But now, just because I lost once, she refuses to look at me?]

Ye Zhao Zhao withdrew her divine sense. The Sword Spirit Space turned dim again. Long Yan curled up, and thin tendrils of turbid qi began to rise from him.

Putting on a worried face, Ye Zhao Zhao turned to the others and said: “First Senior Brother, please take a look at Long Yan too. He seems so weak.”

Sheng Yuan’s expression grew grave, and he said: “Second Junior Brother, come check as well.”

Shen Yue agreed without argument. The two of them examined the Sword Spirit Space carefully with their divine sense. They could tell only that Long Yan was very weak. Nothing more.

They discussed, prepared a medicinal liquid, and soaked the Dragon Roar Sword in it. With the liquid’s nourishment, the Sword Spirit Space seemed a bit more stable. But Long Yan stayed curled up, showing no sign of recovery.

Frowning, Sheng Yuan said: “This medicine is made for Sword Spirits. It is supposed to stabilize a damaged spirit body. Why is there no improvement at all?”

Ye Zhao Zhao’s eyes filled with tears as she said: “Did Senior Sister Li’s sword hurt Long Yan? If she holds a grudge against me, she can take it out on me. Why attack Long Yan so cruelly?”

She began to cry in a small, soft voice.

Chang Le An spoke without hesitation, saying: “Who else could it be? If Junior Sister’s cultivation hadn’t been suppressed, how could she lose to that woman? She used this tournament to try to ruin the Dragon Roar Sword, just so Junior Sister would lose a helper.”

Sheng Yuan and Shen Yue did not join the scolding. Their first response was silence.

Ye Zhao Zhao’s eyes flickered. A shadow crossed her heart. The people of Ling Xu Peak still stood with her, but it seemed they were no longer willing to believe her blindly. She swallowed her impatience and put on a pitiful look, saying: “It was only a sparring match. Controlling one’s strength is hard. Long Yan hates the First Senior Sister for abandoning him and burned his spirit in a rash moment. The First Senior Sister probably got truly angry and failed to pull back in time. First Senior Brother, Second Senior Brother, the urgent thing now is saving Long Yan.”

Sheng Yuan sighed and said: “I will invite Master. I fear only Master can solve this.”

He had just reached the door when his face brightened and he said: “Master.”

Immortal Ling Xu walked in without a trace of expression.

Ye Zhao Zhao glanced up at him timidly and said: “Master, you haven’t come by in a long time. Are you still angry with Zhao Zhao?”

She looked small and pitiful, her eyes full of devoted respect, as if his coldness toward her of late had left not the slightest resentment.

Immortal Ling Xu had come with a belly full of anger. But seeing her like this, his heart softened a little. Whatever else could be said, this disciple was truly filial.

“Enough. Let me see the Sword Spirit,” he said as he stepped forward. He swept his divine sense over it and frowned.

Sheng Yuan, worried, asked: “Master, what is wrong with Long Yan? Why is the medicine not helping at all?”

Immortal Ling Xu thought he had misread something. He checked again and again, then showed a strange expression.

At last he spoke slowly: “If it were only damage to the spirit body, the medicine would at least hold his condition steady for now.”

Ye Zhao Zhao cut in, pressing him: “Then there is something else besides spirit damage? Did Senior Sister Li do something to him?”

Immortal Ling Xu could hardly believe what he had found, but he had confirmed it several times. He finally said in a low voice: “Long Yan’s spirit has been contaminated by turbid qi.”