Chapter 46: Sword Light Pierces the Night Part 2

Shen Mingzheng’s hands clenched tight. The blunt rejection scorched her pride like fire, but… how could she let these two go find the others without her!

She pressed on, “You two—one at Golden Core Stage, one at Foundation Establishment—stand a better chance with me, a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator!”

Qi Yinxue was a bit surprised by Shen Mingzheng’s insistence. She said gently, “But Senior Sister Shen, we really do need someone to notify Madam Xie. Maybe you should…”

“I’ll handle that too!” Shen Mingzheng blurted, as if terrified of being left behind. She directly pulled out her Young Lord Token!

Through the token, she contacted the guard by her side and instructed him to find Madam Xie, reporting the anomaly at the Osmanthus Tree.

“Young Lord, where are you right now? Madam Xie was just here looking for you. I’ll come find you…”

“I’m not important!” Shen Mingzheng shouted. “Relay my message to Madam Xie exactly—tell her to bring trusted disciples here as soon as possible!”

After finishing with the guard, she stared fixedly at Lu Mingyi and probed, “That should be fine now, right?”

Lu Mingyi thought, If Shen Mingzheng insists on coming, I can’t really stop her anyway? And, This overbearing girl actually has moments when she’s this compliant? How strange.

Though that’s what ran through her mind, her face showed little interest in engaging Shen Mingzheng. It was Qi Yuxie who spoke up: “Senior Sister Shen, since you’re set on going, let’s head out together.”

“Fellow Daoist Liu Er, you said you can undo this array?” Qi Yinxue asked Lu Mingyi.

“Liu Er?” Shen Mingzheng’s brows shot up. She looked Lu Mingyi up and down in shock, as if questioning how anyone could have such a name.

“Ahem, yeah, I should be able to.”

Lu Mingyi coughed and ignored Shen Mingzheng’s blatant stare. She squatted down to examine the ring of stone pedestals.

Lu Mingyi was a prodigy. In her previous life, hailed for her Top Aptitude, it wasn’t just her cultivation speed.

In the Taiqing Sect’s various assessments, she always ranked top-tier.

In swordsmanship, she mastered Jiang Liuzhao’s world-renowned Crimson Sky Sword Art to perfection; in talismans and arrays, her aptitude rivaled inner disciples of Talisman Peak; even in beast-taming, spirit beasts adored her.

The only exception was pill-refining, barred by her lack of Fire Spiritual Root—otherwise, she was truly accomplished in all arts.

Using the splattered bloodstains as a guide, Lu Mingyi quickly pinpointed the array’s nexus. Spiritual power gathered in her palm as she carefully, slowly infused it into the stone pedestal.

Teleportation Formations were among the most complex arrays, and this one—used by the Xiao Family to conceal the Spiritual Spring—was even more intricate.

As she unraveled it, Lu Mingyi couldn’t help but feel a chill. This array is so elaborate—could that demonic cultivator really undo it that swiftly while fending off Jiang Liuzhao’s assault?

It could only mean this lurking demonic cultivator had visited Peach Blossom Source multiple times, with access even to the central area.

But Lu Mingyi worked swiftly too. In less than a quarter-hour, the twenty stone pedestals encircling the Osmanthus Tree lit up with golden light one by one, converging into an intricate array pattern.

“Done.” Lu Mingyi exhaled and stood.

Drained of spiritual power and mental effort, a sheen of sweat beaded on her pale forehead, dampening her stray bangs. Just then, a soft handkerchief pressed against her skin.

Qi Yinxue held out a handkerchief, gently wiping the sweat from her temple with a faint smile. “You worked hard. This was too much trouble for you.”

“No worries. Let’s hurry inside.” Lu Mingyi returned a faint smile and took the handkerchief.

Watching from the side, Shen Mingzheng’s hands clenched fiercely behind her back.

In her grip was a first-grade Spirit Gathering Pill—enough to instantly restore a Foundation Establishment cultivator even from total exhaustion.

That white handkerchief was glaringly bright, choking Shen Mingzheng’s breath and stirring irritation and anger.

Forcing down her emotions, she stepped forward casually and offered the pill. “…Restore yourself before we go in.”

Lu Mingyi glanced at her, her faint smile fading.

Shen Mingzheng noticed, a burning shame surging in her chest—but stronger still was her hope that Lu Mingyi would accept it.

But Lu Mingyi said indifferently, “That’s too precious. I can’t accept it.”

Shen Mingzheng’s body trembled. The humiliation of rejection left her speechless, her striking face cycling through expressions. When Lu Mingyi calmly looked away, it all crumbled into pallor and resentment.

She knew Lu Mingyi no longer regarded her as before—cold, distant even.

Yet seeing Lu Mingyi so amicable with Qi Yinxue, another old acquaintance, reignited that long-buried pain in her chest—scorching, body-wracking agony that kept her sleepless.

“Let’s get going then.” Qi Yinxue, oblivious to the tension between Lu Mingyi and Shen Mingzheng, was focused solely on the search.

With the array activated, stepping inside would teleport them to the destination, after which it would seal automatically.

The instant Lu Mingyi’s feet touched it, darkness swallowed her vision. Intense vertigo hit alongside thick, suffocating chill mist—this Teleportation Formation dumped them midair!

Lu Mingyi hurriedly scanned around. She seemed to be in an underground passage, plummeting rapidly, the shaft so narrow she couldn’t easily summon Billowing Waves.

Moments later, the mist thickened. Guessing a vast lake or river below, she mobilized qi from her Dantian for a controlled descent.

Sure enough, the narrow passage widened. As faint light appeared, it opened up entirely.

An enormous underground cavern!

The narrow shaft ended at a lake below, roughly the size of Peach Blossom Source’s central area. Looking up yielded only darkness, bottomless.

Lu Mingyi hovered over the lake, scooped some water, and sensed its spiritual energy—abundantly rich.

This must be the Xiao Family’s Spiritual Spring.

“Fellow Daoist! Over here!”

Qi Yinxue’s voice echoed through the cavern. Lu Mingyi flew toward it. She and Shen Mingzheng stood at the mouth of a larger cavern opening by the lake, where water trickled steadily out, feeding the lake.

Lu Mingyi landed. Qi Yinxue looked fine, but Shen Mingzheng’s complexion was poor.

Her red robes and long hair were damp, clinging awkwardly—truly disheveled.

Shen Mingzheng, always image-conscious, had likely never done anything like crawling through caves.

Plus, as a cultivator from Lin’an’s watery lands, her swimming was abysmal.

Lu Mingyi flicked her gaze over her a few times. “That was a one-way Teleportation Formation. You can head back now without re-solving it.”

Shen Mingzheng was still panting hard. Hearing this felt like a polite dismissal.

The lump already stuck in her throat now felt like drowning—suffocating her.

She had already… swallowed her pride like this. Why the coldness? Why avoid her?

The damp chill on her skin turned icy. Shen Mingzheng told herself that’s why she shivered. “Why would I go back? I’m not going!”

Lu Mingyi didn’t press; it was just offhand.

She turned to the cavern. “I checked—the shaft goes up endlessly. The water flows from this opening, so they must have gone this way. Let’s head in.”

Qi Yinxue agreed readily. Shen Mingzheng, arms crossed and mood foul, nodded too.

The passage was level and wide enough for two abreast. Qi Yinxue and Shen Mingzheng led, Lu Mingyi brought up the rear.

But after some distance, Lu Mingyi grew uneasy. Only one path here. If Jiang Liuzhao, Xiao Yuxie, and the demonic cultivator were inside, we’d hear fighting echoes by now, given the acoustics.

Did they get separated after entering, and never meet up?

Her unease mounted. Observing the walls, she noted jagged scars amid the dampness.

The cavern was humid, water pooling at the base—erosion shouldn’t create such marks.

As Lu Mingyi pondered, Qi Yinxue and Shen Mingzheng halted ahead.

Qi Yinxue hesitated. “Which… way now?”

The straight path had forked into three.

Lu Mingyi and Shen Mingzheng didn’t answer rashly. They channeled spiritual power to their ears, enhancing hearing for sounds.

“…Right side. Sounds from there,” Shen Mingzheng said after listening, eyes closed.

Lu Mingyi heard it too from the right. She murmured, “Like ‘rumble’… and it’s getting louder?”

Shen Mingzheng hadn’t expected Lu Mingyi to respond—let alone in such a neutral, peaceful tone.

No coldness, mockery, or distance.

“Mm, mm!” Shen Mingzheng’s breath quickened in agreement.

Truth be told, she couldn’t distinguish left from right anymore.

All she heard was her own heart pounding thump-thump.

She’d never imagined she’d one day scrutinize someone’s tone so carefully.

But Lu Mingyi had spoken absentmindedly, not even registering it was Shen Mingzheng.

She focused on listening, her expression growing grave. The sound swelled—urgent, piercing!

Lu Mingyi’s eyes snapped open to the walls, realizing the scars’ origin. She shouted, “Circulate your qi! Form spiritual barriers—now!”

Shen Mingzheng and Qi Yinxue froze briefly, but reacted swiftly. As Lu Mingyi’s words landed, protective spiritual walls sprang up around them.

Almost simultaneously, the rumbling clarified, shaking the walls!

A torrent of raging water surged from the right passage, slamming into the trio with ferocious force!

“Urgh!”

Even with spiritual barriers, the current’s fury and vast spiritual power engulfed them instantly—movement impossible, breathing cut off!

Lu Mingyi and Qi Yinxue’s spiritual energy barriers shattered in an instant, but Lu Mingyi had prepared ahead. She layered three barriers on herself, allowing her to replenish them one by one.

Qi Yinxue, however, clearly hadn’t anticipated such a dire situation. The moment her barrier broke, the torrent nearly swept her away!

Lu Mingyi’s pupils contracted. She immediately used her own body as a shield, catching Qi Yinxue. The immense impact force nearly knocked her unconscious.

Among the three, Shen Mingzheng had the highest cultivation, so she suffered the least.

But her swimming skills were abysmal. Faced with such raging waters, her heart filled with terror. She clung desperately to the nearby wall just to steady her mind.

Shen Mingzheng also noticed Qi Yinxue being swept away. Logically, she wouldn’t lift a finger—after all, she could barely save herself right now.

Yet she saw Lu Mingyi catch Qi Yinxue with her own body.

In that moment, Shen Mingzheng’s grip on the wall loosened slightly. Would Lu Mingyi catch me if I were swept away?

But it was just a question—she didn’t dare dwell on the answer.

After that fleeting thought, she reached out and grabbed Qi Yinxue’s hand, sharing half the impact force with Lu Mingyi.

Lu Mingyi suddenly felt the pressure ease. She assumed Qi Yinxue had rebuilt her spiritual energy barrier.

The water flowed on endlessly, as if it would never stop.

To resist the massive onslaught, Lu Mingyi felt her spiritual power draining rapidly from her Dantian. Shen Mingzheng and Qi Yinxue must have been in the same boat.

If they couldn’t find a way out soon, they’d exhaust their spiritual power and be swept off to who-knows-where!

Just then, at this critical juncture, the water suddenly halted. A dazzling sword light flashed by, forcing Lu Mingyi to squeeze her eyes shut. When she opened them again, the water seemed severed, flowing only to the other side!

She slumped against the wall in profound relief, gulping down fresh air greedily and raggedly.

“Why are you here?”

A clear, slightly taut voice drifted over from afar.

Lu Mingyi shook her head and wiped the water from her eyes before seeing who it was.

It was Jiang Liuzhao.

The Long Rainbow Sword Venerable, untainted by dust with a face like flawless jade, was frowning faintly as she looked over.

The crimson-gold immortal sword in her hand slowly dimmed its glow. It was this blade, Lingyan, that had just sliced the water flow apart.

Lu Mingyi sensed Jiang Liuzhao’s gaze lingering on her. She quickly lowered her head, lest the other woman see through her Disguise Technique.

“Junior Sister Qi, you…” Xiao Yuxie was helping the exhausted Qi Yinxue—who had collapsed on the ground—to her feet. Surprise filled her face, which turned to shock and anxiety upon spotting Lu Mingyi. “How… how did you all get here?!”

Cough… “Demonic Cultivators… the Demonic Cultivators are here, right!” Shen Mingzheng, utterly spent, leaned against the wall gasping for breath. “We… we’re here to help!”

Xiao Yuxie’s brows furrowed tightly. Ignoring Shen Mingzheng and Qi Yinxue’s reasons for coming, she stared anxiously at Lu Mingyi. “We don’t need your help here—go back now!”

“Hey now, isn’t there an old saying: ‘Since we’re already here…’?”

Suddenly, accompanied by silvery bell-like laughter, a saccharine female voice echoed through the cavern.

Everyone went on high alert. A figure strolled out from the darkness with a playful smile, her upturned fox-like eyes narrowed into slits, the beauty mark at the corner of her brow dancing lively.

Yun Xu clapped her hands in mock praise. “Such touching sect bonds are best enjoyed when everyone’s present, don’t you think?”