Chapter 56 Part 2

Li Ruoshui exhaled a breath of turbid qi. This was far more comfortable than being in the seawater, at least.

“Was that move you comprehended in the Shanyue True Form Chart just now?” Lian Rusu asked.

Li Ruoshui’s body stiffened, her scalp tingling, a guilty flicker in her eyes.

“No, it resembles the Law Dao force field from Three Saints Academy. But it also carries a sovereign might.” In Li Ruoshui’s silence, Lian Rusu spoke slowly again, her tone certain. “That sword is the Ying Di Wang.”

Li Ruoshui: “…” The overly definitive tone left no room for denial. She hung her head, avoiding Lian Rusu’s gaze, and hummed lowly, “Yes.”

“After leaving the Shanyue True Form Chart, you said you needed a sword. I originally thought you went to the Heavenly Craft Workshop to have Tianyan Sect fellow Daoists forge one, but you didn’t. You went alone to the Empire.”

“You cultivate Vow Dao, so you shouldn’t have qualified to compete for the Emperor Sword. During that time, news spread that the Shanyue True Form Chart had gone missing from the Empire. Actually, you subdued the Shanyue True Form Chart? Both are artifacts refined by the Qing Emperor. Holding one naturally earns the favor of the other.”

Lian Rusu’s guesses were nine-tenths accurate.

At that time, Li Ruoshui still didn’t know her close friend’s true identity and hadn’t fully concealed her tracks, merely hiding what she was about to do occasionally.

It wasn’t strange for Lian Rusu to deduce the whole story. After all, she had blabbed and become a sieve.

Li Ruoshui secretly glanced at Lian Rusu.

But that detestable concealment technique hadn’t faded. She could remember Lian Rusu’s appearance while looking, but once her attention shifted, her mind went blank. In the end, she only recalled the slightly furrowed brow and serene gaze.

“It was me,” Li Ruoshui simply nodded, adopting a broken-jar attitude of admission. She had been hiding and restraining herself before Lian Rusu, but how long could her true nature stay hidden? In the end, wouldn’t it be seen? She came to know the real her, right? Then let her see the worst of her. If she was scared off, it would mean their fragile Dao friendship officially shattered. Anyway, their personalities were polar opposites; they could never walk together.

“The Empire doesn’t know where the real Emperor Sword is. I hid this news for Rong Luo, but I have no intention of returning the Emperor Sword to the Empire.” Li Ruoshui let out a cold laugh. “The world originally had no master. The Qing Emperor never said the Emperor Sword could only be passed down to the imperial family.”

“I’m not asking you to send the Emperor Sword back to the Empire.” Lian Rusu gazed at Li Ruoshui and sighed. “But you entered the Imperial Capital alone—that was truly dangerous.”

Li Ruoshui did not look at Lian Rusu’s expression and said casually, “You left a protective power on me.”

Lian Rusu shook her head. “But you didn’t know that at the time.”

Li Ruoshui pursed her lips. She truly had not known it was Cave Heaven power, but she had included it among her contingencies. By revealing that she was in the Empire, she had actually given herself a way out. Was this also a form of exploitation?

Lian Rusu continued, “It was too risky. I will help you.”

Li Ruoshui raised an eyebrow. “Help me steal the sword?”

Once the Taiyi Sect Master made a move, it would no longer be just one person’s affair. Even if Lian Rusu was truly willing, how could she drag Lian Rusu into this quagmire? She planned to withdraw from Taiyi Sect; she was only herself. But even if Lian Rusu abandoned her position as Sect Master, she would still represent Taiyi. Responsibility weighed on her shoulders.

Lian Rusu glanced at her and pressed her lips together without speaking.

It dawned on Li Ruoshui belatedly that Lian Rusu was referring to giving her a sword.

And she had indeed given her one.

The atmosphere between them grew somewhat tense; the topic was unpleasant. A few traces of melancholy settled in Li Ruoshui’s heart, all directed at herself.

She felt troubled but could not articulate exactly why.

It must be because she had not obtained the Thunder Dragon Bone.

The Thunder Spine Sharks were obstructing her!

Li Ruoshui turned to Lian Rusu, her tone softening. “Sorry.”

“Hm?” Lian Rusu blinked, looking somewhat bewildered, unsure where Li Ruoshui’s apology had come from.

Li Ruoshui sighed inwardly.

Similar to the one in the Tianyan Mirror, this incarnation was obedient without a trace of the aloof, untouchable ruthlessness of an emotionless Dharma path.

Li Ruoshui did not dwell on it further. She said, “I can’t see your face clearly.”

Her gaze swept over Lian Rusu like wind skimming water, leaving no trace. She did not know if it was because Lian Rusu’s expressions changed little or because she had not committed them to memory.

Lian Rusu nodded. “Alright.”

She raised an eyebrow at Li Ruoshui and smiled.

That ordinarily plain face suddenly bloomed with brilliant radiance, outshining even the starlight and moonlight.

Li Ruoshui was momentarily dazed by the close-range smile, radiant as spring blossoms bursting forth, and nearly failed to suppress an “ah.”

The night they first met, Lian Rusu had arrived cloaked in starlight and moonlight, treading through snow and plum blossoms, her glow approaching from afar.

This time, her lashes lowered, her brows and eyes curved in a smile, striking straight into her vision.

Li Ruoshui clutched her chest, inexplicably flustered and angry. “Could you—”

Stop smiling.

She cut off mid-sentence.

Li Ruoshui’s face flushed to her ears; she wanted to slap herself.

Lian Rusu asked, “What’s wrong?”

Li Ruoshui shook her head, struggling to calm her rippling emotions. She took out the Tianyan Mirror; Ji Wuxin had replied with just three simple words: “Got it.”

–

When Li Ruoshui headed to the Thunder Spine Shark Territory, Ji Wuxin was still a guest on Penglai Island.

She held no fondness for the Thunder Spine Sharks, especially after their clan inexplicably attacked.

She had come for the Return to Ruins Gap born in Thunder Crack Valley, but it was more than that. The Thunder Spine Sharks’ initial explanation was that the gap enveloped their territory, making it inconvenient for outsiders to enter. Ji Wuxin had planned to press them while they refused to yield, using the chance to scout the Thunder Spine Shark clan and see if it could truly produce a Cave Heaven powerhouse. But before she could propose further investigation, the Thunder Spine Sharks conceded, opening the Return to Ruins Gap to cultivators from the Nine Provinces.

“Will Fellow Daoist Shangshan be in danger going to Thunder Crack Valley alone? Dragon God Transformation can’t fully alter her appearance; once she fights, her aura will leak out.” Yue Shenlin propped her cheek, worried.

“Why did only Fellow Daoist Shangshan come this time?” Yue Shenlin did not expect Ji Wuxin to answer; she sighed to herself. She had chatted idly with Yao Changliu on the Tianyan Mirror, originally wanting to invite them to the Merfolk Kingdom too, but Yao Changliu had to gather a precious herb, and she had asked Feng Qing to guard her. They all said “come later,” but who knew when that later would be—perhaps centuries from now.

“There is danger.” Ji Wuxin never sugarcoated words to comfort Yue Shenlin. She eyed that beautiful blue fish tail refracting rainbow light, her brows furrowing slightly. Yue Shenlin’s upper body was in the pool, but she disliked soaking; her tail splashed water droplets now and then, speckling the screen with wet marks.

As those four words left her mouth, the fish tail slammed into the water with a bang. Even the stone table before Ji Wuxin inevitably got splashed, and a few lustrous Merfolk Pearls bounced right under her nose.

Ji Wuxin closed her eyes briefly, a vein throbbing on her forehead. The string of Bodhi Beads in her hand clacked crisply as she fiddled with them.

“What danger? How is she now? What do we do?” Yue Shenlin paled in shock, the scales adorning her temples fading. Her fish tail finally transformed into legs, and she took two steps toward Ji Wuxin, her face full of anxiety.

Ji Wuxin said expressionlessly, “A Nascent Soul Realm ruins spirit appeared in the Return to Ruins Gap within the Thunder Spine Shark Territory.”

“Nascent Soul Realm? Isn’t that supposed to be a Golden Core level Return to Ruins Gap?” Yue Shenlin’s eyes widened. Even the most ignorant cultivator in the Nine Provinces knew this. For such a gap to produce this, it was either a mutation or a misassessment. Her eyes darted as she leaned on the stone table, her arm pressing onto Ji Wuxin’s shoulder.

“If it mutated, the commotion wouldn’t be small. Those nasty Thunder Spine Sharks look like they were carved from the same mold as the ruins spirits—they’re the vanguard of the Return to Ruins, surely plotting to harm the Origin Sea.” Yue Shenlin made her deduction with utmost seriousness.

Ji Wuxin did not refute Yue Shenlin’s wild speculations. She silently brushed Yue Shenlin’s hand off her shoulder. Before she could speak, Yue Shenlin exclaimed in surprise, “Ji Wuxin, why aren’t you acting yet? Don’t tell me you want to reap the benefits while others fight?”

Her suspicious gaze roved; Yue Shenlin subtly stepped back, widening the distance from Ji Wuxin.

Ji Wuxin: “…” This blatant malicious assumption was written plainly on her face. Ji Wuxin vaguely understood why the merfolk imposed all sorts of restrictions on Yue Shenlin’s Tianyan Mirror. How long had it been since she left the Origin Sea? And she had already learned bad habits from that crowd. Ji Wuxin rubbed her forehead and forced a smile. “I’m only at Golden Core Realm.”

She needed to wait for a Nascent Soul True Person from Dragon Palace to arrive.

Yue Shenlin stared at Ji Wuxin. “Fellow Daoist Shangshan is too.”

Ji Wuxin: “So she’s in danger.”

Yue Shenlin thought for a moment and found Ji Wuxin’s words profound. She dashed toward the door with pattering steps. “I’m going to find my sister. We have to go save Fellow Daoist Shangshan.”

Ji Wuxin shook her head and rose to follow Yue Shenlin.

For matters related to the Return to Ruins Gap, it was still more appropriate for Dragon Palace to step in.

But was it that the ruins spirit was cunning, evading the Thunder Spine Sharks’ surveillance and eroding a Nascent Soul Daoist’s body? Or had the Thunder Spine Sharks deliberately concealed the gap’s level?

On the isolated island enveloped by the Return to Ruins Gap.

Li Ruoshui also pondered the state of the gap. “That Daoist wasn’t fully possessed by the ruins spirit for long. Could he originally have been the guardian of this Return to Ruins Gap?”

“How could a Golden Core level Return to Ruins Gap produce a Nascent Soul ruins spirit? The Thunder Spine Sharks must have released it deliberately. Their clan attacked the Merfolk Kingdom without reason before; they act without pattern. Probably the entire clan from top to bottom has been eroded by ruins spirits.”

“If the other powers in the Origin Sea stay silent this time, they need to investigate too.”

While flipping the food roasting over the campfire, Li Ruoshui speculated on the Origin Sea’s situation with the utmost malice.

Once she had vented freely, she suddenly realized that the one sitting beside her was not the equally scheming Feng Qing, but the upright and stern Taiyi Sect Master Lian Rusu.

Li Ruoshui’s expression stiffened. She casually offered a skewer to Lian Rusu. “Given the situation, we should assume the worst and prepare perfectly.”

Lian Rusu nodded, took the skewer, and bit into it. Moments later, her watery eyes fell on Li Ruoshui. “Spicy.”

Li Ruoshui was stunned; she had not expected Lian Rusu’s focus to be on the food.

Was it because of the sword’s owner? But that Sword Spirit ate anything garbage—even a ball of spirit grass wrapped around an unfilleted fish, even getting poisoned until blood streamed from all seven orifices.

She handed Lian Rusu a skewer without chili sauce and swapped with her.

Lian Rusu lowered her lashes. She had only caught the last phrase, “perfect preparation,” and deeply agreed.

The Undefiled Sword Spirit had been fussing nonstop in her sea of consciousness, wanting to manifest a human form to meet “Li Rubing.”

Lian Rusu pretended not to hear the Sword Spirit’s indignant cries.