“We won…”
“We won!”
The Azure Sky Peak disciples below scrambled up from the ground to see Ye Luqing standing on the arena, and Pei Ruyi blasted off it.
They stared at Ye Luqing’s motionless figure. In this moment, Ye Luqing was like the guardian deity of Azure Sky Peak, standing firm and unyielding before them.
“Senior Sister Ye!”
Ying Qianqian rushed onto the arena excitedly and hugged Ye Luqing. But the instant she touched her, she realized something was wrong.
To put it simply, Ye Luqing’s body right now was rigid as a board.
“Senior Sister Ye, you…”
“It’s nothing. The Earthly Sha Force just overloaded…”
Ye Luqing stiffly curled the corner of her mouth. Earthly Sha Force was a power of Heaven and Earth that only a Spirit Transformation Heavenly Lord could refine after communicating with the heavens. For her, a mere Golden Core cultivator, it was extremely difficult to control.
Although it was Earthly Sha Force indirectly triggered through Profound Yellow True Qi, as the array’s constructor, Ye Luqing suffered some backlash.
Using an Earth-Tier technique with a Golden Core body was still somewhat forced.
“Junior Sister, help me raise my hand.”
“Okay!”
Ying Qianqian lifted Ye Luqing’s hand. Her simply tied cyan hair fluttered in the wind.
The next moment, the cheers of the Azure Sky Peak disciples erupted behind her.
“Azure Sky Peak! Azure Sky Peak!”
“Senior Sister Ye! Senior Sister Ye!”
Fervent shouts, cheers… merged into a torrent that seemed to shake the mountains. The sound wave was scorching hot, as if it could reach the summit of Azure Sky Peak.
On the other side, Hua Sheng’s expression froze. Now that Heavenly Sword Peak’s Inner Sect Senior Sister had been beaten unconscious, he, the Second Senior Brother, was the representative of Heavenly Sword Peak.
He glanced back. Tao Xiaoxian, who was supporting Pei Ruyi, was also shouting “Senior Sister Ye,” as if she had assimilated into the Azure Sky Peak side. This made him completely lose his composure.
Since when did Heavenly Sword Peak produce such a double-dealing traitor? And of all people, she was the most talented disciple Heavenly Sword Peak had seen in recent years…
He quickly jumped onto the arena and cupped his hands toward Ye Luqing.
“Senior Sister Ye, thank you for your guidance.”
“Our actions today were lacking in many respects. When the Head Disciple returns to the sect, I will bring Ruyi to apologize to her personally.”
Their Heavenly Sword Peak Inner Sect had originally come to storm the peak. Winning would have been fine, but now that they had lost, they naturally had to offer apologies and compensation.
“It’s fine. When Junior Sister Pei wakes up, remember to tell her to honor her promise,” Ye Luqing said with a smile.
She’d practice first with Pei Ruyi, who somewhat resembled Xiao Qingxuan. When the opportunity arose later, she fully intended to use Xiao Qingxuan herself as a chair.
“Yes, yes…”
Hua Sheng quickly agreed. Although he didn’t know what agreement Ye Luqing and Pei Ruyi had between them, all he wanted now was to quickly leave this place with the other two from Heavenly Sword Peak.
Supported by Ying Qianqian, Ye Luqing slowly departed from the arena.
The Azure Sky Peak disciples watched the two ascend Azure Sky Peak, their expressions still filled with excitement.
On the other side.
Xiao Qingxuan leaped down from the Flying Boat.
The wind and snow were like knives. Even though Xiao Qingxuan had reached Half-Step Spirit Transformation, they still stung her face painfully.
Less than a hundred zhang below lay the Illusion God Sect’s Sect-Protecting Array.
The Flying Boat wouldn’t land at Illusion God Sect, but would fly over it, stopping at a main city up ahead.
Waiting for the Flying Boat to land, then hurrying back, would take too long. So, she planned to jump directly through Illusion God Sect’s Sect-Protecting Array.
A-Qing was still waiting for her. Every second wasted was torment for Xiao Qingxuan.
“Break for me!”
Xiao Qingxuan madly absorbed the surrounding Power of Heaven and Earth, then transformed it into sharp, Emotionless Sword Qi.
Her protective Sword Qi continuously wore down. The surrounding environment constantly shifted, as if she were sinking into layer upon layer of Illusion Realms.
Just as Xiao Qingxuan was about to plunge into the Sect-Protecting Array, a voice suddenly reached her ears.
“Halt, intruder!”
Over a dozen powerful cultivators instantly materialized around her, surrounding Xiao Qingxuan.
While a Half-Step Spirit Transformation cultivator couldn’t truly affect their Sect-Protecting Array, this Sword Cultivator’s Sword Qi was simply too fierce. The Sect-Protecting Array, which could normally withstand Void Comprehension Stage and even Dao Integration Realm cultivators, had triggered its alarm as if stimulated.
Xiao Qingxuan instantly halted her advance. With her cultivation, directly breaking through was very difficult. Her goal had been to draw out Illusion God Sect’s Array-Guarding Elders.
“Xiao Qingxuan of Profound Firmament Upper Sect. I have an urgent matter to request an audience with the Illusion God Sect.”
“This is the Dao Venerable Decree from Dao Venerable Bai Yuhan.”
She poured True Qi into the Dao Venerable Decree bestowed by Bai Yuhan. A profound and mysterious Dao Rhythm instantly filled the surrounding space.
The Illusion God Sect members were all taken aback.
“Profound Firmament Upper Sect…”
“Indeed, the Dao Rhythm of a Dao Integration Realm expert…”
“This is far too reckless…”
Normally, disciples of Transcendent-Rank Powers wishing to enter another sect first needed to pay a formal mountain visit, submit a visiting card, wait outside for a day, and only then could they enter.
For this Sword Cultivator disciple from Profound Firmament Upper Sect to act so rashly was neither proper procedure nor proper etiquette.
Xiao Qingxuan silently watched the Illusion God Sect members. Her move to charge the array was indeed somewhat risky; a slight misstep could result in being shredded by Illusion God Sect’s grand array.
But special times called for special measures. The thought that A-Qing, without her company, might be all alone in her room, shedding little pearls of tears, made Xiao Qingxuan’s heart clench with pain.
She appeared to wait quietly on the spot for these people to deliberate, but inside, she was already contemplating countermeasures.
Most of these dozen or so people were at the Nascent Soul Stage. Only three were Illusion God Sect Elders at the Spirit Transformation Stage.
With her cultivation, launching a surprise attack to capture one of them shouldn’t be difficult.
But the problem was… which Elder held the command token for the Sect-Protecting Array?
Just then, a Peak Nascent Soul Stage cultivator seemed to recognize Xiao Qingxuan.
“Is that Senior Sister Xiao?”
Xiao Qingxuan slightly raised her eyes, looking at the female cultivator addressing her.
“I’m Huang Ran, the Head Disciple of Illusion God Sect’s Illusion Sword Sect. We met last year at the Immortal Sect Assembly.”
Hearing this, Xiao Qingxuan gave a slight nod.
She did have some impression of this female cultivator. She was one of the Sword Cultivators she had defeated at some point.
Beyond that, the Illusion Sword Sect, that newly emerging Sword Sect, she had also heard a bit about.
Although the Illusion Sword Sect only had a hundred years of history, relying on Illusion God Sect, a Transcendent-Rank Power, its reputation in the Sword Dao Lineage had grown increasingly prominent.
For a hundred years, Illusion God Sect’s Illusion Sword Sect had challenged major Sword Sects across the land, faintly possessing the momentum to become the world’s fourth great Sword Sect.
Seeing that Xiao Qingxuan remembered her, Huang Ran’s face lit up with excitement. She hurriedly explained to an Elder.
“Three Elders, this is the Direct Disciple of Profound Firmament Upper Sect’s Sect Master, Feng Linyi.”
Hearing this, the faces of the three Elders guarding this area’s grand array all showed shock.
“What! A Direct Disciple of that Feng Linyi!”
“Quickly, report to the Sect Master…”
Watching the Illusion God Sect members suddenly flustered, Xiao Qingxuan lowered her eyes.
Before coming, Bai Yuhan had told her, if possible, not to invoke Feng Linyi’s name. Her Shizun and Illusion God Sect’s Sect Master had some… unpleasant history.
But at this point, all she sought was the fastest way to see Illusion God Sect’s Sect Master and obtain the method to awaken Ye Luqing’s memories.
Xiao Qingxuan touched the jade pendant Ye Luqing had given her, carried near her heart, and her emotions gradually calmed.
She still vaguely remembered the scene six years ago. She had broken her promise, and Ye Luqing was left on Heavenly Sword Peak with nowhere to go. When she found Ye Luqing, huddled inside a dilapidated house…
Rainwater dripped through the cracks in the wall. On the hard stone bed, Ye Luqing had curled up her knees, her eyes swollen and red from crying.
But the moment she saw Xiao Qingxuan, the young girl had still managed to force an unsightly smile.
To this day, Xiao Qingxuan still remembered that strained, forced smile.
From then on, she never broke a promise to Ye Luqing again.
