Fuyu Sha carefully scrutinized Yan Zhichuan.
Or rather, she stared intently at the sword strapped to her back.
The snow weasel cradled in Fuyu Sha’s arms squeaked angrily in fury and grievance, raising its paw to point at its own teeth.
But Fuyu Sha didn’t avenge it. Instead, she asked with keen interest, “Junior Sister Yan, is this sword the ‘Nameless Plainness’ you took from the Armory?”
The Armory was Nine Abyss Sect’s weapon vault, housing spoils seized from enemies, commissioned artifacts, and heirlooms left by ancestors. Retrieving an ordinary sword was simple enough, but claiming a spirit treasure required passing grueling trials.
Yan Zhichuan nodded happily. Before, she’d always seen the masked Fuyu Sha as some ghost crawling out of a gloomy tomb. But after hearing just one sentence from her, she immediately felt a sense of kinship.
There weren’t many with such a keen eye for treasures. She’d deliberately twirled the sword around earlier, yet no one had recognized it.
Fuyu Sha raised an eyebrow and said, “Good.” She slammed her blade into the ground and declared excitedly, “You’re the sect leader’s true disciple, so you must cultivate the sword too, right?”
Yan Zhichuan replied without thinking, “Yes, I’m a sword cultivator.”
Fuyu Sha was very pleased. She continued, “I wonder how you compare to Junior Sister Zhan. Come, draw your sword!”
Yan Zhichuan: “!!!”
Was the sect about to clash weapons right here?
Adaptable as ever, she quickly backpedaled, “My dream is to become a sword cultivator, but actually, I’m a medicine cultivator.”
Zhan Yujie sighed.
She already knew Yan Zhichuan’s measure—she’d probably be sent flying after two moves.
She stepped in front of Yan Zhichuan and said, “Senior Sister, spar with me instead.”
Fuyu Sha pouted. “It’s always you whenever I return.”
Yan Zhichuan poked her head out from behind Zhan Yujie and muttered softly, “Now you’re even complaining about it.”
Fuyu Sha fixed her gaze on Yan Zhichuan and smiled. “What was that, Junior Sister?”
“I said—” Yan Zhichuan shrank back, cleared her throat, and asked, “Senior Sister Yusha, do you have to wear that mask?”
She remembered seeing Fuyu Sha as a child, back when she was a graceful lotus maiden. Had she been disfigured in some spell duel?
Fuyu Sha stepped forward and flicked Yan Zhichuan’s forehead. “What do you know? This cost me a fortune in pure gold.” She emphasized the words “pure gold.”
“Wow.” Yan Zhichuan played along enthusiastically, her eyes sparkling. After a pause, she asked, “Does the mask have any special effects? I want one too.”
Zhan Yujie: “No effects.”
To anyone intent on peeking at Fuyu Sha’s face, wearing it or not made no difference.
Fuyu Sha defended herself vigorously. “What are you saying, Junior Sister Zhan? Doesn’t extravagance count?”
Zhan Yujie stared at her expressionlessly.
If she remembered correctly, Fuyu Sha’s bills sent back to the sect towered like mountains. So extravagant, yet still drowning in debt?
Under Zhan Yujie’s gaze, Fuyu Sha gradually grew guilty. She coughed lightly and changed the subject. “The Three Ways River Sword Duel is about to start. Has the sect decided who’s going?”
Zhan Yujie’s expression softened. “One from each peak, but Senior Sister Wu has personal matters and might not join us.”
“Eh?” Fuyu Sha blinked in surprise. “Then who’s going from Medicine Peak? We can’t just rely on righteous spirit to heal at the Three Ways River, can we?”
Yan Zhichuan popped her head out and pointed at herself. “Me.”
Medicine Peak’s Golden Core cultivators had already left on medical missions, and with Wu Jiang gone, only a few stragglers remained.
She might not be from Medicine Peak, but couldn’t Nine Abyss Peak represent them all? When necessary, she, Yan Zhichuan, could stand for any peak.
Zhan Yujie nodded. “Junior Sister Yan has considerable talent in pill refining.”
“Really?” Fuyu Sha muttered. If she was that skilled, how come no one had heard of her before?
Frankly, even Zhan Yujie lacked confidence in Yan Zhichuan.
But Wu Jiang had recommended her—no way she’d sabotage them.
After a moment’s hesitation, she affirmed firmly, “It’s true.”
Fuyu Sha added, “The Three Ways River is the site of the immortal-demon war, where the Demon Sovereign once fell. The demon creatures inside have been cleared out—nothing stronger than Nascent Soul. Slaughtering them is a breeze. The real trouble is the lingering demon qi that won’t disperse and the demon cultivators lurking within.”
Yan Zhichuan’s eyes lit up. “Demon Sovereign? The strongest of the Demon Clan, right?”
Zhan Yujie explained, “A Dao Fruit Realm of the Demon Clan.” Before the Profound Heaven Immortal Barrier was erected, the Demon Clan endlessly warred with humanity, invading the Human World to enslave people and feed on their blood. In that cataclysmic battle ten millennia ago, both sides suffered devastating losses. The Nine Summers Continent’s lineages nearly vanished, ushering in a long age of decline. It took a thousand years of recuperating vital energy for them to gradually recover. Even then, they never matched their former glory—the reformed Nine Summers Continent couldn’t support Dao Fruit Realm existences, capping at Cave Heaven.
Yet whether the side beyond the Profound Heaven Immortal Barrier could bear Dao Fruit Realm was unknown.
Thus, generation after generation of cultivators vowed to defend the Profound Heaven Immortal Barrier to the death.
Yan Zhichuan let out a “wow” and shifted her thoughts elsewhere.
She was merely Golden Core; even Nascent Soul felt distant, let alone the Dao Fruit Realm beyond Nascent Soul, Soul Transformation, and Cave Heaven.
“In short, the demon qi in the Three Ways River is thick. Get careless, and demonic thoughts will erode you. Unlike regular trials, people die there,” Fuyu Sha summarized gravely.
Yan Zhichuan nodded vigorously.
After hesitating, she asked, “So, is that ten-millennia-old Demon Sovereign’s corpse still around?”
Fuyu Sha replied, “Ancient records say it chose to self-detonate its soul before death, shattering the body to pieces.”
Yan Zhichuan asked cautiously, “So it’s gone… or everywhere?”
Fuyu Sha: “……”
Zhan Yujie lifted her eyelids slightly and said calmly, “Dangerous, yes—but not a graveyard for everyone. The Cave Heaven True Persons have already cleared the Three Ways River Ruins.”
Hearing “graveyard,” Yan Zhichuan shuddered.
She grew even more afraid.
One month later.
Yan Zhichuan headed to the grand hall of Nine Abyss Peak.
Inside stood not only her, but also Zhan Yujie, Fuyu Sha, as well as Senior Sisters Bie Lige from Great Power Peak and Youying from Artifact Peak.
“You’ve all heard the details of the Three Ways River Sword Duel by now, so let’s set off,” Yan Jizhi said warmly. Feeling she’d said too little, she added, “Ask Senior Sister Miao if anything’s unclear.”
The Three Ways River Sword Duel required an external guardian True Person. Everyone except Yan Jizhi wanted to go, so they drew lots—and Artifact Peak’s master, Miao Tianyin, was selected.
The other peaks’ True Persons suspected Miao Tianyin of cheating but found no proof.
Yan Zhichuan’s first trial; her gaze darted among the senior sisters.
She vaguely noticed their off expressions. Fuyu Sha’s golden mask hid hers, but Youying from Artifact Peak was pale as a ghost. Even Zhan Yujie frowned slightly, worry clouding her eyes.
Yan Zhichuan’s heart tightened. Had they received some special mission? Is that why the mood’s so heavy?
“Are we rooting out a traitor?” she whispered to Zhan Yujie, spinning a tale from her novel-reading experience.
Zhan Yujie’s eyelid twitched; she didn’t reply.
When Miao Tianyin appeared in the hall, everyone’s faces worsened.
Yan Zhichuan had a sudden realization.
The senior sisters are all poor, so they resent the True Person famously dubbed ‘Poor Folks Stay Away Peak.’
Her senior sisters wore their loves and hates too plainly—unlike her, unfazed by favor or humiliation.
Shouldering Nine Abyss’s burdens still falls to me.
Miao Tianyin smiled radiantly on the surface. She lounged lazily in a chair, propping her chin, and said offhandedly, “Shall we decide the travel method? High roll gets the flying boat; low roll, you’re on your own.” With that, she tossed out her petite, exquisite dice artifact.
Yan Zhichuan stared fixedly at the spinning die in midair, eyes blurring and head spinning in dizziness.
Fuyu Sha slammed her blade into the ground, letting the backward-tilting Yan Zhichuan lean against it instead of tumbling miserably.
Zhan Yujie casually flicked her sleeve to block Yan Zhichuan’s view.
How could one stare directly at True Person Miao’s artifact, “Formless,” a dao treasure?
“Big or small?” Yan Zhichuan grew anxious, missing Zhan Yujie’s good intentions. Tugging her sleeve wasn’t enough; she grabbed her waistband too, hoping she’d move aside.
Zhan Yujie pursed her lips and irritably swatted Yan Zhichuan’s hand away.
Youying said weakly, “Anything but small is impossible.”
Her master wants us flying there ourselves!
Miao Tianyin tsked, arched a brow, and announced, “Unfortunately, it’s small.”
“Three days to reach the Three Ways River Ruins outskirts. You can manage that, right?”
