The Wangchen sword in his hand suddenly began to shake and hum in warning.
The Hollowed Cave cultivator before him was once a junior of his, one that he had guided. His personality might not have changed, but he was now corrupted by the demonic ways. Only death awaited him.
Wangchen flashed with a warning light as Jiang Yinghe tightly gripped its hilt.
But in the other’s eyes, the most captivating thing standing before him wasn’t the spiritual weapon, but rather the cold and pure expression of its wielder.
He was the same as always.
An untouchable immortal, and the first crush of many.
Xiao Xuanyu swallowed and began to smile darkly. “Alright. I want to see just how much you’ve missed me.”
In reply, a deadly sword light swept towards him.
Jiang Yinghe was wearing a snow white cloak. Its edges swayed in the wind, exposing his slender wrist as he directed a massive burst of sword energy towards his opponent, leaving him nowhere to hide.
Even at the same level, demonic cultivators would have access to more offensive firepower. The two were serious from the very first exchange of blows. Jiang Yinghe remained steady with every intention to kill.
The shock waves emanating from the conflict completely levelled the world inside the dimensional array. The demonic pipa sent lingering soundwaves out that entangled all that they touched, but Wangchen was quick to break through and head straight for the source.
The sword light barely brushed over his cheek, breaking skin and drawing first blood.
He lifted a hand to wipe away the blood. There was a smile on his face as he licked his fingertip. He suddenly said, “Xiao He, you’ve overprepared for this illusory realm. It doesn’t have any of those obscure secondary effects, so you would be better off focusing your efforts elsewhere…..”
In the desolate plain illuminated by the moonlight, Xiao Xuanyu fearlessly strode towards the projections of sword light emitted by Wangchen. The closer he got, the more uneasy Jiang Yinghe felt.
Technically speaking, an illusory realm can be used as a maze to slowly eat away at the mind of others, but Jiang Yinghe had prepared countermeasures for that.
Yet the casual attitude of his opponent created a spark of suspicion in his mind.
…..Was there some variable that he had failed to consider? Sound waves from the pipa, demonic techniques….
The answer was on the tip of his tongue. Jiang Yinghe was about to speak when his always cool body suddenly experienced a strange rush of heat.
Hissssss–
He finally remembered what he had forgotten. The faint obscene scent that emanated from the other’s body.
The scent itself was a well-hidden hypnotic technique of He Huan sect.
The flow of energy in Jiang Yinghe’s body weakened. Wangchen was backhandedly stabbed into the ground.
Moonlight weaved through his inky black hair to shine on his tightly wound brows.
The normally cold eyes became misted over as a result of the technique. His slender lips were moist and soft. They parted slightly to take in a deep breath.
If someone has broken the thin neck of a crane or crushed freshly fallen plum blossoms beneath the snow before, they would be able to understand the sight before Xiao Xuanyu’s eyes right now.
The moon beamed down on Jiang Yinghe’s snow white cloak. A faint fragrance slowly drifted out.
The breath of a stranger approached.
“Xiao He.” The other person said, “You’ve been cultivating the path of the sword for a millenium, of course I couldn’t beat you head on. But your heart hasn’t changed a bit after all this time.”
The breathing drew near, its voice hoarse.
“You always think too much of those around you. Too naive and too kind. I’m hardly the first willing to use unscrupulous methods to obtain you. I’m just doing what everyone wanted to do…”
“Do you know how I felt when you and Tong Guiyu tied for first in that list? ……I wanted to kill him right then and there.”
He raised a hand to brush away a few errant strands of hair from Jiang Yinghe’s cheek. “Are you still fighting it? This is He Huan sect’s Seven Days of Joy. I used the secret recipe to whip up a batch.”
He laughed as he took in Jiang Yinghe’s trembling eyelashes and the furious howl of the Wangchen sword that seemed like the only thing keeping him from collapsing. He felt an overwhelming sense of satisfaction for having made a longtime dream of his into reality.
He stepped forward. When he was a hair’s breadth away, he heard Jiang Yinghe’s disparaging voice.
“So you know that you are unscrupulous.” He opened his eyes. “You call this a technique?”
Following his words, the freezing aura around Wangchen suddenly exploded in intensity. It surged up his sword-wielding hand and left a layer of frost that extended all the way to his elbow.
“It’s barely passable.”
His words were without emotion. The originally stalled flow of energy was manually forced to circulate once again, accompanied by the roar of the sword aura.
Wangchen was out for blood.
The blade cleaved the other in two, severing his body as well as half of his soul with the sword aura. This, in addition to the awe-inspiring spiritual energy of a Hollowed Stage sword cultivator, completely ripped apart the demon’s power.
Blood sprayed everywhere from the corpse. It landed in his hair and dripped down, staining his snow white clothes with crimson. There were even specks on his face.
Jiang Yinghe looked on as Xiao Xuanyu’s other half of his soul gave up on his body and fled. It was only when it dove through the moon of the illusory realm that he struck his sword into the ground and spat out a mouthful of blood.
As expected, the manual recirculation of energy has side effects.
Why are even handsome men so dangerous this year? That bastard probably couldn’t even get it up…ow.
He couldn’t believe he still had the energy to curse at this time. He gasped for breath. His injuries seemed to exacerbate whatever the fuck that son of a bitch used on him, and the circulation in his body was almost stagnant.
Jiang Yinghe’s consciousness grew thin. He didn’t notice the blood on his hands drip onto his sword pendant where it was slowly absorbed.
__
Business was booming as always back in the brothel, with even more customers arriving as the night went on.
Chang Ye held a cup of tea in his hand as he watched Qin Jun pace in front of him. He grew increasingly annoyed. “Can you stop already? You’re bothering me.”
Qin Jun turned to glare at him. He was just looking to pick a fight. Without changing his expression, he retorted, “Then little shidi should also put down that cup. You’ve broken four already.”
This was a strange sight to see in a brothel, one reminiscent of husbands waiting for their wife to give birth. And each one was more unstable than the last. Chang Ye was bothered enough to unconsciously crush cups in his hands just drinking tea.
Beside the duo, Li Huanhan suddenly opened his eyes, revealing a dark expression.
The mirror stone had been tainted by blood.
He stood. “Qin Jun, watch over the array. I’m going in to take a look.”
Qin Jun followed him up. His voice was impatient. “I’m going with you, Chang Ye will be fine by himself.”
Chang Ye immediately interrupted his words. “There’s no way I’m waiting here alone. Who knows what you two intend to do in there?”
Their communication broke down due to their mutual distrust. At that moment, the originally stable inner dimension seemed to ripple as something flew out. The scent of demonic energy grew thick in the air.
The tense standoff immediately changed. Chang Ye activated the transmissions tablet without a second thought. The three of them then silently entered the array Shizun had put down.
The illusory realm remained. It was one of the most complex variations of the He Huan sect. Unless the caster wills it otherwise, intruders would be trapped in a never-ending maze once they set foot inside.
Li Huanhan was apathetic about the maze in front of him or the whereabouts of the other two. He pulled out the Jimei sword and allowed his long-restrained demonic energy to run along the length of the blade, bringing to life the designs carved on it.
No matter how kind and caring he may act, he was a heavenly demon at his core.
The bloodlust and wrath he had suppressed flared up in those blood-red eyes until they resembled a bloody inferno.
An incredible amount of demonic energy tore the maze apart piece by piece. The half of Xiao Xuanyu’s damaged soul that escaped was soon revealed.
Xiao Xuanyu paused and widened his eyes.
From what he had gathered, Jiang Yinghe had only been accompanied by a few disciples. Why was there a demonic cultivator of this calibre here?!
The man in front of him was cloaked in darkness and his heavenly demonic physique was immediately apparent. His appearance matched that of the rumoured eldest disciple. He swept his gaze over and coldly spoke.
“Is it you?”
Xiao Xuanyu: …I think it’s a bit too late to deny that now.
“Where is my Shizun?”
Xiao Xuanyu had only half of his soul left. Facing that demonic sword in his hands that just had a few of its restrictions lifted, he felt an overwhelming sense of dread. Only one thought echoed through his dazed mind.
What kind of disciples….has that Jiang Yinghe…..been collecting…..
Author’s Corner
He’s collected a demonic cultivator, a ghost cultivator and an archdevil!
Xiao Xuanyu: How can a villain like me only touch his hair?! Author, wait, isn’t this unfair? Hey–
Author: Do you know how happy those three would be to touch his hair? Be more grateful for what you have!