CH 7

Editor: Sahloknir

“Look out!”

Yuchi Xiao, having travelled far and wide to exterminate evil spirits and demons, was accustomed to such abrupt situations. His first reaction was to cry out, “Ghost cultivators have no form and cannot be seen by ordinary people, beware of sneak attacks!”

However, Xu Shuangtze was deaf to his words.

The peach blossom petals carried by the wind reflected in his eyes, he shifted his gaze towards Yuchi Xiao and ruled out his suspicions there. Next, he glanced over at the kneeling Xiang Xiaoyuan, who at this time had to pause to gasp for air, he also did not seem to be the person he was looking for.

‘Xiang Xiaoyuan’ stared firmly at the ground in front of him, his body trembling slightly. He did not dare to raise his head. It was unclear if he was in awe or in fear.

After infinite time had passed, he felt the terrifying aura radiating above his head moving away and he asked, “Where did the peach trees come from?”

Gong Wei then relaxed his spine inconspicuously.

Yuchi Xiao hesitated, “I also do not…Lord Xu, look out!”

A blood red ray of light streaked  from behind towards Xu Shuangtze. Without him turning back—No Way Out unsheathed half of itself without its owner’s command and ruthlessly collided with the blood-red blade of the ghost cultivator.

A thunderous energy surged with the movement of the sword—only then did Xu Shuangtze reach out to grab hold of his sword hilt. He swiftly locked the blood sword in place and with a casual swing, he stabbed the ghost cultivator right through its chest!

Looking at the scene, Gong Wei’s heart was filled with a chill.

Xu Shuangtze’s No Way Out like Ying Kai’s ‘Ding Shan Hai’ are both world renowned, divine blades. Once No Way Out senses imminent bloodlust, it will spontaneously awaken to protect its master with a spirit like a white dragon descending upon the earth. Sixteen years ago, Gong Wei’s assassination plan was foiled because of it and he died under this invulnerable divine weapon.

In other words, like the ghost cultivator, he was also killed with a single stab by this sword.

Although the world seemed to think that he asked for it.

The ghostly figure was slashed several times and each time, it turned into thick smoke and disappeared before reappearing unharmed. However, this time No Way Out inflicted a huge amount of  damage on it, forming a huge crack through its body. The evil spirit was no match for Xu Shuangtze. Even the earlier advantage due to  the lack of form did not help it and it was defeated in a blink of an eye. In its last breath it was still reluctant to escape and swung it’s blood red sword at No Way Out while unsheathing Bai Taishou to lunge at Xu Shuangtze’s throat!

Xu Shuangtze could already see the vicious move coming and tilted his head slightly, avoiding the sword blade. The ghostly shadow couldn’t catch his movement and only came to the realisation of what was about to happen when the sword blade was halted by two slender, yet powerful fingers.

“Bai Taishou,” Xu Shuangtze articulated each character in a low voice.

Then he raised his eyes to gaze at the evil spirit. His frozen face finally revealed some emotion.

“Gong Wei?”

‘Xiang Xiaoyuan’ was kneeling behind him with all ten fingers turning pale as they trembled and dug deep into the dirt.

The ghostly figure was fixed in place, its body suddenly emitting a blinding red current. Yuchi Xiao sensed something ominous and shouted, “Lord Xu, beware of sneak attacks!”

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

However, Xu Shuangtze did not move at all.

If one looked closely, his hand, which was clenched tightly around No Way Out, jerked reflexively, but it must have been an illusion.

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A clear ‘shing!’ broke the silence as he put No Way Out back into its sheath. He turned around but did not see anyone and said in a hoarse and sombre voice,

“Where are the dead and wounded?

—

The people in front of the Prince’s residence were rescued. Meng Yunfei was still in a daze when he was tapped on his acupoint, which dispersed some of the dense, black fog surrounding him. He looked up to see Xu Shuangtze’s stoic face before spurting out a mouthful of blood and passing out.

Yuchi Xiao immediately rushed over to catch his falling friend. He quickly carried the unconscious Meng Yunfei to get medical attention. As Xu Shuangtze looked at the departing duo, he turned to the bystanders and spoke crisply, “Report to me the happenings in the past twenty-four hours. Do not conceal anything.”

The second half of his sentence was really redundant. Since everyone present already saw him as their saviour, and could not wait to report to him all the heresies which happened in the city in the past half a month.

Even minor gossip, like the dog in the eastern part of the city which did not bite and the chicken in the west which did not lay eggs, were also brought up. On the other hand, Yuchi Xiao, who had come back from attending Meng Yunfei, was well aware of the temperament of Lord Xu. Knowing that reports to him had to be concise, he quickly explained, “The ghost cultivator seems to fear virgin’s blood. Last night, Your Lordship’s disciple, Young Master Xiang, in view of the situation sprayed his own blood on the ghost sword…”

“Xiang Xiaoyuan…” Yuchi Xiao’s report was suddenly interrupted by Xu Shuangtze.

As such, Gong Wei suddenly became the focal point of all the cultivators in the hall.

Xu Shuangtze said, “Come here.”

The terrible penetrated wound on Gong Wei’s left shoulder had already been treated by the disciples of the city’s medical practitioners. His muscle and bones had been reconnected, and the bleeding and pain was stopped after a thick layer of Immortal Sacred Medicine was applied. However, he still felt a residual soreness and pain, hence he hobbled and swayed as he walked towards Xu Shuangtze. He kowtowed as he replied, “My Lord”

Xu Shuangtze examined him from top to bottom before quietly asking, “Are you the only one who can see the ghost cultivator’s appearance?”

‘Xiang Xiaoyuan’ did not even dare to raise his head, “Yes.”

Xu Shuangtze continued to probe, “Previously, people died only at night, but since the day after you arrived in the city, the ghost cultivator began to wreak havoc even in the daytime?”

“…Yes.”

Xu Shuangtze fell silent as he contemplated Xiang Xiaoyuan’s response.  Meanwhile the observing crowd in the hall had also grown silent, such that one’s breath could be heard. Gong Wei shrank back and looked down to stare at his toes. After some time, Xu Shuangtze held No Way Out before him with one hand, and said with a flat tone, “Pull the sword out.”

He was actually suspicious of ‘Xiang Xiaoyuan’!

If it were in his past life as Chief Gong, if it was he who was opposing Xu Shuangtze right now, he would have grabbed and hidden No Way Out behind his back in a blink of an eye, and then smilingly provoked him with a tilted head, “Want it back? Then beg me, Xu Bai.”

Xu Shuangtze, of course, would have paid no attention to him, let alone forcibly search his body to snatch it back. The most he would do was gaze at Gong Wei from above before turning his back to leave. Within a few days, Ying Kai would naturally pay a visit to reprimand Gong Wei with a knock on his head and help Xu Shuangtze retrieve No Way Out.

But in this life, the little Mei demon was really the lowest life form. In front of Lord Xu, he did not even have the right qualifications to speak freely, let alone think of snatching over his precious sword. Gong Wei’s throat quivered, he closed his eyes before he slowly reached out and held onto the hilt of his sword…

Ka cha!

A flood of cold light covered Gong Wei’s hand and his knuckles were slowly turning pale green from the severe pain.

Looking at the scene before him, Xu Shuangtze questioned, “Is there a pain in your left chest?”

‘Xiang Xiaoyuan’ timidly looked back at him. His voice trembling due to the pain could be misinterpreted as fear, “Re-reporting back to Your Lordship, this disciple is inept in martial arts, and has been wounded on the left shoulder earlier on.”

Saying that, he tugged down the collar of his robe to reveal a bloodstained bandage on his left shoulder.

Xu Shuangtze’s gaze fell on the bloodstain and he narrowed his eyes as he contemplated the wound in silence.

No Way Out was capable of causing fatal damage to the soul. The many people who died under this divine sword continued to have an incomplete soul even after reincarnation. No Way Out could evoke a reaction to these souls upon close proximity.

Would he be discovered?

Gong Wei was tormented by the agonising pain until his vision dimmed. As he entertained his messy and drifting thoughts, he suddenly glanced at the Qilin blood jade pendant hanging from his own waist and a ridiculous thought came to mind, Hold on, since the marriage was not officially withdrawn—I am still rightfully engaged to the heir of the Sword Sect family…right?

If Xu Shuangtze dares to capture me back for execution, I will cling onto Yuchi Xiao right here and shout at him for being disrespectful for forcefully stealing the wife of a junior. I wonder which of them would faint in anger first? Him or Brother Yuchi?

Entertaining such thoughts, Gong Wei unconsciously shifted his gaze to Yuchi Xiao, who looked at him in puzzlement. What are you trying to say? What is Lord Xu doing? Did you somehow offended Lord Xu?

Gong Wei could no longer maintain his stare due to the pain he was experiencing.  He only managed to shake his head weakly before dropping his gaze.

While the two of them were going back and forth with their subtle movements, a retainer of the Sword Sect family suddenly burst into the hall, he hurriedly bent down to present a mahogany lacquered tray, “Lord Xu! Young Master Yuchi! These are the belongings of the woman outside of the Prince’s residence, please take a look!”

—It turned out it was the illusion magic ‘Attraction Seed’ which Meng Yunfei and the others were enchanted by!

Like that, the brief, treacherous atmosphere was abruptly broken. Something on the lacquered tray caught Xu Shuangtze’s attention, “Bring it over.”

The retainer hastily bowed and  held up the lacquered tray. Meanwhile, Gong Wei spontaneously took two steps back. His spine, which was tensed up earlier, now slightly relaxed.

The ghost cultivator was gone and the ‘Attraction Seed’ enchantment should now be ineffective. However, as a precautionary measure, all the hairpins, rings, beads, jade and fragrance bottles on the tray were suppressed with a number of talismans.

Xu Shuangtze picked out a tiny mercury mirror decorated with flower prints and looked at it before throwing it back down. His facial expression turned grim as he muttered two words from his thin lips, “Mirror Art.”

None of the cultivators in the hall understood. Only Yuchi Xiao suddenly associated it with something else and asked, “Thousand Dimension Mirror World?”

‘Mirror Art’ is a kind of rare illusion art and in recent years, there were no cultivators who practiced it. Only the disciples of superior families like Yuchi Xiao, who had grown up exposed to countless magic weapons and rare treasures, knew about the existence of this profound Mirror Art and the frightening divine weapon used to cast it—‘Thousand Dimension Mirror World’.

The weapon was in fact a palace with a thousand mirrors.

As one of three top illusion techniques of the Immortal Alliance, a mirror is used as a medium to connect both Yin and Yang. When the Thousand Dimension Mirror World was activated, anyone who was trapped in this technique would completely lose track of reality and fall prey to the illusions of the palace. One could grow up, get married, start a family, grow old and die in that world without ever discerning that everyone around them were actually just mere illusions.

If this magic weapon were to fall into the hands of those with ulterior motives, it could cause life-long harm to its victims. Therefore, Ying Kai personally sealed the Mirror Palace and most of its power in the Immortal Alliance’s Disciplinary Court. Only a small corner of the palace, with a few mirror fragments, could be accessed only for the sole purpose of teaching and testing the disciples sent for disciplinary action. The illusions were used to train and strengthen their willpower.

The only person in the world who often used the Thousand Dimension Mirror World was Chief Gong.

Yuchi Xiao opened and closed his mouth a few times before saying with difficulty, “The sword which Your Lordship saw earlier was Bai Taishou. Could it be that the ghost cultivator is really—is really…”

The other cultivators have already gone hoarse in fear, “Chief Gong?!”

Gong Wei closed his eyes and thought, Fellow cultivators, you really shouldn’t have gone there.

Xu Shuangtze hated all forms of Mirror Arts. No one in this world knew better than Gong Wei how much he had suffered in the Thousand Dimension Mirror World. If one were to rank the things Xu Shuangtze wanted to do most in his life, exhuming Chief Gong to kill him again could only be ranked second. The utmost thing he wanted to do was to storm into the Disciplinary Court and smash up the Thousand Dimension Mirror World.

Xu Shuangtze’s expression turned gloomy. He held the hilt of No Way Out with one hand and started to subtly stroke it, before grimly replying, “No. This was just regular Mirror Art, not the Thousand Dimension Mirror World.”

The emotion in his tone could easily be misinterpreted, as though he would have preferred if it was the Thousand Dimension Mirror World which has resurfaced.

But the misconception did not last as he continued on to ask, “Where are the twenty-eight original bodies?”

Yuchi Xiao quickly replied, “They are placed at the Medical Sect’s Villa in the city. Yunfei and I have opened up all the coffins to examine and all are confirmed to have died by suicide…Lord Xu, where are you going?”

As Yuchi Xiao was talking, Xu Shuangtze had stood up and started walking out. Without looking back he replied, “To invoke the souls.”

Seeing the departing Xu Shuangtze, Yuchi Xiao thought that he did not explain it clearly enough and hurriedly caught up behind him. “Reporting to Your Lordship, the souls of those killed by evil magic are fragmented and cannot be invoked! I have tried many times when we first arrived at Linjiang City, and indeed—”

Brilliant, thought Gong Wei. Another person out to make a fool of himself.

As Gong Wei had predicted, before Yuchi Xiao could finish his sentence, he almost walked right into the back of Xu Shuangtze who paused his steps. Lord Xu then turned around and glanced at him coldly, scoffing, “That is merely your attempt.”

Yuchi Xiao: “…”

Gong Wei almost burst out in gloating laughter, but a sharp pain in his shoulder suppressed it. As he nursed his wound, he thought, This lot of young people have been calling out ‘Lord Xu, Lord Xu’ all day long and cannot wait to carve the surname ‘Xu’ on a tablet to worship daily with incense offerings on an altar. Serves you all right! You deserve to have a taste of Lord Xu’s temper.

Xu Shuangtze no longer paid any attention to the junior of the Sword Sect family. His line of sight swept across the surrounding crowd and fell on the body of ‘Xiang Xiaoyuan’ who was sneakily attempting to hide. He stared coldly for a long time before he firmly said, “You, come along as well.”

Ka cha, a bolt of thunder struck from the air.

Gong Wei could no longer laugh.