In the early morning, in a remote corner of the Taixu Sword Palace, the mist had yet to fully dissipate when the air was already thick with the stench of blood.
Jiang Ying crouched silently behind a cluster of bushes, her heart pounding uncontrollably. Through the damp branches, she watched five or six disciples pin a young man to the ground, their vicious fists and boots raining down on him like a storm.
“Reporting me?” The scar-faced man in the lead sneered, stomping on the youth’s hand and grinding his heel until the bones cracked audibly. “Why don’t you go ask around? In this Taixu Sword Palace, I’ve got the Zhao family backing me!”
The youth on the ground remained silent, drenched in blood, yet the eyes hidden beneath his tangled hair burned with a startling brightness, and they were fixed squarely on Jiang Ying’s direction.
Damn it. Had she been spotted?
A chill ran down Jiang Ying’s spine. She had been trying to sneak down the mountain, and the last thing she needed was to be seen. She shrank back further into the foliage.
“A piece of trash who only started qi training a few days ago dares to file a complaint with the Law Enforcement Hall?” The scar-faced man spat viciously. “So what if I took a Qi-Enhancing Pill before the selection match? Because of you, I got demoted from the inner sect. That debt alone is enough to kill you a hundred times over!”
As his words fell, the others kicked the youth again. He let out a muffled grunt, curling into a ball, his jaw clenched tight as he refused to make a sound.
His face was caked with dirt and scrapes, just looking at him made Jiang Ying ache all over. But she had no intention of meddling. For one, she could barely protect herself right now. For another, she didn’t have the strength, she was even worse off than the “trash” they were talking about.
Jiang Ying decided to wait until the group left before slipping away quietly.
“Stubborn bones, huh.” The scar-faced man suddenly crouched down, grabbed the youth by the hair, and slammed his head hard against the ground. Blood mixed with the dirt, turning a dark crimson.
“Brother Hu, ease up a bit,” one of the disciples behind him said nervously, glancing at the youth. “If you really beat him to death, his life-lamp will go out, and when the Spirit Pivot Hall traces back the images, none of us will get away.”
Zhao Hu snorted coldly and released his grip, discarding the youth like a filthy rag. He stood up, brushing the dust off his robes. “Death? That’s too good for him. Better to let the little cultivation he’s scraped together in this lifetime scatter to the winds.”
“Brother Hu, you mean…” the disciple behind him caught on, “waste his qi sea?”
Zhao Hu grinned savagely, a smile that sent a chill through Jiang Ying hiding in the bushes. Though she had only been in this world for a few days and her understanding of what “wasting a qi sea” meant was still just a concept from books, the bone-deep cold that crept through her made her instantly realize, this was worse than killing him.
“Trash should know its place.” He clenched his right fist, faint flames flickering around his knuckles. “Xie Wenyan, this is the price you pay for ruining me!”
Wait, what name did he just say?!
He’s Xie Wenyan?!
The one from the book, the savior of the Sword Palace who, three years from now, would sweep away demons with a single sword stroke and turn the tide?
The shock of information left Jiang Ying’s mind blank, but her body had already moved before her brain could catch up,
“Stop!”
Jiang Ying’s voice came out faster than her thoughts. She absolutely could not let Xie Wenyan’s qi sea be destroyed!
The group turned around to see a slender figure emerging from the thin mist at the edge of the woods.
The young woman wore no makeup, which only added to her delicate, refined beauty. But her snow-white skin was tinged with a pallor that made her look terribly frail.
She wasn’t wearing a disciple’s uniform, and Zhao Hu couldn’t tell who she was, so he held back for a moment.
He studied Jiang Ying carefully, his eyes flickering. In the Taixu Sword Palace, an “invisible” person of unknown origins who dared to step forward at a moment like this usually meant one of two things: either a fool too green to fear death, or… someone with a background so deep he couldn’t afford to offend.
Jiang Ying stepped forward slowly, approaching the youth, who was already drenched in blood but had never once begged for mercy.
Xie Wenyan lifted his head with difficulty, his face caked with blood and mud. Through blurred vision, he saw a corner of plain white robes stop before him. Jiang Ying leaned down slightly. “Can you stand?”
Xie Wenyan gritted his teeth and pushed himself up, but staggered from his injuries. Jiang Ying quickly reached out to steady him.
“Who the hell are you? Get lost while you still can! Otherwise, I’ll beat you too!”
Zhao Hu’s initial wariness evaporated into a sneer the moment he sensed not a trace of spiritual energy fluctuation from Jiang Ying. So she was just another piece of mud, same as the trash under his foot. In that case, why bother showing her any respect?
Jiang Ying’s throat tightened. She wanted to say something but didn’t know what, and instead, her body betrayed her, she doubled over in a violent fit of coughing.
“Pah! A sickly ghost dares to get in my way?” Zhao Hu was now even more certain she was just some outer-sect servant. “Beating one is the same as beating two. Two more punches and you’re both done!”
“Who dares touch me! My name is Jiang Ying, the Sect Master is my father! Hurt me, and you’ll all pay dearly!”
The air seemed to freeze for an instant.
Then, a burst of unrestrained laughter exploded. The disciples doubled over, howling with mirth, and even Zhao Hu was amused.
“The Sect Master’s daughter? Hahahaha! Did you hear what she said?”
“With a body so useless she can’t even sense spiritual energy fluctuations, she dares to claim to be the sect master’s daughter? Is she still asleep, or has she been knocked senseless?”
The crowd’s unrestrained jeers erupted into a chaotic din. Jiang Ying felt they were like frogs by a pond, croaking one after another, terribly noisy, making her already miserable body even more uncomfortable.
“You say you’re the sect master’s daughter?!” Zhao Hu looked as if he’d heard the funniest joke in the world. “Who in the vast cultivation world doesn’t know! The Sword Palace’s sect master cultivates the Heartless Dao, severing all emotions and desires!”
“Impersonating a relative is a grave crime. Even if I beat you to death right here, the Enforcement Hall would only credit me with ‘cleansing the sect’!” He stepped forward, closing the distance. “Sixty years ago, the sect master ascended the Immortal Ascension Platform and killed his wife to prove his Dao, severing his emotional roots. How could he possibly have a daughter? Are you some bastard crawled out of a gutter, daring to spout nonsense and make false claims?!”
Zhao Hu’s gaze turned vicious. “Once I deal with this brat, it’ll be your turn, you foul-mouthed wench!”
“I am the sect master’s daughter, not the ‘acting’ sect master.” She spoke each word slowly, deliberately emphasizing the word “acting.”
Jiang Ying’s gaze didn’t waver in the slightest. This strange certainty made Zhao Hu hesitate.
“Brother Hu, I think this little wench is just putting on airs. Let me teach her a lesson, ”
Zhao Hu raised his hand. “Wait a moment, ”
If… if what she said was true…
They were only outer disciples. Zhao Hu had spent a few days in the inner sect, and he vaguely recalled hearing some steward mention in passing that the previous sect master had indeed been surnamed Jiang or something. The current sect master had taken over the sect’s affairs on behalf of the previous one.
But over time, that word “acting” had been quietly and tacitly erased by the entire Sword Palace.
So for the moment, Zhao Hu couldn’t be certain. If he struck the wrong person, his own life would be on the line. He swept a sinister glance over Jiang Ying. “You, ”
He barked at one of the disciples: “Go ask the steward whether such a person exists.”
“Yes! Brother Hu, I’m off!”
…
In midair, a streak of light drifted gracefully down.
It was a cyan luan bird, rarely seen in the cultivation world, wreathed in immortal aura with flowing tail feathers shimmering like light. Standing gracefully on the luan’s back was a young woman, robes fluttering like a celestial maiden from the Ninth Heaven.
“It’s Senior Sister Yun!”
“Damn! How did this formidable figure get stirred up…”
Everyone present recognized Yun Lengyu’s mount. They hastily straightened their attire and bowed respectfully from a distance.
But Jiang Ying’s figure quietly shrank back, hiding herself behind the crowd. Xie Wenyan tilted his head slightly, his gaze drifting toward the sky again, lost in thought.
The cyan luan, which had been circling down with elegant grace, suddenly seemed to catch a peculiar aura. Its crystalline golden eyes locked directly onto Jiang Ying. After letting out a piercing cry that split the air, it dove straight toward Jiang Ying!
This sudden turn of events caught Yun Lengyu off guard. She stumbled on the luan’s back, losing her balance and nearly tumbling off. She immediately cast the Singing Jade Art to control the cyan luan, only then landing safely on the ground.
“The Sword Palace’s iron law,” Yun Lengyu’s voice was not loud, but each word fell like icy spikes, “strictly forbids disciples from private brawling. Violators shall receive twenty lashes.”
Zhao Hu’s face instantly turned as pale as paper, yet he dared not utter a single word of defense, because Yun Lengyu was the Chief Executioner of the Enforcement Hall, renowned for her thunderous methods and merciless reputation, the very mention of her name made Sword Palace disciples tremble with fear.
If he provoked her further, the punishment would only be far more severe than what he faced now.
But a disciple, eager to exonerate himself, spoke up first: “Senior Sister Yun, we were trying to capture a spy for the Sword Palace, so… we had no choice but to use force!”
“Oh? A spy?”
“It’s her.” Jiang Ying was yanked to the front. “This woman claims to be the sect master’s daughter, and Xie Wenyan is colluding with her, so we taught them a lesson!”
The others chimed in as well: “This person skulks around suspiciously and impersonates a relative. She must harbor ill intentions. We beg Senior Sister Yun to rid the Sword Palace of this pest!”
When Yun Lengyu saw Jiang Ying here as well, a trace of an extremely cold, almost mocking smile curled at the corner of her lips. “Junior Sister?”
Her voice was clear and cold, carrying an invisible weight: “At this hour… you should be soaking in the medicinal bath at Ninghua Pool. What reason do you have for being here?”
What rotten luck!
Jiang Ying felt a chill shoot straight from the soles of her feet to the crown of her head! She’d only slipped out a short while ago, how could she have run straight into this living demon of a woman?
This woman before her was famously ruthless and unbending in the original book, enforcing the law like a mountain. Falling into her hands was hundreds of times more troublesome than being beaten by Zhao Hu!
Jiang Ying’s scalp went numb, and her smile was extremely strained: “Senior Sister Yun… I just… came out for a stroll…”
But the others were already reeling from Yun Lengyu’s form of address. Yun Lengyu actually called this woman junior sister?!
Zhao Hu cast aside all caution and probed carefully: “Senior Sister Yun, she… is she really… truly the sect master’s daughter?”
Yun Lengyu was silent for a moment before simply saying, “She is your Senior Sister Jiang. In the Battle of Lancang, her primordial core was destroyed, causing her to fall into a deep slumber. She only just awakened a few days ago. It’s only natural that you new disciples don’t recognize her…”
Such a brief statement carried an enormous amount of information, leaving their minds momentarily unable to process it.
The Battle of Lancang, which took place eleven years ago…
There was actually someone in the world who could survive having their primordial core destroyed…
“Are you all waiting here instead of going to receive your lashings?” Yun Lengyu’s gaze swept over the crowd, each wearing a different expression. “Do I need to administer the punishment myself?”
“Disciples will go receive our punishment at once!” The crowd hastily clasped their hands in salute and fled in disarray, afraid of being even a step too slow.
Jiang Ying watched the figure at the end of the crowd, Xie Wenyan, moving slowly in small steps due to his injuries.
“Is he going too?” She pointed directly at that solitary figure and asked Yun Lengyu.
Xie Wenyan’s footsteps halted at the sound of her voice, his back stiffening for a brief moment.
“Senior Sister, he’s the one who was beaten! Why should he be punished!” Jiang Ying rushed forward in a few steps, blocking Xie Wenyan’s path, refusing to let him go to the Punishment Hall. “If he’s punished again, he might not survive!”
Yun Lengyu looked at the two of them. “Not just him, you will also go before the Sect Master to confess your wrongdoing.” Her words were resolute and merciless.
Not only had she defied the Sect Master’s orders, recklessly descending Qingming Peak without permission, but she had also gotten entangled in such sordid affairs as brawling with outer disciples. How could this be lightly forgiven?
“But he did nothing wrong!” Jiang Ying met Yun Lengyu’s gaze, her voice agitated and trembling slightly.
Xie Wenyan quietly watched the young woman standing before him. Her slender figure was like a thin bamboo that refused to bend even in the wind, though weak, she still wanted to protect others.
Just like eleven years ago…
He suddenly raised his hand, not to push her away, but to gently touch her arm, speaking softly, “Thank you, Senior Sister, for your help today.”
With that, Xie Wenyan turned to face Yun Lengyu and gave a slight nod, his bearing neither humble nor arrogant. “This matter arose because of me, so I naturally deserve punishment. But Senior Sister Jiang only acted out of momentary urgency and righteous indignation. Please do not punish her because of my fault.”
“Her affairs are none of your concern.”
Cold, decisive, indeed, she was the youngest Chief Punishment Officer of the Law Enforcement Hall.
Xie Wenyan’s Adam’s apple rolled almost imperceptibly. He knew that saying more would be useless and might even backfire. He took one last look at Jiang Ying,
That gaze was extremely complex, carrying a hint of apology and a trace of an almost imperceptible sigh.
He turned silently and headed toward the Punishment Hall.
…
Yun Lengyu walked at the front, while Jiang Ying was flanked by two disciples on either side, “escorted” all the way to a great hall, above whose entrance hung a plaque bearing the words “Hall of Heavenly Evolution and Mystic Extremes.”
The moment she stepped inside, Jiang Ying felt an overwhelming pressure surging toward her from all directions like tidal waves. The force pressed down so heavily that she could barely breathe. She fought the urge to kneel, and her nose tingled, blood began to flow.
Then, from the front of the hall, a ripple of white light spread outward like water, and in an instant, the suffocating sensation vanished. At the same time, a voice came from above,
“Everyone, Junior Disciple Jiang has just recovered from severe injuries. Her innate foundation has been completely destroyed. Now her primordial core is shattered, her cultivation is entirely lost, and her soul is even weaker than that of a newborn infant…”
Jiang Ying followed the sound and saw, deep within the hall, a gleaming white jade dais several meters high. Upon the dais, eight dark jade thrones were arranged in a fan shape, seven of which were already occupied, with only one left vacant.
Seated upon the central throne was a man with white hair and beard, yet his face seemed frozen in the prime of middle age, around forty or fifty. He was the current Sect Master of the Taixu Sword Palace, Liang Dahai.
Liang Dahai spoke: “All of you possess profound cultivation. Every move you make stirs the vital energy of heaven and earth, and the spiritual pressure your Dao resonance invokes is, to mortal bodies, like a thousand-ton mountain pressing down upon them. I ask that you all restrain your presence.”
As Liang Dahai’s words fell, the other six lowered their eyelids slightly, and in that instant, the spiritual pressure within the hall suddenly receded.
At that moment, Yun Lengyu stepped forward and saluted. “I report to the Sect Master and all Elders: while on patrol today, I happened to witness Junior Sister Jiang Ying, disregarding her unhealed condition, privately leaving Qingming Peak and becoming embroiled in a brawl among other disciples. I dare not show favoritism, so I have brought her here for the Sect Master and Elders to decide.”
An elder dressed in purple robes, holding a golden gourd, Elder Zi Yan, spoke up: “Junior Disciple Jiang, you have just awakened from severe injuries. Over these past ten-odd years, the sect has expended countless heavenly treasures and earthly wonders to save you. If, because of a moment of carelessness, you were to encounter another mishap…”
His tone suddenly grew heavier. “If Senior Brother returns and discovers that we failed to take good care of his daughter, how are we to answer for it!”
Liang Dahai took over smoothly, speaking with earnest sincerity: “Exactly so. For your complete safety, it is best to send you back to Qingming Peak. The spiritual energy there is abundant, which will be convenient for you to resume your cultivation. Once you reach the Foundation Establishment stage, you will be free to come and go from the sect as you please.”
He spoke sweetly, but she knew the truth all too well, her golden core was shattered, her dantian ruined like a sieve. On that Azure Firmament Peak, let alone spiritual energy, even if a pool of celestial nectar were poured in, it would drain away in an instant. This wasn’t a restart of cultivation at all, it was a cage, meant to trap her alive up there.
What was his purpose?
She looked at Liang Dahai’s seemingly calm, unruffled eyes, catching a fleeting flash of fervor and greed within them.