The night passed in silence, and Lu Changsheng did not show himself for the entire following day.
Ning Yuxin waited in her spot, lost in a long, absentminded daze, her thoughts unknowable.
It was not until the dawn of the third day that Lu Changsheng finally appeared.
“Senior Brother Lu!”
Lu Changsheng extended his hand, presenting two jade bottles to her.
“I will take you to the Sword Grotto.”
“Yes!”
Taking the pills, Ning Yuxin followed him toward the deeper regions of the sect.
Over the past two days, the atmosphere within the Cangyun Sect had become considerably quieter than usual due to the arrival of the Shenxiao Sect.
The Sword Grotto was entirely empty, making it the perfect place for quiet cultivation and breakthroughs.
They walked all the way into the depths of the cavern. Under Lu Changsheng’s guidance, Ning Yuxin consumed a pill and sat down cross-legged, quietly refining its medicinal strength.
The pills were meant to temper her physical body while simultaneously aiding her advancement.
Once her cultivation realm and physical body had grown strong enough, he would guide the ambient sword Qi within the cave to temper her further, allowing her to smoothly step into the second layer of the Sword Dao.
Advancing any higher than that would not be so easy; it would require a significant amount of time.
With nothing else to do in the meantime, Lu Changsheng idly surveyed his surroundings with a bored expression.
Meanwhile, outside the Sword Grotto, two figures appeared.
Two young men stood at the entrance.
One of them was the very same youth who had previously provoked Lu Changsheng.
Accompanying him was an inner sect disciple of the Cangyun Sect, who had been tasked with escorting the guest around the sect grounds.
“Fellow Daoist Wang Ming, this is our Cangyun Sword Grotto,” the Cangyun disciple explained.
Hearing this, a faint smile curled Wang Ming’s lips, though his eyes remained cold and unmoving.
“So this is the Sword Grotto. Is this where Zhou Qingyu usually cultivates?”
“Senior Brother Zhou does frequent this place.”
“Then let us go in and take a look.”
Wang Ming made to step forward as he spoke.
The Cangyun disciple frowned slightly but refrained from objecting.
The Sect Leader had already issued orders to accommodate the guests’ requests as much as possible and ensure they were well entertained.
As long as it did not involve any core secrets of the sect, a brief visit to the Sword Grotto was of little consequence. Thus, the disciple remained silent.
However, neither of them expected to see Lu Changsheng sitting deep within the cavern when they stepped inside.
A sense of foreboding rose in the inner sect disciple’s heart.
Lu Changsheng glanced over, looking somewhat surprised. “Just my luck.”
“Hmph, sharp-tongued as always.”
“You are supposed to be a disciple of the grand Shenxiao Sect,” Lu Changsheng said. “The day before yesterday, you deliberately targeted me and snatched my spirit grass. Now you’ve followed me here. What is it you want? To mock me some more?”
Lu Changsheng’s words caused Wang Ming’s expression to stiffen with embarrassment.
The mere mention of that spirit grass made his stomach turn.
Because of Lu Changsheng, he had been repeatedly slapped in front of everyone. He blamed this entire humiliation on the youth before him, which was why he had been tracking Lu Changsheng’s movements, following him all the way to this secluded spot.
Sensing that the situation was turning dangerous, the escorting disciple quickly intervened. “Fellow Daoist Wang Ming, let us depart. We shouldn’t disturb Senior Brother Changsheng’s cultivation.”
“Depart? Heh.”
Wang Ming let out an undisguised, venomous laugh.
A murderous ferocity flared in his eyes. At that moment, the dormant sword Qi within the Sword Grotto began to stir faintly, a sharp, piercing intent emerging alongside his rising bloodlust.
“I have waited for two whole days to finally catch this opportunity. Where exactly do you expect me to go?”
As soon as those words left his mouth, the inner sect disciple’s face turned incredibly pale.
To be chosen to entertain a guest like Wang Ming, the disciple was naturally quick-witted. Realizing exactly what was about to transpire, he turned on his heel without a single word and fled toward the exit of the Sword Grotto.
Lu Changsheng watched him go, then raised an eyebrow at Wang Ming. “Are you planning to make a move against me here?”
“Qiang!”
A sharp sword hum suddenly echoed through the cavern. As Wang Ming flicked his fingers, the surrounding sword Qi surged in response to his movements.
His gaze was filled with cruel amusement, mockery, and the immense satisfaction of an impending vengeance.
“This place is truly perfect. It completely isolates all perception from the outside world. Even if I execute you right here, no one out there will ever know what truly happened. At worst, I will simply claim that the Sword Grotto suffered a sudden eruption and that you died in the chaos. I highly doubt your sect would dare offend the Shenxiao Sect for the sake of a nobody like you!”
His words were laced with absolute arrogance and provocation.
Lu Changsheng calmly replied, “You’ve calculated everything so thoroughly?”
He was not surprised by this development in the slightest.
In fact, he was well aware that someone had been spying on Qingyun Peak since the night before last.
He had initially assumed the guy was merely nursing his grievances and loitering about out of spite. He had not expected the man to actually possess the audacity to strike within the territory of the Cangyun Sect.
“Huala!”
In an instant, Wang Ming hoisted his hand high. His own sword intent erupted, instantly driving the collective sword Qi of the entire cavern into a frenzy.
“The fourth layer of the Sword Dao,” Lu Changsheng noted plainly.
A smug expression plastered itself across Wang Ming’s face. “The Sword Grotto erupted today. It truly is a tragic misfortune, but it cannot be helped!”
He expected terror, yet Lu Changsheng merely nodded in agreement, echoing his sentiment. “Indeed, I also did not expect the Sword Grotto to erupt today.”
“Hehe, it seems you have already accepted your fate.” Visit g.com for the full chapter.
Lu Changsheng nodded again, adding, “You should prepare yourself as well.”
“Rest assured, I am more than prepared!”
As soon as the words left his mouth, the torrent of sword Qi unleashed completely.
The surrounding stone walls, already heavily weathered and scarred by countless past trials, began to tremble violently as the manifested sword intent drove the ambient Qi into a chaotic storm.
“Die!”
Wang Ming roared.
Yet, even in the face of this tempest, Lu Changsheng remained entirely unhurried. He raised a single finger and pointed. A strand of True Essence drifted toward Ning Yuxin, condensing into a flawless barrier of light that completely enveloped her.
Every external sound and sensation was instantly severed; she remained entirely oblivious to the chaos around her.
Immediately after, Lu Changsheng slowly raised his hand. The wildly surging storm of sword Qi instantly froze solid in mid-air.
“What… What is happening?”
Wang Ming’s heart seized with sudden terror. The sword Qi he had been controlling so effortlessly had completely stopped obeying his command.
The suspended blades of Qi trembled slightly, emitting a profound, resonant hum that he had never heard before in his entire life. The sword Qi itself had not changed, but it had entirely broken free from his grasp, giving rise to an oppressive, horrifying power that shook him to his very core.
“Qiang!”
A solitary sword cry pierced through the nine heavens. Countless streams of sword Qi violently surged backward, erupting from the depths of the Sword Grotto and instantly shattering the clouds above the mountain peak.
Lu Changsheng stood firmly in his original spot, looking at Wang Ming quietly. His expression remained entirely unbothered, regarding the youth as if looking at a mere speck of dust.
“The eighth layer of the Sword Dao? How is this possible…”
Wang Ming’s mind went entirely blank with disbelief. Feeling the absolute, crushing power of the sword Dao erupting before him, he stared fixedly at the youth who appeared to be no older than seventeen or eighteen.
What kind of terrifying, monstrous realm was this?
The Sword Dao was notoriously difficult to cultivate. Forget the eighth layer-even the seventh layer was an insurmountable wall that forced countless peerless geniuses to shrink back in despair. He could not comprehend what manner of supreme talent and monstrous perseverance could allow someone to reach such a height at this age.
In the entirety of the grand Shenxiao Sect, only a handful of ancient figures had ever stepped into this realm, and every single one of them had spent hundreds of years of arduous bitter cultivation to achieve it.
Yet the youth standing before him was a mere boy, and he had already mastered it!
At this moment, Wang Ming finally understood the true meaning behind the words, “You should prepare yourself as well.”
“No!”
He watched in absolute despair as the magnificent ocean of sword Qi surged forward, causing the very heavens to resonate. An utterly irresistible force crashed into him, piercing right through his physical form.
There was no spray of blood, nor any lingering cry of agony. The moment the torrent of sword Qi descended, his entire being was instantly pulverized into nothingness, erasing his existence from the world.
Lu Changsheng watched the scene unfold with an unperturbed expression. Wang Ming was completely gone, leaving behind only an interspatial ring and a storage pouch resting quietly on the stone floor.
He walked over and swept the items up into his grasp. Inspecting the contents, he confirmed that the Crimson Spirit Grass was indeed resting safely inside.
Then, he slowly walked back to Ning Yuxin’s side and sat back down, completely ignoring the state of the decimated cavern. He simply allowed the leftover sword Qi to shatter the sky outside, throwing the entire region into absolute turmoil.
At this very moment, whether it was the ancient elders of the Shenxiao Sect or the Sect Leader of the Cangyun Sect, every single powerhouse was profoundly shaken by the phenomenon.
The entire sect fell into a state of deathly silence.