Xuanqing Zhenren hadn’t mentioned her sneaking out of the Rear Mountain early, which had secretly pleased her. She never expected him to suddenly suggest a sparring match between the two of them, leaving her momentarily bewildered.
Xuanqing explained on his own, “Your senior sister just established a connection with her life-bound treasure two days ago, and you’ve just emerged from seclusion. This is a good opportunity for you two to get to know each other through a friendly match. Understanding each other’s strengths and weaknesses will make it easier for you to fight side by side when you venture out in the future.”
Chen Fuzhou coughed lightly. “There’s no need for that, Master. You know I’m not skilled in swordsmanship.”
Jinshu clenched her palms, trying to piece together the scattered bits of information about Chen Fuzhou from the book. Unfortunately, she gained little—his role was simply too minor, with only a handful of lines in total.
Though she didn’t know exactly how strong he was, logically speaking, given his long seclusion and restrained aura, he should be quite capable.
It was better to avoid unnecessary trouble. If she revealed any flaws during the match and was noticed by the master, who was closest to the original owner of this body, it would be a loss outweighing any gain.
So Jinshu immediately aligned herself with Chen Fuzhou, waving her hand dismissively. “That’s right, Master. Besides, fighting and killing only breed animosity.”
Xuanqing Zhenren’s expression turned serious, leaving no room for refusal. “I’m only asking you to spar lightly, not to fight seriously. Besides, with me here, how could anything happen to either of you in my presence? However, Jinshu, you must be careful. Although your junior brother’s swordsmanship isn’t great, his illusion techniques, talismans, and magical arrays are all cultivated better than yours. You’ve just familiarized yourself with your magical artifact, so be sure to control your strength.”
Jinshu replied, “Don’t worry, junior brother. Your senior sister won’t go too hard on you.”
With her junior brother looking so sickly and frail, how could she dare to use heavy-handed tactics?
Xuanqing led the two to the Training Ground behind the main hall, stepping back two paces and leaving them standing opposite each other.
He announced, “Begin.”
Jinshu’s bracelet slipped from her wrist, transforming into the Banyu Sword in her hand. She tapped her toes against the ground and charged toward Chen Fuzhou, the small, exquisite long sword in her hand aiming for his shoulder.
Facing Jinshu’s charge, Chen Fuzhou merely sidestepped slightly. Jinshu’s gaze remained fixed on him, and as he moved, she deftly adjusted her direction, the Banyu Sword still steady and precise as it thrust toward its target.
At the same time, Chen Fuzhou murmured a few words under his breath, then raised his hand and instantly appeared behind Jinshu, pressing down on her shoulder.
Jinshu guessed it was likely a spell similar to teleportation. She was indeed weak in this area, but Chen Fuzhou didn’t understand her Banyu. Although it seemed he had restrained her, this actually gave her an opportunity.
Seeing the girl flash a sly smile, Chen Fuzhou inwardly cursed and quickly tried to release his grip. But Jinshu wouldn’t miss such a perfect opportunity.
“Banyu, transform!”
At Jinshu’s call, the Banyu glowed briefly and, in the blink of an eye, was no longer in the shape of a sword. Chen Fuzhou stared in astonishment at his wrist, now tightly bound by a silk ribbon adorned with intricate and beautiful patterns.
During her time in the Rear Mountain, out of boredom, she had experimented with transforming Banyu into various forms of weapons. She discovered that in critical moments, a soft ribbon capable of changing its length, width, and even shape was exceptionally useful, often unleashing unexpectedly powerful effects in certain situations.
Jinshu seized this opportunity, pulling the silk ribbon toward herself with one hand while raising her other hand to strike at Chen Fuzhou. He retreated repeatedly, frowned his handsome brows, and shouted, “Youfei.”
Jinshu responded with a puzzled “Hmm?” as Banyu returned to her hand, transforming into a long sword. She saw that Chen Fuzhou also now held a sword in his hand, though unlike Banyu’s slender and agile form, nor as heavy and steady as Li Xingdao’s Tianjuan, this sword appeared both blurred and clear, elusive and hard to grasp.
Such a name didn’t seem like something Chen Fuzhou would use.
Jinshu cautiously pursed her lips, narrowing her eyes to see more clearly. Yet no matter how intently she focused, she could only discern the general shape of the sword’s body; everything else remained indistinct, like mist that gathers and then disperses.
Chen Fuzhou gripped the Youfei Sword tightly and advanced toward Jinshu. Jinshu gathered her Spiritual Power and fearlessly swung at him, but Chen Fuzhou executed an extremely swift sword technique, parrying Banyu and then pressing it back toward Jinshu.
Fortunately, after recognizing its master, Banyu had become much more affectionate toward Jinshu, and its power had greatly increased. To protect its owner, it firmly held its position in mid-air, even as sparks flew from the friction between its blade and Youfei, remaining unmoved.
“Jinshu, why does your movement seem so clumsy, and why aren’t you using the sword techniques you’ve learned?” Xuanqing offered guidance from nearby.
Jinshu gritted her teeth. Was it because she didn’t want to use sword techniques? Although she had inherited the original body’s memories upon crossing over, and the sword techniques were stored in her mind, she hadn’t truly practiced them herself—how could she possibly execute them flexibly?
The only techniques she could currently use were those that had appeared in her mind when she connected with Banyu that day.
Regardless, Jinshu decided to treat this desperate situation as a last resort. She softened her stance, slid past from one side, and then attacked Chen Fuzhou according to the sword techniques in her mind. However, due to her unfamiliarity, several moves were easily countered by him.
Although the situation was momentarily stalemated, Jinshu was not an impatient person. Remembering Xuanqing Zhenren’s unintentional remark that Chen Fuzhou’s sword skills were not particularly good, she resolved to wear him down. Since his swordplay wasn’t exceptional, there must be flaws.
Indeed, after just a few exchanges, Chen Fuzhou began to show signs of fatigue, gradually struggling to withstand Jinshu’s relentless attacks. In truth, if strictly comparing Spiritual Power, he was indeed far superior to Jinshu, but as Xuanqing Zhenren had said, his sword skills were truly mediocre.
While intently observing his movements, Jinshu couldn’t help but think that the original body’s cultivation had been so sluggish; she would likely need to compensate for it later. Otherwise, if it weren’t such a close-quarters contest, defeating Chen Fuzhou would still be very difficult for her.
The flaw appeared in her vision. Jinshu finally seized the opportunity, swiftly thrusting Banyu during Chen Fuzhou’s momentary lapse.
But fate did not favor her. Just when she thought she could defeat him with one strike, she saw a sly glint of laughter flash in Chen Fuzhou’s bright eyes. Instantly, her consciousness blurred, feeling her mind go blank for a moment, and Banyu flew past Chen Fuzhou.
Jinshu’s head was still dizzy, and she fell straight toward the ground. Though not entirely clear-headed, she remembered that Chen Fuzhou had used some trick. As she tumbled toward him, she gritted her teeth and used all her strength to grab his sleeve.
Chen Fuzhou had clearly underestimated Jinshu’s willpower. How could he have imagined she still had the strength to pull him down? Caught off guard, he tumbled down with her.
Fortunately, he still held his sword. Quickly regaining his composure, he tried to brace himself with it.
Unexpectedly, the girl who had pulled him seemed to have regained all her strength in that moment. Chen Fuzhou felt a powerful force tug at his sleeve, followed by Jinshu kicking at his lower body.
Chen Fuzhou’s entire body was lifted into the air. The girl’s expression had shifted from her earlier confusion to one of delight, her bright smile reflected in his amber-like eyes, adding a sparkle to his pupils.
The moment passed quickly, yet when he met those mischievous eyes, it felt as though an eternity had gone by.
Chen Fuzhou landed on the ground, feeling the ticklish prickle of hair against his cheek. His gaze involuntarily turned to the left, momentarily dazed.
Facing him, Jinshu waved the hair ribbon in her hand. Suddenly, a strong wind gusted, causing the ribbon to flutter in the breeze, winding from her palm to his wrist.
“Last time, you caught my hair ribbon. This time, I won.”
Chen Fuzhou curled the corner of his lips. “Today, I chose a jade-colored one to meet Senior Sister.”
Jinshu handed the ribbon back with a smile. “Why jade-colored?”
“People say I look best in jade.”
“Indeed, but with your looks, Junior Brother, you wouldn’t look bad in anything.” Jinshu looked him up and down approvingly. “By the way, what technique did you use earlier to disorient me?”
Chen Fuzhou tied up his long hair with the ribbon and, seeing the girl’s innocent, inquisitive gaze, couldn’t help but chuckle. “Just some simple illusion techniques.”
No wonder. She wasn’t very familiar with illusion techniques yet, so losing in that regard wasn’t a loss. It even reminded her that she needed to find time to learn about the various spells in this world.
After the match, although Jinshu had won, Xuanqing Zhenren was somewhat dissatisfied with her. In his plan, the senior disciple should have swiftly and decisively defeated the physically weaker junior disciple. He hadn’t expected it to drag on for so long. Without holding back, he pointed out the flaws Jinshu had made during the fight.
Jinshu was criticized until her face flushed red. Since high school, she hadn’t spent much time in school, and now she was experiencing the long-forgotten feeling of being scolded by a teacher for poor performance—strangely, she felt a bit excited.
Xuanqing Zhenren also gave Chen Fuzhou a few pointers before finally seeming to remember the main matter. He spoke unhurriedly, “I called you here today not to teach you anything, but because there are some tasks I need to assign to you.”
“Within the jurisdiction of the Tianxuan Sect lies Dianlan City. It’s quite remote, but you’ve likely heard of it. Yanjian Village near Dianlan City is suspected to be haunted by evil spirits. Several young children have died in succession. This morning, I discussed with your martial uncles and decided to send you personal disciples there for a trial.”
Since the immortal-demon war ten thousand years ago, the cultivation world has achieved unprecedented harmony. Righteous cultivators and demonic cultivators coexist peacefully, without discrimination or mutual conflict. Demonic cultivators no longer make a living by harming others. However, evil spirits still plague the mortal realm, often endangering local people. For this reason, several major sects and clans convened the Immortal Governance Assembly, agreeing that each would oversee their own territory and eliminate demons to uphold righteousness.
The Yanjian Village mentioned by Xuanqing Zhenren was located in a remote area. Since three months ago, every fifteenth night of the month, the sound of children crying could be heard, followed by sudden demonic winds that would seize an infant and tear it into shreds. The villagers had invited several Taoist priests to perform rituals, spending untold amounts of money, but to no avail. The village chief then sent someone to seek help from the Tianxuan Sect, pleading for cultivators to descend the mountain and capture the demon.
The Tianxuan Sect naturally did not refuse. After carefully questioning the person who came for help, the elders concluded that this was likely a demon known as Yingyin, which delighted in devouring infants. However, its level was low and its magical power was weak, making it not particularly difficult to deal with.
The elders had originally planned to send more experienced disciples to eliminate the demon. Unexpectedly, Li Xingdao’s master, Huai Shan Zhenren, was an unrestrained character. Having finally taken on a disciple of extraordinary talent, he would occasionally mention him, boasting proudly. Upon hearing about Li Xingdao, Xuanqing Zhenren naturally recalled Ji Jinshu and smoothly brought up how one of his own disciples had recently been acknowledged by a magical instrument, greatly increasing his strength, while another had just emerged from seclusion. He, too, was basking in the glow of success.
Upon hearing this, several other elders immediately and unanimously decided to have the senior brother and second senior sister lead Jinshu and the other two junior disciples to Yanjian Village for training, allowing them to broaden their horizons.
Jinshu and the others naturally could not refuse and obediently accepted the task.
However, Jinshu felt deeply uneasy, not for any other reason but because the original story had never mentioned anything about Yanjian Village.