The abnormally developed water demon had already enveloped Weisheng Zhen within its body.
The lake water was foul and viscous, tightly coiling around Weisheng Zhen, continuously devouring the spiritual energy around him and greatly hindering the speed at which he could swing his sword, hoping to prevent him from having any chance of escaping. But it had underestimated Weisheng Zhen.
What he excelled at was not actually sword techniques.
“Zheng !” Not far away, a dark figure in midair emitted a strange sound.
Though strange, when the water demon heard this sound, the force with which it was constricting Weisheng Zhen actually weakened by a fraction.
That slight opening was all he needed!
Weisheng Zhen reversed his grip on the sword and swiftly tore through the water demon’s body, bursting out of it. He rolled several times to dodge the barrage of water pillars the demon had condensed, and after retreating a certain distance, the sword in his hand transformed into countless blades once more, one stacking upon another infinitely and stabbed fiercely deep into the earth!
“Zheng!” A sound came from underground, as if metal and stone had collided, but it was precisely obscured by Weisheng Zhen’s own zither music, making it impossible to hear clearly.
Several dozen more musical notes struck viciously at the scattered earth, stone, and water currents fleeing in all directions. The water demon shrieked as it dissolved, its hoarse voice howling desperately with a final, mournful cry.
“So… hard to listen to…”
After the water demon faintly uttered those three words, the exasperated Weisheng Zhen grabbed its demon core and tossed it into his demon-subduing pouch.
“Damn it, as long as it works, who cares if my zither music sounds good or not?” Weisheng Zhen’s nose twitched slightly. After catching his breath for a moment, he sat down on a mound of earth of varying size formed by the collision of spiritual and demonic energy from the earlier fight.
If he weren’t so exhausted, he would have truly wanted to have a good “discussion” about music theory with that demon core.
“I only arrived after you’d already finished fighting was that intentional or accidental?”
Weisheng Zhen took a deep breath, just about to begin regulating his breathing, when he heard the newcomer’s voice, as faint and cold as a spring just like the person himself, inherently aloof.
“Years have passed since we last met. I never imagined that the one who was once tone-deaf and knew nothing of zithers or lutes would now enter the Dao through the path of music.”
He seemed to be sighing, and also reminiscing about something.
“Alright, alright, Han kid, stop just standing there staring come help me up. This time I challenged someone a whole major rank above me, and it’s drained me almost completely.”
The person he called “Han kid” finally emerged from the shadows.
Ten years had passed, and his features had grown ever more refined sword-like brows, starry eyes, a tall and straight nose bridge, and thin lips that seemed perpetually pressed together, bearing only a faint trace of color. Apart from his slightly more angular features, he had a face that was almost feminine. In terms of appearance alone, he stood out starkly among the rough-and-tumble men of the Sword Sect.
Just by looking at his face, any cultivator who didn’t know better would guess he came from Hundred Flowers Isle.
Because that group of face-obsessed fanatics at Hundred Flowers Tower had enforced appearance standards since the moment of entry, ranking disciples by their facial features.
If he were actually there, he’d probably barely manage to secure the position of deputy tower master.
Weisheng Zhen watched the newcomer approach at a leisurely pace, his mind a jumble of scattered thoughts.
Li Changshuang possessor of the sword bone and sword heart constitution, a rarity the Sword Sect hadn’t seen in ten thousand years.
From the moment he was born, he was destined to be a sword cultivator, destined to belong to the Sword Sect.
And indeed, he was.
From the time he established his foundation and joined the Sword Sect, he had gone forth alone one man, one sword descending into the mortal world to vanquish demons and evil spirits.
In the nearly hundred years since, he had slain countless demons and monsters, earning such a fearsome level of cultivation.
Though only about ten years older than Weisheng Zhen, Li Changshuang’s cultivation had already reached the highest among the six of them in their group.
Late-stage Refining Void.
But what occupied Weisheng Zhen’s mind was something else entirely.
“Slowpoke.” As he drew near, Weisheng Zhen snapped back to attention, grabbed Li Changshuang by the shoulder, and used the leverage to pull himself up. After retrieving his zither, he spread his hands in a shameless gesture: “I’m so tired, I can’t walk anymore. How about you be a good Samaritan and fly me back on your sword?”
Li Changshuang: “…”
The faint sense of estrangement from years apart instantly dissipated.
The two quickly returned to the jade ship.
The jade ship seemed to have only just stopped moments ago. Uncle Wu was holding a jade disc, still trying to contact the senior sister. Seeing Weisheng Zhen return, his fingers paused slightly, and he said, “Junior nephew Weisheng… Young Sect Master Li.”
The Sword Sect differed slightly from the Lingchao Sect, whoever had greater talent and greater ability held the higher title.
All interpretive authority rested with the Sword Sect’s Sword Immortal Stone.
As for Li Changshuang’s earlier mention of “years,” it referred to ten years ago.
At the terrifyingly young age of a hundred, he had stepped into the Refining Void realm, becoming the youngest and fastest-advancing Refining Void cultivator in all of Dingsi Continent and even the entire cultivation world.
It was also ten years ago that the Sword Immortal Stone bestowed upon him the title of Young Sect Master, hoping he would shoulder the responsibility of leading the entire Sword Sect to prosperity.
And it was still ten years ago, the last time Weisheng Zhen saw him a figure in white robes, alone with his sword, at Douxing Peak of Lingchao Mountain.
He had said: “I am about to re-enter the mortal world; this time, it is to cultivate my heart.” And then they hadn’t seen each other for ten years.
A mere ten years was but a snap of the fingers to cultivators, yet he had come so solemnly to bid Weisheng Zhen farewell, making even him take things quite seriously back then.
And less than three days after that, Weisheng Zhen had comprehended his own Dao.
Although this Dao… was admittedly a bit hard on the ears, Weisheng Zhen took it in stride. So what if it sounded pleasant? So what if it didn’t? Any Dao that could subdue demons and vanquish monsters was a good Dao.
After jumping off his sword, Weisheng Zhen briefed Uncle Wu on what had just happened, told him there was no need to contact the senior sister, and very quickly “glued” himself back onto the reclining chair. He reached into his demon-subduing pouch, pulled out the demon core of the water demon he had just subdued, and took out his jade disc to snap a photo.
Li Changshuang nodded by way of greeting, then followed Weisheng Zhen up to the second floor of the jade ship, sat down, and poured himself some tea.
The jade ship corrected its course and headed toward Xinghai Terrace.
[Zhen’s: [Image] [Image]]
[Zhen’s: @Little Rice Bowl, when will you finish suppressing that demon? This is a late-stage Refining Void demon core, but the bloodlust is too strong, I don’t like it. How about you try suppressing it and see if you can redeem the thousand-plus lives trapped inside?]
Little Rice Bowl didn’t reply, but I’m Crazy About It started furiously tagging Weisheng Zhen in the group chat, so he dropped a video of his battle with the water demon into the chat and then put away his jade disc.
A cup of clear tea happened to be placed at his side at that moment.
“Five months ago, when I helped suppress bandits for the Zhuye Kingdom in Shanghan Continent, the Zhuye royal family gifted me this Fengyu tea. Want a taste?”
Weisheng Zhen sat up in one swift motion. “Fengyu tea is famous for its clear sweetness and smooth richness like sipping immortal tea. Only one or two taels leak out from the royal family every ten years, and a single tael can fetch an astronomical price at auction.”
He took a few gentle sips, and his eyes lit up. “Delicious!”
“I remember five years ago, I was just a few million spirit stones short, so I couldn’t bid on the Fengyu Tea. I thought I’d have to wait another ten years, but who knew I’d be drinking it just five years later.”
“So you suppressed the bandits for that old emperor, and he only paid you in tea leaves? Was there anything else good?” Weisheng Zhen couldn’t wait and poured himself another cup.
“More than that there were mermaid silk, mermaid tears, mermaid scales, Qilin Feather Wine, and so on. Two top-grade spirit veins, and countless gold, silver, and spirit stones.”
There was also one offer that most people would find hard to refuse.
But there was no need to tell Weisheng Zhen about that.
Li Changshuang thought to himself.
Weisheng Zhen, on the other hand, stroked his chin thoughtfully after hearing all this.
“The ‘bandits’ you suppressed they wouldn’t happen to be the merfolk, would they?”
“Otherwise, how would you explain having so many merfolk items?”
Li Changshuang: “…”
“The nation of Zhuye on Shanghan Continent has been on friendly terms with the merfolk for ten thousand years. The two races have traded for a long time.”
Weisheng Zhen knew this he just wanted to tease him. Seeing Li Changshuang explain it so seriously, he immediately lost the urge to joke. After taking another sip of tea, he handed the memory orb in his hand to Li Changshuang.
“At the 3:46 mark. Start watching from there.”
“I have a feeling I’m not just overthinking this.”
Li Changshuang took it.
Looking at the memory stone in his hand, he seemed a bit puzzled: “This memory stone… isn’t it the one the daughter of the Moon Pavilion master gave you thirty years ago, when the two of us went to the Moon Pavilion together?”
“You’re still using it now?”
Weisheng Zhen nodded: “Of course. Ordinary memory stones can only record three or four images before they’re scrapped, but the one she gave me can record a thousand. I can’t use them all anyway, so I just kept using it.”
Li Changshuang nodded, then asked: “Judging by the recordings you’ve posted to the group, there must be nearly a thousand by now, right?”
Weisheng Zhen naturally wouldn’t remember such trivial matters, so he said vaguely: “Maybe? I suppose this stone is about to wear out…”
A warm, smooth object was pressed into his hand it seemed Li Changshuang had been holding it for some time.
It was also a memory stone, but this one was faintly purple all over, different from the ones sold on the market. It was rather pretty.
Weisheng Zhen was about to decline when he heard Li Changshuang say: “I have plenty. It’d be a waste to keep them unused, so why not give this one to you? You’ll find it useful when sharing to the group.” With that, he focused his attention on the memory stone he’d just handed over.
Weisheng Zhen pondered for a moment, lowering his gaze to the memory stone in his hand, unconsciously rubbing it.
Could this guy be using this as a roundabout way to mock him for his urge to share? Posting everything, big or small, to the group?
But Weisheng Zhen was easygoing. He thought about it briefly and didn’t dwell on it since it was given to him, he’d just keep it safe.
He’d just noticed that this memory stone was a new product from Liusen Pavilion, improving on the previous flaw of being scrapped after use. It could be used repeatedly, and even without deleting recordings just saving them it could store nearly three thousand images.
So they actually managed to make it. He could go collect another creative fee from Liusen Pavilion.
A full half-incense stick of time passed before Li Changshuang finally pulled himself out of the memory stone.
The images transferred to the group were just a single fixed angle, but pouring spiritual power directly into the memory stone was like being there in person you could see far more details.
Somewhat like the difference between a camera and VR.
“Took you that long? Did you find anything? Did you discover how exceptionally handsome I am?” Weisheng Zhen asked.
Li Changshuang: “…”
He glanced at Weisheng Zhen with an inscrutable expression, then said, “There seems to be something beneath the place where that water demon dwelled. Otherwise, a mere eight thousand lives wouldn’t have been enough to support its cultivation to the late Void Refinement stage.”
“At the 4-minute 3-second mark, if you listen closely, it’s quite obvious. Apart from your own zither music, the sword should have struck something else, but it was just masked at the time.”
Weisheng Zhen listened and acknowledged that it was indeed so. If there really was something he had missed, since the jade boat hadn’t traveled far, the two of them could still go back and search for it quickly.
Otherwise, if some other demon or monster got their hands on it, retrieving it later would require a great deal of trouble.
Troublesome.
Weisheng Zhen hated unexpected complications the most.
After informing Uncle Wu of their next course of action, Weisheng Zhen, still uneasy, contacted the senior senior sister and asked her to come and look after the junior disciples for a while.
“Mm-hmm… got it. Oh, I’m still young, there’s plenty of time. Alright, alright, enough talk. Fine, fine, fine, I’m here.”
After quickly hanging up the immortal jade disc, Weisheng Zhen let out a long breath and stepped down from Li Changshuang’s sword.
“Has your spiritual power advanced again? That was so fast, I only had time for one spirit-message with the senior senior sister before we arrived.”
A spirit-message was essentially a phone call.
Since it used spiritual power, and this world was so formal and literary, when this function was first introduced, Weisheng Zhen and the young master of Liusen Pavilion had settled on that name.
Li Changshuang showed no expression. “It’s because your spirit-message took too long.”
Weisheng Zhen was about to argue when he heard Li Changshuang say, “We’re too late. That thing has already been taken.”
At the bottom of the dried-up lakebed, a pitch-black gaping hole appeared before the two of them.