Shen Yunjin, having bound the three of them, quickly arrived at the location of the “Red Feather.” It seemed to be a seal left behind by an ancient ancestral divine bird, imbued with fierce and formidable divine power. The moment they stepped inside, their consciousnesses were suppressed by the stifling atmosphere.
The “Jiang Yuan” within the illusion was disintegrated by this divine power, leaving not a trace.
This Red Feather was truly a sacred object, forbidding the intrusion of evil.
Here, the twisted branches of ancient trees intertwined, wrapping around the Heavenly Compassion Sword. Vines obscured its dazzling golden light, leaving only a few faint, residual rays.
Shen Jianglin walked slowly; it appeared he had not fully recovered. The Soul-Swapping Technique had inflicted irreparable damage upon his body, causing him to walk with a faltering gait. “Wen Yuzhu” supported him from the side, looking like a puppet devoid of a soul.
Xie Weiyuan, hearing the heavy breathing behind him, deliberately pretended to trip over the thick vines at his feet.
Shen Yunjin, currently under control and far more guileless than usual, hurried forward to support him.
“What is wrong?”
“I tripped by accident. The path here is quite difficult; you should support me.”
Shen Jianglin glanced at him sideways: “I advise Linghua-jun not to play any tricks; he cannot possibly wake up again.”
“Since you are so confident that he will not wake up, why bother warning me?”
Shen Jianglin was choked by his words, or perhaps he was simply too old to care, for he fell silent.
The group soon arrived before an ancient tree of immense age.
Only then did Xie Weiyuan notice a youth leaning against the thick trunk with his eyes closed. He looked handsome, and at first glance, he resembled an old friend, though Xie Weiyuan could not immediately place him.
“I said it before, you are not the destined master of Heavenly Compassion, so why bother courting disaster?”
The youth didn’t even bother to open his eyes. He spat out the piece of foxtail grass in his mouth and hummed a little tune, appearing entirely at ease.
“Heh… you are quite a virtuous sword, aren’t you? A mere sword soul daring to speak to me this way.”
The youth was sharp-tongued: “You are a mere mortal, yet you dare to harbor the delusion of being my master?”
“In the past, perhaps my qualifications were lacking. But today is different from the past.” Shen Jianglin curled his lips into a smile, unwilling to lose his presence.
Only then did the youth lazily open his eyes, offering a scornful “humph”: “To bring so many helpers today, thinking you can break the seal truly a pipe dream.”
The moment he opened his eyes, Xie Weiyuan abruptly recalled that this person was the same youth who had wanted to buy Ji Yunlan that day.
So this man is the soul of the Heavenly Compassion Sword. Perhaps I can use him to break the dream of the Huangliang Scroll.
“It is a pity that today, you can only submit to me.” Shen Jianglin turned his head to look at Shen Yunjin, his thin lips parting: “Yunjin, pull the Heavenly Compassion Sword out.”
The youth scoffed, making no move to stop them, letting Shen Yunjin walk forward like a puppet, appearing quite confident that he could not draw the sword.
Xie Weiyuan knew that if he sat by and did nothing, it would truly be too late. He hurriedly shouted: “Do not let him draw it! He has the Divine Seal within him and is controlled by the Huangliang Scroll!”
The youth turned his amber eyes toward him: “Him?” He frowned as he looked at Shen Yunjin, who moved like a marionette, not believing that the Divine Seal resided in this frail boy’s body.
“Did you not recognize his power when he used it in front of you last time?” Xie Weiyuan desperately wanted to walk over and slap the man; to be a sword soul yet fail to recognize divine power!
The youth pondered for a moment, then suddenly slapped his forehead: “I do recall that the aura from last time felt familiar…”
“Then stop him quickly!” Xie Weiyuan’s voice trembled with anxiety, only to be kicked fiercely by the “Wen Yuzhu” behind him.
He let out a pained “Hiss” and stayed quiet. Fortunately, the youth followed his advice and rushed toward Shen Yunjin, who was attempting to draw the sword by hand.
The youth grabbed Shen Yunjin’s wrist, but Shen Yunjin countered with a sharp elbow strike, quickly evading the restraint and reaching for the sword again.
Fortunately, having lived for tens of thousands of years, the sword soul was not easily dealt with. The youth quickly braced against Shen Yunjin’s arm, blocking his path.
Shen Jianglin, frustrated, hissed: “Use your Divine Seal to command him!”
Shen Yunjin nodded numbly. The golden light in his chest began to flicker, and black patterns spread up his neck. The youth was stifled by the pressure of the divine power emanating from him; submission to the power made him tremble, but he gritted his teeth and held on.
He was soon at a disadvantage, forced to one knee, completely suppressed.
Xie Weiyuan’s heart sank. The sword soul could not resist Shen Yunjin’s command; the pressure of the Divine Seal was truly formidable.
Shen Yunjin’s fingertips touched the hilt wrapped in ancient vines. Instantly, the youth’s body began to turn transparent, as if he were being subsumed into the sword.
Still refusing to submit, he turned to Xie Weiyuan and shouted: “I can only hold on for a moment! How do I break his control?”
Before Xie Weiyuan could answer, Shen Yunjin had fully drawn the Heavenly Compassion Sword. The ancient blade shook off the gray dust, erupting with a fierce, blinding golden light.
Shen Yunjin was stunned by the radiance. Gritting his teeth, his tendons bulging, he refused to let go, his brows locked tight as a powerful resonance surged within his heart.
Shen Jianglin’s smile grew more manic. He clapped his hands in laughter, his posture even straightening: “Yunjin, go! Use the Heavenly Compassion Sword to split open your Divine Seal and present it to me.”
Shen Yunjin nodded, his vacant gray eyes devoid of any spark. He gave a faint “Hmm,” the divine power in his fingertips guiding the Heavenly Compassion Sword through the air, pointing the tip toward himself.
Xie Weiyuan’s eyes were bloodshot: “Stop! Do not listen to him! Shen Yunjin… have you forgotten your mother? She wanted you to live well. If you do this, wasn’t her death in vain? Don’t forget that your great revenge remains unavenged. You haven’t taken revenge on me yet—if you die like this, how will you return the humiliations you have suffered?”
Shen Yunjin actually stopped, slowly turning his head to look at Xie Weiyuan.
“Who… are you?”
Xie Weiyuan was stunned for a moment: “I… am your Master.”
Ji Yunlan also spoke up: “Senior Brother, wake up!”
Shen Yunjin hesitated, the divine power in his fingertips dimming. He seemed to be thinking, the scent of vines and dust filling his nose, his blood beginning to congeal.
Only then did Shen Jianglin sneer: “Overestimating your abilities.”
“Do not listen to them! I am your master! Shen Yunjin, go and extract the Divine Seal!”
But it was too late. Seizing the moment of hesitation, the youth surrendered himself completely to the blade, forcibly suppressing the restless Heavenly Compassion.
“Heavenly Compassion, are you not even listening to your master?” Shen Jianglin’s murky, bloodshot eyes were filled with frantic gasps.
“Spare me your nonsense, you old fossil.” The youth forcibly controlled the blade, not allowing it to advance a single step.
Shen Yunjin, controlled tightly by the soul-invading power, had beads of sweat forming on his brow, dripping down his cheeks, yet the divine power in his fingertips pushed on ruthlessly.
The Heavenly Compassion Sword let out a mournful cry, the blade trembling. It could no longer be contained, lunging forward with a strike.
Xie Weiyuan felt total despair. He had been outplayed, and now it was a failure. If Shen Yunjin died, perhaps he would also…
At that very moment, a figure darted in front of him.
Boom!
He could only see the afterimage, accompanied by the pear-blossom scent carried on the wind, before it was pierced by the Heavenly Compassion Sword into scattered shards of light, shattering into dust and drifting into the void.
Before Xie Weiyuan could react, the person before him had turned into motes of light, leaving not a single word of parting behind.
A suffocating, shocking pain swept from the depths of his heart, and his breath hitched.
The world had lost all color; truly, this was the end.
Only then did he belatedly realize that the Huangliang Scroll did not allow for dream-creation because Wen Yuzhu’s body had already been burned to ashes four years ago. This entire ordeal had simply returned to the conclusion of four years ago.
The ending could not be changed. No matter how they struggled, it was in vain.
Just like the corpse even if possessed by the Fairy in the Painting, the last bit of consciousness remaining in the husk would inevitably follow its instinct to protect Shen Yunjin, even failing to leave behind a single parting word.
Shen Jianglin remained in shock, unable to react. His aged, hoarse voice echoed through the silent Red Feather forest.
“How… how could she be so foolish.”
He muttered, uneasy and incredulous, stumbling forward like a man who had lost his mind, staring at the Heavenly Compassion Sword still radiating golden light.
He had been so close, close to resurrecting Wen Yuzhu, and Qingwen…
Wen Yuzhu’s body and soul were gone completely. What did it matter if he obtained the Divine Seal now?
The object of his obsession for half a lifetime had turned to dust in this moment.
His gaze grew empty, and he slowly reached out his withered hands to touch the blade.
Alas, a mortal body was so fragile. In an instant, he collapsed into a heap of mud, drifting away—humble as dirt. Two souls had spent half a lifetime in turmoil, only to end as a handful of dust.
In the highest heaven or the deepest hell, the two were now worlds apart. It would have been better to have stopped sooner; at least then they could have lived in the same bed and died in the same grave, accompanied by white hair and snow for a lifetime.
Everything faded into silence. Shen Yunjin’s vacant gray eyes slowly returned to their normal amber color. He knelt on the ground in a daze, seemingly unable to process what had happened.
The screech of the Heavenly Compassion Sword pierced the heavens, its golden light fading as it landed in Shen Yunjin’s hands.
It was once said that sacrificing a living soul to a sword was the only way to forge a divine blade.
But how could a sword stained with the blood of one’s own parents ever be called a divine blade?
“Senior Brother, you…” Ji Yunlan, beside him, felt at a loss. He did not know what was going through Shen Yunjin’s mind, hesitating as he looked at the sword, which had now lost its divine radiance.
Only then did Shen Yunjin notice the three of them bound by ropes. He said nothing more, walking over to untie them.
Xie Weiyuan asked softly: “You… are you alright?”
The System, which had been silent for so long, spoke up just as he was gathering his emotions: “OOC Warning! OOC Warning! Multiple OOC violations detected. Initiating penalty procedure.”
“To hell with your punishment. Stupid System, you should have told me sooner that the OOC punishment was watching boy-love smut; I wouldn’t have bothered with you before.”
“Penalty upgraded. Loading…”
Xie Weiyuan ignored the System. He looked at Shen Yunjin, who was hanging his head in front of him, feeling strange emotions. He very much wanted to ruffle his ink-black hair.
However, he restrained himself in the end, coughing softly and saying: “Since you are awake, let us find a way to leave the Huangliang Scroll.”
The long-silent sword vibrated; it seemed the sword soul from before had awakened.