“Thank you for stepping out, Martial Sister Hong,” Xiao Qingyun began, his voice smooth as silk.
“By cooperating, we wouldn’t waste any more time.”
Hong Mei casually glanced at him and nodded, standing at the edge of the crater.
No one dared to jump inside carelessly this time.
Everything moved too fast, making Liu Yang unable to control the pace of the conversation anymore.
Glancing around the crowd, he found no trace of his senior brother and let out a sigh.
He should have expected this elusiveness—it was typical of Brother Qin, always disappearing to god knows where.
Though Liu Yang couldn’t find him, he was sure Qin Wuchen was nearby.
So without a second thought, he walked to the edge of the crater and positioned himself.
Xiao Qingyun gave him a pointed look but held back his words, not wanting to invite another quarrel.
Without another word, the three Golden Core cultivators standing by the edge of the crater extended their hands in unison.
Boundless spiritual energy poured from their bodies, transforming into a torrent of radiant light that surged towards the buried sword.
At the moment of impact, the change was swift.
The originally pure sword qi became dark in an instant.
Bursting from within the sword was a roaring dark mass of sword qi, clashing with the powerful Golden Core energy.
‘BANG!’
The massive clash rebounded and struck the three, making them stumble and cough out blood.
With their initial concentration interrupted, they struggled to create a barrier just in time to shield the entire area from the powerful resentful energy that relentlessly clashed against the barrier, seeking to tear through it to reach its target.
The resentful sword qi seemed different from the earlier one.
At present, it felt fully awakened—cold and hungry, as if it had a mind of its own.
The tension in the air was at its climax.
No one could tear their gazes from the three struggling against the foreboding sword energy.
Its presence was like that of an ancient monster—ruthless and unforgiving, surging forth to consume the world before it.
Some wanted to run, but instead stood entranced, as if their feet were tied to the ground.
A chill went down Feng Xianyue’s spine.
So much resentment…
what could the little dragon’s mother have experienced before she left the world?
Feng Yueling released a quiet, heart-wrenching whine through the bond, making Feng Xianyue’s eyes cloud over.
His small body trembled inside the space, his tiny claws digging into the ground.
She wished he hadn’t witnessed this.
He was so young and innocent.
And this was his mother’s legacy, twisted by centuries of resentment.
With so much resentment left behind, it could only mean that there was more to her death than met the eye—something the memories she left behind didn’t include.
Something Yueling’s inherited memory excluded.
Due to the bond with the little dumpling, Feng Xianyue’s emotions were unusually heightened.
She soon unconsciously parted the stunned crowd to arrive close to the edge of the crater.
Feng Yue’s eyes widened the moment she saw Feng Xianyue.
That jinx!
How did she know to come here?
What is she scheming now?
A thousand thoughts crossed her mind the moment she saw her elder sister.
Nothing good came when she was nearby.
Brother Xiao was close by—what if he noticed her sister’s talent and lost interest in her?
Her heart tightened at the image.
Feng Yue’s hand twitched beneath her sleeve, and without a second thought, a faint ripple of wood-attributed qi sunk into the earth.
Without the slightest warning, a twisted branch burst from the earth.
No one noticed its emergence until it had already coiled around Feng Xianyue’s ankle, pulling her to the ground and dragging her into the crater.
A scream tore from her lips as she was suddenly thrown down the resentment-energy-filled crater.
The dark energy clawed at her skin, her robes, her very soul—hungry, ancient, devouring.
She was falling into a nightmare.
Before the darkness consumed her vision, she saw Feng Yue’s face pulled into a wicked smile.
That bitch.
The crowd let out a shocked gasp, watching as one of them fell victim to malicious sword qi.
Xiao Qingyun, Hong Mei, and Liu Yang attempted to save the poor girl from her imminent death but were sent stumbling back by the sudden increase in strength of the resentful sword qi.
Just when everyone thought that the unknown, unlucky Feng Xianyue—now enveloped in the dark sword energy—was going to be consumed, the resentful energy suddenly froze.
Then, as though recognizing something long forgotten, the resentment slowly retreated.
Pure sword qi surged forth with renewed vigor, and was voraciously drawn into Feng Xianyue’s trembling body.
Everyone was taken aback by the unexpected turn of events.
“What is happening?” Feng Yue unconsciously asked aloud.
“It seems like the sword energy is trying to merge with her,” Han Long muttered.
Feng Yue felt her stomach drop.
She had pushed her sister into the crater to eliminate a threat—not to hand her a divine sword.
“Impossible!” Lan Hua clipped.
“The divine sword rejected every Golden Core expert…” She continued in disbelief, “Yet it acknowledged a Qi Condensation cultivator?”
Xiao Qingyun frowned.
“A Qi Condensation cultivator…
How is her body enduring that much sword qi?”
Hong Mei narrowed her eyes at the unworthy figure a few meters from her, stealing her sword.
Since birth, her talent for sword mastery had been unmatched, as was her thirst for all legendary swords.
The moment she heard of the appearance of a divine sword, she had already deemed it as hers.
But why was someone weaker than her chosen by it?
She was unreconciled.
If it had been someone stronger than her, giving up would have been easier.
But this…
The crowd of cultivators were visibly shocked.
Nevertheless, it didn’t take long for their senses to return—along with their greed.
However, before they could do anything, a barrage of sword attacks flew towards Feng Xianyue.
But suddenly, the originally still divine sword trembled.
The ground cracked into multiple openings, and the divine sword abruptly flew out and clashed with the incoming sword attacks.
Then the sky darkened.
Everyone looked up to see over twenty cultivators descending on their swords, their scarlet robes fluttering like blood-soaked banners.
The Scarlet Yin Dao Pavilion had arrived.
The cultivator who seemed like the leader landed with a thud that cracked the earth beneath his feet.
He stood in front, his hands behind his back, a ruthless look in his eyes.
“Mo Tianyu,” Liu Yang exclaimed in shock.
“It seems Brother Liu is also here,” Mo Tianyu said casually, glancing at Liu Yang and the remaining disciples from the Void Severance Dao Sect.
His eyes searched the crowd, as if looking for a particular face.
“Qin Wuchen chose to be absent as usual.
It’s no wonder you were careless enough to let a nobody claim the divine sword,” Mo Tianyu spat out. Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
“A barking dog is always loudest before it’s beaten.
If you’re so confident, go claim it yourself,” Liu Yang retorted.
Mo Tianyu scoffed, striding purposefully to the edge of the crater.
At this time, Feng Xianyue’s body was in immense pain.
A large surge of energy had invaded her body.
Though the sword qi that poured into her felt familiar, it was still overwhelming, forcibly stretching out her meridians—which led to the pain.
As Feng Xianyue gradually adapted to the strange energy, her eyes suddenly brightened.
An inexplicable sensation welled up within her.
The pain was still there—agonizing, unrelenting—but beneath it, something was changing.
Her meridians, stretched to their breaking point, began to pulse with a new rhythm.
A rhythm of breakthrough.
She was on the verge of advancing to the next realm.
Feng Xianyue’s world had narrowed to the sword qi flooding her meridians, the pulse of breakthrough building in her core.
Around her, voices rose in shock, but they sounded distant, underwater.
“W…what?
In this situation…
she is about to advance!”
She couldn’t afford to care.
She had to focus.
Everyone was flabbergasted at the sight of Feng Xianyue sitting cross-legged, cultivating under the pressure of the sword qi invading her body.
“How arrogant,” Mo Tianyu said.
Along with his fellow sect disciples, he moved to attack Feng Xianyue.
Unfortunately, this time she had no protection from the divine sword—it was in the process of merging with her body.
As the countless sword attacks cut through the air towards Feng Xianyue, an unknown force unexpectedly collided with them.
The sword attacks crashed against a nearby boulder, which burst into pieces.
Standing before Feng Xianyue was Qin Wuchen—a tall cultivator whose sharp, cold features seemed carved from jade and shadow, as if the heavens themselves had shaped him to be untouchable.
The instant he appeared, the very air trembled.
Invisible pressure rippled outward, causing the surrounding space to crackle and pulse beneath the weight of his overwhelming aura.
Without sparing anyone a glance, Qin Wuchen strode calmly toward Feng Xianyue.
With a casual flick of his sleeve, a translucent barrier blossomed around her, isolating her from the chaos beyond.
Only then did he lift his eyes to Mo Tianyu.
His expression remained indifferent, yet that single gaze carried a pressure heavy enough to make the surrounding cultivators instinctively hold their breath.
“Brother Qin!”
The disciples of the Void Severance Dao Sect couldn’t conceal the excitement in their voices.
With Qin Wuchen’s arrival, the oppressive atmosphere that had weighed upon them instantly eased.
Mo Tianyu was stunned at the sight of the figure standing before Feng Xianyue.
“Qin Wuchen…
what do you mean by this?” Mo Tianyu asked in frustration.
“It is exactly as you see.
Attack one more time.” Qin Wuchen’s voice was flat, emotionless.
The kind of voice that didn’t make threats—it made promises.
“And be ready to forfeit your life.”