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墨書 Inktalez
"Elder Yang, are you here to collect something?"
Seeing someone arrive, the disciple of Langya Stream quickly came out of his meditation, stood up, and asked.
Yang Zhen nodded, and the disciple led them along the flowing water into the cave at the back.
The stream seeped underground from there, leaving only the sound of water flowing in their ears.
The cave was devoid of sunlight and quite dim, but it was not impossible to see. A faint blue-green glow covered the damp stone walls, illuminating the interior.
The disciple brought them to a stone door covered in runes and said, "It's right here."
Yang Zhen took out the half of the jade disc given to him by Qing Yao from his pocket and placed it alongside his own half, one on each side, embedding them into the mechanism at the center of the stone door.
This door required two elders' tokens to be opened simultaneously.
The tadpole-like runes drawn on the door suddenly emitted light, and in the next moment, with a creak, the stone door slowly opened to both sides. Yang Zhen stepped inside, followed closely by Spirit Sword Destiny.
As soon as they entered the inner chamber, the ground trembled slightly, and a barrier rose behind them, isolating the inner chamber from the outside world.
Spirit Sword Destiny looked around.
Most of Xiaoyao Sect's wealth was hidden in this Stone Chamber. The room was filled with dazzling treasures and rich spiritual energy, among which many items were extremely valuable. However, no matter how precious they were, he did not show even a hint of greed.
"That must be the Ice Soul Coffin," Yang Zhen said.
He pointed to an object placed in the corner of the room, from which a chilling aura emanated.
Spirit Sword Destiny didn't even glance at it.
His gaze wandered over a row of shelves... Suddenly, a look of joy flashed in his eyes. In a swift motion, he had already taken a Glazed Box into his hands.
Through the ice crystal-like walls of the box, one could see a deep emerald green Pearl inside. The soft glow emitted by the Pearl slowly expanded and then gradually contracted, cycling back and forth, just like a steady breath.
This was what he had painstakingly sought to obtain.
The hand of Spirit Sword Destiny could hardly suppress its trembling.
He cautiously opened the box and placed the Azure Essence Pill into the already prepared Jade Box, then tossed the Liuli Box onto the ground, producing a crisp sound.
He repeated the process, taking out two other spiritual materials, but after retrieving them, he casually tossed them into the Cosmic Bag, unlike the care he showed for the Azure Essence Pill.
"What... are you doing?" Yang Zhen asked in confusion, "Aren't you... here to take the Ice Soul Coffin?"
His voice had become intermittent without him realizing it.
His appearance had also changed. He no longer resembled Yang Zhen much, nor did he look like the ordinary boy Wu Xin he once embodied; he was gradually becoming less human.
The true form of Shenmo was an formless chaos. His body was slowly reverting back to chaos... starting from his feet and continuously spreading upward.
"What... is happening? Why can't I... control my spiritual power..."
Wu Xin finally noticed something was wrong with himself.
A rare look of surprise appeared on his usually expressionless face.
After finishing his own tasks, Spirit Sword Destiny glanced at him and said, "This Stone Chamber was built thirteen hundred years ago when demons roamed freely in the human realm, slaughtering countless lives. The founder of Xiaoyao Sect who constructed this place set up a restriction: any demon that intrudes here to plunder treasures will lose their sanity and die. Because demons have weaker minds, it is much easier to shatter their Divine Consciousness than that of humans.
A thousand years have passed; although this restriction has weakened over time, no one has been able to break it... even Nine-Tailed Fox Qing Yao would become disoriented upon entering here. Otherwise, do you think she would refuse to come along?"
"You... you knew all along?" Wu Xin said incredulously. "You deliberately set me up... but you clearly have Young Master's token!"
If it weren't for the token of Lord of the Shimmering Demon Shaoyuan, he wouldn't have come to assist Spirit Sword Destiny.
"That's right, what I showed you is indeed Shaoyuan's token, which I borrowed from him. You have never seen him, so you don't know what kind of person your Young Master is. Do you think he would care about the life and death of a Shenmo?"
Spirit Sword Destiny remained calm, raising a hand to press against his chest. With three fingers pinching, he slowly pulled out a transparent needle from his heart.
The needle was still stained with fresh blood, held between his pale fingers, shocking to behold.
As soon as it was pulled from his chest, his aura changed dramatically. The surging tide of spiritual power even caused his black hair to rise. The ribbon that had originally tied his hair suddenly snapped and fell gently to the ground.
At this moment, he had finally regained his true strength—
His power surpassed that of Carefree Sect Leader Ye Zhiqiu!
"You..." Wu Xin let out a painful scream, "Why... ah..."
He had transformed back to his original form, his chaotic and indistinct body bursting forth with countless violent whirlpools and torrents.
His spiritual intelligence gradually faded; he had fallen into madness.
In the end, he still did not understand what Spirit Sword Destiny's true intentions were or why he would harm himself. After years of obsessively exploring human nature, he still succumbed helplessly to the complexities of the human heart.
Only one thought remained in his mind: kill, kill, kill.
To completely destroy everything alive!
Wu Xin's body rapidly expanded, the chaos opening its massive mouth, aiming to devour Spirit Sword Destiny.
Spirit Sword Destiny remained expressionless and took a step back.
A phantom shell detached from him, coalescing into a tangible form, transforming into another Spirit Sword Destiny. It bore an identical face, wore the same clothing, and even had a glimmer of spirit in its eyes.
This avatar he created instantly fell into the mouth of chaos and vanished without a trace.
Dripping blood fell from the chaos, followed by tattered white garments that floated out.
"Bang!"
A violent collision sound echoed from deep within the cave.
When the members of Xiaoyao Sect arrived, the second barrier of the Stone Chamber had already been shattered by the rampaging Wu Xin.
The situation inside was laid bare before them.
The treasures on the racks remained intact under the protection of the barrier. However, several empty boxes were carelessly discarded on the ground.
Exhausted of power, Wu Xin reverted back into a mass of chaos, resembling a pool of murky rainwater.
Shenmo would not die; once its spiritual power was depleted, it would return to ignorance. It would take several hundred years of cultivation to regain even a semblance of consciousness.
"Shenmo?"
"It is Shenmo that infiltrated to steal treasures!" The crowd clamored.
"Who exactly is this person transformed by Shenmo?" Finally, someone raised this question.
The Nine-Tailed Fox Elder Qing Yao's expression was as solemn as water. She closed her eyes and released her Divine Consciousness. After a while, she opened her eyes and said, "I see that the real Elder Yang Zhen is still in Baopu Peak's Alchemy Room in a deep slumber. What we saw earlier was merely this Shenmo in disguise. It stole several spiritual materials that could greatly enhance one's power but did not anticipate that there were demon-slaying prohibitions set up here. It's just a pity..."
Spirit Sword Destiny also concealed its form and aura, standing far away and listening to her conclusion. There were indeed still doubts about this matter; when was Yang Zhen replaced, and was his direct disciple in collusion?
However, “Lin Mo” was already dead. Since Shenmo was the main culprit, those who had died were usually not pursued too rigorously.
Everyone suddenly fell silent.
A person who had been very talkative remained silent from beginning to end.
“Xu Shidi!”
He trembled when he heard Qing Yao's words, and the last glimmer of hope in his eyes extinguished.
Before others could stop him, he had rushed into the Stone Chamber, bent down, and gently picked up a tattered white garment.
Crimson blood stained his hands.
“Ah—” he suddenly let out a heart-wrenching scream.
Everyone looked at him, not daring to speak.
His knees buckled, and he collapsed to the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
The blood quickly soaked through his clothing.
“Why... why? Ah—” The pain on his face made many disciples unable to bear to look any longer.
Why... after just a brief separation of a moment, is there an eternal parting?
He had promised that this time he would protect him even at the cost of his life. In the blink of an eye, the promises made, the words exchanged, and the memories tied to that person all turned into illusions. Why was fate so cruel, so cold?
With a violent cough, Xu Xiaofei spat out a mouthful of blood, his complexion rapidly turning pale. His internal injuries seemed to be even worse than Han Yue's.
Spirit Sword Destiny felt a tremor in his heart. He had always thought Xu Xiaofei resembled someone, but now it seemed even more so.
How could this be possible?
If one were to compare anyone to that person, it would be like comparing a sparrow to a roc, or a firefly to the bright moon...
Even if he resolutely denied it, Xu Xiaofei's face gradually overlapped with the face in his memory. If he had died before the leader, would the leader... be so heartbroken?
A strand of white light suddenly flew out from Xu Xiaofei's clothing and into his embrace.
He was startled as he caught the jade pendant at his chest, staring at it in a daze. After a moment, as if he suddenly remembered something, he took a deep breath. Despite his face being covered in tears and dirt, he managed a grim smile.
A fire ignited in his eyes, and his expression suddenly became resolute.
Spirit Sword Destiny watched every move he made.
At this moment, realizing there was no need to continue watching, he turned around and swiftly flew out of the cave.
It seemed he still heard a cheerful voice by his ear saying, "I think my flesh must taste better than most people's because I live happily every day."
Xu Xiaofei's demeanor while speaking still lingered in his mind.
Spirit Sword Destiny sighed softly. How many people in this world can live as they initially hoped?
In the blink of an eye, he had flown out of Xiaoyao Sect.
He continued flying until he reached the sky above Xuancheng, gliding into an ordinary-looking household.
He was greeted by a surge of immense spiritual power.
As soon as they faced each other, Spirit Sword Destiny realized that this force was beyond his ability to contend with. He spun in the air like a paper kite, dissipating the force and narrowly avoiding two subsequent strikes before descending to the ground.
"Yan, you have regressed," a voice said.
He saw someone sitting under a tree by the pond, calm and serene, with sleeves hanging low, leaning against the wide backrest of a chair, seemingly not having moved at all.
That astonishingly powerful move had indeed come from this person.
It was him...
How did he end up here?
"Subordinate pays respects to the Master."
Spirit Sword Destiny approached the person and was about to kneel when his arm was firmly supported by that individual, preventing him from kneeling any further.
He lowered his gaze and did not look at Shen Jinglan, but Shen Jinglan was carefully observing him and suddenly spoke, "You look just like you did the first time you killed someone."
"Subordinate does not understand what the Master means."
Shen Jinglan smiled, a look of reminiscence on his face: "The first time you killed someone, we were being chased and took refuge in the mountains. I misused my energy and couldn't move at all. So you killed a hunter who stumbled upon us because you couldn't let him leave alive and expose our hiding place. You were still young then, it was your first time, and that hunter had no enmity with us... After killing him, you felt guilty for several nights and couldn't sleep soundly. Your expression now is just like it was back then."
Spirit Sword Destiny kept his head lowered and did not raise it: "The Master must be mistaken. I have committed too many unkind and unjust acts; how could I still feel guilt like I did back then?"
"Precisely because of that, I find it strange... who has made you feel remorse?"
Spirit Sword Destiny pressed his lips tightly together and did not answer. After a long pause, he said, "How could the Master come here? Mo Yanchun seems to have mentioned that your body needs more rest and is not suitable for moving around."
“Mo Yanchun is a good doctor, but I know my own body. I'm not at the point where I can't even move,” Shen Jinglan said. “While I can still move, there are some matters I will handle myself.”
His voice had become hoarse from years of coughing, yet it still carried a strange rhythm and charm.
The wide black robe concealed his emaciated body, and his face was so ill that it was barely recognizable, only faintly hinting at the handsomeness of his youth.
However, when he smiled, he looked nothing like a patient. He possessed an energy and confidence that most healthy individuals did not have.
He looked at Spirit Sword Destiny with that smile.
“You have so many subordinates; whatever needs to be done can be handled by us. Why trouble the leader to come personally?”
“I know you are very capable,” Shen Jinglan replied. “You have always been capable. However, there are some matters that cannot be resolved no matter how many methods you have. And even if a shortcut can be found, it will come at a painful cost.”
He glanced at his long, thin hand partially hidden in the sleeve of his robe: “For such matters, your strength is still insufficient; you must rely on my power. As of now, there should be no one beneath me who can withstand ten moves.”
This was originally an extremely arrogant statement, but coming from him, it seemed perfectly reasonable.
Because it was indeed the truth.
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