Chapter 10: Killing the Immortal and Changing the Master

It was once again the season to open the valley. When the three disciples from Xuanyue Sect appeared at the Sword Forging Valley, An Ran furrowed his brows and asked, “Why are they here?”

Yan Qinghong sighed, “It’s all because of you.”

An Ran gave him a confused look, and he explained, “Last year, because of you, only one of their disciples managed to enter the Heavenly Tower, and that was only by settling for a draw. If we don’t do something to fix things this year, I fear the relationship between the two sects will sour.”

Lu Xiuyuan casually remarked, “Senior Brother, you’re being overly cautious. Sure, the old folks from Xuanyue Sect are a bit narrow-minded, but it shouldn’t go this far.”

“Forget it, since there are only three of them, let’s just let them be,” said An Ran.

This year, Lingyun Peak had a few disciples who could obtain their life swords. An Ran had originally only been focused on his own disciples, but he found himself drawn to the attention of Xuanyue Sect’s Xiu Wenyin.

“Hasn’t he already reached the Golden Core stage? Why hasn’t he obtained his life sword?” An Ran asked.

Yan Qinghong hummed, “I’ve heard that Xiu Wenyin hasn’t shown any interest in any of the swords from Xuanyue Sect.”

Lu Xiuyuan sneered, “I suspect it’s not that he didn’t like them, but that no sword would recognize him.”

The three of them chatted casually, watching as once again, a group of disciples were vying for the Zhu Xian Sword. However, the gap in their strength was so vast that no one could compete with Xiu Wenyin.

They glanced sideways to see that the Zhu Xian Sword had already fallen into Xiu Wenyin’s hands, and Lu Xiuyuan calmly remarked, “This sword hasn’t left its sheath for hundreds of years…”

Before he could finish his sentence, everyone suddenly felt a powerful spiritual pressure surge through the air.

A dazzling cold light flashed, and the sword’s blade emitted a blazing glow under the sunlight. The hum of the sword as it was drawn sent a sharp sound into everyone’s ears.

“What… is happening?”

The crowd was still in shock, with the disciples too weak to move, paralyzed by the sword’s spiritual pressure.

Only the three seniors could still move freely. Lu Xiuyuan gave Yan Qinghong a reproachful glance and said, “Look, the Valley-Guarding Sword has been snatched.”

Yan Qinghong, however, was too focused on the situation to care about his complaints. Dark clouds began to rapidly cover the sky, accompanied by the booming sound of thunder.

The black clouds loomed above, blocking out the sunlight across the entire Sword Forging Valley, as if they had entered the night.

Although the sword spirit did not appear, the overwhelming spiritual pressure radiating from the sword made it clear how terrifying its power was.

Xiu Wenyin, as the sword’s master, was still able to move freely, and upon seeing this spectacular sight, he was filled with excitement.

After some time, he finally calmed down, sheathed the sword, and the sky immediately returned to its original brightness. The spiritual pressure dissipated, allowing the disciples to regain their ability to move, though many remained frozen in awe.

“Thank you, Lingxiao Palace, for the gift of the sword!” Xiu Wenyin said with a content expression, bowing towards the three seniors from a distance.

Yan Qinghong gritted his teeth in frustration but could only force a calm response, “This sword and you are destined to be together, congratulations.”

Lu Xiuyuan, rarely seen with a fan in hand, was visibly upset. He silently shot a side-eye at Yan Qinghong but didn’t speak.

An Ran’s expression grew even darker. The Zhu Xian Sword had changed hands, which meant there was no chance to correct its choice again.

This was maddening, especially when the time-line deviation reached 30%. At that moment, he almost felt like killing someone.

---

Meanwhile, Xia Chenyu was still working in the vegetable patch. From a distance, he noticed dark clouds covering the sky above Sword Forging Valley, which dissipated after a while. Du Ziming, noticing his attention, laughed and said, “That’s quite a good sword.”

Xia Chenyu had known Du Ziming for almost a year but had never seen him show any interest in anything, whether it was high-level techniques or rare treasures. Despite his cultivation, Du Ziming preferred staying in the outer sect.

“Why don’t you participate in the sect’s grand competition? If you do, you’ll surely stand out and become one of the three senior disciples,” Xia Chenyu couldn’t help but ask.

Du Ziming smiled lightly. “You may be an inner sect disciple, but have your senior brothers treated you like one of their own?”

Xia Chenyu was speechless for a moment, but after some thought, he replied, “Joining the inner sect means you can get a top-tier life sword, and you may even meet a good master like mine.”

Du Ziming put down his tools, walked into a nearby bamboo grove, and casually snapped off a slender bamboo branch. With a swift motion, the leaves fell off.

He winked at Xia Chenyu. “Watch.”

With a flick of his arm, the bamboo branch cut through the air in a horizontal arc, and a sharp sound followed as numerous bamboo stalks fell. The bamboo grove was suddenly cut down in a large area.

Xia Chenyu stood stunned. A slender bamboo in Du Ziming’s hands was like a sharp blade.

“Who taught you this?”

Du Ziming casually tossed the bamboo branch aside. “Once you reach the right level, it doesn’t matter what weapon you use. Have you ever seen your master draw a sword?”

Xia Chenyu went silent. Indeed, he had never seen his master draw a sword, even against a demonic cultivator in the Core Formation stage. His master defeated them with a single strike, empty-handed.

“Of course, my realm isn’t that high, but that’s the general idea. I’m just telling you about it.”

“But…” Xia Chenyu wanted to say something, but realized it was unlikely to change Du Ziming’s mind. He couldn’t help but feel regretful. If Du Ziming could become one of the three senior disciples, the reputation of this young genius would surely change hands.

Du Ziming seemed to see through his thoughts. His expression shifted from playful to indifferent as he said, “I have a good master.”

Xia Chenyu became curious. “Who is it?”

Du Ziming fell silent for a moment, a trace of sorrow creeping onto his fair face. “I’ll tell you slowly in the future.”

---

The bamboo shoots in the bamboo grove had sprouted twice, and another year had passed. Yet, An Ran showed no sign of letting Xia Chenyu out.

The young man was beginning to lose his patience. Even if it was for tempering his will, it had almost been two years. That should have been enough, right?

Moreover, there had been no news from his seniors. Had something happened?

Just as he was sinking into a mood of melancholy, Du Ziming patted his shoulder. “Don’t worry.”

Xia Chenyu, sitting by the ridge and sighing, looked up at Du Ziming as sunlight streamed from behind him. He instinctively raised a hand to shield his eyes.

Seeing Du Ziming’s silhouette backlit by the sun, he sighed again. “Master… have you forgotten about me?”

“How could that be?” Du Ziming smiled.

The few disciples who had previously caused trouble for Xia Chenyu had become less frequent in their visits after Du Ziming had taught them a lesson. They would only occasionally sneak up on Xia Chenyu when Du Ziming wasn’t around, trying to regain some sense of balance.

But Xia Chenyu was like a cotton ball, unbothered no matter how others bullied him. His temper, once easily provoked, had changed drastically after spending so much time with Du Ziming.

Soon, the others lost interest and stopped coming.

Previously, some would complain to their master after being beaten, always mentioning Xia Chenyu in the process.

Now, even the complainers had disappeared, and Xia Chenyu’s hopes were dashed.

Seeing his frustration, Du Ziming suggested, “Why don’t you come with me to the back mountain to collect some herbs? It’ll help you relax.”

Outer sect disciples didn’t have the same easy access to spiritual herbs as the inner sect. Du Ziming had to rely on collecting and refining them himself.

Thanks to the abundance of spiritual energy in the mountains where Lingxiao Palace was located, various rare herbs were in plentiful supply.

The two of them climbed to the peak of a mountain, where they were looking for Moon Heart Orchid, a rare plant that only grew on cliffs and could cure all poisons when refined.

Since Xia Chenyu’s cultivation was sealed, he could not move as freely as Du Ziming. He waited at the top of the cliff.

As he gazed down, he saw Du Ziming nimbly step on the cliffside rocks, focused on finding the Moon Heart Orchid.

Xia Chenyu checked the safety ropes tied to a large tree before settling down on a flat rock to enjoy the spectacular sea of clouds below.

Suddenly, he heard a low growl from the bushes behind him. He turned and saw a massive gray wolf baring its teeth at him.

The animals on the mountain were often nourished by spiritual energy and had evolved into spiritual beasts. The gray wolf before him was enormous, standing as tall as a person.

Xia Chenyu dared not move rashly, keeping his eyes fixed on the beast. Usually, wolves traveled in packs, but he didn’t see any others with this one. This meant he had a chance to escape.

He cautiously moved toward the nearby forest, with the cliff behind him. If the wolf lunged at him, he would have no chance of survival.

The wolf’s cold, menacing gaze locked onto him, and he began to sweat. As he was about to reach the forest, the wolf suddenly lunged toward him. Without hesitation, Xia Chenyu dashed into the woods.

But his body, now as fragile as a mortal’s, couldn’t outrun the giant wolf. The distance between them was closing rapidly. Just as he thought he was doomed, the dangerous presence behind him suddenly faded. Confused, he slowed his pace and stopped.

To his surprise, the wolf had stopped at a distance, pacing back and forth, seemingly agitated, but not advancing.

It seemed that something was blocking its path.

Xia Chenyu looked around and noticed a flash of vibrant color in the bushes ahead. The wolf was fixated on that spot.

He cautiously approached.

It was a flower, resembling a lily, but radiating brilliant colors, almost as if it had a spiritual aura. It stood out brightly in the sea of green.

Before Xia Chenyu could examine it more closely, the flower quickly curled its petals into a bud and released a puff of faint white mist.

The scent was pungent. Xia Chenyu coughed twice and waved his hand to disperse the mist. But the next moment, the world spun, and he fainted.

---

When he woke up again, he was back in the cottage at the garden.

“You’ve finally woken up.” Du Ziming was holding a basin of hot water and, upon seeing him awake, quickly wrung out a towel and wiped his forehead.

Xia Chenyu realized he was drenched in sweat.

“What happened to me…?”

He had no idea how long he had been unconscious.

“You were poisoned,” Du Ziming said bluntly, with a teasing tone. “To detoxify you, I had to use the Moon Heart Orchid I just gathered. Do you know how hard it is to gather that flower? You’ll owe me for this.”

Xia Chenyu weakly smiled. “Alright.” Then he suddenly remembered, “You said I was poisoned… was it that flower?”

Du Ziming nodded. “You were poisoned by the Lu Wei Grass.” He sighed again. “Although the Moon Heart Orchid can cure all poisons, the Lu Wei Grass is different. And since your spiritual veins are sealed, the poison remains stagnant.”

“I don’t know what to do. We need to ask your master for help.”