Chapter 102: The Cave (Part 2) Plus Word Count

Xu Qianyu fell into the cave; her descent abruptly halted as she was entangled and suspended by brambles formed of dark energy. Her internal organs felt as if they’d shifted, and a wave of nausea hit her.

She opened her eyes amidst the thick scent of peach blossoms, meeting Xie Yuzhen’s deep, dark gaze. Those eyes once drew her in, holding a trace of tenderness without a smile, but now they seemed like cold rain laced with the scent of rust, instilling fear and a sense of danger.

“It’s you,” Xie Yuzhen murmured softly, and the brambles loosened slightly.
Xu Qianyu suddenly plummeted again, instinctively drawing out her Phoenix Flame Soul-Whip just as Xie leaned in to catch her, their movements colliding.

The whip landed squarely on Xie Yuzhen’s body, sending a strand of dark energy shooting out above his head. Just like when he had once lifted her onto the wall only to catch her again, Xie Yuzhen didn’t release his hold. They nearly tumbled to the ground together, but Xu Qianyu struck him with her whip, sending him flying several feet away. Her wooden sword soared into the air, glowing red and vibrating as though in furious rage.

Xie Yuzhen finally remembered: the person who had fallen from the cliff before his eyes in their past life, the one who first taught him the pain of heartbreak, was Xu Qianyu.

The skin on her face cracked like broken porcelain. The Demon King raised his head, his blood-red eyes fixed on her. “Miss.”
Xu Qianyu was aching and exhausted, her mood violently unstable. “Get lost.”

A wooden sword flew beneath her, lifting her up, and Xu Qianyu immediately began climbing it.
Xie Yuzhen’s voice trembled as it came from behind. “Look at me, please.”

Eight fire dragons suddenly shot out, surrounding them in a sea of flames. The wooden pole twisted and melted in the light, seizing any escape route. Xu Qianyu’s whip curled, and a faint, weak phoenix fire leaped from it, resisting the abyssal fire from all sides.

The water-like “tail” of Xu Qianyu’s consciousness suddenly glowed brightly, quickly wrapping a layer of cool water film around her skin. She didn’t feel the burning, but her spiritual realm began to heat up, likely due to an issue with her “realm.”

But the lock of Shen Suwei manifested before her, and Xie Yuzhen’s expression changed.
The abyssal fire tightened rapidly. A pale hand gripped Xu Qianyu’s neck but didn’t apply pressure.

Xie Yuzhen stared at her, smiling. “Back then, in the Shui family, if I had consumed you early, it would have been better.”
At the end of his smile was a look of extreme discomfort.

Then his pupils constricted, and a leaf was reflected in them. Xu Qianyu smirked and said, “Did you enjoy the floating grass I planted for you, Shenchong?”
Xie Yuzhen’s gaze fell on the leaf. Xu Qianyu’s floating grass, Shenchong, trembled like a dog’s tail being shaken. “Damn your grandmother’s leg! Hurry up and take me back.”
Xie Yuzhen didn’t respond for a while.

The person before her still exuded a tempting fragrance. However, Xu Qianyu’s eyes gleamed brightly, like stubborn stones and jewels, filled with hatred. “Aren’t you impressive? Aren’t you and Lu You the center of this world? Let me tell you, no one can bully me, Xu Qianyu. If you dare trample on me, I’ll kill you.”

The hand around her neck tightened suddenly, and the wooden sword flew down, stabbing into the Demon King’s back.
Xie Yuzhen spat out a mouthful of blood from the excruciating pain, his pupils shaking. He thought he didn’t even use force, yet Miss is so ruthless.

A figure suddenly fell from the sky, knocking the fire dragons aside and pushing Xie Yuzhen back several feet.
Shen Chong immediately shrank into his sleeve. Xu Qianyu looked up to see Xu Jiansu holding Xu Qianqian, whose eyes were swollen from crying.

Xu Jiansu saw her staring at Qianqian and explained, “She thought you were dead.”
Xu Qianqian felt awkward immediately. Xu Qianyu wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and awkwardly said, “Cultivators aren’t that easy to kill.”

Behind Xu Jiansu, a shadow of a young man appeared. In the firelight, Xie Yuzhen coldly said, “Xu Jiansu, do you also want to disrespect the Elder?”

Lingbo Sword was gripped tightly in Xu Jiansu’s hand, accumulating bloodthirsty killing intent. He turned his back on Xie Yuzhen and clicked his tongue. “Master Uncle, why are you always making things difficult for me, your junior sister?” He then whispered to Xu Qianyu, “Do you have mustard gold beads?”

“No,” Xu Qianyu responded, realizing. “If you want to take care of Qianqian, you can put her in my realm. Mine is a peaceful realm.” There was even a small bed inside. She had once thought it useless, but now it came in handy.

“You’ve formed a realm?” Xu Jiansu looked at her with a mix of suspicion and jealousy. “Weren’t you just foundation building?” While saying this, his hand was already close to Xu Qianyu’s spiritual realm. “Is it real? Let me check.”

Before he finished speaking, Xu Qianyu was pushed several feet back without any defense, and her back slammed into a wall.
Xu Jiansu’s expression changed drastically, and he cursed, “What the hell? This isn’t a peaceful realm! It’s a fire realm. Do you want to burn Qianqian to death?”

Xu Qianyu didn’t hear him clearly because a flash of golden light passed before her eyes. The third inscription that had been swirling in her consciousness suddenly appeared clearly: it was a sun, sandwiched between two broken walls.
She had no idea what it was for.

Xu Jiansu had already blocked Xie Yuzhen’s attack with his sword. Xu Qianyu heard the muffled sound of Xu Jiansu’s bones breaking and realized that Xie Yuzhen had been holding back in front of her. His cultivation was already above Yuan Ying!
Xu Jiansu wiped the blood from his face, still looking unconcerned. He had already put Xu Qianqian into his own “realm” and tossed Xu Qianyu a snow spirit pill.

“Junior sister, take care of this person. The woman above is yours. Can you kill her? If not, just hold her off for a while. The second brother will come out and help you kill her.”
He immediately realized he had misspoken. He was so used to talking to Xu Qianqian that he mistakenly called Xu Qianyu “Qianqian.”

Xu Qianyu felt a burn in her realm. After swallowing the pill, she heard the words “Second brother,” like feathers lightly brushing her heart. Without saying a word, she drew her sword and left.

Lu You heard their conversation, and a sorrowful voice came from above. “Xu Qianyu and Senior Brother Shen have a relationship beyond that of master and disciple. Doesn’t your sister like Senior Brother Shen? Aren’t you going to stand up for her? Now you’re helping Xu Qianyu; you’ll regret it later.”

“It’s impossible; stop talking nonsense,” Xu Jiansu impatiently replied. “Shen Suwei has no heart. He doesn’t like anyone. Besides, junior sister doesn’t have two pounds of flesh.”
Xu Jiansu judged others by himself, thinking only women with big breasts and long legs could be called “women.” Xu Qianyu was short, so she could only be considered a little dog. How could someone like Shen Suwei be interested in this type?
But those words drove Xie Yuzhen mad, and he attacked again. Xu Jiansu set up his sword formation like a net to block the strike, and at the same time, he yanked Xu Qianyu’s arm and threw her upwards.

When Xu Qianyu returned to where she had come from, she understood why Lu You hadn’t managed to escape.
Xu Jiansu had been ruthless earlier, breaking her ankle. The hem of her disciple robe was stained with blood. Lu You sat on the ground, tears streaming down her delicate face like a young deer caught in a trap, looking pitiful.

When she saw Xu Qianyu approaching with the wooden sword, her face turned pale, and she hurriedly pressed down on her sword. But the ruby-encrusted sword had fallen, now just an ordinary sword, powerless to resist.

Lu You could leave. But she had never suffered such pain before. The worst she had endured was being locked in the Discipline Hall’s small black room by Xu Qianyu in the first round. She hadn’t lasted three days before someone spoke up for her. Later, after becoming immortal, she had become less sensitive to physical pain.

Now, this pain felt magnified a hundred times, making her sob uncontrollably. The warning on her system panel became more frequent, and Xie Yuzhen’s favorability turned gray.

Between life and death, Lu You faced Xu Qianyu, overwhelmed by a pure sense of panic and fear. Forced to rise and limp away, he momentarily forgot the pain.
Fortunately, even though he couldn’t exchange techniques, his cultivation remained intact. With a tap of his toes, he passed through several underground caves.

Xu Qianyu immediately gave chase, while Xu Baopu and Shen Suwei broke through the stone wall from another side. The dense spiritual energy extinguished two of the abyssal flames.

Shen Suwei only saw a white figure flying away. Xu Jiansu grabbed his arm and stopped him. “Hey, you’re leaving right after arriving?”

Xu Baopu also said, “Little junior sister is fine. Let’s focus on the current situation.”
It was rare for the senior brother to speak with such seriousness, so it was clear that the situation was dire, and there was no room for distraction.

Xu Jiansu said, “Little junior sister is fine. I checked. She’s lively and well.”
Shen Suwei did not pursue, but as he drew his sword, he asked calmly, “Are you tired?”
“Huh? The sun is setting in the west?” Xu Jiansu smiled, but the movement caused pain in his injury, and he coughed up a bit of blood. His gaze turned dark as he stared at Xie Yuzhen in the distance, his handsome features now shadowed by a fierce aura. “I’m exhausted.”

Shen Suwei remained silent, his aura growing colder.
Xu Jiansu was tired after a long battle, and Xu Qianyu had just stepped down from the arena, falling into this situation with little rest. He should have known…
Without even meeting Xu Qianyu yet, how could he not be worried?

Behind Shen Suwei, light and shadow surged as three swords shot out, pinning the fire dragon to the wall and extinguishing it. The stone walls around them instantly froze over with frost.
Xu Jiansu’s smile faltered. “You’ve formed a fetus. Are you even human?”
Xu Baopu gave him a look that said, “How did you just figure it out? Stop wasting time.” The wind blades were already in motion.

“This underground area is the protective formation of the sect,” Xu Baopu explained. “If enemies invade, the formation will rise, and the sect’s buildings will sink into the ground. This formation is meant to protect our sect’s disciples and only resist external threats. But somehow, someone shifted the Four Symbols and Eight Trigrams, causing it to confuse friend and foe.”

Xu Baopu used the power of wind and tilted his ear to listen to the creaking of the mechanisms, moving them back into place. The three Nascent Soul experts cooperated to push Xie Yuzhen into another cave.

This cave was exceptionally bright, with crystal-clear stone walls like ice, reflecting their figures in numerous mirrors.
It turned out this was a spirit stone mine.

Spirit stones as mirrors often revealed more than the naked eye could see. Through the reflection in the mirrors, Xu Jiansu saw the true form of the Demon King within the body of “No Truth,” and his expression stiffened.

The three brothers had been hunting demons for a long time and had developed a tacit understanding. There was no need for words—they knew each other’s thoughts.
First, kill, then report.

Xie Yuzhen, caught in the light of the spirit stones, could barely open his eyes, only able to release his protective body flame to fiercely push the three back.
Shen Suwei’s surroundings were full of the bright light from the spirit stone mirrors, and numerous illusions of inner demons appeared.
Suddenly, there was the reflection of Lingsu Daojun’s spirit stone mirror, leaning against the wall in the room. The girl in the mirror appeared as if they were sitting together. As his fingers brushed over the cold, smooth surface of the mirror, she smiled brightly and asked, “What are you doing, touching my face?”
He knew it was fake, yet it felt all too real.

…
Suddenly, at a grand banquet with many heroes, an elder from the Lingyue Immortal Sect casually remarked, “… But that Demon King has a beloved sword called ‘Bai Xue (Defeated Snow),’ kept in a separate chamber. Such importance suggests it might be the Demon King’s life weapon. If it could be destroyed…”
Shen Suwei suddenly opened his eyes. “Say that again.”
His voice was as cold and clear as ice, and the surroundings fell silent. Countless eyes stared in shock or panic.
Lingsu Daojun never spoke much, and even less did he show anger. If he did, it could shake the very heavens.

The elder trembled and repeated, “The Demon King has a beloved sword called… called Bai Xue (Defeated Snow).”

The sect leader of Lingyue Immortal Sect gently asked, “Is there something wrong with my words? Please enlighten us, Daojun.”
Lingsu Daojun remained silent for a long while before saying, “Bai Xue is not the Demon King’s life weapon. It belongs to my junior sister.”

The room fell into silence, with whispers of confusion spreading. Most were asking, “Junior sister? Who is she?”
“Are you referring to the White Robe Immortal? But that sword belongs to her.”
“No, it’s not the White Robe Immortal.” Lingsu Daojun clarified, “My junior sister’s name is Xu Qianyu.”

Who is that…?

A hundred years had passed. The death of a foundation-building cultivator was like a speck of dust quietly falling into the boiling mortal world, erased by time, like morning dew vanishing in the sunrise.

Shen Suwei felt it shouldn’t be like this, but in this world, he was the only one who remembered her.
He was the only one who remembered, in the freezing cold, when he pulled his fifteen-year-old junior sister out of the demon cave. The two of them walked in the endless snow, Xu Qianyu clutching her sword, not allowing him to even glance at it.

She said, “There were monsters with three heads inside, always pressing me to fight. They told me to cut off all three heads,” and she said, “There were centipede-like creatures, scarier than the ones in the disciplinary hall. They were so fast, I couldn’t step on them.” She also said, “One of them could talk. She told me the sword’s name. She said it’s the Demon King’s sword, called Bai Xue.”

The Demon King’s sword, probably evil, maybe dangerous. But Junior Sister’s tone was full of excitement and pride, and he didn’t mention it.

Everything from that year, every word, every sentence, was as clear as if it had happened yesterday.

But the wind and snow covered it all, erasing the footprints in the snow. He turned his head for a moment, seeing the path was the same as when they came, and in an instant, the only thing left was a vast, white snowfield.

Suddenly, red plum blossoms fell on the snow.
His steps halted, a sharp pain in his chest, and he bent down, wanting to pick up Xu Qianyu.
Xu Qianyu didn’t want to be carried. When she lost consciousness, she had coquettishly asked, “Guannian, I can’t walk anymore. Carry me.”

…
Shen Suwei opened his eyes and saw his reflection in the shattered mirrors of the spirit stone mine. The familiar face seemed to slowly morph, and in an instant, it turned into a cloud of gray mist, indistinguishable from the form of the Demon King.
Shen Suwei’s pupils contracted, and he snapped awake, coldly staring at his reflection.

“Suwei.” Xu Baopu expressed his concern from behind, “Can you still hold on?”
Shen Suwei silently blocked his shadow, and, when he turned around, everything seemed normal again.
Shen Suwei asked, “Senior Brother, if one day Sister-in-law falls in love with the demon, what would you do?”
“Huh?” Xu Baopu responded, “Your sister-in-law wouldn’t do that.”

Seeing the serious look in Shen Suwei’s eyes, he added, “Then I would kill the demon and ensure that your sister-in-law is fine afterward.”
“Wouldn’t everyone make that choice?”

Xu Baopu said, “That’s my choice. Suwei, sometimes men and women are different. Men always need something concrete to gain, but women can give their heart and soul for a word or a glance. Demons can never love humans. Your sister-in-law must have been deceived. As for why she was deceived, it’s because I wasn’t good enough to her. So ultimately, it’s my fault, and I can only blame myself.”

Shen Suwei nodded. Senior Brother’s approach was right, so it must have been his mistake.
How could he allow the demon king to remain in this world, erasing Xu Qianyu’s existence, and then rely on a spirit stone mirror to express his grief?
Shen Suwei’s face grew colder, self-loathing intensifying.
The path of indifference.
It truly was a fraudulent and misleading indifference.

Xu Baopu’s gaze toward the sword light became slightly strange. Shen Suwei was usually very patient, skilled at setting traps, but this was the first time his killing intent leaked out. He was impatient.
The Chisu (ruler) sword drank blood, and together with the Lingbo sword, they pierced through the demon king, who was trapped under Xu Baopu’s wind blade.

Xie Yuzhen’s mouth overflowed with blood as he gave a despairing smile. The burning pain from the two swords was intense. Of course, in the end, it was Xu Qianyu’s poisonous herbs that tore through his chest. His fragile body couldn’t withstand the damage and suddenly turned to dust.

The black mist, with nothing to anchor it, burned up and scattered in the fire, its soul destroyed.
The entire underground cavern shook violently, splitting open with a loud bang.

The three of them leapt to the ground. The originally empty arena was now crowded with people. Elder Yi led a group of elders to the front, seemingly already aware of the demon king hiding in the sect.

The demon king was scattered, but Elder Yi did not show any joy. Instead, he coldly asked, “Who allowed you to destroy Elder Wuzhen’s body?”
The three were all stunned.

Lu You, who bore the system, had repeatedly survived desperate situations, leaving Xu Qianyu with a shadow. She feared that by killing Lu You, she might bring trouble upon herself. Therefore, Xu Qianyu’s pursuit of Lu You seemed more like tormenting prey, forcing her to flee with injuries.

Xu Qianyu picked up the ruby from Lu You’s sword from the water, thinking it could still be of some use. She wiped it clean and placed it in her sleeve.
The floating grass Shenchong said, “Damn, the Eye of Asura, stay away from me! Ahhh! Fool, stop putting everything into your sleeve!”
The ruby: …

Xu Qianyu was looking at the blood from Lu You spreading through the water. This blood revived the withered aquatic plants and even gave birth to tiny blue mirage fish swimming around. She couldn’t help but be surprised.

She thought to herself, Lu You’s blood is more effective than spirit herbs. If someone exploited this and captured her to use her blood for medicine, it would be terrifying.
Lu You had already broken through the ice layer and emerged from the ground. Long-lost sunlight poured from the sky, lighting up her wet hair. “Help, help, Junior Sister Xu wants to kill me.”

This passage led to the frozen Taize Lake that Xu Binglai had sealed.
The giant dragon frozen in mid-air trembled, its whiskers fluttering as its mouth opened in a furious glare at the ground. When Lu You’s cry reached the air, a dragon’s roar reverberated throughout the sky, and the disciples were confused, all turning their gazes toward it.

Suddenly, the giant ice dragon, as if it were alive, broke through the ice layer and began to move!
Its translucent body twisted and sparkled, rising from the water, and its green head slowly turned, its eyes gaining a vivid, vertical pupil. It angrily directed a deafening roar at Xu Qianyu.
Xu Binglai had just reached the shore and stopped in his tracks upon seeing this.

This dragon had been condensed by his sword energy. Unless someone had a naturally gifted sword bone, able to control the sword energy of the heavens and earth, how could something he created move?
Had a natural sword bone appeared in Penglai?

Lu You saw this white-haired, golden-crowned immortal, recalling the gentle protection from her master in her past life. Now, her legs were badly worn, and she was barely human, with all her grievances nowhere to vent. She immediately cried and crawled toward him, “Master, Master, save me!”

Xu Qianyu flew out of the ice cave and saw Lu You sobbing at Xu Binglai’s robes, triggering some memories from her past life.

Although she had always denied that the person in her dreams was herself, in this moment, she felt a certain resonance. She would never get justice, nor even a glance of attention.

It was like the oppressive heat before a thunderstorm.
Xu Binglai looked up at the sky. Under the halo, Xu Qianyu, framed by the giant dragon, appeared incredibly small, making one worry for her.

The dragon protected Lu You, roaring in anger, sending gusts of wind that blew Xu Qianyu’s red ribbon behind her.
“You’re too noisy.” Xu Qianyu gripped her slightly glowing wooden sword, channeling the spirit energy of the heavens and earth. She slashed through the clouds. The sword broke through the wind, leaving small cracks in the air.

Then, with a deafening crash, the sword, with the force of ten thousand pounds, struck the dragon’s head. The dragon’s head didn’t move.

After a moment, the dragon’s head was cleaved in half down the middle and crashed to the ground, creating two large craters on the ice surface.
Once there was no obstruction, the cool breeze carrying the mist of rain came rushing from afar, directly hitting their faces.
Xu Qianyu still felt extremely hot inside.

The dragon’s head had fallen off. The headless body of the dragon continued to thrash, as if trying to pierce Xu Qianyu’s body, though it seemed not to pass through, as Xu Qianyu showed no reaction.

The crowd saw Xu Qianyu’s hair flying, her back illuminated by a golden-red, illusory sea of fire, turning the sky into a rosy hue.

Part of the dragon’s body was devoured by the fire sea, while the rest turned to water, falling from the nine heavens like the Silver River.

“Junior Sister has entered the Realm of the Fire Destroyer!”

Lu You looked on in disbelief at the scene before her. The aftershock from that sword had cracked the Koi Mall, and nearly all the items inside had turned to unusable gray dust.

Immediately, a sharp, unbearable pain pierced through her entire body. She had been bound by Xu Binglai using the fairy rope!

The Fire Realm grew larger and larger, and the ice on the dragon’s body completely melted into water, dripping like falling hail. Xu Qianyu, along with the ice fragments, plunged into the water, extinguishing the flames in the Spirit Mansion, turning them into white smoke like mist.

Xu Binglai quickly reached out; his hand transformed like an immortal’s, becoming extremely long and large. He pulled Xu Qianyu out of the center of the lake, soaking wet, and shook off her clothes.

Xu Qianyu touched her wrist; it felt empty. She noticed that her senior brother’s red rope had fallen off, and she thought to herself, this is bad. When Xu Binglai flipped her over to shake out her back, with a splash, the rope jumped back into the lake.
Xu Binglai angrily shouted, “What are you doing?”