Chapter 123: Demon Realm Soul Seizure (Part 16)

A group of people followed Fu Lingsha through the undulating sandy terrain. At one spot, Fu Lingsha squatted down, bit her finger, and drew a formation on the sand. The white sand within the formation sank downward, revealing a staircase leading deep below.

“This is it.”

Xu Qianyu asked, “You’re going down first?”
“You’re so heartless!” Fu Lingsha cried in frustration. “I can’t see anything. Aren’t you worried I’ll tumble down the steps?”
Xu Qianyu showed no sympathy. “You’re coming down with us.”
Yu Chu sighed, “I’ll hold onto her.”

And so, Xu Qianyu and Yun Chu walked ahead, while Yu Chu followed close behind, dragging the reluctant and stumbling Fu Lingsha down the passage.

Yun Chu crushed a fire bead to illuminate the path ahead. The narrow passage initially stretched straight forward, but soon side paths began appearing, intersecting and connecting like an ant’s nest.

After walking a while, Xu Qianyu realized the layout seemed familiar, reminiscent of a place where she and Shen Suwei had been many times before. “This looks like a sword tomb.”

“It’s possible,” Yun Chu replied. “Ancient places rich in spiritual energy often had sword tombs, where masterless spirit swords would reside to rest and recuperate. Because of the once-abundant spiritual energy, even if Fu Shao has drained it, I can still feel a faint remnant.”

“However, there isn’t a single sword here.” Yun Chu moved the fire bead around, and as he lowered it, he noticed the stone wall illuminated, revealing numerous graffiti-like carvings.
Xu Qianyu brushed her fingers over the carvings, which were at a height resembling a child’s handiwork. She picked up a dragon pearl that had rolled onto the ground—it had a hole in it, as if it had been used as a clothing ornament. There were also dusty scraps of cloth with dried bloodstains on them.

Yu Chu’s voice trembled. “Why is there blood here? Could there really be someone inside?”
Xu Qianyu’s heart skipped a beat at the sight, and she asked Fu Lingsha, “Are you certain the dragon person is in here?”

Fu Lingsha looked down, her head bowed, and spoke in a shrinking voice, “If the dragon person you mean is the Dragon girl, then I saw my father bring her here. He came out alone. I don’t know what happened inside; he never allowed me to come down here. I only learned how to open the formation secretly. This is my first time down here, just like you.”
Yun Chu asked, “Did Fu Shao come down here again after that?”
If the person were still alive, Fu Shao would have visited her. If not, then the Dragon girl likely met a grim fate.

Fu Lingsha lowered her head and murmured, “I don’t think he’s been here again.”
Just then, a putrid wind swept through. Several ghostly apparitions emerged from a nearby narrow passage. These apparitions were somewhat different from those Xu Qianyu had seen before—their heads were half-bent, drooling as they lunged forward.

Yu Chu’s eyes widened in shock, unable to scream before Xu Qianyu slashed out with her sword, cutting them in two.
Yellowed paper figures and the demon cores of the ghosts fell in halves at her feet.
Yun Chu stared at the deep sword mark imprinted on the ground, then turned to look at Xu Qianyu.

“What are you staring at me for?” Xu Qianyu skillfully picked up the demon core and stored it in a small gold bead, thinking she might feed it to Hua Liangyu later.
Yun Chu’s gaze was complex as he spoke honestly, “I feel you’ve grown much stronger since the last inner sect tournament.”

As he said this, Xu Qianyu realized she did indeed feel more in tune with her sword. Back then, it had taken a prolonged battle to defeat the witch, but now she needed only one strike. Yet, despite her success, her heart remained tense and joyless.

Xu Qianyu remarked, “These ghosts likely once guarded the sword tomb. Without spiritual energy to sustain them, they’re weak and mere remnants.”

She turned around, only to find herself face-to-face with the smiling, ghostly face of the Dragon girl. Goosebumps prickled her skin.

“Don’t worry, it’s just a memory crystal,” Yun Chu explained awkwardly, holding a glowing crystal. “I found it in a recess in the stone wall, so I took it out for a look.”

Xu Qianyu reached out, her hand passing right through the Dragon girl’s image. It was indeed only a recording within the crystal, a preserved memory.

In the recording, Hua Liangyu looked just as the Dragon girl had on the ship—elegant and lavishly dressed, with two small horns on her head.
Yet her face was unweathered, still bearing a girlish innocence.

Hua Liangyu seemed to be explaining something, looking down at someone out of sight. “I’m half-dragon, with powerful abilities that threatened my kin, so I was met with hostility since childhood. My master was the only one who showed me kindness, which is why I followed him overseas. I collected small bottles, bowls, parasols, and you because I wanted to build a home of my own. You are all my chosen family. So when I said I’d take you home, I wasn’t lying.

Besides here, I really have no other home.”
“If you’re no longer angry, pick up the book and come meet my master with me.”
And with that, the recording ended.
“It’s incomplete,” Yun Chu said as he put the memory crystal away. “It must’ve been secretly recorded and hidden in her sleeve.”

Since Yun Chu had no personal connection to Hua Liangyu, his tone remained detached and calm. “It’s said that the Sect Master of Wanfu Sect was once merely an impoverished talisman master. It was Hua Liangyu, his senior disciple, who enabled him to establish the sect. She was excellent at forming relationships, captivating many powerful figures who would do anything to please her, sending money and magical artifacts to her sect, thus bringing fame to Wanfu Sect. Yet, she never grew close to anyone. As a result, opinions about her vary widely. Some say she was innocent and pure, while others accuse her of using beauty to achieve her goals.”

“You know quite a bit, don’t you?” Xu Qianyu’s mind flashed to Hua Liangyu’s frail expression. Finding Yun Chu’s arrogant gaze contemptuous, she interrupted him, “Where did you find the memory crystal?”

Yun Chu hesitated, weighed his words, then silently pointed with his duster at a recess in the stone wall.

Xu Qianyu looked at the wall, her face expressionless, and struck it with her sword, intentionally jolting Yun Chu.

Her sword intent was fierce and decisive. Within moments, the wall crumbled.
Everyone coughed and spluttered in the dust, each shocked by what they saw.

Behind the stone wall was a small room filled with a mountain of dusty relics. Dresses neatly folded, boxes of jewelry, lanterns, hairpins, a pearwood chair, even a gray, dusty bridal sedan—all piled together.

The group’s gazes wandered over the lifeless objects, all clearly belonging to a woman and stored in one place, hidden from the light of day. It was a chilling sight.
Fu Lingsha sat motionless at the side, her face blank, exuding a sense of despair.
Could it be that Hua Liangyu really had perished in the Demon Realm?
Xu Qianyu refused to believe it, extending her consciousness to search the area. Soon, she spotted a glimmer within the clutter and dug it out.

It was red paper.
On its left side was a shining point of light, the very one that had caught Xu Qianyu’s attention. This was a piece of consciousness left behind by two cultivators, entwined together in the shape of interlocking hearts, embedded in the paper.

This was an extremely rare soul contract, or “spirit bond.” Two cultivators had bound themselves with a promise here, staking their fate and even their lives on it, unbreakable.
Reading the text on it, Xu Qianyu’s eyes widened slightly. It was a marriage contract!
“Marriage Contract: With mutual admiration, we vow together. Beneath flowers and moonlight, we forever join hearts. Sworn as companions, we make this solemn promise. Hua Liangyu and Fu Shao.”

Xu Qianyu thought to herself that Hua Liangyu had claimed the father of the child was Fu Shao, and now it seemed that might have been the truth. There were still many things they didn’t know.

But having just the marriage certificate still didn’t reveal how Hua Liangyu came to the Demon Realm or if she had married voluntarily. After all, using a soul-binding contract like this to write a marriage certificate was highly unusual.

Xu Qianyu had a vague sense of something and slowly turned the paper over.
There were still words on the back. At the same time the marriage contract was established, with the intertwining of their consciousness as the bond, another vow was made:

“I, Hua Liangyu, willingly marry Fu Shao; from this day forward, my life is my own responsibility, unrelated to others.”

“I, Fu Shao, vow that after marrying Hua Liangyu, I will never be an enemy of the mortal world. If I show signs of entering the nightmare, I will give my life to Hua Liangyu. The army of wandering ghosts in the Demon Realm shall not be mobilized unless both the Dragon and the Phoenix are present. After my death, any wandering ghosts without a master will disperse in the world within ten days.”

Xu Qianyu gazed at these lines for a long time, feeling a deep stir in her heart.
Was this the consciousness of Hua Liangyu that had been found? Though only a trace remained, taking it and bringing it back would fulfill her mission. Yet the two bright, glowing consciousnesses twisted into a Taichi symbol, making her hesitate. She felt she could not simply separate them.

“What… does this mean?” Yu Chu was completely confused. “The Demon Realm’s lord has sworn a heavy oath, saying he doesn’t want to be an enemy of the mortal world. So the Demon Realm should be aligned with the Immortal Sect, not as the Judgment has said, that they are all evil people. Then why… did they call us here?”
To kill him.

Yun Chu looked at the writing on the paper, his expression shifting several times, his face becoming serious.

“What does it say, Father?” Fu Lingsha leaned over, but Xu Qianyu stopped her.

“The lord of the Demon Realm said, ‘Only when both the Dragon and the Phoenix are present can the wandering ghosts be mobilized. Otherwise, they must wait until after his death for ten days.’ Our remaining fellow disciples are now trapped in the mirage, and Fu Shao, along with the wandering ghosts, is also there.” Xu Qianyu put the marriage certificate into the mustard seed gold bead, sending a message, “Now we need to think of a way; perhaps we can turn the wandering ghosts around here and use them to restrain Fu Shao. If we can capture him alive, we can get the truth.”

Yun Chu immediately responded, “Got it.”
“The Dragon and the Phoenix…” Xu Qianyu murmured. “The Phoenix should be referring to Fu Lingsha. But the dragon? ”

Is it Hua Liangyu, or… the little dragon that Hua Liangyu gave birth to alone? Xu Qianyu remembered the low part of the sword tomb’s stone wall, where there were graffiti marks, and it seemed impossible to rule out the possibility of a child being present here.

They turned to Fu Lingsha.
Fu Lingsha clenched her fists and said hatefully, “How would I know? You’ve already flattened my home; isn’t there still one last place you haven’t invaded? Just go deeper.”
If they went deeper, they would reach the end of the corridor.

The winding passage led to this half-circular space. On top of it was a small hole, with a beam of light shining like a sacred three-petaled lotus blooming on the ground.
There was no sign of anyone around. On the stone wall, a lonely sword was embedded, its scabbard illuminated by light, gleaming with silver brilliance.

Xu Qianyu paused as she looked at this scene. It was very similar to the scene from her past life when she took the sword Bai Xue—the sword in front of her was also long and narrow, with a white scabbard, elegant and beautiful.

But in her past life, when she was hurt by the vicious sword, she didn’t dare to act rashly.
Yun Chu murmured, “There’s finally a sword in the sword tomb.” He stepped forward to pull it out.

But the sword didn’t budge at all. Yu Chu also tried, using all his strength, but still couldn’t pull it out. “No good, it can’t be taken.”

Fu Lingsha laughed and said, “The treasures of the Demon Realm, how could you just take them? It’s often said that a sword recognizes its master; maybe you are all destined to be without it.”
Xu Qianyu stepped forward, grasping the hilt of the sword and examining it.

Suddenly, the long-dormant system spoke up: “You’d better not touch it! This Bai Xue is at odds with you. Didn’t your master tell you? You can only use a wooden sword.”
Yun Chu also stopped her. “Xu Shimei, your sharpness is overwhelming, and this sword feels dangerous even before it’s drawn. You’d better avoid it.”

Xu Qianyu moved to the side. Yun Chu thought she was upset, so he continued trying to pull the sword.
Xu Qianyu, with her back to him, released the spirit butterfly.

Throughout their journey, those replying to her messages had been quick and brief, and the two of them worked in perfect coordination with almost no communication barriers. But the response time for these two messages had clearly slowed, and she was worried they might be in danger.

Perhaps it was because the words on the marriage certificate had moved her, reminding her of her senior brother.

She quickly shared the situation with him, then added a seemingly irrelevant line: “I want to eat snow skin mooncakes.”

After sending it, she leaned against the wall, her fingers lightly tapping the stone, counting silently—one breath, two breaths…
She held onto a glimmer of hope, wishing that her senior brother would see the message.
After the fifth breath, the spirit butterfly returned, with only one word: “Okay.”

Xu Qianyu looked at the word and, no matter who had sent it, felt a surge of courage. She had to do her best to find that little dragon, whether for Hua Liangyu or for her senior brother.
She quickly walked over, gripped the hilt, and with a sharp sound, drew the sword!
Yun Chu and Yu Chu stared in surprise, and Fu Lingsha held her breath.
The system screamed in disarray, but Xu Qianyu inspected the sword in both directions. “It’s fine; this is definitely not Bai Xue.”
She had used her own sword for many years and was familiar with it. Though this sword looked similar to Bai Xue, it was wider and had different markings.

If she remembered correctly, she had seen this sword before.
This was Fulong.
In her past life memories, Xu Binglai had specially found a sword for Lu You, which made her deeply envious at the time.

Later, when Lu You still didn’t have a spiritual root, she attached that sword to her skirt. The scabbard was white and long, and it was called Fulong.
Xu Qianyu had asked Lu You to try it out, just to test the sword. During the trial, Fulong suddenly came out of the scabbard and burned the butterfly clasp on her clothes.

Inside Fulong, there was a ferocious sword spirit. The sword spirit was a blue-haired, golden-eyed youth with horns on his head. He attacked her because he was protecting his master, but her senior brother stopped him.

Xu Qianyu didn’t expect to encounter Fulong here, and even more so, she didn’t expect to be able to pull out the Fulong Sword.
So, is the sword spirit from her past life still around? Could it be the little dragon she’s been searching for?

After all, she carried the vengeful ghost Hua Liangyu with her. Perhaps the sword doesn’t recognize her as its master but instead is drawn to the familiar aura of a kin…

She held the sword flat in front of her. Yun Chu and Yu Chu both gathered around to take a look, their eyes wide open.

The light from the top of the cave illuminated the shimmering silver blade, almost making it translucent like an ice crystal. Within the sword’s body, a blurry dragon figure was embedded. The tiny dragon figure, like amber, lay dormant within the sword.