It was total darkness.
There was no light coming to his eyes at all… Of course, to say about eyes were a bit far-fetched because right now, Wang Lu has no eyes.
Now, he was in the primordial spirit out of body state. Just now, he used the combination of God Destroying Sword Strike and God-Seal seal to inflict serious damage to Sword God. In defeat, Sword God chose to pull everyone to the grave together with him. Then the primordial spirit black hole suddenly formed, directly pulling his primordial spirit out of his body!
The principle behind how this black hole was able to pull someone’s primordial spirit was temporary still unknown because, theoretically, the protection of Non-Phase Sword on the body could be called an iron wall, so how could his primordial spirit be so easy to drag out? If Sword God could freely tear someone else’s primordial spirit, why didn’t he do it a long time ago? Why wait until now?
However, in his current situation, Wang Lu has completely lost his physical sensation. It was as if his five senses have melted into one, very mysterious but also familiar. This was like the viewpoint when internally looking at his Jade Mansion, which was also known as soul inspection—through primordial spirit.
However, this time, it was not practicing internal inspection. He didn’t even know the current location of his primordial spirit. Wang Lu then urged his primordial spirit, using the soul inspection to tear apart and separate the five senses similar to what his physical body has. A moment later, Wang Lu was able to see himself in the dark.
He was still in the same uniform—the red and white robe that he had worn for more than ten years. This was Wang Lu’s most intuitive image of himself, which caused his primordial spirit form to be shaped like that. After using the soul inspection to disassemble his merged senses, Wang Lu soon saw a little light appearing in the darkness.
After moving toward that light for a while, he soon saw the figure of Zhu Shiyao, very clearly discernible in the middle of the light.
Seeing that slender and slightly delicate figure, Wang Lu was slightly relieved. He had risked his life, from the eight virtues trial deep into here, exactly for this awe-inspiring majestic Big Sister!
Although during which there were many twists and turns, moreover, the current situation was far from being optimal, Wang Lu, nevertheless still smiled as he greeted her, "Senior Sister, long time no see."
Upon hearing the voice, Zhu Shiyao turned her head. Obviously, she was also very adept at dismantling the merged senses using soul inspection to turn her primordial spirit similar to her physical form. When she heard his greeting, she somewhat asked in puzzlement, "Who are you…? You call me Senior Sister, which Junior Brother of Spirit Sword Sect are you?"
Wang Lu immediately startled. Thief grandson, after stabbing people, you pretend you don’t know them!?
However, Zhu Shiyao quickly explained, "My magical ability Stellar Divine Eyes is not yet complete, so it's still hindering my vision. Please, Junior Brother, display your sword art so that I can recognize you."
Wang Lu was once again stunned. Thief grandson, you actually can talk this smooth? Has your tongue been straightened out? However, he then quickly realized that it was only through primordial spirit exchange could Zhu Shiyao be able to express herself fluently.
On the other hand, displaying sword art for identification?.. Do you recognize people through swordsmanship?
Upon thinking about that, using his primordial spirit, he sent a Non-Phase Sword Light out. Zhu Shiyao’s face immediately lit up. "Ah, Non-Phase Sword! Non-Phase Sword of Fifth Junior Aunt! You’re Wang Lu!"
… Girl, what a great eyesight you have. I, with a face that appears in the wet dreams of girls, yet you don’t recognize me. Yet, you clearly know my sword light! What a wonderful hobby you have! People have a variety of interest, yet you find the most unpopular one!
Zhu Shiyao was actually righteous in her conviction. "What do other people’s interests have anything to do with me? It’s enough for me to only care about swordsmanship." After a pause, she continued, "Sure enough, it’s you. Before, I vaguely felt your was very familiar, but I really didn’t think… Sorry for trying to kill you previously."
Wang Lu was indifferent to this. For him, haggling over this with a disabled person was beneath him. "It doesn’t matter. I understand."
Zhu Shiyao was unprepared for this response from Wang Lu, thereupon, her long-prepared apology failed to come out. She opened her mouth, but didn’t know what to say. In the end, she could only blink her pair of seemingly bright eyes, revealing a vacant innocent expression.
After the awkward moment of silent between the two, Zhu Shiyao said, "Junior Brother, you are also here to compete for the Sword God inheritance?"
Wang Lu peevishly said, "I came here to save you! In the team leader’s handbook, your name has always been orange in color, meaning you’ve obviously been trapped somewhere in this sword tomb. Therefore, as the team leader, of course I came here to save you. Later on, I heard that you took the ancient Sword God as your godfather, yet, your name in the handbook remains orange, so I know your situation is still not good, most likely it’s because you’ve been deceived by people. Unfortunately, I never have the opportunity to clearly tell you."
Zhu Shiyao froze for a long time before finally uttering, "Oh." And then, a long time later again, she said, "Thank you."
"You’re welcome. In any case, although I found you, I’m also trapped here."
Then he looked around the darkness that surrounded them. The darkness seemed deeper than the previous boundless sea of bitterness. Although the sea of bitterness was boundless, at least, there was the fluctuation of black mist, which caused people to have a sense of orientation and to realize they were not dead. However, this time, except for Wang Lu, Zhu Shiyao and the light that she stood on, there was nothing else, and their surrounding was completely empty.
This was probably some kind of a trap set up by the Sword God using his ancient magical ability before he blew himself off. Basically, he didn’t know how to break away from this place.
Silence descended upon them for quite a while. Then he heard Zhu Shiyao say, "Junior Brother, you…"
Wang Lu waved his hand. "I’m fine. Sharing joys and sorrows with the teammates are the duty of the team leader. Regardless of what you think, when we left the mountain, Master and Uncles told me to take care of everyone. Therefore, I have to bear this responsibility. Let alone the situation that we have now is not so bad. Two people trapped together is better than being trapped alone. At least, we can think of the solution."
"I mean to say, you’re really weak."
Wang Lu gawked for the time it took to finish a cup of tea; he simply couldn’t stomach such a reply. Big Sister, are you f*cking high? I, your father, have worked so hard to save you, yet, not only did you stab me, you even f*cking scolded me! This is like Pan Jinlian1 [1] who cheated on her husband with the town’s womanizer and then conspired to kill her husband!
Zhu Shiyao said, "What I mean is, Master once told me that you are the lead representative of the Spirit Sword Sect. In all aspects, you are above me, and you’re likely to inherit the Sect Leader position. However, on our previous fights, you seem weak. At least, you’re not stronger than me."
Her tone of voice was still somewhat indignant, as if disagreeing with her Master’s evaluation.
Wang Lu said with a sinking voice, "Sect Leader really said so?"
As the sect’s lead representative, he would inherit the Sect Leader position in the future? Was that the plan of Daoist Master Feng Yin? Although he had vaguely heard the other Elders of Heavenly Sword Hall suggesting such a thing, for Daoist Master Feng Yin to make such a clear-cut statement, that was really unexpected.
Correct, among the current younger generation of Spirit Sword Sect, the only candidate that was likely to assume the Sect Leader position was Wang Lu. Although in terms of power, Liu Li and Zhu Shiyao were qualified enough, their other aspects were far from it. As for Wen Bao, Yue Xinyao and the others, they were indeed qualified cultivators, but they were far behind compared to Wang Lu.
However, for now, the position of Sect Leader of one of the Five Uniques of the Union of Ten Thousand Immortals… has to be taken with a grain of salt. Although outwardly, Daoist Master Feng Yin appeared senile and inept, he has actually just cultivated for around two hundred years, and with his Deity Stage cultivation base, his lifespan was simply crazily long. Therefore, there was no need to haggle over the Sect Leader position.
However, what did this Big Sister’s attitude mean? Did she not accept him as the future Sect Leader?
"Then, Senior Sister, do you think you are more suitable to be the Sect Leader?"
Zhu Shiyao said, "I don’t want it. Since Master thinks you are suitable, then it should be right. I don’t look at people and only see their sword. Therefore, maybe you’re a good fit to be the Sect Leader of Spirit Sword Sect, but your swordsmanship is not strong enough."
Wang Lu cheerfully said, "Now that you’ve lost against me, what do you think about that?"
Zhu Shiyao immediately pulled up her chest and said, "I did not lose! My swordsmanship is still stronger. The previous one was just a mistake. Because my contact lenses were broken, my reaction is a bit slower. I was not in good shape at that time." Then she seemed to think of something. "If one day we fight while you are seriously injured, if I beat you, do you think it shows that I’m stronger than you?"
Wang Lu rhetorically asked, "Strength that relies on contact lenses could not be called strength. If one day I take things too hard and consume the demonic dissolving pill, causing my strength to soar by ten times and then grind you like an ant, can you say I’m ten times as stronger than you?"
Zhu Shiyao retorted, "The contact lenses are not external things. They are important assistance that is closely matched with my cultivation method. When I reach Jindan Stage, I can internalize the foreign object... In short, the contact lenses are an inseparable part of me!"
Poof!
Integral part? Wang Lu almost could not hold back the impulse to spurt out blood. Although this Big Sister’s mind often seemed to be lacking in nerve connections, occasionally, she could come up with amazing words!
"Talking is not going to persuade me. Since you stubbornly believe you’re stronger than me, then when we get out of here, let’s have a fight on the training arena of Misty Peak. The loser will call the winner dad, what do you think?"
"It’s a deal!" Rays of eagerness flashed out of Zhu Shiyao’s eyes. For her, exchanging moves with another master swordsman was more attractive than anything. Although she just spoke to belittle Wang Lu’s way of the sword, she also felt that Wang Lu’s swordsmanship was only slightly weaker than her. Meaning that it would be difficult to predict the outcome of the actual fight, which was the perfect opponent in the sword fight for her.
"However, the question now is how to get out, but first… where are we?"
Stuck in a difficult situation, Wang Lu didn’t panic. Instead, he methodically began a rational analysis, trying to find a solution. This total darkness seemed to have no way out, however, Wang Lu believed there would always be a way.
Zhu Shiyao suddenly said, "Why all the trouble? If there’s no way out, we’ll just cut our way through!"
Then, the stellar sword light bloomed inside the primordial spirit.
Wang Lu was too lazy to care for this stupid sword lunatic. "You do what you want to do, while I use my brain."
Looking at the distant Zhu Shiyao who was constantly trying to break through the darkness with her sword qi, Wang Lu could not help but take a pity at this sword lunatic. However, at the same time, he suddenly remembered one thing.
At this time, he and Zhu Shiyao were in the primordial spirit state. However, based on their cultivation bases, their primordial spirit could not possibly be exposed to the outside. Before entering the Yuanying Stage, theoretically, the primordial spirit was extremely fragile. It was under the protection of cultivator’s purple mansion until it was mature enough to take independent action...
That being the case, where could the two people’s primordial spirit be? Could it be...
Reminiscing about Zhu Shiyao’s previous possessed state, an idea suddenly flashed through Wang Lu’s mind.
Sh*t, are you kidding me!?
This boundless empty darkness was, in fact, Zhu Shiyao’s purple mansion, which has previously been forcefully occupied and enlarged by a certain true immortal level remnant soul!
With incomparably shocked eyes, Wang Lu looked at the distant still ignorant Big Sister.
Big Sister, you really… have such a big capacity!
[1] A character in novel Water Margin and Jin Ping Mei.A character in novel Water Margin and Jin Ping Mei.