Volume 3, Chapter 92 – State of Selflessness

Volume 3, Chapter 92 - State of Selflessness

Translator: Aoi

The demons walked through the mountainous terrain and went along the path at the temple’s backyard under the illumination of the scattered stone lamps to arrive at the vine-covered cave entrance surrounded by boulders.

The lion mist demon was so huge that it could only enter the cave by lowering its body.

The monsters numbered around 200-300 roughly, consisting of all kinds and forms of monsters, but all of them carried a murderous aura.

Yumi had an ominous premonition, so she tailed behind them stealthily and entered the cave as well.

Around the same time, Yoriko had really worn herself out over the past few days while accompanying Lily and went to sleep in spite of the village chief’s orders.

Meanwhile, Lily engaged in meditation within the house where the books and scrolls were stored.

“Miss Lynne,” The village chief arrived inside the house with the help of the cane.

“Grandma Chief,” Lily greeted her with respect.

The old lady sat down slowly and observed Lily’s body, liking it more the longer she looked, “You’re really pretty, Miss Lynne. Although you might find it hard to believe, I was young once too.”

“Haha...” Lily chuckled powerlessly and even though she believed the chief’s words, she really couldn’t imagine it.

“Women experience their prime years only when they’re young. No one appreciates or loves them once they become old. In fact, life becomes dull and tasteless for them, unlike men, who can embrace beauties even if they become old as long as they have money and status. I had a lot of men pursuing me back in my youth when I was the priestess of the mirror girl branch clan, but those opportunities are long gone now...”

It wasn’t that hard for Lily to understand the chief’s regrets as mortals possessed a short lifespan. Lily was on the brink of reaching the Spirit Jade Stage, which would give her a lifespan of several hundred years and allowed her to maintain her youth for over a hundred years. Suzuhiko-hime, for example, maintained her enchanting looks for nearly ten million years, and Takamagahara’s prettiest women, Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi, possessed an eternal beauty. However, very few were able to reach this realm in this world.

Effort, talent, luck and fate... all of them are essential. Lily sympathized with the chief, so she comforted her, “That’s not true, Grandma. You still have the respect and trust of the villagers and I respect you a lot as well. You’ve led an arduous life so far in order to lead the mirror girl clan.”

“No. You’ve praised me wrongly, Miss Lynne. The reason our clan has managed to survive so far is because of Kimiko and her daughter.” ViiSiit novelbi/n(.)c/(o)m for latest novels

“Kimiko and her daughter? I know that Lady Kimiko sacrificed her life to ensure the safety of the mirror girl branch clan, but didn’t Haihime, her daughter, betray the clansmen?”

“I also thought the same in the beginning, but I realized this was too strange the longer I thought about it. I didn’t tell you this previously since you were an outsider, Miss Lynne, but you have the ability to make people feel close to you, just like Lady Kimiko... Who knows when I might die, so I don’t want to take this secret to my grave.”

“Why did you think it’s strange, Grandma?”

“I personally saw Haihime, that is Keiko of the past, submit to the monster back then. However, I found this to be strange the more I thought about it, wondering why we were able to live here, why the monsters didn’t kill all of us, why Keiko came down to insult us occasionally yet never took any substantial action? If Keiko really just wanted to save her own neck, she could’ve totally fled the mountain alone. Although it was impossible for a huge group like ours to escape, she could’ve escaped easily with her strength and had no reason to return to the village righteously to rescue her mother. This made me wonder whether a woman so determined would really give her body to the monster who killed her mother. I found it harder to make sense of her explanation the longer I thought about it and arrived at a plausible conclusion suddenly on a certain day, that Keiko had perhaps made some kind of deal with the monster to protect us and served the demons for that purpose.”

She had been influenced by the chief’s regrets and remorse for the bygone days of youth for some reason and this had given her a deeper understanding of life and women’s beauty.

If we were to look back into the river of time, the majority of the beautiful women in the world were all short-lived.

And only the divine possessed the ability to preserve this beauty eternally.

The body that she found embarrassing and rejected was the target of envy of numerous women and the target of desire of numerous men in this world.

The recollection of beauty women possessed back in their youth after they turned old was like a flash of sorrow, just like a falling sakura.

Lily suddenly realized that there was yet another element linking the intent within Tsukuyomi Swordstyle in addition to beauty and etherealness, which was none other than sorrow.

No one understood this sorrow better than Lily, who was so close yet worlds apart from her lover.

Each movement of Lily’s sword carried a faint frost-covered lunar sorrow.

This sorrow acted like a catalyst and progressed Lily’s sword arts to the summit!

Drenched in sweat, Lily’s beauty bloomed in solitude within the hard cave and the sorrowful intent made her forget that she was a boy temporarily, only the solitude, coldness and promise remaining in her memories and made it seem as if she had become one in body and soul with the senior sister sleeping on the other side.

“Whoosh!” A dark, sorrowful intent ripped the air apart as Lily brandished her sword and her sword arts contained an obsession that could pierce through the fabrications of the world, possessing an impressive sharpness, swiftness and elegance!

She had reached the eighth stage of Tsukuyomi Swordstyle.

However, Lily didn’t stop and continued dancing with graceful steps after realizing that she was progressing smoothly through the aspects that troubled her previously and was flowing with inspiration that prevented her from stopping even if she wanted to.

This was the state of selflessness which could be experienced but not sought!

Lily knew well that she would progress at an incredibly rapid speed in this state of selflessness and even though she didn’t know how long this state would last, it was undoubtedly one of the biggest opportunities in the life of advancement.

Her celestial countenance bloomed in solitude like a lingering fragrance within the dark cave of the mirror space, forgetting whether she was a boy or a pretty woman as she danced untiredly with swift movements akin to cascading moonlight.

The sorrowful sword intent reflected the emotion contained within the blizzard of sakura at all times.

Sorrow was also a type of beauty and also a type of power.

Lily was destined to seek the happiness that belonged to her while harbouring this sorrowful heart!