Chapter 057 - Demons Invade Azure Spirit!
At 3 o'clock past midnight when the darkness of the night was thickest, Yun Xiao returned to the familiar grounds of the Little Cloud Residence, which was close to the Grand Hall and within the defensive formations of the Sword Pavilion.
The pond fish, the stone table, the osmanthus tree with its jade lanterns, all were as they had been. And there too, still in his heart, was the rosy-cheeked image of pale-skinned beauty! A single candle flickered within a house ahead, its window lattice revealing a charming silhouette.
She's there waiting for me! Yun Xiao thought. The youth in white approached the door and gently knocked. "Senior Sister Zhao, I'm here." Delve into the source of this information, deeply rooted in n0v(lbin★
Inside, the delicate figure trembled, pots clattered to the floor, followed by a soft voice, flustered, "Why are you here so late at night?"
"Ah? Isn't that what you meant when you kept hitting me in the head with the sword manual earlier today? Three times means come at 3 o'clock, right!" Yun Xiao replied with a playful smirk.
Zhao Xuanran was speechless. BANG! She threw open the door, her eyes glaring at Yun Xiao, "Stop talking nonsense and hurry back to the Grand Hall."
"Oh, are you getting cold feet now?" Yun Xiao arched an eyebrow.
"Cold my ass!" Zhao Xuanran said through gritted teeth.
"Oh, it's cold? Does it need some warming?" Yun Xiao laughed.
Realizing his insinuations, her cheeks flushed red as a ripe peach. With another bang, she shut the door, ignoring him. But who would have thought, Yun Xiao creaked the door open and followed her inside. The boudoir was simply and elegantly furnished with only a wooden bed and a writing desk. On the bed lay the white cloth intended for Yun Xiao’s garment, and the desk was piled with books.
"Get out!" Zhao Xuanran was angry now.
"What are you writing?" Yun Xiao, ignoring her words, approached her desk. The ink on the table was still wet, and the paper was filled with graceful characters.
Seeing him unwilling to leave, Zhao Xuanran rolled her eyes and sat beside her desk, continuing to write and said, "Writing a letter."
"To whom?" Yun Xiao asked from behind her.
"None of your business!" she glanced at him, clearly annoyed.
Yun Xiao smiled, pointing at the paper, "I saw, my name is on this letter."
After a moment’s hesitation, she said, "Fine, I was going to ask for your consent anyway. Let me explain now."
"I’m all ears," Yun Xiao said, pulling up a stool and sitting in front of her knees.
"This letter will be sent to the Sea of Swords." she said.
"Sea of Swords? Do you know someone there?" he asked.
"Yes!"
"Who?"
Pursing her lips, her expression turned cold as she uttered two words: "My mother."
"Mother?" Yun Xiao was taken aback. He had never heard about Zhao Xuanran's mother and assumed she was no longer around. Could it be she was in the Sea of Swords?
"Does our mother have a high status in the Sea of a Swords?" Yun Xiao inquired, genuine curiosity coating his words.
"What do you mean our mother..." Zhao Xuanran, her brows knitting together. She reached for a book, threatening to bop him. "Be serious, no cheekiness allowed!"
"Alright," Yun Xiao nodded compliantly.
Yet, when Zhao Xuanran spoke of this woman, her expression twisted strangely. Was it unfamiliarity? Resentment?
"My mother belongs to Sword Heaven in the Sea of Swords," she said, her gaze drifting to the window, uttering the words with a calmness that barely veiled the tumult beneath.
"Sword Heaven? A power within the Sea of Swords?" Yun Xiao probed.
"Mhm. Before the Sword Pavilion pledged allegiance to Azure Spirit, it was somewhat a branch of Sword Heaven. Later on, it declared its independence but still maintained a close relationship with Sword Heaven," Zhao Xuanran explained, her voice steady but something fluttered in her eyes.
"Is Sword Heaven stronger, or is the Forbidden Tower mightier?" Yun Xiao asked.
"Naturally, the Forbidden Tower, firstly because it has profound backing, and secondly because it's an organization of absolute geniuses and talents. Although they're few in number, all are at the pinnacle of the Sea of Swords," she declared, a hint of heaviness in her tone.
"Hmm!" Yun Xiao pondered for a moment before voicing his confusion, "Sword Heaven is supposed to be the Sword Pavilion's backing. The Pavilion has been in trouble for three years. So, why hasn't Sword Heaven intervened?"
"Each generation of Sect Master from the Sword Pavilion, in their youth, would cultivate deeply within Sword Heaven. But my father... he was cast out by Sword Heaven!" Zhao Xuanran revealed with a helpless sigh.
"A castaway? But why?" Yun Xiao quizzed, his eyes wide with bewilderment.
"Because of my mother." As she spoke of the woman, Zhao Xuanran's eyes danced with a subtle struggle.
"It can’t be some clichéd tale of a gallant young man and a noble lady, can it?" Yun Xiao asked quietly, nearly whispering.
"No!" Zhao Xuanran's eyes locked onto his, a potent intensity within them.
"Then why?" Yun Xiao persisted.
"She never loved my father, not for a single moment. The Sea of Swords is a sacred land for swordsmanship. They were from different worlds, separated by status," Zhao Xuanran uttered, her voice a soft murmur tinged with melancholy.
"Then why do you exist?" Yun Xiao questioned gently.
Zhao Xuanran lowered her head, looking at him with a depth that stirred the air between them, "A mistake, borne from a drunken night."
Yun Xiao was speechless. His first instinct was to console her, but no words left his mouth as she continued.
"Wine truly isn’t a good thing!" Zhao Xuanran murmured after a pause.
"Yes!" Yun Xiao nodded emphatically.
"You should drink less in the future."
"Can you drink less?" Yun Xiao asked.
"I can’t."
"Then neither can I."
"..."
Silence unfolded like a gentle shroud, encasing them.
“Jiang Yue...” Upon seeing her, Yao Manxue and Zhang Jian instinctively stepped back, their faces revealing a hint of reverence as they slightly bowed their heads.
“My true self hasn’t come to Azure Spirit. I've just borrowed a mortal shell, and yet two Sword Venerables are scared?” Jiang Yue giggled, her voice soft and sweet, tingling to the bone.
“She indeed deserves to be the Northern Wastelands Demon Emperor! Even from Dark Abyss Mountain, she can control a mortal shell,” Yao Manxue praised, inhaling deeply.
If any other Azure Spirit Sword Cultivator were to hear this, their eyes would surely pop.
The Azure Spirit’s generations-long foe, the Northern Wastelands Demon Emperor, brazenly appeared at the First Sword Peak, holding a secret meeting with the three Sword Venerables?
“Merely a parlor trick, not worth mentioning,” Jiang Yue, her enchanting pink eyes gazing at Ye Tiance, softly spoke. “Tonight, I assist you, consider it a favor to Ye Guying.”
“I will convey your sincerity to him.” Ye Tiance’s spirit focused, “My demand is, you must save my Ye Family, with as few casualties as possible!”
“A small matter.” Jiang Yue’s faint voice laughed, somewhat chilling.
“My father, Ye Xuanying, must remain unharmed. He is Guying’s guide, and Guying values loyalty and wishes to repay his adoptive father’s kindness.” Ye Tiance reminded solemnly.
“Easy!” Jiang Yue proclaimed.
“Are you aware of Yun Xiao? This lad is desperate and capable of anything.” Ye Tiance warned.
“Do you know me? I’m also capable of anything.” Jiang Yue giggled charmingly, a seductiveness emanating from such youth.
“Fine!” Ye Tiance nodded, “Save them first. After that, as agreed, you can absorb Yun Xiao’s vital energy, but do not kill him. Preferably, cut out his tongue, disable his Dantian, and smash his... root!”
He intended to return unto Yun Xiao what he had done to his family's men.
“Apart from him and Zhao Xuanran, kill all the rest from the Sword Pavilion. Zhao Jianxing must die!” Ye Tiance said maliciously.
“Zhao Jianxing?” Speaking of him, Jiang Yue’s expression also ushered in a shade of cruelty, “Three years ago, I let him escape. Tonight, I'll visit his lair and skin him alive!”
In the battle at Dark Abyss Mountain, twenty thousand demons perished!
“After killing him, I'll bring his soul back to Dark Abyss Mountain. I'll let him reunite with his disciples, and forever hang in the demon cave, consuming the spit of my demon children and grandchildren!” She, too, harbored hatred!
“Deal!” Ye Tiance extended a hand, “Here’s to our second cooperation being a pleasant one!”
"Delightful," Jiang Yue winked, her smile bewitching and mysterious.
Suddenly, Ye Tiance spoke again. "I have a question for you."
"Shoot."
"Using my disciple’s body to speak. Is she still alive?" Ye Tiance inquired, a trace of urgency lining his words.
"You care for her?" Jiang Yue teased with a smirk.
Ye Tiance remained silent.
"Oh, she's definitely not dead," Jiang Yue chuckled darkly. "Moreover, every word we exchange, every facial expression of yours. She hears and sees it all, loud and clear."
"I do care for her!" Ye Tiance admitted.
"No need to lock the stable door after the horse is stolen. Once I’m done using this body and casually discard it, she lacks the power to retaliate against you. Why would you care about her feelings?" Jiang Yue remarked, a strange look flickering across her face.
"Is that so?" A sigh of relief escaped Ye Tiance. "Then consider the question unasked!"
"Hehehe..." Jiang Yue's laughter grew wilder, while in the depths of her pink eyes, another soul shattered once more.
After a moment of laughter, she suddenly turned north, squinting, and announced, "They're coming!"
"They are?"
All three Sword Venerables trembled, their gazes darting to the north.
There, the clouds were dense, as if a host of spirits were traversing the night. Amidst the shadows of the forest, a large, dark shape seemed to loom, its poisonous fog spreading outward, melting trees along the way into black water, corrupting the land with a stench of decay.
Moreover, a white fog surged, enveloping like a colossal cocoon.
Then, in the dim tree shadows, six crimson eyes appeared, locking with Ye Tiance’s gaze, promising untold dread.
"Them?!" Ye Tiance trembled throughout.
"Quite a surprise, hm?" Jiang Yue arched an eyebrow in inquiry.
"Absolutely. A tremendous one at that!" Ye Tiance nodded, his smile growing ever colder and more reckless.
"With them around, there’s no suspense left!" Zhang Jian exclaimed in admiration.
"Moreover, with your demon magic, dear Demon Emperor, the Sword Pavilion will surely become history tonight," Yao Manxue spoke to Jiang Yue.
"And what about you all?" she queried.
Ye Tiance, surely, couldn't team up with them in broad daylight.
Besides, he feared Zhao Jianxing's final blow!
"As soon as the fighting begins, the demonic energy will pervade. If the Azure Spirit Sword Cultivators are alarmed and come over, we'll find a reason to stop them," Ye Tiance spoke softly. He had a plan in mind.
"Ye Tiance, you truly are a downright scheming villain, aren’t you?" Jiang Yue remarked.
"You jest. On this path to immortality, there are only victors and the dead, no distinction between gentlemen and scoundrels! If I win, my name will echo throughout the ages!" Ye Tiance declared.
"Insightful!" Jiang Yue murmured darkly: "On this path to becoming an Immortal, where exists any distinction between humans and demons? We are all but pitiful creatures under the Heavenly Dao, struggling for a path of survival!"
Human and demon locked eyes and once again, they laughed.
Without uttering another word, Jiang Yue soared away, vanishing into the dark abyss in an instant. In the distant shadows, red eyes, and white fog converged into the abyss as she merged with it.
"What?" Ye Tiance suddenly frowned, focusing on that shadow.
"This Serpent Demon has unexpectedly broken through and become a Demon Emperor. So, it's now much stronger than the Demon Kings who’ve lived for eight hundred years..." He sucked in a sharp breath, somewhat apprehensive.
"The Serpent Demon has broken through?" Yao Manxue and Zhang Jian shuddered, somewhat breathless.
Ye Tiance gazed towards the Ye Family ancestral hall, now engulfed in a foul stench, his eyes roiling with murderous intent.
"Nearly half of the Northern Wastelands Demon Kings have gathered, plus Moon Fairy’s avatar and that thousand-year-old Serpent Demon. If the Sword Pavilion doesn’t perish tonight, I will offer my head to my ancestors!"