On the steps of Liren Peak, Li Suo descended alone, sword in hand, frowning as he surveyed the surrounding jungle.
At midday, Li Suo and his junior brother were sparring in the training grounds when he inadvertently watched a ghost cultivator drift past. The others seemed oblivious, making Li Suo momentarily doubt his own eyes.
The ghost cultivator was watching them from a short distance, seemingly ignoring them. After hesitating for a long time, Li Suo finally picked up his sword and gave chase.
The ghost cultivator seemed to have been waiting for him. As soon as Li Suo arrived, he immediately ran downhill, glancing back every few steps to see if Li Suo had caught up.
Li Suo was usually gentle and mild-mannered, seemingly never angry, but that was merely a facade.
He was frail and sickly from childhood. Lin Shuhe had treated him, saying that to live a long life, he must avoid anger. Li Suo listened to his uncle's advice, forcibly suppressing his naturally volatile temper and cultivating a gentle demeanor.
Initially, he was quite calm while chasing the ghost cultivator, but later, even a fool would realize the ghost cultivator was using him like a kite. He immediately flew into a rage, brandishing his sword and chasing after the ghost cultivator with murderous intent.
However, the ghost cultivator seemed like a phantom; even his sword strikes couldn't harm him in the slightest. Li Suo, with his fiery temper, was determined to kill him.
This chase led him all the way to Jiuchun Mountain, to the Burial Mound.
Just as he was about to rush into the outer perimeter of the Burial Mound, the enraged Li Suo suddenly stopped abruptly, halting a step away in an open area, his brows furrowed deeply.
The ghost cultivator stood outside the Burial Mound, surrounded by a thick, dark mist that obscured his figure, making him appear and disappear.
“This is bad,” Li Suo thought. “If Master finds out I’ve come to the Burial Mound, he’ll surely punish me by forcing me into seclusion.”
Besides…
That ghost cultivator must have deliberately lured him here.
Li Suo knew part of why the Burial Mound was called a forbidden area of Liren Peak. He had no intention of provoking that demonic cultivator, so he glared at the ghost cultivator and turned to leave.
He had only taken two steps when a soft laugh came from behind him.
“My Li Suo, where are you going?”
Li Suo: “…”
This was the first time in his life that someone had addressed him so affectionately as “My Li Suo,” and he immediately shuddered, goosebumps rising all over his body.
He ran even faster.
The demonic cultivator’s voice was like a leech, relentlessly pursuing him: “You’re wearing the mountain clothes of Liren Peak? Ha, after all these years, you’ve actually fallen so low as to become a disciple of your enemy?”
Li Suo’s steps faltered.
Enemy?
Seeing him stop, the demonic cultivator chuckled softly, the sound like a faint, intermittent thread circling around Li Suo.
Li Suo frowned, then took another step forward. Only when the sound began to dissipate and could no longer circle him did he stop, turning his head to glance coldly behind him.
There was no one behind him, but Li Suo knew the demonic cultivator was still there.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Li Suo said calmly. "Are you trying to incite me to defect from my sect?"
The demonic cultivator scoffed: "You really consider Liren Peak your sect?"
Li Suo remained unmoved.
"It seems Nan Yang has tampered with your memories."
Li Suo frowned: "How dare you address Nan Yangjun by his given name?"
The demonic cultivator suddenly laughed: "You still revere Nan Yang as much as before."
Li Suo's face turned cold.
Before? Had his memories really been tampered with?
The demonic cultivator said, "Haven't you noticed anything different about yourself since childhood?" Li Suo was somewhat taken aback.
Different? Of course, there was.
Because from childhood, he himself didn't know what illness he had, and why he could draw various different spiritual swords from his spiritual veins?
As he frowned in thought, he heard the demonic cultivator say in a low, hoarse voice, "Naturally, it's because you're not human."
Li Suo's pupils contracted sharply.
Seeing Li Suo's expression finally change, the demonic cultivator chuckled and said, "On Liren Peak, there's a morning lesson about 'swords' taught by the Elder of the Book Pavilion. He should have told you that sword spirits are spirits nurtured by sword energy, capable of understanding human affairs and taking human form. But how can a human form conjured from gathered spirit compare to a real human?"
Li Suo felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.
The demonic cultivator's voice grew even softer and gentler: "And you, Li Suo, is your body a normal human body?"
"Your spiritual veins… are they those of an ordinary person?"
Li Suo's face paled, and he subtly took a half-step back. His lips trembled slightly, as if he couldn't accept this fact for the moment.
"Li Suo, if you don't believe me, you can go to the Sword Pavilion in Fu Xian City and see the Lian Gou Sword Sea, ranked second on the Three Realms' Fierce Sword List. Then you'll know that what I said is true."
Li Suo remained silent with his head down for a long time, so long that even the demonic cultivator grew impatient, before he slowly raised his head.
The demonic cultivator, seeing his face had regained its composure, said, "Go, I'll wait for you here." Li Suo took a deep breath, then suddenly smiled and said, "I'm not going."
The demonic cultivator: "..."
Li Suo, having estimated a spot beyond the demonic cultivator's reach, sat down on the ground, propping his chin on his hand, and said, "Even if I go to the Sword Pavilion and see Lian Gou, so what?"
The demonic cultivator's gentle tone was gone; his voice was icy as he said, "Even knowing you are my sword spirit, you still betray your master?"
Li Suo clicked his tongue and said, "I don't want to know my past memories. I only know that I was rescued from a pile of corpses by Senior Brother Sanshui. He saved my life, and Liren Peak has raised me to this day. Logically and emotionally, I cannot betray my sect."
The demonic cultivator coldly said, "Traitorous trash."
Li Suo was too lazy to waste any more words with him. He stood up directly and said, "I will inform the Holy Lord about your seeking me today."
The demonic cultivator called to him, "Li Suo." Li Suo didn't want to hear any more of his nonsense and turned to run away. Before he even reached the steps of Liren Peak, a fierce pressure suddenly surged from behind, striking his back as if a wall had crashed down on him.
The demonic cultivator had been trapped in the Burial Mound for forty years, and Su Xiyan had recently reinforced the barrier; there was no way he could escape so easily.
This attack was merely the demonic cultivator's last desperate struggle.
Instinctively, Li Suo tried to unleash his spiritual power to break free from the demonic cultivator's control, but when he raised his hand, he found that he couldn't gather any spiritual power in his palm.
He had initially thought the pressure was due to the demonic cultivator's overwhelming cultivation, but now his meridians were flowing backward, his golden core's spiritual power was stagnant, and he was like a manipulated puppet, unable to move at all.
In a flash, Li Suo recalled something the elder of the Book Pavilion had said during their morning lesson on "swords."
"A sword spirit cannot betray its master." Li Suo froze, his spiritual energy drained from his meridians. He collapsed to the ground, his gaze blankly fixed on the nearby grass, lost in thought.
"This demonic cultivator..."
"Is he from Liren Peak? How does he know about the elders of the Book Pavilion's morning lessons on 'sword'?"
He couldn't think any further. In a daze, he heard soft footsteps, and a pair of black boots with gold trim slowly came to a stop in his line of sight.
Li Suo strained his eyes to look up, finally settling on a bewitching, effeminate face.
"Ah." For some reason, a name suddenly surfaced in Li Suo's mind. He murmured, "Li...Genglan."
The demonic cultivator—Li Genglan—stood before him, looking down at him, a red mark between his brows almost dripping blood. He said calmly, "Li Suo, I could have spared you, but you were disobedient."
Li Suo's pupils dilated slightly.
After speaking, Li Genglan bent down slightly, lifting Li Suo's body and gently cradling him in his arms. His eyes softened as he looked at Li Suo, as if looking at a child who had caused trouble.
"But I don't blame you," Li Genglan said softly, his tone full of the seductive allure unique to demonic cultivators. "You were just bewitched by them."
He raised his hand and gently placed it on Li Suo's chest, softly saying, "I don't blame you."
Though he said this, the next instant, his expression changed, and his fingers suddenly plunged forcefully, driving the sharp tips straight into Li Suo's heart.
A few drops of blood splattered onto Li Genglan's bewitching face. He licked his lips with the tip of his tongue, like a vengeful ghost, his voice soft: "If you die, I won't blame you."
Li Suo's body jerked violently, held tightly in Li Genglan's embrace.
He embraced him as gently as if he were a lover, two clear tears slowly streaming from the corners of his eyes, yet his face held a twisted, bloodthirsty pleasure as he slowly inserted his hand into Li Suo's heart, reaching for the sword spirit heart within Lian Gou.
The sword spirit heart would allow him to briefly elevate his cultivation to its peak, increasing his chances of success in attacking the Burial Mound's barrier by more than 50%.
Li Genglan had spent forty years in the Burial Mound, expending all the spiritual power he had accumulated in that instant. If he couldn't obtain Li Suo's sword spirit heart, all his years of forbearance and preparation would be in vain.
Li Genglan slowly searched for the sword spirit heart, and just as his fingertips touched the fiery heart, a sword light suddenly struck from nearby, severing Li Genglan's wrist cleanly in an instant.
Li Genglan had only been distracted from the Burial Mound at that moment; without the sword spirit heart, he couldn't maintain his focus for even a moment.
The spiritual energy that severed his arm was all too familiar; Li Genglan knew who it was almost without even looking.
He slowly raised his head.
Not far away, Shen Gurong, dressed in a green robe, his icy eyes and white hair fluttering wildly in the wind, stood tall and elegant, holding the Jiu Xi Sword. His chilling killing intent, though not terrifying, seemed to spread like ice, gradually enveloping Li Genglan.
Li Genglan flicked his wrist, and black lines sprouted from his severed wrist, quickly transforming into a new wrist.
He looked at Shen Gurong, a half-smile on his face, and said, "Shen Feng Xue, you've come to ruin my plans again."
Shen Gurong walked over step by step, sword in hand, looking at him indifferently, and said coldly, "What do you intend to do to the disciples of Liren Peak?"
Li Genglan smiled, wiping the blood from his cheek, and said, "As you can see, I'll rip out their hearts."
Shen Gurong's expression remained unchanged; he simply gripped the hilt of his sword tighter.
Seeing Shen Gurong approach, Li Genglan knew he couldn't win Li Suo's heart. Forty years of effort had been in vain. Yet, his face showed little anger; instead, it was as if he'd met an old acquaintance. His demonic eyes curved into a smile, his handsome face full of laughter.
"Eleven," Li Genglan said with a smile, "I heard you were punished by lightning a few days ago?"
Shen Gurong was taken aback.
Seeing his expression, Li Genglan laughed heartily, seemingly delighted.
He placed Li Suo on the ground, laughing, "I told you before, the misuse of divine weapons will bring lightning punishment, but you didn't listen to me..."
Before he could finish, Shen Gurong, his face ashen, thrust his sword forward. The sound of the blade piercing flesh echoed in their ears.
Shen Gurong coldly said, "Too much nonsense."
With that, he fiercely spun the Jiu Xi Sword. Li Genglan's pupils widened slightly. He had been stabbed, but his face showed no pain. Instead, he raised his hand and grabbed Shen Gurong's wrist, his face filled with arrogant pleasure.
"Shen Feng Xue, remember this," Li Genglan looked at his face with hatred and madness, "I've been watching you from the shadows all along."
Shen Gurong flicked his wrist, and another burst of spiritual energy swept out. Li Genglan instantly turned into a cloud of black mist and vanished before him.
The killing intent that had been surging in Shen Gurong's heart when he saw Li Genglan earlier gradually dissipated under this sword strike.
That was Shen Feng Xue's subconscious killing intent towards demonic cultivators.
Even if he was only driven by killing intent, this was still the first time in this world that Young Master Shen had truly pierced someone's body with a sword. But because Li Genglan was only a wisp of his spirit, there was no bloodstain or corpse, making Shen Gurong feel much better.
Shen Gurong took a deep breath and stepped forward to help the blood-covered Li Suo up. Seeing the wound on his chest gradually disappearing, he truly realized that Li Suo wasn't human, but a sword spirit like Jiu Xi, capable of freely changing human form.
Li Suo quickly recovered and slowly awoke.
Shen Gurong was observing the demonic energy surrounding the Burial Mound. Perhaps because Shen Gurong had shattered Li Genglan's painstakingly formed spiritual fragment, the black mist that had perpetually lingered around the Burial Mound had completely dissipated.
He was thinking that the demonic cultivators would likely be safe inside for a few years when Li Suo's voice came from behind: "Holy Lord?"
Seeing him awake, Shen Gurong breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "Are you alright?"
Li Suo shook his head, his face pale: "Thank you for saving my life, Holy Lord."
Shen Gurong: "It's fine."
Just then, Mu Zhe and Xi Guxing arrived.
Upon seeing his master, Li Suo immediately rushed forward in fear, throwing himself before Xi Guxing, his eyes red-rimmed, and said, "Master! This disciple was almost killed just now."
Upon seeing his disciple, Shen Gurong's eyes lit up as he looked at Mu Zhe, suppressing his urge to rush forward, thinking, 'Disciple! Master just killed someone!'
Mu Zhe: "..."
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