Chapter 40
Sheng Ningyu did not hear what the Third Elder of the Phoenix Clan said.
In reality, she didn't know what state she was in.
All she knew was that this time, she was going to completely and utterly destroy this damn thing!
The spiritual bone in her right wrist had completely merged with her flesh and blood. The originally pure spiritual power was now surrounded by a few traces of blood-red demonic energy. However, this demonic energy did not dare to erode her. It merely lingered around the Phoenix Cry Sword and a trace of attachment clung to her spiritual bone, refusing to let go, and eventually seeped into her flesh and blood.
Sheng Ningyu had little patience. Holding the sword in her right hand, she suddenly tore forward with her left, managing to grab the wisp of demonic energy.
She didn't even glance at the demonic energy, but the wisp of demonic energy seemed to have a mind of its own, lingering around her fingertips which were covered in congealed blood.
For a moment, it seemed to emanate from his blood.
Sheng Ningyu sighed, but a smile slowly rose on her pale, sickly face.
"Let's make a deal. Go and inform your master that if you can make it in time, you can come back and help me collect my body."
Despite saying such things, and facing the overwhelming force of the demonic black cloud, the ferocious demonic seed inexplicably devoured everything in its path, and this illusionary realm was also being destroyed as it drew closer, but surprisingly, Sheng Ningyu showed no fear or apprehension whatsoever.
She even felt a long-lost surge of passion.
There is only one Sword Pavilion in the world, and there can only be one Venerable One in the Sword Pavilion.
The seventh level of "Ninefold Sword" is the overwhelming wrath of gods and Buddhas.
Sheng Ningyu had never understood this in previous years.
At that moment, she thought, what if this was her last sword strike...
Facing the rapidly approaching dark sun, the Phoenix Cry Sword rang out loudly, and its sword light suddenly spread out. The light was so dazzling that it almost brought dawn to the illusion that was already almost dark!
Then let the heavens weep aloud, let the earth waile loudly, and let all things here clearly see her anger at this moment!
The already dazzling sword light surged in that instant, and countless sword shadows emerged from behind the fallen god-Buddha who had transformed into a black and red phantom, rushing towards the black mist and slicing the sky-covering demonic energy into pieces.
The demons sensed a threat.
The "black sun" in the sky began to struggle frantically, trying to escape the terrifying sword aura, but the fallen gods and Buddhas stood tall and firm, like a cage, trapping it tightly. At the same time, Sheng Ningyu's sword intent grew stronger and stronger, each strike carrying boundless rage!
If the most important sword move in the sixth level of the human realm's splendor is "Joyful Reunion," then the most important move in this seventh level should be...
"A gentle breeze breaks the dawn."
Named "Raging Wrath of Gods and Buddhas," this sword technique lacked the grand and sweeping style of the sixth level. Instead, it was like a gentle breeze keeping its appointment. The sword light suddenly extinguished in an instant, and the black sun seized the opportunity to try to devour the area where Sheng Ningyu was. However, just as it got a little closer, it was suddenly struck by a thunderous roar of anger, splitting open all the gloom and crushing it completely in an instant!
A tremendous burst of spiritual energy exploded in the air, and the newly fused spiritual bones were like maggots clinging to the bones, while large fragments of memories in the mind suddenly exploded.
...
Eternal romance, like a dream.
Sheng Ningyu floated in mid-air, looking at the scene before her.
"Didn't you say I was already engaged to the Chu family? Why do I need to make such a formal visit to the East China Sea?"
The person who spoke was her, yet not her.
Sheng Ningyu changed her posture in mid-air, propped her head up, and looked at her past self with great interest.
With his eyebrows raised and his expression nonchalant, his hair was loose and hanging down his back, his face clearly saying "whatever."
This is the scene from her memory, and also the Jian Ge in her memory.
The dome hangs high, with long silver curtains hanging all around, swaying in the wind, layer upon layer, making the mountains and rivers sway.
“There must be a reason why Master does this.”
A gentle, smiling voice came from behind the curtain, and even from the blurry outline, one could tell that the person must be exceptionally good-looking.
Her jade-like fingertips parted the curtain with a soft sound, revealing a face that could captivate all beings.
"Junior sister."
It was her second senior brother, Rong Que.
Sheng Ningyu, who was suspended in mid-air, curled the corners of her lips, while the "Sheng Ningyu" sitting below her raised her eyebrows and leaned back in her chair.
"Why are you so slow today, Senior Brother?"
The woman below watched as those delicate hands, which had always only ever strummed the strings, weaved through her dark hair, and still couldn't resist teasing her.
"What's wrong with Second Brother today? He's taking so long to comb his hair, he doesn't seem very skilled."
Sheng Ningyu, who was suspended above, was taken aback.
Strange, she seemed to have no memory of this conversation.
The hand that was tying up her hair paused. Rong Que lowered his eyes and casually put a jade hairpin in her hair: "It's all because our Mingyue has been focusing on practicing swordsmanship these days, determined to surpass Master and become the number one in Sword Pavilion. Senior Brother has been preparing this hairpin for a long time, but hasn't had a chance to use it."
Sheng Ningyu puffed out her cheeks, looked away somewhat guiltily, and tried to slip away.
However, Rong Que placed his hands on Sheng Ningyu's shoulders, leaned down, and with only the lower half of his face reflected in the mirror, he was still a gentleman as beautiful as jade, with unparalleled beauty.
He sighed, "The Chu family of the East Sea has become increasingly prominent in recent years, and their patriarch, Yuan Dao Zhenren, has even reached the Tianxuan Realm. It is said that he has an extremely eccentric temper. When our Mingyue goes to the Chu family, please don't wander around like before. If you are upset, tell your master... or tell me when you come back."
Seeing that she was frowning below, Sheng Ningyu clearly had a bad impression of the Chu family, but she still smiled and said.
"If I go back and tell my second senior brother, will he help me get revenge?"
"Of course I will."
"How do you vent your anger?"
Sheng Ningyu turned her head, looked up at Rong Que with a smile: "Are you still stopping me from making a move as before, but after I sheathed my sword, you said in a cold voice, 'I'll do it'?"
Sheng Ningyu, who was suspended in mid-air, was listening with great interest to this story about her past. However, after hearing this sentence, Sheng Ningyu was slightly taken aback, and then her expression became serious.
This statement was not made by Rong Que at all.
In the fragments of memory she recalled when she first obtained this piece of spiritual bone, the person who spoke these words wore a veil, had a slender figure, and a voice that was far colder than Rong Que, the universally acknowledged "Number One Young Master" of the cultivation world.
It was clearly... clearly Xie Qianjing.
How could it be Rong Que?
Floating in mid-air, Sheng Ningyu subconsciously looked at Rong Que's expression, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get too close.
She could only stand aside and watch as her once handsome and dignified second senior brother lowered his eyes and looked down for a long time before saying, "This time, I should try a different approach."
Sheng Ningyu laughed heartily and stood up: "Yes! If it's always as frightening as that time, I'm afraid Second Senior Brother's title of 'Number One Young Master' will be in jeopardy."
Rong Que chuckled softly, raising his lips: "Go quickly, don't keep your master waiting."
Everything that followed was almost exactly the same as what Sheng Ningyu remembered, but with subtle differences.
Her highly anticipated master, Ning Guihai, was just a blurry phantom, and the Chu family members who came to greet her were also a blurry mess.
Sheng Ningyu looked at herself sitting on the jewel-encrusted flying phoenix, where she too was confined.
This is her memory; she can only stay in the memory of herself and cannot go anywhere else.
Sheng Ningyu's thoughts drifted away, and she remembered something else.
She was adopted by her master, Guihai Sword Master, when she was young. Her formal name, "Sheng Ningyu," was given to her by him, while her nickname, "Mingyue," was given to her by her second senior brother, Rong Que.
Although she was said to have been adopted by Ning Guihai, he was, after all, the most respected person in the Sword Pavilion, and there were many things he couldn't attend to. Moreover, her eldest brother, Yan Ruchao, was often away from home. In fact, it was her second brother, Rong Que, who taught her many things little by little.
Later, when she grew up, her master taught her the "Ninefold Sword" technique. She became obsessed with it and secretly gave herself the nickname "Sheng Jiuchong," which she was very proud of for a long time. However, as she grew older, she felt ashamed and never allowed others to call her that.
Not many people know the nickname "Ninefolds," and even fewer can address Sheng Ningyu in this way without angering her.
Outside, like everyone else, they mostly called her "Mingyue" (meaning "bright moon").
As for her eldest senior brother, Yan Ruchao, he always called her by her full name, which Sheng Ningyu had long been used to. As for her second senior brother…
Sheng Ningyu thought that she wouldn't be angry if he called her "Ninefold".
But for some reason, he never called me that.
Floating in mid-air, Sheng Ningyu turned over and lay down on her side, marveling at the sight.
Back then, he looked quite respectable, and the way he blinked his eyes at her always reminded Sheng Ningyu of her junior sister Ning Jiaojiao, which is why she indulged him in many ways.
Who knew they would do so many things later? It seems that the matter of the Demon Seed is also inextricably linked to the Chu family.
Sheng Ningyu thought to herself that if she still had a chance to escape from this place, she would definitely take back all the spiritual bones, first eliminate the demonic seed completely, destroy the demonic seed's way of life, and then go to the Chu family to ask for clarification!
"...This is the Daoist Spiritual Pact." Yuan Dao Zhenren's face was blurred, and although his words were accompanied by a smile, he could not hide the hypocrisy within.
"With my and Guihai's spiritual power as collateral... Rest assured, as long as this spiritual contract exists, our Chu family will definitely protect your disciple and will never mistreat her!"
As Chu Yuandao spoke, the red spiritual contract emitted a golden light and entered the bodies of Sheng Ningyu and Chu Chang'an.
"Hahaha, when the children get married in the future, all they need to do is write their names on it, infuse it with spiritual power, and it will be advertised to the whole world..."
very good.
Sheng Ningyu, suspended in mid-air, sneered.
I almost forgot about that.
Before beating Chu Chang'an up, she had to destroy this spirit contract first!
Everything that followed was exactly as Sheng Ningyu remembered.
She watched herself walking through the Chu family compound with Chu Chang'an, who was dressed in fine clothes.
"What should I call you?" The young boy, whose face was indistinct, tilted his head to look at her, his tone somewhat excited.
Sheng Ningyu paused in her steps.
Although her master said that she and Chu Chang'an had a good relationship and had met several times before, but the letters were destroyed in a secret realm, for some reason, Sheng Ningyu was filled with disappointment after actually seeing Chu Chang'an.
You're a bit younger, so why don't you call me 'Senior Sister Ningyu'?
"You're a bit younger, so why don't you call me 'Senior Sister Ningyu'?"
Floating in the air, Sheng Ningyu smiled, propping her cheek up, and said the same thing as the people below.
Even though the face was blurred, Sheng Ningyu could still see the disappointment on Chu Chang'an's face.
"But aren't we an unmarried couple?" the young boy asked slowly, his arrogant voice tinged with dissatisfaction. "Why should I address you like your junior brothers and sisters?"
If it were her now, she would only sneer and leave, but back then, Sheng Ningyu simply tilted her head, letting Chu Chang'an walk quickly ahead while she deliberately trailed behind him slowly with her hands in her pockets.
Upon seeing this, the Chu family retainers covered their faces and chuckled. They dared not stop the Fourth Young Master and his Daoist partner from having a falling out, so they all retreated to a distance, pretending not to know anything.
It seemed that because of the conversation between Master and Chu Yuandao, all of Chu's powerful retainers were transferred to the central palace, making the place seem even more sparsely populated.
Sheng Ningyu, who was floating in the air, showed little interest.
"Senior Sister Ningyu!"
For no apparent reason, Sheng Ningyu's heart skipped a beat.
She turned around and saw that Chu Chang'an's face suddenly became extremely clear.
But at this moment, Sheng Ningyu couldn't see anyone else at all.
She only saw the people below the stage.
He wasn't adorned in any fancy clothes or brocades, just a plain white robe stained with blood, but the sight of him standing there, raising his eyes, surpassed all the grandeur of the world.
It's Xie Qianjing!
What is he doing here?!
Sheng Ningyu, who was floating in the air, suddenly stood up, unusually losing her composure.
She rushed forward, taking advantage of her lightness of body, and drifted by like a gentle breeze.
Even if she was just a phantom at this moment, even if it was just her memory, even if she actually knew that Xie Qianjing had survived, at this moment, under this scene, Sheng Ningyu had only one thought in her mind.
Sheng Ningyu instinctively tried to draw her sword, but found nothing.
In her memory at this moment, "Sheng Ningyu" did not have the Phoenix Cry Sword, so neither did she. She also knew that the "Flawless Sword" had long been destroyed, so she could not conjure any sword either.
Sheng Ningyu had nothing else on her body.
But who says a Sword Master must use a sword?
Sheng Ningyu's eyebrows twitched, and she used her right hand as a sword to gather her sword energy.
This is the most important sword technique in the seventh level of swordsmanship that she has just mastered.
At this moment, the mortal Sheng Ningyu was only angry because of one person behind her.
All these thoughts passed in the blink of an eye.
As Sheng Ningyu swung her sword with her palm facing upwards, she saw the "Sheng Ningyu" opposite her also swing her sword. She could see clearly that it was the first level. However, at the instant the sword was swung out, "Sheng Ningyu" seemed to see something clearly, her pupils suddenly contracted, and she actually reversed the sword's momentum, turning it into the fifth level.
Ninefold Sword Cultivation, Ninefold Scenery: First, Joy; Second, Sorrow; Third, Suffering; Fourth, Tranquility.
The fifth level reveals the boundless suffering of beings in hell, which Sheng Ningyu attributes to "pity."
Pity others' sorrow and suffering, pity others' lost path, pity others who end up in a desolate wasteland, with nothing in their hearts.
In the past, Sheng Ningyu did not like this approach, simply because such emotions were too focused. Although she was always laughing and joking, in reality, all living beings were like black and white silhouettes in her eyes, with only a few people possessing color.
At this moment, Xie Qianjing was clearly clean except for black and white and bloodstains, but in Sheng Ningyu's eyes, he was dazzling and beautiful, like a Bodhi lotus floating on the water.
In the instant that the sword's edge and the afterimage alternated, Sheng Ningyu sensed "her" emotions.
The sword tip, which was aimed straight at his heart, ultimately only grazed his brow.
……I see.
Sheng Ningyu recalled the vermilion-like sword mark between Xie Qianjing's eyebrows, and in her daze, she felt it was even more absurd.
Her sword strikes were undeniable, as was the killing intent conveyed by her swordplay.
No wonder Xie Qianjing said he hated her, no wonder Xie Qianjing wanted to kill her.
Sheng Ningyu lowered her hands, not daring to turn around at all.
Chu Chang'an's voice rang out from behind: "Even the Sword Pavilion disciples, who are known for their deadly accuracy, can falter?"
With such a sudden turn of the sword, the aftershocks would be borne by the swordsman himself.
As expected, Chu Chang'an, who walked up to her, looked at her strangely: "The Xie family harbored demonic seeds before, intending to subvert and control the Three Realms. Unexpectedly, disaster struck from within the walls, and it also affected many members of the Chu family... Senior Sister Ningyu is so soft-hearted, is she on good terms with this Xie family member?"
Sheng Ningyu saw "her" sheath her sword and tuck her right hand into her sleeve.
As expected, she was injured, Sheng Ningyu thought.
"The Xie family?"
Seeing that "she" had composed herself, Sheng Ningyu deliberately spoke in a nonchalant tone, "He's just an outsider. You are my fiancé now. How can he be compared to you?"
Sheng Ningyu suddenly remembered that Xie Qianjing had once asked her if she would choose him if she were faced with a choice between two options.
……No wonder.
No wonder.
Even in her own illusory memory, Sheng Ningyu still felt a heavy weight on her heart. The memories that were resurfacing in her mind were grinding her brain painfully. She gasped for breath, feeling as if she were drowning and suffocating.
So that's how it is... So that's how it is.
These words were like a sharp sword, freezing all the past in that moment. Everyone's face was filled with exaggerated and comical expressions, and this illusory memory began to collapse inch by inch from afar.
Sheng Ningyu suddenly turned around, her robes billowing like a blooming Bodhi lotus, stirring up a gentle breeze.
She crouched down, raised her hand, and brushed across Xie Qianjing's brow through the barrier in the void, but she couldn't wipe away a single drop of blood, and could only let it flow.
Sheng Ningyu didn't know if there were any other things she hadn't thought of besides what was in her mind, but right now, she was only thinking about Xie Qianjing in front of her.
He must have been in a lot of pain at the time.
So Sheng Ningyu gently covered his eyes.
[Xie Qianjing.]
She loosened her taut right hand and loosely wrapped her arms around him.
Even though everything around him was frozen in time, blood was still seeping from Xie Qianjing's brow, the red blood meandering down as if it would never stop flowing.
Even though he felt nothing at this moment, and all of this was just a memory she had forgotten, Sheng Ningyu still stood in front of him.
My past self didn't choose him.
But now, I would definitely choose him.
Before all memories turned to dust and the vast darkness engulfed the two of them, Sheng Ningyu repeatedly whispered his name.
[Xie Qianjing, Xie Qianjing...]
We will meet again.
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Author's Note: In Chapter Seven, Xiao Xie once felt a gentle breeze.
He felt a bone-chilling cold at that moment, but actually someone was secretly embracing him.
(Xiao Xie will find out!)
Right now, Mingyue feels more guilty, but as the spirit bones are collected and her memories return, will her feelings change?
I've already written the next chapter, the one where Feng Shaojun's true identity is revealed, hehe! But putting it in this chapter would be too long (10,000 words), and many readers would skip it, so I'll post it again tomorrow!
Chu! Congratulations to Mingyue on successfully fusing the first segment of the spirit bone! This chapter still features a 24-hour red envelope giveaway!
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