〖To spend the rest of my life〗My heart is at peace for the time being.
On the sword-fighting arena where the sect disciples competed, on the top of the main peak of Raotiandao, a sea of clouds surged beneath their feet, flags of various sects fluttered in the wind, spiritual lights flickered, and the crowd was bustling.
After experiencing the shadow of the chaos in the imperial city, the competition hosted by Rao Tiandao has undoubtedly attracted unprecedented attention from the entire Lingdao.
The monks, elders and even some senior masters who had lived in seclusion from the world from all major sects were all suspended in the air, their eyes focused on the center of the ice platform.
Zhou Suyao, dressed in a plain white Taoist robe, stood in the center of the stage, his sleeves fluttering slightly in the biting mountain breeze.
Her sword was not unsheathed, but just hung quietly at her waist.
After her journey to the underworld, her youthful temperament had faded, and she had become more calm and majestic. She slowly circulated the spiritual power in her body, which was a fusion of the original power of the demon race.
Following her master's instructions, she had intended to keep her edge low, simply going through the motions without attracting attention. However, when she stepped onto the sword-fighting arena, she realized that even if the tree desired stillness, the wind would not stop.
The draw was over, the opponent took the stage, and Zhou Suyao's sword moves were not flashy, even a little plain.
Just as she had won a game and was recuperating in preparation for the battle, a murderous aura suddenly enveloped the entire arena without warning.
"Next, the Immortal Zhou Suyao versus..."
A figure wearing a large black cloak, like a ghost, landed silently on the sword-fighting stage where Zhou Suyao was.
He held an ancient long sword in his hand. The sword was not unsheathed, but the sharp sword intent had already pierced Zhou Suyao's skin and caused pain.
"You, fight me."
The whole audience was in an uproar. This person had a strange aura, and it was obvious that he had come with bad intentions.
"Who is this person?"
"He is not a registered contestant!"
"Such a strong sense of oppression..."
Upon seeing this, the elder in charge of maintaining order at Raotiandao immediately stood up and shouted, "Who are you? How dare you disrupt the competition?"
However, he ignored her and instead tightly grasped a sword. The blade was simple and unadorned, yet it exuded a chilling chill. He raised the tip of the sword slightly, pointing it directly at Zhou Suyao.
"This battle will determine not only who is superior but also who lives and dies."
The voice came through the cloak, hoarse and low.
With the sound of "clang", the long sword was unsheathed. The sound was not the clear dragon roar as imagined.
The crowd was in an uproar.
The identity of this man in black is unknown and his aura is strange. He started a life-and-death battle right from the start, completely breaking the rules of the sect competition.
On the high platform, an elder of Raotiandao frowned and wanted to stand up to intervene, but was stopped by a look from another old man with a deep aura beside him.
In the Chengxiandao seating area, Zhou Xuqing, who had been lazily leaning against the back of his chair, straightened slightly, a flash of worry in his cloudy old eyes. Qu Mingwu and Zhou Zonglan stood up suddenly, their faces changing dramatically. They seemed to sense a familiarity from the figure and the aura.
But Zhou Suyao knew nothing about all this.
At the horizon, the originally clear sky suddenly became gloomy, with thick dark clouds piling up layer by layer and muffled thunder rolling deep in the clouds.
Zhou Suyao took a deep breath, suppressing her turbulent emotions. She understood that this wasn't just an ordinary competition, but a lifelong choice she had to make.
She slowly raised the sword in her hand.
The sword was mottled and covered with cracks, but at this moment it emitted a faint but extremely clear humming sound, as if at this moment, it had finally waited for its destined moment.
"The path to becoming an immortal, Zhou Suyao, please give me some advice."
Her voice was calm, but her eyes were more determined than ever before.
The man in black trembled slightly, and a golden light seemed to flicker violently in the depths of his cold eyes.
The next moment, he stopped talking, moved his body, and stabbed straight at Zhou Suyao's face!
quick!
It was so fast that Zhou Suyao couldn't see what was happening at all!
Zhou Suyao's pupils suddenly shrank, and she almost instinctively started to defend herself.
"clang--!"
The sharp sound of metal clashing instantly resounded through the sky!
A huge force came along the sword, Zhou Suyao's knuckles broke, blood instantly dyed the hilt red, and the whole person staggered and slid back more than ten feet before he could barely stabilize his body.
The man in black missed his attack, but without stopping, he continued to attack with his sword like a violent storm.
Wherever he passed, even the hard stone slabs specially made for the sword-fighting arena were cut with deep marks.
Zhou Suyao was caught in a dilemma. She did not choose to fight head-on, but instead used her body skills to the limit, weaving through the dense sword net, trying to resolve the violent attack.
The thunder was getting closer and closer, and the powerful spiritual power made it almost impossible for the spectators to breathe.
After two rounds of fierce fighting, Zhou Suyao had several wounds on her body, and her light-colored robe was stained with blood. Her spiritual energy was greatly depleted, and her breathing became rapid.
She held her breath, followed the unfinished sword intent, and gently raised the tip of the sword upwards.
“Swish!”
The wide black cloak hood was torn apart and slid down by this clever move.
In an instant, the whole place fell into dead silence.
Beneath the dark clouds, lightning flashed occasionally, illuminating the face that could no longer be hidden.
Beneath the dark clouds, lightning flashed, illuminating a handsome yet struggling face. The eyes that always held a gentle smile were now bloodshot golden pupils, filled with a despair that threatened to consume them.
"It's... Zhou Shanyuan!"
"The eldest brother who achieved immortality?!"
"How could it be him?!"
Exclamations and incredulous comments surged like a tide. Zhou Zonglan, who was sitting at the Chengxiandao seat, suddenly stood up, his face pale.
Zhou Suyao stared blankly at the face so close to her. Her heart seemed to be tightly grasped by an invisible hand, and she felt so painful that she couldn't breathe.
It was indeed him. The elder brother who would grind peach blossom cakes for her, who would be vulnerable due to nightmares, and who would silently protect her, was now...
Draw swords against her.
"It's you, Senior Brother." Her voice was soft, but it reached the other person's ears clearly.
Zhou Shanyuan's body trembled violently, and the sword's momentum became more frantic than before. He seemed to want to pour out all the helplessness and pain in his emotions into this sword.
"Kill me!" he screamed in his mind, "Or... let me kill you! End this endless torture!"
He seemed to be in chaos.
"Kill...her...for my father...for the spiritual path..." A cold voice seemed to echo in his mind.
"Kill... her..." A cold, inhuman voice seemed to be squeezed out from the depths of his throat, and it seemed to come from the sky above. "Xun Dan... complete your mission... for the spiritual path... for your father..."
"No...she is Suyao...I..."
"I shouldn't...can't...kill her..."
However, for Zhou Suyao, facing Zhou Shanyuan's chaos, she knew that this was her perfect opportunity to fight back.
She swung her sword, no fancy moves, just a simple straight stab.
But wherever the sword light passed, the space was slightly distorted, and the madness emanating from Zhou Shanyuan's body, at this moment, melted away like ice and snow meeting the sun.
The tip of the long sword touched the tip of Zhou Shanyuan's sword.
“Zheng——!”
A clear and long sword sound drowned out the thunder in the sky.
Zhou Shanyuan instantly felt a vast and gentle will, like a warm tide, instantly flowing into his limbs and bones.
"puff--"
Zhou Shanyuan suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.
He staggered back, raised his head, and looked at Zhou Suyao, who was standing with a sword in her hand, emitting a soft but unapproachable light. The bloodshot and madness in his eyes gradually faded away, leaving only endless fatigue and a trace of... relief.
"Su Yao..." he murmured, his voice returning to its original clarity, but still weak.
Zhou Suyao put away her sword, stepped forward quickly, and supported him before he fell to the ground.
"Big Brother, it's over." She looked at him, tears glistening in her eyes, but with a bright smile, "Your mission, my destiny, are all ended with this sword."
In the sky, the accumulated dark clouds seemed to be pushed away by an invisible giant hand, and a ray of golden sunlight broke through the clouds, shining accurately on the two people hugging each other on the sword-fighting arena.
The thunder gradually subsided, and the sky and the earth became clear and bright.
On the high platform, the old man with a deep aura from Rao Tiandao had a dark face. He snorted coldly, flicked his sleeves and left, and his figure disappeared in an instant.
Not far away, Zhou Xuqing slowly opened his eyes, a genuine smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and he cursed in a low voice: "Two careless little bastards..."
Zhou Suyao supported the weak Zhou Shanyuan, feeling that his body was no longer tense. She knew that the eldest senior brother who was bound by mission and shackles had finally returned.
In his own way, he completed the final explanation to the spirit path, and also protected the human world that was most important to him.
Zhou Shanyuan in her arms stared at her blankly, looking at his miserable self reflected in her eyes.
All the struggles, all the disguises, all the missions and burdens collapsed with her simple words.
The long sword in his hand fell to the ground with a clang.
"This time, it's my turn to find you."
"Let's go home."
Listening to her voice, Zhou Shanyuan felt as if he had returned to the purest embrace.
He slowly closed his eyes.
Zhou Suyao held the unconscious Zhou Shanyuan in her arms, raised her head, and looked at the spiritual masters on the platform with different expressions. Her eyes were calm but unquestionable.
"It's time to change the rules of the Spiritual Path."
"From today on, I will protect humanity."
Her voice was not loud, but it was clearly heard by everyone and also reached the unknown sky above.
No one cares about the follow-up of the sect competition.
Zhou Suyao and Zhou Shanyuan still have a long way to go.
But this time, they will walk side by side.
In the back mountain of Chengxiandao, the peach blossoms are still brilliant, as if time has never passed.
Zhou Suyao and Zhou Shanyuan stood side by side in the depths of the peach forest, with rolling mountains and surging sea of clouds in the distance.
"Back then... on the sword arena, were you really not afraid?"
Zhou Shanyuan asked softly, his eyes falling on Zhou Suyao's hair blown by the mountain breeze.
Zhou Suyao turned her head and smiled at him, her smile bright and bright: "Afraid? How could I not be afraid?"
"Thank you, Suyao." He whispered, thousands of words were contained in these four words.
"What are you thanking me for?" Zhou Suyao raised her eyebrows and said deliberately, "If you really want to thank me, then when you make peach blossom cakes next time, use half the sugar."
Zhou Shanyuan laughed and nodded: "Okay."
The mountain breeze blew, and peach petals fluttered, falling on their clasped hands and on their shoulders.
It also falls on their long and unknown future journey to immortality.
The road is still long, but I feel at peace for now.
——End of Volume 1——
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