Chapter 50 Sword Master Qiu Ce: No matter how far away, no matter where he is...
"Alright, you should go back now."
This was the first thing I said after Imazawa woke up.
Hua Deng remained seated by the window, silently listening to the roaring thunder. Jin Ze must have heard it last night too, but made no reaction.
He seemed completely unconcerned about Chen Zhou.
Hua Deng finally couldn't help but ask, "Are you sure he'll be alright?"
"Really." Jinze slowly got up from the ground, his face contorted with pain. "You really have to leave. Otherwise, when he starts his breakthrough tomorrow, he'll be fine, but the true energy in your body will go berserk. Wouldn't that be worse than killing him?"
Hua Deng had no other choice but to trust him.
"I'll take you back," Jinze said.
Hua Deng glanced at his old lady-like gait: "No need, I can manage on my own..."
Splash!
Before she could finish speaking, a flash of black light appeared, revealing a rift large enough to accommodate an adult, as unfathomable as the night sky.
Jinze sheathed his sword and said, "That's enough."
Hua Deng paused slightly, then stepped inside at Jin Ze's signal. Before she could even react, she found herself at the Yaoqing Sect.
As he turned around, the gap quickly closed, and Jinze's voice came through: "Don't worry, he'll be back in three days at the latest."
Three more days...?
Hua Deng returned to Haitang Garden and tried to meditate. After meditating for several hours, she lay down on the bed, but could not sleep that night.
So he put on his clothes, sat up, and gazed into the distance until dawn.
"Is the Heavenly Tribulation over?" she asked the system.
"No." The system sighed, "I have never seen such a powerful Heavenly Dao. It seems that there are still many things we do not know after the Great Calamity of the Myriad Realms."
Hua Deng heard it talk about the great calamity of the myriad worlds, and it is said that the Nine Provinces encountered the end of the Dharma era, which was precisely because of this.
However, she was in no mood to care about these things. After feeling irritable for a while, she simply changed her clothes and went out to submit a report to her sect leader.
The sect leader took the report, glanced at it, and nodded, saying, "Your performance this time was excellent. You even won first place for the Medicine Purification Sect. You..."
He noticed that Hua Deng was distracted, paused for a moment, and then said, "If you're tired, go back and get some rest."
Hua Deng was absent-minded, and looked up a beat late: "Yes, Master."
Just as she was about to turn around, a slightly panicked voice came from outside the door: "Sect Leader, Sword Master Qiu Ce is here!"
The sect leader was shocked and his first reaction was to stand in front of Hua Deng, trying to hide her.
But it was too late.
A snow-white figure stepped in through the doorway, and the man's casual voice rang out: "Is the 'Joyful Union Holy Body' you mentioned her?"
The sect leader immediately broke out in a cold sweat.
He did mention this matter to Sword Master Qiu Ce, and said he would personally deliver the Hehuan Sacred Body to his residence in order to seek cooperation with the Tunyun Pavilion.
But that was a few months ago. Now he is more afraid of Shen Ye's existence. Even Qiu Ce Sword Venerable cannot make him so terrified.
He stood firmly in front of Hua Deng, stiffly bowing: "Sword Master, why didn't you give us a heads-up before your arrival?"
The man didn't notice his unusual behavior and glanced at the streetlights: "I was just passing by, no need for formalities."
When the streetlights met the man's gaze, he frowned almost imperceptibly.
Why is he here? The original story clearly didn't have this time.
Oh right, it's because she came back earlier than planned. She was supposed to stay at the Qingyang Sect for a while longer, which would have allowed her to miss Qiu Ce's visit.
But it doesn't matter anymore. Hua Deng stroked the peach blossom chain on her wrist and quietly watched him.
Nine sword intents should be more than enough to deal with him alone.
Qiu Ce beckoned to her: "Come with me."
This was not a question, but a command using magic; the lantern moved forward uncontrollably.
The sect leader's legs trembled at the thought of Shen Ye's face. He instinctively reached out to stop her, pleading, "Sword Master, you mustn't! She's the daughter of the Hua family!"
Qiu Ce had never heard of the Hua family before. He asked, "Anything else?"
"This..." The sect leader glanced at Hua Deng and hesitated, "This furnace is not yet properly trained. If you use it now, it may not meet your expectations. Why don't you let her stay, and I'll have someone train her for a while longer?"
"No need. I don't have the patience for that. Since she has good potential, I don't mind personally training her. Or do you want to take her for yourself?"
"...I dare not."
If it were anyone else who came today, perhaps the sect leader could have some words to say, but Qiu Ce is different. Besides his strength, his personality is also a major reason why the Immortal Alliance is troubled.
The sect leader knew a little about what happened to the Ten Thousand Swords Sect four years ago, and naturally also knew about Qiu Ce's defeat at the Nascent Soul stage and his desertion in the face of battle.
His natal sword was severed by the cultivator at the Integration Stage, and both his arms were crippled. If an ordinary person were subjected to such humiliation, they would most likely fight to the death. But Qiu Ce was not like that.
He fled without hesitation, willing to become a laughingstock to save his life, though few dared to mock him.
What he cares about is his life and becoming stronger, not how the world views him.
Therefore, he is capable of forcibly taking away the direct disciples of the Yaoqing Sect, and he can do it with a clear conscience.
"But—" The sect leader felt a chill run down his spine. He began to consider whether Qiu Ce or Shen Ye could kill more efficiently and without causing him so much pain.
“Never mind, Master,” Hua Deng suddenly said. “I’ll go with him.”
The sect leader turned around in surprise, then his eyes filled with tears: "Then you must explain clearly, I really tried my best!"
Hua Deng smiled and said, "I know."
She looked at the handsome man opposite her: "Let's go."
Qiu Ce bypassed the sect leader, waved his hand, and disappeared with her.
As soon as the lanterns were lit, they felt an unusually rich spiritual energy. They were in a spacious courtyard, surrounded by mountains and water, a rather luxurious mountain manor.
This is probably what the quest mentions as "Chou Ce's cave".
As Hua Deng surveyed her surroundings, Qiu Ce was also sizing her up before saying, "Don't worry, I didn't really intend to use you as a furnace."
Hua Deng paused for a moment, then turned to look at him.
Qiu Ce said calmly, "I don't have a Daoist partner, but your physique is very suitable, so I would like to invite you to cultivate with me. In this way, I can help you become stronger, and you can help me recover my cultivation."
"Restore cultivation level?" Hua Deng seized upon this unusual phrase.
"Yes, I was injured a few years ago and I'm only at the early stage of Tribulation Transcending now. I want to recover to the middle stage of Tribulation Transcending."
Qiu Ce frankly admitted that he did not want to talk about why he was injured.
Hua Deng didn't care about that, and said speechlessly, "I don't want to."
Upon hearing this, Qiu Ce hesitated for a moment and said, "My apprentice said that when a woman says no, she means yes. So you must be willing, right?"
Hua Deng: "???"
You've been reading too many domineering CEO novels since 1982!
"Your apprentice... Pei Jianming?" Hua Deng was speechless, wanting to drag Pei Jianming out and beat him up.
"Yes, you know him?" Qiu Ce rarely showed a smile. "My apprentice is very talented, isn't he?"
Hua Deng was speechless: "You just believed what he said?"
“Why not?” Qiu Ce said. “He’s very popular outside, so he understands women. I don’t understand them, so I ask him for advice.”
"Very popular? Understands women?" In the book, his character is supposed to be completely immune to the opposite sex!
"Pei Jianming told you all of this?"
"right."
Hua Deng: No wonder the apprentice is an idiot, it turns out the master is even more mentally challenged.
She felt utterly powerless. She sat down at the stone table and said to Qiu Ce, "Sit."
Qiu Ce was taken aback, but obediently sat down.
The lantern began its cyclical movement: "Didn't you want to cultivate dual cultivation? Cultivate like me."
Qiu Ce looked at her in confusion. Was this how dual cultivation was done? But he didn't mind trying it out first, so he immediately closed his eyes and entered a meditative state.
After meditating for about an incense stick's time under the bright lights, I checked the system interface and the task still showed "incomplete".
She sighed; it seemed she couldn't exploit the system loophole this time.
“What you’re doing is probably wrong.” At this moment, Qiu Ce also said, “Dual cultivation isn’t like this. I can have my disciple teach you.”
“Oh, okay,” Hua Deng said.
Qiu Ce got up and walked outside. The lanterns shone on his back, revealing the bracelet on his wrist.
There was no other way but to abandon the mission.
She silently recited the incantation, and her sword energy was unleashed in an instant. Even though Qiu Ce used a speed that was beyond the reach of ordinary people to immediately set up a defense, he still had half of his body sliced off with a bang!
Unfortunately, those in the Tribulation Transcending stage are not so easy to kill, especially someone like Qiu Ce who has stayed in the Tribulation Transcending stage for hundreds of years and has reached the point where he can be reborn from a drop of blood.
Half of his body was quickly repaired, his eyes filled with shock, and he asked in a hoarse voice, "Do you know Shen Zhou?"
Hua Deng didn't answer, but continued adjusting the angle: "Do you want to die?"
Qiu Ce subconsciously replied, "I don't want to."
"Okay." Hua Deng smiled slightly. "That's what I want."
Another sword aura flew out!
Qiu Ce's pupils shrank suddenly, and he instantly teleported a thousand miles away.
But the sword energy relentlessly pursued him, piercing him through the heart across thousands of miles. He clutched his bleeding chest and was forcibly dragged back into his cave by the sword energy.
He collapsed to the ground, desperately trying to defend himself while simultaneously working to repair his body.
But he didn't even bother to check his physical condition; instead, he stared intently at the streetlights, his face filled with disbelief.
It can't be wrong!
It was this sword energy that shattered his Dao heart four years ago, causing his cultivation to plummet and nearly causing him to fall below the Tribulation Transcending Realm.
If it weren't for the full support of the Tunyun Pavilion, he probably wouldn't have fully recovered from his injuries yet.
And now, this sword energy, powerful enough to destroy the heavens and the earth and make the whole world tremble, has actually been used by a woman in the Golden Core stage?!
Qiu Ce's legs went weak, and a terrifying thought occurred to him: "You, you are his..."
Hua Deng coldly raised his hand, without saying a word.
Qiu Ce saw through her thoughts and blurted out in desperation, "I really didn't know, I swear! If I had known you were his Daoist partner, I would never have laid a finger on you!"
"Yeah?"
He said in a deep voice.
An aura more terrifying than any magical artifact or any other being appeared behind him at this moment.
"—So, which finger of hers did you touch?"
Qiu Ce felt a chill run down his spine, his blood froze, and time seemed to stand still as it flowed before his eyes. He slowly turned his head to meet those eyes that he never wanted to see again in his life.
It is as deep as a frozen pool, as dark as a dark night, and as cold as a pure sword.
The only difference is that, compared to the indifference of four years ago, there is now a hint of anger that seems to want to burn everything.
Qiu Ce screamed, jumping around like a plucked chicken: "I didn't! I swear I didn't touch a single hair on her head! You can ask her if you don't believe me—ah! Let's talk this out, don't hit me!!!"
Hua Deng put down his hand and entered a state of watching the show.
However, the anticipated battle did not occur. In the blink of an eye, Qiu Ce fell from the sky and crashed heavily to the ground.
He lay bleeding profusely in the crater he had created, his shoulders bare and his arms gone.
He could do nothing but try to prevent his arms from growing back, because his arms had already been torn off by Shen Zhou more than a dozen times.
Although he didn't know why Shen Zhou hadn't killed him, he remained motionless with his eyes closed, pretending to be dead.
Seeing Shen Zhou land, Hua Deng immediately rushed into his arms. Shen Zhou stroked her head and asked softly, "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, are you done with your tribulation?" She quickly checked Shen Zhou for any wounds.
"We've finished halfway," Shen Zhou said, stopping her hand. "We can continue later."
Doesn't that mean failure?
Hua Deng felt an indescribable sadness in her heart.
She refrained from contacting him because she was afraid of interfering with his tribulation, but he still came.
But Shen Zhou didn't want to talk about it anymore, so she could only pretend not to care and ask him, "How did you know I was here?"
Shen Zhou raised the corners of his mouth, his dark eyes fixed on her, gleaming with light: "You called my name, how could I not come?"
Hua Deng paused, then hesitated and said, "You can hear me as long as I call your name?"
“Yes,” Shen Zhou said with a smile, “this spell will never fail.”
"...No matter how far?"
"No matter how far away, no matter where."
Seeing Hua Deng's blank expression, he flicked her forehead with his finger and pointed to Qiu Ce, who lay beside him like a corpse, saying, "What do you plan to do with him?"
Hua Deng took a while to come to his senses, glanced to the side, and said as Qiu Ce began to tremble, "I want his cave dwelling, and the magic treasures in his mustard seed space."
Qiu Ce: "...Waaah."
Shen Zhou easily plundered his mustard seed space and then kicked him down the mountain. Qiu Ce disappeared without a trace, while Hua Deng squatted on the ground, happily counting his newly acquired spoils.
Believe it or not, although Qiu Ce is a fool, he has quite a lot of good stuff, each of which is worth hundreds of thousands or even millions of spirit stones.
"Bright lights".
As she was engrossed in admiring the sight, Chen Zhou called out softly from behind.
"Hmm?" She didn't turn around, indicating her doubt.
"Why didn't you deal with him at the Yaoqing Sect? Why did you come here with him?" Shen Zhou asked calmly.
His tone was so normal that Hua Deng didn't take it seriously, and a bunch of excuses popped into his head.
Until she heard Shen Zhou's next sentence—
"Is there something that compels you to come here?"
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