Chapter 7
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“Sect Master, be careful!” Yuchi Xiao, who had been traveling around all year, slaying demons and monsters, was accustomed to facing various unexpected situations. His first reaction was, “The ghost cultivator doesn’t have a physical form, it can’t be seen by ordinary people. Be cautious of sneak attacks!”
Xu Shuangce remained indifferent.
Peach blossoms scattered in the wind reflected in his sharp eyes, then his gaze shifted. First, he glanced at Yuchi Xiao, dispelling any suspicions; then, he looked at Xiang Xiaoyuan, who was kneeling on the ground with his head bowed. This time, he hesitated for several breaths, seeming unsure.
Xiang Xiaoyuan stared at the ground in front of him, trembling slightly, as if in awe and fear, not daring to lift his head.
After what seemed like an eternity, he felt the terrifying pressure above his head dissipate. “Where did the peach blossoms come from?” Xu Shuangce finally spoke.
Gong Wei’s back relaxed imperceptibly.
Yuchi Xiao hesitated noticeably. “Junior… Sect Master, be careful behind you!”
A streak of blood-red light pierced from behind, as fast as lightning in the night. However, Xu Shuangce didn’t even turn his head— the Divine Sword No Way Out acted on its own, half drawn from its sheath, fiercely colliding with the blood-red sword of the ghost cultivator.
A thunderous momentum surged along with the sword. Only then did Xu Shuangce reach out to grasp the sword hilt, and with a backhand stroke, he pressed down on the blood sword, immobilizing it. With a casual thrust, he pierced the ghost cultivator’s chest!
A chill swept over Gong Wei’s heart.
Xu Shuangce’s “Divine Sword No Way Out” like Ying Kai’s “Mountain Ocean Order,” was universally recognized as a divine weapon. Once it sensed approaching hostility, it would instinctively protect its master. Its power was like that of a descending white dragon. Sixteen years ago, Gong Wei, who had attempted to assassinate him, was thwarted by this unstoppable divine weapon and died under it.
In other words, he was stabbed to death by a single sword.
Although in the eyes of the world, it seemed like he had brought it upon himself.
The ghost shadow had been split open several times before, dissipating into thick smoke each time it reappeared unharmed. However, this time it was pierced through from front to back by the Divine Sword No Way Out. It was no match for Xu Shuangce at all. Despite not having a physical form, it soon began to retreat in defeat. However, unwilling to give up, it used its blood red ghost sword to clash with the Divine Sword No Way Out, while Bai Tai Shou was unsheathed and aimed at his throat!
Xu Shuangce saw it and with a slight tilt of his head, avoided the sword. The ghostly figure might not have even caught his movement. Yet, he managed to catch the blade with his left hand, two fingers pinching it out of thin air, sensing something in an instant.
“Bai Tai Shou,” he muttered slowly.
Then he lifted his eyes to “look” at the malevolent spirit. Finally, some emotion appeared on the frozen face.
“Gong Wei?”
“Xiang Xiaoyuan” knelt behind him, his fingers trembling and pale, digging deep into the soil.
The ghostly figure froze in place, suddenly emitting dazzling red electricity all over its body. Yuchi Xiao sensed something ominous and exclaimed, “Sect Master, be careful of the sneak attack!”
— But Xu Shuangce didn’t move at all.
If one looked closely, they would see his tightly clenched hand slightly retracting backward, as if it were just an illusion.
Just as Yuchi Xiao was about to rush forward in shock, the ghostly figure shattered into pieces, and a towering hurricane rose from the ground, disappearing into the void!
No one could see Xu Shuangce’s expression. He stood there motionless, as if he were frozen, his hair and robe sleeves falling with the wind, petals swirling around his feet.
After a while, there was a clear “clang” as he sheathed his sword. He turned around without looking at anyone, his voice hoarse and melancholic: “Where are the casualties?”
***
The innocent civilians in front of Linjiang Mansion had already been rescued. Meng Yunfei was in a daze, and Xu Shuangce casually tapped his temple, seemingly dispersing some lingering dense black mist. Suddenly, Meng Yunfei spat out a mouthful of blood and fell unconscious.
Yuchi Xiao immediately ordered someone to help his friend down to rest and take medicine. Xu Shuangce lifted his robe and sat down, not bothering to look at anyone, and said, “Report all the events of the past twelve hours without any concealment.”
He didn’t need to add the latter half of the sentence. Everyone present saw him as their savior, wishing they could report every detail of everything that had happened in the city in the past half month, including trivial matters like a dog not biting someone or a chicken not laying eggs, to him. Yuchi Xiao knew Sect Master Xu’s temperament. He answered according to the rules, without any reduction or addition, and said, “The ghost cultivator seems to be very afraid of the blood from a child’s heart. Last night, in desperation, a disciple of your sect sprayed his heart blood on the ghost sword…”
“Xiang Xiaoyuan.” Xu Shuangce suddenly interrupted Yuchi Xiao.
All eyes in the hall turned to Xiang Xiaoyuan, who instantly became the focus of everyone’s attention.
Xu Shuangce said, “Come here.”
The terrible penetrating wound on Gong Wei’s left shoulder had been treated by the disciples of the medical sect in the city. It was connected, the bleeding and pain were stopped, and he had been generously treated with thick sacred medicine. However, he still felt sore and weak, unable to exert much strength when walking, and spoke timidly, “Sect Master.”
Xu Shuangce looked him up and down, asking, “Are you the only one who can see the appearance of the ghost cultivator?”
“Yes,” Xiang Xiaoyuan said without daring to lift his head.
“Previously, people only died at night, but from the second day you arrived in Linjiang City, the ghost cultivator began to cause trouble during the day?”
“….Yes.”
Xu Shuangce remained silent for a moment, and the hall fell silent, with even the nervous breaths of the people present clearly audible.
Gong Wei shrugged and shrank back, staring at his toes. After a while, Xu Shuangce handed the Divine Sword No Way Out to him and said flatly, “Pull it out.”
He actually still doubted him!
If it were the former Grand Elder Gong in his previous life, who dared to oppose him? He would definitely have hidden the Divine Sword No Way Out behind his back in the blink of an eye, then smiled and asked with his hands behind his back, “Do you want it? Beg me, Xu Bai.”
Of course, Xu Shuangce wouldn’t pay him any attention, nor would he forcefully search him for it. At most, he would look down at Gong Wei for a moment, then turn around and leave. In a few days, Ying Kai would naturally take Gong Wei back to Cangyang Mountain while scolding him.
But this little demon in this life was as lowly as an ant, not even qualified to speak in front of Sect Master Xu. Gong Wei’s throat moved up and down, and he closed his eyes before slowly reaching out to grab the sword hilt—
Crack!
A gleam of cold light flowed out, and Gong Wei’s knuckles turned pale with pain.
“Is there pain in your left chest?” Xu Shuangce suddenly asked.
Xiang Xiaoyuan looked at him weakly and timidly, his voice trembling with pain sounding no different from fear, “Master, the disciple is not proficient in martial arts. Just now, the left shoulder was injured.”
As he spoke, he slightly pulled down his left collar, revealing the bandage with grim bloodstains.
Xu Shuangce’s gaze fell on the bloodstains, his eyes narrowing silently.
The damage inflicted by the Divine Sword No Way Out on the soul is direct and lethal. Many people who died by its blade still had their souls damaged after reincarnation, and once the Divine Sword No Way Out approached, it could trigger a reaction.
Will it be discovered?
Gong Wei was tormented by intense pain, his vision darkening, yet his mind raced with various thoughts. Suddenly, he caught a glimpse of the qilin blood jade at his waist. A ludicrous thought flashed through his mind: Wait a minute, am I still the rightful heir of the prestigious Sword Sect’s dao companion — who has yet to break off the engagement?
If Xu Shuangce dared to seize me back and torture me, I would just shout wildly in this hall, holding onto Yuchi Xiao, accusing Sect Master Xu of disrespecting the elderly and forcibly taking the wife of his junior. I wonder who between him and Big Brother Yuchi would get angry first?
“?” Yuchi Xiao wondered what Gong Wei’s stare meant, using his eyes to signal Gong Wei: What is Sect Master Xu doing? Have you offended him, kid?
Gong Wei was in too much pain to even maintain his expression, unable to respond to him, weakly shaking his head.
As the two were exchanging glances, suddenly, a servant from the Sword Sect hurriedly crossed the threshold, bending down to present a red lacquer tray: “Sect Master Xu! Young Master Yuchi! The belongings of the woman outside the Linjiang Royal Palace have all been gathered. Please take a look!”
—The “bait” that caused Meng Yunfei and others to be affected just now!
The brief eerie atmosphere just now was suddenly shattered. Xu Shuangce suddenly discovered something in the lacquer tray, his attention shifting: “Bring it here.”
The servant quickly bowed and offered the lacquer tray. Gong Wei took the opportunity to step back two steps, his tense back relaxing imperceptibly.
Although the ghost cultivator had already left, the “bait” should be useless now, but all the hairpins, pearls, silk fans, and incense tablets in the tray were heavily sealed with talismans to prevent any further anomalies. Xu Shuangce rummaged through the various women’s ornaments on the tray and picked out a small flower-patterned mercury mirror. With a clang, he threw it onto the table, his expression turning ugly.
He uttered two words from his thin lips: “Mirror technique.”
None of the cultivators in the hall understood, except for Yuchi Xiao, who suddenly associated it with something else: “The Thousand Mirrors Realm?”
“Mirror technique” is a rare form of illusion art, even more so in recent years, with no one practicing it. Only disciples from prestigious families like Yuchi Xiao, who grew up in an environment surrounded by various treasures and magical artifacts, knew about the most complex and terrifying artifact in the mirror technique—the Thousand Mirrors Realm.
It consists of a thousand mirrored palaces.
The Thousand Mirrors Realm, when fully unleashed, confuses the distinction between reality and illusion to such an extent that those lost in the mirrored palaces may never realize the truth, even living their entire lives in the illusory world, marrying, having children, and experiencing all stages of life without ever realizing that their parents, spouse, friends, and colleagues are all illusions within the mirrored realm.
If this artifact fell into the hands of someone with malicious intent, it could ruin a person’s entire life. Therefore, Ying Kai locked the mirrored palaces in the Punishment Hall of the Immortal Alliance and personally sealed most of its power, only opening a small corner with a few mirror fragments for daily use, mainly to discipline and test the disciples sent to the Punishment Hall, using various illusions to temper their willpower.
And the only person in the world who regularly used the Thousand Mirrors Realm was Gong Wei, the Grand Elder of the Punishment Hall.
Yuchi Xiao opened and closed his mouth several times before finally managing to say with difficulty, “Sect Master Xu just saw the Ghost Sword, it was Bai Tai Shou, could it be that the ghost cultivator is… really…”
Someone below spoke in horror, “Is it Grand Elder Gong?!”
Gong Wei couldn’t help but think to himself, “My friends, you really know how to bring up a sore subject.”
Xu Shuangce harbored deep hatred for mirror techniques, and no one in this world knew better than Gong Wei the extent of his losses in the Thousand Mirrors Realm. If one were to list the things Xu Shuangce most wanted to do in his lifetime, digging out Grand Elder Gong and killing him again would only rank second, while rushing into the Punishment Hall to destroy the Thousand Mirrors Realm might rank first.
Seeing Xu Shuangce’s fluctuating expression, one hand gripping the hilt of the Divine Sword No Way Out, subtly caressing it, it was a while before he spoke, “No. It’s just an ordinary mirror technique, not the Thousand Mirrors Realm.”
There was a hint of indiscernible emotion in his tone, which might give people a slight illusion that he actually wished to recreate the Thousand Mirrors Realm in the world.
—But that illusion disappeared quickly. Suddenly, he asked, “Where are the twenty-eight corpses?”
Yuchi Xiao replied, “They’re in the auxiliary temple of the medical sect in the city. Yunfei and I have already opened all the coffins and confirmed that all the corpses died by their own hands… Sect Master, where are you going?”
Without a word, Xu Shuangce abruptly stood up, not even looking back as he said, “Summoning spirits.”
Yuchi Xiao thought he hadn’t explained clearly enough and hurriedly followed, “Sect Master, the souls who died from dark magic are incomplete and cannot be summoned! I tried several times when I first arrived in Linjiang City, and indeed—”
Very well, Gong Wei thought.
Here comes another self-inflicted humiliation.
Indeed, Yuchi Xiao almost bumped into Xu Shuangce’s back before hastily stopping in his tracks. Xu Shuangce turned his head coldly and glanced at him, saying, “That’s you.”
Yuchi Xiao: “…”
Gong Wei almost laughed with schadenfreude, but the intense pain held him back—You young people are always praising Sect Master Xu, wishing you could worship the Xu surname like a god! It serves you right to experience Sect Master Xu’s temper firsthand!
Xu Shuangce no longer paid attention to the younger generation of the Sword Sect. His gaze passed over the surrounding people and suddenly fell on “Xiang Xiaoyuan,” who was sneakily trying to hide in the back. His icy gaze remained motionless for a while before he calmly said, “You come too.”
A crack of thunder resounded through the sky.
Gong Wei couldn’t find it in him to smile anymore.
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