Chapter 2

Yu Xizhi is someone who pays attention to the things that come and go. After being slandered by someone, she retorted, obviously gaining the upper hand in the exchange of words. Her mood improved a lot, and even the pain in her body diminished significantly.

The girl turned around gracefully, and tiny drops of blood dripped from her fingertips. It seemed that she only noticed the pain in her fingertips at this moment. She furrowed her brows slightly, lowered her head to take a glance, then casually shook her hand, shaking off the crimson scattered on the ground. She then walked through the divided crowd and arrived at the entrance of the main hall.

It wasn’t until this moment that an instructor came to his senses from her earlier emphatic words and asked with an alternating red and pale complexion, “But what if you can’t find her—”

“This is Kunwu Mountain Sect. If there are still dangerous places within the sect that even disciples can’t protect themselves from, forgive me for being blunt; I think our sect will close sooner rather than later,” the girl replied indifferently, not even bothering to turn her head.

Her words were almost blasphemous, yet they were rough but reasonable. The instructors at Taiqing Peak in the main hall all changed their expressions.

Finally basking completely in the sunlight at the entrance, the girl’s jet-black hair took on a golden hue. Pausing for a moment, she turned around, and before anyone in the hall could confront her, she showed the first sign of gentle persuasion: “Dear instructors, instead of worrying about whether I can find my junior sister, I suggest you first think about how to apologize to me.”

Her gaze was sharp; she was scanning the crowd accurately. It lingered on those who had spoken ill of her earlier, then softened with a gentle smile: “And you all, none of you can escape.”

The main hall fell silent, and those caught in her gaze couldn’t help but break into a cold sweat.

Everyone knew the true nature of this clumsy Second Senior Sister, but why… when she glanced over, did they suddenly feel fear?

And why did this feeling seem so familiar for no apparent reason?

Yu Xizhi’s figure gradually disappeared from sight as she walked leisurely towards the foot of Taiqing Peak.

The discussions in the main hall had nothing to do with Yu Xizhi; she didn’t hear a word and just basked in the sun as she strolled away from Taiqing Peak.

Her cultivation was not yet sufficient to control the sword, so she had to walk to the Misty Forest herself.

Kunwu Mountain Sect was undoubtedly the top sword sect of the current era. Within hundreds of miles around, it was all Kunwu Mountain Sect’s territory. Leaving aside the outer sect, countless people were eager to enter the inner sect of Kunwu, which was divided into five peaks. The Taiqing Peak she was currently on was the main peak of Kunwu Mountain Sect, where her master, the sect leader Huaiyun, presided.

Each of the five peaks had its own specialization. After entering the inner sect, disciples would be assigned according to their strengths.

For example, Liuguang Peak was renowned for alchemy, while Ziyuan Peak embraced all talents.

Not only did they manage outer sect disciples, but they also distributed sect tasks to inner sect disciples, which involved various chores. As for the Xuecan Peak she was heading to at the moment, it was where the medicine fields spread out.

Other sects might also have branches, but only Kunwu Mountain Sect centralized the living quarters of disciples from each peak in the same area. For Yu Xizhi, who couldn’t control the sword, departing from the lodging at the Muyong Peak and passing through the Xuecan Peak, it took nearly half an hour to reach the Kunwu Academy located on the Taiqing Peak.

For cultivators, traveling this distance was not difficult at all.

The problem lay in the fact that there was a misty forest on Xuecan Peak.

The very same misty forest where her junior sister disappeared.

Yu Xizhi stood outside the shrouded mountain forest, took a deep breath, and stepped forward.

Although she had spoken boldly just now, when she actually arrived here, she still felt somewhat uneasy deep down.

The Xuecan Peak was all medicine fields, naturally nothing to be afraid of.

What was fearsome was the adjacent peak to the Xuecan Peak.

The mist enveloped Yu Xizhi’s vision. Although she couldn’t see it, she knew that beyond the mist of the misty forest was Qianya Peak.

The most mysterious and least visited peak among the five peaks of Kunwu is Qianya Peak.

While the other peaks were bustling with activity, each fulfilling its own role and presenting the grand appearance of a major sect, only Qianya Peak was shrouded in clouds and mist year-round, cold and lonely. Even the cranes were rarely willing to fly over from this side. When disciples of the sect mentioned this place, they subconsciously lowered their voices.

Qianya Peak was not uninhabited.

But there was only one person.

The junior martial uncle of Kunwu Mountain Sect.

Here.

One person is guarding one peak.

Or rather, what he guards is not just the Qianya Peak, but the Sword Tomb behind the Qianya Peak.

The Sword Tomb is a forbidden area of Kunwu, where the swords of all the predecessors of Kunwu Mountain Sect, who have returned their souls to Kunwu over the past thousands of years, are buried.

Within these swords are disdain, dominance, and overlooking the world, as well as reluctance, resentment, and grievances.

Yet it is precisely this vast array of sword qi that sharpens the entire Kunwu, allowing Kunwu sword cultivators to forever wield the sharpest swords in the world.

Within the Sword Tomb, the sword qi is rampant and dominant, making it extremely dangerous to people.

Disciples are forbidden to trespass, so there are formations densely laid out around it, and the misty forest on the Xuecan Peak is one of them.

However, the formations in the misty forest can dilute such sword intent, allowing every Kunwu disciple who passes through here each day to be tempered and purified by such sword intent.

This is the heritage that Kunwu, a thousand-year-old sword sect, possesses.

Inner sect disciples are familiar with the safe path through the misty forest, and Yu Xizhi is no exception. She has traversed this path twice but has not seen her junior sister’s figure. She pondered for a while as she gazed at the dense fog, ultimately feeling that she should not wander around randomly.

Regardless of her modest cultivation in the Qi Refining Stage, formations are inherently merciless and unpredictable. Moreover, her junior sister, who possesses the protagonist’s halo, might stumble upon opportunities by entering such places, but the same might not be true for her.

Clearing her name is not something to be rushed at this moment.

She stands tall without fearing any shadow. If she hasn’t pushed her junior sister, then she hasn’t. She can confront those people in the Taiqing Hall, but she will never act recklessly when it’s unnecessary.

If she remembers correctly, her junior sister’s opportunity was to obtain a famous sword left by a powerful senior in the Sword Tomb. And this sword has both a male and a female counterpart. Her junior sister obtained the female sword, while Long Autian obtained the male sword, which also became the opportunity for their future encounter.

And when the junior sister completely takes control of this sword, as the famous sword recognizes its master, there will be a chorus of myriad swords.

When one truly takes control of this sword, as the famous sword recognizes its master, there will be a chorus of myriad swords.

She decided to squat in place and wait for her junior sister to come out.

With these thoughts in mind, Yu Xizhi casually picked up a tree and sat down against its trunk. She unfastened the sword sheath behind her and placed her Yantian sword flat on her knee to ensure she could sense the chorus of myriad swords when it happened. Then she reached into a side pocket of the sheath and took out a notebook.

And then she pulled out a brush.

Her handwriting was different from any modern font—not particularly ugly but somewhat peculiar. Each character was round and smooth, looking from afar as if she were drawing circles on the paper.

“Instructor Xu from Taiqing Peak, Instructor Liu, Instructor Wang… Ma Wen from Xuecan Peak, Gao Xiude…”

Muttering to herself, Yu Xizhi recorded each name. Obviously, these were the people who had been disrespectful to her in the main hall earlier.

After writing down all the names, she carefully checked them again to make sure she didn’t miss anyone. Only then did she satisfactorily blow on the paper, intending to close this book of grudges.

“Huh?” As she looked up, Yu Xizhi felt like she might be a little dizzy.

Was this tree just in this position?

Were there wildflowers nearby when she sat down?

…Where is this?

Yu Xizhi suddenly became alert, standing up abruptly, grasping the sword in her hand, and looking around.

The misty forest still looked as misty as before, but the surroundings had clearly changed. The trees became denser and more cramped, the ground was no longer flat, and even the air seemed to carry a strange scent.

She was careless. She was in a hurry to write down the names of the people she would settle accounts with in the future before she forgot. She actually forgot that the formation in the Misty Forest was a living formation!

A living formation is one that changes at an uncertain moment. Yu Xizhi had been here for so long and had never seen this formation change, but she didn’t expect it to happen at this moment!

Yu Xizhi cursed inwardly.

Indeed, being a female cannon fodder meant that even standing still, unexpected situations 100%  would still come crashing down from above.

She was clueless about formations, so breaking them was impossible. Fortunately, she knew that the main function of this misty forest formation was “to trap,” not “to kill.”

Yu Xizhi sighed, lifted her sword sheath, and cautiously took a step forward.

It was taboo to stay still in the trap formation. As she moved forward cautiously, she also adopted a posture of clasping her hands together, murmuring, “Junior Uncle, you must have seen it too. I really didn’t mean to disturb your meditation intentionally. The situation forced me. Please forgive me and turn a blind eye to me. Please spare me.”

Yu Xizhi arrived late and hadn’t seen the true appearance of the Junior Uncle, but she had long heard rumors about him. For example, he had been stationed at the Sword Tomb for years and had been injured by the sword qi, weak and sickly. Also, he was modest and gentle, a graceful gentleman, as if a celestial being had descended into the mortal world.

The so-called Junior Uncle was naturally the junior brother of the sect leader, Huaiyun. So, Yu Xizhi automatically imagined a middle-aged handsome man with a sickly appearance, and she even placed a dilapidated chair under him and handed him a sword, giving the impression of an unassailable guardian sitting before the entrance of the Sword Tomb.

Before today, Yu Xizhi believed what everyone said.

After today, recalling the original plot of the book, Yu Xizhi just wanted to shout at everyone who admired the Junior Uncle.

In one sentence.

“Silly children, quickly run away!”

Your beloved Junior Uncle is not some gentle guardian of the tomb, but a ruthless and villainous antagonist who destroys heaven and earth in the original book!

She hadn’t paid much attention to the plot after the original protagonist’s death, only casually flipping through it, but she still knew that the male lead, Long Aotian, lived in fear of being controlled by the Junior Uncle, the mastermind antagonist, in the latter half of the book. And even at the very end, he realized that the one behind everything was none other than the Junior Uncle by his side.

The villains in the entire book are so terrifying.

At this thought, Yu Xizhi paused, feeling that her previous words were not sincere enough. She gritted her teeth and said, “With sincerity, even stones will yield. I vow to pray for your blessings and longevity every day. May you be as blessed as the East Sea and live longer than the Southern Mountain. May you transcend the tribulations and roam the world freely.”

As soon as she finished speaking, with each step forward, a beam of sword light appeared before her.

The mist seemed denser, but it was pierced by the sword light. Yu Xizhi’s hairband even shattered directly. The dragon-like sword light carried a kind of violent aura, as if it wanted to shatter the entire space!

In front of Yu Xizhi, not far away, stood a young man in white, who seemed to be about the same age as her. His chest heaved, his white clothes were mottled, his long hair scattered, his profile pale as jade, his features sharp and refined, appearing somewhat thin, but his grip on the sword was extremely steady.

It seemed that the sword had used up most of his strength. His figure staggered and swayed, and he coughed twice, covering his mouth with his hand. Crimson seeped from between his fingers, but he didn’t have time to rest. He suddenly turned his head in Yu Xizhi’s direction!

The young man had a pair of dark, dull eyes; his appearance was disheveled yet filled with a sword aura. Yu Xizhi was shocked and dared not move. She didn’t know who the other person was. Her fingers tightened around the Yantian sword, but she couldn’t even summon the desire to draw her sword.

In the next moment, the young man, with the momentum of a storm, approached her, grabbing her neck with one hand. His voice was hoarse. “How did you get in?”

Yu Xizhi felt her neck as fragile as a dry twig in the other’s hand. Facing the young man’s eyes brimming with excessive killing intent, she trembled all over. However, the other’s hand did not tighten immediately.

It seemed to show some restraint. She instinctively lowered her eyes, but her gaze paused at the blood-stained lips of the other person.

After a while, under the increasingly cold gaze of the other person, she inexplicably spoke, “Otherwise… can you wipe the blood off first?”