Second Senior Sister Has A Highly Dangerous Profession - Chapter 57
Chapter 57
Some looked down at the ground, feeling as though the mountain beneath their feet was shifting.
Others glanced up at the sky, noticing that the previously clear and sunny day, with its blazing sunlight, seemed to shine even more intensely than before.
Those passing through the Misty Forest felt inexplicably uneasy.
The sword intent brushing past their skin was so sharp it resembled a master swordsman’s full-strength strike—or perhaps, it was even stronger.
In the bamboo forest behind Taiqing Peak, Yu Si had just sheathed his sword.
He opened his eyes briefly, then closed them again.
The golden core within his dantian spun as he lightly sniffed the sword energy in the air.
His gaze paused, and with a subtle movement, he drew his longsword once more.
The sword intent thickened as he swung again.
White cranes scattered across the mountain in chaotic flight, setting off waves of bird calls.
Leaves and flowers trembled, branches quivered, and the trunks of trees, as if pressed by the weight of the sword intent, tilted subtly in one direction before slowly bouncing back.
Strings snapped on some people’s zithers, while others broke their brushes while inscribing talismans infused with sword intent.
Some even saw the alchemical smoke from their furnaces scatter into brilliant clouds.
The peak masters of the Four Peaks rose abruptly, and elders meditating deep in the rear mountains opened their eyes.
They observed the sword intent surging across the mountain range and watched a single sword strike, like a white rainbow piercing the sky, shatter all that sword intent into fragments.
Their expressions grew complex; their hearts stirred.
Despite this, their fingers unconsciously traced the arc of that strike in the air.
The three people on Qianya Peak were stunned, their hair disheveled and hairpins shattered.
Orange Mimi’s fur bristled wildly, making it look like an orange feather duster.
If anyone were to examine it closely, they’d notice its claws slightly extended, pupils narrowed, and a faint red gleam flickering in its golden irises.
The entire mountain fell silent for a long time.
Yi Zui seemed to wake from a dream.
“Am I even practicing swordsmanship? Or just stabbing at the air randomly?”
The boy had been feeling stifled for some time, but witnessing this flawless strike made that frustration swell within his chest, as if ready to burst.
Yi Zui took a deep breath, a mix of indignation and reverence flashing through him as he saw such a decisive sword, and raised his hand, prepared to draw his sword.
“Stop him!”
In Cheng Luocen’s mind, the old man’s residual soul suddenly shouted, “He’s about to form his core!”
Cheng Luocen’s hand moved faster than his thoughts, gripping Yi Zui’s hand firmly.
“Senior Brother.”
Yi Zui’s sword intent seeped through his fingers.
“Why are you stopping me?”
His cultivation was higher than Cheng Luocen’s, and his sharp sword intent even sliced Cheng Luocen’s hand.
Yet Cheng Luocen didn’t let go.
“Senior Brother, enter a meditative state and reflect.”
“Let go of me!”
Yi Zui roared, “What does my reflection have to do with you?!”
As the two faced off, the tension was palpable.
Meanwhile, Huang Li suddenly tossed aside his hoe and burst into laughter.
“Ah, hoes! Magnificent hoes! My precious acre of farmland!”
Spiritual energy swirled; clouds of light gathered and dispersed.
Huang Li’s laughter abruptly ceased—he had just reached Foundation Establishment.
The breaking of realms often triggered more breakthroughs.
Yi Zui’s envy grew alongside his frustration, his sword intent swelling in response.
The radiant clouds Huang Li had summoned hadn’t even fully dissipated before they deepened in color.
Countless people turned toward Qianya Peak, watching the white rainbow of sword light, the clouds of color spreading across the sky, and the oppressive black clouds gathering overhead.
“Have I seen these black clouds before? They seem oddly familiar,” Gao Xiude muttered to himself, scratching his head atop Xuecan Peak.
Meng Xizhou, standing nearby, overheard him and hesitated before responding with a slight tremor in his voice.
“Senior Brother Yu breakthrough…”
He didn’t finish, but Gao Xiude clearly understood, and the two exchanged a glance.
Both saw shock and disbelief mirrored in each other’s eyes.
Similar conversations echoed across the Kunwu Sect’s various peaks.
Everyone stared at the ominous black clouds, silent but unable to help recall the day Yu Si had form his core.
Could someone else be forming their core?
If so, who on Qianya Peak was forming the core this time?
Was Qianya Peak prepared for it?
…
The answer was no.
The people of Qianya Peak weren’t prepared at all—in fact, they were panicking.
Huang Li, basking in the euphoria of his sudden breakthrough, looked up and realized it had grown dark.
Glancing to his side, he saw Yi Zui’s pale face and the sword intent radiating uncontrollably from him.
Cheng Luocen’s hand, still gripping Yi Zui’s, was covered in blood.
In the black clouds overhead, faint streaks of lightning flickered, as if waiting for Yi Zui’s sword intent to erupt so they could strike down with full force.
“Third Senior Brother, hold it in—!” Huang Li was alarmed.
“We’re completely unprepared! If the thunder strikes, you’ll either die or be crippled!”
Yi Zui’s anger was abruptly overshadowed by the growing realization of the thunderclouds above.
Only then did it dawn on him that his frustration wasn’t mere rage but the overwhelming fullness of his Foundation Establishment nearing perfection, ready to spill over.
However, at this very moment, his sword intent was strong, his anger was intense, and his spiritual energy was abundant.
He was in a difficult situation, stuck between advancing and retreating.
If he tried to forcibly suppress this sword intent, he feared he would vomit blood and sustain internal injuries.
But if he truly drew his sword to fight the heavens, though he wanted to have Old Huang hurry up and say “Puh, Puh, Puh”, he had to admit that what he said was probably right.
Advancing meant risking his life; retreating meant severe harm.
As a sword cultivator, how could he admit defeat?
Clenching his teeth, Yi Zui glanced at Cheng Luocen’s bleeding hand, ready to risk it all.
Just then, he felt something soft and warm brush against his leg.
It was Orange Mimi, casually rubbing against him.
Other cats, when marking people, would press their heads insistently, but Orange Mimi
simply leaned lazily and flicked its tail absentmindedly.
Its fur, still bristled, shed profusely, leaving clumps of orange fur on Yi Zui’s pants.
Yi Zui, a cat lover second only to Yu Xizhi, often trailed after Orange Mimi, begging for a chance to pet it.
But the cat clearly favored Yu Xizhi and mostly ignored him.
Now, of all times, it had approached him voluntarily.
Yi Zui let out a bitter laugh. “Of all moments, why now? If it were any other time, I’d have petted it so thoroughly it’d surrender to my expert touch.”
But then he paused, stunned.
This sword intent, the roaring thunder, the subjugation of all things—yet this cat, though its fur was bristled, seemed utterly calm.
It rubbed against him as if nothing were amiss, then sat nearby, nonchalantly licking its paw.
At that moment, a ray of sunlight pierced through the thunderclouds, spilling onto them.
The dark clouds didn’t dissipate, but were parted by the sunlight.
The gap was small, seemingly ready to close again, yet the pressure of the tribulation lightened significantly.
“Quick, grab my storage pouch!” Yi Zui shouted urgently, seizing the moment.
“The one with the turtle drawn on it—hurry!”
Huang Li rummaged through the pouch, raising an eyebrow at the crude turtle drawing, before swiftly pulling out a stack of talismans and several unidentifiable spiritual treasures.
“Those are tribulation treasures my mother prepared for me! I don’t know how to use them—just toss them around me! Cheng Luocen, you can let go of my hand now. The purple bottle—break the pills inside and scatter them on your wound. They’re highly effective. And as for the talismans—follow my instructions! Don’t act rashly!”
Yi Zui spoke rapidly, his voice firm and commanding.
“Give it to me.”
A voice, utterly exhausted and disheveled, suddenly rang out.
A pale-faced young woman, her hair in disarray and her expression haggard, appeared like a ghost. Staggering unsteadily toward Yi Zui, she extended a trembling hand. Yet, as she threw the talismans, her movements were remarkably steady.
In mere moments, she arranged a thunder protection formation identical to the one she had previously created for Yu Si.
Despite her disheveled appearance, Yi Zui felt an immediate sense of relief at her presence.
Especially recalling the power of the formation from last time, his worries diminished significantly.
He even had the mind to ask, “Second Senior Sister, what happened to you? Why do you look like this?”
Yu Xizhi barely managed to lift her eyelids.
“Stop wasting time. Focus on your tribulation. You’re about to become someone who ‘Overseeing the World.’ Show some composure.”
Yi Zui immediately shut his mouth, watching as she crouched to retrieve the spirit treasures Huang Li had haphazardly thrown about.
She carefully arranged them before staggering a few steps back.
Then, covering her mouth with her hand, she erupted into a violent fit of coughing.
Yi Zui was startled. “Second Senior Sister, why are you coughing like Little Uncle?”
Before Yu Xizhi could reply, the precious sliver of sunlight piercing through the clouds vanished.
Dark thunderclouds once again pressed heavily upon the peak, plunging Qianya Peak into darkness.
The young woman’s hoarse yet firm voice cut through the tension: “Yi Zui, draw your sword.”
At last, the sword Yi Zui had been preparing for so long left its sheath.
A deafening thunderbolt struck.
The last time Yu Si underwent his tribulation, the sect had meticulously prepared, choosing the Feng Shui-blessed back valley of Taiqing Peak.
The preparations had been thorough.
Given Yi Zui’s status and position, he should have received the same treatment.
However, not even he knew he was about to break through until the calamity clouds had already formed.
With the tribulation barreling down relentlessly, there was no time for anything but improvised measures.
But a breakthrough is a breakthrough, and the heavenly tribulation cares nothing for such inconveniences. Thunder strikes followed one after another, rending the heavens and shattering the earth, allowing no room for escape or hesitation.
Yu Xizhi, weary and bent over, cradled the ginger-colored cat in her arms and retreated to a safer distance. She reminded the fluffy feline, “Next time, stay far away from this kind of thing. Got it?”
Once under a roof, she set the cat down, slumping against the wall in exhaustion.
Her black hair fell loosely, with a few strands messily sticking out.
“Oh no, I completely forgot.”
A voice suddenly exclaimed in a soft murmur.
Startled, Yu Xizhi struggled to lift her head and look to her side.
The ever-pristine, white-clad Xie Junzhi was sprawled unceremoniously across his chair.
Tilting his head, he blinked at her and said, “It just occurred to me—no one has ever broken through on Qianya Peak before. That’s on me. But… judging by the looks of it, these sword intents are about to get stirred up.”
Thunder roared in the background.
The close proximity made her ears ring, but Xie Junzhi’s voice cut through the noise effortlessly.
Just moments ago, he had held her hand, guiding her to cut through the layers of sword intent within the mountain cave with a single stroke.
When she blinked again, they had already landed within a desolate grove.
There, the overwhelming sword intents loomed like mountains and seas, pressing heavily from all directions.
Although the stroke had parted them, the sword intents remained intact and unyielding.
After that single strike, Yu Xizhi had been left dizzy and disoriented, coughing up nearly half a pint of blood amid the grove.
Spotting the clouds of tribulation thunder forming above Qianya Peak, she had barely managed to muster her strength and return—
She hadn’t even flown back under her own power; Xie Junzhi had carried—no, slung—her over his shoulder to get her here.
While the earlier sword strike was breathtakingly beautiful, everything else about the experience was far from pleasant.
Now, seeing the expression on Xie Junzhi’s face, a creeping sense of foreboding stirred in Yu Xizhi’s heart.
She suddenly had a bad feeling. “…So, what’s your point?”
As expected, Xie Junzhi tilted his head and gave her a faint smile.
“You’ve seen the sword intents across this mountain, haven’t you? That’s all there is to it. Carrying them for me once is carrying them. Twice is still carrying them. Do it a few more times, and you’ll develop an acquired sword physique. Over the years, so many have ventured into the Sword Tomb, yet not one has succeeded. Why don’t you give it a try? What do you think?”
Yu Xizhi looked into his dark eyes.
The chaotic sword energy swirling within her body felt like blades slicing through her organs and limbs.
She had already been running on fumes after setting up the formation for Yi Zui and retreating with the cat.
Now, as he spoke lightly of her carrying the sword intents a few more times, she felt a mix of frustration, anger, and fear.
And yet, the allure of the acquired sword physique was so tantalizing that she couldn’t help but feel a flicker of eagerness.
Her emotions were so conflicted that her eyes grew misty, with a faint flush creeping up to the corners.
Thunder crashed again.
Beneath the storm clouds, light flared momentarily before fading.
In the fleeting brightness, the girl’s skin was as pale as his, her lips an unnatural shade of crimson.
Her expression was aggrieved, but her fingers restlessly fidgeted with her sword hilt.
“Xie Junzhi, don’t push your luck!”
“I’ve already coughed up so much blood—how do I have any left to spare?”
Her voice was drowned out by the thunder.
As the yellow talismans she had set around Yi Zui began to waver, another bolt of thunder struck.
Yet Xie Junzhi remained unmoved.
In a slightly urging tone, he added, “I told you before. If you keep coughing it out, you’ll get used to it eventually, as long as you don’t die. Besides, you’ve drunk so much of my blood. It’s only fair you do something in return.”
“Hurry up. The sword intents from the Sword Tomb are starting to surface.”
