Second Senior Sister Has A Highly Dangerous Profession - Chapter 62
Chapter 62
You laugh at the dirty world, and I laugh at the dirty world too.
You laugh at the murkiness of this world.
I laugh… at how these pills make it hard to breathe.
The dirtiness is real. Even Yu Xizhi, a pill cultivator often exposed to the fumes of the pill furnace, finds it hard to laugh.
Yu Xizhi pinched her nose and urged the tail of the Yanxiao Sword, “Hurry up.”
However, the so-called pill sword, while used by pill cultivators for self-defense, is ultimately derived from the insights gained through alchemy. Although the pill sword can be used to kill enemies, its true purpose lies in alchemy.
Just as the footwork in the Tai Shang Dan Yang Sword corresponds to the rhythm of adding ingredients to the pill furnace, the pill sword’s scattering of pill powder is not without purpose. It only appears chaotic because Shi Tian used the first five moves but omitted the final two, leaving the pill powder flying aimlessly.
But Yu Xizhi urged the Yanxiao Sword to hurry, and the sword, seemingly displeased with the air quality, caused the pill powder to rise and fall in its sword intent, ultimately covering Shi Tian’s face and hair.
Everyone noticed that Yu Xizhi had switched sword techniques mid-fight, using the same moves Shi Tian had just demonstrated.
“Could it be that Second Senior Sister wasn’t dodging but learning?” someone whispered, only to immediately dismiss their own thought.
“But how could that be…! If sword techniques could be learned just by watching once, what would be the point of secret techniques? Who would dare to use their sword in front of others?”
Many shared this sentiment, but in the next moment, they saw the Yanxiao Sword gather all its sword intent and hurl the clumped pill powder and intent directly at Shi Tian.
“This can’t be the Duye Pill Sword, can it?” someone remarked lightly.
“This move seems utterly chaotic, like a foggy mess.”
Shi Tian was inwardly horrified but kept moving. Yet, no matter how fast he moved, he couldn’t avoid the pill powder. By the time he stopped, the Yanxiao Sword was already hovering above his forehead.
The young man, no longer as confident as before, held his sword dejectedly, his hair filled with pill intent, and exclaimed in shock, “You… how do you know ‘Amidst the Clouds and Fog’?!”
Yu Xizhi was stunned, as were the onlookers.
Amidst the clouds and fog?
Upon reflection, they realized that Shi Tian had missed a word in his exclamation.
Some had thought the sword technique was a chaotic mess, but it turned out to be the sixth move of the Duye Pill Sword: “Amidst the Clouds and Fog.”
“So this is ‘Amidst the Clouds and Fog’?” Yu Xizhi was also puzzled. She had simply followed the sword intent, disliking the pill powder scattered, and wanted to gather it, sending it back to where it came from. Unexpectedly, this action perfectly aligned with the “Amidst the Clouds and Fog” technique.
—The pill powder disperses, condenses into pill intent, and then re-forms into a pill.
This is the most straightforward sword intent of the Duye Pill Sword from Kunwu’s Snow Xuecan Peak.
Seeing her bewildered expression, Shi Tian grew even more confused, but his confusion soon turned to anger.
“Stop pretending! Did you just learn ‘Laughing at the Dirty World’ from me and then figure out ‘Amidst the Clouds and Fog’ on your own?!”
If he hadn’t said it, Yu Xizhi might not have realized it.
But his words inadvertently enlightened her.
“What you said… seems about right,” Yu Xizhi replied, standing up from the corner of the arena, brushing off her clothes, and raising her hand.
The Yanxiao Sword, hovering in front of Shi Tian, flipped back into her palm.
She mentally reviewed the five moves Shi Tian had used, rearranged them according to their sword intent, and quickly deduced the correct sequence.
Adding the accidental “Amidst the Clouds and Fog” she had just executed, she couldn’t help but fiddle with the hilt of the Yanxiao Sword.
The sword techniques flowed smoothly, but stopping abruptly at the second-to-last move left her feeling stifled.
As she thought this, her sword moved almost instinctively.
The pill powder covering Shi Tian’s body floated slightly under the sword intent.
Yu Xizhi used half of the “Jiang Mei Xian Qu” technique, infusing the sword energy with a watery essence. But weren’t the earlier moves of the Duye Pill Sword,
“Longing for the Milky Way!” and “Wash It All Away!” also imbued with the same meaning?
The pill powder, mixed with water, slightly clumped together in the fog, and finally re-formed into a pill.
The Yanxiao Sword drew a circle in the air, thrust forward, and then suddenly retracted!
At the tip of the sword was a perfectly round pill.
“Regulate the Cauldron,” Shi Tian muttered, almost numb, as he reached out to catch the re-formed pill.
At the start of the match, he had crushed a pill to use the Duye Pill Sword.
Now, after completing the sword techniques, the pill had shattered, dispersed, and re-formed, not only returning to its original state but also becoming more refined and potent.
If he had crushed a Foundation Establishment Pill, it would have been suitable for Qi Refinement cultivators before. After being tempered by the sword intent, it was now fit for Golden Core cultivators.
If it had been a poison pill, Shi Tian would have been the first to die from its effects.
He had always thought this sword technique was for slaying demons and enemies. Only today did he truly understand the meaning behind Elder Ji Liang’s words: “A pill cultivator’s sword can kill, but it should not be used for killing.”
He pocketed the pill, his expression shifting multiple times.
Now, questioning when Yu Xizhi had learned the technique seemed pointless, and his earlier accusations appeared laughable.
The young man bowed.
“I concede.”
Yu Xizhi sheathed her sword and returned the bow.
“Thank you for the match.”
Her words caused the audience to snap out of their daze.
Her response seemed to indirectly confirm Shi Tian’s earlier accusation!
Could she really have… learned the Xuecan Peak’s secret sword technique just by watching Shi Tian’s disordered five moves and then deduced the final two on her own?!
How… how was that possible?!
Some were shocked, while others couldn’t help but voice their astonishment: “Second Senior Sister, I don’t mean any disrespect, but if you can learn a secret sword technique just by watching it once, then wouldn’t you be able to master any secret technique used by your peers in front of you? If that’s the case, who would dare to spar with you?”
“Isn’t that better?” Yu Xizhi didn’t deny what they were most curious about. Instead, she mused, “If you all really think that way and no one dares to use their sword in front of me, then just declare me the winner by default. I wouldn’t mind.”
The speaker was momentarily speechless but eventually asked directly, “…So, Second Senior Sister, can you really learn a technique just by watching it once?”
The girl on the stage twirled her sword and smiled.
“So what if I can?”
***
The young man’s casual “So what if I can?” clearly angered Ji Xiangtao.
“You…!” Ji Xiangtao took a deep breath, finally realizing that the boy in front of her was like a stubborn rock.
Provoking or insulting him was like throwing an egg at a stone—utterly useless.
The girl, unwilling to give up, couldn’t help but voice her thoughts: “Stubborn rock, draw your sword!”
—If Yu Xizhi had heard this nickname at that moment, she would have gasped.
Even if she didn’t remember names, she would have recalled from this nickname that the girl who called Cheng Luocen this in the original novel met a fate no better than her own.
Of course, “no better” here only refers to the manner of their demise, as the processes were different.
On the path of Long Aotian protagonist, there would naturally be more than one or two romantic interests, and Ji Xiangtao was one of them—a willful, tsundere character who ultimately died blocking a sword for Cheng Luocen.
In the original novel, Ji Xiangtao and Cheng Luocen didn’t meet on a sparring stage, but fate had somehow brought her to hurl these three words at him again.
—The plot had changed, but the people remained the same.
Cheng Luocen remained unmoved. Even if Ji Xiangtao hadn’t said anything, he would have drawn his sword.
Ji Xiangtao was an inner disciple of Taiqing Peak and also the young lady of a prominent cultivation family. Her skills weren’t limited to Taiqing Peak’s sword techniques.
The girl’s movements were light, and her footwork was almost eccentric. Her sword wasn’t heavy, but its angles were extremely tricky. Cheng Luocen had slain many demons but lacked experience in sparring with humans. For a moment, he was somewhat overwhelmed.
The old man’s remnant soul didn’t help him, instead enjoying the show and tossing out some sarcastic remarks: “Oh, this little girl isn’t bad. She’s sharp-tongued, but her sword still carries some of the Ji family’s flair. Though her swordplay is just so-so, her Light Step technique is indeed hard to defend against. Oh, Little Cheng, your clothes are torn.”
“Shut up,” Cheng Luocen replied calmly in his mind.
Ji Xiangtao clearly intended to mock and toy with Cheng Luocen. Her swordplay was light and didn’t truly harm him, only cutting his clothes. In no time, the once neatly dressed young man was reduced to tatters, drawing laughter from the crowd.
Ji Xiangtao said smugly, “Still not conceding? If you don’t admit defeat, I won’t hold back next time!”
She looked at Cheng Luocen with a hint of pride, expecting to see panic in his eyes. Instead, he remained calm, his sword stance unchanged.
The girl snorted and swung her sword again, determined to teach this stubborn rock a lesson.
But the air suddenly grew heavy. Ji Xiangtao felt her footwork becoming sluggish, and as she took a step, Cheng Luocen’s sword was already waiting for her!
Ji Xiangtao barely dodged, her heart skipping a beat, but she dismissed it as a coincidence.
But if it happened once, twice, three times—every time?
His sword always appeared where her footwork led. She changed the sequence, but he still anticipated her moves. Yet, his sword only touched her lightly before retreating, never cutting her clothes as she had done to him.
The sword tip lightly touched and then withdrew, and the two resumed their standoff, but the situation had drastically changed.
After performing the Light Step technique twice in a row, Ji Xiangtao was slightly out of breath. She looked at Cheng Luocen with a mix of shock, embarrassment, and resentment.
Cheng Luocen seemed oblivious to her gaze.
She had toyed with him, but to him, it was inconsequential. He even felt a bit sorry that she hadn’t taken the opportunity to injure him and win the match. He had seen through her footwork and could have retaliated in kind, but since she hadn’t seriously harmed him, he also held back.
The first round was a draw. From now on, he wouldn’t hold back.
He hadn’t visited Yu Xizhi’s cave, but he had spent so much time on Qianya Peak that even without entering the cave, the winds of Qianya carried countless sword techniques and intents.
He stood by the cliff every day, constantly surrounded by these sword intents and techniques, and over time, he had internalized their forms.
And so, the young man drew his sword.
