*BANG*
Hit hard by Dong Ling's words, Yan Le staggered, and provoked by the shame and rage coursing through her veins, her eyes turned red. In an extreme patriarchal society such as Dongli, spreading your legs before marriage was bad enough. But to betray your husband with another man? And a monk at that? Now that was an offense worthy of stone lynching.
Even a forever faithful widow would be looked down on if she became another man's wife—to say nothing of an unfaithful one.
Wherever she went, Yan Le couldn't escape these stigma. And having spent decades in Dongli, she'd long internalized these beliefs, now seeing herself as inferior to all the fresh flowers that Xinzi had drawn to his banner. It was for all these reasons that Yan Le was so fond of her Li clan body, thinking of it as her second chance to devote herself wholeheartedly.
Dong Ling's words unveiled the wounds, making even A'Zhi and A'Zhu frown in discomfort.
"True, following our Foundation Building breakthroughs, our combined strengths, formations and treasures should be more than enough to deal with the gangs here. But this is only valid if the enemy doesn't have formations and treasures of their own to rely on. They're rogue cultivators—rogues. If they're hiding in Nameless City, it means that they've committed so many atrocities that no other place can serve as a reliable shelter. Do you think they lack treasures and formations? We shouldn't underestimate these threats because of recent achievements." The twins chimed in, eyes darting between Yan Le and Chun Xu, who stayed silent till now.
"And yet, while we're worrying about rogues, no one can predict that random foreign experts will not barge into this place, for one reason or another. Sword Fairy, you should understand this better than we do. I believe that there is nothing here that we can't get through our abbot. That being the case, why bother risking our necks?
"I will condense the Sword Key and succeed where others have failed. If you feel so threatened that you can't hold still, feel free to leave. We're already in Xihai; Chrysanthemum City isn't far from here. Wait for Xinzi to come pick you up in the Dark Chamber of Commerce. However, I refuse to become a good-for-nothing doll in a man's backyard, waiting for Dear Husband to grant me treasures and opportunities.
Now pipe down. My Peerless Sword Embryo is waiting for me."
Chun Xu wanted strength. From her last discussion with Zi Yao, the Sword Fairy deduced that her master hid a lot more than even Hanxing and Guang Fanghu could imagine. To compete with these secrets and get a firm hold of her destiny, she needed strength, and couldn't just wait for Xinzi to deliver opportunities.
More importantly, unlike the rest, Chun Xu already knew where Xinzi came from. She might not know what exact rank he held, but that didn't reduce the impact that his Divine Spirit background inflicted upon her. Even the lowest of Divine Spirits could look down on the Four Spirit Emperors—to say nothing of little Dongli girls. Today, fresh desires bound Xinzi to them, but in 1,000 years, who was to say that he wouldn't focus his attention on fellow Divine Spirits, or perhaps even Goddesses of the Celestial Paradise?
In the past, Lord Hanxing had the same thought, and was only waiting for Xinzi to get bored of his "Dongli dolls" to make his move.
'Hopeless.'
Realizing that Chun Xu wouldn't change her mind, the twins shook their heads, shifting their attention to Dong Ling, who would have unleashed her whip sword by now if Chun Xu wasn't in the middle of Sword Comprehension.
"Humph! If I lose my life here, my ghost will chase yours throughout 10,000 reincarnations!" Dong Ling made a bold claim, then sat crossed-legged. At the end of the day, no number of dangers or ruthless words could make her abandon her sworn sister. A'Zhi and A'Zhu wouldn't know how to face Xinzi if they abandoned one of their own in the Dongli state's number one danger zone, so they too returned to sitting position. Disheartened, Yan Le too sat, followed by the 15 Li clan initiates, who heaved a sigh, relieved by the end of this conflict.
Chun Xu wouldn't disappoint them. In Feng Jian's macabre sword dance, Chun Xu noticed compulsive, borderline obsessive patterns that somehow reminded her of her own Heart Chasing Immortal Law. Feng Jian's every sword slash incorporated his obsessions, obsessions that prevented him to breakthrough to the Human Immortal Realm. But at the same time, it was through these obsessions that the Nameless Sword reached its pinnacle.
His Nameless Sword cleaved with a relentless drive, seeking Qiu Meng in each of the Feng clansman that it split into two. Chun Xu's Dao Heart echoed the obsession, regrets, relentless drive, and at last, the Nameless Sword appeared in her mind, shimmering as if calling upon her. In that instant, Chun Xu comprehended Feng Jian's Sword Sense. A whirlwind of tyrannical sword force erupted from her dantian, and using that Sword Sense as the starting point, the Sword Fairy got enlightenment into her own Sword Sense—sparking off her breakthrough into Foundation Building.
In Chun Xu's dantian, 10,000 Spiritual Drops blended into a Qi Spiral. But instead of the usual pool, a Sword Lake formed inside, rising towards the sky, and spreading so far and wide that all in Nameless City's vicinity could surely notice the commotion.
Without delay, Chun Xu formed the Sword Key, immediately launching into a mental battle against the tomb's protective barrier.
"Dead! Dead! Dead!" Meanwhile, Dong Ling sobbed uncontrollably, aware that with such a commotion, there was no way for them to avoid an all-out clash. Alongside the other girls, she summoned her artifacts, ready to wage a bloody war for survival—they wouldn't have to.
"Beauty! Beauty!" As Dong Ling, Yan Le and the twins prepared for bandit assault, an oddly familiar voice boomed throughout Nameless City, bringing forth an eruption of wast Blood Energy that soared towards the sky.
Two figures appeared on the horizon. One, a mammoth-sized Blood Yang Gorilla, the other, a Nine-Headed Colorful Peacock that fled for dear life!
