Chapter 113: The Precious Sword Seeks Its Master

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Hua Yuyan’s expression suddenly changed, and she staggered backward repeatedly, but she couldn’t escape. At that moment, the White Fairy approached me, saying she had something to report. Having just stepped outside, I happened to see Hua Yuyan cornered by the sword, facing imminent doom.

Seeing this, I surged with strength, leaped into the air, and grabbed the sword’s hilt. Honestly, the Demon-Subduing Qingping Sword was only half a centimeter from Hua Yuyan’s neck. If I had been half a second slower, she might have lost her head.

She seemed terribly frightened and froze in place. I gripped the Qingping Sword tightly, not daring to loosen my hold for fear it would act up again. Originally, the sword radiated fierce energy and a bluish glow, but now it dimmed.

“Miss Yuyan, are you alright?” I asked.

Hua Yuyan stared at me, sizing me up from head to toe, speechless for a long while. Seeing the sword was dangerous, I immediately sheathed it and returned it to its stand.

“What’s wrong with you?” I asked again. She was still stunned, seemingly shocked by the situation just now.

However, after a moment, she spoke: “Lin Yi, when you hold this sword, didn’t you feel it was very heavy? The malevolent energy inside is hard to control.”

“No, not at all!” I replied. I hadn’t felt anything unusual.

“Don’t you need to suppress the sword’s aura with your primordial spirit to prevent backlash?” Hua Yuyan continued. No wonder she looked so strained when wielding the sword. Each time she held it, she had to use her primordial spirit’s power.

I asked why one must use the primordial spirit to hold the sword. She explained that both Hua Mujin and her master, the Luo Shen Protector, did so. Otherwise, the Qingping Sword contains three evil energies—deadly aura, killing intent, and violent qi—that intertwine. Without suppressing them with the primordial spirit, it would harm the wielder.

“Really? I just grabbed it casually without using true energy. Maybe their method is wrong?” I asked. Using the primordial spirit to hold a sword would drain one’s strength. That made the sword seem less like a treasure and more like a weapon that hurts its owner.

“Really? You truly didn’t use your true energy?” Hua Yuyan asked in surprise.

I nodded.

“Alright, then I’ll try again. The Qingping Sword has a spirit. Maybe suppressing it with primordial spirit is not the right way,” she said, seeming hopeful.

I nodded again. Even Daoist Li said swordsmanship requires unity between person and sword. Using primordial spirit to suppress it isn’t unity but opposition, which leads to mutual harm.

Cautiously, Hua Yuyan stepped forward and this time didn’t use her primordial spirit. She slowly gripped the hilt. Yet before she could touch it, a sudden blue light burst forth with a bang, blasting her backward. Luckily, she immediately blocked with her primordial spirit, staggering a few steps but uninjured.

Could I have been mistaken?

I rushed over. She said not to worry, she was fine. It seemed not using primordial spirit to suppress the sword still wouldn’t work. Then she looked at me and asked, “Lin Yi, are you sure you didn’t use your primordial spirit just now?”

“Really didn’t!” I said.

“Then why don’t you try?” Hua Yuyan glanced at the Qingping Sword, then at me. I was about to reach for the sword, but she stopped me, saying, “No! Don’t try. I’ll think of another way. This sword will definitely harm you!”

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“It’s fine. I had no problem holding it before. This time won’t be any different, trust me,” I said, stepping forward to draw the Qingping Sword again.

Holding it, I pointed the sword toward the distance.

A flash of blue light appeared. Hua Yuyan warned, “Be careful!”

But nothing happened. The blue light merely flickered and then concealed itself. The triple-edged sword’s sharpness could only be truly appreciated up close.

On the blade, five characters in seal script blended with a faint blue lotus pattern, visible only when the blue light flashed.

The triple-edged sword is named Qingping.

Staring at it, I became entranced, lost in it for several minutes before coming back to myself.

“Lin Yi… Lin Yi, are you alright?” Hua Yuyan asked anxiously.

“Oh, I’m fine. I just didn’t expect the sword to be so beautiful,” I said. Hua Yuyan immediately asked, “Are you really not using your primordial spirit to suppress it now?”

“No,” I replied.

Hearing this, Hua Yuyan grew excited. “Lin Yi, do you know? Even the Luo Shen Protector cannot wield this sword without using their primordial spirit to suppress it. This rebellious Qingping Sword is so obedient in your hands—it’s truly miraculous!”

Others, hearing the commotion outside, came out as well.

Seeing me wield the Qingping Sword with ease, they realized it showed no sign of resistance and could be wielded at will.

Everyone thought the Qingping Sword was a treasure of the Lingying Palace, and that only someone from Lingying Palace—especially its leader, Hua Yuyan—could wield it. Yet unexpectedly, a stranger unrelated to Lingying Palace was able to master it.

Of course, if one stretched the connection, it stemmed from the complicated ties between me and Hua Yuyan.

I slowly brandished the Qingping Sword. When I raised my hand and pointed it afar, blue sword energy coiled from the hilt and surged toward the distance.

When I sheathed the sword, the sword energy immediately retracted, as if the sword understood my intent.

“In that case, tomorrow I will take up the Qingping Sword and guard the main pass of Shanhaiguan!” Inspired by the sword’s responsiveness, I declared this boldly.

Everyone was stunned. Even the Lingying Palace members and Hua Mujin had never seen the sword respond to a person’s mind.

No one understood how this was possible.

Hua Mujin regained her composure and said excitedly, “Shanhaiguan, hope is in sight!”

Hua Yuyan nodded firmly.

At that moment, everyone’s eyes were filled with hope.

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I then sheathed the Qingping Sword once more, placing it back on the stand. I noticed again the two lines of poetry engraved:

“Purple-clad Eight Trigrams fly with purple aura,
Triple-edged treasure sword named Qingping.”

No one knew what the first line meant. The poem had existed since before Shanhaiguan’s time. Now that I wielded the Qingping Sword as if greeting an old friend, could it be that I shared a deep connection with the sword? Perhaps this poem held the key to that mystery.

Soon, news that I could wield the Qingping Sword spread throughout Shanhaiguan. Everyone was thrilled, and morale soared.

Previously, there had been hopeless resistance.

Now it burned fiercely, like a blazing fire fueled by a raging wind. The apricot-yellow banner atop Shanhaiguan fluttered in the night breeze like a sharp sword pointing straight at the Wild Immortal army’s camp.

I suddenly recalled that the White Fairy had come to report something. After setting down the Qingping Sword, I asked her what it was.

She led me aside and whispered that Ying Gou, leading ten thousand corpse clansmen, was blocked within the pass. Various sects and schools had set up formations to trap him in Maoshan. Otherwise, Ying Gou would have arrived long ago; his delay was for this reason.

“What? Ma Zhenlei again?” I asked, thinking immediately of Ma Zhenlei upon hearing Maoshan.

“Most likely, it’s him. But those who set the formations are Daoist priests from within the pass, manipulated by Ma Zhenlei. Ying Gou didn’t want to harm innocents, so he had to retreat temporarily and find another route to Shanhaiguan. However, he won’t arrive anytime soon,” the White Fairy explained.

I nodded. “Good. Don’t spread this news yet. Just say that Corpse King Ying Gou cannot march by day and was delayed on the road. He’ll arrive tomorrow for sure!”

The White Fairy nodded, understanding my meaning. “As you command, Sect Leader!”

The next day.

The Wild Immortal army still didn’t launch an attack during the day. It seemed Hu Santai had calculated that the Wild Immortals fought better by night.

The old Mountain God came over, saying that unless something unexpected happened, the Wild Immortals would launch a full assault late at night, when people and horses were weary. This time, Hu Santai would surely join the battle!

I understood the old Mountain God’s meaning. Hu Santai had lost his grandson and had his fourth brother crippled. The Wild Immortal army’s morale was severely damaged. At this moment, if he didn’t act, once their morale fully collapsed, breaking through Shanhaiguan would become increasingly difficult.

That morning, something odd happened.

Usually, Peiyang woke early, but that morning, even as the sun rose high, she hadn’t awakened. Worried, I went to check on her. She had just woken and said she had been treating someone’s wounds last night and was a bit tired. Seeing her still weak, I let her rest longer. She said she felt better now.

Then she got up and told me, “Lin Yi, there’s something I’ve wanted to tell you for a long time but never had the chance.”

Her expression was strange. I sat down, a vague sense of foreboding rising in me. I asked, “What is it?”

“Lin Yi, actually, you don’t need to be so attached to our engagement. I’m just a female ghost; I can’t give you the kind of married life you deserve. You… actually have better options.” She looked at me and said this earnestly.