Deep within the Qinling Mountains, at the Eighteen Li Sword Forge.
The rhythmic clanging of hammers echoed as the Mo family's twelve-realm blacksmith, Li Chunjun, toiled under a bead of sweat. He was relentlessly forging and refining a sword embryo, a process that would repeat endlessly, imbuing the blade with the essence of heaven and earth, bringing it closer to the legendary Xunlu Sword. This was Li Chunjun's obsession.
Lin Zhujie, heading east with haste to rescue Jiuwei, couldn't help but descend when he passed the sword forge. He had been through this area before and had once shared a drink with the renowned Mo family sword master. Li Chunjun, though eccentric, brewed plum wine that was truly exceptional, a flavor Lin Zhujie greatly enjoyed.
Upon landing, Lin Zhujie glanced at the blacksmith, who in turn looked at him. "This troublesome fellow is here again," Li Chunjun frowned and said, "My furnace has just been opened, and I'm extremely busy. I have no time to entertain you. If you want wine, help yourself from the jar in the backyard. If not, get lost and stop annoying me."
"Certainly."
Lin Zhujie chuckled and replied, "I have something to attend to today, so I won't be drinking. Please continue your forging."
Li Chunjun ignored him and returned to his work.
Lin Zhujie took a step forward, and in a flash, he was a mile away from the sword forge. There, a stunning woman in a white dress sat on a tree stump, drinking. Nan Qingfeng, a thirteenth-realm great demon, her gaze, while enjoying her drink, fixed on the sword forge. Li Chunjun, a twelfth-realm great cultivator of the Mo family and one of the world's few master blacksmiths, capable of forging imitations of the Ten Great Swords – a divine craftsman indeed. Such a person couldn't be allowed to live, lest humanity gain more immortal swords.
Nan Qingfeng's sole purpose in coming here was to eliminate Li Chunjun, thereby reducing the number of twelfth-realm sword forging masters for humanity and serving as a warning to the Mo family's ancestral court.
"Well, well!"
Lin Zhujie narrowed his eyes and smiled, "Isn't this my Sister Nan?"
"Sister Nan?"
Nan Qingfeng wished she could smash her wine gourd directly into this fellow's face. She frowned and said, "Lin Zhujie, spit it out if you have something to say, or get lost. Don't disturb my drinking."
"Tsk, tsk."
Lin Zhujie leaped up and sat on a fallen log, looking at Nan Qingfeng. "The most beautiful woman from our demon race's ancestral mountain resorting to such vulgar language is rather unbecoming."
"Get to the point!"
"Alright."
Lin Zhujie raised his hand, casting a sword formation to envelop them both. He then pointed to the distant Eighteen Li Sword Forge and said, "The blacksmith's life, I, Lin Zhujie, wish to spare. Please, Sister Nan, be merciful and let him live."
"Why? On what grounds?"
"Huh?"
Lin Zhujie furrowed his brow and smiled. "Because... in the art of sword forging, this blacksmith is unparalleled in the world. For the sake of sword forging, he even renounced his future patriarch status in the Mo family's ancestral court, dedicating himself entirely to his craft. Such a person is incredibly rare. Moreover, have you considered that if our demon race's grand scheme here truly succeeds, and human fortune declines, we will eventually rule this land of Xishu? Wouldn't Li Chunjun then become our demon race's blacksmith? Killing our own master blacksmith, isn't that a rather foolish act?"
"Enough, enough."
Nan Qingfeng sounded somewhat impatient. "I know you have a casual acquaintance with Li Chunjun. You just need to tell me, on what basis will you, Lin Zhujie, have me back down?"
"On this basis."
Lin Zhujie produced a radiant, vitreous goblet from his embrace. "This Glazed Goblet is an immortal artifact, a prize I obtained years ago while traveling in the Southern Great Wilderness. It can gather spiritual energy and has an extremely beneficial effect on spiritual cultivators for nurturing their minds. And you, Sister Nan, are the person I, Lin Zhujie, respect most in the ancestral mountain, so I present this to you!"
Nan Qingfeng chuckled and took the goblet, examining it. "Not bad, but is that all?"
"Insufficient!"
Lin Zhujie pulled out more treasures, listing them as if reciting a cherished inventory. "The glazed lampshade from Mount Laojun, the ten-thousand-year-old forged wood from beneath the Yellow Fruit Waterfall, the night-blooming pearl with the most potent spiritual energy in Yunzhou – rumored to have been pried from the mouth of Empress Dowager Cixi, who dominated the Daqing Dynasty in ancient times, by a tomb robber. And this, the finest talisman paper from Furong Prefecture, the Beauty Scroll from Yuzhou, the superior agate from Yanzhou..."
A pile of items was laid out before Nan Qingfeng.
Nan Qingfeng frowned, suspecting this fellow had been busy grave-robbing across the human world and deep into the wilderness instead of attending to his actual duties. However, the items were indeed valuable. She still harbored some doubt. "That tomb robber you mentioned, wasn't it you yourself?"
"Ah?"
Lin Zhujie's expression turned flustered. "How could it be? I, Lin Zhujie, am, after all, a twelfth-realm great sword immortal from the ancestral mountain. Sister Nan, please listen to my sophistry, oh no, my explanation. It's truly not what you think..."
"Alright, alright."
Nan Qingfeng smiled. "Lin Zhujie, I shall, for the time being, spare Li Chunjun's life. As long as he doesn't court death himself, I, Nan Qingfeng, guarantee I will not kill him. Now, I must proceed with Lord Yuzhi's orders. And you? Do you also have matters to attend to?"
"Oh dear..."
Lin Zhujie slapped his forehead. "I've forgotten the main business. Sister Nan, you go first. I twisted my ankle fighting that scoundrel Gu Yanshu earlier, so I'll rest for a while before leaving."
"Hmph!"
Nan Qingfeng chuckled. This fellow was clearly afraid that she might go back on her word and kill Li Chunjun later, wanting her to leave first. However, it seemed acceptable. It was appropriate for a fifth-realm demon of her caliber to be a bit more calculating. Thus, she stuffed all the treasures into her storage bag and then vanished with a gust of wind.
Lin Zhujie sat on the log, drinking with a smile. Truly, a tranquil and beautiful time!
...
Deep within the jungle.
A faint light flashed and disappeared on a branch – it was Jiuwei. She had sensed Wei Huarou pursuing her and dared not fly, so she could only stealthily evade through the dense forest. She was heading towards Dongyue. Yuzhi, Fusheng, Ning Yuansheng, and the others were all in Dongyue. Even if Wei Huarou pursued her there, their combined strength would be enough to suppress the Daoist ancestral court's sect leader.
However, Jiuwei had underestimated Wei Huarou's ability to perceive the slightest detail. At a certain moment, Wei Huarou covered hundreds of miles in a single stride, her body suspended in the air. The tip of her sword was wreathed in golden Daoist destiny. With a "chi" sound, she pierced through the clouds and fiercely struck towards Jiuwei's crown. If she hit, Jiuwei would likely perish.
"Ah!?"
It came too fast, and it was infused with the heavenly mechanisms of the Dao. Jiuwei hastily flipped her body, her innate divine abilities flowing, attempting to resist the sword strike from above, a pure essence of the Huangting Jing cultivation method. But Jiuwei was now only at the thirteenth realm and could not resist. With a loud boom, her eighth tail was struck again, revealing a wound so deep it exposed bone.
"Wei Huarou!"
Jiuwei's face contorted in ferocity. "Do you truly intend to annihilate me completely?!"
Wei Huarou remained silent, her deep green Daoist robe sweeping through the air. Then, another powerful sword strike bloomed in the wind. This time, the blade's sharpness was even more ferocious. Jiuwei could not confront it directly. She quickly shattered over a dozen mid-grade magical artifacts, sacrificing these precious treasures to evade Wei Huarou's sword strike. As she did, her body flashed, turning into a crimson gleam in the forest, and in an instant, she re-submerged into the depths of the earth.
"Hmph!"
Wei Huarou stood proudly in the wind, unhurried, ready to pursue.
...
Dongyue.
Yuzhi, a great demon in a red dress, stood on a giant rock on a mountaintop, gazing into the distance. The evening breeze fluttered her red robes, creating a beautiful sight. However, her eyes were filled with ferocity. She had sensed that Jiuwei had been injured again from afar, and Wei Huarou was advancing aggressively. The assembled demons in Dongyue dared not act rashly.
"Lord Qingqiu is injured again."
Beside her, Ning Yuansheng, clad in a blood-red long robe, frowned. "If she takes another sword strike, her thirteenth realm might not even be stable."
"Where is Lin Zhujie?"
Yuzhi's delicate eyebrows furrowed. "Why hasn't that fellow arrived yet? If he were here, with Lin Zhujie's stealth capabilities, he could surely help Lord Qingqiu escape this danger."
"Lin Zhujie..."
Ning Yuansheng raised his palm and rewound a segment of Lin Zhujie's timeline. "Earlier, he was fishing by the lake and had a fight with Gu Yanshu. Afterwards, he wandered in the mountains, ate wild fruits, fished, brewed soup, etc. He even went to the Eighteen Li Sword Forge to trick the Mo family blacksmith out of some wine. Not long ago, he fought Gu Yanshu again, then went to the Eighteen Li Sword Forge to chat with Lord Nan Qingfeng. He's currently drinking at the sword forge, even reciting poetry about the pleasant autumn weather!"
"What!?"
Yuzhi was enraged. She threw the troop-dispatching token in her hand violently to the ground. She was so angry she could have cried, pointing into the distance and shouting curses. "Has this scoundrel Lin Zhujie done anything proper since arriving in Shuzhou? Has he?!"
Ning Yuansheng, Fusheng, Xu Changyou, Lu Hai, and the others all shook their heads in unison. "No!"
Yuzhi gasped for breath, her chest heaving with anger.
...
Deep in the East Sea, within the Starfall Sea Killing Array.
The sky was filled with stars, each a harbinger of death.
Su Qingjiu floated in the air, her body showing signs of being vaporized and annihilated by fine, sandy blood energy. Her cultivation was being slowly worn away by this Starfall Sea Killing Array. In the sky, a thousand stars were within reach. As long as Su Qingjiu chose one, she could determine her fate: a one-in-a-thousand chance of survival, and a nine-hundred-and-ninety-nine-in-a-thousand chance of death.
"Is it this difficult?"
On a small boat, Jiao Chen, a fourteenth-realm great demon, narrowed his eyes and smiled. "By the way, Sword Immortal Su, I almost forgot one thing. Your death in this killing array isn't necessarily by annihilation or by choosing the wrong star. There's another path: death at the hands of my magic, Jiao Chen. Since you can't choose, I shall send you on your way."
Saying this, Jiao Chen raised his green bamboo pole. Instantly, tens of thousands of sharp sea-water sword energies erupted from the ocean, all aimed at Su Qingjiu. With a flick of Jiao Chen's finger, they all shot forward.
A killing array within a killing array, how could she possibly cope?!
Su Qingjiu's beautiful eyes held a hint of helplessness. She had no choice but to choose a star.
She gently raised her hand, reaching towards a twinkling star directly in front of her. Death was not a concern; she was just sad that she would never see her brother Lin Zhao again.
...
However, as she reached for the star, the words "Shunyi" on her peach blossom hairpin began to slowly dissipate, transforming into streams of golden flowing sand that encircled Su Qingjiu's fingers.
At this moment, Su Qingjiu's eyes lit up. Inspired, she realized that no matter which star she chose now, it would be the one representing "life."