Firmament Sword

”Help you? Haha, didn’t you see? I can’t even get in myself, so how am I supposed to help you?” Qiushuiduan laughed dryly and said with a sneer.

”Senior, you’ve been here for many years. How could you not know a few side paths? The only reason you’d want to go through the main gate is that you want to return openly and honorably...” Xu Luo said with a faint smile, looking at Qiushuiduan.

Qiushuiduan glanced at Xu Luo, speechless. ”What do you think a major sect is? Some corrupt official’s family from the secular world? You think they’d build a secret passage just in case they need to escape?”

”Really? None at all?” Xu Luo looked at Qiushuiduan, finding it hard to believe.

”None!” Qiushuiduan replied, his face stern.

”Well, that’s a real shame. I guess I’ll have to figure something out on my own.” Xu Luo lifted his head, gazing in the direction where the group of Merak Disciples had disappeared, and muttered, ”I wonder how hard it is to break through that Merak Array...”

”If you have a death wish, go ahead and try,” Qiushuiduan said coldly, turning his head away and ignoring Xu Luo.

”Try it is, then.” Xu Luo pursed his lips. When Cao Tianyi had told him the location of the Merak Sect, he had mentioned a secret passage. It was at the summit of Divine Maiden Peak, a very hidden path that led directly into the heart of the Merak Sect.

With that, Xu Luo stood up and dusted himself off. Since Qiushuiduan didn’t want to bother with him, he would just take the secret passage by himself.

”Wait.” Qiushuiduan suddenly glanced at Xu Luo and called out to him. A set of clothes appeared out of thin air in his hand. He said coolly, ”That bastard Cao Tianyi really did tell you a lot. Put these on. It’ll save you a lot of trouble. Also, that path... it’s not an easy one. It’s fraught with difficulties. If anything happens, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

With that, he tossed the clothes to Xu Luo.

Yaya, standing to the side, seemed accustomed to her master’s magical ability to conjure things out of nowhere. She merely glanced over before turning her big, blinking eyes to Xu Luo. ”Big Brother, you have to be careful!”

Xu Luo smiled and said to Yaya, ”Thank you!”

Then, holding the clothes, he started walking toward the summit of Divine Maiden Peak.

’Qiushuiduan is a cold-faced, warm-hearted person,’ he thought. ’And very clever!’

”Master, why aren’t we going with Big Brother?” Yaya asked Qiushuiduan, looking in the direction Xu Luo had disappeared.

”He can take that path, but we can’t!” Qiushuiduan sighed softly. Before Yaya could ask, he explained, ”That path is a secret known only to a few people. Besides, I’m taking you to be apprenticed to a master, so we must go through the main gate!”

Yaya nodded, only half-understanding. Then she said to Qiushuiduan, ”That Big Brother just now is a good person!”

”Why are you so sure?” Qiushuiduan glanced at Yaya.

”I can’t explain the feeling, I just think so. Anyway... Yaya likes him a lot!” The little girl’s innocent and artless words made Qiushuiduan startle slightly.

’Just... likes him a lot?’ Qiushuiduan looked at Yaya, deeply puzzled. A sense of shock welled up in his heart. He hadn’t intervened when Old Man Zhang was killed because it was simply his nature. What did the affairs of the secular world have to do with him?

Later, when he saw Yaya lose control and throw herself onto her grandfather’s body, sobbing, Qiushuiduan was astonished to discover that Yaya’s constitution was surprisingly good!

The kind of cultivation constitution that one might see only once a century!

He had immediately decided to take Yaya with him and prepare to send her to the Merak Sect. Perhaps in a dozen years or so, the Merak Sect would gain a young woman of exceptional talent.

And a child with a constitution like Yaya’s would be highly sensitive to others with a similar constitution. This had to be the inexplicable feeling Yaya had mentioned.

When he considered that this young man, born in the secular world and looking to be only seventeen or eighteen, had already cultivated to the realm of a Great Sword Master... a gleam flashed in Qiushuiduan’s eyes, only to dim again.

’So what if his talent is exceptional?’ he thought. ’To be born in the secular world and possess such strength, he must have a powerful master behind him. Am I, Qiushuiduan, supposed to go and steal someone else’s disciple?’

At this thought, Qiushuiduan gave a bitter smile. His gaze then fell upon the exit of the Merak Mountain Gate. From that direction, a group of people was emerging.

A young woman in a fiery red dress, surrounded by a crowd, was slowly walking toward them.

”Let’s go, Yaya. Master will take you to meet your Senior Sister Phoenix!” Qiushuiduan smiled, glanced in the direction Xu Luo had vanished, and thought to himself, ’Stubborn brat. If you had just waited a little longer, you could have walked into the sect with me. Now you can take the long way by yourself!’

With that thought, Qiushuiduan picked up Yaya, soared into the air, and flew toward the group, his robes fluttering.

Yaya’s little face flushed with excitement in Qiushuiduan’s arms. She loved the feeling of flying more than anything. In these moments, she could briefly forget her grandfather’s death.

Her master had also told her that one day she would be able to fly like this herself, which made Yaya incredibly excited.

”Master Qiu, this junior, Phoenix, greets Master Qiu!” From a distance, Phoenix saw Qiushuiduan. A smile couldn’t help but bloom on her somewhat haggard face as she bowed in greeting.

Qiushuiduan descended from the sky. His eyes fell on Phoenix’s face, and he remarked with a sigh, ”You’re little Phoenix? In the blink of an eye, you’ve grown so big. You’ve become a great beauty!”

”Master Qiu, you’re teasing me again!” Phoenix smiled, then said, ”I have come to welcome you, Master Qiu, on my own master’s orders. Hmm? And who is this pretty little sister?”

”She is your junior sister!” Qiushuiduan said.

”Congratulations on taking a disciple, Master Qiu!” Phoenix glanced at the little girl with a touch of envy. Although she hadn’t seen him in many years, she clearly remembered what a proud man he was. There were very few people in this world who could earn his approval.

To become Qiushuiduan’s disciple was a blessing accumulated over eight lifetimes!

”Don’t be so quick with the congratulations. She... is a disciple I’ve accepted on your master’s behalf,” Qiushuiduan said with a faint smile.

”Hm? My master?” At the mention of her master, a sorrowful look clouded Phoenix’s beautiful face, and a touch of grief flashed in her eyes. ”My master, she...”

”Your master... she will definitely get better!” Qiushuiduan said with firm conviction.

”Yes, that’s right. Master will get better!” Phoenix forced a smile, not truly believing Qiushuiduan’s words.

The other young women who had emerged surrounding Phoenix all secretly pursed their lips upon hearing the exchange. Some even let expressions of disdain show openly on their faces.

On the surface, it looked as if Phoenix was being escorted out to welcome her martial uncle like a moon surrounded by stars. But in reality, the Elders of the Merak Sect were afraid she would run away and had sent these people to monitor her!

Just then, Qiushuiduan’s voice suddenly echoed in Phoenix’s ear via sound transmission: ”Little Phoenix, a foolish boy named Xu Luo has come looking for you. I had him take the secret passage in.”

”Ah!” Phoenix’s expression changed slightly, and she almost cried out in alarm. Fortunately, having grown up in the Fengyue Building, she had extremely strong control over her emotions. A radiant smile immediately appeared on her face. ”Master Qiu, please!”

...

WHOOSH!

WHOOSH!

On Divine Maiden Peak, which soared into the clouds as if to pierce the heavens, a lone, slender figure was steadily climbing upward.

Beneath his feet lay a vast expanse of white snow. The exposed rock was like ten-thousand-year-old ice, chilling to the bone.

His every breath plumed white. Fast-moving clouds streaked past him, and the powerful wind battered him until he was on the verge of losing his grip.

”AAAAAHHH! You bastard, why did you have to choose this damn path? Master Mao is freezing to death, AAAAAHHH!”

Miaomiao whined incessantly from where he was huddled in Xu Luo’s pocket.

”HUFF!” Xu Luo let out a long breath. ”You think I want to do this? Besides, even if Qiushuiduan can walk right through the main gate, what about me? Would they just let some stranger of unknown origin walk in? And what would happen to Phoenix if they found out who I was?”

”Pah! You and that little broad have nothing going on, okay? Stop talking as if she’s your woman!”

”Tch, that’s not what I mean. I’m saying that if people knew where I came from, they would inevitably get suspicious about my connection to Phoenix. If someone then maliciously slanders her, wouldn’t I feel terrible?” Xu Luo continued his strenuous climb, trying his best not to look down.

Viewed from a great distance, Xu Luo’s current position was on a terrifying cliff face, five or six thousand meters from top to bottom!

It was almost a sheer drop, covered in year-round snow with no vegetation. An incredibly strong wind blew constantly. An ordinary person here would likely freeze to death, if they didn’t fall first.

But for Xu Luo, this climb was an extremely rare opportunity for cultivation!

His Shaking Light Star Soul seemed to have become extremely excited in this place!

As he operated the Shadow Shaking Heart Method, the speed at which he absorbed Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi was more than ten times faster than usual!

This place... was close to the heavens, where Spiritual Qi was most abundant!

”So you’re just going to sneak in like an idiot, meet that little broad in secret, and then scram like an idiot?” Master Mao, who hated the harsh environment, spared no effort in taunting Xu Luo.

”If it’s possible, I’ll take her with me when I leave!” Xu Luo said.

”Hahaha, and you say you have no designs on that little broad! You’re already planning to elope with her, AAAAAHHH!”

”I just don’t want her to marry someone she doesn’t like!” Xu Luo said, annoyed.

”You’re killing me! Who she marries is none of your damn business! Hahahaha!” Miaomiao rolled around with laughter in Xu Luo’s pocket.

Xu Luo rolled his eyes, not bothering to respond to the unscrupulous creature.

As he climbed near the summit, Xu Luo did indeed find a small cave entrance. It was pitch-black inside, and he couldn’t see a thing.

Without hesitating, Xu Luo bent down and crawled inside. He then took a torch from his ring, lit it, and saw a narrow path, only wide enough for one person, spiraling downward before him.

The steps underfoot had been forcefully hewn from the rock!

The steps were covered in a thick layer of dust; who knows how many years it had been since anyone had walked here.

As Xu Luo slowly descended, his sense of amazement grew stronger and stronger.

”Who could have had such perseverance? To forcefully carve a path in a place like this?”

Xu Luo muttered to himself, unable to help but recall the nostalgic expression on Cao Tianyi’s face when he had told him about this secret passage.