Firmament Sword

”Hello!” Chu Xiaoya offered Xu Luo a faint smile, one that could bring a kingdom to its knees.

A golden light flared within Xu Luo’s Sea of Spiritual Consciousness, instantly quelling the ripple her smile had caused.

Xu Luo nodded and smiled. ”It’s a pleasure to meet you, sister-in-law. I’m Xu Luo.” Then, he took some jewelry unique to the Central Plains Star Continent from his Storage Ring. He smiled and said, ”It’s our first time meeting, and I wasn’t sure what you might like. I don’t have much of value, and these are just some worldly trinkets. If you see anything you like, please, pick a few.”

However, Xu Luo had underestimated the powerful allure of jewelry for women. The moment she saw the collection, Chu Xiaoya’s gorgeous eyes lit up with an astonishing brilliance. Even Song Chengfeng had never seen such a sparkle in his wife’s eyes.

He couldn’t help but shoot Xu Luo a slightly jealous glare, muttering, ”What a suck-up!”

Still, Song Chengfeng could tell that this new little brother of his was truly different from the average person. He had recovered from his wife’s breathtaking beauty so quickly and could now face her with such composure. Across the entire Ancient Race Continent, you could count the men capable of that on one hand!

After that, Chu Xiaoya took an immediate and immense liking to her new brother-in-law. She doted on him like a real older sister, asking about everything and fussing over his well-being. Even Song Chengfeng couldn’t help but give a wry smile, lamenting to himself, ’I guess I haven’t been romantic enough. After all these years, I had no idea such simple trinkets could be so alluring to a woman.’

Song Chengfeng had been half-right before. He’d said his wife would like Xu Luo, but not his philandering. As it turned out, when she learned that Xu Luo had three fiancées, Chu Xiaoya’s face was full of approval. ”That’s how it should be for a boy as outstanding as you!” she declared.

A dark look crossed Song Chengfeng’s face. He felt like his entire worldview had been shattered today. He stared at Chu Xiaoya, dumbfounded. ”That’s not what you used to say!”

”Did I?” Chu Xiaoya shot Song Chengfeng a sideways glance.

”Didn’t you?” Song Chengfeng struggled to remind his wife not to push it. ’At our cultivation level, how could you possibly forget?’

”I did, did I?” Chu Xiaoya raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow, a dangerous light flashing in her beautiful eyes.

”Uh, I must have remembered wrong!” Song Chengfeng quickly surrendered. With a look of utter grievance, he went to cook dinner.

Yes, the man known by countless people across the Ancient Race Continent as the Demon King was, in front of his wife, nothing more than a henpecked husband.

”To think that the legendary Beidou’s Eighth Star would become my little brother and be sitting right in front of me!” Chu Xiaoya exclaimed in amazement. She gazed at Xu Luo as if he were a priceless treasure, her eyes filled with a fondness that made even him a little uncomfortable.

Though Chu Xiaoya looked to be in her twenties, she was actually hundreds of years old—more than old enough to be Xu Luo’s great-grandmother! Therefore, it was perfectly normal for her to gaze at him with such motherly affection.

Chu Xiaoya truly did have an excellent impression of Xu Luo. Of course, the lovely and exquisite jewelry he’d given her had certainly played no small part!

One should never underestimate how much women love such things!

”That’s *my* little brother!” From the other room, Song Chengfeng corrected his wife.

”Shut up! I’m talking to my little brother. What’s it got to do with you?” In front of the people she was closest to, Chu Xiaoya let her true self show, never putting on a facade. It was this naturalness that endowed her with so many... contradictory, yet perfectly fused, qualities!

”Fine... At this rate, I’ll end up being *his* brother-in-law...” Song Chengfeng had completely resigned himself to his fate.

”Hmph.” Chu Xiaoya sniffed disdainfully, ignoring her husband. She took the initiative to tell Xu Luo about the Ancient Race Continent, with Song Chengfeng chiming in occasionally from the other room. By the time dinner was ready, Xu Luo had a basic grasp of the continent’s overall situation.

After all, the couple operated at a level few on the Ancient Race Continent could match. Combined with the fact that they had been on the run for years, their understanding of the continent’s situation and its various secrets surpassed even that of some of the great Ancient Races!

”We might look like we’re living in seclusion, but we’re actually on the run,” Song Chengfeng said to Xu Luo, taking a drink during dinner. ”Damn it all... over the years, between seeking revenge and looking for medicinal herbs for your sister-in-law, we’ve pissed off a lot of people and factions. We’ve stirred up some old fossils. It’s not that we’re particularly afraid of them, but a direct confrontation would be a real hassle, so we have no choice but to keep moving.”

”When you ran into me, I’d just been tricked by some false information—all thanks to that bastard Huo Wannian. Sigh. I knew the tip was probably fake, but I went anyway. The moment I laid eyes on him, I just saw red!”

”You saw Huo Wannian? Did you...?” Hearing the name, Chu Xiaoya’s eyebrows knitted together slightly.

”He’s dead,” Song Chengfeng sighed. ”He tried to kill me, went all out, and ended up self-destructing.”

”Oh,” Chu Xiaoya replied calmly, showing no other reaction. This took Song Chengfeng, who had been bracing for a lecture, by surprise.

Chu Xiaoya smiled beautifully. ”He was the one who hurt me all those years ago. You’re my husband; killing him was only right and proper. I stopped you back then because your Cultivation Technique was incomplete. I was afraid you’d be tricked if you went rashly. You’ve matured a lot during our years on the run, and your power is on a completely different level now. So, what’s done is done. Did you really think I didn’t want him dead? I’ve been suffering his curse to this very day...”

As Chu Xiaoya spoke, a bitter expression appeared on her gorgeous face. She glanced at Xu Luo apologetically. ”I’m sorry, you’ve had to see us make a fool of ourselves.”

”Please don’t say that, sister-in-law,” Xu Luo said with utmost sincerity. ”I may not have known you and my brother for long, but I already consider you family. If you’re in trouble, please tell me. Maybe I can help.”

”The Huo Family’s strange poison... it’s truly one of a kind,” Song Chengfeng began, unable to keep the fury from his eyes. Anyone could hear the raw hatred in his voice. ”Back then, Huo Wannian used it on your sister-in-law. It turned her from a Fairy of otherworldly beauty into a monster so hideous that even ghosts would flee in terror. The poison is incredibly potent and insidious, and there’s almost no known cure!”

Chu Xiaoya squeezed her husband’s hand firmly. ”The worst of it is over,” she said softly. ”Don’t let hatred consume your life.”

Song Chengfeng took a deep breath and nodded. ”Afterward, I traveled nearly the entire Ancient Race Continent. I even went to the Sect Continent twice. While getting my revenge, I searched for all kinds of Spirit Medicines. Finally... my persistence paid off. I found an ancient formula. The Elixir I created from it could almost completely restore her appearance. But... a real pity... while the formula could fix her face, it was powerless against the poison in her system!”

”And so, your sister-in-law... she now has less than three years left...” At this, Song Chengfeng couldn’t stop himself from covering his face with his hands. Tears streamed through his fingers, and he was too choked with emotion to continue.

Chu Xiaoya leaned against Song Chengfeng, a look of contentment on her face. ”Chengfeng, we shouldn’t be too greedy. I’m already satisfied, truly! I’ve lived for hundreds of years. I’ve been powerful, and I’ve been at rock bottom. I’ve seen all the ups and downs life has to offer. Now, I have the man I love by my side, and we live a free and happy life every day. It hasn’t been a wasted life! The heavens have already shown me great favor by letting me regain my face. As for life and death... Chengfeng, you’ve reached such a high realm. Can’t you see past it?”

Song Chengfeng lowered his hands. His face was streaked with tears, but he managed a smile for Xu Luo. ”Sorry, kid. You had to see me make a fool of myself again.” Then he turned to his wife and nodded emphatically. ”I can’t! Of course I can’t see past it! Why should I? Even if I were a god, even if I had infinite longevity, what use would it be without you? Life would just be an empty journey. Without the one you love by your side to watch the scenery at the end of the world, what’s the point of being alive?”

”Even if you cultivate for all eternity, it will end in emptiness...” Chu Xiaoya’s voice was ethereal and soft as she leaned against Song Chengfeng. ”Perhaps one day, you’ll stand at the pinnacle of the world, and when you look back, you’ll find that your loved ones have grown old and vanished into the annals of time; your friends will have passed on, leaving you with nothing but rows of earthen graves. What kind of desolate loneliness would that be? So, for every day I am alive and with you, I am happy!”

Xu Luo’s body trembled. Chu Xiaoya’s words had struck a chord deep within his heart, shaking him to his very core.

He didn’t dare to imagine such a desolate scene: the love of his life growing old, friends passing away, leaving him alone with nothing but their graves.

’No... I don’t want that kind of life! That’s not what I want!’ Xu Luo screamed in his heart. ’I refuse to live like that! I refuse! I refuse!’

Just then, Chu Xiaoya and Song Chengfeng seemed to notice something was wrong with Xu Luo, and a hint of guilt appeared in their eyes. The words they’d spoken in a moment of vulnerability were not mere expressions of emotion; they were profound insights born from their immense cultivation. It was inevitable that someone as spiritually perceptive as Xu Luo would be affected.

After a moment, Xu Luo suddenly lifted his head. Meeting Chu Xiaoya’s and Song Chengfeng’s concerned gazes, he gave a small smile to show he was fine. Then, he looked at Song Chengfeng and grinned. ”Brother, I can make the poison in sister-in-law’s body disappear. How are you going to thank me?”

”What? Are you serious?” Before Chu Xiaoya could even process it, Song Chengfeng shot to his feet. His gaze burned into Xu Luo as he declared without a shred of hesitation, ”If you can save your sister-in-law, if you can cure her poison... then I, your brother... will be your slave from this day forward. I will serve you for the rest of my life!”