Martial Dao: Peace by Force

Chapter 277: Chapter 174: Seeing the Female Sword Immortal Again, The Dread of Secret Words

Outside the ruined temple, the Red Moon was hidden behind the clouds, only occasionally revealing a few crimson glimmers.

Wan Ze hadn’t expected the Female Sword Immortal to come looking for him herself.

The Female Sword Immortal stood outside the ruined temple, without coming inside.

The crimson Moonlight washed over her, tinging her white robes with a faint, blood-red hue.

She just stood there quietly, neither entering nor speaking, as if she were waiting for something.

Wan Ze rose to his feet and spoke first. ”The items are ready, but I’m still looking for the address.”

The Female Sword Immortal seemed to be in a good mood. Her voice drifted in from outside, as cold and clear as ever, but her pace was slightly slower than usual, carrying an almost imperceptible gentleness. ”There’s still time. I need to prepare a few things on my end as well.”

She didn’t specify what she needed to prepare.

Wan Ze didn’t press the matter. It was none of his concern right now.

’In this world, knowing what not to ask is a basic tenet for a long life.’

Just then, the Broken Sword flew out from behind the Female Sword Immortal. Its blade traced a silvery-white arc through the air, zipping toward the ruined temple with a sense of eager, irrepressible joy.

But as it neared the entrance, it halted abruptly. The entire blade hovered in midair, its tip seeming to peek cautiously into the temple.

Wan Ze knew what it was looking for.

The Faceless True Monarch Statue.

Every time the Broken Sword got close to that clay statue, with its blurred face and bizarre posture deep within the temple, it would earn a scolding.

Today, only after confirming the statue was gone, did it swiftly fly inside.

The Broken Sword flew before Wan Ze. With its tip pointed down and its hilt slightly angled, the entire blade bent, as if making a formal bow.

The gesture was surprisingly proper. If one ignored the fact that it was a sword, it looked just like a polite Cultivator paying respects.

Then it rose into the air, its tip scratching across the ground. The writing was crooked but clearly legible:

”What a shame, you missed a great show!”

It even added a crooked exclamation mark at the end, as if afraid Wan Ze wouldn’t sense its excitement.

Wan Ze raised an eyebrow. Just as he was about to ask what show he’d missed, the Female Sword Immortal recalled the Broken Sword.

It struggled in midair for a moment, as if wanting to write more, but the Female Sword Immortal’s will was absolute. It could only drift obediently back to her side, its blade trembling with a pitiful whimper.

”How is your Heaven and Earth Sword Pulling Slash coming along?” the Female Sword Immortal asked.

Wan Ze’s expression turned serious. ”I have not disappointed you. I’ve reached the Beginner Level.”

The Female Sword Immortal gave a slight nod, a gesture Wan Ze saw clearly. ”Do you wish to improve further?”

Wan Ze’s heart leaped, his eyes shining. ”You mean...?”

”Follow me.”

The Female Sword Immortal turned, her white robes fluttering in the night wind as the Broken Sword circled around her, spinning in midair.

Wan Ze lowered his head, his gaze sweeping over his data frame.

A pale blue screen of light materialized before his eyes.

Spiritual Form: 201%

Magic Sense: 189%

His Spiritual Form was quite a bit lower than before.

But...

He gritted his teeth and hurried after her.

This was the first time he had truly ventured deep into this mountain range.

The Land of Ruins he had visited with Feng Jiuchen before, while also in the mountains, had gentle slopes and sparse forests. It was like an old warehouse that had been ransacked countless times, filled with traces left by those who came before.

But the mountain range the Female Sword Immortal brought him to was completely different.

The mountains were steep, the trees so dense they blotted out the sky. The crimson light was sliced into countless fragments by the overlapping layers of branches and leaves. A damp, cloying scent of humus filled the air. Occasionally, the cry of an unknown insect would echo from the depths—a sharp, piercing sound, like something screaming.

As he walked, Wan Ze observed his surroundings and noticed the vegetation was very similar to that in the Land of Ruins: the same species of trees, the same moss, the same texture on the rocks.

But he could sense that this was not the same mountain range.

A subtle but oppressive feeling permeated the air here, as if something was watching them from the shadows.

The Female Sword Immortal walked ahead at a steady, unhurried pace, her white robes standing out starkly in the dim forest.

The Broken Sword flew by her side, occasionally darting ahead to scout the path before flying back to report on the situation. Although its ”reports” consisted of merely drawing a few circles in the air or scratching lines on the ground, Wan Ze could now roughly understand its meaning.

After walking for nearly an hour, the Female Sword Immortal suddenly stopped.

Ahead lay a relatively open clearing. Something had crushed the vegetation, leaving large, flattened patches in its wake. Several uprooted trees lay strewn about to one side.

In the center of the clearing, a Deceitful Beast lay sprawled on the ground.

It wasn’t enormous—roughly the size of a full-grown bull—but the sense of pressure it exuded was more intense than that of any beast Wan Ze had ever seen. Its grayish-white hide was covered in a thick layer of keratin, like a suit of natural armor.

This layer was riddled with irregular cracks, and some areas bristled with fine, backward-facing barbs.

Its head was triangular. A thick layer of keratin covered the spot where its eyes should have been, leaving only two shallow indentations. Its mouth took up two-thirds of its head, the corners splitting wide to reveal two rows of jagged teeth.

It lay there, perfectly still, like a decaying rock abandoned in the wilderness.

But it wasn’t dead.

Wan Ze could see the slight rise and fall of its belly and hear the low rumble emanating from its throat.

This creature, then, was the ”Deceitful Beast” that the Broken Sword had mentioned.

Until now, Wan Ze had only ever heard of such a creature from the Broken Sword’s descriptions; this was the first time he was seeing one with his own eyes.