Chapter 2

Yue Qing's mind quickly flashed with memories of Xu Feiniang.

Xu Feiniang was also a disciple of the Grand Master Taiyi Hunyuan, having entered the Dao earlier than himself. She had followed her master to learn the arts since the end of the Southern Song Dynasty.

Perhaps due to the long time spent together, the hundreds of years had entangled their emotions. They once made a mutual promise in front of all the disciples of Wutai Sect, vowing to be together for millions of years. After the Grand Master Taiyi Hunyuan passed away fifty years ago, she went to Huangshan to live in seclusion, claiming she was willing to reform and no longer involve herself in the disputes between the two sects, but was universally condemned by her former fellow disciples...

Xu Feiniang, Yue Qinbin, why do these names sound so familiar?

Yue Qing didn't have time to think it through. Xu Feiniang urged him, "Junior Brother Yue, don't delay. This Jiang Xuejun is not an easy opponent. Quickly join forces with me to drive her away!"

Only then did Yue Qing realize that Xu Feiniang was just taking advantage of the initial sneak attack to overpower the girl, Jiang Xuejun. Now, the offensive momentum had been halted, and Jiang Xuejun was using a golden sword light to suppress Xu Feiniang's seven green sword lights, and was even counterattacking with true qi. Without time to think, Yue Qing hurriedly mobilized his two silver swords to join Xu Feiniang in the attack.

The two of them, with nine treasure swords, surrounded Jiang Xuejun, the silver and green lights mixing together to form a circle of light, chopping and slashing like a revolving lantern.

Jiang Xuejun began to struggle. Xu Feiniang raised her hand and released dozens of silver stars from her sleeve. Jiang Xuejun, merging with her sword, transformed into a golden rainbow, breaking through the sword circle and rising into the air. The silver stars struck the rocks and trees behind her, causing debris to fly and creating craters the size of washbasins. Over a dozen towering trees, each as thick as a person's embrace, were blown in half, and their massive canopies crashed to the ground, with broken branches and rocks falling everywhere.

Jiang Xuejun, well aware of Xu Feiniang's reputation, had not brought all her magical treasures this time, so she did not dare to linger. She lightly commanded, releasing two golden thunderbolts that exploded in a row, forcing Yue Qing to retreat.

In the midst of the lightning and thunder, Xu Feiniang released another magical treasure, then flashed and flew back, followed by two golden dragons. Yue Qing released his flying sword to intercept, and upon colliding with the dragon's head, he immediately felt suffocated, his true qi almost unable to circulate. Fortunately, this slowed the dragons slightly. Xu Feiniang landed beside him, grabbed his sleeve, and the two linked their true qi, flying diagonally along the ground. The two dragons, head to tail, formed a giant golden scissors, cutting through five towering trees in a few swift movements.

Jiang Xuejun took this opportunity to jump back onto the altar, reaching out to tear the ropes binding the boy into pieces, and then picked up the boy, holding him under her arm. With a stomp, she merged with her sword, transforming into a long rainbow and flying into the sky.

As soon as she left the altar, the silver stars Xu Feiniang had previously released exploded, reducing the altar to rubble. Silver stars shot up through the dust and debris, chasing Jiang Xuejun closely until they reached the clouds, where Xu Feiniang finally retracted them.

"Junior Brother Yue, how have you been?" Xu Feiniang landed and greeted Yue Qing warmly.

Looking at the Taoist nun before him, who appeared to be in her twenties, wearing a yellow gauze blouse, with a golden hairpin and a jade pendant, she was graceful and delicate from head to toe, with a charming and alluring demeanor, yet her eyes held a faint sadness.

Yue Qing knew this was his senior sister, Xu Feiniang, also known as the Immortal Lady of Ten Thousand Wonders. When he first came to the mountain to learn the arts, she was already a famous sword immortal, and had often guided him in his studies. He stared at Xu Feiniang, and the scenes of their past interactions flashed through his mind. These were the experiences he had lived through, and when he looked back, it seemed as if they had happened just yesterday.

Yue Qing even had a sense of illusion, feeling that he was originally Yue Qinbin, and the years he spent in the 21st century were like a dream. Now that the dream was over, he had returned to his original identity as a sword immortal, continuing to struggle in this bizarre and fantastical world of immortals and swordsmen.

"Thank goodness you arrived in time, or I would have been finished," Yue Qing sighed, still feeling a bit scared.

Xu Feiniang nodded, "That's good. I was returning from a visit to a friend in western Yunnan when I passed by here. I saw the banners, which were clearly the style of our Wutai Sect, and the blood-colored clouds, and knew you were refining the Shenying Sword again."

Yue Qing sighed habitually, "This Shenying Sword..." He recalled his previous attempts at refining the sword, "This is the third time I've tried to refine it. It was almost successful, and I thought it was a sign of divine favor, that the revival of our Wutai Sect was near. But it failed at the last moment. Sigh, now I've lost faith. Perhaps this sword is against the will of heaven and is not accepted by the universe."

Xu Feiniang said, "This sword is too evil. When our master was alive, he said that to refine this sword, one must have ten thousand merits. Otherwise, both the person and the sword will be punished by heaven. It might not be a bad thing that you failed to refine it. Besides, our Wutai Sect has ten supreme divine swords, the Five Immortal Swords and the Five Demon Swords, and hundreds of methods for refining swords. Why not focus on the immortal swords?"

Yue Qing couldn't help but laugh bitterly, "The materials for the Five Immortal Swords are either ten-thousand-year-old cold iron or cosmic star sand. I can't find such good materials, and I don't have the energy to spend decades refining them. So I had to turn to the demon swords. The Shenying Sword is the least difficult to refine among the Five Demon Swords, but even it has failed me. In the past three attempts, either the timing was off, or I couldn't find the right place for the demonic aura to converge. When I finally found everything, something always went wrong. This time, even the soul-binding bottle I spent three years refining was broken, and the protective spirits inside were driven away." Yue Qing, who had always been detached, couldn't suppress the sadness and loneliness that welled up inside him, and he sighed again.

Xu Feiniang consoled him, "Junior Brother, don't lose heart. As the saying goes, 'Man plans, but heaven decides.' We should do our best, and even if we fail, we won't have any regrets, and our centuries of hard cultivation won't be in vain. When our master passed away, the once mighty Wutai Sect crumbled. But we still have the three sword duels with the Emei Sect. Even though our master is gone, we can't lose heart. First, we must kill the Three Immortals and Two Elders to avenge our master's blood feud. Second, we must carry on our master's legacy and revitalize our sect. I am now in seclusion on Huangshan, saying I don't care about the outside world, but in reality, I am just biding my time, secretly accumulating strength, and preparing for a future breakout. To be honest, I am currently collecting materials to refine the Tianmo Zuxian Sword."

Yue Qing couldn't help but be startled, "The Tianmo Zuxian Sword? It is the foremost of the Five Demon Swords and is said to be the most vicious flying sword in the world. Even if you succeed in refining it, using it will be extremely dangerous. A single mistake could lead to being devoured by the sword's demonic spirit. You..."

Xu Feiniang's face, soft and alluring, was filled with沧桑 and determination, "Apart from the Zuxian Sword, who can match the Ziyuan and Qingsuo swords!"

Yue Qing's mind was in chaos, with memories from two lifetimes intertwining. One moment he was thinking about his initiation into Wutai, the next about school fights, then about deep mountain cultivation, then about street vending, then about the sword duel with Emei, and then about battling the city management.

He had just experienced a life-or-death battle, and the urgency of his thoughts made him feel nauseous and dizzy. Many streams of heat were coursing through his body, causing his heart, liver, spleen, and lungs to ache. He quickly told himself to stay calm and relax.

Seeing Yue Qing's dejected and pale face, Xu Feiniang assumed he had lost faith and determination in avenging Grand Master Hunyuan and reviving the Wutai Sect, like many other fellow disciples. She felt a bit unhappy, thinking they had different paths. In recent years, since the passing of Grand Master Taiyi Hunyuan, she had seen many such old friends. She said, "Junior Brother, you must decide your own path. I need to go to the East Sea to gather herbs. We'll part ways here!"

Yue Qing instinctively bowed, "Farewell, Senior Sister."

"Farewell?" Xu Feiniang looked at him, nodded slightly, and with a step, a green light enveloped her, and she flew into the sky, heading east.

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