(Nangong Qiongxiao did not have a severed arm permanently; there was a time when she did, but after advancing to Spirit Realm Level 11, her body was fully reconstructed. As for the arm frozen in the abyss, it serves as a symbolic memorial of sorts—for instance, the terrifying rumors in the Spirit Cultivation Realm about the “Empress’s severed arm”…)
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“A mere Spirit Realm Empress, how dare you think of becoming this sword spirit’s master? Tell me, girl, are you worthy?”
When she savored that line, Nangong Qiongxiao’s phoenix eyes widened slightly.
The oppressive feeling in her chest still lingered for a long time, as if she could still conjure up the black-dressed girl’s sinister sneer in her mind.
To this day, the nightmare of that day still lingered in Nangong Qiongxiao’s mind.
Even now that she had truly become the Empress, the nightmare from back then had not improved.
Because the meaning of that abyssal sword spirit was not to look down on the young Nangong Qiongxiao, but to directly declare “mere Empress”!
In other words, the sword spirit believed Nangong Qiongxiao would become Empress in the future, but it still looked down on her and her ideals.
The implication: You’re not worthy now, you’re not worthy even as Empress, you’ll never be worthy!
So, even now that Nangong Qiongxiao had truly become Empress, she didn’t feel that sense of achievement like “In thirty years, fortunes change; don’t bully a young girl when she’s poor.”
Instead, she felt that everything in her life had been predicted by the sword spirit, leaving her feeling exhausted.
Now, although Nangong Qiongxiao had given up on the idea of conquering that “abyssal sword spirit,” she often remembered the grudge of losing her arm and the mockery in her ears.
She didn’t want to do anything to the sword spirit; she just wanted to approach the limits of her destiny until she became strong enough to make that sword spirit submit to her!
So just now, after she recognized Can Xue’s identity, her first thought was to release her cultivation and suppress Can Xue until she submitted!
Unexpectedly, she only raised her cultivation to Spirit Realm Level 8, and Can Xue couldn’t hold up…
This was very suspicious.
It shouldn’t be like this.
Back then, the young Nangong Qiongxiao was already close to the peak of Level 8, yet she was backlashed by the sword spirit on the ice throne to the point of agony.
So Nangong Qiongxiao suspected that Can Xue had been weakened to some extent.
She didn’t hate Can Xue.
It was precisely because she encountered setbacks in that abyss that Nangong Qiongxiao restrained her youthful arrogance, avoided conceit and impatience, and cultivated diligently, quickly breaking through the Level 9 bottleneck.
Strictly speaking, Can Xue had taught Nangong Qiongxiao a lesson, but the price was that it cost the proud future Empress an arm, and she still suffered from nightmares, never stopping her cultivation.
It could be said that over the years, Nangong Qiongxiao had been in pain and joy simultaneously, which allowed her to become Empress and be unmatched in the world.
Thus, when Nangong Qiongxiao learned that Can Xue’s strength was no longer what it used to be, she didn’t plan to take revenge. Instead, she was more concerned about why Can Xue had fallen to her current state, and why He Qiu could summon the “abyssal sword spirit” and even know Can Xue’s name.
She was the Empress who would eventually unify the Spirit Cultivation Realm, reach the pinnacle, and make the arrogant Can Xue willingly submit to her.
So she cared very much about Can Xue’s situation.
If Can Xue was no longer as powerful as before, wouldn’t Nangong Qiongxiao’s years of hard cultivation goal be in vain?
Therefore, she asked again about the specific situation between Can Xue and He Qiu.
Then, she received the reply: “He Qiu is my master.”
Can Xue acknowledged a master?
Master meant the young man she had just taken as a student, He Qiu?
Nangong Qiongxiao was dumbfounded.
With her current cultivation at Spirit Realm Level 13, half a step into the Immortal Realm, she still couldn’t get Can Xue’s recognition.
After becoming Empress, her goal was to continuously break through the limits of the Spirit Cultivation Realm, step into the Immortal Realm, become an Immortal Venerable, and continue exploring higher realms until she became a transcendent powerhouse strong enough to conquer that demon sword Can Xue!
But now Can Xue told her that she had already acknowledged a master, and the master was a white-robed youth who had just stepped into the Spirit Cultivation Realm…
What kind of huge joke was this?
The dignified Nine Provinces Empress, the ceiling of combat power in the Spirit Cultivation Realm, in the eyes of the Abyss Demon Sword, was inferior to a young man at Spirit Realm Level 3.
Her emotions could not calm for a long time.
Nangong Qiongxiao finally took a deep breath of cold air and said softly:
“He Qiu, does Can Xue always address you as master?”
“Huh?”
He Qiu saw that Fairy Nan’s expression wasn’t good and thought that Can Xue had made the master unhappy, so he said apologetically: “It’s like this, Can Xue is usually quite well-behaved, but sometimes she is excessively mischievous and often makes strange requests… I hope Master won’t mind.”
“…”
Nangong Qiongxiao looked at the innocent young man in front of her, then at the sword spirit in her hand that had once caused her the pain of losing an arm.
Her heart stirred, unsure of what to feel.
He Qiu actually said that Can Xue was usually very well-behaved, only occasionally mischievous, and told her not to mind…
Was that the image of the legendary abyssal sword spirit in his eyes?
Was he treating the legendary demon sword like a child?
Seeing that the fairy master had been silent for a long time, Can Xue spoke again on the mental channel:
[Nangong Qiongxiao, I know you hate me, but I still have to ask you one thing. If you help me today, I’ll owe you a favor in the future!]
This time, her tone was fairly friendly, and because she was in a subordinate position, she lowered her stance considerably.
After some hesitation, Nangong Qiongxiao replied:
[What is it?]
[Tell my master to believe I’m not a bad sword, then fulfill my requests. That’s all. For you right now, it should be a simple task, right?]
[Your requests refer to having He Qiu feed you blood in the morning, and… sleep holding you at night?]
[What else? Do you think I’d let you, a big-chested Empress, hold me?]
[?]
Nangong Qiongxiao was stunned again.
She understood the meaning of drinking blood for a sword spirit, but sleeping while being held…
She really couldn’t understand that.
Could it be that for an abyssal sword spirit like Can Xue, being held by a human while sleeping was also a way to absorb spiritual energy?
And the most ridiculous thing was that Can Xue actually called her “big-chested Empress,” such a funny title.
Although Can Xue’s personality was still as sarcastic as before, such a tone still made Nangong Qiongxiao feel somewhat incongruous.
Can Xue seemed to have less hostility than before…
Although her voice was still annoying, she indeed had a bit more human touch and wasn’t as aloof.
[Hey, I’m warning you, don’t keep staring at my master’s face for no reason! You women from the Spirit Cultivation Realm, do you all just like to flirt for no reason? That so-called Saintess from earlier was also looking at my master with strange eyes!]
[…]
Nangong Qiongxiao didn’t say anything, unsure how to respond.
Can Xue continued talking to herself.
She seemed a bit carried away, unable to stop once the topic started:
[Don’t think that just because my cultivation is sealed and I can’t do anything now, when the time comes, this sword spirit will cut down all you big-chested women who call yourselves “fairy” and “saintess”!]
[If you’re smart, you’d better stay away from master early on. I’ve noticed that master seems to lack resistance to big-chested older sisters, so I hope you avoid suspicion and keep your distance from my master. In that way, not only can I promise to spare your life in the future, but I’ll also owe you a favor. If you ever need it, I’ll return it at any time!]
[But what if I, the Empress, refuse?]
Finally, Nangong Qiongxiao chose to speak, her tone somewhat playful.
As she spoke, before Can Xue could continue threatening, she took the ice sword in her hand and sat up, then walked gracefully toward He Qiu with light steps.
Holding the armrest of the chair, she bent down and whispered in the youth’s ear with a fragrant breath:
“He Qiu, here, hold Can Xue.”
Handing Can Xue to He Qiu, Nangong Qiongxiao continued to pretend to instruct, her hands passing around the youth’s cheeks, stroking Can Xue’s blade while explaining bit by bit.
[Hey, what are you doing?! Let go of my master!]
Can Xue watched Nangong Qiongxiao’s chest, almost about to press down on He Qiu’s head from behind.
She was extremely anxious inside but powerless.
The so-called ‘sword-cucking’ was probably such an agonizing experience.
“Um, Master, that’s too close…”
He Qiu felt the pressure above his head and couldn’t help feeling a bit uncomfortable.
But this was exactly the effect Nangong Qiongxiao wanted.
She didn’t explain much, maintaining the position pressing behind him, and said seriously to He Qiu:
“Can Xue is a good sword in itself. Don’t worry too much.”
“If she wants you to feed her blood, just give her a few drops every morning. That’s not a problem and is good for the sword spirit.”
“But, He Qiu, remember… there’s one thing I, your master, must emphasize to you!”
“Uh, what is it?”
Although He Qiu felt that Fairy Nan was too close behind him, hearing her serious explanation, he didn’t say more and directly asked about the more important matter concerning the sword spirit Can Xue.
Seeing He Qiu so convinced, Nangong Qiongxiao smiled softly, gave a meaningful glance at the sword spirit Can Xue, and then said in a very serious tone:
“Remember, don’t sleep holding Can Xue at night, or you’ll have nightmares.”
[Nangong Qiongxiao, you bitch!!]