Chapter 33: The Purple Sun Sword and the Appearance of the True Dragon (Part 1)

Description

One side of the standoff was like a pool of dead water, while the other burned with overwhelming killing intent.

In the curtain of rain, the Tian Shi Dragon Fish was trapped by the Pixiu’s golden light restriction, its massive body writhing in the mud trying to break free, while the Dongtian Evil Aura transformed into black mist that frantically poured through the dragon fish’s body into the Pixiu.

Xiao Yunshan’s corpse lay sprawled in the mud, the smell of blood already diluted by the rain.

Bai Yao didn’t lower her head to look at Xiao Yunshan a second time.

Not because she didn’t want to, but because she didn’t dare.

Because she knew that if she looked a second time, her heart would waver.

And once her heart wavered, her sword would go dull.

Mu Jingyue withdrew her hand from stroking the Pixiu.

She turned to look at Bai Yao, but her eyes were like two deep wells—no ripples, no warmth, not even killing intent.

“Junior Sister Bai, you and I are the same kind of people.”

Mu Jingyue spoke, her voice mixing into the rain as if coming from somewhere far away.

“Both of us have been used by our sects, both burdened with power that shouldn’t belong to us. Return to the Xuan Yu Sect. The Supreme Elder will give you a true position, not some hollow title like Holy Maiden of Xuan Yu Sect.”

Bai Yao’s right hand clenched around empty air as the Invisible Sword condensed a pure white outline in the rain curtain.

Purple-Gold Haoran Righteousness evaporated the rain strands falling on the blade into white mist, and the Invisible Sword solidified into something tangible in that moment.

“Same kind?”

Bai Yao stepped forward, mud splashing from her boot soles before falling back with the rain.

“Senior Sister Mu, you’re wrong. I, Bai Yao, have never accepted being anyone’s tool or puppet. This beast killed Xiao Yunshan, and today I will surely cut it down. This is my path of Xiu Xin—Unity of Knowledge and Action.”

Mu Jingyue’s gaze turned slightly heavy, her tone still as flat as a stagnant pool:

“For a father who lives only in your dreams, is it worth it?”

Bai Yao stepped forward again, the distance between them now only three zhang.

The rain suddenly grew louder, yet nothing could drown out her resounding whisper:

“Whether it’s worth it or not isn’t for you to decide.”

Mu Jingyue said no more.

She withdrew the Pixiu’s golden light, choosing to fight with only her late-stage Hundred Refinements Realm cultivation.

Her long sword left its sheath, true qi surging outward like a dragon’s roar and beast’s howl, forming a water-blue oscillating shockwave that annihilated everything in its path through the rain curtain.

The Water Attribute Heavenly Spiritual Root gave her an innate advantage in this rainy environment.

Wherever the shockwave passed, rain strands evaporated into white mist, and moss on the stone slabs beneath instantly withered to death.

Bai Yao had no intention of using the black sword.

Her right hand extended the Invisible Sword, Purple-Gold Haoran Righteousness burning a blazing white arc of light along the blade.

That light reflected across her face, scorching away all the childishness between her brows until only a near-obsessive stubbornness remained.

The first exchange.

Mu Jingyue thrust her sword, her sword stance like a galaxy rolling backward, annihilation force evaporating rain strands into white mist.

Bai Yao sidestepped, the Invisible Sword slashing diagonally upward.

Purple-gold sword qi clashed against water-blue annihilation true qi, producing a sharp metallic ring.

The sound was piercing to the extreme.

Stone slabs beneath cracked inch by inch, mud splashing up onto Bai Yao’s cheeks.

The tenth exchange.

Mu Jingyue spun, her blade carving an arc—a Heavy Water Black Ring that seemed capable of swallowing light itself.

Wherever the black ring passed, even the rain curtain dimmed for an instant, as if something had taken a bite out of it.

Bai Yao chose not to dodge.

Instead, she used the Opening and Closing Qi Control Art to draw rainwater into swords, enhancing them with purple-gold sword qi and Haoran Righteousness.

Dozens of raindrops condensed into needle shapes, streaking from the side toward Mu Jingyue’s waist.

The thirtieth exchange.

Their blades clashed, each retreating three steps.

Bai Yao felt her tiger’s mouth go numb.

Looking down, she saw a red mark had been split across her palm.

Rain fell upon it, bringing a stinging clarity and certainty that kept her fully awake and wouldn’t let her slip back into dreams.

Her expression remained blank as she gripped the Invisible Sword even tighter.

Mu Jingyue watched the pure white outline in Bai Yao’s hand and suddenly spoke, a trace of something approaching admiration appearing in her voice for the first time:

“Half a year… in just half a year, you’ve cultivated the Xuan Yu Hidden Sword Art to this level. Junior Sister Bai, if you weren’t a Four Attribute Mixed Spiritual Root, the Supreme Elder would certainly take you as another Grandmaster’s Disciple.”

Bai Yao said nothing.

She simply thrust her sword.

The Purple-Gold Haoran Righteousness on the blade blazed three parts brighter, strands of sword qi slicing rain droplets landing on the blade into even finer mist.

The fortieth exchange… the fiftieth exchange.

Sword qi ran rampant, carving the rain curtain into countless vacuum zones.

Those vacuum zones existed only for an instant before being filled by more rain.

Bai Yao’s breathing gradually grew heavy, her chest heaving, yet the Purple-Gold Haoran Righteousness burned ever brighter.

The Hundred Refinements qi sea at her dantian supplied her with an inexhaustible surge of surging true qi.

Mu Jingyue’s sword stance remained steady, but fine beads of sweat had begun to form at her temples.

Bai Yao suddenly laughed coldly, her voice like a thin blade piercing through the rain curtain, penetrating Mu Jingyue’s ears once more:

“It seems Senior Sister still doesn’t know—what I cultivate isn’t as simple as the Xuan Yu Hidden Sword Art.”

The moment she finished speaking, Bai Yao’s left hand moved almost imperceptibly.

The next instant, while the two clashed, the black sword, Heaven Devourer, which Bai Yao had hidden somewhere in the environment without anyone noticing, was pulled by sword silk.

Like a bolt of ink-black light, it shot toward the evil Pixiu.

Mu Jingyue’s pupils contracted sharply.

Her expression shifted slightly, disbelief dripping from her voice:

“This is… Gao Luan’s Heaven Devourer?! You killed Gao Luan?”

She had no choice but to command the Pixiu to dodge, causing a ripple in the supposedly unbreakable golden light restriction.

The Pixiu let out an unwilling roar, its golden light barrier swaying violently as it evaded the bizarre Hands-Free Sword.

And it was at this very moment that Bai Yao’s cold laugh came again, carrying a hint of barely perceptible mockery:

“I told you, Senior Sister truly doesn’t understand what kind of Hidden Sword Technique I cultivate.”

The sword silk used to control the Heaven Devourer’s hilt was detonated by Bai Yao.

The black sword’s flight speed increased by three-tenths out of nowhere, emitting a sharp shriek as it pierced straight toward the restriction controlling the dragon fish.

The instant the black sword stabbed into the restraining light barrier, a crisp sound like shattering glass rang out.

The barrier was one breath away from breaking apart.

Though caught off guard, Mu Jingyue ultimately shook her head with cold, sharp eyes:

“Junior Sister Bai, this is no ordinary Tian Shi Dragon Fish. A single Heaven Devourer isn’t enough to contend with the Ming Ge Evil Force of this entire grotto-heaven. Even if you break my restriction light, so long as I move one finger, I can still keep that dragon fish frozen in place. Your efforts are futile. Give up.”

Hearing Mu Jingyue’s words, Bai Yao remained perfectly composed, speaking in the calmest tone words that would make Mu Jingyue question reality for the third time:

“Not enough? Senior Sister Mu, I already told you—from the very beginning, you misunderstood the Hidden Sword Technique I cultivate.”

The moment she finished speaking, only then did Mu Jingyue fully see it—at the end of a Refined Iron Short Sword, a tangible, transparent Spirit Silk spirit tool was clearly connected.

The Refined Iron Short Sword had been hidden all along in the shadow of the Heaven Devourer’s flight path, nearly impossible to detect, and had followed the Heaven Devourer into the Pixiu’s suppression barrier.

Then, Bai Yao activated the Opening and Closing Qi Control Art, reversing the flow to make herself the sword, flying straight toward the breach where the Heaven Devourer had struck.

Her speed was so fast it was like a shooting star traveling in reverse, leaving a trail of purple-gold afterimages through the rain curtain.

Mu Jingyue, realizing belatedly what Bai Yao intended to do, was already half a beat too slow in her actions.

She extended her sword to block, but the blade only grazed Bai Yao’s clothing, tearing off a strip of fabric.

“This Hands-Free Sword isn’t the Xuan Yu Hidden Sword Art!”

“Too late, Senior Sister! The sword hides heaven and earth—this is my very own Ziyang Hidden Sword Art!” Bai Yao had already seized the evil sword Heaven Devourer with both hands, her face filled with resolve and determination.

“If the Heaven Devourer alone isn’t enough, I wonder if adding the Purple-Gold Haoran Righteousness, maximally amplified by this Cangjie Grotto-Heaven, will suffice?”

At this moment, the entire Yuning River began to boil.

River waters churned, waves crashing against the embankment with muffled thuds like war drums pounding.

And the deathly stillness that always occupied Mu Jingyue’s face finally changed completely.