Chapter 34 - 31: Lu Changyuan’s Sword
Luan Rumeng did not hesitate.
She had never planned to survive. She would burn away all her remaining life and power to slay her junior brother today.
Su Wuxiang seemed to understand this as well. He writhed and twisted frantically, his long tentacles flailing wildly, as if reaching out to Luan Rumeng and begging for an embrace.
Luan Rumeng shook her head, and a flash of cold light shot directly into the Demon Body.
A low rumble of thunder echoed through the sky.
The Celestial Dao Thunder Tribulation could not permit an invader possessed by a Desire Demon to remain in the world, so it descended as divine punishment. Black rain, laced with brilliant golden streaks, slashed down from above. The ornate pavilion beside Liuqing Lake instantly exploded. Lingering traces of lightning crackled across the cyan tiles before they were reduced to dust in the ensuing blaze.
The spreading celestial fire ignited everything flammable, a testament to the Celestial Dao’s fury.
Beneath the dreadful heavenly thunder, Su Wuxiang’s Demon Body was riddled with wounds. A small, jade-like crystal core appeared amidst the grotesque flesh.
Luan Rumeng’s sword reached it. If she could just shatter the core, it would all be over.
In an instant, she burned all her remaining life, pouring it all into this single strike.
"Senior Sister."
A sudden daze washed over her, the voice like one she had often heard a thousand years ago, back when she was still focused on her Cultivation. A phantasmal figure suddenly appeared before Luan Rumeng’s eyes.
It was a young man with short hair and a simple, honest smile.
"Senior Sister, I’m craving the pear candy you make. Will you make it for me again, please?"
The wind carried with it memories and longings from a thousand years ago, but Luan Rumeng did not falter.
’This is just the Great Demon, conjuring illusions because it doesn’t want to die.’
She thrust her sword through the phantom, but in the next instant, another appeared.
This one was a younger boy—still Su Wuxiang, but as he was at eight years old.
"Senior Sister, I’m going to marry you when I grow up! So, can you give me a hug?"
Once again, Luan Rumeng’s sword cut through the illusion.
Sixth Realm Kai Yang. A heart of iron, Daoist Technique as natural as breathing.
But.
Another phantom appeared. This one had a strong, resolute face; the boy who had clamored for candy was now a man, his cultivation advancing at astonishing speed.
He said, "Senior Sister, run away with me, won’t you?"
Luan Rumeng’s blade hesitated.
On that moonless night, if she had agreed, Su Wuxiang would never have risked cultivating Demon Techniques, and none of the tragedies that followed would have occurred.
The phantom reached out a hand. "I’ll get you out of here, Senior Sister."
Luan Rumeng was lost in a daze. She remembered the young man’s embrace—warm and strong, an embrace that felt like it could relieve her of all the world’s burdens.
And so, her strike was delayed.
"I... I..."
For an instant, Luan Rumeng remembered her wedding night. Her red phoenix veil was gently lifted, and the face of her junior brother flickered in the candlelight. Everything had been so beautiful.
In that single moment of distraction, a tentacle from behind her shot out, shoving her into the heart of the demon core.
Her delicate figure was utterly consumed.
Su Wuxiang couldn’t see past his worldly attachments, and so he had Fallen into Demon. She couldn’t see past hers either, and so, in the end, she failed to slay the Demon.
The Demon Country remained, and all living things continued to suffer. The towering waves at the lake’s bottom seemed to grow even more turbulent now that Luan Rumeng had been consumed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Someone emerged from the lake bed, soaking wet, with scarlet blood trickling from the corner of their mouth.
"Young Palace Master, we have the sword. It’s time to go."
Xue Yanluo coughed up a mouthful of blood. "Go!"
He was in bad shape. Part of the shock from the seal at the bottom of the lake had been reflected onto them, to say nothing of having directly faced Su Wuxiang’s Demon’s Voice—a sound that could make one lose all reason and fall into the Red Dust.
They had been lucky; the Great Demon hadn’t paid them any mind when it emerged. Now, with the sword in hand, their goal was accomplished. It was all worth it.
Broken Thought suddenly began to vibrate, as if trying to leap from his grasp and fly to the sky to continue suppressing the Demon.
Xue Yanluo used all his strength to finally quiet the sword’s ringing.
Ripples spread through the air. Someone, it seemed, had been waiting for them here.
A voice said, "Leave the sword, and you may depart Upper Jade Capital."
A young woman with long, silver-moon hair stood weightlessly in mid-air. She wore a Lotus Crown, a Cyan and White Daoist Robe, and delicate Lotus Slippers.
Xue Yanluo’s eyes narrowed. "Third Princess, you wish to take the sword?"
Su Youwan, holding an oiled-paper umbrella, walked step-by-step until she stood before them. She gave a soft, "Mm."
It was as if she didn’t consider them a threat in the slightest.
The Town Elder spoke up. "This is hardly reasonable."
"You came to my home, made an utter mess of it, turned my brothers against one another, and left my people in a state of panic. You haven’t spoken of reason this entire time."
Su Youwan replied in a tone of utmost reason, "When members of my family fight amongst themselves, it’s not my place to interfere. When outside guests fight, it’s also not my place to interfere. But if a guest intends to steal something, that is a matter I must attend to."
She had not involved herself with the soldiers of the coup, nor had she intervened in the life-and-death struggles of the Cultivators. But that didn’t mean she had done nothing. She had used the entirety of her Cultivation to protect the mortals. Under her and the Qingcao Sword Sect’s protection, the ordinary people of Upper Jade Capital ultimately suffered few casualties.
Xue Yanluo started to say something, but he was cut short by the feeling of a faint breeze. It was a tiny gust of wind, yet it carried an inescapable premonition of death, as though his fate had just been sealed.
’I’m going to die here today.’
Xue Yanluo stared at Su Youwan in disbelief. "The Destined Celestial Dao!?"
An almost imperceptible smile touched Su Youwan’s lips. Unseen until now, a long, thin embroidery needle rested between her fingers. "Now, can you give me the sword?"
Xue Yanluo’s expression was grave as he stared at the needle. "How is that possible? Aren’t you afraid of a backlash from the Celestial Dao? Those who cultivate the Destined Celestial Dao are doomed to die under its tribulation."
"You needn’t trouble yourself, Young Master."
A long, thin thread extended from Su Youwan’s hand, wrapping around Broken Thought and slowly pulling it back toward her.
The Town Elder made no move.
He had been pinned to death by the needle.
A master of the Fifth Realm, yet a young girl who had not even Entered the Dao had used a single embroidery needle to stitch a new fate for him: move, and you die.
Su Youwan carefully took the sword in her hands, then gently caressed the blade. "Broken Thought, Broken Thought... Young Master Xue, do you know whose sword this is?"
Xue Yanluo had learned of the sword from the Blood Demon Lord, who in turn had heard of it from Noodle Granny. But Noodle Granny had never said who the sword’s master was, so of course, Xue Yanluo did not know the Sword Master.
He had found it strange. How could such a fine sword have no rumors or legends surrounding it, with no news of its master to be found anywhere?
Su Youwan’s voice was as clear as a tinkling spring. She said, "Years ago, Su Wuxiang traveled through the Black Realm and befriended a man and a woman. The woman later founded the Sun and Moon Palace, while the man returned to the White Realm with Su Wuxiang. On the night Su Wuxiang had Fallen into Demon, the man was right beside him, watching with his own eyes as his good friend was possessed by a Desire Demon and took the form of a monster."
This Little Ancestor of the Compassionate Palace seemed to be remarkably clear on this period of history.
"’That night, the man and the demonic Su Wuxiang fought for a day and a night. The explosive aftershocks destroyed half of Upper Jade Capital and obliterated the city gates. Because the man was only in the Sixth Realm at the time, he couldn’t kill Su Wuxiang. So in the end, the man sealed Su Wuxiang at the bottom of Liuqing Lake. And this blade was that man’s personal sword.’"
For some reason, Su Youwan laughed. "The Sun and Moon Palace later became the largest Demon Sect in the Black Realm. And the Sun and Moon Palace has Left and Right Guardians. The Left Guardian is Su Wuxiang. This sword belongs to the Right Guardian."
Broken Thought is Lu Changyuan’s sword.