Embers of Sword

Chapter 617 The culprit
The roar of the dragon echoed throughout the entire world!
The sword energy dragon vein, which had been dormant beneath the ground of Da Sui for thousands of years, has now fully awakened.

Zhang Lu cleaved down Jin'ao Peak, unleashing countless sword energies that filled the entire sea of ​​clouds!

If such a sword were to fall...

Even if a blank sheet of paper were to transform into many different forms, it would be of no use.

however……

At this moment, Lu Yuzhen neither retreated nor dodged.

He simply gazed calmly at the towering "Golden Turtle Peak," his eyes filled with a hint of... pity.

Zhao Tongtian, of course, noticed Lu Yuzhen's expression.

He frowned, not quite understanding why the paper Taoist was reacting this way, and still slashed down Jin'ao Peak with all his might!
But the next moment, he understood.

The dragon's roar abruptly stopped in mid-air, and the sword-qi dragon that was rushing upwards stopped just before crashing into the sea of ​​clouds!

The golden sword fell.

Lu Yuzhen neither dodged nor flinched, but instead took the hit squarely on his shoulder with the pure white sage-like form—

Golden light burst forth and scattered in all directions.

The sword energy dragon vein's penetration was interrupted.

The immense aura emanating from the sword forest shattered and disintegrated beneath the clouds.

……

……

A thick fog enveloped the sword forest.

The four Thunder-Slaying Swords fell to the ground with clanging sounds.

After that, all was silent.

So quiet you can hear a pin drop.

Qi Lie, who was in the center of the Yuan Formation, slowly lowered his head and looked at his chest... There was a flying sword stuck there, and the flying sword was glowing with purple light.

The flying sword came from the direction of the Yuan Formation at Xiaochun Mountain.

The flying sword still bore faint, fading flames of primordial fire...

The azure dragon of fortune that had lifted itself off the ground fell back down, its immense fortune failing to reach the sea of ​​clouds, but the dragon vein itself remained fully visible in the human world.

Qi Lie reached out and grasped the hilt of the trembling flying sword.

He slowly moved his head, looking towards the direction of the Yuan Formation on Xiaochun Mountain.

The excruciating pain from the flying sword piercing his heart at that moment.

It seems like none of that matters anymore.

The chill emanating from the depths of his soul made him feel as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

"Elder brother..."

Qi Lie managed to squeeze out a sound.

Qi Lie stared palely at the man in the purple robe at the forefront of the Xiaochun Mountain Yuan Formation... He never imagined that such an absurd scene would appear at the most critical moment for the Da Sui Sword Palace.

During my youth, I spent my days practicing at Lotus Peak.

Apart from Senior Brother Xuan Yi... it was Senior Brother who treated me the best.

The eldest brother is like a father.

While Zhao Chunyang was in seclusion, his senior brother Zhou Zhiren took care of all the fellow disciples on Lotus Peak. He not only taught Qi Lie swordsmanship but also cooked for him, took care of his daily needs, and occasionally even took him to the small town at the foot of the mountain to see a theatrical performance. In Qi Lie's heart, Zhou Zhiren had become a family member, bound by blood.

This unexpected turn of events took everyone by surprise.

Zhou Zhiren's sword strike was too fast, without any warning.

Not only did Qi Lie fail to react, but Huang Su was also unaware of the danger.

The flying sword had already struck—

The dragon vein's fortune, which had been drawn by the thunder, plummeted, and Jianlin's last-ditch effort failed.

Even after ten breaths had passed, everyone was still in shock.

Qi Lie swayed and collapsed to the ground, clutching his chest tightly with his hands, blood seeping from between his fingers.

He looked at his senior brother with a complicated expression and couldn't help but ask, "...Why?"

"..."

Zhou Zhiren watched this scene calmly.

He glanced around, his gaze sweeping over his junior brother Qi Lie, as well as Huang Su and Si Qi not far away. Seemingly hesitant, he did not answer Qi Lie's question, but chose to remain silent.

But the silence at this moment is far more hurtful than a flying sword.

"For the dragon vein?"

Qi Lie grinned, and for a moment seemed to understand something: "You're waiting for me to return to the Sword Forest and draw out the Dragon Vein?"

The silence was broken.

"Yes."

Zhou Zhiren spoke softly, uttering only one word. Qi Lie lowered his eyes.

He felt as if something deep within his heart had silently shattered.

"But...you ignited your life force earlier..."

"fake."

"Then fight Zhu Yan to the death..."

"Of course it's also fake."

Si Qi opened his mouth unwillingly, wanting to say something, but he was quickly interrupted twice.

He could no longer speak, and just stared at Zhou Zhiren helplessly, his face paler than ever before.

"If we hadn't done this... how could things have turned out like this?"

Zhou Zhiren emerged from the Xiaochun Mountain Yuan Formation and slowly approached Qi Lie. He raised his hand to recall his flying sword and gently shook his sleeve to remove the bloodstains.

he knows……

Now he has replaced Qi Lie and become the focus of everyone's attention.

However, the gazes directed at him at this moment were mixed with incomprehension, confusion, anger, and hatred.

Zhou Zhiren sheathed his flying sword and said indifferently, "Don't you all understand yet... Everything I've done is a lie. I'm only doing this for the Dragon Vein."

The claim that they were blocking Da Chu and resisting the treasure ships was false.

The act of igniting the flames of destiny and fighting with Zhu Yan is also a lie.

All this was done... just to get the Master to activate "Sword Forest" and draw out the sword energy dragon vein.

Everything was for this moment.

At this moment, the Sword Forest was so cold that it made people shiver.

"And what about ten years ago?"

At the end of the sword forest, Huang Su, who had been silent all along, finally spoke.

Compared to Qi Lie and Zhou Zhiren, Huang Su's reaction was much calmer. She sat alone in front of the Lotus Peak Yuan Formation, which only housed two people: herself and Duan Zhao.

Huang Su slowly stood up.

Amidst the misty sword forest, the sounds of surging sword energy echoed, and the Flowing Cloud Flying Sword flowed between her sleeves, arrayed in formation.

She stared at Zhou Zhiren expressionlessly.

These words startled Qi Lie, Si Qi, and many other disciples of the Great Sui Sword Palace.

"Ten years ago?"

Zhou Zhiren raised an eyebrow, not expecting Huang Su to utter that word.

He slowly turned around and looked at the young woman who had joined Lotus Peak the shortest time ago but made the greatest progress.

"Ten years ago, Senior Brother Xuan Yi's information was leaked."

Huang Su calmly said, "Being chased by Yinshan... all the way to Beihai... are these things related to you?"

The Beihai case from ten years ago has been buried for a long time.

When Xie Zhen first joined the sect, Huang Su assisted in the investigation and discovered many clues.

Unfortunately, the matter was not investigated further.

Xie Zhen chose to give up...

But flavonoids did not.

At that time, she did not know Xie Zhen's true identity; she only vaguely felt that some things were too coincidental.

The Xuan Shui Grand Competition has just ended.

Then came the news that Jiang Miaoyin had gone into seclusion in the Thirty-Three Grotto Heavens.

Ten years ago, when Xie Xuanyi was being hunted down, the Great Sui Sword Palace temporarily closed its gates.

The only person who left the Sword Palace was Qingzhu, the maid who had grown up with Jiang Miaoyin.

After the Beihai case.

Qingzhu never appeared again.

Jiang Miaoyin was heartbroken and locked herself in a jade screen.

These coincidences, when put together, seem to have revealed the "culprit" who leaked the information back then.

However, is it really as simple as it seems on the surface?

"it's me."

At this point, there's nothing left to hide.

Zhou Zhiren said calmly, "Ten years ago... I was the one who leaked Xie Xuanyi's information."

……

……

(Sorry, this chapter took a while to write.)
(End of this chapter)