Wuxia: Become the 100-Victory Sword King at the Beginning

Chapter 402. The Lonely Shadow of the Ice Palace: Yearning to the Bone

A sudden downpour began. Lianxing stared at the window frame that had been blown open by the wind. She instinctively grabbed her cloak to close it, but froze when she touched the windowsill.

In the past, whenever it rained, Shi Feiyang would brave the rain and climb over the wall to come over, soaking wet but with a bright smile: "Sister, look! I've brought you a mushroom that can glow!"

Now, only a few drops of cold rain adorn the empty windowsill.

Inside Yaoyue's study, the jade Buddha statue was polished to a spotless shine. Gazing at its warm luster, she suddenly recalled Shi Feiyang's playful expression: "This thing is even more beautiful than Sister Qiulian's face; it's perfect as a paperweight for Palace Mistress Yaoyue!"

As I gently stroked the Buddha statue with my fingertips, the coolness I felt was even more penetrating than touching ice.

In the dead of night at the Yihua Palace, two figures walked toward the kitchen at the same time.

Lianxing held a bottle of newly brewed Drunken Flower Wine in her hands, while Yaoyue held half a piece of unfinished Osmanthus Sugar Cake.

They met at the door, their eyes falling simultaneously on the wooden rabbit carving on the table.

"They're just little trinkets." Yaoyue turned her face away, her voice softening involuntarily.

Lianxing gently shook her head and placed the Drunken Flower Wine on the table: "Sister, this wine... forgot to add saffron."

Silence spread through the air, broken only by the distant sound of a jade flute, intermittent and without melody.

The peach blossoms in Yihua Palace still bloom year after year, but the figure that once climbed over the wall can no longer be seen. Only the longing remains, colder than ice and more painful than swords.

The city of Bianliang, shrouded in morning mist, was a scene of utter devastation. Shi Feiyang, shod in tattered straw sandals, with half a moldy osmanthus cake wrapped around his Xuanshuang Blade at his waist, staggered out of the inn. On the streets, refugees gnawed on tree bark, while the battle flags of "Xia," "Zheng," and "Wei" fluttered in the blood-soaked wind atop the city walls.

He grabbed a vendor by the collar and chuckled, "Brother, what's this world like? It's like a theatrical troupe taking turns performing! One day I was listening to a storyteller about the heroes of the Sui and Tang dynasties, and today, I'm the main character?"

The vendor, terrified, stammered, "Sir, spare my life! Wang Shichong and Dou Jiande are seizing Luoyang! You must hide..."

Before he could finish speaking, Shi Feiyang whistled and slipped away.

He kicked away the broken bricks at his feet and muttered, "Being the Grand Master is tiring, being the Emperor is even more tiring. This time, I just want to be a bystander!"

He originally wanted to return to Yihua Palace, where the beautiful Palace Mistress Yaoyue was, and the Second Palace Mistress Lianxing could study cooking with him.

But in this chaotic world, is there such an easy way home?
Shi Feiyang fled the war and unknowingly entered the depths of the Taihang Mountains. Here, clouds and mist lingered all year round, ancient trees reached for the sky, and the Bagua pattern was faintly visible among the strange rocks. The stone gate covered by vines was sometimes hidden and sometimes revealed, and the air was filled with the mysterious fragrance of sandalwood.

As he approached, hundreds of poisoned crossbow bolts suddenly came hurtling through the air! Shi Feiyang's eyes widened, and he shouted, "Oh ho! Playing with hidden weapons? I'll take you on!"

He used his "Leave No Trace for a Thousand Miles" lightness skill, his figure darting like a ghost. Then, he used the "Shifting Flowers and Jade" divine skill, his palms flying, and he actually used the force of the crossbow bolt to deflect it into the rocks. With a loud "boom," the stone gate that had been hidden for hundreds of years slowly opened.

Upon entering the pavilion, Shi Feiyang was astonished by the sight before him, his mouth agape. A bronze armillary sphere slowly rotated, the walls were covered with incomprehensible ancient runes, and a tattered "military talisman scroll" lay on a jade platform in the center, still emitting a faint glow.

Just then, an elder with white hair and beard, holding a tortoise-shell compass, emerged from the shadows. The elder looked Shi Feiyang up and down, his eyes filled with surprise: "I never expected to find someone who possesses both the Bright Jade Skill and the Nine Heavens Sword Manual!"

Shi Feiyang scratched his head and said with a grin, "Grandpa, what you're saying confuses me. Am I some kind of chosen one?" The elder stroked his beard and said seriously, "That's right! The trajectory of your internal energy circulation matches the ancient secret technique for deciphering the fragments of the military talisman. If you can help my Heavenly Mystery Pavilion unlock the secret, I will reward you with the lost 'Heavenly Craftsmanship Forging Technique.' This technique can forge your Xuan Shuang Blade to the point where it can cut through iron like mud, and it will also be imbued with the power of lightning!"

Upon hearing this, Shi Feiyang's eyes lit up instantly: "Hey! This is a good deal! But let's make it clear first, I don't want to be tied up here and forced into hard labor!"

Although he said that, he was already itching to upgrade the Frost Blade.

Little did he know that behind this seemingly tempting deal lay a host of hidden dangers.

Led by the elder, Shi Feiyang arrived at the underground secret chamber of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion. The chamber was filled with gears, quicksand traps, and fire mechanisms. The runes on the walls lit up with his footsteps, forming an ever-changing star map.

Shi Feiyang rubbed his hands together and said excitedly, "This is interesting! It's much more fun than the formations I encountered in the Yihua Palace!" He activated the Mingyu Gong, and an ice-blue vortex of true energy gradually appeared in his palm as he tried to resonate with the runes on the wall.

On his first attempt, just as Shi Feiyang infused his true energy, the ground suddenly cracked open, and quicksand gushed out. He shouted, "Not good!" and quickly unleashed the "Sword Intent Ruins" technique from the Nine Heavens Sword Manual, where thousands of sword energies transformed into peach blossoms and exploded into quicksand.

Before he could even catch his breath, another row of sharp blades rained down from above. Shi Feiyang dodged left and right, muttering under his breath, "Old man, your mechanisms are a bit too enthusiastic!"

While dodging the traps, Shi Feiyang accidentally touched a special stone wall.

With a "crack", a crack appeared in the stone wall, revealing the bamboo slips inside.

Curious, he picked up the bamboo slip to examine it, but his expression gradually turned serious. It turned out that it recorded the feud between the first master of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion and the ancestor of the Flower Shifting Palace! Back then, in order to seize a mysterious treasure, the two factions turned against each other and became irreconcilable enemies.

"No wonder the Peach Blossom Array of Yihua Palace always seemed so mysterious to me; it turns out there's a connection to it!" Shi Feiyang muttered to himself. Just then, he suddenly heard footsteps behind him.

He turned around alertly, only to see a group of Tianji Pavilion disciples surrounding him with weapons in hand, led by the Vice Pavilion Master Murong Hui.

Murong Hui sneered, "Shi Feiyang, how dare you steal the treasures from the pavilion! Today is your death day!"

Shi Feiyang was taken aback, then reacted and cursed, "You old scoundrel! You're spouting nonsense! I'm an upright man, why would I steal your junk?" He brandished the Xuan Shuang Blade, using techniques from the "Dog-Beating Stick Technique"—"Stick to the Mangy Dog" and "Reverse Strike the Dog's Body"—to fight the disciples of the Tianji Pavilion. While fighting, Shi Feiyang shouted, "Brothers, don't be fooled by this old bastard! This act is even more fake than the shadow puppet shows in Bianliang City!"

However, Murong Hui was prepared and secretly poisoned the weapons.

Shi Feiyang moved with lightning speed, his Xuan Shuang Blade leaving a silvery afterimage behind him, looking just like a fox being chased by a hound.

Murong Hui's roar, accompanied by hidden weapons, pierced the air. He took a moment to pull out half a moldy osmanthus cake from his pocket and took a bite: "That old bastard's pursuit is stickier than this cake!" Before he finished speaking, three bone-piercing nails grazed past his ears, scattering green smoke as they embedded themselves in the stone wall. He unleashed his unparalleled lightness skill, "Leaving No Trace for a Thousand Miles!", his figure blurring as he weaved through the winding corridors.

As he passed a bronze alchemy furnace, a sudden inspiration struck him. He abruptly turned around and activated the Mingyu Gong to its maximum. The vortex suction force in his palm surged, and the furnace flew backward like a cannonball, smashing into the pursuers and sending them sprawling.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Shi Feiyang hid in the secret passage, and didn't forget to stick his head out and make a face: "Everyone, have fun. I'm going to go and kill some time with the broken military tally scroll!"

At the end of the secret passage was a huge astronomical observatory. Shi Feiyang stroked his chin and stared at the flowing runes on the wall.

Suddenly remembering the grudges between Yihua Palace and Tianji Pavilion contained in the bamboo scroll in his bosom, he rolled his eyes and deliberately shouted at the top of his lungs, "Is this fragment of the military talisman missing Yihua Palace's Mingyu Xuanbing Technique? If I had known, I would have brought Palace Master Lianxing. Her embroidery skills are better than her deciphering mechanisms!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the ground suddenly cracked open, and dozens of armored golems burst out of the ground.

Shi Feiyang let out a strange cry, brandishing the Xuan Shuang Blade and unleashing the "Dog-Beating Stick Technique to Disrupt the Dog's Den," the tip of the sword aimed at the puppet's joints.

However, strange runes flowed around the puppet, and when it was hit, it unleashed an even stronger attack.

As he dodged, he cursed, "Good heavens! Did they hire Lu Ban, the legendary master carpenter, as an outside helper?"

In the midst of the chaotic battle, Shi Feiyang caught sight of the jade plate at the eye of the puppet formation. He activated the "Sword Heart Connection" technique from the Nine Heavens Sword Manual, and sword energy transformed into peach blossoms that drifted toward the jade plate.

The runes and sword energy collided, erupting in a blinding light. As the smoke dissipated, the stone door ahead swung open, revealing a staircase leading to the sword-forging cave. A wave of heat emanating from the cave hit him, even causing his eyebrows to curl up.

Inside the sword-forging cave, a thousand-year-old subterranean fire raged, and fragments of divine weapons from past dynasties hung on the surrounding walls, their blades gleaming eerily under the licking flames. Shi Feiyang whistled, "Goodness! This place is much more lively than Palace Mistress Lianxing's kitchen!"

Just as he was about to approach the central crimson gold furnace, he suddenly heard a cold laugh from above. Murong Hui led the elite troops of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion down from the sky, his Yin Sha Claws gleaming with purplish-black poison: "You little bastard, today is your burial ground!"

Shi Feiyang, however, calmly took out a piece of lard and smeared it on the Xuan Shuang Blade: "Old man, don't be impatient, let me give the sword a taste of meat!" As he said this, he suddenly used "Shifting Flowers and Receiving Jade"! His palms flew, and Murong Hui's attack strangely turned towards his own disciple.

In the chaos, Shi Feiyang seized the opportunity to rush towards the furnace, using his Mingyu Gong to control the earth fire. The icy blue true energy collided with the crimson flames, creating a deafening roar. While dodging hidden weapons, he muttered, "This is even more dangerous than secretly learning cooking skills at the Yihua Palace!"

"Heavenly Crafting Technique!" The elder suddenly appeared, his tortoise-shell compass shining brightly.

Shi Feiyang understood and threw the Xuan Shuang Blade into the furnace, simultaneously unleashing the "Sword Qi Tribulation" technique from the Nine Heavens Sword Manual. Thousands of sword energies poured into the blade, and suddenly lightning flashed and thunder roared in the furnace, the earth fire transforming into nine fire dragons that spiraled upwards.

Seeing the situation was dire, Murong Hui led his men in a full-scale attack. Shi Feiyang, however, grinned and suddenly drew the Xuan Shuang Blade, which he was forging.

At this moment, lightning patterns flowed across the sword. With a casual swing, a bolt of lightning shot out and cleaved the assassin charging at the front into charred remains.

(End of this chapter)