Who is spreading rumors that my filial piety towards them has changed?

Upon entering the sword domain, Feng Ying adjusted her breathing rhythm.

Such a powerful pressure! How many sword cultivators' sword intent must have been condensed in this?

"It's been so many years. The little girl from back then has become a sword immortal. I remember when you were just this young..." the old woman said.

"Uh, who are you, grandma? My memory isn't very good," Zuo Qiuchi replied subtly.

"..."

After successfully entering the Sword Emperor Dynasty, Feng Ying's presence remained undiscovered. She continued to follow Zuo Qiuchi, moving closer to Zhengjian Peak.

On the other side, Chu Mingkong was also approaching the Sword Dynasty.

Yes, we still took the Abyss Trail.

"Aunt Donglu, we're going straight to meet Master later, so you'd better show me the way, don't say you don't know the way!"

Chapter Thirty-Three: The Late Emperor's Long-cherished Wish

Chu Mingkong was genuinely afraid of Aunt Donglu's "indifferent to worldly affairs" nature, which made her seem clueless about everything.

They were unaware of the situation within the Sword Emperor Dynasty, which could be interpreted as being deliberately kept in the dark, but not even knowing the way was going too far.

Fortunately, Zuo Donglu didn't give a high-quality answer this time.

“Of course I know the way. I know the way to Zhengjian Peak. I’ll take you around the patrols.”

How should I put it? It feels like we've gone back to the infiltration rhythm we used to have, and thinking about it makes me a little nostalgic.

Zuo Donglu followed Chu Mingkong closely, not daring to stray even a step away. The depths of the Abyss were a place where her senses were completely shut out; even after walking through it once, she still felt like she could get lost at any moment.

The pressure emanating from this forbidden zone caused Zuo Donglu's entire body's spiritual meridians to tremble with unease.

Chu Mingkong, on the other hand, was already quite adept at it after a couple of tries. He grabbed Aunt Donglu's wrist and quickly made his way through the area. Just as they crossed the depths of the abyss and arrived at the outer perimeter, they unfortunately encountered a sword cultivator disciple.

He seemed to be ordered to search for Zuo Donglu's remains, to find her alive or dead.

Group flow 彡 bar Sanling 64 uncle period

Upon seeing a strange man inexplicably leading Zuo Donglu out of that desolate, deserted place, the sword cultivator looked as if he had seen a ghost.

"Who are you......."

He had barely uttered a word when Chu Mingkong slapped him unconscious, effortlessly shattering the sword cultivator's shield.

More people nearby heard the commotion and rushed over, but they were all knocked unconscious by Chu Mingkong's slaps.

They moved cautiously around the outer edge of the Abyss, their sword energy shields fully prepared, but in this environment, they couldn't outrun or defeat Chu Mingkong.

In the blink of an eye, a row of sword cultivator disciples lay peacefully together, covered with some soil by Chu Mingkong.

Fearing that their sudden death might alert the enemy, Chu Mingkong did not kill them. However, they were unconscious in the Abyss, and their fate was now up to fate.

"An old steed in its stall may still aspire to gallop a thousand miles; it seems that even after lying low in Xiling for so long, my infiltration skills remain as professional as ever!" Chu Mingkong remarked with admiration.

Is this infiltrating? You're chasing after people and slapping them...

Zuo Donglu glanced at the mound of earth where the sword cultivator had been buried, then at Chu Mingkong, and chose not to comment.

Leaving the outer edge of the Abyss, the colors of the sky and earth seemed to have suddenly returned to normal, the sky was bright and clear, much "sunny" than the Xiling border fortress.

Zuo Donglu led Chu Mingkong past a group of sword cultivators and approached a towering sword peak.

The most striking feature of the Sword Dynasty's customs and culture is undoubtedly its several enormous, towering sword peaks. A dozen or so sword peaks stand tall and majestic, scattered throughout the Sword Dynasty, reaching from the sky to the earth.

Ordinary people and cultivators alike seem to live under the "roof" supported by the sword peak.

A sword-shaped peak, resembling a giant tower, has many hollowed-out sections, divided into more than a hundred layers, where many sword cultivators actively move about.

"Aunt Donglu, what kind of person was my master back in the Sword Emperor Dynasty? Was he like this now, stealing a moment of leisure to touch whatever he could?"

Zuo Donglu was lost in memories, but recalling them was easy. Many of the years she remembered were spent alone, far from the world, watching the sunset. Her life before becoming a nun seemed special, and therefore she remembered it particularly clearly.

“When the elders are scolding him, he is very serious. If the elders are not paying attention, Qiu Chi will secretly fall asleep.”

Upon hearing this, Chu Mingkong couldn't help but smile:

"That is indeed her. Look at those disciples coming and going. Apart from those on missions, many of them are in a hurry."

"Everyone is rushing to cultivate, and resources are limited. If you advance a step slower than others, the resources and treasures you can get may be worse... If you don't make progress in cultivation for too long, the Sword Dynasty will give up on nurturing you and arrange for you to work for the Sword Dynasty."

"There must be some unexpected rewards for completing missions, right? Isn't training also a part of cultivation?"

"These experiences... mostly involve patrolling, guarding, or serving as reserve troops to explore secret realms. The treasures obtained are mostly to be handed over to the Sword Dynasty."

Well, if the so-called mission is just patrolling or something like that, then it really doesn't help with cultivation.

Chu Mingkong began to understand why the cultivators of the Sword Emperor Dynasty had been traveling in such a hurry.

Cultivators are treated like treasures outside, especially those with some skills. But the Sword Dynasty basically treats cultivators as... tools.

Once the investment is nearly complete and growth is slowing down, it's time to put it to use.

Who came up with these rules...?

The two soon passed another sword enlightenment field, a huge square in which stone carvings and swords left by predecessors floated in the air to help disciples comprehend their cultivation.

Chu Mingkong, standing amidst it all, indeed felt a profound and mysterious sense of enlightenment.

If Miss Ruyu were here, she would probably say that I would have the same feeling after drinking rice porridge, but it would be much stronger!

Chu Mingkong and Zuo Donglu were not here for a visit, but rather to temporarily avoid the patrol team.

But after standing there for only a short while, the sword cultivators in the square lost their inspiration, their faces showed strange expressions, and there were vague signs that their sword intent had gone astray and that inner demons were beginning to emerge.

The disciples quickly stopped cultivating and began chanting the Heart-Cleansing Mantra to empty their minds.

Seeing this, a hint of sadness flashed across Zuo Donglu's usually expressionless face. She tugged at Chu Mingkong's sleeve:

"Mingkong, let's go. Don't disturb their sword comprehension; their time for enlightenment here is limited..."

Chu Mingkong's eye twitched slightly. Was this the destructive power of Aunt Donglu's fate?

In the Sword Dynasty, a country where sword cultivators are prevalent, this is indeed a bit excessive.

--------------

Chu Mingkong had Feng Ying follow Zuo Qiuchi, not only as a lookout, but also to advise her, craft her lines, and gather intelligence.

Before ascending Zhengjian Peak, Feng Ying frequently used telepathy to instruct Zuo Qiuchi on how to begin her questions and how to proceed...

Because after meeting Li Tairan, it would be easy for such a person to notice something amiss if they used telepathy at close range, so they could only explain what needed to be explained in advance.

"Qiuchi, you understand what I just said, right?" Fengying reminded him one last time.

What are you saying? Do I need to understand?

The main hall at the summit of Zhengjian Peak can be said to be the origin of all the orthodox longswords in the world.

Li Tairan sat in the hall, his hair slightly white, but he did not give people a sense of old age and decline. On the contrary, he seemed to be facing a weathered white-browed eagle, and dared not underestimate him.

Beside him was a huge sword box, which, judging by its size, was intended to hold heavy swords.

After exchanging a few simple greetings with him, Zuo Qiuchi asked curiously:

"Senior Li, you've also started practicing heavy swordsmanship?"

"The people of the Hundred Flames Sword Tomb mentioned that the ancestral sword resounded, and another extraordinary talent emerged from the heavy sword lineage. He could accompany Miss Zuo. Unfortunately, no one has gone to retrieve the sword, and it ended up here with me. If Miss Zuo knows whose sword this is, please take it on her behalf. I have been cultivating longsword for over a hundred years and have no intention of switching to other techniques."

Zuo Qiuchi muttered to himself, "Could it be the one that the traitorous disciple didn't go to collect?"

That kid Chu Mingkong, first he used her Extinction, then the Asura King's, and then Yuehe's. He just wouldn't use his own stuff, insisting that anything from others was good.

However, this interruption made Zuo Qiuchi forget what Feng Ying wanted her to say as an opening line...

Forgot her lines, she stared silently at Li Tairan, whose sharp eyes were also fixed on her.

It seemed as if they were locked in a duel of sword intent and momentum.

Feng Ying, still hidden on Zuo Qiuchi's body, immediately understood what was going on and covered his face in speechlessness.

Zuo Qiuchi sat down directly, grabbed the sword box from a distance, opened it and saw that the design of the sword was quite simple, so simple that Zuo Qiuchi suspected that the Hundred Flame Sword Tomb had a problem with Chu Mingkong and had made him a new one with a perfunctory appearance.

Taking advantage of the moment she was observing the sword's shape, Zuo Qiuchi carefully recalled what Feng Ying had just told her, but found that she had forgotten it. So, in a fit of despair, she said:

"Senior Li, please speak your mind directly. There's no need to beat around the bush."

Li Tairan narrowed his eyes slightly, waved his hand gently, and the guards retreated. The palace door slammed shut, and the light in the hall dimmed a little.

"Very well, since you are all people of such high caliber, I will not bother with such pretense and evasion... I am a person who is loyal to Her Majesty the Empress's long-cherished wish."

Zuo Qiuchi's expression remained unchanged. Perhaps it was because she had been spending more time with her younger sister Donglu lately, but she had also adopted that expressionless demeanor, and she really did have a certain air of nonchalant composure.

"Which empress are you referring to, the current one or the one from the past?"

Feng Ying was taken aback. Was the conversation really going to continue like this?

Li Tairan snorted coldly:

"Naturally, it is the late emperor. The one sitting on the throne now is nothing but a cowardly woman who has betrayed the late emperor's wishes."

"It's not appropriate to speak ill of the current Empress in your heart, so what exactly are you trying to say?"

"Miss Zuo has come this far, so she should know that there is a heaven above heaven, which is the Heavenly Realm. The late emperor was determined to 'overturn the heavens' and use the natural Yin-Yang balance of the Sword Dynasty's land to forge a Chaotic Soul Sword to protect the country. At that time, even if the people of the high and mighty Heavenly Realm come again, they will be affected by the Chaotic Soul Sword, lose their way here, and then reveal the treasures of the Heavenly Realm."

Feng Ying listened intently, secretly alarmed. If this person's words were true, then the former emperor of the Sword Emperor Dynasty, the one who had won over the Chu family of Xiling through marriage, truly had grand ambitions.

I just don't know if that Yin-Yang Chaos Sword will actually work, or if it's just wishful thinking.

"Now, the grand scheme of the Yin-Yang Chaos Sword is still lacking the pure sword intent of a sword cultivator. We hope that Miss Zuo can remember the late emperor's will and the Sword Emperor Dynasty's nurturing grace, and fulfill this last missing piece!"

Zuo Qiuchi understood very well that adding pure sword intent was essentially equivalent to giving away his life's work and insights, which was almost like a self-sacrifice.

However, the outcome of offering up pure sword intent is better; it only results in the loss of cultivation and severe damage to the soul, while the physical body remains intact.

Zuo Qiuchi's face, which had been expressionless for a long time, finally showed a smile, but it was a sneer:

"Is that why you wanted to capture Donglu?"

Chapter Thirty-Four: You're the Adaptable Loyal Subject? [Seeking Monthly Tickets~]

In that instant, many thoughts flashed through Li Tairan's mind.

Why would Zuo Qiuchi suddenly bring up Zuo Donglu? Shouldn't she have died unexpectedly in the Abyss?