Chapter 236: Chapter 28 The Hidden Level Mount Fajue
“Ouch…”
Ling Yunpo slowly woke up, only to realize there were no wounds on his chest at all.
“Ah, Sword Master has awakened,” Thunder Punishment Sword announced, descending from the sky and landing beside him. “Just now, His Majesty Green Duckweed and Lord Kunlun were arguing,” it said.
Ling Yunpo fell silent for a moment and decided to ignore its bizarre references to the Green Duckweed Sword and the Kunlun Mirror, and asked:
“How long was I unconscious?”
“Not long, about a quarter of an hour,” Thunder Punishment Sword replied and was about to dish out some flattery when he saw the Green Duckweed Sword approaching from a distance, also stopping in front of him, and it said with a smile:
“You’re awake, Sword Master.”
“Where is this?” Ling Yunpo looked around and realized he was not in the Tongtian Pavilion anymore but seemed to be in some sort of dungeon.
Instead of the light-permitting wooden lattice windows, there were stone walls impervious to wind, meeting at the top to form a pointed ceiling.
The floor was covered with a thin layer of accumulated water, up to the edge of the boot soles, and the back of his robe was completely soaked, probably due to him having lain on the ground just now.
And, most troubling of all, there were no visible exits from this place.
“I have no idea,” Green Duckweed Sword answered. “After you were defeated, you were immediately transported here. Yao Yao did not give any hints beforehand.”
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“I’ve said it many times, I can’t keep track of his every possible future,” Kunlun Mirror said helplessly. “Unless he faces an unavoidable fate of death… which he hasn’t, has he!”
“‘Trapped’ is also a form of ‘not dead,’” Green Duckweed Sword said coldly. “If Sword Master and I were forever trapped in some secret realm, you couldn’t predict that in advance either?”
“I’m not omnipotent!” retorted Kunlun Mirror, annoyed. “Besides, his failure in the sword duel just now, wasn’t that because you didn’t give him any hints?”
“The opponent resorted to tricks like turning two swords into three, it was impossible to win anyway,” Green Duckweed Sword argued. “So what difference would a hint have made?”
“Enough, both of you stop it!” Ling Yunpo interrupted their bickering. “Assigning blame is pointless! In the end, I’m the one who suffers… Now what should we do about our current predicament?”
“Judging by the spatial fluctuations, you should be in another space within the White Jade Capital Secret Realm,” Kunlun Mirror soothed him. “Perhaps it’s a restriction similar to one triggered by failing the trial.”
“Incorrect,” Green Duckweed Sword corrected. “These restrictions were triggered the moment you stepped into the Pavilion.”
“Don’t forget, the person you were up against was much stronger than the one Senior Sister An faced!”
“It’s hard not to acknowledge that,” Ling Yunpo said with a sullen face, resentfully. “So why the hell does this shitty White Jade Capital Secret Realm have it out for me?”
Both Kunlun Mirror and Green Duckweed Sword pondered this.
“Is there a possibility,” Green Duckweed Sword hypothesized, “that it’s because your strength is weaker than your Senior Sister’s…”
“No, next,” Ling Yunpo cut it off firmly.
“My personal belief is quite the opposite,” Kunlun Mirror analyzed. “From what we can see, this secret realm provides swordsmanship trials, so any adjustments or changes to the difficulty of the trial can’t possibly be unrelated to the trialists’ own strength.”
“Could it be, because your opponent was stronger than Senior Sister An’s, that the secret realm judged your strength to be much higher than your Senior Sister’s?”
“There’s some reason to that,” Ling Yunpo said, confused. “But when it comes to swordsmanship alone, I’m not far superior to Senior Sister.”
“Swordsmanship is certainly a criterion, but the rank of the Immortal Sword itself cannot be overlooked,” Kunlun Mirror remarked.
“Might as well just report my name,” Green Duckweed Sword said irritably.
“I didn’t say that,” Kunlun Mirror replied with a chuckle.
Hmm? Ling Yunpo caught the undertone of Ah Jing’s words; was it implying that this secret realm was targeting him because of the Green Duckweed Sword?
He paced around the surroundings again, confirming that indeed no passageways existed on the walls.
The tenacious Ling Yunpo, wielding the Green Duckweed Sword, taps here and strikes there until he finally notices that the echo from a certain wall segment is different—the area behind seems to be hollow.
He then lets out a cold laugh, steps back to a distance, chants a spell and says,
“Resonate through the three realms, Tai Yi Divine Thunder, break!”
A colorless, transparent Thunder Light lashes out from his hands, none other than the power of Tai Yi Thunder known for “moving mountains and filling seas.” It strikes directly at the opposite wall, instantly causing dust to fly and bricks to scatter, with the entire building trembling violently.
Once the dust settles, Ling Yunpo sees that the wall has nearly disappeared, revealing a passageway behind it.
Entering the passageway with caution, he carefully surveys his surroundings when suddenly he hears the female voice from before say,
“Shushan’s Ling Yunpo, possessing the Innate Sword Bone talent, is hereby granted a special trial on Mount Fajue.”
Ling Yunpo: ………..
So the Restrictions recognized my exceptional talent and led me here on purpose!
Realizing that this situation wasn’t a malicious trap specifically against him, he breathes a sigh of relief.
Whatever the case, since this too is part of the trials and not some trap, I should explore freely and to the fullest.
Ling Yunpo proceeds through the corridor and enters into a second sealed room, where he suddenly sees figures rising in front of him.
Compared to the misty silhouettes from before, these figures are obviously more solid, with their facial features clearly discernible; it’s an emaciated, clear-eyed old man, dressed in a hemp Taoist robe, wearing a tall hat with an iron hairpin, his hair and beard gray, his expression serious and devoid of smiles, coldly saying,
“This humble Daoist Zhu Ling, requests instruction from the Sword Bone bearer.”
He bows deeply, and Ling Yunpo hastily returns the gesture,
“Please impart your instruction.”
The two bow to each other, then immediately activate their Immortal Swords and clash fiercely in the air!
…
Outside Mount Fajue, in one of the five cities, An Zhisu’s pupils abruptly contract upon seeing Ling Yunpo being run through by a long sword and disappearing on the spot.
She stands still for a moment, then, with a swift movement, her Flying Smoke Sword strikes at the light curtain in front of her with all her might.
She’s rebounded.
Clearly, each pavilion is a trial. Trialists who have already passed a trial are not allowed to enter it again.
But why would my junior brother…
Forcing herself to calm down, An Zhisu feels her blood turn cold as ice, and all her thoughts sink, leaving nothing but pure reason.
Firstly, given the mechanisms of most secret realms, if a trialist were truly killed, they typically wouldn’t transport the body away on the spot—such a move would be entirely superfluous.
Secondly, there’s a high probability that the secret realm is a type designed for trials, meant to temper the abilities of the trialists. Therefore, Cultivators who fail the trial will probably be teleported out of the secret realm, not killed.
Verification is simple—just pass all the trials, and everything will become clear upon exiting!
With this in mind, An Zhisu turns on her heel and strides forward without looking back.
Passing once again through the suspended corridor, she quickly reaches the second pavilion, only to hear the female voice say,
“Shushan’s An Zhisu, challenging the second floor of the White Jade Capital. Generating a Sword Foe according to the Cultivation Level.”
Before the misty figure can even take shape, An Zhisu charges forward with high-speed Sword Control, her Flying Smoke Sword enveloped in fierce flames and radiant brilliance, slashing down like Mount Tai bearing down on her foe!
The misty figure has just enough time to draw its sword for a hasty block. But then An Zhisu’s Harsh Cold Sword suddenly springs from below her feet, piercing straight through its chest.
Countless ice crystals freeze the mist, and An Zhisu grabs the hilt of the Harsh Cold Sword with a backhanded grip, pulling fiercely to one side, cleanly cutting the silhouette in two!