Cohabitation with Sword Spirit

Chapter 467 - 52: Sublimation

April 30, 2018

The square in front of the City Lord’s Mansion in Golden Jade City.

As Zhao Lingbo used the Broken Moon Sword Array to draw everyone’s attention, Wang Jiu seized the opportunity and immediately infiltrated the City Lord’s Mansion during the brief lapse in vigilance.

The place, which should have been heavily guarded with sentries at every step, was now relaxed. More than half of the guards were dispatched to the square to maintain order. Those on duty were mesmerized by the celestial phenomenon above, oblivious to the changing surroundings.

For an infiltrator, it was a godsend opportunity.

Following the pre-planned route, Wang Jiu broke through the layers of ineffective barriers and made his way directly to the underground forbidden area, the location of the Golden Jade Seventeen-Link Lock.

There, he successfully met Zhao Chenlu.

"Long time no see." Wang Jiu greeted while carefully observing his old friend he hadn’t seen in days.

The woman remained graceful, completely untouched by the decadence of being imprisoned underground for over a dozen days.

Though still suppressed by the array she personally set up, Wang Jiu could now clearly feel the woman’s surging True Essence and resilient Primordial Spirit.

Zhao Chenlu was in her peak condition.

The Seventeen Linked Rings is theoretically considered a vicious imprisoning array. The chains penetrate the physical body and Primordial Spirit, much like a hook through the pipa bone, rendering one incapable of resistance. However, in Zhao Chenlu’s case, the power of these Seventeen Linked Rings could exert less than one-tenth of its strength, only barely coating her body, restricting her movements without causing any substantial harm.

Given her current state, even without external help or the support of Golden Jade people’s millions of Wish Power, there was a considerable likelihood she could escape on her own.

It was just as Wang Jiu had anticipated.

Based on Zhao Chenlu’s displayed strength last time they met, it was hard to imagine she remained trapped by the Seventeen Linked Rings she set for so long. There was a significant chance she was relying on a rescue to intentionally stay inside.

After all, she had a history of such behavior...

Upon seeing Wang Jiu, Zhao Chenlu smiled softly, saying, "I knew you would come to save me."

Wang Jiu couldn’t help but ask, "What if I hadn’t come?"

Zhao Chenlu looked up at the pitch-black ceiling, her gaze penetrating to the commotion on the ground and the vast starry sky, replying softly, "Then I would wait to die... If I died, you surely would come then."

Wang Jiu said, "I would laugh at and scold your stupidity over your corpse."

Zhao Chenlu chuckled, "That’s still better than ignoring me. Even knowing I’m being petty and losing face over it, you still came to find me... That means more to me than anything."

Wang Jiu frowned, "I still can’t understand this mindset."

"No worries, I will slowly teach you in the future, with Shang Lanfei out of the picture this time, I will teach you seriously," Zhao Chenlu said. Suddenly there was a tremor around, and the whole forbidden area seemed to be squeezed by an external force, starting to shake violently.

Zhao Chenlu looked up, her eyes reflecting the starlight above, and she laughed lightly, "Lingbo is very serious. The Broken Moon Sword Array I taught her, she’s using better than ever. She hasn’t let my efforts down."

Wang Jiu was a bit puzzled, "Aren’t you upset by your subordinate’s betrayal?"

Zhao Chenlu laughed, "How could I not be? I was quite angry a few days ago, but seeing you here, all negative emotions vanished. A hero saving a damsel, such a plot is every girl’s dream. Without those fools, I might never have experienced this, especially since... the Immortal Demon War is over after all."

As the two spoke, the pitch-black ceiling above abruptly shattered, and countless starlight poured down.

Wang Jiu wasted no time, the Celestial Divine Sword’s body directly penetrated the multiple constraints of the Seventeen Linked Rings and flew into Zhao Chenlu’s hands.

The woman immediately let out a sigh of satisfaction as the void was filled, then raised the White Sword to her head.

Countless starlights collided, time and space twisted and tore, and the contained True Sun Flame collided with the Celestial Divine Sword’s body.

The immense destructive power, enough to obliterate any cultivator in the world, merely sparked harmlessly against the Celestial Divine Sword.

The Celestial Divine Sword’s indestructible essence instantly neutralized more than half of the power of the Broken Moon Sword Array, with the sword body’s barrier keeping the starlight’s edge out.

Still, the remaining smaller force traveled along the sword body, directly reaching Zhao Chenlu’s wrist.

With a crisp snap, her thin, fair wrist broke, and the White Sword’s body tilted, the blade sliding toward Zhao Chenlu’s head.

"Tch..." Zhao Chenlu gritted her teeth, raised her other hand, grasped the sword, and pushed it upwards with effort.

Boom!

An even more intense collision erupted, and Zhao Chenlu’s entire skeleton emitted a crisp sound, with her True Essence scattering in all directions from the shock.

Although she barely managed to maintain stability for a moment, it was clearly not a long-term solution.

"Tsk, this child Lingbo, is even more outstanding than I expected..."

Wang Jiu said as he felt the collision of starlight all around, "She has entrusted her Primordial Spirit to the Broken Moon Sword Array, enhancing the array’s power."

"Hmm, entrusting the Primordial Spirit? This is practically a blood sacrifice. With her level of comprehension, this crude method is likely the best she could come up with. Improving the sword array or enhancing its power—that’s beyond her mental capacity."

Wang Jiu said, "But right now, this crude method is exactly what’s restraining someone as adept as you."

"Indeed, I’ve always had trouble dealing with fools in the past..."

Even as Zhao Chenlu spoke nonchalantly, her eyes began to fill with a crimson hue.

Clearly, she was already putting forth her maximum effort to resist, yet she still couldn’t escape the predicament. This enhanced version of the Broken Moon Sword Array truly was Zhao Chenlu’s nemesis.

The sword array was designed by Wang Jiu himself, with every detail tailored to target Zhao Yueming of the past and now Zhao Chenlu. If Zhao Lingbo had presumptuously tried to improve the sword array, it would have introduced flaws into its flawless structure. Yet she made no changes, directly implemented the array, and even entrusted her Primordial Spirit to enhance its power, making it particularly difficult for Zhao Chenlu to deal with.

In the first round of collisions, Wang Jiu judged that Zhao Chenlu, even armed with the Celestial Divine Sword, couldn’t withstand the full grinding force of the Broken Moon Sword Array. At most, in a quarter hour, she would be shattered to death by the sword array’s power. Since the Seventeen Linked Rings were still unbroken when the Broken Moon Sword Array was launched, she had to use brute force to block in place, losing the space to dodge or maneuver, and had no other tricks to rely on.

It was almost a dead end.

Unless some new external force could be introduced...

But now, reliable external forces were rare; the power of Sword World was still too fragile before such high-level clashes. Even most cultivators in Golden Jade City were unqualified to join the confrontation between the Broken Moon Sword Array and Zhao Chenlu. Cultivators like Zhao Hongwu and Zhao Hongwen at the Mountain-Overturning Realm level would be shredded into pieces just by getting swept into the fray by the starlight.

The only reliable power lay in the united strength of the people’s wish power... But because Zhao Lingbo activated the Broken Moon Sword Array too early, Wang Jiu hadn’t had the chance to overturn the situation completely at the public trial. The current wish power was insufficient to assist Zhao Chenlu. That kind of wish power, mixed with various complicated emotions, could be as potent as poison.

It was a pity, only a step or two away from the final reversal. At the public trial, Wang Jiu had already successfully refuted Zhao Hongwu’s accusations of cultural destruction and embezzlement of public funds. After the most crucial charges failed, rekindling the people’s love and support for Zhao Chenlu would have transformed this wish power.

Once the transformation was complete, regardless of Zhao Hongwu’s willingness, Wang Jiu could swiftly trigger the wish power, granting Zhao Chenlu overwhelmingly powerful strength that even the Broken Moon Sword Array couldn’t suppress. But now...

While pondering, Wang Jiu suddenly noticed the surrounding space had become expansive and empty.

The falling star river shattered the dome of the forbidden area, creating a massive crater in the City Lord’s Mansion, and Zhao Chenlu, though underground, could already see the scenery above ground.

At the rim of the pit, Zhao Hongwu and others were watching the central collision intently. Beside them were elders who shared their interests and were in it together for better or worse, hundreds or thousands of silver-armored soldiers, and even a large crowd of fearless onlookers who were braving the aftermath of starlight to see the live action.

Everyone knew that the future direction of Golden Jade City depended on the result of this collision.

Seeing this large crowd of onlookers, Wang Jiu suddenly had an inspiration.

"Chenlu, I have a way to help you break free, but I need your cooperation."

Zhao Chenlu, already beginning to accumulate internal injuries, sighed lightly upon hearing Wang Jiu’s words, "Alright, what do you need me to do? Take control."

Wang Jiu said no more and immediately took over control of Zhao Chenlu’s body.

As former comrades-in-arms, Wang Jiu had signed a Master-Servant Contract with her, fought against the Demon Race together, and were well-acquainted with each other.

Even though this lifetime’s Zhao Chenlu had changed bodies, and the old Master-Servant Contract was no longer effective, Wang Jiu could still adeptly control Zhao Chenlu’s body, unleashing a strength threefold greater than the original owner’s.

The White Sword slashed through, dispersing the starlight across the sky. With his strength alone, Wang Jiu momentarily pushed back the sharpness of the Broken Moon Sword Array.

Seizing this brief moment, he immediately led his charge upward, quickly ascending above ground level to take in the spectacle of tens of thousands of Golden Jade City’s citizens watching.

Simultaneously, the tens of thousands of people in the plaza saw Zhao Chenlu soaring high, showcasing her breathtaking grace as she confronted the starlight.

In the next moment, everyone saw beside Zhao Chenlu, another stunning beauty of a completely different style and appearance appear. It was the proxy who had previously left Zhao Hongwu speechless in the plaza.

Amidst all the stunned gazes, the lips of the two women gently touched.

Boom!

The million-strong wish power on the verge of transformation completed its sublimation in an instant!