Dao Companion Crippled, Coveters Move

Chapter 77 - 76: Yueqiu Finally Meets Her Master

Dusk fell, and the moon and stars began to rise.

CREAK—

The door, which had been shut for several hours, was pushed open with a soft sound.

"Master..."

The silver-haired girl, who had been meditating as still as a statue just a moment ago, immediately opened her eyes, her gaze landing on the white-robed Sword Immortal before her.

At that moment, bright moonlight streamed through a gap in the window, falling upon Pei Yuhang and bathing him in an aura of supreme sanctity, making him look like a handsome immortal stepping right out of a painted scroll.

Moreover, a strange fragrance emanated from this immortal figure, making Qing Yueqiu feel as if she were drunk; a crimson blush, like rosy clouds at sunset, spread across her cold, pale skin.

The willpower that had resisted the illusion techniques of the Divine Sword Pavilion was easily crushed in the presence of Pei Yuhang himself.

Qing Yueqiu stared dazedly at her master, frozen in place for a moment, unable to say a word.

Seeing his head disciple looking as if she had fallen under an illusion, her Dao Heart wavering, Pei Yuhang's heart sank.

'It wasn't just Shang Miaoyan who broke her vows today. I, Pei Yuhang, also broke the vow of abstinence I've kept for over half a year since my Dao Companion's accident. And I actually forgot to suppress that unique aura of mine that's so fatally attractive to women.'

Pei Yuhang formed a Dharma Seal and, with a flick of his finger, shot a Serenity Spell into Qing Yueqiu's body.

The light returned to Qing Yueqiu's ruby-red pupils. She shook her head, feeling dizzy, and she couldn't seem to remember what had just happened.

"I'm sorry, Yueqiu. I've kept you waiting. After you retrieved your sword from the Divine Sword Pavilion, I should have taken you back to the estate to rest."

Perhaps it was out of guilt for making his disciple wait outside while he was inside... doing *that*. Or perhaps it was because he didn't want her to remember how she had just been mesmerized by him...

Pei Yuhang took the initiative to apologize.

But how could Qing Yueqiu possibly blame her master?

"Master, how could I possibly blame you? Your aura has grown stronger again. I couldn't be happier!"

Qing Yueqiu spoke with urgency and delight, as if Pei Yuhang's increase in strength was more worthy of celebration than her own progress in Cultivation.

Feeling the fluctuations of her master's Spiritual Qi, which were now purer and more vast than before, she was so excited that she even forgot to take out the Luminous Shadow Sword she had retrieved from the Divine Sword Pavilion for him to inspect.

But in contrast to the pure joy in Qing Yueqiu's eyes, Pei Yuhang's were filled with mixed feelings, a flicker of something complex passing through them.

'How ironic Yueqiu's words are to me.'

'Dual cultivating with a certain peerless, naturally charming Saintess... how could my Cultivation not improve? A few more sessions, and I could probably prepare to face the Thunder Tribulation to advance to the Divinity Transformation realm again.'

But this was absolutely not the way Pei Yuhang wanted to advance his Cultivation.

He wanted his path to the Great Dao to be achieved cleanly through his own effort and enlightenment, not through... such a shameful method.

Of course, he knew Yueqiu was simply and purely happy for him, with no intention of causing offense.

'The only one truly at fault... is me.'

'Perhaps I fell into the mud long ago, and I've just been deluding myself into believing I'm still that noble Cold Sun Sword Immortal.'

Pei Yuhang sighed inwardly, but not wanting his negative emotions to spoil Yueqiu's happiness, he suppressed all his complex feelings.

His face still wore that gentle, humble smile that felt as refreshing as a spring breeze.

"Yueqiu, don't laugh, but I've never actually been inside the Divine Sword Pavilion. Could you tell me what it's like? I've always been very curious about that place."

"What's it like inside the Divine Sword Pavilion? Hmm... Actually, I'm not too sure myself. I never truly awoke inside the Divine Sword Pavilion. Instead, I was constantly undergoing trials in an Illusion Realm it created. After I pulled out the sword I'd chosen, the Illusion Realm shattered, and I was expelled..."

Qing Yueqiu began to tell Pei Yuhang what she had seen and experienced in the Divine Sword Pavilion.

Pei Yuhang was stunned to hear that Qing Yueqiu had seemingly experienced a long, illusory dream, living for decades in a timeline that was almost identical to reality—or perhaps even better.

He had once read in an ancient text about a Divine Ability called "A Dream of Ten Thousand Generations."

When this Divine Ability was cast, the cursed person would fall into an endless cycle within a "True Dream Realm," reliving their life nearly ten thousand times while retaining their memories. However, most people would choose to commit suicide within the dream after only a dozen or so lifetimes, simply because they had "grown tired of living."

Even for those with extraordinary willpower, their minds would inevitably collapse after a thousand cycles, which is why no one has ever survived this Divine Ability.

It seemed now that the Divine Sword Pavilion's dream realm trial was remarkably similar to this Divine Ability; he wondered what the connection between the two could be.

Seeing Pei Yuhang so deeply captivated by her story, Qing Yueqiu felt a pang of guilt.

In truth, she had told a small lie.

She had concealed the truth that in her illusory dream, Palace Master Pei had not fallen in love with Ye Liyuan.

'With Master's wisdom, he's sure to realize that the Divine Sword Pavilion's Illusion Realm is created based on the innermost desires of the person being tested... If Master found out that I, his obedient head disciple, secretly wished for his wife to disappear... what would he think of me?'

Qing Yueqiu didn't dare to dwell on it. She was terrified of imagining her master looking at her with disgust, scolding her for her shamelessness... If he ever found out, she would likely have no choice but to atone with her death.

Tonight, the master and disciple both harbored secrets they could not let the other know.

Their acting was not convincing, and the logic in their words was full of holes. But because they were each preoccupied with their own troubles and thoroughly distracted, neither of them noticed... which could be considered a stroke of good fortune.

"Yueqiu, may I see the Luminous Shadow Sword?"

"Of course."

With a flash from Qing Yueqiu's Jiezhi Storage Ring, countless Liuli butterflies emerged. They swarmed together, merging and coalescing to form a beautiful and exquisite Glazed Longsword.

Luminous seemed to be empowered by the moonlit night. Before the master and disciple's eyes, the bright white Moon Essence was drawn to Luminous like moths to a flame, continuously being absorbed into it.

This made the Luminous Shadow Sword even more crystal-clear and radiant, overflowing with a brilliant light!

"A fine sword... This is the highest quality sword I've seen to date."

Pei Yuhang couldn't help but exclaim in admiration as he gazed at the beauty of Luminous.

HUM—

Silence, which Shang Miaoyan had returned to him, trembled lightly at his waist. It was as if Bai Jingjing, upon hearing her master praise another sword to her face, was angrily kicking him with her little foot.

[Tch! You scum, Pei Yuhang! I, the great Bai Jingjing, fought to the death for you, and my kindness was completely wasted!]

Bai Jingjing wailed in Pei Yuhang's Sea of Consciousness. If she hadn't exhausted her strength fighting three Magical Treasures today, forcing her to recuperate inside the Silent Sword, she absolutely would have undergone Transformation to teach this scummy master of hers a lesson!