novelraw Chapter 76 : Waves
Chapter 76 : Waves
Chapter 76: Waves
“Junior Sister, do you really intend to practice swordsmanship like this?”
Qiu Yuehan looked at the waterfall before her.
The rushing torrent struck the pool below, splashing droplets into the air.
Xia Lianxue softly responded, “Beside the forbidden area within the palace lies a waterfall — that was once where I practiced my sword. Although I did not attain the Realm of Jade Radiance through the Sword Dao, I have gained some insight from it.”
She picked up Qiu Yuehan’s sword and swung it in a single motion.
The waterfall’s current was instantly severed.
This was the Sword that Severed the Flow.
Not only that — after the time of an entire cup of tea, the waterfall’s stream finally resumed its descent.
Xia Lianxue handed the sword back to Qiu Yuehan. “When I was at the Fifth Realm, I could make the waterfall’s flow stop for three breaths. Senior Sister can also try to let her Sword Intent remain beneath the falls.”
Qiu Yuehan felt something was off, yet she could not pinpoint where.
Thus, she simply tried swinging her sword at the waterfall as well.
Meanwhile, Xia Lianxue floated gracefully toward a nearby pavilion to share tea with Jiang Jiayi.
The Red-robed Sword Immortal spoke, “You would deceive her like this? You clearly used the Dao of Time to make the waterfall’s time pause.”
“Then why didn’t you tell her?”
“She has received the True Transmission — I am a little jealous.”
Xia Lianxue smiled faintly. “So am I.”
Two women of the Realm of Jade Radiance, putting on a little play, bullying the young Fairy Yuehan — who was only twenty — to no end.
“Your Senior Sister carries the scent of the Spirit Clan. In a few days, I shall take her there.”
“Mm.”
Sipping her tea, the misty steam blurred Xia Lianxue’s emotions.
She missed the Young Master.
“Missing Miss Xia?”
The Third Princess looked at Lu Changyuan, who was gazing at the sun above.
She thought Lu Changyuan was thinking of a woman.
Lu Changyuan still did not lower his head. “A little, not much.”
“Then, are the other parts of your heart thinking of other women?”
“Has anyone ever told you, Third Royal Highness, that you’re not very good at speaking?”
“No. Others all say that I simply don’t like to speak.”
Then why are you talking so much?
Lu Changyuan was not idly watching the sun out of boredom — he was waiting for the sun to turn into the color where black and white met.
The cultivation world was divided into the Black Domain and the White Domain.
The fundamental difference between them lay in how the sun appeared in each realm.
The sun in the Black Domain was black; in the White Domain, it was a crimson sun. Yet despite this, the difference between day and night in both realms was not very large.
This was one of the cultivation world’s peculiarities.
If one crossed several thousand li of sea to reach the other domain, one could witness an entirely different sun.
Lu Changyuan stared at the sun because the Nether Kingdom was about to emerge.
The Nether Kingdom was an exceedingly special place — it existed upon the fine line between life and death. Countless grievances of the dead, both human and demon, dwelled there. Such a place would only manifest into the mortal realm once every few hundred years, heralded by the sun in the sky turning black and white.
When the people by the sea saw the sun split into halves of black and white, the Nether Kingdom would gradually appear.
At this moment, the sun was already beginning to lose its balance.
Waves crashed against the shore, sending tremors through the air, while the slightly salty sea breeze spread across people’s faces.
There were already many people gathered at the coast.
“Daoist friends of the Imperial Sword Sect, why not travel together?”
“No need.”
Lu Changyuan glanced casually — there were twenty or thirty people there.
Indeed.
The Nether Kingdom was, after all, an opportunity.
As long as one did not enter the Realm of Jade Radiance within it, the Nether Kingdom would not view the intrusion as provocation.
There, one could gaze into the Nether River to illuminate the heart and comprehend one’s true nature — a tremendous boon to one’s Dao in the future.
Even if one did not approach the Nether River, the Nether Kingdom’s special product — the Three-Life Fruit — was highly beneficial for cultivation.
And it tasted quite good.
Boom!
A massive whale surged up from the sea’s surface, then slowly drifted to rest by the shore.
A man leapt down from its back. “Fellow Daoists, are you all going to the center of the sea to await the Nether Kingdom’s emergence?”
Someone replied loudly, “Indeed.”
Su Youwan whispered softly beside Lu Changyuan’s ear, “They are from the Beast-Taming Palace.”
The man from the Beast-Taming Palace continued, “The waves on the sea are strong, and many unknown sea demons lurk beneath. Fellow Daoists, if you wish to reach the center, why not ride my Swallowing-Heaven Whale? It would be much safer that way.”
“The price?”
“Easily discussed, easily discussed.”
A fine business opportunity, indeed.
The sea between the Black and White Domains was called the Sea of Nothingness, filled with countless dangers. Even a cultivator of the Fifth Realm might perish there if careless — let alone that the sea abounded with sea monsters. Thus, finding a safe way to reach the central sea and await the Nether Kingdom’s opening was indeed the top priority.
This group of cultivators could only resign themselves to being slaughtered like this.
Su Youwan said, “Since that’s the case, why don’t we board the whale as well?”
Lu Changyuan spread his hands. “No money.”
“Youwan has.”
Oh.
He had almost forgotten — this Little Ancestor of Cihang Palace must be quite wealthy.
Lu Changyuan reflected inwardly: the fairies he had met recently all seemed richer and higher in status than the last.
Why had he never had such fortune before?
The two of them boarded the whale. The silver-haired girl knelt properly beside Lu Changyuan, sitting very close to him.
“Lord Lu, look over there.”
Following Su Youwan’s finger, Lu Changyuan saw a familiar face.
It was the old man named Xiao Hai.
The last time he had seen Xiao Hai, the elder, though aged, had a ruddy complexion. But now, his face was somewhat pale.
What drew attention most, however, was that Xiao Hai was holding the arm of a woman.
Lu Changyuan immediately recognized her as someone from the Pleasure Sect.
“This old man is rather brave.”
A woman from the Pleasure Sect — was that someone one could casually entangle with?
Lu Changyuan had once witnessed a morally upright young talent of the cultivation world become ensnared by a demoness. Within just half a year, he had withered into an aged man, still murmuring, ‘The Pleasure Sect is truly wonderful...’
Terrifying indeed.
How many times could this old man withstand it?
Even if someone asked him right now, he would probably say, ‘We are truly in love. She’s different.’
That was how frightening the women of the Pleasure Sect were.
Lu Changyuan narrowed his eyes, skipping past the old man and the woman, only to notice a black-robed figure standing behind them. The person’s face and body were concealed, yet there was something strangely familiar about the figure.
The three of them seemed to be together, for before boarding the whale, they had paid their fare as a group.
“Lord Lu, are you interested in the women of the Pleasure Sect?”
“No.”
“Cihang Palace also possesses dual cultivation techniques.”
Lu Changyuan turned to Su Youwan. “What does Third Royal Highness mean by that?”
The silver-haired girl’s lips moved slightly. “I thought perhaps Lord Lu wished to learn the Pleasure Sect’s dual cultivation technique — to use it with Miss Xia.”
Her lips were thin and pale, appearing cold to the touch. Her voice, when she spoke, carried an ethereal tone.
Lu Changyuan smiled faintly. “So Third Royal Highness also practices such a technique?”
“I’ve studied a little. Master said I should learn it for the day I must face the one I like.”
Then the one you like will surely suffer.
Hummm—
A sound as ancient as the primordial world resounded. The whale’s cry shook everyone’s thoughts back to the present.
The shore grew ever distant.
And the sun above became ever more eerie.