Chapter 40: Former Days, No Path Ahead

Suppressing her excited emotions, Chi Jiuyu sat cross-legged, held her breath, and waited quietly.

Mm.

I don’t feel any change at all…

“Why hasn’t it started yet, Uncle?”

“Lie down on the bed and it’ll start.”

“That’s such a hassle—can’t it start directly?”

“Starting directly… isn’t impossible.”

At that moment, Zhang Yunlu lost again in the screen; though she was gradually developing her own style, she still had a long way to go before perfection.

But it didn’t matter—time was the one thing she had in abundance.

The next instant, the scene in the screen accelerated abruptly, so fast that even Chi Jiuyu couldn’t make out what was happening.

After speeding up the footage, Xu Xing turned to look at her.

“Then let’s begin.”

A faint hum vibrated at her ear, her vision blurred, and in a daze, Chi Jiuyu felt her consciousness sinking, falling—every technique she knew lost its effect in an instant.

After an unknown length of time, she finally felt she had “landed.”

Her vision returned, revealing an endless expanse of gray mist—below her feet too—but she distinctly felt solid ground beneath her.

And she could sense her body, her magic power, her primordial spirit—even her storage ring—clearly!

As if her true self had truly arrived in this space.

How vast might this place be? Gazing at the surrounding gray mist, she suddenly wondered.

As a doer, Chi Jiuyu didn’t stand idle—she summoned a simple, ancient longsword woven with gold and blue hues.

It was her life-bound spirit sword; though it hadn’t yet developed a sword spirit, its spiritual essence was already extremely rich.

Even the spiritual essence of her life-bound spirit sword could be simulated! Chi Jiuyu grew even more curious and immediately activated the technique of Sword and Person United, dashing full speed in one direction.

Her speed shattered the sound barrier in an instant, continuous sonic booms echoing—so fast that even Qi Refining cultivators could only catch a faint blur.

Even so, this wasn’t her maximum speed.

In the real world, Chi Jiuyu’s physical body slumped onto the sofa, half her head dangling off the edge, looking as if she were sound asleep.

A screen rose beside her, standing side by side with Zhang Yunlu’s.

“What a handful,” Xu Xing sighed.

Whatever. Let’s just get started.

Instantly, two lines of golden text appeared in Chi Jiuyu’s vision as she explored the space.

【Enemy: Nascent Soul Perfect Xu Xing】

【Objective: Block three strikes and survive】

She halted instantly, the air surge stirring the surrounding gray mist; her sword circled her once before returning to her hand.

Is it starting?! Chi Jiuyu drew a deep breath, suppressing her inner excitement.

She had always been confident—certain she wasn’t inferior to anyone—but the opponent she was about to face was her uncle, a master standing at the pinnacle of the Tai Xuan Realm, just like her master.

Thud. Thud. Footsteps echoed from afar; a phantom figure slowly emerged from the gray mist, wisps of fog converging into it, making it increasingly solid.

As the figure grew more solid, the churning gray mist turned red.

Yet the red didn’t feel sinister or bloody—it radiated a majestic, righteous aura, like a beacon fire dispelling the night.

Red mist gathered in the palm, coalescing into a sword—its entire body crimson, divine light swirling as if a phantom red moon floated within.

Moon… the moon?

Shouldn’t it be the sun? But the sect didn’t have any famous swords tied to the sun—though many were linked to the moon.

Which sword is Uncle using?

As her thoughts turned, the figure fully solidified—its form identical to Xu Xing’s, yet its face remained nothing but swirling gray mist.

“Uncle, where’s your face?” Chi Jiuyu blurted out.

No nonsense. If you don't draw your sword, he'll strike first.

“I was just asking,” she muttered.

Then she turned to the distant Xu Xing phantom, her fighting spirit soaring, her eyes glowing with faint golden light.

Grand Void Penetrating Golden Gaze.

As the name implies, it perceives illusions and breaks delusions.

With Chi Jiuyu’s mastery of this technique, even a Soul Transformation cultivator would reveal some flaw.

Yet this once-unfailingly effective technique now seemed useless—she couldn’t detect even the tiniest flaw.

The Xu Xing phantom didn’t wait indefinitely.

“First strike.”

In a voice utterly calm, devoid of any fluctuation, the crimson sword slowly rose.

Fuck! Chi Jiuyu’s scalp prickled, her heart gripped by dread—extreme danger made every fiber of her flesh and spirit tremble.

Without hesitation, she activated Sword and Person United and fled as far as possible—tactical retreat first!

“Cut.”

Crimson light engulfed heaven and earth—unavoidable, unstoppable. Every technique, every ability seemed laughably inadequate before this strike.

As if a sun had fallen, Chi Jiuyu, fleeing into the distance, was instantly drowned in boundless light; in the instant before her body vaporized, only one thought remained in her mind.

This can’t be Nascent Soul?…………

In the real world, Xu Xing held his duck blood vermicelli soup, watching Chi Jiuyu swallowed by the light—and he laughed.

Why pick Nascent Soul? Of all realms.

When he was at the Nascent Soul stage, he reorganized all he had learned and created the prototype of the Grand Void Sword Scripture.

In short, no Nascent Soul cultivator in history had ever surpassed him.

…………

A few dozen seconds later, the gray mist reformed into Chi Jiuyu—she was utterly shaken, questioning reality itself.

“Uncle! You cheated—this can’t possibly be Nascent Soul!”

That’s too insane—even a weaker Soul Transformation wouldn’t survive that!

【Try again. This time, let you feel it clearly.】

“Alright!”

Since it wasn’t real death, she’d now see exactly how Uncle, with Nascent Soul-level power, could unleash such an absurd strike.

She strode up to the Xu Xing phantom.

Without warning, she thrust her sword straight forward—the blade vanished.

Flowing Cloud Sword Art! She’d already learned this sword art during her battle with Zhang Yunlu.

In response to the sudden attack, the Xu Xing phantom merely tilted his body slightly to evade it.

“First strike.”

Again, that same calm, indifferent voice.

Chi Jiuyu, who had planned a follow-up, suddenly found she couldn’t execute her second move—black and white hues spread outward from between them, freezing everything—except the sword, still blazing crimson.

She clearly sensed the Xu Xing phantom’s magic power.

Nascent Soul Perfect.

Not exceeding hers.

So this really is Nascent Soul! Just as Chi Jiuyu thought she’d die again, the crimson sword halted—its tip resting against her brow, not piercing in.

Moreover, the spreading black and white hues slowly retracted.

Huh~ The Xu Xing phantom dissolved into a wisp of mist.

【How did it feel?】

How did it feel? Amazing, obviously!

Chi Jiuyu felt deflated—she’d always thought she was awesome!

“Are there many Nascent Soul cultivators as strong as Uncle?”

【No. I’m the strongest.】

“...Uncle, you’re really not modest.”

【Just stating facts.】

【But don’t be discouraged—you just fought me at two hundred years old.】

Huh?!

Two hundred years old!

“No way—how could Uncle have such poor talent?”

A Nascent Soul cultivator at two hundred? In today’s world, he couldn’t even enter the inner sect of Jianzong.

Uh…

Uncle’s absurd combat power can’t be judged by realm alone.

Wait—

“What realm was Master at back then?”

【Same as me. Nascent Soul Perfect.】

Chi Jiuyu froze.

"Why?"

It can't be that both Master and Uncle's talents are poor—that would be ridiculous.

【At that time, the cultivation system was still incomplete; Nascent Soul was the highest】

【With no path ahead, we could only keep trying】

Please collect and follow!! (Chapter end)