Chapter 85: The Principle of Danger, the Will to Be Reborn from Death! (Fifth Update)

The first exchange between 'Xiao Fan' and Zhang Yunlu had barely begun before Zhang Yunlu fell into a disadvantage.

"The mortal body is frail; cultivation requires enduring many hardships, the three passes of refinement are arduous, and only one in ten thousand can succeed." The voice was indifferent and calm. "Yet my *clan* is favored by Hun Tian Yi, born with a Heaven-Formed Dao Foundation—why would you refuse?"

Born with a Heaven-Formed Dao Foundation?

"We herded all living beings, every spirit bowed low, and the starry river across the sky once served as our flock."

As the voice kept pouring into her ears, images began to surface in Zhang Yunlu's mind.

Swallowing star rivers, all spirits kneeling in worship.

All were scenes Xiao Fan had once witnessed.

"And now?" Zhang Yunlu suddenly said. "Now aren't you just a rat in a gutter?"

What era is this, and you're still pulling such crude, low-grade scam lines?

You think tossing in some grand, lofty nonsense and fabricating a few images with illusion arts can fool people?

As a student of the Third Middle School of Xuanjian City, she had always paid serious attention at the anti-fraud awareness lectures the school held every year.

Even the most trashy scam crews have lines a hundred times more clever than this.

'Xiao Fan' paused, then his sword strikes suddenly grew fierce!

So be it—human sword cultivators are always this ungrateful.

Clang! Clang! As his offense turned ferocious, Zhang Yunlu's defense grew ever harder, and within moments she was beset by danger on every side.

'Xiao Fan''s sword path had no fixed form, yet it was extremely 'precise'—or one might even say 'perfect.'

So perfect that every move was without the slightest flaw, as if it had absorbed the strengths of every sword art in the world.

No matter how she swung her sword, he deflected it with ease; even the sword light thrust out by the Flowing Cloud Sword Art failed to wound him in the slightest.

Swish! Another strike nearly pierced through Zhang Yunlu's shoulder, fresh blood staining her lapel.

Blood streaming down from the wound between her brows blurred her vision to some degree.

What should she do? Whether it was sword art, experience, or the proper use of spiritual power, the opponent far surpassed her! ……

……

"Fellow Daoist, the junior you found is quite interesting."

Those two lines just now might have been unintentional, yet they struck precisely at that old thing's sore spot.

Just as Zhang Yunlu had said—so what if you were once infinitely glorious? Now you're still just a rat in a gutter.

"A pity, we won't get to see which of the juniors you and I are backing is stronger after all." Huo sighed.

Xiao Fan, whose body had been taken over by that old thing, naturally no longer counted as himself.

Meanwhile, Chi Jiuyu scratched her head. She could now see it too—that kid who could put on an act even better than her really did have hard strength above Xiao Yunlu's.

His sword art was so strong it was only a tiny bit below her own.

Mm! Just a tiny bit.

But then again… there was still one thing she hadn't figured out.

"Martial Uncle, what was that guy across from Xiao Yunlu mumbling about?"

He must have said something, right?

But why hadn't she heard a single word of it?

"He…" Xu Xing had just begun to explain.

Ding—! A somewhat strange notification sound suddenly rang out.

Chi Jiuyu's eyes went wide as she stared at Xu Xing in disbelief: "Martial Uncle, you actually have a 'Special Following' friend!"

And it's not even me! "It's Ye Shijie."

The reason for setting it was actually Ye Shijie's request.

Oh, so it's Master.

Then never mind.

Chi Jiuyu calmed down and turned back to look at the light screen.

Xu Xing took out his phone and opened the chat app.

Home-Guard Sword Sovereign: "Not over yet?"

Hehuan Laozu: "Almost."

Huo: "……"

Are those usernames—Fellow Daoist and Sword Sovereign—serious?

Just as he wanted to keep watching what the two might chat about, Xu Xing suddenly stood up.

"Please pay a bit more attention to the Secret Realm, Fellow Daoist."

Saying that, he walked straight out.

"???"

What are they chatting about, and they won't even let people see? Emm… but given Sword Sovereign's cold, aloof nature, it's probably just Fellow Daoist asking one line and her answering one.

Thinking of this, Huo stopped dwelling on it and turned his attention back to the situation inside the Secret Realm.

…………

Inside the combat space, Zhang Yunlu retreated once more, leaving a trail of bloody footprints.

Two sword wounds on her right forearm were deep enough to show bone, and the pain coursing through her body made the hand gripping her sword tremble.

"Still going to struggle? With your feeble attainments in the sword Dao? Or that hidden short sword of yours?"

'Xiao Fan' held his sword, his tone utterly contemptuous.

But on closer look, those glass-like iridescent eyes of his showed not the slightest ripple.

The human race's 'Awakening to Principle' is a very peculiar state, closely tied to a cultivator's state of mind.

The reason he had held off killing her was precisely to break her spirit and utterly sever any possibility of her attaining 'Principle Insight.'

Although the main purpose of this trip was not that, if a human sword cultivator's chance of 'Principle Insight' could be erased along the way, why not?

"Cough, cough!"

Zhang Yunlu coughed up two mouthfuls of fresh blood, used her sword to prop herself up, and forced her body to stand.

"You are quite right."

Slowly drawing the short sword at her waist, she tossed it to the ground.

Then, she raised the sword in her hand once more, her gaze fixed dead ahead.

Defend?

Dodge?

None of these suited her.

The only thing she could do was, just as at the very beginning, trust the sword in her hand and seek life through death!

Hmmm!!! The longsword tore through the air with a hum.

A ripple finally stirred in Xiao Fan's glass-like, multicolored eyes — not because of the sword, but because of her gaze.

That look reminded Him of someone He was extremely unwilling to recall.

Someone who at first was like an ant, yet in the end tolled the death knell for the entire Cang race.

The greatest regret of this life was failing to strangle him in his cradle!

"Very well, then I'll send you on your way."

Xiao Fan raised a sword in a stroke, gentle as a breeze brushing the willows, soft and unhurried, yet with killing intent hidden within, easily finding the flaw in Zhang Yunlu's stance.

The blade aimed straight for her brow — no longer the deliberate teasing from before, but a true intent to send her to her death!

Watching the blade edge draw ever closer, her keen perception magnified the subtle shifts of the surrounding environment many times over; her body instinctively leaned toward dodging, and a stabbing pain throbbed at her brow.

Sweat or fresh blood — or perhaps both — soaked through her clothes together.

Yet she felt not the slightest chill, but rather a certain burning heat.

As if everything were reminding her, reminding her to dodge quickly!

But Zhang Yunlu only felt an utter stillness within her heart; the hand gripping the sword did not tremble in the slightest.

Her body was already exhausted beyond endurance, yet her divine soul grew ever more dazzlingly brilliant.

Guided by the light of that divine soul, she finally crossed that gulf-like threshold.

'Seems to have backfired.'

That was Xiao Fan's first thought.

The next instant, Zhang Yunlu was no longer before Him — only an afterimage remained! Hmm hmm hmm!!! A buzzing?

No! It was the hum of a sword! 'Shouldn't have let her kill so many Tongxuan Grass Demons.'

That was the second thought; the instant it turned in His mind, a sudden chill swept across His neck.

'It's clearly "Principle Insight," so why is it so unreasonable?'

That was His third thought.

Puh! Fresh blood sprayed; a wound three fingers deep had already been slashed across His throat, nearly severing the entire head, leaving only a thin layer of skin and the spine holding it in place.

Zhang Yunlu's figure appeared behind Xiao Fan; she gently stroked the blade, a trace of blankness still lingering in her eyes.

"So this is Principle Insight…" she murmured.

Indeed, it suited her perfectly.

What she had attained was the Principle of Peril — the meaning of seeking life through death!

Begging for first subscriptions!!!

There will be another chapter later

(End of chapter)