Chapter 77: And Now, I

“Big sister, it seems the rain has cleared and the sky is brightening…”

Yuan Caimei held a stack of silver notes, watching the flying swords streaking across the sky, yet felt no sense of relief.

In the land without heaven, infernal flames burned fiercely—this was the art of refining all living beings.

If the cultivators in the mountains were truly refined, then Yu Danzong, the master of elixir arts, might become the target of all.

The chaos had not ended abruptly; perhaps it had only just begun.

Yuan Caimei took a deep breath and handed the silver notes to Yuan Chen: “Give these to Ji You. Once payment and goods are settled, return with me to the sect at once.”

Yuan Chen took the notes: “Why can’t you give them to him yourself?”

“You once promised to marry me to him. I fear if I just give him money, he’ll refuse. Never harbor ill intent, but never let your guard down—even if he doesn’t know my identity, the chance to form a marital alliance with an elixir master is what countless others dream of. You’re still too young.”

After speaking with meticulous care, Yuan Caimei added: “I won’t show myself. Just hand him the money.”

Yuan Chen glanced at her: “Choosing a husband can’t be postponed forever. Why not take advantage while someone still wants you…”

“?”

“No no no, I didn’t say anything.”

“I know what you’re thinking, but even if I agreed, do you think Father would be satisfied?”

Yuan Chen said nothing, then returned with his sister to the tavern—but to his surprise, Ji You was nowhere to be seen. His expression turned stunned.

That money-grubbing husband-to-be hasn’t even gotten the notes yet—how could he have left?

He grabbed a serving boy: “Excuse me, has a man in a white robe, carrying several swords, gone somewhere?”

The boy, holding a teapot, thought a moment: “Oh, that guest? I remember him—he went down the alley opposite.”

“Left?”

Yuan Chen’s face twisted with suspicion. He stepped out of the tavern and called his sister to follow him into the alley.

They hadn’t gone far when they spotted Ji You in an open patch of ground.

Before him stood two men.

One held a longsword, a mid-stage Transcendent; the other held a longblade, an early-stage Transcendent.

Yuan Chen instantly recognized the mid-stage Transcendent—the Daoist from Wenda Sect who had searched them in the forest.

Zhuo Wanqiu had introduced him before, saying his name was Min Cheng, close to the maid of the Little Mirror Master of Lingjian Mountain, and the liaison between Wenda Sect’s direct disciples and Lingjian Mountain.

“Husband, why is he here?!”

Yuan Chen rushed over, instantly feeling a thick wave of killing intent surge toward him.

Ji You clutched a handful of silver coins, furious: “What a pathetic trap! They dropped silver coins all along the way to lure me in—and yet, with my brilliance, I still fell for this clumsy scheme!”

Yuan Chen: “?”

As he spoke, a fierce sword qi and blade qi swept toward them.

Ji You shoved Yuan Chen aside; seven longswords behind him hummed and erupted from their scabbards, slamming forward in response.

Steel clashed, waves of sword qi surged, sparks flew everywhere.

Ji the Bandit was knocked back seven steps, stumbling to a halt with a jolt of chaotic qi.

“Kill a Fusion Daoist, slay a Transcendent—do you really think you’re that strong?”

“I don’t know why your spiritual energy is so thick, but without the suppression of demonic energy, I could cut you down with one hand. Why struggle pointlessly?”

Min Cheng laughed strangely, then raised his sword, his entire body glowing as he lunged forward with a slashing strike.

The Wenda Sect’s direct disciple had learned the Little Mirror Master was here, received the message, and was ordered to find him immediately—so he left the mountains.

He didn’t find the Little Mirror Master, but he saw Ji You.

Many Wenda disciples died in the battle at Tian Shu Academy—all due to this man.

He didn’t know the current state of the mountains, but if he returned, he’d need to bring Ji You back for judgment.

As the sword howled down, Ji You swung his blade to meet Min Cheng’s strike, while his left hand swiftly summoned six swords to slash at the blade-wielder.

Sword edges clashed, waves of sword qi piled one atop another.

CLANG!

Ji You blocked the incoming sword, forced to leap backward.

Then came another slash of blade, another thrust of sword—faster and faster, heavy pressure crashing down.

The straight sword surged like a tidal wave; Ji You had no choice but to summon his six swords again to face the one blade and one sword. In the relentless battle, he could no longer suppress the outburst of his spiritual sense.

It was like a bodily need—you can’t keep producing while trying to hold back the flow.

Min Cheng couldn’t help smirking: “You only kill my Wenda disciples? Prove it—kill one more!”

“Damn it, no more holding back.”

“I can’t even squeeze it anymore!”

Ji You pulled back his sword, gripped it tightly, muttered a phrase—and a torrent of sword qi erupted forward, filling the sky with slashing light.

As he swung, a vast aura surged from his body, brighter than sunlight, shooting straight into the heavens.

Min Cheng froze in surprise as Ji You’s other hand summoned a sword that slashed toward the early-stage Transcendent blade-wielder.

SPLAT!

The sword fell, the blade snapped.

The early-stage Transcendent blade-wielder flew backward, blood spurting from his chest—a deep, clean gash.

Want to see one killed? Then here’s one killed.

Ji You closed his eyes slightly, turned in the radiant light, his spiritual energy and sword qi blazing fiercely.

The Yuan siblings stood behind him, watching his surging aura, their mouths slowly opening.

Long moments passed before they realized what had happened.

Though they cultivated elixir arts, they’d seen many cultivators break through realms—usually sitting motionless for over an hour to stabilize their aura. But they’d never seen anyone so calm, so effortless.

Yet Ji You had truly broken through—the aura was undeniable.

Min Cheng instantly stopped moving, stunned by what he saw.

After a moment of shock, he instinctively stepped back.

He knew Ji You wasn’t a Lingjian Mountain disciple, but his sword intent was terrifyingly fierce.

Just now, that assault would have crippled any other late-stage lower realm cultivator—but Ji You had absorbed it all, and now he’d broken through.

“You… you weren’t in a state of enlightenment—how could you break through?!”

“I should’ve broken through long ago. But you’re right—demonic energy’s suppression is strong. I thought I was early-stage Transcendent… I didn’t realize I was already mid-stage.”

Ji You gripped his sword and looked at him: “Now I’m robbing you. Hand over all your money.”

A crisp sword hum rang out—Min Cheng saw six thickly charged swords surge skyward like a dragon of blades, cutting through the wind, and frantically raised his own.

Blades clashed, flashes of cold light flew.

Min Cheng swung his arm in a full circle, slashing three swords away at top speed, then quickly shielded himself with spiritual energy.

Ji You moved through the storm of swords, slashing down with his blade.

He blocked the first strike—but the next instant, Min Cheng’s pupils shrank violently.

In the ruins, the one who faced Ji You was Gongshu Chou of Lingjian Mountain—he’d never fought him directly.

But now he understood why Gongshu Chou, a Fusion Daoist, had screamed in terror: “Too fast!”

When he parried Ji You’s sword, he had to quickly retract—yet Ji You simply switched swords mid-strike and thrust forward instantly.

With a hum, Min Cheng was overwhelmed by relentless stabs, his grip shattered, his wrists split—he was flung backward.

“You can’t kill me!”

“Give me a reason.”

Min Cheng shouted in panic: “I’m like a brother to my sect’s direct disciple!”

“I gave you a hint before I struck. You still answered wrong.”

Ji You advanced, sword sweeping down in a horizontal slash.

Min Cheng instantly recalled his sword, parried, and as blades clashed, he swiftly pulled a round ball from his robe and hurled it.

The next instant, endless violent blade qi exploded outward, as if released into a narrow alley—flinging Ji You back step by step.

“Damn, what’s this fancy thing we poor folks never heard of?”

Yuan Caimei spoke at once: “It’s a storage sphere—this blade qi isn’t his, but it’s his last resort.”

Ji You’s seven swords circled the sky in a sweeping slash, their howls like dragons, gradually wearing down the violent blade qi.

Meanwhile, Min Cheng had already soared a hundred zhang away, hair disheveled, fleeing in terror.

Ji You watched the fleeing figure, then turned to Yuan Chen after a long pause: “You alright?”

Yuan Chen shook his head, then remembered his sister’s instruction and handed over the silver notes.

Ji You took them, counted them, and blinked in surprise: “Why is there an extra thousand taels?”

Yuan Chen glanced at Yuan Caimei: “A thousand was agreed upon. The other thousand is my personal gift.”

“Thank you, boss. If anyone in your family goes missing again, come find me—I’m stronger now.”

Ji You tucked the notes into his robe: “Now payment and goods are settled. Send word home to say you’re safe. Mountains remain, waters flow—until we meet again.”

Yuan Caimei watched him turn away without mentioning a word about her brother’s promise to marry her, and froze: “You… don’t you know who we are?”

Ji You turned back, glancing at Yuan Caimei strangely: “I know. You’re the eldest daughter of the Yu Danzong’s sect master.”

“You know?”

“And you, Yuan Chen—you’re a direct disciple of Yu Danzong.”

Yuan Chen’s eyes widened: “You know that too?”

Ji You smiled confidently: “When Yu Danzong was attacked, I went to Wanzhuo Mountain. My first priority was finding Yu Danzong disciples—Miss Yuan’s name was top priority. So I knew your name and identity, and from that, I deduced who Yuan Chen was.”

Yuanchen widened his eyes, thinking: So my brother-in-law has known who I am all along.

“As for helping you, there’s another reason besides money.”

“What reason?”

“Miss Yuan disappeared while delivering elixirs to the Heavenly Book Academy, so the Academy owes the Yu Danzong a favor. Your senior brother Ban and the others secretly withdrew from the ruins—that’s a betrayal of the sect. If I’m wrong and there’s no danger in the mountains, they need a plausible excuse, and that excuse can be saving the Yu Danzong siblings.”

After speaking, Ji You bowed to the two, then turned and left.

Yuan Chen said nothing but turned to look at his sister.

Yuan Caimei stared blankly at the white-robed figure with the long sword drifting away, even more stunned.

She didn’t understand why, even after knowing she was the daughter of the Yu Danzong’s sect master, he showed no interest in courting her.

Then, she suddenly realized something.

It wasn’t that she had looked down on him first—it was that Ji You had never entertained such thoughts about her from the start.

Seeing her sister’s expression, Yuan Chen immediately grabbed her hand and hurried after Ji You.

He knew his sister seemed somewhat swayed, so he planned to spend another thousand taels to hire his brother-in-law to escort them back, adding fuel to the fire.

Ji You was going to find the Heavenly Book Academy disciples who had withdrawn earlier and return with them, so he kept walking forward.

Yuan Chen shoved Yuan Caimei right beside him, forcing the two to walk side by side.

“I need to hurry and find the Heavenly Book Academy people—if you follow me any longer, it’ll cost extra.”

As Ji You spoke, he passed by a roadside tavern.

At that moment, a silver taels coin fell from the second floor of the tavern, striking Ji You squarely on the head before rolling to his feet.

Again?

Damn it, does everyone in the world know I’m broke?

Ji You looked up warily—and froze.

On the upper floor stood a fairy with a slender waist and long legs, wearing a red eight-panel silk skirt, her features as if carved by heaven.

She now crossed her arms, lips slightly pursed, looking down at the two walking side by side below.

“Sister Caimei, it’s been a long time.”

(End of Chapter)