Chapter Thirty-Five: Yi Xuanji

Knock! Knock!

There was a sound at the door.

Xu Zhong gripped the Yuan Yang Sword and pushed open the door to his room.

Standing in the courtyard was a youth dressed in white.

“Are you Xu Zhong?” the boy asked.

Xu Zhong nodded.

“My name is Yi Xuanji. I have come here to take your life.”

With those words, Yi Xuanji struck without hesitation.

His first move was the Five Elements Great Hand Seal. His five fingers transformed into the five elements, generating and restraining each other. The immense power unleashed had the strength to annihilate Xu Zhong’s flesh and soul. If struck by this attack, he might be reduced to nothingness.

Though unfamiliar with this adversary, Xu Zhong assumed he was another cultivator sent to probe the depths of his techniques.

“Qi Seal!”

A beam of spiritual light shot from Xu Zhong’s body, imprisoning Yi Xuanji’s Five Elements Hand Seal.

Yi Xuanji’s spell shifted. Instantly, the energies of yin and yang arose. These forces, emanating from his eyes and interwoven, formed a colossal millstone. The millstone trapped Xu Zhong within, spinning furiously—intent on grinding him to death and refining him within.

As the yin-yang mill battered Xu Zhong, he too summoned his gourd.

An astonishing surge of Geng Metal energy burst forth from the gourd. The white light carried supreme power, shattering the yin-yang millstone.

At the same time, countless sword energies flew from the gourd. The sword qi poured forth, whistling like cascading stars and sweeping rivers, possessing an irresistible force.

Yi Xuanji transformed, opened his mouth, and swallowed the sword energies whole. His body swiftly expanded. Then, he spat them out again, and the sword energies turned, aiming back at Xu Zhong.

“Return!” Xu Zhong’s heart raced as he recalled the sword energies into his gourd.

Yi Xuanji seized this moment of weakness. He lunged forward, and from his palm surged a radiance of thunder marsh. He struck thirty-three consecutive palms, emulating the thirty-three layers of thunderclouds in Dragon Capital Cave Heaven.

Suddenly, Xu Zhong felt a force of utter destruction—a power capable of erasing him from the world.

Xu Zhong’s eyes widened in desperation.

“Yuan Yang Sword!” He sought to connect with his sword.

Yet at that moment, the Azure Dragon seemed lifeless; there was no response.

The Qi Seal could not withstand the thirty-three layers of thunderclouds.

He gripped the Yuan Yang Sword.

The heart of the sword shone, and sword intent bloomed.

Xu Zhong gathered his strength and unleashed the sword technique he had learned in the abyss.

The Grand River Sword Intent!

Buzzing echoes filled the air, resonating like waves crashing.

A starry river materialized from the sword’s blade. It collided with the thunderclouds, splitting all thirty-three layers, and pressed forward, aiming straight for Yi Xuanji’s brow.

Yi Xuanji frowned and uttered the word, “Shatter.”

He spoke with the authority of Heaven; his words became law.

The single word “Shatter” destroyed Xu Zhong’s sword energies and intent.

“True Word!” Xu Zhong, too, had learned the art of the True Word.

The True Word manifests the Dao; these words connect to the sun, moon, stars, and the cosmic order.

As Yi Xuanji wielded True Word, Xu Zhong seized the opportunity.

He quickly summoned the Jade Ruyi.

The Jade Ruyi floated above Yi Xuanji’s head, shining brilliantly, then descended to strike him.

But, contrary to expectation—where the soul would be shaken out and the body collapse—Yi Xuanji stood unharmed where he was.

“If he has no soul, it means he has practiced a soul-refining art, suppressing his own soul.”

At the same level, no one should withstand a blow from the Jade Ruyi without harm.

Yi Xuanji grabbed the Jade Ruyi.

He infused it with spiritual energy, then reversed it to strike Xu Zhong.

Xu Zhong performed the Light of Life technique.

Golden light enveloped his body, protecting him.

The Jade Ruyi shattered the golden light.

At this moment, Xu Zhong deployed his Soul Capture art, intending to extract Yi Xuanji’s soul.

He had been studying this spell ever since leaving Shi Yao’s residence.

But the Soul Capture spell found no target.

Xu Zhong was struck by a palm.

A strange power rampaged through his Five Luminaries, seeking to destroy them.

Yet the Fire Luminary’s hidden divine light appeared, suppressing the alien power.

“Pfft!” Xu Zhong spat a mouthful of blood.

Along with the blood, a flame emerged.

It was the Flame-Spitting art.

Yi Xuanji pressed his palm downward.

The flame was suppressed and faded into nothingness.

Yet, in the next instant, his hand was pierced and ignited by true fire.

“Threefold True Fire!” Yi Xuanji seized the true fire, crushed it, and extinguished it completely.

Xu Zhong used this chance to distance himself.

The Yuan Yang Sword flew up, wielded by his mind.

The white light slashed off Yi Xuanji’s head.

But it was merely a clone.

Yi Xuanji appeared behind Xu Zhong, thrusting his palm forward.

He pierced Xu Zhong’s Jade Pillow acupoint, reached into his Mud Pill Palace, and seized his three souls and seven spirits.

But in the next moment, he sensed something was wrong.

“An illusion—a nightmare spell,” Yi Xuanji muttered.

No sooner had he spoken than Xu Zhong appeared before him.

“You really have no soul!” Xu Zhong was truly astonished.

It was precisely because Yi Xuanji had no soul that Xu Zhong had made the mistake of striking with the Jade Ruyi—after a misstep, he was pressed ever more tightly.

How could a person be without a soul?

These thoughts flashed by in an instant.

Along with them came Xu Zhong’s gourd.

The Geng Metal energy once again surged forth.

It circled Yi Xuanji.

Cracks appeared all over Yi Xuanji’s body.

Crash!

His body was cut into pieces by the Geng Metal energy.

“No internal organs, no blood?” Xu Zhong was dumbfounded.

Yet, in the next moment, the pieces of flesh sprouted new tissue, wriggling and connecting, as if reassembling a body.

The severed head of Yi Xuanji, long split in two, grinned maliciously. “It’s useless. You cannot kill me.”

Xu Zhong spat flames.

The fire burned the flesh, but could not halt its regeneration.

A stream of air shot out, piercing the flesh.

But even then, the pierced parts grew anew.

The air was effective, but not completely.

Xu Zhong summoned the Yuan Yang Sword.

He hoped its abundant Yang energy would suppress this fiendish creature.

Sword energy cleaved the fleshy sprouts in half.

The sprouts quivered, but lost vitality, their color fading and turning black.

“The sword energy works?”

Xu Zhong’s heart stirred.

He hurriedly unleashed the Grand River Sword Intent.

Boundless sword energy poured from his blade.

Yi Xuanji was utterly obliterated.

Yi Xuanji was dead.

This soulless, organless monster perished under the Grand River Sword Intent.

But before Xu Zhong could catch his breath, he felt the ground tremble.

Rows of houses collapsed; outer scenery faded.

The whole world seemed on the brink of destruction.

The source of it all was the World Tree.

Xu Zhong looked toward the World Tree.

He saw it suddenly come alive.

On the crown of the tree, a human face appeared; the branches became hundreds or thousands of human hands, one of which reached out toward him.

...

“Ah!” Xu Zhong cried out.

The Azure Dragon beside him was startled, triggered sword energy that shattered the entire room.

Once the dragon saw there was no threat, it withdrew its sword energy and turned to Xu Zhong.

Xu Zhong’s face was pale, his eyes filled with terror.

“Was it a nightmare, or did something happen?” the Azure Dragon asked.

Xu Zhong recounted his battle with Yi Xuanji.

The Azure Dragon was silent at first, then comforted him, “It’s nothing. You only had a nightmare.”

Seeing Xu Zhong still uneasy, he added quickly, “Perhaps a powerful figure in Jade Capital used a dream spell to draw you into a dream, analyzing your techniques therein.”

Silence sometimes spoke for itself.

Xu Zhong nodded.

Yet the events seemed too fantastical, and yet felt as if they were nothing more than a dream.

Xu Zhong tried to reassure himself.

But the next moment, he was no longer calm.

He discovered that the Threefold True Fire hidden in the Fire Luminary was gone.

That fire had not been reclaimed by Jiang Xuan, so he had left it in his Fire Luminary’s store.

Now, just as before, the Threefold True Fire had been crushed, and so it had vanished.

A chill ran through him, but he glanced at the World Tree without betraying his emotions.

The World Tree was peaceful, with no sign of what he had seen before. Besides, the notion of the World Tree becoming monstrous was absurd.

“Yi Xuanji!” He silently repeated the name.

He fell into confusion.

A confusion on the boundary between truth and illusion.

Intuition told him the event was real.

Reason insisted it was false.

Just then, the maids, hearing the commotion, finally arrived.

Seeing the courtyard reduced by sword energy to a single bed, they moved Xu Zhong to another side room.

No sooner had the room warmed up than there was another knock at the door.

Xu Zhong’s heart trembled, fearing another appearance by Yi Xuanji.

“Is Xu Zhong here?”

Xu Zhong gripped the Yuan Yang Sword, the Azure Dragon manifested to guard him.

“I’m here,” Xu Zhong replied. “What brings you?”

“I have come at my master’s behest, to invite you to join us in the Ninefold Heaven.”

Ninefold Heaven?

It was the first time Xu Zhong had heard the term.

“There is another Cave Heaven within the World Tree,” the Azure Dragon explained.

“Which level does your master reside in?” the Azure Dragon asked.

“The Third Heaven.”

“That’s Mother Huhe’s domain,” the Azure Dragon told Xu Zhong.

“I see. I’ll come later,” Xu Zhong replied.

The messenger departed.

The Azure Dragon explained, “As I’ve told you before, Jade Capital is the World Tree, and the World Tree is Jade Capital.”

“Where you are now is, for Jade Capital, more like an outer city.”

City and city wall: the city is the inner city, the wall is the outer.

The common folk live in the outer city.

The inner city is home to nobles, gentry, rich merchants, officials...

“The true core of Jade Capital is the Ninefold Heaven.”

“As the name suggests, there are nine layers,” the Azure Dragon patiently explained.

“The Third Heaven belongs to Mother Huhe. As for the purpose of her invitation, I do not know. Only by going can we find out.”

The Azure Dragon continued, “Is Mother Huhe connected to Zhou Jing?”

“There is some connection, but I’m not clear on what kind,” the Azure Dragon said with a self-deprecating tone. “Would you chat with your sword, telling it whom you met today and what your relationship is?”

Xu Zhong shook his head.

“It’s the same with the master. He lacks the habit of sharing daily matters with me,” the Azure Dragon said. “So I know only that Mother Huhe and the master have some history, but I know nothing specific.”

“And even if I did, after fifteen thousand years, she must be quite different from the person I remember.”

The Azure Dragon reverted to sword form.

“So, only seeing her will tell us.”