Chapter 243: Ling Shuangxue—"Thank You, My Good Disciple"
At that moment, Luo Wusheng felt a sharp pain piercing through his consciousness.
His newly formed sword intent was thrown into disarray, clashing violently within his spiritual sea.
This was the effect of Soul Shattering Sword that specifically targeted sword cultivators.
'Although I was the one who deliberately pulled its aggro, this Soulblade Specter sure isn't holding back at all... Good thing I'm just the perfect level of a 'watered-down' sword cultivator. Only my still-developing sword intent is being affected…'
Despite the throbbing pain, Luo Wusheng forced himself to analyze his actions.
The moment he sensed that something was wrong, he had no intention of lingering outside and wasting time dealing with the other Nascent Soul cultivators.
Though he wasn't certain whether Ling Shuangxue was in the area where the consecutive Soul Shattering Swords were about to erupt, a strong feeling of unease had surged within him.
And sure enough, the moment he activated the power within his Cold Light Sword and teleported into the battlefield, he saw exactly the scene he had feared.
Ling Shuangxue, her face drained of color.
The swirling black energy gathering into a terrifying surge of destruction.
Compared to the Earth-grade Soulblade Specter he had casually captured earlier, this Heaven-grade Soulblade Specter exuded a far purer, more concentrated malice.
In that instant, Luo Wusheng's thoughts raced as he recalled the strategies he and Ling Shuangxue had discussed the previous night.
Thus, he barely managed to act in time.
'By launching an attack imbued with my aura, I redirected its aggression toward myself, drawing the curse-like effects of Soul Shattering Sword away from her and onto me…'
'But forcefully detonating the tribulation lightning I infused into the Soulblade Specter's body to break its suppression over the surrounding energy was a bit of a gamble… Luckily, it mostly worked.'
The Soul Shattering Sword technique had two layers. The first was its suppression over the forces of heaven and earth, creating a large-scale energy explosion that could seriously wound even a Nascent Soul cultivator. The second was a hidden, curse-like effect that attacked sword cultivators specifically.
It shattered weak sword hearts and threw powerful sword intents into chaos.
Typically, when facing this attack, sword cultivators would use secret techniques to forcibly stabilize their sword hearts and intents for a short time. Then, after enduring the energy explosion, they would quickly suppress the aftermath to avoid severe injuries.
Ling Shuangxue had done exactly that earlier.
But Luo Wusheng was different—he was the only person participating in this Soulblade Specter hunt who was a strong yet fraudulent sword cultivator.
He didn't even have a sword heart, and his sword intent was still in its infancy.
Thus, the technique's impact on him was minimal. Even without suppressing it, he could remain relatively clear-headed despite the headache from his disordered sword intent, allowing him to execute his prepared plan and avoid getting caught in the explosion.
'Come to think of it, non-sword-cultivator Nascent Souls actually have an advantage against Heaven-grade Soulblade Specters. But in Sword Province, there are no Nascent Souls who don't practice sword cultivation. As for Nascent Souls from other regions, they wouldn't bother coming all the way to Sword Province just to wait for a Heaven-grade Soulblade Specter that might only appear once every countless years… Even if they got the news, they'd always be a step too late…'
As he pondered, Luo Wusheng landed on solid ground.
The ruined battlefield was gone. Instead, he found himself in a fresh patch of spiritual plant, standing before an ancient, towering tree.
At that moment, a soft struggle in his arms reminded him that he was still holding onto a delicate figure.
Feeling the smooth, enchanting sensation beneath his fingers, his hand instinctively trembled slightly. Before he could fully process it, words had already escaped his mouth.
"Ahem— That was an emergency—"
"—Are you hurt?"
Luo Wusheng's slightly nervous explanation was cut off.
Instead of continuing to resist, the woman in his arms simply shifted slightly, raising a cool, slender hand to gently touch his face.
His gaze followed the hand until it finally met a pair of stunning eyes, filled with a hint of flustered emotion.
At some point, the veil beneath those eyes had disappeared without a trace, revealing Ling Shuangxue's flawless, snow-like complexion completely to Luo Wusheng's view.
Even though her breathtaking face still carried signs of weakness, it was also brimming with concern for the person right in front of her.
Luo Wusheng felt his heartbeat quicken slightly.
However, upon hearing the worry in her voice, he quickly shook his head gently.
"It's just a minor injury from brushing against the force of Soul Shattering Sword while teleporting. Nothing serious."
As he spoke, his expression grew a bit unnatural, and his gaze wavered.
"Uh… about that teleportation just now…"
For a moment, Luo Wusheng didn't quite know how to explain.
Yesterday, upon learning that the Soulblade Specter could suppress the forces of heaven and earth to prevent Nascent Souls from teleporting, he had some ideas of his own.
Tribulation lightning, as a manifestation of heavenly power, could also alter the forces of heaven and earth.
This was one reason why cultivators undergoing tribulation couldn't escape its lock.
With that in mind, he had speculated that if he used the tribulation lightning he had absorbed, he might be able to disrupt this suppression as well… He had even begun considering ways to further develop techniques using the tribulation lightning stored in his right arm.
Yet, he hadn't expected to test it out so soon.
Unfortunately, the results were only half-successful—he managed to break the suppression, but it left the surrounding forces in chaos. As a result, his teleportation landing point became unpredictable, and the time spent in teleportation extended, giving Soul Shattering Sword an opportunity to graze him.
However, explaining either the tribulation lightning he had swallowed or his unique Void Infant Realm teleportation would be overly complicated and revealing…
Just as he hesitated, the soft, cool fingers resting on his face gently pressed against his lips.
"As long as you're safe, sir."
Ling Shuangxue propped herself up slightly with what little strength she had regained, her gaze becoming noticeably softer.
She could faintly sense that the young man holding her hadn't lied—his injuries weren't as severe as she had feared. It seemed he hadn't taken the full brunt of a Heaven-grade Soulblade Specter's Soul Shattering Sword…
She had no intention of questioning how he had pulled off what he just did. Ling Shuangxue knew that he had his secrets.
What truly mattered to her was that, despite the risks, he had chosen to act the moment she was in danger, even revealing methods that might raise suspicion.
The layers of ice that had slowly melted when she reforged her sword heart were now as thin as paper.
'But his heartbeat… it seems to have quickened. Why…?'
As soon as the thought surfaced, she realized the reason.
Even though the youth had tried to conceal it, the distance between them was simply too close. His gaze, which kept flickering toward her face, did not escape her notice.
Feeling the faint warmth of his breath brushing against her skin, Ling Shuangxue, for the first time, had no concern for her special veil artifact.
Instead, a strange, indescribable emotion surged within her, making her own heartbeat race.
'Perhaps… I should really thank Yuli properly this time…'
Speaking of that, the Soulblade Specter she had prepared for her dear disciple—
Ling Shuangxue, momentarily immersed in this unfamiliar emotion, suddenly snapped back to reality.
In the next instant, a thunderous explosion erupted several hundred feet away within her perception.
Both she and Luo Wusheng instinctively turned their gazes toward the source of the sound.
A figure, shrouded in swirling black mist, seemed to have been provoked, abruptly launching itself into the air.
Faint arcs of purple lightning flickered across its body.
Yet before it could react, four figures stepped out from the void, surrounding the airborne Soulblade Specter from four different directions.
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