Chapter 255: Off to Return Soon, Luo Wusheng
In Ling Shuangxue's eyes, a nameless emotion trembled as she gently bit her lip, seemingly making some kind of decision. Yet, a hand reached out and pressed down on hers just as she was about to act.
At some point, Luo Wusheng had reluctantly pushed himself off the lap of the beautiful fairy. After clearing his mind, he gazed at her stunning face with a faintly amused expression.
"Although it was an accident that I gave you this item ahead of time, my words back then were entirely sincere."
His gaze was honest, without a trace of deceit. He then hesitated slightly and asked, "Could it be... the fairy isn't interested in such a gift? It's a pity, as I have nothing else that could match your grace, only this item."
Hearing the young man's words, Ling Shuangxue paused slightly. Her beautiful eyes flickered with a faint light as she tightened her grip on the Star-Moon Jade Ring. She carefully felt its smooth warmth and gently shook her head.
"How could I be displeased when you've given me such a valuable gift?"
But after she said this, she hesitated again. Her eyes closed slightly before she opened them again, meeting the gaze of the handsome young man in front of her.
"…No."
As if changing her mind, she added, "I like it very much."
Ling Shuangxue smiled in a way that left Luo Wusheng momentarily dazed. Nearly falling into the rhythm of this fairy from the Sword Sect, Luo Wusheng swallowed hard, barely maintaining his smile.
"As long as the fairy likes it… Without your help and that 'Sword Enlightenment Incense,' my sword intent wouldn't have reached its current state. It might have even shattered completely by now. Although that incense was supposed to be something we traded, I…"
While maintaining his composure, Luo Wusheng shifted his body to sit across from Ling Shuangxue. His words trailed off as a thought struck him.
"The Soulblade Specter!"
He had nearly forgotten the real reason for this mission with the woman before him.
Now that the broken black sword of the Sword Emperor had mysteriously entered his dantian, and he had fully absorbed the blank essence of the sword intent, the energy supply for the Heaven-grade Soulblade Specter outside should have been cut off, right?
What state was the Soulblade Specter in now? Had it reverted to its original form? If someone else got to it first...
Although subduing the Soulblade Specter wasn't his goal, with the way Ling Shuangxue had been treating him, he couldn't disappoint her now.
By his calculation, only a short time had passed since the Sword Emperor's broken sword attacked him. He should still have time, but...
Luo Wusheng's expression became thoughtful.
His [Phantomless 2.0] hadn't completed its charging.
Why was that?
Even based on its previous conditions before leveling up, hadn't he already given away the Star-Moon Jade? What condition had he not met?
Hmm... Was it because the gift lacked the excitement of when he'd given Yuli the white stocking?
'Without, [Phantomless 2.0] things are a bit uncertain... And although the previous action expanded the spatial crack somewhat, I'll still need to open it further to pass through it normally, which will take considerable effort...'
If only he could leave the secret realm and scout the outside situation directly.
Wait.
Luo Wusheng's consciousness suddenly sank into his dantian.
A closed star lotus was slowly rotating. Inside, he could sense the aura of the broken black sword of the Sword Emperor.
On the other side, Ling Shuangxue watched as her companion closed his eyes in an unknown attempt, occasionally emitting waves of sword intent and spiritual energy. Her expression grew even softer.
She knew Luo Wusheng had remembered their agreement. Gently touching the Star-Moon Jade Ring on her finger, she felt a subtle sense of joy.
While Luo Wusheng had been comprehending the sword, her injuries had slowly been healing as well... Though not by much, if the Soulblade Specter returned to its normal strength, and she fought alongside the young man before her, they should be able to defeat it.
The other Nascent Soul cultivators who had been hunting the Soulblade Specter had also consumed much of their strength. After witnessing the terrifying power of the Soulblade Specter and the blade that decapitated it, they would likely hesitate to compete with her, crippled by their fear.
Her gaze lingered on the young man's peaceful face.
'As long as we fight together...'
A thought stirred in Ling Shuangxue's heart.
Then, in her moment of astonishment, Luo Wusheng suddenly vanished.
!?
Ling Shuangxue felt that the amount of astonishment she had experienced today exceeded the sum of her entire past life, and by a substantial margin.
Everything had happened too quickly. She barely had time to notice the familiar black glow emanating from his waist before he was gone.
At that moment, a series of delayed messages entered her ears.
[Fairy... cough... there's a small issue... ugh...]
[I-I'm going to scout outside to check on the Soulblade Specter's current situation. Please make preparations. If there's no trouble, I'll return to fight alongside you, er...]
The communication broke off.
It seemed... like everything should be okay?
Left alone in the grand hall, Ling Shuangxue's face wore an expression she could not fully conceal.
How should she put it? This gentleman of hers... seemed to have a knack for causing unexpected incidents?
"…That must have been the ability of the Sword Emperor's broken sword just now, right?"
It could allow someone to enter and leave this secret realm?
But the way it was done didn't seem particularly graceful...
Standing up gently from the ground, Ling Shuangxue's gaze fell upon the spatial crack through which she and Luo Wusheng had entered the secret realm.
She reached out to touch the barely perceptible rift.
'It looks like I'll have to wait for him to return...'
As the light from the ring on her finger twisted and refracted in vibrant hues, the smile on Ling Shuangxue's face was even more beautiful than the radiance it cast.
"The only one of its kind in the world... personally crafted by him..."
...
Daybreak Mountain.
At that moment, all those who had witnessed the battle against the Soulblade Specter firsthand fully understood what it meant to experience the wild ups and downs of life.
At first, they had thought the Heaven-grade Soulblade Specter was already a fish on the chopping block, with several Nascent Souls eyeing it greedily, just waiting for someone to strike.
But then the fish had flipped over, nearly shattering the knife.
Fortunately, a seemingly insignificant young man with only a Golden Core cultivation level, but who possessed shocking strength and peerless swordsmanship, had stepped forward, momentarily suppressing the rampaging Soulblade Specter.
However, everyone knew the battle wasn't over yet.
As they watched the recovering Soulblade Specter, those present considered fleeing.
But then—
They saw the enormous figure, cloaked in black mist, twisting in the air.
Its distorted head still showed half of a golden surface, partially hidden by the swirling black mist, but that mist was steadily diminishing under the onslaught of countless sword lights.
The cut on its head was no longer healing, and the black mist's flow was slowing.
The Soulblade Specter's entire body had fallen into a deathly stillness, like a living target.
This sudden change occurred not long after the terrifying young man had disappeared.
Some of those who had been preparing to leave halted in their tracks, now on guard.
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Note: Link to the character Illustration:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1lkIcPnCxeyuyZA4Kkb621dPC05UvWjhD