The wind at Siguo Cliff was cooler than anywhere else, rustling the weeds before the Yi Guan Tomb.
Lin Nan ascended the stone steps and saw Shu Ying crouched before the tomb, gently wiping it with a cloth.
“You’re here.”
Shu Ying didn’t look back, her fingertips lightly brushing the Yi Guan Tomb as if tending to a fragile treasure. “How does it feel to break through to Eight Rank?”
“Not bad.”
Lin Nan stood behind her, expression calm.
She had known there was no escaping Shu Ying’s sharp eyes when it came to breakthroughs like reaching Eight Rank.
“Teacher asked for me. Is there something important?”
“Can’t I ask you without something important?”
Lin Nan paused, then said, “You can ask me even if there’s nothing urgent.”
“Is that so?”
Shu Ying stood, pulling a yellowed Sword Manual from her sleeve. The handwriting was sharp as a blade. “These are Su Qinghe’s Sword Manual Annotations. Most of what’s in Broken Sword Valley is related to this sword style. You might find it useful.”
“Though these are annotations, they’re subjective notes—not the original text from Su Qinghe.”
Lin Nan took the Sword Manual. Her fingertips touched the pages, and she suddenly understood much.
She asked, “This handwriting looks like yours.”
Shu Ying smiled. “You can tell that too.”
The first page depicted a sword, its Sword Tassel flowing exactly like the one on Huo Yuanyao’s sword.
She pointed at the page. “I’ve seen this Sword Tassel before.”
Shu Ying nodded. “Canglan Sword Sect. One of the six orthodox sects and the de facto rulers of Broken Sword Valley. They control access and enlightenment there. That Huo Yuanyao from Sword Peak is from Canglan Sword Sect.”
“You seem to know Broken Sword Valley quite well.”
Lin Nan flipped to the second page, where a red-ink note read, “To become immortal by sword, one must abandon the Seven Emotions.” The handwriting matched Shu Ying’s usual annotations. “You even know Su Qinghe’s sword path.”
Shu Ying’s gaze drifted toward the sea of clouds, voice low as a sigh. “I went there once, hundreds of years ago.”
She hesitated, a flicker of complexity in her black eyes. “They say Su Qinghe’s Sword Manual is buried somewhere in Broken Sword Valley. If you find that ultimate technique, you can emulate the last Sword Immortal and ascend by sword. But after I went there, I realized…”
“…There is no such single manual. Broken Sword Valley is filled with sword manuals. Or rather, the entire valley itself is Su Qinghe’s Sword Manual.”
Lin Nan’s heart skipped a beat.
“No wonder every Sword Cultivator, no matter age or gender, must visit Broken Sword Valley at least once.”
“Exactly,” Shu Ying sighed. “Without paying homage to Qinghe or wielding the treasured sword, no Sword Cultivator feels complete. More and more sword cultivators have left their sword paths, sword Qi, and sword intent in Broken Sword Valley. Countless swords intertwined with Su Qinghe’s sword spirit formed this magnificent valley.”
Lin Nan fell silent for a moment, then asked, “What did you see there?”
Shu Ying turned to look at her, black eyes fixed intently. “You should focus on yourself. Your newly summoned Monster body has just awakened. You’d better hone your sword a bit before heading to Broken Sword Valley. If your strength is too heavy, your sword will move too fast. Too fast, and it won’t align with the Qingyun Heart Sutra’s principles.”
Lin Nan’s emerald eyes suddenly contracted.
It was normal for Shu Ying to sense her breakthrough to Eight Rank—but how could she know about her Monster body’s strength?
“You last night—”
“I saw nothing,” Shu Ying cut her off, fingertips brushing the Soul-locking Ring on Lin Nan’s wrist, calming the golden flame there. “This ring won’t last much longer. Broken Sword Valley is heavy with Demon Qi. If it breaks, use this.”
She handed over a jade pendant, its jade smooth and inscribed with half a lotus.
“What’s this…?”
“Good stuff from the Frontier Dynasty Treasury. It blocks Demon Qi.”
Shu Ying retracted her hand, the cloth still clenched in her palm. “Huo Yuanyao goes with you?”
“Mm. And Yuer.”
Shu Ying’s eyes darkened slightly as she turned toward the stone chamber. “Canglan Sword Sect traces back to Su Qinghe’s lineage. Keep an extra eye out.”
Lin Nan watched her retreating figure, silent for a long time.
She had expected that this trip to Siguo Cliff, Shu Ying would test her with all kinds of schemes, like before.
Yet,
Shu Ying didn’t mention a word.
Not even about last night’s breakthrough.
Had she… resigned herself?
The wind swept through the pines below the cliff, rustling the Sword Manual pages.
Lin Nan flipped to the last page, where Shu Ying had written a line in red ink:
“The immortal’s touch on the head cannot compare to the snow between your brows.”
The writing was blurred by water droplets, half obscured, yet still betraying hesitation in the strokes.
Behind the Sword Manual was an epilogue.
It spoke of Su Qinghe and Broken Sword Mountain.
They said that long ago, a peerless woman ascended Kunlun Mountain to prove the sword path, abandoning the Seven Emotions and all worldly distractions.
With one sword, she tore open the Heavenly Gate, forcibly breaking through the path of ascension, entering the Immortal Realm with her mortal body.
She was the last Sword Immortal in the world.
But for unknown reasons, at the very moment she stepped into the Immortal Realm, Su Qinghe’s Dao heart shattered, and her cultivation plummeted from the Immortal Realm back down.
Ascending, she passed through the ranks from Nine-rank to Immortal Realm step by step; descending, she regressed from Immortal Realm to Nine-rank.
In the end, she became a mortal without a trace of true Qi.
That day was witnessed by all—the mortal body saint, the great contemporary power, built a towering height only to have it collapse.
The mortal Su Sword Immortal drew her treasured sword and raised her right arm.
At once, the swords of all onlookers flew uncontrollably toward her.
After her arm dropped lightly,
Broken Sword Valley abruptly and naturally appeared, blossoming with countless treasured swords.
As for Sword Immortal Su Qinghe, she died.
“Ah? Why did Su Qinghe die?”
Qingyun Shen Yuer followed beside Lin Nan, voice tinged with anxiety.
Lin Nan couldn’t resist tapping her head. “Stories from our predecessors’ cultivation world aren’t bedtime tales for you to enjoy like gossip.”
“I’m not!”
Lin Nan pointed at the melon seeds, peanuts, and osmanthus cake in her arms. The little girl stuck out her tongue and dumped everything into her storage pouch, spreading her hands to show she had nothing.
Lin Nan laughed aloud and continued the story from the Sword Manual epilogue despite Yuer’s disgruntled look.
“Because that Sword Immortal suffered emotional wounds.”
“Really?!” Yuer’s eyes widened, nearly spilling all the juicy gossip inside. “So explosive! Little Lin, tell me, tell me—what kind of emotional wounds did the Sword Immortal suffer?”
“Her sword path required abandoning the Seven Emotions to ascend by sword. The closer she got to ascension, the more emotions she discarded. But the moment she officially entered the Immortal Realm, those feelings all returned to her mind. Normally, those memories shouldn’t affect her.”
Yuer dragged out an ‘Ooooh—’ and grinned. “I guess they did affect her, because she felt guilty toward someone. Her Dao heart shattered, and just after becoming immortal, she lost her life.”
Lin Nan burst out laughing. “You only get smart when it comes to these things?”
“Hey! Little Lin~” Yuer complained unhappily. “I’m smart even without these things, okay!”
“All right, all right.”
“So, Little Lin, if you ascend, will you sever the Seven Emotions and abandon me?”
Lin Nan tousled the girl’s hair gently. “I won’t. What about you? Will you?”
The little girl tapped twice on her chest and promised, “I won’t either.”
Lin Nan teased, “Because you won’t, that’s why you will.”
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