As the sky gradually darkened and the moon began to rise, the night sky was as clear as if it had been washed, resembling smooth, delicate dark blue silk without a single flaw.
Under the gilded moonlight, Su Linghuang, wielding her slender jade fingers as a sword, had knocked down the stubborn girl in green over a hundred times.
Yet, each time, the girl managed to rise from the cold bluestone pavement, where traces of blood had already bloomed like flowers between the stones.
Except for the first time, no kind soul used their spiritual energy to shield her again.
After fewer than ten falls, her body was already covered in bruises.
After a hundred, even a bloodied head was considered a minor injury.
With a clang, [Fish Dance] slipped from her grasp and fell to the ground.
Mo Xiaonian was once again sent flying more than three zhang away.
Perhaps out of pity or moved by her stubbornness, the Red Lotus Saintess had lightened her strikes considerably.
The girl in green wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, tightly gripping the sword hilt, struggling to prop up her frail, battered body.
“Shall we stop here for now?” Su Linghuang’s dark brows furrowed slightly, a trace of pity flickering in her crimson eyes.
If they continued like this, her fellow disciple might very well die by her hand.
“Please, Saintess, draw your sword… and fight me again,” Mo Xiaonian replied weakly but resolutely.
“Are you insane?! [Evil Phoenix] is a terrestrial-grade spirit sword. A single swing could evaporate rivers. A mere Foundation Establishment cultivator like you would be reduced to ashes!”
“If the Saintess does not draw her sword, our duel is not over. Please, continue,” Mo Xiaonian said, her voice frail but unwavering.
“Even if I only use my fingers as a sword, how many more rounds can you endure? Go back and rest. Since I promised… Gu Shenzhi, you can come to me for a duel anytime, and I, the Saintess, will guide you without holding back.”
A helpless, bitter smile tugged at Mo Xiaonian’s bloodstained lips, but her dark eyes showed no trace of cowardice or retreat.
Since returning to the sect, her fear of death had gradually faded, especially when she recalled that day when Gu Shenzhi, with righteous resolve, willingly risked his life to buy her and Senior Sister Yuexi a chance to survive.
Mo Xiaonian felt overwhelming guilt and regret.
She had her obsessions, her long-unfulfilled wishes, but didn’t Senior Brother Gu have unfinished matters of his own?
Didn’t he have people he cared about?
Moreover, back then, her deepest emotion was fear—fear of death—not some noble hatred or resentment toward the Mo family.
Looking back now, those were just hypocritical excuses.
Her father always called her a coward, criticizing her for lacking the resolute determination of her brother, Mo Lin, who could face life and death with indifference to achieve his goals.
Mo Xiaonian wanted recognition from her father and the Mo family, so she had always been especially cautious, terrified of dying with regrets.
But now, it seemed she had only been running away—whether during the grueling training arranged by her father, on the sparring stage against her brother Mo Lin, or in Wu’an City facing that pseudo-Nascent Soul evil artifact.
This avoidance wasn’t a carefully considered choice but an instinct born from the depths of her heart—fear, fear of powerful things.
If she couldn’t confront the fear deep within her and cast aside her cowardly emotions, how could Mo Xiaonian ever hope to be taken seriously by the Mo family in this lifetime?
“Huang’er, just draw your sword. Even with your fingers as a sword, she won’t last three moves. You might as well give Junior Sister a quick end,” Gu Shenzhi, who had been silent for a long time, said slowly, his tone so cold it seemed he cared little for Mo Xiaonian’s life or death.
“If I draw [Evil Phoenix], Mo Xiaonian will surely die. Do you think everyone is you, Gu Shenzhi?!” Su Linghuang transmitted her voice anxiously.
“Though Junior Sister Mo isn’t as skilled as me, I’m right here, aren’t I?” Gu Shenzhi said cryptically.
Listening to his baffling words, the Red Lotus Saintess initially found them incomprehensible, but she quickly caught on.
“You want to take her place and face my [Evil Phoenix] sword? But Mo Xiaonian will definitely notice, and with her temperament, she’ll insist on continuing. In my opinion, Husband, you should knock her out and send her back to her cave abode.”
“Knocking her out is just another form of avoidance. Can she escape for a moment and expect to escape for a lifetime? Huang’er, trust your husband. Junior Sister Mo absolutely won’t notice.”
Su Linghuang pondered for a moment before reluctantly agreeing, “Fine, I’ll trust you. But from now on, outside, you’re only allowed to call me Huang’er, not make me call you Husband.”
“Huang’er, you’re quite domineering. Looks like I’ll always be the one pinned beneath you,” Gu Shenzhi shook his head, sighing helplessly.
“You’d better know it,” Su Linghuang teased with a light laugh, but after mulling it over, she felt something was off.
A blinding crimson light flashed as the Red Lotus Saintess’s delicate hand grasped the terrestrial-grade spirit sword—[Evil Phoenix].
The sword was about three feet nine inches long, its edges as thin as cicada wings, capable of easily slicing through defensive spiritual treasures below the mysterious grade.
Its blade shimmered with cold light, and the hilt was intricately carved with a lifelike relief of a black-feathered phoenix.
Legend had it that when Mu Chonghua commissioned a master swordsmith to forge this sword, a drop of essence blood from the rare black-feathered phoenix, a beast encountered once in a millennium, was added to the furnace.
Because of this, the sword spirit within [Evil Phoenix] was nearly comparable to a celestial-grade spirit sword.
Su Linghuang gently caressed the blade with her slender hand, the chilling sword qi swirling between her fingers entwining with the sword.
With a serious expression, she spoke slowly, “This sword is called [Evil Phoenix], a gift from my master.”
“This sword is called [Fish Dance], a hereditary treasure of my Mo family.”
Mo Xiaonian mustered her strength, shakily forming a sword gesture.
She rose with her sword, its tip pointing directly at the Red Lotus Saintess.
In the next moment, sword qi tore through the air, rushing toward the heavens.
The crimson light of the blade sliced through the night. Su Linghuang moved like a bolt of lightning, slashing fiercely at Mo Xiaonian.
The sword left a dark red arc in the air before colliding heavily with [Fish Dance].
With a resounding crash, the strike was powerful and heavy.
Even with her cultivation suppressed to the late Foundation Establishment stage, Su Linghuang had little confidence in Mo Xiaonian.
If the latter could withstand this strike, the title of the Moon Shadow Sect’s Cloud-Severing Peak Saintess might need to be relinquished. But she had full confidence—and curiosity—about the enigmatic Gu Shenzhi, whose sharpness flickered in and out of sight.
Between prodigies, there must always be a victor.
The Red Lotus Saintess was no exception, driven by her competitive spirit to lure Gu Shenzhi into action.
Since Gu Shenzhi had spoken, he must be confident he could block her sword moves without arousing Mo Xiaonian’s suspicion.
But how would he block them?
With what level of cultivation?
These were the questions Su Linghuang sought to answer with this full-force strike.
Mo Xiaonian, already outmatched and gravely injured, had no strength left to withstand this sword.
Even if she gritted her teeth and broke both arms, she couldn’t change her utterly disadvantaged position.
But gradually, the pressure from [Evil Phoenix] began to ease.
Mo Xiaonian, who had been struggling to hold on, suddenly felt lighter.
Her first thought was that the Red Lotus Saintess had held back.
Yet, upon closer observation, she noticed that not only had the Saintess not held back, but her spiritual energy fluctuations were increasing, now just a hair’s breadth from the Core Formation stage.
In other words, if Mo Xiaonian held on a bit longer, even if Su Linghuang defeated her, it would be due to the suppression of a higher realm.
A surge of unexpected joy filled Mo Xiaonian’s heart, but it quickly gave way to self-doubt and confusion.
When it came to self-doubt, however, the Red Lotus Saintess surpassed her.
Su Linghuang was on the verge of breaking down.
Whether she raised her realm or unleashed more sword qi, [Evil Phoenix] seemed to slip from her control, its momentum diminishing bit by bit before her eyes.
Her phoenix-like eyes darted toward Gu Shenzhi, standing alone by the wall under the moonlight.
The black-robed youth stood silently, showing no trace of sword qi or even the slightest ripple of spiritual energy.
What in the world had he done?!!
Su Linghuang was nearly driven mad.
She was tempted to break the shackles her master had placed on her bloodline and have a proper fight with Gu Shenzhi.
Of course, it would only be to determine a victor, not a matter of life and death.
If she actually killed Gu Shenzhi with a single strike, Su Linghuang would undoubtedly be among those who felt the most pain.