Remould the Glory of Sword Art

Amidst the surging tide, a lone figure walked.

Dao Jiu sat within the grand hall, his gaze rapt, silently listening to the music that was a rare treasure of the ages.

He could make out the emotions embedded within the "Song of the Endless Sea."

On the surface, the waves seemed furious, their rise and fall unpredictable.

But if one immersed themselves within these tides, they would discover... every note was filled with despair, deathly stillness.

It was like a melody played by a "dead person."

Xie Xuanyi also sensed something unusual.

Every word Chu Man had said to him was with the intent of "clinging to life," yet now the Sound Killing Technique was imbued with a thick intent to die.

Ultimately.

Xie Xuanyi, sword in hand, came to stand in front of Chu Man.

The Song of the Endless Sea came to an end.

No matter how much killing intent Chu Man poured into her music, the melodies from the strings could never breach the three feet before Xie Xuanyi; that "Reed Sword," far inferior to the ancient zither in quality, repelled all the tides—

In the end, the zither strings snapped.

A string of crimson blood beads arced through the air, slid down, and hit the ground.

Xie Xuanyi hadn't drawn his sword.

The fingertips of Chu Man's hands resting on the broken strings were covered in fresh blood.

Some things, one knows the outcome from the very start.

From the moment she played the music at the besieging army, Chu Man knew, Xie Zhen's Divine Soul Realm was unfathomably deep, and unless absolutely necessary, one should never make an enemy of him.

Not until now did she understand.

There was a chasm between them, as vast as the heavens.

"Miss Chu, do you have any last words?"

Xie Xuanyi presented the Reed Sword, its tip pressed to the woman's jaw.

"..."

Chu Man smiled faintly, offering no resistance. Instead, she compliantly raised her snow-white neck.

She looked up at Xie Xuanyi's bamboo hat and asked, "Xie Zhen, would you dare to remove your hat, to show your true face to the world?"

She had asked this once before on the besieging army.

Back then, Xie Xuanyi had lightly countered with "Can you bear the consequences?"

Now, Chu Man posed the question again.

What consequence in this world could be more terrifying than death?

"If I'm not mistaken, you are not an envoy of the Tan Yi Guards, nor do you belong to the Imperial City."

Chu Man chuckled: "In fact, your real name isn't even 'Xie Zhen.' Not daring to show your true face even in front of a dying person suggests you are really afraid of something... What is it that frightens you so? It couldn't possibly be death, could it?"

"..."

Xie Xuanyi fell into a brief silence.

He grew tired of the pointless talk and immediately activated his Sword Qi, ready to slay Chu Man.

It was then that the entire Dao Furnace Hall suddenly trembled—

With a bang!

The ground beneath them collapsed and shattered.

In the blink of an eye.

The woman who had been sitting still suddenly leaned backward; she sent out a palm strike without any mercy, flinging the valuable Ninth Grade ancient zither outward—

Xie Xuanyi reacted instantly.

Without a shred of mercy, he flicked his wrist, and the light of the Reed Sword pierced down, splitting the Ninth Grade Treasure in two!

With a bang!

Chu Man did not retreat but instead leaned forward with the ancient zither. At the moment of the zither's explosion, she stretched out her hands and drew a sparkling silver radiance from within the belly of the zither, thrusting it towards Xie Xuanyi!

Xie Xuanyi's pupils constricted.

Everyone thought Chu Man was a musician, specialized in the Divine Soul Skill.

But no one had anticipated that her skills in the Sword Dao were also exceptional—

The timing and angle of her unsheathed sword were excruciatingly tricky!

Xie Xuanyi had no time to dodge.

He could only choose to thrust his sword, trading blow for blow!

Ultimately, Xie Xuanyi's shoulder was pierced by the silver light. He grunted, frowning, and looked towards the woman who was retreating in a floating motion.

This sword had grazed down from the collarbone, slashing diagonally across.

If it weren't for the "Body Protection Treasure," it would have directly split Chu Man in half...

The four individuals from the South Border's Grotto Heavens who had come were all protected by Treasures.

As a confidant of the You Hai King, how could she be without one?

Chu Man's treasure was a small Jade Talisman pendant; as she cultivated the Divine Soul Skill, this talisman could protect her physical body.

It was this Jade Talisman that spared her from death.

Still, her injuries were far more severe than those of Xie Xuanyi.

Yet her tone was devoid of any fluctuations: "Mr. Xie, it seems I've hit the mark."

Her gray gown was torn by Sword Qi, her hairdo shattered, and her disheveled long hair whipped about in the wind.

She was a Death Soldier.

For the sake of the You Hai King, she had stepped into the sunlight, gaining the attention of many... among them, those who coveted her beauty. Over the years, it was said that the Chu Family of Qing State produced a woman not inferior to Jiang Miaoyin; although her appearance was somewhat less, her musical prowess was unmatched.

But who would have thought that beneath her clothes.

Was not a snow-white exquisite body.

Chu Man displayed no concern for her exposed body before others.

Under the torn gray garment, the skin was mottled with dark crimson scars.

Some scars had already formed scabs.

Yet others had turned into keloids.

"It's not quite what I imagined."

Dao Jiu, who had been watching the battle from within the hall, had been staring at Chu Man the whole time. He now looked at her mutilated body with regret and said, "Back then, not many demon cultivators with fierce appearances ended up as severely wounded as this..."

As an Artifact Spirit, Dao Jiu found Chu Man's physical form very interesting.

But Xie Xuanyi, a living person, merely glanced at her before withdrawing his gaze.

"Xie Zhen, I know I am no match for you!"

Chu Man took a deep breath and spoke earnestly, "You Hai King brought this upon himself by attempting to overthrow Da Chu. As a Death Soldier of the Chu Family, I had no choice but to follow his orders... Now, if you would be so gracious as to spare my life, I will repay you a hundredfold, even a thousandfold, in the future!"

"Is this a plea for mercy, or are these your last words?"

Xie Xuanyi released the hand pressing on his shoulder.

Nourished by the Undying Spring... the pierced flesh healed at an astonishingly rapid pace, already forming a layer of gray-white scab.

This scene caught the attention of Chu Man.

She looked at the sword in her hand with some disbelief—

Had that sword strike only caused a superficial wound?

No.

It probably couldn't even be considered a superficial wound!

As the words fell, Xie Xuanyi made his move again.

Sword Sound suddenly erupted—

The Reed Sword shot out, piercing through the air toward its target.

"???"

Chu Man instinctively struck with her sword, only for her expression to drastically change immediately after.

For the Sword Sound did not only come from the Reed Sword!

The Flying Sword that she tightly gripped was suddenly taken over by an extremely formidable thought—

The Flying Sword tore through the air, spattering blood.

Chu Man's body was impaled through the heart by the Reed Sword, flung dozens of feet away, and nailed into the stone wall of the great hall.

Xie Xuanyi silently watched this unfold.

He locked eyes with Chu Man—

Then took a deep breath and reached out to recall the Reed Sword.

The Flying Sword returned to its sheath.

The woman, pinned to the stone wall, slowly fell to the ground, her head askew.

Treason, murder, without a choice...

Chu Man's final words echoed in Xie Xuanyi's mind. Were they truly out of desperation, or were they just a plea for mercy?

Xie Xuanyi could not tell.

But there was one thing he was very clear about.

The only reason he heard those words was that Chu Man knew she had no chance of winning this battle.

If their positions were reversed.

Chu Man would have killed him with one strike.

Leaning on the sheath of the Reed Sword, Xie Xuanyi slowly walked forward several steps, arriving in front of the great hall.

The divine glow of the Dao furnace surged forth!

Dazzling and intense lights shot out from the cauldron!

"Boom, boom, boom."

After killing Chu Man, Xie Xuanyi felt a new sense of awareness arise from within his Heart Lake.

He looked up at the giant, crimson Dao furnace.

With just a thought.

The furnace slowly shifted its position, descending slowly from above the hall and shrinking continuously in midair.

In the end, the [Dao Furnace] that hovered in front of Xie Xuanyi was only the size of a palm.

It looked like a child's toy.

But Xie Xuanyi knew that with a single thought, this [Dao Furnace] could swell to dozens of times its size!

The grade of this treasure was extremely high, even higher than [Chen Ke]!

With his current realm... he feared he couldn't unleash even a tenth of its power.

Using it rashly could draw unwanted attention.

Xie Xuanyi reached out and touched the uneven surface of the Dao furnace.

Thunderous sounds rolled, and as Xie Xuanyi touched it, a series of crimson Dao patterns emerged!

An ancient aura echoed above the Heart Lake.

The Dao patterns belonging to the great sage Bai Ze—

It was these patterns that had confined Dao Jiu, unable to leave the great hall for a thousand years!

Now.

All Xie Xuanyi had to do was to inscribe his own Divine Soul and offer his own blood.

This [Dao Furnace] would become a Lifebound Artifact that he had refined.

Xie Xuanyi's expression was somewhat complicated.

At the beginning of his entry into Bai Ze Secret Realm, his sole intention was to retrieve his own Flying Sword.

He had even declined the [Dao Furnace]'s invitation several times...

But unexpectedly.

After numerous turns, he still arrived at this moment.

"Mr. Xie."

Dao Jiu's eyes were full of anticipation as he respectfully said, "The next step is to inscribe the Divine Soul and become the master of the [Dao Furnace]."

...

...

(I had something to attend to this morning, sorry to keep you waiting, everyone~ As compensation, I will update more tonight, but the exact time is still uncertain~)