“Why are you holding on?” True Person Purple Slaughter looked up slightly, gazing at Wen Wanwan before her with incomprehension.
Her Legacy Secret Realm had been challenged before, but most people couldn’t last a hundred rounds under her. These hundred rounds meant being slaughtered by her sword nearly a hundred times. Most people, after only a few dozen rounds, had their initial pride and confidence shattered. Yet, Wen Wanwan was currently holding her own, having surpassed one hundred and twenty-one rounds.
“Because… I want to be useful too.”
“Useful?” Purple Slaughter didn’t understand.
Wen Wanwan’s figure before her was once again reshaped by the rules of the Legacy Secret Realm, perfectly restored. However, the pain and fear from each previous death still lingered in her memory.
“Since birth… Wanwan has always been useless.”
Wen Wanwan’s eyes stared fixedly at Purple Slaughter before her. She was already somewhat delirious, but her hand gripping the sword was unusually tight.
Wen Wanwan had always felt she was useless.
From a young age, she and her sister relied on each other. She single-handedly took care of her sister. Through all her efforts, she finally cultivated and entered the Inner Sect. Most of her cultivation resources were used to treat her sister’s illness, and she maintained her own cultivation with very little.
She had always worked hard, never slacking in her sword practice or cultivation. Even so, her life was like still water, with not the slightest change. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t cure her sister’s illness. No matter how hard she tried, in the end, she could only remain an ordinary Inner Sect disciple.
The day she first met Jiang Huai, she was on the verge of collapse… Her sister’s illness worsened again. If she couldn’t buy that Heavenly Mountain Snow Lotus to cure her sister, she would be utterly alone in this world.
Li Qiusheng of Medicine Refining Mountain presented her with a condition. That night, she wept uncontrollably for a long time, her mind already made up. If Senior Brother Jiang Huai was unwilling to lend a hand, she would sell herself for a good price… In truth, she didn’t care much about herself, only worrying that if her sister found out later, she would be sad, heartbroken, and devastated.
When she met Senior Brother Jiang Huai that day, he was watering flowers outside the courtyard. With red-rimmed eyes, she explained her predicament. Jiang Huai hesitated for a moment and then produced a spiritual stone ticket for one thousand spiritual stones, placing it in Wen Wanwan’s hand. He told her to use it to cure her sister’s illness first, and if it wasn’t enough, to come back to him. As for repayment… she could do it anytime, he wasn’t in a hurry.
In reality, she still had many small secrets she hadn’t told Jiang Huai. After receiving the one thousand spiritual stones, aside from her gratitude towards Jiang Huai, she was filled with unease in her heart. She always worried that Jiang Huai had intentions towards her, so she always tried to repay him some amount each month… When she returned spiritual stones to Jiang Huai each month, he was always so gentle, never mentioning any demands.
Only later did she gradually come to believe that Senior Brother Jiang Huai had truly extended a helping hand out of kindness.
That was the darkest period of her life, which is why she still remembers Jiang Huai’s gentle and clear eyes at that time. It’s why she was always so obedient to Jiang Huai, and why she always subconsciously thought of Jiang Huai’s well-being… As for her own emotions, she never cared. As she said, she wouldn’t feel wronged or sad. Being able to stay by Jiang Huai’s side, having a small place, was all she desired.
Her sister always said her demeanor was too humble, that it wasn’t good… but Wen Wanwan didn’t feel that way. She always had a sense of inferiority ingrained in her bones, never daring to look directly at Luo Qingyu.
The moment she saw Jiang Huai being brought back to the Legacy Secret Realm by the Yening Sword, coughing up black blood, her heart plummeted to the abyss. That’s why she hated her own uselessness… being confined to this Legacy Secret Realm, unable to do anything, leaving Jiang Huai to face everything alone.
This was her hatred.
“I suggest you give up. I admit your soul is resilient enough to endure many such deaths, but your talent for sword practice is mediocre. I don’t believe you can learn my sword techniques…” True Person Purple Slaughter’s voice carried a hint of reluctance.
“Please, Your Excellency… give me a chance.” Wen Wanwan looked up. “I can still hold on… so… I want to try again.”
“Why go through such hardship?”
“Your Excellency wouldn’t understand… I’ve never been afraid of hardship or toil, but even with all my suffering and labor, I’ve never had a chance to change my destiny. Now, an opportunity is before me, perhaps the only one in this lifetime. I also wish to stand beside the person I like one day, so that when others see us together, they won’t consider me a useless flower vase… but a Dao Companion who can support each other. I don’t want to give up… I hate that useless self of mine!”
“This is all my hatred… I am not afraid of pain, please, Your Excellency… draw your sword!”
Wen Wanwan’s voice now carried a hint of coldness. True Person Purple Slaughter was startled. In that instant, she felt a sliver of her sword intent from Wen Wanwan’s soul.
In a daze, she seemed to see a reflection of her past self. She, who practiced the Purple Slaughter Sword Art, whose parents died at the hands of evil cultivators. She cultivated with this hatred, vowing to annihilate all evil cultivators in the world. This hatred in her eyes felt so familiar.
A moment later, she looked intently into Wen Wanwan’s eyes and her voice softened slightly.
“Good, I will teach you.”
***
“Ahhh ahhh ahhh ahhh ahhh!”
Jiang Huai’s screams echoed incessantly within the cave. The flesh and blood of his entire body had been torn apart and reassembled. Currently, his Overlord Art had reached the early stage of the fifth layer. He only needed to consume the last pill before him to reach the great circle of perfection of the fifth layer, which was his current limit, as there was only this much inheritance left in the True Person Overlord’s secret realm, and only this much spirit medicine.
Jiang Huai had already picked up the pill and brought it to his lips. The True Person Overlord, who had been watching for a long time, couldn’t help but ask out of curiosity, “Speaking of which, why did you choose the second option?”
“Huh?” Jiang Huai was stunned.
“You clearly could have chosen the first option, to remain in the cave and wait for the secret realm to end, leaving safely, right?”
Jiang Huai smiled helplessly, “Two reasons.”
“I’m very curious.” True Person Overlord looked at him, smiling.
“The first reason is because of my Master, Chu Xianning. She is a person who abhors evil and upholds justice, her daily mission being to protect all living beings, even at the cost of her own sacrifice. I learned her Sword Dao, and encountering this situation, if I didn’t try to act, I would feel unworthy of being my Master’s sole direct disciple.”
“And the second reason?”
In reality, Jiang Huai’s current mental state was somewhat deranged. The previous pain made him particularly disoriented, as if his life was a great dream, and all of it a nightmare.
“This is the first time I’ve been pushed into such a pathetic state. I hate it! That bastard son of a bitch almost killed me! If I don’t kill him myself, I won’t be able to sleep at night. Once I get out, I will definitely flay him piece by piece! Make him kneel and beg for mercy, crying! And then let him die in despair!”
Jiang Huai’s face was particularly ferocious at this moment. A moment later, he rubbed his face and replied, “It’s probably like that.”
After speaking, he gritted his teeth and swallowed the last pill.
True Person Overlord looked at his ferocious appearance and couldn’t help but feel a mix of amusement and helplessness. Soon, Jiang Huai, looking even more disheveled, began to roll on the ground. This time, however, he suppressed all smiles from his face. Looking at Jiang Huai rolling on the ground, he suddenly recalled his own youth and chuckled softly.
Thus… entrusting him with hope, letting him slay the Refined Yin Demon Gu, seemed not to have been in vain.
After countless wails and pains, Jiang Huai finally slowly got up from the ground. He tidied his scattered hair. The pain in his body had completely subsided. He raised his hand and looked at his skin. At this moment, his skin seemed to shimmer with a faint, jade-white luster. Jiang Huai tried lightly scratching it with the Yening Sword.
A light scratch only left a shallow, white mark.
This meant that his physical strength was now comparable to a cultivator at the Spirit Transformation tenth layer.
“Thank you, Senior.” Jiang Huai respectfully bowed to True Person Overlord before him.
“No need for pleasantries, it’s all yours by right. Alright, I’ll take you to True Person Linglu. Once you obtain her inheritance, we will activate the Heavenly Way spiritual energy within the secret realm for you, infusing it into your body, so you can battle the inheritor of the Refined Yin Demon Gu.”
Jiang Huai nodded. A moment later, he asked, “What will True Person Linglu’s inheritance teach me?”
“True Person Linglu primarily cultivates Talisman Formations. Among the four of us, she is the one who can touch the most Heavenly Way Rules. She will teach you how to use yourself as a talisman and yourself as a formation. Only she can activate the rules of this secret realm, transforming our soul seeds into the wick of the lamp within your Qi Sea.”
“Understood.” Jiang Huai nodded gently and then followed True Person Overlord into the vortex before them.
***
True Person Linglu’s Legacy Secret Realm.
True Person Linglu’s phantom image was indeed a deer. Jiang Huai was stunned for a moment. True Person Linglu spoke human words, “No need to be surprised. First, I will ask you, do you have any understanding of the Way of Talisman Formations?”
“I have dabbled in it.”
“Very well, the first trial of my secret realm inheritance is the Talisman inheritance.”
***
“I retract my previous harsh words.” True Person Purple Slaughter lowered her head, gazing at the spirit sword now piercing her chest. Wen Wanwan before her was panting, her soul already somewhat tattered.
But she had done it.
Three thousand six hundred and forty-two rounds. She had mastered True Person Purple Slaughter’s sword intent and personally thrust the spirit sword into her chest.
“My inheritance doesn’t have much to bestow upon you. This soul power is my final gift… it should be able to elevate your soul cultivation to the Void Refinement third layer. Your future path will depend on yourself. There are also nine strands of Heavenly Way spiritual energy here, as well as my Nascent Soul Dao Fruit, which is also my gift to you.”
“I believe… with a resilient temperament like yours, you will surely go far.” True Person Purple Slaughter closed her eyes. Her body completely dissolved at this moment, transforming into a radiant stream of light, merging into Wen Wanwan’s body.
“True Person Purple Slaughter… then you…”
“My remnant soul was destined to dissipate into heaven and earth long ago. Even if you hadn’t appeared, I would not have existed for more than a hundred years. Now that I can contribute to slaying the Refined Yin Demon Gu, I am content. I have no regrets in this life.”
These were True Person Purple Slaughter’s dying words.
***
ps: Alas, the plot always has its twists and turns. Everyone guessed it was a formula, so there’s no need to rush. Jiang Xiaohu will definitely turn the tide. Those familiar with the Hes Xue formula will start laughing the moment they see Jiang Xiaohu being beaten until he vomits blood.
