Practicing Swordplay into Silk

After a long while, the slaughter ceased.

Azure Sky Ghost Venerable's long hair billowed high as the Crimson Breeze in her hand swept across the head of a ghost; even in death, the creature's face remained twisted in profound terror.

None of them had expected this to be the outcome of the day.

Not even Fei Luo had expected such an ending.

The pain in this woman's heart—even after becoming a ghost, even after a hundred years—must still be aching, Fei Luo thought to himself as he watched the frantic, maddened Azure Sky Ghost Venerable.

At this moment, certain thoughts occurred to Fei Luo.

If such tragic experiences had befallen him, would he have been able to keep his sanity?

This woman was a person with ideas far ahead of her time.

She had yearned for free love; she had wanted to break the shackles of feudal society and shatter its barriers.

From beginning to end, she had betrayed no one except Butcher Zhang.

Not even the childhood sweetheart with whom she had exchanged vows of eternal love under the moon and flowers.

Even knowing she would be deceived, she had still charged forward like a moth to a flame.

Fei Luo asked himself, but even he could not be certain if he could have remained rational had he suffered such misfortune.

After cutting down the many ghosts, Azure Sky Ghost Venerable turned her gaze toward Fei Luo. "Human, even if I have to throw away this life, I will dig out your eyes today."

Swish!

Azure Sky Ghost Venerable moved, the materialized Yin energy behind her surging into the sky as the sharp blade in her hand thrust toward Fei Luo's throat.

In this strike, Azure Sky Ghost Venerable had used her full strength.

"Sigh," Fei Luo sighed faintly. "Azure Sky, you are no match for me."

As his words fell, Azure Sky Ghost Venerable's attack arrived.

Without even looking, Fei Luo blocked it casually with the Flowing Cloud Sword in his hand.

Clang!

A sound of metal clashing rang out, and countless sparks flew.

The pupils in Azure Sky Ghost Venerable's reddened eyes constricted; she failed to land the blow and retreated rapidly.

How is it possible? How is his strength so great? Though furious, her reason remained, and this strike sent shockwaves through her heart.

"Azure Sky, humans have their path, and ghosts have their way. I advise you not to make any more futile struggles. You are a soul of suffering, but you have killed those who should be killed and those who should not. Furthermore, you have committed many evils for your own selfish desires. You have brought this upon yourself; you cannot be saved."

Fei Luo looked at the horrified Azure Sky Ghost Venerable before him and spoke softly.

"What do you know?" Veins bulged on Azure Sky Ghost Venerable's forehead, her voice nearly a scream. "What is 'should be killed'? What is 'should not'? The men of this world are all the same—animals driven by their lower halves, filthy and despicable. Those gossiping villains deserved to die even more; what business was it of theirs? Why couldn't I kill them?"

"Isn't this world a place where the strong prey on the weak? Look at these ghosts—when faced with life and death, do they still treat me as their king? Did you not see the insults they heaped upon me?"

Azure Sky Ghost Venerable's delicate body trembled, her voice filled with resentment and hatred.

She harbored great hostility toward the entire world. In her eyes, aside from her husband, there was not a single good person in existence—not even among the ghosts.

"Poor, deluded soul."

Fei Luo's calm voice echoed through the void, and his figure suddenly vanished into an afterimage.

"Hm?" Azure Sky Ghost Venerable's pupils shrank as a thick sense of crisis washed over her.

Fei Luo trod the Star-Plucking Steps, his body ghost-like. A faint, chilling light lingered on the Flowing Cloud Sword, locking onto every trace of Azure Sky Ghost Venerable's aura with endless killing intent.

Void-Breaking Sword Art, Moon Embracer.

Swish!

In the void, a flash of silver light as dazzling as moonlight streaked past. Under the pressure of its sharp Sword Qi, the clothes on Azure Sky Ghost Venerable's body shattered layer by layer, and even the night sky seemed to be sliced into segments by the blade, vanishing into thin air.

This eerie sword light was like a flash of lightning, reaching the center of Azure Sky Ghost Venerable's brow in an instant.

At the brink of life and death, Azure Sky Ghost Venerable condensed her Yin energy into substance. Black markings spread across her entire body, and she channeled her ghost power into her ghost weapon to shield her forehead.

Bang!

In that instant, it was as if Azure Sky Ghost Venerable had been struck by an ancient mammoth. The terrifying force and the razor-sharp edge of the blade snapped her ghost weapon in two, and her body was sent flying like a cannonball into the Ghost Mansion, collapsing several buildings in the process.

"Pfft!"

In mid-air, Azure Sky Ghost Venerable spat out a mouthful of blood, her face turning as pale as paper.

"Refining Sword Qi into silk—how is that possible!"

"This... this..."

In the distance, the two Underworld Envoys watched this scene, their bodies trembling, too shocked to speak.

"What is 'refining sword qi into silk'?" Green Bird transformed into a small bird, perched on a tree branch, and spoke in human language to the two envoys.

"Refining sword qi into silk is the act of condensing ten thousand strands of sword qi into a single thread. The dazzling, brilliant light from the Young Master just now was the manifestation of that technique. Even hundreds of years ago, very few could reach such a realm. Its sharpness far exceeds human imagination; it is said that once refined into silk, it can sever all things."

Hearing the Underworld Envoy's explanation, Green Bird's pupils constricted, her gaze filled with adoration as she looked at Fei Luo's figure.

She did not understand what it meant, but she knew that the Young Master was the most powerful of all.

Fei Luo struck true, pushing his Star-Plucking Steps to their limit as he unleashed his second sword strike.

Swish!

Another brilliant flash of Sword Qi appeared in the void, carrying a terrifying killing intent as it descended upon the Azure Sky Ghost Venerable, who lay amidst the ruins.

The Azure Sky Ghost Venerable had yet to steady herself, feeling as though her internal organs were burning and churning in turmoil.

Her condition was abysmal; she was covered in filth, her red dress reduced to mere rags, leaving her exposed.

She had no time to think, for a sense of mortal crisis had already gripped her heart.

In the void, that moonlight-like Sword Qi struck once more.

Husband, I cannot accompany you any longer. I am sorry. At this life-or-death juncture, the Azure Sky Ghost Venerable knew she could no longer dodge this blow; between the destruction of her ghost artifact and the inconceivable power of the strike, she had reached the end of her rope.

Resigned, she took out the crystal ball and caressed it, wishing to remember the face of her husband.

Suddenly, the Azure Sky Ghost Venerable's pupils constricted in shock as the crystal ball in her hand flashed with light, and an unexpected change occurred.

"Young Master, I beg you, spare Yu'er."

As Fei Luo approached with sword in hand, a nearly transparent soul suddenly appeared before him. It was a burly man with a square face, thick brows, and large eyes; though not particularly handsome, he was quite pleasant to look at.

More importantly, there was not a shred of malice in this man's soul.

"Hm?" Fei Luo frowned slightly, instinctively shifting the trajectory of his Moon Embracer strike and sending it off into the distance.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

The single blast of Sword Qi caused three consecutive palaces to collapse, kicking up clouds of dust.

"Husband! Husband!" Upon seeing this figure, the Azure Sky Ghost Venerable's tears burst forth like a broken dam; she struggled to rise, crawling toward the soul.

"Young Master, spare her life. Yu'er is a pitiful soul; if you must kill someone, kill me instead." The soul's eyes were clear as crystal, devoid of any pretense, as he bowed deeply to Fei Luo from afar.