Sorry, Organization

Chi Yu lowered his voice and said to the sword, "Can you help me kill Xie Xiyi?"

The sword raised its tip and wagged it from side to side twice, meaning no.

Chi Yu: "..."

Chi Yu thought for a moment, then lowered his voice and said, "Then can you help me rescue Ling Hezhou?"

After a while, the sword bobbed its tip up and down a few times, meaning yes.

Chi Yu: "..."

Fuck! Xie Xiyi, your sword really has betrayed you!

Author's note:

Fish Eater: Fearless newborn calf buff applied!

Chapter 5: Sorry, Organization

Although this sword had run Chi Yu straight through the heart not long ago, how could someone as understanding as him blame a sword?

So the moment he discovered that this sword was a turncoat with intentions of betraying its master, Chi Yu accepted it.

He did not ask whether Ling Hezhou was dead. Until his death was confirmed, Chi Yu would assume he was still alive.

And the sword gave him a satisfactory answer.

Phantom Lightning traced its name in the soft earth. Chi Yu read it softly aloud, prompting the sword to nuzzle him affectionately. He stroked it and whispered, "I know you're a kindhearted sword. You must have your reasons for staying with that demon. When the time is right, come be my Life-Bound Spirit Sword."

His tone was somewhat probing as he said this. Phantom Lightning fell silent, then, after a while, hesitantly bobbed up and down before swaying from side to side.

Chi Yu pieced together a guess. "You really do have your reasons for staying with that demon, but you can't be my Life-Bound Spirit Sword?"

Phantom Lightning: nodding.jpg

Chi Yu was not particularly disappointed. He asked, "Can you manage on your own? Do you need my help?"

Phantom Lightning shook its tip, transformed into a streak of light, and flew toward Xie Xiyi.

Chi Yu nimbly climbed a tree to wait for it.

In fact, Chi Yu was not far from Xie Xiyi; there was no way Xie Xiyi could have failed to detect him. It was purely because he was at a critical juncture and had no attention to spare for his surroundings. Chi Yu was also far too weak, his presence as faint as an ant's, which was why he had managed to reach this area without being discovered.

Inside a jagged cave shaped like a crouching tiger, black mist drifted over the ground like vapor rising from a river in winter. Black runes occasionally emerged, then quickly shattered like illusory bubbles.

The Nascent Soul body of a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator hung imprisoned in several black Talisman Rings. He cursed, "How dare you, brat! Do you know who I am? My father is the Blood Slaughter Patriarch! If you touch me, my father will never let you off!"

After spewing a jumble of other obscenities and finding that Xie Xiyi paid him no attention, he immediately proved capable of bending with circumstances and changed his attitude, offering lavish rewards one moment and swearing solemn oaths the next.

As expected, Xie Xiyi continued to turn a deaf ear. He sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion, his jade-white hand enveloped and insulated by mist. Holding a Top-Grade Spirit Stone in his palm, he inscribed a curse seal within it, using mist as ink and divine sense as his brush. Before long, a small, uncanny curse seal formed inside the spirit stone, enveloped by the embryo of spiritual energy within. This would preserve the curse seal permanently and keep it effective, turning it into a talisman ordinary cultivators could use.

Seeing that his experiment had succeeded, Xie Xiyi could not help feeling pleased. He softly hummed an unknown tune; even those scattered fragments revealed it to be a serene little melody.

He hummed only a few fragments before falling silent, casually tossing the spirit stone inscribed with the curse seal onto the low table without particularly treasuring it.

Only then did he finally have time to deal with this incessantly chattering Nascent Soul Spirit.

He reached out to touch the Nascent Soul Spirit. The mist quietly parted, allowing Xie Xiyi's pale fingertip to brush it. The Nascent Soul Spirit immediately screamed, one arm instantly melting into liquid that pattered onto the ground, burning several holes through it like molten iron or lava.

Nascent Soul cultivators were immensely powerful. They could commune with heaven and earth and roam the vast void in spirit, deduce the workings of all things and overturn mountains and seas. Even apart from their physical bodies, their Nascent Soul Spirits retained most of their magical power and might. Having lost their bodies, they could still possess others and seize their flesh. Thus, even in his Nascent Soul Spirit state, this cultivator could still talk tough. Given an opportunity, he might yet possess Xie Xiyi.

Yet such a powerful cultivator had been reduced to this miserable state merely by touching a little of Xie Xiyi's skin. How could that not inspire terror?

The Nascent Soul cultivator gasped, all his iron resolve instantly crumbling. Before he could voice his pleas for mercy, Xie Xiyi withdrew his hand and turned his head to one side. "Come here."

The Jade White Spine Sword sliding along the cave wall froze, then turned its tip and slowly flew over to Xie Xiyi.

Xie Xiyi stared at it for a while, then took out a piece of Taowu hide and wiped its body.

Only after wiping Phantom Lightning spotless did Xie Xiyi release it. He then reached out and gathered the Nascent Soul Spirit between his fingers. Black Forbidden Curses crawled out of his wide sleeves and coiled tightly around the Nascent Soul Spirit like constricting snakes. Screams rang out again, but its mouth was quickly stopped, and countless curse seals were injected into the powerful Nascent Soul Spirit in an instant.

Phantom Lightning seized the opportunity to hook the antique lamp behind Xie Xiyi with its tip, flashed past him like lightning, and charged beyond the cave's formation.

After waiting in the tree for ten-odd minutes, Chi Yu finally saw Phantom Lightning return.

Looking at the lamp hanging from Phantom Lightning's blade, he slid down the tree and reached out to take it. "Is Ling Hezhou inside?"

Phantom Lightning nodded.

Chi Yu shook the lamp. It had a glazed-glass wind guard, and its shape and material looked no different from ordinary gilded metal, but it was unexpectedly heavy in his hand and gave off a faint vibration. It was clearly a lamp-shaped spiritual treasure, probably of no low grade.

He felt around but found no switch. "How do I let him out?"

Phantom Lightning shook its tip again. Chi Yu was puzzled. "I can't let him out?"

Phantom Lightning nodded.

Chi Yu muttered, "Why not? Is my cultivation too low?"

A melodious voice drifted out. "Several Nascent Souls are imprisoned in there. If you release them, you'll be possessed."

Chi Yu: "Huh? Really? Then what do I do? Can I just release Ling-"

Before Chi Yu could finish, his entire body went rigid.

The Jade White Spine Sword swept past him and landed in Xie Xiyi's hand.

Chi Yu slowly turned his head and discovered that Xie Xiyi was very close. His tall figure seemed capable of blotting out the sky and sun, while Chi Yu stood beneath his shadow, as tiny as a little beast.

Chi Yu slowly raised his face. From this angle, he could see the beautiful, boldly defined lines of Xie Xiyi's jaw. That Ghost Mask was sinister and ferocious, its red pupils like ghostly hellfire, staring straight at him. "It's you."

A faint trace of amusement entered Xie Xiyi's voice. "You didn't die."

Black chains of Forbidden Curses dropped from his sleeve and slithered like snakes onto Chi Yu's feet.

"What's that?" Startled, Chi Yu tried to put some distance between himself and Xie Xiyi, but his entire body had stiffened. He could not move so much as a finger.

Phantom Lightning began humming again in Xie Xiyi's hand, faint golden light flowing through its Jade White grain.

Xie Xiyi's amused voice was beguiling. "So that's how it is."

No wonder its spiritual power had dissipated when he killed him, leaving it like an ordinary weapon.

Phantom Lightning's humming grew louder. Had Xie Xiyi not been able to suppress it, it would have long since flown out of his hand.

Although Chi Yu could not move his body, he still had a mouth. "I came to follow you. You saw it yourself—I have a Secret Technique that lets me come back from the dead! Even Nascent Soul, Mahayana Stage, and Tribulation Transcendence cultivators can't do that. Take me in, and once I've achieved something in cultivation, I can help fight your enemies and take blows for you. That's a great deal, right?"

Xie Xiyi looked down at him without speaking.

Chi Yu could not see his expression, only the eerie, sinister Ghost Mask on his face. Even at such a critical moment, he had time for his mind to wander. Is it really okay not to have eyeholes? Won't his eyes deteriorate if he doesn't use them?

Chi Yu managed to drag his attention back and continued professing his loyalty. "...Though I am insignificant, I still wish to follow a worthy lord. If you take me in, I won't hesitate to brave fire and boiling water for you!"

Xie Xiyi laughed. His laughter was distinctive, gentle and melodious in a way that did not match his tall stature, carrying a pleasure that made one's whole body tingle. "In that case, go die."

After saying this lightly, he raised the humming, resisting Phantom Lightning and drove it into Chi Yu's heart just as he had the first time.

Chi Yu: "..."

Fuck!

Chi Yu's consciousness cut out, plunging into darkness.

Xie Xiyi drew back the Spine Sword. Golden light flickered along its blade as though it were angry. Ignoring it, Xie Xiyi used it to slice open Chi Yu's robes. Soon, the boy's lean, supple, pale body lay exposed before him.

A bloody hole gaped where Chi Yu had been pierced, blood spurting out in wet bursts. Soon, the grass was covered in blood.

Xie Xiyi took out the Taowu hide to wipe the blade. Phantom Lightning tilted slightly, cutting a long wound across his slender finger.

Xie Xiyi paused. Black mist surged over the wound, filling it before any blood could flow. Soon, the place Phantom Lightning had cut was restored to its original state.

Xie Xiyi said quietly, "A sword that betrays its master has no reason to exist."

Chains of Forbidden Curses crawled out, wrapping Phantom Lightning in layer after layer before quickly swallowing it.

Xie Xiyi said softly, "You can come out when you've reflected on your actions."

After putting Phantom Lightning away, Xie Xiyi took out a Top-Grade Spirit Stone and slowly inscribed a curse seal. By the third stone, the chest of the body at his feet began to rise and fall, and the pool of blood beneath it began flowing back.

Soon, all the blood beneath him had returned to that thin chest. The wound piercing his chest closed and healed in an instant, and color returned to the boy's bloodless cheeks.

Chi Yu soon woke. The moment he opened his eyes, he saw Xie Xiyi's ferocious Ghost Mask. "..."

He opened the panel and, sure enough, saw that his age had jumped to fifteen. He could not keep wasting it in a place like this. If he kept dying until it reached zero, would he turn into a fertilized egg?

Anything but that.jpg

Chi Yu switched sides on the spot, tears pouring out as he clung to Xie Xiyi's leg. "Boss, I was forced into it! The system made me do everything! The system told me to win your trust and then stab you in the back! Aaaah!"

As Chi Yu wailed, he was astonished that the system actually had no confidentiality mechanism. He had really managed to say the word "system"!