Killing Intent

A sword spirit. It was indeed a sword spirit.

But it had not fully awakened. Perhaps because Lin Sui had mended most of the cracks in the blade, the sword spirit had leaked a wisp of its aura. It belonged to the same kind of aura as sword intent, causing Lin Sui to mistake it for a second strand of sword intent.

The dark sword floated before Lin Sui.

An invisible, biting sword intent emanated from it. Its radiance was subdued, with a dark red gleam flickering faintly across it.

Though it looked unassuming, not even as dazzling as her gold-embroidered sword, its sword aura was undeniably profound and cold!

"Hmm?" When Su Fuxi reached out to touch the blade, the sword intent immediately repelled her and struck back. A fine cut appeared on her fingertip, and a bead of blood welled up.

"!" Lin Sui's face darkened in an instant. He struck the blade with a burst of spiritual power. "How dare you! You must not hurt my master!"

"..." The sword's radiance swiftly receded, and it hovered silently, motionless.

Su Fuxi reached out with her fair hand and unceremoniously took the sword. Sweeping it with her spiritual sense, she saw the inscription "No Falsehood" before the guard. It, too, had only appeared as the blade was repaired.

The sword spirit's aura was completely disguised as sword intent. That was good; without touching the sword, no one would ever discover that it had a sword spirit.

A magic treasure with an artifact spirit drew far too much attention. Lin Sui carried a precious treasure, but his cultivation was too low, making him an easy target for covetous eyes.

"So it's No Falsehood. Not bad," Su Fuxi murmured, then tossed the sword to Lin Sui. "Keep it safe. Don't take it out and use it lightly."

"All right," Lin Sui replied. In truth, ever since he first stepped onto the sword, he had sensed its resistance. It had nearly thrown him out of the air, so he had switched to another magic sword after that.

Su Fuxi tossed him a few more artifact-refining materials and told him to use them to nurture the blade before going back upstairs to rest.

"Junior Sister Fuxi! Are you going to Wood Crane too?"

The next morning, after taking her leave of the sect leader, Su Fuxi brought Lin Sui out through the mountain gate.

Unexpectedly, they ran into First Senior Brother Zha Wuren not far outside the gate.

He greeted her with a smile, pretending their meeting was a coincidence, though he had actually stationed himself along the route one had to take to the secret realm.

Su Fuxi cupped her fists, smiling without mirth. "First Senior Brother, my disciple and I plan to visit Liang City first. We're in no hurry to go to Wood Crane Kingdom."

The Lost Land Secret Realm lay in a lawless region, stretching across most of the dynasty's southern territories, through several countries, including Tianshui, Mo Liang, and Wood Crane, all the way to the border between Wood Crane and Flame Dragon Kingdom.

She made up a lie on the spot. If she went to Liang City on Tianshui Kingdom's northwestern frontier, she naturally would not be going the same way as him.

But Zha Wuren would not be put off. His handsome face broke into a warm smile. "What a coincidence. I was planning to look around along the way too. Why don't I travel with you, Junior Sister?"

He completely ignored Lin Sui, whose face was dark beside Su Fuxi.

Su Fuxi's smile faded. She frowned, looking troubled. "Ah, well, I wouldn't want to delay you, First Senior Brother. Forget it. I'll take my disciple straight to Wood Crane instead. A visit to Crane Capital would be a fine thing too."

She turned to Lin Sui. "What do you think, disciple?"

Naturally, Lin Sui knew she was looking for a way out and hurriedly nodded. "Yes! Wherever you go, Master, I'll follow."

"Then that works out perfectly, hahaha." Having achieved his aim, Zha Wuren laughed. "In that case, come aboard my flying boat, Junior Sister. We haven't seen each other in years, so we can catch up. Oh, Nephew Lin, you come aboard too." He seemed only then to notice Lin Sui.

Su Fuxi sneered, grabbed Lin Sui's arm, and flew up to the flying boat that had long been hovering ahead. The flying sword beneath her feet turned into a streak of light and entered her storage bag. In any case, with hundreds of thousands of miles ahead of them, a flying boat would indeed make the journey less taxing.

Still, Zha Wuren and Lin Sui were a generation apart and had never had any dealings with each other. There should have been no bad blood between them, so why did it feel as though Zha disliked Lin Sui? Lin Sui was his martial nephew, after all.

Hah, Lin Sui was her future body. How could she allow anyone to bully him?

Su Fuxi was now at the peak stage, while Zha Wuren was at the middle stage, so she was not afraid of him. He had not recovered his cultivation after all these years. Presumably, his injuries back then had been severe enough to badly damage his foundation, and he would likely have no chance of forming a nascent soul in this lifetime.

The flying boat was not very large. It had two quiet rooms, a main room and a guest room.

As soon as she boarded, she was invited into the main room, while Lin Sui was shut outside. Before entering, Su Fuxi "looked" at him and sent him a voice transmission telling him to meditate in the room next door.

"First Senior Brother, I thought you wouldn't go back to that place this time."

Facing him, Su Fuxi glanced at the two cups of tea on the low table between them. She knew he was plotting something against her, and to tell the truth, she did not dare drink it.

Instead, she sat cross-legged, formed a midnight-noon hand seal with both hands, and placed them before her dantian, pretending to meditate.

Zha Wuren gave her a meaningful look. "My Dao heart has been clouded. Even if the injuries to my body have healed, my Dao heart remains unstable. That's why I need to go back there and prove my Dao anew."

Su Fuxi had once helped him at a life-or-death moment in the secret realm. The two of them had looked out for each other, and he had begun to entertain thoughts about her.

Another reason was that Su Fuxi's own cultivation was not weak, and she still possessed her primal yin. He still had some hidden ailments, and there was a secret art that required primal yin as a catalyst for healing. There was no better catalyst than the primal yin she had preserved for centuries!

What was more, she was a rare beauty. Though her innate talent was lacking, her comprehension and spiritual aptitude were excellent. Any children she bore would certainly not be too lacking either.

As he worked out his little schemes, Zha Wuren gazed several times at the lovely outer corner of her eye, at the extremely tiny mole concealed there. "Junior Sister, if neither of us has any hope of reaching the Great Dao, how about becoming my Dao companion?"

Su Fuxi was still thinking that he intended to pick himself up where he had fallen, unaware that beneath his sanctimonious exterior, his mind was full of filth.

Hearing him, she opened her sightless eyes. Her brows stirred as she said, "Not at all. Senior Brother, I have no intention of becoming anyone's Dao companion. Don't bring this up again. The sect leader should have told you."

Next door, Lin Sui was so anxious that he scratched his head and ears. Pacing restlessly, he could not resist sneaking over like a thief and pressing himself against the wall to eavesdrop, but a restriction blocked him, and he could not hear a thing.

Someone was coveting his master!

Lin Sui could not bear to stay there any longer. He went out and waited outside the main room.

"I know." Zha Wuren picked up his teacup unconcernedly and leisurely took a sip. "I know you still want to keep trying to form a nascent soul, Junior Sister. Why don't we discuss this again after we return from the secret realm? You can give it some careful thought in the meantime."

A chill crept into Su Fuxi's heart. Her spiritual sense was keen, and though she did not know how much truth there was in his words, her intuition told her that he meant her no good and might not truly have taken a liking to her.

Unbeknownst to him, it was that last remark, revealing that he intended to keep pursuing the matter after they returned from the secret realm, that made killing intent suddenly rise in Su Fuxi's heart.

So what if Zha's innate talent was greater than hers? So what if he had once nearly reached the half-step nascent soul stage?

How dare you set your sights on me? You're courting death!!

She kept her killing intent buried in her heart, her face as calm as ever, wearing its usual lukewarm expression.

"First Senior Brother, this sort of thing isn't part of my plans for my life. Thank you for the ride this time. It really does make the journey easier. I'd like to return to the guest room and rest."

With that, she stood, smoothed her robes, and left the room without looking at Zha Wuren even once.

Hmph! Zha Wuren watched her retreating back and smiled coldly.

With her ordinary aptitude, she had only managed to reach the core formation stage through good fortune. That he had taken a liking to her was a blessing she had earned over several lifetimes! She did not know what was good for her!

"Master."

The moment Su Fuxi opened the door, she met Lin Sui's eyes, which had been straining with longing as he waited.

Thinking he was worried about her, Su Fuxi felt half baffled and half gratified. It was like a puppy she had raised with great difficulty had finally learned to repay its owner.

"Come on, let's go back and cultivate."

When she said she wanted to rest, she really was tired.

Refining a magic treasure truly took a great deal of mental effort.