Rage, Resentment, and Regret

"Xiaobai!"

He turned his head abruptly, looking at Xiaobai who was sitting on his shoulder, continuously swinging her little feet. "Tell me the truth, does this Qingxuan Sword have a sword spirit?"

Ye Shu had learned his lesson this time. He asked proactively, rather than waiting until the threat was already in his face, only for the idiot Xiaobai to say with an innocent look, "Actually, I forgot to tell you again."

"Ah? What?"

Xiaobai turned her head back with a bewildered expression.

"What is a sword spirit?"

".................."

Ye Shu fell silent for a moment, then waved his hand.

"Alright, this has nothing to do with you anymore. Go play."

"Oh."

Xiaobai nodded, held onto his shoulders with both hands again, and resumed swinging her tender white feet.

Seeing her foolish appearance, Ye Shu was at his wit's end.

Why on earth was he stuck with such a child bride?

He shook his head helplessly and continued to stride forward.

As he ventured deeper, the path became increasingly flat.

Conversely, the mountain mist grew thicker.

This wasn't ordinary mist, but spiritual mist. The spiritual energy in this space had become so dense that it was liquefying. Taking just a single breath, Ye Shu felt the inner world within his body expand by more than ten meters.

Spiritual herbs grew in thick, wild clusters all around.

He walked another few dozen steps.

The spiritual mist suddenly dispersed, revealing a wide, open space.

Boundless golden light cascaded from the sky. A cyan-white longsword was thrust at an angle into the ground. Phantom-like spiritual mist wrapped around the blade like a veil, making it look like a beautiful maiden faintly visible through sheer silk.

Countless intricate runes flowed slowly from the golden light in the sky, resembling a river made of characters that converged at the sword's hilt. Tadpole-like ancient text swirled along the blade.

Those were the laws of the Great Dao.

It was as beautiful as a piece of art, like a painting.

Ye Shu couldn't help but hold his breath.

He suddenly felt his mind clear; the cultivation bottlenecks that had troubled him in the past were easily resolved, no longer posing a problem.

His inner world now had heaven, earth, and life.

What was it still missing?

It was missing... the Dao!

Without the Dao, it would ultimately remain a fake world.

It would be as ridiculous as stuffing some live chickens and ducks into a storage space and calling oneself the Creator. There were no rules, nor was there any order.

And this Qingxuan Sword was practically custom-made for him.

At the same time, Medusa poked her head out from his cuff. Seeing the Great Dao runes swirling on the Qingxuan Sword, her expression turned joyful.

As expected, the opportunity to restore her cultivation was right here.

Because that bastard thief Ye Shu had interrupted her, she hadn't had the time to comprehend the laws of the Great Dao when advancing to the Void Reversion Realm. As a result, she was still one final step away from the true Void Reversion Realm.

As long as she completed this final step.

From then on, the sky would be the limit, and she would be completely free.

She could return to the Snake-man Tribe, lead her people out of the desert, and give them a good life.

"Let's get this straight first. The laws of the Great Dao this time belong to me."

"Second, you are not allowed to force yourself on me."

The miniature Medusa took on her human form, pointing at Ye Shu's nose with a vigilant look.

"Since I promised you, I will naturally do it."

Ye Shu's reaction was very plain.

He had to be plain. For the past few days, this girl had been nagging in his ear non-stop, annoying him to death. His main goal was still to refine the Qingxuan Sword and revive his master.

As for the laws of the Great Dao, with the Qingxuan Sword in hand, would he lack rules?

Others stole eggs.

He was stealing the chicken!

"Because I am the destined master of the Qingxuan Sword."

Ye Shu muttered softly, then strode toward the Qingxuan Sword. The closer he got, the stronger the spiritual pressure became. A heavy pressure pressed down on his shoulders like a mountain.

The Heavenly Stars revolved on their own, frantically absorbing the energy.

A massive amount of spiritual power instantly poured into Ye Shu's body, all flowing toward the ring on his left ring finger.

At this rate, it shouldn't be long before his master would wake up.

Thinking this, Ye Shu grabbed the hilt of the sword.

The next moment.

A bizarre suction force instantly swept over him, firmly gluing his palm to the hilt. At the same time, a heart-wrenching pain shot through him.

"Are... are you kidding me?"

Ye Shu's expression changed drastically.

This sword was sucking his blood; or more accurately, it was draining his life force.

"Didn't you say I was the destined master of the Qingxuan Sword?"

"What is going on?!"

Ye Shu gritted his teeth and looked at Xiaobai, who was sitting on his shoulder, pale-faced and looking extremely guilty.

"Uh............"

Xiaobai's eyes darted around, and she said sheepishly.

"Actually, I forgot to tell you again. If you want to take the Qingxuan Sword, you have to pass two tests."

"The first test is vitality."

"Only humans with sufficiently powerful life force are qualified to proceed to the next test. Those who fail to endure this step will be weakened for a very long time."

".........."

Ye Shu's face was pale. Feeling his vitality continuously draining away, he didn't even have the energy to curse Xiaobai's treacherous actions anymore. He could only silently endure it until he felt his vitality stop draining and even begin feeding back from the Qingxuan Sword.

Only then did his heart relax a little.

He gritted his teeth and asked, "So, what's the next test?"

"The next test is a trial of the Dao Heart. If you fail, you will die."

"Huh?!"

Ye Shu's eyes widened abruptly, full of shock. "What did you say? If I fail, I'll straight up die???"

"Is it too late for me to stop now?"

"Uh........."

Xiaobai scratched her head. "If you hadn't passed the first test, you could have chosen to give up."

"But you've already passed."

"So....... you can't stop."

"Anyway, that's how things are right now. If there's nothing else, I'll be heading back to the inner world." With that, Xiaobai vanished from the spot like a guilty thief, leaving behind Ye Shu, who was so angry he was about to cough up blood.

"Xiaobai! You massive scammer!!!!"

In the back mountains of the Qingxuan Sect, spiritual mist lingered.

The cyan sword was planted diagonally in the ground. A young man in white robes sat cross-legged, gripping the hilt. His eyes were tightly closed as the runes on the blade slowly flowed through his palm and into his dantian.

"Goddamn Xiaobai...."

Ye Shu clenched his jaw, his whole body trembling with anger.

"How many times has it been? Just how many times? Five, six times? Every time she only tells me the risks when I'm at death's door. This treacherous little thing! I'm so mad I could die."

"Even the system hasn't scammed me as many times as she has."

"What use is this idiot anyway? Aside from crying, acting cute, swinging her feet all day, and getting jealous over others, she doesn't provide a bit of help."

"Such a useless thing!"

"She's going to get me killed sooner or later!"

Ye Shu cursed angrily.

Hiding in the inner world, Xiaobai clung to a large tree, shivering. Her big eyes were filled with panic and fear. She had never seen Ye Shu look so angry before. That expression... it looked as if he might abandon her at any moment.