VAP - Chapter 100
Chapter 100: Flawless Cold Bone, The Peerless Sword Venerable (24)
On this day, Situ Que resolved to enter seclusion.
For the past several days, he had been busy receiving the various Tribulation Transcendence Stage Venerables who had come to the sect, and he hadn't had a moment to quiet his mind and cultivate.
Now that the guests had all returned to where they came from and there were no other sect matters, it was the perfect time to enter seclusion and improve himself.
Situ Que was currently in the high stage of the Tribulation Transcendence Stage, only a single step away from reaching the peak and ascending through the lightning tribulation. But this one step was like an insurmountable chasm that had trapped countless people before.
Yun Yijiu was an exception. Her talent was too extraordinary; she had reached the peak with little effort, yet she had never faced her lightning tribulation.
As for the reason, in the current Qianhong Divine Province, perhaps only Situ Que knew—or so he believed.
At this thought, Situ Que’s eyes suddenly widened slightly, and an inexplicable palpitation seized his heart.
For a cultivator, such a sudden reaction was rarely meaningless. It could be a premonition, but it could also just be a problem with his cultivation.
Situ Que circulated his spiritual energy for a full cycle but detected nothing. He began to wonder if some strange event, one deeply connected to him, was about to occur in the future.
He pondered it over and over but couldn't come up with anything.
Forget it. Overthinking was useless. He would just have to be more careful from now on. Only by reaching the peak as soon as possible could he break free from the shackles of his nine-thousand-year lifespan.
Situ Que instructed his eldest son and head disciple to take on the responsibilities of the Sect Master and handle all affairs during his seclusion.
Then, he floated into the quiet chamber within his cave residence and began his long meditation.
At that moment, Situ Que naturally had no idea that this seclusion would be interrupted in less than a day.
And that it would be his last.
Yue Du had originally thought that after becoming Dao Companions and dual cultivating, she would get back to the main plotline.
Dao Companions joining forces, confronting petty villains, bringing all the dark secrets to light, and then pacifying the entire Lingtian Sword Sect!
But in reality… before she could take more than a few steps down this so-called plotline, it came to an abrupt end.
The reason was simple: things concluded far too quickly.
Unlike the tedious and complicated investigation process before, dealing with Situ Que was simpler than imagined. It took less time than a single meal.
Yue Du felt as if she had changed careers and become a police officer.
—Ten years of investigation, ten minutes for the arrest.
Situ Que himself was not weak. He was, after all, the Sect Master of the Lingtian Sword Sect, a great power second only to Yun Yijiu.
Facing such an opponent, Yun Yijiu got serious.
She didn't use her usual Wushuang Sword. Instead, she took down Duzun. The small sword, which usually served as a hairpin, grew in the wind, instantly transforming into a three-foot-long sword with a frosty blade and a dark hilt.
The two characters for “Duzun” were carved on the lower part of the blade, the script elegant and seeming to glint with the light of snow.
Situ Que had been forced out of his cave residence by her tyrannical pressure. He was still completely bewildered, saying anxiously, “This junior does not understand Your Reverence’s meaning—”
Yun Yijiu lowered her gaze, gently twisting the sword’s hilt. When she looked up again, her face was like frost, her gaze cold and condensed.
She wasted no words and simply brandished her sword, slashing toward Situ Que.
Situ Que was also a sword user, but at this moment, he could only barely parry, still protesting, “Your Reverence! If this junior has done something wrong, you need only say so, and this junior will certainly—” He swung his sword to block a streak of sword light. “—certainly follow your wishes!”
Yun Yijiu said flatly, “You won’t.”
Situ Que: “Why do you draw such a conclusion?”
The moment he spoke, a cold sweat broke out across his body. Could it be… could it be that Yun Yijiu already knew?
But he had hidden it so well. He had left no records, shown no signs, and the technique he used was undetectable to others.
Besides, Yun Yijiu had always been indifferent by nature and had never cared about her inability to ascend. It was impossible for her to know!
Whatever the reason, Situ Que realized this matter would not end well. He gritted his teeth and, without a change in expression, extended his spiritual energy to his waist and crushed a jade pendant.
Yun Yijiu noticed his small movement but paid it no mind, continuing her assault.
In the way of the sword, no one else’s attainments could compare to Yun Yijiu’s. Her movements were extremely fast. If a cultivator of a slightly lower realm were present, they would likely only see a fleeting flash of pale sword light, unable to discern how she swung the Duzun Sword.
But faced with these sword moves that were like a raging tempest, Situ Que, despite his shock, managed to execute a sword technique each time, perilously blocking every strike.
On the other side, several people were rushing toward Situ Que’s cave residence.
They were all Mahayana Stage cultivators who happened to be cultivating on the Sect Master’s peak. Sensing that the Sect Master had crushed the jade pendant, they came to his aid.
As for the other Tribulation Transcendence Stage Venerables, they would likely arrive a bit later, given the distance.
As the first rescue team, the Mahayana cultivators were stopped on the path not far from Situ Que’s cave by a woman dressed in red.
“Everyone, please wait here for a moment.” Yue Du smiled. “How about you investigate after this is all over, hmm?”
A male cultivator said harshly, “It’s Duyue! This demon cultivator is up to no good, as expected!”
“It must be a surprise attack from the demonic path—”
Yue Du: “…Sigh.” Seeing their united front against a common enemy, she figured they wouldn't listen to her right now.
She sighed and raised a hand.
It seemed she would have to act first and reason with them later.
Back with Yun Yijiu, Situ Que was still holding on.
At this rate, she could subdue him after a bit more hacking and slashing, but that would be a waste of time and rather unsatisfying.
“A waste of time,” Yun Yijiu said coldly, retracting her sword’s momentum.
She closed her eyes lightly. Her sword intent was withdrawn, but the aura around her began to climb ceaselessly.
Situ Que didn’t even have a moment to catch his breath. Seeing this, he knew it was bad. At the risk of damaging his dantian, he compressed the preparation time for his sword technique, intending to unleash his strongest sword move before Yun Yijiu could.
He shouted in a deep voice, “Sword Emerges from the Yang Heaven!”
The strongest strike of a Tribulation Transcendence Stage Venerable was terrifying, yet Yun Yijiu stood her ground, completely motionless.
A frosty halo condensed on her blade. Yun Yijiu held the sword in her right hand and, in a motion that seemed slow but was in fact swift, raised the Duzun Sword above her head, tracing a semi-circular arc of sword light in front of her.
The next moment, her arm dropped abruptly, and the sword light shot out.
—The third form of the Duzun Sword Art, One Sword, Solely Honored.
Before the edge of the Yang Heaven Sword could even get close, it was severed by the Duzun sword intent. Engulfed by the boundless, chilling sword intent, it turned around and attacked its master.
Yun Yijiu… has she always been this strong?
That was Situ Que’s final thought.
When Yue Du arrived, carrying a string of Mahayana cultivators tied up like zongzi, Yun Yijiu was staring silently at a small, transparent crystal on the ground.
Yue Du: “What’s wrong?”
“I forgot to hold back just now and scattered his physical body. Fortunately, his primordial spirit is unharmed,” Yun Yijiu said in a low voice.
They had never planned to kill Situ Que outright. He was the master of a sect, after all. If they killed him directly without finding evidence of his schemes in his cave residence, stabilizing the sect in the future would be much more difficult.
Yue Du thought for a moment. How should she put it?
As expected of her host. Even with her power suppressed by the Main System, she was still inhumanly strong.
However, compared to Qi Jiu’s Word Spirit and Nai Yin’s chanting, at least Yun Yijiu had to physically fight and unleash a big move… well, that counted as progress.
“You—Wushuang Sword Venerable, how could you! The Sect Master has always treated you well. Is this how you repay him?!” Just then, one of the Mahayana cultivators finally let out a pained and furious roar.
Yue Du said boredly, “Oh, save it.”
Once the truth came out, they would all know what “treated you well” really meant.
With that, she slapped a talisman on the man’s mouth. Unable to move his body or speak, the cultivator nearly died of anger on the spot.
Following that, several more of the sect’s Venerables arrived.
Seeing the current situation, they were all greatly shocked and immediately assumed a wary stance.
However, since the Sect Master’s primordial spirit—the thing stored in the transparent crystal—was in Yun Yijiu’s possession, no one dared to make the first move.
Yun Tianwen was one of the first Venerables to arrive. This man had probably found it too embarrassing and had not attended Yue Du and Yun Yijiu’s Dao Companion Ceremony, but he was quick to show up now.
He had already said his few pitiful words of admonishment long ago. Now, with nothing left to say, he stood stunned for a long while before saying bitterly, “Yun Yue Zhuo, how did you turn out like this…”
Yue Du swept a cold glance at him.
The real Yue Zhuo was certainly not like this. But if the real Yue Zhuo were standing here, would you be able to understand her?
Probably not.
Yun Yijiu used her spiritual energy to lift the crystal from the ground. Tumbling restlessly inside was Situ Que’s primordial spirit, the faint outline of his facial features visible.
Seeing this action, everyone present grew tense again.
“Everyone, please calm down,” Yue Du said leisurely. “My Dao Companion had her reasons for acting against Sect Master Situ. You will all understand shortly.”
Medicine Venerable Posuo stared at her intently for a moment, then closed her eyes, clenched her fists, and said, “This Venerable will trust you.”
Yue Du: “Many thanks.”
“This Venerable is not finished,” Venerable Posuo’s voice suddenly rose, a sharp glint in her eyes. “If the truth later reveals that you have deceived us, this Venerable will risk my life to kill you, save the Sect Master, and forge a new body of superior talent for him!”
“Mm, I know,” Yue Du nodded.
Many others disagreed with Venerable Posuo, believing that since the Sect Master had already been harmed to this extent, there was no reason to believe the other party’s absurd claims.
“This is no longer a question of whether she should have attacked or not. Since taking his position, the Sect Master has never wronged you. You attacked him, fine, but why did you have to destroy his physical body? What kind of immense hatred is this?” a male cultivator demanded angrily.
Yun Yijiu: “…”
It wasn’t her fault. That fellow Situ Que was too weak to defend himself.
However, for an ordinary person, obstructing their ascension was indeed a cause for immense hatred.
Yun Yijiu herself didn’t really care about Situ Que and his father. In fact, she was somewhat grateful for what Situ Que’s father had done. If she hadn’t failed to ascend, how would she have met her Dao Companion, the anchor of her soul?
But from another perspective, precisely because Yue Du detested the Situ father and son, Yun Yijiu would not let the matter rest lightly.
She was just that willful.
After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, most of the sect’s key figures who could come had arrived. Those who hadn’t probably weren’t coming.
Yue Du composed herself and took out a wooden puppet.
The wooden puppet was only the size of a palm and crudely made. Its eyes and mouth were hastily drawn on with a vermilion brush, and it didn't even have a nose.
But it had its practical use—this puppet could temporarily substitute for a physical body, serving as a vessel for a primordial spirit.
Situ Que’s primordial spirit was placed into the puppet, and its lifeless, black-lined eyes became animated.
“This junior does not know what misunderstanding you two have about me,” Situ Que said impatiently the moment he possessed the puppet. “This junior is powerless before Your Reverence. I was born late and have respected you as an elder sister since I was young. What kind of evil could I have possibly caused?”
Yue Du couldn’t be bothered to waste words on him and directly slapped a Truth Talisman on it.
Evidently, the Truth Talisman also worked on wooden puppets.
Under the gradually horrified gazes of several Tribulation Transcendence Stage Venerables, Situ ‘Wooden Puppet’ Que, squinting his simple, hand-drawn eyes, confessed everything he and his father had ever done.
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