Li Xun nodded and mumbled in agreement, but in his mind, he was already trying to figure out how to cover up the mistake. Meanwhile, Ming Ji just shook her head and smiled. "Exactly as Sixth Martial Uncle predicted!"
Li Xun looked at her in confusion as she casually sheathed his sword and said calmly, "Consider yourself lucky. Sixth Martial Uncle suddenly got interested and decided he'll spend the next few months personally training you. He sees potential in you. As for the issues with your physique, he has his own methods. Once your punishment is over, head up to the top of Zuowang Peak and start cultivating properly."
"Sixth Martial Granduncle?" Li Xun stared, dumbfounded. "He's going to train me?"
Thinking back to how Zhong Yin made that rare appearance when he first arrived, and all the strange things that had piled up since then, this sudden "good news" only made Li Xun more uneasy. His gut told him there was more going on here than met the eye.
So instead of feeling thrilled about being taught by the Sword God, there was only one thought running through his head.
Should I just run?
While he was busy spiraling, Ming Ji took his dazed expression as excitement and laughed. Then she turned her attention to the nearby stack of Ninefold Stones, seemingly noticing something. With a flick of her finger, she sent one of the stones, about the size of a fist but weighing nearly a thousand pounds, flying into her hand. She studied the carved patterns on its surface.
"These talisman patterns…"
Li Xun, still lost in thought, replied without thinking, "Sixth Martial Granduncle asked me to carve them."
"But this… doesn't look like his style." Ming Ji's brows drew together slightly, and her expression turned colder and sharper, a glint of danger flickering in her eyes.
She ran her fingers over the stone, thoughtful for a moment, then smiled slightly and turned the etched talisman patterns toward him. "You didn't carve these yourself… did you?"
"Under Sixth Martial Granduncle's guidance." Li Xun snapped out of his thoughts just in time. Looking a little embarrassed, he couldn't help showing a hint of pride. "The Immortal Master said it was for me to practice on."
Ming Ji couldn't help but laugh, half amused, half exasperated. "Practice? I can't believe Sixth Martial Uncle would actually say that out loud. This Ninefold Stone was mined specifically to upgrade the sect's protective formations. That's not exactly a small matter, and he gave it to you just to practice?"
Li Xun froze, his face quickly shifting to alarm. "Please don't misunderstand, Martial Aunt. I truly didn't know…"
"I know you didn't." Ming Ji cut in, but her tone had softened. She took a closer look at the carved lines, and this time, her expression changed. Surprised and serious. "You really carved this yourself?"
"Sixth Martial Granduncle made a sample first, then told me to copy it," Li Xun said, scratching his head, trying to look modest.
"But he wasn't very happy with it. He said that with this kind of formation, everything flows from the heart; the internal and external need to be in harmony, and everyone's qi mechanism moves differently. So the restriction patterns can't all follow the same path. In the end, the old man just told me to try doing it my own way. Said it'd turn out about the same."
When Li Xun referred to Zhong Yin as "the old man," Ming Ji couldn't help but smile. That slight amusement lingering, she turned back to study the formation lines carved into the Ninefold Stone. After a moment, she gave a slow nod.
"Second Martial Uncle told me long ago that you were a rare talent when it came to formations. Said you had a natural grasp of the principles and a gift for connecting ideas. Seeing it now, it's clear he wasn't exaggerating."
This wasn't just casual praise from a senior. Even though pride swelled in his chest, Li Xun didn't dare show it. Especially with his guilty conscience, all he could do was lower his head and listen respectfully.
Ming Ji's gaze stayed on the Ninefold Stone as she let out a quiet sigh.
"Back when I watched Sixth Martial Uncle draw those lines so effortlessly, I used to think: so this is how formations are really supposed to be done. Turns out, everything we'd been doing before was… wrong.
"After that, I'd compare my own work to his. And every time it even slightly resembled his style, I'd feel like I understood something new. That sense of 'this is how it should be' helped me grow. But looking at your work now…"
She paused, then said seriously, "You've broken with tradition, but somehow it still makes perfect sense. It looks like you've stepped outside our sect's teachings, yet everything still flows within them. Now I finally understand what Second Martial Uncle meant when he said you could 'draw connections between different disciplines.' He wasn't just flattering you."
Li Xun had planned to act humble, but then figured that'd just come off as fake. So he gave a sheepish laugh instead, silently accepting her praise.
Ming Ji didn't think she was exaggerating at all. She looked at the stone once more before gently setting it down and smiled. "Now I understand why Sixth Martial Uncle values you so much."
If only that were really the reason… Li Xun thought to himself. But on the outside, he had to wear a completely different expression. Keeping it all straight was exhausting. Luckily, Ming Ji seemed to have said her piece and finally returned to the main topic.
"By order of the Sect Leader, your punishment won't be considered complete until you dig out eighty-one Ninefold Stones and transport them down the mountain in batches."
Li Xun quickly bowed to accept the task. He knew now that the punishment was finally coming to an end. Sure, hauling eighty-one Ninefold Stones was still a brutal job, but at least it had a finish line.
Ming Ji formally passed down the order, then her expression softened into a smile. "Since you'll be going back and forth between the peak and the base, you can keep Azure Jade with you. And don't forget, during your trips down the mountain, take time to reconnect with your fellow disciples. You've been back for a while now, and you still haven't seen any of them."
It was the kind of advice elders always gave. Nothing surprising, but honest and to the point. If Li Xun truly wanted to find his place in the Mingxin Sword Sect, these were things he couldn't avoid.
He could hear the care behind Ming Ji's words, and he thanked her sincerely.
She gave him a faint smile and was about to take off on her sword. Just before leaving, she glanced back at him, standing there with his eyebrows slightly lowered, eyes downcast. She let out a quiet sigh.
"Don't overthink it. No one's blaming you."
With that, she stepped onto her sword and swept down the mountain. In the blink of an eye, she was gone.
The moon had begun to rise, casting a cool silver glow. The heat of the day slowly faded. Li Xun let out a long breath and sat down, leaning against the scarred and battered rock wall.
This was supposed to be his time to rest, but his mind was in turmoil.
He kept turning over Ming Ji's parting words in his head.
"No one's blaming you."
He understood exactly what she meant. He was sure Ming Ji had spoken those words with nothing but kindness. But she didn't know, she couldn't know, what had really happened all those years ago on Tiandu Peak.
And it was in that moment he realized something.
It had been a long time since he'd thought about his ill-fated master.
The desperate plea for death in those eyes, the piercing, heart-wrenching screams, and the soul-shattering cries had been gradually fading from him.
The memory had grown so faint that he suddenly couldn't remember.... what had been in Lin Ge's eyes during their final glance?
From start to finish, he had never laid a finger on Lin Ge. And yet, it was he who stripped Lin Ge of his last shred of dignity.
How had Lin Ge finally died? Li Xun had heard some things about it beforehand. Lin Ge had been hung outside the Water Mirror of Langya, on a towering tree that stretched over a hundred feet tall. In front of thousands of people from both righteous and demonic sects, he died there completely naked and exposed.
No one knew that the final covering on Lin Ge's body had been torn away by his only disciple.
If they did know… would Ming Ji still have said those words?
Li Xun let out a bitter smile. He cradled Azure Jade in his arms, hoping the blade's cold aura could help still his thoughts. The sound of wind brushing through the pine trees filled the night, and all he wanted was to fall asleep.
But just as he hovered between waking and sleep, he seemed to hear something. Soft and faint. Barely audible, but clearly different from the natural sounds of the forest.
It was happening again.
Li Xun's eyes flickered, then lowered as he pretended to rest, eyes closed and still. In truth, he was fully alert now, widening his peripheral vision. From where he sat, the large space in front of the cliff was completely within his line of sight.
Just then, a faint, flickering shadow darted into his field of vision. And in the blink of an eye, it crossed straight through it.
Li Xun didn't shift his gaze; he kept his eyes steady, taking in the scene. The rocks, trees, and mountain breeze moved together, casting shadows that swayed in a unique rhythm. But the shadow that had just passed through broke that rhythm.
Pull one thread, and the whole body moves! In the void, countless fine threads seemed to intertwine. Even a small tremor could travel all the way from a distant, unseen place along these "threads" to here.
The shadow had already passed beyond his view, but its subtle effect on the qi mechanisms still affected everything within his field of vision.
It was a kind of scene he couldn't quite describe, yet it felt incredibly real.
His eyes drifted to a night hawk that had just taken flight from the treetops in the distance, and his heart stirred. He'd found the other side's trail.
Of course. That spot again.
This made the third time in nearly two months that this person had come to Zuwang Peak.
Was this the kind of place people could just come and go as they pleased?
Li Xun slowly stood, hands clasped behind his back, and took a few steps beneath the cliff wall, deep in thought.
There was nothing particularly unusual about that patch of forest. Which made the intruder's repeated visits all the more curious. And yet, despite Li Xun working here day after day, the person had never once changed positions.
He clearly doesn't think someone with my "meager" cultivation level can possibly detect him. Arrogant, to say the least.
As far as Li Xun knew, anyone in the Tongxuan Realm with that level of cultivation and that kind of attitude, was never easy to deal with. Even though he was now certain something suspicious was going on, he had absolutely no intention of getting involved.
After all, Immortal Master Zhong Yin was guarding the peak. Even if all twelve of the demonic sects showed up, along with the Three Great Wanderers, they might still not gain the upper hand. But if he got caught up in some whirlpool of trouble and stirred up a mess for himself, it really wouldn't be worth it.
Then again, just thinking about Zhong Yin brought back that half-ridiculous suspicion of his.
What if being assigned to this place, to the "Threefold Barrier," wasn't just about punishment?
What if Zhong Yin had a deeper reason for sending him here?
Looking at it now… it almost seemed that way.
...
Please recommend and rate!