Chapter 164: Revisiting the Old Place! Senior Sister, Why Is Your Sword Trembling?

The Qingyun Mountains undulated endlessly.

The once immortal paradise wreathed in Immortal Qi and soaring white cranes was now shrouded in a thick layer of dark clouds.

"Rumble—"

The massive demon god ship, resembling a mobile black fortress, crushed the clouds and hovered above the mountain gate of the Qingyun Sect with a suffocating sense of oppression.

Countless Demonic Cult Disciples stood on the deck, banners fluttering, Devilish Qi chillingly dense, their shouts shaking the mountains.

"The Heavenly Demons descend! All laws return to the origin!"

"Respectfully welcoming the Sword-Wielding Envoy!"

Amidst this overwhelming roar of sound, Gu Lan stood at the bow of the ship in a black-and-gold robe, with the soul-devouring sword hanging at his waist, his expression indifferent.

The wind fluttered his hem, snapping loudly.

Looking at the familiar mountain gate beneath his feet, looking at those Qingyun Disciples who used to call him brother but were now drawing their swords against him with furious expressions, Gu Lan's mood…

was quite complicated.

"Sigh, although it is for the mission, how is it that acting as a villain… is actually a bit satisfying?"

He muttered inwardly, then reined in his focus, the corners of his mouth curving into a signature wicked and arrogant (practiced for a long time) smile.

"Qingyun Sect…"

"This seat has returned."

The voice was not loud, but backed by spiritual power, it clearly spread to every corner.

"Gu Lan! You master-betraying, ancestor-destroying traitor!"

"You still have the face to come back?!"

"Today we shall act on behalf of heaven and purge our sect!"

Below, the Elders of the Qingyun Sect were so furious that their beards trembled, opening the grand protective array fully, and colorful spiritual lights surged into the sky, attempting to block the Demonic Cult's might.

Faced with public condemnation,

Gu Lan, far from being angry, pushed his luck even further.

He reached out, embraced the slender waist of Saintess Ji Wushuang beside him, and kissed her on the cheek in front of tens of thousands of Righteous Path Cultivators.

"Muah!"

Crisp and loud.

"Senior Martial Uncles and Junior Martial Uncles, why harbor such massive anger?"

Gu Lan said lazily,

"Today, this seat represents the Demonic Cult to participate in the 'Sword Trial Conference'."

"Is this how your Righteous Path treats guests?"

"If you scare my Saintess, can you afford the compensation?"

Saintess Ji Wushuang cooperated extremely well, nestling in his arms and putting on a dependent appearance, but her peach blossom eyes flashed with a provocative light, searching the crowd for a certain figure.

"Shameless!"

"These two scoundrels!"

The Righteous Path Disciples were so angry their lungs were about to explode.

Just as the situation was about to spin out of control,

"Let him in."

A cold voice like an icy spring suddenly came from the main peak of the Qingyun Sect.

Immediately after,

a white sword light pierced through the air and arrived, transforming into a stunningly beautiful woman wearing a snowy white Daoist robe and carrying a hanshuang sword on her back.

Jiang Wanqing!

She stood quietly in the Void Realm, stepping on an ice lotus beneath her feet, wreathed in chilling Qi, as if freezing the surrounding air.

Having not seen her for several days,

she seemed even thinner; her originally well-fitting Daoist robe appeared somewhat empty, further accentuating her slender figure and eliciting pity.

But the Sword Intent on her body was even purer than before, even more… ruthless.

"Senior Sister…"

Gu Lan's heart trembled, and his hand resting on Saintess Ji Wushuang's waist unconsciously loosened a bit.

Their eyes met.

Across hundreds of zhang of the Void Realm,

Gu Lan saw the fleeting pain in the depths of her eyes, as well as… the fury suppressed to the extreme.

"Gu Lan."

Jiang Wanqing spoke, her voice frighteningly calm.

"You are finally willing to show your face."

"I have waited for you… for a long time."

"Cough cough, Fairy Jiang, trust you have been well."

Gu Lan forcefully suppressed his guilty conscience and put on a business-like attitude.

"This seat has come today to test swords, I wonder if Fairy Jiang's sword… is still sharp?"

"Sharp or not, won't you know if you come down and try?"

Jiang Wanqing pressed her hand against the sword hilt, and that hanshuang sword trembled crazily in its scabbard, emitting a buzzing sword hum, as if it would leave its sheath to drink blood at any moment.

"Senior Sister, why is your sword… trembling?"

Gu Lan asked knowingly, his tone frivolous.

"Is it because it's scared?"

"Scared?"

Jiang Wanqing sneered, that smile so desolate and beautiful that it broke one's heart.

"It's not scared."

"It is… excited."

"Because it finally has the chance… to sever the most hypocritical ties of affection in this world!"

Boom!

As soon as her voice fell, a terrifying icy Sword Intent erupted from her body, the temperature within a radius of ten miles instantly dropping to the freezing point, and goosefeather-like snow unexpectedly drifted in the sky.

"Yo, what a big tone."

Saintess Ji Wushuang, who hadn't spoken all along, finally couldn't hold back.

She broke free from Gu Lan's embrace, stepped forward, and blocked in front of Gu Lan, similarly erupting with a blazing demonic fire to contend evenly with the all-encompassing wind and snow.

"Jiang Wanqing, take a look at yourself in the mirror."

"Just based on your abandoned-wife look, you still want to touch my man?"

"Your sword is trembling, I think it's because… you have a guilty conscience, right?"

"You lack the ability to keep a man, and now you come back pretending to be deeply affectionate?"

Saintess Ji Wushuang's mouth was famously venomous.

Every sentence pierced the heart, every word struck the soul.

"Demoness! Shut up!"

Before Jiang Wanqing could speak, those Righteous Path simps behind her couldn't take it anymore, drawing their swords and cursing one by one.

"All of you shut up!"

The Qingyun Sect's Master Zhenren finally appeared.

He wore a purple robe, his beard and hair entirely white, and at this moment he looked at the demon god ship in the sky with a livid face.

"Today is the Sword Trial Conference, not a place for you to bicker!"

"Since the Demonic Cult has come, then we shall handle matters according to the rules!"

"Enter the venue!"

With the Sect Leader's command, the grand protective array slowly split open an opening.

"Let's go."

Gu Lan grabbed Saintess Ji Wushuang, who still wanted to continue arguing back and forth, and gave her a look (Stop fooling around, doing business is more important).

The demon god ship slowly landed on Qingyun Square.

The two sides were distinctly separated, each occupying one side.

As the leader of the Demonic Cult this time, Gu Lan was naturally arranged in the most prominent position.

As soon as he sat down, he felt a gaze lingering fixedly on his body.

Without looking, he knew who it was.

Jiang Wanqing sat in the opposing seat of honor, the teacup in her hand squeezed until cracks formed, but her eyes stared unblinkingly at Gu Lan.

That kind of gaze…

was as if she wanted to tear him to pieces alive.

"Blockhead."

Saintess Ji Wushuang leaned over, peeled an orange for Gu Lan, and whispered in his ear,

"That woman has been staring at you."

"Are you still… missing her in your heart?"

"How is that possible!"

Gu Lan swallowed the orange in one bite, almost choking to death.

"I am now the Sword-Wielding Envoy of the Demonic Cult! I am at irreconcilable odds with the Righteous Path!"

"Is that so?"

Saintess Ji Wushuang let out a cold snort, and her hand under the table fiercely pinched his thigh.

"Then explain this."

"Why does your heartbeat speed up the moment you see her?"

"Don't forget, I have the heart-linking gu!"

Gu Lan: "…"

This damned heart-linking gu! It was simply a human lie detector!

"Uhm… I am just nervous! I am nervous!"

Gu Lan forced an explanation.

"After all, dueling with an old lover… oh no, an old fellow Disciple, being a bit nervous is normal!"

"You better hope so."

Saintess Ji Wushuang let go of her hand, but still stared vigilantly at the opposite side.

"The first match, begin!"

With a gong ring from the referee, the Sword Trial Conference officially kicked off.

However, the amateur pecking among those Foundation Establishment Stage Disciples beforehand clearly couldn't arouse the interest of the bigwigs.

Gu Lan pretended to watch the match while plotting his next plan in his heart.

Ye Hongzhuang's task given to him was "to win Jiang Wanqing back to be a foot-washing maid".

This task… has a rather high difficulty coefficient.

Just as his mind was wandering,

"Next match!"

"Demonic Cult, Gu Lan!"

"Versus…"

"Qingyun Sect, Jiang Wanqing!"

The entire venue instantly quieted down.

Gu Lan was stunned.

So fast?

They were matched up already?

He looked up toward the opposite side.

He saw that Jiang Wanqing had already stood up, her white robe fluttering without wind, and the hanshuang sword in her hand pointed at Gu Lan.

"Gu Lan."

"Come up."

"Let me see how much weight you, this Sword-Wielding Envoy of the Demonic Cult, really have!"

Gu Lan took a deep breath and slowly stood up.

He knew this battle was unavoidable.

Not only for the task, but even more so to…

completely sever her attachments in the Righteous Path, or rather, to give her an explanation.

"Alright."

Gu Lan flew onto the stage, and the soul-devouring sword left its sheath.

The purplish-black Devilish Qi and the opposite ice-and-snow chilling Qi stood facing each other across the distance.

"Senior Sister, please."

This cry of "Senior Sister" made everyone present feel somewhat dazed.

It felt as if they had returned to those years, that Junior Brother following behind Jiang Wanqing shouting "Senior Sister, carry me".

Jiang Wanqing's eye rims turned slightly red, but the sword in her hand was gripped even tighter.

"Don't call me Senior Sister."

"After today…"

"We… completely break all ties!"

Boom!

Before her voice finished, she had transformed into a stream of light, carrying all-encompassing wind and snow, fiercely stabbing toward Gu Lan's heart!

This sword strike did not hold back!

Was she really… wanting to kill him?

Or did she want to…

kill her own heart?