Chapter 208: Asura's Sword

Ning Changjiu loosened the front of her clothes for her, while his other hand skillfully untied the sash of her black robe. As the robe loosened, Siming's action of sucking on the withered branch briefly stiffened. A faint curve appeared at the corner of her mouth, and her long, delicate eyelashes lowered, concealing the expression in her eyes.

"That night in the Snow Gorge, I never imagined it would come to this," Siming said, her lips curving slightly as she chuckled.

Ning Changjiu had initially expected that once Siming was released from the torture rack, she would immediately turn hostile and try every means to kill him upon seeing him again.

However, at this moment, she seemed to prioritize the larger situation. Not only was there no anger, but her smile was cool and clear, and her eyes held a faint haze, like smoke, showing no hint of killing intent.

Ning Changjiu calmly stated, "No matter what past grievances we have, it's best to set them aside for now. After tonight, we can settle them one by one."

Siming asked indifferently, "Do you have the confidence to defeat the Sin Lord?"

"No," Ning Changjiu replied.

"Then what?" Siming pressed.

"Be my Spirit, I..." Ning Changjiu's words suddenly caught in his throat as he finished unbuttoning Siming's front.

The sash fell, and her robes parted.

Siming watched him with a radiant smile.

Ning Changjiu beheld an expanse of snow as delicate as fat and as smooth as jade, narrow and flat below, with rising snow-capped peaks above. These peaks were incredibly tall and aloof, untouched by a speck of dust. At their summits, red plum blossoms were just beginning to unfurl, trembling subtly in the cold wind and snow, blushing and inviting. Below the snowy expanse were two straight and solitary mountain paths. Between these paths lay a flawless white expanse, hinting at a hidden fissure. Within this fissure seemed to lie a peerless crimson ice lotus, its slightly folded petals gently gathered and partially closed, concealed within the pure white, slightly raised snow hills. Amidst it all, there appeared to be unexplored, secluded pathways that could hold pearls and spit jade, with flowing waterfalls.

The quiet, dusty room seemed to be bathed in the soft glow of moonlight.

Siming's slightly reddened lips curved gently, like a newly risen moon on a treetop.

This scene was exceptionally beautiful, radiating a captivating light, yet it was marred by bloodstains like cracks and scars that were hard to conceal, coloring the snow peaks as if with a vibrant plum blossom bloom.

Ning Changjiu was silent for a moment. He didn't know why he was seeing this scene, but there was no discernible change in his expression; it was utterly cold.

He thought to himself that if he showed any unusual emotion at this moment, he would not only be letting down Lu Jiajia and Zhao Xianger but would also add a shadow to his future interactions with Siming. He prided himself on being an upright gentleman with a clear Dao heart, so his expression had to remain calm and natural, fitting his identity, and he absolutely could not betray any inner stirrings.

Siming’s lips curved, and she continued to suck on the withered branch as if playing a jade flute. In the past, she had detested anyone seeing her body, but after six days on the torture rack and countless lashes, her state of mind had silently shifted. She now found everything happening before her interesting, vaguely feeling that if she could survive the Sin Lord’s grasp, she would truly step into a new Dao realm.

A myriad of thoughts filled both their minds.

Everything happened quickly; the merging of image and thought was but a blink.

Ning Changjiu calmly asked, "Didn't you used to like wearing several layers of clothes? What made you change your ways?"

As he spoke, his hand settled on her wounds, beginning to heal them.

Siming smiled faintly. "When the lashes fell before, why didn't you think of healing me then?"

Ning Changjiu didn't want to waste words. He continued, "Once our injuries are healed, we'll immediately form the Spirit Pact. If we delay any longer, we'll truly have no chance."

Siming, however, became a little petulant. "Be your Spirit? What's in it for me?"

"No benefits," Ning Changjiu stated. "This is a choice born of necessity, with no other option."

Siming didn't answer directly. She handed back the withered branch, softly thanked him, and then, looking at her wounds gradually healing and her body returning to perfection, she asked, "Have you ever seen anyone more beautiful than me?"

"Yes, I have," Ning Changjiu replied.

No matter how Siming's state of mind changed, she possessed an almost pathological confidence in her appearance and figure. She believed Ning Changjiu was deliberately trying to provoke her. Aside from that woman whose appearance she had forgotten, the one who had slain the Divine Lord, who else in the world could compete with her beauty?

Siming's bleeding wounds quickly scabbed over, and her injuries healed.

At the same time, she extended her hand, activating her authority to envelop Ning Changjiu, accelerating the flow of time around him. Ning Changjiu's own body wounds also healed visibly.

Because her authority could only be used once in a short period, it was the most time-efficient method for her to heal herself while he used his power on her.

Ning Changjiu's fingers, like a goose returning home in the evening snow, left that snowy expanse. Her overlapping robes closed like night curtains, concealing the snowy scene.

Siming re-fastened her sash. She had been leaning against the mud wall but now stood up, gathering her silver hair behind her snowy neck. Then, she casually found a dried, flexible wild grass and tied her hair with it.

Her jade-like legs were long and her figure tall. Standing upright now, she was even taller than the youthful Ning Changjiu.

Ning Changjiu looked at her expressionlessly and extended his hand. "Spirit Pact. Let's begin."

Siming sighed. "It's too late."

Lightning tore through the sky, thunder rumbled, and the roof of the house was instantly ripped off. The straw caught fire from the lightning, erupting into a huge blaze with a boom.

Ning Changjiu and Siming, one in black and one in white, instantly shot out of the house that was about to be destroyed.

The pure black figure of the Sin Lord was silhouetted against the firelight.

Endless black feathers transformed into swarms of blood crows, clamoring and darting, densely pouncing towards the two fleeing figures.

The lightning spear had already transformed into a scythe. Arcs of electricity twisted and swept, instantly destroying the nearby abandoned houses.

The aura of lightning crept up Ning Changjiu's nape.

He activated his Asura power, soaring alongside Siming. As they neared a giant tree, he paused, stretched out his hand, chiseled open the tree, and pulled out a sword.

A moon-arc-like sword light instantly flared, clashing with the arc of lightning, both shattering. Siming then used her authority over time, enveloping both their figures simultaneously.

They traveled through layers of time domains. The aura of decay pressed in from behind, and the surrounding wasteland scenery rapidly receded. The chilling wind blowing towards them grew colder and more eerie. He glanced at the woman beside him; Siming, in her cloak-like black robe, held her hands at her sides, darting like a fish through water, the wind filling her attire.

In the past, the tribe leader had told him that the deeper one ventured into the wasteland, the faster time would flow.

Even now, he could clearly feel the abnormality of the surrounding landscape.

And the Sin Lord, too, traversed through time domains like small worlds, covering a thousand miles in an instant, chasing closely behind them, wreathed in bright electric light.

Siming was the first to counterattack.

She used her authority, enveloped herself, and adjusted her own time back to one breath ago.

Her figure crossed paths with the Sin Lord's.

She, from one breath ago, was now precisely behind the Sin Lord.

Her black sword slashed towards the Sin Lord's shoulder and neck.

Ning Changjiu also stopped, forming a pincer attack with Siming, aiming to help her delay the Sin Lord's assault.

The Sin Lord possessed powerful "Profound Armor," but Siming also wielded a supreme divine sword. Ning Changjiu couldn't break through the Sin Lord's defenses, but Siming perhaps could.

After all, Ye Chu's centuries of effort had proven that the Sin Lord was not truly invulnerable.

However, Ning Changjiu's sword was merely a three-foot-long common blade, while the Sin Lord's lightning, symbolizing law, stretched for tens or even hundreds of feet. It was difficult for Ning Changjiu to get close to the Sin Lord.

Ning Changjiu's body soared with sword energy, transforming into surging white waves.

This was the White Rainbow Piercing the Sun style.

Ning Changjiu did not aim to wound the Sin Lord, only to delay him for a moment.

His sword indeed served its purpose.

In the brief moment the Sin Lord was distracted, Siming's sword struck his shoulder, causing a slight indentation.

Siming felt that the Sin Lord's body was not actual flesh and blood, but rather some aggregated substance. From the wound opened by her sword, what flowed out was not blood, but silver-white, divine radiance.

That radiance crawled like ants onto Siming's black sword, staining its edge a mercury-like color.

Siming's expression suddenly became dazed. She knew something was wrong but it was too late to withdraw her sword. The divine radiance clung to the blade, and the Sin Lord began to invade Siming's mind. Having seen Ning Changjiu's previous experience, Siming was terrified of mental oppression and cleansing. She even entertained the thought of abandoning her sword and fleeing.

Ning Changjiu, of course, would not stand by and watch Siming be eroded. He transformed into a long rainbow, constantly swirling and maneuvering through the lightning, evading the destructive judgment powers. Then, as he neared the Sin Lord, he changed his technique, first passing through a descending bolt of lightning with the Art of Water and Moon in the Mirror, then unleashing a torrential sword intent with the Great River Entering the Sea style, striking directly at the Sin Lord.

The Sin Lord remained still.

A flash of lightning, and the blood crows flew back, coalescing behind him into a giant sword wreathed in electric threads, which then crashed towards Ning Changjiu.

Ning Changjiu had no time to use the Art of Water and Moon in the Mirror again. He could only push his Asura body to its limits, taking the Sin Lord's attack head-on.

The white robes on his back were instantly shredded. The sword struck Ning Changjiu's rock-hard body, sparks flying, then pierced through flesh and plunged into his body. Sword intent exploded ceaselessly like firecrackers, leaving his back a bloody mess.

Siming, however, gained a moment to breathe. Her mind cleared, and the cooldown period for her authority had passed. When she activated it again, it directly dissolved the divine radiance that had overflowed from the Sin Lord.

Ning Changjiu's sword energy completely dissipated before the Sin Lord, and the giant sword formed by the blood crows continued to slowly sink into his body. Fortunately, his Asura power was unparalleled, so even the Sin Lord's sword advanced slowly.

Ning Changjiu activated his authority of Destiny, searching for an opportunity to escape.

He found a glimmer of hope. That glimmer came from Siming.

After Siming pulled out her black sword, her figure flashed, appearing beside Ning Changjiu. With one strike, she cut through the blood crows and reached out, pulling Ning Changjiu's figure out from the flock of crows.

The dense flock of crows did not disperse; they continued to descend. At the same time, the Sin Lord's figure flickered, suddenly appearing before them, and his long, sharp, hook-like claws violently swatted down.

Siming picked up the injured Ning Changjiu from behind, and her figure drifted swiftly away. Where they had stood moments before, the ground was sunken, revealing a giant palm print.

Ning Changjiu coughed a few mouthfuls of blood and gently pulled away from Siming's arm. He glanced at the iron sword in his hand, twisted like a pretzel, tossed it behind him, then retrieved another from a tree tens of miles away.

"Are you a squirrel?" Siming couldn't help but ask, despite the perilous situation.

"Too bad these swords aren't good," Ning Changjiu replied.

Siming frowned. "Why do you use external objects as swords?"

Ning Changjiu countered, "Otherwise?"

Siming said, "You have already cultivated the Asura Divine Record. Why don't you use your Heart Sword?"

"Heart Sword?" Ning Changjiu was puzzled.

Siming sneered, "You don't think the Asura Divine Record just improves your physique and mental strength, do you?"

Ning Changjiu observed his body, trying to retrieve the "Heart Sword" Siming mentioned, but he only found many scattered fragments of sword shadows, impossible to piece together completely.

After their brief exchange, the Sin Lord's figure closed in again.

Ning Changjiu was injured, making it difficult to accelerate and escape, and Siming alone was certainly no match for the Sin Lord.

The small teleportation array outside the ruined house had also been erased by the Sin Lord's arrival; they had no retreat.

Beyond the wasteland was a desert, and at the desert's end lay a glacier. This glacier looked similar to the previous one, but the life forms within it were vastly different. As soon as they entered the glacier, Ning Changjiu saw flocks of white snow pythons slithering across the snow, gathering towards the center.

The middle of the glacier was not ice but a cold fissure, from which mist, whether cold or hot, billowed. Below the abyss lay a vast sea.

Ning Changjiu and Siming exchanged glances, then plunged together into the abyss.

The Sin Lord stopped at the entrance to the ice sea.

Many white-scaled snakes glided past him, plunging into the ice sea.

The Sin Lord disliked seawater.

Because in the seawater of the past resided a being he loathed, even feared—a being who later became the Lord of the Divine Kingdom, and among the Twelve Lords, now the strongest in terms of combat power alone.

Because the one who had been stronger than it had fallen to the human world five hundred years ago, and a new Divine Lord had taken its place.

When the Sin Lord first arrived here, he had initially thought this Divine Kingdom belonged to the fallen Divine Lord, so he hadn't found it too strange.

But later, he discovered the truth was not so.

This seemed to be another kingdom.

This matter was incredible even to him.

Aside from the fallen Divine Lord known to all other Divine Lords, could another unknown Divine Lord have also died?

The Sin Lord's hesitation was equally brief; his figure plunged into the seawater.

The dark seawater swallowed them. The next moment, a huge whirlpool surged in the water, and the long cry of a whale dragon vibrated through the sea, spreading in waves.

"Where are we going?" Siming asked.

"Follow the trail of the snow snakes and exit from the next passage," Ning Changjiu said, a sudden flash of inspiration in his mind.

His back injury was somewhat severe, making swift movement difficult, so he didn't resist Siming's assistance this time, letting her grasp his hand and lead him through the water.

Not far off, a dim light shone down.

Many snow snakes and snow leopards were gathered there, but when the whale dragon's long cry sounded, those creatures began to scatter and flee.

As they neared the exit, Ning Changjiu suddenly pinched his throat, emitting sound waves that imitated the whale dragon's long cry.

A tremendous sound of water came from behind. The unimaginably massive Deep Sea King, like a giant ship, surged towards them.

Siming exclaimed irritably, "What are you doing?"

Ning Changjiu did not explain, continuing to make the sound.

Countless bubbles erupted from behind them. The enormous dark shadow had appeared behind them and was growing larger and larger. Its gigantic mouth was a true, man-eating abyss.

Siming immediately used her authority over time, slightly slowing the whale dragon's speed, but her authority was not complete; its effect diminished with larger objects. The whale dragon broke through her authority's power and surged forward. Ning Changjiu suddenly gripped Siming's wrist with a backhand, activated his authority of Destiny, and triggered the command that would allow them to escape. Then, mysteriously, the whale dragon's reaction became sluggish, and it was only after they had rushed out of the ice cavern that the whale dragon's massive body crashed into it.

The whale dragon thoroughly blocked the exit.

It was one of the most powerful beings in this world; its scales were impenetrable by blades, and even the Sin Lord would find it difficult to kill.

Siming glanced into the cavern and then understood Ning Changjiu's intention, but she still glared at him and said irritably, "Let's go."

Ning Changjiu and Siming traversed the glacier together.

Beyond the glacier lay a chaotic rock cave, with dense, volcanic smoke rising from many of the caves.

"Lend me a strand of hair," Ning Changjiu said.

Siming's delicate brows furrowed slightly, but she didn't ask why. She simply cut off a strand of her silver hair and handed it to Ning Changjiu.

Ning Changjiu took the hair and cut off a strand of his own. His fingers moved swiftly, tying each strand together with a knot, then throwing them into the caves they passed through.

Siming understood; it was a method similar to making straw figures, using hair to simulate their aura and create a perfect deception.

"Let's go out," Ning Changjiu said.

"Not hiding here?" Siming asked.

Ning Changjiu replied concisely, "Not here. The deeper, the better."

Siming's eyes narrowed slightly.

After traversing this rock cave, they came upon an abandoned cluster of buildings. Deep within the adjacent mud houses, there was a temple. They understood each other tacitly and slipped into the temple together.

The moment Ning Changjiu's feet touched the ground, he spat out a mouthful of blood he had suppressed for a long time.

He stumbled, his foot catching on the scattered grass on the floor, and he fell directly onto the straw mat before the divine statue.

Siming, barefoot in her dark robe, landed lightly.

The temple was very dilapidated; the bronze lamps on both sides were covered in thick dust, and a grayish-white curtain hanging above obscured the upper half of the divine statue. The wooden table for offerings before the statue was also worn, with several empty white bowls still on it.

"Heal me quickly," Ning Changjiu urged, activating his Asura body to mitigate his injuries.

Siming stopped, saying coldly, "My name isn't 'quickly'."

Ning Changjiu paused, then said irritably, "At a time like this, don't be petty."

Siming countered, "Why not?"

Ning Changjiu took a deep breath, sighing inwardly at the fleeting nature of worldly affairs, then conceded aloud, "I humbly request divine officer to heal me."

Siming sat cross-legged behind him and asked, "Do you want to live that badly?"

"Who wants to die?" Ning Changjiu replied.

Siming shook her head. "I can see that you have an obsession. You want to see someone."

Ning Changjiu remained silent.

Siming smiled faintly. "Did I guess right?"

"Not quite," Ning Changjiu said calmly.

Siming sneered, "Do you think you can fool me?"

Ning Changjiu stated truthfully, "Perhaps three."

Siming narrowed her eyes. "It seems you truly wish to die. At a time like this, you still have the leisure to joke with me?"

"Just heal my injuries first," Ning Changjiu said helplessly.

Siming, however, was unmoved and continued to ask, "Which three?"

"Junior sister, Master, fiancée," Ning Changjiu rattled off quickly. "No particular order."

Siming heard the first two titles and sneered, "Beast."

"You first..." Ning Changjiu began to say.

Siming interrupted, "I suppose your junior sister is still young, so let's set her aside for now. Between your Master and your fiancée, who do you like more?"

Ning Changjiu didn't want to waste words. He unhesitatingly picked up an empty white bowl from the table. "Fiancée at the bottom of the bowl, Master at the rim."

With that, he tossed it directly.

With a crash, the white bowl shattered on the ground.

"..." Ning Changjiu realized he had been too hasty, failing to even control his strength.

Siming looked at the shattered bowl on the ground and said softly, "That's not a good omen, is it?"

Ning Changjiu recalled their faces and voices. He closed his eyes, sighed softly, and said helplessly, "Though life and death, wealth and honor are destined by heaven, I don't believe in such things."

"Are you worried about them?" Siming smiled indifferently. She placed her hand on Ning Changjiu's back and finally began to heal his wounds. She said softly, "With broken porcelain littering the ground, it seems the ill omen is meant for me."

Only then did Ning Changjiu recall that Siming's real name was Xueci (Snow Porcelain).

Siming watched his back recover as if new. Taking advantage of Ning Changjiu's momentary daze, she clasped a pre-formed hand seal and instantly placed it on his back.

"Ah..." Ning Changjiu let out a pained groan and said sharply, "What did you do?"

Siming touched his back. "Nothing much. Just left you a Divine Officer's seal. When you release my Spirit Pact later, I'll remove your seal."

Ning Changjiu was silent for a moment, then agreed.

Siming said, "And then, we'll have a life-and-death duel. You should pray you win, otherwise, I'll make that ill-mannered brat suffer a fate worse than death right before your eyes."

"Victory or defeat is for tomorrow," Ning Changjiu said. "No more nonsense."

Siming hummed in agreement and extended her hand.

Ning Changjiu also extended his hand, placing it on hers, their hands overlapping.

Outside the temple, the clamoring of blood crows could be heard in the distance.

"Spirit above the nine heavens, soul to the nine abysses, the Spirit Pact sealed, steadfast till death..."

Siming's voice quickened significantly.

The ritual for forming the Spirit Pact was somewhat rudimentary.

A black crow had already landed on the temple roof.

Siming finished reciting the ritual script and vows, then immediately cried, "Blood!"

Ning Changjiu immediately grasped his black sword, intending to cut his palm, but the next moment, lightning illuminated them and the divine statue, bright as snow. A violent flash of lightning overturned the entire temple. The sound of thunder and roaring flames descended from the sky with the arrival of the Sin Lord.

The black crow had, in fact, caught up to them long ago.

But the Sin Lord chose to appear precisely at the most crucial moment because that was the best way to crush their fighting spirit.

The lightning spear pierced the ground, now reduced to ruins. The tip of the spear was exactly where Ning Changjiu and Siming had been standing.

The two were forced to dart in opposite directions.

The Sin Lord stood on the spear, which was slanted into the ground. His right hand had already taken on its nascent form; once he fully recovered, these two would no longer be his opponents.

Ning Changjiu and Siming exchanged glances.

For the final part of the ritual, Siming had to drink Ning Changjiu's blood for their Spirit Pact to truly be complete.

But the Sin Lord now stood between them, making it impossible for them to approach each other.

Ning Changjiu took a deep breath.

He no longer held anything back, silently asking, "Are you ready?"

The Sword Scripture Spirit nodded.

All of Ning Changjiu's killing intent retracted. His pupils slightly unfocused, then glowed with a golden light.

His consciousness was a pitch-black expanse, illuminated by a single golden point of light.

That light point marked the Sin Lord's location.

Ning Changjiu thrust out this sword. As he did so, he poured all his will into it, striking towards that single bright spot with a posture that threatened to cleave even a divine lord or true immortal in two.

A premonition of danger arose in the Sin Lord's heart.

At the same time, Siming, holding her black sword, imitated the exact same movement, slashing towards the Sin Lord to confuse him.

The Sin Lord's right sleeve happened to have fully recovered. Both his hands simultaneously formed palms and struck towards the two of them.

"The swordsman died at the hands of this mysterious entity." Ning Changjiu had altered his own fate.

The Sin Lord was also somewhat confused. He should not have been able to kill Ning Changjiu with a single strike, yet Ning Changjiu seemed to have deliberately sought death. Thus, after that sword thrust, Ning Changjiu seemed to suffer from internal injuries, and his sword's trajectory slightly deviated, missing the Sin Lord. The Sin Lord's claw precisely struck Ning Changjiu's Qi Sea, shattering it.

But it was not Ning Changjiu who died.

Because the swordsman was not him, but the Sword Scripture Spirit within his Qi Sea.

Ning Changjiu still had a sliver of hope.

Without sufficient cultivation to support his predictive power, the Sin Lord had for the first time truly miscalculated.

As blood burst forth, Siming, who had feigned a sword attack, used her authority to return to her position three breaths ago—right beside Ning Changjiu.

She used her sword to pick up a drop of blood and brought it to her lips.

The blood stained her entire lips a tragic, vibrant color.

The Spirit Pact was sealed.

The authorities of Time and Destiny converged vertically.

At their intersection lay a profound and wondrous domain, containing the true, infinite possibilities of destiny, even transcending time in its traditional sense.

The dimension of destiny transformed from a flat present into a three-dimensional continuum connected to the past and future.

That intersection absorbed Ning Changjiu's shattered body.

From the other end of the intersection, the fully recovered figure in white broke through the void. His injuries were completely healed, and the Sword Scripture Spirit was reborn. With a flicker of spiritual connection, all eighty-one sword forms of the Asura Divine Record, all sword-related techniques, surged forward like carp drawn by bait.

Northern Dark Divine Sword, Cold River Sword, White Child Sword, Questioning Heaven Cold Soul Sword, Bone Sword, Qiankun Sword...

Dozens of ancient texts converged. Some became the sword hilt, some the handguard, with the Northern Dark Divine Sword as the bone. Fragments of steel pieced together along the sword's frame, fitting perfectly, bright as a mirror!

He pressed his hand to his chest, then violently pulled. Silver radiance, like a volcano silent for ten thousand years, erupted into the sky in an instant.

He had forcibly drawn a silver sword from his own body.

That was the Asura's sword.