Chapter 268: Sword Spirit's Choice

On the deep black, barren cliffs, entangled ice and snow resembled silk threads draped across the entire valley, or perhaps white rust growing on the steep mountain peaks.

Among all the peaks, a towering structure, seamlessly constructed from colossal stones, rose from the ground. It was a majestic edifice that surpassed all the other magnificent mountains, a colossal sword pointing to the sky, and a giant touching the heavens.

On the ancient tower's outer walls, everlasting historical frescoes, imbued with an abstract beauty, stretched upwards. From the fifth floor, the tower rose level with the main peak. The stone spires behind it were hidden in a thick sea of clouds, from which the ninth and tenth floors emerged like pinnacles, piercing through the sky.

There were only four such ancient towers in the entire human realm.

Luo Cangsu, cloaked in divine robes, stood on the ninth floor. As he gazed out through the stone window, his Dao heart, which had remained cold and still for many years, inevitably stirred with ripples.

The sea of clouds rolled far below his feet.

In the past, he never looked down; he always gazed up at the higher heavens. He knew that even from his position, almost at the apex of the Central Lands, he was still very, very far from that ultimate sky.

But today, his gaze fell below the sea of clouds.

This vast valley, known as God-Rift, was now desolate. Yet, a being who once roared across the land and achieved an unimaginable level of existence was now buried here.

Luo Cangsu gazed for a moment, lost in thought, then removed his divine robe.

It was a body unlike a human's. Golden patterns flowed across his physique, seemingly formed from countless interwoven talismans. A translucent spiritual mist connected each talisman, and looking through it, one would see no internal organs—only an empty, floating golden heart, like a miniature sun.

This was a true demigod's body.

Ever since he took his position in the ninth tower of Luoshu, he had ceased to be human.

Luo Cangsu unfastened his bracelet.

It was a bracelet formed from pale blue seawater, a welcoming gift from the Dragon Mother years ago.

He crushed the bracelet, throwing it into the sea of clouds. Then, expressionless, he walked towards the tenth floor.

This thousand-year history was about to reach its final moment.

Over a thousand mountains, no birds flew.

In the depths of winter, Ning Changjiu and Lu Jiajia ascended into the sky on their swords, as mountain peaks and stone paths slowly receded from their sight.

According to their plan, they needed to pass through the thirteen passes and six paths outside the Sea Kingdom, then bypass the Three Thousand Great Peaks, and follow the Guangsha River upstream to reach the Ancient Spirit Sect.

In the hearts of Ning Changjiu and Lu Jiajia, the Sea Kingdom had already been marked as a place of trouble—an intuition born from numerous life-or-death trials.

Regarding the events they had experienced, Ning Changjiu had, during their journey, roughly pieced together a simple outline.

When they arrived by ship from Nanzhou, they witnessed many live sacrifices of maidens. The bodies of those maidens on the Hairyue pleasure boat were likely chosen by the Nanzhou River God.

The fact that so many maidens' bodies were preserved intact in ice suggested, from a magical perspective, that they were either intended as controllable puppets or as sufficiently pure vessels for the birth of certain entities.

Ning Changjiu leaned towards the latter explanation.

The sudden appearance of the Calamity Dragon and Algae Dragon caused a shipwreck. Although the Dianhuan Sect later claimed the incident was due to the loss of important cargo, the Algae Dragon's fierce gaze upon boarding the ship clearly indicated it was there simply to kill.

Ning Changjiu suspected collusion between the Algae Dragon and the Dianhuan Sect, with the dragon's simple mission being to kill as many people as possible and escalate the situation.

On the pleasure boat, many people must have been aware of this disaster, with some even conspiring from within.

If the great disaster had truly occurred, the Dianhuan Sect would have directly held the Sea Kingdom accountable, leaving no room for negotiation. Then, under the pretext of pursuing the culprits, they would have sent powerful cultivators to reside in the Sea Kingdom.

But they hadn't expected that his and Lu Jiajia's intervention would prevent the disaster from happening.

Thus, the disaster on the pleasure boat didn't occur, and the Dianhuan Sect, lacking sufficient justification, found it difficult to intervene directly. Instead, they settled for a secondary option: sealing off important trade routes.

The Sea Kingdom's greatest reliance was the Dragon Mother. Since the Dianhuan Sect dared to offend her, their target was very likely the Dragon Mother herself.

Afterwards, the Sea Kingdom banquet was held as scheduled, and the Dragon Mother met all the champions...

"Who were the champions at that time?" Ning Changjiu suddenly realized he had overlooked something.

Lu Jiajia replied, "I took note. The Violet Robe Immortal, master of the zither, was Mu Qiao, the senior disciple of the Nongyu Sect. The champion of the Law path was Jia Chou from the Dianhuan Sect. The champion of the Dao path had a faint aura of the underworld and might even be from the Ancient Spirit Sect. I don't know the champion of the Arts path, only that his surname is Chu. Hmm... why are you suddenly asking about this?"

Ning Changjiu unfurled his sword domain, shielding them from the oncoming wind. His voice was clear: "The Caijuan Immortal Palace is the Dragon Mother's private residence. Her summoning us to answer questions might just be a pretense."

Lu Jiajia was exceptionally clever and quickly understood. "Are you saying she was actually using this opportunity to speak privately with someone?"

Ning Changjiu nodded slightly. "Yes, if that's the case, then among the six of us, who was she really trying to speak with?"

Lu Jiajia thought for a moment and guessed, "Mr. Chu?"

"Mr. Chu's origin is the most mysterious. It's very possible it was him, but we can't be certain," Ning Changjiu said.

Lu Jiajia remembered something and asked, "Oh, by the way, what did you ask the Dragon Mother back then?"

Ning Changjiu replied, "I asked the Dragon Mother how many years she had lived."

"Oh?" Lu Jiajia's eyebrows subtly arched.

Ning Changjiu smiled faintly. "Don't misunderstand."

"Misunderstand what?" Lu Jiajia asked.

Ning Changjiu explained, "Originally, I suspected the Dragon Mother's identity... I thought she was a dragon maiden who survived from the era two or three millennia ago."

"Dragon maiden?" Lu Jiajia was puzzled.

Ning Changjiu explained, "At that time, the Candle Dragon was slain and buried deep within the earth's core, and the dragon race scattered across the four seas. To overcome the limitations of their lifespan, some dragons developed a self-regeneration technique. When on the verge of aging and dying, they would create a dragon egg, implanting all their essential essence into this embryo. When they died, the embryo would be born, and what emerged from it would still be themselves."

Their own child was still themselves...

Lu Jiajia said in surprise, "That's certainly strange... Where did you learn all this?"

Ning Changjiu replied, "When I was little, I read books in my senior sister's quiet study. I found some things interesting and wrote them down. Since recently arriving in the Central Lands, many past memories have resurfaced."

Presumably, Unobservable might also be hidden somewhere near the Central Lands, which would explain why memories are clearer when one is closer to home.

Qiu Yue, who had been silent, meekly interjected, "Daddy, who is senior sister? Is she also Mother's disciple?"

Ning Changjiu narrowed his eyes and smiled faintly, "Qiu Yue, why are you so curious about this?"

This seemingly simple conversation carried a somewhat chilling implication to Lu Jiajia's ears.

Earlier, in the private room at the Dragon Mother's banquet, Ning Changjiu tested her with a finger, and Qiu Yue remained unmoved. Only when they discussed matters concerning Unobservable did Qiu Yue interject with questions, prompting Ning Changjiu to knock her unconscious with a palm strike. Now, she, who had been silent due to her fear of heights, spoke again after Ning Changjiu mentioned his senior sister...

Qiu Yue said, "After all, she's Daddy's relative, so I should get to know her."

Ning Changjiu said, "Then I'll take you to meet her later. I also have another master; perhaps she'll like you very much."

Qiu Yue said happily, "Okay! But Daddy already has Mother as one master. Is it... not very good to have another?"

Ning Changjiu patted her head and said, "Don't try to sow discord between me and Jiajia."

Qiu Yue scratched her head.

Ning Changjiu wore a smile, but his thoughts were heavy.

Qiu Yue was an insoluble paradox for them.

If Qiu Yue truly had an issue, given their cultivation levels, they couldn't sense anything. What level must her true cultivation be? If she wanted to do something, they couldn't stop her. Rather than leaving her in the dark, it might even be safer to keep her close, especially since she hadn't shown them any hostility.

If Qiu Yue had no issues and was truly just an ordinary little girl, given their personalities, they would never allow her to freeze and starve to death in the wind and snow.

Ning Changjiu and Lu Jiajia didn't even consider the latter possibility, as their experience told them it was rare for them to encounter ordinary people.

"In any case, whatever happens in the Sea Kingdom from now on, whether the Dragon Mother lives or dies, it has nothing to do with us," Ning Changjiu said.

Lu Jiajia nodded. They didn't believe in seeking fortune through danger, nor did they need to risk their lives in the Sea Kingdom.

What Ning Changjiu was currently thinking about was only going to see Xiaoling. Then, he needed to find someone on the verge of breaking through to a new realm and devise a way to enter their inner demon tribulation. There, he hoped to meet the girl who might be "Poetry" and obtain some clues about "Evil" from her.

Amidst the lingering snow, the pair of Dao companions flew on their swords, cutting through the wind. Just as they were about to completely leave the Sea Kingdom's territory, Ning Changjiu glanced back at it.

This vast coastal nation was shrouded in a boundless sea fog.

Among the eighty-one nations of the Central Lands, aside from the five great nations allied at the