Chapter 85: Snow Clothes Bathed in Starlight

The wind was cold and the snow heavy. A bleak, stony expanse hung high in the sky, with only one sword-star, the one Ning Xiaoling had lit earlier, shining with a steady light from a great height.

The young girl leaned on her sword, her cloth shoes half-sunk into the snow. She watched Ning Changjiu walk past her, nervously clenching her fists.

Lu Jiajia looked at the archaic sword-armor standing motionless with a sword in the light domain. She spoke up to remind, "Xiaoling, this light domain's duration is limited. You absolutely must not delay too long."

Ning Xiaoling's eyes were on her senior brother, but she responded aloud, "Understood, Master."

Lu Jiajia sighed, and her gaze also fell upon Ning Changjiu.

The young man, clad in white, with long hair unbound, walked forward, crunching through the accumulated snow. He glanced at the star-stone closest to Ning Xiaoling's sword-star, mentally calculated the distance, then unfastened his wooden box, squatted down, and began taking out the firewood stick by stick.

Ning Xiaoling muttered to herself, "What is Senior Brother... doing?"

Lu Jiajia watched him arrange the largest pieces of wood around the base, then stack them in order of size into a neat pile. To ensure better combustion, the center of the pile was hollow.

After Ning Changjiu finished these simple tasks, he turned to look at Lu Jiajia, saying, "Master, may I borrow your hairpin?"

Lu Jiajia frowned, "What did you say?"

Ning Changjiu repeated earnestly, "Please, Master, lend me your hairpin."

Lu Jiajia confirmed she hadn't misheard. She asked, "What do you need a hairpin for? Could it be..."

Lu Jiajia usually wore spotless sword-attire, with dark collars and jade ornaments adorning her cinched waist, her hair bound with a jade coronet and silver hairpin, complemented by an ancient, renowned sword. This graceful, aloof figure, imbued with an ethereal aura, was the image of the acting peak master in the disciples' minds.

Few knew, however, that her hairpin was also one of her flying swords.

The hairpin was forged from white silver mixed with other metals, making it flexible yet hard. If her immortal sword Minglan was not with her, this silver hairpin could also be used as a flying sword. But it was ultimately too small and difficult to control precisely, and due to its weight, its destructive power was also insufficient. It could only be used for sneaky tricks.

Lu Jiajia said, "The silver hairpin is smaller and lighter than an ordinary sword. Even someone with less spiritual power could maneuver it up to the sword-star. But even so, the sword-flame ignited by a hairpin of this size would definitely be insufficient to light up a sword-star. If you intend to use such a trick, you'd best not bother."

Ning Changjiu insisted, "It's not like that. I earnestly ask Master to lend me the hairpin."

Lu Jiajia asked, "Didn't you claim to be fully prepared?"

Ning Changjiu silently looked at her, as if saying, "This is also part of my preparation..."

Lu Jiajia snorted coldly, thinking, "If you dare to fail at lighting the star, don't expect to have a good New Year this year!"

"Alright." Lu Jiajia hesitated for a moment, then extended her hand.

Her sleeve slipped down, revealing her fair and flawless wrist. She gathered her long, cloud-like hair, holding the jade coronet with one hand, and gently pulled out the silver hairpin with the other. The hairpin slid through her dark bun. After her hands, which held her hair in place, released, the high ponytail immediately unbound, her dark hair cascading over her shoulders and fair back. With a flick of her wrist, the silver hairpin, like a small flying sword, left her hand and hovered an inch in front of Ning Changjiu's brow.

Ning Changjiu calmly raised his hand and took the silver hairpin, then respectfully thanked her.

This scene, witnessed by the disciples below the snowy cliff, immediately caused a stir. Many male disciples, upon seeing their aloof and stunning Master's beautiful hair fall like a waterfall, felt their hearts skip a beat.

A disciple argued spiritedly, "Who dares say Junior Brother Changjiu is useless? Didn't he just make a significant contribution?"

"Indeed! Senior Brother is absolutely right..."

The other male disciples hadn't even had time to agree when they heard a "snap." The agitated disciple trembled, quickly grabbed his wrist, and cried out in pain. They saw a distinct red mark on his palm.

"Master, I was wrong..."

The other disciples immediately became silent, only daring to snicker secretly, while marveling at their Master's unparalleled grace.

When Le Rou saw Master untie her long hair, she instinctively clutched her chest, her emotions stirred, even tearing up a little. In her heart, she had always hoped that Master would enter the Purple Court Realm, become the rightful Peak Master, then suppress the four peaks with her sword, inherit the Sect Master's legacy, and become an unmatched female sword immortal.

This expectation was even greater than her hope for her own breakthrough.

At this moment, as Ning Changjiu turned around and used spiritual energy to guide the silver hairpin towards the sword-star, everyone slowly regained their senses, remembering that the main character at this moment should be that outer sect disciple.

What exactly did he intend to do after taking Master's silver hairpin?

If he was still just putting on a show, even Ning Xiaoling probably wouldn't be able to protect him.

Amidst various thoughts, the silver hairpin, like a small boat against the current, slowly ascended and steadily flew towards the sword-star.

Connecting such a long distance with sword-fire was extremely energy-consuming. If they were to directly control a small flying sword to fly up to the sword-star, almost all disciples present could do it. But from such a long distance, even if one could generate sword-fire, it would be extremely limited, let alone lighting up a sword-star. What exactly was Ning Changjiu trying to do?

Le Rou, arms crossed, speculated, "He probably just doesn't understand cultivation, so he came up with this opportunistic method. Just wait until he sends the sword up and finds he can't light a sword-flame at all; his expression will surely be priceless!"

Xu Weiran retorted, "Junior Brother shouldn't be that foolish."

Yun Ze, stretching and smiling, said, "I think it'd be better to light a bonfire and dance around it. Maybe it'll attract a lightning strike, and the lightning fire might just hit the sword-star..."

Xu Weiran chuckled, "We're all fellow disciples, no need for such sarcasm."

Amidst their conversation, the silver hairpin had already reached the sword-star. If not for the faint spiritual glow attached to the hairpin, it would be difficult to see with the naked eye at this point.

On the snow field, the light domain was slowly fading. Lu Jiajia asked, "Xiaoling, have you recovered?"

"Ah." Ning Xiaoling had been looking up at the flying silver hairpin, and only snapped back to attention when Lu Jiajia spoke. She looked at the iron armor, formed by the materialized sword intent within the light domain, and took a deep breath.

Lu Jiajia spoke up to remind her, "That sword-armor can only exist within the light domain. If you feel you can't defeat it, just exit the light domain. Although that wisp of sword intent inheritance is precious, it's by no means a necessity to contend for. There's no need to force yourself."

Ning Xiaoling had previously expended too much spiritual energy to light the sword-star. Lu Jiajia looked at her pale little face, very worried.

Ning Xiaoling nodded vigorously, "Xiaoling knows."

Saying this, she pulled out a few spiritual fruits from her bosom and began to munch on them.

"Senior Brother... will he really be alright?" Ning Xiaoling still looked at him with concern.

Ning Changjiu simply replied, "I'll be fine." His expression focused, he stared at the sword-star, using spiritual energy to maneuver the silver hairpin, repeatedly poking at the star.

The disciples below the snowy cliff found it incredibly boring to watch. They thought, "Did he realize the distance was too great to ignite the sword-flame and is trying to ease the awkwardness with this, or is he simply trying to start a fire by friction?"

Lu Jiajia's expression, however, grew a bit serious. She could vaguely see that each time Ning Changjiu used the hairpin, he left a mark on the slightly weathered surface of the sword-star. Those marks seemed to follow some strange trajectory.

Ning Xiaoling's cheeks were still somewhat puffed out from eating too quickly. She chewed diligently, swallowed it all in one gulp, grabbed a handful of snow to wipe her mouth, then gripped the sword in her hand and walked towards the light domain.

"Xiaoling..." Lu Jiajia started to speak, then stopped. First she was surprised, then the corners of her mouth curved slightly, revealing a faint smile.

Within the light domain, the battle ended at an extremely fast pace.

After Ning Xiaoling entered the light domain, her spiritual energy instantly surged throughout her body. Her body moved with the agility of a snow fox, and the sword in her hand reignited with a bright glow.

As the sword-armor raised its iron sword like a held-up token, Ning Xiaoling's figure was already like a burst of snowflakes, whirling rapidly in the wind, and the sword in her hand trailed one fiery line after another.

In a few swift movements, by the time the sword-armor had swung its sword even once, Ning Xiaoling had already slashed dozens of times around its side. Each strike was a flash of light and a spray of fire, like driving nails with a hammer, causing the sword-armor's scales to continuously tremble.

After dozens of clashes, countless scales fell from the sword-armor.

After a few more lightning-fast exchanges, Ning Xiaoling's figure suddenly paused, then she bent her knees, pushed off, and leaped high. She ignited her sword with fire, and through a gap in the sword-armor's guard, she swung her sword down in a beheading posture.

The sound of shattering jade abruptly rang out. Her long sword had already cut into the snow. The sword-armor behind her shattered, turning into luminous dust and dissipating, leaving behind only a trace of ancient, unadorned sword intent, subtly swirling around Ning Xiaoling.

Everyone below the snowy cliff gazed at her in astonishment. Everything happened so fast that they hadn't even had time to fully process it before Ning Xiaoling had already defeated the armor.

Lu Jiajia smiled faintly, "If Xiaoling had entered the Transcendent Immortal Realm just now, why would lighting the sword-flame have been so strenuous?"

Her words awakened everyone. Only then did everyone realize that when Ning Xiaoling was eating the spiritual fruits just now, she had used the opportunity to break through her realm.

A mere few spiritual fruits would certainly not possess such power. The only explanation was that Ning Xiaoling had long possessed the strength to break through her realm, but had been suppressing it until just now.

So, she had been hiding her true abilities all along.

"Is innate spirit truly that miraculous?" Le Rou said dazedly, then fell silent for a moment before quietly turning and walking towards the inner peak.

At this moment, everyone's attention was on Ning Xiaoling, so hardly anyone noticed her.

Yun Ze turned to the side and said, "Junior Sister Le Rou, aren't you going to watch Ning Changjiu anymore?"

Le Rou said coldly, "What's there to see? You all can go flatter Ning Xiaoling from now on. She's far more powerful than me. Transcendent Immortal Realm in two months... is she even human...?"

At this moment, Ning Changjiu had retrieved the silver hairpin and returned it to Lu Jiajia.

Ning Xiaoling wiped the sweat from her forehead, then raised a clenched fist towards him, "Go, Senior Brother!"

Ning Changjiu smiled faintly.

Under everyone's gaze, he raised the sword in his hand.

Spiritual energy gushed forth, flowed onto the sword body, activated the sword essence, and ignited the sword-fire.

On Ning Changjiu's sword, light flared up from the central axis, but it was nowhere near as hot or bright as Ning Xiaoling's.

"This..." Xu Weiran glanced at the brightness of the sword-fire, gave a slight sneer, as if his last shred of patience had worn out, and turned to walk in the direction Le Rou had left.

Many others in the crowd also showed signs of disappointment.

Le Rou looked back briefly, then immediately turned her head away, muttering, "I shouldn't have had any expectations for you... All those times you escaped ridicule before, it must have been Ning Xiaoling secretly helping you out. Humph, usually acting adorable and foolish to win Master's favor, but secretly so cunning!"

Lu Jiajia looked at his sword, knowing full well that with sword-fire of this intensity, even if the sword-star were brought right in front of his face, he wouldn't be able to light it.

But Ning Changjiu did not choose to light up the sword-star.

He lowered his sword tip, using the sword as a brush, drawing something around the bonfire. After finishing, he moved to another flat spot in the snow and drew an identical pattern on the ground.

After completing these tasks, Ning Changjiu impassively walked to the woodpile and lit a bonfire in front of everyone.

The dry firewood quickly caught fire, and crackling sounds erupted from the pile.

"What exactly does he want to do?" Yun Ze rubbed his chin, utterly bewildered. He hesitated whether to continue watching or to go after Junior Sister Le Rou, as this was a prime opportunity to subtly win her over...

Ever since Ning Xiaoling defeated the sword-armor, many disciples in the peak had lost interest. Now, seeing Ning Changjiu take so long to light a bonfire, they felt he was insulting their intelligence even more. Some disciples had already started to leave the snow field one after another, while those who remained had no expectations, merely wanting to see what kind of embarrassing spectacle he would put on.

On the snowy cliff, Ning Changjiu's white robes fluttered, and his hands moved as if drawing something mysteriously in mid-air.

The sounds of discussion had just begun to softly rise.

The next moment.

Le Rou, who was about to enter the inner peak, suddenly felt a light behind her.

She turned hesitantly, and then her eyes were blinded by a dazzling white light.

A sword-star lit up, just like before, illuminating everything as bright as day the moment it flared.

"This..." Le Rou raised her sleeve to shield her eyes. After the light faded, she stood frozen for a moment, then she stood on her tiptoes, her gaze darting towards the snowy cliff, rapidly searching for something. Then she saw that after the sword-star's glow stabilized, a beam of light was projected downwards, and within the light domain, heavy armor and an ancient iron sword stood as if by command.

Le Rou stared intently at the sword-armor.

This wasn't an illusion... Ning Changjiu really lit up a sword-star!

What in the world happened?

What exactly happened in just a few breaths? Wasn't Ning Changjiu just an outer sect disciple who hadn't even entered the Profound Realm...? And the brightness of that sword-flame just now couldn't have been faked... That woodpile... Le Rou's thoughts coalesced, and she looked towards the woodpile. Huh?

On the snowy cliff, where the woodpile had been, there was now only a scorched mess, and the burning firewood had vanished.

Then, from the sky above, something fell.

From the direction of the sword-star, charred pieces of wood, trailing faint embers and long, grayish-white smoke trails, fell towards the bottom of the snowy cliff.

Lu Jiajia looked up, watching the wood falling off the cliff. She pursed her lips, her vermilion mouth slightly agape. The doubt in her eyes, illuminated by the sword-star, showed no sign of fading.

The bonfire, lit by sword-fire earlier, was a true sword-flame. The moment the flames ignited, she had thought that if there was a way to send this fire up, it might truly be able to light the sword-star.

But how did the bonfire suddenly ascend into the sky in an instant?

What exactly had this disciple, who never let her rest easy, done?

Lu Jiajia looked at the marks carved into the ground with the sword, and suddenly understood.

"Formation array?" Lu Jiajia asked aloud.

Ning Changjiu nodded, "A Minor Flight Array."

He used the silver hairpin to engrave the forward-drawing array pattern of the Minor Flight Array onto the sword-star, then drew an identical reverse-drawing array pattern on the snowy cliff. Once activated, the two arrays, sensing each other from afar, vibrated at the same frequency, opening a spatial channel in an extremely short time, transporting the bonfire to the sword-star at an almost impossible speed!

Sword-fire was the arrow, and cultivation realm was the bow. Ning Changjiu's realm was insufficient to shoot the arrow into the sky. So, he chose to personally construct a bow, and the framework of that bow was the Minor Flight Array, with which he was most familiar.

The conversation on the snowy cliff vaguely reached the disciples' ears.

"It sounds like... a formation array?"

"A formation array? What kind of array could do that? Although teleportation arrays aren't of the highest grade, they're extremely difficult to learn. How could he know one?"

"Could it be that he's been studying this in the library these past two months?"

"So it was a formation array... shameless! How can one go far in the path of cultivation with such flashy tricks?"

"Never mind, lighting the sword-star can be done with a trick, but defeating the sword-armor—can that also be done with a trick?"

Ning Xiaoling looked at the bright star, rubbed her eyes, and couldn't help but smile.

"Senior Brother is amazing!" Ning Xiaoling looked at him with admiration, genuinely praising him. She no longer worried about whether her senior brother could defeat the sword-armor; after all, he had never disappointed her.

Ning Changjiu paid no attention to the discussions or gazes.

He slowly walked to the edge of the light domain, but did not step inside. He quietly looked at the dark, deep color behind the iron armor. He raised his wrist, gathering spiritual energy in his palm, skillfully condensing points of light around him like stars.

"Move Armor!" Suddenly, Ning Changjiu softly called out. His fingers moved, and he drew the Minor Flight Array in reverse once more. The firefly-like lights truly flared to life in an instant.

Below the light domain, firefly-like lights also flickered.

Before lighting the bonfire, he had drawn two arrays on the snowy cliff. One was destroyed after the sword-star was lit. And now, the position of the light domain projected by the sword-star happened to cover the other array diagram!

The wind and snow seemed to ripple and distort.

Ning Changjiu raised his foot and stepped into the light domain.

A sword-armor appeared out of nowhere in the spot where he had originally stood. Without the support of the light domain, the sword-armor lost its vibrant color. It raised its sword blankly, but having lost its animating power, it slowly dissipated.

Ning Changjiu turned around, watching the sword-armor collapse and crumble, scattering like dust.

The light domain had not yet dissipated. On the snowy cliff in the night, only he stood, his dark hair still, his white robes bathed in starlight.