Zhenming Pagoda 4

The giant green python before me, several zhang tall, opened its mouth and lunged at me. I quickly raised my sword and leaped into midair, unfurling the black wings that had never materialized before. Amidst the swirling black feathers, I rode the layered shockwaves rolling out from the raging fire, flying swiftly around the green snake to its back, and thrust my sword. Considering that what I, Ya Jiu, take the most pride in is my phantom-like swift speed, he absolutely would have no time to turn his head. I slashed out a wave of sword qi, shaving off a large patch of his scales. However, I suddenly heard the fierce howling of the wind behind me. Turning around, a massive snake tail was already sweeping over. I narrowly dodged it, spiraling up around the green snake's body, and fired dozens of sword qi strikes at him. The green snake grew even more furious; its giant tail was surprisingly agile, swinging through the air with a swishing sound and smashing deep fissures into the ground and walls.

But no matter how fast he was, he wasn't as fast as me. I shuttled back and forth through the gaps of his attacks, and before long, I fired off another twenty-odd sword qi strikes. However, this green snake had very thick skin. Shaving off so much made me sweat profusely, but it felt like he hadn't even lost half his blood, it seems I really need to combine with my Master's true qi to unleash stronger power...

After dragging out the fight with him for so long, I was panting a little. My movements slowed down slightly to catch a breath. As a result, in a moment of inattention, I was caught by his tail. The tail immediately wrapped around me layer by layer. Every inch below my chest was squeezed by those sharp, cold scales, continuously crushing inward. Although I am a spirit body, after taking human form, my internal organs are no different from a real person's. So, being squeezed like this, I felt like all the offerings I had secretly eaten over the past two days were about to be squeezed out, and from both ends at that...

Immortal Langya seemed to want to come help me, but the moment he moved, Guiche threateningly moved one of its heads with a gaping beak closer to my Master. Immortal Langya did not dare to move rashly. Seeing this, my Master anxiously shouted, "Jiashu! Let him go! He is not your enemy!"

Even though I felt like my bones were about to break, hearing Master say this still warmed my heart. Master! For your words, this divine sword will go all out!

I raised the Ya Jiu Sword, and its blade morphed in my hands, turning into that Bitter Bamboo Flute I often used to show off my elegance. The giant snake's golden eyes looked at me bafflingly, probably not understanding what I was trying to do by turning it into a flute at death's door.

I gave him a sinister smile, then brought the flute to my lips. Squeezing out the last bit of air left in my chest, I began to play the divine tune, "Dazzling Tianzhu Wind," which I had learned from a Tianzhu snake charmer back when I roamed the world with Master.

The green python's eyes suddenly widened, visibly stunned. Then, following the cheerful, bouncy rhythm, it began to sway its body involuntarily, twisting its neck and tail three circles to the left, three circles to the right, matching the beat. With this twisting, the snake tail that had been imprisoning me loosened. I flew around him while continuing to play a tune called "Little Pineapple". Thus, the green python twisted even more joyfully; the two of us practically looked like we were doing a duet dance...

Indeed, all snakes in the world are the same, unable to resist the temptation of a divine tune... Even someone who only halfway turned into a snake is the same...

Master and Immortal Langya's mouths twitched a little. Guiche, on the other hand, was very happily bobbing its nine heads along with the flute's melody. Just look at it... As a bird, it doesn't even twist as nicely as a snake; it really brings shame to us bird-attribute beings.

Right as things were getting lively, the Zhenming Pagoda suddenly shook. In that instant, some subtle changes appeared in the air; the originally stagnant air suddenly seemed to start flowing again.

Almost at the same time, spiritual light suddenly burst forth from Immortal Langya's body, and an invisible spiritual sword appeared in his hand. The battered appearance he had shown previously completely vanished, and a mysterious and unfathomable aura instantly spread out. In a flash of lightning, he thrust his spiritual sword into the giant snake's weak point, seven inches below its neck. The green python hissed in agony. I also felt the spiritual energy within me surging, so I immediately returned to my true form and thrust toward the seven-inch mark alongside Immortal Langya.

After a flash of intense light, Qiao Jiashu was beaten back into his human form and fell to the ground, vomiting a mouthful of fresh blood. At the same time, a piece of jade pendant also fell to the ground, shattering into two halves.

The moment the jade shattered, the Fine Copper Lock binding Master's hands suddenly gave a click and fell from his wrists.

All of this happened in a split second; even I was shocked by how fast the situation changed. Guiche evidently only just managed to launch an attack in time. Raging flames shot out from three of its giant heads, aimed respectively at Master, me, and Immortal Langya. I am a sword spirit forged from raging fire, so of course, I'm not afraid of being burned. As for Master and Immortal Langya, they blocked the flames with their sword qi.

Guiche was clearly furious, and its other six heads weren't idle either, whipping around like agile lashes and biting wildly in all directions. Although the space on the fiftieth floor was massive, letting him thrash back and forth like this was becoming a bit too much to bear, causing continuous tremors.

I flew back into Master's hand. Master channeled his qi into me, and Hunyuan Qi rotated around his body. He exchanged a glance with Immortal Langya, and then they coordinated an attack on Guiche. The exceedingly pure and profound sword qi radiating from both of them intertwined in the air into ten thousand rays of dawn-like light, fluttering like spirit butterflies amidst the sharp teeth, steel feathers, and raging fire, effortlessly neutralizing Guiche's attacks time and time again. That scene was so cool it made even me, a sword spirit, feel like spurting blood from how handsome it was. I hadn't known Master and Immortal Langya were so in sync; presumably, before Immortal Langya entered the pagoda, the relationship between the two martial brothers was very good?

However, Guiche was not a pushover after all; otherwise, the former Elder Siming wouldn't have been worn to death by it. Those steel-like feathers were completely invulnerable to swords and spears; physical damage was totally useless, and most of the spiritual energy damage was also absorbed by the feathers. This was simply a cheating feather attribute. If its feathers were used to forge a sword, it would definitely be the shameless type that could never be snapped no matter how hard you tried.

After a while, Master and Immortal Langya's stamina became somewhat overdrawn, and their speed slowed down. After all, since entering the pagoda, they had been continuously fighting against all sorts of monsters. Immortal Langya had even used his Nascent Soul Core, so it was understandable that he couldn't keep up his stamina right now.

Just as I was wondering whether birds would also react to the Dazzling Tianzhu Wind, two streams of true qi once again flew out from midair. One was dark yellow, the other bright red, striking two of Guiche's heads respectively. Master steadied his posture. I took a look; I recognized that dark yellow sword qi—it belonged to Shenxu. As for the bright red one...

I saw the newcomer wearing a nine-colored magnificent robe that was dark, charming, and luxurious. A faint, punchable wicked smile always lingered on his deeply contoured and exquisite face. Why was it actually that huge Hua Chi*, the Bixie Palace Master?

*T/N: Means a man-crazed flirt. Decided not to translate this directly because it's too strange to keep calling someone 'Flirt'.

"Little Xiuxiu, I've come to save you!"

Although the Bixie Palace Master shouted loudly, the one actually getting his hands dirty and doing the real work was still our adorable Master Shenxu. He shouted loudly, "Senior brothers, please hold off Guiche!" At the same time as he shouted, he brought out a magical treasure from his hand. At first glance, it looked like a small golden ball, but it was engraved with many complex lines and patterns.

Master deployed me once again, circulating the Juque True Mantra. The sword qi around me swelled, transforming into a giant sword that smashed right down onto the nine-headed bird. At the same time, Immortal Langya's spiritual sword transformed under his incantation into a galloping Qilin Beast, crashing head-on into the nine-headed bird. Under the strong pincer attack of the two forces, all nine of the nine-headed bird's heads spat fire at once. The raging flames burned the heavens and destroyed the earth; even I was scorched entirely burning hot, making me suspect if I would melt away. Biting the bullet, I fought against the raging fire, pressing downward with all my might, but one of Guiche's heads had already taken aim at the spell-casting Master Shenxu.

At this time, the Bixie Palace Master suddenly took off the nine-colored magnificent robe he was wearing. I was just about to complain about him taking his clothes off at a time like this, but with a wave of his hand, the robe flew into the air and rapidly expanded, blotting out the sun and sky as it radiated nine-colored spiritual light. Guiche actually seemed to be subjected to some kind of tremendous pressure. As the robe descended, all the steel feathers over its body bristled, and it struggled fiercely, but its heads were pressed down bit by bit. Each bird's head let out an angry howl in a different voice.

What kind of clothing is this? Isn't it too powerful?

The golden ball in Shenxu's hand suddenly exploded and rapidly expanded outward, forming a glittering, inescapable net that closed in on Guiche. Presumably, that golden ball was the ultimate demon-subduing treasure that the Shushan Sect had always kept in its collection—the Shiwei Net. This magical treasure was extremely formidable and could catch any monster regardless of what it was, but it could only be used ten times, so it was not brought out unless absolutely necessary. By now, there were probably only three uses left.

It seems the Shushan Sect took a huge loss this time...

Seeing the Shiwei Net appear, Guiche's eighteen eyes suddenly revealed a look of sorrowful despair. Like a cornered beast, it struggled one last time. Master quickly took me and retreated, and Immortal Langya also pulled back. Those flames crashed into the Shiwei Net as if they had hit a wall of copper and iron, unable to penetrate it in the slightest.

Thinking about it, this Guiche was also unlucky. If the Tianxian Formation hadn't activated so quickly, it would have been able to escape from this pagoda by just a little bit.

Speaking of the Tianxian Formation, how did Shenxu and the others get in? Could it be that they deactivated the Tianxian Formation?

But if the Tianxian Formation was gone, wouldn't Ounu be able to successfully escape through the loophole in the Yuxu Formation that Guiche smashed open here on the fiftieth floor?

Only then did I remember that there seemed to be a little puppet who was always smiling eerily, watching us fight back and forth from the sidelines the whole time... I hastily looked around for her, only to see her in Qiao Jiashu's arms.

Oh no!

Sure enough, Qiao Jiashu, whose mouth was still stained with blood, directed at me... directed at Master an ambiguous smile—one that should have been evil, but for some reason felt somewhat sorrowful.

The next instant, we only had enough time to see Qiao Jiashu and Ounu flash before Guiche. Almost at the same time, the Shiwei Net rapidly closed in toward the center.

But it didn't catch anything. The Shiwei Net shrank back into the shape of a round ball.

Shenxu was stunned.

"Where is Guiche?!"

Falling short at the final hurdle, both Master and Immortal Langya's expressions looked extremely bad...

And so, we quickly exited the Zhenming Pagoda. Since the monsters below the fiftieth floor weren't as troublesome, everyone who had reached the Third Phase, the Cloud-Soaring Realm, was already on the lower floors doing cleanup and barrier repair work. I didn't know how long we had been in the pagoda, but along the way, I heard Master Shenxu say that Longyuan, Danzhu, and the others found out we had encountered an accident entering the Zhenming Pagoda and were trapped inside by the Tianxian Formation. Thus, they ran to find the Palace Master, who was just about to set off back to the Bixie Palace, to ask for help. The Palace Master forcefully demanded that the Zhenming Pagoda be opened, and Shenxu himself also felt that using the Tianxian Formation to endlessly trap Guiche, which had broken through the Yuxu Formation, was not a solution. Thus, he proposed bringing out the Shiwei Net. The Sect Master was ultimately persuaded by Shenxu and Master Qingyuan to agree, which was how they deactivated the Tianxian Formation and let Shenxu and the Palace Master in.

The problem was that now, not only had they wasted one usage of the Shiwei Net, but they had also lost Guiche and Ounu. This was the first time since the construction of the Zhenming Pagoda that monsters had managed to escape. The Shushan Sect had lost a massive amount of face this time.

Master Shenxu muttered the whole way, wondering how big of a temper the Sect Master would lose. Master patted his shoulder and comforted him: "This can't be blamed on you. I'm afraid this break-in incident was premeditated and brewing for a long time. We can only blame ourselves for being too careless." Meanwhile, the Bixie Palace Master, who had caused trouble alongside Master Shenxu, was in a great mood the whole way. First, he put the clothes he had thrown out earlier back on, and then he followed behind my Master, occasionally grabbing my Master's hair and tugging my Master's sleeve, using the beautiful excuse of checking if Master was injured. But does checking someone for injuries require touching their butt? Thus, in a fit of anger, I viciously bit that thieving hand.

The Bixie Palace Master abruptly retracted his hand and looked at Master pitifully. "Why does your sword even bite people?"

Master replied calmly, "Ya Jiu isn't biting a person."

Later, when we got outside, the Sect Master almost fainted from a sudden shortage of breath after hearing that Guiche had escaped. The attending page boy hurriedly served him tea and patted his back to soothe his breath, and Shenxu also hurriedly fanned him from the side. The Sect Master scolded Shenxu relentlessly, evidently taking out his anger at the Bixie Palace Master on poor Shenxu as well.

However, from beginning to end, Immortal Langya didn't say a word. Master's expression was also grave.

After a long while, Master spoke up, "Everyone bears responsibility for what happened this time. However, I think this pagoda break-in incident was no accident. The seals between the floors inside the pagoda were very likely broken before the intruders even entered."

As soon as these words came out, everyone fell silent. The meaning behind these words was obvious: the Shushan Sect had a mole.

However, the Zhenming Pagoda had always been guarded by Immortal Langya. He had merged his own primordial spirit with the entire pagoda; he ought to have known about any disturbances inside the pagoda.

Everyone looked at Immortal Langya. Yet, Immortal Langya didn't seem to intend to explain anything, merely saying, "This matter was a dereliction of my duty. I am willing to accept an investigation."

If he was the only one who could access the Zhenming Pagoda, then Immortal Langya's suspicion was indeed the highest. Although I always felt it couldn't possibly be him. Because he wouldn't be stupid to this degree, making it so obvious.

Master also said, "This matter shouldn't have anything to do with Senior Brother, because all of this was done far too obviously, making it seem more like a deliberate frame-up."

But no matter what, an investigation was unavoidable.

Later, I heard that Immortal Langya was temporarily placed under house arrest. The entire Shushan Sect was busy repairing the Zhenming Pagoda and investigating the whole sequence of the break-in. However, none of this had much to do with me, a sword, so I was placed back into the Sword Pavilion. The first thing Danzhu said upon seeing me was: "Why aren't you dead yet?"