Chapter 342 - A Tragedy Caused by a Sword
In a tearoom in the Heavenly Sword Sect.
A refined and cultured male suddenly slammed the table angrily. “No! There’s no need to discuss this any further! I forbid you from going!”
There was also a look of anger on the female’s face. “The Void Spirit Tribe is a cancer on this continent anyway! How many countries and tribes have they already annihilated? What’s wrong with us going to steal some holy minerals from their divine mountain?”
“The Void Spirit Tribe is indeed wicked and deserving of punishment. However, it isn’t the Heavenly Sword Sect’s place to punish them! Do you know of the consequences of provoking them? Is it worth provoking such a tribe just to smelt material for Huan Huan’s sword? Huan Huan’s been spoilt by you!” The male was furious, and his voice made it clear that there was no room for discussion.
The female smiled. “That’s right, apart from me, who else is going to pamper her? You have a few daughters, but I only have this one daughter! You also understand what the Holy Ice Soul Mineral means for Huan Huan… It’s fine if you don’t agree, I’ll go by myself!”
Saying this, the female turned around and left resolutely.
“H-have you gone crazy?!” Looking at the disappearing figure, the infuriated male was at a complete loss for words.
…
Inside the flying ship, the little girl held onto the female’s hand. “Mommy, isn’t daddy coming with us?” she asked curiously.
The female rubbed her head lovingly. “He’s busy right now. Don’t worry, I’m more than powerful enough to deal with this matter.”
“Hehe, that’s true. Mommy is the number one female Sword Immortal in our Heavenly Sword Sect! No one can beat mommy!
“Mommy, practice sword techniques with me.”
“M-hm, okay…”
…
Void Spirit Realm. A greenish-blue sky stretched above this strange land.
All matter here seemed to flitter between the states of tangibility and intangibility. Anything could become a part of the atmosphere here—distorted, uncanny, polluted, broken…
If weak-minded people set foot upon this realm, there was a great possibility that their minds would be instantly warped by the environment here, turning them into crazy and mindless beings.
There were five divine mountains here, and they all produced extremely precious minerals that had outsiders green with envy.
Divine Ice Mountain, one of the five divine mountains, was most renowned for producing Holy Ice Soul Mineral.
This mineral was formed once every three thousand years, and it was especially beneficial to one’s divine sense.
Equally so, only beings with an extremely powerful divine sense could receive its acknowledgment.
At this moment, this divine mountain was experiencing the most turbulent period of its existence.
“Mommy, mommy… What are these things?” The little girl was trembling in fear as she looked toward the semi-transparent creatures which were snarling and charging toward them.
“Don’t be scared, I’m here to protect you,” the female smiled warmly. “These are all paper tigers. See, they can’t even withstand a single strike of my sword.” She held a semi-transparent divine sense sword in her hands, and every strike she performed exuded a brilliant and intimidating aura. Regardless of whether they had spirit bodies or divine bodies, all the Void Spirit Tribe members were obliterated into nothingness.
The Void Spirit Tribe members responsible for guarding this divine mountain were shivering in fright. Even the mighty Return to Void Stage Void Spirit God was disposed of with a mere few sword strikes. How were they meant to defend this mountain?!
Atop the divine mountain, the female held onto the little girl’s hand as she looked toward a piece of glittering and transparent blue stone.
“Holy Ice Soul Mineral, a mineral that forms once every three thousand years. It’s already been a thousand years since you formed, yet you still haven’t found a destined person…” The female spoke softly as she gazed at that piece of stone, “Huan Huan, drip your blood onto it.”
The little girl ran over excitedly. This blue stone looked exactly like the mineral drawn in the Divine Weapon Register!
The little girl’s bright eyes could, in fact, pierce through the stone and observe the lively energy swimming around inside of it.
A drop of blood essence dripped onto the surface of the blue-colored stone. This stone, which had been absolutely still for thousands of years, suddenly started radiating with a dazzling blue glow!
“We’ve succeeded! This is the phenomenon that appears when the Holy Ice Soul Mineral acknowledges its owner!” The female’s eyes lit up.
The Holy Ice Soul Mineral possessed the most spiritual energy right after it was refined. It had to be crafted into a sword straight away. Otherwise, its spiritual energy would drain away rapidly.
“Nine Heavenly Swords Mystical Formation, activate!”
Following the female’s cry, nine extremely powerful divine sense swords flew out from her mind and formed into an imposing sword formation.
“Huan Huan, stand in the center of the formation and don’t fidget around!”
There wasn’t much time left. After saying this, the female immediately started crafting a divine sword.
In order to craft this sword in a shorter amount of time, the female’s movements caused the entire divine mountain’s vital energy to surge about violently. Thunder, flames, hammering…
…
A pitch-black fissure was slowly ripped open in the greenish-blue sky.
Hidden behind the fissure was insane chaos and darkness. A semi-transparent skeleton, which had crimson infernal flames burning in its lifeless eyes and a black halo floating above its head, slowly stepped out of the fissure. It gazed toward the Divine Ice Mountain coldly.
“Qiu Hong, the grand elder of the Heavenly Sword Sect, wife to sect leader Liu Mingxuan, Sword Immortal of the Return to Void Stage…” the black skeleton said emotionlessly.
“Fufu… Even Liu Mingxuan doesn’t dare to cause trouble in our divine mountains. Who gave his wife such courage?” Another creature walked out of the fissure and sneered coldly. This was a semi-transparent, two-headed creature.
“Heh, that’s not completely true. If we didn’t pass by here coincidentally, perhaps this Qiu Hong really would have succeeded. If she hides in the Heavenly Sword Sect afterward, then we can’t do anything about it either…” As it said this, a spear made out of withered vines had already appeared in the black skeleton’s hands.
This withered and deathly yellow spear squirmed about uncannily, and a blood-like red glow appeared on its tip.
Holy Death Spear.
This spear was formed by the Ancient Infernal Vines which grew in the most deadly region of the Yellow Spring Divine Mountain. Once it was thrown out, any enemy who was of a lower rank than the thrower would definitely be hit. Upon being hit, they would definitely die!
This truly was a spear of death. This was an immortal weapon which had already touched upon the mystical power of karma.
In addition, the skeleton which had a black halo above its head was already a Void Spirit God of the Return to Void Stage.
“Black Coffin Screen!” The two-headed creature formed numerous seals with its hands.
…
Atop the Divine Ice Mountain, an exuberant ring soared into the skies.
Looking at the stunningly exquisite blue sword, the little girl was absolutely ecstatic.
“Huan Huan, do you like this sword?” Qiu Hong was grinning cheerily as she handed the sword to the little girl.
This sword could nurture the little girl’s divine sense which had been suppressed due to her overly powerful Ancient Sword Dao Physique. Perhaps this sword really was the best choice for her.
“I like it! This sword is so beautiful! Mommy is the best!” The little girl giddily reached for the sword with her small, delicate hands. She wanted to hug that sword which she had always craved.
A ripple spread outwards, and the void suddenly became congealed.
At some unknown time, a bright red splotch of blood had already appeared on the female’s lower abdomen.
The ancient vine spear pierced through her skin and glowed a sinister red. It was as though it was taunting their short-lived happiness.
Qiu Hong looked toward the spear which was lodged in her lower abdomen in astonishment. Then, she glanced backward and saw the two hidden Void Spirit Gods in the distance.
As if it had never appeared, the spear suddenly disappeared. Only the black webs spreading out from the female’s abdomen and her dripping blood remained evidence of what had just happened.
The little girl was paralyzed in shock. Her eyes bulged, and she was in disbelief as she stared at the blood flowing from the female’s abdomen.
After being momentarily dazed, she leaped into Qiu Hong’s embrace. Her small body trembled as she tried to stem the blood flowing from the wound. “Mommy, what’s wrong?” she shouted in panic. “Are you okay?”
Boom!
A black rectangular void suddenly enveloped the two of them. This was an extremely frightening spatial seal.
Qiu Hong smiled bitterly and shattered the jade pendant which she always carried with her. She hugged Liu Qianhuan tightly and transformed into a halo of shimmering light.
The two-headed creature faltered. Then, it looked toward the black skeleton apologetically. “She has a Divine Concealment Jade…”
“That’s of no consequence,” the black skeleton replied expressionlessly. “Qiu Hong’s already dead. As for that sword which was crafted from the Holy Ice Soul Mineral, we’ll eventually snatch it back someday.”
…
Heavenly Sword Sect.
Liu Mingxuan trembled violently as he looked at the female who was lying on the floor, dying.
He had miscalculated. He thought that Qiu Hong, who possessed a Divine Concealment Jade, could safely escape back even if she came across any dangers.
He had initially thought that if he didn’t go personally, then Qiu Hong’s actions couldn’t represent the Heavenly Sword Sect. That way, he could slowly deal with the Void Spirit Tribe’s backlash…
However, he never expected for Qiu Hong to suffer an injury which was related to the power of karma!
“Qiu Hong, who did this?” the male growled. He was trying his best to suppress his anger.
As though she didn’t hear him, the female lightly caressed the little girl who was bawling next to her. “Huan Huan, Mother is about to leave,” she said softly. “Remember to practice sword techniques for eight hours every day. Don’t slack off. Also, remember not to be too conceited. One should always remain low-key. Don’t flaunt your wealth and don’t flaunt your background…”
Liu Mingxuan knelt on one knee before Qiu Hong, and powerful healing spells poured toward the female’s body frantically. However, that black web on her abdomen was like a bone-deep toxin, and it wouldn’t disperse no matter what.
“Damn it! Qiu Hong… Hurry up and tell me, who did this to you?!”
The male clenched his teeth in rage, and the fury in his eyes was uncontrollable.
“Dad, hurry up and save mom! I beg you, hurry up and save her…” Tears streamed down the little girl’s face. She was powerless as she looked at her weakening mother, and she could only beg the male before her.
“Huan Huan… Remember not to be a picky eater, and remember to make more friends. Be happy every day…”
The female’s eyes became increasingly cloudy and unfocused. She didn’t have much time left. She wanted to grasp onto these last remaining moments to talk more with her daughter.
The little girl reflected in Qiu Hong’s eyes was extremely adorable, yet her expression was especially heart-wrenching right now. She really didn’t want to leave; she wanted to stay by her child’s side for longer.
“Huan Huan, stop talking nonsense with your father… Hurry, come over and let mother hug you…
“Good girl…
“Remember, Mother loves you…”
Qiu Hong was smiling faintly as she took in the little girl’s fragrant scent. Then, she slowly shut her eyes.
…
Heavenly Sword Sect. The chime of a mourning bell resounded through the heavens.
The little girl appeared especially lonely as she sat alone on her bed. Her eyes were dull and lifeless as she hugged the blue sword and listened to the toll of the bell.
In the past, she had always hugged her mother as she slept. Now, however, she could only hug this ice-cold sword.
“Mom crafted you, so let’s name you Great Ice 1 .”
“Great Ice, if I didn’t ask for you at the outset, then such things wouldn’t have happened, right?
“Great Ice… I caused my mother to die, right?
“Oh, that’s right. If my mother didn’t craft you, then she wouldn’t have died either. You’re also responsible!”
Clang!
The little girl threw the Great Ice Sword onto the floor angrily.
She curled up on her bed dejectedly. Her eyes were dull and murky, and the surroundings were deathly silent.