Transmigrating as the Heart Demon of the Ruthless Sword Venerable – Chapter 8
by Little PandaDivine Tomb Qualification
Slay the Heart Demon, and you may enter the Divine Tomb
The old man’s phantom suddenly solidified. He had a long beard and white hair, wore a yellow rough-woven robe, and his figure was stooped. He raised his gaze, and the feeling of an ordinary old man vanished without a trace.
Tang Wenchun even felt as though the old man before her was continuously growing taller, making her feel like an ant before a giant.
“Focus your mind and steady your breath.”
Yu Zhaoming’s voice reached her ears, jolting Tang Wenchun awake. She gripped the longsword in her hand and looked at the old man again, only to find him as ordinary and unremarkable as before, without a trace of the towering, insurmountable presence she had just witnessed.
Was this the technique of a cultivator?
Tang Wenchun was secretly alarmed. She held her breath, gripped her sword tighter, and dared not show the slightest hint of carelessness.
The old man raised his palm, and a powerful aura erupted from it, meeting Yu Zhaoming’s and Tang Wenchun’s attacks.
Fortunately, thanks to Yu Zhaoming entering the Sea of Consciousness day after day to fight Tang Wenchun, Tang Wenchun’s swordsmanship had become quite decent. She and Yu Zhaoming wielded their longswords and launched attacks together, their figures swift as lightning—agile yet fierce—managing to fight the old man to a standstill for a time.
Only, Yu Zhaoming possessed a pure Ice Spirit Root. When she swung Cangfeng, the surroundings became like a world of ice and snow, with snowflakes drifting—a sight of inexplicable beauty.
Tang Wenchun’s case was somewhat different. The techniques she could use were identical to Yu Zhaoming’s, but hers were tinged with a black-red glow, and the drifting snowflakes around her looked like blood congealed into crimson ice.
The kind that made it obvious she wasn’t a good person at first glance.
Why?! She wanted to be a little fairy too! Tang Wenchun grumbled inwardly, putting extra effort into her strikes. Her coordination with Yu Zhaoming grew increasingly seamless. Under their alternating barrage of attacks, the old man’s phantom actually found himself struggling to keep up.
“Heh heh heh, not bad, not bad,” the old man said loudly, his earlier mockery gradually fading. He waved his palm, and a strange ripple of energy emanated from it, spreading through the space to form a massive dome of light. With a sweep of his hand, the dome bore down directly on Tang Wenchun.
“Careful!!”
Yu Zhaoming yanked Tang Wenchun aside. Tang Wenchun stumbled with the momentum of Yu Zhaoming’s pull, narrowly dodging out of the way. She looked at the spot where the dome had descended—the floor tiles had been reduced to fine powder—and her face paled slightly. If Yu Zhaoming hadn’t intervened just now, she wouldn’t even have known how she’d died.
“Th-thank you,” Tang Wenchun drew a sharp breath and said in a low voice.
Yu Zhaoming said nothing. She only released her grip once she saw Tang Wenchun steady herself, then turned to look at the old man.
The old man narrowed his eyes and burst into laughter. “A cultivator saves a Heart Demon, and the Heart Demon says thank you. A true marvel of this world! How amusing! How amusing!!”
Yu Zhaoming didn’t reply. She tilted her sword tip slightly, leveling it at the old man.
The old man looked at Yu Zhaoming but didn’t move. Even Tang Wenchun, a mere novice in this cultivation world, could see a few things. The old man’s cultivation was above hers and Yu Zhaoming’s; he was entirely toying with them during the fight. The difference was that he still showed some restraint toward Yu Zhaoming, but couldn’t care less about her.
Talk about differential treatment!
But Tang Wenchun was a Heart Demon herself, so she could probably only blame her bad transmigration luck.
“Girl, what do you intend to do?” the old man asked.
Yu Zhaoming shifted her stance slightly and said, “Yu Zhaoming of the Sword Sect. Please instruct me.”
“Sword Sect…” The old man gave a light snort. “Such grand words. Let me see what the so-called Sword Sect of the current mortal realm is truly capable of!”
Yu Zhaoming didn’t answer. She only said in a low voice, “Step back.”
Tang Wenchun pressed her lips together, watching Yu Zhaoming’s slender back. At her age, a girl should be in the prime of growing—Yu Zhaoming looked painfully thin. Yet it was this frail figure who stood in front of everyone, time and time again.
Even she, a Heart Demon, was someone Yu Zhaoming wanted to protect.
In that moment, Tang Wenchun felt she could forgive the fact that Yu Zhaoming had killed her several times before.
She lowered her voice. “Be careful.”
Yu Zhaoming’s gaze finally fell on her, passing over her only briefly before settling back ahead.
Tang Wenchun heard Yu Zhaoming’s soft response: “All right.”
The old man grew somewhat impatient. “What’s with all this clinging to each other? Anyone who didn’t know better would think you were a pair of Dao companions in a life-and-death parting.” The old man snorted a laugh. “A Heart Demon is ultimately just yourself. Girl, you wouldn’t be in love with yourself, would you?”
Yu Zhaoming’s expression didn’t change. After one breath, her entire being settled into stillness. It wasn’t just Tang Wenchun who sensed something different—even the old man ahead gradually dropped his earlier mocking expression.
Something nearby seemed to be humming softly, and the sound grew louder and louder. Tang Wenchun felt a sudden unease in her heart. She looked around, but before she could make sense of it, the old man spoke in a heavy tone: “Sword humming… You can actually trigger the Sword Burial Ground’s sword humming.”
Thank you, my exposition buddy!
Tang Wenchun cast the old man a grateful glance, but her attention was quickly drawn to Yu Zhaoming. Sword Qi hummed all around. The sword was the gentleman among weapons, the most righteous and awe-inspiring of all. Tang Wenchun couldn’t withstand the seething Sword Qi and couldn’t help retreating step after step.
Yu Zhaoming’s gaze was sharp as a sword. She took a stride forward and swept her arm out. Cangfeng was thrust forth, seeming at once impossibly fast and impossibly slow. Yu Zhaoming merged with Cangfeng, becoming a streak of sword light—swift as lightning, cutting through space like a shooting star, trailing a sharp whistle of displaced air.
“…Sword Intent,” the old man murmured. He crossed his palms, and a peerlessly sharp sword materialized in his hands. He held the hilt horizontally, and the blade emitted a resonant hum, as if challenging Yu Zhaoming.
Tang Wenchun was taken aback. The old man had been fighting with fists and palms this whole time, but it seemed his true weapon was the sword all along.
But Yu Zhaoming showed not the slightest surprise. She gave her wrist a slight turn and called out, “Primordial Chaos Severance1!”
It was truly as if primordial chaos had just been sundered—the prototype of that magnificent strike Tang Wenchun had glimpsed within the chaos. With Primordial Chaos Severance, heaven and earth were divided. Tang Wenchun was captivated by the sword light, her spirit thrown into turmoil, yet in the midst of it all, she suddenly attained a flash of understanding. The essential technique and mind-state of this move rose from the depths of her heart in its entirety.
Tang Wenchun instantly felt that if she were to use this technique herself, while she couldn’t replicate it perfectly, she could probably capture seven or eight tenths of its spirit.
Tang Wenchun: …Somehow she felt like she’d picked up an incredible golden finger.
“Good sword! Good Sword Intent!!”
The old man laughed several times, seeming to go mad with exhilaration, and charged forward with his sword.
Their Sword Intent intertwined. Waves of Sword Qi flooded the space, stirring up a storm of sword light. Yu Zhaoming’s swordplay was agile and fierce, flowing endlessly like drifting clouds and running water. The old man’s was weighty and incisive, each strike carrying devastating, irresistible force.
After an indeterminate amount of time, Yu Zhaoming’s sword forms grew increasingly refined. She truly possessed an Innate Sword Bone—even in such a crucible, she was still able to perfect her techniques. The old man roared and blocked Yu Zhaoming’s attacks with everything he had. The clash of Sword Intent produced deafening roars, and the entire Divine Tomb seemed to tremble.
Sword Intent surged like crashing waves. Yu Zhaoming’s blade was piercingly sharp, striking the old man like a thunderbolt cleaving the heavens.
The old man fell back steadily, his figure losing its solidity, seeming ready to collapse at any moment.
“The girl is truly extraordinary!” The old man laughed, drifting backward as he looked at Yu Zhaoming, a glint of admiration in his eyes. “I yield.”
Yu Zhaoming’s sword forms came to a halt. She let out a slight pant, withdrew her technique, and cupped her hands in greeting. “You were generous.”
The old man found Yu Zhaoming more pleasing to the eye the more he looked at her. He nodded. “You do indeed have the qualification to enter the Divine Tomb and claim the Divine Legacy. However… are you truly not going to eliminate this Heart Demon?” The old man raised a hand and pointed at Tang Wenchun.
Tang Wenchun was so frightened she scurried behind Yu Zhaoming.
Yu Zhaoming was silent for a moment. “If I don’t slay the Heart Demon, I cannot enter the Divine Tomb?”
The old man nodded, his tone turning earnest. “You must think this through carefully. This place is extraordinarily divine—it can give physical form to a Heart Demon. If you kill her, you will never be troubled by her again. But if you bring her along, you won’t be able to enter the Divine Tomb.”
Upon hearing this, Yu Zhaoming turned to look at Tang Wenchun. Her eyes flickered, as if thinking something less than friendly.
The author has something to say:
Old Man: I’ve never seen anyone so clingy with their own Heart Demon.
Yu Zhaoming: …
Old Man: Slay the Heart Demon and you can take the Divine Legacy.
Yu Zhaoming: …
Hehe, take a guess, everyone—will Tang Wenchun bite the dust this time?
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