Chapter 54: Memories of the Ink Shadow

A hundred flying swords crisscrossed, weaving into a massive sword net that expanded and contracted at Wanyi’s will. Under the shroud of sword qi, it resembled rolling clouds and a vast ocean all at once!

Stepping upon the *Cloud Sea Flight* and shuttling through the sea of swords, Wanyi instantly felt as though he were the supreme ruler of this domain.

The hundred flying swords obeyed him as naturally as his own limbs; with just a single thought, he could shred everything enclosed within this sword sea.

After practicing multiple times, Wanyi mastered the essentials of the *Vast Sword Sea*. He then thought to recall the hundred flying swords, murmuring to himself:

"As expected of a sword technique personally created by the founding Patriarch of the Vast Expanse Sect. Such a soul-shaking swordplay with explosive lethality—who could possibly match it among those of the same realm?"

Wanyi even believed that once this *Vast Sword Sea* was fully unleashed, hundreds of thousands of flying swords firing in unison would blanket the boundless clear sky. The sheer magnificence of such a spectacle alone would be enough to shatter an enemy's courage!

This sword technique was the greatest ultimate move he had mastered thus far. After weighing the pros and cons, he decided that the *Vast Sword Sea* must not be easily unleashed unless absolutely necessary; it had to be kept as his ultimate trump card for self-preservation.

Just as he was deep in thought, Moying’s voice suddenly echoed in his mind: "I never expected my master to possess such an extraordinary sword technique!"

Her sudden voice instantly pulled Wanyi back to reality from his deep contemplation.

Hearing her address him as "master" with such natural ease, Wanyi slightly furrowed his brow and sent a voice transmission: "There are no outsiders here. Care to explain why you schemed against me and forced me into a master-servant contract?"

Moying let out a sorrowful sigh: "Master, please do not be angry. I had no other choice and was forced to resort to this desperate measure. Besides, you are now the master and I am the servant; I am the one getting the short end of the stick!"

Wanyi sneered: "There is no such thing as a free lunch in this world, and I am no fool. You had better give me a satisfactory explanation, or else..."

Although Wanyi left the rest of his sentence unsaid, the implication of the threat was self-evident.

Now that the master-servant contract had been established, Moying’s life and death rested entirely on his whim. If she refused to tell the truth, he wouldn't mind making her suffer a little.

Hearing Wanyi's words, Moying seemed to fall into deep thought. After a long while, her slightly sorrowful voice sounded once again, slowly recounting her past.

As it turned out, Moying was actually the little princess of the Qilin clan. Because of the Qilin clan's formidable strength, they held a lofty status within the Primordial Forest, standing in a tripartite balance of power alongside the Puppet Dragon and Profound Turtle clans to jointly govern the demon cultivators of the Primordial Land.

These three royal clans had always lived in peace and coexisted harmoniously. However, over twenty thousand years ago, this peace was shattered by the Puppet Dragon clan.

At that time, due to the severing of the immortal path, human cultivators proposed the concept of the Emperor Realm, and some individuals successfully stepped into that realm.

With the ever-growing number of human experts in the Emperor Realm, countless demon cultivators felt panic. Yet alongside panic, there was even more envy and jealousy.

Thus, the Puppet Dragon clan was the first to attempt breaking through to the Emperor Realm. However, their actions met with fierce opposition from the Qilin clan at the time.

Qilins were auspicious beasts born of heaven and earth. Unlike demonic beasts such as Puppet Dragons, they possessed an extremely strong affinity with the Heavenly Dao.

From the very moment the first Emperor Realm cultivators were born, the mighty figures within the Qilin clan had vaguely sensed an impending crisis.

That was why they stood up to oppose demon cultivators breaking through to the Emperor Realm!

Naturally, this act enraged all demon cultivators.

Because the emergence of the human Emperor Realm had already shattered the balance of power between humans and demons. Once the human Emperor Realm experts launched an attack against the Primordial Forest, what awaited them would be complete annihilation.

The Qilin clan naturally understood this as well, but driven by the instinct of auspicious beasts, they were filled with awe and reverence for the Heavenly Dao, and would never allow the demon cultivators under their command to commit acts of pilfering the origin of heaven and earth.

Finally, the conflict erupted one day. Led by the Puppet Dragon clan, the demon cultivators throughout the entire Primordial Forest went mad and launched a massive siege against the Qilin clan.

Because the incident happened so suddenly, countless Qilins died tragically, and everyone fled in all directions amidst the panic.

Moying had only just taken human form at the time, and with a cultivation base of only the early Golden Core stage, she broke out of the Primordial Forest under the cover of her brothers and sisters.

Panicking and losing her way, she stumbled into the Netherworld Cave's Road to the Yellow Springs, and by a twist of fate, arrived in the Underworld.

She had been severely injured at the time, but fortunately, she was saved by the Underworld Sovereign. From then on, she stayed by Changfeng's side to cultivate.

After her injuries fully healed, out of gratitude for the Underworld Sovereign Changfeng saving her life, Moying wished to acknowledge him as her master, but was rebuffed by his words.

The Underworld Sovereign asked her at the time: 'If you acknowledge me as your master, do you not wish to take revenge? That is the hatred of the destruction of your clan; can you truly let it go?'

Moying fell silent upon hearing this. With her parents and siblings murdered and her entire clan wiped out, how could she possibly let go of such a blood feud?

Seeing her remain silent, the Underworld Sovereign comforted her: "I cast a divination earlier and foresaw that you would appear in the Underworld, which is why I was able to rescue you in time. Furthermore, you and I lack the fate of master and servant. The person destined to sign the master-servant contract with you is also the one capable of helping you exact your revenge. However, the time is not yet ripe, and this person has not yet appeared. You may temporarily remain in the Underworld to cultivate; when the time is right, I will naturally let you leave to reunite with him."

Reaching this point in her story, Moying paused her tone. Then, the Qilin pattern on Wanyi’s robe turned into a wisp of black mist that drifted down, ultimately transforming into Moying’s appearance.

At this moment, Moying was already weeping tears, two trails of clear teardrops sliding down her cheeks. With a choked voice, she said: "I waited in the Underworld for two full millennia, until Lord Underworld Sovereign found me a few days ago and told me that the person I was waiting for had finally appeared. And you are the one I have been waiting for!"

Saying this, Moying knelt on both knees, cupped her fists toward Wanyi, and pleaded: "I beg Master to uphold justice for me and avenge my Qilin clan!"

Wanyi furrowed his brows tightly. He had never expected such a profound and tragic past to be hidden behind Moying.

However, with his current low cultivation and awkward situation, he simply lacked the capability to bring her back to the Primordial Forest for revenge.

Seeing Wanyi's troubled expression, Moying guessed what was on his mind and hurriedly said: "I know Master is in a difficult situation right now, and I do not ask you to help me exact revenge immediately. I only ask for a promise that one day, when your cultivation achieves greatness, you will help the Qilin clan reclaim justice."

Seeing that the other party had put it this way, Wanyi clenched his teeth, nodded, and replied: "Alright, I promise you!"

As he spoke, he muttered inwardly: "Damn it, things have already come to this anyway! Killing a human Emperor Realm expert is killing, and killing a demon Emperor Realm expert is also killing! A louse doesn't feel the bite when there are too many, and a debtor doesn't worry about too many debts. I might as well play a bigger game!"

Seeing that her request had been accepted, Moying instantly broke into a relieved smile, her face lighting up with joy as she rose from the ground and said: "Master, let's leave now then! I have been trapped in this colorless Underworld for over twenty thousand years; I've almost forgotten what the outside world looks like."

Hearing her words, Wanyi wore a troubled look: "Taking you out is fine, but my identity in the outside world is merely a humble disciple of the Vast Expanse Sect. If you suddenly appear by my side, it will be hard to explain!"

Moying hurriedly replied: "Master, once we go out, I do not need to manifest physically. I can just attach myself to your clothing like before and act as an embroidery pattern. How about that?"

Wanyi shook his head: "The pattern you transform into is far too flashy. If we encounter an Emperor Realm cultivator, they will see through it at a glance, and we will both be in deep trouble!"

Moying fell silent for a moment. Seeming to think of something, her pretty face flushed slightly, and she spoke with a bashful and coy demeanor: "Actually... I do have one other method, I just don't know if Master will agree!"

To be continued...