Chapter Forty-One: The Sword Dance Beneath the Bodhi Tree

"Evil-Punishing Sword! Come!"

Following Su Yao’s clear cry, a cyan longsword manifested in her palm. The moment the Evil-Punishing Sword appeared, Xiao Chenxin felt his entire body suddenly lighten. He hurriedly stepped forward and pressed his hand onto Su Yao’s shoulder.

"Do not act on impulse!"

"If our plan fails today, we can always discuss it another day. If you were to die for me, I would not feel a shred of happiness."

Su Yao froze in place. She slowly turned her head to look at the stern-faced Xiao Chenxin. Two lines of tears slid down her cheeks. This was the first time Su Yao had ever heard such sweet "words of love." Since the day she was born, she had been a figure beyond the reach of others. Though she was only five years older than her grand-uncle, Xiao Chenxin, she had already attained the Nascent Soul stage. She was a genius among geniuses, arrogant and peerless. Yet, precisely because of this sharp edge, she had never heard anyone reveal their heart to her, nor dared anyone to aspire to her status.

Along this journey, she had been so lonely. Only in front of her grand-uncle could she indulge herself without restraint. Before him, all her brilliance felt meaningless, allowing her to return to her true self. But her grand-uncle’s heart had always been set on Liu Ruyan; he never cared for her feelings, let alone spoken such "words of love" as he did now.

"Grand-uncle, Su Yao has always liked you."

"Su Yao will hold him off; I will not let him harm a hair on your head. You must live well!"

Su Yao suddenly reached out and pushed Xiao Chenxin backward. Ripples of space quietly emerged around him. This was a spatial spell—a technique that required enlightenment of the Great Dao to master! As everything around him became illusory, Xiao Chenxin heard Su Yao’s final instructions in his ear.

"Promise me, do not miss me in the future. Live well, take a wife, have children, and enjoy a lifetime of peace."

Everything around grew dim, and Xiao Chenxin’s mind gradually cleared. So, that was how it was. Su Yao never liked the farmer; she liked the farmer persona he had been playing. Her overflowing devotion was all because of him. A sudden bitterness pricked at Xiao Chenxin’s nose. Why had he only realized it so late?

Suddenly, Xiao Chenxin shook his head vigorously.

"True love cannot be kept since ancient times; only schemes can win a heart. Wake up, Xiao Chenxin, you are not the type to fall in love so easily."

Xiao Chenxin closed his eyes and took a deep breath amidst the void of ripples. "But how can I... betray such deep affection?"

"System! You better find me a solution! If I can’t save Su Yao today, from now on, I will not lay a hand on any Child of Destiny, nor will I help you seize the destiny of the Heavenly Dao! I am not just saying this!"

[Friendly Reminder 1 from the System: There are many ways a Child of Destiny can exist. Some possess no cultivation but can resonate with the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, leading others to mistake them for powerful beings. Their existence is a clumsy imitation of this system by the Heavenly Dao.]

[Friendly Reminder 2: If you do not go out and stop this now, Su Yao will likely kill Qiu Changsheng in a desperate struggle and be met with a backlash from the Great Dao.]

[Friendly Reminder 3: The Heaven-Slaughtering World-Suppressing Divine Sword has the ability to break through techniques.]

Upon hearing the system’s advice, Xiao Chenxin immediately flipped his wrist, withdrawing the Heaven-Slaughtering World-Suppressing Divine Sword from his inventory. With a thought, spiritual energy instantly poured into the blade.

*Heaven-Breaking Sword Art!*

As Xiao Chenxin slashed down with one hand, Su Yao’s spatial spell shattered at the sound. Looking around, he found he was already outside the Haoyue Sect!

Xiao Chenxin immediately channeled all his spiritual energy, transforming into a shooting star as he dove straight into the Haoyue Sect’s main hall! The Evil-Punishing Sword was bathed in blood-red light. At the very moment it was about to pierce Qiu Changsheng’s chest just as Su Yao had intended, a broader, heavier sword struck the Evil-Punishing Sword with pinpoint accuracy.

*Clang!*

Su Yao did not even look to see who had intervened. Borrowing the opponent’s momentum, she pivoted and slashed the Evil-Punishing Sword again! Her movements were incredibly fast—so fast that by the time she finished the sequence, Xiao Chenxin had not even completed the retraction of his previous move.

"Grand-uncle!"

Seeing who was before her, Su Yao was shocked. In her panic, she could not withdraw her sword strike or the force behind it, so she simply let go. The Evil-Punishing Sword lost its guidance, pierced through the phantom of the Bodhi tree, and smashed the gate of the Haoyue Sect to pieces!

Xiao Chenxin also released his Heaven-Slaughtering World-Suppressing Divine Sword, reaching out one arm to catch Su Yao’s slender waist. Like well-coordinated dance partners, they drifted gracefully beneath the golden Bodhi tree.

"Why did you come back? Now neither of us can leave." Su Yao buried her head in Xiao Chenxin’s chest, clutching his body tightly, refusing to let go.

Xiao Chenxin suddenly picked Su Yao up. With a thought, his spiritual energy surged! The Heavenly Dao suppression on Ling Hu and Meng Yao was instantly lifted. He used his spiritual energy to carry the two of them out of the gate. Before leaving, Xiao Chenxin did not forget to retrieve both the Evil-Punishing Sword and the Heaven-Slaughtering World-Suppressing Divine Sword.

"Master, how did you do that! That was the power of the Great Dao! You broke it just like that?"

Ling Hu stared at Xiao Chenxin in astonishment. She was well-traveled and knew how formidable the power of the Great Dao was; it was the rule of this world, overriding everything else! Could her master already possess such heaven-defying cultivation?

Under Ling Hu’s bewildered gaze, Xiao Chenxin explained calmly, "The power Qiu Changsheng released was not the power of the Great Dao. He is a paper tiger; one poke and he collapses."

Meng Yao held up her small hands and gave Xiao Chenxin a double thumbs-up. "How did Master know? Meng Yao wants to learn!"

Xiao Chenxin smiled lightly. "As long as you are as brave as Su Yao, having the courage to face a strong enemy, you can see the clues. Let’s go; today’s business is more or less concluded."

As he spoke, Su Yao suddenly realized the situation and hurriedly broke free from Xiao Chenxin’s embrace, stepping back. Her face was a shade of deep, indelible crimson.

"Too, too embarrassing. I misjudged the situation and even said such strange things to my grand-uncle. Will he hate me? My grand-uncle hates sycophants the most..."

Just as Su Yao’s mind was in a chaotic mess of wild thoughts, Xiao Chenxin gave a light cough. "Although the matter here is finished, there is one more thing I need to handle right now. Meng Yao, Ling Hu, you two wait at our lodging. Su Yao, come with me."

With that, Xiao Chenxin soared into the air, and Su Yao hurriedly followed behind.

...

"What secret words did Master and the Holy Lord go off to discuss? Why doesn't Master whisper to us?" Jealousy was clearly etched on Meng Yao’s face.

Ling Hu’s expression was much calmer. Having already deeply experienced the humbleness of being a sycophant, nothing could shatter her psychological defenses anymore. "I don't know, maybe they went to buy something. The status gap between my grand-uncle and the Holy Lord is too great; they must be treating each other with mutual respect."

Ling Hu skillfully fabricated a lie for herself and then pulled Meng Yao back toward their lodging.

On the summit of a tall mountain hundreds of miles away from the Haoyue Sect, Su Yao kept her head down, carefully following behind Xiao Chenxin, looking just like a child who had done something wrong, waiting only for her grand-uncle’s reprimand.