Into The Sea

When Lan Wu finally found the cave that Ji Lingyue had entered, she was drenched in sweat.

Danqing was right. The heat here wasn’t ordinary.

Even with spiritual energy forming a barrier around her, the scorching air seeped through every crack, making her face flush red. It was like being trapped in a steamer.

However, as she descended into the dark cave, the temperature gradually decreased. Lan Wu lit a firefly, discovering that the cave walls were smooth like jade.

The further down she went, the wider the space became. A faint smell of blood lingered in the air, sometimes stronger, sometimes weaker, making her uneasy.

As Lan Wu rounded a corner with Danqing in her arms, she suddenly came face-to-face with a pitch-black figure. Her heart skipped a beat, and she barely managed to stifle a scream.

Danqing, however, shrieked. “Ah!”

“Ah!” The demon also jumped back in fright, clutching his chest as he looked her up and down. “Who… who are you?!”

Lan Wu: “I, uh, I am…”

“Who cares who you are!” He shoved Lan Wu aside with his shoulder, scrambling upwards. “If you want to live, run! Damn it, who said that the god of death wasn’t here…”

His voice faded into the distance as he disappeared up the cave.

Lan Wu hesitated for a moment before continuing downward. Danqing, however, curled up in her arms, squirming until she burrowed into Lan Wu’s clothes, declaring, “I’m closing my eyes. I’m not coming out.”

Lan Wu looked at the bulging lump in her clothes. “If you’re scared, you can go back. I’ll go down alone.”

Danqing shook her head. “No way.”

Lan Wu had no choice but to keep going. After a while, she finally heard faint noises, and a dim red light appeared in the distance. She quickened her pace, but when she reached the end, her pupils contracted, and she abruptly stopped.

Loose rocks fell into the pitch-black abyss, the sound of them hitting the ground delayed. Without realizing it, Lan Wu had already stepped half a foot off the edge of the cliff, with no bottom in sight.

Her heart pounded. Lan Wu blinked, taking a deep breath as she raised the firefly to look around.

But aside from the faint light in her hand, the visible area was completely black. Lan Wu grabbed the wall, wondering about the red light she had seen earlier, when she heard the wind whistling.

A streak of fire flew past her, sending out a wave of heat. She quickly retreated. After a hasty glance, she realized that it wasn’t a ball of fire, but a black demon engulfed in flames.

The demon’s face was red. After crashing into the stone wall, a shadow, too fast to see, pierced through his body, pinning him to the wall.

The sword hummed, emitting formless black mist that devoured the flames and slowly enveloped the demon’s exposed skin.

“Guh… guh…”

The demon made a hoarse sound. One of his scarlet eyes was wide open. When he opened his mouth, the mist poured in, silencing him.

Lan Wu stood motionless, watching his body quickly wither, becoming dry and twisted. It was then devoured by the black mist. She felt an indescribable terror and instinctively held her breath.

After the demon completely disappeared, the sword, now alone, wobbled slightly before flying back into the air, hovering silently.

Lan Wu paused, staring at it. She had a feeling that something terrible was about to happen.

Sure enough, after a moment of silence, it buzzed again.

The sword trembled, gradually splitting into a second, third, and fourth sword… The sound was like a death chant. When the sound stopped, there were nearly a hundred sword shadows hanging in the air. Their dark green light flashed, and their sharp blades were covered with dense demonic energy.

They slowly turned to face the stone walls.

After a short pause, the hundreds of sword shadows released a clear cry, falling like stars. The silent abyss was suddenly filled with dozens of black figures, like startled birds, fleeing in every direction.

Lan Wu was startled, watching the demons flying wildly overhead.

She couldn’t help but wonder if she was too oblivious. There were so many demons hiding around her, and she hadn’t noticed a single one.

In the short time she was distracted, screams echoed off the cold stone walls. The familiar shadow appeared, hanging high above, her body completely blended into the darkness. Only her red eyes shone with a bloodthirsty light.

The strange demonic mist spread from her body, blocking off all the escape routes. She casually threw away the corpse in her hand, her lips curving into a smile. She sent a sword shadow flying, piercing through the head of another demon who was trying to flee.

Amid the piercing screams, Lan Wu couldn’t help but gasp. She took a step back. The loose rocks under her feet crunched.

Almost immediately, the sword shadows that were slaughtering the demons in the swirling black mist suddenly changed direction, flying towards her with murderous intent.

She instinctively widened her eyes. “Ah Yue!”

The sword tip halted inches from her face, suspended in midair. The figure in the distance trembled, turning sharply as if waking from a trance. Her striking red eyes stared directly at her, her triumphant smile frozen on her face.

The surviving black demons found an opportunity and scrambled upwards. Ji Lingyue, however, stood there, motionless, making no attempt to stop them.

Lan Wu breathed a sigh of relief. “Aren’t you going to put your swords away?”

Ji Lingyue’s long lashes fluttered. She finally reacted, drawing all the sword shadows back into her sleeve. She flew to Lan Wu, her face pale. “Why are you here?”

Lan Wu smiled. “I’m not that easy to trap.”

Ji Lingyue pursed her lips, her eyes flickering. After a moment, she asked softly, “Did you see everything?”

“Yes.”

Her heart tightened.

She looked at Lan Wu anxiously, quickly averting her gaze. She tried to defend herself, her voice lacking confidence. “I didn’t want you to see that. I, I’m not always so scary…”

Lan Wu nodded. “You were pretty scary.”

The woman stiffened, drooping in front of Lan Wu, her eyelashes fluttering. They quickly became wet with tears.

“What’s wrong?” Lan Wu gently cupped her face. “I didn’t say I hated you. You were so majestic just now.”

Ji Lingyue sniffled, her voice full of grievance. “I know… you probably liked me better the way I was before.”

“Who said that?” Lan Wu smiled. “I’ve always liked you for who you are. Back then, you wanted to be the greatest sword cultivator in the world, and I liked you as that sword cultivator.”

“Now, you want to be the most fearsome demon lord, and I like you as this demon lord.”