Firmament Sword

”Xu Luo, I don’t know why, but I’m willing to trust you. I also like how I feel when I’m with you…”

Xu Luo looked at Phoenix, completely baffled. He had no idea what she was trying to say to him.

Phoenix continued, ”But my master raised me since I was a child. We’re as close as mother and daughter. I hope that when we see her in a moment, if she says anything unpleasant, you won’t take it to heart. To be honest, I’m not really expecting you to cure her. I just want her to meet you.”

Xu Luo nodded and smiled at Phoenix. ”Don’t be so serious. You don’t have to worry about anything. The fact that I could go from a body too frail to cultivate to the Great Sword Master Realm in just one year proves I have a few tricks up my sleeve. So, relax!”

Phoenix laughed. ”I know.”

This intelligent girl had never been able to see through Xu Luo, but her intuition told her he was no ordinary person.

She had never schemed against him. From the very beginning, she had been friendly toward Xu Luo, and that was before her master had suffered a Qi deviation.

Therefore, Phoenix had befriended Xu Luo because she genuinely saw his potential and wanted to be his friend.

Naturally, Xu Luo understood this as well.

He followed Phoenix all the way into the Sect Leader’s courtyard.

Several young women were in the courtyard. When they saw Phoenix, their faces lit up as they called out, ”Senior Sister!” Then they looked curiously at Xu Luo, dressed in the uniform of a low-ranking Merak disciple.

They had never seen Xu Luo before, nor had they ever seen a low-ranking disciple bold enough to walk shoulder-to-shoulder with the Saintess.

But none of them asked any questions, only sneaking glances at him.

”Your junior sisters are quite respectful of you,” Xu Luo said to Phoenix with a soft laugh.

Phoenix sighed softly. ”They’re the only ones who truly respect me.”

”Don’t worry,” Xu Luo said. ”Soon, everyone will.”

”I hope so.” Phoenix assumed Xu Luo was just trying to comfort her.

Arriving at the door where Li Wenxi lived, Phoenix said softly, ”Master, this disciple has brought a friend to see you.”

”COUGH COUGH… Come in.” A pair of coughs sounded from within, followed by a woman’s weak voice.

Phoenix carefully pushed the door open. After letting Xu Luo in, she gently closed it behind them and led him into the inner chamber.

An exquisitely beautiful woman who looked to be in her late twenties was sitting on a soft armchair. The haggardness of her expression couldn’t conceal her stunning beauty.

Phoenix was already a great beauty, but compared to the woman before him, she still had a touch of youthful immaturity.

The woman before him was like a perfectly ripe fruit, gorgeous and tantalizing. Even an inexperienced young man like Xu Luo would feel himself blush and become flustered under her gaze.

But what made Xu Luo’s heart race even more was the faint stirring from the Kaiyang Star Soul in his Dantian!

”So you’re the Xu Luo that Phoenix often mentions?” Although the woman’s voice was weak, it was soft and melodic. Her gentle eyes swept over Xu Luo.

”Junior Xu Luo greets Senior!” Xu Luo bowed respectfully.

The woman before him looked young, but she was of the same generation as people like Cao Tianyi and Qiushuiduan. Her true age was certainly far greater than her exquisite face let on.

”Dispense with the formalities. Phoenix often mentioned she had a good friend in the secular world. I’m very happy to finally meet you today.” Though the woman was weak, her words and actions carried a natural authority. Still, it was clear she had taken a liking to Xu Luo.

Xu Luo glanced at Phoenix, who was standing quietly to the side, and said with a smile, ”Having a friend like Phoenix is my good fortune.”

”Heh, whether it’s good fortune or not… that’s hard to say right now.” The woman looked up, her gaze burning as it fixed on Xu Luo. She asked softly, ”If I were to ask you to take Phoenix and leave Merak, would you dare?”

”Master…” Phoenix cried out anxiously from the side.

”Listen to your master.” The woman coughed twice. Phoenix hurried over to attend to her, but the woman waved her off with a soft sigh. ”Your martial uncle’s visit is pointless. The Nine Profound Celestial Heart… while a rare Spirit Medicine, is useless for my condition.”

As she spoke, she gently patted Phoenix’s hand. ”Phoenix, I’m not worried about myself. Life and death are fated. But you are the only one I can’t let go of. You have a stubborn personality; you’re not the type to compromise. Even if you marry yourself off for my sake, you’ll never be happy…”

”For you, Master, I’m willing to do anything.” Phoenix’s voice was soft and almost ethereal, but her tone was firmer than ever before.

”Silly child, I’m already like this. What is there left that I can’t see past? They don’t know about the secret passage. As long as Xu Luo has the courage to take you away, I’ll have no regrets.” Looking at Xu Luo, she said, ”You still haven’t answered me, young man.”

Xu Luo smiled, glancing at the nervous-looking Phoenix. ”Of course I’d dare, but…”

”But what?” The woman looked at Xu Luo.

”But what I’d like to say is, could the Sect Leader allow me to take a look first? To see if I can cure your illness? Then we can discuss such a… disheartening topic,” Xu Luo said.

”You? Cure me?” The woman looked at Xu Luo in surprise, a bitter smile soon appearing on her face as she gently shook her head. ”Heh. Young man, do you even know what’s wrong with me?”

At that moment, Phoenix whispered from the side, ”My master didn’t just suffer a Qi deviation… She was also poisoned.”

”What? Poisoned?” Xu Luo was genuinely surprised now. With Li Wenxi’s power and status, who would dare poison her?

”To be precise, I suffered the Qi deviation *after* being poisoned,” Li Wenxi said flatly. ”Things have already come to this. There’s nothing more to be said.”

”Phoenix, what happened? Who poisoned her? Why are you so calm about it?” Xu Luo asked, looking at Phoenix in complete confusion.

Phoenix gave a bitter smile, glanced at her master, and then said, ”My master did it to herself.”

”She poisoned herself?” Xu Luo stared at Li Wenxi, dumbfounded. He felt like he wasn’t smart enough to process this. ”How is that possible?”

”That day, in her attempt to break through the shackles of the Sword Venerable realm, my master used a uniquely poisonous Spirit Medicine. If the breakthrough succeeded, she would have been able to suppress the toxins and slowly expel them from her body. At the time, she was one hundred percent certain of her success.”

Phoenix continued sorrowfully, ”But who could have guessed that a portion of the medicinal essence of that Spirit Medicine, which had been stored in the sect’s Treasure Room, had been siphoned off by someone? It was unnoticeable under normal circumstances. Only when it was actually being used could one tell, but by then, it was too late.”

”In all of Merak, the only people with the authority to enter the Treasure Room are my master… and the Grand Elder. But the Grand Elder’s prestige in Merak is nearly equal to my master’s! He’s always been known for his impartiality…”

By the time Phoenix finished, Xu Luo had pieced most of it together.

’Li Wenxi had been set up!’

’And she’d been set up so perfectly that even knowing who was behind it, there was nothing she could do!’

’The Grand Elder has the authority to enter the sect’s Treasure Room, which naturally means he has the right to use the Spirit Medicines inside. To do so without prior notice might be a misstep, but it’s hardly a major crime!’

’By the time Li Wenxi used the Spirit Medicine and discovered its potency was insufficient to support her breakthrough, it was already too late.’

’Then, the toxins from that uniquely poisonous Spirit Medicine backlashed, causing Li Wenxi to suffer a direct Qi deviation. The fact that she didn’t die on the spot was a miracle in itself!’

’After something like this, what could Li Wenxi possibly say? Accuse the Grand Elder? All she could do was blame herself for carelessly mentioning to the Grand Elder that she planned to use that particular Spirit Medicine for her breakthrough.’

’But when she said it, only the two of them had been present…’

’So there was no way for anyone to prove that the Grand Elder had deliberately set up Li Wenxi!’

Xu Luo fell silent. The stirring from the Kaiyang Star Soul within him, however, was gradually growing stronger. It was like a hungry baby, desperate to nurse…

”Senior, I’d still like to give it a try. My Cultivation Technique is, er, a little peculiar. If you don’t mind…” Xu Luo said, looking a little hesitant.

”Fine. Since you’re so persistent, go ahead and try,” Li Wenxi said with an indifferent smile. She then looked at Xu Luo. ”How?”

”Um… Just give me your hand, Senior.” In truth, Xu Luo didn’t know how to do it either, but based on past experience, physical contact was always necessary for absorption to occur.

But Li Wenxi was severely poisoned. If he absorbed those toxins, would they affect him? Xu Luo had no idea.

If his Kaiyang Star Soul hadn’t been stirring nonstop, Xu Luo probably wouldn’t have taken such a risk. After all, he and Li Wenxi were practically strangers. Even if he wanted to absorb energy, he didn’t have to do it this way.

Li Wenxi, however, calmly extended her hand to Xu Luo with a light laugh. ”Then let’s give it a try.”

Phoenix watched Xu Luo anxiously. She wasn’t thinking about anything else; in her heart, Li Wenxi was like her own mother, sacred and noble. She just worried, ’Can he really succeed?’

’The Grandmaster-level Pharmacists from the major sects were helpless. Can *he* really do it?’

Xu Luo didn’t look at Phoenix’s questioning gaze. He took a deep breath, reached out, and calmly took Li Wenxi’s soft hand in his.

Instantly, the Kaiyang Star Soul in Xu Luo’s Dantian erupted in a brilliant flare of light!

It was far more intense than the first time his Shaking Light Star Soul had absorbed energy!

A blazing sun, hot as fire!

Violent and fierce!

A torrent of suction force surged out from the Kaiyang Star Soul, rushing along Xu Luo’s arm and straight into the meridians of Li Wenxi’s body.

Li Wenxi, who had been calm and composed, suddenly felt her face flush a deep crimson!

”Ah, Master!” Noticing the change in her master, Phoenix let out a short, sharp gasp.

Then, she saw Li Wenxi slowly close her eyes and immediately clamped a hand over her own mouth.

Li Wenxi hadn’t expected that the young man before her could harbor such a bizarre and powerful force within his body!

Now, even if she wanted to let go, it was completely impossible!

That powerful force charged directly toward her Dantian. A terrifying image even flashed through Li Wenxi’s mind.

A ferocious beast lunged into her Dantian, opened its gaping, bloody maw, and took a massive bite…

The potent toxins mixed in with the True Essence in her Dantian instantly vanished without a trace!

As if they were water vapor, evaporated in an instant!

After encountering that strange power, they all vanished without a trace in a single moment!

Meanwhile, Xu Luo’s forehead was beaded with sweat.

As the conduit for this power, he was enduring an unimaginable amount of pressure!