There really was a miracle.
As soon as Han Yunxi unleashed her Phoenix energy, the Ganjiang sword spirit weakened significantly. Truthfully speaking, it was less “weakened” and more “ceased to act pushy.”
What was going on?[1]
Everyone exhaled in relief even as they watched on in wonder. Neither Long Feiye nor Gu Beiyue understood why Ganjiang grew submissive even though Han Yunxi had used less Phoenix energy than Nirvana Heart energy.[2]
At this moment, both the Head Honored Elder and Second Honored Elder exclaimed, “Phoenix energy! This is the power of the fire phoenix!” Both of them stared at Han Yunxi in shock.
“Yes, Phoenix energy. She obtained this by chance when pressured by celestial fire in the Medicine Requesting Cave. According to Pill Furnace Master, the Phoenix energy was hidden in her body this entire time until it was awakened,” Long Feiye explained.
Time was too pressing to explain anything to the Honored Elders until now. If their letter from Medicine Requesting Cave had landed in Bai Yanqing’s hands, then neither the Honored Elders nor Master Jianxin had any idea of Han Yunxi’s awakening, or their failed dual cultivation.
Both Honored Elders laughed out loud at the news.
“No wonder! No wonder!” Head Honored Elder shook his head. “It’s really no wonder, ah!”
“Feiye, no wonder your dual cultivation with her failed!” Second Honored Elder chuckled. Both of them had realized after Long Feiye displayed his Nirvana Heart and l.u.s.tbite energies that his dual cultivation was a dud, because the two powers hadn’t been successfully merged. There had been no time to question him about it, and they a.s.sumed Long Feiye had been too busy to start dual cultivating at all. They never thought it was Phoenix energy’s fault.
Pill Furnace Master hadn’t been lying, while Bai Yanqing’s fake letters had tricked them thoroughly.
“Feiye, thank goodness you two took that trip to the pill furnace!” Head Honored Elder sighed with feeling.
“What do you mean?” Han Yunxi grew anxious. She herself thought that since the Phoenix energy wasn’t a type of internal cultivation energy, its strength shouldn’t be measured against Nirvana Heart energy. That’s how she came up with the idea to try it against the Ganjiang sword spirit. Who knew her gamble would pay off?
As Head Honored Elder prepared to explain, the Ganjiang sword spirit flared up again. His eyes grew determined as he ventured to take a bet. Withdrawing his internal energy, he told Second Honored Elder, Gu Beiyue, and Granny You, “All of you back off, have the two of them try!”
Though clueless, the trio listened and drew back. Just like that, the Ganjiang sword spirit instantly weakened as its glow dimmed. Now they could clearly see the ancient sword itself, which was halfway out of its sheath. It was currently floating high above the sword-sealing platform like a n.o.ble sovereign standing against the Heavens while peering at the mult.i.tudes below. Perhaps its origins came from a beautiful love story, but after experiencing millennia of blood and slaughter, the name of “Ganjiang” had s.h.i.+fted from the original swordmaster to that of an ancient sword.
Ganjiang was king of the swords!
Head Honored Elder and the rest gazed upon the blade with a sense of awe and respect. Of course, they were also rejoicing over the fact that the sword hadn’t completely escaped its sheath and gotten out of control. Neither he nor the trio could sense its energy anymore, but Long Feiye and Han Yunxi could clearly feel it gathering on the sword’s body and slowly building up to an explosive finis.h.!.+ This was even more strength than it had showcased before.
“Long Feiye, since we can’t seal it, why not try….” Han Yunxi’s gaze turned ruthless. “Try subduing it instead!”
Could they subdue something they couldn’t even seal? Only Han Yunxi would harbor such wild ambitions. Unexpectedly, Head Honored Elder suddenly shouted, “Feiye, have Yunxi use Phoenix energy to help you subdue Ganjiang, hurry!”
At this, Long Feiye was even more determined to give it a go! He immediately flew up to approach Ganjiang with Han Yunxi following close behind. They stood side by side and soon felt power cras.h.i.+ng like waves against them, trying to push them back. Gripping Han Yunxi’s hand tightly, both of them used l.u.s.tbite and Phoenix energy to contend against the sword. At the same time, Long Feiye reached out his hand towards the treasure sword’s handle. Gathering energy in his palm, he slowly pa.s.sed through the invisible force field of the Ganjiang sword spirit and drew closer to its body. The sword only shuddered in response with resounding clangs. The nearer he drew, the stronger the reaction. Long Feiye soon found it difficult to advance. Meanwhile, Han Yunxi had no idea what to do beyond continuing to channel him with her strength.
Veins began to pop out from the back of Long Feiye’s hand and arm. There were even b.l.o.o.d.y cuts from where the sword qi lashed him. Han Yunxi ached at the sight and finally gave it her all! She too, reached out her hand to rest over Long Feiye’s so they could reach for the sword handle together. Very soon, the harsh sword qi had cut through her sleeves and into her flesh.
“You let go!” Long Feiye snapped furiously.
“I won’t! Not unless you conquer this sword!” Han Yunxi too, was cold and snappy.
Long Feiye’s free hand immediately reached for Han Yunxi’s, who simply moved to add her other hand on top of his. Many times, he was helpless before her obstinacy. Trail after trail of blood emerged from her sleeves like knives slas.h.i.+ng against Long Feiye’s heart. His vision chilled as he suddenly called up all of his l.u.s.tbite energy into his hands. As if waiting for this moment, Han Yunxi did the same, adding her Phoenix energy to his. A ma.s.sive force exploded from their joined hands to blast away the Ganjiang sword spirit’s power!
Long Feiye grabbed Ganjiang’s sword handle with Han Yunxi’s hands on his. Together, the two of them slowly pushed the sword back into its sheath. In a flash, all of Ganjiang’s energy disappeared. Long Feiye soon took the sword and exchanged smiles with Han Yunxi. The energy they felt just then were exactly the same as their dual cultivation.
Could anyone in the world stop a couple whose hearts were united as one?
Long Feiye lowered his head to kiss Han Yunxi on the forehead before looking helplessly at Han Yunxi’s cut-riddled hands with an aching heart. On the other hand, Han Yunxi was thrilled. “Long Feiye, since Ganjiang’s already in its sheath, just give me Profound Frost Sword as a gift.”
It was rare for Han Yunxi to ask him for presents, but Long Feiye refused.
“I can’t give you Profound Frost Sword, but give me some time and I’ll gift you the Moye treasure sword.”[3] As Long Feiye finished, he prepared to take Han Yunxi back to the others, but she stopped him.
She didn’t care that the others were waiting, or that the Honored Elders were going to give them an explanation about their dual cultivation and the Phoenix energy. Tugging at Long Feiye, she asked, “If you can’t give it to me, who will you give it to?”
“I’m saving it,” Long Feiye smoothed out his lips to resist grinning.
“Saving it for who?” Han Yunxi asked. It was rare for her to ask for something in the first place, much less be refused. She was certain there was a plot at play. After all, plenty of people wanted Profound Frost Sword, Duanmu Yao amongst them.
Long Feiye smiled wordlessly. Now Han Yunxi was even more certain he was planning to give the sword away to someone else. Other things might merit discussion, but not Profound Frost Sword! Long Feiye had wielded the blade for over a decade. It had been with him longer that she, and both of them had shared the sword during their nightly dual cultivation sessions. Its sentimental value was too great. Han Yunxi would rather give up Moye than Profound Frost Sword.
“Just who are you giving it to?! Are you telling me or not?” Han Yunxi demanded seriously.
Long Feiye finally went to whisper in her ear, “Can we save it for our daughter?”
Han Yunxi was struck speechless before she burst out laughing. After a long time, she finally asked, “Why not to our son?” He was going to be a future emperor someday, yet he asked after their daughter instead of their son? What was Han Yunxi to say?
“A daughter would resemble you, so I like daughters,” Long Feiye said in a rare moment of bluntness.
Han Yunxi looked at him. Unable to avoid the topic any longer, she simply replied, “Your Highness, chenqie will remember.”
If the anxious group below heard what they were talking about now, how would they feel? At last, Long Feiye flew down with Han Yunxi. They were immediately surrounded on all sides, even by Gu Beiyue, whose usual calm was now belied by an expression of joy. What a serendipitous turn of events! Their original plan to seal Ganjiang had ended up subduing the sword instead.
“It must be them! It must be!” Head Honored Elder cried.
“Head Honored Elder, you…” Han Yunxi still didn’t know why Head Honored Elder said it was lucky they’d gone to find the pill furnace. What was going on?
“If Han Yunxi hadn’t awakened the Phoenix energy within her, they would have finished their dual cultivation ages ago. But since it was hidden inside her, it would have caused the dual cultivation to fail all the same.” Head Honored Elder was breathless with excitement as he spoke.
“Cultivating l.u.s.tbite energy requires both yin and yang—a stronger power paired with a weak one as master and a.s.sistant. If Yunxi is too strong, there are only two options. One is for Feiye to find another dual cultivation partner, while the other is to find weapons that can be dually subdued by the l.u.s.tbite and Phoenix energies. These weapons would have to be yin and strong, weak and strong, and a.s.sist your dual cultivation to succeed.”
Now everyone understood why Head Honored Elder was so moved.
“Just then, Long Feiye and Han Yunxi used l.u.s.tbite and Phoenix energy to subdue Ganjiang, a couple’s sword Moye. As yin and yang, this is exactly what Long Feiye and her are looking for.”
In other words, they had to thank the pill furnace for luring out Han Yunxi’s Phoenix energy. Otherwise, they might still be wondering why their dual cultivation failed! Now they had a way to break through it.
“Feiye, thank goodness you two came,” Head Honored Elder now turned serious. “After the dual cultivation failed, things would have been unsalvageable after a year. Both of you would have entered cultivation deviation and killed each other!”
Both Long Feiye and Han Yunxi grew fearful in hindsight at the possibility. They looked toward Gu Beiyue. Although the choice they made to come here first was ruthless, it was the right choice in the end. While everyone was pondering over the turn of events, Granny You suddenly exclaimed in alarm.
“Gu Qishao!”
1. It’s the MC’s special snowflake powers, duh!
2. Even the translator couldn’t figure out why this wasn’t one of the obvious choices to try when nothing else was working instead of going “ok no hope we better give up now lol.”
3. I can’t remember but I a.s.sume LFY and GQS agreed on this beforehand. Otherwise, it sounds like he’s just gonna wrench the thing out of GQS first, no questions asked. :/