Chapter 65
Because of Chu Jin's situation, Yu Sui's sense of crisis grew heavier.
She thought about this Dragon Slaying Cave challenge, wondering if she should go coax Sheng Hao into taking her along to break through and first obtain a Heavenly Mechanism Art to sustain herself.
So Yu Sui carried a food box to the School of Names to find Sheng Hao.
By Xiaoyao Pool, Sheng Hao was talking with Mu Mengbai. Seeing Yu Sui, he waved to signal her over.
Mu Mengbai watched Yu Sui slowly walking over from the opposite riverbank, rubbing his hands: "How about it, did our talk last night work? Little sister finally came around and is even taking the initiative to find you."
Sheng Hao rarely didn't have a sarcastic expression, but nodded with considerable satisfaction: "She's still very smart, gets it with just a hint."
Xiaoyao Pool had too many tributary streams, some long and winding with rushing water. The splashing sounds made people standing by the water have to shout back and forth to talk.
Fortunately, the stream before them was gentle and calm, shallow enough for diving, with many disciples walking around in the water looking for stones.
Yu Sui stepped on the large stones in the river to reach the opposite bank without wetting her skirt hem. As soon as she approached, she heard Sheng Hao telling Mu Mengbai: "Don't worry, thanks to you last year I got into the dragon head Ye Pool. This time I'll definitely take you to fight our way back."
Mu Mengbai put his arm around Sheng Hao's shoulder, smiling brightly: "That's good, that's good. We good brothers give and take, absolutely perfect."
Yu Sui paused slightly. Before the two could look over, she reacted quickly and called out: "Third Brother."
She walked over and set down the food box, saying to Sheng Hao: "I didn't know Senior Brother Mu was here too. I only brought enough for one person. Will there be enough to eat?"
Mu Mengbai, still with his arm around Sheng Hao's shoulder, smiled at Yu Sui with squinted eyes: "Let your brother eat here, we two will go to the dining hall. There'll be enough."
Sheng Hao's gaze warned Mu Mengbai as he told Yu Sui: "We two will eat here."
Mu Mengbai silently withdrew his hand: "Who are you 'we two' with?"
Yu Sui smiled: "Then I'll head off first."
"Hey!" Mu Mengbai wanted to leave with Yu Sui but was grabbed back by Sheng Hao. "Little sister, take me with you! Dining hall! My treat!"
Yu Sui sighed inwardly. Indeed, relationships needed time to build. With Sheng Hao owing Mu Mengbai a favor, he couldn't possibly take his First Realm little sister to leisurely break through Dragon Slaying Cave.
Senior Brother also had to help Zhongli Shan, and there were quite a few people targeting Senior Brother. Bringing her would just increase the difficulty.
Better figure it out herself.
Yu Sui raised her hand to rub her somewhat sore neck, walking past the deep water area.
Splash sounds came from the water surface as several disciples broke through, all cursing. After diving down for so long, they hadn't seen any stones with names.
Yan Xiaochuan shook the water from his hair. From the corner of his eye, he inadvertently glimpsed a graceful figure passing by on the shore, was stunned by her beauty, and turned to look, but the person had already walked far away.
……
Yu Sui went to the Yin-Yang Five Elements Field to wait for Li Jin Shuang and Xue Mushi to come open the formation.
Breath Soil wasn't her power, Strange Fire wasn't her power either, but Divine Mechanism: Heavenly Eye should be, right?
The former was an accident no one wanted, and with only half the Breath Soil, it was harmful with no benefit to her, simply a burden.
Strange Fire was even worse.
Its danger level exceeded even Breath Soil.
Divine Mechanism Arts, as innate mystical abilities, surely couldn't be as unreliable as the previous two, right?
Yu Sui supported her face with both hands, her gaze vacant, recalling all the events along this journey. Before she could get into the right mindset, she saw Li Jin Shuang and Xue Mushi walking over from the distance.
Because of last night's "waiting and being stood up" incident, Xue Mushi was watching his Wind-Listening Ruler today, waiting for Yu Sui and Li Jin Shuang to say they'd arrived before setting out. Unexpectedly, Yu Sui came so early tonight, and these two happened to have nothing else to do, so they both hurried over.
Yu Sui waved to the two and stood up.
She asked Li Jin Shuang with a smile: "Shu Chujun didn't pester you with trouble, did she?"
Li Jin Shuang shook her head.
Shu Chujun had no opportunity during the day and was probably waiting in the dormitory now, planning to question Li Jin Shuang when she returned.
Xue Mushi said: "Seems like someone else followed her over too."
He gestured with his eyes toward the rear.
Yu Sui and Li Jin Shuang also saw. Usually no one came to this area, but today Li Jin Shuang had stolen the spotlight, attracting more curious people, though they hadn't expected anyone to secretly tail and follow.
Li Jin Shuang felt somewhat embarrassed: "I'll go chase them away."
"No need to bother. They can't enter the Military Formation anyway." Yu Sui didn't care much, turning to open the formation with the star chart, entering Asura Hell.
Blood-colored starfire descended from the sky. Yu Sui looked toward the city-guarding general ahead, shocked by its presence every time she entered.
The distant city-guarding general seemed to only patrol at its feet, not looking toward the distance.
"This time your Sword Spirit won't cut us down too, will it?" Xue Mushi asked Li Jin Shuang.
Li Jin Shuang was silent for a moment, then said softly: "Not certain, but I'll try my best."
Hearing this, Yu Sui and Xue Mushi both stepped back, keeping their distance from her.
Li Jin Shuang: "......"
Yu Sui said: "You summon your Sword Spirit first, we'll act based on the situation."
Xue Mushi nodded repeatedly, while arranging the Energy Stabilization talisman papers.
When Li Jin Shuang gripped her sword, she felt no hesitation, more peaceful than before. She had prepared to face everything. Her sword-holding hand reversed, pointing the blade downward, summoning her Sword Spirit.
The massive creature brought huge shadows and deafening sword cries, materializing behind Li Jin Shuang. White hot breath exhaled from four skeletal skulls, eight long arms flexibly rotating the blades in their hands.
This time the Sword Spirit didn't attack Yu Sui and Xue Mushi, but these two could see its fighting spirit was high. Almost without waiting for the formation evil spirits to approach actively, it had already sent countless sword blades flying over and let out deafening sword cries and roars.
The ground trembled. Yu Sui sensed something wrong. The number of attacking evil spirits was more than usual, as if responding to the Sword Spirit's provocation and pressure with even stronger power.
The evil spirits that could previously be intimidated by the Sword Spirit's sound barrier attacks showed no such effect this time. They roared, charging over with equally high fighting spirit.
But wasn't the star chart formation supposed to be a dead formation without a master's control?
Yu Sui seized a sword to receive an evil spirit's attack, the clashing swords sparking. She could feel the evil spirit's attack was stronger than before.
In their standoff, the evil spirit bared its pale, sharp fangs, emitting threatening growls from its throat. Its dark golden eyes turned into cold vertical pupils, reflecting Yu Sui's face in the burning flames.
Clear sword cries approached from far to near. The evil spirit's sword techniques were swift and powerful, using swordsmanship never seen before. Yu Sui was forced to retreat step by step, only able to dodge.
The self-consciousness separated by Soul Control's third level could resonate with Divine Mechanism Art: Heavenly Eye.
Yu Sui recalled that every time she resonated with "Heavenly Eye," it was when she didn't know Nine Schools Arts yet and hadn't mobilized Five Elements energy.
This meant that in the instant of using Divine Mechanism Arts, she couldn't use Five Elements energy.
But Ghost Way School's "Soul Control" separation of self-consciousness compensated for Divine Mechanism Arts' usage flaw. While Soul Control's second level used Five Elements energy to materialize Nine Schools Arts, the third level could also use Divine Mechanism Arts.
At this moment, Yu Sui could only use "Divine Mechanism: Heavenly Eye" to capture how others' Five Elements energy flowed, such as Li Jin Shuang's Sword Spirit attacks and the evil spirits' sword technique attacks. Because she knew the attack patterns in advance from captured Five Elements energy, she could dodge one step ahead.
In the midst of battle, Yu Sui spared a thought: when Master said she needed to learn Soul Control's third level to be considered initiated, did he really not know that only at the third level could Divine Mechanism Arts be used?
Her sword was severed. Yu Sui snapped back to attention, using Wind-Riding Techniques to spin and create distance as the blade grazed her nose tip.
Heavenly Eye activated. Her speed and reactions, each time narrowly escaping death under the evil spirits' swordsmanship, her timing always just perfect, always just barely enough.
Golden Five Elements energy ignited around Yu Sui for protection. As she broke through the evil spirit encirclement, she suddenly noticed the massive creature ahead. One of the Sword Spirit's four skulls had been staring at her from beginning to end.
That fixed stare revealed wariness.
The evil spirits' attacks were swift and fierce, too numerous. All three were forced to retreat, fleeing backward.
While Li Jin Shuang covered the rear, a low voice unlike humans suddenly echoed in her mind: "Be careful of that woman."
"Too dangerous."
Sword Spirits protected their masters, so they would sense any threatening power.
Li Jin Shuang's Sword Spirit was very special, possessing self-awareness, but its protective instincts remained.
Its perception was sharper and more accurate than other Sword Spirits.
Li Jin Shuang glanced at Yu Sui, who was retreating due to the evil spirits, her brows slightly furrowed as she responded: "She's not a threat."
The Sword Spirit could still sense that threatening power, lofty and looking down on everything, capable of crushing them, bringing fear, making them powerless to resist. But since Li Jin Shuang said so, it didn't act on its own.
Unknowingly, the three were forced by evil spirits deep into the reed marshes. Yu Sui stopped at the shore, seeing across the water a mass of black-armored cavalry, their Divine Soul Light Cores dotting the dim sky like golden stars.
Yu Sui's gaze paused as she looked at the figure across the shore.
Another Yu Sui walked leisurely from the imposing black-armored cavalry to the front. Her red skirt hem brushed lightly over the shore grass, her dress ornaments chiming softly, her expression composed. Her casual movement demonstrated she was the Military Formation's master.
Yu Sui looked at the Strange Fire-materialized "her."
She stopped barefoot on the opposite shore, smiling as she said to Yu Sui: "Since you're eager to grow stronger, why not use my power?"
In the clear river water, as black and white fish crossed, black starfire drifted up from the opposite shore.
Orange-gold radiant light rose in Yu Sui's eyes. Without hesitation, she turned and shouted to Xue Mushi: "Get out!"
Xue Mushi reacted extremely quickly. He hadn't wanted to keep pushing anyway. With today's increased evil spirit attack power, he feared continuing would upgrade these evil spirits to Thirteenth Realm.
All floating talisman papers ignited simultaneously. With Xue Mushi's trigram art Energy Stabilization and Yu Sui's Five Elements Light Core expansion, they disrupted the Military Formation's Five Elements energy balance.
Yu Sui was also anxious today. In her urgency activating Divine Mechanism Heavenly Eye, she saw clearly for the first time the current Five Elements energy flow in Military Formation: Asura Hell.
Power materialized before her eyes as streams of character curse patterns, displayed in ways she could instantly understand. Between heaven and earth stood rotating curse pattern light pillars, dense character curse patterns corresponding to the shattered starfire in the Military Formation, the wind tainted with blood, the evil spirits constantly born from flames, and so on.
When Yu Sui returned to the Yin-Yang Five Elements Field, golden morning light was dazzling, making her instinctively raise her hand to shield her eyes.
The final scene she witnessed, that was Heavenly Eye's power, right?
Xue Mushi sat down exhaustedly, gasping for breath, raising his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead, looking up at Yu Sui: "Your power got stronger again, didn't it?"
Li Jin Shuang also looked at Yu Sui.
Tonight everyone had noticed the abnormal power of the evil spirits in the Military Formation.
The Military Formation's power should change according to the person opening it.
Yu Sui rubbed her eyes, blinked again, and said softly: "But I'm still First Realm."
Xue Mushi looked at her and silently uttered: "Hiding your true abilities."
This time Yu Sui scratched her head, deciding to go to the Ghost Way Saint Hall to ask Master for clarification.