Jian Wudao said her Sword Bone was covered in dust and spotted by a Saint…
“Saintess, the Pill Master has come to deliver your medicine.”
The leading maidservant approached the lady, bowed her head, and spoke softly.
That snow-white figure also ceased the sword in her hand and slightly lifted her head to glance in the direction of Li Hao and Jiang Xiao Hui.
Time had sculpted her features, but the familiar contours of the past remained.
Li Hao was not mistaken; it indeed was Bian Ruxue.
Only now, she was no longer the girl inseparable from her sword but a stunningly beautiful woman with a calm demeanor that seemed above the mundane world, possessing the grace of an immortal.
Her eyes, serene and deep like lakes on snowy mountains, radiated utmost composure.
And such tranquility often stemmed from profound inner confidence.
“Greeting the Saintess, Xue’er.”
Jiang Xiao Hui stepped forward, bowing deeply.
Although she was a Direct Disciple of Shi Huajin, she was but one of many, and before her stood the Saintess, whose status was even slightly higher than her master’s. More importantly, the one the Saintess aspired to equal in the future was the Saint.
Whether she would succeed in becoming a Saint was uncertain, but at least she possessed such a possibility.
While countless other Martial Artists in the world lacked even a sliver of such a chance.
“Hmm? Who’s he?” Your next read is at My Virtual Library Empire
Bian Ruxue’s gaze swept past the young woman before her, catching scent of the faint medicinal odor on her, which made her feel uncomfortable. Nevertheless, Bian Ruxue did not show it, and instead, her focus landed on the male figure in his twenties behind the woman.
She had noticed his gaze long before, which puzzled her.
His look was different from the covetousness and admiration others concealed when they saw her. It was an indescribable feeling.
Moreover, that feeling, astonishingly, seemed familiar to her.
“He is the Qingfeng Pill Master, who has come with me to deliver the medicine to the Saintess,” Jiang Xiao Hui hurriedly explained.
“Is he a high-ranking Pill Master? Why does he not bow before the Saintess and dares to look directly at her? Does he wish to have his eyeballs gouged out?”
The previously smiling maidservant who guided them suddenly changed her demeanor, berating Li Hao.
“Qingfeng Pill Master is new here and unaware of the etiquettes; I hope the Saintess will forgive him,” Jiang Xiao Hui hastened to say, tugging at Li Hao’s sleeve to urge him to quickly bow and apologize to the Saintess.
Li Hao, too, averted his gaze, feeling a tinge of amusement at the maidservant’s outburst. Though human, she acted like a dog, showing her fangs and hubris only in the presence of her master. The speed of her face-changing was truly astonishing.
“Qingfeng has seen the Saintess.”
Li Hao gave a slight salute, a token of respect.
At that moment, he had no intention of revealing his identity, to avoid complications.
Moreover, the girl he once knew no longer had the same tails he was familiar with.
Once parting ways at the Sword Cottage seven years ago, everything had changed. Now, after more than ten years without seeing each other, whether she remained the person he knew was uncertain.
“What kind of attitude is this…”
The maidservant beside him, seeing Li Hao’s simple gesture of respect, was about to scold him when Bian Ruxue signaled her to let it be, then turned to Li Hao to ask:
“Have we met before?”
Li Hao’s eyes flickered as he said, “Why does the Saintess say this?”
“You resemble someone I know.”
Bian Ruxue spoke softly, unsure why she felt such an association. Clearly, the man before her looked quite different from the one in her memory, and his aura had completely changed, yet she could not help but be reminded of him.
“There are many people in the world, and it’s not uncommon to find similar faces. The Saintess must have mistaken me for someone else.”
Li Hao replied.
Bian Ruxue stared at him for a moment, then fell silent.
Indeed, he remained in the Mortal World, while her master had brought her to the All Saints World, a divide between the holy and the mundane.
Remembering their last farewell, the conversation before the campfire, she pursed her lips slightly. Now, she finally had the chance to ascend to the pinnacle of the Sword Dao and see the summit for herself.
If she could master the Ultimate Sword, she wished to show it to him, just like their promise.
But would he truly be dazzled by that sword?
At the thought, a silent sigh escaped Bian Ruxue’s heart. The Sword Dao pinnacle was a fatal attraction only for Swordsmen. Like her brother, he was always unlike the others, fond of useless diversions, squandering his talent.
Even if she displayed it, he might not understand or appreciate the sword’s intricacies and how precious it was to master it.
Such sharing was doomed to be unrelatable.
Just as they were to each other, she could not see what he yearned for, nor did he understand her passion for the Sword Dao.
Nonetheless, she promised him she’d climb the summit to see what lay beyond and tell him what she saw.
“Are you an Alchemist?”
Bian Ruxue asked gently.
“…Suppose I am.”
Bian Ruxue withdrew her gaze, knowing the person before her could not be Li Hao. When her master had brought her to this Land of All Saints, he was still at Heavenly Gate Pass.
Now, decades had passed in the Mortal World.
With that thought, she sighed softly, saying, “Leave the pills behind, thank you both, Pill Masters.”
She turned, took up her sword, and began to move it once again.
Li Hao noticed that her Sword Intent was that of ice and snow.
Her first superior swordsmanship was the Falling Snow Sword Skill.
Had she continually refined it?
Li Hao wondered if she and Lin Qingyue would confront each other in the upcoming Sword Saint battle?
One embodied the utmost softness in their Sword Intent, the other ice and snow. While similar in nature—one gentle, the other harsh—it was unclear who would prevail.
Li Hao withdrew his gaze, resisting the urge to correct her.
The young girl was no longer the tail he once knew; she had her own master, her own path. He had no right to offer guidance anymore.
Taking out his gourd, Li Hao handed it to the leading maidservant and departed without lingering.
In the courtyard, the silhouettes of this man and woman from the Mortal World once again slowly receded into the distance, neither glancing back.
After returning from Holy Maiden Peak, Li Hao began his own cultivation.
As True Force gathered within him day by day, one day Li Hao suddenly felt strands of energy drift through the void, flowing into his body.
This energy differed from Heaven and Earth Energy; it was an inscrutable force.
After considering it, Li Hao realized that it seemed to be Incense Fire.