When the first ray of morning sunlight pierced through the clouds, Yun Qingyu was already standing on the stone steps outside the Sword Pavilion. He took a deep breath, suppressing the thread of restless black Qi roiling inside his body. Last night, he had tried seven different methods to dispel this bizarre entity, only to watch it grow slightly stronger instead.
"Senior Brother Yun has arrived quite early."
A voice like a clear spring came from behind. Yun Qingyu turned around to see Chu Yao dressed in white as pristine as snow, the longsword at her waist casting a pale blue halo in the morning light. What surprised him even more was that as Chu Yao drew closer, the agitation of the black Qi inside him miraculously subsided.
"Junior Sister Chu." Yun Qingyu cupped his fists in greeting, though his gaze couldn't help lingering for a split second on the longsword at the young woman's waist. "This sword..."
"My father has been waiting inside the pavilion for some time." Chu Yao smiled faintly, seamlessly dodging the subject as she led him toward the grand entrance of the Sword Pavilion.
The moment he stepped into the Sword Pavilion, Yun Qingyu trembled all over. The interior space was far vaster than it appeared from the outside, with over a thousand ancient swords of various shapes hanging on the four walls, each radiating a unique Sword Will. These Swords Wills intertwined to form an invisible pressure that made even the circulation of his spiritual power sluggish.
"To remain completely composed under this pressure while still in the Qi Condensation Stage—you are the first."
The voice came from deep within the Sword Pavilion. Yun Qingyu raised his eyes to see a middle-aged man in grey robes standing with his hands behind his back. His facial features bore a seventy-percent resemblance to Chu Yao's, but his eyes were as sharp as the edge of a blade.
"Disciple Yun Qingyu pays respects to Elder Chu." Yun Qingyu bowed respectfully, a tumultuous storm raging in his heart. In his past life, the Xuantian Sect never had an Elder surnamed Chu! This person was at least at the Nascent Soul Stage; where in the world did he come from?
Elder Chu's gaze was like lightning as it swept over Yun Qingyu. "There is a power within you that does not belong to you."
Yun Qingyu's heart skipped a beat, and just as he was about to explain, he saw Elder Chu raise a hand to stop him. "No need to say more. Yao'er, fetch the Jiuxiao Sword Box."
Chu Yao acknowledged the order and left, returning shortly with a pitch-black sword box. The sword box looked ordinary, yet it caused every ancient sword in the pavilion to hum simultaneously, as if bowing to a monarch.
"This is a legacy left behind by an ancient sword immortal." Elder Chu gently stroked the sword box. "For three hundred years, no one has been able to open it. Last night, it suddenly stirred abnormally, and today you appeared at the Sword Pavilion..."
Yun Qingyu stared at the sword box, inexplicably feeling a sense of familiarity. Just as he was lost in thought, the black Qi inside him suddenly rebelled, surging straight along his meridians toward his right hand!
"Careful!" Chu Yao cried out in alarm.
Yun Qingyu's right hand rose uncontrollably, and he slammed his palm onto the sword box. The instant the black Qi made contact with the sword box, blinding golden light erupted, and the entire Sword Pavilion shook violently!
"Clang—"
The sword box flew open, and a stream of golden light plunged into the space between Yun Qingyu's eyebrows. The scenery before his eyes changed abruptly; in a daze, he saw a blood-stained firmament where nine streaks of sword light crisscrossed the heavens and earth, finally transforming into four archaic characters that branded themselves into his mind—*Jiuxiao Sword Art*!
"Ah!" Yun Qingyu clutched his head and dropped to his knees, the massive torrent of information nearly bursting his sea of consciousness. Even worse, the black Qi inside him seized the opportunity to expand wildly, occupying half of his dantian in the blink of an eye!
"Just as I thought..." Elder Chu's expression was complex. "The Tiansha lonely star destiny and the Jiuxiao Sword Box are mutually reinforcing yet mutually restricting."
"Father, save him quickly!" Chu Yao said anxiously.
Elder Chu pressed his fingers together like a sword and tapped the space between Yun Qingyu's eyebrows. "Steady your mind and center your focus! Follow my Sword Will and guide it!"
A refreshing Sword Will poured into his body, helping Yun Qingyu sort out his chaotic spiritual power. Seizing the opportunity, he circulated his spiritual power according to the *Jiuxiao Sword Art* mental cultivation method he had just acquired, and was astonished to discover that this sword art could actually refine the black Qi!
Three hours later, Yun Qingyu slowly opened his eyes. The black Qi in his body had been temporarily suppressed, and a wisp of golden sword Qi now resided in his dantian, forming a delicate balance with the black Qi.
"Many thanks to the Elder for saving my life." Yun Qingyu bowed solemnly.
Elder Chu waved his hand. "No need to thank me. Since the Jiuxiao Sword Box has chosen you as its master, it is Heaven's will. From today onward, you will come to the Sword Pavilion for two hours every day at the Hour of Chen to cultivate."
Overjoyed, Yun Qingyu was about to express his gratitude when he heard Elder Chu change the subject. "However, there is a condition."
"Elder, please speak."
"Yao'er will cultivate alongside you." Elder Chu looked at the two of them meaningfully. "Her physique is special and can help you suppress the Tiansha Qi."
Yun Qingyu looked at Chu Yao. The young woman's earlobes were slightly flushed, but she nodded firmly. Only then did he notice that Chu Yao was radiating a unique, pristine spiritual aura—the very key to subduing the black Qi.
When he left the Sword Pavilion, the setting sun had already dipped below the horizon. The first-tier incantation of the *Jiuxiao Sword Art* was clearly legible in Yun Qingyu's mind, and the sword Qi and black Qi within him kept each other in check, forming a perilous equilibrium.
"Senior Brother Yun." Chu Yao stopped him at the entrance of the Sword Pavilion and handed him a jade slip. "These are the insights into the Dao of the Sword compiled by my father. Perhaps they will be of help to you."
Yun Qingyu took the jade slip, his fingertips accidentally brushing against Chu Yao's hand, causing both of them to shudder simultaneously. Even stranger was that at this exact instant, the sword Qi in his body suddenly grew active, while the black Qi retreated by a fraction.
"See you tomorrow." Chu Yao hurriedly turned and left, her retreating figure looking somewhat flustered.
Yun Qingyu gazed in the direction she had left, deep in thought. Upon returning to his quarters, he eagerly studied the jade slip and discovered that it not only recorded exquisite insights into swordsmanship, but also appended a page of Chu Yao's personal annotations at the end.
*"The Jiuxiao Sword Art requires nurturing the sword with righteousness; strictly avoid excessive slaughter..."* The handwriting was neat and pretty, with a small smiling face drawn in the margin.
Yun Qingyu couldn't help smiling faintly. In a hundred years of cultivation in his past life, he had grown accustomed to deceit and treachery; such a pure state of mind was truly rare. Just as he was pondering, hasty footsteps sounded from outside.
"Junior Brother Yun! Something major has happened!" An unfamiliar inner-sect disciple rushed in frantically. "Senior Brother Lu has brought people to block Junior Sister Chu!"
Yun Qingyu's gaze turned chillingly cold. In his past life, Lu Mingxuan was always fond of bullying the weak, but he hadn't expected this dog to still be unable to change its shit-eating ways in this lifetime. He grabbed his sword and dashed out the door; the sword Qi inside his body sensed his killing intent and actually emitted a ringing *clang*.
On the bluestone path halfway up the mountain, Lu Mingxuan and three lackeys had surrounded Chu Yao in the middle. His face was pale, making it obvious that his injuries from yesterday had not yet healed, but his eyes were filled with malice.
"What is the relationship between Junior Sister Chu and that Yun Qingyu? Why did you go to his quarters alone?" Lu Mingxuan asked with a sarcastic sneer.
Chu Yao looked at him calmly. "That is none of Senior Brother Lu's concern."
"Bitch!" Lu Mingxuan suddenly flew into a rage. "Don't think that just because you have your father backing you up, you can act so arrogant and despotic! Today I will..."
"What will you do?"
A chilling voice came from behind. Lu Mingxuan stiffened all over and slowly turned around to see Yun Qingyu standing there with his sword in hand, the killing intent in his eyes practically solidifying.
"Yun... Yun Qingyu..." Lu Mingxuan subconsciously took two steps back, then flew into a rage out of embarrassment. "Let's attack together! He just entered the inner sect, how strong can he be?"
Four cultivators in the late stage of Qi Condensation struck at the same time, the light of their spells illuminating the mountain path. Yet Yun Qingyu remained unhurried, swinging his sword according to the trajectory of the first form of the *Jiuxiao Sword Art*.
"First Form of Jiuxiao—Cloud-Breaker!"
The sword light shot forth like a rainbow, instantly shattering all the residual spell energy without losing momentum, carving a trench over a foot deep right at the feet of the four men! Amidst flying gravel and debris, Lu Mingxuan and his cohorts stood dumbstruck; had that sword gone forward by even three more inches, they would have been dead for sure!
"Scram." Yun Qingyu sheathed his sword. "If I catch you harassing Junior Sister Chu again, the next sword won't hold back."
Lu Mingxuan's face alternated between green and white before he finally fled in disarray, supported by his lackeys. Yun Qingyu turned to look at Chu Yao. "Are you alright?"
Chu Yao shook her head, a strange brilliance shining in her eyes. "Junior Brother Yun's sword just now... has already captured three parts of the true intent of the Jiuxiao Sword Art."
Yun Qingyu was startled. "You can tell?"
"I..." Chu Yao hesitated, then finally said softly, "I am naturally sensitive to the Dao of the Sword. It's getting late, would Senior Brother mind escorting me back to the Sword Pavilion?"
Under the moonlight, the two of them walked side by side. Yun Qingyu discovered that as long as he stayed close to Chu Yao, the sword Qi within him would grow docile, while the black Qi was suppressed and unable to stir. What on earth was hidden inside this young woman?
When they reached the small grove outside the Sword Pavilion, Chu Yao suddenly stopped in her tracks. "Senior Brother Yun, there is something you must know."
"Please speak."
"The black Qi inside you... is not ordinary heavenly karmic backlash." Chu Yao's expression was grave. "That is the primordial demonic Qi of the ancient 'Tiansha Demonic Venerable', which should have completely dissipated with the great war between immortals and demons..."
Yun Qingyu's heart shook violently. "How do you know about this?"
Instead of answering directly, Chu Yao withdrew a cyan jade pendant from her bosom. "This is the 'Qingxin Pendant' left behind by my mother; it can help you suppress the demonic Qi."
The jade pendant felt warm upon contact, and Yun Qingyu instantly felt refreshed and clear-headed. Just as he was about to express his gratitude, a cold laugh echoed from the grove:
"Right where I expected them."
More than a dozen figures dressed in black darted out from the woods, their leader wearing a silver mask, emanating an aura that was unmistakably at the late stage of Foundation Establishment! Even more terrifyingly, all of these people were wreathed in the same demonic Qi that shared the exact same origin as the one inside Yun Qingyu!
"Remnants of Tiansha..." Chu Yao's face turned pale as snow, and she instinctively grabbed Yun Qingyu's arm. "They're here for the Jiuxiao Sword Art!"
The silver-masked man let out a sinister laugh. "The Chu family girl is indeed clever. Too bad all of you are going to die today!"
"Run!" Yun Qingyu shoved Chu Yao aside, drew his sword, and met the enemy. Although he had just obtained the legacy of the sword art, facing a late Foundation Establishment cultivator was still like a mantis trying to stop a chariot. At the very first clash, the skin between his thumb and forefinger split open, and his longsword nearly flew out of his hand!
"Senior Brother Yun!" Chu Yao didn't run away; instead, she drew her sword and joined the fray. Her swordsmanship was light, nimble, and ethereal, actually managing to temporarily pin down two of the black-clad men.
"Courting death!" The silver-masked man roared angrily, his demonic Qi surging as he struck Chu Yao's back with a palm. Yun Qingyu's eyes split with fury, and the sword Qi and demonic Qi within his body went completely berserk at the same time!
"Second Form of Jiuxiao—Sky-Rift!"
At the most critical juncture, a streak of sword light ten times more formidable than before erupted from the tip of Yun Qingyu's sword! This single strike drained every ounce of his spiritual power, yet it also forced the silver-masked man back three steps!
"Pfft!" Yun Qingyu spewed a mouthful of blood and dropped to one knee. Forcibly executing the second form damaged his meridians, and the demonic Qi seized the chance to launch a counterattack, beginning to erode his consciousness.
"Senior Brother!" Chu Yao lunged to his side, unhesitatingly pressing the Qingxin Pendant against his chest. The jade pendant bloomed with a soft cyan light, temporarily stabilizing the demonic Qi.
The silver-masked man sneered. "Struggling on the brink of death." He raised his hand to condense a gigantic palm radiating malevolent demonic Qi, slamming it down toward the two of them from above!
At this life-or-death moment, a streak of sword light flew from beyond the skies, effortlessly shattering the demonic palm. Immediately afterward, the entire grove was enveloped by a vast and mighty Sword Will, trapping all the black-clad men like flies stuck in mud, completely unable to move.
"Daring to lay a hand on my daughter—you're courting death!" Elder Chu's figure appeared in midair, nine dazzling spiritual swords suspended behind him.
Seeing that the situation had turned sour, the silver-masked man crushed a talisman and transformed into black smoke to escape. The rest of the black-clad men weren't as fortunate; every single one of them was executed under Elder Chu's sword.
"Father! Quick, save Senior Brother Yun!" Chu Yao cried out tearfully.
Elder Chu landed beside Yun Qingyu, probed his condition, and his expression changed drastically. "Demonic Qi has invaded his heart... We can only take him to the 'Sword Washing Pool' and try our luck."
Amidst his fading consciousness, Yun Qingyu felt himself being picked up, hearing Chu Yao's voice laced with sobbing by his ear: "Hold on... I'm begging you..."
He wanted to reply, but plunged into endless darkness. In the darkness, a voice filled with temptation echoed deep within his heart:
"Accept my power... and you will be able to protect the people you wish to protect..."
Was this the whisper of the demonic Qi, or the true yearning of his own heart? Yun Qingyu struggled in the darkness as the hatred of his past life and the warmth of his present intertwining within his mind...