In the shadowed corner of the grand wedding hall stood a sword embedded in the chest of a stone statue. Its hilt shimmered with red gemstones, and the blade itself gleamed a deep, obsidian black. It was, without question, the most beautiful and most dangerous sword Wu Xuan had ever seen.
"You're not actually thinking of pulling it out, are you?" Jun Jiu asked, resting her head gently on his shoulder. But that was exactly what Wu Xuan had been considering. With a sword like that, who cared whether Nami ever found his old one?
"You can't do it even if you want to," Jun Jiu said, her voice tinged with amusement. "For three hundred years, no one's been able to move that sword. Not even an inch."
"Is it… some kind of sacred weapon?"
Jun Jiu rose to her feet, the hem of her ceremonial robe brushing the floor like falling petals. She traced her fingers slowly along the sword's hilt. "My dear, have you heard of Wuyin and Tianxing?"
Wu Xuan furrowed his brows, digging through fragments of old scrolls and legends he'd once read. "Oh, right." The memory surfaced like a ripple on water.
Jun Jiu's smile deepened. "Tianxing was the blade of the former God of War. Only two beings have ever wielded it: the war God himself… and Zi Feng, Lord of the Wind." Her expression darkened with a chilling edge as she uttered that name. A sharp glint in her eyes mirrored the blade before them.
"They are twin swords," she continued. "Forged from fallen stars by the Sun himself. Wuyin and Tianxing." She tilted her head and gave Wu Xuan a knowing look. "Do you know who held Wuyin?"
Wu Xuan sighed. "Yue Ling."
Jun Jiu clapped her hands in delight. Around them, the maids, heads bowed and trembling, flinched at the sound as if it signaled their execution.
The realization sank like a stone in Wu Xuan's chest. If this were truly Wuyin, then he wouldn't be able to touch it, let alone wield it.
"But strange, isn't it?" Jun Jiu said softly. "Wuyin has rung twice during this time. The idea is that Tianxing has returned."
Wu Xuan stiffened. If Jun Jiu ever discovered that Yu Lingyu was the reincarnation of Zi Feng, everything would spiral into chaos.
Suddenly, a piercing scream cut through the air.
A maid fell, clutching her bleeding hand, rolling across the marble floor in agony. At the hall's entrance stood a figure bathed in red light. His eyes glowed like molten lava, and his claws, long, jagged, and blackened with blood, resembled those of a demon wolf.
"You damned woman!" Meng Zhi roared. His voice shook the air as he lunged toward Jun Jiu, claws outstretched. "Where's the exit?!"
Jun Jiu froze, then burst into wild laughter. She clapped again, louder this time, sending a jolt through every soul in the room.
Watching from the side, Wu Xuan groaned and rolled his eyes.
"What a fool."
"Meng gongzi, oh Meng gongzi..." Jun Jiu smiled, no, grinned, like a maniac drunk on chaos.
Meng Zhi's patience snapped. With a guttural growl, he lunged forward, claws slicing the air. She twisted away, but his claws grazed her cheek, leaving a red trail that dripped down her porcelain skin.
"Oh, Meng gongzi," she whispered, wiping the blood with the back of her hand. Her eyes burned cold. "Forget the wedding rituals." She dusted off her cloak with eerie calm and locked her gaze on him. "I'll kill you right now."
What followed, Wu Xuan couldn't see clearly. The hall descended into panic as the maids fled screaming. He found himself cornered, a mist curling in from nowhere like a living thing. The only light came from Meng Zhi's blood-red spiritual energy, pulsing like a heart in the fog.
"Listen to the sound…" Wu Xuan muttered, forcing himself to calm.
He shut his eyes.
There, footsteps echoing across the marble floor. A blade dragging along the ground. The clash of claws and cloth. He could sense Jun Jiu's agile movements and Meng Zhi's wild strikes as if watching a dance in his mind.
Then, another step. Different. Lighter. Followed by the unmistakable sound of steel singing through the mist.
"Wu Xuan!" Nami's voice cut through the chaos like a bell.
He reacted instantly, gripping his sword. But before he could move, a haunting flute melody pierced the hall, eerie, warbling, and unearthly. The mist wavered but did not clear completely.
Na Mi's flute!
He gritted his teeth, raised his blade, and focused. Purple static sparked around the weapon.
"Lightning technique…" he whispered. "Razor Light!"
With a thunderous crack, he launched forward, his blade slicing through fog and silence alike. Lightning crackled at the tip, humming with power. He missed Meng Zhi by a hair's breadth but struck Jun Jiu in the lower abdomen. Blood spilled, but before he could land another blow, she twisted away like a ghost.
"There, there now, my dear~" Her voice was taunting, floating like frost through the air.
Wu Xuan didn't pause. He pressed forward with rapid, ruthless strikes. Jun Jiu dodged them all, her movements like wind weaving through blades. Meng Zhi joined in, claws and sword raining down in tandem, but even together, they couldn't catch her.
The flute's song grew louder.
Then, with a final eerie note, the mist vanished.
The hall came into focus, shattered and scorched. Debris littered the floor. Blood smeared the walls. And there she stood: Jun Jiu, upright and waiting beside the Wuyin sword. Despite her bleeding wound, she looked unfazed. Her aura only seemed to grow stronger.
"Lightning, huh?" she said softly, her eyes fixed on Wu Xuan. "How wonderful, my love. I adore it too."
From her belt, she unsheathed a dagger. The hilt twisted like a lightning bolt, crowned with a glowing blue gemstone. The blade pulsed an unnatural blue, and the very air around it exploded in crackling arcs of lightning.
"Let me see whose lightning is stronger," Jun Jiu sneered, her frenzied grin widening.
She thrust her dagger forward. A bolt of electric-blue lightning ripped through the air, wild and shrieking. Wu Xuan braced himself, raising his sword just in time. The bolt crashed into his blade, forcing him back with a crackle of thunder.
"Lightning technique… Purple Ring!" he shouted.
A whirling circle of violet lightning erupted around his sword, rotating faster than the eye could follow. He lunged toward her, aiming to cut her down in one devastating strike. The air howled with pressure, but Jun Jiu only raised her dagger.
The ring of lightning shattered against her weapon like glass.
"Tsk." Meng Zhi's frustration broke through his clenched jaw. "Never mind," he muttered to Wu Xuan, panting, blood streaming from multiple wounds. "It's an Elemental Dagger."
Wu Xuan's eyes narrowed. His chest tightened. Damn it.
That explained it. That dagger wasn't just enchanted, it commanded lightning. His own qi technique was just raw force in comparison.
He gritted his teeth. "Has bad luck fallen on my head?" he muttered bitterly.
But that single second of doubt was enough.
With a sharp whistle and no warning, Jun Jiu redirected her lightning. It struck Meng Zhi with terrifying precision, severing his arm clean at the shoulder.
"Aaaaargh!" Meng Zhi screamed, dropping to one knee. Blood gushed as he clutched the wound, teeth bared in agony. "Damn it!"
"So what if it's an Elemental Dagger?" Wu Xuan said, voice shaking. "I will not lose!"
"We will not lose!" Nami's voice rang clear as she raised the flute to her lips again.
The melody changed, bolder, steadier. Peaceful, but charged with energy.
Wu Xuan surged forward, blade drawn. Blue lightning from Jun Jiu clashed with the violet storm that danced on his sword. The hall trembled as their forces collided. Wu Xuan roared, releasing his lightning technique:
"Razor light!!"
He vanished in a flash and reappeared like a streak of thunder, blasting through Jun Jiu's defenses, but her body barely flinched. Meng Zhi was kicked aside in the aftermath, his weakened body tumbling across the marble. Wu Xuan, though, wasn't immortal. His breathing grew labored. Old wounds reopened. Pain screamed from every limb.
Nami's flute melody hastened, like wind beneath his feet. Lightning pulsed through his veins as her music healed him bit by bit. But even then, he was still slower than Jun Jiu.
"Die!"
Jun Jiu's next strike wasn't for Wu Xuan, but Nami.
Wu Xuan's eyes widened. "No!"
He pushed his body forward, but he was a heartbeat too slow.
Jun Jiu's bolt came screaming toward the girl. Nami froze, too late to dodge.
But Meng Zhi, bloody, broken, one-armed, threw himself forward.
He tackled Nami, pushing her out of the bolt's path.
The lightning scorched past, barely missing them, but the fragile jade flute clattered to the floor and shattered with a scream, cutting off the music.
Wu Xuan's stomach dropped. His only support, gone.
He narrowed his eyes, lips curling into a snarl.
Jun Jiu blinked, briefly stunned by Meng Zhi's desperate move. Then, she laughed, loud and unhinged. "How noble!" she jeered. "And how useless!"
She was too busy mocking to notice Wu Xuan until it was too late.
"Now!" he hissed.
Channeling all his spiritual energy into his sword, he charged. Lightning danced across the blade's edge.
He rushed past Jun Jiu in a blur, his sword arcing like a flash of moonlight.
A fine red line appeared across her throat.
But then,
CRACK.
A metallic snap echoed across the silent hall. Wu Xuan looked down.
His sword had broken in two.
One half clattered at Jun Jiu's feet. The other rested in his trembling hand.
Jun Jiu touched her neck, her fingers brushing blood. Slowly, she looked up, smiling.
Her voice dropped low, almost tender. "As he said… you're not Zi Feng."
"Huh?" Wu Xuan asked, stunned.
"Ah, that's so sad. I thought I finally found Zi Feng, but you're not him. That punk! How dare he lie to me?" Jun Jiu shouted, her voice breaking as anger and frustration spilled out.
"You thought I was Zi Feng?" Wu Xuan asked, lowering his voice. He had no idea what she was talking about.
"Of course, you can't be him!" she screamed. "If he didn't lie to me, I wouldn't have bothered to bring you here! Damn it!"
"So, who is this he?"
Jun Jiu's eyes gleamed. "Ha ha, if I don't notice it, you'll just ask me for every detail, won't you, my dear?"
Wu Xuan blinked. "...?"
"There, there now, it's not good for you to do that." Jun Jiu said, her tone suddenly sweet. She threw a sharp kick at Nami, who had quietly approached from behind.
With a sickening crack, Nami's ribs broke. She was slammed against the stone wall and collapsed, frozen in pain.
"My good maid, I have more work for you," Jun Jiu said coldly, already turning her gaze back to Wu Xuan.
"Now you, my love..." Her eyes locked on him as she gently ran her fingers over the edge of her dagger. "Are you going to defeat me with that half-sword?"
Without waiting, she dashed forward. The air sparked as lightning crackled from her blade. Wu Xuan barely blocked it, but the force sent him flying. He rolled across the floor, landing beside Wuyin, blood pouring from the wounds left by Xul'goth.
He coughed violently, pain shooting through his chest as he clutched it with trembling hands.
'I can't lose... Not now... Not until I heal Lingyu.'
His body burned. His breath turned shallow.
'I promised to protect him... but I can't even protect myself.'
Dark blood spilled from his mouth. It scorched like fire. Every breath felt like knives.
"Do you know," Jun Jiu said, approaching slowly with a graceful sway, "my poison? It's one of the strongest in the world. It's already eating your soul."
Her voice was calm. Melodious.
"Trust me, it hurts. But you can make it stop... Give me your soul, and I'll end it quickly."
She raised her dagger, smiling like it was a dance.
"Don't let the dagger touch you…" Meng Zhi groaned from the floor. "Elemental daggers are... Soul-devouring weapons…"
He tried to move but collapsed again.
Suddenly, a voice echoed inside Wu Xuan's head.
'Hey, you there! Grab the sword behind you!'
Wu Xuan didn't hesitate. He reached back and gripped Wuyin's hilt, trying to lift it from the stone it was jammed into.
Jun Jiu's smile twisted with amusement. She sent a crackling bolt of lightning at him. It tore into his shoulder and side, but he didn't stop.
'Please… please… I can't lose!'
"I'll take good care of your pet after you die," Jun Jiu added, her voice dripping with cruelty. "Don't worry, I'll cook him nicely."
She knew how to push him, and it worked.
Wu Xuan's anger burned hotter than his pain.
Wuyin began to hum. A strange ringing filled the air.
Jun Jiu's dagger pierced into his shoulder, pushing him to his knees.
"You idiot!" Meng Zhi's voice rang faintly. But Wu Xuan couldn't hear him anymore. Everything was fading. Jun Jiu's laughter echoed in his ears as his vision blurred.
Suddenly, he saw a familiar face. An illusion?
"Lu Yu," whispered the small demon spirit, covered in blood, still smiling at him. The spirit's eyes were soft, filled with warmth.
"You promised to protect me," it said gently.
Wu Xuan's heart clenched.
"But why did you... kill me?" the spirit asked.
His eyes widened.
No... No! Not me!
"Then protect me," the spirit said, "as you promised. Protect me, Lu Yu."
"L-Lan…Jue" Wu Xuan muttered, blood dripping from his lips. His body pulsed with a strange power. He gripped the dagger embedded in him and pulled it out.
Jun Jiu stepped back. "H-How…?"
A demonic aura wrapped around him like a shadow. It twisted the air and sent chills down her spine. The man in front of her was no longer Wu Xuan.
"How dare you..." His voice rumbled low, layered, as if more than one soul was speaking. He placed a hand on Wuyin. The sword vibrated violently.
"Y-You're not Zi Feng… H-How?" Jun Jiu's voice cracked. Panic overtook her. She'd never felt fear like this, not until now.
Wu Xuan smiled. But it wasn't kind.
"I am not Zi Feng."
The underground dungeon trembled as if something ancient had awakened.
With one pull, Wu Xuan drew Wuyin from the stone like it was nothing, like plucking a feather from the wind. The blade shrieked, its power awakening at last.
"Wait! Wait- don't come at me!" Jun Jiu screamed, clawing at her own hair like a madwoman.
But Wu Xuan didn't stop.
"Because I am..." His footsteps echoed as he stepped forward, eyes glowing, voice deepened.
"The night-devouring celestial," he said.
With one clean swing, too fast for her to react, Jun Jiu's head was separated from her body. Her scream never even reached her lips.
Her head hit the ground with a hollow thud.
Wu Xuan stood still in the swirling dust and broken stone.
"Yue Ling,"