Chapter 91: Pay Up

Chapter 91: Pay Up

Li Yao stared at the floating sword hovering before her.

“Are you the ancestor?” she asked, her head tilting slightly as she examined the blade. “No wonder it’s called the Azure Cloud Sword Sect. You’re definitely an azure cloud sword!” Her lips curved into a playful smile.

“What does that even—” The voice paused, then released a weary sigh. “Never mind. I’m not a sword. I’ve simply bound my nascent soul to this weapon.”

Li Yao’s eyes widened with sudden understanding. “Oh, just like the Empress’s ring,” she thought.

[Did you really think he was a sword?] The Empress’s voice echoed within Li Yao’s mind, her tone filled with disbelief.

“What? No! I was just making a joke to ease the tension,” Li Yao defended herself aloud, causing the Empress to sigh deeply.

“Ahem,” Li Yao cleared her throat, straightening her posture. “Of course I know that.” She brushed invisible dust from her robes, trying to reclaim some dignity. “Anyway, what do you want? I’m in a hurry.”

In the next second, the entire pagoda shuddered violently, as though gripped by a massive earthquake. The walls trembled and dust showered from the ceiling. Just as suddenly, everything stilled.

The ancestor’s voice carried another weary sigh before he began, “Actually, this treasure is not truly the Heaven-Testing Pagoda.” His tone grew solemn “I had actually renamed it after taking it.”

The treasure’s original name was the Demon-Sealing Tower, and acted as a burial place for the Demon God. This Demon God is said to have been a cultivator from a higher realm, though how his tomb ended up in this mortal world remained a mystery. In those days, demonic sects had used the tower’s resources to increase their strength at an alarming rate.

When the orthodox faction witnessed what was happening, they united against the demonic faction. Left unchecked, the demonic cultivators would have become the strongest faction within a hundred years. The conflict between orthodox and unorthodox factions raged for years, but the orthodox faction was gradually losing ground as their enemies grew increasingly powerful.

That was when Feng Tianxu, a genius of the orthodox faction, decided to infiltrate the demon faction to discover the source of their power. There, he witnessed the truth—the demonic faction was extracting resources from the tower and, in exchange, working to revive the Demon God.

Upon discovering this, he resolved to steal the tower. Yet he couldn’t return it to the orthodox faction, partly because he didn’t want to endanger them with such a perilous artifact, but more importantly, because he didn’t want the war to continue when the orthodox faction was destined to lose.

Instead, he announced his defection from the orthodox faction. Word spread that their genius had been tempted by the tower’s power and had run away with it. This strategy ensured that lower-ranked orthodox faction members who knew nothing of the truth would hunt for him, while the demonic faction would cease fighting to search for their lost treasure. Just like that, peace was achieved.

For Feng Tianxu himself, he realized that although the Demon God hadn’t fully revived, he had regained some of his strength—although it was just a fraction of a fraction of his full power, it was still enough to cause massive destruction. He sought out a remote rural area and settled there, dedicating his existence to suppressing the Demon God’s awakening.

Eventually, common folk noticed the “immortal” in their midst and begged to learn cultivation techniques from him. Thus, the Azure Cloud Sword Sect was born. After many years of containing the Demon God, Feng Tianxu finally managed to reseal the entity completely. By then, however, demonic energy had corrupted his body too deeply, preventing him from cultivating further.

He selected the strongest among his disciples, granting this person his Daoist name and the title of Sect Master. He renamed the tower the “Heaven-Testing Pagoda,” allowing disciples to test their skills and receive resources by defeating monsters formed from the miasma still leaking from the sealed Demon God.

Soon after, Feng Tianxu reached his limit and passed away. A fragment of his soul survived, engraved into the sword, but over time, even this remnant was corrupted by the miasma. It eventually deteriorated into a nascent soul that now teetered on the edge of complete dissolution.

As his explanation concluded, the floating sword began to tremble. A translucent figure emerged from the blade, which then fell to the floor with a resonant clang. The materialized soul took the form of an elderly man with flowing white hair and a long beard, dressed in pristine Daoist robes.

He clasped his hands together respectfully. “I see that you are someone of great fortune. Even more talented than I was in my prime.” The old man bowed deeply, his ethereal form shimmering. “Would you please look after the tower and ensure it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands?”

His eyes shone with sincerity. “You can have the Azure Cloud Sword as compensation. After years of being refined by me, although it’s not yet a genuine divine weapon, it can be considered a pseudo-divine weapon.”

When Li Yao witnessed his bow, she rushed forward, helping him straighten. “The senior shouldn’t bow,” she insisted, her voice softening with respect.

The man raised his eyes, hope flickering in their depths. “Does that mean…?”

Li Yao nodded with a warm smile, causing even the Empress watching within her consciousness to smile approvingly. As expected of the person she had chosen—such a righteous heart, even if she could be a little stupid at times.

“Ah, to think that the little sect I formed back then could raise such a genius and righteous child,” the man spoke, his voice thick with emotion. “The human race still has some hope.”

Li Yao stretched out her hand expectantly. The man quickly retrieved the sword from the ground and placed it in her palm. “Once I’m gone, you’ll be able to refine the sword and use it,” he explained.

Li Yao kept her hand outstretched, not withdrawing it.

“What do you mean?” the man asked, confusion crossing his transparent features.

“Pay up,” Li Yao said bluntly. “Where is the reward for clearing the ninety-nine floors?” she demanded, her earlier righteousness evaporating like morning dew.

The Empress, watching from within Li Yao’s spiritual sea, could only facepalm. This girl really was seeking benefits after all.

…

Author’s Corner:

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