Holding the Sword to Carry Away Senior Sister (Transmigration) - Chapter 51

Looking at the changes on the Ranking Wall below the Arena, almost everyone reached a boiling point in an instant, their faces brimming with expressions of disbelief.

“My God, I actually had the honor of seeing an expert break into the top ten of the Ranking Wall. This scene was too spectacular; it looks like another monstrous genius is rising in our great Northern Region!”

“Exactly! And both this Fu Yan and Bai Yueli are actually disciples of the Shui Ling Sect. The Shui Ling Sect is really about to rise, having produced so many geniuses one after another.”

“Sob… seeing this makes me want to join the Shui Ling Sect too. By the way, when does the Shui Ling Sect recruit disciples every year? I have to give it a try!”

“…”

Regarding the praises drifting in from the surroundings, Fu Yan’s heart did not experience many ripples. Instead, upon seeing her name pressed tightly against Bai Yueli’s, for some unknown reason, her heart was uncontrollably filled with a sense of joy.

It was as if, at that moment, her strength had finally been recognized.

For the name “Fu Yan” to appear on the Ranking Wall was well-deserved; only she herself understood the hardships involved. Two months of day-and-night cultivation were ultimately worth it.

Thinking of this, while the crowd was still immersed in their surprise, Fu Yan did not linger at the Martial Market Arena. She quickly swallowed a few True Qi pills and then left the place without looking back.

Behind her on the Ranking Wall, the two names—hers and Bai Yueli’s—remained quietly carved into the stone surface.

After exiting the Arena, Fu Yan, unsurprisingly, saw Duan Sixin standing at the entrance. He seemed to be waiting specifically for her, which brought back her previous suspicions about him.

Her footsteps faltered slightly. As she raised her eyes to stare at him, the man in front also looked toward her. After a thought, she continued walking over as usual.

Duan Sixin crossed his arms over his chest. Looking at the approaching Fu Yan, he spoke with a somewhat playful air: “You’ve probably realized it by now. I intentionally dragged it out until the final match to take the stage.”

“The reason?” Fu Yan stopped in front of Duan Sixin and asked.

Fu Yan could actually sense that, outside of being in the Arena, this man didn’t seem to harbor any particularly great malice toward her.

Hearing this, Duan Sixin let out a long, somewhat lazy sigh before finally telling the truth: “There’s no deep reason. Someone simply approached me and asked me to directly cripple you with a single sword strike in the Arena.”

Fu Yan: “…”

Hearing such a frank admission, Fu Yan found herself momentarily at a loss for words. However, what made her even more curious was exactly who wanted to deal with her.

“But through today’s battle, I’ve chosen to give up. With your current strength, I’d have to use my most powerful killing moves just to have a chance at beating you. As for crippling you, I don’t want to shorten my own lifespan.” Duan Sixin didn’t seem worried that Fu Yan would be angry, proceeding to state his thoughts plainly.

After saying this, he changed the subject: “However, you don’t need to ask me who the employer is. While I can tell you my purpose, in our line of work, we still have to follow basic professional ethics.”

Though these words sounded somewhat amusing, Duan Sixin indeed had his own principles.

“Thank you for telling me this.” Regarding the man who had wanted to cripple her, Fu Yan didn’t seem angry at all; instead, she spoke to thank him.

At these words, it was Duan Sixin’s turn to be a bit bewildered.

He hadn’t expected Fu Yan to be so calm, as if she had just heard something trivial. He had even prepared himself for the possibility of her wanting another fight.

“You’re welcome.” Though surprised by her reaction, Duan Sixin quickly recovered. He suddenly smiled and said, “You truly are a rare genius in the Northern Region. It would have been a pity if you were crippled just like that.”

Though Duan Sixin said this with a half-joking air, it was the truth.

Fu Yan could naturally see the meaning behind his words, but she didn’t think too much of it, because she had suddenly realized a problem.

That day, Shui Liuqing said she was going back for the clan competition. But counting it all up, nearly three months had passed, yet there hadn’t been a single word from her. This was clearly very wrong.

Because Shui Liuqing had signed a soul-bound master-servant contract with her, Fu Yan didn’t suspect the other had betrayed her and run away. Since Shui Liuqing hadn’t appeared for three months, something had definitely gone wrong.

Furthermore, she herself had been targeted in Chaoyang City without even knowing it. Two months ago, she was just an ordinary cultivator with a minor Middle Opening Light cultivation, yet the other party had specifically hired an expert like Duan Sixin to deal with her and had even ruthlessly intended to cripple her cultivation.

Therefore, after hearing Duan Sixin’s words, Fu Yan couldn’t help but link these two matters together.

Thinking carefully, she had been in seclusion for two months and shouldn’t have offended anyone. Clearly, the other party had targeted her a long time ago.

Or rather, Shui Liuqing had been targeted along with her.

Thinking of this, Fu Yan felt a sudden moment of clarity. If it really was as she suspected, then everything made sense.

Like her, Shui Liuqing must have encountered danger, which was why she couldn’t return to regroup in time.

Seeing that Fu Yan’s expression was somewhat off, Duan Sixin thought she was becoming angry after the fact and wanted to seek revenge. He couldn’t help but tighten his grip on his sword. “What is it?”

Fu Yan had no time for this man now. She simply waved her hand at Duan Sixin, said “It’s nothing,” and quickly turned to walk toward the main gates of Chaoyang City.

Duan Sixin: “…” This person clearly didn’t take him seriously at all!

Watching Fu Yan’s rapidly departing back, Duan Sixin suddenly felt a bit of a headache. This was the first time he had failed to complete a mission. What was even more frustrating was that not only could he not get his reward, but he had also wasted several months for nothing—it was truly a case of “losing both the wife and the soldiers.”

“Forget it, forget it. Who told me my strength wasn’t enough?” Duan Sixin retracted his gaze and let out a helpless sigh.

Then, he also turned and left the Martial Market Arena.

Because of the master-servant contract, Fu Yan could sense Shui Liuqing’s existence. In other words, she was still alive and well; had she been unfortunate enough to lose her life, Fu Yan would have felt it.

Since Shui Liuqing was still relatively safe but hadn’t come to find her, she must be trapped somewhere. Regardless of the reason, Fu Yan still had to make a trip.

After all, Shui Liuqing was still useful to her.

Having thought this through, Fu Yan no longer hesitated. She turned and left Chaoyang City, then flew on her sword toward the direction of the Shui family.

The Shui family was not too far from Chaoyang City, only half a day’s journey away. Thus, Fu Yan soon arrived at the Ancient City of Liujin, where the Shui family was located.

Due to her status, it was naturally impossible for Fu Yan to directly approach the Shui family to ask for Shui Liuqing’s whereabouts. Therefore, after entering the Ancient City of Liujin, she went straight to the largest tavern in the city.

After entering the tavern, Fu Yan showed no abnormalities. She sat down briskly at a window seat on the second floor and ordered a few common dishes.

Before long, the dishes were all served.

“Immortal Master, all the dishes you ordered are here. If there are no other instructions, I’ll go back to my work,” the waiter said with a fawning tone after putting down the last plate.

Fu Yan poured herself a cup of tea, then raised her eyes to look in front of her. Pretending to be casual, she asked, “I heard the Shui family’s annual clan competition has ended. Did any geniuses appear this year?”

Regarding these prominent families’ clan competitions, there were people every year asking about the strength of the descendants. Therefore, hearing Fu Yan’s words, the waiter didn’t suspect anything. He spoke up: “The Immortal Master is asking about the Shui family’s competition? It ended over two months ago. This year’s first place was still Young Master Shui Hanfeng.”

Fu Yan naturally didn’t know any Shui Hanfeng, but she didn’t ask further. She simply gave an “Oh” that was both simple and slightly expected.

Knowing that Fu Yan was interested in the Shui family’s competition, the waiter hurriedly started chattering away again: “Young Master Shui Hanfeng broke through to the Great Circle of the Opening Light stage at some unknown time. He is the undisputed number one of the Shui family; it’s estimated he won’t participate in the clan competition next year.”

Fu Yan listened quietly while casually eating. At the end, she nodded in agreement and then pulled a low-grade spirit stone from her robe and tossed it over.

“Thank you, Immortal Master!” Getting a low-grade spirit stone, the waiter was instantly excited. He hurriedly tucked the stone away and then gave a brief account of this year’s Shui family competition.

After listening for quite a while, Fu Yan finally heard the name she wanted to hear.

“However, Miss Shui Liuqing’s performance this year was also quite remarkable. It seems she broke straight into the top five, which really surprised everyone,” the waiter continued to talk about the situation of the Shui family competition.

Fu Yan had roughly gathered the information she wanted, so she waved her hand casually. “Go back to your work.”

Seeing that Fu Yan was no longer interested, the waiter quickly shut his mouth, then turned around, bowing and scraping as he hurriedly left.

After he left, Fu Yan fell into deep thought. From the waiter’s words, it could be seen that there was nothing abnormal on the Shui family’s side. The competition was held as usual, and Shui Liuqing had achieved good results.

That meant something went wrong while Shui Liuqing was on her way back to Chaoyang City.

Thinking of this, Fu Yan couldn’t help but frown slightly. If the problem occurred on the way back, it was indeed a bit difficult to handle now. After all, there were too many routes from the Ancient City of Liujin to Chaoyang City, and there was no way to trace them.

Just as Fu Yan was pondering silently, she suddenly heard the sound of a conversation from the table closest to her on the first floor.

The speaker was an ordinary cultivator with a Middle Opening Light cultivation, wearing a gray long robe. He spoke in a low voice to the man in the blue robe next to him: “Sigh, have you heard? Recently, that Demon Miasma Canyon hasn’t been very peaceful again.”

“Why, what happened again?” The man in the blue robe was clearly a bit confused but still asked curiously.

“When I passed by the entrance of the Demon Miasma Canyon a few days ago, I found the miasma inside was getting thicker and thicker. There used to be quite a bit of green vegetation at the entrance, but now it’s all died off completely.” As the man in the gray robe spoke, he didn’t forget to take a large gulp of wine, then continued: “I bet something big must have happened in the canyon. Maybe some treasure has been born.”

Hearing this, the man in the blue robe clearly didn’t believe it. He let out a sneer and said dismissively: “That Demon Miasma Canyon has existed for nearly a thousand years. If there were any treasures, they would have been born long ago. Now there’s nothing inside except for some poisonous creatures.”

“Hey, don’t disbelieve it!” Hearing this, the man in the gray robe immediately put down his bowl of wine and stared at the figure next to him, looking determined to set the record straight: “I heard that someone recently saw a Late Opening Light expert and a Great Circle Opening Light expert suddenly appear in the Demon Miasma Canyon. They’ve been wandering around inside for a long time. If they aren’t looking for treasure, could they be in there just for a stroll?”

As the words fell, the man in the blue robe, who hadn’t believed it just now, suddenly became hesitant. After quite a while, he continued: “Could it be that a treasure really has been born in the Demon Miasma Canyon?”

“Defintely!” The man in the gray robe was quite certain.

The man in the blue robe paused slightly. “Then do you think we should also go…”

“Forget it.” Seemingly knowing what the man in the blue robe was thinking, the man in the gray robe interrupted ruthlessly: “With our level of cultivation, if we enter and get bitten by any random poisonous creature, it’ll be game over completely. If you want to die, don’t drag me with you. I still want to live a few more years!”

The man in the blue robe clearly had a face full of disappointment and helplessness. “Sigh, you’re right.”

“…”

Soon, the two of them went back to eating and drinking while chatting about other topics. Meanwhile, Fu Yan upstairs couldn’t help but pause.

Fu Yan didn’t know anything about this “Demon Miasma Canyon,” but hearing these two men’s account, she felt the two people wandering around inside were very likely the ones dealing with Shui Liuqing. It made perfect sense for Shui Liuqing to hide in the canyon in her desperation.

Just as she was thinking, the waiter came over again at some unknown time. He carefully refilled Fu Yan’s tea and was about to turn and leave after finishing.

“Waiter, what kind of place is the Demon Miasma Canyon?” Fu Yan raised her eyes again at this moment and asked the waiter calmly.

The waiter seemed to be startled by Fu Yan’s voice. After a moment, he quickly smiled and began to explain: “Sigh, the Immortal Master is talking about the Demon Miasma Canyon? It’s located several hundred miles south of our Ancient City of Liujin. Speaking of the Demon Miasma Canyon, one has to mention a legend from our Northern Region…”

Legend has it that a thousand years ago, the Northern Region was not as impoverished as it is today. The spiritual energy between heaven and earth was exceptionally abundant. Because of this, several experts at the Land Immortal level once appeared in the Northern Region at that time.

Then one day, a terrifying demon suddenly appeared in the Northern Region. Even those Land Immortal level cultivators were not its match. However, “Heaven does not bar all roads”; after not much time, someone finally successfully broke through to become a True Immortal.

This True Immortal expert fought with the demon for several months. Ultimately, living up to expectations, they successfully cut off the demon’s head and threw it into a furnace. After burning it for three days and three nights, the demon finally breathed its last.

And during that great battle, the True Immortal expert had intentionally split a giant mountain with a single sword strike, then thrown the demon’s corpse into the mountain. Over time, a natural-looking canyon formed there.

Because the demonic energy from the corpse was too fierce, it attracted many poisonous creatures, large and small, from between heaven and earth. That terrifying demonic energy remained around the canyon, unable to dissipate for a long time, slowly giving rise to a kind of miasma. Wherever the miasma was, not a blade of grass would grow, and the toxicity was extremely potent.

“Thus, with the passage of time, that place became the Demon Miasma Canyon of today.” The waiter quickly made the origin of the Demon Miasma Canyon clear to Fu Yan.

After finishing, he looked at Fu Yan, who was already at the Late Opening Light stage, and couldn’t help but offer a kind warning: “However, the Immortal Master shouldn’t listen to their nonsense. It’s impossible for any treasure to be born in the Demon Miasma Canyon.”

Clearly, the waiter had also heard the conversation of the two men below. Hearing Fu Yan’s sudden curiosity about the Demon Miasma Canyon, he assumed she wanted to go treasure hunting, so he kindly explained.

“Think about it, Immortal Master. If there were any treasures on that demon, wouldn’t they have been taken by that True Immortal expert long ago? And nearly a thousand years have passed; even if there really were treasures, they would have been found by others long ago. How could they still be left until now?”

Fu Yan naturally understood this logic. Her curiosity about the Demon Miasma Canyon was certainly not because she believed the talk about a treasure being born. she was only speculating whether Shui Liuqing had really fled inside.

“Alright, go back to your work.” Fu Yan came back to her senses, waved her hand casually, and continued eating the dishes on her table.

Hearing this, the waiter gave a couple of “hehe” laughs and then called out: “Understood, Immortal Master, please enjoy your meal.”

As the waiter’s figure left, Fu Yan finally had some quiet time. She stopped paying attention to the conversation in the tavern and continued eating her dishes.

Although she had somewhat confirmed Shui Liuqing’s location, since nearly two months had passed and she hadn’t sensed a signal of her death, it meant she was still safe for now.

Shui Liuqing was clever to begin with, so Fu Yan wasn’t overly worried.

After eating and drinking her fill, Fu Yan slowly left the Ancient City of Liujin and then flew directly toward the Demon Miasma Canyon in the direction the waiter had mentioned.

The Demon Miasma Canyon was not too far away. Fu Yan had flown for only an hour or two when she saw a massive canyon appearing ahead. Looking from a distance, the entire canyon was surrounded by a layer of black fog, and indeed, not a blade of grass grew around it.

At a single glance, one could tell this canyon was no ordinary place.

By the time Fu Yan reached the entrance, the sky was already very late. The sun in the distance had long since set, making the Demon Miasma Canyon appear even more desolate, bleak, and terrifying.

Because the air was filled with poisonous miasma, to enter safely, one needed to use True Essence to temporarily seal their seven apertures and six senses. After making all the preparations, Fu Yan finally stepped into the Demon Miasma Canyon.

The Demon Miasma Canyon truly lived up to its reputation as a dangerous land. Before Fu Yan had walked very far, several poisonous creatures lunged at her in an instant. Fortunately, her reactions were swift; with a raise of her hand and a strike of her sword, the creatures were sliced in two, losing all signs of life.

The entire canyon was very large. Fu Yan didn’t know how deep she had gone before she finally reached the center of the canyon. Slowly raising her head to look, apart from a thick mass of miasma, she could vaguely see the steep cliffs on both sides.

At this moment, Fu Yan felt like a frog at the bottom of a well. The moment she raised her head, she could only see a thin line of moonlight far away. If an ordinary person looked at this scene, they would likely feel a sense of suffocation.

However, for Fu Yan, there was nothing uncomfortable about it.

Still, she suddenly recalled the story the waiter had told. If the origin of the Demon Miasma Canyon was truly as the legend said, then the position where Fu Yan was standing now was originally the center of a mountain.

And that True Immortal expert could actually split such a large canyon with a casual sword strike. This kind of power was something Fu Yan had never even dared to imagine. Not to mention a True Immortal, even the Hollow Void stage was too far, far away from her current self.

After pondering for a while, Fu Yan finally came back to her senses. She retracted her gaze and continued to go deeper.

She didn’t know how long she had walked before she finally heard a faint sound in the quiet Demon Miasma Canyon. It sounded like the sound of fighting. Without thinking much, she followed the sound immediately.

As she drew closer, Fu Yan found that there were indeed people fighting ahead. Because of the miasma everywhere, she had no way to identify the auras of those two people.

However, before she could draw any closer, a sword blade rapidly attacked her. Fortunately, Fu Yan had never let down her guard, so she reacted quickly.

After dodging the attack of the sword blade, Fu Yan found a fellow Late Opening Light expert suddenly appearing from somewhere, directly charging at her again.

He seemed to be intentionally preventing Fu Yan from going any further.

However, at this moment, Fu Yan naturally had no time to think too much, because the other party’s strikes were almost all fatal, as if they didn’t intend to leave her alive.

Faced with such a fierce attack, Fu Yan certainly wouldn’t just wait for death. She quickly raised her Ling Long broken sword and charged at the man.

The man seemed very formidable, putting all his strength into every move. Fu Yan didn’t dare to be careless either; in an instant, she executed all three forms of the Illusionless Sword in succession, striking toward the other party.

Soon, in the midst of the green miasma, the two of them were locked in a fight where neither could gain the upper hand, yet neither could take advantage of the other.

Just as Fu Yan was hesitating whether to use her final killing move, the Earth-grade Low-tier sword move “Wind Sweeps the Clouds,” the person opposite seemed to suddenly receive some instruction and quickly turned to disappear into the miasma.

In almost a blink of an eye, they had vanished without a trace.

However, at this moment, Fu Yan could also sense that the fight ahead had suddenly fallen silent. She couldn’t help but be slightly dazed. She didn’t put away her sword but stared fixedly at the figure who had stopped ahead.

Tap, tap.

The sound of footsteps came from the quiet surroundings. Fu Yan saw the person walking toward her step by step. Before she could clearly see the figure, a familiar sword blade rapidly entered her sight.

Yue Yao Sword?

Just as Fu Yan’s face showed an expression of disbelief, she saw Bai Yueli walking out from the miasma step by step, holding her Yue Yao sword in one hand.

As their eyes met, there was a trace of disbelief in both of their eyes.

“…”

Fu Yan truly hadn’t expected to meet Bai Yueli again in this Demon Miasma Canyon. Why say “again”? Thinking carefully, the number of times she and Bai Yueli had run into each other seemed to be quite many. This fate… was truly somewhat wonderful.

Ever since completing the mission of escorting Luanjin Fort together last time, Fu Yan and Bai Yueli hadn’t seen each other for three months. she remembered Bai Yueli saying she would return directly to the sect after two months of closed-door cultivation.

Because of this, seeing Bai Yueli suddenly appear before her, Fu Yan couldn’t help but feel a bit surprised.

After seeing Fu Yan’s figure clearly, Bai Yueli was also involuntarily stunned for a moment. However, she quickly noticed that the person in front of her had already sealed her seven apertures and six senses.

Immediately, she could only send a voice transmission: “You didn’t bring a Miasma-Avoiding Pearl?”

Hearing this, Fu Yan finally came back to her senses. However, upon hearing Bai Yueli’s words, she had a confused expression again, as if asking the person before her: What kind of thing is a Miasma-Avoiding Pearl?

Fu Yan truly didn’t know what a Miasma-Avoiding Pearl was. Just as she was about to use a voice transmission as well, Bai Yueli’s voice sounded in her mind again.

“Open your mouth.”

“Huh?” Fu Yan’s confusion escaped her lips almost reflexively.

In the next second, she saw Bai Yueli reach out and instantly stuff something into her mouth.

Fu Yan: “…”