Chapter 127

If one foot stepped on them...

The plump, juicy bugs would quiver their sensitive bodies, nervously contract the carapaces on their backs, and shyly expel a trace of fluid from their mouthparts with a soft squelch.

Yun Shuchen couldn't help but think of this, and she felt her scalp tingle as she stepped back half a pace.

Qing Zhouxue finally noticed her master's discomfort. She shifted her gaze from the carpet of beetles and met the disgust in Yun Shuchen's eyes.

The air in this cave was thin and extremely humid, so fire was not an option. Water, on the other hand, was hard to control; what if a few droplets landed on their bodies?

Yun Shuchen agonized for a moment, but she realized that Qing Zhouxue's suggestion was indeed the best approach.

She slowly closed her eyes and nodded helplessly. "Then freeze them thick."

Qing Zhouxue studied her master for a moment, then withdrew her gaze, unwilling to use the previous method.

She grasped the Qingshuang Sword, weighing it in her hand for a long while, measuring the dimensions of the cave wall. Within such a confined space, this strike had to be extremely precise.

If it was too light, it wouldn't shatter them completely; if too heavy, the cave would collapse.

Cold air coiled around her wrist as she held the sword, building power for a long time, then thrust it toward the void.

A vast sheet of frost descended like the arrival of death, swallowing all life.

The sword intent she unleashed, mixed with shards of ice, carved through the narrow cavern at incredible speed, yet with perfect control, exquisitely precise.

Yun Shuchen felt a gust of cold wind rush past for a moment. When she opened her eyes, Qing Zhouxue had already sheathed her sword with a sharp clang.

Before them remained only clumps of crushed ice, almost reduced to dust—no trace of the swarm.

It worked.

Qing Zhouxue breathed a sigh of relief.

Yun Shuchen's eyes flickered with surprise. She stepped forward. Within the powdered ice, faint traces of pale red were visible, but no sign of any insect bodies.

The cave walls bore only shallow scratches, with scarcely a single stone chipped.

"What technique was that?" Yun Shuchen traced the clean stone wall.

"The first move from the remnants of a sword manual," Qing Zhouxue said, then paused. "More precisely, I modified it. In its original form, 'Thousand Mountains, Ten Thousand Paths,' the sword intent expands from within, easily harming those nearby. But by suppressing its momentum, I can draw it out through my hand, and it will only burst forth from all directions when it meets an obstacle—like when you cast spells, it can reach farther..."

When she talked about swordplay, she spoke at length, her eyes glinting with a faint light.

Yun Shuchen had always made a point of helping her disciple clarify her thoughts, asking her about them in their spare time—for instance, why this strike was done this way, what its advantages were. Although Yun Shuchen knew nothing of swordsmanship, that didn't stop her from leaving Qing Zhouxue speechless.

If she couldn't answer, she would have to go back and contemplate it again. Time and again, through this review, she truly understood the principles at play, rather than rigidly repeating the old rules handed down by predecessors.

Year after year, because Yun Shuchen asked so often, Qing Zhouxue grew used to explaining her sword techniques—whether newly learned or self-devised. Though her disciple was unusually obtuse when it came to emotions, her mind was agile in cultivation, perhaps because Yun Shuchen had never been bound by fixed methods when teaching her.

She always managed to integrate and connect various insights, even crafting new sword moves that seemed to carry traces of Yun Shuchen's own spellcasting.

Qing Zhouxue was a rough jade, and Yun Shuchen was carving her into shape—in recent years, she had become increasingly brilliant.

After finishing her lengthy explanation, Qing Zhouxue felt a bit pleased, but a glance at the dark cave made her realize this was hardly the right setting.

Yun Shuchen was watching her, and her junior sister was waiting eagerly for her to finish, probably already impatient.

Qing Zhouxue met Yun Shuchen's eyes and coughed lightly. "I'll stop rambling." She turned and moved forward, using her sword to clear the path.

Ramble? More like utterly endearing.

"Well said." Yun Shuchen followed behind her, smiling. "Actually..."

Actually, having a disciple like you is the only time in all my years of cultivation that I've truly felt proud of someone else.

Those words remained unspoken, pressed deeper into her heart, leaving a distinct mark.

As they moved deeper, the stench grew more pungent—dark, damp, reeking of mold and decay that seemed to have festered for centuries.

The floating lantern Yun Shuchen had thrown earlier was condensed and brought back, now illuminating the path ahead.

That dense swarm of insects had no cultivation; they were perhaps newly hatched larvae—barely an appetizer.

The deeper they went, the louder the hum of the Qingshuang Sword.

When the view suddenly opened up, Yun Shuchen's heart also felt a sudden opening—and nearly split a crack.

The ground was again densely covered with bugs, each the size of a kitten, buzzing restlessly, seemingly winged. And among the swarm, a giant insect queen loomed before their eyes.

The queen's body was slender at both ends, bulging in the middle, a plump, pale frame sprawled across the entire cavern. Its underside was smooth and moist, undulating with life, continuously laying eggs from its rear. The eggs hatched quickly, and once they did, they became wriggling masses of fat larvae.

Perhaps after some time to pupate, they would turn into those ground beetles or the flying ones now visible.

The great white insect's mouthparts were clamped onto the remains of a half-eaten human corpse, likely some unfortunate scout who had perished here.

Yun Shuchen suppressed the churning in her stomach and hesitated for a long while before she could move her fingers.

Finally, she couldn't resist pulling a strip of cloth from her sleeve and tying it tightly over her eyes, blinding herself. She then took Qing'er's hand. "In a moment, have Yu Ying stand far back, and guide me."

Qing Zhouxue sighed and agreed.

This swarm was far livelier than the previous one, sensing the flesh and blood of intruders, their wings all vibrating. The moment Yun Shuchen raised her hand to form an array, countless dense insects flew at them, almost engulfing them.

"Master, about three feet ahead."

A curtain of water rose up, blocking the swarm. The space was broader here, so she could cast without fear of water splashing back on herself.

A water dragon, Xuanming, coalesced in the air, and with a dragon's roar, it struck with rapid water streams, wetting the swarm's wings and slamming them against the rock walls, splattering them into sticky paste that coated the surface.

The insect queen seemed to sense this. Though its form appeared bulky, it wasn't slow; it twisted its head and spat out a great glob of viscous silk that flew against the stones, sizzling on contact.

Naturally toxic.

Hearing the sound, Yun Shuchen shifted back a few inches to ensure her safety.

"Master, to the northeast, about two zhang from the ground."

A flick of the dragon's tail swept away a few surviving beetles.

The crawling larvae on the ground, wingless, proved hard to wash away. While the water dragon tangled with the queen, several of them wriggled toward Yun Shuchen's feet, but Qing Zhouxue cut them down, one by one, at her master's heels.

As befitting a Mahayana-stage demon beast, the larvae it spawned were larger, and Qing Zhouxue struggled to cut them. Occasionally, a beetle would lunge at her, and she'd pierce it with her sword, her hands going numb from the vibration.

Yu Ying moved forward, seemingly wanting to help, but a thin stream of water curled around her and set her back, the flow binding her gently—a form of protection as well.

Yun Shuchen said softly, "Stay back; you might get hurt."

Yu Ying obediently hummed in assent.

The water dragon rammed into the insect queen's body with savage force, but couldn't penetrate its seemingly thin, supple outer membrane.

The mucus sprayed from its mouthparts corrupted the water dragon's form, its roar becoming pained and intermittent. Yun Shuchen felt a backlash—her dantian burned like fire, and this was no mere strain.

At that moment, Qing Zhouxue recalled the day of the mountain blaze, when she had ridden an ice dragon through the flames to find Ruan Mingzhu.

Inspiration struck. She thrust the Qingshuang Sword forward. Xuanming seemed to sense it; the dragon's head turned, caught the sword in its jaws, and its entire body transformed into frost-white. Its fangs hardened, and as they clamped shut, they pierced through the outer membrane.

Yun Shuchen's cultivation was already two minor realms above this beast, and though it took some time, her overwhelming advantage was clear. Gradually, Xuanming twisted the insect queen's body until it was nearly severed—

Perhaps she shouldn't have done that.

A soft squelch, and something seemed to burst.

She hastily raised another water curtain, but couldn't avoid feeling some warm, sticky liquid splatter onto her robes.

These clothes were ruined.

The cloth strip before her eyes suddenly fell away. Yun Shuchen's hand trembled, and she witnessed one of the most unforgettable sights of her life.

After the insect queen's body burst open, densely packed, squirming larvae crawled out of it in all directions, an overwhelming flood that nearly filled the cave.

It was born a demon; perhaps it was not at fault.

But why must it be so nauseating? Yun Shuchen racked her brain and couldn't understand.

A cold sweat broke out on her forehead. She shut her eyes, and Xuanming's body abruptly expanded, slamming into the surrounding rock walls with immense force, carving out a deep pit.

Because her master had acted on impulse, the cave was likely on the verge of collapse.

Qing Zhouxue could barely stand; she braced herself against the stone wall as the ground shook like an earthquake, echoes rumbling.

She hastily erected two ice pillars to prop up the space. "...Master!"

That strike had killed most of the larvae. They lay soaked and limp on the ground, only a few still twitching weakly.

It was only during the last Thunder Tribulation that Qing Zhouxue had witnessed her master's full power. But back then, she was trapped in the array and couldn't feel her overwhelming pressure.

Now, she finally felt it again. When her master's blindfold fell away, the ambient spiritual energy around her churned so violently it threatened to burst, and Qing Zhouxue dropped to one knee.

As aftershocks faded,

Qing Zhouxue coughed up a mouthful of blood, weakly propping herself up with her sword.

A gentle little boss.