“Will you forgive me in the future too?” Li Yin asked softly.
The draping veils had trapped this Little Fish right here.
“Mm… In the future… I’ll always forgive you.” He said it grudgingly, eyes misty with tears. “Save whoever you want, but don’t ignore me.”
Li Yin caught the merpearl just as it fell. She had made him cry again.
She smoothed the strands of hair draping by his face and noticed his hair was loose. “What about the hair ribbon I gave you?”
“I can’t.” He looked so pitiful as he cried, yet his tone was utterly righteous. “You do it.”
“Okay.” The Player took the hair ribbon and tied up his hair for him.
Once his long hair was bound, the extra length of the ribbon draped down, its pearl-tipped end swaying playfully.
“I knew it would suit you.” Li Yin smoothed his hair and helped him to his feet—only to realize he had reverted to his fish tail.
His transformation spell was still unpracticed; his clothes lay scattered on the ground.
The Player gathered the garments, barely managing to cover his body.
His fish tail twitched. He explained, “Walking on land hurts my feet.”
Li Yin had no choice but to carry him back to the lake.
“In a few days, I’m heading out. Your transformation isn’t stable yet—wait for me here in the sect, okay?”
His fish tail slapped the water’s surface heavily.
Though unhappy, Xinglin threw no further tantrum.
He agreed with a grumpy murmur.
Kissing a sulking Little Fish in the water required the human to squat down first.
The Player pecked the corner of his mouth.
The fish tail slapping the water surface paused abruptly, and his pretty face immediately flushed bright red.
The Player met his glare. Then, with a flick of her fish tail, Little Fish turned and dove into the water, fleeing away.
–
With Little Peacock and Little Fish both calmed down, the Player set off without worry.
The appointed time arrived. Li Yin activated the treasure her master had given her. While using the Disguise Art, she also altered her voice, then went to meet Senior Sister Xia.
From afar, she spotted three figures in ink-green robes standing together—all disciples of Myriad Beasts Sect. Li Yin swept her gaze over them and realized she recognized everyone.
Besides Senior Sister Xia, the other two were senior brothers she had briefly met on the Immortal Boat.
She walked up to them. Xia Erruo looked at the unfamiliar face before her, puzzled. “Junior Sister, what’s wrong?”
She said politely, “We’re heading to Hidden Sword Mountain for some fun. If you’re going the same way and don’t mind, you can join us.”
After she spoke, the unfamiliar junior sister grinned. “Senior Sister Xia, it’s me.”
The voice was also unfamiliar. Xia Erruo suddenly realized and lowered her voice uncertainly. “Little Junior Sister?”
Li Yin spun in place. “What do you think of this outfit?”
Her voice and appearance had completely changed, and her figure was subtly distorted with slight alterations. Xia Erruo nodded repeatedly. “Good, good, good. That’s really good.”
She had explained the situation to the other two in advance. At this point, Zheng Qian and Zhang Baille both controlled their expressions, avoiding any slips. After curiously sizing up Little Junior Sister’s new look, they nodded in greeting.
Right then, Xia Erruo noticed something and looked shocked.
“Little Junior Sister, how did you reach golden core late stage?”
She was so surprised that she circled Li Yin once. The Player’s body stiffened.
Oh no.
In her excitement, she had forgotten about this.
She had absorbed too much spiritual energy at once through supplementation. Her breakthrough speed was heaven-defying. But such high efficiency and rapid advancement could also draw unwanted attention.
If others found it suspicious, she might get captured for study.
The Player quickly reflected and decided to take smaller bites from now on.
Then, Li Yin suddenly thought of something else.
She had broken through so quickly—why hadn’t her master found it strange?
Before she could figure it out, the other two crowded over as well, eyes wide. In an instant, all three of them surrounded her, scrutinizing her closely.
Fat Senior Brother Zheng Qian pointed at himself. “Your senior brother here is only at nascent soul late stage. It’s been such a short time— are you in a rush to ascend?”
He had clearly heard from Xia Erruo about the danger she had encountered.
Fat Senior Brother exaggerated, “Whoa, impressive. I’ve only heard of sword cultivators growing stronger in battle and breaking through amid perils. Who knew Myriad Beasts Sect had such potential too?”
Zhang Baille was at golden core realm. Though his cultivation had been surpassed by Little Junior Sister, he didn’t react as strongly as his senior brother. “Maybe it’s like in the storybooks—dangers often herald opportunities.”
“Those are written by old cultivators who couldn’t advance themselves. They write it to feel good and trick young cultivators like you.” Zheng Qian shook his head repeatedly. Then he suddenly added, “Hey, what if there really is a child of destiny? Then we could bask in Little Junior Sister’s glory on this trip.”
Xia Erruo saw that Little Junior Sister felt uncomfortable being stared at. She shoved the two men away and shot a glance at her fanciful companions.
“You’re still talking about how Little Junior Brother got tricked? Looks like Fat Senior Brother got duped too.”
Li Yin cast a curious look. “What are we doing on this trip?”
Zheng Qian grinned and explained, “Hidden Sword Mountain is opening up. Everyone’s so eager because they want to earn some spirit stones and fill their pockets.”
As he spoke, he directed the junior sisters and brothers to board his flying magic artifact and set off directly.
“What they call ‘opening the mountain’ actually refers to the Firmament Sword Tomb. It opens every few years.
After those sword cultivators fall, they can’t bear for their treasured swords to gather dust. So their lifebound swords don’t go into the Effigy Tomb—instead, they’re buried in a separate grave. If someone fated comes along, the swords can be drawn and wielded again.”
Zheng Qian cleared his throat.
“Rumor has it, it was originally a sword immortal’s hidden sword ground. Others say it’s where a sword immortal fell or drew his sword… Sword intent, sword qi, and sword essence sweep away dust and fill the void, lingering for years. You’ll know how powerful it is when you see it.”
“In short, Hidden Sword Mountain exists beside the Firmament Sword Tomb.”
“Our goal this trip is those drifting strands of sword qi in the Sword Tomb—they’re in high demand.”
Seeing Little Junior Sister perk up her ears, Zheng Qian broke it down carefully, explaining the ins and outs.
“Sword cultivators can use that sword qi to comprehend the Dao. Artifact refiners sometimes need it to temper spiritual materials. Talisman masters use it to draw sword intent talismans. You can make a fortune reselling it.”
“There’s a special little magic artifact designed to capture sword qi.”
Xia Erruo took out a small sword and handed it to Little Junior Sister. “Here, this is the magic artifact for capturing sword qi—a Sword Qi Gourd.”
Li Yin took it and examined it closely. The small sword was pitch-black with a glossy sheen, about a finger long, made of some unknown metal. It felt cold and hard in her hand.
“Sword qi comes in low, mid, and high grades, and so do Sword Qi Gourds. The one you have is mid-grade—one costs twenty spirit stones.”
After Xia Erruo spoke, Zheng Qian waved it off. “A single Sword Qi Gourd isn’t cheap. Some people lose money on them. Your Senior Sister Xia isn’t good at math—she bought too many last opening and still has leftovers.”
Revealing her shortcomings in front of Little Junior Sister made Xia Erruo plant her hands on her hips and glare. “You talk too much. I saved them on purpose, so the junior sisters and brothers could get familiar with them first. Got a problem?”
Fat Senior Brother hollered, “No problem! I didn’t say there was. It’s not my spirit stones anyway.”
The flying boat immediately filled with noisy banter, lively and chaotic. Zhang Baille had a quiet personality but occasionally chimed in, either fanning the flames or playing peacemaker.
Li Yin watched her senior brothers and sisters bicker with great interest.
Once the commotion died down, Xia Erruo didn’t forget to remind her, “Sword qi is sharp and hard to control. It might sound simple, but be careful. Every time, a few disciples get greedy for quick gains, damage their foundations, and regret it for life.”
Little Junior Sister listened attentively and nodded obediently.
Then, she whispered that her master had suggested using an alias for safety outside. This led to another round of hushed bickering as they helped Little Junior Sister settle on a temporary alias.
They swapped the name and surname for a similar sound: Yin Li.
With both the disguise art and alias, it was perfect for avoiding her predecessor’s troubles. Li Yin secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
“Excellent, excellent. Please give us pointers, Junior Sister Yin.” Fat Senior Brother nodded repeatedly. “Count on Junior Sister Yin to let us partake in some fortune—don’t let us lose money.”
Seemingly called out, Xia Erruo shot him another sideways glance. “Junior Sister Yin, ignore him. Let him lose.”
“Yin Li” nodded repeatedly in response. “You’re too kind, Senior Brother. With your blessings, I’m off to ascend as the God of Wealth.”
Fat Senior Brother kicked his leg out dramatically, while Little Junior Sister blinked innocently.
The journey still had some distance left. The senior brothers and sisters shifted to other topics. Li Yin sat beside them, listening as they shared odd tales from Hidden Sword Mountain—including some stereotypical views of sword cultivator disciples.
They started with how diligently they trained and how fierce they were in battle. The topic veered to them being blockheads who didn’t understand romance.
How did it veer there?
Because sword cultivator disciples—with their broad shoulders, narrow waists, and long legs—were quite pleasing to the eye at first glance. They were favorites among certain Joyous Union Sect disciples.
A flood of delightful gossip and popular anecdotes followed. Myriad Beasts Sect had looser cultivation anyway, so they had time to gather entertaining stories everywhere.
Reality was far richer than the game. Whether it was the Firmament Sword Tomb and sword qi trade or these juicy tidbits they were sharing now, Li Yin listened with rapt attention.
But speaking of Joyous Union Sect, she briefly recalled the relevant save file in her mind.
That save file hadn’t been fun. The Player had drawn a Joyous Union Sect female cultivator identity and, by rare luck, got Elder Zhang’s character card. She casually took a target as her disciple—the only save where she played the master.
Unfortunately, it was a rebellious disciple, forced into taking Joyous Union Sect’s female cultivator as master.
After entering the Player’s tutelage, he refused to stoop to the sect’s level, unyielding even to death. He spent his days in cold standoffs with his master.
The Player’s consistently bad luck persisted: she failed tribulation transcendence, fell, and the save ended in a Bad End.
Rebellious disciple—didn’t listen to his master and wouldn’t let her have fun. Boring.
Gossip was more interesting. Li Yin quickly refocused on the chatter.
Time flew by. In the blink of an eye, they neared their destination.
From far away, the majestic sword land came into view first.
At the horizon’s end, a towering sword shadow hung in the sky. One sword split the mountain and pierced the void, standing high in the heavens. The giant sword’s phantom plunged from the mountaintop deep into the earth’s veins, with bursts of sharp, flickering light.
In midair, responding streams of light flashed like leaping electric arcs, enveloping the iron-brown mountain range—like pulsing veins in barren wilderness, resounding in harmony.
“Those flashes in the air are sword qi. They say it’s resonating with the Firmament Sword Intent. The sword qi even resonates with each other.” Xia Erruo explained.
“Look.” She pointed it out to Li Yin.
Cultivators had good eyesight. Li Yin saw scant greenery in the mountains. Amid it, spiritual swords were thrust slantwise or upright in many places.
“Those spiritual swords are ownerless. If anyone fated can awaken them, they can take and use them, whether they’re Hidden Sword Mountain disciples or not.”
Li Yin knew this, but she wasn’t a Hidden Sword Mountain disciple now, so she had no interest in those swords. She just kept gazing up at the heavenly sword shadow.
“We’ve entered Hidden Sword Mountain territory.” After advancing a bit more, Fat Senior Brother reminded them.
The majestic scenery drew closer. The game had no such realistic, grand cinematic view. As the Player marveled, a faint whoosh of wind swept by her ears—unusual.
Li Yin turned to look.
A vibrant red hair ribbon fluttered. The newcomer rode the wind through the void, dressed in elegant sky-blue, form-fitting combat attire paired with black bracers. A Black Rhino Sash hung at his waist, accentuating his lean, powerful build—not inferior to any sword cultivator’s physique.
The youth’s gray eyes swept over the people on the flying boat—all clearly Myriad Beasts Sect disciples.
Though he spotted a familiar face and could guess, he still cast the Azure Profound Secret Art—a high-level spell to pierce illusions. Spiritual light flashed between his brows as he confirmed.
His sharp gray eyes suddenly softened into a misty haze. Ji Lingyao flashed a brilliant smile at the disguised girl on the flying boat.
“Little Junior Sister Li, what a coincidence.”