After Infusing Love Poison to the Cold Sword Sovereign - Chapter 24.2

At this moment, the glowing runes encircling the platform were active as two sword-wielding figures clashed fiercely within, drenched in sweat. Though the formation absorbed most of the sword energy, traces of its power still leaked outward.

“Senior Sister Jiang Qingbei is incredible! Truly worthy of being the daughter of Sect Leader Jiang her talent is extraordinary! She’s already won over ten consecutive matches!”

“You clearly haven’t heard of Immortal Luo. It’s said she once fought on this platform for an entire day without a single drop of blood staining her robes. Not only that, she even challenged a Sword Sovereign a whole realm above her and emerged victorious!”

“That impressive? As expected of the top genius of the Path of Severed Emotions! If not for that certain someone…”

“Keep your voice down. That person is long dead. No one should mention that name now, Immortal Luo would lose her mind if she heard it!”

Wu Ruo pricked up her ears.

By the time she entered the Sword Debate Assembly, she had already dismounted from the celestial deer. Slipping unnoticed past Yue Qinglan, she quietly made her way to the central grounds.

The conversation between the two sect disciples reached Wu Ruo’s ears. She hadn’t paid much attention at first, but the mention of Luo Qingyi’s name instantly sharpened her focus.

Luo Qingyi losing her mind? And an unspeakable name?

In an instant, all drowsiness left her as she waited for the two to reveal more. But their discussion soon shifted back to the ongoing match.

The battle had turned into a one-sided domination. Jiang Qingbei, likely tired of putting on a show, gathered a surge of sword energy at the tip of her blade, forming a violent gale. With a single decisive strike, she sent her opponent flying out of the arena.

Casually planting her sword into the ground, Jiang Qingbei stepped onto the hilt and declared arrogantly, “Junior Brother, you’ll need a lot more practice if you ever hope to surpass me!”

The young mistress, having spoken, instinctively tilted her head back and surveyed the admiring gazes of the crowd with haughty pride until her eyes landed on a particular figure, and her pupils contracted.

Without a second thought for her duty as the current champion, she tossed aside her outer robe, sheathed her sword, and strode off the platform. “I’m tired today! The remaining challengers can wait, hurry up and arrange the next match!”

With that, Jiang Qingbei turned to leave without another glance, but the dense crowd made escape difficult. As she pushed her way toward the exit, a pair of hands blocked her path.

“Ah-Xiang… Oh, no! I suppose I should call you Jiang Qingbei now,” Wu Ruo intercepted her, pretending she hadn’t seen through the ruse. “I just watched your match you were amazing. When did you start learning sword techniques?”

Jiang Qingbei halted in her tracks, noticing the curious glances from other disciples passing by. She had no choice but to stop and snorted, “I’ve been learning for a while now, and that’s because I have talent!”

Seeing the other’s impatient expression, perhaps tinged with a fair amount of guilt, Wu Ruo understood that Jiang Qingbei was still worried about the wrong words she had spoken the previous day.

“Mhm, you’re the best,” Wu Ruo said. “You were amazing when you practiced gu techniques before, picking up everything so quickly. You’re truly incredible.”

It was a lie, Ah Xiang had no particular talent for gu techniques and could only be described as making up for lack of skill with diligence. But what Wu Ruo admired most was how disciplined she was every day, compensating for her shortcomings with relentless practice.

“Of course, what am I not good at?” Jiang Qingbei replied, her voice laced with guilt. “Why aren’t you with Shijie today?”

“She went out on business. Do you remember that book we read in the forbidden chamber, the one that listed the Ten Forbidden Gu?”

“Forgot all about it. Why are you asking?” Jiang Qingbei frowned, then her tone shifted, turning serious. “What kind of gu are we talking about? Don’t go experimenting recklessly.”

“Nothing much, I won’t mess around,” Wu Ruo replied naturally. “There’s the Corpse Yin Gu, the Branded Poison Gu, the Blood Demon Gu…”

She watched as Jiang Qingbei’s frown deepened, her disgust so palpable it was as if a demonic cultivator had appeared before her, she even looked ready to draw her sword. Wu Ruo smiled faintly and added the last two words: “…the Love Gu. That’s all I remember; the rest slipped my mind.”

She didn’t miss the fleeting change in Jiang Qingbei’s expression when she mentioned the Love Gu. It wasn’t disgust but confusion.

Jiang Qingbei exclaimed in surprise, “The Love Gu? That doesn’t fit with the others. Is it really one of the Ten Forbidden Gu?”

“Yeah, I thought so too. It’s strange. Supposedly, the ranking is based on lethality, but the Love Gu only affects the mind hardly a big deal.”

Jiang Qingbei’s reaction confirmed she truly didn’t know. If, during the years she had forgotten, she had actually used the Love Gu on Luo Qingyi, her response should have been avoidance and deep secrecy.

So the mystery of Luo Qingyi’s clingy attitude toward her remained unresolved.

Setting aside her doubts, Wu Ruo smoothly changed the subject. “I saw a book in Luo Qingyi’s study that mentioned this, but it wasn’t as detailed as the forbidden text we read back then, so I came to ask you.”

“Oh, I’ve forgotten everything. I’ve switched to sword cultivation now, so don’t come asking me about this stuff in the future.”

“Alright, alright, as you say.”

The young mistress grabbed Wu Ruo’s hand and pulled her along, running into Yue Qinglan, who had been searching for Wu Ruo for quite some time. The two of them got along well Yue Qinglan listened quietly as Jiang Qingbei boasted with pride, occasionally responding with a word or two, the atmosphere lively.

Wu Ruo listened in silence, chiming in appropriately now and then.

The paper crane on her shoulder had already concealed itself, its wings fluttering lightly for a moment, a brief glimmer of light flashing before vanishing again.

At the other end of the paper crane, far away in another sect, Luo Qingyi carefully folded the jade-green paper and put it away. Since Wu Ruo hadn’t activated it, the crane couldn’t transmit sound, but Luo Qingyi could sense the atmosphere on the other side Wu Ruo wasn’t in any danger. And since Yue Qinglan hadn’t sent any messages either, the two of them had likely just gone out for a stroll. Nothing unusual.

That put her mind at ease.

“Immortal Luo, are you really going to do this…?”

She found herself in a warm chamber, where an incense burner beside her emitted an eerie, delicate fragrance. On a high stool next to the couch sat a female physician, her brows furrowed with concern as she watched Luo Qingyi remove her outer robe and sit quietly on the spiritual platform within the chamber, slowly unfastening the cuffs of her sleeves.

“The fifth rib on the left, and a drop of heart’s blood,” Luo Qingyi stated succinctly. “If extracting immortal bone and essence blood, take them from there.”

“Luo Qingyi, think this through!” The woman stood up, the hem of her robe adorned with emerald-green bamboo patterns, speckled with ink-wash accents, a mark of her status as a sect leader.

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