I Reborn on the Night I Divorced the Sword Deity, My Childhood Friend - Chapter 5

The demonic cultivator listened and remained silent for a moment. He gave a slight, mocking smile but continued to fly toward his originally chosen direction without looking back.

Shen Junyu, who was following him from a distance on his spiritual sword, felt a moment of confusion. After a brief silence, Shen Junyu did not argue with the man. Instead, he continued to follow him silently.

Soon, the demonic cultivator successfully arrived at the ambush point set by the Sword Sect disciples. It was located near a remote cliff, which was the only path leading out of the secret realm. When the demonic cultivator saw the Sword Sect disciples jumping out from all directions, he froze for an instant. It seemed he had not expected the mysterious, unknown voice from earlier to actually be trying to help him.

However, in the next instant, the demonic cultivator carelessly raised his pale, slender fingers to wipe away the bloody foam emerging from his lips. His dark pupils were as deep as the night. Then, with an air of near contempt, he spoke indifferently to the surrounding Sword Sect disciples.

“Come at me all at once.”

The Sword Sect disciples were instantly enraged. Even if those who entered the Sword Sect were not all peerless geniuses, they were considered the elite among cultivators of their generation. How could they tolerate such a provocation from a heavily injured demonic cultivator who was in such a wretched state?

Furthermore, Yuan Muzhou had given a clear order: he wanted the man found, whether alive or dead. Since they did not need to capture him alive, they had no reason to hold back. Consequently, without waiting for their leader to give the command, the Sword Sect disciples angrily launched their attacks at the demonic cultivator.

For a moment, the light of magical treasures and spiritual energy danced across the sky. Like a dense rain, every attack flew straight toward the demonic cultivator in the center of the field.

From a distance, Shen Junyu watched this scene and raised an eyebrow. This situation appeared to be a complete encirclement of the demonic cultivator, but it lacked any coordinated strategy. Fighting randomly like this made it very easy for someone to find a gap and counterattack. These Sword Sect disciples were, in the end, a bit too arrogant.

As expected, the demonic cultivator understood this principle well. Facing so many attacks, he neither initiated an attack nor struck back. He simply wove through the heavy glow of the magical treasures like a swimming fish, focusing entirely on evasion.

The Sword Sect disciples had assumed that by attacking together, they would surely capture the demonic cultivator. They did not expect the man to be as slippery as a loach and extremely difficult to catch. Soon, they became impatient and their tempers flared. Once they became agitated, they left openings.

The demonic cultivator seized the opportunity to strike. For a time, muffled groans and angry rebukes rang out continuously as disciples were repeatedly injured or knocked away by the techniques or treasures of their own companions. The field fell into a state of total chaos.

Seeing that the time was right, the demonic cultivator tapped his toes against the ground, intending to escape quietly. However, at that very moment, an extremely cold voice echoed from high in the air.

“All of you stop. I will handle this personally.”

As soon as this voice spoke, the disciples reacted as if they had heard a divine decree and immediately ceased their actions. A figure in a black crane-patterned cloak descended from the sky, holding a long sword that was as white as frost and snow. It was Yuan Muzhou.

The moment the disciples stopped, the escape route of the demonic cultivator was laid bare. This sudden turn of events caused the pupils of the demonic cultivator to contract slightly, and a hint of anger finally surfaced on his otherwise expressionless face. But he also knew the strength of Yuan Muzhou well. After a moment of anger, he decisively leaped forward amidst the cries of the disciples and threw himself toward the bottom of the bottomless cliff.

Yuan Muzhou watched the direction in which the demonic cultivator jumped without expression. The long sword in his palm condensed a silver light, and he swung it out in a single strike. This was no ordinary strike. Even though it was driven by the cultivation of the Golden Core stage, it mysteriously contained an extremely profound Sword Dao.

The atmospheric field around the sword energy produced a frozen sense of stagnation. The sword light was like a ribbon of silk, moving extremely fast yet remaining remarkably clear, as if it had distorted space itself. The watching disciples widened their eyes and held their breath at the sight of such a peerless strike. They collectively marveled in their hearts that the Young Sect Master was indeed a once-in-a-millennium genius of the Sword Sect. Once this sword was drawn, who could compete with it?

However, in the next instant, their admiration came to an abrupt halt. At the exact moment Yuan Muzhou swung his sword, another sword light, as dazzling as a golden rainbow, flew out from the woods on the flank. It also headed straight for the demonic cultivator. Before the sword light of Yuan Muzhou could strike, this new light reached the demonic cultivator first and slammed him into the infinite depths of the cliff.

Everyone was stunned. Soon, however, someone recognized the sword light, and their expressions became even stranger. Yuan Muzhou, naturally, recognized the sword light before anyone else. His face turned as cold as ice as he looked sharply toward the dense woods nearby.

Under the gaze of Yuan Muzhou, a figure in gentle white robes flew out on a sword and appeared before everyone. The disciples broke into a clamor.

“Is it really Shen Junyu?”

They knew that Shen Siyuan had been injured, so they assumed Shen Junyu had come to seek revenge for his brother. But based on what had just happened, it seemed as if Shen Junyu had intentionally stolen the spotlight from their Young Sect Master. Recalling how Yuan Muzhou had addressed Shen Siyuan earlier, the disciples felt they might have discovered some incredible inside information. However, since both principals were present, no one dared to discuss it, and they only speculated in silence.

When Yuan Muzhou saw Shen Junyu appear so calmly before everyone, his eyes grew even colder. His thin lips moved as if he were about to demand an explanation. But Shen Junyu spoke first in a calm tone.

“The culprit is dead. Young Sect Master Yuan should take Siyuan out of the secret realm as quickly as possible for treatment. A shattered Golden Core cannot be ignored.”

The disciples were shocked. They only knew that Shen Siyuan had been heavily injured by a demonic cultivator, but they did not know it was that serious. Furthermore, the way Shen Junyu addressed Yuan Muzhou led to much speculation.

When Yuan Muzhou heard the last sentence from Shen Junyu, his brow twitched violently, and a surge of dark, turbulent emotion flooded his eyes. He stared at Shen Junyu, ignoring the many onlookers, and asked coldly, “Do you not feel a guilty conscience for doing this?”

Shen Junyu listened to the words of Yuan Muzhou and remained silent for a long while before giving a slight, mocking smile.

“That has nothing to do with Young Sect Master Yuan.”

The cold mask on the face of Yuan Muzhou finally shattered completely. His eyes seemed to churn with a tidal wave of fury, and his hidden anger looked ready to leap over the crowd and consume Shen Junyu. Shen Junyu remained unmoved, staring directly back into the long, narrow, and cold eyes of Yuan Muzhou. He had always had a clear conscience, so why would he feel guilty?

Under the freezing atmosphere, the two men stood in a standoff for an unknown amount of time. Finally, Yuan Muzhou did not explode. He kept a cold face, flicked his sleeve, and flew into the sky on his sword. Although he was extremely annoyed by the coldness and indifference of Shen Junyu, he also knew that Shen Junyu was right; the injuries of Shen Siyuan could not be delayed. This time, he would never give his heart away again.

After Yuan Muzhou departed, the vast cliff top fell into an extremely awkward silence. The Sword Sect disciples did not know whether to leave or stay. Because they were unsure if the couple was simply having a spat or if it was something more serious, they did not dare to be too disrespectful toward Shen Junyu.

Shen Junyu saw the embarrassment of the disciples and did not make things difficult for them. “Since the mission of Young Sect Master Yuan is complete, everyone should go about their business. It would be best not to delay finding your own opportunities.”

Hearing this, the disciples all felt relieved and quickly bowed to bid farewell to Shen Junyu. Shen Junyu stood quietly on his sword, watching the disciples leave. His jade-like, gentle face was indifferent, and no emotion could be seen.

The disciples were anxious to find treasures in the secret realm, so they quickly scattered. When only Shen Junyu remained on the vast cliff top, he flew his sword over the cliff and looked down. The bottom of the cliff was shrouded in mist and appeared bottomless, exuding a daunting darkness that made it impossible to tell if it held good or bad fortune.

But Shen Junyu simply stared at the bottom of the cliff for a moment before flying down without hesitation. Half an hour later, Shen Junyu passed through layers of thick, poisonous fog and landed safely in front of a cave at the bottom of the cliff. He had followed the trail of blood along the cliff wall to find this place.

At this moment, spots of black-red blood were scattered on the ground, along with pieces of rotten flesh that appeared to have been carved out with a sword. Within this rotten flesh, red threads continued to wriggle; it was the Witch Ancestor Blood Curse. A faint sound could be heard coming from inside the cave. Shen Junyu listened at the entrance for a moment and then stepped inside.

In the dim light, a dark shadow lay half-reclined on the ground in a corner of the cave. A silver dagger had fallen beside his hand, and the smell of blood was extremely strong. Shen Junyu walked over. He lit a fire starter and shone the light downward, revealing a pale face nearly covered in blood.

Except for the area covered by the silver mask, the rest of the skin of the demonic cultivator had begun to fester, showing strange, wriggling red lines that looked terrifying. Seeing this scene, Shen Junyu showed no fear. Instead, he frowned slightly and leaned halfway down.

As his hand reached the edge of the silver mask, the blood-soaked lashes beneath it suddenly twitched, and the demonic cultivator snapped his eyes open.

Their gazes locked.

Shen Junyu’s expression remained composed, neither flinching nor turning away. Meanwhile, the demonic cultivator’s gaze fell upon Shen Junyu’s incomparable face, which bore a fifty percent resemblance to Shen Siyuan. After a brief, piercing scrutiny, a mocking smile curled on his thin lips, and he lazily closed his eyes once more.

His expression clearly said: Even if you torture me to death, I will not grant you another look.

However, the expected torment did not arrive.

The silver mask was removed with a gentle motion and set aside. Immediately after, a slightly cool, bony hand lightly touched the corner of the demonic cultivator’s eye. The blood-dampened skin there twitched involuntarily.

Inside, the demonic cultivator felt a strange sense of calm, masked by a hidden streak of malice. He thought: If you gouge out one of my eyes today, I will take both of yours tomorrow. Then, I shall apply the secret tortures of the demon race to ensure you can neither live nor die.

Yet, things did not go as he expected.

The soft, calloused pads of those fingers brushed against the tail of his eye once, then twice. Suddenly, the demonic cultivator felt the pain of the Witch Blood Curse eroding his skin begin to subside.

The demonic cultivator was perplexed. For the first time, he felt a flicker of tension as the situation spiraled out of his control.

What happened next was even further outside his expectations. After the hand eased the pain around his eyes, it took a soft handkerchief and began to dab away the blood that continued to seep from his face. The movements were delicate and meticulous, devoid of any intent to humiliate.

Finally, unable to restrain himself, the demonic cultivator opened his eyes. His dark pupils glinted coldly as he subjected Shen Junyu to an arrogant, scrutinizing stare.

After a brief silence, the jade-like young man remained unhurried and unperturbed. He gazed back with eyes as steady as still water and asked, “How does one become a demonic cultivator? Can you teach me?”

The demonic cultivator was stunned.

A bonfire rose in the damp, dark cave. A medicinal pill was tossed into the flames, releasing a fresh fragrance that temporarily dispelled the foul odors of the cavern.

The demonic cultivator had put his silver mask back on, but he was no longer the blood-stained, wretched figure he had been. His wounds had been treated, and he had changed into a fresh set of clothes. He sat in a corner with one long leg hooked up, watching the figure in white across the fire. Shen Junyu was looking down, focused on carving a piece of wood. Beneath the mask, the demon’s black eyes shimmered as he pondered.

The fire crackled. Shen Junyu’s long lashes cast shadows as his slender, beautiful fingers held a carving knife. Wood shavings fell away bit by bit, and the wood in his palm gradually began to take a human shape. The flickering firelight danced on his handsome profile, making his features appear as elegant and translucent as fine jade.

The Witch Ancestor Blood Curse was created by an ancient Great Witch who refined his own body into a voodoo parasite. He left his essence to his descendants, telling them that if they encountered a powerful enemy, they should strike this blood into the opponent’s body via a curse. This essence, saturated with voodoo power, would replicate and consume the host until they died.

The only cure was to carve a likeness of the cursed person from a specific type of wood, then use a soul-transferring technique to shift the curse into the effigy. This method required an extremely high level of understanding of occult mathematics; thus, even though the cure itself was straightforward, very few in the cultivation world knew how to perform it. It was for this reason that the demonic cultivator had not expected to leave the cave alive.

He had not anticipated such a miraculous encounter. However, he could not fathom Shen Junyu’s motive for saving him. He reasoned that if Shen Junyu saved him, he must have a scheme, and therefore would not harm him in the short term.

With this in mind, the demonic cultivator’s cold, sharp gaze wandered shamelessly back and forth over Shen Junyu’s beautiful profile.

Finally, Shen Junyu set his work down and looked up calmly. “Is there something on my face?”

Suddenly meeting those clear, light brown eyes, the demonic cultivator’s brow twitched. In that lightning-fast moment, he captured a subtle clue from his memory. After an eerie silence, the corners of the demon’s mouth curled into a sinister smile.

Shen Junyu was confused.

The demonic cultivator adopted an expression of realization. He crossed his arms behind his head and said nonchalantly, “Young Master Shen, even if your fiancé was stolen by your own brother, you need not fall so low. Being a demonic cultivator is not as easy as it looks.”

Shen Junyu raised an eyebrow slightly.

Seeing no rebuttal, the demonic cultivator assumed he had guessed correctly. He straightened up, his expression becoming serious. “Regardless, I have noted the debt of my life today. If there is a chance in the future, I will surely repay it.”

At this, Shen Junyu’s gaze shifted slightly. “What if I want you to repay it now?”

The demonic cultivator’s heart stirred. As expected, he thought, there is indeed a scheme. Given his experience, he assumed Shen Junyu would use his demonic shape-shifting abilities to make him an undercover agent or a spy in some sect.

Unconcerned, he asked casually, “How does Young Master Shen wish for me to repay him?”

Shen Junyu replied, “Teach me the demonic arts.”

The demonic cultivator was speechless.

Meanwhile, inside the Heaven’s Medical Hall of the Sword Sect.

Several medical cultivators of the Deity Transformation and even Void Refinement stages gathered around the brocade couch where Shen Siyuan lay. Their expressions were grave and complex. Finally, they all sighed and shook their heads silently at Yuan Muzhou.

As he watched them, the light in Yuan Muzhou’s narrow phoenix eyes dimmed, and his face was gradually overtaken by an icy chill. He had not expected that even though he acted so quickly this time, he still could not save Shen Siyuan’s Golden Core.

He had rushed Shen Siyuan out of the Yin-Yang Secret Realm early in the evening and flown directly back to the Sword Sect. He had used his Young Sect Master’s token to summon every available medical expert. In his previous life, he had been half a day late to reach Shen Junyu after his Golden Core shattered; thus, even with the Life-Sharing Covenant, it was impossible to reverse the damage.

But why, when he was not late this time, was it still irreversible? How could this be?

He turned to look at Shen Siyuan, whose face was as white as paper and whose breath was as thin as silk. Yuan Muzhou felt a dull ache of grief and a slow surge of guilt.

Noticing his gaze, a nearby medical cultivator whispered a consolation. “Young Sect Master, Young Master Shen was born with a weak constitution. It is not that you returned too late; you must not blame yourself.”

Yuan Muzhou dazed for a moment, then suddenly remembered: indeed, Shen Siyuan was born weak. He could not compare to the exceptionally gifted Shen Junyu, who had bonded with the postnatal treasure, the Phoenix Feather Sword, early on.

Upon realizing this, Yuan Muzhou’s disappointment in Shen Junyu reached its peak. He thought: Even outsiders know this. Shen Junyu is Siyuan’s elder brother; how could he not know?

He did not expect Shen Junyu to sacrifice himself as he had in the previous life, but with Shen Junyu’s current strength, if he had been willing to help, Siyuan would never have ended up like this. Simply because of the past friction between them, Shen Junyu had stood by with chilling indifference, showing no regard for his own brother’s life. He was truly heartless.

After all, Shen Siyuan was his own biological brother.