Volume 4, Chapter 142 – A Stunning Vision on the Long Street

The moment those words were spoken, not only did Li Qianhe freeze, but the whole group traveling with him froze as well.

They stared at Bai Xiang in utter astonishment. They simply could not imagine that a woman, especially one who held the status of a Dao Lord, would show absolutely no courtesy at all when she was supposedly “in the wrong.” It could even be called outright rude.

Once Li Qianhe recovered, a fierce light sprang into his eyes. He glared at Bai Xiang and said, “Dao Lord Bai is truly overbearing! My daughter, Shuxin, has always been cultivated and courteous, gentle in temperament. She would never do anything as rude as this. Don’t tell me, Dao Lord Bai, that your sect has already beaten her to death and disposed of her!”

“Exactly, there has to be some misunderstanding here.”

“No matter what, you should at least let Brother Li finish speaking.”

“This is far too rude.”

“Someone like this should never have been granted the honor of a mountains-and-rivers-ranked dojo. Her Dao should have been sealed long ago!”

The people around Li Qianhe all began talking at once, each of them condemning Bai Xiang.

Bai Xiang looked toward the man in the black suit standing off to the side of the group. The outfit was too formal, too internationalized. He was probably not hotel staff, but a specialist sent by the Sword Dao Association to guide this group.

The specialist acted as though he had not noticed Bai Xiang’s gaze at all. His eyes remained fixed on some point in empty space, motionless, like a marble statue.

Without showing any expression, Bai Xiang merely set her left hand on Feixiang Heaven, wrapped her palm around the seam where the hilt met the guard, and gently pushed the guard up with her thumb.

Clang…

As the blade was drawn little by little by the guard, a snow-bright gleam spilled from that narrow slit. Violent yet invisible Sword Qi instantly crushed the red carpet beneath Bai Xiang’s feet into collapse, and then transmitted that pressure upward into the open air above with astonishing speed.

Excitement had still been shining in Li Qianhe’s eyes a moment earlier, but once that wave reached him, his face changed at once, and a trace of blank shock appeared in his gaze.

And beside him, the people who had just been noisily denouncing Bai Xiang suddenly looked as if invisible hands had seized them by the throat. No matter how hard they tried, their mouths and throats could no longer produce a single sound.

The silence lasted a full ten seconds. By the time the specialist’s face had also changed dramatically and he had begun anxiously gesturing and mouthing words at her, Bai Xiang finally withdrew the force of the vibration in the air and decided to hear what he had to say.

“Dao Lord Bai, please do not fight here!” The specialist stammered a few times before realizing he could speak again, and immediately shouted at Bai Xiang. “There are many more floors above us! Dao Lord Bai, please think carefully! Do not cause mass loss of life!”

At that moment, Zhu Qingluo also emerged from the corridor behind. She had seen more or less the whole situation, and immediately frowned at the specialist. “Why are you taking sides? Why didn’t you move when they were slandering and smearing her just now?”

The specialist looked awkward, but still forced himself to reply, “Conflicts like this are extremely common… The Nine Provinces have been in constant turmoil lately. Quite a few Void People have even killed their opponents while challenging dojos, or been killed by them in turn.”

The implication was that the Sword Dao Association had no real way to manage this sort of thing. At most, they could restrain off-stage conflict and make everyone keep their grudges until the arena.

But that obviously did not satisfy Zhu Qingluo.

After all, through Zhu Sheng, she had been able to learn about most of what had happened recently in Zhennan Circuit.

Cultivated and courteous, gentle in temperament?

That Li Shuxin had clearly released a demon pool to pollute the environment without informing Bai Xiang, and after being caught red-handed, she had still tried to argue her way out of it and suppress Bai Xiang by invoking the name of the Seven Illusory Heavens Alliance.

And she herself had not even entered the Venerable ranks.

For an ordinary sentient being to plot against someone of the Venerable ranks, if that were laid out openly and discussed fairly, it would cause an uproar even on the Venerable Net. Everyone would think she deserved to die.

Not only she deserved to die. The clan that raised her deserved the same.

Yet now Li Qianhe was standing here spouting nonsense. He clearly knew that his own strength alone was not enough to deal with Bai Xiang, so he intended to use his daughter’s death to raise a banner and, on top of the existing public sentiment, stir up even more outrage against Bai Xiang.

Zhu Qingluo saw through that trick in a single glance. She stared coldly at the people above, but sent Bai Xiang a voice transmission instead. “Want me to kill them for you…”

Then she added after a brief pause, “This service is free of charge.”

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Bai Xiang looked at her. Since meeting Li Qianhe, it was the first time her gaze had shown any change.

“No need.”

She gave only those two words in reply, then cast Li Qianhe one final glance and turned into the corridor behind her.

Zhu Qingluo shook her head. Seeing that Bai Xiang had no intention of continuing to act, she could only slip away with her.

That left only the group on the stair landing above, standing there awkwardly, looking at one another and feeling embarrassed by how completely Bai Xiang had suppressed them just now.

“She wouldn’t dare do anything here. What are you all afraid of?”

A voice broke the silence.

It was Li Qianhe. He already looked as though he had recovered his composure.

“That’s right.” The specialist stared at the collapsed ring in the red carpet below, and the corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily. “The Association has strict regulations against fighting outside the competition. Anyone who seriously violates the rules will be stripped of their qualification to compete.”

In truth, with the Sword Dao Association’s own strength, it could not actually enforce a punishment like that.

Unless the Great Yu Court fully exposed the power standing behind it and delegated that power down to organizations like the Sword Dao Association, written regulations like this had absolutely no restraining force on those of the Venerable ranks.

And yet, even so, off-stage fighting remained rare in the three major divisions. That was because the one maintaining this order was not really the Sword Dao Association itself, but all the contestants who hoped to seize benefits through this competition.

If anyone broke the rule, whatever punishment the Sword Dao Association might impose was secondary. The first thing they would face would be a joint assault from all the surrounding competing forces.

So Bai Zhixing must have calculated that too, and that was why she stopped?

Good… At least someone like that still knows fear…

“Mr. Li.” A somewhat plump, bearded man suddenly stepped close to Li Qianhe and transmitted his voice into Li Qianhe’s ear. “Should this matter… be reported to His Highness?”

“Well…” Li Qianhe gave him a polite smile, then, for no particular reason, remembered the glance Bai Xiang had cast at him just now.

She actually held herself back…

If she truly refrains from acting outside the arena, and both she and I are in the Tongyun division, then the chance of our crossing paths is practically certain. Yet I have no confidence that I can defeat her.

Danger.

My methods in direct confrontation are not especially strong. Dragging me onto the arena for open combat already puts me at a disadvantage.

This is an extremely dangerous killing trap. I’ll have to think of every possible way to survive it.

“Of course His Highness should be informed.”

At that thought, Li Qianhe’s attitude toward the messenger grew even more polite.

“There should be a few minor misunderstandings between Dao Lord Bai and myself.”

“If His Highness can help mediate a little, then I, and Ningming Heaven behind me, will be deeply grateful.”

On the other side, after following Bai Xiang to the elevator on the other end, Zhu Qingluo asked unhappily, “You still care about those rules?”

She did not understand why Bai Xiang had chosen to hold back.

“Now is not the time.” Bai Xiang kept her eyes fixed on empty space. “There is no need for innocent people to be buried with him.”

So she was worried about destroying this building?

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Only then did Zhu Qingluo react. She looked up at the countless floors rising through the atrium, then thought about the bustling street below. If the stairs collapsed and broke away, a great many people really would die.

That was certainly a very natural consideration. But among the Venerables I’ve seen, not a single one would care whether those ordinary sentient beings lived or died…

Zhu Qingluo’s eyes flickered.

Forget ordinary sentient beings. If it meant gaining benefits, if it helped one’s cultivation or extended one’s lifespan, some people would casually slaughter and even devour their own kin. They were utterly unscrupulous.

Zhu Qingluo sighed inwardly, and when she looked at Bai Xiang again, there was something extra in her gaze.

Interrupted by this incident, Bai Xiang changed her plans midway and did not go back to her room to spring a surprise on her younger sister.

Instead, she took Zhu Qingluo out for a meal. After eating, she brought her wandering through the streets, and even specifically sought out weapon shops to pick through the swords inside.

Was she just idle with nothing to do…?

Zhu Qingluo merely watched coldly.

In any case, she could not tell what Bai Xiang was doing.

The shop they were currently visiting did not have a large storefront. The owner was doing an employee’s work himself and was energetically introducing the merchandise to them.

“This guest can tell at a glance what good swords are!”

“On this whole street, only the Yuming Workshop diagonally across from us has quality better than mine!”

“Would you like to take a look at this one?”

“This White Spirit Sword is the treasured centerpiece of my shop!”

Bai Xiang took the White Spirit Sword, drew out a section of the blade with a metallic ring, then pressed it back in.

The sword was not bad.

Of course, it could not compare with a Dao sword forged from treasured materials, but among ordinary mortal weapons it already counted as a treasure. An average person probably could not take it home without spending hundreds of thousands, if not over a million.

“You said I understand swords.” She returned the White Spirit Sword to the owner and looked straight into his eyes with her golden pupils. “Was that because you saw that I also wear a sword at my waist?”

The owner froze. His eyes flickered and blurred, then his voice shifted into a dull tone. “Yes… because, at minimum, you’re also a swordsman, and swordsmen all understand swords. Unlike those demon people, who even complain that I don’t sell other kinds of weapons…”

After a round of questioning, the two of them also learned the whole story.

Tongyun Circuit had been designated one of the three major competition divisions, and recently quite a few visitors from the Illusory Realms had gathered there. The lower-ranked disciples among them were restrained from causing trouble among the people, but that did not mean they were not allowed to come out to walk around, buy supplies, or purchase weapons.

Naturally, many of those people were not swordsmen. So when they discovered that weapon shops in Great Yu sold only swords, conflict quickly arose.

According to the owner, this area was still relatively good, because it was close to the city center, and many of those demon people’s elders lived nearby and kept some restraint on their behavior.

If it were in a more remote place, say the outskirts, the conflicts would be much fiercer. He had heard that quite a few shops there had already been smashed and burned.

“What about the Yuming Workshop?” Bai Xiang asked again. “There are thirteen Yuming Workshops in Tongyun Circuit, and four of them are in the outer ring. Have those shops been smashed too?”

“Those haven’t.” The owner shook his head. “The Yuming Workshop’s swords are cheap and high-quality. Presumably even the demon people can’t find much to complain about there. And on top of that, they’re backed by a mountains-and-rivers-ranked dojo. How could we possibly compare with them?”

Only after asking the owner about the Yuming Workshop’s reputation in Tongyun Circuit did Bai Xiang leave with Zhu Qingluo.

Then she repeated the same thing all along the way. Every time they came across a weapon shop, she went in and asked questions. The answers she got were all more or less the same.

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More than half praised the Yuming Workshop for knowing how to do business. The remaining smaller half complained that they knew how to do business far too well, squeezing everyone else’s livelihoods into misery.

Especially that “free shipping” slogan. They had truly pushed the idea of low margins and high volume to the extreme.

Anyone with a functioning brain would know to buy Yuming’s goods, so how were other people’s swords supposed to sell?

“So what exactly are you trying to do?”

Zhu Qingluo had watched and followed all the way through, and by now she was getting irritated.

You just made an enemy a moment ago.

The other side is definitely already plotting how to harm you. Instead of hurrying to pull strings and prepare a response, you’re out here eating, strolling, browsing shops, and sightseeing.

She truly could not understand Bai Xiang’s line of thought.

“I only wanted to experience a little more of this,” Bai Xiang answered.

“Because scenes like this, and noise like this, will disappear before long.”

Zhu Qingluo narrowed her eyes. “I didn’t know you were such a sentimental person.”

What Bai Xiang meant should have been this: as the struggles in the martial exercises intensified, fewer and fewer people would be willing to abide by those surface-level rules. By that point, all the Nine Provinces would probably be covered in the smoke of war.

Because the result of the Dao-Void martial exercises was not final in itself.

Zhu Qingluo personally guessed that the Demon Court had joined hands with the secular imperial court to stage this whole affair for the purpose of raising up a target and drawing everyone’s fire onto it.

On one hand, they could turn that target into an ally of their own. On the other, they could use the progress of the martial exercises to wear down the strength of the various Dao lineages.

Naturally, plenty of people would refuse to accept that.

The farther the competition advanced, the more people would lose their qualification to contend.

Those people would definitely not be willing to accept defeat. True, they had all obeyed the Demon Court’s orders in the past and did not dare openly oppose it, but tribulation struggle involved one’s Dao path, involved opportunities to prolong one’s lifespan.

When the final result was set, that very day might well become the day the Nine Provinces broke apart.

But she wouldn’t actually care about such things, would she?

Zhu Qingluo suddenly realized that she could no longer understand Bai Xiang’s thoughts at all.

She had not fully understood her before either, but at least she could predict a little.

After all, a person had a certain disposition. Cold, proud, disciplined, universally compassionate. If you set those words over Bai Xiang and thought things through on that basis, it was usually easy enough to push the broad outline pretty close.

But now…

Someone who would use an Order-Preserving Treasure just to make sure the Taixu Monastery’s Dao Child died first, was also the sort of person who would feel sorrow over the disasters that were destined to come later?

The feeling was too fractured.

It did not seem like an emotion that should appear in Bai Xiang.

“But perhaps things may yet turn.”

Bai Xiang suddenly smiled.

“Perhaps.”

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“We may be able to stop some of it.”

Zhu Qingluo froze.

It was the first time she had ever seen Bai Xiang smile like that.

In her impression, Shenming Dao Lord, Immortal Venerable Shenming, was always stiff and serious. True, maintaining that sort of majesty was nowhere near a mental burden for her, but this kind of smile… at the very least, before seeing it with her own eyes, Zhu Qingluo would never have imagined what it looked like.

It was… too breathtaking.

Zhu Qingluo had seen many women before. Some of them also liked dyeing their hair white.

But none of them had this… none of them could embody the aura Bai Xiang carried.

There was the ease of Daoism in it, and also the depth of Buddhism.

It was as though those golden pupils could see through the ten thousand household lights, and those softly pressed lips, that smile, held within it a trace of divinity.

“You…”

Zhu Qingluo felt herself shaken.

Shaken beyond all measure.

She clearly did not believe in gods.

She knew perfectly well that gods and buddhas did not exist, that they could not answer the wishes of mortals, that all those so-called Venerables, Exalted Saints, and Buddhas were merely ordinary sentient beings who had cultivated upward and then crowned and counterfeited themselves.

That was why she carried such hatred, why she wanted to do certain things herself.

But in that instant, looking at Bai Xiang like this, with her mind filled by that smile just revealed, Zhu Qingluo actually felt an impulse to prostrate herself in worship before Bai Xiang.

Subconsciously, she had taken Bai Xiang for a true Dao Venerable, a true Buddha.

But how could that be possible…

She wanted to question Bai Xiang. She wanted to ask where that confidence came from.

When even your own position isn’t secure, when your new law cannot be spread at all, shouldn’t you first be thinking about how to break through the current deadlock?

So why do you still dare say things like this?

Why do you still dare hope for the common people of the world here?

Zhu Qingluo wanted to ask, but she moved too slowly.

Bai Xiang’s smile vanished in an instant.

That trace of divinity disappeared as though it had never existed on her face, and she returned to that cold expression once more.

“It’s about time.”

Zhu Qingluo heard Bai Xiang say to her,

“Come on.”

“I’ll take you to have a look at the Sword Dao Association.”