Volume 1, Chapter 231 – An Unexpected Reunion

For the Sacred Martial Immortal Sect, this demon invasion was likewise a severe challenge.

The Sacred Martial Immortal Sect had a long inheritance. It had already existed before the current Emperor Taishi had even become Emperor.

Now, it was already the 48,924th year of the Taishi Calendar.

Over these long years, although the position of the Sacred Martial Immortal Sect’s supreme headmaster had changed hands several times, there had never once been a break in its Emperor level experts. It had remained in a state of near-constant prosperity.

But from another perspective, ever since its founding, the Sacred Martial Immortal Sect had seen almost no real development. Aside from having more disciples and many more pillars in its middle ranks, there had been no breakthrough whatsoever at the level of its top experts.

It had produced favored sons of heaven, yes, but as for truly peerless geniuses whose brilliance could dazzle all ages, it had never produced one.

Therefore, though the Sacred Martial Immortal Sect did possess deep foundations, compared to the demon race, they were probably nothing remarkable.

And just as Bai Weiyang had said, the Sacred Martial Immortal Sect could not be relied upon.

Shi Lan could all but conclude that the Sacred Martial Immortal Sect definitely had a way to preserve itself alone. If things became impossible, there was no chance the Sacred Martial Immortal Sect would stake all of its accumulated foundations on a fight to the death with the demon race.

After all, if there were a way out, who would be willing to fight to the death?

Let alone anyone else, even Shi Lan herself was unwilling.

Walking slowly along the edge of the parade grounds, Shi Lan returned to her own military tent.

Outside the tent stood two soldiers of the Demon-Suppressing Army on guard. Seeing Shi Lan approach, they silently saluted and lifted the heavy curtain hanging at the entrance for her.

“Call Wang Ning here.”

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One of the soldiers acknowledged the order and left. Shi Lan stepped into the tent at a measured pace.

Of all her subordinates, Wang Ning was the one she was most familiar with. Naturally, it was much more convenient to leave certain matters in his hands.

Before long, a burly man seven feet tall, with only two fingers left on his left hand, entered the tent.

After entering, Wang Ning stood with his hands lowered, silent, waiting for Shi Lan to speak.

“Starting tomorrow, I’ll be taking half a month off. If anything happens in camp, send word to me at once.”

“This subordinate understands.”

Shi Lan knew Wang Ning had always been a man of few words and did not mind. After handing over some miscellaneous duties to him, she let him leave.

After Wang Ning left, Shi Lan removed her battle armor and changed into an ordinary blue-green dress.

A point of spiritual light leapt out from her sleeve, turning into a pale golden longsword. The sword was four chi long, with a blade three chi three cun in length, dotted with tiny star patterns like a patch of starry sky.

Before Shi Lan could do anything, the longsword swelled in the wind to nearly human height. The pale golden blade flashed with a burst of cold light, like a mirror, clearly reflecting Shi Lan’s figure and features.

A wisp of white mist spilled from the hilt and gradually condensed into a tiny person less than a palm high.

Compared to when it had first been drawn, Golden Rainbow’s form was much more solid now. It looked like a child of five or six, neither male nor female, sitting on the guard near the hilt, swinging its legs as it watched Shi Lan, a lively smile flickering in its eyes.

In its eyes, its sword master was more beautiful than anyone else in the world.

No one could compare.

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Looking at the woman in blue reflected in the blade, Shi Lan raised a hand and undid her hair crown. Three thousand strands of black hair cascaded down, then were tied behind her back with a thin cord.

After staring at Golden Rainbow for a long while, Shi Lan flipped her hand and took out a sheathed gray longsword from the Qiankun Bracelet.

The instant the gray longsword appeared, Golden Rainbow trembled as if it had encountered some great terror, and shrank back into the blade, not daring to show itself.

Shi Lan gently stroked the longsword, feeling somewhat complicated inside. This sword had been personally given to her by Wu Xu when she had accepted the legacy of the Guiyun Sword Sovereign, along with a promise to make one move on her behalf.

From the bottom of her heart, Shi Lan was unwilling to use this sword, because she was not the inheritor of the Guiyun Sword Sovereign.

The Guiyun Sword Sovereign’s sword arts, divine abilities, and even the Dao Fruit of a Sovereign had all been sealed away by the system. At most, she could only be called the custodian of the Guiyun Sword Sovereign’s legacy.

The same thing still held true: favors were hard to repay.

And for some reason, Shi Lan always felt this was not as simple as a mere favor. If one wanted to put it in more abstruse terms, calling it karma might be more appropriate.

But the demon race’s advance this time was ferocious, and there was even power above the Emperor level interfering. If she kept relying solely on Samsara, there was a very high chance that some uncontrollable accident would occur.

Shi Lan drew in a light breath and put the longsword back into the Qiankun Bracelet. If things truly became impossible, she would not cling to such minor scruples. If it needed to be used, she would use it.

After all, life was the foundation of everything. Once one stepped onto the road to the Yellow Springs, all karma and favors became empty talk.

After putting Golden Rainbow away and sorting through her thoughts, Shi Lan slowly left the military tent.

She did not want to think about so much right now. During this rare stretch of peace, she only wanted to set all her troubles aside, rest and recuperate, and spend a few quiet days in ease.

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After leaving the tent, Shi Lan did not hurry out of the military camp. Instead, she first went to the women’s camp.

She wanted to see how Wu Lingkong’s injuries were.

…

There were too many wounded in the women’s camp, and physicians came and went in an endless stream. Though Shi Lan was wearing a long dress, she did not stand out much among them.

There were too many wounded and too many people moving through. Shi Lan searched for quite a while, but still failed to find Wu Lingkong.

“Miss…”

“Miss… please wait…”

Just as Shi Lan was searching everywhere, she suddenly heard several calls from a woman nearby.

A woman in white blocked her path.

The moment Shi Lan saw the woman’s face clearly, her body stiffened, and for a moment she was at a loss.

The woman was tall and graceful, with bright eyes and white teeth. She was none other than Lu Yueqing, her betrothed.

“Forgive me for disturbing you so suddenly, but there is something I would like to ask, if I may.”

With an apologetic expression, Lu Yueqing spoke, her eyes full of puzzlement as she asked,

“Where is Miss from? Do you have any brothers or sisters in your family?”

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Because of the Jade Tempering Art, Shi Lan’s appearance had not changed drastically, but compared to before, there was still a considerable difference.

Then there was the Dust-Cleansing Pill, which had washed away impurities. When she broke into the Innate Realm, she had shed her mortal body. After that, Innate spiritual blood had entered her body, and her entire bearing had changed greatly.

Compared to when she had first met Lu Yueqing, Shi Lan’s changes were already earth-shaking. On top of that, with the way she was dressed now, it was only natural that Lu Yueqing could not recognize her.

Seeing Lu Yueqing so suddenly threw Shi Lan’s thoughts into confusion.

But only a moment later, Shi Lan adjusted herself and regained her calm.

Not long ago, Shi Tianlu had already told her that Lu Yueqing was moving together with the women’s camp of the Demon-Suppressing Army.

Reuniting with Lu Yueqing had always been something she expected. It had simply come a little earlier than anticipated.

“Shi Lan!”

Before Shi Lan could speak, a familiar voice came from not far away.

Wu Lingkong passed through the crowd and slowly came to Shi Lan’s side. Though her complexion was still somewhat pale, her aura was already steady. Clearly, her injuries had stabilized. That Water Spirit treasure ganoderma from earlier truly lived up to its status as a fourth-grade treasure medicine. Its effects had been immediate.

“Shi Lan?”

Lu Yueqing froze and stared at Shi Lan’s face. After looking for a while, an absurd feeling suddenly surged in her heart, and an expression of barely concealed astonishment appeared on her fair face.