CHAPTER 12

 — Lifebound Sword —

The Great Derivation Sword Tomb, also known as the Hidden Sword Tomb, is, as its name suggests, the source of nearly all the swords used by members of the Chonghua Sword Sect. It is the resting place for tens of thousands of swords of every variety imaginable. Some are famous blades whose masters have long passed; others were forged but never found a worthy wielder.

In the vast world of cultivation, sword users are far from rare, yet the blades carried by countless swordsmen are merely referred to as "sidearms." Only the weapons wielded by disciples of the Chonghua Sword Sect are called "Lifebound Swords."

Once a Chonghua disciple performs the bl0od-binding ritual, the sword becomes intrinsically linked to its master, connecting their mind and spirit. In battle, it moves with unparalleled responsiveness, as if an extension of the wielder's own body. However, if the Lifebound Sword is damaged, the master suffers a degree of backlash. Should the sword be destroyed, the master's cultivation would likely regress several levels.

Thus, Chonghua disciples hold their Lifebound Swords in the highest regard. The Sword Tomb itself is protected so thoroughly that not even a fly could slip through—were it not for Yuan Qiongshuang's prior orders and Su Yan's personal intervention, even Ding Ding bringing Tong Tong would have been barred at the gates.

By Chonghua tradition, the Sword Tomb opens only once every fifty years, allowing qualified and promising disciples to select their Lifebound Swords. Each opening requires over a dozen Golden Core [Jindan] stage disciples working together to activate the formation.

T/N: [Core Formation (Jiedan) and Golden Core (Jindan) are fundamentally related but they are technically not the same word or concept. Core Formation stage is the process or action of forming the core, and the Golden Core stage is the result or the object itself.]

For disciples in the Qingyun Court who have not earned their master's favor and thus lack a bestowed sword, this place is a dream come true—though the quality varies, the search depends on one's own fortune. Even many immensely powerful immortal artifacts have emerged from here, attracting disciples from other sects hoping for a share of the spoils.

It must be said, for Tong Tong, who hasn't even succeeded in Qi Refining, it's no wonder she's considered the number one enemy by the Qingyun Court disciples—with luck like hers, it's already reached heaven-defying levels that others can't hope to match.

"Wow! It's like a whole other world!" Her cherry-red mouth hung open in awe as she stared at the distant, gaping gorge, marveling at nature's craftsmanship and even more at the Chonghua Sect's grand design and ingenuity.

Forming hand seals and channeling her true essence to control the stone wall, Su Yan shot a frustrated glance at Tong Tong, who was still dawdling far behind, and sent a voice transmission: "Get in here!"

"Oh, right!" Scampering into the valley, Tong Tong was like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden, looking left and right, touching this and that, wishing she had three heads and six arms like Nezha to see everything and get her fill.

The mountains and valleys were filled with swords of every conceivable shape: some dazzlingly silver, others pitch-black and unsharpened; some over ten feet long, others less than a finger's width; some adorned with colorful precious gems, others plain and unadorned like scrap iron... a bewildering array, so varied that if you could imagine it, you could find it here. Tong Tong was utterly dazzled, losing all sense of time.

Seeing that she had less than half a moment before reaching her limit, Su Yan's willow-leaf brows furrowed, her pale lips tightening. Yet, upon spotting Tong Tong flitting through the forest of swords like a butterfly, she silently swallowed her urge to hurry her along.

Unaware of the situation, Tong Tong continued her leisurely tour, as enthusiastic as if on a spring outing.

Noticing Su Yan's rigid posture from the corner of her eye, she thought she was just playing statue again, shook her head, and kept exploring.

Glancing around as she went, she still hadn't found a sword that caught her fancy. Her initial excitement faded, replaced by a growing sense of disappointment.

Just as she was beginning to lose heart, a sword suddenly caught her attention—one that stood out with an overwhelming presence even in that vast sea of blades. It was an oddly shaped bone sword, crafted into the form of a fierce sea fish. Dense, jagged fish bones formed its sharp edge, while a smooth, round ruby was embedded in the eye socket, gleaming with a faint, eerie glow. The pale, delicate bone structure was polished to a glossy sheen, resembling fine ivory carving—both flamboyant and exquisite. At first glance, she couldn't tear her eyes away from it. This was the one!

Having made up her mind, Tong Tong took a few quick steps forward, ready to grab the sword, when she heard Su Yan's urgent voice beside her: "Return!" She immediately turned to look and saw that Su Yan's already fair, translucent skin had turned as pale as paper, his red lips pressed tightly together as if he were struggling to endure something. Only then did Tong Tong belatedly realize something was wrong.

A deafening roar echoed, dust billowed, white mist swirled, and the light dimmed. The stone walls on either side began to close in toward the center like soldiers obeying an order.

Reluctantly glancing at the eye-catching fishbone sword just a few steps away, Tong Tong gritted her teeth and turned to sprint outward, pushing herself with the same desperate speed she had once used for a fifty-meter dash.

But the stone walls seemed determined to oppose her, suddenly accelerating their closure.

Panic surged in Tong Tong's heart as she desperately raced toward the narrowing exit. In her frantic dash, she caught a glimpse of a green flash shooting toward her from the corner of her eye. Without thinking, she instinctively reached out to grab it, her hand meeting a cool, smooth surface—what felt like a hilt. She yanked it with all her strength, not bothering to look closely, and continued her mad dash outward.

Twenty meters, ten meters, five meters... The gap between the stone walls grew narrower and narrower. On the verge of being trapped in that desolate, empty canyon, Tong Tong, in her desperation, recalled a scene from some movie or show. With a swift motion, she hurled the object in her hand—it lodged perfectly between the closing walls, propping open a narrow passage just wide enough for her to slip through.

She took a large stride forward, leaped through the narrow gap, and quickly turned to pull out the wedged object—Crack! Bang! The stone walls slammed shut right behind her back.

A cold sweat dripped from Tong Tong's forehead, her heart pounding wildly. If she had been even a few seconds slower, she would have been crushed between those walls—what a sight that would have been...

After catching her breath and calming her racing heart, Tong Tong reflected on the thrilling, action-movie-worthy scene she had just experienced. With a touch of narcissism, she nodded to herself, giving her performance a score of ninety. If she had managed to grab that fishbone sword or rescue a lagging teammate, it would have been a perfect one hundred!

—Too bad her arms were too short to reach the fishbone sword, and there was no teammate to begin with!

So, what was her only gain?

It was only then that Tong Tong, proud of her heroic feat, remembered to take a closer look at the object she had randomly grabbed in her haste—it was an exceptionally beautiful jade-green sword!

The sword was three feet six inches long and about two and a half fingers wide. Its entire body was a flawless jade-green, as if carved from a single piece of flawless jadeite, breathtakingly beautiful. Yet, at this moment, its new owner eyed it with suspicion, scrutinizing it up and down, doubtful whether it could withstand the full force of an ordinary brick.

If this sword had a spirit, it would surely be cursing its clueless owner!

You were the one who used this very sword to wedge into the stone wall just now!

"Have you chosen?" Su Yan, seeing that Tong Tong was unharmed, slowly approached and asked in a low voice.

"Sigh, I left in such a hurry that I only managed to grab this flashy but useless sword... That fishbone sword was so much more imposing!" Tong Tong pouted, handing the sword in her hand to Su Yan with a tone full of regret.

Just then, the sword flashed with a green light, as if protesting her criticism.

With sharp eyes, Su Yan noticed two small seal script characters engraved on the hilt—Biling [Jade Spirit].

Her eyes flickered as she carefully examined the sword for a while before handing it back to Tong Tong, praising softly, "A fine sword."

"What? This thing counts as a fine sword?" Tong Tong disdainfully waved the lightweight longsword in her hand. "Sure, it's pretty, but can beauty fill your stomach? Can it unleash powerful moves and clash head-on with others? Obviously not..."

Unable to bear her belittling such a treasure, Su Yan asked coldly, "Then why did you choose it?" Since she thought so little of this sword, why did she specifically bring it out from among the countless swords in the sea of blades?

A treasure sword covered in dust would rather sleep in a tomb forever. The ache of endless waiting is far kinder than the sting of being discarded.

"I didn't mean to... But that fishbone sword was so far away, and you told me to come back. I was afraid I wouldn't have another chance, so I just grabbed whatever was nearby, and it happened to be this one..." Tong Tong was still filled with regret.

After a moment of silence, Su Yan suddenly spoke up. "The Sword Tomb can be opened more than once." The implication was clear: even if Tong Tong hadn't had time to retrieve the coveted fishbone sword, Su Yan could open the Sword Tomb again for her later.

"Huh? That's great! Senior Brother Su, please let me exchange it..." Blinking her big eyes, clasping her hands together in front of her chest, and pouting pitifully, she pleaded—though a little voice inside her was cheering with delight: 'Ahaha, my fishbone sword! Don't worry! Your master will come to claim you soon!'

"But you've already chosen your sword." Su Yan remained unmoved by her feigned pitiful expression, crossing her arms and speaking coolly. "You've lost the right to re-enter the Sword Tomb... Those who have chosen their swords are barred by a restriction spell." Su Yan was quite satisfied with Tong Tong's devastated expression upon hearing this. Suppressing the wicked curve of her lips, she gazed softly at the Biling Sword, its green light flickering briefly.

"How could this be? Does fate truly decree that I am destined to be parted from that incredibly cool fishbone sword?" Gazing sorrowfully at the tightly closed doors of the Sword Tomb, Tong Tong sighed wistfully.

Ignoring Tong Tong's dramatic performance, Su Yan wordlessly grabbed her wrist, took hold of her hand clutching the Biling Sword, and mercilessly sliced it—"Owww!" Jiya, who had been idly destroying flowers and grass nearby, glanced over at the sound and shot a disdainful glare at the woman who had mimicked its cry but ended up with a distorted, off-key version.

Tong Tong, tears welling in her eyes, stared at Su Yan, who coldly pressed her delicate hand against the blade—this time, the tears were genuine, not the forced ones from before. Questions and grievances choked in her throat, unsure which to express first. All she could do was gaze tearfully at Su Yan, hoping the other could read the complex emotions in her eyes.

Unfortunately, she and Su Yan weren't quite at that level of rapport yet. So, in response to her silent accusation, Su Yan merely raised an eyebrow and calmly reassured, "It won't take much bl0od—just a small bowl is enough."

Tong Tong followed her gaze to the Biling Sword still lodged in her wrist—now, where was the elegant and graceful appearance it once had? It looked like a bl0od-soaked demonic blade! She was starting to suspect that the sword wasn't made of jade but rather of agate!

'And another thing! Su Yan, my friend! Is your definition of a "small bowl" this big?'—Tong Tong mentally drew a huge circle with her hands—'This isn't a bowl! We Chinese call this a vat! The kind Sima Guang smashed to save a child!'

Scientists say a person can only lose a basin's worth of bl0od at most! Any more and you'll die! Even my period has never taken this much bl0od from me...

By the time Tong Tong felt her vision blurring with spots and even her inner screams had lost their strength, Su Yan finally removed the now crimson Biling Sword. With a serious expression, she said to Tong Tong, "The bl0od pact is complete. It's your sword now."

Her response was the clatter of the sword hitting the ground and the figure of Tong Tong collapsing into her arms.

With agile reflexes, Su Yan instinctively turned aside, carefully protecting her chest as she warily eyed Tong Tong—her beautiful eyes narrowed, cold as frost, scrutinizing the suspicious figure with ill intentions—before suddenly widening in surprise as she watched the girl, with no support, fall stiffly to the ground.

"Thud—" The sound alone made it clear the fall was anything but gentle.

"Oww..." This feeble cry of pain was Tong Tong's final lament before losing consciousness.

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