66: Chapter 66 Qixia Asks the Sword, Thunder Bamboo Seals the Breath

The frost on Qixia Peak was deeper than when Lu Changyuan last visited.

It was not because of the cold.

It was because ever since Luo Qingcheng went into seclusion, the Qi of the entire peak had been permeated by the Sword Intent emanating from her. The grass and trees on both sides of the mountain path were covered in a thin layer of frost, but they had not withered; instead, the edges of their leaves appeared even clearer.

Lu Changyuan did not bring many people with him.

He brought only Su Qingli and a jade box for sealing spirits.

What was inside the jade box was not the entire devil-cleansing thunder bamboo.

It was just a small piece of charred outer bark that the thunder bamboo had shed on its own last night, along with a tiny, newly condensed thunder node.

The true root was still in the Thunder Bamboo Garden.

When they reached the waist of the peak, the clouds and mist parted on their own.

Luo Qingcheng's voice drifted down from the peak.

"Come up."

She was not meeting guests in the hall.

Instead, she was sitting on a blue stone at the edge of the cliff.

Her white clothes were like snow, and her complexion was still a few shades paler than an ordinary person's. Across her knees lay an unsheathed sword. She did not look like a Golden Core Sword Cultivator who had just experienced a death tribulation; she looked more like a cold blade pressed down by snow.

Motionless.

Yet no one would think it was dull.

Lu Changyuan saluted: "Senior."

Luo Qingcheng glanced at him.

"Every time you come up the mountain, it is never a small matter."

Lu Changyuan offered the jade box.

"This time, I have come to ask Senior to look at something."

The jade box opened.

The moment the tiny thunder node was exposed to the air, the frost on the peak stirred slightly.

Luo Qingcheng's originally calm gaze finally descended.

She did not reach out to take it.

She simply pointed with her fingers.

A wisp of Sword Intent, as thin as a thread, touched the edge of the thunder node.

Snap.

Purple-blue thunder arcs exploded.

But the thunder arcs did not attack the Sword Intent; instead, they traveled half an inch along it, forcing out a trace of filthy black energy that even Lu Changyuan had not noticed.

That black energy was extremely faint.

It must have been a lingering trace left behind from coming into contact with the residual blood of demonized sea beasts last night.

Luo Qingcheng watched as that wisp of black energy was shredded by the thunder arcs, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"Devil-cleansing?"

"Yes."

Lu Changyuan did not beat around the bush.

"When Xingyan returned, he saved a live root from a batch of scrap wood struck by lightning. It can purify the Qi of Abyss Demons, but its own aura cannot be hidden."

"Three months from now, the first wave of Abyss Demons will press upon the Outer Sea. If Blue Moon Island can keep this thing alive, it will be one more chance at survival."

Luo Qingcheng did not speak immediately.

The mountain wind rolled up from beneath the cliff, blowing the thunder node in the jade box so that it glowed faintly.

After a moment, she said: "Three months from now?"

Lu Changyuan nodded.

"After the night raid at Xingyan, it was obtained from the remnants of a Golden Core devil cultivator's belongings."

"Lu Qingyao also agrees with this assessment."

Upon hearing Lu Qingyao's name, Luo Qingcheng's expression did not change; she only said indifferently: "If the Zhenhai Army already knows, it means the situation is even worse than you say."

She looked up toward the distant sea.

"This bamboo is too weak right now."

"To use it for Artifact Refining now would be killing the goose that lays the golden eggs."

Lu Changyuan said: "Junior is not here to ask Senior to perform Artifact Refining."

"I am here to ask Senior to help it conceal its aura."

Luo Qingcheng looked at him.

Lu Changyuan continued: "The ordinary spirit-concealing array in the Spirit Plant Garden cannot suppress it. Forcing it would damage the roots. Not suppressing it would attract things from outside."

"Senior's Qixia Peak is inherently connected to the earth veins of Blue Moon Island. If you could lend a wisp of Sword Intent to establish a Seal-Breath Restriction for the Thunder Bamboo Garden, the thunder bamboo would have a chance to survive this initial period."

Su Qingli stood to the side, not interrupting.

But she had already produced a scroll of the array diagram in her hands.

The array diagram was not complex.

What was complex was the blank space left on it.

It was not for an array master to fill in.

It was for the placement of Golden Core Sword Intent.

Luo Qingcheng glanced at the array diagram twice, her lips moving slightly as she smiled.

The smile was very faint.

"You have certainly calculated this patient of yours quite clearly."

Lu Changyuan's expression remained unchanged: "I would not dare to misuse matters within the contract."

"That is why I brought the thunder node this time."

"If the devil-cleansing thunder bamboo can be successfully raised, in the future, thirty percent of the first batch of mature thunder nodes will belong to Qixia Peak. Senior can use them yourself, or use them to exchange for favors from the Heavenly Star Sect."

Luo Qingcheng finally reached out and picked up the tiny thunder node.

The thunder arcs danced at her fingertips but did not dare to run wild.

"Thirty percent?"

"Thirty percent."

"You are quite generous."

"If I were not, I would not live long enough to collect the debt."

Luo Qingcheng looked at him, seemingly seeing again in these words the young man from the giant pit in the reef cluster who dared to gamble with the last nine-leaf world-purifying lotus seed.

A moment later, she put away the thunder node.

"Leave the array diagram."

"I will only strike one sword."

Lu Changyuan felt a sense of relief.

The one sword Luo Qingcheng spoke of was, of course, not for killing enemies.

It was to drive a wisp of her Geng Metal Sword Intent along the earth veins of Qixia Peak and into the Thunder Bamboo Garden.

Half an hour later, the clouds and mist at the peak dipped slightly.

Luo Qingcheng pointed her fingers at the blank space on the array diagram.

There was no earth-shattering momentum.

Only a line of cold white sword light fell from her fingertips, sinking into the earth veins beneath the cliff.

At the same time, in the Spirit Plant Garden far to the southwest of Qingyuan Terrace, the pale purple thunder clouds that had just gathered immediately retracted. The previously leaking thunder intent seemed to be pressed back into the soil by an invisible hand, leaving only a thin layer of frost light above the garden.

Beneath the frost light, the tender buds of the devil-cleansing thunder bamboo trembled slightly.

Subsequently, a third bud broke through the soil.

Su Qingli closed her eyes and sensed for a moment, a rare trace of relaxation appearing in her eyes.

"It is done."

"Below the Golden Core stage, one cannot tell what is inside from across the outer array."

"If a Golden Core cultivator were to forcibly pry, there would be a reaction from Qixia Peak first."

She immediately added three small marks to the corner of the array diagram.

"These three places cannot be moved."

"The water channels of the Spirit Plant Garden, the earth veins of Qixia Peak, and the southwest array footer of Qingyuan Terrace are now connected in a line by this Sword Intent. If the outer island defense array is modified in the future, it must bypass this area, otherwise, it will either damage the thunder bamboo or disturb Senior's Sword Intent."

Luo Qingcheng did not object when she heard this.

This was equivalent to tacit approval.

When Luo Qingcheng withdrew her hand, her complexion was a shade paler than before.

She still sat very steadily.

But Lu Changyuan could tell that this action was not without cost.

He did not offer excessive thanks, but gave a respectful salute.

"Blue Moon Island will remember this favor."

Luo Qingcheng said indifferently: "Spare me the flowery words."

"Just keep the bamboo alive."

She tapped the jade box lightly with her fingertips.

"As for the Qi of Abyss Demons, I have only seen a few lines about it in old Sect scrolls. If it truly becomes a tide as you say, Blue Moon Island's current foundations are far from enough."

Lu Changyuan said: "That is why we must race against time."

Luo Qingcheng looked at him.

"You have two swords left."

Lu Changyuan was stunned.

Luo Qingcheng's tone was very flat: "The jade sword I left behind is missing one aura."

"Was it used at Xingyan?"

"It was used."

"To save Lu Qingyao?"

"And to save myself as well."

Luo Qingcheng did not press further, only saying: "It was not a waste to use it."

She closed her eyes again.

"Do not use the remaining two swords for show."

"As for Blue Moon Island."

She paused.

"If the devil tide truly presses to within thirty miles of Qixia Peak, I will make a move."

"But I am not your city-guarding general."

Lu Changyuan understood.

This was not a refusal.

This was a boundary.

Having this promise was enough.

When descending the mountain, Su Qingli walked behind him and said in a low voice: "With this Sword Intent from Qixia Peak, the Thunder Bamboo Garden can at least be safely maintained until the first batch of thunder nodes forms."

Lu Changyuan looked at the city defense lights gradually lighting up below the mountain.

"It is not just the thunder bamboo."

"From today on, the Spirit Plant Garden, the Talisman Room, the Array Office, and the Military Armory will all be aligned."

"The purification powder is not for storage, and neither is the thunder-patterned talisman paper."

"Before the devil tide arrives, I want every array footer, every crossbow, and every patrol squad on Blue Moon Island to have something that can block the first bite of Devilish Qi."

Su Qingli nodded.

"I will revise the master ledger when I return."

In the days that followed, Blue Moon Island completely shifted into a different rhythm.

The 3,172 newcomers were registered in batches.

Anti-demon supplies were unpacked, sorted, and trialed.

Records of the devil-cleansing thunder bamboo garden were sent to the Lords Mansion daily.

The Sword Ray Cavalry began taking turns leading people to clear out semi-demonized sea beasts on the periphery.

The Talisman Room burned day and night.

In the Workshop, old thunder-patterned talisman papers were dismantled into new talisman designs, evil-suppressing sand was mixed into the array bases, and purification powder was tested repeatedly in the water veins of the Shallow Water Formation.

Time was chipped away day by day.

On the night of the seventy-ninth day, Lu Changyuan was in the Lords Mansion looking at the final version of the outer array footer map.

The frost light in the direction of Qixia Peak shuddered slightly without warning.

Immediately afterward, the first heavy emergency bell of the Zhenhai Army rang out at the end of the Outer Sea.

It was not Blue Moon Island's bell.

It was the Star Sea defense line further away.

When the bell toll crossed the night and landed on Qingyuan Terrace, it already carried a trace of an irrepressible bloody stench.

Lu Changyuan looked up.

Outside the window, the originally pitch-black horizon where the sea met the sky was slowly glowing with a line of dark red.