Chapter 17: The Murderous Sword, Part 6

Just as he stepped into the territory of Sword Peak, the oppressive, low-hanging sky could no longer contain the rain. Droplets fell in torrents, striking the living earth below. A sudden fierce wind and heavy rain swept through, plunging the world into gloom. Were it not for those who had opened their meridians, ordinary mortals would find themselves unable to see their outstretched hands at this moment.

The Floating Cloud Flying Palace lay hidden amid the dark, heavy clouds, with only faint glimmers of light visible.

Inside the flying palace, Leng Fangxie was released but could no longer see the shadow of the heart demon. Yet he knew it was still nearby, for the nape of his neck tingled under a malevolent gaze.

The flying palace was usually brightly lit day and night, shrouded in moonlight and clouds—an unparalleled paradise that perfectly suited Floating Orchid’s personality and status. Yet now, caught in the storm, it had fallen into darkness. Only a few luminous pearls dotted the corners, their light faint, barely casting shadows an inch around them.

Floating Orchid stood in the center of the great hall, his figure swallowed by shadows, leaving only a pair of bright, piercing eyes.

His expression was indistinct, and Leng Fangxie felt an uncontrollable irritation rising within him. His heart pounded so rapidly in his chest that he found it hard to breathe.

Do cultivators at the transformation stage also suffer from breathlessness?

He sensed that Floating Orchid was in a foul mood and planned to find an excuse to leave. Since he had left Qingshan without informing Wei Yun or the disciples of Jiuchen, he told Floating Orchid he was going to the Unity Hall to report his work.

Before he could turn, he felt the flowing cloud energy and falling rain behind him suddenly halt as the palace’s always-open doors closed. The hall grew stuffy and warm without the usual breeze.

Finally, Floating Orchid spoke: “I have already told Wei Yun about your affairs and asked you to handle an important matter for me. You were injured by a backlash in the secret realm and have not yet healed. There’s no need to rush off. Stay and talk with your master.”

His tone remained calm, without a trace of anger, but Leng Fangxie stiffened alertly.

After all these years together, he had long understood Floating Orchid’s nature. He was not as gentle as his public demeanor suggested; rather, he was far more narrow-minded than most. But because of his formidable cultivation and high status, no one dared provoke him in all these years, and so his mask of kindness had never slipped.

That did not mean Floating Orchid did not get angry.

In the past, if he refused to feed Floating Orchid, he would get angry; if he did not wear clothes Floating Orchid prepared, he would be angry. Whenever things went against Floating Orchid’s wishes, he bottled up a great deal of resentment.

When Floating Orchid was angry, it was like this—his voice flat and expressionless, neither loving nor hateful, as if separated by a barrier.

Leng Fangxie dared not defy him now. He nodded reluctantly but remained rooted in place, neither moving forward nor lighting any of the other pearls. He feared that once bathed in light, if Floating Orchid did something, they could never turn back.

“You once mentioned a Dao partner to me,” Floating Orchid said, unconcerned by Leng Fangxie’s avoidance, his voice even and indifferent. “Liu Jinge has noble character and cultivation equal to yours. Both of you are sword cultivators and can relate on the path of cultivation. He is indeed a fine choice. When do you plan to take him as your Dao partner?”

In Floating Orchid’s words, Liu Jinge was flawless, and he seemed quite pleased with him.

But Leng Fangxie’s heart sank deeper and deeper, reaching the bottom.

Outside the flying palace came the rumble of thunder, flashing lightning and roaring rain.

After a long silence, Leng Fangxie spoke with a somewhat strained voice: “I have no other feelings for Liu Jinge. What I mistook for friendship before, I now see clearly.”

“Oh.” Floating Orchid nodded, then suddenly his tone darkened. “Then why does he send you cloud messages every day, each word intimate? You two clearly still have private contact. He treats you as his fiancé! And yet you still want to deceive me?!”

Cloud messages?

Since their last meeting, he had not received a single letter from Liu Jinge.

A certain undeniable possibility flashed through his mind. Frowning, he suppressed his anger and said, “You intercepted all my messages.”

Floating Orchid ignored him and pressed on: “Later, you finally found excuses to meet him, bringing new disciples into the secret realm. Fangxie, you must have been very happy. So why didn’t you share your joy with your master? Have you grown tired of me?”

Such words, half accusing, half aggrieved, made Leng Fangxie feel sick. A once transcendent Saint of Tribulation now acting like a petty mortal, jealous and sour.

After the irritation passed, a deep-rooted worry resurfaced.

He feared he had walked right into a tiger’s den. Leng Fangxie smiled bitterly.

In the secret realm, he had disparaged the Green Snake, thinking Floating Orchid, no matter how flawed, could still control himself. But now, it was clear he had been blind—Floating Orchid had lost control!

It was too late to escape now. Leng Fangxie could only brace himself, trying to soothe Floating Orchid and praying he would soon return to normal.

But Floating Orchid was clearly deranged. Before he had spoken many words, the divine consciousness Floating Orchid left within him suddenly stirred.

Floating Orchid’s divine consciousness was unlike his warm and approachable true form; it exuded a dark, sinister aura, reminiscent of the shadowy depths at the bottom of the Fuyuan Realm. Even the faintest trace of it on Leng Fangxie was unbearable, despite Floating Orchid’s deliberate effort to restrain its presence.

Yet after all these years of coexistence with the divine consciousness, Leng Fangxie had grown both uncomfortable and accustomed to it.

Divine consciousness was a deeply private matter. Even among the closest family and friends, it was taboo to reveal or expose it. When peers interacted, they usually concealed their divine consciousness completely. For a master to place a fragment of his divine consciousness upon a disciple, night and day, was unprecedented in the ten thousand years of the Fuyuan Realm—except for one evil master who manipulated and tormented his disciple through divine consciousness, erasing the disciple’s spirit in life-and-death crises to achieve resurrection.

But Leng Fangxie never doubted Floating Orchid. At first, he only found the presence strange and unsettling. It was the prime of his youth, spent daily sword-drawing and demon-slaying, full of romantic freedom. Yet realizing his elder was always watching him stirred a complex wave of emotions—both comfort in the master’s care and irritation and shyness.

He thought it was temporary, until he discovered Floating Orchid’s divine consciousness never left. The irritation overwhelmed all other feelings, and in anger, he stormed into the Floating Cloud Flying Palace to confront Floating Orchid. The wrath of a Nascent Soul expert was not to be taken lightly by anyone else, but Floating Orchid merely treated him like a spoiled child ignorant of the reasons, insisting the divine consciousness was for his protection.

But the ensuing screening of friends, inquiries about his whereabouts, and other strange behaviors grew increasingly bizarre. Leng Fangxie’s divine consciousness grew stronger and more aware of the odd emotions in Floating Orchid’s divine consciousness.

Once, confident in his cultivation of divine consciousness, he tried to expel Floating Orchid’s presence.

With a single touch, his strong and solid divine consciousness instantly collapsed. In dizziness, trembling, and unbearable itching, Leng Fangxie glimpsed Floating Orchid’s darkest thoughts.

Those chaotic, twisted ideas...

Even now, he dared not recall them.

They were not the noble, clear-minded thoughts of a Dao master, but darker than the coldest and most heartless of the unfeeling.

It was then that Leng Fangxie finally understood Floating Orchid’s feelings.

When he learned of those forbidden desires, his first reaction was disbelief—Floating Orchid treated him like a brother or father, cared for him like a beloved child; how could such thoughts exist? He even suspected someone was plotting against him or that evil spirits were at work. But gradually, he realized it was all true.

What followed was not anger, but fear—utter terror.

Once he thought his master, Floating Orchid, was a soft jade statue, warm and gentle yet firm underneath. Now, the smooth exterior was shattered, revealing a filthy core that fixed its gaze on its cherished prey.

To be regarded as a mere plaything by a transcendent being was a pitiful fate. Hence, Leng Fangxie chose to flee, to look away, to endure, to buy time.

Now he had to face reality.

No matter how many secret methods he sought, no matter how many spiritual artifacts he used to strengthen his divine consciousness, before Floating Orchid he remained fragile and easily shattered.

A silvery-gray spiritual rune appeared on Floating Orchid’s forehead, shining dazzlingly in the dark. Leng Fangxie no longer had the heart to look.

“Floa—”

His body trembled uncontrollably, unsure if from pain or pleasure. Or perhaps, in the extremity of sensation, pain and pleasure were one and the same.

His thoughts sank deep into his body, trying to shield himself with flesh and spirit from the raging storm outside.

He was too weak—like a trembling green leaf beaten and swept by a merciless storm, falling into a deep silver pool. Once soaked, there was no chance to lift and escape.

Within his spiritual aperture, the frail Nascent Soul child sat on a lotus throne, face contorted in pain. Gray, chilly, sinister energy swirled around the lotus, turning clear and gentle light into darkness. The child’s face grew paler, a shadowy aura coiling around his delicate neck.

A massive divine consciousness enveloped him, each touch like an electric shock and burning flame. His feeble resistance was too immature for Floating Orchid; with a mere “playful” gesture, he was disarmed, revealing the soft, vulnerable core of his life force.

“...!!”

Leng Fangxie wanted to scream, to beg for mercy, to weep.

For the first time in centuries, the lofty Dao Lord Qinghong displayed such a shattered expression.

It was as if battered by wind and rain, broken and toyed with, utterly powerless.

And all of this was brought upon him by his master.

Floating Orchid had taught him how to eat and dress like a human, how to be a cultivator, how to become strong, the meaning of Dao, the essence of the sword... Leng Fangxie’s world was composed of Floating Orchid and others.

Now, Floating Orchid was teaching him the most forbidden lesson.

Facing a ravenous, predatory beast, repeated feedings were but futile delays. The moment would come when he became the prey beneath the beast’s paw.

Leng Fangxie had spent centuries learning to be a disciple.

Now, Floating Orchid demanded he be his lover.