Chapter 174: Trading Sword for Life

When Lian Mu woke up, she was still in the cave. Her Fire Barrier remained unbroken—no one had managed to breach it yet—so the cave was still safe.

The moment she opened her eyes, her head felt unbearably heavy, as if something had been forcibly poured into her mind, swelling her skull to the point of bursting.

She tried to recall what she had seen in the Heart Realm. The memories were still there—nothing had been erased.

Looking down, she saw the Flying Swan sword resting quietly in her arms. A fluffy white bird was nestled on her shoulder, rubbing its soft feathers against her neck.

Only then did Lian Mu notice that its eyes were a vivid green, like little orbs of turquoise, glowing faintly in the dark. They were quite similar in color to the blade of Wealth Bringer. It had chosen to perch exactly where Green Bean liked to sit.

The white bird was awake, tilting its head to look at her.

Lian Mu remembered that just before she fainted, it had tried to ram into her. Maybe she had been able to enter Ying You’s Heart Realm Trial thanks to this little creature.

She took out two fruits and offered them to it. “Thanks for the trouble. You really went all out exposing your master’s weakness for me.”

She’d always heard that powerful swords didn’t care about loyalty—they only recognized the person they chose. Even if they’d followed their original master for hundreds of years, the moment they met someone more to their liking, they’d switch sides without hesitation. Only a Sword Contract could keep them bound.

Flying Swan was truly a fine sword, and its sword spirit was delightfully fickle—give it a couple bites to eat and it’d run off with someone new.

That was how Lian Mu saw it from the Azure Profound Sect’s perspective. For her personally, it was perfect—this little traitor had done her a huge favor.

She glanced at Wealth Bringer, lying all alone on the ground, and felt a surge of relief. It was a bit slow, had no sword spirit, and wouldn’t go running off with someone else.

Still, she needed to dissolve the Sword Contract on Ying You soon. If Wealth Bringer kept following her without a proper bond, they’d eventually grow distant.

Lian Mu tucked the Flying Swan sword into her spatial pouch. The sword spirit remained curled on her shoulder, refusing to move. This spot seemed to have a strange allure—Green Bean liked it, Xuan Che’s Red Fire Green Phoenix liked to nuzzle her neck, and now even the Flying Swan Sword Spirit had taken a liking to it.

The first two were fine—Green Bean was harmless, and while Red Fire Green Phoenix shed fiery feathers constantly, it never burned her. But the Flying Swan Sword Spirit? That was another story. It still belonged to someone else. If she ran into Ying You and it suddenly decided to protect its original master again, her neck would be the perfect target.

She shooed it off, not letting it perch on her anymore, then turned to look at Fengyun Yi. He was still unconscious.

Lian Mu didn’t need him anymore. Before the Azure Profound Sect’s team found this place, she had to figure out a way to get rid of him.

She couldn’t just injure him to force an elimination. Disciples trapped in a Heart Realm Trial were protected by a layer of barrier armor, clinging to their skin like spirit armor. Breaking through it by force was nearly impossible.

She’d already chopped up the snake, but stuffing him into its belly wasn’t an option. Carrying a full-grown man around on the road would be a major hassle.

Just then, she heard voices outside the cave—two people standing at the edge of her Fire Barrier, talking.

Her Fire Barrier allowed her to see out, but people outside couldn’t see in. So she walked over and listened to their conversation.

The first voice was instantly recognizable. That cold tone could only belong to Gong Rumei of the Clear Thought Sect.

“Why are you back again?”

“If you can stay here, why can’t I?” The second voice was Shen Wuxie.

“Go back. We don’t need you making trouble here.”

“Heh. How long are you planning to stand guard here? I’m not going to wait around with you. How about we make a bet—see who finds Lian Mu first?”

“Not interested.” Gong Rumei’s voice was as frosty as ever.

“You’re such a blockhead. You can’t even break the Fire Barrier. Standing here is pointless. But hey, if you like it, then stay till the Illusion Realm ends.”

Footsteps echoed—angry, impatient. Clearly Shen Wuxie. He was walking away from the cave entrance.

Lian Mu understood now. The Clear Thought Sect was lying in wait for her outside.

Both Shen Wuxie and Gong Rumei were after her. So why had Shen Wuxie talked big and then left?

She looked around and spotted the straight tunnel behind her—so deep she couldn’t see the end, but with a faint light glowing far off. She realized Shen Wuxie had discovered the path she had carved out and was planning to sneak in from the rear.

After a moment’s thought, Lian Mu decided not to seal the tunnel. Instead, she dragged Fengyun Yi to the side, then found a spot for herself, sat down with her back to the tunnel, slowed her breathing, and pretended to be asleep.

Wealth Bringer stayed in her hand. The white bird saw her move and hopped after her. It didn’t dare perch on her anymore, so it walked on foot like a ground chicken, stepping carefully with its reddish-brown legs, trying to keep up.

It tripped on a rock, fell flat on its back, and couldn’t flip over. Its little legs flailed helplessly in the air.

Lian Mu: “…”

How could the Flying Swan Sword Spirit be this dumb? Wasn’t it flying just fine earlier?

Watching it struggle to right itself, Lian Mu sighed and helped it up. The white bird quickly scurried to her side, sat down with her, and closed its eyes, pretending to sleep too.

Before long, footsteps echoed from the tunnel behind them—loud and unhurried. Shen Wuxie wasn’t even trying to hide his presence. Arrogant as ever, he probably thought he had her cornered.

After all, both exits were covered. If she didn’t run into him, she’d run into Gong Rumei.

The footsteps drew closer. Lian Mu could already sense him nearby.

“There you are!” Shen Wuxie pulled out a water talisman. “Lian Mu, hand over Fengyun Yi—”

He stopped mid-sentence.

He had just spotted Fengyun Yi lying on the ground, completely defenseless, ready to be taken. Lian Mu didn’t respond, as if she were asleep.

Shen Wuxie’s heart leapt with joy. “Just as I thought.”

After circling the island a few times, the Clear Thought Sect Chief team finally spotted the Azure Profound Sect Chief team on a cliffside—but they were all unconscious. Tang Wuxun, ever cautious, immediately sensed something was off. He went to probe around the island’s edge and discovered the Returning Immortal Sect Chief team lying in a bed of flowers.

It was clear that both teams had triggered the Heart Realm Trial. Tang Wuxun wasn’t sure how the Heart Realm Trial was activated, so he didn’t dare approach either group. But one thing was certain: the cave Lian Mu was in—she was alone.

When Shen Wuxie saw that the Azure Profound Sect Chief team’s spatial pouches had all been looted and Fengyun Yi was missing, he guessed Lian Mu was behind it. So he circled back and unexpectedly found another passage that hadn’t been sealed off.

Sure enough, Fengyun Yi was with Lian Mu.

Shen Wuxie shouted, “Lian Mu, you’re not getting away this time!”

Lian Mu sat with her eyes closed, fingers twitching slightly as they rested on her sword hilt, ready to strike the moment he attacked.

But to her surprise, Shen Wuxie didn’t come at her. Instead, he grabbed Fengyun Yi from the ground and clutched his neck.

“Lian Mu, wake up! Fengyun Yi’s in my hands now. I suggest you hand over your pills—maybe then I’ll consider letting him go without breaking his arms and legs.”

Lian Mu: “?”

She was speechless. “…”

This Shen Wuxie… really was ridiculously naive. Faced with such a golden opportunity, he didn’t attack her—instead, he tried to use Fengyun Yi as a hostage.

Lian Mu opened her eyes and stood up abruptly, feigning surprise. “How did you get in here?”

Startled by her sudden movement, Shen Wuxie jumped back a few steps, eyes wide as he studied her.

Then he noticed the white bird at her feet and burst out laughing. “Lian Mu, you actually keep a dirt goose? It’s so ugly it’s hilarious. Once I get out of here, I’m telling everyone.”

He wasn’t a sword cultivator and had no idea about the forms of the Ten Great Famous Swords’ spirits. The Flying Swan Sword Spirit did indeed resemble a goose—just a much smaller one, small enough to fit in a palm.

Lian Mu: “…”

Shen Wuxie, emboldened, said, “If you don’t want Fengyun Yi hurt, do as I say.”

Lian Mu raised an eyebrow. “What do you want?”

Shen Wuxie snorted. As he thought—Lian Mu cared about Fengyun Yi, enough to listen to him.

He was quite pleased with himself. “I heard Ji Mingyue gave you a pill that can suddenly boost your strength. Hand it over.”

Lian Mu’s eyes widened in confusion. “I don’t have any such pill.”

“Don’t lie!” Shen Wuxie snapped. “Before we entered the Illusion Realm, Ji Mingyue clearly slipped you a spatial pouch—everyone saw it. Hand it over, or I’ll start hitting him!”

He’d been messed with by Lian Mu several times and had developed a fear of her, so he didn’t dare confront her directly. Fengyun Yi, on the other hand, he wasn’t afraid of—and Lian Mu just so happened to care about him.

After a moment’s hesitation, Lian Mu pulled a spatial pouch from her robes and tossed it to him. “Here. Now let him go.”

Shen Wuxie caught it—it looked exactly like the one he’d seen Ji Mingyue give her. He grinned. “Lian Mu, looks like I’ve finally got something on you.”

Lian Mu said coldly, “I said, let him go.”

Shen Wuxie replied, “That’s not enough. I bet you’ve got more on you. You were the one who robbed the Azure Profound Sect Chief team, weren’t you? Hand over everything you took.”

Lian Mu frowned and lowered her gaze. “I did get something from them… perhaps it could buy his safety.”

Shen Wuxie demanded, “What is it? Show me.”

Lian Mu reached into her spatial pouch and pulled out the Flying Swan sword. “This goose isn’t mine—it belonged to Ying You. With it, you can control the Flying Swan sword.”

Shen Wuxie: “???”

He was stunned. “Lian Mu, you’ve got some nerve—how dare you steal Ying You’s sword?”

He didn’t know much about swords, but he’d heard that Ying You wielded one of the Ten Great Famous Swords. That alone made it sound terrifying.

For a sword cultivator, a sword was like their lifeblood. Not only had Lian Mu stolen one, she was brazenly carrying it around—this was a blatant provocation, practically begging for death.

Ying You might be mild-mannered most of the time, but if he ever got truly angry, no one would be safe.

Lian Mu pointed to the mangled corpse nearby and the newly opened passage. “That’s the power of the Flying Swan sword. Even someone who isn’t its master can use it to cleave mountains and rivers. I caught this goose, so the sword listens to me now. I’ll give it to you—just let Fengyun Yi go.”

Shen Wuxie glanced in the direction she pointed. No wonder a new tunnel had suddenly appeared in this cave—the sword aura was strong enough to tear through even ocean storms.

But… even without the Flying Swan sword, Lian Mu could’ve done it herself. That strike she used to kill the Mirror Guardian Beast—if unleashed here—would’ve had the same devastating effect.

Shen Wuxie sneered, “Cut the crap. Everyone knows how strong you get after taking that pill. Like hell the Flying Swan sword would obey you just because of some ugly goose.”

“You don’t believe me?” Lian Mu drew his sword with a sharp ring, gripping the white bird in his other hand. “Why don’t I show you right now?”