Chapter 145: The Imbibitor Lunae

“Imbibitor… Lunae…”

The name escaped Yanqing’s lips, a breath of pure shock. The magnificent, impossible transformation unfolding before her had stolen the air from her lungs.

Her hand, gripping the hilt of her sword, tightened reflexively. Yet, the astonishment in her eyes was swiftly conquered by the unyielding duty of a Cloud Knight and the fierce pride of youth. She took a deep, steadying breath, the tip of her blade unwavering as she aimed it at the figure of Dan Heng, now levitating serenely above the Lotus Pedestal.

Her gaze flickered to the side, acknowledging the woman known as Blade, who was radiating an aura of pure, undiluted murder. Yanqing’s voice, when it came, was as clear and sharp as her sword.

“In that case—you, the former High Elder… and you, Stellaron Hunter!” she declared, her resolve hardening into steel. “I, Cloud Knight Lieutenant Yanqing, shall apprehend you both! You will face the General’s judgment!”

Tucked away in a rocky crevice, Chen couldn’t help but let out a long-suffering sigh. ‘Oh, little Yanqing, little Yanqing,’he lamented internally.’You really are a newborn calf staring down a tiger, aren’t you? So wonderfully, terrifyingly stubborn.’He watched the small, determined figure, shaking his head in a mixture of admiration and exasperation.’With a sword in your hand, you think you can take on the world. That fire, that conviction… if Phantylia herself had been standing there, I have no doubt you’d have charged straight in for the glory of the Xianzhou.”Your courage is commendable, truly,’ he continued his silent commentary,’but look at this lineup… You’ve got a berserker who’s two steps away from a complete psychotic break, and a former High Elder who just unlocked her five-star ultimate skin and is still getting used to the new controls. You’re just a kid! Your HP bar isn’t nearly long enough for this boss rush!’

As if to prove his point, the battle erupted exactly as he’d foreseen.

Before the echo of Yanqing’s challenge could fade, her form blurred, launching forward like an arrow loosed from a taut bowstring. The light from her sword fractured, splitting into a flurry of razor-sharp chills that shot toward Dan Heng and Blade simultaneously. She was actually trying to fight them both at once.

Blade responded with a guttural, annoyed snort, not even deigning to look the young knight in the eye. With a dismissive swing of her ancient sword, the Unreachable Side, a formidable wave of black-and-red energy tore through the air. It didn’t just block Yanqing’s attack; it utterly annihilated the sword lights, the aftershock alone sending Yanqing’s petite frame staggering. She had to retreat several steps, her boots skidding on the stone, just to dissipate the crushing force.

Meanwhile, Dan Heng, still wreathed in ethereal water vapor and the innate dignity of a High Elder, merely lifted her gaze as the other sword lights approached. She made no grand gesture, no obvious motion to attack or defend. A curtain of water, seemingly soft yet impossibly resilient, materialized before her. Yanqing’s sharpest sword qi plunged into the barrier, causing faint ripples to spread across its surface before dissolving into nothingness.

The chasm in their strength was laid bare for all to see.

But Yanqing’s stubbornness far exceeded even Chen’s dire predictions. A single, overwhelming setback didn’t cause her to retreat; it only ignited her competitive spirit.

“I can’t stop here!” she cried out, her voice sharp and defiant. Her aura flared as the longsword in her hand multiplied, splitting into eight phantom blades that danced around her. She pushed her Cloud-Knitting Swordsmanship to its absolute limit, weaving in her own unique insights as she desperately sought a flaw, any gap in the coordination between her two opponents. Her sword light flickered left and right, a display of extraordinary agility.

It was, however, a futile effort. Courage and skill could not bridge a gap of this magnitude.

Blade, seeming to grow more irritated by the “little one’s” pestering, suddenly intensified her assault. The casual swings became focused, brutal strikes. Yanqing was immediately thrown on the defensive, struggling to keep up as her protective sword qi was torn to shreds time and again. A flush spread across her small face, her breathing becoming ragged and strained.

Dan Heng frowned, a flicker of conflict in her eyes. She clearly had no wish to harm the earnest Cloud Knight. She raised a hand, and elegant streams of water began to coil through the air, winding around Yanqing, intending to gently push her out of the combat zone.

“Withdraw,” Dan Heng’s voice was calm, but held an obvious authority. “This matter has nothing to do with you.”

But in her heightened state, Yanqing perceived this as just another form of suppression, another dismissal of her strength. The perceived insult made her even more indignant.

“Don’t even think about it!” she yelled, thrashing against the watery tendrils. She tried to slash her way free, but in her desperate struggle, she exposed a critical, unguarded opening.

Blade seized the opportunity in a heartbeat.

“You’re in the way!” she growled. Her figure flashed, closing the distance in an instant to appear at Yanqing’s flank. Her sword stabbed forward, a black-and-red streak aimed directly at the young knight’s right shoulder—the one holding her sword.

If this strike landed, Yanqing would, at best, be completely out of the fight.

Yanqing’s pupils constricted into pinpricks. She twisted, swinging her sword back with all her might in a desperate attempt to parry, but Blade’s attack had been building, coiled and waiting. It was too fast, too ruthless.

Just as the tip of the ancient sword was about to tear into her flesh—

A silver-white figure materialized as if from thin air. A sleeve was flicked, a motion of almost disdainful casualness, and it slapped squarely against the flat of Blade’s sword—the sword that had been a hair’s breadth from its target.

The trajectory of the blade was instantly deflected. It grazed past Yanqing’s shoulder, the sharp qi merely severing a few strands of her pale gold hair.

At the same moment, the figure’s other hand reached out, catching Yanqing firmly by the waist as she stumbled backward from the impact. Gently, but with unshakeable strength, the newcomer guided her away from the heart of the battlefield, helping her land steadily on her own two feet.

Yanqing was still reeling, her heart hammering against her ribs. A cool, clear aura washed over her, dispelling the scorching, ferocious pressure that radiated from Blade. She steadied herself and instinctively looked up at the person who had saved her.

Silver-white hair cascaded down like moonlight. A simple strip of black cloth was tied over the eyes, yet it did nothing to diminish the aloof, extraordinary aura of a master swordsman that surrounded the figure. A simple suit of martial attire outlined a tall, slender frame.

It was the blind sister she had met by chance in an alleyway in the Exalting Sanctum. The one who had given her an Erhu, whose music held a world of untold stories.

“Sister?!” Yanqing blurted out, her eyes wide with a mixture of shock and disbelief. “How are you here?”

Chen, now in the form of Jingliu, turned his head toward the sound of her voice. For a fleeting moment, a trace of deep gentleness seemed to soften the features hidden beneath the black cloth.

“Little sister,” he said, his voice as cold and clear as glacial ice, lacking the deliberate softness he had used in his previous disguise. “It’s only been a few days. You’ve already found yourself in quite a bit of trouble.”

The reason he had appeared, of course, was that he simply couldn’t stand by and watch. This girl was warm-hearted, endearingly earnest, and had even gifted him an Erhu. How could he just hide in the rocks while she was about to be run through by that maniac?

Blade had withdrawn her sword, her crimson eyes narrowed as she stared intently at the suddenly-appeared, blindfolded woman. Her brow furrowed in confusion.

This person… her aura was strange. It carried the weight of ages, a sense of accumulation from having lived through long, arduous years. And… there was a hint of something else. A flicker of familiarity that made a corner of her very soul tremble.

But that face, that figure… they were completely unfamiliar. And female. The persistent ‘him’ that haunted her memories was most certainly not like this.

Dan Heng, still floating above the Lotus Pedestal, also had a look of clear astonishment flash across her face. She, too, felt an inexplicable, unsettling familiarity emanating from this white-haired woman. That aura, in particular… one of absolute, crushing loneliness… but the difference in gender and appearance made it impossible for her to be certain.

An absurd thought flashed through her mind: ‘Could that fellow Chen have pulled off some bizarre transformation again?’ But this aura… it was too real, too deep. It felt ancient.

Blade, for her part, forcibly suppressed the inexplicable tremor in her heart. Her voice was hoarse, thick with hostility. “Another one come to die? State your name!”

Chen, in his Jingliu form, turned to face Blade directly. Though he was blindfolded, she had the distinct and unnerving sensation of being locked on to by the sharpest of sword points.

He ignored her question entirely. His tone was utterly calm, yet carried a chilling weight.

“A grand Stellaron Hunter, to deliver such a heavy blow to an underage girl…”

He tilted his head slightly in Blade’s direction, his face beneath the black cloth an expressionless mask. But the very air around them began to plummet in temperature. Tiny, glittering ice crystals started to condense from nothing, dancing in the sudden cold.

“It is, quite frankly, unsightly.”

The moment the words fell, a longsword that seemed forged from pure, solid moonlight was in his hand.

A blade of light, as clear and cold as the moon itself, swung out.

The strike was so impossibly fast it seemed to surpass the limits of visual perception, aimed directly for Blade’s throat.

[Elysian’s Note:

Having a good time with the story?

Every single bit helps immensely:

Thanks a ton for making this journey possible!]