Chapter 152: Phantom
“Heh heh, I told you he couldn’t beat you.” Xiao He craned her head about as they walked, her face flushed with excitement.
Song Yan walked in contemplation, offering no comment.
Kong You had been the first opponent Song Yan faced in a proper sparring match within the inner sect.
The pity was that his opponent had not taken him seriously.
And so this contest could not offer him much of value either.
But that was of no consequence.
On one hand, the two late-stage Qi Refining cultivators at Nanshan Temple, combined with the brief exchange just now against Kong You, had already demonstrated the versatility of Sleeve Green Serpent.
It was endlessly adaptable, nimble and unpredictable. In sparring against ordinary cultivators, it could secure swift and effortless victory.
And when driven to its full potential, its sword qi surged with overwhelming force, carrying a dense and ferocious momentum that could hold its own against any formidable opponent.
Most important of all, Sleeve Green Serpent and Cloud in Sword—the two sword styles in his repertoire—could be deployed and withdrawn at will, sufficient to handle the vast majority of situations.
On the other hand…
In half a year’s time, the sect tournament would arrive. There would be no shortage of people eager to test his blade against.
If what those disciples around him had said was true, Kong You ranked among the top ten at the Qi Refining Stage in this tournament.
That meant among this generation of disciples, there were still nine others of his caliber—or stronger.
Reflecting on his journey along the Dao, in a sect of such vast size with tens of thousands of disciples…
He had grown acquainted with only a handful of them, which did lend him a certain air of aloofness.
He was no misfit, no social recluse.
This was precisely the opportunity he needed to compete alongside his fellow disciples on the same stage, and grow close to them in earnest.
…
The sun rose and the moon set, and five months passed in the blink of an eye.
Now, Song Yan sat cross-legged in tranquil meditation, the spiritual energy around him flowing in smooth and steady currents, though fine threads of sword qi drifted lazily along its path.
Following a predetermined trajectory, they surged upward into both his eyes.
At a certain moment, he abruptly opened his eyes. A golden radiance spilled from his pupils.
“At last, it is done.”
Prior to this, Song Yan’s cultivation of the Sword Gaze had not truly reached the entry level. He had merely practiced the general form, achieving the barest shape of it, with only the most rudimentary function.
Later, pressed by the excessive strain the technique placed upon his eyes, he had paused for a time.
It was not until a month or so ago that he resumed his training.
The cultivation of ocular arts truly demanded walking on eggshells—one misstep could bring, at best, throbbing pain and stinging dryness, and at worst, permanent blindness.
Having cultivated with the utmost caution, he had finally completed the first phase, “Observing the Void.”
Now, upon activating the Sword Gaze, he could perceive the difference from before with striking clarity.
To his eyes, the flow of ambient spiritual energy appeared far more distinct.
Its movement had slowed as well, making it far easier to track.
He gazed toward Xiao He, who was likewise “immersing herself in cultivation” within the cave dwelling. The flow of her demonic power around her body was clearly discernible.
He could even perceive things that had been invisible to him before…
Hmm?
Song Yan blinked, momentarily taken aback.
What was this?
Song Yan focused his intent, drawing sword qi gently into both his eyes.
Those fine, gossamer threads of black mist hanging in the air grew ever more distinct.
“This is…”
“Demonic qi…?”
The towering inferno of demonic flame that had once surrounded the “Heart Demon” remained vivid in his memory even now. But what lay before him was far more attenuate than that.
He felt utterly bewildered. This was his own dwelling, after all.
Sword Trial Peak of the Eastern Abyss Sect’s inner sect.
Where could demonic qi possibly come from?
His gaze followed the demonic mist toward where it grew thickest, and Song Yan’s expression grew ever more incredulous.
At last.
He lowered his eyes to his own hands…
Dense demonic qi churned and billowed about his very body!
“This…”
What in the world was happening?
He examined himself thoroughly from head to toe, yet found nothing amiss.
But the thick demonic qi surrounding him could not be a fabrication.
In a flash of insight, Song Yan summoned the Twin Jade Pearl.
“…”
The black-and-white bead hovered slowly in his palm.
To an outside observer, it appeared entirely unremarkable.
But under the augmentation of the Observing the Void Sword Gaze, what Song Yan beheld was another matter entirely.
The instant the Twin Jade Pearl was summoned, the entire cave dwelling was inundated by a towering tide of demonic qi. Song Yan’s heart lurched with shock, his voice stolen, and his heartbeat quickened of its own accord.
How had the Twin Jade Pearl come to be like this?
When had this transformation begun?
Why had he been entirely unaware before…
He could find no answers to any of these questions.
Demonic qi writhed and coiled through the air like flowing ink.
He reached out to touch it, but his hand passed through the mist.
Looking more closely, he noticed that the demonic qi near the Twin Jade Pearl surged and receded within it, as though breathing.
“…”
Brow furrowed, Song Yan stepped immediately into the Twin Jade Realm.
Fortunately, the state of the Observing the Void still functioned within the Twin Jade Realm as well.
To his surprise, the Twin Jade Realm was, on the contrary, clear and tranquil, no different from before.
Everything was as it should be.
The phantom of the Sword Seed, the withered tree amid wind and thunder, and…
The Ink Pool.
Beside the pool, the celestial waterfall cascaded straight down, roaring ceaselessly.
The Ancient Flute Taowei still hovered at the edge of the Ink Pool.
Song Yan’s brow creased slightly as he stepped forward at a measured pace.
After much deliberation, the only contact he had ever had with demonic qi was the flying sword “Heart Demon.”
Later, the nascent form of his Dao Heart had purged the demonic flame, stripping away the demonic qi and restoring the flying sword to its true appearance, which had become the sword body now known as the Untethered Vessel.
It was also after “Heart Demon” that this vast Ink Pool had appeared within the Twin Jade Realm.
He supposed that the demonic qi which had been purged had not dissipated after all.
It had gathered here.
“Hmm?”
Under the Observing the Void state, Song Yan gazed into the Ink Pool. Faintly, indistinctly, he glimpsed a particular hue.
Even within these ink-dark waters, that shade of black was extraordinarily profound.
Had he not possessed the Observing the Void, he likely would never have found any trace of it.
What was this?
That patch of blackness sank deep beneath the surface. Ripples suddenly spread across the pool, obscuring his view.
But it seemed…
It was a human silhouette.
Song Yan’s heart seized with dread.
He focused his gaze more intently.
He saw that the edges of this silhouette intermittently dissolved, then gathered back together, as though it might melt into the pool at any moment.
Suddenly.
The “neck” of that shadow shifted slightly, as if drawn by some invisible force.
The “head” rose with excruciating slowness.
Where its eyes should have been, there were only two bottomless voids.
But what Song Yan never expected was that, in the instant their gazes met—
A ripple passed through the pool…
And the eerie silhouette vanished from his sight.
Song Yan felt as though an age had passed.
It had melted into the Ink Pool, as though it had always been one with those dark waters.
Or perhaps… all of this had been nothing more than a figment of his imagination?
His entire body went rigid.
That feeling of creeping dread crawled up his spine like a spider.
Across the surface of the Ink Pool, the ripples slowly subsided.
But in his mind’s eye, the outline of that phantom shape still lingered, indistinct and haunting.
He did not know whether it was his imagination, but in the instant before it vanished, Song Yan thought he saw the corner of its mouth twist upward into a soundless smile.
At the edge of his hearing, a faint whisper emerged.
At first, the whisper was indistinct, impossible to make out. Then, gradually, it grew clear.
…
“You have finally found me.”