At the sight of Fu Su’s clean and gentle features, Ding Ning’s body seemed to be surge with countless scenes. These scenes, like sand and rocks, turned his body cold and hard, and his breathing laboured. These scenes bore the the most profound and memorable earthy taste.

What he really wants is immortality, to forever rule this Qin Dynasty or the entire world. So anyone is his tool, you and Zheng Xiu are no exceptions. I need to recover the debts he owes many. At the same time, I want to change the fate of many, including you. For what I owe you, I will do my best to let you have the ability to choose in the future.

Ding Ning took a deep breath and the memories engulfing his mind receded like the tide.

“What is it?”

Ding Ning’s momentary silence made Fu Su slightly nervous, afraid that his words were inappropriate.

“You’ve met me before?” Ding Ning asked, looking at him.

Suddenly, Fu Su, ever so slightly, panicked and instinctively waved his hand. “No.”

But he really was not skilled at lying, or rather, he had never lied before. As he waved his hand, his cheeks blushed.

“I seem to have never met you before,” Ding Ning calmly looked at him, “…but I find you familiar. So, I feel this is old friends at first meeting.”

Ding Ning’s ‘old friends at first meeting’ carried multiple connotations.Even so, Fu Su’s panic completely morphed into joy.

He couldn’t help but laugh. “I also feel we are old friends at first meeting.”

“If so, then I will treat you to wine today.” Ding Ning said, as he put a pot of wine on the table in front of Fu Su.

Fu Su’s eyes grew brighter. He hurriedly took a wine cup, poured a cup for himself, raised the cup to toast and drained it in a go.

The wine felt sour and bitter in his mouth. His brow furrowed. “This wine … ” he couldn’t resist laughing. “This wine is really unique.”

“To our meeting!”

Ding Ning poured a cup of wine. Just like how the people of Changling acted when they made friends, he raised the cup to toast. But as he swallowed, he thought within, To our fates.

Fu Su was not a good drinker, and this was not the time to use vital energy to force the alcohol out of his body. Soon, he was drunk.

Due to his status, he naturally restrained himself. While happy, he could stop himself from drinking.

Zhangsun Qianxue walked out of the courtyard with a pot of hot tea.

When she saw Fu Su’s clean features, she increasingly felt that he looked like Zheng Xiu and felt an inexplicable hatred.

Where should she start first?

That person’s visage in her mind was very clear, as though she had seen him just yesterday.

A minuscule flow of energy came out of her fingertip and lightly touched Fu Su’s face along with the steam from the hot tea.

“You cannot drink, but still drank to this extent. Don’t you fear talking recklessly after getting drunk?”

Meng Qihai, waiting in the carriage outside Falling Parasol, finally heard the footsteps as Fu Su returned. He saw Fu Su’s expression when he lifted the curtain and could not help but complain. He did not find anything unusual.

—

During the time Meng Qihai complained about Fu Su, inside the study in the Qin imperial palace, where many spirit lotuses had produced heads, the empress’ fingers were tangled up with multiple pure lines of light.

In the battle on the Wei River, all realm seven and above cultivators in Changling, had felt her act. They had sensed that she destroyed Zhao Si’s lifebond sword.

The slender but continuous vital energy and primal energies of the universe coming out of her study were extremely firm. They stabbed into the sky, reaching a place none of them could sense, and caused the starfire to transform into a great power.

All the cultivators in Changling were once again sure, after many years, the “Comet Fire Sword” Zheng Xiu, who had frequently killed enemies with one blow on the battlefield, was stronger than before.

She was still channeling the primal energies in her body into the endless sky. The primal energies of the universe disappeared completely into the cold space and controlled the unique flames of ice formed from the comet and the star fire.

At this time, all the cultivators of Changling, including the emperor who had managed to resolve the concealed perils before the Deer Mountain Conference and was now in seclusion, could not feel her movements.

Because Ba Mountain Sword Field had been destroyed.

Even back then, she had been the only one in the Ba Mountain Sword Field to comprehend and cultivate this method. She was like a small star, emitting light and traversing through endless space.

Inside this white flame she controlled with starlight, was a black and rusty little sword.

This little sword was naturally Zhao Si’s lifebond sword.

With the little sword defeated and its connection to Zhao Si severed, it should have fallen onto an unknown palace. But inexplicably, for some unknown reason, she was using the threads of power in the white flames to nourish this “dead” sword.

Someone walked past the statue-lined stone path outside, heading to her study.

Her perfect features remained unchanged even as the lines of light tangled around her fingers turned into dots and disappeared.

Dressed in yellow robes, a cultivator from her family appeared at the door, and handed a secret missive to the palace attendant.

When opened the letter the palace attendant handed her, her face showed satisfaction. “He has some talent to have Demon Consort Zhao change her mind. Arrange for him to go to the Yan. There should be a place for him to use his skills there.”

The yellow-robed cultivator had not dared to raise his head, still maintaining his bow. At her words, the yellow-robed cultivator cautiously expressed an acknowledgement and asked, “The family wants to know your opinion of Fang Xiumu.”

“Cannot be of use, so should be killed.” She shook her head and said, “The Holy One will naturally find a substitute. Have the family stop thinking on this matter.”

The empress’ features were flawless, but her gaze was as cold as the Wei River at this time.

In the Wei River, a white figure flashed through like a water goddess.

She did not have to rise above the water to breathe and managed to move within the water at this astounding speed. This was naturally Bai Shanshui.

For her, the water was the safest place to flee. After escaping the pursuit of Lian Bo and others with Zhao Yi’s help, she returned to the Wei River. But she knew the danger had not passed, so she didn’t dare to relax.

At this time, in the water, she finally saw a clear line of demarcation.

After the bright region of water was a much darker color, and an astounding wide world.

She was aware that she was passing the Wei River into deeper seawaters.

Here, she was a serpent going into the ocean. No one could kill her here.

She relaxed slightly. The unusual blush on her face disappeared, and she vomited a mouthful of blood. The irritation from the feeling of tin filling her abdomen, faded slightly, but then her expression changed dramatically, and a wave of cold caused her to uncontrollably tremble.

The medicinal power of the pill she had used to suppress her wounds was too strong. She had used vital energy for too long a period and now her energy sea was unstable. The vital energy and other energies that could circulate through her body had all retreated to realm six.

Her body continued to advance along the current, and gradually into the deep shadow. Her usually proud features showed a hint of bitterness.

Bai Shanshui was not the only great loser in this situation.

In reality, over the years, in their battles with the Qin Dynasty, these rebels of the Qin had few victories.

So, people like her and Zhao Si were now few and far between.

In a room filled with fragrance, Zhao Si was sitting silently. She saw Jing Mozong who pushed open the slightly ajar door with a gaze that still could pierce the world.

“It seems I gambled correctly this time?” She said, in a self-deprecating manner and then looked coolly at Jing Mozong. “Wang Taixu has not come, and had you come. What does he mean?”

Jing Mozong bowed deeply and said, “He wants me to follow Mister to learn the sword.”

“This is his condition?” Zhao Si looked sympathetically at him and said, “If you want to learn the sword, you have to first become a sword of the Zhao Sword Furnace.”

Jing Mozong said, “Mister Taixu has spoken to me already. Also, I am not Qin.”

Zhao Si sneered. “It seems that I have not underestimated his spirit. But you … why do you feel you deserve to become a sword of the Zhao Sword Furnace?”

Jing Mozong did not know how to respond.

For him, the Zhao Sword Furnace was so high up he could not even look up to it.

Zhao Si’s expression darkened. A light that did not give off any presence spread from her and cut towards Jing Mozong’s right wrist.

Jing Mozong’s body shook but he did not dodge.

This light cut the veins in his wrist. Blood slowly flowed out of his wrist, dripping constantly onto the ground with clear sounds.

Zhao Si looked at him and said coolly, “If you dare to bleed all the blood out of your body, I will let you become a sword of the Zhao Sword Furnace.”

Jing Mozong looked up at her and allowed his blood to flow.

Zhao Si did not move as though she would just watch him die. Even as Jing Mozong finally could not stand upright and dispiritedly fell to the ground, slowly sinking into unconsciousness, she did not move.

When the bleeding on his wrist started to show signs of stopping and his vitality was beginning to disappear, Zhao Yi took a deep breath and reached out.

Dozens of drops of blood suddenly formed out of her fingertips, stretching in the air to become dozens of thin needles that pierced Jing Mozong’s meridian points.

Jing Mozong’s organs seemed to feel hope, stimulated by a heated and dry presence, and became even more active.

Zhao Si smiled coldly as she thought to herself, “Little had I expected to find a person who could inherit the sword essence of the Sword Furnace in the streets and alleys.

Translator Ramblings: Fu Su is very kind to not spit out the wine.