Gu Ningyun glanced at the contract scroll in her storage ring, which she had bought at a shop while selling the Swift-Walk Talismans she had used for practice a few days ago. She said, "This punishment is solely for your act of controlling an innocent five-year-old child and forcing him to kill his own father and kin with his own hands."
"I want you to establish a contract with me to guard the young master of the Miao family for one hundred years."
"During this period, unless the Miao family strikes first to harm you, you are forbidden from speaking, forbidden from harboring malice toward the young master, and forbidden from doing anything detrimental to him."
"You will only regain your freedom if one of three conditions is met: you obtain the young master's forgiveness in advance; the young master's cultivation reaches the Foundation Establishment stage; or the duration of your protection reaches one hundred years."
"Even after regaining your freedom, you must not do anything detrimental to the young master unless the Miao family initiates an attack against you."
"Should you violate this contract, your Dao heart will shatter, you will be plagued by misfortune, and you will be unable to return to your master's side for three hundred years."
The one who tied the knot must be the one to untie it.
Since this was an internal grievance between the two parties, it was best resolved internally.
By binding these two sides together, if they could reconcile, it would end a cycle of vengeance. Even if they continued to hate each other, they would learn their lesson during these arduous hundred years and never act impulsively again.
This incident occurred in Yunzhou, which fell under the jurisdiction of Xiaoyao. As a disciple of Xiaoyao who had accepted the mission, she had to see it through to completion.
Gu Ningyun had only been practicing cultivation for a little over two years and had never encountered such a complex situation. She had deliberated for a long time, considering many perspectives, before deciding on this method of handling the matter.
"What if he doesn't live for a hundred years?"
"You controlled him, so you should know he possesses spirit roots, and of decent quality at that. If he truly does not live for a hundred years, you will guard his reincarnation until the time is up."
"One hundred years is far too long! If I'm away from my master for that long, what if he encounters danger?"
The sword spirit's tone sounded indignant. "Just because you can find my master's whereabouts doesn't mean others can't. If you won't tell me, I'll ask and investigate myself. You're only at Qi Refining level five; if I don't agree, what can you possibly do to me?"
As soon as the sword spirit finished speaking, the small mound of earth suddenly exploded. A long sword burst out from the ground and prepared to fly out of Gu Ningyun's sight in the blink of an eye.
Gu Ningyun slapped on a top-grade Swift-Walk Talisman and utilized her movement technique to give chase.
While pursuing, she pulled out her ancient zither. Her spirit energy surged like a tide, and the effects of 《Lingtai》 were instantly pushed to their maximum.
This sword was mysterious-rank top-grade. Controlled by its sword spirit, it could unleash combat power equivalent to the peak Foundation Establishment stage. Gu Ningyun's other methods would be as futile as a mantis trying to stop a chariot.
She had limited memories of the sword and didn't know when it had gained sentience. However, if her observations were correct, the moment that spark of spiritual sense truly developed intelligence and became a sword spirit was during the two years Nie Yuquan had first arrived at the Miao Manor.
For a sword spirit that was only about a dozen years old, no matter how strong its spiritual sense was, it surely wouldn't exceed the strength of its physical body.
With no other choice, she could only place her hopes on 《Lingtai》 and take the risk.
The moment her divine sense locked onto the sword spirit, she suddenly felt countless sharp, stabbing pains, as if numerous streaks of sword qi were attacking her divine sense.
Gu Ningyun's face turned deathly pale as her divine sense was drained by the sword qi like flowing water. In this moment of crisis, she subconsciously realized that the weakness of 《Lingtai》 lay in its divine sense lock-on.
If the opponent's primordial spirit cultivation was higher than hers and they blocked or even struck back against her divine sense lock, 《Lingtai》 would naturally be ineffective.
Just as her divine sense was about to bottom out—reaching the point where further use would damage her sea of consciousness—《Lingtai》 finally took effect. The sword spirit's speed slowed, and the stabbing pain in her divine sense rapidly vanished.
Sensing the sword spirit's weakness, Gu Ningyun took the opportunity to shout, "Do you still want to return to your master's side with your head held high? Or do you plan to hide this matter forever?"
"A cultivator's lifespan is so long; are you certain he will never find out? If he discovers the foul deeds you've done and sees that you're too cowardly to take responsibility, do you think a person like him—who cannot tolerate a single grain of sand in his eyes—will still have a place for you?"
The sword spirit's resistance weakened further. Sensing its hesitation, Gu Ningyun continued, "Even if your master's cultivation has long surpassed Foundation Establishment after a hundred years and he no longer has use for a mysterious-rank spirit sword, it won't matter."
"A sword that has birthed a spirit can be reforged into any rank you desire, provided the artifact refiner is skilled enough and new materials are added. Is it not worth it to atone for your sins with a hundred years of protection in exchange for a new life for your sword and your master's acceptance?"
The sword spirit stopped moving.
Gu Ningyun's divine sense and spirit energy were nearly exhausted. She slowed her playing, seizing every moment to circulate her cultivation technique and recover her spirit energy.
After a long while, the sword spirit said, "Let's sign it."
Gu Ningyun cautiously sensed the sword spirit's state. After confirming it was indeed under the influence of 《Lingtai》 and was mentally drained, she stopped playing. She took out the contract scroll and inscribed the terms and the corresponding punishments.
Once the contract was signed and she felt the power of heaven and earth settle upon the contract and the sword spirit, Gu Ningyun finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"The mission is complete. Now, this is a matter between you and me."
She reached out toward the spirit sword, which was swaying in the air and looking somewhat drowsy. "Sword Dao insights in exchange for your master's location."
Since the contract was signed, there was no point in further struggle. The sword spirit was quite cooperative this time, and the entire sword began to glow with a pure white spiritual light.
As she felt the Sword Dao insights contained within the white light, a profound resonance echoed within Gu Ningyun's very bones. She knew this was the resonance and call of her own sword dao talent toward these insights.
Just as Gu Ningyun was feeling this resonance and immersing herself in the meaning of the Sword Dao, the pure white spiritual light suddenly dissipated and merged back into the sword's body.
"That's strange. What happened?" The sword spirit's voice sounded confused.
Sensing that the sword spirit looked as if it might fall asleep at any second, Gu Ningyun plucked her zither strings. Inducing sleep without one even noticing... it really was quite "unnoticeable."
Holding her zither, she played a reverse melody of 《Lingtai》. "Perhaps you're just too tired from fighting me earlier. I'll play a tune to refresh you."
"Fighting you was indeed a bit exhausting. For some reason, I feel a little sleepy."
The sword spirit's voice sounded muffled amidst the music. "I didn't expect you to be able to keep up with my speed and even stop me with music. How did you do it? It's a bit ridiculous. I can sense the aura of a sword cultivator on you, yet you can also play the zither. Could it be you are a dual cultivator of music and sword?"
Listening to the sword spirit's chatter in her ear, Gu Ningyun felt an urge to laugh. Previously, when this sword spirit was buried in the dirt, it hadn't made a sound, leading her to think it was the silent type. She hadn't expected it to be such a chatterbox.
Then why, when it had gained sentience so long ago in the Miao Manor, had it never been seen communicating with its master? Was it communicating directly within the sea of consciousness?
A sword cultivator had actually abandoned her own sword for the sake of a scumbag, even using the very sword that had birthed a spirit to commit suicide.
For some reason, Gu Ningyun felt a strange bitterness in her heart at this thought.
A sword spirit born of love had ultimately gone astray because of love. It had stayed hidden for ten years to seek revenge for its master, harming an innocent child in the process. Had its master remembered it at all? Had she ever considered its well-being for even a moment?
Gu Ningyun didn't know what Nie Yuquan had been thinking. She only knew that if her sword ever birthed a spirit, she would never let it suffer such misery.
A sword cultivator and her sword—her sword spirit—should be one. No matter what happened, they should never abandon each other.
She could understand Nie Yuquan's life... but she would never agree with her choices.
At that moment, the ten-thousand-year peach wood sword resting in Gu Ningyun's storage bag silently flickered with a faint spiritual light before quickly returning to stillness, as if nothing had happened.
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