Chapter 383: It Truly Felt That Its Life Was Just… Meaningless
This was Luo Wusheng's first time experiencing a spiritual intimacy.
And his first impression?
Cough. "Wife, if possible… please don't hit my face."
The Holy Saint of the Demon Sect stood in quiet contemplation.
At what point, exactly, had he become the kind of man who actively courted death?
Or… had he always been this way?
Absolutely not, declared the ever-cautious Luo Wusheng in his mind.
Firmly rejecting such a dangerous line of thinking, he redirected his thoughts back to the spiritual intimacy he'd just completed—facilitated through the sword embryo connecting him and his wife.
Yes… it had been a wholly unique form of stimulation.
To clearly feel the tightness of her soft, moist warmth on his little Wusheng without even the faintest physical contact… frankly, it was mind-blowing.
But he knew full well—pulling that off a second time wouldn't be nearly as easy.
This kind of intimate connection required both participants to focus their spiritual awareness through the sword embryo, interweaving their minds in complete synchrony.
It had worked this time only because Ling Shuangxue had been caught off guard—unaware of what was happening and pulled into the experience in a moment of stunned confusion.
Of course, once she realized what he had done, she'd abandoned the dazed golem she was about to finish off, turned on her heel, and chased him across the battlefield with terrifying clarity of mind—and fists.
The trial had very nearly ended in disaster.
That said, Luo Wusheng's timing had been solid. Before initiating the "poke," he had carefully confirmed that they were in a stable enough position to handle the aftermath.
He just hadn't accounted for how intense the aftershock would be.
Still, they'd made it through.
"…Nothing happened? That's it?"
Standing before the central altar, Luo Wusheng casually scanned the silent trial grounds. His voice was only half-serious as he spoke.
Since the moment the final golem fell, the entire space had gone still.
Even the strange pool above—which had replaced the ceiling in this realm—hadn't so much as rippled.
"Maybe… some kind of condition is still missing."
Ling Shuangxue replied flatly, glancing at him from the side with her usual calm tone.
But the way her brows were furrowed suggested she still hadn't completely cooled down. That one sideways look she shot him… still carried a faint air of righteous scolding.
Her cheeks, however, were still faintly flushed.
Which—let's be honest—only made her look even more beautiful.
Seeing her like this, Luo Wusheng let out a quiet breath of relief.
After delivering several (questionably effective) solemn promises, offering her an honest shoulder and leg massage, and showering her with a steady stream of sweet talk, the broad-minded Sword Sect Peak Master had finally agreed to drop the matter.
She still acted angry, but… it was clearly performative. A reminder that just because she'd forgiven him didn't mean she'd forget.
"Let this be a lesson," her look seemed to say. "Do it again, and see what happens."
Naturally, Luo Wusheng had no intention of testing that line again—at least not right now.
With the sword embryo now confirmed to be complete, and after a thick-skinned but honest exchange of opinions with his beloved, the two had finalized their upcoming journey to the Royal City.
Now, only one question remained: what was going on with this trial ground?
It wasn't unheard of for a trial to have no explicit "pass reward."
Especially one like this—where you got to battle hordes of same-realm opponents, refine your techniques, and gain immense practical experience, all without facing any true risk of death. The existence of such a space was already a great boon to cultivators.
But still…
When failing the trial had rewarded them with a burst of mystical energy from the pool above, yet succeeding earned them nothing?
That just didn't sit right.
"Missing a condition, huh…"
Luo Wusheng murmured thoughtfully, letting his gaze drift to the murals painted along the walls of the grand hall.
Maybe… the answer was hidden there.
Unfortunately, the murals were far too abstract—some were even damaged beyond recognition—making it impossible to glean any useful information.
With no answers on the walls, Luo Wusheng turned his attention back to the altar in front of him.
There weren't many unique features in this trial ground. On the surface, it only had a few key elements:
– The black swords embedded in the ground.
– The pool above.
– The wall murals.
– And the stone sculpture at the center of the altar.
Luo Wusheng took a deep breath.
Truthfully, he'd had a pretty solid guess from the beginning about what condition would trigger the trial's final transformation.
But...
He extended his spiritual awareness into his dantian.
A pitch-black broken sword immediately appeared within his perception—and the instant his consciousness brushed against it, the little blade shrank back like a startled animal, retreating even deeper into his dantian as if trying to vanish altogether.
Through their connection, Luo Wusheng could clearly sense the waves of hostility and wariness it was emitting.
If he had to translate it into words, the message would roughly be:
"I'd rather die than go out there."
And if he did force it?
"Fine, but I'm smashing the damn door on my way out!"
After thinking about what that "door" might refer to—and which part of his anatomy it might resemble—Luo Wusheng had initially decided not to risk it.
But now, with every other option exhausted…
He was running out of excuses.
'So the reason everything's gone quiet since we re-entered the trial ground... is because this thing just doesn't want to show up? Could it be that this entire realm is somehow hostile to it?'
Luo Wusheng hesitated.
Not because he was worried about his "door" getting smashed—the broken sword moved via some kind of illusory phasing, which didn't literally damage his kidneys.
Though if it really started jerking back and forth in protest, it'd definitely hurt…
Still, pain he could handle.
What really concerned him was the reaction of the secret realm once the broken sword appeared.
Logically, this place was supposed to be the legacy of the Sword Emperor—meant for his inheritor—so there shouldn't be any traps that activated just from bringing out a sword.
But...
The broken sword's attitude had always been suspicious.
Just as he was still hesitating—
Stab
A sharp pulse of pain shot through his waist.
The broken sword had grown impatient. Deciding to make its opinion known, it jabbed his meridians from the inside like a sulking tenant slamming its door shut.
That was the last straw.
"…Fine."
Luo Wusheng grit his teeth.
No more hesitation.
. . .
When the pitch-black, introverted little sword finally emerged into the cavernous trial ground, Luo Wusheng looked like he'd just finished running ten laps around the Royal City.
His face had gone pale. A thin sheen of sweat clung to his forehead.
Ling Shuangxue, standing silently at his side, no longer maintained her cold exterior.
Instead, she gently lowered her sleeve and reached over, dabbing at his forehead with quiet tenderness.
Her expression was unreadable, though her eyes flickered with concern.
"…Tsss—" Luo Wusheng let out a pained hiss, still clutching his waist.
Luo Wusheng's eyes remained locked ahead, fully alert.
Right now, the Sword Emperor's broken sword was hovering silently above the stone sculpture at the center of the altar.
To be honest, the whole "door-breaking" moment had been… excessive.
From the very first tug, Luo Wusheng had started regretting the decision to bring it out.
But before he could stop, another force had intervened—one far stronger than his will.
The stone sculpture responded the moment the broken sword appeared.
A surge of invisible power erupted from within the altar, latching onto the sword like a giant hand and yanking it forward.
What followed could only be described as one-sided domination.
The sword, despite its usual foul temper and uncooperative nature, had no choice but to surrender. It was dragged toward the sculpture like a rebellious child being hauled away by an adult—kicking and screaming the whole way, but utterly powerless.
Now it hovered there, trembling faintly above the altar.
Wisps of black mist began seeping from the blade, curling outward and gathering over the stone sculpture. In just a few seconds, the entire surface was covered in a layer of shifting shadow.
Luo Wusheng could feel it clearly.
All the energy the sword had painstakingly devoured—whether from the Soulblade Specter or from tapping into the Thirty-Six Sword Absolute Formation—was now bleeding out.
And fast.
'No change in my access permissions… and I felt no sense of danger… the sword's not resisting, aside from screaming like a brat in our connection… and that drained energy should be recoverable through another Soulblade Specter later, so… not a total loss?'
While Luo Wusheng was still processing the situation, he noticed something else:
His wife had stopped moving.
Ling Shuangxue's expression shifted, her eyes narrowing as she raised her hand—summoning the Cold Light Sword to her side in one smooth motion.
She stepped forward and placed herself protectively in front of him.
Through their sword-embryo mind-link, Luo Wusheng instantly understood what she saw.
The black mist that had enveloped the sculpture was moving.
Like something alive, it began to swirl and shift, peeling away from the surface—and slowly condensing into a petite humanoid shape.
Then, without fanfare, the misty figure reached out and grabbed the broken sword out of the air.
The sword, after all its resistance and trauma, didn't even have time to react.
It was instantly snatched.
And just as casually—it was tossed away.
The girl-shaped shadow threw it to the ground like a piece of trash.
The broken sword hit the floor with a dull clunk, twitching slightly as it landed.
It didn't try to fly back.
It didn't even tremble with rage.
It just lay there in the dust—powerless, pride shattered, completely hollowed out.
At that moment, deep in its sword consciousness...
It truly, truly felt that its life was just… meaningless.
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Note: Link to the character Illustration:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1lkIcPnCxeyuyZA4Kkb621dPC05UvWjhD[1]
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Tn: I updated the story daily, but if you want to see more chapter of this story ahead of time, please go to my Patreon.
Latest Chapter: Chapter 532: What On Earth Is Master Talking About?[2]
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[1] https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1lkIcPnCxeyuyZA4Kkb621dPC05UvWjhD
[2] https://www.patreon.com/posts/chapter-532-what-156146549
[3] https://www.patreon.com/posts/chapter-532-what-156146549