Chapter Forty-Three: The Azure Cloud Sword

The moment I closed my eyes, I saw Lin Wei Yan and Feng Zi Mo running toward me. Then, everything went pitch black; the silence around me was uncanny, not a sound to be heard.

Where am I?

Am I dead?

No one came to explain any of this...

Blindly, I wandered through the darkness, unable to see a thing. I had no idea what I was stepping on. Gradually, my slow pace turned into a desperate sprint. It felt boundless here, a place without edges or direction, and I didn’t know why I was running. Yet I kept going, my feet never stopping, until I could no longer run.

Still, I pressed on, longing to escape this place, to leave behind the endless darkness.

At last, when all my strength was spent, two beams of red light appeared before me, like a pair of eyes watching me.

“Who are you?” I stared at the red light and asked.

No one answered, only the deathly silence remained. Slowly, the red glow receded, growing distant. I wanted to chase after it, but I had no strength left.

I didn’t know why I was here, or what this place was. It felt as though the world had abandoned me, left me to fend for myself.

I don’t know how much time passed, but those red lights returned, coming closer and closer until they were within reach.

“Can you hear me?” I asked.

The red light moved up and down, as if nodding.

“Can you tell me where this is?”

Again, the red light nodded, but said nothing.

“Then tell me quickly—where am I?”

After a long pause, a voice echoed from all directions.

“This is the void.”

The void?

I had no understanding of that word, only glimpsed it in novels. Could this be another dimension?

So I asked, “How did I come here? Am I dead?”

“You are not dead. I brought you here,” the voice replied, still echoing from everywhere.

“Why did you bring me here? Who are you?”

“I am the pair of eyes before you, the Crimson Demon Eyes you’ve always tried to escape.”

What?

Did I hear that right? Wasn’t the Crimson Demon Eyes sealed by the Sovereign Ziwei? How could they appear here?

Questions rose in my mind.

Before I could voice them, the voice spoke again. “You saw it yourself—I am sealed in this place of eternal darkness, and only you can release me.”

I was startled. So the Sovereign Ziwei had sealed the Crimson Demon Eyes here.

“I can’t let you out!” I said.

“You will let me out. Don’t you want to save your companions? Only I can help you.”

Hearing this, I hesitated.

Everything the Crimson Demon Eyes said was true—only it could contend with the Azure Dragon, only it could save everyone.

Yet if I released it, I would gradually fall under its control, and might do unspeakable things.

This choice tormented me; I had no idea what to do.

“Are you still hesitating? Your companions outside can’t wait any longer.”

Thinking of Lin Wei Yan and the others, I knew I had to save them, even if it meant risking the Crimson Demon Eyes’ corruption.

“Fine. I’ll let you out. But you must promise not to kill the innocent or control my body to consume vile things.”

In truth, I knew even if it promised, there was no guarantee it would keep its word.

But I had to say it—if only for my own comfort.

“I promise. Is that enough?”

I nodded. “How can I bring you out?”

“That’s easy. Just stare into these eyes before you.”

“All right. Just don’t forget our agreement,” I said.

With that, I fixed my gaze on the two beams of red light.

The crimson glow flickered and plunged into my eyes.

Suddenly, I saw Lin Wei Yan and Feng Zi Mo fighting desperately against the Azure Dragon.

Lin Wei Yan had revealed her true form, her snow-white fur stained red with blood. Despite the pain, she held fast to the dragon’s tail.

The Azure Dragon smashed its tail against the ground and the surrounding stone walls, but Lin Wei Yan never let go.

Fatty and Wu Xin lay wounded on the ground, their fate uncertain.

Only Feng Zi Mo still stood, managing to cradle Xiao Ling in his arms.

But for this, the Azure Dragon struck him, piercing his left shoulder.

At this moment, my body was entirely out of my control, my eyes glowing red.

In a flash, I appeared before the Azure Dragon.

The Azure Dragon, bewildered, hesitated for a moment.

But my fist crashed into him, sending him plummeting from the sky.

Feng Zi Mo, seeing me in this state, seemed haunted by old fears. He hurried to carry the injured Lin Wei Yan aside, then watched with Xiao Ling and the others as I unleashed my fury on the Azure Dragon.

Xiao Ling cheered from the sidelines. “Big brother, go! Defeat that wicked dragon!”

She didn’t know my body was no longer obeying my will.

I seized the dragon’s tail and swung it wildly.

The Azure Dragon howled in pain; soon, I tore several scales from its hide.

The once arrogant Azure Dragon was now like a little snake in my hands, powerless and at my mercy.

Looking at the trembling, cowering dragon, my gaze shifted suddenly to the Qingyun Sword.

“What are you planning?” I asked inwardly.

For the first time since taking control of my body, the Crimson Demon Eyes responded.

“That’s a precious sword. As thanks for freeing me, I’ll give it to you.”

With a surge of power, a suit of rainbow-hued jade armor appeared on me.

I strode toward the Qingyun Sword and struck it with my palm.

The massive sword shattered instantly.

A gleaming, ethereal treasure sword appeared before me.

This blade was even more exquisite than Lin Wei Yan’s Red Dawn Sword—its edges were jade-green, the hilt crimson like ruby.

Just as I reached for it, the sword dodged away, as if unwilling to be touched.

The Crimson Demon Eyes forced my hand to grip it, and I saw my own trembling fingers.

The Qingyun Sword was resisting, struggling.

But a sword is still a sword; no matter how spirited, it was finally subdued.

The reason was simple—the Crimson Demon Eyes dripped my blood onto the blade.

The Azure Dragon, already beaten into submission, grew even more restless seeing the Qingyun Sword in my grasp.

It tried to escape, but I slew it with the Qingyun Sword.

My gaze flashed, blood-red eyes turning to Feng Zi Mo and the others.

Feng Zi Mo’s face paled in terror.