Chapter 238 – Turning Point

[ NOTE: I’ve swapped the first half of this chapter with the second half of the last chapter for better flow. If the version you read yesterday ended with the foreign books, please scroll up and refresh for some new candies from Bai Ye!

Sorry for this kind of inconvenience again … but please rest assured that the cost of the chapters didn’t change because of the edit, and the two swapped scenes can be read in either order without affecting the overall plot. Thank you for your understanding! ]

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A long series of kisses ensued, along with countless teases and me pounding fists on his chest. Miraculously, we still managed to lay down all our new year’s decorations at the end of the morning despite all these distractions, and when I stepped back to take in the view of the fresh set-up cabin, filled with dazzling red and the scent of flowers and pastries, it suddenly felt more like home to me than ever.

A home that belonged to us and only us. A home where we would welcome new beginnings along with the arrival of the new year.

Satisfied, I joined Bai Ye back at the desk—I had insisted that he stick to his usual reading schedule while I experimented with different ways to arrange the flower vases. “I take my earlier words back,” I said as I sat down next to him. “You didn’t buy way too much. This actually looks perfect for our place.”

“Told you not to doubt my judgment,” he huffed and wrapped me in an arm. Turning aside to study the arrangements I made, he smiled in approval. “This is the perfect amount of crowdedness for holidays.”

“What are you reading?” My eyes landed on the book spread open on the desk. “This is not the same one you’ve been reading the past few days … Weren’t you going through them again in order? This is the last volume in the series, but you were reading the second one just a couple of days ago.”

Pulling his attention back from the decorations, he raised an eyebrow. “You’re becoming too observant, Qing-er. Seems like it’ll be hard to keep any secrets of this book from you even if you don’t understand the language.”

“You said you aren’t keeping any more secrets from me,” I protested.

“I’m not. But—” he pointed at the page that was open before us, “—most of what I’ve read remains a mystery even to me.”

I studied the content of that page more closely. A large illustration of a spell pattern spread across the fold, formidably complicated. “This is a spell … related to demonic swords?” I asked. “Are you searching for it specifically because the sealed spirit at Misty Mountains gave you some clues?”

“This spell is an ancient one used to purge certain demonic power,” he explained. “I’ve experimented with it a few times before, but it was hard to reach its full potential, since Twin Stars had lost most of its strength after being separated from its sword spirit.”

I blinked. Was he suspecting that the sealed soul in the cave might be able to bring some of that strength back to Twin Stars? “But … you didn’t think the presence there was related to the sword spirit,” I ventured.

“I didn’t think it was part of your soul directly, but it has to be something closely related. Which is why I need to find more explanations on where such a presence could fit into a demonic sword’s functioning … And how we might be able to borrow its power if needed. “

My eyes probably glowed from excitement. I had been concerned about our new discovery ever since we left Misty Mountains, but I hadn’t expected that it might end up leading us closer to what we desperately needed instead. Leaning into the desk, my attention was on nothing except the book now. “Will you explain to me what’s on this page?” I asked eagerly. “If you translate it for me … Can we try to figure this out together?”

He smiled, and I knew I didn’t have to ask. He always liked teaching me everything he knew anyway. Starting from the top of the page, he began to read out the descriptions of that intricate symbol.

~ ~

I surprised myself by quickly picking up the basics of that strange language in the next few days, and Bai Ye had explained enough of the most relevant symbols to me that I could start to understand this school’s fundamental theories. It focused on the affinity between similar spiritual powers, and to reach the full effectiveness of their spells, a conduit was necessary to facilitate the power exchange between the target and the summoner.

In our case, that meant Twin Stars. And as Bai Ye said, those swords were far from being in their ideal state for being used as a conduit.

But the discovery at Misty Mountains could change everything … Although we didn’t manage to find any useful hints on what that sealed spirit could be, the thought of this being a possible turning point for us still excited me, and I began to look forward to our second trip to Vermillion Shrine with more anticipation than anxiousness.

The ten days’ wait passed quickly. Everything seemed to be moving smoothly when we visited Vermilion Shrine again, met with Thirteen, and were introduced to a Master Yu Jing. The three of us arrived at Misty Mountains, found our way through the maze, and when we stopped in front of the seal, everything looked exactly the same as it did ten days ago. The swords hadn’t shifted at all, and the dark symbol of a snake was still intact, spinning steadily around the center of the blades when we revealed it.

I let out a breath that I had been holding for ten days. At last, nothing unexpected had occurred during the wait, and that strange foreboding in me seemed to have lessened a little. I watched Yu Jing as he carefully studied the seal, muttering a few words under his breath from time to time.

“It shouldn’t take too long to strengthen this spell,” he said at last. “I will start the summoning now. Please guard the surroundings for me.”

It was common practice to require guardians during summonings, as the cultivator would be rendered defenseless during the process. Bai Ye and I nodded and drew our swords. Stepping back, Yu Jing sat down into a meditation pose, and a soft chanting started to echo in the cave chamber.