The Swift Return and the Tender Cage

In the pitch-black night sky, nearly a thousand li (TL Note: A traditional Chinese unit of distance, approximately 500 meters) from the mountain gate of the Three-One Sword Sect, a small, ordinary flying boat tore through the air.

It streaked forth at a speed far exceeding the limits of ordinary magical artifacts.

The very hull groaned faintly yet gratingly, unable to withstand such a violent surge of propulsion.

The pale green protective barrier enveloping it flickered erratically, trailing a long, scorching wake of spiritual light that resembled a meteor, hurtling recklessly towards the Three-One Sword Sect.

On the lookout platform, a young disciple, newly inducted into the sect, nervously manipulated the detection array.

The red dot on the light screen, representing a high-speed, unknown object, rapidly blossomed, its energy readings far surpassing the alert threshold!

‘Enemy attack?! Or a runaway artifact?!’

The young disciple’s face paled, his finger instinctively reaching to press the alarm for an enemy intrusion.

“Wait!” A knuckle-defined hand moved faster, pressing down on his.

The mature disciple beside him, with a lean face and shrewd eyes, shook his head slightly, a knowing smile playing on his lips.

“Fret not, carefully discern the subtle dark crest of the Azure Luan at the boat’s prow.

This is Elder Lin Xiaoxiao’s ‘Azure Shadow’ flying boat.”

“Elder Lin… Lin Xiaoxiao?” The new disciple froze, then suddenly recalled the widely circulated legends within the sect.

His face instantly drained of terror, replaced by a nearly fervent reverence, his voice pitching higher with excitement.

“You mean… the Senior Sister Lin who, with a single Tianya Immortal Sword, swept clean Black Wind Stronghold, braved the Myriad Poison Marsh alone to rescue her fellow disciples, and sought justice for unknown rogue cultivators before the Cliff of Broken Souls?!

The peerless heroine and immortal maiden among the younger generation of the cultivation world?!”

“Precisely!” The tall, lean disciple’s face showed a look of pleased approval, as if thinking, ‘This one is teachable.’

He patted the new disciple’s shoulder, his gaze following the rapidly approaching stream of light.

His tone carried an undeniable reverence.

“Senior Sister Lin has always acted with the speed of wind and ruthlessness against evil!

Her rushing back at full speed, even at the cost of the flying boat’s very essence, must be due to a matter of great import, urgently requiring the sect’s aid!

Though we lack Senior Sister’s heaven-reaching cultivation and chivalrous spirit, unable to follow in her footsteps and wander the world with a sword, at the very least…”

He straightened his posture, his voice solemn.

“We must never become an impediment on her return journey!

Quickly, send word to all array nodes!”

Upon receiving the urgent message from the tall, lean disciple, the tense atmosphere at various nodes of the Sect-Protecting Grand Array instantly dissipated.

The disciple manipulating the core array disk heaved a sigh of relief, wiping cold sweat from his brow.

“It turns out Sword Master of Tianya, Senior Uncle Lin, is returning to the sect!

Just a false alarm!

Lift all intercepting restrictions, activate the ‘Azure Luan’ identification channel, and grant passage!”

“It’s Senior Uncle (Senior Grand-Uncle) Lin!

Quick, remove the spiritual energy barrier, open the mountain gate passage!”

“Disperse, disperse, the ‘Incarnation of Justice’ is back!

Do not set up barriers!”

Instructions were relayed layer by layer.

The colossal spiritual energy barrier shrouding the majestic mountain gate rippled open like water, specifically parting to create an unimpeded passage for the streaking azure shadow.

Inside the flying boat, Lin Xiaoxiao was long accustomed to the unimpeded passage before the mountain gate.

However, the recent events were tormenting her soul.

‘Am I truly worthy of such special treatment now?’

The fierce gale ruffled the stray hairs on her forehead, revealing bright yet subtly weary eyes beneath.

‘Master, what should I do?’

****

Within a secret valley of the Three-One Sword Sect, a place no one could find, moonlight, diffused by dense spiritual energy, transformed into a hazy silver veil.

It gently enveloped the bamboo forest, the flowing stream, and the simple little bamboo hut.

The gurgling stream, which should have been a sound of tranquil purity, now resonated in Mo Tingbei’s ears like a terrifying, death-calling melody.

Jiang Jinyue had already led Mo Tingbei into the bamboo hut.

The restrictions at the entrance to the immortal cave had long been activated, isolating everything outside and completely locking him within this tender cage Jiang Jinyue had meticulously woven.

After helping the somewhat stiff Mo Tingbei sit on a meditation cushion, Jiang Jinyue unceremoniously conjured a small meditation cushion from thin air and sat facing him, her body close to his.

Her wandering hand wrapped around his waist, the pressure light, yet conveying an unyielding possessiveness that brooked no escape.

She tilted her head slightly, moonlight spilling through the window into the bamboo hut, outlining her flawless profile.

Her normally gentle, ice-blue eyes now brimmed with undisguised fervor, like burning, ethereal blue flames, threatening to utterly consume and melt the man before her.

“Senior Brother, it’s just us here now.”

Her voice was light as a sigh, laced with a contented murmur, as her fingertips brushed his cheek with a cool yet greedy touch, tracing the contours of his brows and eyes.

“No one else… can disturb us anymore.”

The word ‘others’ was bitten off softly, yet it carried a chilling, murderous intent.

Mo Tingbei distinctly felt the warmth emanating from her fingertips and the faint, lingering fragrance that drifted into his nostrils with her breath, yet his heart cried out in silent anguish.

Mo Tingbei was no unappreciative Liu Xiahui (TL Note: A legendary Chinese figure known for his moral uprightness and resistance to temptation), but at such close proximity, the overwhelming pressure stemming from Jiang Jinyue’s transcended realm made it difficult for him to harbor any romantic inclination.

The fear born from the disparity in their life-force levels nearly compelled him to kneel in submission on the spot.

His ability to remain standing was already a result of Jiang Jinyue’s strenuous effort to restrain her aura.

Moreover, had his Dao heart not been firm enough, he might have long since succumbed to the profound and mysterious charm emanating from Jiang Jinyue, akin to a ‘Lord of the Dao,’ becoming the first ‘thrall’ of this newly ascended Dao Monarch.

Mo Tingbei’s throat bobbed as he suppressed the tremor and chill in his heart.

“Junior Sister…” he began with difficulty, attempting to divert the conversation, hoping to break the suffocating atmosphere.

“The matters of the Immortal Alliance…”

“Senior Brother need not worry about those ants,” Jiang Jinyue interrupted him, her fingertip gently pressing against his lips, stopping him from speaking further.

Her eyes were so tender they could drown a man, yet held an undeniable dominance.

“The impurities have been purged, so there’s no need to mention them again.

Your injuries, Senior Brother, are what truly matter.”

Her other hand slowly rose, gathering a gentle yet potent azure spiritual light in her palm, imbued with a rich aura of life.

“Just like before, I will heal Senior Brother.”

The spiritual light approached, carrying an irresistible warmth.

Mo Tingbei instinctively tried to retreat, but the force around his waist held him firmly in place.

As the spiritual light touched his chest, a gentle power instantly surged into his parched meridians, like rain after a long drought, nurturing his shattered dantian and damaged foundation.

This power was exquisitely pure, far surpassing any sacred healing elixirs he had encountered in the past, its effect instantaneous.

Jiang Jinyue was actually using her cultivation base to directly transfer the spiritual energy she absorbed to him, before she even internalized it as her own cultivation!

This was almost equivalent to allowing Mo Tingbei to briefly wield a portion of the authority of a modern Golden Core!

Mo Tingbei’s damaged dantian, encountering this power, greedily absorbed the pure spiritual energy as if it were a parched land receiving sweet rain.

Feeling his depleted body gradually fill with vigor, Mo Tingbei for a moment lost himself, so comfortable he nearly groaned aloud.

However, accompanying this healing power was Jiang Jinyue’s all-pervasive divine sense.

That divine sense, like the most lingering spider silk, gently entwined itself around his soul, carrying a morbid curiosity and possessiveness, as if intent on branding him entirely with her mark, from inside out.

Mo Tingbei’s soul instinctively resisted.

Yet, even a sliver of divine sense from a cultivator who had transcended that celestial layer was far stronger than the complete soul of a cultivator who had not, the disparity between them vast as the difference between clouds and mud.

Jiang Jinyue didn’t even seem to notice, but Mo Tingbei felt as if a massive bell had tolled within his mind, letting out a muffled groan, fine beads of cold sweat seeping from his forehead.

He had already suffered a considerable soul injury!

This healing process was proving more agonizing than the injury itself!

He felt like an object being disassembled, scrutinized, and reshaped, utterly devoid of dignity.

Such an act was almost the ultimate humiliation for a cultivator.

“Senior Brother, bear with it,” Jiang Jinyue’s voice was laced with heartbreak, but her actions remained unceasing; her divine sense coiled even more tightly.

“Your foundation is too severely damaged; it needs to be thoroughly reorganized.

Don’t worry, with me here, Senior Brother will be restored to his former self, or even… surpass his previous state.”

Her words were gentle, yet her eyes flickered with a near-mad obsession.

She not only wanted to heal her Senior Brother but also to firmly ensnare him within the world she had constructed, isolating him from all potential contamination and covetous gazes.

Moreover, if all went smoothly, it wouldn’t be long before his body would return to normal, and with just a little recuperation, they would be able to…