The Resonating Bell and the Colorless Sword

The Colorless Longsword was one of the manifestations of power from the Sublimation Sacrifice.

Having claimed the lives of so many innocent people, it had now absorbed a considerable amount of energy.

Coupled with Xiao Yao’s unnatural advantage, which allowed him to prematurely wield the sword’s true power, his strike already possessed the might of a Golden Core cultivator.

A sphere of lightning, wreathed in ghost fire, violently collided with the black sword qi.

“Boom!”

A resounding shockwave ripped through the sky, sweeping over everyone and drawing countless gazes upwards.

With a wave of her hand, Su Mo tore through the turbulent winds, standing still in mid-air.

The ethereal chiming of the Resonance Bell from her ankle drifted through the wind.

Xu Qingzhu, who had been approaching, paused.

He stared at the Resonance Bell on her fair, jade-like foot, noticing its utter silence amidst the wind.

‘This seems to be the bell sound I heard earlier?’ he wondered.

Suppressing his thoughts, he rode the wind towards her.

As he reached Su Mo’s side, the Resonance Bell on her ankle chimed joyfully, shaking with lively vigor.

Believing the incessant ringing was merely due to the strong winds, Xu Qingzhu looked at Su Mo.

Her fluffy fox ears twitched atop her head.

“Su… Miss,” Xu Qingzhu finally uttered, his address sounding somewhat distant.

Her crimson eyes met his, and Su Mo, expressionless, gave a simple nod.

“Mm.”

With that quiet sound, she lifted her right foot, her delicate fingers untying the red string holding the bell.

She then tossed the Resonance Bell into her storage ring.

With the bell silenced, Su Mo could finally no longer hear the annoying chimes.

Ever since Xu Qingzhu arrived with Lu Yanling, this bell had been ringing erratically, utterly lacking in discernment.

****

Mo Lian, listening nearby, was astonished that the rumors about the Resonance Bell and its connection to lovers were actually true.

At the same time, she felt sorrow for Su Mo, believing she had met the wrong person and found a faithless lover unworthy of her trust.

Stepping slightly forward to shield Su Mo, Mo Lian’s black and white robe billowed wide, giving her a masculine appearance from any angle.

This sight extinguished any lingering temper Xu Qingzhu might have had.

He simply called out to Su Mo from a distance, “That bell?”

‘To pierce through space and reach his ears, it surely wasn’t an ordinary item,’ he thought.

“Lord Mo Lian gave it to me,” Su Mo replied, unwilling to elaborate.

‘Xiao Yao had been wielding his sword for so long; how could Xu Qingzhu still have the leisure to ask so many questions?’ she mused.

His expression darkening, he turned and rushed towards Xiao Yao, with Lu Yanling following close behind.

Watching from behind, Su Mo sensed a fierce determination in him, unlike his usual relaxed demeanor.

The sword in his hand was of superior quality, yet after Xu Qingzhu’s fierce strike, it instantly shattered.

It disintegrated into glittering iron shards that scattered, dusting his dark hair white.

Silently, Su Mo raised her Dark Thunder Bow, cursing Xu Qingzhu for his extravagance in her heart.

“That was my magical artifact!” she exclaimed mentally.

Since fleeing the Su Estate, she had relied on such items to survive.

‘Now, seeing Xu Qingzhu squander it like this, she almost wanted to shoot a few arrows at him,’ she thought.

“Whoosh!”

Seizing the opportune moment, a lightning arrow deflected Xiao Yao’s counterattack.

Before Xiao Yao could react, Xu Qingzhu’s sword strike forced him to release his grip, sending the Colorless Longsword plummeting.

In a flash.

Everyone’s eyes lit up, and they immediately soared forward, vying for the falling Colorless Longsword.

As if by a twist of fate, the sword landed in Lu Yanling’s hand.

Clutching it below, she immediately lifted her head and smiled at Xu Qingzhu.

“I caught it!”

“Throw it away, quickly!” Xu Qingzhu cried out, his voice laced with urgency.

A bewildered expression crossed Lu Yanling’s face.

‘Wasn’t this Colorless Longsword exactly what Big Brother Xiao Zhu desired most?’ she wondered, confused. ‘Why would he want me to throw it away…’

“Ahhh—!”

Lu Yanling suddenly felt a heart-wrenching agony, the sword in her hand informing her that all this suffering originated from that woman, Su Mo.

“Sizzle…”

The Colorless Longsword began to shift, transforming into a verdant green—the very color Xu Qingzhu had always favored for his clothes.

Yet, a streak of black and crimson stained its edges, disrupting this delicate balance.

She abruptly lifted her head, raising the now green and crimson-tinged longsword, and pointed it directly at Su Mo.

“It’s you!”

Her voice, raw with pain, was almost hoarse, brimming with hatred.

Like a mortal enemy, Lu Yanling tore open her hair tie, her disheveled hair dancing wildly in the wind, as if she had gone mad.

Witnessing this, Xiao Yao smiled faintly and retreated to the side.

‘He truly enjoyed such grand dramas; the more, the better,’ he thought.

“Little Ling!” Xu Qingzhu discarded his broken sword and moved forward to shield her.

From behind Xu Qingzhu, Su Mo’s expression was complex as she gazed at Lu Yanling, who now regarded her like a sworn enemy.

‘Her mind felt a little muddled. How had she become a love rival?’ she mused.

“Isn’t Xu Qingzhu supposed to be a couple with Lu Yanling?” Su Mo mumbled. “Do these two have disagreements? Because of me?”

Gazing at the back that stood before her, a warm current flowed through her heart, yet it was accompanied by a stinging guilt and an unspeakable bitterness.

“Young Master Xu, if this matter truly concerns me, please step aside,” Su Mo said softly, composing herself.

Ever since transmigrating into this book, she had always relied on Xu Qingzhu.

Now, presented with an opportunity to break free, a peculiar reluctance stirred within her heart, yet she knew she had to make a choice.

She thought back to the moment she left the orphanage, feeling a sense of bewilderment at facing the world alone from then on.

There was also a thrill, for all future experiences would be shrouded in mystery, waiting to be unveiled.

Then came the subsequent disappointment, perseverance, and enlightenment, ultimately becoming one of the countless ordinary people.

She was accustomed to closing off her heart, ensuring that passersby wouldn’t intrude upon her inner peace, content in her solitude.

Who would have thought that a brazen bandit would forcefully blast open her heart’s gate, only to play a joke?

As if to say: “My apologies, I just came in for a moment. Someone else is waiting for me outside.”

“This scoundrel…” Su Mo yearned to pummel the arrogant fellow, to knock some sense into him.

‘If only, from the very beginning, this person hadn’t forced her into marriage, but had merely called her a friend,’ she pondered.

“Would things have been better then?” Su Mo had often wondered.

“Get out of the way!” Lu Yanling cried, her eyes red, as she pointed the sword at Xu Qingzhu.

She could clearly bypass him and strike down Su Mo, but she wouldn’t.

Only by becoming the heroine of this melodramatic plot did Su Mo truly understand why, in such scenarios, no one ever thought to adapt or yield.

‘She knows that even a hint of giving up would make her a loser,’ Su Mo realized, comprehending Lu Yanling’s feelings.

She also understood the anguish in her heart at this very moment.

The torment, stemming from the effects of the Nine-Tailed Fox Love Sutra, was so severe that Su Mo’s heart almost convulsed with pain.

“Little Ling, put down the sword, we can still—”

“Young Master Xu, it’s no use,” Su Mo sighed softly, shaking her head. “The one who hurt her most deeply is you… Please step aside. I’ll figure out a way to seize the sword.”

Perhaps bolstered by her newfound strength, Su Mo was far more resolute than before, possessing a stronger will of her own.

‘Life, after all, never truly required anyone else,’ she thought.

‘She was accustomed to solitude; having another person around might feel unfamiliar, wouldn’t it?’ she mused.

If they delayed any longer, and Lu Yanling fully absorbed the longsword, or rather, completely succumbed to demonic possession, it would be too late.

‘At that point, a scene with a hand plunging into a loved one, and a blade aimed at the “other woman” would likely unfold,’ she thought.

Indeed, Su Mo considered herself the outsider, the third party.

And a rather peculiar one at that, given her previous life as a male outsider.

In such an explosive situation, she had no reason to contend, no desire to fight, and even found the whole affair absurd.

Xu Qingzhu was oblivious to her momentary thoughts; he only felt a profound sense of fragmentation.

A schism between two lives. The past represented his previous existence, the present, his current one.

Little Ling and Su Mo, his wife, confronted these two facets of his being.

“Who am I?” he questioned, his hands trembling.

The conviction that had guided him from the very beginning now wavered.

“Pfft.”

With his Dao heart shaken, he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, splattering it across Lu Yanling’s face.

Her beautiful eyes widened in an instant, and her boundless agony could not rival the sudden surge of worry.

She immediately dropped the sword and rushed to embrace Xu Qingzhu, who was swaying and falling.

“Big Brother Xiao Zhu!”

Her eyes regained their clarity, yet they were quickly tinged with a complex mix of emotions.

Watching the scene unfold, Su Mo sighed at the sight of the devoted lovers, then caught the Colorless Longsword.

“Ultimately, I am the one who should leave,” she murmured.

As she tightened her grip, she immediately sensed an unsettling change within herself.

In that instant, her crimson fox eyes grew even more vivid, like fresh blood.

Her delicate body trembled, and a myriad of tender whispers surfaced in her mind.

“…Quickly, don’t let anyone take the sword,” Xu Qingzhu urged, his voice strained.

Turning his head, he saw Su Mo once again holding the Colorless Longsword, her entire body trembling as she slowly succumbed to madness.

“Pfft!”

Another mouthful of fresh blood escaped him, his vital energy severely depleted.

‘The same thing, the same scene… surely the sword wouldn’t point at the person behind him again, would it?’ he wondered, a chilling thought.