Chapter Twenty-One: The Crimson Sky Sword

Staring at the monstrous sword that stabbed desperately toward me, it truly meant to kill. I couldn’t help cursing inwardly—

“Damn it…”

Why must it target me alone?

In a panic, I hastily channeled the Nine Palaces Nether Arts through my body. Purple lightning crackled in my palm, hissing as it danced. Unexpectedly, I’d ascended another level, but now was hardly the time for joy.

I aimed at the sword hurtling my way and struck. Bolts of violet lightning shot toward the strange blade—yet, to my shock, nothing happened. Instead, a cold gleam flashed from the sword, and in an instant, the single blade split into three, all slashing toward me.

I was dumbfounded. What the hell was going on?

“Careful!” Lin Weiyan shouted at me.

Feng Zimo formed a sword seal with his hands, shouting, “Shield!”

A pillar of light instantly enveloped me.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The three monstrous swords collided one after another with the light pillar.

By some miracle, the shield held, resisting all three blades. Otherwise, my life would have ended right then and there.

Just as I felt relieved, the three swords merged back into one, and a dark red glow erupted from its body. A formidable sword aura surged forth.

“Not good!” Feng Zimo cried.

My heart sank, chilled to the core.

Why am I so unlucky—even a sword seems to have it in for me.

Truly, life is long and full of sighs; fate, ever fraught with hardship.

The immense sword aura gave me no chance to catch my breath, relentlessly stabbing toward me.

In that instant—

I braced myself for death, but Lin Weiyan stepped in front of me before I could push her aside.

To our astonishment, the monstrous sword halted before her, as if it recognized her.

Lin Weiyan seized the hilt and swung it in her hand.

Not long after, the dark red sword aura dissipated.

A primeval sword adorned with seven-colored jewels, its blade as pure as frost and snow, rested steadily in Lin Weiyan’s grip.

Two archaic characters, “Crimson Sky,” were etched clearly on its blade.

Feng Zimo’s eyes widened as he exclaimed, “That’s the Crimson Sky Sword, one of the ten legendary ancient blades!”

Lin Weiyan nodded. “It seems so.”

Feng Zimo reached out to touch it, but the Crimson Sky Sword, sensing danger, stirred restlessly.

Startled, Feng Zimo quickly withdrew his hand, no longer daring to provoke the sword.

It seemed only to settle in Lin Weiyan’s grasp.

As for me, I’d developed a psychological shadow toward this sword—just now, it nearly killed me.

And this treasure vault always gave me a bad feeling; something unexpected could happen at any moment.

So I said to them, “We should leave quickly—this place is far too dangerous.”

Feng Zimo protested, “Don’t be so hasty! Weiyan’s obtained a legendary sword. We can’t return empty-handed.”

I waved my hand, “I have no interest in magical artifacts—my life matters more. If you want treasures, stay here; I’ll wait outside.”

“You’re such a coward,” Feng Zimo sneered at me.

I ignored his scorn and hurried out of the hall with Lin Weiyan.

Feng Zimo, truly unwilling to leave, did not follow.

We could only wait outside for him, silently praying nothing would happen.

After a long while, Feng Zimo still hadn’t emerged.

“Should we go check on him? What if something happened?” I said to Lin Weiyan.

After all, Feng Zimo had helped us plenty along the way and had just saved my life.

Lin Weiyan replied, “You don’t need to worry about him—his strength far exceeds what we imagine.”

Did Feng Zimo intentionally hide his abilities?

“What do you mean by that?” I asked.

Lin Weiyan said, “It’s nothing. Just a feeling that he’s concealing something. Keep your guard up.”

“All right,” I nodded.

Though I wondered if Lin Weiyan was being overly cautious—Feng Zimo didn’t seem the type to betray us.

“Can we still escape that endless ocean?”

That was my greatest concern—the crucial question.

As soon as I asked, Lin Weiyan suddenly smiled.

“Relax. Don’t you remember what I promised? I’ll make sure you return safe and sound,” she said.

“But—”

I hadn’t finished when a scream erupted from within the hall.

“Something’s wrong! Feng Zimo's in trouble!” I cried.

Rushing inside, we found Feng Zimo ensnared by a black serpent, blood oozing from his lips.

The serpent was bizarre—horns protruded from its head, and it even had ears. Its eyes were as large as bowls, colored a deep, mossy green.

I’ve always been terrified of snakes, and facing this monstrous creature drained all strength from my body.

Lin Weiyan knew my fear, so she quickly had me step aside.

“Don’t come near. It’s a black flood dragon!” Feng Zimo shouted hoarsely.

Lin Weiyan, unwilling to watch Feng Zimo die, rushed forward heedlessly.

Seizing the moment before the dragon could react, Lin Weiyan stabbed with the Crimson Sky Sword.

A guttural roar echoed as the black flood dragon shrieked at the sky, thrashing madly.

The palace trembled as if struck by an earthquake.

Perhaps from pain, Feng Zimo was flung aside by the dragon.

Lin Weiyan hurried to help him up, calling to me, “Run!”

Just as we fled the hall, the entire structure collapsed.

Meanwhile, the black flood dragon soared overhead.

Before I could react, its tail whipped toward us.

“Hurry, go!” Lin Weiyan cried, wielding the Crimson Sky Sword to block its attack. I dared not hesitate—supporting the injured Feng Zimo, I ran, though we didn’t get far.

Even with Lin Weiyan’s sword, she could only hold the dragon off temporarily—slaying it was impossible.

Clearly, this black flood dragon was no ordinary foe.

Lin Weiyan urged us to run further, but we could barely move.

The dragon, perhaps frustrated by Lin Weiyan’s resistance, turned and flew at Feng Zimo and me.

Staring at the colossal creature, as massive as a giant serpent, my legs gave out and I froze.

The dragon was impossibly swift; Lin Weiyan tried to intervene, but it was too late.

In a flash, the black flood dragon opened its maw wide and swallowed Feng Zimo and me whole.