Chapter Fifteen: The Triple Realm

After dealing with the Shadow Wolf, Bai Jingyan wasted no time and quickly returned to his room. His quarters were right next to Chu Yao’s by the south gate, and if he returned too late, it might arouse her suspicion.

He pushed open the door, swiftly closing it behind him. Leaning against it, he exhaled deeply. His left sleeve was torn by the wolf’s claws, the wound darkening ominously as poison seeped through his veins. Gritting his teeth, beads of cold sweat formed at his temple. Pain aside, what weighed heaviest on his mind was the shattered Soulstone in his hand. The surface was riddled with fine cracks, and its spiritual energy had completely dissipated.

“Damn it!” Bai Jingyan cursed softly, slamming the Soulstone onto the table, frustration and anger flashing in his eyes.

Last night, he had risked his life infiltrating the Starfeather Sect’s stronghold, painstakingly recording incriminating evidence of their high-ranking members’ rebellion plotting. Now, all his efforts were undone by an unfortunate accident.

Forcing himself to calm down, he quickly retrieved several pills and a roll of bandages from his storage ring.

Though the Shadow Wolf’s poison wasn’t fatal, if left untreated it would slowly erode his meridians and disrupt his spiritual flow. He bit open a detox pill bottle, swallowing two at once. Then, with a dagger, he cut open his left sleeve, exposing the gruesome wound.

The skin around the injury had blackened, emitting a faint stench of rot.

Frowning deeply, Bai Jingyan heated the blade over the candle flame. Gritting his teeth, he pressed the blade to the wound and carefully scraped away the necrotic flesh. The agonizing pain caused veins to bulge on his forehead, but he remained silent, biting down on a cloth to stifle any sound.

After removing the dead tissue, he swiftly sprinkled a medicinal powder over the wound. The instant the powder touched the flesh, it hissed as if aflame. Bai Jingyan let out a muffled groan, cold sweat pouring from his brow, yet his hands did not falter. He quickly wrapped the wound with bandages.

Exhausted, he slumped into a chair, pale as paper and breathing heavily. Yet his mind was far from his injury, fixated instead on the shattered Soulstone on the table, his expression grave.

“The Soulstone is broken, the evidence lost… Has last night’s effort truly been for nothing?” he murmured, fingers tapping absently on the table, his mind racing for a solution.

Suddenly, a glimmer of hope lit his eyes. “No… Although the Soulstone is broken, I still remember the conversation from last night. If I can find other evidence, maybe there’s still a chance.”

He rose swiftly, pulled a blank scroll from the bookshelf, and began to transcribe the dialogue he had overheard, word for word. His memory was extraordinary; while he couldn’t perfectly recall every nuance or tone, the essential content was exact.

Once finished, he carefully reviewed the text before storing the scroll back in his storage ring.

Yet he knew that this transcript alone was insufficient to fully expose the Starfeather Sect’s conspiracy. Stronger proof was necessary.

“The high-ranking members plotting rebellion must have left traces. If I can find their secret messages or transaction records, their guilt will be undeniable,” Bai Jingyan whispered resolutely.

Walking to the window, he pushed it open and gazed toward the Starfeather Sect’s stronghold in the distance. The lights still blazed brightly through the night, as if mocking his failure.

“If the Soulstone is broken, does that mean I have to infiltrate again?” He clenched his fists, a cold glint in his eyes. “This time, I won’t fail.”

Just as he prepared to move, faint footsteps sounded outside the door. Alarmed, he closed the window and slipped into the shadows.

“Knock, knock, knock—” a soft knocking followed by a familiar voice called out, “Brother Jingyan, are you there?”

It was Chu Yao from the south gate.

Bai Jingyan’s brow furrowed with caution. Quickly, he gathered the Soulstone shards and the bloodied bandages into his storage ring. Taking a steady breath, he opened the door.

“Yao Yao, it’s so late—what brings you here?” His expression was calm, voice steady.

Chu Yao stood there holding a food box, smiling gently. “I noticed you didn’t come to dinner tonight, so I brought some snacks. Are you alright?”

Her gaze swept over his face, as if sensing something. Bai Jingyan’s heart tightened, but he maintained a composed facade. “I’m fine, just tired from training.”

She nodded, handing him the box. “Then rest early.”

Bai Jingyan accepted it with a faint smile. “Thank you.”

Chu Yao looked at him once more, as if wanting to say something, but finally only nodded softly and turned away.

Closing the door, Bai Jingyan leaned back against it, exhaling deeply. He knew her visit wasn’t a coincidence—she might already harbor suspicions.

“This isn’t good. The stronghold must be on high alert now. If I go back, it would be like a lamb walking into the wolf’s den—a death sentence,” he muttered darkly.

“Besides, sending only disciples at the Martial Disciple level after me is probably a trap to lower my guard and lure me back,” he added grimly.

The Starfeather Sect’s stronghold was heavily fortified, and while he had narrowly escaped last night, he had undoubtedly raised their suspicions. Returning now would not only make it difficult to find new evidence but might also expose his identity and implicate Bai Huaiwu and Chen Hu.

With this in mind, Bai Jingyan sat cross-legged on his bed, channeling his sword energy and spiritual energy to enter the mystical inner realm once more.

Before him appeared a scroll, slowly unrolling to reveal the three tiers of the Heavenly Evolution Sword Art:

First Tier: Sword Qi Formation.

Practitioners begin to condense sword energy; their sword techniques far surpass ordinary swordsmanship. Sword Qi can extend three feet beyond the body, capable of cutting through metal and stone!

Undoubtedly, Bai Jingyan was currently at this stage—perhaps it was the formation of his sword bone that had drawn this legacy to him.

Second Tier: Sword Intent Manifestation.

Sword Qi is refined into Sword Intent, greatly increasing the power of sword techniques. Sword Intent can take shape as a phantom, and Sword Qi can extend ten zhang (approximately thirty-three feet)!

Third Tier: Sword Heart Clarity.

At this stage, the practitioner’s sword heart is enlightened; sword techniques flow freely from the heart, and Sword Intent merges with the mind, further enhancing their power.

The latter two tiers remained a challenge for Bai Jingyan, especially the third, which demanded clarity of the sword heart. In his previous life, he had cultivated spear techniques, and only now had he begun his path with the sword. The third tier was still beyond his reach.