Remould the Glory of Sword Art

The city of Tai'an was quiet and peaceful during the deep night, with the Xu residence immersed in silence.

A wisp of green flame flickered without wind, casting the silhouette of a man and a woman on the paper window from within the room.

"Our entry this time was faster than planned!"

Shen Yan held a wine cup in one hand, gently swaying it, and spoke with a palpable sense of relief, "I thought we would be stopped by the garrison officer in Fengsui City... but unexpectedly, everything went smoothly. The 'Heavenly Secret Guidance' given by the Venerable was indeed precise. Although I don't know what background that Xie Zhen has, after associating with him, our path was clear and unobstructed."

"It's not that Xie Zhen is impressive, but the Venerable is!"

Xu You smiled, "What kind of person is the Venerable? So long as he speaks, all we need to do is obey. Is the token still well preserved?"

"Of course."

Shen Yan also smiled.

She shot Xu You a look.

The Deputy City Lord of Tai'an raised his hand and clenched his fist!

Bang!

In the next moment, as the flame flickered, the entire room was lit up by dense, twinkling lights, yet from the outside, it was pitch-black, as if plunged into an abyss.

This not-so-large room, with its hanging beams and standing columns in all directions, had nearly a hundred densely placed talismans, all of which were, without exception, used to isolate aura and prevent outside investigation.

"Relax, this place is safe, the walls have no ears."

Xu You spoke calmly, "The token... you can take it out now."

Upon receiving this response, Shen Yan finally relaxed somewhat.

She took deep breaths, adjusted her mindset, and finally steeled herself to tear open the talisman affixed to her calf...

Hiss!

A crisp sound like tearing paper echoed in the room. The other end of the talisman was tightly connected to flesh and blood. As she tore it off, blood and muscle adhered and stretched, causing Shen Yan's complexion to instantly turn pale, but her movements remained decisive. She completely removed the talisman from her calf.

Then her other hand delved into the bloody flesh.

Her slender fingers gripped something hard and slowly pulled it out—

Throughout the process, Shen Yan didn't make a single grunt.

It was as if she was extracting her own bones!

After a few moments!

"Clank," a crisp sound!

The bloodstained object fell to the ground, emitting a distinct noise.

Shen Yan sat on the ground, gasping for air... nearly fainting. Using the last of her strength, she slowly reapplied the talisman. The talisman merged into the blood-drenched calf, and the torn wound slowly began to heal back to its original state.

No one would have thought that this talisman was actually used for mending flesh!

If it had not been torn open.

One would never know... that such a thing was hidden within Shen Yan's calf.

Xu You's gaze was fiery as he intently watched the object Shen Yan had extracted.

"What exactly is this so-called token? Why does it look like a piece of bone?"

Shen Yan's face was pale, her eyes full of confusion.

She scrutinized the strange, hard object that was only about a foot long.

It resembled a piece of finger bone.

But... definitely not a human bone—if this were indeed a finger bone, a complete hand would be at least as big as her own chest!

"You don't need to know what this object is, you only need to know... that this object is extremely important, and now that it has been successfully delivered to Qing State, you and I have both made a great contribution."

Xu You took the object, wiped it carefully with a white silk, and cautiously placed it in his chest.

He murmured, "Next, all I need to do is hand over the token to the next messenger before the agreed date, and my task will be perfectly completed."

After a long rest.

Shen Yan finally spoke faintly, "Completing the task is good news."

"But in order to deliver this object into Qing State, I had to endure the pain of slaughtering the entire Lingluo Mountain... Even though Northern County has been forsaken by the Dachu Royal Family, this matter will sooner or later prompt an investigation."

"You needn't worry about the subsequent investigation. The trouble with Lingluo Mountain will naturally be smoothed over by me."

Xu You reassured in a soft voice, "Look at the bigger picture, once this matter is settled, the Venerable will reward you tenfold, a hundredfold. By then, you will be more than just a minor Family Head of the Shen Family. When the Demon Country comes south, half of the Northern County's lands will be yours!"

"Half of the Northern County fiefdom?"

Shen Yan lowered her eyes and smiled sarcastically, "Although I work for the Demon Race, I'm very clear about my own capabilities. Once this matter is concluded, if Shen Yan can become the master of Lingluo Mountain without any incidents, I will be satisfied."

"On the contrary, you..."

She paused, then asked with some confusion, "Five Green Yuan Pills are not a small number. Why did you give them away so easily? Didn't you try to make excuses to delay?"

"To achieve great things, one must not sweat the small stuff."

Xu You sat in front of the desk, attempting to appear nonchalant with this remark.

He paused.

"With Jing'er present, if I were to do something against my usual character, he would definitely become suspicious."

Letting out a sigh, Xu You said helplessly, "Now, the Qing State territory within eight hundred miles is under ban, and all cities, big or small, are under surveillance from the Imperial City. The You Hai King is determined to root out the 'traitor within the Demon Race'. If any abnormalities occur within Tai'an City, even the slightest disturbance could be captured and magnified."

Upon hearing the term "traitor within the Demon Race,"

Shen Yan's complexion changed slightly, but she quickly regained her composure, "Haven't you personally confirmed that Xie Zhen truly has not the slightest bit of Primordial Energy on him..."

"Being careful ensures a long and safe journey. An eight hundred-mile ban is not to be feared, nor is the You Hai King."

Xu You said gravely, "The young State Preceptor behind the You Hai King is the one who truly demands attention. The revered teacher has repeatedly emphasised not to let the Primordial Instrument capture any trace of karma. Based on what I know about the Imperial City's enforcers, I fear that all thirty-six cities in Qing State are within the Primordial Instrument's surveillance range. If any action is taken within the city, it will undoubtedly be seen."

Shen Yan raised an eyebrow, "Taking action within the city...will be seen? What do you mean by that?"

"That's right, Primordial Instrument can monitor fate and capture karma. But no matter how powerful, it can't cover the entirety of Qing State..."

Xu You licked his dry lips and murmured, "I had already set up a Broken Origin Array outside of Tai'an City. As long as Xie Zhen leads people out of the city tonight, that will be our chance to act. With fate severed and the killing intent erupting, I don't believe that this well-laid killing scheme could be seen by the Primordial Instrument."

Shen Yan let out a long sigh.

She commented wistfully, "I knew you must have a backup plan. So you've been planning to kill Xie Zhen from the start?"

"If it were just one or two pills, that'd be one thing. Even three, biting the bullet and giving them away wouldn't be disastrous,"

Xu You's gaze was cold, "It's just that this boy got too greedy. After learning a few inferior Taoist talismans, he lost track of his place and dared to ask me for too much..."

Shen Yan recalled the details of their interactions en route.

And the unusual changes that followed with that stationed officer in Fengsui City.

She couldn't help but remind him out loud, "I always feel like there's something peculiar about Xie Zhen. Aren't you worried he's a wolf in sheep's clothing?"

"A wolf in sheep's clothing? He wishes,"

Upon hearing this, Xu You scoffed, "I've seen through this kid. He doesn't have even the slightest bit of Primordial Energy in him, not to mention, he doesn't even possess a personal Magic Artifact."

If one couldn't detect any Primordial Energy,

Either Xie Zhen is just an ordinary Qi Refining Master,

Or, he is someone whose realm is several levels above my own, an immensely powerful figure!

Even a peak Cave Heaven Realm master can't accomplish this...

This young man appears just over sixteen years old, could he be at the peak of the Cave Heaven Realm?

Impossible, absolutely impossible!

In all of Da Chu, no such genius has appeared in nearly a century!

Unless he is a Taoist Reincarnated True Person!

That possibility is like finding a needle in the sea... At least Xu You doesn't believe it. If he were really a Reincarnated True Person, would he covet my few Green Yuan Pills? A top-tier figure revered by the Taoist, treasured as a venerable guest, how could they care about my meager possessions?!

At that moment, a buzzing sound arose.

Inside the room, a vibration broke out, and a talisman hanging above the beams burst out with brilliant white light, alerting Xu You... The array patterns outside Tai'an City had been activated, and someone had entered the array!

"Good!"

A glint of sharp light burst in Xu You's eyes.

"Just as I expected, this kid has a guilty conscience—he takes the Green Yuan Pills and then tries to run off!"

With that, the worry that Xu You had been carrying finally settled.

He stretched out his palm.

The spear lying across the weapon rack abruptly flew up and landed in the center of his palm.

"Xie Zhen, oh Xie Zhen..."

Clutching the spear tightly in his palm, Xu You felt the cold from the iron and said coldly, "Thinking you could take my property and just leave? Where in the world does such good fortune come from?"