I Only Marry Widows

Lu Chengfeng also remained silent, knowing that Zhu Yuxian must have an extremely complex past, having experienced countless entanglements of love and hate. Otherwise, she, as the Commandery Princess of Youdu, could not have married Xun Shuijing, nor could she have stayed at the Yuncang Sword Sect as a widow for twenty years.

By now, he had already used all the means he could, but Zhu Yuxian was not someone who could be moved by feelings. Her spiritual will was firm, and she had long seen through the red dust, with her heart set solely on becoming an immortal.

If Lu Chengfeng were not the direct disciple she had chosen, if he were not needed to obtain the Great Five Elements Extinction Divine Light Sword, daring to mention such matters in her presence would result in a miserable end.

The secret manual for the Great Five Elements Extinction Divine Light Sword might be acquired through other methods, but to cultivate this technique to a profound realm, even forming Law Intent, the time, energy, and resources required were nearly unimaginable.

Lu Chengfeng himself could not guarantee that after obtaining this secret manual, he could certainly cultivate it to the Twenty-Eighth Layer.

Only by receiving Xun Shuijing's gift could he ascend to the heavens in a single step, taking the correct path to reach Celestial Human status.

Although Zhu Yuxian also mentioned creating divine skills herself, Lu Chengfeng had no such idea. Since predecessors had already paved a path to heaven, why should he go far when he could take the shortcut?

When his martial arts realm became sufficiently profound and his foundation deep enough, he could naturally create his own martial arts without wasting time at present.

A skillful use of external objects is indeed a person's innate talent.

Xun Shuijing achieved Half-Step Celestial Human with the Great Five Elements Extinction Divine Light Sword, yet he was still besieged and killed, illustrating the multitude of experts in the world.

Lu Chengfeng did not consider himself an invincible genius at the same level; his aim was to crush his opponents with absolute advantage in realm and power.

Zhu Yuxian remained silent atop the mountain for a long time, recalling a time many years ago when a young man said the same words to her.

"I just want a rightful status for you; then you can stay in the Yuncang Sword Sect with dignity. I will spare no effort to get you the Sword Manual of the Great Five Elements Extinction Divine Light Sword."

"It is just a transaction!" Back then, young Zhu Yuxian was moved. To become immortal, to obtain the Immortal Scripture, what was a mere status?

Yet as time passed, Zhu Yuxian gradually realized that it was a transaction for her, but for that young man, it was a wish fulfilled, joy beyond measure, and a lifelong choice and guardianship...

Zhu Yuxian couldn't understand why someone like Xun Shuijing would fall in love with her so irretrievably, even ending in disaster and violent death.

Now the seemingly familiar scene unfolded again before her eyes, filling her heart with indescribable sadness, as if destiny was once again in a cycle.

If it weren't for her, Xun Shuijing should have already become a Celestial Human, wielding the Great Five Elements Extinction Divine Light Sword to shock the world, sweeping across the Eight Desolates, with a bright future and prospects ahead.

Zhu Yuxian turned her gaze to Lu Chengfeng; this young man was similarly a prodigious talent, already cultivating a divine skill to the Twenty-Fifth Layer at the age of twenty-one.

But why did he make the same choice?

Zhu Yuxian's inner hesitation and struggle lay here; she was inherently an emotionless person, but Xun Shuijing was not.

Because of Xun Shuijing, she carried a heavy sense of responsibility and burden, confined to Yuncang, becoming shackled by her own bonds.

She didn't want, nor was willing to have any more feelings or entanglements on any aspect; to her, it was a burden and a shackle.

If Lu Chengfeng had spoken before meeting Xun Shuijing, Zhu Yuxian would have agreed. But having once experienced it, she no longer believed such words.

Once some things happen, it is impossible not to leave any trace.

She could achieve that, but others could not!

But the reason she did not straightforwardly reject was because Lu Chengfeng seemed somewhat different.

Although Lu Chengfeng was a prodigious talent, he was nevertheless a lecherous man, daring even to marry his own master's wife. Not long after marriage, he took in the widow of an Inner Peak Elder as a concubine.

The faint sense of lust Lu Chengfeng had shown couldn't escape her notice. This bastard often did not regard her as a master, but as a woman.

The point also lay in this: although Lu Chengfeng was lust-driven, he was, at his core, extremely cold-hearted, a thoroughly selfish person. To say that he fell in love with her would indeed be a joke, which Zhu Yuxian did not believe at all.

Thus, she predicted that Lu Chengfeng surely had other schemes in mind; part of it was certainly for her beauty, planning to slowly take advantage once he had rightful status.

Men's little thoughts like this, Zhu Yuxian saw clearly and even scorned. Having been deeply pit by Xun Shuijing, how could she fall into a man's pit again?

On the other hand, Lu Chengfeng surely had other calculations, aiming to obtain certain things or cultivate some technique by establishing a rightful status.

Silently contemplating, Zhu Yuxian did not want any excessive causality entanglement and fetters with anyone anymore. As long as Lu Chengfeng didn't covet her person, everything else would be negotiable.

A simple transaction would be all the better!

Having sorted out all her thoughts, Zhu Yuxian finally spoke.

"I don't care what schemes and calculations you have; I, Zhu Yuxian, only aim for immortality in this life, indifferent to all other love and hatred, and I do not want to get involved."

"If you can find the Sword Manual of the Great Five Elements Extinction Divine Light Sword for me, I will be your wife for three days."

Zhu Yuxian spoke in a calm tone, as if discussing someone else's matter: "Of course, all this is on one condition, that is, before the great battle begins on the fifteenth day of July."

"If I survive the battle, the teacher-student relationship between us will be at an end, and I will leave the Northern Lands, never to meet you again in this lifetime."

Lu Chengfeng opened his mouth, wanting to say more.

Zhu Yuxian interrupted him, "I don't trust any promises; I just want to see the Sword Manual for real. If you can do that, then I will agree."

"There is no other way, and you need not mention it again."

After a moment of silence, Lu Chengfeng smiled wryly, "Since that's the case, I understand, I will do my best to see if I can obtain the Sword Manual of the Great Five Elements Extinction Divine Light Sword from Senior Sister Du."

"Farewell!"

He knew that since Zhu Yuxian had given her answer, it was not something he could change. The only option now was to find a way to obtain the Sword Manual from Du Mengyan and then make a deal with Zhu Yuxian.

After all, what he wanted was always a gift, not just a Sword Manual.

Lu Chengfeng sighed inwardly, knowing full well the difficulty of this matter, involving the transmission of the Sect's fundamental Divine Skill, but he didn't want to give up easily.

On the way down the mountain, his mind churned with various thoughts, constantly scheming, but ultimately he couldn't think of any good solution.

Du Mengyan was certainly not as difficult to deal with as Zhu Yuxian, but she was no sheltered maiden either; managing to cultivate the Yimu Heaven-Reaching Sword Scripture to the Twenty-Fourth Layer requires not just an Immortal Bone and comprehension, but also a sufficiently steadfast Spiritual Will.

Getting the Great Five Elements Extinction Divine Light Sword from her in a short time seemed almost impossible.

If there were enough time to plan, perhaps there would be hope.

"Among the Martial Arts Secret Manuals sent over by the Sect this time, the Great Five Elements Extinction Divine Light Sword was notably absent." Lu Chengfeng did not believe it was simply not sent, "It has probably been secretly passed down already, and there are only two people most likely to possess this transmission."

"One is Du Mengyan, and the other is Yun Mo Elder, who also serves as the Sect's Transmission Elder."

Back when Lu Chengfeng's cultivation had just broken through the Tenth Layer, Yun Mo Elder personally descended the mountain wanting to take him as a disciple, but Zhu Yuxian interfered, yet the two still had some connection between them, as the Cold Cicada Sword's sheath was a gift from him.

The sheath is named Hidden Blade, possessing a nurturance trait, and it is a rare Famous Artifact. Lu Chengfeng's Cold Cicada Sword, made of Cold Iron, is a fine weapon of Good Grade.

After more than a year of nurturing by the Hidden Blade sheath, it could now be barely considered an Upper Grade weapon.

The sheath in Lu Chengfeng's hands, to some extent, is a waste; if it were possessed by disciples cultivating the Yellow Dragon Hidden Sword True Technique, it would be more precious than swords themselves, making their Hidden Sword Technique more efficient and powerful.

But if the Sword Manual of the Great Five Elements Extinction Divine Light Sword were in Yun Mo Elder's hands, Lu Chengfeng doubted he could obtain it based on their past interaction.

"I hope Senior Sister Du has it; otherwise..."

Lu Chengfeng shook his head, refraining from thinking further, and directly headed to Du Mengyan's room.

Upon reaching the location, Du Mengyan's door was tightly closed. From yesterday onwards, Du Mengyan had already announced her closed-door training.

Lu Chengfeng wasn't foolish; he obviously knew that this was just an excuse, a lesson meant for him, especially since during the busiest time he went off to dally with Luo Suyi.

Considering his previous inappropriate conduct with her before the battle of Three Rivers, it was normal for the woman to want to teach him a lesson.

Now, with myriad affairs on the mountain and the Sect facing a life-and-death crisis, how could Du Mengyan possibly close herself off at such a time?

Lu Chengfeng walked to the door, deliberately coughing twice, then knocked on the door, saying, "Senior Sister, it's me, Lu Chengfeng."

Seeing that the room remained silent, with no response, he continued, "I know I was wrong; I came here today specifically to apologize to you."

Watching the woman inside still ignoring him, Lu Chengfeng simply thickened his skin and raised his voice, "Senior Sister, if you won't forgive me, I won't leave. I'll stay here, letting junior brothers and sisters take me as a warning, knowing that on this mountain, the one they must never offend is Senior Sister Du, or there will be no good outcome!"

"What nonsense are you spouting outside? Am I that unreasonable?" Du Mengyan's somewhat annoyed voice came through, "The door's open, if you want to come in, just do so."

Lu Chengfeng knew she was thin-skinned; seeing his tactic work, he couldn't help but smile, "Senior Sister, don't be offended. I truly feared you wouldn't forgive me, and in a moment of panic, said the wrong thing."

"Senior Sister Du is always gentle and understanding, forgiving the minor offenses of junior brothers and sisters with a smile; how could you blame them?"

"Am I right, Senior Sister!"

He pushed open the door as he spoke, smiling towards the room.