My Top-Tier Tycoon Wife

Luo Xiu acted as if he hadn't heard Xia Chan, walking straight toward Ning Shuichen.

The sword wind suddenly ceased. Ning Shuichen's flowing white hair slowly settled, returning to a state of calm. Though he was right in front of him, Luo Xiu couldn't feel his presence; he was as quiet as water.

Ning Shuichen gazed at the young man he greatly admired and spoke. "Child, I believe you have your reasons for doing this. It's not too late to turn back now."

Luo Xiu stopped. "Everyone in this world has a reason for everything they do."

"You are exceptionally talented, a future pillar of our nation," Ning Shuichen said. "Furthermore, you brought back numerous opportunities from the Secret Realm, making a tremendous contribution to the country. I cannot bear to kill you."

Luo Xiu smiled indifferently. "Elder, since you are standing before me, you must have already prepared to take my life."

Ning Shuichen sighed softly. "I will strike only once."

"After that single strike, if you live, you may leave. If you die, you will stay."

Luo Xiu's expression remained unchanged. He stared at the sword in Ning Shuichen's hand, recognizing it as "Innocence," ranked eighth among Hua Country's ten great swords. He smiled and recited, "I admire the Master of Ghost Valley; the clear stream is without a speck of dust. He encompassed the ways of the world, leaving his body behind in the white clouds."

Ning Shuichen said softly, "Those lines are from 'Thirty-Eight Encounters' by Chen Ziang of the early Tang Dynasty."

"Years ago, while I traveled the world, I was fortunate enough to meet the Ghost Valley Heavenly Master. The Heavenly Master clarified my path with his sword and later gifted me this weapon, instructing me to uphold the Way and protect the people."

Luo Xiu wasn't surprised. He had known since he was young that this sword came from Ghost Valley, and he had heard Guijian Chou mention giving it to a fated person whom he greatly appreciated. He just never expected that Ning Shuichen was the fated person Guijian Chou had spoken of.

Ning Shuichen slowly raised his sword, sliding two fingers of his left hand gently along the blade.

The blade quivered faintly, its hum vibrating through The Void. It was as if a placid lake had suddenly erupted with colossal waves.

Seeing this from afar, Xia Chan shouted anxiously, "Chen Shuisheng, get back! That's the Innocence Sword Array!"

But as soon as her voice fell, Luo Xiu's figure vanished. Where he had once stood, only a dazzling sword light remained. The strands of light were not straight; they coiled softly through The Void like smoke or water.

Now, within the sword array, Luo Xiu could no longer see the outside world. His vision was filled with nothing but surging waves formed from countless streams of Sword Intent. The sword array appeared as gentle as water, but it was brimming with sharp, lethal intent.

Luo Xiu knew this was the sword array inherent to the sword "Innocence" itself. The ten great swords of Hua Country were, strictly speaking, ten Magical Treasures, each with its own innate sword techniques.

Unfazed, Luo Xiu suddenly took a few steps forward. After confirming this was the same sword array he had broken when he was twenty, the one his master had used, he began to walk through it as if strolling through a garden.

About two minutes later, Luo Xiu emerged from the sword array completely unscathed, appearing before Ning Shuichen.

Ning Shuichen looked at him, his brow furrowed slightly as a look of shock gradually spread across his placid, well-like face. The Innocence Sword Array could read one's Dao Heart, discerning whether a person's inner nature was good or evil. Just now, the feedback he had received from the sword array was one of pure evil intent. If that was the case, Luo Xiu should have been executed by the array.

But the reality was that Luo Xiu had walked out completely unharmed.

Unable to comprehend it, Ning Shuichen suddenly sheathed his sword and turned away. "Forget it. I said I would strike only once, and so I have. You may go."

As Luo Xiu walked past him, he spoke in a voice only the two of them could hear. "When I broke this sword array back then, my master told me… 'When the Dao Heart enters the ghost, all things become ephemeral, with neither good nor evil.'"

Hearing this, Ning Shuichen's gaze trembled, and his body grew stiff. To him, that simple sentence was like a thunderclap on a clear day.

Luo Xiu continued slowly, "Good and evil are defined by different standards for different people. It is not determined by any single person's criteria. That is why we, the People of Ghost Valley, never claim to be good or evil."

"The People of Ghost Valley only guard the Way in their hearts, unconcerned with the world's notions of good and evil. Our purpose is to weigh the pros and cons for all living beings, maneuvering among them to maintain the balance of the Great Dao. We are not confined to the powers of a few nations formed by men."

"This sword is named Innocence. Its meaning is to be without good and without evil."

"You wield this sword with goodness in your heart, which is not a bad thing. But in the end, goodness is also a form of desire from the depths of the human heart. If there is desire in your heart, then it is not Innocence."

Ning Shuichen stared blankly at the receding silhouettes of Luo Xiu and Xia Chan, his thoughts seeming to drift away with them.

After a long while, he suddenly turned in the direction Luo Xiu had gone and clasped his fist in a salute before throwing his head back and laughing.

"When the Dao Heart enters the ghost, all things become ephemeral, with neither good nor evil."

"Only for the Way in my heart, unconcerned with the world's good and evil, with the primary purpose of weighing the pros and cons for all beings…"

"So this is the true meaning of Innocence."

"Ghost Valley… It truly does transcend all things in this world."

Muttering to himself, he slowly sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes, and did not move again.

***

Somewhere in a seemingly boundless desert, two people moved forward, yet only a single set of footprints marked the sand.

Weakened, Xia Chan lay on Luo Xiu's back and asked, "What did you say to Ning Shuichen after you broke the Innocence Sword Array? Why did he let us go so easily?" She was growing more and more curious about this man.

Luo Xiu smiled. "You have the leisure to worry about that? You should be thinking about where we go from here."

After a moment of silence, Xia Chan said, "To the sea."

"We're a long way from the sea," Luo Xiu replied.

Xia Chan sighed. "It would be nice if we could fly."

"Speaking of which, where did Watari Kagura go?" Luo Xiu asked.

Xia Chan shook her head slightly. "When the Secret Realm collapsed, I was teleported out. But Lady Kagura broke free from the teleportation and fell into a spatial rift. I don't know where she is."

"Lady Kagura?" Luo Xiu said in surprise. "To hear a witch from the Heretic Cult like you address her with such respect, she must hold a high position in your Holy Boi Religion."

"She is one of the Upper Nine Deities," Xia Chan said.

Luo Xiu was a little shocked. "That impressive?"

"I don't know much about her, though. In fact, this was the first time I'd ever seen her in person. I only know she's very lazy."

"If she were here, she could have flown us directly to the sea," Luo Xiu mused.

"If she were here," Xia Chan retorted, "I wouldn't have been captured by Lin Jianlong right after I was teleported out."

"There's no point talking about it now. As for flying to the sea..." He trailed off, his expression thoughtful. He suddenly remembered the Thunderbolt Divine Boat gifted to him by the Seal Clan.

But as he pondered, the sound of rushing footsteps, accompanied by whooshing sounds, echoed from all directions. The mere sound carried a roiling murderous intent that filled the air.

Luo Xiu stopped and scanned his surroundings, seeing Martial Artists from the martial circles of various nations. Some were sprinting across the desert, while others flew on swords or used flight-capable Magical Treasures.

"Aren't you able to revive the dead?" Xia Chan asked. "You should be able to bring Fei Xiao back too, right?"

Luo Xiu shook his head gently. "Seeing him again would only cause you more pain."

"You have two choices now," she said. "Either hand me over and go back to obediently admit your mistake, or fight them. But it will be a battle to the death."

Luo Xiu gently set her down from his back. "Then let's fight," he said nonchalantly.

"There are so many of them. You'll die."

"At least I'll have you, a witch, to accompany me in death," Luo Xiu replied.

Xia Chan fell silent, saying no more. Faced with his resolve, she knew any further words were pointless.

"Chen Shuisheng, hand over the witch of the Heretic Cult!" an elder who was the first to arrive on a flying sword shouted, stopping in front of them.

Xia Chan sized up the elder and whispered to Luo Xiu, "That's Wu Chaozu, the current sect master of Pagoda Mountain. His strength is at the Great Perfection of Purifying Void, and he is rumored to be the most powerful person beneath the Mahayana Realm."

"If he's wielding Pagoda Mountain's Treasure of Mountain Calming, even a typical Mahayana Realm expert would be no match for him."

Luo Xiu nodded lightly. His gaze fell upon Wu Chaozu's face as he smiled faintly. "Do you want her, or the Divine Skills she possesses?"

Wu Chaozu's eyes narrowed. "Chen Shuisheng! A prodigy of your generation, yet you have been so bewitched by this heretical witch that you can no longer tell right from wrong!"

"If you continue down this foolish path, we will execute you, a traitor, here today!"

Luo Xiu's expression turned icy. "Enough talk. Let's fight."

The next moment, a terrifying heatwave radiated from his body. Centered on his feet, the yellow sand beneath him rapidly melted into flowing magma.

"You want Divine Skills? I have those, too. Come and take them—if you have the life for it!"