My Enemy Became My Cultivation Companion
Chapter 125 - 106: Attack on Sword Armor

Chapter 125: Chapter 106: Attack on Sword Armor

"Chen Yi."

Yin Tingxue seemed like she had something to say. Chen Yi lowered his head to look at her. After hesitating for a while, she finally said:

"You’re not an unfeeling and heartless person, are you?"

"I’m not a good person, but I’m indeed not unfeeling or heartless."

Chen Yi stroked her shoulder blades—so delicate.

"I know. You’ve said before you wouldn’t hurt me and promised to treat me better."

Yin Tingxue didn’t try to reproach him; she already knew blaming him was useless and that everything had to follow his intentions.

"You’ll always fulfill the promises you make, won’t you?"

Chen Yi chuckled lightly and said:

"Yes. So what do you want to say?"

Perhaps, it was because she harbored some fondness for Zhou Yitang, or maybe it was out of the compassion born from her prayers for him. Yin Tingxue wasn’t sure whether Zhou Yitang would succeed, but she didn’t want to witness everything ending with a sword piercing someone’s heart.

To wait for such a person over the span of a lifetime—what kind of price must that be?

"You’ll always fulfill the promises you make."

Yin Tingxue nestled in his arms and softly said:

"I believe in you."

.........

At dawn, Chen Yi let out a long breath and tilted his head to glance at the still-asleep maiden.

"Believe in me?"

Chen Yi couldn’t help but mutter under his breath.

It was hard to imagine Yin Tingxue saying such things to him.

Chen Yi shook his head and smiled bitterly. It seemed that after so many days of being together, she had vaguely started to grasp his personality. She really was clever, wasn’t she?

Inhaling deeply, he stood up and walked out of the burial chamber, his mind churning.

Upon stepping out, Chen Yi saw the long-waiting An Hou. The latter gently adjusted his robes and followed him toward the exterior of the main burial chamber.

Crossing the stone bridge over the dark river, they arrived before the grand copper door of the main burial chamber. Towering before them was an awe-inspiring bronze gate. On the left portal was a black Yin Fish, and on the right, a white Yang Fish. From afar, they looked like any ordinary Yin-Yang Fish diagram. However, in truth, they were different—the fish bodies were serpent-tailed, surrounded by coiling pythons.

Serpents transforming into fish, Zhu Xiu perishing only to be reborn—this was the belief of the ancient Xia people. The Yin-Yang Fish didn’t just symbolize the conflict of Yin and Yang, but also hinted at the cycle of life and death. This door of the burial chamber was also the gateway to death and resurrection.

Even though it wasn’t his first time before this door, Chen Yi was still shaken by the majestic and desolate sight, letting out a heavy breath.

Just then, a one-armed woman, with a sword slung across her back and the water splashing against her daoist robe, walked towards them from the bridge, closing the distance.

Before the bronze gate, Chen Yi clasped his hands in a salute toward the one-armed woman and said:

"Greetings, Master Zhou."

Zhou Yitang nodded slightly and said:

"No need for formalities. Once we’re inside, I’ll do my best to protect you."

Chen Yi nodded. He glanced sideways at the sword in Zhou Yitang’s hand—it felt unfamiliar. That wasn’t her entirely white longsword, "Ruoque."

In the Jianghu, who didn’t know the stories of the Sword Armor of Yin Sword Mountain traveling half the realm with the Ruoque Sword? Not only did she ward off the Sixth-ranked Broken Swordsman of the Martial Ranking by ten paces with a single strike, but she had also once crossed swords with Xu Qi, the True Heaven’s Hero who crushed Sword Demon Wu Buyu. Even Xu Qi, a prodigy on the brink of ascension, had remarked that Zhou Yitang carried the air of a Sword Immortal.

Had she changed swords? Chen Yi couldn’t stop pondering.

An Hou glanced at Chen Yi. The shadowy outline of nine tails swayed gently in the breeze, as her voice passed through the air into his mind:

"Yi’er, everything is ready—just wait for the move."

Recalling the agreed-upon plan, Chen Yi furrowed his brow.

One chilling thought after another flashed through his mind.

Proceed—follow the original plan. An Hou would lead the charge, while he faced Zhou Yitang’s swordsmanship directly. With support from the covertly assisting Mule-head Crown Prince, even if Yu Zhen Yuanjun served as her protector, as long as An Hou unleashed the underground palace’s myriad beasts to join forces for the kill, and inflicted injury upon her, there was a seventy-percent chance she’d falter.

After that...

After that, then what...

Would he have to shatter her sword again?

"...Hold on for a while."

Chen Yi spoke silently to himself, shaking his head.

She had swapped swords? Did he need to break this sword as well?

He had hurt her once before—did he need to hurt her again?

Lost in chaotic thoughts, Chen Yi suddenly saw Zhou Yitang twist her wrist, reverse her grip on the sword, and hand it over to him.

"Take the sword."

Chen Yi hesitated for a moment but still reached out to take it.

The longsword slid slightly out of its sheath, revealing a deep black blade. The surrounding light seemed to dim noticeably. Just as Chen Yi was about to admire its masterful craftsmanship, his gaze shifted upward—and suddenly stopped, unable to move any further. It was a phrase he knew all too well:

"Heart, when shattered, brings resilience."

He was reminded again of that rainy night—her face blurred between rainwater and tears, peonies trembling in the storm. She had been so stubborn, vowing to curse him to a bitter fate even in death, and waiting, waiting through a lifetime, and even to the age of a hundred.

...As it turned out, she truly remembered everything.

In the flow of his thoughts, Chen Yi’s expression darkened.

Cold vindictiveness and warmth blended—his stare suddenly became sharp.

Zhou Yitang was stubborn, but was he not the same?

"A fine sword—its reflection elusive, its light unseen... The sword is excellent, and so is the inscription."

Feigning calmness, Chen Yi asked:

"Who crafted it?"

"An old acquaintance."

Zhou Yitang passed by him and turned her gaze toward the Yin-Yang bronze door.

"There are demons inside. For now, the sword is lent to you."

Sliding the sword back into its sheath, Chen Yi turned slightly to look at An Hou, mouthing the words:

Make the move.

Zhou Yitang fixed her attention on the Yin-Yang gate, but she didn’t hear Chen Yi’s footsteps. She was just about to turn her head when, in the moment right before she could, a surge of violent energy erupted—ancient bronze-colored characters came hurtling toward her like mountains collapsing!

The situation changed in an instant.

The ancient inscriptions that were supposed to be etched into the bronze vessels surged forward. As the characters closed in, a brilliant flash of light flickered for an instant in front of the Sword Armor—a shield of golden light typical of someone in the Nascent Soul stage, capable of protecting the dharma body from countless evils.

Zhou Yitang was thrown back dozens of feet before stabilizing herself, her toes lightly touching the flowing water, appearing as though she stood separate from the world itself. Then, An Hou abruptly unleashed her nine snowy fox tails. The overwhelming aura in this underground palace surged like a torrential flood.

The Sword Armor of Yin Sword Mountain raised her hand and slashed downward with her sword.

Before the sword even connected, the ground was forcibly split into jagged chasms, as if retreating three steps ahead of its power.

In the next instant, Peiran Sword Energy swept forward in a majestic tide, clashing fiercely against the golden inscriptions emitted by An Hou. In the previous life, Zhou Yitang had been unprepared for the appearance of the Tushan forces and was caught off guard, suffering injuries. But this time was different. She had retained some of her strength, deliberately allowing herself to sustain manageable injuries so she could conserve seventy percent of her energy—for contingencies like this.

An Hou stepped forward. The bronze artifacts of half the underground palace seemed to tremble, and countless blue and green souls rose from the flowing water, coalescing into inscriptions. As Peiran Sword Energy shattered layer after layer of inscriptions, scattering their fragments, this strike was far stronger than the last clash.

The Sword Qi closed within a meter of An Hou, and a faint blood line appeared on An Hou’s forehead.

At that moment, An Hou raised her hand, and one of the inscriptions shattered at the point of contact with the Sword Qi. It was as if striking precisely on the serpent’s weak spot—suddenly, the entire wave of Peiran Sword Qi disintegrated in an instant.

"A thousand-mile embankment collapses because of an ant’s nest."

Zhou Yitang squinted slightly at Chen Yi, her expression momentarily flashing with a hint of intrigue, followed by a bitter smile.

The contingency plan truly failed...

And for now, Yu Zhen Yuanjun was still busy setting up preparations and couldn’t intervene.

It seemed it was time to make the move first.

Zhou Yitang ascended into the air, half-turning her body, ready to make another sword attack and break through the underground palace—even if it meant fracturing her own Golden Core.

As she raised her hand to strike, concentrating her energy—

The long-hidden Mule-head Crown Prince suddenly flung a spear, its tip roaring with flames in a ferocious and murderous display, emerging from the shadows!

Zhou Yitang’s pupils contracted as she twisted sideways to evade the strike. The spear crashed heavily into the underground palace, shattering countless boulders. In her avoidance, the energy she had gathered in an instant scattered. Without hesitation, An Hou struck with an inscription invoking the word "Restrain."

The energy around the Sword Armor’s body compressed abruptly, forcing her to plummet from the air. Her feet barely steadied her, but the ground beneath was crushed into a deep pit, dust flying in all directions. Just as she was about to summon all her strength for a final sword strike, she saw Chen Yi approaching wielding a blade.

For just a moment, her mind wandered; her remaining hand slowed by half a beat.

That half-beat was enough for An Hou to slam down another "Restrain" inscription.

A wave of energy burst forth; the pit deepened into a crater. River currents surged violently through. Zhou Yitang’s complexion paled as she gazed at the scene, still unwilling to accept defeat. She tried to make another sword attack, but Chen Yi had already reached her. The blade’s tip rested firmly against her acupoint, cutting off her energy flow.

"You were too confident."

Chen Yi said slowly.

Zhou Yitang’s gaze lifted to meet his before lowering again.

"You are still you."

"And you are still you."

Chen Yi stared directly at the one-armed woman, one he had thought of for a long time.

She was still the same, never looking at him directly, never saying an extra word. Every word she spoke was like the brittle sound of ice cracking deep within earth crust during a winter’s night—fleeting and gone before he could grasp them. He once thought everything from the past was dismissed, yet he hadn’t anticipated that she remembered those things; she was still her.

Zhou Yitang sighed lightly and remarked:

"So you remembered too."

Her sentimentality ran deep.

It was enough for him to probe Zhou Yitang, though she had not probed back for him.

She fell silent afterward.

After a long pause, Chen Yi finally spoke:

"When will payback for wrongs cease..."

She responded indifferently:

"How much do you know of the past?"

Hearing this, Chen Yi froze momentarily, then smiled wryly.

It turned out that here we were, speaking so many meaningless words, probing each other’s wounds we didn’t want to touch.