Chapter 70: Memories of Dust (Part Two)

The massive black sword in her hand trembled ceaselessly. It was clear—she was afraid, unable to comprehend why the man who had been by her side for nine thousand years had become like this!

Awareness? Clarity? Thought?

None remained. In his eyes, only the most primal instincts burned to their limit.

Destruction! Slaughter! Obliterating everything before him!

This was the Sword Demon.

An uncontrollable Sword Demon.

A Sword Demon capable of destroying heaven and earth.

Now, he had no other choice. If he did not sacrifice himself to become a demon, then everything would end prematurely.

A repressed, twisted excitement flickered across the young Night Endless’ face, his cold countenance touched with a devil’s wicked smile. Dark as ink, the flames of sword intent blazed around him as he strode, step by step, into the sky, toward the heavenly tribulation…

It was not rational thought that moved him; rather, the greater the power, the more it drew the Sword Demon’s attention…

Wherever the youth’s feet touched, space itself shattered and collapsed, leaving behind blazing, dark sword-intent flames.

Though he merely walked a few steps, each one seemed to shake all of heaven and earth, as if striking a giant bell inside every heart present!

“Doesn’t it seem… the Sword God is even more terrifying than the heavenly tribulation?” an old man muttered, trembling.

“Could this be… entering the way of the sword through inner demons? Just what realm has his sword intent reached?” The white-robed elder stared unblinking, afraid to miss a single moment.

Many had stopped even daring to breathe, paralyzed by fear—afraid the youth might turn around and, with a single stroke, slay them all. It was a strange feeling, but inescapable.

The young woman bit her lips, realizing her body was trembling from instinctive fear. She was both annoyed and resentful of herself.

Above, the tribulation clouds gathered to a terrifying scale.

A force many times fiercer than before erupted from the churning clouds: soul-shattering assaults, fire, lightning, frost…

Countless bolts of lightning poured down, as if to annihilate the entire continent, all directed at the youth’s lone, insignificant figure.

As the overwhelming might of the tribulation descended upon him, intent on devouring him like a monstrous beast, the youth merely looked up coldly, gripping the massive sword aflame with dark intent, his limbs naturally assuming the most basic, yet perfectly harmonious stance for a sword swing…

With a sweep of the giant sword—light as a feather despite its heft—he carved a flawless arc, descending like a flash of lightning!

Before the heavenly tribulation and the cataclysmic energy waves, his figure seemed like a single mote in the vast ocean. Yet, in the instant his sword intent was unleashed, he became a giant who held up the sky!

A resounding hum!

The sword rang out! The pitch-black sword intent surged forth like a river from the heavens!

The surging wave of sword intent swept up mountains, leveling peaks for tens of miles around!

Space itself began to collapse under such destructive power, warping and fracturing everywhere!

Within the protective barrier, all anyone could see was a blade of black sword intent, swelling instantly higher than the tribulation itself, a crescent-shaped arc that effortlessly shredded the thunderbolts of heavenly wrath!

The black sword blade, undiminished, cleaved straight into the tribulation!

It was as if a demon the size of a planet had brought his flaming sword of darkness crashing down!

The magnificent, terrifying power of the tribulation, under this endless blade of darkness, seemed for the first time small and fragile…

Faintly, the crowd heard something shatter…

Yet they could see little, for the earth and stone swept up by the blow rose tens of thousands of meters, blocking all vision!

A collective groan escaped the onlookers. Though the sword intent was not aimed at them, even the shockwave from behind was enough to shatter their protective barrier!

The shield broke, and instantly, thousands of tons of stone buried them all…

Within the celestial tribulation, Night Endless lay quietly in a pool of thunder.

His entire body was wrapped in golden sword intent, and he drifted into memory…

Ten thousand years ago.

They first met in the mountains, one in a tree, one below it.

He looked up at her. She, dressed in red, sat on a branch, teasing a little purple-tailed bird perched on her right index finger.

He studied her for a long time before asking, “Are you on your way to be wed?”

Upon hearing this, she glanced down at him, her feet swinging beneath her skirts, her voice clear as a bell: “No, I’m running away from a wedding.”

He was taken aback, and she laughed as she leaped down from the tree.

“They’re coming—I have to go. If anyone asks, you never saw me, all right?” She winked, lifted her skirt, and left, while the purple-tailed bird remained perched on his shoulder.

He hesitated for a moment, then imitated her and extended his finger—the bird obediently landed on it.

After a while, as he walked on with the bird, it suddenly flew off, and he hurried after it, alarmed.

The purple-tailed bird alighted on a wooden railing of a pavilion. There, surrounded by green water, she stood within, dressed in red, turning to smile at him: “No, I still don’t quite trust you. Maybe… I should marry you. That way, you won’t tell anyone.”

…

“My lord, I feel a little cold.”

“I’ll fetch you a cloak.”

“No, that won’t be necessary… I just remembered, before I was married, whenever I told my mother I was cold, she’d always hold me close.”

“Missing your mother-in-law?”

“…No.”

“Longing for your maiden days?”

“Would it kill you just to hold me?!”

“Say it straight next time.”

…

“My love, my lord, I think I might be pregnant.”

“Really?”

“Wait, don’t get too excited yet.”

“How could I not be excited?”

“Actually… I just wanted to play a joke on you.”

“My dear, don’t make jokes like that again.”

“Why not? I wanted to see how much you care about me.”

“It’s not you I care about, it’s the child…”

“…You can sleep in the courtyard tonight. Clearly, you don’t care about me.”

(Later that night, a certain husband climbs in through the window.)

“My lord, I adore you.”

“My dear, I believe that’s the fortieth time you’ve said that.”

“My lord, you have a good memory.”

“If you have something to say, say it.”

“My lord, I want some pastries from West Street, but…”

“The pastries there are so popular, you have to queue for hours. You want me to go buy them for you?”

“My lord, you’re so clever, witty, and resourceful—not to mention handsome and talented, truly a peerless husband. How could such a small task trouble you? My lord, I adore you.”

“Wait here, I’ll go to West Street right now.”

“My lord, come back soon.”

…

“My lord, isn’t it wonderful to have a wife like me?”

“I’ve never thought so. You’re unreasonable, lazy, never do housework, and always like to make trouble for me. How could I possibly feel happy, having married you?”