Chapter 292
Chapter 292
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: [Undisclosed]
Chapter Title: Marionette Strings
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As the words fell, Yun Miaozhen wore an expression of utter resolve.
She was the heaven's favored daughter of the Yun family and had received the personal tutelage of Perfected Being Pure Heart. She cultivated the *Ice Heart Emotionless Sword Canon*, forging within herself an emotionless sword heart.
This technique demanded supreme impartiality, with the sword as unyielding as an icy heart.
*To master this canon, I must possess the grand resolve of supreme emotionlessness. Familial bonds, romantic love, friendships—they are all obstacles barring me from drawing my sword.*
*If I cannot even sever my feelings for my own little sister...*
*How dare I claim emotionlessness?*
The more Yun Miaozhen dwelled on it, the more she convinced herself that failing to act would mean falling short of supreme impartiality. Far from aiding her cultivation, it would scar her Dao heart!
Seeing her disciple's ironclad determination, Perfected Being Pure Heart nodded in approval.
This true person's features were equally exquisite. Her demeanor matched Yun Miaozhen's icy chill but carried an added grace and maturity—like an eternal snowcapped peak, forbidding approach, a sight for distant admiration but never profanation.
"Worthily my disciple."
"Very well. I shall act on your behalf to bind and divide your sisters' fates. Fortune shall accrue to you, calamity to her—thus fulfilling your sibling bond."
"Thank you, Master."
Yun Miaozhen bowed once more, her heart stirring with faint excitement. With her master's intervention, she could shunt all her destined calamities onto her sister while claiming sole fortune for herself.
From then on, her path of cultivation would soar.
This was also for the best regarding her sister Yun Miaoqing. After all, Yun Miaoqing lacked sufficient karmic fortune, without a superior previous-life foundation like her own.
*Once Miaoqing enters the Demon Sect to bear my calamities on my behalf, should she return one day, I will surely have attained great cultivation. I can then compensate her for a decade of hardship. This is the karmic law of bitterness yielding to sweetness. Even absent a previous-life foundation, I will pave her a path to cultivation.*
*Even if she perishes in the Demon Sect, it is merely one reincarnation.*
*By then, I should have reached Foundation Establishment. I can receive her soul directly. As the sister of a Foundation Establishment true person, she would at last possess a true foundation.*
Would this not serve both perfectly?
*Though Miaoqing may not comprehend it, that is because her cultivation is shallow and her Dao heart unsteady. As her elder sister, it falls to me to secure her future.*
With this thought, Yun Miaozhen grew all the more serene.
Such was life in the Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion—without foundations, one advanced not a single step. After all, was it not her lot to have a Foundation Establishment master? This was her innate karmic fortune.
If Miaoqing possessed such fortune, she too could seek a patron.
"Oh, right—Master."
The thought prompted Yun Miaozhen to continue.
"This time, Miaoqing obtained a spirit sword embryo within the manor. Might I ask Master to retrieve it for me shortly?"
"After all, Miaoqing will soon head to the Demon Sect. It ill behooves her to carry such a superior sword embryo. Should it fall into those fiends' hands, would it not embolden their arrogance? Better for Master to claim it. I shall safeguard it in her stead. Should Miaoqing return after ten years, I will return it to her personally."
Perfected Being Pure Heart nodded.
"Excellent."
"Such a Dao heart gladdens my heart as your master. Since the sword embryo came by way of your blood sister, it must be your karmic fortune—destined for your use."
With that, she extended her divine sense toward the distant Yun Miaoqing.
Then came a long sigh they both heard:
"You beast!"
As the words faded, the early Foundation Establishment true person of the Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion abruptly paled. She shot to her feet, her fine brows knitting as she scanned her surroundings.
"Master?"
Yun Miaozhen had yet to process it.
This lay utterly beyond the Qi Refining realm. Perfected Being Pure Heart spared no words for reply. With a mere thought, a resplendent sword pellet materialized in her palm.
"Break!"
In the next instant, sword light slashed forth. Even Yun Miaozhen could tell something was amiss this time—the blade simply dissipated midair.
How could this be?
Yun Miaozhen felt as if trapped in a dream, lost in clouds and mist. Glancing down, she discovered an identical copy of herself lying on the ground.
*Is that... me?*
*No—that's my body!*
*Then am I... a soul?*
Yun Miaozhen finally realized her soul had been forcibly extracted at some point. She whirled to beg aid from her master Perfected Being Pure Heart—only to behold a scene far more terrifying.
Her master, the Foundation Establishment Perfected Being Pure Heart, had suffered the same fate—her soul yanked free!
Mysterious dharma body: [Total Seizure]!
In the next breath, master and disciple beheld a tall, straight figure.
The man wore玄 robes, hands clasped behind his back. Towering behind him stood a majestic illusory visage: three heads, six arms, green-faced with fangs, staring them down.
"...A Foundation Establishment fiend!?"
Perfected Being Pure Heart's eyes bulged. A chill surged straight to her crown. How could such a fiend materialize silently in Jiangnan?
Impossible!
Perfected Being Pure Heart was no itinerant cultivator. Though merely a guest elder of the Ye family, her knowledge ran deep. She swiftly identified the illusory form behind Lu Yang.
"[Dry Heaven Total Seizure Myriad Phenomena Dharma Body]!?"
"Someone actually mastered this Demon Sect second-grade true canon? Which Golden Core lineage heir? So audacious—to rampage in my Jiangnan?"
Perfected Being Pure Heart had no further time for rumination. Lu Yang had closed upon them. With souls excised, their thoughts ground sluggish. Resistance was impossible; even a cry eluded them. Helpless, they watched Lu Yang extend his palms toward their crowns.
Golden Talent: Marionette!
As the talent's glow descended, both Yun Miaozhen and Perfected Being Pure Heart betrayed blank confusion, dazed and adrift.
The sensation resembled a perceptual barrier.
Something felt profoundly wrong—yet they could neither probe nor ponder deeply. Lu Yang's magic power enmeshed them like spider silk.
Lu Yang savored the golden talent's workings. If pinned with one precise, intuitive term—
[Hypnosis].
"Those ensnared by this talent behave normally in daily life. Yet in my presence, upon activation, they bend wholly to my will."
What a tyrannical gift!
*Suo Huan, my friend—you've outdone yourself!*
Lu Yang had fretted over handling this master-disciple duo. Slaying them outright would alert the Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion, spawning endless woes.
Now? A flawless resolution.
"Perfect timing to test how much essence a Foundation Establishment true person yields for my Immortal Spirit Body. Talk about a pillow delivered to the drowsy."
All for the sake of cultivation!
So thinking, Lu Yang activated Superman State.
Perfected Being Pure Heart still resisted inwardly. Instinct screamed wrongness—this was a fiend. She must fight to the death.
"Ah!"
Even as the thought formed, she looped her arms round Lu Yang's neck. The pair swiftly entangled in fierce combat—right before Yun Miaozhen's eyes.
"Fiend... what have you done to me?"
Her treasured disciple's incredulous stare twisted Perfected Being Pure Heart's features further. Yet deep within, an unwelcome thrill stirred uncontrollably.
"Release me! I'll fight you to the death!"
"You'll never make me..."
"Stop—stop... rest."
Perfected Being Pure Heart's cries swelled louder. Though she strove repeatedly to seize the initiative, Lu Yang crushed her efforts mercilessly each time.