After being reborn, all I want to do is run away.

Chapter 432 Sword Heart Without Stain

White Feather City.

A pure white shuttle landed inside the city lord's mansion.

Lord Baiyu had already sensed the arrival of the flying shuttle and had brought many maids to greet it on the ground.

As the hatch opened, Bai Lu carried Xiao Ru out, and the city lord of Bai Yu felt a pang of anxiety the moment he saw Xiao Ru.

She had naturally heard about the strange phenomenon that happened in Tianjian City that day, and she had been worried about Xiaoruo's safety every moment these past few days.

"Don't worry, your daughter is fine." Jiaojiao's voice rang in Baiyu City Lord's mind, instantly putting his heart at ease.

Taking a deep breath, City Lord Baiyu bowed gracefully to Shen Xu, who had just emerged, and said, "Yun Rou thanks you for saving my daughter, young master."

"Yun Rou? Is that the name of the City Lord of Baiyu?"

"You flatter me, City Lord. I should be the one thanking you. There was no danger inside the temple." Shen Xu quickly returned the greeting, feeling like he had received a supernatural power for free.

"Young master, you flatter me. May I ask how Xiaoru is doing now?"

"She is still too young to receive the inheritance, and it will take a long time. However, once she returns, she should be able to temporarily break free from the shackles of her bloodline."

"What do you mean by 'temporarily'?" City Lord Baiyu frowned.

"The inheritance can only keep her safe until she takes human form. If she wants to break through to human form, she must go to the Demon Realm."

"Demon Realm! If Xiao Ruo hadn't continued cultivating, would she have avoided this accident?"

"That should be the case. As long as she doesn't break through to the next evolutionary form, she can live a peaceful life."

"I am very satisfied with this result." Lord Baiyu gently took the still sleeping Xiaoruo from Bailu's hands.

“I will send your reward to the Sword Alliance every year.”

“Lord of the City, no! I have already received so much from Xiao Ruo, how can I ask for more from you?”

Besides, I didn't agree to the deal with the city lord at the time; everything I did afterward was purely to help Xiao Ruo.

"If the city lord insists on giving me a reward, wouldn't that put me in an unjust position?" Shen Xu said very sincerely.

Lord Baiyu hesitated for a moment.

"Since Xiaoruo has already accepted Shen Xu, wouldn't giving Shen Xu money further tarnish this relationship?" Jiaojiao's voice echoed in her mind again.

“Since you are unwilling to accept any further reward, this is a golden feather sword that I forged from my own natal feather. It can injure those in the Transcendent Realm. I hope you will accept it.” The White Feather City Lord pulled a glittering golden feather from his black hair.

"Shen Xu, this feather will be of great help to us in mastering that supernatural power," Jiao Jiao reminded him in his mind.

"This..." He had just said he didn't want any reward, but he was really envious of the power of that supernatural ability.

"I'm sorry, I can't accept a reward without having done anything right."

"As long as Xiao Ruo enters the Feather Clan Holy Temple, she will be fine. It doesn't make much difference whether I'm there or not. I would feel uneasy accepting such a valuable item from the City Lord." Shen Xu declined again.

Although he needed the feather sword of the White Feather City Lord, he couldn't get past his own mental hurdle.

"Young Master Shen is of noble character. It was I who was presumptuous. Please forgive my offense," said Lord Baiyu, putting away his feathers in apology.

"Lord City, you flatter me. I really haven't been able to help Xiao Ruo in any way."

Lord Baiyu shook his head. "I believe that when you brought Xiaoruo into the Holy Temple, you were prepared for the danger. This is a debt of gratitude that Xiaoruo and I can never forget."

"Stop passing the buck. In any case, the best outcome is that Xiaoruo is alright. Everything else is minor. We'll come back to see her when she returns," Bai Lu said.

"Yes, Bai Lu is right. It's good that Xiao Ruo is alright. I also promised Xiao Ruo that I would take her to visit Tianjian City when she comes back."

"Then I thank you all on behalf of Xiao Ruo." City Lord Bai Yu held Xiao Ruo, a smile he had never shown before on his face.

……

After teleporting from White Feather City to Heavenly Sword City, night had already fallen. A clear, cold moon cast its gentle light upon Heavenly Sword City, adding a touch of chill and tranquility to the bustling square.

Bai Lu couldn't help but ask, "Shen Xu, I didn't expect you to be able to refuse the City Lord's Golden Feather Sword. That's the White Feather City Lord's famous hidden weapon."

The city lord's statement that it could injure a Transcendent Realm cultivator was actually an understatement; if used properly, that feathered sword was fully capable of killing a Transcendent Realm cultivator.

"It is said that the Lord of Baiyu City only forged three Golden Feather Swords, and used two of them many years ago. I never expected that the Lord would give you the last Golden Feather Sword." Guan Bi's tone was somewhat emotional.

"Actually, it was Xiao Ru who helped me, not the other way around. If that were the case, wouldn't it be too shameless of me to accept the City Lord's Golden Feather Sword with a clear conscience?" Shen Xu said seriously.

Even knowing the value of the Golden Feather Sword, he felt no regret whatsoever.

"No wonder you've earned the approval of the Qiling Clan," Bai Lu said with a smile.

"Shen Xu, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have urged you to take her natal feather." At this moment, Jiao Jiao, who was perched on his shoulder, apologized in his mind.

"What good are ten thousand bushels of grain to me if they lead me astray into injustice?" Shen Xu recited softly, his forehead radiating a gentle moonlight.

At this moment, all the noise from the outside world completely disappeared.

It was as if the whole world had been encased in viscous amber, with countless illusory fragments of scenes flashing before his eyes, each fragment reflecting the trajectory of fate shaped by different choices.

A swordsman in green robes stood atop the mountain, the woman in his arms her green dress stained with blood, which triggered a demonic sword heavily bound by black chains below the mountain...

The young girl knelt before her master's grave, throwing the evil magic she held into the firelight. The firelight illuminated her resolute face, her eyes clear as a mirror, and the bloodstain between her brows transformed into a blooming blue lotus...

An old woman with white hair lured and killed three hundred young girls for a youth-preserving elixir. A bronze mirror reflected the lividity spreading across her neck, and strands of white hair fell from her head...

The young man in the Taoist robe knelt in the center of the blood array, personally pushing his beloved into the Soul Refining Cauldron, black tears of blood streaming from the corners of his eyes...

An old Taoist priest guarded the volcano for a hundred years, using his spine to suppress the magma. When his white hair burned out, the earth's fire transformed into three thousand golden lotuses to nourish all living beings...

……

Suddenly, countless fragments transformed into a sky full of stars, falling into Shen Xu's eyes.

The newly sprouted grass in the rock crevices thirty feet away, the silver fish swimming in the cold pool a hundred miles away, and the smoke rising from the cooking fires of ordinary cities a thousand miles away—all these were vividly reflected in his mind.

At the summit of Tianjian Mountain, a dazzling sword light pierced the sky in an instant, and the sword's cry stirred up the thunderclouds of the nine heavens.

Outside the Sword Saint Hall, the sea of ​​clouds suddenly boiled as if tens of thousands of ancient sword phantoms pierced the sky.

At the teleportation plaza of Tianjian City, a jade-colored pillar of light descended from a crack in the clouds beside the moonlight, instantly piercing through Shen Xu's body. Black mist continuously seeped from his pores, evaporating into green smoke in the light.

The jade-colored light shone into his soul, and veins like withered leaves spread out within it, eventually carving a magnificent glass-like Dao seal between his brows.

The wills of countless powerful beings manifested above Heavenly Sword City, condensing into a long silver river that stretched across the heavens and earth. There were sword intents surging like a great river, spear shadows like plum blossoms braving the snow, and blade light as dazzling as the sunset...

Ultimately, it transformed into countless streams of light that merged into the Dao Seal between Shen Xu's eyebrows.