The Transmigrated Male Lead Confessed to Me - Chapter 31 (Part 1)

The duel with the City Lord of Tiandu was a joke, but choosing a weapon from the first hundred pages was real.

Su Zhen walked along the street while flipping through the book, skipping past the section on divine artifacts and opening the catalog of immortal artifacts.

Within the ranking of middle-tier immortal artifacts, she found her target.

On the page was depicted a snow-white greatsword, its blade entirely white, with vivid green threads of light shimmering across it, interlacing into delicate floral and leaf-like scroll patterns.

Its guard did not extend sideways but grew upward and downward like twisting branches and vines, entwining at the junction with the hilt before winding along the spine of the sword and gradually merging with the blade.

The entire sword resembled a jade tree branch dusted with snow, entwined with verdant vines and emerald leaves, exquisitely beautiful.

Xiao Yu, standing slightly behind her, also lowered his gaze and glanced at it.

Holding the thick catalog in her hands, Su Zhen’s slender, pale fingers pinched lightly at the edge of the page, the tips whitening before slowly relaxing again.

Her thumb then rose slightly, brushing slowly across the words on the right-hand side, which described the origin of the sword.

In the immortal mountains of Jinyan State, there grew a Ten-Thousand-Year Evergreen Tree. Its naturally fallen branches and blossoms were used by an elder of the Fuyun Sword Sect to forge this sword.

Middle-tier immortal artifact, Liu Chun.

“…I don’t really like this name.”

Su Zhen said softly.

Xiao Yu’s eyes lingered on the page for a moment. His expression showed no surprise, and upon hearing her words, he only gave a slight smile.

“Then change it.”

“Mm.”

Su Zhen looked down at the sword. “Once I get my hands on it, I’ll definitely change the name.”

In her previous life, after giving up on Leng Xiang, she had tossed it into the bottom of her qiankun bag, then made do with a wood-attribute upper-tier spiritual sword for some time.

That was the sword she had used when she killed Zhou Ziheng.

Later—

Even before officially becoming a demon cultivator, while already mingling within the Demon Realm, she had begun to be influenced by the power of the Demon God of Decrees, though she still resisted somewhat in her heart.

Then she encountered some great demons.

Among them was that fellow, Gui Jin.

He gave her guidance, claiming it would bring her benefits.

At first, Su Zhen did not want to pay it any attention, but her curiosity eventually got the better of her. She followed that vague notion, heading step by step toward some unknown destination.

Along the way, she killed many demons, not knowing how long she flew, until boredom set in. Suddenly, she stumbled upon two groups fighting.

Both sides were quite skilled, and at that time, the skies were filled with wind and sand, spells flying everywhere, even implicating her as an innocent passerby.

Irritated, she simply joined the fray, fighting for several hours until everyone else was dead, leaving only herself.

It turned out both groups had discovered an underground secret chamber and were fighting over who would claim the treasures within. In the end, everything fell into her hands.

Searching the chamber, Su Zhen found many valuable items, among them this sword.

Liu Chun seemed as though it was born for her. Almost the instant she held it, it resonated swiftly with her and acknowledged her as its master.

Later, she expended a great many heavenly materials and treasures to elevate Liu Chun into an upper-tier immortal artifact, giving it a new appearance and a new name.

Afterward, it even entered the upper-tier immortal artifacts catalog of the Heavenly Weapons Compendium.

However, since she herself had no direct ties to the Central Domain, its ranking was not very high.

Still, as few could reach the Golden Immortal realm before five hundred years of age, when the Shengong Pavilion ranked the weapons, out of respect for the sword’s master, they did not push her sword too far down.

“Perhaps they should rank by stroke count.”

Su Zhen muttered, “Though since this is their sect’s own publication, they never claimed fairness anyway.”

“Indeed. If fairness is the goal, then we could rank by stroke count, or pinyin order, or even by forging chronology.”

Xiao Yu agreed. “But their stance is clear enough. ‘This is our book. Buy it if you want. If you don’t like the ranking, too bad.’”

Shengong Pavilion lacked no wealth. Across the entire Human Realm, no artifact-forging sect enjoyed greater renown than they did. Publishing books was not for profit.

Or rather, even if such unfairness hurt their profits, they simply would not care.

Su Zhen nodded. “Their network of eyes and ears is indeed vast, and their bookmaking skills are unparalleled. Other immortal sects with such ability are never short on money, so they cannot be bothered with such efforts. As for those short on money, they lack the skill and cannot replace them.”

Of course, not everyone was willing to just swallow their displeasure.

Most cultivators, the higher their cultivation, the broader their view, and the less they cared about such things. Either they were occupied with other matters, or, though unhappy, they could not be bothered to make a fuss.

But there were exceptions.

Shengong Pavilion had been challenged more than once or twice. Although most who went there returned empty-handed or even suffered for their trouble, there were also some powerful figures who stirred up great chaos.

“Yes, and it wasn’t only outsiders who came looking for trouble. The inner disputes among sects in the Central Domain were quite lively as well. When I was young, I heard the seniors of my sect say that Shengong Pavilion’s Eight Immortals Cauldron and True Flame Furnace had both been damaged several times…”

Xiao Yu said calmly. “Especially between sworn enemies. When they found that their rival’s weapon was ranked above their own, they would protest, ‘We are all cultivators of Tiandu, so why does your Shengong Pavilion place me beneath them?’ Incidents like that happened often.”

Su Zhen found it amusing. “So you truly don’t care about it either?”

Xiao Yu shook his head and said casually, “If I cared, there are many ways to deal with it.”

Su Zhen replied, “For example, kill them all? Take Tiandu for yourself, become the City Lord, and then print the whole book with only your artifacts in it.”

“That would indeed work.”

Xiao Yu spread his hands. “But what I have in mind is to spend money printing hundreds of thousands, even millions of extra copies and distribute them for free…”

Because the making of the Heavenly Weapons Compendium required many image-capturing spells, its production cost was high, and many cultivators simply could not afford it.

Even if they had the money, they would rather spend it elsewhere, since books could always be borrowed.

If someone truly handed them out for free, many would surely be delighted.

Xiao Yu continued, “…Of course, your way is also a method, but I would certainly put yours on the very first page.”

Su Zhen was torn between laughter and tears. “Unless your book only records artifacts up to the immortal grade, how would it make sense for my artifact to appear on the very first page?”

“So what? Anyone who disagrees can come fight me.”

Xiao Yu said calmly, “And since that is the case, why don’t you raise your sights a little?”

“Hm?”

“Why bother with immortal artifacts? Just pick directly from the divine artifacts. Whichever one you like, we’ll just seize it.”

Xiao Yu said it with complete confidence.

Su Zhen: “Although I believe Senior could do it, still…”

As things stood, all those who possessed divine artifacts and whose names were inscribed in the compendium were either at the Quasi-Saint or Saint realm. Some divine artifacts without masters had gone missing, while others lay in places of extreme danger.

If Xiao Yu truly gave her a divine artifact, that would be too great a debt to owe.

She could not even imagine how she might repay him. Perhaps in a few years she might have the strength to seize one in return, but that would not happen anytime soon.

And there was another very important matter.

Xiao Yu sighed. “The main thing is, none of the divine artifacts listed here suit you. Otherwise…”

Su Zhen was speechless.

He had voiced exactly what she had been about to say.

For that reason, it was not really worthwhile.

Xiao Yu did not finish his last sentence. “Forget it, take your time. With your abilities, a weapon is nothing more than icing on the cake. With or without one, it makes little difference.”

Su Zhen muttered, “…Senior really has a talent for leaving people speechless.”

For her, even without using sword techniques and relying only on spells, her combat strength did not suffer.

Another sword was merely another way of fighting.

But after all, she had practiced countless sword arts, spending a century’s effort on them, so she still wanted a proper sword to wield.

Now, Leng Xiang could not be restored in the short term. And even if its sword spirit healed, whether it would acknowledge her as its master was uncertain.

Even if it agreed, there was no guarantee it would bond quickly.

The reason she longed for the sword from her previous life was because it had recognized her as its master almost instantly, and she had grown thoroughly accustomed to it. Whatever the case, she had to get it back first.

Once again, she flipped back to the earlier page, gazing at the immortal sword Liu Chun and the notes written beside it.

The current sword master listed was Cui Xing, the sect master of the Fuyun Sword Sect in Jinyan State.

Su Zhen pondered silently.

Later, from the sword spirit, she had obtained fragments of memory. She came to know Cui Xing’s experiences before his death, and also that after his death, Liu Chun had been picked up by the Moon-Worship Sect’s demon cultivators and locked away in a secret chamber.

This man had been stuck at the Golden Immortal realm for many years, unable to advance. He succumbed to the call of a Demon God. Outwardly, he was the head of a righteous immortal sect, but in truth, he bore a demonic contract mark. In the end, he died in the Demon Realm, failing in his attempt to advance.

By the time Su Zhen acquired the sword, the information in the compendium had already been updated, the Shengong Pavilion confirming Cui Xing’s death.

But right now, the book had not yet recorded that.

In Jinyan State, immortal sects were numerous and rife with both open and hidden strife. The Fuyun Sword Sect’s ability to occupy the best blessed lands and richest spiritual veins relied entirely on this sect master.

Thus, even though Cui Xing had vanished and not contacted his disciples for a long time, the people of Fuyun Sword Sect dared not spread the news. To the outside world, they only claimed that he was in seclusion within the sect.

At this time, the only thing to do was to go to the place where he had fallen.

Within the borders of Huanhua State, more than half of the natural boundary gates led into the Demon Realm. The great clans and noble houses of the region only controlled a portion of them.

The rest were scattered across desolate wildernesses, in places ordinary people could never reach. Only cultivators might stumble upon them.

“…If one stumbles upon it, then so be it. Anyone with even a little cultivation should recognize what it is. If they insist on seeking death, there is nothing others can do.”

Northern Huanhua State.

Fierce astral winds raged high above. On the mountain peaks, snow still lingered in patches of ice. A few bare dead trees bent crookedly in the gale.

From between their jagged branches, a black-feathered vulture took flight, shrieking harshly as its cry echoed through the valley.

Su Zhen stood atop the mountain, overlooking the winding ridgelines beneath her, the mist veiling the gorge and river below.

She turned her gaze toward the boundary gate, two zhang away.

“In any case, there aren’t many gates that lead to the Demon Realm. This is one of them, and it’s one-way. You can enter, but not leave.”

Therefore, unless it was a special period, no one even bothered to guard the place.

Xiao Yu stood nearby, speaking thoughtfully. “Actually, there’s no need for so much trouble. I could take you there directly, as long as you can describe the specific location.”

Su Zhen could have described it.

But she had no wish to tell him outright; otherwise, it would make her seem far too prescient.

“…I only have some vague clues,” Su Zhen said. “I still need to search for it.”

Having spoken, she stepped into the boundary gate.

Because her immortal body had already been forged, her physical form as a cultivator of the Upper Seven Realms was different from those of the Lower Seven Realms. Even when the interwoven spiritual web of the Mystic Path swept through her body, it would not be damaged.

Once again, Su Zhen saw the skies of the Demon Realm.

This time, it was different from before.

Last time, the boundary gate had been guarded by demon cultivators of the Thousand Chariots Sect, leading directly into the Secret Archive of the Southern Continent. Though that place was perilous, the spot one landed upon entering was relatively safe.