Chapter 232: Sword Shadows Intertwined: A Clash of Sharp Intentions

Shen Yan’s finger remained frozen in mid-air, pointing toward the invisible gate in the sky. His body felt drained of strength, every bone screaming at him to lie down and not move. But he knew he couldn’t collapse.

The stone railing at the edge of the cloud platform lay shattered across the ground. The Star-Shattering Token pressed against his chest, burning as if it might sear through his flesh at any moment. Leaning against a broken pillar, he slowly slid down to sit on the ground, his breathing heavy like a bellows. Darkness clouded his vision, and a buzzing filled his ears, but he dared not close his eyes.

Just as he thought he couldn’t hold on any longer, a cold gust swept past.

Not an ordinary wind.

It was Sword Intent.

His eyes snapped open—a moon-white sword light was already cleaving toward his face. The Sword Qi tore through the air, aiming straight for his throat. Instinctively, he tilted his head aside. The blade grazed his cheek, leaving a searing pain.

“Who?!” he roared, his voice so hoarse it didn’t sound like his own.

The newcomer stood three zhang away, silver-white hair tied into a high ponytail, a flowing-cloud-patterned soft sword in hand, eyes cold enough to freeze flames. The sword tip remained pointed at his throat.

Shen Yan’s mind buzzed.

Ye Zhao?

Why was she here?

“The Forbidden Land of the Nine Heavens—trespassers die,” Ye Zhao spoke, her voice devoid of any fluctuation. “Are you a lackey of the Celestial Clan, or a remnant of Shadow Erosion?”

Shen Yan gave a bitter smile and tried to raise his hand to explain. The moment he moved, a sharp pain shot through his shoulder. The injuries from when Luo Li had pulled him up earlier hadn’t healed, and now he’d been struck by Sword Qi. Blood had already soaked through his soft armor.

“I’m not an enemy…” he gasped. “Your senior brother, Ye Linchuan—I pulled him out from under the Soul-Severing Cliff. You weren’t at the Sect then. He asked me to bring you a message: ‘Stop practicing sword alone.’”

Ye Zhao’s eyes flickered slightly.

That was a coded phrase between her and her brother.

But she didn’t lower her sword.

“Those from Shadow Erosion can also look up information and fabricate stories,” she said, her sword stance rising again. “Once wasn’t enough? You want to try again?”

Before her words faded, the sword light flashed once more.

Shen Yan couldn’t dodge at all. He could only brace himself against the stone railing, his fingers scratching frantically at the ground until blood seeped from his fingertips. Finally, a line of green text lit up in the Terminal Interface in his mind:

【Low-Power Language Parsing Program·Initiate】

He encoded the remaining Spiritual Flow in his body into a wave frequency and transmitted it along the ground. It was the logical structure of the Sword Control Script he had written when he rescued Ye Zhao back then—something only someone who had truly participated in that rescue would understand.

Ye Zhao’s sword halted mid-air.

She saw it.

The trajectory of that Spiritual Flow’s run was identical to the seven protective Sword Shadows that had suddenly appeared in the air when she fell from the cliff years ago. That rhythm, that method of connection—it couldn’t be a coincidence.

“This… was you?” Her voice held a tremor for the first time.

Just as Shen Yan began to relax, he suddenly felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

The mirror surface at the edge of the cloud platform began to distort, like water disturbed by a thrown stone. A mass of pitch-black mist surged forth, taking the shape of three humanoid Dark Shadows, lunging toward the two of them.

“Watch out!” Shen Yan shouted. “Those are malicious programs left in the Mirror Realm! I didn’t release them!”

Ye Zhao reacted swiftly, her sword tip turning as a sweep of Sword Qi sliced through one Dark Shadow. But the thing reassembled rapidly after hitting the ground, growing even more solid.

A second Dark Shadow lunged at Shen Yan. He barely managed to raise his phone; its screen flashed green, automatically releasing an interference Pulse. The Dark Shadow paused for a moment, but in the next second, it adapted to the frequency and continued its advance.

“It’s learning our combat patterns!” Shen Yan gritted his teeth. “We have to use reverse modeling to catch it off guard!”

As he spoke, he bit his index finger and drew a simplified formation in the air. Blood droplets scattered, instantly generating code:

【Behavior Prediction·Reverse Modeling·Execute】

The program broadcast through the Star-Shattering Token, forming an invisible data field. Ye Zhao immediately sensed a gentle Spiritual Flow entering her Meridians, which unexpectedly Resonated with her Sword Intent.

She no longer swung her sword blindly but followed that rhythm, each strike precisely hitting the core of the Dark Shadow.

A third Dark Shadow attempted a sneak attack but was pierced through the chest by her backhanded sword strike. The Dark Shadow exploded, dissipating into black smoke.

However, the final recoil was too strong, and both were thrown back several steps. Shen Yan crashed into a stone pillar, coughing up blood. Ye Zhao knelt on one knee, her sword-holding hand trembling slightly.

The wind stopped.

Only the sound of their panting remained on the cloud platform.

Shen Yan raised his right hand to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth, his movements slow.

But Ye Zhao’s gaze suddenly froze.

On the back of his hand was a slender sword scar, stretching from the base of his thumb all the way to the inner side of his wrist. Its shape, angle, and depth perfectly matched the edge of her Lifebound Sword.

Her pupils contracted sharply.

That sword strike… was left by her in her residual consciousness state within the Mirror Realm.

At the time, she was trapped in the Data Stream, her consciousness blurred, only remembering that she had struck at a figure. That person hadn’t resisted, allowing the sword blade to slice across his palm.

So it was him.

“You’ve seen me before?” Her voice was so soft it was almost inaudible.

Shen Yan glanced down at the scar on the back of his hand and smiled. “More than seen. You also left a Bug in my Program that still hasn’t been fixed.”

Ye Zhao didn’t speak.

She slowly stood up, sheathing her sword. Her gaze was complex as she looked at him, as if she were seeing this person anew.

“Why did you come to the Nine Heavens?” she asked.

“To find a door.” Shen Yan pointed to the sky. “Behind that door lies the answers I want to know.”

“Do you know what crime it is to break in here?”

“I know. But compared to being deleted like a Program, I’d rather take a trip to the recycle bin myself.”

Ye Zhao frowned. “What are you talking about?”

Shen Yan didn’t answer. He leaned against the pillar, his face ashen, his Mental Power nearly depleted. The Star-Shattering Token was still hot, but he could no longer feel much strength.

“You don’t believe me, and that’s fine,” he said. “But I didn’t expect you to believe me right away either. I just… don’t want to carry this alone anymore.”

Ye Zhao watched him, unmoving for a long time.

In the distance, clouds churned, and faint thunder rumbled. The battlefield below the cloud platform had long fallen silent, but the aura of the Celestial Guards still lingered in the air.

Finally, she spoke. “If what you say is true, then you’re now a wanted target by the entire Celestial Clan.”

“I know.”

“Then why are you still charging upward?”

Shen Yan looked up, gazing into that void.

“Because the people below are all waiting for me to return.”

Ye Zhao fell silent.

She turned and walked to the edge of the cloud platform, looking into the distance. The wind lifted her long hair, her back straight and proud.

“I’ll be watching you,” she said. “If you dare to betray us, I won’t need a second chance.”

Shen Yan chuckled. “Fine by me. I’ve always left an Interface for you in my Code anyway.”

She didn’t turn around, but her shoulders relaxed slightly.

Just then, Shen Yan’s phone suddenly vibrated. A line of green text flashed on the Screen:

【Anomaly Detected – Source Unknown – Respond?】

He stared at the words, his brow furrowed.

Ye Zhao noticed something was off and turned to look at him. “What’s wrong?”

Shen Yan didn’t speak, only gripping his phone tighter.

The signal’s frequency… felt somewhat familiar.

Like some kind of Twin Resonance.

Just as he was about to delve deeper into the data, a sharp pain suddenly pierced his chest. The Star-Shattering Token vibrated violently, as if warning of something.

Ye Zhao took a step forward. “Is something wrong?”

Shen Yan shook his head, but his hand had already begun to tremble.

He knew the real trouble was only just beginning.

His fingers slid rapidly across the screen, preparing to pull up the deep logs.

At that moment, a Dark Shadow slowly rose from a crack in the cloud platform.

(End of Chapter)