The Blind Sword Sovereign : Resonance of the Blameless Soul

Chapter 6 : Unanswered Questions

"Yue Er? Yue Er, answer me! Where are you?" Li Xuan shouted, his voice cracking amidst the suffocating silence.

"Don't move, Li Xuan. Stay where you are," Yue Er's voice sounded very thin, almost like the whisper of wind through dry leaves.

"This bird, this Jade Sparrow has suddenly gone stiff. It turned to stone on my shoulder. I can't see anything anymore, Yue Er! This darkness feels heavier than usual," Li Xuan fumbled through the air with his trembling left hand.

"I'm right behind you. Take a deep breath. Focus on my voice, not on the darkness."

"But that voice earlier... who was speaking? Who called you Healer?" Li Xuan turned his body, trying to pinpoint Yue Er's location through his hearing, which was beginning to recover from the shock.

"Just a shadow from the past, Li Xuan. He's gone. At least for now."

"You're lying. I heard his heartbeat earlier. It was cold. Like iron soaked in ice water. And he said you brought me here as a key. What does that mean?"

"I'll explain everything later. Right now, we have to move. If the Jade Sparrow has petrified, it means there's a very powerful resonance suppressor nearby. We must reach the ruins of the Eternal Cloud Sect before night truly falls."

Li Xuan fell silent for a moment, his hand tightly gripping the broken sword at his waist. "Guide me. Without that bird's sight, I'm just a blind man lost in the woods."

"Hold the edge of my robe. We will walk slowly. Follow the rhythm of my steps."

They walked in silence for nearly two hours. Li Xuan could feel the air growing sharper. The fishy stench of rotting blood grew thicker, mixed with the scorched scent of burning buildings. Every step he took felt heavy, as if the ground he trod upon was trying to recount the suffering that had occurred on its surface.

"We've reached the sect's main gate, haven't we?" Li Xuan asked softly.

"How do you know? We haven't even passed the first step," Yue Er replied, her tone surprised.

"I can hear it. The wind passing through these gate pillars sounds different. Like a cracked flute. And the vibration of the ground here... it feels so hollow. There is no life at all."

"You're right. The gate has fallen. Everything is destroyed, Li Xuan. Not a single building stands intact."

Li Xuan let go of Yue Er's robe. He stepped forward hesitantly, letting his feet feel the texture of the shattered stone. "Where is Master Lin? You said he was near the main pillar."

"At your two o'clock. About ten steps."

Li Xuan walked in the direction she indicated. He knelt when his foot touched something hard yet brittle. He reached out his hand, feeling a surface that was cold and sharp.

"That's his sword," Yue Er whispered. "Or what's left of it."

Li Xuan touched the broken metal. As soon as his fingertips made contact with the iron, a wave of grief struck his chest with full force. He could hear the lingering resonance of the battle. The desperate clashing of blades, screams cut short, and the cruel, triumphant notes of the Nine Suns Dance.

"He tried to protect his disciples until the end," Li Xuan murmured, tears beginning to drip from behind his white gauze blindfold. "This sword... it screamed when it broke. It felt like a failure."

"Li Xuan, we don't have much time to mourn. We must find that clue."

"Wait, Yue Er. There's something wrong beneath this altar. There's a vibration that doesn't come from the remnants of the battle. Something intentionally left behind."

Li Xuan crawled further into the center of the ruins, his hands sweeping away dust and gravel. He stopped when he felt a pattern carved into the cracked stone floor. The pattern felt coarse and possessed an energy that repelled his touch.

"Yue Er, what is this? It feels like an open wound upon the stone."

Yue Er approached and knelt beside Li Xuan. She gasped for a moment upon seeing the carving. "It's the symbol of the Split Black Sun. The personal crest of Grand Prince Zhao."

"Why would he leave his symbol here? Didn't he want to keep this m******e a secret?"

"He isn't keeping it secret, Li Xuan. He's marking his territory. This isn't just a m******e; it's an energy harvest. Look at the resonance lines radiating from this symbol. They lead to a single point underground."

Li Xuan pressed his ear to the stone floor. He shut down all his other senses, focusing only on the smallest vibrations from the earth's belly. "You're right. There's a machine... or something spinning down there. The sound is very low, like the hum of thousands of iron insects."

"It's a soul collector. Zhao is using the resonance of death here to power his ancient artifact."

"How do you know so much about his dark methods, Yue Er? A healer shouldn't be able to recognize a forbidden cult's symbol at a single glance."

Yue Er remained silent for a long time. Li Xuan could hear the woman's heartbeat suddenly slow down—a sign that she was choosing her words with extreme care.

"I've been hunting him for a long time, Li Xuan. Long before I met you. My family...they were the first victims of his sound experiments."

"Then why did the man in the forest call you Healer? As if you were part of their group?"

"Because sometimes you have to become part of the darkness to destroy it from within. Would you still trust me if I told you I was once forced to work for him?"

Li Xuan stood up, his face turned toward the sound of Yue Er's voice. "I want to trust you. But my sword... it keeps giving me warnings. Every time you mention Zhao's name, the resonance within you changes. It feels very similar to the energy in this black sun symbol."

"Perhaps because I've been breathing. But listen, Li Xuan. The resonance point of this soul collector is beneath the main altar. If we can destroy it, we will sever Zhao's energy flow in this region."

"How do I destroy it? I haven't even mastered basic resonance techniques."

"You have that broken sword. It's not just scrap metal. It is a balancer. You only need to align your heartbeat with the hum down there, then release all your rage into its center point."

Li Xuan took a deep breath. He could feel the vibration of the machine underground growing stronger, as if it were aware of their presence. "I'll try. But if I fail, you must run."

"We won't fail. Focus, Li Xuan. Listen for the most discordant note among all that humming."

Li Xuan raised his broken sword with both hands. He began to feel the wild frequency radiating from the symbol beneath his feet. He tried to absorb the vibration, letting it flow into his hands, then redirected it back into the blade of his sword.

"Now!" Yue Er shouted.

Li Xuan slammed his sword into the center of the black sun symbol. A massive explosion of sound occurred, throwing them both backward. The stone floor shattered, revealing a basement that emitted a deep purple light.

However, amidst the swirling dust, Li Xuan heard something that made him freeze. It wasn't the sound of a destroyed machine, but rather a soft chuckle that was very familiar to his ears.

"Good job, Li Xuan." The voice didn't come from the basement, but from Yue Er, who was now standing tall without a single scratch.

Li Xuan tried to stand, but his legs felt incredibly weak. "Yue Er? What's happening?"

"You just opened the final seal that I couldn't touch with my own hands," Yue Er said, her voice now sounding colder and full of authority. "Thank you for being the perfect key."

Li Xuan fumbled at his chest, feeling the Jade Sparrow on his shoulder crumble into shards of dust. The energy vision that had briefly vanished now returned by force, but what he saw made his heart nearly stop.

The entire sect ruins were now surrounded by thousands of purple energy threads, all connected to a single point.

"Who are you, really?" Li Xuan whispered with his remaining strength.

Yue Er walked closer, her shadow lengthening under the horrific purple light. "I am the note you never expected to find in the score, Li Xuan."

In the distance, the basement gate swung wide open, revealing a figure in magnificent robes who had been waiting for them. Grand Prince Zhao smiled, looking at Li Xuan with a triumphant gaze.

"Welcome to the end of this song, Sword Grinder."