Don't Cause Trouble Chapter 72: The Chongming Sword

No one knew when the bloodthirsty aura had vanished. In the middle of the sword path, the three stood one in front of the other, with You Fushi holding the sword that had flown toward him, gripping it horizontally.

The sword had an ancient silver sheen all over, but its hilt was made of red jade. Intricate patterns were carved finely along the sword. Both sides had nicks, making it look like a weathered sword that had seen countless battles. Strangely, the nicks on the sword were red and if you stared long enough, they seemed to faintly pulse and flow.

"What are you doing?" Yi Xuan’s expression was cold as he looked at You Fushi.

You Fushi held the sword tightly and repeated, "It’s mine."

Perhaps the commotion had drawn too much attention. A disciple who had already passed through the middle of the sword path turned back and warned, "Fighting or snatching swords is forbidden inside the Sword Tomb."

Ye Su was momentarily lost in thought. She remembered this sword, faintly glowing with blood, from the original story. It was the one Yi Xuan used later on.

—The "Chongming Sword." With every kill, a bead of blood would emerge from the sword, giving it its name.

The entire sword was forged from a single piece of blood jade. Legend had it that it had once drunk the blood of gods and demons, gaining immense power. But it emitted a deadly aura even without wind. The stronger the sword’s power, the more it would corrupt its wielder’s mind. The layer of ancient silver around the sword was meant to suppress that murderous energy.

In the original story, by the time Yi Xuan acquired the sword, the silver casing had already been damaged. After he removed it completely, he used the sword to defeat powerful cultivators from all the major sects but he also fell completely into darkness.

Ye Su frowned. The novel never mentioned where Yi Xuan got the sword, but it seemed now that he found it in the Sword Tomb.

A heavy silence fell over the sword path. Yi Xuan turned slightly to look at Ye Su but said nothing.

Ye Su snapped out of her thoughts and met Yi Xuan’s gaze. Clearly, he was waiting for her to say something.

"…Hand me the sword," Ye Su stepped forward and took the sword from You Fushi. In that instant, a wave of overwhelming killing intent surged from the hilt into her spiritual core, even shaking her sea of consciousness.

She paused. A sudden, violent urge to kill rose in her mind and was channeled through her palm back into the sword.

For a brief moment, the blood-colored aura in the sword’s nicks stopped moving.

Ye Su gripped the hilt with both hands and abruptly stabbed the sword into the ground at the edge of the Sword Tomb. "Swords choose their wielders in this tomb. You’ll take turns trying to pull it out."

This sword was far too dangerous, completely unsuitable for Yi Xuan. Ye Su didn’t want him to follow the same path as in the original story. But clearly, right now, Yi Xuan wanted this sword more than anything.

She could only gamble—a gamble on You Fushi being different.

This person—no, perhaps demon—who never appeared in the original story, might bring about a different ending.

Yi Xuan made the first move. He walked toward the sword, reached out, gripped the hilt tightly, and tried to pull it out.

…It didn’t budge.

Yi Xuan froze. He couldn’t pull it free.

"Huh?" A disciple who had already chosen his sword came over and said curiously, "If a sword in the tomb can’t be drawn, it means it doesn’t choose you."

But he had clearly seen this sword, infamous for messing with disciples’ minds—fly straight toward Yi Xuan earlier, and it would have reached him if someone hadn’t stepped in to block it.

Yi Xuan stood there stunned, his brows furrowing slightly. That earlier feeling that this sword was the only one for him, was now completely gone.

Meanwhile, You Fushi, who had been annoyed about having his sword taken away, casually grabbed a corner of Ye Su’s robe and used it to wipe the hilt.

Ye Su: "……"

Senior Sister started to reflect maybe she should prepare a handkerchief for her Junior Brother.

Right after that, under the watchful eyes of everyone present, You Fushi pulled the sword out effortlessly, as if it had been stuck in soft soil.

Ye Su raised an eyebrow. As expected, her Junior Brother was no ordinary person. She was standing closer than the other disciple in the back and saw it more clearly, this Chongming Sword had clearly rushed toward Yi Xuan.

"So I wasn’t seeing things, you’re actually the one the sword chose," the onlooker disciple said, scratching his head as he spoke to You Fushi.

Yi Xuan was silent for a moment, emotions churning. He had thought You Fushi was just trying to take everything from him... so the sword never chose him in the first place?

Ye Su finally let out a rare sigh of relief. She walked over to stand beside Yi Xuan and tilted her head toward him. "There should still be plenty of swords up ahead."

"Don’t worry, Junior Brother Yi," the other disciple said comfortingly. "Even if it’s not this sword, it’s fine. The further down the sword path you go, the better the swords are especially near the Sword Throne at the very end of the tomb. It’s full of top-tier swords. If you can pull one from over there, it’ll be way better than this one. Elder Xin’s sword was pulled from that area too."

"Let’s go," Ye Su said.

Yi Xuan gave a slight nod and continued walking forward.

……

After walking for a while, Ye Su couldn’t take it anymore and turned around to look at You Fushi. "What are you doing?"

Ever since he pulled out that sword, her Junior Brother hadn’t put it away or carried it properly. Instead, he held the hilt and dragged it along the ground the whole way, making an ear-piercing noise. Wherever the tip passed, it left deep scratches in the stone floor.

Ye Su’s eyes landed on the sword and, to her surprise, saw a few drops of blood seeping from the sword. Wasn’t the sword supposed to bleed only after killing? Right now, it looked more like it was crying.

It wasn’t even that great of a sword anyway. As a Senior Sister, she didn’t care much for a sword known to drive people mad.

She pointed at the Chongming Sword dragging behind him. "Put the sword away. It’s noisy."

You Fushi reluctantly obeyed the mortal’s words, hesitated for a moment, and finally tucked the sword into his own qiankun bag. Under his breath, he muttered, "Broken sword."

By the time Ye Su turned her head forward again, Yi Xuan had already walked ahead and found a sword he liked.

The sword was beautiful, with a faint blue glow and a smooth, elegant shape. It looked like an excellent weapon. Even Ye Su, catching up from behind, couldn’t help but glance at it more than once.

Yi Xuan reached out and grabbed the sword’s hilt. Immediately, the sword quivered and gave off a flash of blue light but instead of being pulled out, it sank further into its pedestal. The sword was clearly rejecting him.

He froze again. He hadn’t expected to be rejected by yet another sword in the tomb.

But what shocked everyone even more was what followed, no matter which sword Yi Xuan chose afterward, every single one rejected him.

One sword. Two swords. Three swords… The number kept increasing. Eventually, Yi Xuan gave up trying to find the right one and just reached for a random sword still, he was rejected.

"This... the swords in the tomb all have spirits. Maybe there’s some reason they won’t acknowledge you," said the disciple behind him as he caught up. "You could ask the Sect Master about it after we leave. Maybe something’s wrong with the sword tomb."

Right after he said that, a disciple from a nearby peak up ahead successfully chose a sword and pulled it out.

That disciple: "…"

"These swords aren’t worthy of you," Ye Su said as she glanced at the rows of swords on both sides of the tomb.

Yi Xuan, whose eyes had been dull just moments ago, suddenly lifted his gaze and looked at her. His fingers clenched and then slowly relaxed. "Senior Sister, you don’t have to comfort me."

Ye Su wasn’t trying to comfort him. It only took a moment’s thought to understand why the swords rejected her Fifth Junior Brother.

—Because of the half-demonic bloodline in Yi Xuan.

The swords were surrounded by righteous energy, so rejecting someone with a half-demon bloodline was entirely natural.

That’s exactly why Ye Su said the swords weren’t worthy of Yi Xuan.

If the swords had true strength, they wouldn’t fear or reject someone like him. Their refusal only proved their weakness they couldn’t handle someone as powerful as Yi Xuan.

"Keep moving," Ye Su said seriously, looking into Yi Xuan’s eyes. "There’s still the Sword Throne up ahead."

"And if the swords there won’t acknowledge me either?" Yi Xuan asked in a low voice.

"Then none of the swords in this entire tomb deserve you," Ye Su answered matter-of-factly.

Upon hearing her words, a rare smile appeared on Yi Xuan’s face. He was already strikingly attractive, but his usual coldness and aloofness hid much of it.

This smile like a blooming begonia—seemed to fill the air with radiance, making everyone around him lose focus for a moment.

"Ye Su," You Fushi interrupted someone beside him who had become entranced. "I’m hungry."

Ye Su: "...Do you want a Fasting Pill or a spirit stone?"

"Both," You Fushi said, holding out his clean, open palm to her.

Senior Sister pulled out a Fasting Pill and a spirit stone from her qiankun bag. "Behave yourself."

For the first time in her life, Ye Su saw Yi Xuan smile so sincerely. It gave her the strange but comforting feeling that her child was finally choosing the right path.

The group continued toward the end of the sword tomb. By now, all the disciples who entered had found a sword of their own, everyone except Yi Xuan.

They arrived at the Sword Throne at the very end and looked up at the enormous stone chair. All around it were countless swords thrust into the ground just looking at them for too long felt like you could be injured by the sword energy.

But the most eye-catching of all was the sword stuck right in the center of the throne. It had no sheath, and its pitch-black surface was covered in tortoise shell patterns, which dulled the sharpness of its aura and gave it a heavy, grounded feel instead.

From the moment Yi Xuan first laid eyes on the sword, he couldn’t look away. His gaze was fixed firmly on the knife in the center of the throne, and he didn’t even dare to step closer.

"That one’s called the Chongming sword," a disciple from another peak explained. "It’s been here a long time, but no one’s ever been able to pull it out. My master said Chongming is the only sword that can rival the Seven Absolutes Sword of the Kunlun Sect. But hardly anyone can draw it."

"Go try," Ye Su stepped up beside Yi Xuan and patted his shoulder.

Yi Xuan turned and gave Ye Su a long, searching look, then walked step by step up to the throne and stood in front of the sword.

The closer he got, the more he could feel its overwhelming power. It was vast and weighty, anyone with weaker willpower would feel an urge to kneel before it.

Yi Xuan stared at the sword for a long time. Finally, he raised his hand and gripped the hilt. In that instant, a massive energy surged toward his spiritual core.

There was no resistance, no rejection. Yi Xuan allowed the energy to rush in, but it didn’t hurt him.

Instead, the sword’s aura softened, becoming warm and accepting, even bringing a faint sense of comfort.

Yi Xuan closed his eyes and gripped the hilt with both hands. With just a little force, the sword—long trapped in the throne finally loosened and was pulled free, returning once more to the world of the living.

The moment the Chongming sword was drawn, the entire Sword Tomb trembled, and even began to shake.

At that very moment, the Sect Master and the elders waiting on the cliff above also noticed something was wrong.

"What’s going on?"

"Is there a problem with the Sword Tomb?"

The Sect Master of Sword Sect raised a hand and touched the circular disc in front of him, then closed his eyes. After a moment, he said, "The Chongming sword has awakened."

"Who could possibly have the ability to draw the Chongming sword? Even I couldn’t do it back in the day," grumbled Xin Shenzi, peering downward. If Ye Su and her little junior brother hadn’t gone down, he would’ve been sure it was his own disciple but with those two around, even he wasn’t certain.

"Xin Shenzi, shut it," an elder nearby said irritably. "A demonic disturbance and the Chongming sword appearing at the same time, isn’t exactly good news."

"Demons are demons. But whoever pulled out the Chongming sword must be impressive," Xin Shenzi said, stretching unconsciously, his eyes filled with battle intent.

Inside the Sword Tomb—

After Yi Xuan drew the sword, he opened his eyes and turned around.

"Huh? That sword… it’s broken!" said one of the other disciples nearby, who had been watching nervously, shocked by what he saw in Yi Xuan’s hand.

Yi Xuan looked down at the Chongming sword in his grip. Sure enough, it was only about two-thirds the length of a normal sword. The tip was missing just a clean break at the end.

He slowly walked down from the Sword Throne and stood in front of Ye Su.

"Senior Sister, this is my ‘sword.’"