The Masked Strength of the Sect's Trash chapter 42

Chapter 42 Falling into the trap

The wooden cabin was small, barely big enough for one person to squeeze inside, even lying down was a challenge. As soon as Xiao Yi entered, she found herself confronted by a sword aura suspended in the middle of the room. The sword tip was less than half a foot from her forehead, its violent energy making her feel as though her head had already been pierced.

Xiao Yi's heart sank. She realized she'd fallen into a trap. Her second senior brother was truly despicable. A "safe house"? This was more like a death trap. The cabin was cleverly hidden high up in the trees, so well-concealed that she hadn’t suspected a thing. She had rushed in without a second thought, thinking it was a refuge. Outside, even while being hunted by the manifested sword intent, she hadn’t been in this much danger. Now, she couldn't even retreat; the sword aura had locked onto her.

She didn't doubt for a second that if she made any sudden movements, that sword would put a hole through her head. Forced to stay still, Xiao Yi could only stare at the sword aura, her body stiff with tension. The aura, formed from violent sword intent, held her in a grip of fear. To make matters worse, she sensed an overwhelming pressure coming from outside—the manifested sword intent had arrived.

The sword intent, resembling a small bird, perched on a branch outside and let out a sharp cry. Every hair on Xiao Yi's body stood on end, but she didn’t dare turn around. She kept her eyes locked on the sword aura in front of her, not daring to relax. However, to her horror, the sword aura inched closer to her after each cry of the bird outside. At first, she thought it was just her imagination, but after half an hour and another cry from the bird, the aura moved even closer.

Xiao Yi realized that with every cry from the bird outside, the sword aura drew nearer. She calculated that at this rate, she had at most seven to eight hours to figure out how to deal with it before it would pierce her skull. She cursed her second senior brother again, but she knew that no matter what, she had to find a way to dispel the sword aura in front of her.

After thinking long and hard, Xiao Yi realized she had no solutions. Her magical artifacts were destroyed; the last two she had were damaged during the earlier battles. Trying to confront the sword aura with her own strength was suicide—it was left behind by her second senior brother, Lu Shaoqing, who was in the late Core Formation stage, far stronger than her, who was only at the eighth level of the Qi Refining stage. She couldn’t possibly stand against it head-on.

“What should I do?” Xiao Yi kept racking her brain. She knew her second senior brother wouldn't have left a sword aura here for no reason. There had to be a purpose behind it. After thinking until her head hurt, Xiao Yi focused all her attention on the sword aura itself.

Three hours had passed, and the bird outside had cried six times. The sword aura was now only three inches from her forehead, dangerously close. Xiao Yi decided to close her eyes and use her spiritual sense to probe the sword aura. The moment her spiritual sense touched the aura, she cried out in pain. It felt like her spiritual sense had been plunged into molten lava, melting away instantly. The sensation was so intense that it felt like her entire being was being burned alive. She quickly withdrew her spiritual sense, drenched in sweat and with a splitting headache.

“This is insane!” Xiao Yi groaned in agony. But then, she noticed something that filled her with hope. The sword aura seemed slightly weaker, though the change was barely noticeable. Xiao Yi realized that she could potentially wear down the sword aura using her spiritual sense, though it would be excruciatingly painful.

“Alright, let’s do this,” she decided. With no time to waste, Xiao Yi summoned all her spiritual sense and enveloped the sword aura with it. She was determined to grind it down in one go, even though the sword aura reacted violently, vibrating and emitting even more intense heat. It felt like a furious, blazing sun, and the extreme heat made her want to pull back her spiritual sense. But she knew it was just an illusion—if she retreated now, she would lose her only chance.

“I’m not backing down!” Xiao Yi gritted her teeth and held on, relentlessly grinding away at the sword aura with her spiritual sense. Slowly but surely, the aura weakened under her assault. At the same time, Xiao Yi felt a strange, profound sensation rising within her.

Hours passed, and finally, the last remnant of the sword aura dissipated. Xiao Yi collapsed onto the wooden floor, drenched in sweat, her face pale. She gasped for breath, her spiritual energy nearly depleted, and her spiritual sense severely damaged, leaving her with a splitting headache. Tears welled up in her eyes. She had never suffered this much, both physically and mentally. The ordeal made her long for her mother's comforting embrace.

Despite the tears in her eyes, Xiao Yi felt a sense of triumph. During the process of wearing down the sword aura, she had gained a deeper understanding of sword intent. Though she couldn't put it into words, she knew she had made progress. She believed that with a few more experiences like this, she might actually be able to comprehend sword intent fully.

After resting for half a day, Xiao Yi shakily got up, retrieved a few pills from her storage pouch, and swallowed them to restore her spiritual energy. Then, she pulled out a small notebook, flipping to the page with Lu Shaoqing’s name on it. With trembling hands, she recorded today’s date alongside several others.

Her face filled with righteous indignation, she muttered, “Just you wait, Second Senior Brother. I’ll make sure to repay you for this one day.”

Once she had recovered sufficiently, Xiao Yi stepped out of the so-called “safe house.” She made a taunting gesture toward the manifested sword intent outside. “Come on, Xiao Hong! Let’s see how I deal with you this time!”

The manifested sword intent, enraged by Xiao Yi’s defiance, screeched and its energy flared. Xiao Yi immediately turned and fled, once again running for her life.