Chapter 812: This Sword Is for You

Ji Yuan collapsed drunk on the grass, mumbling indistinctly. He seemed to be laughing or reminiscing about the fine wine and swordplay they had just discussed. Even Tu Yi, standing so close, couldn't make out the words, and soon, only Ji Yuan's breathing could be heard.

Tu Tong and Tu Miao instinctively stood up the moment Ji Yuan fell, and Old Monk Foyin did the same. All of them approached Ji Yuan, seeing his state a moment after Tu Yi.

"This... Mr. Ji..."

Hearing Tu Miao's astonished and questioning words, Tu Yi, who was half-crouching beside Ji Yuan, looked up and smiled helplessly at the three.

"Mr. Ji, he seems to have passed out drunk."

"Passed out drunk?"

Tu Tong took a few steps closer and also crouched down, instinctively reaching out to touch Ji Yuan's face. However, Tu Yi shot her a cold, sneering glance from the side, making her immediately withdraw her hand.

"Goodness, considering how Mr. Ji drank just now, without dispelling the alcohol's effects, even an immortal would get drunk!" Old Monk Foyin chuckled, thinking to himself that perhaps Mr. Ji had intended to get drunk.

Ji Yuan's state greatly surprised the three nine-tailed fox demons and Old Monk Foyin. However, his condition showed no signs of feigned intoxication. Since Ji Yuan was drunk, the sword discussion naturally had to end there.

Tu Tong, Tu Miao, and Old Monk Foyin did not explicitly mention the outcome of the sword discussion. Since Ji Yuan got drunk midway, he certainly couldn't be considered to have won. However, if one were to claim Ji Yuan lost, even Tu Yi would likely disagree.

"Mr. Ji is drunk, but we can't just leave him sleeping on the ground, can we?" Tu Tong, still half-crouching with her collarbone slightly exposed, said this to Tu Yi with a smile. The latter nodded faintly.

"My tree pavilion is a bit simple, but I imagine Mr. Ji won't mind. Let him rest on the divan in my study."

Without waiting for anyone else to speak, Tu Yi lifted one of Ji Yuan's arms over his shoulder. He then helped the swaying, almost immobile Ji Yuan towards the tree pavilion, leading him to a small room connected to the living area, and laid him down on a wooden divan.

Ji Yuan comfortably turned over on the wooden divan and continued to sleep soundly on his side, his breathing growing deeper and more even.

Tu Yi stood by the divan, watching Ji Yuan for a while, replaying Ji Yuan's final sword move in his mind, envisioning another possibility.

'If Ji Yuan hadn't passed out... if that sword finger had come at me, could I have blocked it...?'

In a brief moment, Tu Yi imagined himself in his previous state, considering many possibilities. Yet, ultimately, he had little confidence in blocking that sword move. Perhaps at that very moment, he would have truly unleashed his magical power...

After one more glance at Ji Yuan, Tu Yi turned to leave. In fact, just moments ago, he had even suspected Ji Yuan was feigning intoxication to save his face. However, everyone else had witnessed Ji Yuan's drunkenness, confirming it was real.

When Tu Yi emerged from the tree pavilion, Tu Miao was already raising his cup to toast him.

"Brother Tu Yi, these three days of sword discussion were truly magnificent and unparalleled throughout history! Although I don't wield a sword, observing it has greatly benefited me. Even without drinking, I feel as if I am captivated and enchanted, just like Mr. Ji!"

"Indeed, it was so profound and truly awe-inspiring!" Tu Tong also offered a compliment, then looked towards the tree pavilion and added another question.

"Mr. Ji is asleep? How long do you think it will be before he wakes up?"

"I don't think it will be long." Tu Yi replied, then returned to the wooden table, poured himself a cup of wine, and drank it in one go, savoring the memories of the sword discussion.

The others said no more and took their seats at the table. Old Monk Foyin closed his eyes in meditation, Tu Tong also had her eyes slightly closed, Tu Yi drank alone, while Tu Miao took out a stack of white paper and continuously wrote something with a brush.

All of them were immersed in their comprehension of the three-day sword discussion. The greatest beneficiary, naturally, was Tu Yi, who had debated with Ji Yuan. He didn't actually like drinking, but because Ji Yuan had drunk so heavily and he himself had experienced such a profound impact, he tried drinking as well, hoping to immerse himself in Ji Yuan's feeling. However, he couldn't quite grasp it.

While drinking, Tu Yi glanced at Tu Miao. He saw that although Tu Miao was writing and drawing, even with his Nine-Tailed cultivation, not understanding the sword meant not understanding the sword. Only a fraction of the true essence was captured on the white paper, partly due to the preciousness of the paper itself.

Nevertheless, to be able to capture even a fraction of the true essence on paper was a testament to Tu Miao's profound cultivation.

Compared to the four at the table, the nearby fox demons, including Tu Sisi, were still experiencing rapid heartbeats, their minds filled with the images of the first day of the sword discussion between the two. Although they had the advantage of proximity and were protected by the Nine-Tailed Fox and Old Monk Foyin, allowing them to witness the entire event relatively unharmed by the sword intent, the benefits they gained were only marginally greater than those of the foxes in the outer valley.

In the valley, most of the foxes were unconscious, many were self-regulating their qi, while Tu Yun and a few stronger fox demons, either relying on protective treasures or their cultivation, managed to endure and witness the entire event.

Tu Yun tightly clutched a soul-protecting pearl to her chest. This pearl not only protected her divine soul but also continuously nourished her fragmented primordial spirit.

At this moment, Tu Yun, like some of the surrounding fox demons, was still in awe of the sword discussion. Ancestor Tu Yi's sword art was superb, but True Immortal Ji Yuan's swordplay was breathtakingly beautiful, like observing the workings of heaven and earth, and seemed even more captivating...

"Phew... it's finally over, Ancestor won!"

"Yeah, I wouldn't have lasted much longer!" "Hmm, me neither, good thing Ancestor won!"

"Yes, I was really afraid Ancestor Tu Yi would lose just now!"

Tu Yun looked at the fox demons beside her and murmured.

"It should be, at most, a draw..."

Tu Yun had originally harbored deep hatred for Ji Yuan. But at this moment, she suddenly understood what Ancestor had told her: she was merely an ant; what ability or right did she have to hate Ji Yuan?

Outside the tree pavilion in the valley, Tu Tong, Tu Miao, Tu Yi, and Old Monk Foyin were each comprehending their own insights. Inside the verdant, leafy pavilion, Ji Yuan lay peacefully asleep on Tu Yi's wooden divan.

Ji Yuan was indeed completely drunk. This might have been the first time he had been so profoundly intoxicated since arriving in this world. But it was a comfortable, pleasant, and carefree drunkenness, and it came at just the right time.

Before Ji Yuan collapsed, he was already drunk. His final sword move was practically a display of sword intent within a drunken dream. And it was during that drunken dream-like sword move that, just as Ji Yuan had expected, at the moment of his drunken slumber, between dream and reality, his perception of "Wandering Dreams in the Clouds" reached its peak. At this very instant, he also pinpointed the location of the Heavenly Book, even sensing the aura near it.

Outside, the four individuals and all the foxes in the valley were engrossed in the three-day sword discussion between Ji Yuan and Tu Yi. Yet, Ji Yuan, lying quietly drunk with even breathing, sat up at this very moment.

No, Ji Yuan was still in a drunken state, because the Ji Yuan on the divan was still asleep, his Dao-essence unchanged, his aura undisturbed.

But at this moment, Ji Yuan had indeed stood up—within Ji Yuan's dream!

This was the strangest use of the Dream Wandering technique for Ji Yuan since he had comprehended it. It truly felt like he was dreaming, appearing somewhat disoriented, yet he hadn't sobered up within the dream, so he remained unsteady after standing.

"Hahahaha, hahahaha... I'm drunk..."

Ji Yuan rubbed his forehead, glanced back; everything in his vision seemed to spin slightly. The Ji Yuan on the divan seemed to be softly snoring.

Ji Yuan smiled and pointed to the divan.

"No, *you're* drunk. I'm not. Hahahaha..."

Swaying, Ji Yuan walked out of the tree pavilion. He observed the states of the three nine-tailed foxes and saw Old Monk Foyin meditating like a clay statue. However, the four seemed completely oblivious to Ji Yuan's presence. Ji Yuan knew that as long as he didn't exhibit any aggression or malicious thoughts, they wouldn't be able to perceive him.

He swayed past the wooden table and, upon passing the large pile of wine jars, Ji Yuan took a few extra glances. The jars were stacked to fill nearly half the valley, yet nine out of ten were empty, showing how fiercely and pleasurably they had drunk earlier.

Ji Yuan's steps appeared unsteady, yet there was a unique grace in his swaying. He stepped onto the valley lake as if treading on ripples, then his form drifted, like mist within flowing light, gradually traversing the lake, stepping over peaks, and crossing mountains...

His speed seemed not fast, yet also impossibly quick.

As he passed Tu Yun, Ji Yuan took another look. Her aura indeed seemed more agreeable than before. He then stepped out of the valley and journeyed far away.

No flying, no transformations, no teleportation...

Ji Yuan's steps remained somewhat unsteady, yet each step covered an exaggerated distance. Perhaps a long time passed, or perhaps only a moment; Ji Yuan himself couldn't tell. In any case, when his body swayed once more and stabilized, he rubbed his forehead and looked up. He saw two women seated at a chess table in a wooden hall, one of whom was Tu Siyan.

"Hahahahahahaha... Here it is!"

Swaying, Ji Yuan took a few steps closer. After a thought, he placed one hand behind his back and formed a sword-finger with the other, faintly sensing the pervasive sword intent of the Azure Vine Sword.

"Heh, that sword move Tu Yi couldn't see, I'm giving it to you!"

Having spoken, Ji Yuan's form swayed, and he casually thrust a sword-finger forward.

At this moment, the soft hum of the Azure Vine Sword also resonated in Ji Yuan's dream.

At this moment, everything around him twisted and spun fantastically, transforming into a soaring dragon. At this instant, boundless sword intent surged forth from Ji Yuan's sword-finger, passing through Tu Siyan's forehead...

In front of the wooden building, the other woman placed a black piece in a corner.

"It's your turn."

But Tu Siyan didn't react. Languidly sprawled on the table, she seemed to be asleep.

"It's your move!"

The woman called out again, but Tu Siyan still showed no reaction. Her brows furrowed, and just as she was about to say something, she suddenly paused slightly, then her face drastically changed.

Tu Siyan's demonic energy, the spiritual energy surrounding her, and her primordial spirit essence were all subtly leaking away.

"What's wrong with you, you..."

The woman reached out and lifted Tu Siyan's head, her pupils contracting.

Tu Siyan appeared to still possess most of her vitality and her primordial spirit seemed intact, but like shattered porcelain, all her vital energy was irreversibly dissipating.

In that very instant, Tu Siyan's vitality completely collapsed, dissipating entirely at an unimaginably fast and irreversible speed, turning her into a lifeless corpse.

Shock! Helplessness! Fear!

Dead! Dead! Dead! Tu Siyan was dead! She had died inexplicably right before her eyes!