Chapter 102: Such Is the Primordial

"Why?"

Jiang Ding asked, wanting to know the other’s thoughts.

He was asking why such a powerful cultivator would kill two children with no threat and no grudge.

"Why?"

Wan Qianyu sneered coldly: "We martial cultivators toil day and night without slack, all for the sake of avenging friends and slaying enemies—kill when we wish, save when we wish!"

"Is that your belief?"

Jiang Ding’s brow relaxed.

"Then why, when your son died, did you act as if the world ended? Why can’t you let go? Was it because the one who killed him didn’t act with enough righteous fury?"

"Die!"

Wan Qianyu’s eyes brimmed with malice; she tapped her foot, and phantom blossoms flickered faintly as her sword pierced the distance to the eaves like a falling star.

Shhh!

A crimson flying sword shot through the air, striking toward the back of her skull—its sword qi searing, leaving no doubt it could pierce through a Xiantian cultivator’s true qi defense and blast a hole clean through her head.

Ding!

Wan Qianyu had no choice but to draw her sword with her body, stepping back sharply to precisely strike the tip of the crimson sword, forcing it back several paces.

Her heart eased slightly.

This flying sword, though a flying sword, was far inferior to Qing Daoren’s sword qi—its power merely stronger than that of a fully rounded Nei Qi cultivator.

"Jiang Ding, the 'Dream-Eating Sword Demon,' you’re seeking death."

Wan Qianyu sneered, flicking her white sword; dazzling sword qi blossoms materialized from empty air, blooming one by one from one to ten, spinning, slicing the air into a low whistling hum.

Ten Blossoms!

The famed sword technique of the Ziwei Sword Sect, and her strongest art that earned her fame in the martial world.

The man before her was Nei Qi realm, capable of a hundred-paces flying sword—these traits were unmistakable.

As for differing appearances, the martial world had countless transformation techniques; failing to spot a flaw immediately was no surprise.

"Not seeking death."

Jiang Ding rejected it.

He pointed a finger; the sky within a dozen zhang suddenly darkened, countless rays of solar light converging toward the center’s crimson talisman sword, rolling waves of heat turning grass and trees to ash in an instant.

Wan Qianyu, closest to it, felt it most acutely—suddenly as if trapped in a furnace, her Xiantian true qi draining faster.

"Kill!"

She coldly shouted, and the ten dazzling sword qi blossoms sliced through invisible arcs toward the crimson talisman sword in the sky.

But the sword’s blazing blade trembled, and countless brilliant sword qi split off from it, radiating intense danger, each streaking toward one of the spinning blossoms.

Wan Qianyu’s face hardened as she gathered her Xiantian true qi and slashed forward—then froze.

At the moment the nine sword qi strikes met the blossoms, they dissolved like bubbles, leaving behind scattered spiritual sparks, offering no resistance whatsoever.

At the same time, the hairs on her heart stood on end.

"No!"

Wan Qianyu’s expression twisted; she lunged backward, spinning her white sword, the ten blossoms circling her to shield her front.

But it was too late.

Behind her, where nothing had been, a crimson flying sword suddenly appeared, piercing through her Xiantian true qi with swift blade-light, sinking into skin and flesh, searing sword qi flooding in.

"Get off!"

In desperation, Wan Qianyu roared, face crimson, using a life-or-death technique to double her white sword’s speed, barely striking the tail end of the crimson talisman sword and knocking it flying.

Simultaneously, she forced her Xiantian true qi to surge, blasting out the crimson sword qi along with chunks of flesh and muscle—leaving a fist-sized hole in her back, exposing blood, flesh, and bone.

Before the fist-sized chunk of flesh hit the ground, it turned to charcoal.

"Ahh!"

She screamed in agony, the ten dazzling blossoms swirling upward like stars, surrounding the crimson talisman sword.

But it flickered once, slipped free, and in the sky it stabbed or slashed—touch and flee, never entangled—gradually wearing down the blossoms’ power while sustaining negligible damage itself.

Wan Qianyu wanted to abandon this lifeless weapon, but saw Jiang Ding standing over ninety paces away, his feet shifting constantly, openly showing his intent to leave at any moment.

Bang! Bang!

After much erosion, the ten colorful sword qi blossoms extinguished one by one.

The sky darkened again; the solar light within a dozen zhang converged toward the center, and nine blazing sword qi strikes reformed, howling downward.

Wan Qianyu stared intently for a long time—still could not discern the sword’s true location!

With no choice, she again spent vast amounts of Xiantian true qi to form ten blossoms, dense as a wall before her, not daring to move.

Yet the nine searing, blazing sword qi strikes also remained still, circling above her head, never falling.

Jiang Ding’s expression was calm.

These nine sword qi strikes were formed by the Great Sun Spirit Gathering Array—so long as the sun hadn’t set, only a trace of Nei Qi was needed to sustain them.

"Damn it!"

After waiting a moment, Wan Qianyu’s Xiantian true qi drained severely; she had no choice but to charge toward Jiang Ding.

As expected, the nine blazing sword qi strikes fell from the sky—their searing heat, the aura warning her spirit sense—she could not ignore them, and seven dazzling blossoms shot upward to meet them.

Boom!

This time, they were no mere illusions; the sword qi shattered the blossoms, and many searing fragments crashed to the ground, easily burning black spots into the earth.

Wan Qianyu’s heart turned cold.

If she’d still thought these nine sword qi strikes were mere illusions like before, she’d now be a pile of charcoal.

Shhh!

An invisible sword cut through as well; though prepared, it still grazed her waist, leaving a charred wound.

"My lord!"

"Enough! Two poor boys—let them go, let them go!"

Wan Qianyu wished to cease fighting; they held no grudge.

Jiang Ding said nothing.

The crimson talisman sword flew through the air, descending again with the nine searing sword qi strikes.

This man didn’t look merciful—better to cut the grass and root it out.

"Insolent!"

Wan Qianyu cursed, fleeing without looking back.

The crimson talisman sword kept slashing down, cleaving through the surrounding blossoms, leaving more wounds on her body—her aura weakening further, yet she finally escaped beyond the hundred-paces flying sword’s range.

Jiang Ding was about to pursue when his drone’s view showed dozens of crimson-armored cavalry appearing.

Though their battle seemed long, each move was completed in an instant—only three or four breaths had passed since it began, and these crimson-armored cavalry reacted swiftly.

Glancing at the battlefield, the second-ranked "Half-Ghost" Wu Ma Kong had vanished; only the gravely wounded Li Qingyun and Song Qing remained.

Jiang Ding tapped his foot and appeared beside them.

Song Qing stared at him in terror.

He had defeated a famed Xiantian master, forcing her to flee for her life!

Recalling their last meeting, when he’d subtly looked down on him because of his origin in Qingniu Palace, cold sweat broke out on his skin.

Had he pushed further, he’d likely have been cut down within a few sword strikes!

A Xiantian master, if he hides well, need not fear a Zongshi—power, martial sects, sacred grounds—all are as fleeting clouds.

"Ten Blossoms Sword Immortal" Wan Qianyu was living proof.

"My lord, Qingniu Palace thanks you..."

"I saved you."

Jiang Ding ignored him, staring at Li Qingyun, pale-faced and weak in aura.

"Yes."

After a moment of silence, Li Qingyun said.

Though he still had another trump card from his master, under the combined assault of a veteran Xiantian and the second-ranked on the Dragon Phoenix List, survival was uncertain.

"I want the method to comprehend 'Shi'—the unknown enhancement in your every move. How much is your life worth compared to this?"

Jiang Ding spoke directly.

"Impossible!"

Song Qing’s eyes burned with anger: "My lord, this is our sect’s ultimate art! Even if you saved us, you must not exploit that debt—this is not the way of a gentleman!"

Jiang Ding ignored him, only watching Li Qingyun.

"My life is worth more than this method."

Li Qingyun said without hesitation.

He picked up a broken wooden plank, split it into page-like shape with palm force, poured Nei Qi into it, and tiny characters, finer than mosquito legs, appeared on the wood.

Soon, a six- or seven-page wooden book appeared in his hand; he extended it.

"Younger brother, I’ll explain to Master."

"Farewell."

Jiang Ding nodded, took the wooden book, and vanished in a flash, leaving before the crimson-armored cavalry arrived.