Chapter 75: The Dream-Eating Sword Demon

At night, on the hilltop of the encampment.

“Mr. Long, I am pleased with this collaboration with the Four Seas Trading Company.”

Jiang Ding placed a dark green elixir vial on the table, his voice gentle: “I hope we shall have further opportunities to cooperate.”

Just now, he verified the number of Blue Glow Butterflies and finally reached the required fifty-five thousand pairs—the standard needed to brew Blue Gold 2431 Elixir.

After this massive capture, the Blue Glow Butterflies of Dongling Mountain will suffer severe depletion for at least a decade, unlikely to recover.

“Collaborating with you, Young Master, is also a stroke of fortune for our Four Seas Trading Company.”

Long Zhengwu carefully tucked the Po Xu Pill—capable of pushing one to the peak of Inner Qi—into his robe. This was the final payment, and one of the largest deals the company had made in recent years.

“Until we meet again on the martial path.”

After a moment’s thought, he decided to save this unlucky soul.

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“Hm?”

The dozen or so men exchanged wary glances.

“It’s her again.”

With the drone monitoring the surroundings, he quickly spotted scattered torches, linked like chains, along with continuous shouts.

Jiang Ding nodded lightly, stepped once, and vanished from the tent like a gentle breeze; another step, and his figure was swallowed by the boundless night.

He had a higher Inner Qi realm, had spent decades in the martial world, never slackened in spear training—and yet he still lost to a junior! “Xuantian One Sword!”

Long Zhengwu stared after him for a long while, sighing: “This man is truly a celestial being!”

He had no destination—only to flee as far and as fast as possible from Dongling Prefecture.

Only the Righteousness Gang remained; all other martial folk had been purged by the Marquis’s forces, and the survivors had all fled beyond the prefecture’s borders.

“Young Master Jiang!”

Then, with a thunderous crash, they scattered in all directions, their fleeing figures vanishing within moments.

Around them, over a dozen martial artists had gathered during the duel—all Inner Qi cultivators, including two who had reached Inner Qi Great Completion, drawn by the Marquis’s bounty.

Legend says he delights in devouring butterflies, thereby consuming the souls within others’ dreams…

A cold, sharp voice rang clearly into every ear, stirring primal survival instincts—everyone involuntarily turned toward its source.

“The Dream-Eating Sword Demon!”

Gong Caiyu gritted her teeth, unleashing a fluid sword form—its movements seamless, its techniques mysteriously precise, each strike landing exactly on the tip of the Thunder Spear.

As for where to go, he had a clear goal.

“Ha! This overwhelming fortune is rightfully mine, ‘Thunder Spear’ Ou Dao!”

Ou Dao let out a far louder, shriller scream than Gong Caiyu, his face ashen, and he bolted back the way he came without looking back.

Green robe, sword at his side, delicate features.

Green robe, long sword…

“Brothers!”

!.

Gong Caiyu felt a surge of relief, yet couldn’t suppress her worry—based on what she’d seen, this Young Master hated trouble and likely had low strength; the two of them together couldn’t possibly match a dozen Inner Qi martial artists.

Unfortunately, her disguise and evasion skills were poor; she was exposed, killed several pursuers, then fled desperately—yet more enemies chased her, many of them local constables drawn by the bounty, and members of the Righteousness Gang.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

Countless rumors, endless speculation—now, in Dongling Prefecture, it was nearly impossible to find a martial artist who didn’t know the name “Dream-Eating Sword Demon.”

Ding! A sharp metallic clash rang out; both were thrown back a step, tumbling from their mounts.

After a stalemate, the tide slowly turned against her. “Thunder Spear” Ou Dao’s eyes grew increasingly furious.

…

“Good!”

Ou Dao growled: “Don’t you know the ancient tale of soldiers exchanging a general’s limbs and head for five marquisates? We each take the other’s head and limbs—surely the Marquis won’t withhold the reward?” Gong Caiyu bit her lip, driving her horse desperately—but she couldn’t widen the gap behind her; instead, the pursuers drew closer.

Ou Dao’s eyes gleamed with greed; his steel spear lashed out in rapid succession—the famed technique “Rainstorm Spear,” relentless as wind and downpour. He had once trained beneath a tree, where thousands of falling leaves never touched the ground, earning him renown across the region.

“Zhang Ziteng has surrendered! You can’t escape!”

Familiar faces were secondary—mainly, he didn’t know the way to Yuejing.

Under the dim moonlight, a green-robed youth stepped forward, hand on his sword hilt.

This was normal. Even a Dragon Phoenix List prodigy, with ample resources, couldn’t achieve breakthrough in just a few months—there wasn’t enough time to even stabilize, let alone ascend.

The Dream-Eating Sword Demon Jiang Ding! Result: Chen Chen dead, “Mixed Gold Blade” Zheng Ye dead, Dragon Phoenix List No. 12 “Black Flame Blade” He Jin, disciple of the primordial master “White Bone Sword Demon,” dead; over twenty Inner Qi squad officers mostly slain, only scattered soldiers surviving.

Everyone’s eyes lit up.

“Ah!”

“Good, good! Truly the divine art of Qi Xuan Sect!”

Other martial artists trembled at the name, then compared the youth’s features.

Yuejing, Golden Blade Sect! That was his Tianyin Stone, his Taiqing Divine Iron!

By day, she had escaped through a secret tunnel from Qi Xuan Sect’s main hall to the city outskirts, then managed to flee Dongling Prefecture.

Gong Caiyu had no choice but to turn, thrusting her sword straight into the spear’s tip.

“Stop!”

The crowd finally saw his face clearly.

The map had been purchased in advance from the Four Seas Trading Company—rumored to be the detailed version—but it looked like a child’s scribble; scale and terrain were all wrong, giving anyone who looked at it a headache.

Dead, dead, dead, dead! The news couldn’t be hidden—so many surviving soldiers and squad officers, so many prominent figures couldn’t vanish into thin air. The entire martial world of Dongling Prefecture was gripped by terror, and without prompting, everyone memorized the features.

Ou Dao’s soul nearly fled his body; in desperation, he barely retreated, his fingers snapping clean off the spear shaft, screaming as he stumbled backward, blood gushing uncontrollably, glaring with venom at the petite woman before him.

So many people, yet they were only attacking one.

In the battle at Dongling Mountain, Inner Qi Great Completion expert Chen Chen led over twenty Inner Qi martial artists, eighty-plus elite Body Tempering soldiers, alongside the famed “Mixed Gold Blade” Zheng Ye and the strongest among them, Dragon Phoenix List No. 12 “Black Flame Blade” He Jin.

“Villain!”

Gong Caiyu softly cried out, seizing an opening as Ou Dao’s focus wavered—her sword flicked the spear tip aside, then lunged forward with blinding speed toward his heart.

She kicked off, rising upright on her horse, leaping over its back, channeling all her Inner Qi Great Completion power into the spearhead, driving it hard toward Gong Caiyu’s shoulder.

“I’ll strip you bare and hang you on the walls of Dongling Prefecture…”

A man with slanted eyebrows laughed loudly.

Jiang Ding was speechless. Every time he saw her, she was being chased—he felt like a cursed jinx magnet.

Gong Caiyu’s phoenix eyes turned cold; she moved to pursue, then her heart sank.

Jiang Ding’s camouflage suit shifted into a deep midnight blue; he darted swiftly between treetops, racing to outpace the forest wind.

…

Gong Caiyu felt utter despair, gripping her sword hilt for one final strike.

Months had passed, yet she remained at Inner Qi Minor Completion.

Jiang Ding stared closely and recognized a familiar face: a woman barely one meter fifty tall, with baby fat on her cheeks, clearly fleeing in haste—she hadn’t even changed out of her ornate silk robe.

“You should leave quickly—don’t bother with me…”

Legend says he also recovered the long-lost Qi Xuan Sect technique: “Hundred Paces Flying Sword…”

“This…”

Gong Caiyu stared at the empty surroundings, mouth agape.

Jiang Ding was also stunned.

Dream-Eating Sword Demon? What a terrible name—who is that?

(End of Chapter)