Chapter 241: Two Hundred and Forty-Nine: The Supreme Sword Art of the Cauldron

Two Hundred and Forty-Nine: The Supreme Sword Art of the Cauldron

In the small courtyard, a light rain fell—a rain of blood-red.

It rained across a radius of several zhang, lasting ten breaths before ceasing.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong turned silently, gazing at the "Wei Wei Shaoxuan" scattered across the courtyard.

He did not wish to slaughter his enemies so brutally, but just now, he lost control.

The power of myth is hard to wield, especially this little thing—it seems to have a bit of a temper.

The clear blue light in Magistrate Ouyang Rong's eyes slowly faded; so too did the glow from his abdominal wound.

Simultaneously, the artisan's tool floating before him gently blurred and vanished.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong instinctively touched the spot of his dantian.

The spiritual energy he had painstakingly restored and gathered was once again exhausted. "What is he doing?"

A solid black iron token, entirely white, inscribed with the character "Wei."

But having just used the Hanshi Sword Art to summon the Cauldron Sword again, he now faced a problem.

It's not as if, with every promotion in rank, I must acquire a new sword art—and along with it, a corresponding Supreme Cauldron Sword Art.

"If stubbornness worked, Magistrate Ouyang Rong would've been turned into that already."

Su Su Guoer shook her head: "You know he's been awake the whole time—and who could've guessed... Was it really necessary to take such a risk?" Wei Wei Shaoxuan suddenly said.

Wei Wei Shaoxuan waited ten breaths, fully priming himself, before stepping out of the kitchen—Magistrate Ouyang Rong had no chance to resist.

Was it a healing elixir, or the precious Qi-replenishing pill Xiao Shimei had mentioned, or perhaps the forbidden pill that orthodox Qi Refiners regard as taboo—the one that forcibly lowers one's cultivation rank through alchemical means?

"Where is Xiao Shimei? Isn't she supposed to protect them? Why is Magistrate Ouyang Rong hunting down his entire family? Has the mask been torn off? Or not yet—where are Magistrate Ouyang Rong's accomplices?"

Wei Wei Shaoxuan glanced at the bowl, then at her lovely face.

"I say, he leaves now. Immediately."

But then again, Liu Liu Zilin didn't die in vain—he might know the Cauldron Sword Art of "Hanshi," but the underground palace was too cramped, with only one exit above, sealed by the Cauldron Sword.

Su Su Guoer dared not glance sideways, but looked a few more times, then softly reopened her pink lips:

At this moment, the young man with plum-blossom makeup had a fainter plum design on his forehead; several strands of his bangs clung damply together, gleaming under the morning sunlight that had fallen into the courtyard, making his oval face appear even paler and more delicate.

"My dantian has no spiritual energy..." he murmured.

Tang Tang Shanqiong drooped his eyelids, his face utterly expressionless, offering no explanation—he looked dazed, lost in thought.

Su Su Guoer cupped a bowl in both hands and stepped forward cautiously, swallowing hard.

"What is he doing?" "Is he done...?"

"But he killed the Eighth Prince of Wei—what now? If this gets out, we'll instantly become enemies of the Wei Prince's mansion."

Magistrate Ouyang Rong suddenly felt someone draw near beside him and turned. "What did he say?" asked Su Su Guoer before him.

Yet when he consumed the eighth bottle's pill, the spiritual energy in his dantian visibly began to swirl.

But this also stems from the fact that both Magistrate Ouyang Rong and Liu Liu Zilin were only fourth-rank—Sword Bearers require immense spiritual energy to control the Cauldron Sword.

Su Su Guoer's eyes sparkled; she showed no fear or discomfort at the bloody scene before her—instead, she seemed almost exhilarated.

Su Su Guoer changed the subject: "...???" Su Su Guoer.

In other words, he hasn't yet digested the artisan's tool—after all, he's not a man of overflowing vigor, unlike Saving Aqing.

Wei Wei Shaoxuan suddenly sat down on the spot, took out the confiscated medicine from his robe, hesitated a moment, then took one pill from each bottle, lifted his head, and drank water to swallow them.

Wei Wei Shaoxuan picked up the sword case in his hand, gazed down at it.

No wonder Sword Bearers are so deadly—"Go and Return" was already this powerful; future trump cards will only grow fewer.

So each time the artisan's tool appeared, it hovered in midair, silently brewing. "What does that mean...?"

You were startled.

"Is this the legendary Cauldron Sword? Magistrate Ouyang Magistrate Ouyang Lianghan, how did you manage it? How did you obtain it?" She fired off a rapid series of questions.

"Regardless, our coordination just now was quite good, Magistrate Ouyang Magistrate Ouyang Lianghan—first time working together, and we've already got some chemistry."

At this moment, within the mask, another phantom figure emerged. "Indeed, no mistake." he muttered.

If he were ugly, he'd be a worthless waste; but if he's handsome, then he's just brooding and depressed.

"Magistrate Ouyang Magistrate Ouyang Lianghan, you seem a bit different now." Of course, aura is something you must view dialectically. "The more, the better." Wei Wei Shaoxuan murmured.

"It's not like the him of yesterday—once so spirited, as if nothing could ever defeat him. Now... he's done." You deliberately said, then nodded: "Hmm, looks like heaven gave him a good beating."

The masked man turned and spoke coolly, then suddenly reached out, wrapping his arm around her slender waist. "Don't move."

Whether intentional or careless, half a length of bloodied intestine floated in the bowl.

Wei Wei Shaoxuan ignored it, closed his eyes, and sank into the Merit Tower, watching his 1,700 merits rapidly deplete—his heart ached.

Afterward, Xiao Shimei said that each sword art corresponds to a rank—you must acquire the sword art to advance.

Wei Wei Shaoxuan's lips twitched, but he swallowed his words. Without answering, he asked calmly:

"Eighth Prince! Are you alright?"

"Not at all." She suddenly smiled. "It was quite satisfying."

But thanks to the enclosed space, it was the perfect battlefield for "Go and Return"—a one-sided massacre.

He reached out and touched his abdominal wound—the Chunhui Pill's effect was real; the wound had stopped bleeding, but barely healed.

He suddenly set down the bowl and said something without reason:

"Alright then. What do we do now? Are we now destroying evidence, cleaning up a murder scene?"

Su Su Guoer didn't know why he did it, but still helped. At this moment, within the mask, besides Ashan and Zhang Li Qian, another figure appeared. Wei Wei Shaoxuan exhaled in relief.

Each Cauldron Sword corresponds to a method of killing, which manifests as a corresponding Sword Art—a single Supreme Cauldron Sword Art.

Tang Tang Shanqiong explained briefly, then took a deep breath, crouched down, and used his fingers to sift through Magistrate Ouyang Rong's belongings.

Look at her face.

"Sorry—I lost control just now."

"No." Wei Wei Shaoxuan shook his head. "I'm afraid he'll get in the way later."

Before she could finish speaking, Wei Wei Shaoxuan had already taken the bowl and drained it in one gulp.

Before he assimilated the Shen beast mask, he already possessed the Dao vein of the Jade Vase Male Immortal; publicly executing Magistrate Ouyang Rong while touching the mask triggered a blessing, activating a ritual to collect phantom images.

Upon hearing this, Su Su Guoer immediately spilled out everything that had happened in the Wenshu Bodhisattva Hall that day.

Su Su Guoer lifted her head, glanced at the bloodstains beneath her, and wiped the blood-mud from her cheek with the back of her pale hand.

Then Su Su Guoer suddenly rubbed her eyes, thinking it was an illusion—but the young man before her, after removing the mask, had faint purple qi surging in his eyes.

She dropped a remark, as if her mood had improved, turned, and walked heavily back into the kitchen to fetch him more water.

"So you said we coordinated well—wasn't your face just now full of clear disagreement?"

Su Su Guoer's words halted; she saw Wei Wei Shaoxuan silently pull from his robe a bronze mask—the very one he had clung to even while unconscious.

"Not mine. Saving Aqing's."

Tang Tang Shanqiong suddenly said: "Sometimes, seeing is not believing." He continued to hand the bowl to Wei Wei Shaoxuan.

Su Su Guoer suddenly asked: "When he walked out of the kitchen just now, you could tell his mood was very bad—he was... angry?"

And the Hanshi Sword Art's corresponding Supreme Cauldron Sword Art is named "Go and Return."

As for the "artisan's tool," the old swordsmith had designed this new Cauldron Sword's killing method as the Supreme Cauldron Sword Art—but Wei Wei Shaoxuan didn't yet know what it was.

But at the time, Tang Tang Shanqiong's control of the Cauldron Sword was unrefined, the brewing was poor, and the time was too short.

Wei Wei Shaoxuan listened.

Wei Wei Shaoxuan said nothing, turned his head to survey the courtyard, furrowed his brow, lost in thought.

Afterwards, during both killings, the Cauldron Sword hovered in midair—not for show, but like a cooldown phase; during this time, the Sword Bearer must frantically expend mental energy to lock onto enemies and calculate optimal attack paths.

As for Magistrate Ouyang Rong—he was a fool.

Wei Wei Shaoxuan said nothing, turned to survey the old, young, sick, and weak who had witnessed the massacre, and a look of "as expected" washed over his face.

Later, when he was secretly imprisoned by Qiu Qiu Shenji in the Jia Sword Furnace, he heard us chatting—it seemed to be called something like the Mo Family Sword Case.

"You? You took it off awfully cleanly." Wei Wei Shaoxuan's mocking voice came. "Don't joke." Su Su Guoer's face beneath her veil grew serious. "Are you going to find Sister Chenjun Xie?"

Not the legendary Qi-replenishing pill.

As long as the Sword Bearer hides well, in the same rank, his killing power is unmatched.

"No, he's not trying to protect you—he can't hide it." Su Su Guoer said bluntly: "As long as the Wei Prince's men can't find Magistrate Ouyang Rong, you—the last person seen with him—become the prime suspect. And with so many witnesses in this courtyard who saw us kill... just one question—"

Wei Wei Shaoxuan silently put it away, his gaze finally settling on a wooden box.

Su Su Guoer put her veil back on, instantly becoming more dignified and noble—but too bad she had a poisonous tongue. She asked curiously:

Wei Wei Shaoxuan lifted his head, gathered Tang Tang Shanqiong's belongings, then without pause dragged the guards' corpses into the kitchen to conceal them.

Her words abruptly stopped; she bit her lip and turned to look at the ruined, chaotic courtyard.

Unless the enemy's rank far surpasses his, making it impossible to pierce his vast protective true qi, or unless they discern the Cauldron Sword's killing method and escape immediately, denying the hidden Sword Bearer any chance.

Su Su Guoer brought another bowl of clear water, stepped forward; though she didn't care about the bloody mess, she must've washed her face with water in the kitchen earlier. Reborn from death?

"Oh, forgot."

At that moment, faint footsteps echoed in the courtyard, along with the voices of Liu Fu and others.

Wei Wei Shaoxuan lowered his gaze and changed the subject: "What's different about you?"

His face was thin and pale, his body grievously wounded, his demeanor listless—he stood before her, swaying as if a breeze might knock him over.

After the cooldown phase, within a certain range, the enemy is enveloped; once locked, the killings proceed in sequence.

Wei Wei Shaoxuan silently put away the Shen beast mask. "No."

The whole man was defeated, and melancholic.

For a long while, the bronze beast mask beneath his palm was faintly veiled in purple mist, seeping into it.

The last two bottles were effective, yet didn't trigger any physiological nausea. After a short while, the purple mist vanished.

Li Su Guoer nodded, poured out the bowl of water, and stood calmly, elegant: "To kill is to destroy the heart."

Silence followed for a moment.

"Mutual understanding means he pretends to be a big white rabbit behind others, yet secretly stabs his allies to claim victory—and then forces me to suppress my newly healed wounds just to come out and put out the fire?"

"Saving Aqing?"

"His eyes..."

Behind him, the young man's face wasn't paralyzed today; his brows slightly furrowed, yet always relaxed, as if no sorrow clung to him.

"What's there to fear?"

Li Su Guoer realized I was answering the previous question; her gaze settled on Tang Tang Shanqiong's face.

The spiritual energy consumed by the Ding Yunmeng Jian was simply enormous.

Too bad these fools didn't use the same killing method as the "Han Shi" of old—easily slain by Tang Tang Shanqiong, who mastered the Han Shi Sword Art.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong didn't answer.

Li Su Guoer noticed Wei Wei Shaoqi suddenly gripping the bronze beast mask, closing his purple eyes, standing motionless in place.

Wei Wei Shaoqi knew what she was thinking, and said: "So you think you can't anger me? Let me die without peace."

Indeed, the son of the Wei Prince was rich but crude; after hearing his senior sister say, such qi-replenishing pills were so difficult to brew that even the Grand Celestial Master of Gezao Mountain couldn't produce more than a few batches in half a year, let alone consider the success rate.

Again scanning the scattered, blurred flesh and blood in the courtyard, the tall young man suddenly turned back, smiling sweetly:

Turning around, he picked out something interesting from a pile of bloody pulp on the ground.

Wei Wei Shaoqi leaned slightly forward, frowned at Li Su Guoer. "I said: kill my entire family." I nodded.

Li Su Guoer's eyes softened; she turned to look—and realized, beside her, Tang Tang Shanqiong was gone, replaced by Wei Wei Shaoqi.

Regardless of proper dosage, he swallowed two pills in succession; the qi vortex in his dantian grew increasingly dense.

"Here."

"What's he thinking?" Li Su Guoer blinked, scoffed, turned her face away: "Washing his face with this water? How presumptuous of him..."

I followed behind him; in moments of pause, I murmured softly: "It... is it yours?"

"You want to take all the blame alone? Protect me?"

Eight large porcelain bottles, their mouths sealed with red cloth, shaken heavily—each seemed to contain several round, hard pills.

Li Su Guoer's star-like eyes stared unflinchingly at the short-haired young man's furrowed profile, her gaze brimming with curiosity and interest, eager to uncover his story.

Yet since it appeared on the Wei Prince's eighth son, it certainly wasn't an ordinary item.

Tang Tang Shanqiong turned his head, his expression fierce: "Return, O My Soul."

For some reason, he had also cut off his long hair, leaving only short, messy black strands, his bangs faintly obscuring his brows.

Wei Wei Shaoqi, having advanced through the Han Shi Sword Art to the Fourth Rank of Swordbearer, currently knew only the killing method of this single "Han Shi" Ding Yunmeng Jian from seven hundred years ago.

Only eight thousand merit points remained.

Clearly, the reversal that occurred in those mere ten breaths—from Magistrate Ouyang Rong walking out with the bowl, to Wei Wei Shaoqi being blasted into a rain of blood by the Ding Yunmeng Jian's sword qi—left Mei Zhuang, who had once embraced death, still struggling to comprehend it.

"He really means to kill my entire family? The Wei Prince's mansion is a death sentence—do you intend to stand against the entire Wei clan?"