Chapter 77

The street was desolate.

Only three remained, and one sword. This book is originally published on TianTian Kan XiaoShuo Library, many choices, ttks. tw, offering you error-free, non-disordered reading.

Liu Chen lightly stepped.

The long sword suddenly bent, snapped back, slicing a graceful half-circle through the air, its cold light flashing across both their faces.

Streams of sword qi followed in succession.

At just this first glance, both knew this sword was a top-grade Dharma Treasure; their expressions turned grim.

Of course.

A single Dharma Treasure was not enough to fear—they feared this strange sword qi.

"What evil technique can absorb Spirit Qi and feed it back to itself?"

Liu Yicheng gritted his teeth and retreated, daring not to meet the blade.

He had a good relationship with Liang Chenfeng and had once heard talk of the Age of Strife.

It was said that every so many years, extraordinary talents sprouted like mushrooms after rain, each bearing extraordinary fortune.

But once time passed, these people would vanish without a trace, leaving not a single mark behind.

Could this man before him be the same?

"This is a tough target—I'll take my leave first!"

Liu Yicheng acted decisively, pulling a rope from his hand and tossing it into the air.

With hands and feet working together, within three breaths, his figure vanished into the clouds.

"He flees fast."

The Supervising Officer snorted—he had no such escape technique.

He pressed two fingers against the Black Lotus Mark, murmured incantations, and instantly a small seal appeared, its pressure barely a hair's breadth below Qi Refining Tier Ten.

The Spirit Qi was utterly pure, not a trace of Evil Qi to be found.

"Come then!"

Liu Chen did not fear—he rejoiced. He flicked his wrist, and a blue Talisman appeared between his fingers.

If Chen Zhao were here, he too would be startled.

Sword Talisman!

This was used exclusively by Sword Cultivators, capable only of amplifying one's life-bound Flying Boat.

This meant Liu Chen was not like Chen Zhao, a half-baked cultivator—he was a true, legitimate heir to Sword Dao.

Fortunately, he was ambitious, in perfect harmony with the essence of Sword Dao, and as head of Juxian Pavilion, he lacked no opportunities.

So, stirred by passion, he took the most extreme path.

He abandoned his Spirit Root and devoted himself solely to Sword Dao!

He brushed his fingers across it—the Talisman turned to blue flame, boosting the sword's radiance inch by inch.

One slash released—a white rainbow piercing the sun, forcibly carving a vacuum through ten li of Spirit Qi.

The small seal, the moment it touched the sword qi, crumbled like weathered stone, reduced to ash.

"Venerable, spare the life!"

The voice came from behind—but it was too late.

That sword was so swift, even death had no time to react.

The Supervising Officer's disciple still twisted his hand seals, desperate for a final stand—but his Spirit Qi would not respond. Then he saw it: a sword cut pierced from crown to pelvis.

With his last strength, he bit down on the Poison Pill hidden at his tongue.

Hss.

His corpse instantly dissolved into rotting fluid, leaving not a single trace.

"Your sect's disciples have a heavy heart for killing!"

Xu Jing's thick eyebrows furrowed, a single point of Buddhist light already coalescing at his fingertip.

But Zhang Chunfeng slashed his palm to block it.

"Brother, that Nine-Petal Black Lotus is unmistakable—why pretend not to see it?"

"What Black Lotus?"

"Amitabha. Even if he is an evil heretic, he should be captured and guided, or at the very least brought to justice—why kill him?"

Xu Jing snapped sharply, sweeping all his disciples into his sleeves, then turned back and said:

"If your sect acts this way, what purpose does Xuanmen Chanfeng serve? We're leaving!"

No sooner had he spoken than he stepped onto radiant clouds and departed.

The two sects had long-standing grudges; even if Ban Ruo Men possessed the method of reviving through incense offerings, a single question would reveal truth or lie—he felt no impulse to act.

To him, a wounded disciple and the killing of his elder brother were merely matters of face—he was merely seizing the opportunity.

He knew. Zhang Chunfeng knew. And Chen Zhao, watching from the sidelines, knew too.

"It seems he cannot be separated from the Wusheng Sect."

Inside the Earth-Rank Cave Abode.

Chen Zhao sat cross-legged, the character "Ji" in his palm flickering and vanishing.

Letting things develop naturally is a connection; deep cooperation is also a connection—but the two are worlds apart.

If it were the latter.

"With Lin Yutang dead, the situation has turned dire—I must hurry my cultivation. I hope by then I can reach Foundation Establishment."

His Spirit Qi is still shallow—he cannot activate the Flying Boat without cost before reaching the peak of Qi Refining.

As for his resources.

Most of the headcount goes toward cultivation; what's left isn't enough to lift off.

Fortunately, with the Linglong Body's enhancement, he could cultivate while activating his incarnation, sketching himself out.

He only gathered intelligence, balancing it with external training.

The incarnation squeezed into the Training Platform to watch the final battle.

After Xu Jing left, Xuanmen Chanfeng turned inward; Liu Chen revealed his sharp edge, sweeping through opponents one after another, leaving no Outer Sect Disciple able to withstand a single sword strike.

Xin Tong also advanced with a perfect record, meeting him in the finals.

For a moment, dazzling sword lights flashed, and layers of dharma arrays hummed.

The Outer Sect Disciples dared not gather close, fearing stray waves would strike them down, sending them straight to the Nine Springs.

Alas, Xin Tong's realm was one level lower, and Liu Chen's sword heart was unshakable, unmoved by the illusion array; in the end, she fell short by a single move and lost.

She received only one Breakthrough Pill and an Inner Sect position.

Liu Chen, remembering old ties, gave Xin Tong one Foundation Establishment Pill, while he himself, leveraging his position as Pavilion Master, sought other opportunities.

Xin Tong's heart warmed.

After her body transformed, her greed for wealth remained unchanged; perhaps because Chen Zhao was beside her, she became quite fascinated with pills.

But thinking of her beloved, she secretly hid the pill, a faint smile on her lips, her mind brimming with countless calculations.

……

Three years passed like a white horse crossing a gap.

After swallowing one Heqi Pill, Chen Zhao refined it slightly, his aura surging to Qi Refining Level Ten.

According to Zhang Chunfeng's promise, he was now eligible for promotion to the Inner Sect.

Yet Tiankui faced external enemies and internal traitors lurking; due to his low strength, he had never caught the Wusheng Sect's attention.

But once he broke into the Inner Sect, everything would change drastically.

"I have the Water Ink Incarnation—I don't need to risk myself in person."

Chen Zhao sat like an ancient monk in meditation, with Xin Tong and Xiao Bai beside him, still unwilling to leave his seclusion.

Lately, the sect had been quiet; Liu Yicheng and others had vanished as if erased from the mortal world; disciples searched far and wide, finding nothing.

Yet on Han Hu, storms were rising.

Disciples of the two sects had drawn blood; Ban Ruo Men members often ambushed Tiankui disciples, and vice versa.

Strangely enough.

Water demons and lake monsters had all fled Lintai County, migrating toward Tiankui; many deep-water demonic beasts attacked shallow-water boats, and Spirit Fish frequently leapt onto the docks.

Xiao Bai had once begged to go eat fish, but lately dared not approach the water's edge.

Even when activating the Beast Control Tablet, it still resisted.

"Truly, the storm is coming, and the wind fills the tower."

Chen Zhao sketched himself, carrying Chen Qingmeng's relics, and visited the Spirit Artifact Hall.

He still owned a set of high-grade Small Shield Dharma Treasures, once collected by Enguang Ge; though now broken, it could still withstand a full-force strike from a Qi Refining Great Perfection cultivator.

His offensive power was sufficient, but he urgently needed survival tools.

If only he could repair it...

"It can't be repaired,"

Chen Qingyuan shook his head and sighed,

"I wish I could help, but this Dharma Treasure is ancient; one of its materials is Golden Galloping Beast Leather Armor,"

"That beast still existed centuries ago, within Han Hu—but the Sect Master's single sword flash..."

Chen Zhao's eyebrows lifted.

He had heard the name before.

The Golden Galloping Beast's strength neared First Grade Upper Tier; it moved like thunder, could be trained as a Spirit Steed, and its Demon Core was the most precious among First-grade Mid-tier.

It had unique effects on Thunder-style cultivation techniques and could be refined into Golden Thunder Pills, which, when consumed, enhanced evasion techniques.

Too bad.

The once-gardened land had become a vast ocean.

Yet Han Hu was stirring—and his physical body would never go there.