Chapter 275: Huiwu Flees Ding'an Residence

A burst of Witchcraft explosions caused the valley to tremble incessantly, with echoes that never ceased.

Liu Xia naturally sensed such alarming commotion, and he also knew that the disturbance was coming from Lingxiang's location, but Huiwu was relentlessly blocking him, making it impossible to break away.

Moreover, Liu Xia was worried about Banxia's safety, and his heart was truly growing anxious.

Just as Liu Xia was distracted, Huiwu suddenly leaped up, his feet transforming into eagle talons, and he swooped down toward him, shrouded in demonic energy.

"Boom!"

A cloud of dust flew up, swirling with fallen leaves, like a blooming green flower.

When the dust settled, Liu Xia was nowhere to be found. However, Huiwu was not angry; on the contrary, he was quite excited, because he could smell the scent of blood.

Although Liu Xia's cultivation was not high, he had practiced a very refined Body Movement during the time of the Yuanqing; the moment he saw Huiwu move, he hurriedly channeled Qi to his feet and leaped away.

Only then did Liu Xia understand the painstaking efforts of Chengxin Zhenren—at critical moments, Body Movement could still save one's life!

However, ultimately hindered by his cultivation, although he was not hit by Huiwu, he was affected by the blast of air from his descent, tumbling into a tree and scraping himself all over.

It could not be said that these injuries were very heavy, as they did not damage any vital points, but they were extremely painful, making it truly difficult to move; Liu Xia struggled for a moment, but in the end, he could not get up.

Seeing the dust and mist about to dissipate, with Huiwu's figure appearing and disappearing, Liu Xia felt a mix of emotions, yet he was helpless.

It was at this moment that the Huasheng Sword in his hand flashed and actually transformed into vines, wandering around Liu Xia's body; after wrapping around him, green leaves and white flowers grew upon the vines, some as buds, others in bloom, no different from the demonic monsters it had pierced just moments before.

Although he smelled the scent of blood and knew that Liu Xia must be nearby, there was truly not a single figure in the surroundings, and for a time, Huiwu was indeed at his wit's end.

However, just as he walked past a cluster of flowers, he suddenly broke into a smile; while waving his hand to signal the few remaining demonic monsters to search, he stomped flat the cluster of flowers beside his feet.

That was the flower cluster that had grown after being pierced by the Huasheng Sword earlier; as Huiwu stomped down, there were no demonic monsters inside, only an ordinary cluster of flowers, though the branches and vines inside were dark red, as if they had devoured flesh and blood.

Huiwu frowned, his heart filled with a bit of hesitation.

He had seen Liu Xia's moves clearly just now; anyone wounded in the slightest by the sword in his hand would end up in such a state, and now it seemed he had to be more cautious.

Although Liu Xia was wrapped in a mass of verdant green, he could see the situation outside clearly. This situation looked very familiar, as if...

As if it were the technique used by the mountain tree spirit during the Second Martial Exercise.

Right now, Huiwu was leading the remaining demonic monsters, searching for the flower clusters, and they were not far from him.

"Crackle... crackle..."

Flower clusters were constantly being destroyed by the demonic monsters, and the harsh roars became increasingly clear, which meant that Huiwu was getting closer and closer to him.

The last time he saw Huiwu, he felt his demonic energy was fierce and looked very different from what he had seen in the past; relying on himself alone, he feared he would not be his opponent, but...

But the situation was now imminent!

"Bang!"

Just as Liu Xia was extremely anxious, another burst of Witchcraft exploded in the valley, but it instantly calmed him down; he could not help but recall the words Lingxiang had said to him while at Zhuyuan.

"In matters of cultivation, everything requires an opportunity; it is best to let things take their natural course. Do not worry about other things; it is simply that the time has not yet arrived."

"Isn't letting things take their natural course just letting things slide? Then how can one know the opportunity?"

Lingxiang smacked her lips: "How can you call it letting things slide? Not seeking improvement is what you call letting things slide. Letting things take their natural course means never being slack in daily life, being diligent and tireless, so that one can be prepared for any eventuality at a critical moment, right? As the saying goes, you reap what you sow."

"As for the opportunity, that is hard to say. It is like the essays of scholars; one person, one perspective, ten thousand people, ten thousand words. Who can say whose writing is necessarily good? Writing poetry and prose is not something that happens overnight; there are times of blockage and difficulty, and there will inevitably be times when thoughts flow like a spring."

"Jieshi Shanren hesitated and bumped into the procession of Changli Xiansheng, and only then did he gain his name for later generations, right?"

"You should think more about what you already possess, rather than what is out of reach. Once you set your mind at ease, the opportunity will naturally come."

Set your mind at ease...

Liu Xia took a deep breath, sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, delved into his sea of consciousness, and searched with a calm heart. At this moment, he suddenly felt a stream of Qi in his body rushing about wildly; this situation was exactly the same as during the Second Martial Exercise.

"Crackle... crackle..."

The sounds outside the flower cage did not affect Liu Xia in the slightest; instead, they made him focus even more on observing this mass of Qi darting everywhere within him. And this Qi also seemed to be within reach, as if he could grasp it with a single touch.

Cluster after cluster of flowers was destroyed, until only the last one remained, and still, Liu Xia's whereabouts had not been discovered. Seeing that only one cluster remained, Huiwu gave a sinister laugh and waved his hand toward the verdant mass.

The demonic monsters immediately swarmed up, rushing toward the flower cluster with roars.

Seeing those cold blades and sharp claws about to arrive, it was at this moment that a stream of Qi surged out from the flower cluster, and the green leaves, like nails, flew out in all directions.

Seeing this, Huiwu hurriedly dodged, but those demonic monsters were not so lucky and were shot into sieves.

A moment later, everything returned to calm; the demonic monsters stood still, and time seemed to freeze. Just then, those scattered leaves turned back from all directions, transformed into fragments of blades, and gathered together.

"Clatter!"

The demonic monsters fell one after another, not even able to let out a scream. As the demonic monsters fell, where the blade fragments gathered, a person sat in the center—it was Liu Xia, holding the sword hilt and sitting in meditation with his eyes closed.

He had broken through his realm!

A gust of wind blew, his hair flying wildly; Liu Xia suddenly opened his eyes, pinched his fingers to form a seal, and flew rapidly toward Huiwu.

When breaking through a realm, one's power surges; this was the perfect opportunity for victory!

Huiwu was originally hiding behind a tree and was about to turn back to check, when a cold light suddenly stabbed toward him, scaring him into hurriedly clasping his hands to block it. But just as the blade was caught, it transformed into fragments of blades again, swirling and surrounding him.

"Cling-clang... cling-clang..."

The scattered sword blades were like birds, colliding with each other and emitting a harsh sound.

Huiwu retreated in a hurry to dodge, but those blade fragments seemed to have eyes; no matter where he hid, they would pursue him relentlessly.

However, Huiwu did not seem impatient, cautiously dodging the chasing blades as if he were playing with them, until he suddenly made a sharp turn after passing through who knows how many trees, rushing toward Liu Xia, who was holding the sword hilt.

Catch the bandits by catching the leader first; Huiwu understood this principle. Now that Liu Xia only had a bladeless hilt in his hand, let's see how he would resist his sharp claws.

The forest wind whistled past his ears, as if it were already cheering for Huiwu.

Seeing that those sharp, talon-like blades were about to grab Liu Xia, it was at this moment that the blade fragments swarmed over, gathered into a mass, and actually transformed into a shield, blocking the space between the two.

"Clang!"

With a dull thud, the manic expression on Huiwu's face froze, but before he could land, the shield transformed into blade fragments again and flew toward him.

Huiwu hurriedly retreated, but his wrist was still pierced by a blade fragment; and just after Huiwu was pierced, the blade fragments finally calmed down and gathered once again into a sword.

No blood flowed from his wrist; instead, a leaf sprouted, just like the monster that had been pierced by that sword earlier. Seeing this, Huiwu did not hesitate to rip his injured arm clean off and throw it onto the ground.

Even after being severed, the green leaves on the severed arm continued to grow until they wrapped around it and bloomed into clusters of blood-red flowers before stopping.

"Argh!"

Huiwu roared, whether out of pain, unwillingness, or anger at losing his arm, it was unclear. Yet even so, Liu Xia did not intend to show mercy; he gripped his sword and walked toward Huiwu step by step.

When cutting weeds, one must remove the roots!

Watching Liu Xia approach, Huiwu's eyes widened in fury, filled with resentment and unwillingness, and then he vanished in a flash.

Seeing Huiwu disappear, Liu Xia finally let out a sigh of relief and slumped onto the ground.

Fortunately, Huiwu had fled; otherwise, Liu Xia truly could not have held on any longer. Although his power had indeed surged significantly just after breaking through his realm, the consumption of Spirit Power was also immense, and he had only been barely holding on.

Just as Liu Xia intended to rest for a moment, he was caught off guard by a flash of lightning and a roll of thunder; bolts of drought-lightning crashed down, causing the valley to echo incessantly with the explosions.