Chapter 276: Qilin Imprisoning Rain and the Fushui Sword

"Good heavens!"

Banxia was terrified, yet the monster ignored her reaction and came charging toward her with a roar.

Seeing this, Banxia was so frightened that she hurriedly took the Judge's Pen from her waist, and without a second thought, she simply channeled her Spirit Qi and began waving it about wildly.

Although the sound of the explosion from Lingxiang's direction made her incredibly worried, her own situation right now was not much better! But regardless, it was better than sitting and waiting for death, wasn't it?

Just as Banxia was gesturing in a panic, the Judge's Pen erupted with strange light. As she waved the pen through the air, bursts of spiritual light traveled from the pen's reservoir to its tip, like a long, flowing stream of water, or like scattered, wandering stars, appearing like the reflection of light in an ink pool—it was truly bizarre.

This had never happened before, but Banxia was only focused on closing her eyes and burying her head, so she did not notice. After waiting for a long time, even she felt it was strange—why was it so quiet all around?

Banxia considered herself to have self-awareness; although she had entered the Daoist Sect, she knew her own weight, and what she had learned was merely superficial Daoist methods. Even if she gave it her all, she shouldn't have much ability to deal with these monsters.

Yet, she was still safe and sound...

Banxia cautiously opened one eye, but strangely, the monsters all around were standing perfectly still, as if time had frozen.

"Crack!"

Just then, the sound of a tree branch snapping suddenly rang out, and then two figures were seen circling out from behind Banxia.

These two figures both had dragon scales and dragon horns, sheep faces and wolf hooves, bodies like musk deer, and long manes flying on their heads and spines, shaped like floating algae in water, soft without any wind; one had a tail like a dragon, and the other had a tail like a cloud.

Banxia was shocked and kicked her legs to retreat, but there was a tree behind her, so there was nowhere left to retreat.

It was precisely because of this that Banxia calmed down and finally had the chance to properly observe the two monsters before her.

The monsters before her were not as fierce and malicious as those other monsters; one could even vaguely see divine light flickering around their bodies, and their gazes were full of kindness, with no hostility.

Huh? This was strange; could it be that these two were not demonic creatures?

That was it, that was it! It must be!

Banxia scrutinized them for a long time, only feeling that the things before her were very familiar, as if she had seen them somewhere, but she couldn't recall where for the moment.

Just as Banxia was racking her brains to no avail, she suddenly discovered that the pattern Yunzhongjun had carved on the reservoir of the Judge's Pen in her hand had inexplicably disappeared.

Could it be that carving?

"Tch! I thought it was some great favor; it's just Qiyu, what's there to show off about."

At first, she thought it was a little lion, but at the time, Yaoji Xianzi seemed to say something about Qiyu—could it be that she was referring to them?

"Qi... Qiyu?"

Banxia was not very certain and just tentatively called out, and the two ink-black giant beasts seemed to understand, nodding toward Banxia. Their dragon whiskers, which were longer than their bodies, fluttered, looking extremely solemn.

"So... so it wasn't a lion..."

In fact, these two were the divine beasts Qilin; the Qi was male, and the Lin was female, making the two a pair of Ink Qilin.

The Qilin is a benevolent beast, its lineage inherited from the Ancestral God Yinglong. A poem says: "The Qilin treads on auspicious clouds, and a hundred disasters in the human world vanish." Hence, there is also the saying: "When the Qilin appears, evil spirits are dispelled."

Back then, Yunzhongjun had calculated that Lingxiang and her group would face this tribulation, but with his awkward personality, how could he have stated it clearly? It just so happened that Banxia served him with caution and care, which was why he carved the Qilin onto the Judge's Pen to resolve this danger.

Although the Qilin is a benevolent beast, it is also a descendant of the dragon; its voice is like thunder, it can breathe fire, and when it is angry, it is exceptionally fierce.

Banxia was timid by nature, and the two Ink Qilin before her had such noble postures that she could only shrink her head.

Yet the Ink Qilin nodded slightly at Banxia in a very friendly manner. At this moment, wild thunder rumbled continuously in the valley, and the lightning roared, scaring Banxia so much that she almost tucked her head into her stomach.

Perhaps it was because of this series of lightning strikes that the Ink Qilin also began to roar along with them. Although most of the roar was muffled, Banxia, being close by, heard it clearly; it was truly like thunder shaking the heavens, piercing the ears, and it scared Banxia until she trembled like a sieve.

First came a burst of witchcraft explosions, causing the earth to tremble incessantly, followed by a continuous, unending drought-thunder falling. Between the lightning and thunder, it was like the alternation of day and night, filling the entire valley with a roaring sound that resembled one mournful cry after another. Everyone in the valley was greatly shocked, not knowing what exactly had happened.

Yet even after experiencing such chaos, the wolf-headed man's posture of holding the blade remained unmoved, as if everything before this had nothing to do with him, only his brows were tightly furrowed and his head was swaying, looking extremely eerie.

First it was Lingxiang's voice, and now it was this formation; it was truly enough to make one feel at a loss.

However, although the wolf-headed man did not move, he seemed to be searching for the cause of this chaos. It was thanks to this that Xin Yi, who had been suppressed by his blade, was able to escape safely.

Seeing the blade right before his eyes, Xin Yi could not get away for a moment. As he barely parried, a series of thunderclaps roared, and the force of the blade actually lightened significantly.

Seeing this, Xin Yi exerted force from his waist and pulled himself out from the blade's edge.

"Clang!"

"Boom!"

The wolf-headed man's blade landed on the ground, but the moment it touched the ground, a blade aura shot out, splitting the earth into a large opening.

However, although he luckily avoided it, Xin Yi felt somewhat anxious in his heart. He had come to scout the path before Lingxiang and the others; the two sounds just now were definitely Lingxiang's Sound Transmission Talismans, so they must have come from two different places. Since that was the case, those two places could not be Lingxiang herself, but Liu Xia and Banxia. After all, because of an old injury on her leg, Lingxiang could not perform light-body techniques.

It was enough to see that the chaos on the mountainside now was definitely Lingxiang's doing.

But how could Lingxiang have such ability?

Admittedly, one had to acknowledge that Lingxiang was well-versed in various witchcrafts and also had a certain level of attainment in Daoist principles. Although he did not know why her cultivation had stopped progressing, it was precisely because of this limitation that even if she were proficient in Mysterious Arts, she should not have such power.

I fear she has encountered some danger!

But the trouble before him could not be resolved in a moment...

Hanyang naturally saw Xin Yi's anxiety, and he also guessed that the commotion just now was likely because something had gone wrong with Lingxiang, but Hanyang was much calmer than Xin Yi.

Lingxiang had once told Hanyang that if one encountered Zen Intent Iai, one must never have the thought of escaping, as that would only give the opponent a chance to kill oneself. The only way was to face the enemy head-on; only then would there be a path to survival.

When Xin Yi was being suppressed, Hanyang guessed that the two were not confronting the person before them, but the blade in his hand. That person's aura was strange, but the blade aura released by the sword was very fierce. Although the two should not be so coordinated, it still led Hanyang to think of a way to respond.

Since it was a fierce blade, then one should overcome hardness with softness; the sect's Fushui Sword Technique was the most appropriate.

By this time, Hanyang had also recovered some of his strength. He looked at Xin Yi, nodded at him, and then drew the long sword from his waist.

Xin Yi did not understand what Hanyang meant, but seeing that he had a way to respond, since that was the case, he only needed to assist from the side.

The Fushui Sword Technique was created by the previous Sect Leader. The sword intent was as gentle as water, yet it could unleash massive witchcraft through the movement of the blade in an unguarded moment. During the first martial demonstration earlier, Huiwu had also used this Sword Formula, but it was only the basics, so it did not unleash its actual power.

As someone with a Water-Fire Inverse Spiritual Root, Hanyang was already skilled in Water Art, so using the Fushui Sword Technique was naturally second nature to him.

Following a thunderclap, it actually began to rain in the clear sky for ten thousand miles. This scene was strange indeed, but Hanyang did not think too much about it.

Hanyang flicked his sword into a flourish, his footsteps moving first, yet his body seemed to lag half a beat behind. He looked somewhat like he was drunk, but despite the drunken appearance, his steps were extremely steady. If one really had to say what it was like, it was like a pool of autumn water, with a clear breeze blowing over it, creating infinite gentle ripples.

Just at this moment, the Wolf-Head's blade moved, and a surge of blade Qi shot out with immense ferocity, leaving Xin Yi, who was watching from the side, pale with shock.

Yet, even facing the surging momentum of the blade Qi, Hanyang remained unperturbed, continuing those steps that were like a dance and yet not. When the blade Qi was about to reach his body, he flicked his long sword, unexpectedly conjuring a water dragon that instantly coiled around the blade Qi and flew into the sky.

Just as expected!

Seeing this, Hanyang felt his heart settle and continued to shift his exaggerated steps.

The Wolf-Head seemed to have realized something was amiss; he, who had been shaking his head and swaying, instantly returned to his normal state. Just then, a water Snake flew toward his face, and he hurriedly raised his blade to hack at it. However, the water Snake was cut into two, flicking its Snake tongue as it tightly coiled around his blade.

For a moment, the Wolf-Head could not move, and at this time, Hanyang shouted, "The opportunity is here!"

Hearing this, Xin Yi leaped into the air and raised his blade to hack toward the Wolf-Head.

The Wolf-Head also sensed the danger, but being controlled by another, he was unable to free himself. Just as the cold air of the Lujiao Changren approached his face, the Wolf-Head suddenly opened his eyes, and the long blade in his hand instantly transformed back into two blades.

The Zen Intent Iai had been broken!

"Clang!"

With a dull sound, the Wolf-Head caught Xin Yi's blade, but it was already too late; the black cloth on his face had been torn open by the blade Qi of the Deer Horn Blade.

Finally seeing the Wolf-Head's true face, Xin Yi was greatly astonished.

The person before him had heroic brows and eyes and a prominent nose bridge, but that mouth was split all the way to the earlobes, as if it had been torn open by someone, not to mention the sharp fangs on his lower jaw.

Although the Wolf-Head's aura had been incredibly bizarre just moments ago, he should truly be a mortal; how could he look like this?

Seemingly because his true face was exposed, the Wolf-Head's gaze turned cold, and the killing intent on his body surged abruptly, making Xin Yi feel that something was wrong. But just then, bursts of thunder sounded, moving from far to near as if heading straight for this place, and accompanying the roaring thunder was a woman's scream.

This voice...

It is Banxia!

The earth suddenly trembled incessantly. Taking advantage of the Wolf-Head's distraction, Xin Yi exerted force with his hands and used the Wolf-Head's strength to spring away. Just then, two monsters suddenly lunged out from the forest, and Banxia was riding on the back of one of the monsters, screaming.

"Ah..."

Banxia's scream came from far to near, then from near to far, arriving with a gust of wind and departing with a gust of wind, charging straight into the pile of demons at the foot of the mountain.

Xin Yi and Hanyang were both at a loss, but by the time the two of them regained their senses, the Wolf-Head had already vanished without a trace.