Chapter 423: Huiwu

As Liu Xia's figure turned, his robes fluttered and his sleeves danced, possessing quite the air of an immortal.

This series of Sword Techniques could be called flowing clouds and moving water; it was truly a sight to behold.

Following Liu Xia's unrestrained sword intent, the broken blades danced along, wrapped in Spirit Qi like swarms of butterflies vying for beauty—vibrant with life yet elusive and mysterious.

Yet Huiwu remained unmoved, arms crossed over his chest, standing in place with an expression of utter fearlessness.

Liu Xia did not know what Huiwu was thinking, but he dared not be careless; with a point of his sword hilt, the shards of blades shot toward Huiwu in unison.

The sword blades moved with fierce momentum, tearing through the deathly silence of the entire Netherworld.

Huiwu performed a backbend, dodging the surging shards, then rolled to steady his stance; before the shards could return, he kicked off the ground and dodged once more.

And this time, he still circled around Liu Xia to dodge, without the slightest intention of counterattacking.

Under the reinforcement of Spirit Qi, the speed of the blades was much faster than before; no matter how fast Huiwu was or how good his Body Movement, in just a moment, he was surrounded by the shards.

This time, Huiwu had nowhere to hide!

Liu Xia succeeded, but he only trapped Huiwu there, not rushing to strike.

It was not because Liu Xia had forgiven Huiwu—he could never forgive him—it was just that True Person Chengxin often told him:

"Whatever one seeks, there is a cause; cause and effect are cyclical, and all things follow their nature. If one can resolve it, it counts as a karmic bond of kindness."

Supposedly, those who cultivate should not involve themselves in the karma of others.

But thinking of their time as fellow disciples, Liu Xia had the heart to redeem Huiwu; yet, seeing that face covered in scales and those sinister eyes, he could not find peace of mind no matter what.

Just looking at Huiwu reminded him of the scene three years ago when sharp claws pierced Banxia, and for three years, this scene had tormented Liu Xia, never ceasing.

This matter had become his inner demon; every midnight, he would wake up in a start because of it.

Liu Xia's brows knitted together; he closed his eyes in pain and turned his face away.

He...

He was ultimately unable to forgive...

If he were to forgive, his Dao heart would surely be destroyed!

Liu Xia's fingers, which were pinching the spell, clenched into a fist with force, and a trace of bright red seeped from between his fingers, dripping onto the ground.

At the same time, the blades trapping Huiwu pierced down in unison.

However, this time, even with the Spirit Qi enhancement, those shards merely touched Huiwu and could not pierce in by even half a fraction.

The Huasheng Sword could not penetrate the Dragon Armor!

Huiwu, who had not spoken until now, laughed; the laughter was harsh and grating, and his craggy face appeared even more ferocious.

"Is this all you've got?"

It sounded like a provocation, yet also like an interrogation.

Without waiting for Liu Xia to respond, Huiwu raised his claws and charged at him, his speed so fast that even the dust on the ground could not react.

Huiwu was right before him, and this time, his killing intent was fully exposed!

Liu Xia could feel that sharp killing intent, which made his whole body turn cold. He had thought Huiwu must have improved, but he never expected it to be this fast; he didn't even have room to react.

Just as Huiwu made his move, dust flew up, and Liu Xia finally came to his senses; he hurriedly retreated to create distance.

If it continued at this speed, no matter how good Liu Xia's Body Movement was, he would absolutely not be a match for Huiwu.

Should he use that technique...

But that technique consumed immense Spirit Power; although it might succeed, he would certainly be unable to move afterward.

If it failed...

But at the moment, there seemed to be no better way...

Huiwu did not seem to be in a hurry to hunt him down, but instead watched Liu Xia with great interest, just like a wildcat playing with its prey.

Liu Xia was not annoyed, silently pinching his finger seals.

Following the changes in the finger seals, those scattered shards all turned into powder, hiding within the flying dust.

At this moment, Liu Xia's robes fluttered and his hair ribbons flew, moving without wind, as Spirit Qi continuously surged from his body, wrapping around him like armor.

This was a technique he had realized a year ago while searching for Banxia's soul.

At that time, they encountered a great demon, and Liu Xia and Lianqiao were in a desperate situation; unexpectedly, at the brink of death, he had stumbled into a Qi Pool, and only then did he realize this technique and subdue the great demon.

But the price was also painful; after that, Liu Xia could not move for half a month, nor could he circulate his internal power, and even drinking water had to be fed to him by Lianqiao.

According to True Person Fuyin, this was Spirit Scattering Syndrome, an extremely dangerous condition.

During the Yuanqing disaster three years ago, Miss Lingxiang had once suffered from Spirit Scattering; had she not been treated in time, it would have consumed her lifespan until she perished.

Fortunately, unlike Lingxiang, Liu Xia had a complete Spirit Root and could control the advance and retreat himself, which could be considered a stroke of luck.

It was just that this kind of technique, unless absolutely necessary, must never be tried lightly; otherwise, if one fell into the hands of an enemy, one would only be left to be slaughtered.

Seeing that Liu Xia was no longer holding back, Huiwu's face showed excitement; he also erupted with all his power, charging at Liu Xia without any reservations.

The two collided, sparks flying, yet neither broke through the other's Qi.

The two of them exchanged blows from a distance, yet it was as if they were in close-quarters combat; their Body Movements countered each other, meeting move with move.

Liu Xia continued to wield his Sword Formula, and on his sword hilt, the blade was vaguely visible—upright and sharp, yet like a vine whip, swift as a swimming dragon, appearing and disappearing, looking quite magnificent.

Huiwu's mouth curled into an evil smile, his expression manic, the bloodshot veins in his eyes clearly visible. He swung his dragon claws rapidly, his oily nails gleaming with cold light, killing intent fully displayed, wantonly tearing through Liu Xia's Spirit Qi.

In this duel, neither held the upper hand, and neither fell to a disadvantage.

The struggle churned the ground, kicking up waves of dust that rolled endlessly between the two, with streaks of lightning spreading within, like a soaring snake flying to the heavens. Even Xin Yi and the others in the distance were attracted by the strange phenomenon here.

They had the heart to help, but they were unable to spare the effort, and could only watch helplessly, bracing themselves to deal with the powerful enemies before them.

This back-and-forth battle, not knowing how long it had lasted, came to an abrupt end in an instant.

The dust had not yet dispersed, and two figures could be vaguely seen, standing back-to-back within it.

One person held a long sword, the other gripped claws at their side.

A moment later, the one holding the sword slumped to their knees, clutching their chest, and spat out a mouthful of blood.

Liu Xia had finally exhausted his Spirit Power, and now he did not even have the strength to stand.

Huiwu turned and walked toward Liu Xia, his thin frame appearing even more gaunt. He had not gained any advantage either; his Dragon Armor was completely destroyed, with only a few tatters stubbornly clinging to his body.

Upon drawing near to Liu Xia, Huiwu did not make a move, but simply lowered his head to look at him, wondering what he was thinking.

Amidst the dust and mist, the two remained motionless, like old friends in a landscape painting.

Yet, this battle was not one that Liu Xia had lost.

Please... you.... collect 6... 9... the book....!

Although Liu Xia had exhausted his strength, there was not a single wound on his body, and even his robe hem was as neat as before.

Looking at Huiwu, however, he was in rags, his scales were damaged, and even his dragon claws were covered in wounds.

Finally, Huiwu collapsed, falling to Liu Xia's side.

As Huiwu fell, green sprouts stretched out from his scales, continuously spreading over his entire body.

While it was called a new technique, in essence, it was no different from before; it was merely a change in the form of the Huasheng Sword.

The previous technique involved transforming the Huasheng Sword into shards connected by Spirit Silk, which, when wielded, resembled a long whip.

This time it was the same, but the difference was that the sword blades created were much finer—so fine they were like specks of dust, invisible and extremely easy to overlook.

What had been wrapped around Liu Xia's body just moments ago were these very fine sword blades.

When the two were trading blows, Liu Xia had commanded these blades to slowly drill into Huiwu's Dragon Armor and pierce his flesh.

Once wounded by the Huasheng Sword, one would inevitably be struck by its art, and at the will of its master, vines would grow from within.

After all, connecting so many fragmented blades required a great deal of Spirit Power, which was why he had become exhausted.

This had required the use of all the Spirit Power in his entire body!

Liu Xia merely glanced at the fallen Huiwu, then knelt there, motionless.

He did not even have the strength to lie down now; even breathing required a great deal of effort.

Just as Liu Xia was wondering how long it would take to recover his strength this time, Huiwu tugged at his sleeve.

Liu Xia truly had no strength left to move, but Huiwu pulled at him tightly until Liu Xia laboriously turned his head to look, at which point he loosened his grip.

Sprouts were already beginning to emerge from Huiwu's face, but seeing Liu Xia look over, a light appeared in Huiwu's eyes that even the spreading vines could not obscure.

Huiwu arduously took an object from his bosom and handed it to Liu Xia.

Liu Xia was stunned for a moment, then his eyes widened, his expression one of utter astonishment.

What Huiwu handed over was a glazed lamp, inside which a mass of mist flickered with a faint, ghostly blue light.

It was the Soul-Locking Lamp!

A thin thread extended from this Soul-Locking Lamp, connecting directly to Liu Xia's waist, and what hung at his waist was none other than Banxia's Eight Trigrams Plate!

It was the last wisp of Banxia's soul!

Liu Xia suddenly found the strength, trembling as he took the lamp from Huiwu's hand, his handsome face covered in what might have been sweat or tears.

Huiwu also revealed a smile, closing his eyes in contentment; his raised arm fell limply, having set down the heavy burden in his heart, waiting calmly for the end to arrive.

Yet his hand did not land on the ground; instead, it was caught firmly by Liu Xia.

The green leaves that had been slowly sprouting now grew wildly; in just a moment, vines covered Huiwu's entire body, including the hand held by Liu Xia.

The vines and leaves grew alternately, and yellow flowers bloomed one after another, as if there had never been a person here, but only a cluster of flowers all along.

And these flowers were...

"Cimi..."

Liu Xia murmured, letting go of the vines in his hand; on the vine was a flower bud, quietly blooming.

The Cimi is the rose. Its flowers are yellow as gold, petals like eggs, and stamens like needles. They bloom alternately, which is called repentance.

Only then did Liu Xia understand why he had felt something was different about Huiwu from the start; it was that the usual murderous aura was gone, and the later killing intent was merely to provoke him into attacking.

He remembered Lingxiang once saying that Huiwu's nature might not be bad, and what he sought was merely fairness.

Just fairness, nothing more.

Liu Xia's expression was despondent, and he gave a self-deprecating smile—in the end, he had been the narrow-minded one...

All the flowers began to dissipate, turning into specks of golden light that clustered together and drifted off toward an unknown destination, appearing particularly striking in the Netherworld.

Perhaps it was Lingxiang's persuasion, or perhaps it was his own realization.

Huiwu...

Had attained Dao...

(End of chapter)