Chapter 191

Immortal Fire, a technique that can only be mastered after the Zhang Huan Si Lou and the fire seed complete their symbiosis, a killing move that made the Tianshan Lu Lu Yunsheng cautious at all times after suffering a loss, suddenly revealed its sharp fangs before the youth.

At that time, a single burst had scorched Lu Lu Yunsheng's shoulder and neck, and the scale of this one was dozens of times greater than that!

Seeing Pei Ye had absolutely no way of knowing about this means.

He lunged toward the old man with all his might, but there was no reliance that could make him erupt with a speed that didn't belong to him. A body equivalent to twenty meridians was simply not enough to look at right now; the old man stood behind the flames, and the curtain of fire before the youth's eyes closed first, drowning everything.

This one move consumed at least one-fifth of the old man's Qi.

Actually, two or three bursts would have been enough to injure the opponent, but since he had abandoned his long staff, naturally he wouldn't use a few bursts of flame to engage in any technical cat-and-mouse game with this youth.

Seventh-life, will not give you another chance to try.

Watching the bright fire envelop the youth, the old man lowered his hand; he didn't actually want to kill him directly, after all.

He walked forward, but just as he took a step, he suddenly stopped.

A whistling saber flew from behind.

The old man twisted his steps and turned around; the scene behind him entered his eyes; in an instant, he seemed to return to the Zhuoyue Tower of yesterday, the youth's teeth-gritting, eye-bulging expression exactly the same as it was then.

Even the saber in his hand was the same.

——

The high temperature caused Seeing Pei Ye's hair to curl in an instant; he watched the closing curtain of fire before him, and a chill gripped his heart.

This was absolutely a temperature that would cause serious injury; he gritted his teeth, and Qi surged from his dantian onto his skin, but the next moment, the high temperature was about to break through this weak barrier.

The curtain of fire wrapped around him in layers; the old man didn't intend to burn him to death directly, so he was actually locked in a cage of flames.

If he stayed in here for a single breath, he would collapse from serious injury, and if he were to pass through the curtain of fire to rush out, the result of that direct contact would be even more severe.

But of course he still had to rush; he must get out in a state where he could still act; he was only one step away from killing the old man!

After being enveloped, Seeing Pei Ye didn't slow down his speed at all; in the blink of an eye, he was near the edge; the even more unapproachable heat scorched his cheeks, simply like sticking his head into a roaring stove.

The tongues of fire had already singed his nose, and the youth was still closing in!

It was precisely at this time that the sharp pain in the tip of his nose awakened something; the concepts of "high temperature" and "flame" were transmitted to his brain through the body's perception.

Seeing Pei Ye suddenly woke up and cried out, "Little Cat!"

And at the same time he thought of this, the immortal spirit parasitic in his abdomen had already checked the situation here.

There was no answer—or perhaps it was too late to respond—in his dantian, the "nest" where the Black Chi was coiled and half-forged suddenly split off a few small buds.

The next moment, the flames outside his body broke through the youth's weak protective Qi.

The tongues of fire surged in violently, but what Seeing Pei Ye felt was not the terrifying high temperature, but the cool night breeze.

Those scorchings seemed to have never appeared.

"What's going on?" The Black Chi's voice sounded only then, just like the cool night breeze, "Why didn't you call me when you started fighting? What are you thinking?"

"..."

"Mute again?"

"... No." Seeing Pei Ye panted lightly, his whole body already flying out of the fire waves, "I was thinking, if I had really passed through this thing to rush out just now, my head would have turned into a deep-fried marinated egg."

——

On the field.

Yang Yan knew he was courting death.

Seeing Pei Ye said he could kill this seventh-life cultivator; Yang Yan was sure he was bragging at this moment, because he estimated he was roasted to a crisp by now, while this old thief looked completely unscathed.

But there was no way; they were supposed to have coordinated and planned to take the initiative, but now the old man had arrived suddenly for some reason; when he heard the commotion, he had already crawled into his quilt.

He grabbed his saber and rushed out, only to see this scene; clearly, there was no way to save the situation.

But there was no way; it was impossible for the youth to hide in the shadows and not come out.

Just like Seeing Pei Ye at Bai Zhu Village that day, as long as he left, the Qiongqi would never pay attention to him, just as it hadn't eaten all the villagers.

But Seeing Pei Ye still stayed behind to strike with his sword.

And Yang Yan had an even more extreme streak; even burdened with deep hatred, you couldn't talk to him about enduring humiliation; the moment he saw Seeing Pei Ye swallowed by the flames, his body had already spontaneously lunged forward with his saber.

The old man raised his eyelids, his figure motionless, his long staff thrusting out.

If Seeing Pei Ye was a venomous snake with dull teeth in his eyes, then the one before him now was at most a turtle that was a bit hard to handle and needed a few more slashes.

The flames just now might disturb some people who shouldn't be disturbed; the old man's thrust with this staff was merciless; he still remembered the strange way this person's saber swallowed power, so this time when one hand held the staff to stab out, the other hand was already gripping the base of the staff.

The youth's fate of dying after two moves was already determined, unless he had two sabers.

Yang Yan indeed did not have two sabers.

But there was still a sword on the martial arts arena.

The flames behind him suddenly lost all temperature; the old man turned his head in astonishment; within the fire lotus that illuminated the arena, a youth broke through.

The curtain of fire around his body was twisted into three or four streams of flame, converging into his body, and behind this figure, more flames still connected into a large curtain, tethered by the streams of flame, like a fluttering cloak.

Like a whale drinking the sea, he was devouring the Immortal Fire!

It was hard to say whether this scene had a greater impact on the old man than the sword intent just now; in any case, in such a situation of being attacked from front and back, he was still stunned for a moment.

Seeing Pei Ye lunged forward and thrust his sword; without a doubt, this was the third 【Cloud-Heaven Obscuring-Eye Feather-Loss】.

Under the illumination of the raging fire, the youth stared over.

Even a hundred times, the old man knew he couldn't break this sword. He could dodge, of course, leaving the range covered by this sword, and no one could catch him. But as long as he still wanted to kill this youth, he had to face this sword—the Immortal Fire could have avoided close combat, but it had been eaten by him.

But he should still dodge at this moment, because this time it wasn't just the youth alone; on the other side, a saber strong enough was lunging forward with all its might.

The moment he fell into darkness, one saber and one sword would combine their strength to slash at his throat; he couldn't guarantee that 【Iron Garment】 could hold. To save his life, he should avoid the sharp edge, dodge away, first use 【Immortal Fire】 to remove this turtle, and then deal with the venomous snake.

But he didn't dodge.

Because there wasn't much time to tangle with them here—he had originally intended to just walk over like that, take the fruit on the way, and then leave.

Also because he realized that all his passivity so far had come from excessive caution.

He was a seventh-life cultivator.

As long as there was one normal exchange of moves, he could take a life, but he had never dared to gamble, always prioritizing not taking any risks himself.

So he was like an immovable puzzle waiting for the opponent to constantly change methods to break it.

Now, the opponent was about to start the third method of breaking it.

That irresistible darkness pressed up again, and the old man's heart was gripped tightly once more.

In this constriction, the old man recalled a distant memory.

During those days of practicing the sword in his childhood, there was often an exercise of concentration. He would stand with his upper body bare, and his master would prick him with a needle tip; most of the time it was flesh, sometimes even his eyes; he had to be as calm as wood or stone to be considered qualified.

He could, of course, use Qi to control the closing of his eyelids and the twitching of his muscles, but that was meaningless; as long as his heart still jumped violently before the needle tip arrived, and his thoughts were still captured by it, it didn't count as passing.

Therefore, this exercise had to be performed without Qi; what it truly honed was the heart of an enemy-facing warrior when confronted with danger.

Now he could long since remain unchanged before a needle tip, but until he faced this sword of the youth, he only then discovered that the subconscious flinching and dodging of his childhood was still dominating him.

There would be no third time.

Even if this sword of yours could always be effective, I will not play the turtle for a third time before this sword intent.

I have already withstood two of your killing moves, but who among you can withstand one of mine?

At this moment, one in front and one behind, two youths flew over; there was no need to doubt that the terrifying darkness would descend the next moment.

And the old man attacked both of them at the same time.

One staff still struck toward Yang Yan, without the slightest restraint.

He already clearly knew that as long as he didn't retract his offensive, no one could launch an attack against him under the pressure of this offensive.

But the problem now was, what would he use to block Seeing Pei Ye's approach?

A palm?

One inch longer, one inch stronger; this simple truth is fair; the palm wouldn't reach the youth before the sword tip pierced his throat first.

The old man just looked calmly at the youth wielding his sword as he approached; at the moment he started his move, the hand gripping the base of the long staff suddenly pulled.

A bright, long gleam was actually pulled out by him.

An extremely long sword!

It couldn't be pulled out by arm span alone; the old man simultaneously sent the long staff forward to make it slip out of the scabbard.

This sword wasn't too frighteningly long; it only occupied two-thirds of the length of the long staff.

It was just a bit longer than Chengjiang Hong's 【Branch-Grafting Banquet】.

So that night, when this sword nailed Chengjiang Hong to the tree, the man's expression revealed a bit of self-mockery amidst his despair.

At this moment, it appeared suddenly again, and at this moment, the youth watched the long staff stab toward Yang Yan, starting with an intent-sword, flying over with all his might.

This was, of course, an excellent opportunity; the long staff and Qi were both held back by Yang Yan, so the youth would naturally strike with his sword!

To strike with the sword, he had to get close! To pierce the enemy's throat, he had to get even closer!

The old man was waiting for him to deliver himself.

In such a surprise, the old man pulled out this long sword as fast as lightning and stabbed out.

The youth's speed wasn't fast enough to dodge his attack; he knew that.

This sword of his was also long enough to annihilate a considerable distance; he knew that too.

These two unchangeable facts would create a simple result—by the time the youth reacted, this sword would have already pierced his chest.

At this moment, the old man stabbed one staff toward the rear, absolutely enough to force Yang Yan back, and stabbed one sword toward the front, absolutely capable of piercing Seeing Pei Ye's chest, while the remaining Qi was still used by him as 【Iron Garment】.

He had regained his courage, not arrogance and stupidity.

Otherwise, a single flying dart would be enough to take his life.

Darkness descended as scheduled.

The old man didn't lose his courage this time; he wouldn't passively wait for the end of the darkness; as long as he was in the abyss, he still dared to stab the sword in his hand, and the source of that darkness would shatter under the sword.

The wood-and-stone mindset when facing a needle tip was regained by him; at this moment, the youth's sword was nothing more than a needle.

You have a third method of breaking it?

But the question is, it moves.

The old man looked coldly at the youth; that was the gaze tempered in the blood and shadows of the blade.

——

Behind him, Yang Yan was unable to move an inch before this staff.

The long saber once again sketched a mysterious arc; the long whale in the void seemed to be summoned by him again; the momentum facing him was once again annihilated amidst the youth's gritted teeth; the wind stopped and the waves calmed, but Yang Yan was indeed blocked here.

He immediately sent his eyes to look; the focus of the old man's strike wasn't here. Below, the sword light the old man pulled out was chillingly sharp, and before him was the youth who thought he had grasped an excellent opportunity.

Yang Yan had already seen the blood spray of the next moment, heard the cutting sound of the blade entering flesh; the sounds of skin, meat, tendons, and bones were all different.

But this scene that made his heart tighten did not appear.

The youth seemed to have a sudden telepathy with the old man, spending no time on any reaction; the moment the old man pulled out this sword—or even a step earlier—Seeing Pei Ye had already begun to retreat.

Then this person and this sword seemed to complete a delicate coordination—the sword had to be faster, but the person moved earlier.

However, the sword's speed was still too fast; even if the youth was ahead, he always had to complete the previous sword first, so he was still caught up by this sword.

He originally absolutely had no way to take a move from a seventh-life cultivator.

But for some reason, the youth slashed his long sword downward, a sound of metal clashing, and the stabbing sword was obediently deflected, as if it didn't come from a malicious seventh-life cultivator, but from a child who had just learned the sword.

So the youth exited a sufficient distance just like that; he stood with his sword lowered, and the old man's sword stopped just before him.

Then Yang Yan moved his gaze to the old man, only to discover that the flowing light that had just swept past his field of vision... was not an illusion illuminated by the flames.

——

The old man fell into darkness; what he didn't have time to see was that, facing his cold, hard gaze, the youth before him returned a tolerant smile.

He also didn't realize that the Qi flames that had been inexplicably neutralized were actually the last chance to kill the youth.

This was the third tightrope Seeing Pei Ye walked.

When the second attempt failed, it would likewise turn into fertilizer for the third step.

"First, the enemy wants to trade moves with you."

In the first exchange, the old man realized the benefits of persisting in the attack; in the second exchange, the old man realized the danger of continuing to shrink back; so by the third time, what reason did a seventh-life cultivator with a firm mind have not to overcome his fear of darkness?

He naturally had to strike; he naturally couldn't let himself slash at his neck again.

And when he gave up shrinking in that armor formed by Qi, he became capable of being killed.

"Second, you have to deal with the killing move the enemy stabs at you."

This was precisely the reliance the old man had to strike. He determined that the youth couldn't kill him while meeting his attack, because before the youth could launch an attack against the old man, the youth would be pierced through by the long sword first.

It was indeed like that originally.

That sword was too sudden; who could have imagined that the old man, who had nothing in his hands, would suddenly pull a sword out of his long staff and stab it out, and such a long one at that?

Seeing Pei Ye could.

Unlike Wu Zai Gu, he was prepared when facing the old man. Those limited pieces of information had been pondered by him dozens of times in his heart.

This naturally included the scene where Chengjiang Hong died.

He clearly remembered that 【Branch-Grafting Banquet】 was clearly already very long, but the man was nailed to the tree, and the sword in his hand hadn't stabbed out a counterattack.

Seeing Pei Ye had never figured it out; he even veered toward "flying sword" and "strange technique absolute scripture," until he began to think about how to kill this murderer; the three words "not enough reach" appeared in his mind, and the youth remembered the long staff in the old man's hand.

Chengjiang Hong's shoulder had a sword wound, but that night the old man only had a bamboo pole in his hand. And when they met again on the Zhuoyue Tower, it was still this bamboo pole.

Why did the old man have to be inseparable from it? Unless that was the weapon he was handy with.

So when he saw the old man decide to fight both of them at the same time, Seeing Pei Ye knew he would probably have to face this sword.

So after the sword intent enveloped him, Seeing Pei Ye retreated at the first opportunity.

However, a seventh-life cultivator's sword was still a strength and speed he couldn't reach; even with preparation, he still couldn't dodge it. He still had to deal with this unavoidable sword strike from the old man head-on.

And last night, Seeing Pei Ye had already thought about how to deal with it.

He didn't only have the method of competing on speed to deal with the old man's killing move.

At the moment of the first sword, Seeing Pei Ye had already gripped the second sword intent in his hand.

【Snowy Night Soul-Startling Death-Fall】

After falling into the fear of feather-loss, the enemy couldn't feel his body, which didn't mean his mind couldn't affect his body—his perception was obscured, not his connection severed.

In the midst of darkness, a sudden, plummeting sense of fear surged into his heart; in this state of panic and confusion, the movements of his hands would no longer follow previous inertia, but would inevitably be affected.

If the old man were clear-headed, he might be able to forcibly reduce this panic and complete the attack with his hands, but he couldn't touch his own body at all right now.

So this sword became crooked and soft instantly, and the powerful force tended to lose control. The youth's control at the peak of the Clumsy Realm was revealed again; amidst his retreat, he accurately tapped on this sword, and the uncontrolled force instantly found an outlet; this sword, which had lost its master's control, almost obediently lost its threat.

The youth thus dealt with this killing move that was fast enough.

And at this moment, he was already standing a yard away from the old man.

Yes, all the efforts just now were only to win the youth a chance to survive under the old man's sword; up to this point, he was only allowed to retreat.

But to cut toward that throat, he had to meet the sword and advance.

"Third, your own sword must be able to break through the seventh-life cultivator's obstruction and pierce his throat."

Seeing Pei Ye stood outside the attack range of the long sword, and was also forced by the long sword outside the distance to attack the old man.

The darkness brought by the fear of feather-loss was only enough for one move, and at this moment, when 【Snowy Night Soul-Startling Death-Fall】 was used, the Black Abyss was already receding. The old man hadn't killed him, but he couldn't reach the old man either, because one inch longer is one inch stronger.

The helplessness Chengjiang Hong faced seemed to descend here again.

And what was different was that the youth really had a flying sword.

This instant was a narrow slit paved by the youth with two failures.

The old man had his staff in front and sword in back, and the Qi forming armor on his neck was already at a level that could be broken through; at the same time, he was blind and lost his heart, unable to dodge or block.

So a stream of transparency like flowing water swept across this squeezed-out narrow slit.

It had no color of its own; all the light came from the outside; they flowed over it without leaving a trace. The flames were illumination, the moonlight was soaking, the rain was a gauze garment; it passed through all nature, yet seemed to merge with nature.

Until it passed through everything, it was still spotless, clear, cold, and clean.

Slashing-Zhan Zhan Xin Liuli.

Seeing Pei Ye had always been curious about how it worked.

——Flying around all day, where did the power supplied to it come from?

After studying for a long time with the Black Chi, the person and the cat concluded that it was "dual cultivation of spirit and Qi." Like the Immortal Hunt, this sword also had the ability to absorb spiritual power from heaven and earth, but it didn't have the growth potential of the Immortal Hunt; it only absorbed, consumed, absorbed, consumed... it didn't have much ability to store spiritual power; only in an environment filled with spiritual energy could it maintain its operation.

Such a sword had no killing ability—it could fly very fast, but didn't have very strong power.

The true power of a famous sword comes from its sword-master. Not only were the people using the swords longing for famous swords, but since ancient times, famous swords had also been waiting for a sword-master who could hold them in their hands.

Not only could they exert their innate divine power in the hands of the sword-master, but also because between the famous sword and the sword-master, just like between the Immortal Hunt and the contract-master, there existed a mysterious connection.

That was a channel for transporting power.

The sword-master's Qi could be transported into the famous sword, supporting it to complete an attack of sufficient weight. That wasn't a transport held in the hand, nor was it an input from a distance by a seventh or eighth-life cultivator.

This kind of transport was invisible and untouchable; it was more like "sharing"; no one had found a way to cut it off; the only thing that could be determined was that this kind of transport would weaken as the distance between the two became remote.

At this moment, Slashing-Zhan Zhan Xin Liuli stretched into a sharp straight line, and a wisp of porcelain-white airflow was born from this famous sword.

You ask her for it, and she will give it to you immediately.

The power from two thousand three hundred miles away, from the dantian of Ming Ming Qitian, the cloud-white energy refined from the Yunlang-exclusive 【Gu She Heart Scripture】, flew across from the Tianshan Mountains that reached the blue sky, and fell onto the small city martial arts arena filled with drizzle and raging fire.

The distance was too far, but the woman was too strong; the power of this sword strike stood steadily at the seventh-life level.

There was only one instant of opportunity, only one sword's time; the sword tip touched the old man's neck, and the seemingly indestructible scales shattered in an instant. What scales and oxhide, what slashing and cutting; since ancient times, "stabbing" had been the only way to break through all armor!

The flowing shadow passed over.

A fountain of blood sprayed on the field, but when this sword flew out, it was still clean and without a trace; it drifted in an arc and hung in the air.

Seeing Pei Ye exhaled deeply; after a battle, his heart was thumping like a drum, but he was indeed not panicked.

Before him, the old man had just broken free from the Black Abyss, stunned, dazed, painful, astonished... he raised his hand to cover his neck, a terrifying blood hole was already there, and then he slowly fell to the ground, and a deeper, more permanent darkness enveloped him.

Heaven didn't favor anyone, just as Lu Lu Yunsheng didn't expect the fruit to ripen suddenly at this time, and the old man didn't expect that this youth was not a bright, beautiful fruit, but a dormant venomous snake.

If the outcome was decided, it was all due to human effort.

(End of chapter)