Chapter 317: Blade Bright

If he had known he was facing Xiang Minggao, An Cang would never have used such an intent sword.

Desolate and bitter mourning, this kind of artistic conception was precisely the emotion that this 【Cold Scholar】 had been immersed in for years! Cold winter and severe snow, ten thousand people mourning and crying, was precisely the source of their ambition!

He had almost built a bridge connecting to the autumn Qi for him with his own hands.

But the more thorough "wrong" was that they shouldn't have faced this person at all!

This kind of almost ridiculous scene should only appear in third-rate storybooks—bandits and assassins ambush a scholar at the same time, and then the scholar turns around abruptly, and two knives slash at the opponent.

This scene could definitely make the audience in the audience laugh, but when it happened to three such Masters, it only showed some treacherous coldness.

Prefecture Platform Crane Inspector, Tianshan Wind Inspector, Swallow Sun Society Head.

Each identity was enough to make a person's heart tremble. Now they were like puppets being watched from the sky, moved by invisible puppet strings.

There were many conditions required to complete such a scene, but undoubtedly, in the days they saw or didn't see, this play-master had collected them one by one.

And Wudong had no time to sort out these conditions carefully now. In the "how is this possible," there was actually another layer of emotion—even if they bumped into the Swallow Sun Society, how could it be Xiang Minggao?!

The Immortal Platform and Tianshan did have the least information from the beginning, but it didn't mean they had no assessment of this incident.

—Tianshan started from the Hushan Jianmen incident, and the Immortal Platform started from the Bowang Soul-Taking Bead incident.

The sect leader of the Hushan Jianmen was just an old Eight Lives, who had wasted more than twenty years, and his aptitude was ultimately insufficient to step into the Mystic Gate. For such a change in an old and remote sect, even if it was targeted by Huan Si Lou, the upper limit Tianshan set for it was only at the "Black Clothes" realm.

Later, the Soul-Taking Bead matter was investigated. The play-ghosts of Huan Si Lou who did this were all in the Pulse Tree realm. It wasn't until they encountered the Swallow Sun Society and both sides died that Tianshan thought they had encountered an Eight Lives or Mystic Gate Master on the top five hundred of the Fu List, and raised this matter above the Master level.

The Shaolong Immortal Platform side was even simpler. The Soul-Taking Old Man was a real Seven Lives. Although it involved high-rare items like Heart-Amber, it was just a few catties, a secret and dangerous matter, but not a high-macro one.

So both sides coincidentally drew a safe enough line for this matter—Wind Inspector An Cang, Crane Inspector Wudong, both were outstanding figures in the Tuan Body realm.

In other words, Wudong had already thought that Huan Si Lou might have a Third Rank Mystic Gate, because "safe enough" could appear on any side. Maybe this matter couldn't reach a sufficient level, but since Huan Si Lou had suffered setbacks, they had no way to guarantee that the play-master would definitely not take action.

Not to mention that such a formation spanning Shaolong and Xilong was indeed strangely large.

But they never thought that the Swallow Sun Society, which had also suddenly encountered this matter, would send the current 【Cold Scholar】 to this matter!

This meant they had made an absolute misjudgment—in the eyes of the Swallow Sun Society and Huan Si Lou, this was not a small fight in the Pulse Tree realm, nor was it a place for Black Clothes Masters to stretch their hands and feet. This was a time when they truly exhausted all their strength!

Xiang Minggao broke through the mist with his sword, his long clothes already dyed red with blood.

Low laughs spread slowly in the night sky.

It was also at this moment that Wudong, whose surprise and anger had not yet dissipated, suddenly realized that the play-master who had already succeeded would never leave. With constricted pupils, he didn't have time to pay attention to the faint fluorescent light outlined under the mist, and his angry shout had already come out: "Help him!!"

An Cang's heart and lungs shrank instantly, and he only had time to press his sword and look back.

Above the night sky, a cold trace had already lit up.

Knife trace.

Night rain, no stars, no moon, the whole world seemed to have been cut open. Xiang Minggao was just wielding his sword out of the formation, with autumn Qi surging behind him.

The cold knife trace cut off all this.

Blood pulled out a similarly desolate line in the air in an instant. This knife didn't know how long it had been accumulating in the darkness and silence, but when it hit the target, the waves spread out for more than ten zhang in an instant.

The mist dispersed and the rain cleared, and the night sky became clear.

After the knife waves and blood traces, Xiang Minggao fell into the wet street, blood spreading into a small pool on the ground in an instant. He supported himself with his sword and slowly raised his body. His face was still cold, but the paleness could no longer be hidden.

Above the night sky, the black-robed figure held his left hand in a hollow grip, while his right hand gave his wrist a light twist, crossing the long blade with the ink-colored hilt and snow-white edge. Beneath the hood, the theatrical mask was moist with rain, and complex, colorful patterns flashed with flowing light as they swept past.

This disguise was called 【Sima】.

He leaned down and stared at the person on the street. The coldness on the knife became thick again. Raindrops fell on it, and thin frost actually formed in an instant.

Just a moment of pause, the knife light and robe shadow swept down again, and the decisive killing intent forced the heart and lungs.

Xiang Minggao had just barely straightened his body, his sword horizontal in front of his body, rain and leaves rising, condensing into a gas wall.

But before the two sides collided, a dazzling sword light suddenly spanned the sky, and An Cang had instantly exited the formation, the magnificent sword intent forcing the black robe.

The black robe tilted his mask. The painting without any expression looked more like an owl face. He did not dodge or evade. When the sword light was near, his wrist suddenly turned, and the cold knife blade slid on the sword surface like a fish in water. An Cang didn't react at all to what had happened, and the black robe had already flashed past his eyes lightly.

The magnificent sword light all fell into the empty space.

God-like knife skill attainment!

But almost at the same time, Wudong's cold and angry face had forced up. Even outside the Cloud Locks Vermilion Building, even facing a Third Rank Master, he still chose to fight without hesitation.

Wudong swept to the front first, and the sword light appeared from under the fluttering clothes. The Crane Inspector's style was once again completely different from the Wind Inspector's—not the wonderful and amazing sword technique of a large sect, but breaking and dodging. This sword light was a maggot on the tarsal bone, a poisonous snake wrapping around the neck. Once one move was connected, the following was a continuous blade shadow of blood.

The black robe leaned to one side, and the knife in his hand delivered the obstruction first, and a splash of blood was brought up under his waist.

The black-robed figure tilted his body to one side, his blade thrusting out first to intercept, while a splash of blood was drawn from beneath his waist.

Wudong had actually noticed that there seemed to be something hidden in that hand, but when he was ready to face some magic weapon, the person actually faced the blade with bare hands.

Just extending an index finger, in the night sky, in front of the sword light and gas blade, he calmly and quickly completed several outlines.

The black robe pressed toward the sword tip, and Wudong's long sword suddenly emptied.

As if a period of time had been cut off out of thin air, the violent sword light and true Qi had already been behind the black robe.

Within the square inch, the cold face and the mask were forced together. Wudong's pupils constricted... Formation!

And it was a Master of Array Dao who could draw the void into a formation by waving his hands!

And he was waving his hand to hook the mystic Qi, painting the void into an array!

Five fingers clenched, forming a fist, mysterious Qi surging, and with one punch, Wudong was smashed down.

And then there was no obstruction. The black robe broke through the rain curtain and was already in front of the Cold Scholar.

At this time, it was the second knife.

One knife stirred up stormy waves.

After passing two outstanding Masters, the momentum on the knife did not leak in the slightest. In front of Xiang Minggao, the rain mirror and leaf screen shattered in an instant, and in the shattering, a desolate sword light broke out first.

The man was pale, his clothes red, and his sword bright. Surrounding this sword, the rain and leaves broken by a knife were pulled by invisible forces, blooming into a lotus flower with a diameter of more than a zhang around the sword.

A sword opened in the lotus heart.

The sword pulled the rain and leaves, and the lotus-spinning force was given back to the sword body. The man, in a state of serious injury, forcibly borrowed the opponent's magnificent knife momentum to breathe a sigh of relief for himself.

But the next moment it shattered abruptly.

The mask had no expression, and the body under the robe seemed to be a puppet. The black robe could absolutely crack this sword, but he let it pierce his body abruptly.

This breath, no one could breathe.

With the knife changing the sword, this sword was definitely not an injury that could be ignored, but the knife light was even fiercer. The foundation of the Qi that Xiang Minggao had just organized shattered in an instant. The street was thirty zhang long, and this knife cut him directly to the end.

Blood and bones scattered in the air.

The black robe stepped on the ground and went up again, but at this moment, a sword light broke through the rain curtain.

It was of course very fast, but placed in the previous moves, it became the slowest one. But its timing was as good as it could be, like an experienced and patient assassin, finally waiting for a gap that could be struck.

A sword light that was incomparably straight, bright, and violent!

From the hands of an old man whose life was about to wither.

*Yellow Jade Jade* · 【Pulling Sun Shining Feather】

An Cang, who was flying over, couldn't help but be surprised—they had never prepared for this old man to take action, especially now that they were facing not a Second Rank Mystic Gate, but a truly "Visiting the Que" Master. In such a fight, the lives of him and Wudong were only in an instant.

People all regard the Mystic Gate as the top of martial arts, a Master of one side, but only those who have truly walked a section of the road in this realm know the vastness of the distance—the gap between "Black Clothes" and "Visiting the Que" is sometimes even greater than the gap between the First and Seventh Lives.

The killing of the latter by the former only exists in theory.

But no one could deny that this sword of his had truly had an effect.

Killing from the side, the black robe's long knife was full of killing intent, and this sword forced it back with the same violence. Anyone could see that the black robe could very easily crack this sword, but he had to stop the thunderous knife momentum for a moment.

The cold mask turned toward the old man, but the look returned to him was equally cold. At this moment, the person's will and sword intent were almost combined—they must have been carried through to the end.

An Cang fell from the high sky with his sword. After one clash of knife and sword, he temporarily gave up the means of sword fighting, pinched a formula with one hand in front of his chest, and stared coldly at the black robe below.

The moment he turned to pick up Li Weiru's sword, the mysterious art of the *West Sea Xihai Xihai Qun Yu Lu* would arrive immediately.

On the other side, Wudong, who had suffered the most serious injury, had just stood up, stared, but coughed up a mouthful of fresh blood first.

But there was no pause.

On the long street, the black robe still swept like a black dragon. The mask returned to normal. Just before he was about to hit Li Weiru, he pushed his palm toward the old man without expression.

The rain curtain went empty abruptly.

In the fierce expansion, bright flame currents were born from the void, and a huge fire lotus bloomed on the long street.

Not a spell, not a mysterious classic, this was the art of true Qi!

【Immortal Fire】

The true Qi of two hundred and fifty-six meridians poured out, and the exploding heat wave was like hell, instantly drowning the old man's figure.

But in such an obstruction, Li Weiru still did not retreat. He crashed out of the fire curtain with his hair and beard burning, but the sword was only a moment slower, and the black robe's knife light had already passed.

He broke the rain with one punch, hit the sword tip silently, and the mysterious Qi of the disparity suddenly stood out, like a river hitting a stream. Blood exploded from the old man's body in an instant, and Li Weiru crashed into the manor like a withered leaf in the wind, supporting his figure with his sword trembling.

And in the field, An Cang's low shout resounded through the entire night sky. Mysterious Qi suddenly became violent, as if tearing, and the black robe was the center of all this.

*West Sea Xihai Xihai Qun Yu Lu* · 【Unraveling Feathers】

Wind sword and frost knife, Peng and Luan unraveling feathers.

This was definitely the heaviest injury. Blood marks exploded on the play-master's body, instantly soaking the black robe. The mysterious classic mastered by the Tianshan Wind Inspector was the most powerful means in this battle.

Wudong still did not use mysterious classics. Even though he was seriously injured, he did not stop for a moment and went up with his sword again.

No other reason, mysterious arts were simply not enough to stop his steps.

The mysterious Qi in his body exploded like a knife, but in the midst of the blood marks all over his body, the black robe still held his knife and pierced straight through. The black clothes crashed open the rain curtain without a tilt.

Wudong held his sword and went up. This sword actually washed away the viciousness and seemed as magnificent and straight as An Cang's.

So the same scene as when he first faced An Cang's sword light appeared here again. Even though the knife was restrained with such magnificent power, the black robe still slid past it with a very light touch. He was familiar with this kind of collision. Between the two forces, the two had already passed each other one after another.

But for Wudong, the collision itself was the goal.

Weapons collided, killing intent pulled back.

【Jade Tiger】 twisted his wrist, and Wudong gritted his teeth, preparing to twist the magnificent repulsive force, but the sword in his hand went soft again, falling into the empty space without force.

Behind him, the black robe lightly wiped the long knife with his fingers, and the mysterious Qi lock left by 【Jade Tiger】 disappeared silently.

Like untying a child's toy.

Master of Weapon Dao.

The painting on his face seemed even more eerie and unpredictable. The black robe looked at the remaining three people in the field without expression.

Just now, under the exhaustive attack of the three Masters, he killed the Swallow Sun Society 【Cold Scholar】 Xiang Minggao hard without losing a knife or retreating a step. If the three caused him any harm in this process, it was only because his gaze had never left this dangerous enemy.

He was indeed not lightly injured, but now here, there was only one "Visiting the Que" left.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 318 =====

This cold scholar was now completely a bloody man, with only his skin revealing a miserable white.

Caught off guard, he had suffered the most violent ambush from the Tianshan and Xianrentai, and subsequently endured the most sincere targeting from such a master. From beginning to end, he had been unable to stretch himself even once, simply because no one dared to doubt the consequences of him truly striking back.

But now, there was truly nowhere left to retreat.

Xiang Minggao pressed his bleeding fingers into the ground, his cold, icy eyes looking back at the person in the air.

Having sought everywhere above and below to no avail, he could only seek within his own body.

The spiritual body, tendons, and bones, fused with mystic Qi, slowly melted and dismantled, and a true, full, and no longer half-dead breath was finally raised.

He took a deep breath and coughed a mouthful of blood onto the ground; within a hundred paces, the thousands of night rains suddenly stopped.

They suddenly rolled back upward.

After breaking free from the Cloud-Locked Zhu Lou and regaining control of the majestic mystic Qi that belonged to him, the name of the 【Cold Scholar】 Xiang Minggao finally revealed the majesty it deserved. Situated within such vastness, the world seemed to turn upside down.

The majestic heavenly might struck the black-robed figure in an instant, his robes billowing like the wind, and a mist of blood exploded outward.

This was the first true, direct confrontation between two peaks of the Mystic Gate; the long blade in the black-robed figure's hand changed its stance for the first time.

Amidst the colliding heavenly might, this long blade, which was almost under unbearable pressure, traced a profound arc.

No one could understand this scene; the hundred paces of night rain and the vast autumn Qi almost represented the entire world. The reason Xiang Minggao's reputation spread through the Mystic Gate was precisely because he mastered such vast natural might.

But a single blade stroke gathered it all into the arc.

It seemed like the giant maw of some creature, and the entire hundred-pace world was nothing more than a single gulp before this thing.

The black-robed figure seemed to reveal his emotions for the first time; under the heavy pressure that made his blood flow and bones tremble, the lower edge of the theatrical mask also cracked with a "click," forming an arc like a ghostly, eerie smile.

As the arc concluded, the world suddenly cleared.

A desolate, cold blade mark flashed past; Xiang Minggao's already shattered body suddenly broke apart. His left shoulder and arm remained on the street, while his broken torso crashed into the manor, dead or alive, with not a single movement left.

The third blade stroke.

The black-robed figure slowly sheathed his blade and turned around, the bloody wounds on his body closing inch by inch at this moment.

That theatrical mask, which made one's heart tremble, looked lightly at the three remaining people in the field.

Just moments ago, under the desperate attacks of three masters, he had killed the Tunri Society's 【Cold Scholar】 Xiang Minggao without missing a single blade stroke or retreating a single step. If the three had caused him any harm in the process, it was only because his gaze had never left this dangerous enemy.

He was indeed heavily wounded, but now, there was only one "Yueque" left here.

(End of chapter)