Chapter 501: Bare Heart

This scene inevitably gave Pei Ye a feeling of being in another lifetime, as if he hadn't leaped onto a cargo ship at a ferry near Changan City, but had entered some mythical water realm at an unknown time.

But the face before him was so clear; it was Chen Renzhong himself, who had stood with his saber on the bow.

Pei Ye actually didn't fear water. Even though he had no experience living on a ship, he had grown up among mountain streams, and swimming was not a strange thing to him.

He had also never thought about the murderous intent within it.

Moreover, the black cat had always been on his shoulder, and the Chi Dragon, which had become increasingly powerful after eating the pill, was his confidence in stepping into perilous realms. Before leaping down into the secret cabin this time, he had communicated with the cat.

However, the enemy had deprived him of his only assistance in the first step. Pei Ye hadn't experienced this feeling of being completely alone for a long time. Especially since this method inevitably reminded him of the Xianjun.

All sorts of thoughts flashed through his mind in a single thought. Ahead, Chen Renzhong bowed his waist slightly, and the next moment he shot out like a cannonball, pulling a churning white line in the water.

Pei Ye twisted his sword backhand. At this moment, he confirmed his feeling just now: while his old friend in his hand hadn't become completely strange, it must have started speaking another language.

【Flute Cold】 wanted to flow out from the sword, but it was first disturbed and skewed for an instant, and then it was a moment faster. When it met the heavy saber in front of him, it was already clumsy to a degree that Pei Ye himself found hard to believe.

The heavy saber came crashing over with the momentum of the water. The long sword barely dissipated the force. Eighth Life's Qi was not held back at all at this moment. Pei Ye gritted his teeth and twisted his body. The massive force grazed half his body, and this heavy blow transmitted by the water made Pei Ye's five viscera shake.

In all fairness, Pei Ye was definitely not a landlubber in the water. Seventh Life's Qi and his keen body were enough to allow him to catch the swiftest fish in the water.

But when the test came to the fighting between martial artists of the upper two realms, and to a field as precise as the sword, everything seemed too rough and clumsy.

Pei Ye hadn't lost his perception of the sword; he was interfered with to the greatest extent in his control of the sword. Compared to this, the swaying secret cabin just now was simply like a paradise.

Pei Ye's 【Drifting Return Wind】 attainments were profound, but even a gale had a direction in which it flowed, and dealing with it was nothing more than a more specific sword sense and more detailed and complex control. However, it wasn't like that in the water. Every "force" surrounding him had changed.

Every time he wielded the sword, he suffered countless irregular disturbances. They stuck to the sword, stuck to every muscle bundle of the swordsman, and more importantly, they were not isolated from each other; they pulled and pushed each other. Even Pei Ye's every sword movement would reshuffle the entire set of fluctuations. Even if he used Qi to push everything away and regarded them as a kind of heavy air, his body still had no place to stand.

Pei Ye couldn't handle his sword in such an environment. The youth, who was regarded as having the utmost spiritual clarity and was always calculating and superior in battle, was truly a bit at a loss now. One correction spread into more shaking. A person's brain always had a limit. For the first time, he couldn't find a clue to the sword.

However, the killer wouldn't wait for him. The pale scales generated on Chen Renzhong's skin didn't know if they were some kind of profound scripture or secret method. In short, underwater was indeed his world. The Fengshui Dock had firmly occupied the Fengshui for more than a dozen years. These people who grew up between ships and water were definitely not to be bullied by brute force alone.

The second heavy saber light slashed down. At this moment, Pei Ye brewed a style of snow sword, but the moment he thrust it out, he immediately regretted it—it was still too early.

The heavy saber crashed down after a delay. Pei Ye gritted his teeth and leaned over again. The heavy saber momentum still made blood seep from between his teeth.

The surroundings suddenly became quiet.

The black cat finished answering the youth's inquiry and slowly looked at what was in front of it.

This strange traversal almost cut off their connection. Since the contract was formed, this kind of obstruction had only appeared once, which was in that purple bamboo forest under the Yi family's underground.

However, unlike the youth who immediately thought of their enemy in the sky, the black cat knew very well that the current encounter had nothing to do with it. It didn't smell that familiar aura, and this obstruction didn't come from the blinding of the mind either.

If it had to be said, it was more like being in different worlds?

The black cat was equally strange to this, or at least it had forgotten.

It raised its eyes. A massive snake body was slowly swimming in front of it. Those yellow vertical pupils were larger than the entire cat body, staring at it with extreme vigilance, and a threatening hiss came from its mouth.

Nearly ten zhang long from head to tail, a body as thick as a giant tree, and sharp fangs like daggers—that was not just what a water snake looked like after growing up. There were thin and beautiful soft manes floating on its neck, two bumps on its forehead, and fine green scales on its body.

"Records of Strange Tales" had recorded this kind of water spirit monster, naming it "Hui".

And this was not the only one. The water ripples behind it were disturbed; that was another long body of the same species, but thinner, completing the other half of the encirclement around it.

The opponent had exposed the secret matter to a certain extent, but that was not the key to the problem now. The black cat knew very well at this moment that it had been separated, and the youth was suffering from unknown perils outside.

The black cat looked at them with cold emerald eyes. Its pupils began to stretch up and down. In an instant, the two water Huis let out terrifying roars like a stress response.

With handsome heads and long beards, jade scales and sharp claws, when the true divine object appeared here, the massive dark bodies of the two water Huis immediately turned into commoners before the throne.

Brilliant blue flames were generated bit by bit, blooming like lacquer flowers in this dark water realm. The Black Chi explored the boundaries of this space at the first opportunity.

And the next moment, the angry waves roared, and the giant bodies of the water Huis sprang up, pouncing ferociously with sharp teeth, and the water momentum surrounded their bodies.

The Black Chi let out a cold whistle, meeting them head-on without dodging or avoiding. Vermilion flames were born with its body, steaming the water realm abruptly. Crossing heads and necks with the water Hui, before the opponent's sharp teeth could close, the Black Chi had already turned its head and bitten the thick neck. The flames climbed onto the body covered in green scales, and the water vapor surrounding its body was violently torn apart by the flames.

The other water Hui slammed into the Chi body from behind at the same time, its sharp teeth biting the scales tightly, and blood flowed and drifted in the water realm. But the next moment, all this Chi blood turned into temperatureless and soundless dark blue flame flowers and flowed into its mouth. The water Hui roared and let go to dodge, but the roaring fire still erupted in its throat.

The Black Chi body wound and broke away from the encirclement, looking at the two injured and roaring giant pythons with cold eyes—just as they were injured, it clearly felt the vibration and instability of this independent water realm.

The drifting manes were slowly dyed brilliant blue by the fire color, and the most intense murderous intent was radiated from the emerald eyes.

Chen Renzhong's suffocating offensive continued.

Pei Ye grabbed a fragment of the sinking ship backhand and leaned on it, allowing his body to find a fulcrum for the first time in a long while. Blood flowed down along his sleeve, drifting in the water before he even appeared. The roaring water waves rushed toward his face again.

Pei Ye set up his sword to receive it. A style of 【Flute Cold】 laboriously delayed the force. As his body twisted, 【Water Ripples】 had already stirred open the heavy saber, dismantling this saber momentum. But now the roles were reversed. Chen Renzhong readjusted without any effort, and the horizontal saber slashed again. Pei Ye had to leave the fragment he was leaning on. His sword sense immediately told him to use 【Eating Leaves】 to weaken it, but the moment he raised his hand, he reacted—he couldn't control such an artistic and precise chain in this place.

When he made his move, it could only turn into a defensive sword 【Cloud Cold】. The youth seemed to have never been so clumsy with the sword. The heavy saber crashed onto the sword, and the sword frame shattered instantly. Pei Ye wanted to use another 【Drifting Return Wind】 to dissipate the force, but immediately he felt that he was trapped in a wind of entanglement from all sides, like a thick silkworm cocoon, and his body without support tilted extremely uncomfortably again. The sword momentum collapsed at a touch, and the youth ate the remaining force again.

Pei Ye's lips were cold. He looked at the man slowly approaching again with difficulty, just gripping his sword tightly again.

He had already sought or created opportunities three times to try to escape this battlefield and return to the water surface. However, even without mentioning the giant ship pressing down from above, he couldn't break through the offensive of the man in front of him alone.

So Pei Ye decided not to try anymore.

It was precisely that the brave would win in a narrow path, and one must forget to retreat if one wanted to live. This was a principle Pei Ye had known early on.

In fact, he insisted on wielding his sword even when he knew he was full of clumsy flaws. It was precisely a straight advance in the face of difficulties. Many times, his enemy was not just the man in front of him, but the disturbance coming from all sides.

Pei Ye didn't know when the Black Chi would be able to return. Only eleven rounds had passed since he fell into this situation just now. He knew very well that if he couldn't grasp a certain rule, he would definitely not be able to last until the twentieth round.

Chen Renzhong's unceasing offensive attacked again. Pei Ye only had to respond with another snow sword to hold it off, and the next moment he could only hold his sword horizontally to block, being knocked flying more than three zhang in the water.

In fact, Pei Ye had already become familiar with this state as quickly as possible. Most of the injuries on his body came from the first five rounds. After only five rounds, he had mastered most of his limbs and could complete some reluctant maneuvers with the help of Qi techniques and Chi Fire. It was just that the thing called "sword" had truly stumped him.

Pei Ye thought of another similar situation in this feeling of being unable to cope.

That was on the cliff of Mount Kongdong in the early morning, where two hundred and thirty-seven swords flooded him like a tide, squeezing his limits and pushing him into the spiritual realm between life and death.

The number two hundred and thirty-seven had once been so massive, but compared to truly falling into the water realm, it seemed insignificant.

Unless you truly grew up in the water, you must deal with every bit of intrusion, and how could this be something human power could reach?

Pei Ye pursed his lips tightly, thinking rapidly in his heart. At the same time, he dealt with the discomfort of his body and sword. A heavy saber in front of him had slashed over again.

The heavy momentum forced the water waves to knock the youth away. He gritted his teeth and swallowed a mouthful of blood.

If one wants a graspable rule, it must first exist in heaven and earth. However, since ancient times, "water has no constant shape." That is the irregular disturbance of billions of mutual entanglements. How can a person control such massive information? That is actually close to the "Dao."

And it was precisely when this term flashed through his heart that Pei Ye captured a trace of familiarity.

But he didn't have time to think carefully about what was connected behind it. At this moment, he suddenly changed his thinking. What the brain cannot control is what the spirit and heart hold. There are such sentences in sword theory, and Pei Ye also pointed directly to many unspeakable sword moves with sword sense.

But now, he wanted to try his best to deduce this sword sense into the inspiration in fighting, not just the disturbance on the sword, but to twist all the intrusions wrapping his entire body into a bundle, and reach the result with the most primitive intuition.

An idea close to a fantasy, but Pei Ye inexplicably believed that this was a correct path. When Chen Renzhong's saber came again... he closed his eyes decisively.

The thousands of feelings coming from his body at this moment indeed made him seem to step into a new realm, but the next moment he paid the price for his arrogant choice. The sword he held horizontally almost didn't guess the intention of the heavy saber at all. The most dangerous heavy injury since the start of the war descended on him.

A knife wound deep enough to reveal the bone split open his left chest, but the next moment the wound clamped shut, and the true Qi that had surged into it was instantly annihilated by the Zhu Lian fire.

And Chen Renzhong would definitely not give up the most precious opportunity since the exchange. He didn't give any breathing room. If he still had three points of defensive stance before, he had exploded it all now, and the offensive was suddenly more than twice as violent!

Pei Ye immediately felt the pressure of life and death, but he still didn't open his eyes. He clearly felt that the closer he was to the limit and death, the closer he was to what he wanted to grasp.

Pulling chestnuts from the fire, pulling chestnuts from the fire should be the thing he was most familiar with.

In this instant, the long sword was slashed open again, almost out of his hand. His body lost its posture in the water again. Saber edge, water flow, Qi... everything was pressing toward him. The youth placed himself in a desperate situation.

There should be a flash of inspiration to guide me... he thought with his eyes closed quietly.

"I actually don't need eyes to fight." An old man laughed hoarsely on a peaceful afternoon.

"Blow it." Pei Ye sat on the cold ground under the tree, shaking a small medicine furnace with a small fan.

In this instant, Pei Ye actually inexplicably lost his mind. At the same time, a very sharp coldness came from behind, like a thin line suddenly pulled out of his brain.

Pei Ye never expected that there would be hidden weapons attacking from behind. In fact, Chen Renzhong had also shrunk his pupils. This sharp weapon that flew suddenly was so fast that it was almost a residual shadow. And in this instant, Pei Ye's movements were like a ghost. His expression was still in the quietness of suddenly falling into memories, but his body had already tilted slightly. A cold, sharp short arrow the length of a finger flew past his side face. At the same time, he let go of the long sword, and his spine leaned gently against Chen Renzhong's heavy saber along the water waves. This heavy saber that could split mountains was strangely suppressed. Chen Renzhong was astonished and raised his saber again. Pei Ye leaned back along the momentum, just like accidentally leaning back and sitting on a chair in his own bedroom, having already avoided the man's sudden horizontal slash.

At the same time, he hooked his long sword with his toes, and the sword edge had already leaned toward Chen Renzhong's neck.

This sword was absolutely soft and powerless, but Chen Renzhong had to avoid it. So when he avoided this sword, the target of that short arrow had already appeared clearly, and it nailed into Chen Renzhong's shoulder blade without any obstruction.

Pei Ye turned his body along the water flow and just happened to catch the sword hilt. When Chen Renzhong turned his head angrily and slashed, the youth was already ghost-like on his left side. The saber edge was only three inches away, but it just happened not to touch him.

The coldness in his brain slowly faded. Pei Ye suddenly understood what he wanted to pursue at this moment.

Precisely handling billions of disturbances is indeed not something humans can reach. There is a creature in heaven and earth that can complete this miracle. Pei Ye had seen it, and its name is 【Taiyi True Long Xianjun】; but the human heart can also penetrate all complexity and reach the final result, even better than the creature above in sword fighting. Pei Ye had also seen it, and his name is Yue Muzhou.

The ultimate realm of the human heart of 【Bare Heart Seeing Blade】. When the old man was irresponsibly teaching him "blind practice," he had already buried the seed in his heart.

Unfortunately, it was only for an instant. Pei Ye had already fallen from this realm.

That was not a realm he could control after all, but just touching it seemed enough to breathe. The cold water submerged him again. Pei Ye raised his hand to set up his sword, and Chen Renzhong's heavy saber had roared again.

But this time, although the youth didn't regain control of his sword, he seemed to have found a way to reconcile with this environment. A light sword light pointed at the man's wrist holding the saber. Chen Renzhong had to tilt, and the youth was able to escape from this offensive, almost without suffering any damage. ===== CHAPTER 502 =====