Chapter 1652: [Wanren Mountain] (Part I)

Qi Changguang coldly said: "Hand over the Seven Slay-Heaven Swords, and we might consider leaving you a whole corpse."

Hu Xiaotian unexpectedly nodded and said: "Very well, the Seven Slay-Heaven Swords originally belonged to your Sword Palace; handing them over to you is no problem."

He Changsheng and Qi Changguang exchanged a glance, both half-believing, and He Changsheng said: "He who knows the times is a true talent; you, kid, still understand advance and retreat."

Hu Xiaotian chuckled: "But if you two die right before my eyes now, perhaps I could consider burying you with the sword manual!"

He Changsheng blazed like fire; hearing this, he flew into a rage: "Kid, arrogant! Die!" His slender sword trembled, and a thread of icy sword qi unfurled, its attack range extending beyond two zhang. Though he had secluded himself in Sword Palace for many years, he could never advance further in sword technique. Though he had reached the stage of condensing qi into arrows, he always stalled and could not improve, unable to achieve the breakthrough of projecting sword qi outward. Even so, he could still be counted as a first-rate swordsman.

Hu Xiaotian had long anticipated provoking him; when He Changsheng struck, he again employed the Dog-Dodging Eighteen Steps, slipping away at the first moment.

The voices of He Changsheng and Qi Changguang echoed from behind: Qi Changguang said: "Kid, if you do not hand over the sword manual, you will be trapped to death inside Wanren Mountain today."

Hu Xiaotian felt utter contempt in his heart; although these two's swordsmanship was passable, their movement skills were far inferior to his. If he faced them head-on, he should have a good chance of victory. Yet if he merely wished to flee, they would never catch up—just relying on these two old fogies to trap him? He did not fear these two Sword Palace elders; the truly vigilant one was Xuantian Guan's chief, Ren Tianqing. But after Ren Tianqing led him into Wanren Mountain, he vanished without a trace, suggesting he too must be intimately familiar with Wanren Mountain. Qiu Guangxuan even claimed Wanren Mountain was a Sword Palace forbidden zone, yet forbidden zones still see many intruders.

While evading the two old fogies He Changsheng and Qi Changguang, Hu Xiaotian searched for Qin Yutong's whereabouts. He had clearly heard Qin Yutong's cry for help just moments before, following the sound to come here. At this moment, Hu Xiaotian unknowingly ventured deep into Wanren Mountain, realizing it was a labyrinth; the two old fogies' claim of trapping him stemmed from this. He had already calculated: even if he could not find the correct exit of this labyrinth, his lightness and movement skills would make leaping onto the iron peak's summit easy—what nonsense labyrinth? A glance from high ground would naturally break it; trying to trap him was pure fantasy.

At that moment, another cry rang out ahead: "Save me… save me…"

Hu Xiaotian heard that cry not far away. He was very familiar with Qin Yutong's voice, certain it was hers without doubt. He tiptoed over, pressing against the back of the iron peak, gazing toward the source of the sound, only to see a woman standing there with her back to him, calling for help. From behind she somewhat resembled Qin Yutong, but wind and snow swirled, shadows blurred; yet no one threatened her nearby.

Hu Xiaotian secretly doubted: Could Qin Yutong ultimately be colluding with Ren Tianqing to harm me?

As he wondered, the woman seemed to have grown eyes at the back of her head and slowly turned around.

Hu Xiaotian saw clearly: she must be Qin Yutong without doubt. Anger flared in his heart; although he and Qin Yutong were not lovers sworn to life and death, they had shared hardships. How could she betray me so? Hu Xiaotian strode from his hiding place, glaring at Qin Yutong: "Qin Yutong, I disregarded danger to come save you, yet you aid that old thief Ren Tianqing in harming me!"

Qin Yutong giggled, sighed, turned her face, and when she faced Hu Xiaotian again, she had actually become Xi Yan's appearance. Hu Xiaotian stared, dumbfounded: "Damn, are you playing Sichuan opera face-changing with me?"

Xi Yan coldly stared at Hu Xiaotian: "I not only want to harm you, I want to kill you, but I'll give you a chance to live—hand over the Ten Thousand Forms of Heaven and Man diagram, and I'll let you go."

Hu Xiaotian saw her every move resembled Xi Yan, yet her gaze lacked Xi Yan's charm and liveliness, instead bearing a coldness and venom never seen in Xi Yan. He slowly shook his head: "You are not Xi Yan; who are you really?" As he spoke, he lunged forward with a step, throwing a punch. The woman had already anticipated his attack; her body swayed, turning into a puff of smoke that vanished before his eyes.

Hu Xiaotian blinked hard, unable to believe the empty space before him—how could that woman vanish into thin air? Had he met a ghost in broad daylight? He looked around dazedly, hearing only the wind whistling by his ears; he lifted his head, snowflakes drifting down; he looked left and right, up and down, finding no trace of the woman; looking again at the snow before him, not a single footprint remained. If he had not seen it himself, he would surely think he had encountered a ghost.

Just then, a distant soft sigh echoed; this sound was extremely familiar to Hu Xiaotian's ears, not Xi Yan nor Qin Yutong. Knowing the front might be a trap, Hu Xiaotian could not suppress his curiosity, pressing onward. He was also bold due to his skill, armed with a light sword for self-defense, believing that even at the final step he could rely on his strength to break free.

The woman's silhouette indeed reappeared ahead; amidst wind and snow, her back seemed to tremble slightly, she sighed sorrowfully, voice filled with grief: "Xiaotian, do you not even remember me?" She slowly turned. Though her features were somewhat hazy in the wind and snow, Hu Xiaotian instantly recognized her—she was his mother, Xu Fengyi.

Hu Xiaotian had witnessed his mother's death with his own eyes; although later events overturned many of his beliefs, he never thought Xu Fengyi would deceive him. When he once went to Xiangguo State, he had seen his aunt Xu Fengmei, whose appearance resembled his mother's; at first sight he nearly mistook her. Now seeing his mother appear before him again, his first thought was that Xu Fengmei was impersonating her. He coldly regarded that familiar face and said in a deep voice: "Your schemes are endless, yet you meant well—if I am not mistaken, you are Xu Fengmei!"

The woman laughed to the heavens: "What is Xu Fengmei? Does she even deserve to be mentioned alongside me?"

Hu Xiaotian snorted coldly: "I don't care who you are—hand over Qin Yutong!" He leapt into the air, deciding based on his earlier experience to first seize high ground, to see what tricks this woman would play.

The woman coldly watched Hu Xiaotian, showing no intention to flee. Hu Xiaotian rose straight up, landing on the iron peak's summit; from five zhang high he looked around, seeing only iron peaks of varying heights. The woman lifted her head to gaze at him, seeming to have waited all along for his attack.

Hu Xiaotian did not rush to attack; standing on the iron peak's summit, he scanned the surroundings and realized he had unknowingly reached the central area of Wanren Mountain. Until now he had not seen Ji Feihua arrive; he secretly wondered: Could Ji Feihua also have run into trouble?

The woman softly said: "Xiaotian, do you know who killed me? Do you know who told me what your father's relationship with me is?"

Upon hearing this, Hu Xiaotian's tiger-like body shuddered; he stared fixedly at the woman below.

The woman's face suddenly turned sinister and terrifying; she shouted harshly: "You are merely an illegitimate spawn! You should never have come into this world!"

Hu Xiaotian bit his lip hard, then shot downward, raising his right fist to strike with thunderous speed—though still about a zhang away from the woman, her expression turned bewildered and helpless, she cried shrilly: "Child! Do you truly bear to kill me?"

Hu Xiaotian reminded himself inwardly: everything before me is merely this woman's illusion; either she possesses the ability to confuse my consciousness, or she is a top-tier master of disguise. When I earlier leapt onto the iron peak, I did so to observe the situation and to confirm my mind was clear; I preliminarily judged it to be the latter.

I struck her body with a punch; she let out a mournful wail, her body slammed against the iron peak behind, blood gushed from her mouth, her white hair scattered, she struggled to lift her face, gazing at Hu Xiaotian with a grim expression: "Xiaotian… you… you actually killed your own mother…"

Hu Xiaotian looked at her state, barely able to distinguish her from Xu Fengyi; unease rose in his heart. That punch of mine had gathered all my inner strength; even a master could not withstand it.

Hu Xiaotian stepped forward: "Who exactly are you?"

Blood trickled from the woman's lips, her complexion pallid, her eyes dimming; suddenly her head drooped heavily, her white hair covering her face.

Hu Xiaotian doubted: Did I really kill her with one punch? He stepped forward again: "Hey! Wake up!"

The woman gave no response.

Hu Xiaotian took another step; the woman, who had been motionless, suddenly lifted her head again—now she had become Qin Yutong's likeness, glaring ferociously at Hu Xiaotian: "You actually treat me so ruthlessly!" She raised her hand—*bang! *—a burst of black smoke exploded from her palm.

Although Hu Xiaotian was nearly immune to all poisons, he dared not be careless facing this unknown smoke; he hurriedly held his breath, retreated a few steps, looked up, and saw the woman had vanished again; smoke rose around him, and in a short time Wanren Mountain was sealed by mist.

Only then did Hu Xiaotian truly feel Wanren Mountain's terror: here there is not only a labyrinth but also bewildering smoke; now everywhere is shrouded in smoke, plus falling snow, the entire Wanren Mountain is enveloped in dark murk; though his vision is keen, he cannot see beyond one zhang ahead. Hu Xiaotian silently cursed his misfortune, strained his ears to listen to surrounding movements—under these circumstances he could only rely on his own hearing.

Four more, seeking guaranteed monthly ticket! (To be continued~^~)