Chapter 999

The water ball spun frenziedly and kept growing as it flew; FengXingyun thrust his blade into it, gathering internal energy at the tip, which suddenly exploded upon penetration. He had expected the blast to shatter the ball into mist that would vanish, but to his astonishment the internal energy could not detonate the ball—it disappeared like a stone sunk in the sea—and the ball's violent spin nearly wrenched the long blade from his grip.

Hu Xiaotian had now completely steadied his stance; if speaking solely of internal energy strength, few in the present age could match him, yet he was like a good-for-nothing sitting on a gold mountain, not knowing how to squander it; previously he only thought of projecting sword qi outward, but his progress in that area was slow, and only in the recent life-and-death battle did he have a sudden insight, realizing that the Great Void Law could gather external objects.

A cold smile curled Hu Xiaotian's lips: "Even though I own this gold mountain and don't know how to spend it, I'll still smash you to death if I haul up a gold brick and throw it. Spending money can be simple and brutal; internal energy is the same."

FengXingyun had no choice but to sidestep to avoid the water ball.

Hu Xiaotian meanwhile again condensed rainwater into a blade body; it was less like he held a long sword and more like he held a long spear, the rain‑formed blade reaching an astonishing three zhang in length, and with a shake of his arm he unleashed the Spirit Snake Nine Swords in a continuous torrent like the great rivers.

When Hu Xiaotian first wielded his soft sword, his sword qi could not be freely projected, limiting his attack range; now, though he held only a bare hilt, he suddenly grasped the secret of condensing water into a sword, and the three‑zhang‑long blade kept expanding, causing the Spirit Snake Sword technique to double its power in this state, winding and turning in the air, at times like a spear, at times like a whip.

FengXingyun repeatedly slashed with his long blade at the rain‑condensed long sword. He now truly understood what it means to 'draw a blade to cut water, yet the water flows ever more'; what truly shocked FengXingyun was that each time blade met sword, his internal energy would erupt outward.

The distance between them grew ever greater, this being FengXingyun's choice; the marvel of the Spirit Snake Nine Swords was no inferior to his blade technique. Hu Xiaotian initially found himself completely on the defensive because he was hampered by his weapon; the way of blade and sword lies in unifying person with weapon, person with sword—only then does one reach master level, and Hu Xiaotian had clearly not attained that state, yet taking one step further the weapon would become a burden, and the reason Hu Xiaotian's Spirit Snake Nine Swords could not be fully unleashed was that he had not found a weapon that truly felt right in his hand.

Drawing rain to form a sword. Such a blade body is more nimble than any treasure sword.

FengXingyun drew a deep breath, gazing at the twisting, dancing translucent water chain ahead, he gradually calmed down; he must stay calm, put away the slight contempt he had felt at the start, and gather his blade qi again. His long blade burst forth with a hitherto unseen snow‑bright radiance; executing the Heaven‑Severing Three Styles, FengXingyun finally unleashed his hidden ultimate art, chopping out three blows as swift as a gale. The invisible blade qi severed the water before him, forming three arc‑shaped bands of light within the rain‑filled space. They crossed each other, their centers precisely overlapping, and began to spin wildly clockwise, stirring the surrounding rainwater like a windmill spinning at high speed. Even the standing water on the ground was set in motion by this powerful rotation; the curtain of light formed by the blade qi kept expanding between heaven and earth, and the ground was sliced open by deep trenches.

Although Hu Xiaotian was far away, he already felt the tremendous force of that strike; he let out a loud shout and unleashed Myriad Snakes Wild Dance, the rain‑formed sword body exploding into myriad tiny transparent swords that blanketed the sky and earth, rushing to meet the blade‑qi light curtain.

In an instant, after countless collisions, the blade qi dissipated and the myriad water swords turned into rising, pervasive mist; water fog filled the scene, and in the darkness the surroundings became indistinguishable.

Yet at the instant of impact FengXingyun suddenly swung his hand, sending his long blade flying free like a lone moon arcing out; it broke through the rain‑mist straight for Hu Xiaotian's throat, shifting from substance to emptiness and back to substance, and he could not believe Hu Xiaotian could dodge this blow.

Although Hu Xiaotian could not see his surroundings, his keen perception covered every corner of the courtyard, and he knew that FengXingyun's thrown blade must be his final killing move.

Hu Xiaotian reached out and, with the Tiger‑Subduing, Dragon‑Seizing Hand, firmly grasped the blade's hilt.

But at that moment a voice reached his ear: "Come with me!"

A soft little hand seized his arm; Hu Xiaotian recognized Yan Nujiao's voice, and his heart eased—indeed they had not been trapped by the collapsed house.

Although he had snatched the Blade Demon's long blade, Hu Xiaotian dared not guarantee victory over his opponent; taking advantage of the lingering mist, he followed Yan Nujiao into the collapsed building.

FengXingyun's hearing was likewise extremely sharp; first he realized his blade had missed, then he heard Yan Nujiao's voice and silently cursed his bad luck, fearing Hu Xiaotian would flee; he repeatedly struck out with his palms, blasting away the lingering mist before him, and only when the fog cleared did he see that no one remained ahead.

FengXingyun stared at the wreckage before him, his eyes nearly bursting with rage; not only had he failed to kill Hu Xiaotian as he wished, but in the end Hu Xiaotian forced him to unleash all his secret arts, even snatching away his beloved Eyebrow Knife as if driving a sheep along—truly a monumental disgrace.

The four disciples under his command returned in pursuit at this moment; seeing the scene, they too were stunned, not knowing whether Hu Xiaotian had vanished because their master had destroyed his corpse to erase traces or because he had fled.

FengXingyun gritted his teeth and snarled: "Search! Even if I have to turn this place upside down, I will find them!"

The entrance to the tunnel was not hard to find; they located it without much effort in the house's ruins, but the opening was sealed by a heavy stone slab, flush with the ground, making it nearly impossible to open from outside.

A flame appeared before Hu Xiaotian's eyes—it was Yan Nujiao lighting a tinderbox; they were in the underground of Qingyun Manor, and Hu Xiaotian saw Yan Boguang standing nearby, trembling with fear, while the Grand Princess Xue Lingjun lay motionless on the ground, obviously still unconscious; Hu Xiaotian rushed forward and glared at Yan Boguang.

Yan Boguang panicked: "It's got nothing to do with me."

Yan Nujiao's voice came from behind: "I sealed her acupoints so she could sleep awhile."

Only then did Hu Xiaotian relax; he rose and suddenly raised the Eyebrow Knife to press against Yan Boguang's throat, Yan Boguang terrified out of his wits, his voice trembling: "I… I'm wronged… I've never even seen her… I swear by heaven… I've never seen her…"

Yan Nujiao gripped the hilt nervously, wanting to rush forward to save her second brother, yet she realized she could not possibly match Hu Xiaotian.

Hu Xiaotian said: "Hand over the antidote for the Mandarins' Union Powder."

Yan Boguang replied: "She hasn't been poisoned by the Mandarins' Union Powder at all—why are you coming to me?"

Hu Xiaotian's heart skipped a beat, and he whispered: "Is the monk Wuning of Great Buddha Cliff your subordinate?"

Yan Boguang said: "We've had some contact, but his affairs are none of my business……"

Yan Nujiao added: "My second brother wouldn't lie; given how far things have gone, if he had the antidote he would surely produce it."

Hu Xiaotian sheathed the Eyebrow Knife, glanced at Yan Nujiao, and said: "In the whole world, only you would believe this scoundrel!"

Yan Nujiao bit her lip, yet found it hard to rebut Hu Xiaotian; her brother was simply too worthless, his deeds too shameful.

Hu Xiaotian lifted Xue Lingjun from the ground and told Yan Boguang: "You lead the way; let's get out of here first, then we'll talk."

Yan Boguang knew his life was temporarily spared; in fact, just earlier he had tried desperately to stop his sister from going up to lure Hu Xiaotian into the tunnel, but Yan Nujiao insisted on bringing this murderous star inside, and now trouble had arisen. Yan Boguang marched ahead holding a torch, when a clanking sound came from above—clearly Blade Demon FengXingyun and his men had begun digging—yet Yan Boguang scoffed: "The underground tunnels of my Qingyun Manor are extensive and labyrinthine; to dig a way in would take at least three to five days, and even if they managed to get in, they could never find us."

Hu Xiaotian looked around coldly and said: "Did you dig this tunnel here just to do something wicked?"

Yan Boguang replied: "Heaven and earth, my conscience; I have long since mended my ways and turned over a new leaf."

What about the village women you locked in the cellar—how do you explain that?

Yan Boguang was instantly speechless; Hu Xiaotian kicked him in the butt and said: "Hurry up—go release those village women!"

Yan Boguang said: "You can't reach the cellar from here."

Hu Xiaotian sneered: "Just now you said the tunnels were extensive—how did it change so suddenly?"

Yan Boguang glanced at his sister seeking help, and Yan Nujiao said: "Second brother, I can't help you this time; you mustn't keep doing things that harm heaven and reason—release them."

Yan Boguang sighed: "I swear I only seized them; I never laid a hand on any of them."

Hu Xiaotian actually believed those words; Yan Boguang, even if he wanted to act now, simply lacks the ability.

Yan Boguang led them along the winding tunnel to the vicinity of the cellar; first he listened through the ventilation hole, then he moved the mechanism, revealing a small door in the wall that led to the tunnel, yet the cellar was empty—none of the village women he had seized remained, and Yan Boguang was equally astonished.

Furious, Hu Xiaotian kicked him again and snapped: "You're actually playing tricks!"

Yan Boguang cried out in despair: "Heaven and earth, my conscience—I truly don't know what happened."

Hu Xiaotian gritted his teeth and snarled: "You damned bastard, still talking about conscience?"

Hearing this, Yan Nujiao involuntarily furrowed her brows; she despised men swearing, and Hu Xiaotian's cursing of her brother amounted to swearing at her as well. She said: "They may have escaped; have you seen any corpses? The urgent priority is for us to cooperate and leave Qingyun Manor first."

Yan Boguang nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes! In this crisis we ought to cooperate." His gaze flicked to Xue Lingjun held in Hu Xiaotian's arms and he said: "Why don't I tell you how to save her?"

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