Chapter 108: A Single Word Shakes the Heavens

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Ten miles of peach blossoms, three miles of Ming Hu, and a hundred miles of mountain ranges connected by clouds and mist!

The lotus pond is right at the foot of the mountain, within the peach blossom forest.

No one knows why it is already late autumn outside, yet in Taoyuan Xujing, peach blossoms are still in full bloom and overflowing with fragrance.

In this peach blossom forest, there is a pavilion, a stone table, a pot of old wine, and a game of unfinished chess.

Playing chess in the pavilion are two strange beings; they are called strange because one resembles a pine tree, and the other resembles a plum blossom tree.

However, they wear human clothing and possess human limbs and faces, though the skin of one is like pine bark, while the other is piled with plum blossoms, with flower branches swaying all over their bodies.

The one with a face of pine bark wears a Daoist robe and appears to be male, while the one with a face full of plum blossoms wears a pink dress and appears to be female.

They are none other than the first-ranked Songxian and the second-ranked Meixian under Taohua Xianren, collectively known as the Pine-Plum Duo.

Their cultivation is far higher than that of Zhuxian.

After drinking a cup of Taoyuan Immortal Dew and extending a finger made of plum blossoms, Meixian gently placed a piece and giggled.

"I heard that little snot-nosed follower has been fighting those treasure-seeking outsiders for half a day now; I wonder how things are going!"

Songxian hesitated for a moment, then placed his own chess piece and said in a deep voice.

"Who knows! Ever since our boss submitted to Baiehou, I haven't seen that little follower who used to trot along behind us for a long time!

But he is so weak, it really is a bit worrying!"

Meixian placed another piece and chuckled softly.

"Little Bamboo is not to be counted on; after all, our boss even said he is the one with the least talent and is too weak!

He has no value for cultivation, so the boss threw him into that mountain forest to fend for himself!

Otherwise, how could a fish have slipped through the net, giving me the chance to make a move?"

Songxian tapped the chessboard with a chess piece and mused.

"You are talking about those cultivators from the Sword Imperial Villa, right? Sister, you are too unkind; you didn't leave any for me to play with and killed them all yourself.

I am so bored I could die, and I really want to stretch my limbs."

Meixian giggled.

"Those cultivators were all too weak, and I was afraid they would dirty your eyes, brother. But Little Bamboo is truly something, failing to intercept those little mice from the Sword Imperial Villa.

It seems his strength has regressed significantly; no wonder the boss didn't think much of him and threw him out to guard the border area.

Unlike us, living so leisurely every day!"

Hearing this, Songxian laughed heartily.

"Sister is right.

But I actually hope Little Bamboo couldn't stop them and let a few mice through; that way I would have some fun. Otherwise, having nothing to do all day is too boring!"

Meixian covered her mouth and laughed.

"Is Second Brother hoping that those treasure-seeking cultivators didn't die miserably enough?

You are still hoping they break through!

You have set up death traps here; even if they break through, I fear they will only die even more miserably. Second Brother, you really are quite wicked!"

Hearing this, Songxian chuckled.

"We are one and the same; didn't you go and repair that Ancient Weakening God Array, sister?

I heard from the boss that it was an ancient array used long, long ago to deal with gods, meant to weaken their power, making them stay in this place longer and longer until they grew weak and died.

The boss just mentioned it in passing to prevent gods from sneaking in, but I never expected you to take it seriously and search everywhere for materials until you finally completed this ancient array!

Now, let alone those cultivators, even if a god came, it would be a dead end. So, sister, your methods are more ruthless than mine!"

Exchanging flattery, both of them laughed with pride.

While the Pine-Plum Duo were flattering each other, the battle between Su Yuanshan and Zhuxian continued, but it grew increasingly intense—mostly one-sidedly intense, because Zhuxian's attacks were becoming more and more violent, while Su Yuanshan and the girl in red found it increasingly difficult to dodge.

For some reason, Su Yuanshan felt his body growing weaker and weaker, and his dodging movements were becoming more sluggish, as if he were burning his life away; his entire body felt completely uncomfortable.

What was worse, he did not know why his vision had begun to blur slightly.

"Swish!" Zhuxian thrust with a bamboo sword; Su Yuanshan was almost pierced in the shoulder, but fortunately, he instinctively leaned back, dodged the strike, and used a teleportation to put distance between them.

Zhuxian was about to pursue, but the girl in red happened to launch an attack on him, completely drawing his attention.

Only then did he abandon the pursuit of Su Yuanshan and pounce toward the girl in red.

What is that buzzing sound in my head?

Why is the mist in this bamboo forest getting thicker?

And this Zhuxian, he seems even stronger than before; what on earth is going on?

The whispering bamboo forest, the retreating companion.

A body that feels increasingly weak!

Su Yuanshan does not know how much chance of victory he has left!

Actually, it is not just Su Yuanshan; everyone else is calculating, calculating how much chance of victory they have left, and after calculating back and forth, they reach a conclusion in their hearts.

It seems there is not even one percent left now!

After dodging for so long, his strength is being consumed rapidly; after attacking for so long, he hasn't caused much damage to Zhuxian at all!

The City God Mountain and River Seal and the City God Demon-Slaying Sword simply cannot be used in this Taoyuan Xujing!

What else can I do?

Su Yuanshan sighed in his heart; he truly could not understand why, in this Taoyuan Xujing, every one of his attacks seemed to be weakened by some invisible force!

Who is it, and what is the reason? He cannot figure it out.

Suddenly, "Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish, swish, swish," Zhuxian suddenly manifested eight sharp bamboo swords, using them to strike at Su Yuanshan from all directions, sealing off all his paths of retreat in one go, as if to force him to his death inside!

Those bamboo swords seemed harder than mysterious iron and sharper than divine weapons!

The girl in red turned pale at this sight, and the others also began to worry for Su Yuanshan; seeing this, Lv Qingshan and the others were shocked, and even if they lunged to save him, it was already too late!

Yet, facing the sword tips thrusting in from all directions, Su Yuanshan suddenly took on a strange expression; he didn't even look at the incoming blades!

Instead, like a fool, he actually tilted his head back and closed his eyes, even saying something inexplicable.

"The wind here is truly gentle; it seems as if the Great Dao can unravel a person's thoughts!"

The wind blew, causing the bamboo leaves to rustle, and one leaf even rolled to Su Yuanshan's feet!

Seeing this, for some reason, Cai Lian felt a sense of sorrow in her heart, as if an old friend were about to die!

Wait a moment!

She thought to herself, why does this dark-faced man always give me such a familiar feeling, when I clearly don't know him! No, those eyes of his, they seem to be... it shouldn't be, I must be overthinking it!

At that moment, for some reason, the image of that ethereal, white-clad youth suddenly surfaced in her mind.

She remembered his name seemed to be—Su Yuanshan!

She even recalled the circumstances of their first meeting.

"How should I address you, Miss?"

"This lady is called Cai Lian! And you?"

The white-clad youth gazed at the distant mountain peaks and answered indifferently.

"Su Yuanshan!"

At that moment, he was immaculate and as graceful as an immortal!

This dark-faced man is likely about to die, and we are powerless to save him; I fear our fate will be the same as his!

At that moment, not only did the middle-aged scholar from the Kaiyuan Academy think this, but Lv Qingshan, Xie Lingyu, and the others thought so too; their hearts were bitter, filled with a sense of sympathy for a fellow sufferer, and although some tried to fly over to save him, it was unfortunately too late.

The instant the eight sword tips were about to pierce his body, Su Yuanshan seemed to have realized something and suddenly opened his eyes, reaching out to grab at the void, and a Zen staff suddenly appeared.

Then Su Yuanshan suddenly roared.

"The Great Dao is non-action, the Word Spirit suppresses the Heavens! Vajra, appear and heed my command!"