Chapter 266: Sword Startles the Wind, A Single Sword Startles the Wind

In the lightning-fast exchange with the two great experts, Yu Liancheng's palm, lustrous as jade, struck down from the air, his palm force sweeping across the sky.

Facing this palm, Liaofan felt as if an apparition had appeared before his eyes: a Buddha, three zhang tall, sat cross-legged in the void, brows lowered, eyes brimming with compassion, striking back with a palm that enveloped him.

——Dabei Palm

As one of the three Divine Monks of Shaolin, Liaofan possessed extraordinary insight and had already recognized the divine essence of the "Dabei Palm" in this strike.

Although this Dabei Palm had many differences from his own sect's version, this strike was equally fierce, sharp, and contained the same sense of compassion.

Yet, this sense of compassion was diametrically opposed to the one in his own previous palm strike.

Although Liaofan's palm strike carried compassion, perhaps because he himself had not grasped the profound mysteries of the Dabei Palm, his strike was extremely sharp and ruthless; his so-called compassion was merely holding back slightly so as not to be instantly fatal.

But under Yu Liancheng's palm, compassion was clearly articulated.

The world is like a burning house; all living beings suffer.

Better to be delivered; my Buddha is compassionate.

Without a doubt, Yu Liancheng's understanding of this set of palm techniques had skewed.

——To die under his palm is a form of deliverance, a departure from the sea of suffering, and thus, compassion.

Yet, not only was his internal energy profound, but this palm also contained a trace of mental heterodox power.

Consequently, facing this palm of death, Liaofan actually wanted to close his eyes and await death, offering no resistance, so as to ascend to the Western Paradise.

Fortunately, Liaofan was, after all, one of the three Divine Monks of Shaolin, and his mastery of Buddhist Dharma was remarkable.

At the very last moment, he bit the tip of his tongue to shatter the illusion, then channeled his entire internal energy into a palm strike.

It was a pity, however, that it was already too late; how could a strike made in haste compare to this swift and fierce Dabei Palm?

Bang!

Yu Liancheng's palm momentum instantly broke through his defense, pressing against his chest and sending him flying seven or eight zhang away, where he collided with a large tree, snapping it in half before sliding down limply, vomiting another mouthful of blood and losing consciousness.

Following this, Yu Liancheng bent his waist, barely dodging the sword thrust by the old Daoist Yuzhen, and with a casual flick, silently snatched the horsetail whisk from the man's waist.

"I have never used this weapon before; I might as well try it out." Yu Liancheng smoothed the whisk, smiled slightly, and flicked his wrist; the silver threads poured out, straight as a sword, actually blocking the full-force sword thrust of the old Daoist Yuzhen.

Immediately after, he pressed forward, the silver threads in his palm pouring out; the offensive was drifting and natural, with white shadows flickering everywhere, shifting between reality and illusion, elegant and unpredictable.

And Daoist Yuzhen was shocked to discover that everything Yu Liancheng used was Wudang martial arts, especially the sword techniques.

Taiji Sword Technique, Soft Cloud Sword Technique, Floating Cloud Sleeve... the essence and mysteries of every move were beyond description, making even him, the Wudang Sect Leader, feel ashamed.

The martial arts Yu Liancheng used were not known for being fierce or violent. Yet, Yuzhen suddenly felt as if he were caught in the midst of wind and thunder, with the constant sensation that he might be struck by five thunders at any moment.

Swish!

Yu Liancheng flicked the silver threads again.

Yuzhen unleashed layers of sword light, forming an airtight sword net,

but the silver threads suddenly swirled and coiled, tightly binding the long sword in his hand, and all its variations were stifled.

With a pull of the silver threads, the long sword flew out of Yuzhen's hand.

Only a "Zheng" sound was heard.

The long sword was already embedded in a stone in the distance.

Yu Liancheng's robes billowed, and with another Flowing Cloud Flying Sleeve, he struck Yuzhen's chest, sending him flying backward as well.

"This horsetail whisk is quite interesting." A sharp glint flashed in Yu Liancheng's eyes; with a light whistle, his figure darted forward, the silver threads like a sword, thrusting toward Jian Jingfeng.

Jian Jingfeng had been prepared; divine light burst from his eyes, his long sword left its sheath, and he spread out layers of sword nets.

But just as this sword net was laid out, the horsetail whisk had already arrived in a flash.

Bang!

The whisk collided with the sword light, emitting a muffled sound.

That exquisite sword momentum was quickly shattered into pieces by the impact of the whisk, appearing as thin as paper.

However, Jian Jingfeng was not famous for nothing; the moment his sword momentum shattered, his sword light twisted, and the silver threads were actually sliced off in large numbers, drifting through the air.

Yu Liancheng's gaze flickered, and he flicked the whisk in his palm again; this flick used Wudang Sword Technique, like clouds hanging from the sky, devoid of any worldly aura.

Jian Jingfeng felt his long sword being stuck by the whisk, carrying an irresistible force that nearly knocked the sword from his hand. He hurriedly executed a sword formula, twisted his wrist, and retreated rapidly, only then managing to break free.

Yu Liancheng followed closely, the whisk in his palm thrusting out once more.

Jian Jingfeng held his long sword horizontally, sword light soaring to the sky; he was very confident he could intercept this whisk and slice off another section of silver threads.

Just as it was about to strike the long sword, the silver threads, which had been condensed into a bundle, suddenly split into eighteen, each bundle possessing only one-eighth of the original true energy, yet each bundle was an extremely exquisite sword technique.

Jian Jingfeng frowned, continuously transforming his long sword into a canopy of light to protect his entire body while retreating.

But even so, his shoulder was still pierced by a bundle of silver threads, blood flowing out in trickles.

Yu Liancheng laughed: "It seems my whisk-sword is quite impressive, actually capable of forcing back the World's Number One Swordsman."

"Good, your sword technique is indeed superb, but you might as well take a look at this old man's sword technique."

Jian Jingfeng pressed his acupoints to stop the bleeding, his gaze sharpening; in that instant, his entire being seemed to align with a marvelous intent.

The next moment, he thrust out a sword.

This sword had ten thousand variations, the Sword Qi turning into a net covering the sky, layer upon layer, seemingly endless. Yet, the sword technique revealed a hazy, ethereal intent, as natural as the wind.

Yu Liancheng could not help but show a moved expression.

This was because Jian Jingfeng's sword was not in the least inferior to the "Heavenly Light Single Blade" of the Tyrant Blade.

At the same time, Wuchen Gongzi's assessment of Jian Jingfeng flashed through his mind.

"Jian Jingfeng—this is not the man's real name, but the name he chose for his sword. For ordinary experts, a sword thrust with a whistling wind is already remarkable, but his sword is fast enough to startle the wind. Yet, this is far from enough; only when he can one day wield his sword like the wind will his sword technique be considered truly perfected."

And this sword now was already "sword like wind."

A sword thrust out, aligning with the marvelous rhythm of heaven and earth, unfolding as naturally as the wind.

Yu Liancheng's expression turned solemn, and he struck out with the whisk in his palm once more.

……

Liusheng Piaoxu swept her long blade, the blade light like flying snow, and with a single "clang," she knocked away Yeyu Shitai's long sword.

Her blade technique was already brilliant, and after being coached by Yu Liancheng these past few days, her cultivation had reached a new level, clearly capable of surpassing this Emei Sect leader.

At the same time, she pressed forward, casually striking Yeyu Shitai in the chest with a palm, causing her to vomit blood and fly backward.

This palm strike was extremely vicious; it was feared that Yeyu Shitai would never be able to return to her peak state, remaining injured for the rest of her life.

Suddenly, Liusheng Piaoxu, who was about to deliver a finishing blow, felt the hairs on her body stand on end.

She hurriedly looked behind her, only to see a sword light descending from the horizon, as if an immortal were hovering in the air, swinging a Divine Sword to strike down. And in this sword strike, she seemed to see tsunamis rising, mountains standing, and the sun and moon rotating...

Liusheng Piaoxu was deeply shaken by this sword strike, her mind dazed for a moment. When she regained clarity, she saw Yu Liancheng drifting down from mid-air, his grace and spirit beyond description.

Meanwhile, Jian Jingfeng plummeted from the sky; although he managed to stand his ground, he stumbled again, and it was only by supporting himself with his hand that he did not collapse to the ground.

"You lost." Yu Liancheng looked at Jian Jingfeng, tossed the long sword aside, flicked his sleeves, and turned around, saying, "Let's go."

And the long sword he had tossed aside was actually Jian Jingfeng's own.

Liusheng Piaoxu hurriedly followed behind Yu Liancheng, curiously eyeing him a few times, vaguely feeling that something was wrong. After a moment, she finally discovered that Yu Liancheng had kept his right hand hidden inside his sleeve the entire time.

When those people behind could no longer see them, Liusheng Piaoxu said, "Are you alright?"

Yu Liancheng replied irritably, "Do I look like I'm not alright?"

Liusheng Piaoxu stepped forward quickly and pulled his hand out from his sleeve.

Sure enough, there was a sword mark on his palm, though it had stopped bleeding.

Liusheng Piaoxu rolled her beautiful eyes at him: "You call this alright? You used your hand to catch someone else's weapon again, and you even got cut." As she spoke, she took an embroidered handkerchief from her bosom to bandage it.

Liusheng Piaoxu could naturally guess that this guy, relying on his superb martial arts and his mastery of hard-body techniques, had voluntarily caught Jian Jingfeng's sword with his hand, disarmed him, and wounded Jian Jingfeng with his own blade.

The general situation was indeed much as she had guessed.

The only two differences were that Jian Jingfeng had already been injured in the previous fight, and after seeing Yu Liancheng catch the sword strike that represented Jian Jingfeng's life's work, Jian Jingfeng had wanted to truly witness Yu Liancheng's sword technique, offering his sword with both hands, which led to what happened afterward.

Yu Liancheng looked at his bandaged hand and sighed softly, "Who told me to be so unlucky? Lately, I've been running into tough characters, each one more formidable than the last."

He looked up again and muttered.

"The Capital is almost here; there are quite a few formidable figures there."