Chapter 837

After entering the library, Bai Xiaolou found the "Divine Blade Slash" manual and began reading it carefully, verifying it against his own insights in hopes that his blade technique could reach a higher realm.

The Golden Lion Protector was inseparable from Bai Xiaolou; he did not go to find manuals to read, but instead stood to the side, closing his eyes to rest, like the most loyal hunting dog guarding its master.

The Demon Sect's main altar was a forbidden area of the martial arts world, and its defenses were so strict they were in no way inferior to the Imperial Palace; the library was the most critical of all, and not even a fly could hope to sneak in without anyone noticing. Bai Xiaolou and the Golden Lion Protector were quite at ease with this, as they did not need to worry about being disturbed or encountering any so-called assassins.

But they could never have imagined that less than ten paces away from them, separated by only two bookshelves, an uninvited guest was leisurely flipping through the Demon Sect's secret canons.

Yu Liancheng naturally noticed the arrival of Bai Xiaolou and the Golden Lion Protector, but he could not be bothered to pay them any mind.

And as long as he was unwilling, even if all the experts of the Demon Sect were arranged in the library to patrol day and night, no one would ever be able to discover his existence.

Yu Liancheng was not just browsing the Ten Great Divine Arts of the Demon Sect; he simply took whatever he was interested in to read.

Immersed in the Demon Sect's classics in this way, time gradually passed.

Time flowed on, and thus half a month passed.

……

On this day, Bai Xiaolou and the Golden Lion Protector once again set foot in the library.

However, after the two entered the library this time, they soon separated; it was because the Golden Lion Protector had fought a match with the Silver Dragon Protector in the morning and felt he had many deficiencies in his moves, so at Bai Xiaolou's suggestion, he decided to practice the "Nine Styles of Soul-Absorbing, Myriad Wonders Without Bounds" from the Ten Great Demon Arts.

This Demon Art was a sword technique, strange and profound, emphasizing moves within moves with infinite variations, which could evolve into seven hundred and twenty-nine moves.

Bai Xiaolou rated it extremely highly, stating bluntly, "If we speak of the strangeness and elusiveness of the strikes, and the precision and density of the moves, it is even above the Wudang Sect's Two Forms Sword Art."

As for Bai Xiaolou, he was still studying the "Divine Blade Slash," but he was currently stuck in a bottleneck, so he intended to find another blade technique today; stones from other hills can serve to polish one's own jade. And just as Bai Xiaolou took down the "Compassionate Blade Technique" stolen from Shaolin, he suddenly heard the sound of weapons clashing from the other side, accompanied by sounds resembling a lion's roar from time to time.

Bai Xiaolou's expression changed instantly, his figure moved, and in an instant, he arrived at the other side of the library, where he saw two figures locked in combat.

One of them was naturally the Golden Lion Protector.

The Golden Lion Protector's weapon was called the "Great Wisdom Lion Staff," the staff body cast from "Heavenly Essence Iron"; apart from being hard and heavy, it was nothing special, but the lion head at the top of the staff was meticulously designed by skilled craftsmen within the sect. When swung, air would pass through the lion's mouth, emitting a sound like a lion's roar to shock the mind. The lion's mouth also contained special incense; by pressing a mechanism on the staff body to open the switch, that incense could cause the opponent to experience hallucinations.

Often, under a single strike of the staff, ordinary martial artists would be scared out of their wits upon hearing that lion's roar, unable to exert even half of their martial prowess.

Even a First-class Expert with a firm will would gradually be confused by the incense after fighting for a hundred moves or so, with hallucinations arising and their spirit becoming dazed, eventually meeting their end under the lion's jaws.

Relying on the Great Wisdom Lion Staff and his own top-tier martial arts, the Golden Lion Protector rarely encountered an opponent.

But Bai Xiaolou could see that in ten moves at most, the Golden Lion Protector would be defeated by this uninvited guest.

This uninvited guest was a big man wearing blue cloth clothes, sporting a very thick beard, with a burly build and large, black, bright eyes. And this person, along with his blade technique, had an indescribable wildness, as if he were a lone wolf in the wilderness.

And the blade in his hand was only about two feet long including the hilt. The blade's light was crystalline and bright, like a pool of autumn water; the blade's light was like a rainbow, and the edge was entirely crystalline.

Bai Xiaolou could be certain that this was a precious blade, a truly priceless precious blade. Perhaps it did not have the demonic nature of the Crescent Moon Blade, but it could cut through iron like mud; there was absolutely no blade in the world whose sharpness could compare to it.

The Golden Lion Protector's Great Wisdom Lion Staff was already a divine weapon of the world, extremely firm and hard, but the lion head at the top had been shorn off by half, so much so that the Golden Lion Protector had to be restrained when attacking, intentionally avoiding the blade's edge.

Bai Xiaolou's expression was grave; he did not immediately step forward to assist the Golden Lion Protector.

This man in blue could already be called a supreme expert; even he himself did not have absolute confidence in being able to deal with him, and what's more... there was someone here who made even him feel fear and trembling.

He cast his gaze toward the cyan figure standing in front of the bookshelf not far away.

Although this person was concentrating fully on reading and did not have any True Qi leaking out, for some reason, Bai Xiaolou had a feeling of heart-palpitating dread; he understood that this person was absolutely the most formidable figure he had ever seen in his life. It was said that the most formidable expert in the Central Plains was Xie Xiaofeng of Shenjian Shanzhuang, but Bai Xiaolou could be certain that ten Xie Xiaofengs could not give him this feeling.

This was absolutely not a human; one should use God, Demon, or Monster to describe him instead.

Suddenly, a pale cyan blade light flew up like a cyan rainbow, slashing down toward the Golden Lion Protector like lightning.

This strike was like thunder, unstoppable, and possessed an indescribable murderous aura that pressed right against one's brows.

Only a "clang" was heard, and the Golden Lion Protector's Great Wisdom Lion Staff had already been split in two; he narrowly brushed past the blade light. But that biting blade edge still left a faint bloodstain on his face, with beads of blood continuously seeping out. Immediately after, the Golden Lion Protector felt a pain in his stomach, having been kicked in the abdomen by Xiao Shiyilang, and his whole body flew backward like a broken rag doll.

Bai Xiaolou naturally could no longer stand by and watch; his figure flashed past, one hand pressed against the Golden Lion Protector's back, his feet stepping continuously to discharge the force entirely into the floor, causing the floor to "crack, crack" incessantly.

After infusing the Golden Lion Protector with a burst of True Qi, Bai Xiaolou then looked toward the man in blue, his expression becoming even graver as he cupped his hands and said, "Many thanks for your mercy, Excellency." He could naturally see that if the man in blue had used his full strength in that previous strike, the Golden Lion Protector would likely have been split in two; even if one wanted to keep the body intact, it would have required someone to sew it back together with needle and thread.

The man in blue shrugged, his smile very carefree: "It was we who trespassed into your sect to browse the library; if I were to kill someone as well, that would truly be a loss of the chivalrous code of the martial arts world."

Bai Xiaolou helped the Golden Lion Protector to sit in a corner against the wall and looked at the man in blue again: "This martial arts world is truly full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers; this brother's blade technique is so high it is rare in the world, yet I have never heard of it. May I ask your noble name?"

"I wouldn't dare, I am Xiao Shiyilang." The man in blue smiled: "Hehe, of course, you may also call me 'Myriad Daos Without Bounds'."

It turned out that this man in blue was Xiao Shiyilang transformed by Myriad Evils Floating Life.

More accurately, Myriad Evils Floating Life had seven great abilities, and this was evolved from one of those seven great abilities, "Myriad Evils Floating Life."