Chapter 163 - 148: Clash

At the end of the stone steps was a wooden temple that seemed quite old. The temple was exceptionally dilapidated, with sunlight streaming directly through the tattered roof into the interior.

The deity statue once worshipped had been completely destroyed, and its fierce and terrifying head lay there, isolated on the ground.

Kneeling next to the head of the deity statue was a person clad in a long, cyan-grey robe with long hair draped over them.

The hair was black and straight, meticulously tidy without a hint of disarray, and a somewhat worn Treasured Sword lay by their side.

The moment Lin Fang saw him, it was as if he saw a Treasured Sword filled with eerie power, with a dense killing intent pervading the temple.

"You should not have come!" The voice was light yet somewhat melodious and pleasant, belonging to a woman who seemed to be enduring something with great effort.

Lin Fang did not respond but instead glanced at the White Ape beside him.

All he heard was the White Ape gently saying, "What a Demon Sword, what a tremendous killing intent!"

No sooner had the words fallen than the woman kneeling on the ground abruptly opened her eyes, two cold gleams shining within them.

"Leave this mountain, or face death!" she said coldly, her words laced with a biting murderous intent that might have had any ordinary Monster scampering away in terror upon contact.

Unfortunately, neither Lin Fang nor the White Ape were ordinary Monsters; the woman’s killing intent, although powerful, was not enough to shake their resolve.

Lin Fang examined the Treasured Sword in the woman’s hand with interest, sensing the terrible desires suppressed within the blade.

Just as the White Ape had said, this was a Demon Sword that seemed to harbor a power capable of influencing the human heart, and the woman was clearly struggling to suppress the sword’s power.

"You lack the cultivation level to wield this sword," the White Ape said, shaking his head gently.

When he spoke these words, his attitude was very serious, and his words were filled with certainty; when it came to matters of the sword, the White Ape was always earnest.

"You are seeking death!" The woman shouted sharply, grabbing the Treasured Sword from the ground and standing up abruptly, turning her head to look at Lin Fang and the White Ape, her eyes already a bright red.

The White Ape, undeterred, retorted, "Someone who is dominated by a Sword Weapon does not deserve to be called a Swordsman."

"Then let me see the sword in your hands," the woman shouted sharply, her eyes fixed intently on the White Ape; she could accept many things, but being deemed unworthy of wielding a sword was unacceptable.

In a flash of red light, the woman’s figure appeared beside the White Ape, her Treasured Sword unsheathed, revealing a red, ghostly longsword.

It seemed to carry a power to bewitch the heart, along with the purest intent to kill.

Seeing this, Lin Fang hurriedly steadied his own heart; to be influenced by such a weapon would simply be disgraceful.

The White Ape showed a hint of a smile upon seeing this and drew his own Treasured Sword; with a flash of the blade, the woman was forced to step back several paces, looking up in disbelief.

"I told you, you cannot use the sword," he said.

Having said that, the blade of the sword pointed directly at the woman’s throat. In that instant, the woman felt a terrifying presence lock onto her, and it seemed like a voice in her mind kept telling her that she was going to die, she was going to die!

The woman instinctively dodged the White Ape’s Treasured Sword, only to see the White Ape gently tap with the back of his sword and feel her own Treasured Sword dance out of her control. Her body also lost balance and she collapsed to the ground in an instant.

She picked herself up from the ground, and as she looked at the White Ape, whose face was the picture of calm, a hint of embarrassed fury flickered in her eyes.

Ever since obtaining the Treasured Sword in her hand, her strength had grown by leaps and bounds every day. Although the sword constantly tempted her to kill, she managed to hold on to her firm Sword’s Heart and barred her own bottom line, expelling all the monsters living in this mountain, just to prevent herself from losing control and slaughtering the innocent.

However, today, as she faced the White Ape before her, she suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of powerlessness, as if she was no match for the individual in front of her no matter what.

It seemed as if the opponent could see through the flaws in her swordsmanship with just one glance, and no matter how hard she tried, she was easily defeated by him.

The strong competitive spirit within her heart made it impossible for her to accept her own defeat.

At that moment, her Treasured Sword emitted a strange glow, and a deep voice rose from the bottom of her heart: "Waste, you can’t even defeat such an opponent. Just hand over your body to me, so you don’t embarrass yourself."

"Shut up!" the woman shouted, lifting the Treasured Sword in her hand and continuing her assault on the White Ape. Her swordsmanship now seemed to have an added touch of eerie power.

The White Ape saw this and gently shook his head. With just one strike, the woman was on the ground again.

"Ah!" At this moment, she completely lost control and chose to release the full power of the eerie long sword.

The crimson light mingled with black qi enveloped the woman’s figure, and a terrifying aura filled the temple, as if a ferocious beast was about to choose someone to devour.

The woman at this time seemed to have turned into a bloodthirsty beast that knew only slaughter. Her physical abilities were greatly enhanced, and her speed had reached a level where it was imperceptible to the human eye,

She attacked the White Ape like a madwoman, her Treasured Sword seemingly turning into a stormy wave intent on drowning the White Ape in a sea of blood.

Yet the White Ape stood immovable as a mountain, effortlessly resolving every attack, like a towering peak.

"Having strength but not knowing how to use it, a mind controlled by others, why do you even practice swordsmanship, why aspire to reach the summit of the Sword Dao? You’re dreaming," he said, knocking the woman to the ground with his words.

The woman was in a particularly sorry state, her face covered in scars, remnants of her repeated clashes with the White Ape.

However, the woman had clearly lost her reason. She seemed tireless as she continued to attack the White Ape, and no matter how many times she was knocked down, she would quickly stand up again.

Lin Fang watched the battle with disinterest, yawning involuntarily. He had already realized that this stranger of a woman was no match for the White Ape.

Having learned so much and self-discovered the Sword Dao of severing karma, the White Ape’s Sword Dao cultivation level had reached a terrifying state. In front of him, this woman was like a toddler who had just learned to walk.

It was only because the White Ape harbored an appreciation for talent that he continued to take this opportunity to instruct the opponent. Otherwise, with a full-power strike of his cultivation level, that Sword Qi could instantly take care of the woman before him.

The clashing of Treasured Swords and the sound of falling bodies continually echoed in the temple. This place seemed to possess magical power, tightly containing the aftermath of their battle within this small, dilapidated temple.

"Interesting!" Discovering this scene, Lin Fang became extremely interested in the broken temple, and began to examine every brick and stone in the temple with great interest.