Chapter 38: The Gathering Storm

Duan Fengyun had only been walking for ten minutes after leaving the Under Heaven Society when he was surrounded by a group of people.

Among the two leaders of this group, one was about the same age as Duan Fengyun, dressed in yellow brocade robes and wearing a grey cloak, looking every bit like a young nobleman.

The other was around forty years old, with stubble on his face and dressed entirely in black, giving off the impression of someone from the Demonic Path.

The young man said to Duan Fengyun, "Duan Fengyun, we have been waiting for you for a long time."

Duan Fengyun was never one to be intimidated, and he replied domineeringly, "Kid, what do you want with your Master Duan?"

Seeing Duan Fengyun speak so arrogantly, the young man was furious and said to the forty-year-old man beside him, "Master, help me teach him a lesson."

The older man heard this and stepped out, smiling sinisterly as he said to Duan Fengyun, "Hall Master Duan, please forgive any offense."

With that, the man sent Sword Qi directly toward Duan Fengyun, who held up his Wushuang Sword and swatted the man's Sword Qi away.

"Hall Master Duan, take another one of my Duanmai Sword Qi."

The man continued his attack.

Seeing the man being so relentless, Duan Fengyun grew annoyed; he placed his Wushuang Sword on the ground and raised his hand, launching a fierce Cloud-Plam attack at the man.

For a moment, the situation instantly became tense.

Seeing this, the young man hurriedly stepped out to smooth things over, saying, "Hall Master Duan, I just wanted to play a joke on you earlier; I hope you won't take it to heart."

Duan Fengyun looked at the young man with a scoff.

Seeing this, the young man had no choice but to reveal his identity: "This young master is Aotian, Young Villa Master of the Sword Casting Villa, and this is my master, Jian Mo."

Upon hearing this, Duan Fengyun was overjoyed: "The Sword Casting Villa has finally come to me; it seems the Peerless Sword is about to be born."

On the surface, he replied coldly, "Sword Casting Villa? What business do you have with me? I went to your Sword Casting Villa a few days ago and was even chased away."

Aotian asked in confusion, "Oh, what business did Hall Master Duan have at my Sword Casting Villa? And who would dare to chase Hall Master Duan away?"

Duan Fengyun replied, "I went to your villa wanting to find a master swordsmith to recast my Fire Scale Sword. The one who chased me away was none other than the Villa Master's wife."

After hearing this, Aotian suddenly realized; he explained to Duan Fengyun, "Hall Master Duan, to be honest, my Sword Casting Villa is currently forging a Peerless Sword, so we have closed the villa to visitors and are not accepting any sword-forging requests. I hope Hall Master Duan will be understanding."

Duan Fengyun asked a question he already knew the answer to: "Peerless Sword?"

Aotian replied proudly, "This sword is forged from the Black Cold Strange Stone left behind when Nuwa mended the heavens. It took several generations of my Sword Casting Villa nearly a hundred years to finally forge this peerless divine weapon. The divine weapon is about to be born, and in one month, our villa will hold a Sword Sacrifice. I specifically invite Hall Master Duan to our villa to witness it; you must come."

Having said this, Duan Fengyun said no more and replied directly, "Fine, then I will go to your Sword Casting Villa once more to see just how miraculous this Peerless Sword is."

Aotian replied, "Good, then the Sword Casting Villa awaits your arrival. I have other matters to attend to, so I shall take my leave first."

After saying this, Aotian left with Jian Mo and the others.

Seeing that Aotian and the others had gone far away, Duan Fengyun muttered, "Another fight is coming; I should rest and recuperate for two days before going."

After consecutive battles, he was physically and mentally exhausted and indeed needed to rest for a few days.

After parting ways with Duan Fengyun, Aotian and his group went straight to Huo Family Manor.

Chuchu, who had just returned from buying groceries, saw a group of people standing outside the manor, and the leader looked like no good person.

Chuchu mistakenly thought the people from the Under Heaven Society had come again and was terrified.

Just then, Bu Jingyun also returned; he looked at Chuchu standing outside the manor, then at the group outside.

He quietly walked to Chuchu's side, patted her shoulder, and signaled for her not to make a sound.

Seeing that Bu Jingyun had arrived, Chuchu felt she had a pillar of support and instantly calmed down.

Bu Jingyun carefully observed the group outside the manor, and after confirming they were not from the Under Heaven Society, he walked out.

"Who are you? What business do you have coming to my Huo Family Manor?"

Bu Jingyun asked the group of unknown origin.

This group of people was none other than Aotian and his party; seeing the main man had arrived, Aotian felt an itch and prepared to spar with Bu Jingyun.

Aotian drew his sword and stabbed directly at Bu Jingyun; seeing this, Bu Jingyun picked up a tree branch and began to fight Aotian.

Aotian was indeed worthy of being the Young Villa Master of the Sword Casting Villa; after dozens of moves with Bu Jingyun, they were evenly matched.

Seeing this, the two stopped fighting, and Aotian said, "Worthy of being the Uncrying Death God. Bu Jingyun, do you know who I am?"

Bu Jingyun replied, "Young, fast sword, arrogant; needless to say, you must be Aotian, the Young Villa Master of the Sword Casting Villa."

Aotian smiled and said, "Good eye. Bu Jingyun, if you can fight me to a draw with just a tree branch, your martial arts would surely reach a new level if you had a peerless divine weapon."

Bu Jingyun said disdainfully, "If you have something to say, say it; no need to beat around the bush."

Aotian laughed loudly, "Good, straightforward. Bu Jingyun, in one month, the Sword Casting Villa will hold a Sword Sacrifice, and there will be a Peerless Sword. You must come, Bu Jingyun."

Bu Jingyun agreed immediately, "Fine, I will arrive as scheduled."

Aotian replied, "Good, Bu Jingyun, we will see you in one month at the Sword Casting Villa."

After saying this, Aotian left with his group of underlings.

After seeing Aotian and the others leave, Chuchu said to Bu Jingyun, "Brother Bu, this Aotian is full of Evil Qi; he doesn't look like a good person at all. This Sword Sacrifice must have some conspiracy behind it. Brother Bu, it would be better if we didn't go."

Bu Jingyun was actually conflicted inside, pacing and thinking.

First, he carried a deep blood feud and needed a peerless divine weapon to enhance his strength. Second, the Separation Stone was indestructible, and he also needed a peerless divine weapon to break it.

His gaze gradually became firm; yes, he really needed this Peerless Sword. Regardless of what conspiracies the Sword Casting Villa's Sword Sacrifice held, and regardless of what difficulties and obstacles lay ahead, he was determined to have this Peerless Sword.

Seeing Bu Jingyun's firm gaze, Chuchu understood his thoughts. Seeing that she could not persuade him, she could only silently support his actions.

At this moment, inside Zhonghua Lou, the feeling in Wuming's heart grew stronger; he knew this was the soon-to-be-born Peerless Sword challenging him, the Heavenly Sword.

He hurriedly called Jian Chen over and said, "Chen'er, the feeling in my heart is growing stronger. According to my senses, this sword should be born within this month, and based on my perception, it should be to my southwest."

Jian Chen muttered in confusion, "Southwest? It seems the only thing to our southwest is the Sword Casting Villa. Sword Casting Villa! Master, could it be that this time...?"

Before Jian Chen could finish, Wuming nodded and said, "If my senses are correct, it should be the Sword Casting Villa. Chen'er, take the Hero Sword and head to the Sword Casting Villa immediately. You must obtain this sword; it must not fall into the hands of those with evil natures, otherwise, it will stir up a bloody storm in the Jianghu."

Upon hearing this, Jian Chen immediately took the Hero Sword, bid farewell to Wuming, and set off on the road to the Sword Casting Villa.