Chapter 1152

But this green-skinned swordsman was clearly no easy opponent!

The Guigu Vaulting Art was, in truth, better suited to long-distance running.

This time, in order to find Hearing Cheng Jiao and the others as quickly as possible, Gai Nie had pushed the Guigu Vaulting Art nearly to its absolute limit.

In a single step, he crossed more than ten zhang.

His figure was nearly as swift as lightning; ordinary people could not even sense him, let alone see him.

Thus Gai Nie kept overtaking these green-skinned armies, and along the way, his progress was even smoother than Hearing Ying Zheng's.

Seeing that the high platform drawing nearer, Gai Nie worried that the green-skinned elder would detect him.

Although he did not fear this elder, he was concerned the old man would slow his pace.

He immediately made a wide detour, approaching from very far on the side of the high platform, intending to circle into the valley from there.

After he had looped around in a wide arc and passed the high platform—

—arriving before the valley, he discovered that the architectural style of this valley was utterly different from that of these green-skinned people.

The green-skinned folk were not only stout and tall, appearing quite bold and open-hearted.

Even the high platforms they built were roughly piled from raw logs, utterly devoid of any aesthetic appeal.

Yet the main gate of this valley was a tall stone gate, exquisitely carved, like a work of art.

At the sides of the stone gate stood two lifelike stone beasts.

Gai Nie took a brief look and found that these stone heads bore a great resemblance to Miss Xiao Li's pixiu.

Only, compared with Miss Xiao Li's little pixiu, these two carved stone heads were somewhat taller and a touch fiercer.

Presumably this was what a pixiu looked like once it had grown up!

Gai Nie was instantly struck by curiosity—since the stone beast statues before this gate were very likely pixiu,

then this place ought truly to be the Lu Li Tribe that Miss Xiao Li had spoken of?

But why was there such a vast difference between the inside of the valley and the outside?

Just as he was puzzling over this, a thick, foul wind came wafting through the crack of the great gate.

"This is…"

Gai Nie's heart stirred; he had no time to think further.

He flashed through the crack of the gate and entered the valley.

The instant he entered, he could not help but freeze.

It turned out that this valley town, built so splendidly as to resemble a fairyland on earth, had already fallen utterly silent.

The entire valley town was filled with a reeking stench of blood.

On the streets, he saw many a splattered bloodstain.

Clearly this valley town had just undergone a chaotic slaughter!

Yet oddly there were only bloodstains, with not a single corpse in sight—not even a severed limb or broken arm.

Gai Nie was utterly shaken, and once more looked about in all directions.

He discovered that at the deepest part of the valley town stood an exceedingly tall building.

Not only was it the most exquisite of all, it was also built against the mountain.

Faintly it resembled a magnificent palace!

This place was still some distance from that palace.

Yet Gai Nie could already see, deep within the palace, the faint shadow of a figure.

Clearly, to unravel the mystery of this town, he could only search for it deep within that palace.

At once his heart stirred, and he prepared once more to employ the Guigu Vaulting Art to head for that palace.

"Human, you may go no further!"

Just at that moment, the green-skinned swordsman who had been beside the green-skinned elder suddenly appeared before Gai Nie.

His height was a fraction shorter than the green-skinned swordsmen Gai Nie had seen before.

Yet his whole body bulged with muscle, and across his face ran a knife scar stretching from one brow to the other.

In terms of presence, this one man alone surpassed more than ten of the green-skinned swordsmen.

The way he addressed Gai Nie was, admittedly, strange!

He had actually said "human"!

Could it be that these green-skinned folk truly were not human?

"Who are you?"

Gai Nie could tell that this green-skinned swordsman's Jiuzhou speech was rather halting—clearly a tongue only newly learned.

The Central Plains tongue of Jiuzhou was spoken by both the people of You Dongying and the steppe nomads.

So why could these oddly-shaped green-skinned folk not even speak it smoothly?

What on earth was their origin?

"Who I am, you're in no position to know! Turn back, and I'll spare your life."

The green-skinned swordsman slowly drew the heavy blade from his back, and killing intent gradually overflowed in his eyes.

"You are neither the first to say that to me, nor will you be the last."

Gai Nie realized at once that he would get no useful information from asking, and asked no more.

He tightened his grip on the broken sword in his hand and said,

"Come on!"

"Hah! Your sword is broken, and you mean to challenge me with a piece of scrap iron like that?"

The green-skinned swordsman had been about to launch a direct attack, but upon seeing Gai Nie's Yuan Hong Sword, reduced to only half its length, he could not help but burst out laughing.

A martial artist's weapon is an extension of his body, and also part of his strength.

Once a warrior's well-suited weapon breaks, his strength drops by who knows how much!

What's more, this green-skinned swordsman did not think himself incapable of matching Hearing Gai Nie.

"Enough talk! Have a taste of my sword."

Hearing Gai Nie had no time to waste words with this green-skinned man. Seeing that the other would not attack, he himself moved instead, launching three consecutive strikes at the green-skinned swordsman.

Although the Vertical Sword Art emphasizes defense over offense, that also depends on whose hands it is in!

The Vertical Sword Art that Hearing Gai Nie wielded had long since broken free from the art's own confines.

Not only was every move an extremely strong defensive one, but if needed, in the blink of an eye it could become an extremely fierce offensive move as well!

Therefore, these three strikes, though appearing ordinary in momentum, were in fact three moves linked ring upon ring — an extremely lethal killing technique!

"Overestimating yourself!"

Seeing Hearing Gai Nie seize the initiative and attack, the green-skinned swordsman's lips curled slightly, looking quite mocking.

When the three strikes came, he unhurriedly swung his heavy blade to counter.

This green-skinned swordsman's cultivation was indeed far above that of the previous green-skinned swordsmen.

Those earlier green-skinned swordsmen, apart from their strangely great strength and their eerie stealth movement, had not shown particularly exquisite blade techniques.

But now this green-skinned swordsman, facing Hearing Gai Nie's offensive, lifted that heavy blade weighing several hundred jin as though it were a goose feather, and directly executed a vicious and unique blade technique.

This blade technique was broad and bold, yet ever-changing.

At times its momentum was like wind and thunder, every strike carrying the might of Xiao Jingtian.

At other times it was light as nothing, and only when the attack reached one's eyes could one see where the danger lay.

For the time being, relying on this blade technique, this green-skinned swordsman actually fought Hearing Gai Nie to a standstill.

Hearing Gai Nie deployed every Vertical Sword Art sword move he had, except for the Hundred-Step Flying Sword.

Still, he could not break through this green-skinned swordsman's blade technique.

Instead, under the assault of his uniquely styled blade technique, he could only retreat step by step.

Before long, he had actually retreated to the gate of the mountain-valley small town.

Boom!

After another clash, Hearing Gai Nie's offensive was once again blocked back.

The green-skinned swordsman did not press forward, merely waving his heavy blade, twirling a delicate blade flourish, a smile surfacing on his face,

"The blade techniques of you frail humans can also be considered a rare marvel.

I never expected that an ordinary blade technique could raise my strength to such a level!"