Chapter 842: Who Is Besieging Whom
Ning Yao said, "This Zhou Haijing, her fighting style is quite pleasing to the eye."
One moment her fists were like folding willows, the next her hands were like holding flowers, her form fluttering and dancing like drifting clouds.
In Ning Yao's view, martial artists fighting, one punch and one kick, was actually more exciting than the mountain duels between qi refiners. As for sword cultivators dueling with swords, it was actually quite boring.
Compared to Zhou Haijing's flashy punches and swift movements, Yu Hong's fist and foot techniques were more sweeping and expansive, his fist intent vast and mighty, with bits of true qi coiling around him like several flood dragons. Several times when he got close to Zhou Haijing and engaged her directly, he gained advantages, already shattering the female master's bracelet and several hairpins. Among the onlookers, especially those scions of noble families who couldn't hold their heads up in Yichi Lane and Chi'er Street, when they saw Zhou Haijing viciously slam the top of her foot into Yu Hong's ribs with immense force, kicking him sideways more than ten zhang in the arena, everyone cheered and applauded loudly.
Yu Hong steadied his stance and casually patted his clothes. A blood groove appeared on his face, slowly oozing blood—a minor injury from Zhou Haijing's earlier hand-blade strike. This young woman had ruthless hands. Earlier, her hand-blade had been like a rainbow, seemingly chopping straight at his neck, but that was all a feint. Her killer move was that her thumb actually tried to gouge out one of Yu Hong's eyeballs. Yu Hong didn't hesitate at that moment and kicked Zhou Haijing in the abdomen. To neutralize the force and avoid being skewered by the kick, she had to retreat a step. Otherwise, in that exchange, Yu Hong would have killed a mountain peak martial artist at the cost of one eye.
Chen Ping'an was still resting with his eyes closed, listening to the sounds to discern the boxing. For a martial artist at the Return to Truth level of the Stop Realm, it wasn't difficult at all. He explained softly to Ning Yao, "Zhou Haijing is fishing. In less than half a stick of incense, she deliberately used six different boxing principles and seventeen fist techniques, all learned from others. The advantage lies in the cleverness of the techniques; the disadvantage is that the fist intent is shallow. They are varied but lack depth. None of them are Zhou Haijing's true boxing methods. She is constantly avoiding a contest of strength with Yu Hong. Plus, with that hand-blade just now, it's likely to deepen Yu Hong's impression that 'Zhou Haijing is a female martial artist.' I suspect that when Yu Hong takes his first breath to change his qi, that will be when Zhou Haijing decides the outcome. If he's not careful, she could trade serious injuries for his life."
Ning Yao asked doubtfully, "Do they have a grudge?"
Chen Ping'an thought for a moment. "Hard to say. Some martial arts fanatics simply like to decide life and death through boxing, using it to hone their martial path."
For example, the old cook from his Fallen Mountain.
Zhou Haijing held several beads in her hand, gently squeezing until they creaked. Previously, when Yu Hong's fist intent had struck her, the string of her bracelet had broken, and most of the beads had fallen to the ground.
She smiled radiantly. "Senior Yu Hong's old waist is still strong and sturdy, no wonder you've spread your branches and produced so many descendants. On the way here to the capital, I heard that in the old Zhu Ying dynasty, you Yu clan martial artists were extremely formidable, using your fists to suppress half the kingdom."
The spectators burst into laughter.
Yu Hong frowned slightly. "Martial arts combat—less idle talk."
Zhou Haijing raised her hand and opened her fist. The few beads were crushed into a fine powder, scattering in the wind.
She raised her fists high in salute and said with a smile, "You can consider it a medicinal ingredient for prolonging life. Women can use it as face powder."
With this remark, the shop would have to charge more.
Yu Hong's face showed a hint of anger. "Martial arts sparring is not child's play. Zhou Haijing, your breakthroughs in martial arts have come too smoothly, causing you to disrespect the martial path like this. Today, I will teach you how to be a true martial artist!"
Zhou Haijing clapped her hands. "Just don't teach me how to be a woman."
Whistles sounded one after another.
Yu Hong sneered, "Sharp-tongued, and you still call yourself a true martial artist?! From now on, I won't be polite with you. If I accidentally crush your mountain peak realm, don't blame heaven or others—you brought it on yourself."
Ning Yao smiled, curled her finger, and lightly tapped someone's forehead.
Chen Ping'an said helplessly, "I'm not like Ma Kuxuan. When I fight, especially when asking for a fist fight, I rarely chat."
Zhou Haijing pretended to be frightened, patting her chest, swaying slightly.
Seeing this scene, countless lechers and womanizers under the stage howled.
On another rooftop, Zhao Duanming suddenly looked in a direction. The young man was greatly shocked and tugged at Cao Gengxin's sleeve, speaking via mind voice: "Cao drunkard, the Emperor and Empress have both come! Yu Hong and Sister Zhou have such great face—enough to bring glory to their ancestors. Sure enough, learning boxing is good. Our qi refiners fighting can never get the Emperor to take more than a few glances."
Cao Gengxin didn't even glance at where the boy was looking, just staring intently at the exciting boxing match inside the Snail Shell Arena. Sister Zhou's legs already looked long when she stood still, and when asking for a fist fight, she was heroic and spirited. With a whip kick, Cao Gengxin wished he could push Old Man Yu aside and take that kick himself. He warned the boy, "Control your eyes. If you can bear not to look at what you shouldn't, that is cultivating the mind."
Zhao Duanming withdrew his gaze and said angrily, "If you're capable, control your mouth and don't drink."
Cao Gengxin took a sip of wine and said with a grin, "I'm using wine to seal my mouth! Drinking lightly makes the vision hazy; looking at flowers through a mist makes beauties even more beautiful."
A dignified and graceful couple with youthful faces, accompanied by a young girl, had just taken seats by a window in a restaurant outside the arena. The table was set with some fruits and snacks. The nearby tables were naturally occupied by Great Li imperial clan members using illusion techniques. The three at the main table were Emperor Song He, Empress Yu Mian, and the Divinity Branch's military strategist Yu Yu. However, Crown Prince Song Xu was absent.
The restaurant had not cleared out the crowd.
The young girl Yu Yu held a high seniority in the Yu clan of the Pillar State, a generation above Yu Mian. So when the Empress visited her family home, she had to call the girl "aunt." In countries outside Great Li on Bottle Gourd Continent, according to court laws, empresses were almost never allowed to visit their families. But the Great Li Song clan had always been lenient in such matters. Whether it was Nan Zan returning to Yuzhang Commandery or Yu Mian leaving the palace twice to go to Yichi Lane, the Ministry of Rites had no objections.
Yu Yu was stealing wine right in front of the Emperor, one pot after another. After finishing several pots of the light but lingering Changchun Palace brew, the girl started eyeing the jars of immortal tea on the neighboring table. The guards on duty couldn't drink alcohol, but they had excellent tea.
Ning Yao said, "You guessed wrong. Zhou Haijing doesn't seem intent on fighting Yu Hong to the death. Her moves are still measured. Has she already figured out that she will become the last member of the Divinity Branch?"
This boxing match lasted a full two sticks of incense, nearly half an hour. Finally, Zhou Haijing lost by one move. Neither side sustained serious injuries.
Yu Hong saluted with fists, paying respects to all directions.
Zhou Haijing covered her face with her hand and spat a mouthful of blood to the ground, evoking pity.
Just now, she was punched in the cheek by Yu Hong. As she staggered, he lightly struck her back heart with his elbow.
Had he struck with full force, Zhou Haijing would have either died or lost her realm.
Zhou Haijing showed a smile. "After I recover from my injuries, may I seek further guidance from Senior Yu Hong?"
She had already pawned everything she could, even borrowing many immortal coins from Su Lang, betting on herself to lose—a huge profit!
Yu Hong nodded. "Whenever you like."
Chen Ping'an sat up, squinting at the female martial artist who seemed indifferent to victory or defeat. He communicated via mind voice to Ning Yao: "I can roughly confirm now. Zhou Haijing has a life-and-death blood feud with Yu Hong. Killing just one Yu Hong probably wouldn't satisfy her hatred."
Chen Ping'an suddenly turned his head to look in the direction of the former Inverted Mountain and Flood Dragon Trench, his face turning pale.
Ning Yao asked, "Over in the Barren Wastes world, has someone made a move? A Liang? Zuo You?"
Due to his dual relationship with the Sword Qi Great Wall and the Barren Wastes' world suppressing his path, Chen Ping'an sensed something was amiss.
Chen Ping'an took a deep breath and said solemnly, "The two of them are working together."
Without needing to think, Ning Yao said directly, "Can you roughly determine the battlefield location? I can wield my sword to open the sky, first return to the Multicolored World, then hurry to the battlefield in the Barren Wastes."
But Ning Yao knew that even if she made it in time, she might not be able to help. If Crescent Moon Mountain's plan had already accounted for her, she might even be a hindrance.
Chen Ping'an shook his head, then suddenly smiled. "We have to trust A Liang and my senior brother."
A Liang and Zuo You combining their swords.
It was probably like... Chief Sword Immortal Chen Qingdu charging out of the city to fight with all his might.
To make up for a great regret for the human world.
****
A carefully orchestrated ambush in the Barren Wastes world.
Mountains and rivers shattered, the earth split open, spiritual energy in chaos. All the hidden ambushers had nowhere to hide.
The first Barren Wastes great demon to appear was Wenhai Zhoumi's eldest disciple, a new throne holder, the sword immortal Shuochen. He had one eye, carried a sword box containing six swords, and wore an emerald green dharma robe called "Shu Jiao Lian."
Shuochen was one of the two newest flying ascension sword cultivators in the Barren Wastes after the war's conclusion. The other was Feiran, who had become the world's common lord.
Shuochen's expression was grave. Even though his side held every advantage of time, place, and people, he didn't let his guard down. He looked at A Liang, who wore four swords at his waist. In this fight, anyone could die or be destroyed.
Following Shuochen was a female great demon at the immortal realm from Crescent Moon Mountain, using the alias Xin Zhuang. She was a direct disciple of the Crescent Moon Mountain Grand Ancestor and an old acquaintance of A Liang. She was at the immortal realm bottleneck. As a formation master within a small world formation, her combat strength could be fully considered equivalent to a flying ascension cultivator.
A black-and-white formation appeared beneath their feet, shaped like two yin-yang fish intertwined. Shuochen and Xin Zhuang stood atop the yin-yang fish, floating in the air, rotating with the formation.
The formation was extremely simple, just a yin-yang fish diagram, nothing more. But its Great Dao aura was profoundly mysterious and vast, as if embodying the orthodox lineage of the greatest simplicity in heaven and earth.
Xin Zhuang let out a soft sigh, looking at the man who clearly knew the immensity of heaven and earth yet deliberately ventured deep into the Barren Wastes' hinterlands. She said softly, "A Liang, you shouldn't provoke an entire world like this."
In the ten-thousand-year stalemate between the Barren Wastes and the Sword Qi Great Wall, flying ascension great demons were hard to kill, and flying ascension sword cultivators were even harder to kill.
On A Liang's left, two hundred li away, an old mountain-moving ape stood on a flying sword, a long staff on his shoulder. He used his divine abilities to suppress the mountain beneath him, preventing it from being shattered by A Liang's sword intent.
This old throne great demon, whose true name was Zhu Yan, grinned fiercely. "You bastard, since you're tired of living, Grandpa will send you off today to keep Dong Sansheng company down below. Too bad you're not at the fourteenth realm, or Grandpa's merits would be greater."
On A Liang's right, hundreds of li away, was a flying ascension great demon named Guan Xiang, with white eyebrows, white hair, and a white dharma robe. He was also one of the new throne holders. He had used his divine abilities to twist and reconnect a river hundreds of li long, finally trapping it into a miniature cushion the size of a fist.
Guan Xiang laughed loudly at A Liang, "Brother A Liang, your spirit hasn't diminished over the years. But it seems hard for you to slip away this time. If you do, you can take a message for me to the young Hidden Officer: what I said during the previous council still stands."
It was about persuading the young Hidden Officer to defect to the Barren Wastes, marry his little daughter, and become a new throne holder without any doubt, with a very high ranking. Guan Xiang was willing to yield and let him become the master of the Guan Xiang lineage's domain, which was now no smaller than a continent in the Bright World. One day, when Chen Ping'an reached the fourteenth realm as a sword immortal, he might even share the world with Feiran.
A Liang raised a middle finger in the distance.
This old fool Guan Xiang had even worse judgment than the old blind man. Did he not know who was more handsome, A Liang or Chen Ping'an?
Guan Xiang raised a hand, capturing a strand of sword intent from his surroundings. It coiled around his fingertip, producing phenomena like thunder and lightning.
In the distance, a rider rode through the clouds on horseback, clad in golden armor, holding a spear. His face was masked, his true appearance hidden. At his waist hung two small, exquisite meteor hammers—one bright red, one pitch black.
The female demon cultivator with the dao name Shuo Ren, called Rouyi, stood beside this rider. She had a tall, slender figure, dressed like a Daoist nun, wearing a fish-tail crown, yellow-purple Daoist robes, holding a horsetail whisk. Behind her was a full moon like a holy image.
Although these two were only at the immortal realm, both the Summer Palace and the Central Earth Confucian Temple had listed them as priority targets. Among the demon cultivators who earned such distinction, including Shuochen, there were only three.
A Liang looked around, his eyes unfocused. After a long silence, he finally muttered a dejected remark: "Miserable. It seems today's lineup falls slightly short of Bai Ye's. It really makes me beat my chest and stamp my feet in anguish."
In the Battle of Fuyang Continent to besiege Bai Ye, the number of throne great demons was overwhelming—more than one hand could count. And they were all old thrones of the Barren Wastes, without any dilution.
Sure enough, after falling from the fourteenth realm, he was looked down upon.
Back then, before Yu Xuan ascended, he had specifically come to mock A Liang, saying, "Brother A Liang, don't be sad. Just think of it as a swap of our realms—not a loss. When I successfully merge with the Dao, remember to come to the heavens to congratulate me. I will fulfill the grand ambition I had in my youth: refining the Milky Way into wine. There will be plenty of good wine."
For now, the top combatants of the Barren Wastes who had revealed themselves in the battlefield were only these six.
The old ancestor of the mountain-moving lineage, Zhu Yan, at the peak of flying ascension. Among the old thrones, this mountain-moving ancestor's combat power was actually quite outstanding.
Passable.
Shuochen, a newly promoted flying ascension sword immortal.
Acceptable.
After all, he was young, the junior with the least seniority among flying ascension sword immortals. No matter how good his sword-forging talent, he still couldn't compensate for the inherent defect of insufficient cultivation time.
Guan Xiang, a flying ascension great demon among the new thrones, an old enemy of the Sword Qi Great Wall.
An old acquaintance of A Liang. Other than his loud voice and witty speech, everything else about him seemed lacking.
Xin Zhuang of Crescent Moon Mountain, a formation master with decent fist and foot skills, fully comparable to a Stop Realm martial artist.
As for the golden-armored knight riding through the clouds, his Great Dao roots were extremely obscure. Not even the Jiazi Account had a record. Not only was his true demon name unknown, but he didn't even have an alias.
The female Daoist Rouyi was rumored to be the mountain Dao partner of old throne Huang Luan, but in reality, she was a remnant of Huang Luan's severed three corpses, a half-heavenly demon by nature. Setting aside her endless magic treasures, her combat power wasn't too high, but she was extremely hard to kill. After Zhou Mi devoured Huang Luan, many secret treasures were given to Rouyi before Zhou Mi ascended to heaven—returning them to their original owner.
These three together could barely be considered equivalent to two flying ascension cultivators.
So in A Liang's eyes at the moment, there were roughly only five flying ascension level opponents.
A Liang gently rubbed the ground with his toes, his thumb pressing against the sword guard, slightly drawing a sword. He glanced down at the borrowed swords and smiled softly, "Don't worry. I definitely won't let you down."
To kill me, A Liang.
Especially now that I am a sword cultivator who properly wears swords.
It won't be just this. Not that the paper strength of the great demons is insufficient, but the real backbone of today's ambush, Shuochen? That would be too weak.
On his early solo journey to the Barren Wastes, he had a string of flying ascension great demons chasing after him.
Earlier, A Liang had deliberately walked to the edge of the hidden great formation before stopping, letting Feng Xuetao leave and return to the Sword Qi Great Wall alone.
A wild cultivator who feared death and cherished life above all else—to have followed him this far was already remarkable. Especially when Feng Xuetao felt he could try to stay, A Liang thought that was enough.
Of course, he had to let Feng Xuetao live well, return to the Bright World, and brag for me, A Liang, about how earth-shattering this great battle was.
"Stop hiding and skulking. Watching others fight is no fun. Come down and join the gambling with your lives."
When A Liang pushed his sword out of the sheath by an inch, within a radius of three thousand li, mountains collapsed, earth split, dust darkened the sky. All flowing water was minced by dense sword intent, leaving no water fortune. Endless broken water and dust mixed together. Within the three-thousand-li territory, it was like a sudden mud rain falling. In the rain curtain, sword intent crisscrossed. On the ground, ravines densely spread. No mountain, no stream, no grass or tree remained—all were instantly turned to dust. Even the mountain beneath the mountain-moving ancestor that he had protected was completely shattered.
Zhu Yan swung his long staff, drawing arc after arc to drive back the surging sword intent around him.
This bastard A Liang. Luckily, he was no longer a fourteenth-realm sword immortal.
The mountain-moving ancestor was still haunted by the Battle of Fuyang Continent.
At that time, luckily the fourteenth-realm Bai Ye was not a sword immortal.
The formation rotated. Shuochen and Xin Zhuang hovered above the black-and-white swimming fish. They didn't need to cast spells themselves; the formation helped wear down the sword intent. When the formation and sword intent collided, they stirred up layers of glass-like ripples of time.
Shuochen squinted, studying the dispersion trajectory of the sword intent. After a moment, he shook his head. He couldn't find any flaw in the sword path.
A sword cultivator's greatest reliance was the ultimate killing power of "one sword breaks all laws." No matter what kind of cultivator or divine ability, just break it with one sword.
But sword cultivators found it hard to balance personal exceptional killing power with large-scale battlefield lethality. That was why Wu Chengpei, who wasn't skilled in direct combat, with only his jade-walled realm and his life-bound flying sword ranked grade A by the Summer Palace, had become the top priority for the Barren Wastes great demons to eliminate early.
Not everything in the world can be perfect.
Sword cultivators and life-bound flying swords naturally suited for the battlefield were often not good at one-on-one combat. And on a mountain peak battlefield, even if a sword immortal had abundant sword energy and heavy sword intent, advantages and disadvantages coexisted. The advantage was not fearing encirclement; the disadvantage was that a single misstep could allow an enemy cultivator to find a flaw in the Great Dao.
And A Liang was a big exception.
Whether in duels or being surrounded.
This nonchalant Bright World sword immortal, the least scholar-like swordsman, was almost invincible.
The "almost" was because there was the Great Sword Immortal on the city wall, and the White Jade Capital's "True Invincible," Daoist Er, because of Yu Dou having one of the four immortal swords, "Dao Zang."
Tai Bai, Wan Fa, Dao Zang, Tian Zhen.
It was universally acknowledged that these four immortal swords, which had slain countless ancient great demons and gods, if A Liang obtained one, or acquired a suitable sword of similar rank, he would be as hard to kill as the most proud son of the world, Bai Ye.
The great demon Guan Xiang laughed loudly. The cushion beneath his feet exploded with a bang, shattering the sword intent.
The golden-armored knight tightened his grip on the spear. The ancient armor he wore gleamed brightly.
His mount lightly tread the void. Beneath its hooves, circles of water ripples spread in all directions.
The knight asked via mind voice, "Do we need so many people to participate in this siege? Is Feiran planning to besiege and wait for reinforcements?"
"People?"
Rouyi smiled. She continued shaking her horsetail whisk, repeatedly dispersing the lingering sword intent within a radius of several li, pushing it outward. It was indeed troublesome. Within a thousand li, dense sword intent quietly circulated everywhere. Their offensive magic treasures, divine abilities, techniques for shrinking mountains, and certain escape arts would all be very troublesome to use, and it would be easier to reveal traces. Even so, no one was willing to be the first to use great divine powers like moving mountains or replacing a small world to transfer this sword intent elsewhere.
Who would have thought that one person's sword intent spilled into heaven and earth could be measured by the catty—hundreds of catties, thousands of catties?
Truly unreasonable.
The rider beside Rouyi had appeared out of nowhere. Even she didn't know his Great Dao lineage. He had never faced A Liang directly on the battlefield, at most watching from a distance during the Sword Qi Great Wall offensive and defensive battle, seeing A Liang descend from the sky and later his majestic sword duel with Liu Cha.
She had to explain patiently, "Defeating or repelling A Liang is completely different from stopping or killing A Liang. Not everyone can trade punches with the Daoist Er. A Liang has two things that most caution mountain peak cultivators: one is that he's not afraid of being surrounded and is good at single-handedly fighting a group. The other is that no one has yet known the divine ability of his life-bound flying sword."
Having said that, Rouyi glanced in a certain direction and said softly, "As for whether Crescent Moon Mountain plans to besiege and wait for reinforcements, maybe."
A Liang suddenly dropped his earlier posture of about to draw his sword. He gave a light hop, stood on one leg, shook his leg, then shook the other.
He interlaced his fingers, held them in front of his chest, and his wrists and arms undulated like rippling water.
The golden-armored knight grumbled, "That demeanor is utterly annoying."
Rouyi laughed, "Get used to it."
Once the fighting really started, they wouldn't have time to care.
Sure enough, two more groups of behind-the-scenes players revealed their traces at different distant locations.
One was a gaunt old man with a walking stick, his cheeks sunken. This fourteenth-realm great cultivator was the founder of the Barren Wastes' Hall of Heroes.
He was a visitor from beyond the heavens, who had not appeared in previous great battles. Only during the negotiations between the two worlds did he show up at Crescent Moon Mountain, quite belatedly.
According to secret records in the Summer Palace and the Confucian Temple, when the Dao Ancestor rode his ox through the pass, he was likely after this old man. Naturally, this old fellow didn't dare to spar with the Dao Ancestor and fled to the outer reaches, eventually giving up the slim chance to ascend to the fifteenth realm. In doing so, he indirectly paved the way for Wenhai Zhoumi to ascend.
The flying ascension sword immortal, now the nominal master of the Barren Wastes world, Feiran.
Feiran and his senior brother Qie Yun were both direct disciples of this old man. However, Feiran was accepted as a disciple by Qie Yun on behalf of the teacher, so he had never seen this master before.
The Great Ancestor of Crescent Moon Mountain's departure was actually a dispersion of the Dao. The greatest beneficiaries were Feiran, Shuochen, Zhou Qinggao, and others, on whom Zhoumi placed great hope.
The jade-walled female sword immortal Liu Bai, wearing a dharma robe called "Yu Wei Dong Tian."
At another location were Xiao Xun and her friend Zhang Lu.
The fourteenth-realm sword immortal Xiao Xun sat cross-legged in the air, pulling on her lamb-horn braids, watching as if at a play. The great sword immortal Zhang Lu was drinking.
Both of these sword immortals had good relations with A Liang in the early days of the Sword Qi Great Wall.
Xiao Xun said with a straight face, "Dying at someone else's hands would be too wasteful. It's better to be beaten to death by me."
Zhang Lu remained silent, just drinking. The wine he now drank was all brought by Xiao Xun from the Bright World. Unfortunately, the variety was far from enough, especially lacking the immortal brews of the Central Earth Divine Continent's zong-type immortals.
A sharp spring breeze or a bleak autumn wind could sober one up.
But in truth, the best hangover cure was the troublesome affairs of the human world. Wanting to get drunk was hard; sobering up was easy.
A fourteenth-realm cultivator who was nearly perfected seemed to have an extremely ancient dao name with great meaning, "Chu Sheng."
His mother's! That old geezer was a real talent, giving himself such a resounding dao name.
A flying ascension sword immortal who condensed the fortune of an entire world, similar to Ning girl—both were guaranteed future fourteenth realms. Of course, the premise was that Feiran survived this fight.
A fourteenth-realm sword immortal who had refined the entire Hall of Heroes. Xiao Xun, what were you thinking? Was it worth being so angry at the Great Sword Immortal? As a sword immortal, you took a side path of refining heaven and earth to merge with the fourteenth realm. With Xiao Xun's talent and foundation, if she had been willing to wait, she wouldn't have needed to do this. But Xiao Xun always acted on impulse, caring nothing for heaven or earth, not even life or death, only seeking satisfaction. So the more peaceful the Bright World, the more discontent she felt on the Sword Qi Great Wall. If Xiao Xun hadn't been held back by Zuo You, the Bright World would have lost at least one more continent, like the northwestern Liuxia Continent.
A great sword immortal from the Sword Qi Great Wall, once a drinking buddy. Friends were friends, the battlefield was the battlefield—each responsible for their own life and death.
As for that jade-walled little girl... it was best she just watched from the sidelines.
Liu Bai herself didn't know why she had been brought to participate in this siege, but it was the common intention of that ancestor and Feiran.
However, standing on the battlefield today, Liu Bai had no fear. Her sword heart was stable. She only respected A Liang, who caused the Barren Wastes great headaches.
Only one person made her feel like a great enemy just by looking at him, almost causing her inner demons to stir.
Zhang Lu hugged an empty wine jar and laughed, "I've never actually seen A Liang's life-bound flying sword. Back then, I teamed up with others to get him drunk, but I couldn't get the name of the flying sword out of him. Every time that guy drinks, as long as there's a woman at the table, he will step on his own left foot with his right foot. But he never pukes or collapses, and he can spout heartfelt words to women, calling it 'truth from a drunken mouth.'"
Xiao Xun nodded, arms crossed, sneering, "I came just for his life-bound flying sword. Otherwise, I wouldn't bother to come and watch the fun."
Zhang Lu asked curiously, "I once asked A Liang if he could beat Dong Sansheng. A Liang only grinned and said he couldn't, that there was no way he could beat Old Dong."
Xiao Xun hesitated for a moment before saying, "Other than Chen Qingdu, probably no one knows how high A Liang's sword path really is."
The great battle was about to erupt. Within the formation, Shuochen reminded via mind voice: "Xin Zhuang, be careful. A Liang might target you first and keep at it until you're dead. So you must protect yourself and delay as much time as possible."
What kind of qi refiner did cultivators hate the most? Formation masters.
In the narrow sense, formation masters like the Divinity Branch's Han Zhoujin. Ultimately, they disrupted the time, occupied the terrain, and won the human factor.
In the broad sense, every sage who governed a small world counted as a formation master. For instance, Chen Ping'an, due to his flying sword "Cage Sparrow," could also be considered one.
Xin Zhuang nodded.
Although she was the bait, she feared being taken out too quickly by A Liang.
If it were a siege of an ordinary flying ascension cultivator, there wouldn't be such worries. Who would need to worry about the bait being eaten too fast?
The old man asked with a smile, "Today's A Liang seems different from what you all described. Same situation of one against a group, but today he has few cynical remarks."
Feiran nodded. "Such an A Liang will be very terrifying."
A Liang, surrounded in the encirclement, looked around and nodded, quite satisfied. This was more like it. Such a lineup and scale actually surpassed the Battle of Fuyang Continent.
Not only were there two fourteenth realms, but there were also many sword cultivators today.
It was worth calling in Zuo You to assist.
Even on the Sword Qi Great Wall battlefield, A Liang rarely cooperated with others in sword attacks.
Zuo You was the same.
The man from the Mencius lineage, A Liang, and the man from the Wen lineage, Zuo You, were the best of friends. Even with the dispute between the Third and Fourth, it never changed.
A Liang glanced at the sky curtain and took a deep breath.
The Heavenly River washes the armor and weapons, most suitable for refining swords.
Today's sword duel didn't require much talk. All the principles of a sword cultivator lay only in the sword.
A long line was dragged from the northernmost Sword Qi Great Wall ruins in the Barren Wastes.
The abundance of sword energy spanned nearly half of the Barren Wastes' mountains and rivers, yet the sword light remained cohesive and undispersed.
It was like building a sword energy bridge across half a world.
On the city wall, Cao Jun was dumbfounded. He gazed into the distance, straining his eyes, but still couldn't see the end of that long line.
Was this... cutting the world with a sword?
Only after his eyes grew sore did Cao Jun look away, rubbing his eyes. He couldn't help but turn and ask, "Wei Jin, if you reached flying ascension, could you do that?"
"Of course not."
Wei Jin answered without hesitation. "Sir Zuo's sword technique has already reached the peak. The only one who can surpass today's Sir Zuo in sword technique in the future is Sir Zuo himself in the next realm."
Wei Jin suddenly said, "Gather your mind. Just now, your sword heart had a trace of dispersion."
Cao Jun was stunned, his face full of shock. If Wei Jin hadn't reminded him, he would have been completely unaware. Cao Jun quickly inspected his small world and carefully examined his state of mind. He found that in his mindscape, ten thousand green lotuses had imperceptibly tilted in a small patch. Cao Jun immediately sat up straight and "straightened" each one.
After Cao Jun had restored his Dao heart, Wei Jin spoke, "Your talent for sword training is indeed good. You could recover that strand of mind so quickly. For most sword immortals, even if reminded by others, they can only watch helplessly as the flaw appears. Sir Zuo was not without reason when he was willing to teach you sword technique."
Cao Jun said angrily, "Great Sword Immortal Wei, couldn't you have reminded me earlier?"
Wei Jin shook his head. "You're not a novice to cultivation. The protection of others is not about supporting you but pointing out the path so you don't stray."
Cao Jun sighed. "That's the logic, but hearing it stings."
Wei Jin smiled. "You're much older than me, two realms lower, so hearing such words naturally stings."
Cao Jun thought the atmosphere of the Sword Qi Great Wall had gone crooked.
Among the traveling qi refiners, most were from the Central Earth Divine Continent and the Ai Ai Continent—one with the highest vision, the other with money to spare.
Zuo You had traveled to the Barren Wastes in a rainbow-like light, astonishing even Cao Jun, a Nascent Soul sword immortal. These qi refiners were naturally even more shocked, stopping on the city wall, dumbfounded.
Suddenly, someone laughed.
"For now, you still can't determine life or death with Daoist Er. You'll need to break through further."
"Whether Zuo You can reach the fourteenth realm, or Lu Zhi can reach flying ascension, are both worth looking forward to."
Cao Jun turned to look. It was an earth immortal from the Daoist sect. His arrogance was beyond measure.
The middle-aged man had long beard, wore a Daoist robe, a far-traveling crown, white cloud shoes, and carried a wooden sword on his back.
This immortal style could fool ordinary people and lower-fifth-realm qi refiners, but for Lord Cao, spare it.
Cao Jun said with a grin, "This priest, from your tone, it sounds like you can trade blows with that True Invincible of White Jade Capital?"
The priest stroked his beard, squinting with a smile. "Then I'll borrow your auspicious words, Sword Immortal Cao."
At the same time, Cao Jun communicated via mind voice: "Wei Jin, could this be a disguised transcendent master?"
Wei Jin replied, "I can only see that he is a Nascent Soul cultivator. But you should be cautious with your words. Better to avoid trouble than to seek it."
Cao Jun was relieved. He heard half of it. The great sword immortal of Snow Wind Temple, even if he encountered a flying ascension, wouldn't misjudge.
Unless it was one of those: Yu Xuan the talisman master, Zhao Tianlai of Dragon-Tiger Mountain, Fiery Dragon of Crouching Earth Peak. These few old flying ascensions deliberately concealed their aura. And these old flying ascensions, when traveling outside, all had a straightforward style and didn't like using illusions.
He couldn't possibly have encountered a fourteenth realm. No way!
Cao Jun clasped his fists. "Honored."
The middle-aged Daoist looked at Wei Jin and Cao Jun sitting apart, smiled, and said, "Will is not strong and resolute; intent is not generous and unyielding. Stuck in vulgarity, trapped by emotions. How can one seek a proper place in the world? Hard to enter the inner sanctum and gain the great sword immortal's wind and flow."
Wei Jin laughed it off.
His own emotional tribulation was already well-known. Being casually exposed by an unknown wandering Daoist was no cause for anger.
Cao Jun laughed angrily. "This priest, are you teaching me to practice the sword? What, are you a sword immortal too?"
"What kind of sword immortal am I? I know nothing about the sword path. Just watching from across the shore, barely catching the excitement."
The middle-aged Daoist shook his head with a smile and didn't continue. He simply chose a spot on the city wall between the two, lightly leaped up, and sat cross-legged.
Not at all. He had just recognized two cheap nephews. Unfortunately, those two fellows, when it came to reading, were far inferior to Chen Ping'an. So they could only grasp one layer of subtext, forgetting that the phrase "will is not strong and resolute, intent is not generous and unyielding" came from a "Letter of Admonition to My Nephew."
This trip to the Barren Wastes had no major purpose—just to clear his mind, see the scenery, and also to settle accounts with the old deaf man who managed the Sword Qi Great Wall prison. But that fellow hid well. He had done some divination earlier and visited several places but couldn't find him.
It couldn't be helped. This wasn't the Azure World. There were too many obstacles for Great Dao evolution. If push came to shove, he would go to Golden Jade City and ask Zheng Juzhong.
This Lord of White Emperor City had left a message at the Central Earth Confucian Temple, saying he could be a guest at Golden Jade City when free—quite sincere.
He chuckled to himself via mind voice: "Great Sword Immortal Wei Jin, the bold starve, the timid get stuffed. Since you hold a sword manual passed down from Zong Yuan, why have you still not obtained those lingering ancient sword intents? If I were Zong Yuan, I would be somewhat disappointed in you, a successor personally chosen by the Great Sword Immortal."
Wei Jin said solemnly, "May I ask the senior's name!"
Wu Shuangjiang smiled. "Not worth mentioning. Just think of me as the uncle of the Hidden Officer."
Wei Jin was baffled.
****
In the Azure World, a burly man sat cross-legged on a sea of clouds, drifting with the clouds. After drinking, he casually threw away the wine flask.
Beside the man stood a boy with his hands behind his back, handsome in appearance, but wearing a tiger-head hat, which was a bit comical.
Without the hat, his bearing and aura would seem to monopolize the word "banished immortal."
The man stood up, stretched his limbs, interlaced his fingers, twisted his body, and then, for no apparent reason, threw a punch far into the distance.
Punch shaking the White Jade Capital!
After throwing the punch, he ran.
The man reached out and grabbed the neck of the boy with the tiger-head hat, dragging him away. The boy folded his arms, feet off the ground as if lying horizontally, calm and composed.
Only a close friend like Liu Shiliu would dare to throw a punch at the White Jade Capital, and treat Bai Ye like this.
****
On the Barren Wastes battlefield.
A great battle that almost blurring who was besieging whom officially began.
After his old sword had broken years ago, A Liang had only worn a bamboo blade. When he went to the Azure World's heaven beyond heaven to fight Daoist Er, he didn't use a sword.
But today, A Liang held the sword hilt with both hands and slowly drew the sword from its sheath, adopting a posture of holding the sword with both hands—something he had never done before.
Sword immortals and their swords were not bound by heaven and earth; they would not be prisoners of the sheath.
This short man, who liked to call himself a swordsman, just held a sword in each hand. Before he even truly struck, countless sharp flying swords formed from condensed sword intent filled the surrounding world.
It was like a grandiose manifestation of the Dao. Within a radius of three thousand li in foreign lands, flying swords numbered in the tens of thousands.
Every Barren Wastes great demon participating in the siege had to face a sword formation.
Countless flying swords came and went without a trace, rising and falling in chaos, crisscrossing, indiscriminately slashing and killing.
A Liang slightly bent his knees, spread his arms, and held the two swords. He whispered, "Nightfall."
The vast land, which had been bright as day, received the command. With just two words from the sword immortal, the world changed color. In an instant, the heavens and earth darkened, pitch black.
Thunder, fire, rushing torrent, comet.
Four types of sword manifestations lit up dramatically in the darkness.
Lightning intertwined, dazzling white. Fire dragons, blood red. Rivers surged, emerald green. Comets streaked across the sky.
It was as if a sword immortal, because his sword path was so high, could simultaneously control four gods with his sword, as if possessing an incomprehensible innate divine ability.
A counter-kill.