# Chapter 1370: The Sword Cultivator
"Elder Chi, give me the Ten-Thousand-Year Nether Winter Ice Soul. I want to give it to Miss Mu as a gift of apology." Qiu Yu said.
Behind Qiu Yu stood an old man with a flame mark on his forehead. Sacred Dao rules interwove around his entire body, and the flame on his forehead burned like a divine furnace.
The old man hesitated slightly, then said: "The Nether Winter Ice Soul is extremely precious. It would also be of great use to the young master..."
Qiu Yu smiled faintly: "Compared to Miss Mu, a mere Ten-Thousand-Year Nether Winter Ice Soul is nothing worth mentioning."
The surrounding cultivators of the Moon-Worshipping Cult all exchanged glances, visibly moved.
The Ten-Thousand-Year Nether Winter Ice Soul was undoubtedly an extremely rare and precious treasure, far more valuable than ordinary sacred medicine. Saints with ice-cold physiques would covet it greatly, yet Qiu Yu casually offered to give it to Mu Lingxi.
"Such magnanimity is truly beyond ordinary people. The Little Saintly Virgin marrying him would actually be somewhat of an elevation for her." The older generation cultivators of the Moon-Worshipping Cult all thought this in their hearts.
In the end, the old man with the flame mark on his forehead took out a blue ice jade box and handed it to Qiu Yu.
Qiu Yu, Ouyang Huan, and Yun Zheng walked at the very front, with everyone else following behind. The group entered Heavenly Water Peak, the cultivation spirit mountain where the Saintly Virgin Palace was located.
The Saintly Virgin Palace only accepted female disciples. Along the way, one could see many beautiful women flying through the mountain. When they saw Qiu Yu and Ouyang Huan, all of them blushed and their hearts raced, spreading the news and causing quite a stir.
Soon, the news that Qiu Yu and Ouyang Huan had arrived at Heavenly Water Peak spread throughout the Saintly Virgin Palace.
Not only ordinary female cultivators came rushing over, but even several Saintly Virgins who had been in seclusion came to pay their respects.
They naturally knew the purpose of Qiu Yu and Ouyang Huan's visit to Heavenly Water Peak, and all showed expressions of envy and jealousy.
The crowd passed through a stretch of deep forest, and the view suddenly opened up, revealing a cultivation secret mansion. In front of the secret mansion was a blue-green spirit lake.
"Greetings, Vice Sect Leader."
The maidservants responsible for attending to Mu Lingxi all knelt on the ground, kowtowing in salute.
Led by Qiu Yu, the three of them walked straight toward the cultivation secret mansion. The others remained at a distance, not stepping into this area.
At this moment, a cold voice sounded from the shore of the spirit lake: "Without the permission of the secret mansion's master, any cultivator who takes another step forward will be guilty of a capital offense."
A very discordant voice.
Only now did Qiu Yu notice that there was actually someone fishing by the shore of the spirit lake, and this person had not knelt down. This surprised him somewhat.
Qiu Yu glanced at Ouyang Huan and smiled: "Brother Ouyang, isn't the Moon-Worshipping Cult supposed to have a strict hierarchy? How is it that there are cultivators who see you and still don't kneel?"
Sitting by the shore of the spirit lake was a man in his twenties. His cloth clothes were washed somewhat white but were very neat. One hand held a fishing rod, while the other hand gripped a rust-covered iron sword.
Ouyang Huan glanced at the cloth-clothed man, a deep look appearing in his eyes: "A Le, do not be rude to Young Master Qiu Yu."
A Le said: "I am merely stating the rules here. Everyone must act according to the rules."
Ouyang Huan frowned: "This is the Saintly Virgin Palace, not a place for you to be. Return immediately."
"This is exactly where I should be!" A Le said unhurriedly: "Please go back. The Saintly Virgin does not wish to see anyone today."
"Do you think your words matter? I am her father! Who dares to stop me?"
Yun Zheng was somewhat furious. His daughter being favored by Qiu Yu was such an honor, yet someone actually dared to obstruct this matter?
Whoever dared to stop him would die.
Fearing that offending Qiu Yu would cause the marriage alliance to fail, Yun Zheng was stirred to kill. The sacred qi within his body rapidly circulated, condensing into a palm that struck toward the top of A Le's head.
One must know that Yun Zheng's cultivation had also crossed into the Saint realm. Once he made a move, it was naturally earth-shattering, with sounds of wind and thunder shaking the entire Heavenly Water Peak.
A Le sat steadily, his expression still indifferent. He merely lightly flicked his arm.
"Shua——"
The fishing line flew out from the water, tracing a graceful arc, sharper than any blade. It cut through Yun Zheng's palm and wrapped around his neck.
"I can't even dodge a fishing line."
Yun Zheng was quite shocked in his heart.
The next moment, the shock in Yun Zheng's eyes turned into fear.
"Ge ge."
The fishing line wrapped around his neck began to contract, penetrating his physical defense and cutting a blood-red mark. Drops of sacred blood slid down along the fishing line, as if it was about to cut off his head.
"A Le, don't kill him."
From afar, within the cultivation secret mansion, Mu Lingxi's gentle voice sounded.
Hearing this voice, A Le lightly flicked the fishing rod. Immediately, Yun Zheng flew up from the ground and with a "plop" sound, fell headfirst into the spirit lake.
"You..."
Yun Zheng felt utterly humiliated and roared in anger. But when he saw A Le's cold, emotionless eyes, his throat felt as if it were being squeezed by an invisible hand, and he couldn't utter a single word.
Seeing this scene, Qiu Yu instead revealed a faint smile on his face. He nodded and said: "A Le, not bad. You're a very interesting person. From now on, follow me in cultivation!"
"You are not worthy."
A Le continued fishing, not even giving Qiu Yu a proper look.
Even with Qiu Yu's composure, a trace of anger appeared in his eyes: "Your cultivation is not bad, but you cannot stop me. You should know that I was ranked first on the 'Half-Saint Ranking.' Among my peers, there are very few who can withstand even one move from me. Making an enemy of me is undoubtedly seeking death. On the contrary, befriending me can bring you countless benefits."
Qiu Yu clearly admired A Le and wanted to recruit him under his command, or even become friends with him.
How many cultivators would never have such an opportunity even if they begged for it.
A Le said: "This life of mine was given to me by someone else. If I die here, consider it as returning it to him."
"What a pity, what a pity."
Seeing that A Le's will was extremely firm, Qiu Yu knew he could not subdue him. He sighed lightly and stopped trying to persuade him. He directly stepped forward and walked toward Mu Lingxi's cultivation secret mansion.
"Die."
A Le uttered this single word.
At the same time, the fishing line flew out from the water again, tracing dozens of arcs with sharp whistling sounds. Those arcs pressed down toward Qiu Yu from all directions like a sky-covering net.
"Impressive. Every single arc is a real attack, containing the most extreme Sword Dao rules."
Even Ouyang Huan was secretly startled. Just this one strike alone would not be easy for him to block with his cultivation.
Ouyang Huan cast a deep glance at A Le, very curious about what level his cultivation had actually reached.
"You actually dare to make a move against me. You don't know your limits!"
Qiu Yu smiled faintly, a hint of disdain in his expression. He pressed his five fingers forward, and immediately a sheet of flame surged out, burning all the arcs into green smoke, easily neutralizing the attack.
A Le's gaze sharpened. A surging killing intent erupted from within his body. He lifted the iron sword and charged forward in an instant.
One sword thrust out, aimed straight at Qiu Yu's heart.
"Pa pa."
The speed of this sword was terrifyingly fast, producing a series of sonic booms.
Of course, the speed of sound propagation was far slower than A Le's speed, so Qiu Yu couldn't hear the sonic booms at all.
However, Qiu Yu felt a long-lost chill. For a parasol tree growing in the Fire Domain, it had been a long time since he had felt any coldness.
His eyes narrowed as he stared at A Le.
What surprised Qiu Yu was that with his cultivation and eyesight, he could only see a residual shadow. He couldn't clearly see the opponent's sword technique at all. This showed just how fast A Le's sword was.
Forced into a corner, Qiu Yu could only fully circulate the sacred qi within his body. Seventy-two layers of crimson sacred fire surged outward.
But A Le's sword pressed forward without hesitation. No matter how fierce the fire waves were, he would not retreat.
"Bang bang."
All seventy-two layers of sacred fire waves were pierced through. A Le's sword struck Qiu Yu's chest.
Of course, Qiu Yu's reaction speed was also extremely impressive. His palm struck the top of A Le's head.
"Pu chi."
The rust-covered iron sword actually broke through Qiu Yu's defense, pierced through his heart, and the sword tip emerged from Qiu Yu's back.
At the same time, Qiu Yu's palm also struck the top of A Le's head, directly cracking A Le's skull with fissures.
Qiu Yu's eyes widened, filled with disbelief: "If... if I were human, I would really have been severely wounded by you today. But unfortunately, I have no heart."
"Chi chi."
From Qiu Yu's palm, branches sprouted out, piercing through A Le's head. Each branch burned with flames, causing A Le's head to catch fire as well.
If before, Qiu Yu had admired A Le and wanted to recruit him, now Qiu Yu felt that he could never control A Le. This person was extremely dangerous and must be eliminated as soon as possible, lest he become a great enemy.
"Ci la."
A Le's will did not extinguish. His arm dragged again, and the iron sword slashed horizontally across Qiu Yu's chest, cutting half of Qiu Yu's body apart.
Instantly, half of Qiu Yu's body turned into wood, almost being forced back to his original form.
Having used his last bit of strength, all signs of life disappeared from A Le's body. He stood there, still holding the iron sword, motionless, his head melted away by the flames.
Qiu Yu's entire body trembled. He kicked A Le's corpse, gritting his teeth, with anger in his voice: "As expected of the foremost of the seven great ancient cults. Truly, hidden dragons and crouching tigers. A random sword cultivator who appears possesses such power. Among the nine realm sons, how many could withstand that sword?"
"Plop."
A Le's corpse fell into the spirit lake, blood dyeing a large area of the lake water red.
"A Le..."
Mu Lingxi rushed out from the cultivation secret mansion. Seeing the corpse in the lake, she fell directly to her knees, tears streaming endlessly: "I'm sorry... I'm sorry, it's all my fault that you died... I'm sorry..."
From afar, in the dense forest, Shou Shu poked his head out from the soil. Seeing this scene, he was startled: "It's over, it's over. Even A Le is dead! Who can still protect the Little Saintly Virgin? I'm no match for Qiu Yu. I'd better report this to Black Lord first."
Then, Shou Shu burrowed into the soil, left the Demon Cult's headquarters, and headed toward the desolate wilderness secret realm.
...
(Does everyone still remember Shou Shu? A reminder, he is the ancient remnant species, the Divine Demon Rat.
Also A Le, has everyone already forgotten him?)