# Chapter 559: Sword Cultivator
The two eyeballs of the Earthfire Qilin were like burning bronze bells, radiating a strange five-colored light. Just by glaring at Zhang Ruochen, it exuded a bestial, wild aura.
"Boom, rumble!"
The Earthfire Qilin spread its four iron hooves and charged toward Zhang Ruochen.
It seemed to want to devour Zhang Ruochen first to replenish its strength before continuing to deal with Monk Lidi.
Monk Lidi stopped, panting heavily, wiping sweat from his brow with his monk's robe, and shouted a warning: "Benefactor Zhang must be extremely careful. That qilin is no ordinary beast—do not confront it head-on."
"Roar!"
The Earthfire Qilin opened its massive maw and let out a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering roar, completely drowning out Monk Lidi's voice.
The qilin's roar formed sound waves, condensing into ring after ring of sonic ripples.
Each sonic ripple was comparable to a full-force strike from a Fish-Dragon Ninth Change powerhouse.
Hundreds upon thousands of sonic ripples surged forward in an unending wave, crashing into a small island. In an instant, a cracking sound rang out.
The island, over ten miles long, shattered into mud and stone fragments, vanishing from the sea's surface.
Earlier, the Earthfire Qilin's roar had been mainly directed at Monk Lidi. Zhang Ruochen, standing at a distance, had been able to block the scattered sound waves using his Space Domain.
But now, the Earthfire Qilin's attack target had shifted primarily to Zhang Ruochen. Only then did he realize just how terrifying its power truly was.
A single explosive roar produced sound waves capable of shaking a Fish-Dragon Ninth Change cultivator to death.
Zhang Ruochen could certainly use Space Distortion to deflect the sound wave attacks to his side, but when the opponent's power far exceeded his own, even Space Distortion could not withstand it.
At this moment, the sound waves emitted by the Earthfire Qilin had already far surpassed Zhang Ruochen's capacity to endure.
He could not fight it head-on.
Zhang Ruochen controlled his spatial power, preparing to use Great Space Teleportation to evade the Earthfire Qilin's sound wave attack.
Just then, a small red figure flew down from the clouds above, letting out a cold shout: "Ignorant beast, how dare you harm my junior brother."
"Whoosh!"
A white sacred sword, like a meteor from beyond the heavens, descended with a whistling sound, striking toward the Earthfire Qilin's head.
The white sacred sword was originally only an inch long, but as it reached the Earthfire Qilin's head, it instantly expanded ten thousand times, transforming into a giant sword.
Thousands of sword qi burst forth from the sacred sword, all striking the Earthfire Qilin's body, tearing through its thick scales and piercing through its skull.
"Pfft!"
The white sacred sword, carrying a large spray of blood, flew out from beneath the Earthfire Qilin's neck and shot back into the sky.
The Earthfire Qilin, grievously wounded, let out a pained cry and ceased its attack on Zhang Ruochen.
It raised its head, glaring at the red-clad woman standing in midair, its expression filled with fury as it roared skyward.
A hundred zhang above the sea surface, a woman in red robes stood suspended in midair, a wisp of white smoke beneath her feet, like a peerless sword immortal.
The red-clad woman was only seven inches tall. She extended her arm forward, and the white sacred sword flew back, hovering above her palm.
This person was none other than the Fifth Disciple of Xuanji Saint Master, Lingshu Half-Saint.
Seeing Lingshu Half-Saint, Zhang Ruochen breathed a sigh of relief and dispersed his spatial power. "Fifth Senior Sister."
Lingshu Half-Saint nodded to Zhang Ruochen, a hint of joy appearing on her face. "King Jinhuang told me you were in this sea area, so I came looking for you. Little Junior Brother, seeing you safe puts my mind at ease. Once I subdue this Earthfire Qilin, we'll return to Chaos Ten Thousand Realms Mountain."
Zhang Ruochen warned, "The Earthfire Qilin's strength is extremely formidable. Senior Sister must be very careful."
"Little Junior Brother, you underestimate your senior sister. I am, after all, a sword cultivator—how could I fail to deal with a mere sixth-rank mid-level savage beast?"
Lingshu Half-Saint extended a slender arm, grasping the sacred sword that was a hundred times longer than her own body. A surge of powerful sacred qi flowed from her palm into the sword's body.
A vast sword qi erupted from her, like a white rainbow piercing the sun, shooting straight up into the clouds.
"Clang!"
Influenced by Lingshu Half-Saint's sword intent, the Abyssal Ancient Sword in Zhang Ruochen's hand began to tremble, as if trying to fly out of his grasp.
"Senior Sister's sword path realm is incredibly powerful. Just this sword intent alone leaves me far behind," Zhang Ruochen thought to himself.
Having reached the middle stage of Sword Heart Illumination, Zhang Ruochen had believed his achievements in the sword path were already considerable, enough to rival most Half-Saints.
But Lingshu Half-Saint's sword path realm was even more terrifying, surpassing his by no small margin.
She was a true sword cultivator.
A true sword cultivator, at the same cultivation level, was said to have the highest attack power, unmatched by anyone.
"Little Junior Brother, watch closely! Your senior sister will now demonstrate what true sword path truly is."
"Yin and Yang divide heaven and earth; the sword path naturally ends all methods."
Lingshu Half-Saint slowly swung her sacred sword, drawing upon the world's spiritual energy to form a massive sword qi circle before her, vaguely resembling a Taiji Eight Trigram.
Before Zhang Ruochen could even make out the technique, she vanished from her spot.
"Whoosh!"
The sword qi circle landed on the Earthfire Qilin's body, producing a cracking sound. All the scales on the qilin's body were sliced off and sent flying, leaving only a bloody, fleshly form.
The next moment, Lingshu Half-Saint stood proudly atop the Earthfire Qilin's head, pointing her sword at its brow. "Submit, or die?"
The Earthfire Qilin, completely cowed, let out a trembling low roar and immediately lay down, showing a pleading expression.
"Smart move."
Lingshu Half-Saint's sacred sword shrank back to an inch and she returned it to its sheath.
Then, with a wave of her arm, she created a surge of air that rolled up the qilin's scales.
The scales, originally the size of winnowing baskets, gradually shrank under her sacred qi control until they were only the size of fingernails, flying into a silver-threaded pouch.
Lingshu Half-Saint patted the pouch, producing a rustling sound.
She looked toward Zhang Ruochen and smiled. "Little Junior Brother, I've never given you anything good. When we return to the Holy Academy, I'll ask the master craftsmen of the Divine Sword Holy Land to forge you a qilin armor set."
Zhang Ruochen looked at the silver-threaded pouch on Lingshu Half-Saint's waist, thought for a moment, then finally took out a crimson red storage ring and handed it to her. "Senior Sister, let me give you a gift first."
Lingshu Half-Saint raised an eyebrow, glanced at the storage ring, then pouted with some annoyance. "Don't be like this, alright? All this time, those senior brothers have treated me like the little junior sister, giving me all kinds of gifts. Master finally took on a little junior brother, letting me escape the 'little' title. Can't you just let me be the senior sister and give a gift for once?"
Zhang Ruochen smiled. "It's just a small trinket, nothing compared to the qilin armor Senior Sister plans to give me."
Lingshu Half-Saint thought to herself, it's just a ring—accepting it wouldn't hurt.
As a Half-Saint, she had seen all kinds of fine things. In her view, her little junior brother was probably just giving her a rather pretty accessory.
If anyone else had given Lingshu Half-Saint an accessory, she probably wouldn't have even bothered to look at it. But her little junior brother was Master's prized disciple and her only junior brother.
No matter how cheap the gift, it represented a sincere gesture.
Lingshu Half-Saint glanced at Zhang Ruochen, took the crimson jade ring, and smiled. "The gifts from those senior brothers are all sacred artifacts, armor, sacred pills, and other cultivation treasures. No one has ever given me an accessory. You're the first. It seems the rumors outside aren't entirely baseless—Junior Brother is quite the romantic, knowing how to please a girl."
Zhang Ruochen gave a wry smile. "Senior Sister must not believe those rumors. They were deliberately spread by the Xu Holy Clan to use others to kill me."
"Why are you so nervous? I was just joking... However, the Xu Holy Clan dared to harm you—I'll remember that debt. Hmph!"
Lingshu Half-Saint's gaze suddenly turned exceptionally sharp. Her right hand's five fingers tightly gripped the crimson jade ring, and a surge of sacred qi flowed out, inadvertently activating the spatial inscription patterns within the ring.
"Whoosh!"
A ring of red light appeared on the ring, expanding outward like ripples on water.
Sensing the strangeness of the storage ring, Lingshu Half-Saint let out a soft exclamation. She extended her left hand, reaching into the light, and discovered that the ring contained a vast internal space.
"This is... a space treasure... a storage ring..."
Lingshu Half-Saint's eyes lit up as she looked toward Zhang Ruochen, finding it quite unbelievable.
Throughout the entire Kunlun Realm, there were only a few space treasures. Although each was a powerful sacred object, no one used them to store personal items.
Thus, storage rings were legendary items even for Half-Saints.
Zhang Ruochen smiled and spoke the words he had already prepared. "Senior Sister probably doesn't know, but I once discovered a secret vault from the Middle Ages and obtained several space treasures capable of storing items. This storage ring is one of them."
Lingshu Half-Saint did not press further. Discovering a secret vault and obtaining treasures was Zhang Ruochen's own fortune.
After all, she herself had discovered several secret vaults and gained many unknown benefits.
That Zhang Ruochen was willing to take out a storage ring and give it to her showed that this little junior brother was not a selfish person.
Unconsciously, their bond grew a bit closer.
Seeing that Zhang Ruochen also wore a storage ring on his finger, Lingshu Half-Saint knew he must have other space treasures on him, so she accepted the gift without further hesitation.
She put the crimson red space ring on her right wrist, where it fit perfectly like an exquisite, translucent bracelet.
Lingshu Half-Saint placed the silver-threaded pouch containing the qilin scales into the ring's internal space, nodded with a smile, and said, "Little Junior Brother has given me such a precious gift. I wonder if those senior brothers will be jealous when they see it?"
"Master and the senior brothers are all at Chaos Ten Thousand Realms Mountain. We should hurry back as well."
"Your breakthrough to the Heavenly Extreme Realm's Supreme Extreme Realm, drawing the resonance of the gods, has brought honor to all of us. Knowing Second Senior Brother's temperament, he'll definitely throw a grand banquet tonight to welcome you back."