Chapter 666: Snake and Scorpion Beauty
On the three-foot slender sword, sacred qi flowed rapidly, transmitting a counterforce that surged toward Zhang Ruochen's arm, shaking it with excruciating pain. His feet shattered the mountain path as he fell more than ten zhang below before stabilizing his form again.
"As expected of a top-tier expert at the eighth transformation of the Fish-Dragon Realm, this woman's strength is quite formidable."
Zhang Ruochen gripped the Gushui Sword with both hands, mobilizing all his true qi.
The counterforce from earlier had also forced Qi Feiyu to take a step back.
She was even more astonished, never expecting that a mere newly promoted Saint Heir Disciple could possess such power. It was worth noting that many cultivators at the ninth transformation of the Fish-Dragon Realm found it difficult to block a full-force thrust of her sword.
"Not bad." Qi Feiyu praised.
Zhang Ruochen said coldly, "Who exactly are you?"
Qi Feiyu did not answer. She darted forward, moving across the cliff face as if on flat ground, unleashing a powerful sword strike aimed straight at Zhang Ruochen's heart.
"You've already cultivated Sword One to the eighth level?"
Zhang Ruochen's eyes narrowed, revealing an unprecedented solemn expression.
The sword technique this woman displayed was even more refined than his own. Though it appeared to be a single thrust, it unleashed hundreds or thousands of sword qi, leaving no room to dodge.
"Bang, bang."
The two clashed fiercely, exchanging dozens of moves, leaving dense sword marks on the cliff face as countless fragments of stone tumbled down the mountain.
Suddenly, Qi Feiyu's form shifted rapidly. She kicked off the steep wall, rebounding outward, condensing a mass of blood-red sacred qi into her three-foot slender sword, and slashed down with immense force.
"Bang!"
Zhang Ruochen blocked horizontally with his sword, but his body was uncontrollably sent flying sideways dozens of zhang before plummeting downward.
In an instant, his body was swallowed by white clouds.
Qi Feiyu, as if weightless, drifted lightly onto a protruding rock. Her jet-black hair fluttered slowly in the wind, making her appear exceptionally elegant and ethereal.
She glanced down at the cliff, no longer seeing Lin Yue's figure, and murmured to herself, "On the second mountain, no matter how high one's sword dao realm, it's impossible to use flying sword techniques. Falling from here, even a Fish-Dragon Realm cultivator would find it hard to escape death. Everyone will likely think Xu Changsheng killed him."
The three-foot slender sword slowly retracted into her fingers.
Her hands remained flawless and perfect, but who would have thought that such beautiful hands could be so terrifying when killing?
Just as she was about to leave, she sensed a ripple of spiritual qi and let out a soft exclamation, looking down toward the cliff.
A mass of golden light was flying up from below.
From within the golden light came a cold voice: "Senior Sister Qi, I have no enmity with you. Why do you want to kill me? If you don't give me a reasonable explanation, do you think you can just leave?"
Lin Yue had grown a pair of golden dragon wings on his back, breaking through the clouds to return to the mountain path, landing at a position above Qi Feiyu.
Qi Feiyu was only slightly surprised at first but quickly became extremely calm. "Does killing require a reason?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "Even if you don't tell me, I can roughly guess."
"Oh? Is that so?"
"Liangyi Sect has always been a neutral force, rarely making enemies with other factions. So, which side's mole are you planted in Liangyi Sect? Although your temperament is elegant and refined, I smell a bloody aura on you. Could it be that you're from the Undying Blood Clan?"
Zhang Ruochen's gaze turned sharp as he observed Qi Feiyu's expression.
Qi Feiyu had first chased after Xu Changsheng and scared him off.
Then she tried to recruit Zhang Ruochen, and only when recruitment failed did she decisively strike to kill.
Clearly, for a genius like Lin Yue, if he couldn't be recruited, he had to be killed. This was "seed elimination"—within Liangyi Sect, any genius who might become a saint was a target for assassination.
Only hostile forces of Liangyi Sect would do such a thing.
Eight hundred years ago, the Holy Bright Central Empire united various sects and saintly clans, spending ten years to drive the Undying Blood Clan overseas and seal them on Manji Island.
At that time, Liangyi Sect had good relations with the Holy Bright Central Empire and contributed manpower and resources to the campaign to expel the Undying Blood Clan.
The Black Market and the Eastern Domain Holy Academy both had Undying Blood Clan members lurking within them. Finding moles in Liangyi Sect was not surprising.
"Undying Blood Clan? Junior Brother Lin, don't wrong me. As everyone knows, I am the heir of the Qi Clan. How could I be associated with the Undying Blood Clan?" Qi Feiyu said.
Zhang Ruochen sneered coldly, "Then why did you try to kill me? Don't tell me you just wanted to test my cultivation."
"The reason I struck to kill you was merely to eliminate a competitor in advance, saving some effort in the sword dao competition," Qi Feiyu said.
Zhang Ruochen naturally didn't believe her. "Is that so? I think it's better to report this to the Saint Ancestors and let them verify your true identity."
Her gaze turned cold as she stared at the dragon wings on Zhang Ruochen's back, saying with a smile, "Are you really Lin Yue? Lin Yue could never have a pair of dragon wings. Perhaps I should also report to the Saint Ancestors and let them verify your true identity."
The two faced off on the cliff.
Below, a figure could faintly be seen approaching from below.
Clearly, someone else had passed the first trial of the second mountain, and this person was getting closer to Zhang Ruochen and Qi Feiyu.
In the end, Zhang Ruochen retracted his dragon wings into his body, and Qi Feiyu also withdrew her sacred qi. They stopped fighting.
"Don't let me find evidence. If I confirm you're from the Undying Blood Clan, I'll send the proof to the Enforcement Court immediately," Zhang Ruochen said. He had no goodwill toward the Undying Blood Clan.
Zhang Ruochen chose to compromise not only because his cultivation was inferior to Qi Feiyu's.
More importantly, if he revealed Qi Feiyu's secret to the Saint Ancestors, she would certainly expose his secrets as well.
That would be mutual destruction.
Qi Feiyu naturally wanted to silence him, but she knew it was easy to defeat Lin Yue but extremely difficult to kill him.
Thus, due to mutual restraint, they both stopped to avoid exposing each other's identities.
"Could Qi Feiyu be from the Demon Sect or the Black Market?"
Although Zhang Ruochen had spoken with conviction earlier, he was entirely testing Qi Feiyu and couldn't confirm she was from the Undying Blood Clan.
After all, Qi Feiyu was the heir of the Qi Clan, and the Qi Clan was a Medieval Aristocratic Clan.
How could the heir of a Medieval Aristocratic Clan be from the Undying Blood Clan?
If he changed his thinking, the Qi Clan might well be a front for the Black Market or the Demon Sect. If Qi Feiyu was from the evil or demonic path, it was also possible she would try to kill Zhang Ruochen.
"After finishing the Ancient God Mountain trial, I'll send a message to Mu Lingxi and Cheng Yue Star Envoy to investigate the Qi Clan's background."
Zhang Ruochen stopped overthinking, temporarily clearing his mind, and quickly made his way to the mountainside of the second mountain.
Can Dong passed the first trial at the foot of the mountain and caught up, seeing the cliff face covered in sword marks, clearly the result of a fierce battle.
A puzzled look appeared in his eyes as he glanced at Qi Feiyu. "Did Xu Changsheng attack Junior Brother Lin?"
Qi Feiyu appeared exceptionally graceful, nodding lightly. "You don't need to worry about Junior Brother Lin. I've already driven Xu Changsheng away."
Then, Qi Feiyu and Can Dong continued toward the mountainside.
The second mountain, like the first, was also nine thousand meters tall.
Zhang Ruochen walked up to the four-thousand-meter mark, reaching the mountainside, and finally saw a row of silver palaces built into the steep cliff face—seventy-two palaces in total, lined up in a row, each emitting powerful sacred might, inspiring awe.
Of the seventy-two palaces, only the first had its door closed. Without guessing, it was Xu Changsheng inside attempting the trial.
Zhang Ruochen chose to enter the second palace.
Qi Feiyu chose the third, and Can Dong the fourth.
In front of the second palace stood a jade statue, carved in the likeness of a middle-aged Daoist priest, with a black eagle beneath his feet.
Both the middle-aged Daoist and the black giant eagle were lifelike, as if they might come to life at any moment.
Zhang Ruochen came before the jade statue and bowed to the middle-aged Daoist.
"Whoosh!"
The jade statue emitted a layer of white light, and characters appeared on its surface. The characters rapidly rose and fell, changing at the same position every instant.
A voice echoed from the palace: "The Saint Statue records nine sword manual techniques, all characters scrambled. The challenger must, within one hour, organize at least one technique and, based on it, create a sword technique. Time limit: one hour."
The second trial of the second mountain tested the cultivator's eyesight, comprehension, and creativity.
Its difficulty far exceeded the second trial of the first mountain.
If any of the cultivator's eyesight, comprehension, or creativity fell short of the top tier, they could not pass this trial.
Zhang Ruochen wasted no time. He immediately sat cross-legged beneath the jade statue, focused his mind, and fixed his eyes on it.
At the same time, he mobilized his spiritual power, enveloping the jade statue.
Every character that appeared on the statue's surface was instantly memorized.
When a third of the time had passed, Zhang Ruochen finally organized the first sword manual technique.
As soon as he succeeded, specks of light flew out from the jade statue, like a rain of light, scattering onto Zhang Ruochen's body.
In that instant, Zhang Ruochen felt the Sword Heart in his qi sea become even more crystalline and radiant, reaching a critical point where it seemed ready to break through at any moment.
"Organizing one technique actually enhances my sword dao realm. If I organize a second technique, won't my sword dao realm improve even further?"
Zhang Ruochen, as if discovering something interesting, showed a hint of joy on his face.
His sword dao realm was already on the verge of breakthrough. With just a little more improvement, he could advance to the high stage of Sword Heart Illumination.
Once he broke through, his sword dao realm would take a great leap forward, reaching a level that even Half-Saints would envy. (To be continued.)