Chapter 155: In the East Wood Mountains, Before the Hall of Sword Qi

"Such a high mountain!"

Yunying raised her chubby little white hand, pointing at the towering East Wood Mountain, and spoke with her delicate, jade-carved face tilted upward.

Jiang Yan and his party were walking before East Wood Mountain, having already reached the mountain gate archway. The archway was quite dilapidated; originally white, it had turned a dark grayish-black. On the plaque across the lintel, the strokes of the large characters "Xihe Sword Sect" were incomplete, and the entire surface was weathered and ruined.

The guards at the archway were already clad in the white garments of Mount Hua. Seeing Jiang Yan, the two disciples hurriedly stepped forward and bowed respectfully to him, saying, "Your disciples pay respects to the Sect Master and all the Junior Martial Uncles."

Zisu walked beside Jiang Yan, her pretty face carrying a cold and stern expression as she asked, "Li Hantong, are the people from the Golden Flame Sect on the mountain?"

Li Hantong raised his head to look at Zisu, the corners of his eyes lifting slightly, and spoke with a hint of anger in his tone, "Eldest Senior Sister, that bunch from the Golden Flame Sect are truly arrogant. When Junior Brother Lan and I came down, they were in the midst of challenging Eldest Senior Brother, paying no regard to our Mount Hua as a fourth-tier sect whatsoever."

Zisu turned back to look at Jiang Yan, speaking with a degree of urgency in her voice, "Master, Ning Qian is in danger. Let us hurry up the mountain."

Tang Wan, however, looked at Li Hantong and continued to question him, "Hantong, which sects have come to attend this gathering?"

Li Hantong recalled for a moment, speaking with a slight trace of uncertainty, "The Life-Creation Temple, the South-Southern Sword Sect, the Golden Flame Sect, the Descending Wild Goose Sect, the Pingqing Temple, and another sword-wielding sect. The disciples only know they are from the East-Clear Prefecture; many of our fellow apprentices do not even know their names."

Tang Wan turned her gaze to Jiang Yan, adding a sliver of urgency to her tone, "Senior Brother, all four third-tier sects have arrived. We must ascend quickly."

With all four third-tier sects present, even the weakest among them, the Sword-Washing Gate, had a sect master at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment. For Ning Qian, a cultivator merely at the early stage of Foundation Establishment, if any sect master were to make a move, he would likely be unable to handle it.

Jiang Yan, holding Yunying in his arms, shifted his pace slightly and glided toward Mount Hua, "I know you are all worried for Qian'er, but they are merely at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment. As long as Xie Wenyuan does not make a move, Qian'er should still be able to manage. Even if Xie Wenyuan does act, are not Monk Kongse and the people from the South-Southern Sword Sect here?"

Though his tone was entirely relaxed, Jiang Yan nevertheless quickened his pace. His figure flickered, and in the blink of an eye, he was dozens of feet away, pressing onward toward Mount Hua.

Seeing Jiang Yan's elusive movement technique, a flash of envy crossed Zisu's eyes. She asked Tang Wan with a longing expression in her tone, "Junior Martial Uncle Wan, Master seems to have mastered a new movement technique once again. I wonder what technique this is? The disciple seems to have never seen it before."

Tang Wan took a light step, her figure flashing as she too appeared dozens of feet away, speaking in a ethereal voice, "This is a movement technique of ours from Mount Hua that surpasses the Earth-Fleeing Golden Light Art. It derives from the dual abilities of the shifting-form grass and the illusion art within the Boundless Mist Demon Realm, named Form-Shifting and Shadow-Swapping. Zisu, if you wish to cultivate this, you must quickly reach the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment first."

"Cultivate diligently; this Martial Uncle has high hopes for you." Muyun's chuckling voice sounded beside Zisu, and as she looked, the plump Muyun's figure shifted, likewise executing the Form-Shifting and Shadow-Swapping technique to instantly appear dozens of feet away.

"Swish, swish..."

"Hum, hum..."

Within East Wood Mountain, before the Sword Qi Hall, upon the martial arts stage.

Ning Qian and Xu Mingyuan were locked in a fierce battle.

Behind Ning Qian stood a crowd of white-robed Mount Hua disciples, while behind Xu Mingyuan were a host of cultivators from the Golden Flame Sect and the South-Peace Prefecture. At the entrance of the Sword Qi Hall stood Wen Tingshi and Monk Kongse, with Monk Daozhi of Pingqing Temple and Zhuge Shang of the Sword-Washing Gate standing respectively beside them.

Monk Daozhi lowered his head and asked Monk Kongse, "Junior Martial Uncle, how is it that Mount Hua, a mere second-tier sect, possesses such an outstanding senior disciple? Relying solely on the early stage of Foundation Establishment, Xu Mingyuan of the Golden Flame Sect is actually unable to defeat him."

A faint smile appeared on Monk Kongse's warm face, and he spoke playfully, "Daozhi, if Ning Qian were truly merely at the early stage of Foundation Establishment, he would naturally find it hard to escape defeat and death. Surely, up in the main hall just now, you did not miss Benefactor Wen's cry of astonishment?"

Monk Daozhi's eyebrows shot up, and he said in considerable surprise, "A first-tier talisman master!"

Wen Tingshi, on the one hand, watched the combat upon the stage, while on the other, he muttered instructions to Zhuge Shang beside him.

"Zhuge, this matter is extremely tricky. My South-Southern Sword Sect is afraid it will find it difficult to protect your Sword-Washing Gate as well. If you are able to latch onto the coattails of the Life-Creation Temple, go seek shelter with them; my Sect Master Senior Brother will not blame you for anything." Wen Tingshi's eyebrows twitched slightly, and he spoke with a heavy, gloomy expression on his face.

Zhuge Shang was clearly startled, his tone laden with astonishment as he said, "Senior Wen, your esteemed senior brother has succeeded to the sect mastership? Was the sect master not Senior Fang Yin?"

Wen Tingshi frowned, but upon thinking of his own master, his expression grew dark once more. He spoke with considerable indignation in his tone, "In the battle of Cloud City Realm, my late master has already fallen. This matter is no secret either; the South-Southern Sword Sect is no longer the South-Southern Sword Sect of the past. Prepare yourself early regarding attaching yourself to the great Buddha of the Life-Creation Temple."

A trace of shock flashed across Zhuge Shang's face, "Senior Wen, can your esteemed sect's Cyan Jade Seal not be absorbed solely by Golden Core cultivators? Your elder brother..."

"Babbling!" Wen Tingshi coldly cut off Zhuge Shang's words, turning his gaze back to the martial arts stage.

Though scolded by Wen Tingshi, Zhuge Shang did not wear a look of embarrassment; instead, his gaze shifted, sweeping across Monk Kongse nearby, as he quietly pondered something within his heart.

"Clang, clang, clatter..."

Like a cyan torrent, behind Ning Qian, countless Azure Wood Arrows shot straight toward a barrier radiating a bright golden glow. Behind the golden barrier was Xu Mingyuan, who was rapidly brandishing his long sword.

"Clang, clang, clatter..."

Ning Qian held his right arm straight out, pointing at Xu Mingyuan at the other end of the martial arts stage. The Azure Wood Vine behind him materialized one cyan arrow after another. The massive volume of materialized arrows connected head-to-tail, nearly forming a fine cyan stream that continuously pounded against the light curtain formed by the Golden Flow Great Sword.

Xu Mingyuan's aged face was completely pale. From the start of the engagement until now, aside from his own defensive maneuvers wielding the Golden Flow Great Sword, he had not managed to execute a single offensive technique. Although the Mount Hua youth before him possessed only the strength of the early Foundation Establishment stage, this kid's spell coordination paired with the second-tier spiritual weapon in his hand was sufficient to go toe-to-toe against a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator like himself.

"Clang, clang..."

Ning Qian finally halted the Golden Flow Sword, which he had been relentlessly bombarding Xu Mingyuan with. From the opening moments until now, the Azure Wood Arrows materialized by the Azure Wood Vine numbered nearly five hundred, and Xu Mingyuan's Golden Flow Great Sword was finally on the verge of failing. A first-tier spiritual weapon was ultimately inferior to a second-tier spiritual weapon by a whole grade; no matter how resilient, the Golden Flow Great Sword could no longer withstand the onslaught of arrows materialized by the Azure Wood Vine.

However, defeating an opponent by relying on a continuous, unyielding barrage failed to give the third-tier sects present the intended feeling of executing a chicken to scare the monkeys. Since he had already probed Xu Mingyuan's true combat strength, Ning Qian decisively resolved to unleash a newly mastered style of his Azure Wood archery.

"Brat, your spiritual power is running low, isn't it?" Xu Mingyuan glanced at the Golden Flow Great Sword in his hand, seeing the large and small dents pitting the blade, and his face filled with rage as he spoke in a gale-force tone.

Xie Wenyuan's brow, however, furrowed. He cast a cold glance at the calm and collected Ning Qian, a trace of puzzlement suddenly creeping onto his aged face. After all, Xie Wenyuan had lived for a century, and his experience was not something Xu Mingyuan could compare to. Therefore, seeing Ning Qian—who had previously held a massive advantage—suddenly halt his offensive, he stared suspiciously at Ning Qian upon the stage, anxious that the kid might still harbor some formidable spell.

Ning Qian raised his left hand to the same level as his right, clenched both palms inward, and a faint cyan luster began to slowly gather between his gripped hands. Looking at Xu Mingyuan across from him, whose face wore a sneering expression, Ning Qian spoke word by word.

"Xu Mingyuan, ever since Ning Qian entered Mount Hua, I have braved the stars and moonlight, never daring to forget for a single moment my responsibility as the eldest senior disciple of Mount Hua. Master has said: those who obstruct Mount Hua shall be shown no mercy. According to my own heart, I naturally ought to execute you right here before the Sword Qi Hall. Master Kongse said that you, Xu Mingyuan, are merely a pawn fit to be driven by Mount Hua; today, I shall help Master weigh you and see whether you, Xu Mingyuan, truly possess this qualification."

As he spoke, upon Ning Qian's palms, the cyan radiance grew increasingly bright...

Xu Mingyuan stepped forward, raising his right hand upward. The golden great sword flew into the air, its golden blade beginning to emit a dazzling golden light. Seeing the cyan radiance lighting up on Ning Qian's palms, Xu Mingyuan could not help but frown. This kid had taken advantage of the conversational pause to condense his spell—did he really think he wouldn't notice? Deciding to go all in, Xu Mingyuan similarly used this gap to condense his Golden Flow Sword Qi.

"Brat, what nonsense are you spouting? What wretched pawn? Your Mount Hua is on the verge of destruction, yet you still dare to speak wildly." Watching the Golden Flow Great Sword float in the air, Xu Mingyuan spoke with a vicious expression. The previous suppression had left him quite furious, and he longed to tear Ning Qian apart to vent his anger.

Ning Qian raised both palms, and a wisp of hazy cyan radiance drifted up into mid-air, floating toward Xu Mingyuan's direction. Having pushed out this wisp of hazy cyan radiance, beads of fine sweat seeped onto Ning Qian's forehead, and he began to pant heavily, as if this tiny circle consumed more mental energy than the previous storm-like volley of cyan arrows.

"Azure Wood Chases the Moon!" Several Mount Hua disciples below flashed triumphant expressions in their eyes, shouting and hollering in astonishment.

"That old fellow is going to have a hard time of it; Eldest Senior Brother has deployed Azure Wood Chases the Moon!" Wen Song watched the cyan circle in the air, speaking with an expression of envy shining in his eyes. Most of the original Mount Hua disciples had witnessed Tang Wan execute this move—Azure Wood Chases the Moon—relying on early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation to forcefully drive back a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator from the West Gorge Sect in all their heroic glory.

"Swish, swish..."

Ning Qian abruptly raised his right hand forward, and the Azure Wood Vine behind him materialized several Azure Wood Arrows that flew straight toward the cyan circle suspended high in the air.

Xu Mingyuan raised his right hand, causing a surge of golden spiritual power to leave his body and merge into the airborne Golden Flow sword blade. The Golden Flow Great Sword began to sway, emitting a resonant, humming sound that shook the eardrums of everyone present.

As the Golden Flow Great Sword vibrated continuously, visible ripples of energy centered around the sword gradually radiated outward in all directions. When the ripples reached the cyan circle, they stirred up a turmoil of spiritual power on its surface before propagating far into the distance.

"Golden Sword Resonates!"

Xie Wenyuan watched his junior martial brother, his brow furrowed tightly. When had Xu Mingyuan mastered this move, Golden Sword Resonates? You must know, this was a sword technique approaching the second tier, and he had never imparted it to him.

Seeing the suspicious look on Xie Wenyuan's face, Monk Kongse wore a triumphant smile at the corner of his mouth, leaning over to whisper a few words into the ear of Monk Daozhi behind him. Monk Daozhi walked a few steps forward until he reached Xie Wenyuan's side, chanted a Buddhist mantra, and spoke with an air of envy, "Sect Master Xie, when did your Golden Flame Sect also acquire such a second-tier sword technique? Your junior brother has already..."