The blade hovered about three inches from the girl's face.
No matter how hard Yun Ze pushed, the blade could not advance another inch, as if... blocked by something!
No! Not just blocked!
As Yun Ze snapped out of his shock, he realized the mountain demon was trembling uncontrollably!
The feeling was similar to when all the swords had sung out before, yet subtly different.
It seemed to be... afraid!
The Supreme Elders wore faint smiles, while the outer sect elders, led by Sun Ming, were filled with curiosity.
As for the outer sect disciples who had just joined, like Yun Ze...
Terror and disbelief were etched on their faces!
Until, the girl slowly turned her head, looking at Yun Ze.
Their eyes met, and Yun Ze finally saw the girl's face clearly, his heart instantly filled with four words.
Youthful, indifferent.
Youthful described her face, indifferent described her eyes.
That indifference was as if nothing in the world concerned her, as if she were merely watching passersby.
Yun Ze gritted his teeth, knowing he had no chance. He retracted the mountain demon, took a step back, and cupped his fists in a bow.
"I lost."
He recognized the gap between them, but...
After rising, Yun Ze looked at the girl again, staring into her eyes, and spoke slowly.
"Sneaking an attack was my mistake, but Elder Mi said any means were permissible, so I haven't broken the rules.
You want to use me to hone your sword, and I equally want to step on you to reach the solitary peak!"
The girl did not reply, merely continued to stare at Yun Ze silently, as if watching something interesting. A hint of curiosity flickered in her eyes, and her gaze gradually lowered to his lower abdomen.
Yun Ze felt a chill crawl up his spine under her stare. He took another step back and turned his back to the girl.
"Failure naturally has consequences. At worst, you can return a sword strike! I can take it... Hey! What are you doing!"
This was to solidify his persona as a hot-headed youth with no hidden agenda!
He had planned this when he made his move.
Even if the sneak attack failed, this action could lessen Ji Kun's suspicion and deepen his impression in his mind.
But the moment Yun Ze turned around, a cool sensation landed on his neck, and he faintly felt a sharp aura!
Yun Ze initially thought it was a sword edge, but when he looked down, he saw it was... two fingers!
The girl's index and middle fingers were held together, lightly resting on his neck. She didn't apply force or make any drastic movements, just a light touch.
However, it was only for a moment.
As Yun Ze spoke, the girl, like a startled fawn, hurriedly withdrew her hand, retreated several steps to stand behind the old woman, her head bowed, her expression hidden.
Yun Ze was completely bewildered by the situation, looking at the old woman and the girl with a muddled mind.
He couldn't see the girl's expression, but the old woman's brow was furrowed as she scrutinized Yun Ze from head to toe.
"Boy, you..."
"Enough."
Just as the old woman was about to ask something, Elder Mi interrupted directly, glancing at Sun Ming and the others: "The outer sect disciples' assessment is considered concluded. Proceed as you see fit."
Sun Ming and the others hurriedly bowed.
"We obey the elder's command!"
"Disperse."
Elder Mi uttered four words, then looked at the old woman and the girl: "Little Wei, some things are not to be spoken of carelessly. You understand this principle.
I will handle the other matters."
"Yes, Elder Mi," the old woman replied to Elder Mi.
Yun Ze watched as the Supreme Elders vanished into the clouds, still utterly confused.
He looked at the girl, instinctively wanting to step forward and ask what was going on, but the old woman, riding a flying sword, took the girl up the solitary peak.
Everyone else was left staring dumbfounded.
"Stop looking, let's go."
Ji Kun walked up, placing a hand on Yun Ze's shoulder, his admiration for him undisguised: "Go back to the cave dwelling with your senior brother. That place is about four hundred meters up, so you'll fit right in."
"Thank you, Elder Ji."
Yun Ze also came back to his senses, but the girl's flustered expression lingered in his mind: "Elder, who was that girl just now..."
"Her name is Wei Lanshu."
Ji Kun sighed helplessly: "A legend!"
"A legend?"
"Indeed."
Ji Kun continued his introduction: "I cannot reveal too much about her identity. You only need to know that she is sixteen this year. She came to this solitary mountain fifteen years ago and has lived here for fifteen years.
During this time, she has not cultivated, taken a master, nor stepped out of the mountain gate even half a step."
"Wait! Not cultivated?"
A flicker of astonishment crossed Yun Ze's eyes: "Elder Ji, has she only just begun cultivating? Then her current cultivation level..."
"No, she still hasn't started cultivating. She's just an ordinary person."
"Impossible! Then how did she block that sword strike just now?"
"This is precisely what I'm about to tell you."
Ji Kun wore a wry smile: "From birth, her body has been infused with sword qi. If a spiritual artifact below the first rank, or a Foundation Establishment cultivator, approaches her, they will be torn to shreds!
If it's a second-rank, they will be repelled!
Only those of the third rank, that is, Nascent Soul stage existences, can possibly touch her without harm.
And all of this is beyond her control."
"This..."
Yun Ze was stunned.
Isn't this person invincible!
Foundation Establishment is instantly killed, Core Formation can't kill you, and only Golden Core stage can kill an ORDINARY person!
How is this supposed to be played?
No wonder the Supreme Elders had that look of watching a show when he launched his sneak attack. It turned out they weren't afraid of Wei Lanshu getting hurt at all!
Wait, that's not right!
Yun Ze frowned and quickly asked: "Elder Ji, this isn't right? She touched me just now, didn't she? Why am I fine?"
"I don't know."
Ji Kun replied, also scrutinizing Yun Ze: "It's strange, her sword qi is only ineffective against Golden Core stage existences. You, boy, are only at the third level of Qi Refining, why are you immune to such sword qi?"
Yun Ze's heart stirred, as if he had thought of something, but his face showed confusion: "Yeah, could it be that she can already control that sword qi?"
"I don't know about that, but..."
Ji Kun shook his head and patted Yun Ze's shoulder twice: "Boy, your special spot is gone!"
"Gone is gone!"
Yun Ze frowned, looking up at the solitary peak: "One day, I will ascend there too!"
"Good ambition!"
This was not Ji Kun's voice, but... Luo Yang.
He walked towards them, ignoring Ji Kun, and went straight to Yun Ze: "Yun Ze, is it? Interested in a chat?"
Yun Ze knew he must want to talk about Wei Lanshu.
While he was getting information from Ji Kun, Luo Yang was also communicating with Sun Ming, clearly having learned something.
After hearing Ji Kun's description, Yun Ze knew he couldn't possibly contend with Wei Lanshu alone.
Collaborating with Luo Yang seemed like a good option.
"Okay."
Yun Ze agreed and walked aside with Luo Yang.
...
............
At nine hundred and ninety-nine meters on the solitary peak.
There was a cave dwelling. The furnishings inside and outside were simple, yet an extremely profound formation was laid out here.
Old Woman Wei brought Wei Lanshu here. Holding a token, she opened the formation and entered the cave dwelling.
Her first words were a question.
"Xiao Shu, just now you..."
"I found it!"
Wei Lanshu parted her red lips and spoke slowly, her voice filled with unconcealed excitement!
But as she spoke, a sharp aura emanated from her body, churning the entire cave dwelling. Even Old Woman Wei had to close her eyes and step back!
The formation had not yet closed, and a sharp aura slipped out, slicing into the sky and freezing the clouds within a hundred-mile radius into ice!
The ice clouds shattered into pieces, streaking across the sky!
The power of this sword qi even surpassed the strike Ji Kun had shown Yun Ze previously!
Seeing this, Wei Lanshu hurriedly covered her mouth, her brow furrowed, a look of helplessness on her face.
Old Woman Wei quickly closed the formation, wiped the frost from her face, her own expression filled with excitement.
"Xiao Shu, can you be sure?"
Wei Lanshu said no more, merely looking down at her two fingers. She raised her hand and struck the stone wall of the cave dwelling!
The stone wall instantly cracked, revealing a palm print!
Sharp energy surged within the palm print, but in two places, the sharpness was noticeably shallower.
And those two places were precisely the index and middle fingers on the palm print.