Chapter 397: Chapter 115: Poetry and Sword Dual Mastery, Dual Carriages Block the Way
"Clang—"
The sword slid out of its sheath, its blade deep and oceanic, while its gleam wriggled like a dragon, roaming through the waters.
"Qixing Dragon Abyss, the very sword obtained from Dragon Abyss Lake in the past, has also served as the residence for my Spiritual Sense."
Li Qinglian spoke slowly, the sword pointing to the ground, its edge sharp and fully revealed. He was as fierce as the sword tip, and his eyes sparkled with a tangible, strong self-confidence.
Although it was a battle between a Sixth Rank and a Fifth Rank, Li Qinglian was by no means intimidated.
Seeing this, the sturdy man also transformed his Qi Mechanism into a sword, manifesting shadows of Sword Qi around him. With a wide palm’s movement, a black Heavy Sword shaped like a Battle Sword used in the battlefield was already in hand, "Zhong Wuqi, let’s see what you’ve got."
Before Li Qinglian, Zhong Wuqi dared not be the slightest bit careless. Though there was a one Grade difference between them, the other had once been a Third Grade incarnation, possessing a vision and Realm far beyond his own—he must not be regarded as an ordinary Sixth Rank.
At this moment, what he was grateful for was that Li Qinglian was not wielding Taibai True Monarch’s personal sword. If it were the Wan Guchou, enhanced through continuous sacrificial cultivation by Taibai True Monarch himself all the way to the Third Grade, Zhong Wuqi feared he would stand no chance of victory.
Such thoughts flickered through his mind as he inwardly cursed his bad luck; the fears of the past had risen to his heart at this moment, bringing back the haunting memories.
Back then, it was due to being killed by Taibai True Monarch wielding the Wan Guchou that he was forced onto the Ghost Path.
At this moment, Zhong Wuqi sought to shed the shadows in his heart, but Li Qinglian had already seized this fleeting, possibly imperceptible, moment of fluctuation.
"Kill a man within ten steps, leave no trace for a thousand miles."
Drawing his sword, Qi surging along the blade, following the sword like a rainbow piercing the sun, he became a streak of Sword Light.
A complex combination of movements condensed into a simple whole; in that instant, space turned ambiguous, and before even a tenth of a snap of the fingers passed, the sword would reach its target.
Zhong Wuqi’s robes silently tore open, and a bright arc, sword-like, pierced straight towards his chest.
"Ya!"
In that moment, Zhong Wuqi bellowed fiercely, Yin Qi billowing around him like a surging tide of blood. The black Heavy Sword reversed, effortless despite its weight, the pommel striking horizontally against the bright arc of the Sword Light, narrowly deflecting the Sword Qi.
"Boom!"
A muffled sound like thunder rang out, the Sword Light deflected, a figure suddenly appeared—it was Li Qinglian, escaping from the Man and Sword Integration.
Zhong Wuqi, still gripping his Heavy Sword inverted, swept sideways, taking advantage of the momentum. The profound Yin Qi rolled like a tidal wave, instantly turning the surrounding space cold and desolate, ghostly energy boiling like a net attempting to envelop Li Qinglian.
The Dao Fruit he contained was none other than Judge Zhong Kui, the Ghost-catching God. Though not of ghostly form, his Cultivation Body revealed no sinister Yin Qi, instead, it radiated sheer power and dominance. Zhong Wuqi integrated this characteristic into his technique, creating the "Yang Spirit Ghost Martial Skill," commanding Yin Qi like flowing blood. This allowed him to employ a ghostly form while performing Yang techniques, unafraid of Yang Qi, demonstrating both power and ferocity.
Ghost Energy spread like a net, engulfing Li Qinglian tightly, while the Heavy Sword bore the weight of mountains. The combined force of Qi and sword seemed to shift mountains and stir tsunamis, and amidst the torrents, Li Qinglian was like a tiny boat, poised to capsize at any second.
"When the deed is done, leave without attachment, hide both your identity and your name."
In the flash of an eye, Li Qinglian, still not forsaking poetry, turned Sword Qi into a lotus, layer upon layer, counteracting the Yin Qi, while he himself seemingly vanished within an instant from the center of the Sword Energy Green Lotus.
"Xiyi Sword Skill!" Zhong Wuqi’s gaze became stern.
In reality, Taibai True Monarch was not a Martial Cultivator, but a Sword Cultivator—a Magic Practitioner. But upon reaching the fifth-rank, after advancing to the Uniqueness of the Sword Immortal Dao Fruit, his combat style had morphed to resemble that of a Martial Cultivator.
This Dao Fruit bestowed an ability, named "Poetry and Sword Duality," infusing poetry into the sword, and the sword into poetry, complimenting one another.
Therefore, Li Qinglian would also wield the Sword Cultivator’s Xiyi Sword Skill.
"Furious Sea Waves."
Immediately, Zhong Wuqi revitalized his Yin Qi, transforming it into raging tides that engulfed all directions, intent on covering the vicinity to find the invisible figure. His Divine Sense raced, stirring up Qi Force and whipping up a Yin wind.
The essence of a Ghost Cultivator lies in the soul; the more powerful, the stronger the Spiritual Sense, not in the least inferior to those devoted to that practice.
By covering these two aspects, he planned to force out Li Qinglian’s whereabouts.
But before the stormy waves could surge, and the Yin wind howled, the tidal wave of Yin Qi was torn apart by slashes of invisible Sword Qi.
With invisible Sword Qi following the flow of Qi Force, splitting the tidal waves, spinning rapidly like a twister, where Zhong Wuqi stood was the eye of the storm.
Invisible Sword Qi raced like lightning to him, and Zhong Wuqi’s eyes widened as the Yin Qi on his body grew denser, forming a solid Yin Sha figure. Standing like a grim deity from the Underworld wielding a sword, he cut through the raging waves and in a flash struck nine paths of invisible Sword Qi, forcefully emanating intense power, effortlessly shattering the Sword Qi. Then, spinning around, he delivered a slash into the empty space behind him.
Yin Qi surged tumultuously as if without end, its sword force pulling along the angry tide, cascading from high to low in a sudden downpour of rain and flood.
Under such overwhelming might, the invisible sword finally revealed faint traces, exactly where the Heavy Sword had struck.
"Boom!"
Sword Qi clashed with thunderous roars, arcs of Sword Light exploding out, coupled with a grand, robust resonance, dispelling Yin and vanquishing evil.
"The Buddha Country’s Great Thunder Sound Sword Technique?!" Zhong Wuqi exclaimed.
He never imagined that the incarnation of a great Daoist Sect leader would utilize the Buddha Country Sword Technique, exploding with Great Thunder Sound Sword Qi to cleanse the tide of Yin Qi. Amidst it all, a figure danced with a sword, suddenly withdrawing the expansive sword momentum, absorbing it like the sea encompasses myriad rivers, and when it was released again, it had transformed entirely.
"Scattering the Primordial Chaos, Fan the Thunder."
The sword turned into Pure Light, radiating up and down, now assuming the form of the Daode Sect’s "Taiqing Nine Heavens Sword." The Sword Light cleansed everything in its path, creating tremors that could move mountains and seas. "The sky rotates with the fight, and the mountains shake as the seas tilt."
"Boom!"
The Furious Waves cleansed the area, suddenly causing the courtyard to collapse, with trees and vegetation snapping and breaking all around. Engulfed by the Yin Qi, they withered in an instant, and the ground was covered with a layer of gloomy color.
At the center of the Qi wave, a figure suddenly retreated, landing dozens of feet away, holding the long sword behind him, dispersing the remaining waves with an outstretched hand, then wiping away the fresh blood from the corner of his mouth.
The difference in power between Sixth Rank and Fifth Grade was ultimately significant. Even though Li Qinglian’s Uniqueness Dao Fruit was essentially the same in nature as a Fifth Grade Dao Fruit, both genuine and not mass-produced, he still sustained some injuries.
However, compared to him, Zhong Wuqi’s appearance was considerably more disheveled.
Across his crimson robe were sword marks all over, seven in total, from which faint Yin Qi seeped out, clearly indicating injuries had reached his body.
Zhong Wuqi watched his long-lost old friend warily, while also glancing at the collapsed mansion, releasing a barely perceptible sigh of relief.
His former opponent, after so many years, had reached an unfathomable realm in the Sword Dao. Even a lone incarnation was able to fight Fifth Grade as a Sixth Rank. If the person himself were present, who knew how terrifying his strength would be.
That fierce battle earlier, had it been any ordinary Fifth Grade and not Zhong Wuqi, they might have already perished under Li Qinglian’s sword.
Fortunately, Cui Jue took this chance to escape, saving the need to worry about him facing further threats.
"Escaped?"
Li Qinglian also observed the fallen mansion, noticing that Cui Jue’s Qi Mechanism was gone, muttering to himself before indifferently saying, "Then let him escape."
As a newly inducted talent of the Blame-shifting Sect, Li Qinglian’s visit this time was not solely for dueling or searching for someone, but also to deal with Cui Jue.
However, tying down Zhong Wuqi was considered fulfilling his responsibility; the rest he would leave to others.
If even this task could not be completed well, then if Cui Jue escaped, so be it.
Having said this, Li Qinglian’s figure flickered, and the Sword Light surged once again.
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The sunlight slanted to the west, signaling the afternoon sun’s eventual descent.
Within the forest, dense leaves blocked the sunlight, casting patches of shadows. A faint stream of Yin Qi meandered, instantly traveling several miles.
Due to the Yin Qi entangling his soul, Cui Jue could not travel underground for fear of igniting the Yin Qi. But as a Ghost Cultivator, even though it was still daylight, Cui Jue swiftly and stealthily moved through the mountains and forests, heading straight for Divine Capital.
However, just as he was distancing himself from the site where Li Qinglian and Zhong Wuqi clashed, a chilling Ghost Energy suddenly emerged in front of him.
A white bullock cart raced through the forest, treating trees as if they were nothing, speeding toward him. Atop the cart, a Bull-headed figure glared with intense focus, suddenly setting its sights on Cui Jue. With a pull of the reins, the direction of the cart shifted, bringing it to a halt nearby.
"Found you."
The Bull-headed figure laughed heartily, its towering body standing atop the cart, looking down at Cui Jue, "Lord Cui, do you still remember Li Mi?"
How could Cui Jue forget that traitor? His downfall to such a state was partly due to him.
He revealed himself from the shade, looking coldly at the Bull-headed figure, "How did you locate me?"
Although the Bull-headed figure was once part of the Yin Law Department, it certainly lacked the ability to pinpoint Cui Jue’s location; otherwise, people from the department would have found him first.
He must have used some special Magic Door to lock onto his presence.
As he spoke, a dark Yin Qi began to rise from the hand concealed behind his back.
But before he could act, a red light crashed into view.
A crimson figure soared through the sky, as swift as a shooting star, swiftly approaching and dropping near the ground.
A vicious Disaster Qi spread out.
Beneath the cover of the great tree, a creature resembling a calf-sized Big Dog landed with a wheelchair, then shook off the chains of red Qi encasing it before rising on its hind legs, moving behind the wheelchair at a leisurely pace, pushing it forward with calm grace.
Without a doubt, this was Jiang Li and his dog.
Having traveled from Divine Capital to this location, even with the special locking technique, arriving promptly wasn’t guaranteed. Unlike the Bull-headed figure, who could move as a soul body, they relied on the Sky Dog’s ultimate speed.
Though slightly unbecoming, this dog-drawn carriage was indeed very fast.