Chapter 1 An Unexpected Encounter

Having weathered decades of wind and rain, the Xia Yi Sect (Chivalrous Justice Sect) was a desolate sight. It was one of the few major Jianghu (martial world) sects that hadn't renovated its headquarters.

However, strolling through it had a unique charm.

Yun Dongliu led the two through several corridors to a small courtyard.

He wore a slightly apologetic smile.

"Recently, there have been too many visitors. I'm afraid I can only trouble the two heroines to share a room..."

"Great Hero Yun is too kind. We sisters have come uninvited and are already disturbing you," Bai Xian'er said with a slight smile, her lively eyes half-moon shaped, making her look playful.

"Please rest for a while, heroines. Yun will brew some tea and prepare some food."

Yun Dongliu kept his eyes straight ahead and bowed slightly.

"A pot of tea is fine. We sisters brought our own rations," Bai Xian'er returned the greeting. "Thank you, Great Hero Yun."

Yun Dongliu gave a wry smile and turned to leave.

The two waited for his back to disappear before leisurely entering the room.

The guest room's decor was simple and plain, but it was very clean, obviously having been cleaned.

Creak~

Bai Xian'er closed the door and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The Xia Yi Sect was currently a mixed bag of dragons and snakes, with several masters on the Earth Ranking. The two of them, being from the Demonic Sect, were being a bit too daring by walking around here.

If they were discovered, not to mention her, even Wushuang might end up stuck here.

"Shijie (senior martial sister) performed well. You've certainly been through some experience."

Wushuang, on the other hand, just smiled slightly, without the slightest bit of nervousness.

"Shimei (junior martial sister) is not afraid at all."

Bai Xian'er wiped a chair and let Wushuang sit down, then gently massaged her shoulders. "So many righteous martial artists have gathered at the Xia Yi Sect this time. Isn't it too dangerous for Shimei to come here?"

From the entrance of the Xia Yi Sect to this room, she felt the aura of no less than ten Qi Meridian experts, forcing her to be careful.

"If Feng Qingxuan can come to this Xia Yi Sect, so can I."

Wushuang lightly brushed a strand of long hair and said calmly.

"The Saint... Feng Qingxuan wants to use the suppression of the righteous Jianghu to accumulate his own power to break through. Why bother, Shimei?" Bai Xian'er was a little puzzled.

Although she knew that Wushuang wanted to compete with Feng Qingxuan for the position of Sect Leader of the Six Hells Demonic Sect, not to mention that the Demon Venerable was still in his prime, even if he were to pass on the position, it would be after achieving the Divine Meridian Realm.

Without martial arts that could overwhelm the other Dharma Kings, there was no way to compete for the position of Sect Leader.

Competing at this time was too early.

"The Zhan Mo Xin Jing (Battle Demon Heart Sutra) is our Sacred Sect's strongest divine skill, but before nurturing great momentum, it can't beat my Bai Lian Xin Jing (White Lotus Heart Sutra). But if he achieves his momentum, it will be difficult to restrain him..."

Wushuang chuckled, her eyes deep. "Feng Qingxuan wants to borrow momentum to break through, how can I allow him to do that?"

"Shimei wants to sabotage this?" Bai Xian'er's heart skipped a beat, feeling a little afraid. "Shimei, you once said that this matter is the Demon Venerable's intention..."

"What if the Demon Venerable knows? A failure is not something the Demon Venerable will care about." Saying that, Wushuang gently tapped the table. "Even the Demon Venerable may not be unaware of my purpose for coming down the mountain!"

"What?" Bai Xian'er was shocked. "Then, then we..."

"Shijie, you've stayed in the mire for too long. That's not good," Wushuang's voice was a little cold. "I hope you can improve after this matter, otherwise..."

"Shimei is right!" Bai Xian'er's face turned pale, and she forced herself to calm down. "Then, what does Shimei want to do here?"

She knew that no matter what Wushuang wanted to do, she could only follow her to the end.

A two-faced person, even in the Demonic Sect, could not survive.

"The Zhan Mo Xin Jing needs to nurture great momentum, so naturally he must come to the door openly! These martial artists only think that Feng Qingxuan is afraid of Yun Haitian, but they haven't considered that he is accumulating power, waiting for Yun Haitian's injuries to heal and restore his full strength!"

Wushuang's eyes rippled, and the corners of her mouth under her veil lifted slightly. "He wants to be upright and accumulate momentum, but I just won't let him get what he wants!"

"Shimei wants to attack Yun Haitian?" Bai Xian'er frowned slightly.

Yun Haitian had been famous for many years, with illustrious achievements. Many Da Zhou (Great Zhou Dynasty) Qi Meridian experts had died at his hands. He had once fought Chi Lian Fawang (Red Lotus Dharma King) and survived, and had also fought the Beggar Sect Leader Wang Jianglong several times.

He could be said to be the number one person under the Divine Meridian Realm.

Where did Wushuang get such confidence?

"What can defeat a person is not only martial arts. A spiritual injury is much more painful than a physical one..."

Wushuang said lightly, and suddenly tapped the table with her finger.

Bai Xian'er immediately fell silent.

"Two heroines, the tea is ready." Yun Dongliu's voice sounded outside the door.

A smile appeared on Wushuang's face, and she responded softly: "Great Hero Yun, please come in."

........

Three red suns adorned the azure sky, and ten thousand miles of clouds rolled.

In the Central Plains, the terrain was open, and hundreds of millions of acres of fertile land stretched as far as the eye could see. Several major rivers, including the Da Long Jiang (Great Dragon River) and the Lancang Jiang (瀾滄江), flowed through the land like roaring dragons.

The Da Long Jiang, Chang Long He, and Lancang Jiang were the largest three rivers of the Da Feng Dynasty.

They nourished and irrigated the seventy-three prefectures, thousands of cities, and countless acres of fertile land of Da Feng, and could be called the rivers of life of Da Feng.

These three major rivers ran north and south, with few intersections. The only place where they converged was Wan Long Hu (Ten Thousand Dragon Lake) in Zhong Zhou (Central Province)!

Wan Long Hu was six thousand three hundred miles long from east to west and three thousand four hundred miles wide at its widest point from north to south. It was the largest lake in Da Feng, and even the world.

It supported countless fishermen and countless acres of fertile land along the coast.

Boom!

Rumble!

The滔滔 (Taotao) river water rolled in, as if ten thousand dragons were returning to the sea, and stirred up boundless waves under a majestic mountain peak in the heart of the lake.

This peak was called Wan Long Feng (Ten Thousand Dragon Peak).

It was located in the middle of Wan Long Hu and had been washed by countless river waters for countless years. It was a famous mountain known throughout the world.

And occupying this mountain was the Long Que Pai (Dragon Finch Sect), one of the major righteous sects of Da Feng.

According to legend, this sect was founded seven hundred years ago by the Long Que Dao Zhu (Dragon Finch Saber Master). Unfortunately, after seven hundred years, all the elegance and glory had vanished with the wind and rain.

Although it had not fallen into a third-rate sect, it was no longer the glorious sight of the past.

There were not many disciples left. If it were not for the current sect leader, Cao Zhan, achieving Qi Meridian Realm and being listed among the top ten of the Earth Ranking, it was likely that they would not even be able to defend this Wan Long Feng.

Wan Long Feng, in front of the Dragon Finch Sect's mountain gate.

Tap~

A pair of black dragon boots stepped on the white stone floor and arrived in front of the Dragon Finch Sect's mountain gate.

"Seven hundred years without change, white jade paving a ten-mile-long mountain gate atop a thousand-foot peak, one wonders what kind of elegance the Dragon Finch Saber Master possessed in those days."

A slight breeze lifted the black cloak. Feng Qingxuan looked out at the turbulent waters under Wan Long Shan (Ten Thousand Dragon Mountain), and yearned after the past.

Behind him, two thin, black-clad saber wielders remained silent, their faces hidden.

"Ying Yi, knock on the door."

Looking at the mountain gate in the distance, Feng Qingxuan said calmly.

"Yes."

One of the black-clad saber wielders behind him responded in a hoarse voice, taking a few steps forward and emitting a sonorous sound like metal clashing. "Where is Cao Zhan?"

Boom!

Under the spread of surging Zhenqi (true energy), the sound waves raged and shook across the white jade plaza, blowing towards the Dragon Finch Sect's mountain gate like a hurricane.

"Wh-what kind of person?"

The disciples guarding the Dragon Finch Sect's mountain gate felt a darkness before their eyes and almost fell to the ground.

Cao Zhan!

Cao Zhan!

The echoes, vast and mighty like a thousand people shouting together, resounded throughout the Dragon Finch Sect's mountain gate.

"Who? Who is it?"

"Such vigorous Zhenqi, who is it!"

"Calling the sect leader by name directly, I'm afraid the visitor is not friendly!"

Within the Dragon Finch Sect's mountain gate, many disciples and elders changed their expressions upon hearing this sound.

Sound waves reverberating for dozens of miles. Such an expert, even if his strength was not as good as their sect leader, was probably already a Xiantian (innate) expert who had formed a Qi Meridian.

"So, he really came..."

In the main hall of the Dragon Finch Sect, Cao Zhan stood up abruptly, his face solemn.

"Does the sect leader know who the visitor is?"

A white-haired old man's face was ugly, as if he had also remembered a name.

"What should come, has finally come. It seems that wishful thinking is indeed undesirable."

Cao Zhan sighed.

At this time, there was no need to say who would come looking for him.

He also knew about the gathering initiated by Yun Haitian of the Xia Yi Sect, but more than ten years ago, he had a falling out with Yun Haitian because of his disciple. He could not bring himself to go to the Xia Yi Sect to seek shelter.

He felt that the world was so big that Feng Qingxuan might not necessarily come to his door.

Unfortunately...

"The Saint of the Six Hells Demonic Sect, Feng Qingxuan!"

The white-haired old man's breathing became rapid. "Sect Leader, you should leave quickly and let this old man go to resist him!"

"It's too late."

Cao Zhan shook his head and stepped towards the door. "Elder Wang, you should take the disciples down the mountain. After today, my Dragon Finch Sect will not be able to keep this Wan Long Feng."

At the door, his footsteps paused, and he added, "If you can't escape in time, protect Sun En. He is the last hope of my Dragon Finch Sect!"

"Sect Leader!"

The white-haired old man strode up to Cao Zhan and blocked him. "No, Sect Leader, the Dragon Finch Sect cannot be without you. Without you, my Dragon Finch Sect will have no hope."

"Elder Wang, there is no need to say more. His target is me. If he doesn't see me, the Dragon Finch Sect will be removed from Jianghu today."

Cao Zhan pushed the old man away with a wave of his hand and stepped out of the gate.

"Shifu (master)!"

As soon as he left the mountain gate, a small figure rushed over.

It was a child of about seven or eight years old, chubby, with a tiger-like head and a wooden knife in his hand.

"En'er."

Cao Zhan touched his disciple's chubby face, and his heart was filled with reluctance.

In an instant, his heart hardened, and he pushed him away. "Sun En! Go down the mountain with Elder Wang!"

Whoosh!

As soon as he finished speaking, he took a step and his figure had already left the mountain gate in the child's crying.

"Shifu!"

Sun En fell to the ground and cried.

"En'er!"

The white-haired old man picked up the child.

He turned to look, only to see the Qi flowing and the Zhenqi surging outside the mountain gate. They had already exchanged blows.

He could only sigh, turn around, gather the disciples, pack up all the items, and prepare to go down the mountain.

Jianghu had always been cruel. Even martial arts sects themselves, without an expert to guard them, would be removed from Jianghu once they declined.

He did not know how many sects coveted the Wan Long Feng occupied by the Dragon Finch Sect. Without Cao Zhan, they would not be able to hold it.

If they did not retreat early, what awaited them would be the destruction of their entire sect.

Such things had happened countless times throughout history, and he naturally understood this principle!

What's more, the Demonic Sect would never leave any trouble behind.

If they did not escape now, there would be no chance.

On the white jade plaza, Feng Qingxuan gently wiped away a trace of blood from his face, shook his head slightly, and said with a hint of pity: "It seems that the Dragon Finch Saber Technique has indeed been lost..."

"Dragon Finch Saber Technique..."

Cao Zhan stared blankly at the broken dragon-patterned saber in his hand, laughed miserably, and spat out a mouthful of blood.

But he still did not retreat. He shifted his body, and the broken saber swung out heavy saber shadows, forcing back the two saber wielders who wanted to pounce towards the mountain gate!

"Still not giving up..."

Feng Qingxuan shook his head slightly and said lightly, "You go..."

Boom!

In front of the white jade mountain gate, where the Qi was surging and colliding, a saber light suddenly burst out, as bright as the morning star and as dazzling as the sun.

It stretched for thirty zhang (丈, a unit of length, approx. 3.3 meters) in the sky!

Like a falling star, it poured down towards Cao Zhan.

Wherever the saber light passed, everything tangible and intangible was torn apart by the extreme sharpness!

From a distance of a dozen zhang, Cao Zhan could already feel the unparalleled sharpness of that saber.

But he did not dodge, did not evade, and did not welcome it. The saber light of the broken saber continued to move and forced back the two black-clad saber wielders.

Crack~

Amidst the sound of tearing silk, blood splattered in the air.

As the Qi roared, Feng Qingxuan sheathed his long saber and said calmly: "When cutting grass, you must remove the roots. No chickens or dogs should be left alive!"