Facing the streak of sword light, Nan Songzi cursed under his breath. With a flick of his wide sleeve, his True Qi surged like a tide, driving the surrounding atmosphere to form countless tiny, twisted whirlpools. These dissolved the sharpness of the sword light and deflected its trajectory. The True Qi refined over centuries by a Core Refinement cultivator was no trivial matter. Though it had not fully erupted, the intertwined strands acted like a quagmire, slowing the momentum of the previously unstoppable sword light.
However, as this sword attack faltered, another sword light streaked across the sky from the same mountaintop. Like a rainbow bridge, it arced forward with greater speed and precision, exploiting the distraction caused by the first sword light. This sword strike differed from the earlier one—it wasn’t merely a flying sword aimed to harm but carried someone who was riding it.
As the figure approached, the radiance rapidly dimmed, revealing a thin, robed figure. Clad in a dark daoist robe and crown, the person glided on the wind, slashing horizontally with a single sword.
Nan Songzi regarded this sword attack with greater caution. If his guess was correct, this was a famous technique of the Rifting Earth Sect, known as the “Relentless Sword Technique.” It was particularly troublesome for him since it countered some of the methods he had learned from the Myriad Cosmos Sect.
Especially at such a vexing moment…
“Disciples of the Rifting Earth Sect! Cease!”
Nan Songzi was truly enraged. Initially, he had exercised restraint to avoid offending the Rifting Earth Sect, a major force in the cultivation world. He had only destroyed their warning signal and trapped the two disciples. Yet, the female daoist among them had proved surprisingly formidable, breaking through his measures so swiftly and relentlessly pursuing him.
At this moment, he had a fifty percent chance of seriously injuring the Rifting Earth Sect disciple if he unleashed his full power. However, his apprehensions held him back, causing him to hesitate.
A faint explosion sounded as his True Qi, devoid of embellishments, clashed directly with the sword light, forcing it apart.
The sword light shattered, driving its wielder into the water up to their waist. Yet, they quickly gathered their Qi and rose back to the surface. Beneath their plain and unassuming robe stood a slender figure with strikingly beautiful features—it was Meng Wei, who had been absent all night.
“Sister Murong, are you unharmed?”
Compared to Murong Qingyan’s charming demeanor, Meng Wei’s plain appearance seemed understated. However, when the two female cultivators stood together, their harmony was surprisingly eye-catching.
Murong Qingyan smiled faintly. “I’m fine, but Junior Sister Meng, why wade into this muddy water again?”
Meng Wei’s expression remained calm. “As cultivators, we should cherish life and avoid killing. However, the sect’s disciplinary court allows exceptions for those who must be eradicated. Nan Songzi, the renegade of the Myriad Cosmos Sect, defiled his fellow disciples, betrayed his sect, and has wandered the banks of the Azure River for forty years, disrupting cultivation and committing countless atrocities. For disciples of the Rifting Earth Sect, encountering him means only one thing—eliminate him!”
She held a simple, Pine-patterned Sword, unadorned yet imposing. Around her, a second sword light orbited her body. Its crystal-clear brilliance made it hard to discern its form, appearing more slender and extraordinary than the sword in her hand.
“Ah, that’s the Rifting Earth Sect’s ‘Dispersing Mist Sword Technique,’ isn’t it?”
Nan Songzi’s knowledge was impressive. He quickly deduced some details about Meng Wei. His gaze shifted between the two women and lingered briefly on Meng Wei. A flicker of desire ignited within him but was swiftly extinguished—he wasn’t entirely reckless. His focus returned to the graceful figure on the lake.
Determined, he resolved to disregard everything else. He would first capture Murong Qingyan with overwhelming force and flee a thousand miles away. By then, no one could touch him.
Thus, even after Meng Wei exposed his crimes, he paid her no mind and immediately launched his attack.
He extended his claw-like hand, causing waves to rise below. The splashing water created a dense mist, which soon spread into a thin veil of fog, obscuring the figures below. The light above the lake seemed to dim as its penetration weakened. The fog and light merged into a haze, enveloping the entire lake in an illusionary veil.
Then, Nan Songzi made a drawing motion in the air. A talisman appeared and was activated, scattering spiritual light that blended into the mist over the lake.
“It’s the ‘Form Follows Intent Technique’. Be cautious of illusions!”
Murong Qingyan warned softly. Meng Wei nodded slightly, closed her eyes briefly, and then reopened them, her gaze clearer than ever.
Having diligently cultivated since childhood, Meng Wei specialized in the “Relentless Sword Technique,” which could dispel all falsehoods. She was highly resistant to illusions. Earlier, when Nan Songzi used an illusory formation to trap her and Li You, she was the first to break free. Now, she was experienced in dealing with similar techniques.
However, those two figures by the lakeshore… how had they gotten involved?
Meng Wei referred to Yu Ci and Bao Guang, who were peering cautiously from the lakeside.
When Meng Wei had descended on her flying sword, her position on the mountain had prevented her from noticing the pair. Now that she saw them, concern flickered in her eyes. A battle of Core Refinement cultivators had a vast impact range. If those two junior disciples were caught in the crossfire, it would be her fault.
Yet, she quickly saw them retreating into the shadows of the mountain. Soon, a cloud-like mist began to rise, hugging the mountainside as it ascended into the night sky and disappeared into the darkness.
Before her eyes, Nan Songzi’s offensive attacked, but Meng Wei felt a lightness in her heart: ‘It must be our Junior Brother Yu; our Junior Brother Bao Guang is not as agile as him.’
A moment of distraction caused her to lose the initiative, but without any obstruction in her heart, the Pine-patterned Sword she wielded was even more natural. No marvelous tricks were seen; instead, her sword Qi was harmonious, with its sharpness subdued, forming a nearly flawless circle about a zhang (approximately 3.3 meters) around her. The chaotic splashes of the lake water and the hidden killing intent were all resolved outside the circle one by one.
The sword glow outside her body, however, moved swiftly and gracefully like a live fish, darting within and outside the circle with extraordinary agility.
Nan Songzi probed with two attacks, but each slightly touched the edge before retreating on their own.
Meng Wei knew that Nan Songzi was only using the “Form Follows Intent Technique” to restrain her and isolate her, but this scoundrel’s true target was still Murong Qingyan.
As expected, within the mist, Murong Qingyan encountered difficulties. Her figure never paused, rapidly drifting and darting, while the true killing intent surged, with the explosive sounds of her Qi continuously ringing in her ears. However, more than half of these strikes hit empty space. Even though the sounds were booming, the light mist on the lake’s surface not only did not disperse, but instead grew even denser.
Nan Songzi then concealed himself within the mist, continuously maintaining pressure on the female cultivator without truly launching an attack, steadily accumulating strength in preparation for a thunderous strike.
Both in terms of the situation and in substance, Nan Songzi had an absolute advantage over Murong Qingyan. This matched their differing levels: the former was at the upper stage of Core Refinement cultivation, just one step away from Void Stepping, while Murong Qingyan was at the initial stage of Core Refinement, differing by two levels. She could offer some resistance, but had almost no chance of victory.
Meng Wei saw all of this very clearly, so she had been holding back all along. Until at one moment, she saw a very subtle expression on Murong Qingyan’s face, one that was directed specifically at her.
In the next instant, the circle of sword Qi around Meng Wei suddenly contracted, the force of internal pressure propelling her figure, shooting forward like lightning.
Earlier, Murong Qingyan seemed to lose her momentum, revealing a flaw at the junction of her true killing intent’s pivot. This flaw was so fatal that the strong pressure maintained by Nan Songzi was like a flood breaking a dam, instantly finding a breakthrough and launching a booming attack.
The balance of the battle on the lake surface instantly tipped, Nan Songzi’s attention inevitably fully directed towards Murong Qingyan’s side. This was a change driven by the movement of Qi, making it difficult to be diverted by human will.
As one decreased, the other increased; the relaxation on Meng Wei’s side led to no further restraint outside the female cultivator’s body. Her figure seemed to be magnetically drawn, moving towards Murong Qingyan’s direction.
This was a flawless Qi resonance. The two female cultivators seemed to be telepathically connected, merging their originally isolated situations into one, and this was not yet over.
Nan Songzi’s accumulated strength was triggered by the Qi movement, but at this moment, he suddenly couldn’t find an accurate target.
At this moment, through multiple overlapping movements and more complex Qi shifts, the auras of Murong Qingyan and Meng Wei became mixed. The current situation was like Nan Songzi painstakingly lifting a weight beyond his limit, ready to smash someone, only to find that the person was no longer there, and instead, he himself was in danger of being crushed.
The situation forced Nan Songzi to make a choice. He let out a low roar, and his figure, which had been concealed within the mist, suddenly appeared, reaching out with his palms and claws purely by instinct.
Unfortunately, he chose wrong.
At his fingertips, he met the edge of the Pine-patterned Sword!
Pressed by Nan Songzi’s powerful true killing intent, the air resounded with continuous soft explosions. Not only was the true killing intent unparalleled in power, but even the explosive sounds could shake one’s soul. Moreover, between his curved palms and fingers, shadows seemed to ebb and flow, and an unusual fragrance filled the air. This was a sinister magical weapon that Nan Songzi had been refining in recent years; he intended to use it to control Murong Qingyan and do as he pleased.
However, this strike hit Meng Wei’s sword.
Meng Wei’s figure moved swiftly backward, but her Pine-patterned Sword only trembled slightly before stabilizing again. At this moment, the roar of the Qi waves on the lake’s surface was like a strong wind sweeping across an endless grassland, howling and rushing without any direction.
Nan Songzi felt the same way. His powered-up strike hit the outer layer of the sword Qi that Meng Wei had laid out, but it felt powerless, like river water crashing against smooth reefs, or like a whip fiercely cracking on a spinning top. The stronger the force, the steadier the opponent stood.
Of course, this “steadiness” was relative, given Meng Wei’s rapid retreat.
In his perception, at this moment, Meng Wei was clearly like a flawless spherical object, rapidly spinning driven by her internal core, dissipating all external forces, even transforming external forces for her own use, always ready to pounce.
That “momentum” was the surrounding of the female cultivator, with the flowing sword Qi, and the increasingly dazzling sword glow encircling her body.
“At such a young age, how can you possess such a Core Refinement true killing intent, refined through thousands of temperings, and yet have not a single flaw?”
Nan Songzi’s emotions became increasingly difficult to control. He felt that Murong Qingyan seemed to be distancing herself. This made him release everything, no longer caring about the female cultivator in front of him, who might be a highly valued rising talent in the Rifting Earth Sect. He didn’t care about the consequences of harming her. He only shook his wrist, preparing to release the magical artifact entwined around his arm.
At that moment, a clear sound, like striking a jade chime, bright and far-reaching, resonated in his ears.
Nan Songzi was stunned and turned his head to look. With just one glance, his eyes turned red: “The Great Void True Talisman, indeed in your hands!”
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