As soon as the sword was drawn, a wondrous sensation followed. Yu Ci felt as if he had returned to the moment he killed the Taoist Yan with his flying sword, but this time, the situation was different.
Last time, he used his own condensed Seven Stars Talisman Sword. Rather than a flying sword, it was more accurate to call it a flying talisman. He had just managed to break through the barrier of the Mingqiao, allowing him to call forth spiritual responses with his divine sense, which produced such an incredible effect.
This time, however, the sword he wielded had no talismanic techniques attached. It was purely infused with the essence and demonic energy of the sword itself, naturally merging with the blade. It was somewhat similar to Yan Taoist’s peculiar sword technique. Yet, his actions—pursuing the enemy, locking onto them, swinging the sword, and executing the kill—flowed seamlessly, showing no sign of deliberate force. The unity of his hands, eyes, heart, and courage in the midst of life and death was perfect. The swing of his sword was exhilarating to the extreme.
While Yu Ci was still savoring this rare feeling, Ye Tu’s cheers erupted again from the side. As if that wasn’t enough, he jumped up like a madman and waved at him. Yu Ci waved back and slid down the cliff face, quickly returning to the slope.
“Uncle Yu, amazing, amazing!”
Ye Tu hopped excitedly, praising continuously. He first saw Lu Quan’s corpse falling from the sky and then witnessed the “world’s most evil man” have half his head sliced off by Yu Ci. Following that was the dazzling sword strike, and after an initial discomfort at the bloodshed, admiration soon took over.
In Ye Tu’s perspective, whose living conditions were extremely unique, the so-called standards were very different from those of ordinary people. However, everything is about comparison. Although he clearly could not compete with the venomous snake monk, Yu Ci not only swiftly killed the monk but also eliminated two accomplices whose strength was not inferior to the monk’s. More importantly, Yu Ci achieved all this under unfavorable circumstances with clearly inferior cultivation, and won so splendidly that it was impossible not to admire him.
“Awesome!” The boy was as excited as if he had personally slain the enemy. “Three at the Initial Stage of Divine Connectivity, no, the last one was almost at the Intermediate Stage, and you, Uncle Yu, killed them as easily as slaughtering chickens. Incredible!”
He mimicked Yu Ci’s sword-wielding posture and continued to praise, “Uncle, your divine sense sword control is already so refined. It’s truly unbelievable! With such divine skill, it’s no wonder…”
“Divine sense sword control? Isn’t it divine soul?”
“Ah?”
Ye Tu was stunned by the question, then realized that Yu Ci was a newly initiated loose cultivator. He scratched his head, about to offer an explanation, but then his mind went blank: “You don’t know? How did you use it then?”
“It was my first time using it.”
Yu Ci didn’t think it was a big deal. He patted the boy’s head and said, “It’s just drawing the sword to kill. What’s all this about names!”
“First time!”
The boy’s eyes widened, and he seemed to think of something. In a daze, he muttered, “But it’s different…”
“What’s different?” Yu Ci, still in high spirits after killing three opponents stronger than him, took the opportunity to lecture the boy, “No matter the sword technique or secret, it ultimately comes down to killing. Does it matter how you kill? I have always focused on talisman techniques since I was young, and I only have a superficial understanding of sword techniques. Even though I haven’t practiced many sword techniques, I still draw the sword to kill.
“When truly facing an enemy, thinking too much is useless. You must first raise your own vigor and courage, making your hands, eyes, heart, and courage one, unmoved by external enemies, with a clear mind and intent. Sometimes, when you are in high spirits, any clever technique will emerge. For yourself, it’s the same as for the enemy—killing the enemy is about killing their courage. No matter how strong the enemy is, once their courage is broken, they are like a chicken waiting to be slaughtered. If it weren’t for the loss of their courage, with their cultivation, how could they so easily meet their end like the venomous snake monk and that Xu Laoer…”
This was not only a lesson for Ye Tu but also a summary of Yu Ci’s own experiences. As he said, he had not systematically studied sword techniques and had no formal methods, but he relied on extraordinary courage and a consistently clear and transparent mindset to survive and win in dangerous situations.
The secret of swordsmanship ultimately lay in the concepts of “courage” and “danger,” using courage to intimidate the enemy and danger to win. His ability to seize fleeting chances in life and death and his calmness in the face of danger were the foundation of these concepts. Such internal and external unity, where mind and body are one, was his secret to repeatedly overcoming enemies.
After this speech, Yu Ci felt a sense of relief. He somewhat understood why there was a saying about “being fond of teaching others.” Setting aside the psychological sense of superiority, just clearly expressing what one has learned through words for others to know was an unparalleled enjoyment.
Unfortunately, Ye Tu, whose temperament was very different from his, clearly did not absorb this kind of talk well. His expression was somewhat dazed, making Yu Ci feel that perhaps his words were in vain.
Just as Yu Ci and Young Master Ye were trying to understand what was happening, an ear-splitting roar suddenly erupted. Initially, the roar could be heard clearly, but in the blink of an eye, the massive sound waves reverberated back and forth, transforming into a rumbling thunder that swept through the canyon. In comparison, the thunder created by the Five Thunder Talisman was pitifully thin.
Yu Ci and Ye Tu looked at each other, still not understanding what was going on. Suddenly, a sharp cry came from the mist, followed by the same sound merging into one. After a moment, a mass of howling blood clouds emerged from the depths of the mist, without stopping, and surged toward the top of the canyon.
Blood eagles! Not just one, but nearly a hundred blood eagles gathered together in a frantic, panicked manner, soaring upwards in a frenzy.
Yu Ci grabbed Ye Tu by the collar and retreated inward toward the slope. Amidst the howling winds, the group of blood eagles quickly flew over their heads, and their sharp cries faded away.
But this was just the beginning. Soon, both of them saw that the fierce birds and beasts in the canyon seemed to have gone mad collectively. The fast ones used all their strength to escape upwards, while the slower ones fought desperately with other creatures. Yu Ci saw two flying demon apes of the same kind biting and tumbling down into the deep valley. As for the fierce beasts that usually fought endlessly, they fought to the death with the nearest creatures around them.
“What is going on?”
Ye Tu was stunned but surprisingly not frightened by the scene before him. Yu Ci patted his shoulder to silence him. During this time, two or three groups of fierce beasts had charged up the slope, and fortunately, none of them stopped but continued to leave at even greater speeds.
Yu Ci moved to the edge of the slope and looked downward. The sight made his heart skip a beat. He saw a snake-like creature, several tens of yards long, among the boundless clouds and mist. It looked like the mythical snake riding the mist and clouds, originally coiled in the mist. Now, it was struggling violently, its long tail whipping through the clouds, occasionally crashing into the rock walls, causing large chunks of debris to fall with a loud crash. The impact even caused a distinct tremor on the slope.
The creature’s appearance was unmistakably one of desperate struggle.
Yu Ci recognized this giant creature, which he had guessed to be a snake. It was one of the most powerful beings within the range displayed on the Divine Map. It usually meandered leisurely in the canyon’s mist, with no natural enemies. What could have happened now?
The “snake” struggled for almost half an hour, and the fierce birds and beasts around it, battered by its whipping tail, were smashed to pieces. Only then did it gradually stop, sinking into the deeper mist, likely in a dire state. As a result, the chaos among the beasts within this range eased somewhat, with fewer of the ferocious creatures making their way up the slope.
Yu Ci sighed in relief and said to Ye Tu, “We can’t stay here any longer. Let’s go quickly!”
Ye Tu, now completely obedient to Yu Ci, nodded. The two of them scrambled up the slope. However, just a quarter of an hour later, they slid back down, covered in dirt and dust.
They couldn’t make it through. The group of blood eagles that had just flown over their heads seemed to have brought the chaos from the depths of the canyon up with them. Within just a few miles of the slope, the conflicts among the fierce birds and beasts were no less severe than below. Staying on the slope was fine, but once they moved, they would immediately come under attack. If it were only Yu Ci, it would be manageable, but with Young Master Ye, things became very troublesome.
Reluctantly, they had to retreat back to the slope and wait for this wave of chaos to pass. They ended up waiting all night.
Yu Ci wasn’t in a hurry because he had the Divine Map. Even though the range illuminated by it at night was reduced to within thirty miles, he had enough ability to monitor the surrounding situation. What concerned him more was Ye Tu’s state.
At this moment, when the fierce birds and beasts were going berserk, Young Master Ye suddenly exhibited an extraordinary calmness—or more accurately, this kid had entered a state of severe distraction, completely immersed in his own world, oblivious to the external events, seeing and hearing nothing.
To put it kindly, this was called being absorbed; to put it harshly, it was madness…
As dawn broke and the darkness receded, gradually expanding the range of the Divine Map, Yu Ci let out a long sigh. The most difficult night since entering the Sky Rift Valley had passed. During the night, he had slain four fierce birds and beasts that had attempted to invade the slope, temporarily ensuring its safety. From the observations of the Divine Map, there seemed to be signs of the chaos subsiding. He decided to wait a while longer, at least until Ye Tu returned to normal.
With nothing to do, Yu Ci began clearing the Shrimp Whisker Grass left on the slope. Time flew by in this monotonous and tedious task. When he had gathered over four thousand Shrimp Whisker Grass, he heard the boy’s excited shriek.
The boy’s voice was full of energy. Yu Ci turned around to see Ye Tu waving at him and dancing with enthusiasm. The drastic shift from static to dynamic made Yu Ci want to check his forehead.
Ye Tu didn’t care what Yu Ci was thinking. He waved his hands vigorously, “Come over here, come over here! This time, you’ll definitely understand what I’m talking about, Uncle Yu!”
Yu Ci’s mind spun a couple of times before he realized what Ye Tu meant. It turned out that the kid had been obsessing over teaching him cultivation knowledge for the past few days.
Before Yu Ci could show any reaction, Ye Tu had already rushed over, happily dragging him to the flattest part of the slope. Here, a neat circle had been drawn on the ground, with a relatively smooth stone placed at the center. The boy pointed at the drawing and proudly announced:
“This is my latest achievement!”
Yu Ci looked at the crude drawing and raised his head after a while, unsure of what to say: “This?”
Goblin: I will be accepting sponsored chapters for AM from now on at BuyMeaCoffee page. It’ll be $5 per 2 sponsored chapters. Just buy the 5 Coffees and write the name of the novel you want to sponsor in the “Say something nice” section.