Embers of Sword

Chapter 454 Qingming Festival
Yuangui Mountain is not as good as Qingfu Mountain. It does not have the protection of Huxi Cave. As night falls, the whole mountain looks quiet and dark.

The magical treasure of the cave in Baihua Valley took root and grew into a giant vine that reached the sky. Each disciple had a separate residence. Yuan Yi was originally meditating and practicing alone, preparing to spend this silent night, but at midnight, there was a gentle knock on the cave door.

"Senior Sister Yuan?"

The person knocking on the door had a light voice.

Yuan Yi pushed the door in confusion. A beautiful woman in a snow-white shirt was standing outside, holding a box of cakes.

"Senior Sister Yuan, I can't sleep."

The pretty woman smiled and said, "Will it be a bother if I visit you at midnight?"

After the Qingzhou uprising, Baihua Valley suffered heavy losses, its popularity waning, and it rushed to recruit disciples. Logically, this sacred place in Qingzhou, with its accumulated heritage and reputation over the years, was a highly sought-after destination. Upon opening, it would have quickly filled up with disciples. However, the Dasui Sword Palace was opening its doors to recruit disciples during this special period, and many Qingzhou disciples chose to try their luck in Zhongzhou, not to mention idle cultivators from other regions. Therefore, it wasn't until the Northern Hunt was over that Baihua Valley finally filled its capacity. Yuan Yi was deeply impressed by the beautiful woman before him: this was Xiao Qi, the last junior sister to join the sect.

"Junior Sister Xiao, you're welcome."

Yuan Yi spoke softly, but did not take the cake: "What's going on?"

She had a good impression of this Junior Sister Xiao.

It may also be because Junior Sister Xiao is very similar to me back then... She had just joined the sect, was the youngest, had the least experience, and was the most clumsy in her practice. People who had not yet gained enlightenment would not shine in anything they did. Whether it was breathing techniques or sword moves, Junior Sister Xiao's performance was mediocre and conventional, and not many people would notice her in the crowd.

"This is my first time participating in a sect activity."

Xiao Qi smiled bitterly and said sincerely, "When I signed up, I heard from my senior sisters that this time, the Southern Border Demon Extermination Campaign is not too dangerous... As long as you listen to Master, be careful when attacking Pure White Mountain, and don't leave the team, you can survive."

"..."

Yuan Yi's expression was a little complicated.

When she participated in the battle of Beihailing, she also heard similar words.

In the eyes of ordinary people, all cultivators in the spiritual world are immortal masters.

But that’s not the case.

This world is shrouded in elaborate lies. Many cultivators aren't as illustrious as ordinary people imagine. Many of them... are fools. After saving his life in Beihailing, Yuan Yi realized the cruelty of the cultivation world. Think about it, how could attacking the Paper Man Dao be easy? The evil cultivators of the three major sects are all ruthless and have no moral principles. Yet, even this group of people, united together, are manipulated by the Paper Man Dao, unable to resist at all. The power of a figure as powerful as Lu Yuzhen is simply beyond the imagination of a small-time cultivator!

What the holy places will face next may be the most powerful evil force in southern Xinjiang in the past hundred years!

But Xiao Qi was right about one thing.

"If you listen to Master, you will survive."

Yuan Yi spoke softly, "The general offensive has been delayed these past few days. The messengers from the three major sects in Southern Xinjiang cannot be trusted. Don't leave Zhanjiao Mountain on weekdays... Don't worry, we will all survive."

Xiao Qi was stunned.

"Senior Sister Yuan..."

She took a deep breath and said seriously, "I heard that you went to Chen's house and learned two sword moves... Can you teach me?"

Yuan Yi never refuses anyone who asks for advice on sword moves.

In order to catch up with Mr. Xiao Xie, she has been practicing very hard these days. Apart from comprehending sword moves and styles, she also seeks others to practice with.

Yuan Yi's diligence in studying swordsmanship has reached the point where most of the Baihua Valley disciples will avoid her from a distance... Even Senior Sister Lu Yuan, who usually loves to spar with her the most, doesn't want to play against her, because her fighting style is so fierce, and once she is defeated, she will quickly adjust her state and fight again, like a dog-skin plaster that can't be thrown away.

No one wants to be stuck with Yuan Yi.

Since no one in the valley was willing to play chess with her, Yuan Yi could only study on her own.

Tonight, for the first time ever, a person came to seek advice.

Yuan Yi couldn't get what he wanted.

"Yes, yes..."

She looked around and said with a wry smile, "It's just that this place isn't very suitable, right?"

The vine world is too narrow. After all, it is a cave opened up by spiritual treasures. It is already very difficult to provide every disciple with a place to live.

This space can only accommodate one person sitting cross-legged quietly.

It is not enough to evolve sword moves.

Xiao Qi blinked and said, "Shall we go down the mountain?"

……

……

"Whoosh!"

"Whoosh!"

Two sword lights flashed across the foot of Yuangui Mountain.

The army dispatched by the Great Chu Dynasty to the south was composed entirely of elite troops, yet these elite forces were inevitably dispersed across seven Zhanjiao Mountains... seemingly connected by distance, yet in reality, some were quite distant. Yuangui Mountain on the southwest front was the most remote garrison, a full 180 miles from the nearest Zhanjiao Mountain and Fuqing Mountain.

Once an accident occurs, it will be too late to rush to help. Only when they reach Chunbai Mountain, the seven major mountains will truly meet.

Therefore, patrolling Zhanjiao Mountain is extremely important.

Baihua Valley and the Jiang family each sent out disciples, forming teams of two to patrol the mountain gate.

There was another reason for such strict patrols: the other members of Zhanjiao Mountain might not care about Xie Zhen's killing of Taoist Qianyuan, but Ye Qinglian and Jiang Que remembered it clearly... After such a drama in broad daylight, in their eyes, the Hehuan Sect's envoys were no longer trustworthy.

The two sword lights that were supposed to flash by suddenly stopped.

"Friend Lu."

A young man from the Jiang family held a lantern and said in a deep voice, "But what did you find?"

"..."

Lu Yuan, the current senior sister of Baihua Valley, uttered a soft "eh" and said, "I think I saw someone just now?"

Say it.

She looked at the weeds and bushes not far from the mountain gate with a serious expression.

There was a commotion in the weeds.

A wild fox jumped out and disappeared.

"Maybe I saw it wrong."

The young man from the Jiang family was a little nervous at first, thinking there were indeed evil cultivators lurking. But when he saw the wild fox jump out, he breathed a sigh of relief and quickly comforted him, "Don't worry too much. The two commanders have set up a large formation at the foot of the mountain. If any outside enemy dares to enter, the formation will respond immediately!"

Lu Yuan nodded softly.

She released her divine sense, landed it among the bushes, and checked carefully. There was nothing there, nothing unusual.

It seems that I was indeed mistaken.

The two sword lights gradually faded away.

In the shade of the bushes, a thin web of gauze fluttered in the wind.

Xiao Qi, who was squatting in the bushes, slowly stood up, stretched himself, and said with a smile: "Senior Sister Lu's intuition is really sharp."

"..."

Yuan Yi looked at the gauze net and thought: "Junior Sister Xiao's treasure is quite good. It can actually block the perception of Senior Sister's mind."

After Lu Yuan took over Hong Jing's position, he received great support from the sect and his realm improved rapidly.

In order to block this divine thought... the gauze net just now must be at least an eighth-grade treasure.

"Senior Sister Yuan likes it?"

Xiao Qi smiled and spread out the gauze net, saying: "I heard that Senior Sister has re-trained the 'Green Vine Chapter' in Chen Mansion... If you give me the sword moves, this treasure will be yours."

Yuan Yi smiled and nodded, then drew his sword the next moment.

Hiss!

A flash of sword light tore the cold night apart with extremely ferocious force!
Xiao Qi calmly took a step back, tilted his head slightly, and the sword energy brushed past his cheek, cutting off a strand of thin hair.

"Senior Sister, this is not the 'Green Ivy Chapter'..."

Xiao Qi sighed and corrected seriously: "This is the chapter of thorns."

"Is it?"

Yuan Yi retracted his sword and looked at the woman in front of him, expressionless. "You've only been a member of the sect for half a year. These two are the same... They are both sword techniques you haven't mastered yet."

Before he finished speaking, sword energy came out again.

A white sword pierces the night——

Xiao Qi chuckled and made a move, gripping the sword, stepping on the ground and retreating, but not towards Zhanjiao Mountain. Instead, he pulled Yuan Yi and flew backwards away from Yuangui Mountain.

The soil and rocks collapsed and mud splashed along the way.

After his body flew out uncontrollably for dozens of feet, Yuan Yi gritted his teeth, forcibly withdrew the sword, shook his wrist and exerted force, and the reed sword tip suddenly bent.

"珰!"

Yuan Yi took a step forward, tightly grasped the hilt of the sword, and put the sword into Xiao Qi's arms. The tip of the sword was pinched, and the sword surface became like a thin leaf, bending, folding and colliding, and finally made an extremely crisp sound, and the shadow of a green vine suddenly appeared!
Xiao Qi let go of the tip of the sword, leaned back and bent his waist to avoid the sharp sword energy.

"Good... This is what I want to see..."

Xiao Qi crossed his arms, slowly regained his composure, and said with a smile, "I heard that you can bloom thirty-seven green ivy flowers with one sword strike, but just now there was only one. Is this the result of your practice after Xie Zhen's guidance?"

"There is no difference between one and thirty-seven."

Yuan Yi looked calm and breathed hard.

She lowered her head and looked at her shaking wrist.

The fight just now lasted only a split second, but Yuan Yi knew very well that the two of them were not at the same level at all. Xiao Qi was at least one major realm higher than him.

Maybe more.

"You don't need to practice the swordsmanship of Baihua Valley at all."

Yuan Yi said quietly, "Why do you need to become my disciple? And why do you need to call me Senior Sister? You are really condescending."

"That's not what they said."

Xiao Qi stretched out his hand to stroke his hair and said seriously, "I heard that the 'Burning Flower Style' of Baihua Valley is extremely amazing. It can transcend the current realm and burst out incredible power. It is a top-level sword move that even the head of Dasui Sword Palace has to praise... I wanted to practice hard until I learned the 'Burning Flower Style'."

“Then you will need to learn for a long time.”

Yuan Yi sneered and said, "There are only a few people in Baihua Valley who have mastered the 'Burning Flower Style'."

This is the last of Baihua Valley's most powerful sword moves.

Unless one is gifted and can comprehend on his own... otherwise, if one wants to obtain the inheritance, one needs to at least reach the Yin Shen realm, and also need to have an extremely high status.

Even for Ye Qinglian, it would take a few more years before she could learn the "burning flower style".

"Yeah...I know it takes a long time."

Xiao Qi said regretfully: "Maybe I won't be able to wait for that day. If you are willing to play dumb, then we can go back to Zhanjiao Mountain and pretend nothing happened."

"Do you think I'm a fool?"

Yuan Yi said coldly: "Since you are determined to lead me out of the mountain...how can you let me go back so easily?"

"..."

Xiao Qi was silent for a few breaths, then said with emotion: "Logically speaking, someone who can say this should be a smart person. But if you are really smart and have seen through my intentions, why would you leave Zhanjiao Mountain?"

She thought that tonight would not go so smoothly.

When the two of them were talking before, Yuan Yi warned him earnestly, "Don't ever leave Zhanjiao Mountain."

did not expect.

Later, it was a natural thing for him to invite Yuan Yi out in the name of exchange. The girl was even willing to hide with him under the gauze treasure to avoid the eyes and ears of the patrolling guards.

"Just wanted to see what you were up to."

Yuan Yi exhaled a breath of foul air and said straight to the point: "Do you want to kill me? Or do you want to take over my body?"

"..."

Xiao Qi fell silent again.

She silently unfolded her Dao realm. After just fighting, she had dragged Yuan Yi dozens of feet away. This place was already far away from the foot of Yuangui Mountain, but it was not safe yet... The next moment, a strong wind blew up, and a silent gale surged like a tide under the cover of night. The gauze net as thin as a cicada's wing flew high and expanded until it completely covered the place where the two were standing, replacing the night and forming a new dark ceiling.

just now.

This is a completely independent barrier.

Even if the patrolman rushed back, he would not find anything.

The already dark night became even darker when covered by the gauze.

The night is like water, like the sea, like a bottomless abyss.

Yuan Yi thought that Xiao Qi's realm was higher than his own.

But she didn't think about it.

This is... a Yin God Realm.

"I heard that Lingqu City held a grand celebration banquet last night."

Xiao Qi looked at the little girl in front of him, and said with some envy and sympathy: "You people who were born in the Great Chu Dynasty are really lucky. You don't have to go through the trials of life and death, and you can enjoy vitality, sunshine, and free air. Flowers growing in a greenhouse, how can they not understand how difficult it is to 'live'... In my opinion, if you stupid guys who set foot in Southern Xinjiang can survive 10%, it's already very good."

She opened her arms.

The wind was blowing hard, but in this independent barrier, the surging wind did not cause any sharp sound.

For an instant.

Yuan Yi's sleeves were cut into pieces.

Under Xiao Qi's control of the Dao Realm, these wind blades became extremely accurate. The wind blades brushed against her skin, but did not even cut a wound. She did not hurt Yuan Yi, but only cut open her sleeves to show her absolute control over this land... Not hurting at this moment does not mean that she will not hurt next time. The reason for this scene is that the hunter who has an absolute advantage has already captured the prey she wants, and the next hunt becomes extremely simple. She can kill the prey with one move, or she can slowly play with it until the prey is desperate.

Xiao Qi chose the latter.

But she didn't see any fear in Yuan Yi's eyes.

Xiao Qi tilted his head slightly and waved his sleeves again.

This time, murderous intent burst out——

A gust of wind blade flew directly towards Yuan Yi's forehead.

The girl did not dodge, but remained calm, staring straight at the woman with wings of gale growing in front of her.

The wind blade suddenly turned and flew upwards just before it hit Yuan Yi's forehead. Then, under the control of the Dao Realm Master, it exploded like a bunch of fireworks.

Xiao Qi was a little disappointed.

From beginning to end, she didn't see what she wanted to see.

She smiled and asked, "You don't seem scared?"

"..."

Yuan Yi did not answer this question.

She just looked at the person in front of her seriously and said, "Your target is not me."

Xiao Qi raised her eyebrows and looked at Yuan Yi with a little more praise in her eyes. The pair of huge wings condensed by the strong wind behind her flapped gently, signaling the girl in front of her to continue speaking.

"I am just an ordinary little person in Baihua Valley. Even though I have received the attention of my master recently, I am still just a little person..."

Yuan Yi spoke slowly, his voice steady.

She knew it.

Now he was only at the Qi Controlling Realm. If he wanted to be taken seriously by the sect, he needed to at least enter the Cave Heaven Realm.

Before accepting Xie Zhen's instruction at Chen Mansion, she stubbornly practiced the "Qingteng Chapter" in order to find the answer to the swordsmanship in her heart.

These stubborn insistences may be useful... but at least they won't be seen by others now.

Killing a person in the Qi Control Realm is useless to a Yin God.

"Just now, Mr. Xie caught the undercover agent of Paperman Dao and reported to the seven Zhanjiao Mountains. Even if you really have any action, you should wait for a while..."

"He's just a Qi Controlling Realm, what on earth does he have that's worth all the trouble?"

Yuan Yi laughed at himself: "The most precious thing in me should be my relationship with Mr. Xie, right?"

The sound of the wind swirled and fell on Yuan Yi's cheek, this time it was no longer sharp, but like a hand caressing gently.

This is the reward for answering correctly.

"I guess you're not in a hurry to kill me, but you want to wait for a response from Yuangui Mountain."

Yuan Yi raised his head and said word by word: "Your target is not me, but Mr. Xie..."

"You are actually a smart person."

Xiao Qi sighed and said seriously: "You guessed correctly, the real target is not you at all, but Xie Zhen. Since you guessed my purpose, you should not follow me out of the mountain. Xie Zhen came to save you, which means he fell into a trap. If Xie Zhen didn't come, wouldn't he lose his life and be disappointed?"

"Are you so sure... that Mr. Xie will come to save me?"

Yuan Yi also sighed.

She smiled with a complicated expression and said, "Mr. Xie and I don't have a very deep friendship."

"I think so too."

Xiao Qi smiled and agreed, "If he really cares about you and values you as the rumors say, then he should leave a trace of divine consciousness on you, or leave a jade token for you. As long as you crush it, he will come."

"so sorry."

Yuan Yi shook his head, raised his little head, and said with a bright smile: "I don't have such a thing, but congratulations anyway."

Xiao Qi frowned slightly.

She suddenly raised her head and looked at the scene in front of her with some disbelief.

Without any warning, a sound like a sword tearing paper was heard above the sky and earth covered by the gauze net.

This perfect and spotless dark world was cut in half by a sword.

The wind was as strong as a tsunami.

The sword fell from the sky and hit the ground in an instant, chopping and breaking countless waves and tides.

A flying sword.

It fell right in the center of Yuan Yi and Xiao Qi, piercing into the earth and crushing all the violent winds in the sky.

This world has returned to clarity and brightness.

……

……

(There are more in the evening, so don’t wait if you don’t stay up late.)
(End of this chapter)