Time Travel: I'm a Flower Thief

On the west coast of Wangyou Island, the reefs are sharp as knives, and Xie Lingyun stands at the highest point.

She looked up and gazed towards the Central Plains—

Divine senses, vital energy, and sword intent locked onto the location of the Forbidden City.

It was as if she were the only person in the world.

Suddenly, a phoenix cry rang out from the sky, clear and melodious, piercing through the clouds.

A phoenix adorned with crimson and gold flew in, its wings scorching through the clouds, and landed beside her.

Ning Hua leaped down from the phoenix's back, her appearance returning to its natural state. She looked like a beauty in her early twenties, with cold and beautiful eyes and an otherworldly temperament.

"Xie girl?"

Xie Lingyun glanced at her, then nodded and greeted her, "Greetings, Daoist Ning!"

Ning Hua frowned and asked, "Aren't you going to the battle between Xiao Xie Mo and Wang Zijian?"

"Xiao Yi...she won't let me go!"

Why?

"He has his plans, and I have mine to keep." Xie Lingyun gazed into the distance. "He told me to guard Forget-Worry Island, and so I will."

Ning Hua chuckled lightly: "He didn't ask you to go when he entered the Forbidden City alone, but you went anyway, didn't you?"

"That's all thanks to Daoist Ning for saving Yun Qianxun and Murong Wei. With them guarding the island, I was able to free up my forces!"

"I was studying behind closed doors when this rouge-wearing girl went out for a stroll, and when she came back, she had two people tucked into her phoenix claws..."

As she spoke, Ning Hua gently patted the phoenix feathers of the crimson phoenix beside her: "It was this bird that saved Yun Qianxun and Murong Wei!"

As soon as she finished speaking, the intelligent phoenix lowered its head and let out a long cry towards Ning Hua, as if in response to her words.

"In any case, I am very grateful to Master Ning for his help last time, otherwise Xiao Yi would not have been able to block that purple lightning."

Ning Hua withdrew his hand from the phoenix feather and smiled faintly: "Little girl, would you like to come with me to the Forbidden City?"

......

At the summit of Purple Gold, the aftershocks of the third move dissipated.

Xie Xiaoyi stomped his foot hard and shouted, "The third sword strike is over, it's my turn!"

Just then, a figure flashed in mid-air, instantly closing the distance of a hundred feet.

Xie Xiaoyi and Wang Zijian bumped into each other.

clang--!

Both of them swayed, and Xie Xiaoyi used the recoil to twist his body, his left elbow like a spear, straight for Wang Zijian's heart.

Simple and straightforward.

Wang Zijian was unable to retract his sword in time, so he could only raise his left palm and press it against Xie Xiaoyi's elbow.

With a muffled "poof," the force of the energy penetrated Wang Zijian's back, causing a white mark to appear in the air behind him.

Almost simultaneously, Wang Zijian drew his Heaven-Opening Sword with his right hand, aiming for Xie Xiaoyi's throat.

Xie Xiaoyi tilted his head, the tip of the sword grazing his neck, drawing out a drop of blood.

He casually lowered his shoulder and slammed his forehead into Wang Zijian's face!

Savage, but effective.

The martial arts practitioners were all dumbfounded. What kind of fighting style was this? Was it some kind of Buddhist Iron Head Kung Fu?

It doesn't seem like it!

At the same moment, Wang Zijian leaned back, raised his knee and thrust it upwards, striking Xie Xiaoyi in the lower abdomen.

boom!boom!

Xie Xiaoyi's forehead collided with Wang Zijian's chin, and Wang Zijian's knee struck Xie Xiaoyi's chest and abdomen.

The two were jolted at the same time and flew backward and separated.

Thump, thump, thump!

Each step sent the void exploding with a deafening roar.

Xie Xiaoyi spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, and his chest and abdomen churned with a surge of blood and qi.

Wang Zijian wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, a flicker of emotion finally appearing in his eyes: "Is this even considered swordsmanship?"

Xie Xiaoyi snorted coldly: "Let's not talk about who's right or wrong..."

As soon as he finished speaking, the two pounced on him again.

This time it was faster and fiercer.

Prince Jian used his Heaven-Opening Sword to strike repeatedly, the sword energy hissing as it sealed Xie Xiaoyi's major acupoints.

Xie Xiaoyi neither dodged nor evaded, his body surrounded by illusory images of the four elements, his tortoise-shell-like qi shield bearing the blow.

The sword energy struck his body, producing muffled "thud" sounds and leaving tiny traces of energy.

He charged forward, braving the rain of swords!

Ten zhang, five zhang, one zhang!

boom--

At the same moment the two forces collided, Xie Xiaoyi was sent flying backward, and Wang Zijian's Kaitian also fell from his hand and hit the ground.

"Very good, continue..."

Xie Xiaoyi stepped into the air and ascended again, while Wang Zijian met him empty-handed. The two figures transformed into streaks of light and collided in mid-air.

bang——

The mountain collapsed, dust billowed into the sky, and amidst the smoke and dust, the sounds of fists and feet clashing were as dense as drumbeats.

Bang! Crack! Boom! Thud!

boom--

The air surged, and both were thrown back, shooting out backward.

Before they could regain their footing, the streaks of light changed direction again and collided violently.

Bang!

Another head-on collision, and another bounce.

It crashes through, then surges forward again, rushes in, and crashes again.

In mid-air, a continuous roar shook the void, causing the two to pause briefly.

Wang Zijian sneered, "So, having no swords left, you can only rely on brute force?"

Xie Xiaoyi's mind was clear, and he slowly said, "Not necessarily! I think I've suddenly figured it out!"

Wang Zijian raised an eyebrow: "Oh?"

Xie Xiaoyi's voice was calm, yet every word was sharp and powerful: "Although I have no sword in my hand now, I can have a sword in my heart."

This sword can slay men and cleave paths; it is forged in the heart, sharpened by will, sheathed by heaven and earth, and bears the witness of all living beings.

"With the sword in one's heart, one is not bound by form; in motion, one shatters illusions; in stillness, one stabilizes the universe."

"No moves are better than moves, no edge is better than edge; without a sword in hand, one is not limited by ordinary metal."

"With a sword hidden in one's heart, all methods can return to their origin."

This is my Heart Sword—where the heart leads, the sword follows; where the heart guards, the sword cannot break.

Heaven and earth are my boundaries, my heart is my blade; nothing can stop me, no path is insurmountable.

Upon hearing this, Wang Zijian looked at Xie Xiaoyi with a mixture of approval and disdain:

"Do you think that having no sword in your hand but a sword in your heart is the highest way of swordsmanship? You are far from it."

Xie Xiaoyi raised an eyebrow in return: "Oh?"

Wang Zijian's lips curled slightly upward as he spoke calmly, "Having no sword in hand but having a sword in one's heart is merely the entry-level stage of swordsmanship."

"The will transforms into a blade, the mind into a weapon, yet ultimately one remains trapped in the obsession with 'having a sword,' guarding the form of the sword in one's heart."

Being obsessed with the essence of the sword, in the end, means being bound by the word "sword."

"You use your heart as a furnace and your will as a blade, seemingly detached, yet you still distinguish between friend and foe, and have thoughts of offense and defense."

"If one is fixated on the way of the sword, then there will be flaws; flaws lead to weaknesses, and one will never reach the summit."

Upon hearing this, Xie Xiaoyi suddenly understood, the sharpness in his eyes vanished, and he looked up at Wang Zijian:

"If that's the case, then I have no sword in my hand, no sword in my heart. Without the sword, I am also without the sword. Without the sword, there is no me."

A hint of surprise flashed across Wang Zijian's eyes: "I didn't expect you to be able to see through the mystery in an instant."

At the foot of Zijin Mountain, near the Mingjian Manor, Lin Zhuoying was completely bewildered.

She looked at her young master: "Young master, could you understand the conversation between Xie Xiaoyi and Wang Zijian?"

Yan Li nodded: "I understand! They're talking about the Supreme Sword Dao..."

Lin Zhuoying said with a proud look, "All that mystery, but you saw right through it, young master."

Yan Li touched the "moment and a lifetime" symbols on his back, then sighed:

"Understanding something doesn't mean you can do it! The swordsmanship they're talking about is something I'll probably never be able to match in my entire life."

Looking at the desolation in Yan Li's eyes, Lin Zhuoying didn't know what to say and was speechless for a moment...