Starting as a Grandmaster, all of my cultivation techniques are at max level.

"Of course I know, but I was still hoping that Master wouldn't be that ruthless!" Shen Jinghan scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly.

"Given Master's personality, there's probably nothing he wouldn't do, right?" Xia Jin shook his head helplessly. Suddenly, without warning, he raised his palm, his spiritual power surged, and he slammed his palm down hard to the side.

"boom!"

With a loud bang, the palm strike sent more than a dozen large trees in the distance snapping in two.

However, the instant the trees fell, countless visible sword lights burst forth from the broken trunks, shooting towards Xia Jin's location.

The sword light was sharp and its edge was menacing.

"snort!!"

Xia Jin's eyes turned cold, as if he had expected this. He took a step back, and the dozen or so sword energies almost grazed the hem of his clothes, but none of them actually touched his body.

"Ding ding ding!"

The sword energy missed its mark, striking the ground behind him and leaving deep furrows.

"Hmm?" Shen Jinghan, standing to the side, frowned at Xia Jin's somewhat inexplicable actions and asked, puzzled, "Junior Brother Xia, what are you doing? Why are you destroying these trees?"

Xia Jin remained silent for a moment before speaking, "Senior Brother Shen, I want to verify my suspicions."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Now it seems, it is indeed the same." Xia Jin looked around, her gaze sweeping over the broken tree trunks and the sword marks on the ground that were still trembling slightly. "I wanted to test whether everything inside this sword tower contained sword intent. Without exception."

"Now it seems that this is indeed the case."

Upon hearing this, Shen Jinghan's expression also turned serious.

"If we continue forward, we will inevitably come across something unintentionally. The sword intent here isn't too strong right now, so even if we do encounter it, we're not afraid. But no one knows what we'll encounter as we go further."

"As you know, this Sword Tower is a crucial area of ​​the Glazed Sword Sect, and its danger is self-evident. If we encounter sword intent surpassing the Ascension Realm, it's obviously no match for us. But with our current cultivation levels, do you really think... if we were to encounter it, we could truly escape unscathed?"

"What you said makes some sense." Shen Jinghan frowned, remained silent for a moment, and then glanced at the surrounding scenery.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly, revealing a meaningful smile.

"Hehehe, junior brother, I've come up with a great idea."

Xia Jin glanced at him sideways: "What method?"

"You've seen this method before!"

A mysterious smile appeared on Shen Jinghan's face. He squatted down and placed one hand on the soil. A strange fluctuation flashed in his eyes, and a hidden power flowed from his palm into the earth.

A few breaths later, the soil churned up.

A scorpion about half a meter long crawled out of the ground and bent down towards Shen Jinghan.

Of course, that wasn't the end of it. Then came the second, the third, the fourth...

In just a few breaths, dozens of black scorpions were densely packed in front of the two of them, neatly arranged like well-trained soldiers.

"Huh? It really is the same thing I saw back then!" Xia Jin's eyes lit up as she recognized the items.

Previously, when they were in the border town, Shen Jinghan had used the wooden box once in front of him in order to bring it back to Yunshang Academy.

These scorpions are not living creatures, but puppets created by fusing several secret techniques based on the "Myriad Harmonies Technique." They are tireless and fearless of death. Although not very strong, they are perfect for scouting.

"Let's go!" Shen Jinghan waved his hand, his tone tinged with smugness. "Let my men scout ahead. We'll follow behind, moving slowly."

As if receiving a command, dozens of black scorpions turned around in unison, forming a long, straight line, and rustled forward.

"Senior Brother Shen, you really do have a way!"

Xia Jin gave the other person a thumbs up, and then she and Shen Jinghan followed behind at a leisurely pace, keeping a distance of about ten steps.

Sure enough, they hadn't gone far when a black scorpion scouting ahead touched a seemingly ordinary flower.

"laugh!"

A sharp sword aura shot out from between the petals, cleaving the black scorpion in two. The shattered shells scattered on the ground, then transformed into specks of black light and merged back into the earth.

Shen Jinghan remained unfazed, raised his hand and waved, and a new black scorpion emerged from the soil to fill the gap, continuing on its way.

They continued on their way, losing more than a dozen black scorpions, but the two of them managed to cross a large mountain unharmed.

The terrain ahead gradually opened up.

A huge blue stone lay across the roadside, its surface smooth and even, as if it had been deliberately polished.

On the rock sat a young woman, sitting quietly with her eyes slightly closed, as if she were in a meditative state.

"So we've already encountered a disciple of the Glazed Sword Sect so quickly?" Xia Jin narrowed her eyes slightly as she glanced at the moon-white Glazed Sword Sect disciple's robes on the other party.

Upon closer inspection, the man's face appeared somewhat pale.

But what made Xia Jin and Shen Jinghan stop in their tracks was the dozens of sword energies surrounding this disciple of the Glazed Sword Sect.

Sword energy, like snakes, slowly swirled around her, trapping her firmly within it.

The sharpness of those sword energies far surpassed the sword intent contained in the grass and trees along the way. Even from a distance of more than ten steps, Xia Jin could still feel a slight stinging sensation on her skin.

"Unexpectedly, all of them are sword energies of the fifth level of the Immortal Ascension Realm or above! With so many sword energies surrounding this person, he must be a true disciple of the Glazed Sword Sect!!" Shen Jinghan's eyes also flashed with a hint of solemnity, and his expression became more serious.

The woman seemed to sense their arrival; her long eyelashes trembled slightly, and she slowly opened her eyes.

Her gaze was calm and empty. She glanced at Xia Jin and Shen Jinghan, but said nothing and showed no other expression. She simply stared at them quietly.

Shen Jinghan observed her for a moment, then lowered his voice and said to Xia Jin, "Forget it, this woman doesn't seem to be trapped here by inner demons. Look at her calm demeanor; she doesn't seem like she's begging for help. If she were truly possessed by inner demons, she would at least say something, right?"

Xia Jin didn't speak, but a hint of suspicion still flashed in her eyes.

"It's better to avoid trouble, Junior Brother Xia, let's go."

While he was still pondering what was wrong, Shen Jinghan, who was standing beside him, grabbed his arm and started to walk around the bluestone.

Xia Jin was pulled along by him for a few steps, but her steps became slower and slower.

Finally, he stopped.

Shen Jinghan sensed something was wrong and turned around to see Xia Jin with her brows furrowed, looking thoughtful.

"Junior brother, what's wrong? Did you discover something?" Shen Jinghan asked in a low voice.

Xia Jin nodded, remained silent for a moment, and then turned and walked back.

He walked back to the bluestone and looked directly into the woman's eyes. The woman sensed his gaze, and her eyes seemed to flicker slightly, but her expression remained indifferent.

Xia Jin looked at her and suddenly said, "If you want me to save you, blink. If you don't, don't blink."

A faint glimmer of light flashed in the woman's empty eyes.

Then, she seemed to use all her strength to blink with difficulty.

Shen Jinghan, who was watching from behind, was taken aback for a moment, then his expression changed. He strode over and lowered his voice, saying, "Junior brother, how did you notice that this woman was acting strangely?"

Xia Jin shook her head and said calmly, "Senior Brother Shen, if you were a disciple of the Glazed Sword Sect and encountered two male cultivators within the sect, especially in such an important place as the Sword Tower, what would you do?"

Shen Jinghan suddenly slapped his forehead, revealing a look of sudden realization.

"Junior Brother Xia, look at me, I almost forgot about that."

"If it were me, even if I were cultivating, I would at least ask a few questions, even if I didn't intervene."

"That's right! No one would be as indifferent as this person!" Xia Jin nodded.

"Senior brother, step back a bit."

Xia Jin said something to Shen Jinghan, took a deep breath, and the spiritual energy in her body began to flow slowly.

The dozens of sword energies seemed to sense something, and their spinning speed suddenly increased, even emitting several sharp buzzing sounds.

Xia Jin narrowed her eyes slightly, slowly raised her right hand, spread her five fingers, and aimed at the center of the sword energy.

An almost domineering sense of oppression seemed to want to destroy these sword energies.

"Let me see just how powerful this sword tower's sword energy really is."