The three of them stared fixedly at the retreating back, silently backing away before turning around and huddling together, hunched over and scurrying away like sneak-thieves.
The people around them were left utterly confused. Fortunately, they were already moving slowly and there weren't many people behind them, so their movements didn't cause much of a stir.
Zhang Yang whispered, "Brother Xian, let's just run."
Xu Xian feigned composure.
"Don't panic. Stay steady."
Lin Qianqian added weakly, "That person seemed to have a single earth spirit root. His name is Ao Die. He looked like such an honest person; how could he be a demon?"
"Is that so..."
"Don't look back. With a name that terrible, you can tell just by hearing it that he's nothing good."
"Exactly, exactly..."
While the three were gossiping, the abnormality in the man intensified. Like an ice cream cone under the scorching sun, he began to completely dissolve.
His entire body slumped onto the ground, emitting muffled low groans, yet he continued to crawl forward.
"Roar—"
"Ha—"
Such a bizarre and abnormal scene was gradually noticed by the crowd. Suddenly, alarm broke out and a clamor rose from all sides.
"Look, what's happening to that guy?"
"What is that thing?"
"Brother, are you okay..."
"Beast! A beast!"
At the same time, from beneath the long bridge and within the deep gorge, a sword chime like a dragon's roar rang out.
Clang!
Aooo!
Then, a sword soared into the sky from the depths of the gorge, carrying an endless sword intent as it shot straight toward that person.
A demon enters.
An immortal sword emerges.
The grand formation activates.
In an instant, the entire long bridge began to shake violently.
The youth named Ao Bie suddenly raised his head. On his face, which had long since melted beyond recognition, a pair of eyes glowed crimson as blood. He stared fixedly at the incoming longsword and let out a furious roar.
"Roar!"
He forcefully tore his own flesh apart, and countless clouds of black mist surged out. In the blink of an eye, the mist covered a hundred meters, manifesting into a monstrosity that was neither human nor ghost. It leaped up, charging straight at the immortal sword.
The surrounding youths were terrified by the sudden scene.
Some collapsed to the ground with limp legs.
Some scrambled away on all fours.
Some even wet their pants.
The screams and shouts momentarily drowned out the sword chimes and beastly roars.
Xu Xian suddenly looked back. With just one glance, his sea of consciousness shuddered. What he saw was a beast as large as a small mountain, shrouded in billowing black fog. Its flickering physical form was covered in heavy scales.
Its claws were sharp and cold.
Its face was hideous.
He couldn't tell what species it was, but one look was enough to know this thing was an evil beast.
"Holy crap."
A curse escaped his lips. His throat bobbed as he grabbed the other two and sprinted away.
"Run!"
The scene was a mess of chaos; some ran forward, others ran back.
The immortal sword cut through the air, its sword momentum crashing down like a waterfall. In just a single encounter, the mountain-like demonic beast had its arms severed, letting out a piercing scream.
"Argh!"
Its body was further restrained in mid-air by invisible sword intent. No matter how it struggled, it could not move an inch.
"Roar... Dammit!"
It spoke in human tongue, roaring with unwilling fury.
An immortal sword hovered above its head, the blade vibrating slightly and emitting a sharp hiss, as if it were exerting extreme self-restraint. It felt as if the moment it fell, the beast's soul would be extinguished.
Li Qingshan had appeared at some unknown point, standing with his hands behind his back atop a cold iron chain at the highest point of the bridge. There was no ripple of emotion on his stern face. His sword-like eyes looked down upon the world as he scolded coldly:
"Vile creature, do you realize your crimes?"
The giant beast struggled to no avail. Knowing the situation was irreversible, it stared at Li Qingshan with bloodshot, tyrannical eyes and roared.
"A fine Demon-Slaying sword, a fine sword formation. This seat has underestimated your Wendao Sword Sect."
"Since it's come to this, I'll take someone down with me!"
As it spoke, it slowly turned its gaze toward Xu Xian, who was currently running back.
"A sword spirit root. It'll be you."
Although Xu Xian was running for his life, he heard every word clearly.
"Crap, it's coming for me!"
A thousand curses galloped through his mind. Who had he offended? Was having a sword spirit root a crime?
While speeding up his pace, he didn't forget to shout, "Immortal, protect me!"
In the heat of the moment, the demonic beast went berserk, sacrificing its physical body to help a remnant thought break free from the formation's restraint, shooting straight for Xu Xian.
Xu Xian felt a chill run down his spine, a wave of cold air surging from his tailbone to the top of his head. His scalp went numb instantly; he felt he was a dead man.
It was like being stared down by the God of Death, who was already raising the scythe to strike.
He instinctively pushed Lin Qianqian and Zhang Yang to the sides.
"Get away!"
The remnant thought shrieked viciously:
"Kid, if you must blame someone, blame yourself for coming to the Wendao Sword Sect and for possessing a sword spirit root. If I don't kill you today, I don't know how much of my kin's blood will stain your blade in the future. Die!"
"Fuck!"
For the second time, Xu Xian felt the approach of death.
However, at this critical juncture, just as the killing intent transformed from the demonic beast was about to pierce through Xu Xian, the space in front of him rippled. Then, he saw an immortal sword tear through a corner of the void, striking out instantly. It brushed past his ear and shattered that remnant thought in a flash.
It was incredibly fast.
In the blink of an eye.
The strands of hair lifted by the passing sword hadn't even settled before the remnant thought was utterly gone.
Xu Xian hadn't even realized what had happened.
He only felt the killing intent locked onto him vanish. His footsteps slowed, and when he looked back, everything was calm and peaceful.
The demonic beast was gone, and the black mist had vanished.
There was only an immortal sword hovering before his eyes.
The sword was three feet long.
Its entire body was translucent.
It glinted with a chilling light, and the hilt seemed to be entwined with the rhythm of the Dao. Though it had just slain a demon, the blade remained unstained by blood, cold as frost.
At that moment, the sword was only 0.01 meters away from his eyes.
For some reason, Xu Xian didn't avert his gaze. He stared at the sword, and in that split second, he had an illusion. It wasn't a sword standing before him, but a person.
It was a feeling like searching through a vast crowd for someone, only to suddenly turn around and find the person you were looking for standing right there under the flickering lantern light...
He couldn't describe it.
It was very strange, and he wasn't afraid at all.
The entire process lasted for three full breaths.
The sword's tip flicked.
It transformed into a streak of light, shooting toward the heavens before descending back into the deep gorge like a thread falling from the sky.
The sword was gone.
The formation deactivated.
The demonic beast had been slain.
On the Longevity Bridge, everything returned to normal, as if nothing had ever happened. Even the black sludge left behind by that person had completely disappeared.
Xu Xian came back to his senses in a daze and looked across the space toward Li Qingshan, who was standing atop the iron chain. The other man was also looking at him.
From beginning to end, Li Qingshan hadn't moved.
It was as if he had known all along that Xu Xian would be fine.
In the end, he only said indifferently:
"The Sword Inquiry continues."
Then he vanished again, leaving a group of youths standing in place, stunned.
Xu Xian was one of them.
He let out a long sigh of relief, the heart that had been hanging in his throat finally settling back down.
"This immortal business is a total raw deal."
Putting the hardship aside, you could end up dead at any moment.
Longevity Bridge? How can there be longevity if you're dead?
"Xu Xian, are you alright?" Lin Qianqian ran over and asked hurriedly.
Xu Xian feigned a calm expression and said softly, "I'm fine!"
Zhang Yang patted his chest, looking like he was still suffering from lingering fears.
"You scared me to death just now. I thought you..."
Xu Xian glanced at him out of the corner of his eye and mocked, "Look at you... this was just a minor incident."
"Were you afraid just now?"
"I wasn't!"
"You're so brave."
"Keep it down!"
Lin Qianqian asked, "Then shall we go too?"
Xu Xian pondered for a moment and said steadily, "No rush. We'll go after everyone else has crossed."
Lin Qianqian was startled. "Xu Xian, are you scared?"
Xu Xian acted mysterious. "You don't understand. This is what I call being 'stable'."
Lin Qianqian gave an "Oh!"
Zhang Yang nodded in agreement. "Right, being stable is good. Being stable is good."
Rate on N.U.
