Retreat!

The youth’s gaze drifted, his brows gradually lowering with a hint of playfulness as he asked again:

"Oh? Tell me, what kind of extraordinary thing did you see?"

Lu Yuan looked back into the youth's eyes.

He didn't see surprise or sudden realization.

Instead, Xu Xian’s gaze was calm, as if he also knew that the ground beneath this mountain gate was anything but ordinary.

For a moment, Lu Yuan felt suspicious.

He decided to keep up the suspense, curling his lips as he said, "A great karma powerful enough to make you die a hundred deaths."

Lu Yuan's answer was also outside the youth's expectations. Xu Xian gave a witty smile. "Heh... then wouldn't you have to die a hundred times along with me?"

Lu Yuan shrugged his shoulders. "That’s why I say it’s fine if I don’t cross this bridge. If we leave now and sever all ties with the Wendao Sword Sect, there might still be time. Why don't you consider it?"

Xu Xian lowered his brows slightly, unintentionally glancing toward the distance. Amidst the thick mist and the faint outlines of the green mountains, he suddenly shook his head and smiled. "It’s too late."

"Hmm?"

"Let’s go."

Xu Xian was the first to step onto the Longevity Bridge, with Lu Yuan following closely behind. The hearts of the gathered disciples leapt into their throats, each of them holding their breath for him.

It was as if they were the ones crossing the bridge.

"Look, he’s stepped on it."

"Please, let nothing go wrong."

"May the Sword Ancestor bless him. Bless his success."

In contrast, the two walking on the bridge acted as if nothing were happening, strolling leisurely and even finding the mood to chat and joke.

Lu Yuan caught up to Xu Xian and asked, "Aren't you afraid?"

"Of what?"

"The Wendao Sword Sect’s tribulation."

"I’m not."

"Why not?"

Xu Xian smiled. "Because I’m still young."

Lu Yuan was puzzled...

Xu Xian continued, "So I don't know the heights of the heavens or the depths of the earth."

Lu Yuan froze for a moment, his eyes flickering. Finally, he gave a bitter, mocking smile. "Fair enough. But remember, the matter with the Wendao Sword Sect is massive. You can't shoulder it alone."

Xu Xian chuckled. "Worry about yourself."

Lu Yuan fell silent, but his pace began to gradually slow down.

On the Longevity Bridge, the sword formation stirred.

Lu Yuan could feel a vigorous aura continuously pressing down on him. It felt like walking under a waterfall, where the water crashed down relentlessly.

And the momentum was growing heavier.

The force was becoming greater.

It was determined to force him into his original form...

He grew increasingly strained, his expression solemn. Despite it being the dead of winter, fine beads of sweat could be seen seeping out from beneath the ribbon on his face.

His bare feet touched the ground, and a blood-colored baleful aura began to permeate the air.

This scene couldn't help but remind Xu Xian of what he had seen eleven years ago when he first crossed the Longevity Bridge.

It was practically identical.

Only back then, he had been ignorant and panicked, whereas now he wasn't in the least bit worried. He was even feeling a bit of schadenfreude, happy to watch a good show.

Seeing Lu Yuan suffer, he could hardly suppress the curl of his lips.

"How is it? Compared to the Wendao Sword Sect’s karma, can you still withstand the sect’s sword pressure?"

Lu Yuan gritted his teeth and endured, not saying a word.

"Alright, if you can't take it, just show your true form. The sooner you transform, the sooner the sword will come, and the sooner this can end. You’re a beast to begin with; there’s no shame in showing your true self."

Xu Xian rambled on, his footsteps slowing down slightly as well.

Lu Yuan shot Xu Xian a glare, then struggled to lift his head and scan the surroundings. Tens of thousands of eyes were staring at him, making him feel rather uncomfortable.

But the weight of ten thousand catties on his shoulders was hard to bear.

He stopped hesitating.

Right in front of the entire sect, he crouched down and reverted to his original form in the blink of an eye.

A powerful beast.

A blood-colored elk.

As large as a small hill.

"Whoa..."

"It’s so big..."

"So red!"

"He transformed."

"This beast... its baleful aura is so heavy..."

Even while standing on the bridge amidst the whistling cold wind, the sounds of startled cries from all directions could be heard.

The moment Lu Yuan turned into the blood deer, Xu Xian’s footsteps came to a complete halt. His ears twitched slightly, and his heavy gaze fixed on the space before him as he whispered a single phrase.

"It’s here!"

Jiang Wanyin and the others stared into the bottomless abyss beneath One Sword Gorge.

At that moment, they also quietly activated their dantian and sea of consciousness, gathering their qi and focusing their spirits, waiting for the right moment to act.

"It’s here!!"

Zeng!

A sword hum suddenly rang out, as clear as a dragon’s roar.

The entire sect fell silent, their eyes filled with wonder.

A white arc of light shocked the world as an immortal sword erupted from the abyss. It sliced through the thin clouds along its path, heading straight for the vault of heaven.

Snow-white sword intent surged.

The sharp edge was biting and cold.

The disciples on both banks clenched their fists in tension.

Lu Yuan looked up.

In his blood-colored deer eyes, a cold light flickered as if he were facing a formidable enemy.

An immortal sword.

The sword intent upon it was no less than the strike Yun Zheng had unleashed at the Demon Suppression Abyss that day.

That day, Listening Wind had pinned the beast god stage Red Moon between the mountains and the sea with a single strike.

Lu Yuan didn't doubt for a second that if this sword fell, he would be dead on the spot.

He glanced down from the corner of his eye, unable to hide his panic.

In contrast, the youth stood with his sleeves fluttering in the wind, looking perfectly composed.

At this point, he could only place his hopes on Xu Xian truly being able to keep him safe.

The Demon-Slaying Sword revealed its sharp edge.

In an instant, it soared into the sky.

A moment later, it plummeted.

Carrying supreme sword intent, it slashed straight toward the blood deer.

Its sharpness was peerless.

Jiang Wanyin and the others sank their qi into their dantians, intending to move and intercept it, only to see Xu Xian flicker on the long bridge and stand before the blood deer.

The sword came straight at him.

Faster than words could describe, the moment the youth blocked the sword’s path, a five-colored aurora appeared in his eyes.

It was exactly the same as the light that often flashed above the Sky Gate of the Sword Mound.

The charging Demon-Slaying Sword was like a person in a hundred-meter sprint who suddenly saw a wall in front of them.

It braked instantly!

Boom!

A wave of air exploded, sword intent ran wild, and the long bridge was submerged in a haze of thick dust as wild winds howled in all directions.

The crowd instinctively leaned forward, their eyes wide and necks craned.

They stared fixedly at the spot where the air currents were churning at the bridgehead.

After a while, the air currents settled.

The chaotic winds drifted away.

On the long bridge, the blood deer was behind, its head bowed; the immortal sword was in front, trembling.

Only the youth stood alone between the two, as firm as a mountain.

That sword was suspended just inches away from him. The youth’s long hair and robes fluttered violently in the residual sword qi.

Silence!

A deathly silence!

The scene froze, as if the entire world had stopped at this moment.

In the eyes of the Wendao Sword Sect disciples, it wasn't that the sword had stopped, but rather that the entire world had gone still.

Only the sound of the wind, the beating of their hearts, and the pleasant vibrating hum of the sword remained in their ears.

Then, the youth’s lips parted slightly, and he lightly spat out a single word.

"Retreat!"

The Demon-Slaying Sword seemed to lose control of itself, as if grabbed by an invisible giant hand. Even though it truly wanted to leap past the youth and slay the deer, it simply couldn't do it.

The vibration became even more intense.

After several breaths of unwilling struggle, the Demon-Slaying Sword compromised.

Just like eleven years ago, it turned into a stray spark and descended back into the deep gorge.

The only difference was that eleven years ago, the Demon-Slaying Sword had returned triumphant, its immortal edge leaping with joy.

But today, the Demon-Slaying Sword had returned because it was scolded into retreating by the youth it had met once before.

It was strangely similar, yet completely different.

Lu Yuan breathed a sigh of relief, instantly feeling as if he had been granted a great amnesty.

The light in the eyes of the patriarchs flickered. They looked at each other, all of them dazed and utterly confused.

The disciples of the sect were even more shocked, looking at him as if he were a god.

Their eyes were rounded like saucers.

They had thought about it. They had speculated.

But they never imagined that the moment the immortal sword appeared, it would be scolded into retreating with a single word.

Could it be that the Little Grand-Uncle is the Demon-Slaying Sword's father?

At the head of the Longevity Bridge, Xu Xian glanced back and smiled slightly. "Let’s go."

Lu Yuan followed silently.

The disciples on both banks instantly erupted into a clamor of voices.