A figure stood under the moonlight, perched atop a bamboo branch. Clad in a heavy gray robe, they were wrapped tightly from head to toe.
Shadows obscured their face, leaving only a few strands of long hair at the temples to flutter lazily against their chest.
With a light tap of the foot, the gray robe billowed as the figure drifted toward the ground and began to walk forward slowly. Xu Xian's sword tip lowered gradually until it was level with his outstretched arm.
The figure stopped less than five meters from him. A pair of snowy-white, slender, and bony hands were revealed under the moonlight as they reached up to remove the veiled hat, uncovering a true face...
Xu Xian narrowed his eyes.
Standing before him was a young girl, about four and a half feet tall. In the moonlight, her long hair appeared yellowish and withered, messy as if from malnutrition. Her face was as pale as snow, resembling someone who had yet to recover from a grave illness, with thin eyebrows and faint bags under her eyes.
Those eyes were cold and wooden, carrying a hint of broken emptiness. When she looked over from a distance, one couldn't help but feel a sense of sorrow.
A sickly weakling?
A short, sickly weakling.
At first glance, she was clearly someone from the demonic path.
She sighed, a faint white mist escaping her lips. "Neither man nor ghost," she responded feebly.
Xu Xian tightened his grip on the heavy sword and sneered.
"Playing the fool. Tell me, who exactly are you people?"
The corner of her mouth curled into a chilling, forced smile. "Heh... it doesn't matter. You’re going to die anyway."
Xu Xian thrust his heavy sword into the ground and squinted provocatively. "By your hand? A mere core formation stage—what can you possibly do to me?"
Her brows twitched. A 'mere' core formation stage... that was the truth. She was indeed at the core formation stage, and in Fanzhou, she was indeed unremarkable.
But...
Those words coming from someone at the early foundation establishment stage?
No matter how one heard it, it felt wrong. The disciples of the Wendao Sword Sect truly didn't know the heights of the heavens or the depths of the earth.
She raised a finger toward the sword hovering above the boy's head and said coldly, "Its master has already lost and been captured. It will fall soon enough. I'll just wait a bit."
Xu Xian glanced sideways, his peripheral vision instinctively checking behind him. Indeed, there had been no movement from that direction for quite some time.
Furthermore, Yue Ning was extremely restless above him, as if it sensed something.
"Don't waste your energy. No one is coming to save you. You will all be refined into blood puppets by him."
Xu Xian asked casually, "Who is 'he'?"
She looked at him as if he were a fool, saying nothing.
Xu Xian steadied his thoughts and licked his lips to ease his tension.
Given the situation, they had been ambushed. However, one thing was certain: Nangong Ning and the masters of those five sword lights were not in immediate mortal danger for the time being.
Everyone knew.
When a disciple of the Wendao Sword Sect died, their sword returned. Once a disciple was harmed, no matter how great your divine abilities were, if the sword returned to the peak, the powerhouses of the Sword Suppression Hall would certainly mobilize.
Though he didn't know the strength of these people, based on their style of action, they were definitely wary of the Wendao Sword Sect.
Even if they captured them, they wouldn't kill them immediately.
At least not until their objective was achieved.
Therefore...
What Xu Xian needed to do now wasn't to rush to save them, nor was it to sit and wait for death. He had to escape as quickly as possible and bring reinforcements. He didn't believe he could handle an existence that even Nangong Ning couldn't deal with.
However, if it was just dealing with this girl in front of him, he was confident.
"Don't want to talk? Then I'll beat it out of you."
She tilted her head, seemingly unable to believe her ears. "Hmm?"
Xu Xian communicated with Yue Ning through his will. 'Go. Find your master.'
Having received Xu Xian's permission, Yue Ning hesitated for a moment as if possessed by a spirit.
Then, it turned its blade and vanished into the sky like a firefly in the night, a flash of aurora.
Once the sword left, the sword intent formation protecting him dissipated, and the walls of the formation vanished. Xu Xian was left exposed before the person in front of him.
The sickly girl remained expressionless. Knowing Xu Xian's intention, she blankly spat out three words.
"You are brave."
Xu Xian scoffed and teased, "I'm not just brave, I'm also very strong. Do you want to try?"
The sickly girl thought for a moment and agreed. "Fine, let's try."
With that, she moved. Spiritual energy surged within her palms as she charged toward Xu Xian.
Xu Xian let out a great shout.
"Wait!"
The sickly girl's figure stiffened. "Hmm?"
To her surprise, a heavy sword erupted from the ground, striking instantly.
It was an immortal sword, the distance was short, and the attack was unexpected. In the blink of an eye, it was before her, its sharp edge bursting forth.
Sword intent billowed. Unable to dodge in time, she took a solid hit from the sword to her chest.
Although it didn't pierce through her...
The immortal sword broke her protective true essence and sent her flying backward.
She retreated dozens of meters before managing to steady herself. Her aura was in total disarray, and a streak of crimson blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.
"Damn you!"
She snapped her head up and glared intensely. There was shock in her eyes, but even more anger.
In that split second, Xu Xian didn't delay for a moment. When Wait struck out, he had also lunged forward like a cat in the night. By the time she looked up, Xu Xian was already in front of her.
While advancing, he caught the heavy sword in his hand.
In just a few steps, he closed the distance instantly.
At point-blank range, a cold light flickered in Xu Xian's eyes as he gave a cunning smile.
Sheathe.
Unsheathe.
Slash.
One fluid motion.
"A Single Lotus Appears!"
The girl's pupils shrank as she gathered power to block. But Xu Xian had already seized the initiative. A green glow erupted, the force of the strike clearing the air.
"Ah!"
She let out a miserable scream.
Once again, she was sent flying, hurtling a hundred meters through the air before crashing heavily into the cluttered bamboo. Another mouthful of fresh blood sprayed out. Her originally pale face now looked as if it were coated in frost.
Xu Xian stomped his foot, causing the ground to sink three inches. He leaped high into the air, gripping the heavy sword with both hands, and executed a jumping slash, attacking again.
The gray-robed girl opened her eyes. Through a blur, she saw a streak of cold light cutting through the moonlit sky.
She wanted to dodge, but having suffered consecutive heavy blows, her sea of consciousness was in chaos. Her movements were restricted for a moment, and before she could react, the dark figure slammed down with the sword.
Under the immense force, she was hammered deep into the earth. Her stomach felt like it was being turned inside out, her mind went blank, and her ears rang incessantly.
It hurt.
It hurt so much.
She felt like crying...
Xu Xian didn't care about any of that. He swung the heavy sword like a whirlwind—horizontal slashes, vertical cleaves, and stomps—a complete combo of chaotic strikes.
In an instant, explosions erupted, and soil and stones flew everywhere.
First, he broke her qi shield.
Then, he threw her breathing into disarray.
Finally, with the support of the Pupil of Insight, he shattered her spirit abode and severed her hand and leg meridians.
He didn't stop until he was certain she no longer had the strength to fight back.
Xu Xian exhaled a breath of turbid air. He didn't forget to kick the... person in the dirt pit. Her clothes were shredded, her limbs twisted, her face contorted, and her head and face were covered in blood and sword wounds. Even her chest was caved in.
He had to admit, core formation stage practitioners were truly hard to kill; she still hadn't died.
Of course, since it was his first real fight, his experience was slightly lacking.
"Give it a try, and you'll die."
The dying girl stared at the youth before her with utter despair. Using all her strength, amidst a surge of blood, she managed to spit out two words.
"Despicable!"
She had never imagined that one day, she would fall to the sword of someone at the foundation establishment stage.
And it was the kind of defeat where she had no power to fight back from beginning to end.
A single "Wait!"
A single flash of sword light.
Followed by no less than dozens of slashes.
Despair, anger, indignation, and pain filled her sea of consciousness.
Compared to the pain of this physical body, the despair in her heart surged even more relentlessly like river water.
There was definitely something wrong with that sword.
But this youth was truly sinister.
Xu Xian didn't care at all. He spat on the ground and said, "All's fair in war. You don't know shit."
"Kill me."
Xu Xian ignored her. He took out a rope, tied her up, and after surveying his surroundings, dragged her along as he sprinted toward the edge of the bamboo forest.
Rate on N.U.
