Chapter 145: Green Snake Within the Sleeve
The mother-child returning flying blades were extremely vicious. Even with a protective spiritual robe, the child blade’s failed killing strike would be followed by the mother blade.
They flowed and returned, making them nearly impossible to dodge.
But what was strange was…
The bloody scene everyone imagined did not appear.
The opponent’s body suddenly shifted a few inches forward, then shifted a few inches back when the blades returned.
“…”
To outsiders, the person appeared not to have moved at all.
Yet they were completely unharmed.
“This fellow cultivator…”
Song Yan slightly tilted his head, the faint golden light in his eyes dissipating, leaving only deep black.
A dangerous smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
“Why do you strike to kill without a word?”
The long-faced cultivator’s expression tightened, his heart already on guard.
Movement technique?
The yellow-robed man had some experience. The opponent’s body shifting multiple times within a single breath was telling enough.
The fifth-layer Qi Refining cultivator was short in stature but his expression was arrogant, as if with his two big brothers beside him, he had nothing to worry about.
With both big brothers joining hands, what was there to fear even if the opponent was at the tenth layer of Qi Refining?
“Heh heh, you little—”
Bzzz—
Before he could finish his words, a streak of black-and-white light swept past his ear and surged toward the long-faced cultivator.
“Second Brother!”
A earthen-yellow light burst forth from the yellow-robed man’s hand, rising abruptly and blocking upward without hesitation.
Clang!
The sound of weapons clashing echoed throughout the entire front courtyard.
A pair of great hammers appeared in the yellow-robed man’s hands, overlapped, and under the surge of spiritual energy, knocked Untethered upward.
The black-and-white light flowed through the air and returned to Song Yan’s side.
At the same time, he slowly retracted his sword finger.
“…”
The stout cultivator’s expression was dazed. He lowered his head slightly. His protective spiritual robe had already shattered and disappeared. At the center of his chest where his heart was, a small hole oozed blood continuously.
“Ugh…”
The stout cultivator collapsed to his knees with a thud, his mouth overflowing with blood.
His hands flailed and spasmed randomly, as if trying to grasp something.
But he quickly lost his breath.
If he could ensure a swift reduction in enemy numbers, Song Yan never showed mercy. His sword dao true essence could be considered his most devastating method at this stage.
“Third Brother!”
What swift sword qi!
The yellow-robed man was both shocked and enraged. The opponent had raised his hand almost at the exact instant he moved to block the flying sword for the second brother.
That sword qi…
If he himself had to receive it, caught off guard, he would surely suffer greatly!
The two remaining cultivators were on high alert, but Song Yan remained calm.
Under normal circumstances, he would have chosen to employ his sword essence to first kill or severely wound the seventh-layer Qi Refining long-faced cultivator.
Then fight the yellow-robed man with full force.
But clearly, the yellow-robed man had been cautious from the start, staying close to the long-faced cultivator.
If there was anyone he could kill in a single decisive strike, it would be this stout cultivator—he was the most confident target.
“Well then, I can try that…”
He flicked his finger, and from the sword casket behind him, the flying sword Lianli shot out swiftly, immediately surging toward the long-faced cultivator.
Untethered slashed toward the yellow-robed man.
“Controlling two swords at once?!”
“This is too much!”
When Song Yan made his move, his aura had been completely exposed—seventh layer of Qi Refining Stage.
This put the two cultivators, who had been very wary, slightly more at ease.
However, the fact that he could simultaneously wield two flying swords still shocked them.
The gradually cooling corpse of their third brother beside them also reminded them that this young man was no ordinary cultivator.
The yellow-robed cultivator surged with spiritual energy, and abundant spiritual qi adhered to his pair of earthen-yellow great hammers. He crossed them to block, meeting Untethered head-on.
Clang—
The clashing sound echoed through the temple.
Feeling his spiritual energy deplete rapidly, the yellow-robed cultivator’s expression changed drastically.
“A high-grade magical artifact?!”
Sword intent, as the final piece of Song Yan’s sword dao puzzle—when it was achieved, the things it influenced were truly too many.
The Dao heart and sword intent merged, carried within the sword’s body.
The current “Untethered” was now a truly complete natal flying sword.
Its might had even reached the level of a high-grade magical artifact!
Chu State was situated in a remote area, and spiritual resources were scarce. Ordinary rogue cultivators, cultivators from common cultivation families, and even most sect disciples could only possess magical artifacts no higher than mid-grade.
Qi Refining cultivators who possessed high-grade magical artifacts were essentially limited to the prodigies of the six great sects.
The yellow-robed cultivator naturally did not understand the mystery behind this, and simply thought he was “lucky” to have encountered one here.
However, he and the long-faced cultivator had roamed Chu State for years, burning, killing, and pillaging—they had not never faced such opponents before.
In their minds, such people usually had one fatal flaw.
That was extreme arrogance.
Those who had always had smooth sailing easily fell into a vortex of overconfidence.
As long as one offered a slight opening, they would easily take the bait.
For example, the one before them clearly had the ability to fight cautiously and maneuver against them, yet insisted on showing off.
Once he and the second brother offered some resistance, and during that time deliberately showed a few openings to create the illusion of being outmatched, they could lure the opponent into pressing forward recklessly.
The opponent’s divine sense would soon tire, and his spiritual energy would quickly run dry.
At that point, they would naturally become fish on his chopping block.
The long-faced cultivator silently agreed, and immediately activated the parent-child twin blades to swirl at his side, retreating repeatedly in a show of weakness.
Song Yan was certainly not being reckless.
With his current divine sense strength, controlling two flying swords simultaneously against enemies was not strenuous.
The battles he had encountered thus far had either been ones a single flying sword could handle, or ones where two swords together made no difference.
So he had barely ever used this technique.
After returning to the sect, apart from practicing the Gazing Void Sword Eye and Cloud-Riding Intent, he had reviewed the many other sword-wielding techniques in the Sword Techniques Compendium.
He had finally been “bold enough.”
And read the section on “sword formations.”
Sword formations, as the name implied, used flying swords as formation cores to create a grand array.
Their offensive and defensive might was tremendous.
However, to master sword formation techniques, being skilled at controlling multiple flying swords simultaneously was only the most basic requirement.
Beyond that, sword-wielding methods and the number of flying swords were also critical, and one even needed knowledge of formation arrays.
With his current level across all areas, he had not yet reached the point where he could study sword formations in depth.
However, the senior who compiled the Sword Techniques Compendium was also aware of the difficulty of training in sword formations.
So he had thoughtfully recommended several transitional sword styles to use before that point.
After comparing them, Song Yan ultimately chose one to practice and had only just reached the threshold of proficiency.
He harbored some intention of using these two as practice partners.
That they showed weakness to him—he saw through it clearly. Two late-stage Qi Refining cultivators could hardly possess only this little skill…
Untethered clashed with the yellow-robed cultivator. The latter feigned an “unstable” stance, flipping and twisting.
Song Yan remained expressionless. His fingertip twitched slightly, and his sword seal shifted abruptly.
Untethered surged forward in a fierce rush, straight for the yellow-robed cultivator’s face. The latter crossed his hammers before him, deflecting the force.
But Untethered’s blade rotated slightly, its pommel tapping lightly against the hammers. Though the edge was deflected, a sword shadow split from within, flowing swiftly like a green snake flicking its tongue, winding straight for the yellow-robed man’s brow.
The yellow-robed cultivator was greatly alarmed. With no way to dodge, a pendant hidden at his neck erupted with emerald light.
It barely blocked this strike.
However, Untethered had already reestablished its offensive posture. The yellow-robed cultivator raised his hammers to block again.
Clang—
Iron clashed, and another sword shadow split from within, flowing to his ribs.
“Tch.”
The sword shadow was razor-sharp, tearing through the yellow-robed cultivator’s protective spiritual robe and carving a foot-long wound across his body.
“What kind of strange sword technique is this?!”
The yellow-robed Daoist grunted, his heart filled with dread.
Song Yan’s right sword finger controlled both flying swords against the two opponents simultaneously. His left hand suddenly dropped.
A surge of sword qi poured forth from his wide sleeve, supple yet extremely condensed, like green mist, yet also like a blade’s edge.
This sword qi shot out like wind scattering leaves, sweeping toward the yellow-robed Daoist at incredible speed!
How dare he be careless now? His spiritual energy churned wildly, and earthen-yellow spiritual light swirled and covered his entire body.
Tch.
Two shattering sounds overlapped, left and right. His protective spiritual light was instantly torn by two massive gashes.
The yellow-robed Daoist felt a wave of lingering fear. Had he not once cultivated a special technique for guiding spiritual energy, this blow would have left him gravely injured.
He looked up and saw that the young cultivator showed no signs of exhaustion.
This person’s spiritual energy and divine sense far exceeded those of ordinary cultivators!
Ju Luyi had long since found a corner to hide in, secretly observing the situation in the courtyard.
Seeing that Senior Song could actually fight one against two and suppress them, she couldn’t help but feel somewhat astonished.
“So impressive.”
Song Yan felt the might of the sword qi he had just unleashed, his gaze flickering.
This sword technique was called “Green Snake Within the Sleeve.”
It was a sword style—not merely sword strikes and techniques, but also methods for utilizing sword qi and techniques for wielding swords.
Getting a basic grasp of it was not particularly difficult, and within it the sword dao was profound and mysterious, worthy of long days of practice and study.
Most crucially, certain sword dao essentials within it would be extremely helpful for training in sword formations later.
The long-faced cultivator on the side also noticed something was wrong.
This youth was going all-out against the big brother while still being able to handle his side. He was clearly not the type of dullard they often encountered.
The two exchanged a glance, seeing ruthlessness in each other’s eyes.
The spiritual energy fluctuations around both of their bodies began to intensify dramatically.
“It seems now they’re getting serious.”
Song Yan had already lost interest in prolonging the fight to practice his sword techniques.
If he faced two ordinary late-stage Qi Refining cultivators like these who had no particularly formidable methods or magical artifacts, then relying on his sword dao true essence and Cloud Sword, he could indeed fight one against two.
But…
He had more than just one green snake in his sleeve.
“Xiao He.”
Hiss—
The hiss of a cold-blooded creature rang out. A bamboo-leaf-shaped green blade, like a throwing knife, struck toward the long-faced cultivator.
He furrowed his brow and leaped aside, only to discover with surprise that the faintly glowing green leaf chased after his movements as if it were a magical artifact!
In a panic, he immediately threw the parent-child flying blades to cut the green leaf in two.
One half sliced across his protective spiritual robe, and the spiritual energy dissolved like warm sun melting snow.
“What?!”
Xiao He opened her mouth slightly, and green demonic energy gathered within.
It quickly transformed into a new green leaf that shot out with a whoosh, continuing toward the long-faced cultivator.
Then it darted away and vanished into the wreckage of the Daoist temple.
From then on, one or two green leaves would intermittently shoot out from unpredictable directions.
The demonic energy within was concentrated and bizarre in nature. One careless moment and one’s spiritual energy would be dissolved.
“Damn beast!”
The long-faced cultivator cursed, expanding his divine sense to its maximum, yet he could not detect the little snake’s whereabouts.
He had to contend with the flying sword while simultaneously guarding against the little snake’s eerie ambushes. His mind grew weary, and his spiritual energy consumption intensified.
The yellow-robed cultivator’s heart sank. A spiritual talisman flew out from his Cosmos Bag.
Its spiritual light blazed, transforming into a stream of blood qi that merged into his chest.
His body gradually swelled, and after a moment, he had transformed into a giant several zhang tall.
Spiritual energy poured forth, and the twin hammers in his hands grew correspondingly.
He slammed them into the ground, unleashing a massive tide of golden spiritual energy that surged in all directions.
With the long-faced cultivator pinned down by Xiao He, Song Yan no longer held back.
In the blink of an eye, his eyes were tinged with gold.
Sword qi surged around his body, his white Daoist robe billowing without wind, and the Town-Dao Sword Repository emitted a clear, resonant sword hum.
He employed Cloud-Riding Intent to evade the churning spiritual light.
At the same time, multiple white sword shadows carrying the hues of wind and thunder shot rapidly from the sword casket behind him, spiraling and swirling through the air.
He tapped his sword finger through the void. Untethered became a streak of black-and-white light.
Bzzz—
The yellow-robed cultivator charged straight at Song Yan, his great hammers spinning as he knocked Untethered aside.
But the flying sword was razor-sharp, wind and thunder surging along its length.
The yellow-robed cultivator’s protective spiritual light seemed on the verge of shattering.
He paid it no mind. One of his hammers dragged along the ground before he flicked it upward, kicking up sand and stones to obscure vision.
Then he condensed his spiritual energy and descended from above, attempting to kill Song Yan on the spot.
Boom—
The twin hammers struck the ground. The South Mountain Temple’s courtyard was smashed into a massive crater, with countless cracks spreading outward.
However, there was no bloodied figure within.
“How—”
Bzzz!
Untethered’s spiritual light blazed as it suddenly thrust out from behind. Even with his fastest reaction, the yellow-robed cultivator merely turned and crossed his hammers before him for a hasty defense.
Green sword light flickered within. Riding the momentum of the flying sword, it pierced through in an instant.
Green scales concealed the edge, waiting for the moment to strike.
His protective spiritual robe was immediately ground to fragments by these two razor-sharp sword lights, like the fangs of a serpent.
“Not good!”
Wind fueled the thunder’s might. Nine white sword shadows imbued with wind-and-thunder intent spiraled rapidly at his sides. Untethered danced and hovered above his head.
At this moment, the yellow-robed cultivator was caught in the gap between spent force and ungenerated power.
Tch.
The first sword shadow pierced the yellow-robed cultivator’s shoulder. A wave of searing pain surged through him as lightning erupted, numbing his arm and nearly causing his hammer to slip from his grasp.
Then five more sword shadows pierced through in succession, sinking into his vital acupoints.
“Ahhh—”
He screamed in agony. His massive body pitched forward, about to collapse.
But a tremendous sword qi gently lifted him back up.
The sky full of sword qi converged in a single instant, and the black-and-white sword light, accompanied by wind and thunder, came crashing down.
Boom—
Chaotic sword qi, carried by the mountain gale, blew away the stench of blood from within the temple.
Ju Luyi, hiding behind the pill furnace, waited until the wind had settled before slowly opening her eyes.
She saw several streaks of white sword light trailing afterimages, spiraling and converging in the sky before returning one by one into the sword casket behind Song Yan.