Chapter 27: Sword Primordial
Hisss… Wang Xi’s eyes were bloodshot, his entire body’s spiritual energy boiling like steam, his earth-yellow Daoist robe billowing like clouds.
At this moment in the muddy ground, the earth-element spiritual energy had already dissipated completely, and he could only drive the remaining spiritual energy that had been infused into the Mountain Suppression Seal earlier.
He crossed his palms, his knuckles erupting with blinding spiritual light, and the Mountain Suppression Seal suspended in the air trembled violently.
The giant crab’s remaining body was crushed to pieces by the mountain shadow, its shell cracking like firecrackers exploding, and foul-smelling demonic blood mixed with mud splattered everywhere.
“A mere ant… go die!”
Blood trickled from Wang Xi’s lips as he grabbed three blood-colored jade talismans from his robe. The talismans burned, and three mountain shadows condensed in the air before plummeting downward.
Wan Songran gritted his teeth, his body’s spiritual energy surging once more, and the Green Wood Severing Talisman before him blazed with brilliant emerald light.
The three mountain shadows constantly disintegrated as they fell, but as Wang Xi desperately drove the talismans, the mountains still crashed down.
Song Yan’s legs sank deep into the rock and earth, his protective spiritual qi shattering like thin ice, and a constant buzzing filled his ears.
All the spiritual energy in his body suddenly dispersed, converging onto the flying sword.
“Hmm—”
The flying sword, carrying spiritual fire and falling lightning, a white sword beam rose to meet the descending mountain peak.
“Severing Mountain!”
Rumble!!!
The mountain peak shadow suddenly halted, then collapsed with a thunderous crash.
The peach wood and metal flying sword let out a death knell in the thunder and fire, cracks spreading like a spiderweb across the blade, and the sword body that had been barely holding on finally shattered upon collision with the mountain shadow!
Bang!!!
A brilliant light flashed, the flying sword shattered with a bang, the mountain shadow dissipated in the air, and the earth-element spiritual energy in the Mountain Suppression Seal began to scatter.
The giant crab’s corpse was still not rigid, still struggling beneath the mud, churning up waves of sludge.
Wang Xi hurriedly leaped backward, attempting to flee from the range of the Green Wood Severing Talisman.
Swoosh swoosh swoosh—
Three remnants of blades still carrying lightning and crimson flames pierced across half the battlefield!
In Wang Xi’s horrified gaze, they effortlessly tore through his already failing protective spiritual qi, simultaneously piercing through his brow, chest, and Dantian.
“Im… possible…”
“…ble…”
Wang Xi’s throat rolled as he unwillingly squeezed out a half-choked whimper. The Mountain Suppression Seal continuously shrank, merging with the gravel as it fell into the mud.
He collapsed to his knees, and the thunder and fire danced in the bloody hole between his brows, burning the flesh within to ash.
Moments later, the thunder dispersed, the flames extinguished.
Xuanyuan Sect inner disciple Wang Xi, his body died and his Dao vanished.
“Cough cough…”
Song Yan coughed up a mouthful of fresh blood, his body swayed, and he collapsed to the ground.
The peach wood flying sword had shattered, greatly affecting his divine sense, his head splitting with pain. After the flying sword broke, he still controlled the three blade remnants, but he was already at the end of his rope.
“Huff… huff… cough cough…”
Furthermore, having faced Wang Xi directly earlier, wounds covered his entire body, and now he had no strength left, continuously coughing up blood.
Wan Songran was at some point sitting atop the giant hard-shelled crab’s corpse, playing with the crab’s demon core in his hand.
The Green Wood Severing Talisman had turned into a spent talisman, falling into his hand.
*Sigh…*
Wan Songran sighed with some heartache, then casually tossed it into the mud.
He stood up, looking down at Song Yan from above.
“Hehe, Fellow Daoist Song, what splendid sword control skills…”
He held the Gluttonous Tail Flute horizontally, and a strange flute sound rang out.
Song Yan’s heart sank—this man still had strength left to control the ancient flute…
In the forest, leaves rustled, birds took flight in alarm, and several green-eyed falcons swooped out from the shadows.
Song Yan rolled several times, barely avoiding vital areas, though his left arm was torn open by the eagle’s beak, the wound deep enough to see bone.
“Fellow Daoist, please don’t blame me.”
Wan Songran’s words were polite, but his smile grew increasingly manic.
“Since you’re the scapegoat the Xuanyuan Sect needs, and you’ve seen the wonderful use of my Gluttonous Tail Flute, you must die…”
“If you don’t die…”
“I won’t be able to sleep at night, won’t be able to eat or rest in peace!”
Wan Songran tapped the flute lightly, as if commanding troops on a battlefield, and the falcons flapped their wings, poised to strike.
“Rest assured, I’ll make sure to leave your corpse intact.”
“Song Yan, an outer disciple of the Dongyuan Sect, saw that Senior Brother Wang Xi’s spiritual energy was depleted and he was injured, and sought to kill him for his treasures. But he was discovered by Senior Brother Wang, and ultimately died at Senior Brother Wang’s technique.”
“It’s a pity that Senior Brother Wang Xi’s injuries were too severe, and he ultimately died as well.”
“Does this explanation satisfy you?”
Song Yan lay collapsed on the ground, panting heavily, coughing up blood, yet his gaze remained calm as water.
“…”
In his Dantian, that quiet, sharp spiritual energy rapidly disintegrated.
A faint, barely perceptible spiritual light began to gather along Song Yan’s right hand.
“Hmph, how boring.”
Wan Songran waved his hand. “Kill him.”
Three or five falcons carrying a bloody killing intent swooped forward.
When the first strand of sword qi condensed at his fingertips, the speed of the spiritual light’s convergence suddenly accelerated, like a shark smelling blood. He still lay collapsed on the ground, but he gathered all his strength and shouted:
“Xiao He!”
“Hiss—”
A green snake shielded Song Yan, spewing toxic mist from its mouth, forcing the falcon flock back.
“Oh?”
Wan Songran stared at the small green snake demon, his eyes filled with intense interest.
“After I kill you, I’ll take this little snake as well.”
A supremely sharp, solemn sword qi had already condensed at Song Yan’s fingertips, silent, without any spiritual energy fluctuation.
This was an extremely refined sword primordial!
Song Yan knew very clearly that this would be his last chance.
For some reason, at this moment between life and death, Song Yan felt not a trace of tension or fear.
He gradually calmed his heavy breathing.
“I should thank you, Fellow Daoist Song. Before you die, you’ve given me such a great gift!”
“Is that so…”
Song Yan’s lips twisted into a difficult curve. “Then you’re thanking me… a bit too early…”
“Here I…”
“…have more than just one great gift.”
“Hm?”
Song Yan’s right hand raised slightly, his fingertip pointing into the void.
The sword shadow suddenly pierced through the air, and along its path, blue-gold cracks lit up, the air emitting a crisp sound like glass shattering.
Hmm—
From Song Yan’s fingertip to where Wan Songran sat on the giant hard-shelled crab’s corpse, it was about fifteen zhang.
How far was fifteen zhang?
For this sword primordial, it was merely an instant.
Like a ray of morning sunlight piercing through the clouds.
By the time Song Yan blinked again, the sword primordial had already dissipated in the distant sky.
Wan Songran’s mouth hung slightly open, his expression dazed, and he slowly lowered his head, looking at the bloody hole in his chest with disbelief.
“…you…”
His expression was very complex.
Confusion, absurdity, disbelief…
The green-eyed falcons circling nearby woke from their trance and scattered.
Thump…
Wan Songran toppled headfirst from the giant hard-shelled crab’s massive corpse, slowly sinking into the mud.
Silence returned to the surroundings.
Song Yan’s seven orifices bled as he felt the sharp edge slowly dissipating.
“Yan Yan, are you alright!”
Xiao He transformed into human form, rummaging through Song Yan’s blood-stained robes for pills.
“Cough cough… Xiao He.”
“Don’t worry about me… go… drag him up for me.”
Song Yan waved his hand, taking out the hemostatic pill from his own cosmos bag.
“Huh? Oh!”
Xiao He’s tail hooked around, dragging the Wan Songran corpse that was about to sink into the mud pit back onto the shore.
Song Yan took the healing pill, recovering some strength, and barely managed to sit up. He then swallowed several Qi Nourishing Pills, slowly restoring his spiritual energy.
Now his body’s spiritual energy was depleted, his meridians were cracked, and if he rashly took the Yellow Sprout Pill with its overly strong spiritual energy, he worried it would have the opposite effect.
He only needed to slowly nourish his spiritual qi and repair his meridians.
“Calculating the time, if what Wan Songran said was true, the entrance to this secret realm should reopen soon…”
There wasn’t time for a thorough search, so Song Yan broke the restrictions on the cosmos bags of both Wan Songran and Wang Xi.
With their owners dead and spiritual energy dissipated, it didn’t take much effort.
He had no time to examine them carefully, and dumped everything inside along with several spiritual talismans into his own cosmos bag in one go.
Then he took the jade pendant from Wang Xi’s body, and following the spiritual light’s guidance, dragged his heavily injured body toward the secret realm’s exit.
…
Shortly after Song Yan departed.
Shao Sichao slowly emerged from the dense forest, gazing deeply in the direction Song Yan had left, but he didn’t rush to follow.
He extended his divine sense into the mud, searching everywhere.
“Ah! Here it is.”
Spiritual energy turned into water flow, washing clean the retrieved object, revealing the Mountain Suppression Seal.
“This junior disciple… truly wasteful.”