Working Together Part 3
"What's wrong?" Nana turned around and asked Xiang Wu, who had stopped walking.
They had already turned away from the forest and were walking on a stone-paved mountain path. In less than fifteen minutes, they would reach the summit of Yunxia Peak.
“I feel a very familiar presence.” Xiang Wu looked at the sky, which was dyed different colors by the firelight. “It’s like I’ve returned to Xieyue Mountain and Senluo Temple.”
According to A-Yu, his master had long since passed away, and the whereabouts of his remains were unknown. His senior brother, too, remained missing, his fate unknown. Even A-Yu couldn't give him an answer.
Nana knew that Xiang Wu missed his master and senior brother. "Are they still there?"
“No,” Xiang Wu replied. He quickly shook his head as if denying himself, saying, “Perhaps it’s just my imagination. I had it too back in Wuling City.”
Is that Xieyue Mountain?
"yes."
"Now that this matter is settled, I'll go back with you."
A deafening roar came from the foot of the mountain, interrupting their conversation.
Xiang Wu turned around, his view obstructed by the trees, and couldn't see what had happened. Raising his gaze slightly higher, beyond the trees' cover, he could see the mountain path leading from the main peak to Yunxia Peak.
Scattered lights were moving this way along the stone path. Those were torches.
"Is it still too late?" Xiang Wu muttered to himself, withdrawing his gaze and preparing to continue upwards.
The wind was like ocean waves, rolling down the mountain in layers, tossing Nana's hair. It was the first time Xiang Wu had ever seen the shape of the wind so clearly.
Behind her was the endless starry sky.
"This matter is settled." Xiang Wu paused.
Nana also stopped gathering her long hair.
“Let me go with you to the Misty Rain Pavilion,” Xiang Wu continued. “I hope you will receive blessings.”
*
The murderous aura Zhao Zheng had mentioned had vanished.
Almost simultaneously, Li Letian, Du Taibai, and Ling Guang were all repelled. They returned to their respective positions as if the attack had never occurred.
Xiang Yu flew into the night sky, its limbs swaying limply.
Shin Rui-eun stared blankly at the longsword in her hand. She hadn't even made a move yet.
The "typhoon," which had been gathering power for so long, suddenly lost all its restraints, soaring into the sky with a fierce wind, heading straight for the heavens. The shockwave brought with it a series of explosions. The longsword approached the center of the galaxy, its distance from the mountaintop increasing steadily, and the sound of the explosions rose higher and higher, surpassing even the thunder.
The two men stood beside Zhao Zheng, swords in hand.
“I apologize, Prime Minister,” one of them said. Perhaps it was the flames, but the man’s face was flushed. Although the age marks and wrinkles on his face betrayed his age, his bright eyes and spirited demeanor were enough to make even Ling Guang sigh in admiration. The man said, “We are late.”
"Thank you for saving me, senior," Zhao Zheng replied neither humbly nor arrogantly.
"You little brat from the Blood Palace!" another man cursed at Ling Guang. His physique was severely out of shape, and he didn't look like a martial artist at all. This man glared at Ling Guang with wide eyes, his beard and hair whipped about by the wind. Judging by his face alone, he bore a striking resemblance to Qin Shubao and Yuchi Jingde. He cursed, "Thirty years ago, I told that tortoise that if the Blood Palace dared to set foot in the Central Plains again, I would slaughter the entire Blood Palace. It seems you've forgotten."
These two were none other than Wang Wenfang, the Sword Saint of Peach Blossom Spring, who was enshrined in the Sword God Hall of Ping'an Temple in Wuling City and made great contributions in the Battle of Blood Xuanyuan thirty years ago, and Liu Mengde, the Sword God.
Another person walked past Xin Ruien without looking to the side and stood where "Typhoon" had been. He looked up at the sky, took a deep breath, and then jumped up with an air current no less powerful than "Typhoon," chasing after "Typhoon."
This man was none other than the Sword Demon Jia Dongye.
“The hammering technique of Shigulin has been absent for many years.” Wang Wenfang turned to Li Letian, squinting his eyes, and said, “I didn’t expect that there are still successors of the Shigulin school.”
Having exchanged only one sword strike, Li Letian had already sensed the unfathomable depth of the old man before him.
“Don’t use the hammer technique I taught you,” Meng Jizhen’s words echoed in Li Letian’s mind. “Our enemy is a formidable figure.”
Li Letian would never have used this hammer technique if the situation hadn't been critical.
"My name is Wang Wenfang. When I was young, my friends in the martial arts world gave me face and called me Sword Saint." Wang Wenfang's attitude was much better than Liu Mengde's. "Young hero, you have such skills at such a young age. May I ask your real name?"
"I have long admired your name, senior," Li Letian said humbly, without immediately adopting a confrontational stance. "I am Li Letian."
"Oh?" Wang Wenfang stroked his beard. "As far as I know, there is no family with the surname 'Li' in Shigu Forest. Where did you learn your martial arts?"
"I acquired this position by chance and have no teacher." Li Letian hesitated for a moment but still did not reveal Meng Jizhen's name.
"So, you don't have any fellow disciples anymore."
"Yes."
"Alright then." Wang Wenfang nodded with a smile.
“Senior, there may be some misunderstanding about what happened tonight.” Li Letian, with a tentative attitude, pointed to Xin Ruien and Su Yishan and said, “Why don’t we let this young lady take her brother down the mountain first? He is injured and should not be delayed.”
"Although you said you've long admired my name," Wang Wenfang didn't directly answer Li Letian's request, "do you know who I am?"
"The Sword God Temple in Heian-in," Li Letian replied, "I was fortunate enough to visit it when I was a child."
"Sword God Palace?"
"It is Wuling City, built on the top of Mashou Mountain, a temple dedicated to several predecessors."
“Oh,” Wang Wenfang suddenly realized, “you mean that one.”
Li Letian swallowed and nodded in affirmation.
"What makes you believe that temple can protect you?"
“Senior,” Li Letian said, somewhat bewildered, “this junior does not understand what you mean.”
“Thirty years ago, I traveled all the way from the west to Wuling City,” Wang Wenfang said softly. “The first person I killed was the leader of the Shigu Forest sect.”
Li Letian had already vaguely sensed that something was wrong.
"You just said to let that girl go down the mountain first?"
"Yes."
“There’s no need for that.” Wang Wenfang looked up at the sky, just as Jia Dongye landed back on the ground with “Typhoon” in his hand. “I like Shigu Lin’s hammering style. There were indeed some oversights back then, but the good thing is that there’s still a chance to see Shigu Lin’s hammering style again.”
Li Letian's expression darkened.
"Everyone here today must die." With a leap, Wang Wenfang and Li Letian were locked in battle.
On the other side, Ling Guang and Du Taibai stood together, confronting Liu Mengde.
"Are you alright?" Liu Mengde asked Zhao Zheng.
Zhao Zheng raised his eyes and glared fiercely at Ling and Du. "With six swords in hand, I can easily defeat them."
Not far away, Jia Dongye was holding the "typhoon" and seemed lost in thought.
“Then I won’t presume to do it,” Liu Mengde said. He then called to Jia Dongye, “Fourth Brother, hand over ‘Typhoon’ to Palace Master Zhao. Today we will finally get to witness the brilliance of the Six Swordsmen.”
Just as Jia Dongye handed the longsword to Zhao Zheng, a new sound rang out on the stone path leading straight to the mountaintop.
"Yunxia Peak is really lively today," said Lin Zhenna. "It's much more interesting than the Sword Testing Tournament."
“Yes,” Xiang Wu echoed, “Peach Blossom Spring and the Palace of Eternal Life have both come, and they’re standing together.”
"Huh, really?" Nana asked in an exaggerated tone of surprise, "They didn't know about that?"
"You mean that matter?" Xiang Wu echoed as usual.
"Yes, the Six Swordsmen of the Hall of Longevity killed the Sword Demon Prince Mei! Prince Mei was pinned to the wall by six swords."
"Damn it! How could they not know!"
Liu Mengde and Zhao Zheng instantly became alert. In the blink of an eye, heavy palm strikes landed simultaneously on their backs. Even in a defensive stance, they coughed up blood and were sent flying.
Ling Guang and Du Taibai did not let this opportunity pass. They immediately set off and headed straight for Liu Mengde without hesitation.
The sudden turn of events distracted Wang Wenfang, who was locked in combat with Xin Ruien and Li Letian. Li Letian raised his left hand, pointing the iron ring on his ring finger at him.
*
The first group of people carrying torches had arrived at Cloud Mist Peak. They were two young men with cheap swords hanging from their waists. Their clothes were embroidered with green bird patterns, which should be the totem of their sect.
Even Pei Jiangxi didn't know what kind of sect this was.
The stone path leading to the summit was blocked by a boulder that had rolled down.
"Senior brother, what should we do? Should we wait for Master and the others to arrive?" Even standing here, one can feel the oppressive aura emanating from the summit of Yunxia Peak.
The extremely domineering sword intent and killing intent collided and spread outwards. The junior brother felt a chill run down his spine; he no longer wanted to proceed.
"Idiot!" The senior brother had just turned his head when he saw the hazy dots of light in the distance. He said, "By the time Master and the others arrive, it will be too late. There will be nothing left."
"But……"
The senior brother grabbed his junior brother's shoulders: "Junior brother, listen to me. In this world, being the first person is the happiest. The second and third can only take what the first person left behind, and eat what the first person disdains to eat."
"I don't understand, senior brother," the junior brother stammered. "That doesn't seem to be a bad thing."
"When we set out, I was only guessing. But on the way here, I became more and more convinced. Such extraordinary celestial phenomena must indicate an extraordinary opportunity there. Do you understand?"
The junior apprentice nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.
"You and I must get up there." The senior looked towards the mountain peak, letting the fierce wind from the summit lash his cheeks. "I feel it. This will be a decision that changes our lives."
Seeing his senior's determined gaze, the junior brother also forced himself to suppress his fear. "But the rocks are blocking our way, what should we do?"
The senior brother pointed to the points of light that were coming from the direction the two had come from: "When they arrive, we'll break through the falling rocks blocking our way and then go up the mountain."
"But senior brother, didn't you just say you wanted to be the first one?"
The senior patted the junior on the shoulder and said earnestly, "You need to be flexible and adaptable, not too rigid."
The two brothers looked up together, welcoming the wind from the mountaintop.
Hidden in the shadows of the woods, Pei Jiangxi also looked up at the mountaintop, thinking to herself, "Let's finish this quickly; this is all the time I can give you."
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