As two of the most powerful sword sects in the world of cultivation, the grievances and hatreds between the Wanjian Sect and the Xuanxu Sword Sect could not be told in three days and three nights.
Although the two sects often competed secretly, due to the mutual respect between the sword practitioners, it was natural for them to become brother sects that helped each other.
According to tradition, at the end of each year, the two major sects would send some disciples to the other side for a three-day trip, under the pretext of "friendly exchange", but in fact it was just for the purpose of swordplay and sparring, so that the young sword practitioners could fight to the death.
Pei Ji was injured by a thunderbolt and needed to stay in Xuanxu Sword Sect to recuperate; Zheng Weiqi was very creative and once invested a sum of money in Jiang Si to support the development of tourism in Galan City. Now that the year is coming to an end, she went to Galan to get the dividends.
Therefore, after returning from the Tianhe Desert, only Ningning, Meng Jue, Lin Xun and He Zhizhou were taken to the Wanjian Sect by Tian Xianzi.
After getting off the flying boat, the first thing I saw was the two huge stone swords standing in front of the mountain gate.
The sword was extremely tall, thin and upright, carrying a mighty force that seemed to challenge the sky, pointing straight at the bright white sun on the horizon.
The falling snow in winter covered the sword with a layer of cold white. The condensed thin ice spread all over the stone sword, cracking into spider-web-like winding fine marks. When the sun suddenly illuminated it, it gave off a lingering chill.
Quite impressive.
Meng Jue has a high level of cultivation and is a well-known figure among the younger generation of sword practitioners. Upon hearing that he would be coming, more than a dozen disciples were waiting in front of the mountain gate with swords in their arms, just waiting to compete with him.
Although the eldest senior brother was a bit evil at heart, he was ultimately a sword practitioner with his mind full of swordsmanship. He rarely refused a challenge and gladly went to the arena with them.
Ning Ning knew that he was a popular and sought-after character, but she never expected that there were actually many people waiting for her.
"That's normal. The Wanjian Sect is full of crazy people who want to kill and fight all day long. They don't have any sense of sympathy for women."
He Zhizhou explained to her: "And Ningning, you really don't know how famous you are now? Xiao Chongshan broke the situation of the Ancient Forest Sea, and captured the Demon King alive in the Water Mirror Secret Realm. Finally, you became the number one in the Jindan stage of the Ten Dharma Assembly - there are so many people who want to compete with you!"
Ningning couldn't help but shudder when she thought that many people's hobbies would become "eating, sleeping and playing".
"That day, the Ten Dharma Assembly ended. Junior Sister won first place, but she did not attend the final banquet."
Lin Xun continued, "Many disciples from various sects came to inquire about your whereabouts, wanting to compete with you in the City Lord's Mansion, but they were all stopped by Senior Sister Zheng."
Thanks to Senior Sister Zheng, she loves Senior Sister Zheng.
Ningning felt inexplicably fortunate that she was unconscious that day.
"Don't worry, your bodies haven't recovered yet, so you don't need to participate in the competition."
Tian Xianzi smiled and said, "Today, your master brought you to the Wanjian Sect to relax and take a look at the new scenery here. As for the fighting and killing, we don't need to pay attention to it."
——Long live Master!
So the three little losers who were addicted to eating, drinking and having fun successfully escaped from the competition and started wandering around the Wanjian Sect.
Compared with the Xuanxu Sword Sect, the architectural style of the Wanjian Sect appears more solemn and dignified, with white walls and black tiles, and groups of buildings. Huge sculptures of ancient famous swords can be seen everywhere, covered by the flying snow, like clouds and smoke, and sword energy steaming.
"By the way, Su Qinghan from the Wanjian Sect has also entered the Nascent Soul stage."
While admiring the white snow, He Zhizhou spoke with interest, "She is the Senior Sister Su that Xu Ye has been thinking about. After the Dharma Assembly ended that day, she heard that you were unconscious and she went to visit you at your bedside for a while. Did you know about this?"
Ningning nodded. Pei Ji had told her about this before.
Her fate with Senior Sister Su began in the ancient forest of Xiaochong Mountain. Since then, Su Qinghan has always wanted to compete with her.
Unfortunately, Ningning always encounters all kinds of bad luck. She is either injured or about to be injured. Su Qinghan disdained to take advantage of her when she was weak, so the plan of sword fighting was repeatedly shelved and has not been realized until today.
"Many people have visited Junior Sister."
Lin Xun didn't know what he was thinking about, and touched the tip of his nose awkwardly: "Senior sister may not know that fellow Daoist Yun Duan Yue... has also been here."
He Zhizhou exclaimed, "This is incredible, Junior Brother Lin. This is the first time I've heard you mention the names of people from other sects."
He touched his chin and chuckled, "Still a girl."
Lin Xun's face turned red instantly.
He was fair-skinned and wore a fluffy white coat. Against the backdrop of a world clad in silver, his blush was extremely conspicuous, like a round peach hanging on his head.
"Don't tease him."
Ning Ning glanced at He Zhizhou, then looked at Lin Xun and smiled, "I know. She also gave me some calming incense. Pei Ji also told me - I heard that you seem to have a good relationship with Miss Yun?"
After these last words were spoken, the whole world seemed to be silent for a moment.
Xiao Bailong's body was as stiff as a popsicle. He hesitated for a long time before he replied in a low voice: "No, no, we just occasionally... exchanged letters."
oh--
Ningning and He Zhizhou looked at each other for a moment, and a sly smile appeared on the corners of their mouths at the same time.
"Xu Ye and I have also been communicating. He was quite happy to hear that we would come, but unfortunately he had something urgent to do and couldn't leave. He asked us to meet in the cafeteria later."
He Zhizhou showed a look of joy and clapped his hands suddenly: "What does it mean that he asked us to meet there? It means that Xu Ye has found his conscience and finally decided to treat us to a meal! I heard that the food in the Wanjian Sect is super good!"
Ningning and Lin Xun looked expectant and nodded vigorously.
The three of them walked aimlessly, and with nothing but white surroundings without any obvious features, they soon left the most conspicuous road and could not tell which way was which.
After walking forward for a while, I actually came to an orchard.
In the deep winter when there is heavy snow, no matter whether it is a fruit tree, pine tree or any other tree, they are all covered with a layer of snow-white like a quilt. As usual, you can't actually tell the difference between them.
But Ningning could still recognize at a glance that this was an orchard.
——It was snowing everywhere, but this place was covered by a warm spiritual power, like a protective shield that blocked the bone-chilling cold currents around it.
The forest is full of green, and every fruit tree is lush and leafy, hanging with fruits that are out of tune with the snow scene. Looking around, it seems like two completely different worlds from the outside of the protective cover, and there is not a trace of snow.
“It’s hot.”
Lin Xun looked around in confusion: "The spiritual energy here is so rich, have we broken into the residence of some senior?"
"You don't understand this."
He Zhizhou grinned, "Xu Ye told me that the Wanjian Sect has a very large orchard that is open to all disciples. Everyone can go in and pick fruits to eat - isn't it right here! Come on, come on, I'm just hungry, let's pick one or two to fill my stomach!"
"But……"
Lin Xun always felt that something was wrong and wanted to call him, but he saw that He Zhizhou had already explored deeper into the forest. He had no choice but to follow him with Ningning.
When I caught up with Senior Brother He, he was already shaking the tree trunk, trying to make the apples on the branches fall down.
"But if all the disciples can come in, why do the fruits on the trees seem to have never been touched? They are not rare species that cannot be touched."
Ning Ning analyzed calmly: "Besides, the spiritual energy here is too rich, I'm afraid someone is..."
Before she finished her words, she caught a glimpse of a figure not far away.
A young man who looked like a disciple of the Wanjian Sect was standing outside the orchard. The moment his eyes met hers, he showed obvious shock.
Ningning saw the young man pause for a while with a look of astonishment on his face.
Then his eyes twitched, and he pointed behind them and shouted in a trembling voice: "Stop, stop shaking! Elder Qingyun - Elder Qingyun is over there!"
What Elder Qingyun?
The other person's expression was so flustered that Ningning subconsciously felt guilty. She quickly turned her head to look deeper into the forest, but she only saw dense leaves and no human figure.
"Where is that person? That guy must be trying to scare us."
He Zhizhou glanced forward quickly, then quickly retracted his gaze and concentrated on shaking the fruit: "The branch is moving! The apple will fall soon--"
He laughed so wildly and happily that even He Zhizhou himself would never have thought that such a happy smile would remain frozen on his face forever.
The branches and leaves above my head were in a mess of light and shadow, and a figure fell from the branches with a thud.
However, it was not a round and mellow apple.
Instead, it was a man's body lying straight down.
Like a lump of hard cement, it fell to the ground with a thud.
A belated apple hit the man on the cheek.
As their eyes met, He Zhizhou saw the expressionless face of the man, who looked like a dead person, and heard the terrified voice of the young man behind him: "Elder Qingyun——!"
*
Tian Xianzi felt a little hungry.
People who practice Taoism use the spiritual energy of heaven and earth as their foundation. Especially for those who have achieved profound cultivation like him, their stomachs will not feel hungry.
But he was hungry.
If your mouth can't taste the world's delicacies, what's the point of keeping it?
There are many disciples in the Wanjian Sect, and he seldom shows up here, so most people don’t know that this handsome young man who looks sloppy is the famous Elder Tianxian of Xuanxu.
He had some understanding of the architectural layout of the Wanjian Sect. He wandered around for a while and was planning to go to the cafeteria to take a look. Unexpectedly, when he was halfway there, he saw someone handing out snacks for free.
The snack should be white jade cake. The man stood in the pavilion, and several disciples lined up beside him and came forward one by one to take the cake from his hand.
Focus on the key points, no need to pay.
There is such a good thing in the world!
Tian Xianzi walked forward without thinking much and obediently lined up at the end of the line. Maybe it was luck, because when it was handed to him, it was the last piece of cake.
The white jade cake was sweet but not greasy, soft, glutinous and delicate. He enjoyed eating it very much. He was about to leave when he suddenly saw a strong man coming outside the pavilion.
The man was carrying a huge black sword on his back and looked quite fierce. Without saying a word, he blocked the main entrance of the pavilion, blocking all ways to leave, and came in a menacing manner.
"Hurry up, finish this one, then go back to work."
Tian Xianzi was completely confused when he heard him say, "There are still the main hall and Luoyue Tower to be cleaned. Hurry up and grab the rags and brooms - don't try to be lazy or run away! The one in white clothes over there, you were trying to leave the pavilion just now, weren't you?"
Tianxianzi:……?
"The one in white clothes", is this person talking about him?
Before he could react to what was happening, a broom was stuffed into his hand.
"Why are you still in a daze? If you fail to complete the task, you will be locked up in the meditation room tonight. Now I feel tired. If I had known this would happen, I would not have done it in the first place. If you had not committed any crime, you would not have been arrested and forced to work in the criminal court - wait."
The man frowned and looked at him: "Brother, what's your name? Are you new here? I don't seem to have any impression of you."
Tian Xianzi's long-neglected brain began to work rapidly.
So this group of people were not receiving free snacks, but disciples who were imprisoned in the Criminal Court and were being punished to do hard labor. They were taking a break and receiving snacks to replenish their energy.
At this time, can he admit that he is the elder of Tianxian?
If this matter were to get out, his reputation as the light of kendo would be completely ruined.
Tian Xianzi finished the last bite of the white jade cake with tears in his eyes. He felt extremely humiliated, but also spoke with great determination: "Brother, I... my name is Xu Ye."
"Senior Brother Xue, three more people have been arrested and taken to the Criminal Court!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a clear young voice was heard not far away.
Tian Xianzi looked in the direction of the voice and saw a young disciple of the Wanjian Sect walking in front, and three dusty shadows following behind him.
The three people also stared at him holding the broom.
"These three people actually broke into the fruit forest where Elder Qingyun was resting. Not only did they try to steal the fruits, they also ignored my warnings and shook Elder Qingyun down from the tree where he was sleeping!"
The young man spoke passionately and generously, completely unaware of the other four gazes that were crossing each other.
Tian Xianzi looked at his little disciple.
Ningning and the other two stared blankly at their master.
The Xuanxu Sword Sect was so glorious and brilliant in the past, but I didn't expect that after a hasty farewell at the mountain gate, when we met again, everything had changed.
Three disciples sang "Tears Behind Bars" loudly, and Master became a male worker on an assembly line. They looked at each other in silence, with tears streaming down their faces.
Tian Xianzi felt the need to maintain his dignity as a master, and stiffened his neck and said righteously: "What's wrong with you? How could you shake Taoist Qingyun down from the tree?"
The three of them blushed, were speechless, and lowered their heads.
They had done something wrong and of course did not dare to admit that they were disciples of the Xuanxu Sword Sect, so they disguised themselves as new disciples of the Wanjian Sect and were brought to the interrogation hall to do hard labor.
As luck would have it, he ran into the sect's elders and was exposed by Tian Xianzi on the spot. He didn't know where to put his face.
——The scene was so awkward that the three of them had no time to think carefully about why Tian Xianzi was holding a broom in his hand.
"Oh, I know him."
The sturdy man curled his lips in sudden realization: "Then you can clean the same area later."
He paused, and before leaving, he patted Tian Xianzi on the shoulder: "They just arrived and don't know much. You should take care of this group of newcomers and let them listen to the rules of our Criminal Court. Do you understand? Xu Ye."
The situation suddenly reversed!
Ningning:? ? ?
Lin Xun: "Master, Master, you——?"
He Zhizhou: "Xu Ye?"
Tian Xianzi chuckled.
Tian Xianzi: "Even though you won't believe it, I was really wronged."
*
Xu Ye had been waiting in the cafeteria for a long time.
It was not mealtime, and most of the disciples were fasting and abstaining from food. The few who were left to eat went to the arena to watch the fight. Apart from him, there was no one else in the dining hall, so it was very quiet.
Xu Ye snorted and laughed.
This situation allowed his plan to proceed smoothly.
He had been corresponding with He Zhizhou for a long time, and when he learned that the latter would come to Wanjian Sect, he decided to prepare a little surprise. After thinking for a long time, he finally came up with a clever plan to play a trick on him.
He Zhizhou was very interested in the cafeteria of Wanjian Sect, so Xu Ye asked Senior Sister Su Qinghan, who was in the Nascent Soul stage, to put a sleight of hand on the menu in order to scare him.
The menu in the Wanjian Sect's cafeteria was carved on a wooden board using sword energy. Senior Sister Su only used a very small amount of spiritual power to blur some of the strokes, thus confusing the audience while not letting the spiritual power be too heavy and being discovered by them.
He Zhizhou arrived as promised, accompanied by Ning Ning and the little dragon from Xuanxu Sect, but they did not pose a big problem.
etc.
Why are there several elders beside them?
Xu Ye's heart paused and he quickly comforted himself.
It’s okay, it’s okay. The elders have a high level of cultivation and are totally not on the same level as the disciples. Even if the menu is decorated with a trick, it will not have any impact on them.
His heart was like on a roller coaster, and it finally slowed down a bit. However, his sight flickered, and when he caught a glimpse of a shadow among the elders, he froze in place.
No way, that figure is——
Who can tell him why Elder Jiang Xing would also come to the Wanjian Sect? Hasn't he been staying indoors for a long time?
Xu Ye once heard that although Elder Jiang Xing had obtained some precious medicinal herbs to repair his sea of consciousness, his old illness was too serious and it would take about a year and a half to fully recover.
What's more, the Xuanxu Sword Sect had just come out of the desert not long ago, and their consciousness was damaged and their spiritual power was exhausted. According to his current state...
Will definitely be affected by the sleight of hand.
The best way now is to eliminate the magic immediately, but that spiritual power does not belong to him, but to Su Qinghan.
Xu Ye felt that his ending would not be very good.
Ningning walked into the cafeteria with a sad look in her eyes, greeted Xu Ye, and felt mixed emotions.
It turned out that the "Hundred Fruit Forest" they were going to was the residence of Elder Qingyun, which was completely different from the orchard mentioned in Xu Ye's letter.
After leaving the pavilion, they went to Luoyue Tower with brooms and rags. After wasting time for a while, they finally escaped thanks to Tian Xianzi who knocked out the guarding disciple.
As a result, he had not walked a few steps when he ran into Wen Hemian, Zhenxiao Sword Master and the rumored Elder Jinghe.
When asked why they were in Luoyue Tower, the four of them laughed dryly in tacit understanding and said that they were hungry and followed them to the cafeteria to eat.
"Everyone, look, on this wooden board is the recipe of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect."
Tian Xianzi was very familiar with this place. He had already put the tragic situation behind him and introduced it with a hostly demeanor: "Each word was written by the Sword Sect's leader with sword energy. Although the words are a bit ugly, you should be able to understand them, right?"
Jinghe said calmly, "I'm still here, please don't gossip about the headmaster, Elder Tianxian."
Tian Xianzi tried to fool the conversation with a silly smile, then he glanced at the people around him and quickly changed the subject: "What do you want to eat?"
No one answered him.
For unknown reasons, there was a strange silence at the scene.
He Zhizhou stared at the names of the dishes on the wooden sign in silence, almost thinking that there was something wrong with his eyes, but when he looked around at Ning Ning and Lin Xun beside him, they all had shocked expressions on their faces.
As expected of the Wanjian Sect, even the dishes served in the cafeteria are so unconventional.
For example, the dish that is facing his sight right now is called "Vinegar Uncle".
Tian Xianzi noticed his solemn gaze, followed He Zhizhou's gaze, and smiled knowingly.
Oh, pickled peppers with vinegar, that sounds really good.
"Based on my experience of eating at Wanjian Sect, this dish tastes great."
The young disciples said nothing, probably because they were a little shy.
Tian Xianzi's heart was filled with tender feelings as a teacher. His fingers passed over the [Braised Poached Eggs] and [Coriander Preserved Eggs], and he pointed at the [Braised Pork in Steamed Buns] on the menu and said, "The meat in this dish is plump and tender, and it's rare. Last time I came here with your Master Zhenxiao, we ate more than twenty of them in total."
Lin Xun's facial expression was completely out of control, his eyeballs were like a boat drifting in the wind and rain, shaking constantly.
It was simply horrifying, the words carved in front of Master’s fingertips... were actually [Braised Little Dragon Man]!
He really became the most delicious junior brother in Xuanxu Sword Sect!
Ningning was in mixed feelings. She followed Tianxianzi's wagging fingers and looked at the menu anxiously.
At first glance, the menu seemed strange, but barely edible, with items like braised purseworms and coriander worms.
But if you look closely, you can find a strange atmosphere among the many dazzling dishes.
At first, there was a "fried human leg" that blew up the whole audience.
Then the names of the dishes became more and more shocking and unbelievable, with names like [Stir-fried human head], [Shredded human meat with green peppers] appearing one after another. Finally, he just let go and came up with [Stir-fried person].
This made her start to think seriously whether the Wanjian Sect was a demonic cult in the guise of a decent organization, appearing to be upright on the surface but actually committing murders and arson. After all, this was often written in the storybooks.
Tian Xianzi saw that her brows were getting deeper and deeper, so he followed Ning Ning and looked at the menu carefully.
Deep-fried ham, stir-fried kohlrabi, stir-fried pork with green peppers, and stir-fried prawns, no problem.
Why does Ningning look like she’s seen a ghost?
“I remember this dish was pretty good too.”
Zhen Xiao pointed at the [Stir-fried Pork Liver with Aloe Vera] in the corner with his fingertips: "It seems to be a unique dish of the Wanjian Sect. It can't be found in the Xuanxu Sword Sect."
Ningning heard this and looked over.
My goodness, if I could eat this thing in Xuanxu Sect, there would be something fishy.
But seeing the awe-inspiring sword energy coming from the head of the Wanjian Sect, three big words were written on the menu:
Human corpse.
As expected of the cold-hearted Zhenxiao Sword Master, even his taste for food is so heavy.
There is no need to read the words between the lines.
On every page of the Wanjian Sect's menu, the word "eating people" is clearly written in crooked letters!
No, no.
Ningning tried to analyze the situation rationally. As a long-established righteous sect, the Wanjian Sect would definitely not do something that would abhor both humans and gods.
There may be only one explanation for this strange recipe: the mood of a swordsman.
Sword practitioners use swords to gain enlightenment, which inevitably involves fighting and seeing blood, and coming into contact with various bloody human organs.
Therefore, those human heads and legs are not real heads and legs, but a kind of alias painstakingly thought out by the head of the Sword Sect. The purpose is to train the disciples' psychological endurance and lay a solid foundation for future killings.
Just like during the college entrance examination, some schools would change the names of dishes to something like “Success in the Imperial Examination” or “Step by Step to Success”.
Yes, that must be it.
"Elder Wen, you have finally come to my Wanjian Sect. I wonder if there are any dishes you like?"
Jinghe knew Wen Hemian's situation, and said in a sympathetic voice, "Why don't you choose the first one first?"
After many twists and turns, I finally arrived at this moment.
Xu Ye tore himself apart like a mental patient, and cried out heartbreakingly from the bottom of his heart -
No! ! ! Elder Wen! ! ! Don't answer, don't answer, don't answer! ! !
The scene was too quiet.
Amid countless converging gazes, Wen Hemian lowered his eyes, pursed his lips, and looked as if in deep thought.
Wen Hemian: "Then... please give me a portion of stir-fried human heads."
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