Chapter 255 Today, the Long Spear is in Hand
The atmosphere on the field was initially quiet, then suddenly became chaotic.
The cauldron and sword hang in the air.
A young woman, her face veiled by a thin veil, held a long sword gleaming in the moonlight, and stood with Wei Shaoxuan at the foot of the cauldron sword.
Xie Lingjiang looked anxious, and as soon as she spoke, Wei Shaoxuan and Qiu Shenji's expressions changed slightly.
"What...what is this?"
Li Guo'er looked up, frowned, and stared at the "arc," her little face slightly blank: "What tricks are you playing? Don't move!"
The cold, sharp blade drew near, emitting a hazy moonlight that startled Wei Shaoxuan, who raised both hands and leaned back to dodge.
"It has nothing to do with me, Cousin Guo'er, calm down!" Wei Shaoxuan said innocently, looking at Qiu Shenji in the distance, "Godfather, don't do anything rash."
Qiu Shenji understood immediately, nodded in agreement, and silently counted in his mind.
To calm Li Guo'er down, he sincerely spread his hands and opened his arms: "It has nothing to do with me, listen to me..."
"Don't listen to their nonsense, they're just stalling for time!" Xie Lingjiang said urgently, "You go quickly, Guo'er!"
Li Guo'er looked surprised and suspicious. Wei Shaoxuan glanced at her expression out of the corner of his eye and quietly put his hands down.
Li Guo'er turned her head warily, "Hands up, don't move!" She spat through her teeth, and her long sword was once again close to Wei Shaoxuan's neck as a threat. But a moment later, the young woman felt a jolt in her tiger's mouth, and with a loud "clang," the three-foot-long sword flew out, flipped in the air, and reflected the light in the sunlight, stinging the eyes of the group.
An arc appeared in front of Wei Shaoxuan and Li Guo'er, knocking away the Moonlight Sword.
"Godfather, save me!"
Wei Shaoxuan ran towards Qiu Shenji, Li Guo'er's longsword slipped from her hand, Gang Lie pursed his lips, drew a letter sword from his sleeve, and thrust it straight at Wei Shaoxuan's back.
The latter was so frightened that he fell down, and saw the tip of the sword about to pierce his heart.
In an instant, a gust of wind swept in.
This sword tip can no longer advance an inch.
Qiu Shenji appeared between Wei Shaoxuan and Li Guoer, his two fingers raised like iron clamps, gripping the sword.
Li Guo'er exclaimed in surprise, gripped the hilt with both hands, and thrust forward with force, causing the blade of the sword to bend.
The two fingers of the man in hemp clothing holding the sword tip remained motionless.
“You…” Li Guo’er’s face was filled with despair. She trembled as she let go of her hand and took a step back.
Qiu Shenji's expression was indifferent. He twirled his sword with two fingers, turning it into a sword finger, and thrust it straight at Li Guo'er's brow.
"Godfather... Godfather spared their lives!"
Wei Shaoxuan got up from the ground and anxiously called out to Qiu Shenji's back, "My father and I need her!" His tone was excited.
Qiu Shenji frowned slightly, but at this moment, he sensed that a Xie woman in the Sutra Copying Hall behind him had put away her cinnabar and purple talismans and was rushing towards him with red eyes. He didn't have time to think, so he changed his thrust to a flick, slightly bent two fingers, and flicked the sword away with a "clang"! The short sword spun in the air, and the back of the sword accurately struck the little girl's fair forehead.
With a cry of "Ah!", Li Guo'er's delicate body and the short sword flew several meters away, and she coughed up blood and became dizzy.
Without even looking, the man in hemp clothing turned around quickly. A gust of wind swept out from the main hall behind him and rushed towards Wei Shaoxuan.
A faint crimson and purple lightning was hidden in the gentle breeze, its immense power capable of destroying everything in its path.
Amidst the rumbling of wind and thunder, a thunderous roar filled the plaza in front of the palace.
In the blink of an eye, before Qiu Shenji could even see what was happening, he had already flashed in front of Wei Shaoxuan and roared, "You're courting death!" The man in hemp clothing was like a war god, gathering his strength to unleash a punch to meet the "Wind and Thunder."
Unexpectedly, Xie Lingjiang and Zhu Zilei did not arrive. Instead, they bypassed the two and rushed towards Li Guo'er, who was lying on the ground and seriously injured. A Zhu Zi talisman, which had become much dimmer, was thrown out again. It wrapped around the two women who had joined together, and they spun in the air, extending another ten feet of hazy mist.
"Mukuro, don't move."
"good."
With no immediate worries, Qiu Shenji darted forward: "Given a chance to leave, you come back to save people? You're courting death!"
Bang—bang—bang—! The sixth-rank martial artist was like a wild beast, his fists frantically pounding the Thunder Pool.
"Ten breaths... eleven breaths... twelve breaths..."
"What did you say?"
Xie Lingjiang frowned and noticed that Li Guo'er, who was in her arms with her eyes closed, was murmuring something as if she were counting down.
But the men in hemp clothing outside, exuding a menacing aura, didn't give her a chance to listen closely.
"Found it!"
Qiu Shenji sneered, his fist shadow was like a phantom, and suddenly stopped. He used both hands to tear open the hazy thunder curtain in front of him, and then stretched out two fingers, as if a woman was drawing threads for embroidery, delicately pinching the air from a distance.
Within the Thunder Pool, there seemed to be a loose thread, which he picked up with two fingers and slowly pulled out.
The vermilion talisman that was originally swirling in the Thunder Pool suddenly stopped in mid-air. Xie Lingjiang covered her mouth and forced back a mouthful of blood, but the remaining spiritual energy in her dantian was being frantically drawn away by the "Square Inch Thunder Pool" uncontrollably.
On the vermilion talisman, a bright red light burst forth, and the clouds and mist in the entire Thunder Pool suddenly thickened to a milky white that obscured the view. The lightning bolts and serpents were extremely fierce, as if in a final burst of energy, trying to exhaust the Thunder Pool's power in one go.
It follows the natural order of things: prosperity inevitably leads to decline.
This seemingly simple, martial man in hemp clothing possessed such delicate and subtle techniques of Yin-Yang philosophy, which is not surprising given his past status as a veteran fifth-rank "Soldier Yin-Yang Master."
Lei Chi went out of control, releasing its power erratically. Qiu Shenji moved back three zhang to wait, remaining calm and steady, giving his opponent no chance.
However,
There are people who are even calmer and more composed than him.
An arc, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, returned to the sky above the square.
Qiu Shenji and Xie Lingjiang, who had just rushed out of the main hall, were both faintly visible within the range of its sword light.
At this moment, the "craftsmanship" above their heads began to change color, with purple mist appearing from nothingness and swirling around the "arc". Its sky-blue color gradually faded and was replaced inch by inch by deep sea-like purple-black.
In the end, it transformed into a cold purple arc, hanging high above the heads of all living beings.
Mysterious and terrifying.
This strange noise naturally caused Qiu Shenji and Xie Lingjiang to look up, and they were both stunned.
Xie Lingjiang's pretty face showed disappointment, and Qiu Shenji frowned slightly:
"Sixth Brother, what's this about your cauldron sword?"
“Godfather, step aside and leave it to me,” Wei Shaoxuan said calmly.
"Alright! Let Liulang end this."
Qiu Shenji readily agreed, stepping aside to give way to the "Square Inch Thunder Pool" that was about to extinguish, and the two women inside.
For some reason, facing death at this moment, Xie Lingjiang felt unusually calm. She glanced down at her feet, and a thought suddenly popped into her mind:
Is he already waiting for her? If so, won't she be a junior to him again in the next life and have to be his junior sister to be bullied by him?
"You never wait for me, you're always walking ahead, leaving us with your backs..."
Xie Lingjiang smiled bitterly, her smile a mixture of joy and sorrow.
In the next instant, a man in hemp clothing was sent flying backwards and crashed into the square-inch thunder pool.
Rumble—!
Xie Lingjiang was taken aback and turned around, frowning as she looked over.
The residual power of the Crimson Purple Talisman was still present, but Qiu Shenji seemed to be taking the initiative, scrambling to avoid it, and was launched backward, crashing into the Thunder Pool. He was hit by a full barrage of thunder and was blasted to a crisp.
She looked closely and discovered that there was a cold purple arc that was shooting straight at the stiff-smiling face of the man in hemp clothing. He was so frightened that he retreated at the speed of a sixth-grade "weapon master" to dodge. He was willing to be trapped in a dangerous situation to gain a moment to move.
Xie Lingjiang opened her mouth slightly, turned her head, and saw a scene she would never forget.
Ouyang Rong walked in calmly, his eyes tinged with purple, his hands hanging at his sides, and a slender index finger beneath his long sleeves hooking up a bronze mask.
He walked towards her in this manner.
"Senior Brother..." Xie Lingjiang's expression was complex, showing surprise, excitement, and confusion.
"Crackling and popping—!" Qiu Shenji, whose skin was charred black by the crimson lightning, stared in disbelief at the familiar young man who calmly walked in front of him in place of Wei Shaoxuan.
Ouyang Rong remained silent as the merit points within the Merit Tower rapidly decreased, and the purple mist from the Blessing Bell surged into the "Craftsmanship" of the Dingjian sword.
Qiu Shenji was forced into the "Square Inch Thunder Pool" by the cold purple "arc" in front of him, and suffered the pounding of thunder.
The "craftsmanship" hovered a foot in front of him, the man and the sword seemingly motionless.
However, Xie Lingjiang, who was closest to him, keenly noticed that Qiu Shenji had his hands folded together with his palms facing outwards, and his inner energy was surging outwards, attempting to build a protective barrier of true energy to resist external objects.
The barrier of true energy, as hard as metal and stone, was sliced open by this cold purple "arc" like hot cheese by a silver fork, easily penetrating and cutting him in half.
Qiu Shenji had no choice but to frantically unleash his spiritual energy, replenishing his protective true energy and blocking the unstoppable advance of the cauldron sword.
Fortunately, Qiu Shenji's dantian, which was once at the fifth rank, possessed unfathomable and incredibly rich spiritual energy. The protective true energy barrier he painstakingly constructed was actually in a state of equilibrium with the cutting force of the "arc".
"Where is Liu Lang? What did you do to Liu Lang?" He looked around in a disheveled state and asked angrily.
Xie Lingjiang glanced at the bronze mask in Ouyang Rong's hand, then at the unconscious Li Guo'er, and hesitated to speak.
Ouyang Rong walked past her without glancing to the side, stepping alone into the danger zone. He raised two fingers, pinching a cold purple arc, and made a sword finger, aiming straight at Qiu Shenji's brow.
Advance step by step.
"How dare you, you brat!" Qiu Shenji roared, his body surging with powerful spiritual energy to defend against the man and sword in front of him.
One side activated the purple mist, using the cauldron sword as a spear.
One side surged with spiritual energy, using true energy as a shield.
The two sides were locked in a battle of consuming spiritual energy and purple mist.
Whoever lets go dies.
For a time, the situation remained deadlocked.
Ouyang Rong's injured body swayed precariously, and the more than 11,000 merits within the Merit Tower were being rapidly depleted.
He frowned slightly; this Qiu Shenji was more troublesome than he had imagined.
This evenly matched situation filled Qiu Shenji with disbelief as he looked at Ouyang Rong.
Don't forget, he's a sixth-rank! In fact, because of the drop in rank, he's even stronger than an ordinary sixth-rank, while this kid is only a ninth-rank!
How is that possible?
Even if he used the sword of the poor scholar for more than ten breaths, how could he have so much surging spiritual energy to support him?
But the facts are right in front of us.
This brand-new cauldron sword, I wonder what kind of extraordinary abilities it has acquired.
Ouyang Rong remained silent, glancing at the hazy clouds and mist around him.
Lei Chi did not harm him; on the contrary, after the clouds and mist came into contact with him, Lei Chi happily absorbed the merit-based purple mist.
It seems that the purple mist is not only something that "craftsmen" can eat, but it can also be used to supply the "square-inch thunder pool" of the Taiqing Sect's unique skills? Doesn't that mean that he can cross the threshold of the Taiqing Sect's cultivation methods?
There was no time to think about these things. At this moment, having absorbed the purple mist, pure crimson and purple lightning slowly brewed within the Thunder Pool—a true "Square Inch Thunder Pool".
It seemed to be made by a legitimate Taoist priest, and was completely different from Xie Lingjiang's passive defense.
Qiu Shenji was completely trapped in the Thunder Pool.
However, this additional consumption of purple mist also left Ouyang Rong with very little merit points.
This was something he hadn't anticipated. He had originally only wanted to go straight to the point and finish the battle quickly, but now he found that while it was easy for Bu Jian to lock onto Qiu Shenji, the purity of his spiritual energy in his dantian was insufficient, and the speed of his Ding Jian was not fast enough, so he could only barely keep up with Qiu Shenji.
The fact that he's currently trapped by the Thunder Pool is, ironically, a stroke of good luck.
After weighing the pros and cons, Ouyang Rong extracted a total of two thousand merits worth of purple mist and threw it into the Thunder Pool.
Xie Lingjiang wanted to help, but was blocked by Lei Chi. Moreover, Qiu Shenji's true energy barrier could be broken by the Ding Sword, but she could not break it. The two were deadlocked, and it was useless for her to get closer.
On one side, Xie Lingjiang was in a panic, while on the other side, Ouyang Rong's face gradually turned pale, and the nine thousand merit points he had poured into the cauldron sword were about to run out.
"You have no spiritual energy left!" Qiu Shenji suddenly said with certainty. He curled the corners of his mouth, and the panic in his eyes was replaced by a cruel smile: "An ant is still an ant. Now, watch me."
The 20% of spiritual energy that had been reserved in the dantian was no longer hidden and surged out wildly.
The man in hemp clothing took a step forward, while the young magistrate took a step back, teetering on the verge of collapse.
At this moment, Ouyang Rong suddenly looked down at the broken jade ring hanging at his waist and quickly asked Xie Lingjiang, "What is Uncle Chen's full name?"
"Chen Qingyi".
The young magistrate, who had once instructed Xiufa to send the guest list of the Sutra Copying Hall to the county government, sighed and closed his eyes: "Go and split open the Buddha statue in the Sutra Copying Hall."
Qiu Shenji was puzzled, Xie Lingjiang was stunned, then turned and rushed into the Sutra Copying Hall, leaping up lightly.
Crash—! Boom—!
A flash of sword light, and the Buddha statue split in two.
A rotting corpse of a monk fell from the Buddha statue with a benevolent expression. Upon contact with the air, a certain part of the corpse exploded with a "thud".
The strange noise in the Buddhist temple turned out to be the explosion of corpses.
"Uncle-Master Chen!" Xie Lingjiang exclaimed in surprise.
"So what if I did it? What can you do to me?" Qiu Shenji's expression twisted as he deliberately taunted, "Two pieces of trash! When you tortured him to death, he even knelt down and begged for mercy, hahahahaha."
Ouyang Rong closed his eyes and ignored it, his ears filled with the clear sound of the wooden fish.
Your merit will increase by another thousand.
All the merits were transformed into purple mist and infused into the "craftsmanship".
Ouyang Rong opened his eyes, pinched the "arc" that was shining brightly with purple light with two fingers, and took half a step forward.
"How is that possible? Where did you get this extra spiritual energy from?!" Qiu Shenji, unaware of the cause and effect, was startled.
He glared and shook his head, frantically unleashing his last bit of spiritual energy to resist.
Ouyang Rong's fingertip arc was still three inches away from the man's brow, making it impossible to move forward.
"Haha, you've lost your spirit! You've lost your spirit again!"
Ouyang Rong ignored him.
Merit points returned to zero, and the dantian became empty.
The craftsmanship between the two fingers, the purple light dimmed.
The young magistrate's eyes were desolate as he murmured, "A mortal body, forging a myth... But how can a mortal forge a myth? What can a mortal possess?"
He suddenly looked up, his hair standing on end in anger, and took a step forward as if his life depended on it.
They just won't refund it.
Even mortals have a breath!
Suddenly, the purple "arc" completely dimmed, but a red "arc" lit up.
A bright red arc appeared in front of him.
Ouyang Rong's face turned ashen, his vigorous blood surging up in a morbid manner, and an aura of "a brave man drawing his sword in anger against the stronger" suddenly erupted with the step he took forward.
The craftsman's sword rang out, and joy and excitement filled the air.
He sensed it, he understood everything. It turned out that what the old swordsmith left behind in the world was a cauldron sword that could kill without needing spiritual energy!
The craftsman not only greedily devours the purple mist of merit, but also greedily devours the "unjust spirit" in the chests of all the hot-blooded people in the world!
Whether they are commoners, knights-errant, scholars, or anyone else, even those with weak constitutions... any poor scholar in the world, as long as they are full of energy, can be enraged and offer up their blood and spirit to deliver a sword with their mortal body!
Ouyang Rong, his blood boiling, ignored the blood slowly flowing from his mouth, nose, and eyes, and muttered to himself, "Today I hold the long spear in my hand, when will I bind the azure dragon?"
Now, he possesses the "Return to the Homeland," a unique skill of the poor scholar, and the "Craftsmanship" of the cauldron sword, which delights in the spirit of injustice. From this day forward, he will tell all Qi cultivators in the world, like Qiu Shenji, about his wrath as a poor scholar!
Ouyang Rong bled from all seven orifices, his eyes were unusually calm, but they held a firm determination that could make the world mourn in white, and he strode forward with his "craftsmanship"!
"Where...where did you get so angry?!"
Qiu Shenji retreated step by step, and his "momentum" declined with each step.
Ouyang Rong's momentum, however, followed closely behind, advancing step by step and climbing higher.
One rises as the other falls.
Some suffered repeated defeats, while others soared to great heights.
Finally, Ouyang Rong's fingers inch by inch inserted an arc deep into Qiu Shenji's brow. A great terror suddenly gripped his heart, and the man in hemp clothing shook his head frantically:
"No, impossible... You're an ant, how could you... impossible!"
“Qiu Shenji, your path is nothing more than this. Now see clearly…” This time, it was the young magistrate’s turn to look down at him and calmly say, “This is my path.”
Qiu Shenji stared wide-eyed and tilted his head. A dazzling sword light emanated from the "arc" mark on his forehead, vaporizing it. A tattered hemp robe slowly drifted to the floor.
As Ouyang Rong's fingertips slowly blurred and disappeared, he vigorously wiped the blood from his nose, eyes, and mouth with the back of his hand. He tilted his head back and tried to open his eyes to see the blue sky clearly. Suddenly, he felt the white clouds above his head spinning, and with a "bang," it was as if a jade mountain had collapsed.
Amidst the ruins, Xie Lingjiang knelt in a daze, clumsily crawling forward on her knees, carefully lifting her eldest brother, whose face was as white as paper and whose breath was barely perceptible, into her arms:
"The swordsman... Ninth-rank slayer... Sixth-rank..."
He didn't leave first; he came to find her.
The woman's face was covered in tears.
A friend recommended a book called "Unorthodox Beast Taming".
(End of this chapter)
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