IS Chapter 128

Chapter 128

Real Person Yuan Tai stood against the wind, hands forming a series of hand seals, his mind solely focused on controlling his sword.

This giant sword was the Dao Sect’s treasured artifact, named “Full and Waning”. One side of the blade was white, the other black, representing the sun and the moon respectively. Within the sword lay a trace of the yin and yang principles from the beginning of the world. It was not a sword of attack like those used by Sword Cultivators, but rather a sword of law capable of suppressing all kinds of Daoist techniques, making it most suitable for breaking through mountain protection formations.

The giant sword pierced the barrier of the great formation several times. Although each strike was blocked, after several attempts, the formation’s light began to dim. After all, Wei Sheng Xian was only a Tribulation Transcendence Dao cultivator. It was only a matter of time before a celestial artifact could break through the formation he had laid down.

Lin Zhu controlled the formation, which acted as a semi-circular light cover covering the Micro-Snow Palace’s mountain peaks. The formation’s power certainly couldn’t be evenly distributed across the entire barrier. He had to mobilize the formation’s strength to defend against the celestial sword’s attacks, resist the combined offensive of the others, and also be wary of sneak attacks from other directions. Fortunately, medicine cultivators needed to multitask when refining medicine; otherwise, it would be hard to manage everything.

With only him and this great formation, even with the abundant spiritual energy of Green Mountains for replenishment, it was unlikely he could hold out for long.

Lin Zhu’s expression remained calm and collected, putting on a show of strategic mastery.

In a fleeting moment of distraction, his eyes met those of the Grand Elder of the Hongmeng Sect. The Grand Elder’s aged, cloudy eyes flickered slightly, seemingly signaling him to look behind.

Lin Zhu, with suspicion, spared a wisp of his spiritual sense to look back.

He saw a figure in alternating red and white robes stepping through the mountain mists, leaping several yards with extreme agility, heading towards the highest point of the formation’s dome. Judging by the direction from which the figure came, it was from Feng Jiang’s medicine peak.

Good, at least he’s alive.

It was also fortunate that the Heavenly Dao was flawed now, without tribulation lightning for breaking through realms. Otherwise, throwing Feng Jiang into the crowd and letting the Composite Body lightning tribulation strike everyone would be wonderful.

Lin Zhu focused his mind and continued to control the formation. Meanwhile, within the crowd, a dark blade originally aimed at the Hongmeng Elder, after that exchange of glances, drifted away and headed towards the Martial Sect.

The celestial sword struck heavily again, the great formation’s barrier swaying several times, barely maintaining its dissipating light.

“Everyone, lend me a hand to shatter this formation in one fell swoop!” Yuan Tai shouted.

Streams of light poured into the celestial sword, preparing for a final, powerful strike. Just then, a figure leaped out of the mountain protection formation, standing at the very top of the glass-like light cover, looking directly at the Full and Waning Sword.

It was a stranger who looked to be twenty-one or two years old, not fully grown, with a tall and straight figure. Half of his long hair was braided into a scorpion tail at the back of his head. His red and white robes were heroic and neat, with some Southern Border flair. His eyes stared straight at the celestial sword, seemingly devoid of spirit.

The Nascent Soul Daoist, upon seeing the person’s features, immediately recalled a terrible memory and said, “This is their Fourth Palace Master, extremely venomous! Be careful of his poisons.”

Someone next to him said, “He doesn’t look like someone who uses poison. Nascent Soul, your eyes must be failing you.”

They saw the youth slowly draw out a five-foot Miao saber that shimmered with cold light, almost half his height. He certainly didn’t seem like someone who used poison or cast spells. The Nascent Soul Daoist stared intently again, and his demeanor was indeed indifferent and composed, very different from the eccentric temperament of Fourth Palace Master Feng Jiang.

“Anyway, they look exactly the same…” the Nascent Soul Daoist whispered in his own defense, but no one paid attention.

“What’s his realm?”

“Can’t tell. There’s no aura fluctuation on him. Is he hiding it?”

The celestial sword had finished charging and slammed towards the heart of the great formation like a meteor!

The Miao saber in the youth’s hand was also ready. His waist twisted like a startled swan, the blade moving with him, his figure and the silvery-white blade light leaping out together, meeting the celestial sword head-on with the force of thunder!

With a loud crash, the celestial sword’s momentum was forcefully stopped in mid-air by the youth and his Miao saber.

Yuan Tai’s face turned cold. This was a celestial artifact that only immortals could block, and this was a sword of law that could break through all laws. How could it be blocked head-on?

In a flash, the youth didn’t seem to be shaken back at all by the impact of the two weapons. In an instant, he unleashed another strike, slashing down at the celestial sword’s blade from above!

This earth-shattering slash collided head-on with the sword’s edge, forcing the celestial sword down a full yard. There were no spiritual energy fluctuations in the collision, and the Daoist aura on the celestial sword had no effect on the youth. It seemed to be all brute force. What kind of fighting style was this?

“Body cultivator?” The Hongmeng Elder muttered to himself, but then shook his head in denial. “Doesn’t seem like it.”

The Martial Sect Master also denied, “He’s not a body cultivator.”

The Artifact Sect Master stopped his attack, frowning as he looked at the figure, seemingly deep in thought.

In these few breaths of time, the celestial sword had recharged and attacked the great formation again, but the youth unleashed several slashes in a row, forcefully stopping the celestial sword’s momentum. With this defense, the great formation couldn’t be broken. Yuan Tai simply redirected the celestial sword’s attack, focusing on killing the Miao saber youth first.

No sooner said than done, in an instant, the youth had exchanged hundreds of moves with the giant sword. He himself didn’t use Daoist techniques, and the Daoist techniques on the sword were also useless against him. Fighting like this was like close-quarters combat between martial cultivators, every move a bloody, unrestrained clash of blades and flesh. The blade was for close combat, and the youth’s figure flipped and twisted, and for a time, one could actually see some of the true meaning of martial arts combat.

Yuan Tai shouted, “Join me in encircling and killing this fiend!”

“He’s not alive, find his weakness!” A voice said decisively from the crowd.

The Artifact Sect Master said, “Indeed, this youth is not alive, but is using his body as a weapon. There are no Daoist fluctuations in the sky because it’s actually two celestial artifacts fighting.”

Celestial artifacts fighting, no wonder they couldn’t see his cultivation realm.

Immediately, some people flew forward to join Yuan Tai in the battle, while others looked involuntarily at the person who had spoken first, vaguely remembering that he was a promising young elder from the Pill Sect named Wu Huan, and next to him was the Pill Sect Master.

The Pill Sect Master said, “Using a person as a weapon, his body and flesh have been refined as sturdy as a celestial artifact. Daoist techniques are ineffective against him, so we can only break him with force.”

“Using a person as a celestial artifact, what kind of evil method is this?”

“It reminds people of the Southern Border…”

The Pill Sect Master said calmly, “The Zhu family’s secret art in Heavenly Star Valley of the Southern Border can refine corpses into puppets and control them at will. If one is truly willing to use natural treasures for tempering, it can be like this.”

“It seems like it’s been ten years since we heard news of the Zhu family of the Southern Border.”

“Medicine and poison cultivation together are not considered orthodox sects to begin with. It seems that they had a problem with poison refining and were exterminated.”

“That’s also karma.”

“This youth is…”

The Pill Sect Master said in a deep voice, “Just a puppet, what’s there to fear even if he’s strong? He has no intelligence and is being controlled by someone. At most, he can only swing his blade according to instinct. Everyone, go forward together, adapt to the situation, find a weakness, and naturally capture him!”

This made a lot of sense. Just as everyone was picking up their magical artifacts again, preparing to encircle and kill the youth, they suddenly heard a soft chuckle.

“Senior Brother Wu Huan, old friends meeting, aren’t you going to say hello? Why are you already shouting to fight and kill?”

Following the sound, a red-clothed youth holding a bronze bell stood with his arms crossed on the tip of a flower tree next to the mountain gate. He was actually in his early twenties, not a youth anymore, but the one in the sky was dull-eyed, and the one on the tree was eccentric and strange. At first glance, both seemed to be ignorant of the ways of the world, and for no reason, they seemed a little younger again.

The Nascent Soul Daoist almost couldn’t catch his breath, “That… that’s their Fourth Palace Master.”

Feng Jiang wore a neat outfit with high collar and tight sleeves, and almost half of the bright red fabric was embroidered with large, silver-white spider patterns with fangs and claws, with scattered silver ornaments. It was made by Master Xia, and it looked very poisonous. The one in the sky was wearing the same thing, but the silver ornaments were fewer, and the patterns were arranged in a different position.

The two’s facial features were almost exactly the same.

Pill Sect Elder Wu Huan, being directly called by his name, looked at Feng Jiang with an uncertain expression and exhaled a breath, “Wu Yang, it really is you.”

He then said, “With your abilities, why do you want to associate with the Micro-Snow Palace? Don’t go astray again.”

“Okay.” Feng Jiang’s eyebrows and eyes curved, and he smiled as he sent out two streams of true energy, pushing two white jade bottles to Elder Wu Huan.

“Ten years ago, my family was wiped out, people died, and the spiritual meridians collapsed. The adopted son whom my parents saved, my adopted brother, elder brother, and Eldest Senior Brother learned enough of the Zhu family’s inheritance and disappeared. I didn’t dare to believe some clues; I thought he was dead too.”

“Two years later, I heard that he had become an elder in the Pill Sect of Upper Purity Mountain. Two years later, I saw the Zhu family’s secret techniques in the elixirs that flowed out of the Upper Purity Pill Sect. Two years later, I used ten elixir formulas to buy the secrets of the Hundred-Hearing Pavilion, which said that Senior Brother Wu Huan actually knew the Sect Master of the Upper Purity Pill Sect.”

“However, people die like a lamp extinguished, and I don’t care anymore. Senior brother, you brought me and Wu You up from childhood. We have the friendship of learning skills, practicing exercises, and being punished together. Today, I am no longer Zhu Wu Yang, and I have changed my name to Feng Jiang. At that time, I was always bad to Wu You, but Wu You was always good to me. Now we have made up a long time ago, and Wu You has also followed me and changed his name to Feng Huai. Senior brother, since the past has dissipated with the wind, why not let us laugh away our grievances today!” As Feng Jiang spoke, he pointed to the sky, actually vowing to the heavens with a heart demon oath.

“These are two bottles of medicine, colorless and tasteless, both of which I concocted.” Feng Jiang said, “One of them is extremely poisonous, it can injure a true dragon and kill a Tribulation Transcendence cultivator. After taking it, there is no cure. The other bottle is neither poisonous nor useful. Senior brother, if you drink it, it will be like drinking water, and nothing will happen.”

“Senior Brother Wu Huan, I’ll give you a stick of incense’s time to choose one of these two bottles and drink it in front of me. If you drink the poison, I’ll consider it your lack of skill, and I’ll have my revenge. I won’t fight against the Upper Purity Mountain anymore, and I’ll also call my brother back and not let him take action.”

“And if you choose the non-poisonous bottle and drink it and nothing happens, then I’ll admit defeat. I won’t look for your trouble again, and likewise, I’ll call back Ah Huai and not let him act again, how about it?”

A faint rumble of thunder sounded in the sky. This oath had been made, and the oath-taker would definitely do what he said.

Elder Wu Huan looked at the two translucent white jade bottles in front of him. One bottle contained a bright red, thick liquid, and the other was clear and blue. The texture, medicinal materials, and methods were all different.

A stick of incense’s time passed in an instant.

“Fourth Palace Master Feng, although you and I knew each other in childhood, what you say is all unfounded and slanderous.” Wu Huan said, “You have always been untrustworthy and accustomed to deceiving others. I’m afraid that both of these bottles are poisonous. I won’t drink them.”

“Then you don’t dare to accept my bet? Senior brother, I have made a heart demon oath and didn’t lie.” Feng Jiang smiled, and both bottles returned to his hands. Wu Huan didn’t drink, so the heart demon oath was naturally invalid. He picked up the red bottle, raised his head in full view, and drank it, then picked up the blue bottle and drank it in one gulp as well. After drinking, he threw both bottles to the ground.

Lin Zhu was shocked: “You—”

But Feng Jiang’s expression was normal, and nothing happened at all.

He stared at Wu Huan: “Actually, one bottle was indeed non-toxic, and drinking it wouldn’t do anything. And the other bottle was indeed extremely poisonous to Tribulation Transcendence cultivators, but even if a Composite Body cultivator drank it, nothing would happen. You can also see a little bit of the clues, but Wu Huan, you just don’t dare to choose, dare not admit it, you dare not take risks, you dare not die! Wu Huan, that’s all you’ll ever be, in the end, you’ll never be as good as me and Ah Huai!”

Elder Wu Huan’s face was extremely ugly.

While they were deadlocked here, the battle situation in the sky had changed again and again. The few people who went to help were poorly coordinated and were all knocked down by the Miao saber, failing to do anything to the opponent. What a high grade the celestial sword was. Real Person Yuan Tai had to expend true essence to drive it, but this puppet youth, comparable to a celestial artifact, became more and more powerful in battle. His saber techniques were becoming more and more divine, and each strike was more powerful than the last. Yuan Tai was shaken by the backlash and injured his internal organs. With a slight lapse in concentration, the celestial sword was lifted and repelled by the youth, flying back nearly a hundred yards and plunging into the ground in front of Yuan Tai with a “thud”, with more than half of the sword’s body submerged in the ground.

“Ah Huai!” Feng Jiang said.

At the top of the mountain protection formation, the saber-wielding youth who looked exactly like him lightly landed behind him. Only at this time could it be seen that the younger brother named Feng Huai was half a head taller than Feng Jiang.

“Ah Huai, look at these people of the immortal path. In fact, none of them dare to do anything, but I dare, and you dare too. Look at our Elder Brother Wu Huan, I always thought he was very powerful when we were young, but that’s all he is. Do you think that each sect has people like him? Sect leaders, do you think your sect has any? Will your disciples be like that? And are you yourself like that?”

Yuan Tai adjusted his breathing slightly, barely swallowing the blood in his throat: “You are originally a heretical demon! Stop spreading rumors!”

“Then you can break into the mountain protection formation and shut me up. Wu Huan is not as good as me, your attainments in formation methods can’t be worse than Wei Sheng Xian’s, right?” Feng Jiang raised his hand and pointed at the people of Upper Purity Mountain one by one behind the mountain protection formation.

“Pill Sect Master, you can’t be worse than me either, right? Artifact Sect Master, can you make the magic robes I’m wearing? Oh, and the Sword Sect Master is also here. When it comes to swordsmanship, you can’t beat our Second Palace Master Ye, right?”

Finally, his finger pointed in the direction of Yuan Tai from afar.

“Ah Huai, look, the trouble is not with you and me, the trouble is with them.”

“Ah Huai, kill him.”