Niao Ni
Chapter 622 Shadow Follows My Body
His sudden halt and footfall caused one of the masters who had been building momentum for so long to finally lose control of the sword intent in his palm, breaking through the air, missing its target, landing in front of him, revealing his figure.
As one sword intent missed its mark, the following several fierce sword intents arose in response. Although they had not reached the realm of perfection, they were still like venomous snakes, assailing Fan Xian's body from three directions.
Fan Xian's left temple felt like it had been pricked with a needle, and his right eye blinked, feeling slightly sore. At the same time, he felt the hairs on his right arm begin to stand on end, one by one.
He felt danger, the most recent and coldest danger since the assassination attempt by the Qin family in the valley and Yan Xiaoyi's arrow pointed by the divine bow.
Five sword intents, except for the person who struck the plum blossom first, were slightly weaker. The remaining four were all first-rate masters. At first, it was just a calm, dark night in the Mei Pu courtyard, but suddenly, these few terrifying sword intents were revealed, vaguely controlling the few directions in which Fan Xian might escape.
Just as Fan Xian had lamented before, Dongyi City, this strange, ghostly place, was truly a place where masters were as common as clouds. In such an ordinary night, four Rank Nine experts actually appeared!
Such an ambush was truly frightening, but Fan Xian still lowered his head, cast down his eyes, and sensed the sword intents coming from three directions around him, without moving a single inch.
Because the five swords did not move.
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The sword intent was initially fierce and exuberant, but quickly returned to neutrality and peace. However, within this sense of neutrality and peace, there was a resolute momentum, like several enraged venomous snakes, raising their slender bodies, slightly arching backward, staring at the prey in the arena, ready to deliver a fatal blow at any moment.
A hissing sound gradually rang in the air, as if some invisible force was tearing apart the empty space, forming countless lines of sword energy in the air, dividing the space in front of the Mei Pu courtyard into countless small grids. If anyone dared to step into these grids, they would inevitably be cut into countless bloody pieces by these fierce sword energies.
It seemed as if they were only blocking someone from entering Wang Shisanlang's residence, but Fan Xian did not think so. He sensed a hidden but unreleased killing intent.
The reason why these swords had been building momentum without releasing it was because of Fan Xian's initial miraculous step.
This step happened to land on the edge of the encirclement, luring out the strike that cut the plum blossom and causing a slight pause in this sword energy formation that had been prepared for so long.
These lurking Rank Nine swordsmen from the Jianlu were clearly unaware of who had come, but they could see the opponent's level of skill from this one step, knowing that if they rashly attacked, they would inevitably leave the opponent with a slight opportunity.
Although this loophole or opportunity was not great, since four Rank Nine experts were attacking simultaneously, they had no intention of letting the person return alive, because the opponent could not be Ye Liuyun from Nanqing or that unfathomable Emperor.
Among the five swords, one slightly weaker one fell into silence, while the remaining four remained hidden in the darkness, slowly shifting their angles, aiming at any direction Fan Xian might escape.
They would not move first, because the first to move must have a direction, and having a direction meant having a weakness. This weakness was precisely what Fan Xian was waiting to exploit.
So Fan Xian did not move either.
However, being surrounded and attacked by four Rank Nine experts was truly a rare sight in the world. Even Fan Xian, as strong as he was, felt a chill. In this life, he had faced many masters, but he had never even imagined fighting four Rank Nine experts at the same time. No matter how arrogant and conceited he was, he would not dare to expect that he could defeat four Rank Nine experts simultaneously.
Although these four Rank Nine experts did not include top Rank Nine experts like Yun Zhilan, Lang Tao, or Haitang Duoduo.
Fan Xian stared at the broken plum branch in front of his feet, his eyelids slightly lowered, appearing calm. But in reality, he was already feeling extremely uncomfortable from the omnipresent sword energy and the overwhelming pressure. His entire spirit had been pushed to the breaking point, and he was slowly beginning to sweat.
Countless cold sweats trickled down his back, while the sweat on his forehead slid down toward his eyebrows and the bridge of his nose, following the angle of his body's inclination.
A drop of sweat seeped into his eye, slightly stinging and irritating, causing him to blink.
And the surrounding masters still did not move, because they knew that the master they had surrounded was about to reach his limit and would soon be forced to move first.
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As soon as Fan Xian took that step, he knew that he had gained an opportunity to escape. He just didn't know how Wang Shisanlang was doing in the courtyard, so he stopped and didn't risk forcing his way backward.
But he hadn't expected the masters ambushing outside the Mei Pu courtyard to be so powerful, or that Yun Zhilan could command so many Jianlu disciples. So he endured the hardship.
When that drop of sweat entered his eye, he abandoned the idea of entering the courtyard. He closed his eyes, let out a clear whistle, exhaling all the turbid air from his body. The major and minor Zhoutian cycles wildly circulated, relying on the purest, most domineering true qi in his body to suddenly crash backward!
In the darkness, dust billowed up. With a loud bang, Fan Xian disappeared, transforming into a gust of wind and rapidly rushing backward.
If the assassins today were anyone else, they probably wouldn't have been able to react to Fan Xian's extremely domineering true qi circulation speed and would have had to watch helplessly as he violently left.
But today's assassins were all Rank Nine experts, damn Rank Nine experts.
So as Fan Xian closed his eyes, a sword energy came lightly from the right, the tip of the sword gleaming with cold light, directly piercing his vulnerable eyelids.
Fan Xian exhaled a breath onto the sword energy. The sword energy wavered slightly but continued without pause, stabbing downward toward his fragile throat, the sword's momentum continuing without hesitation. This was precisely the essence of Sigu Jian's sword intent!
Fan Xian's body trembled violently, turning into a puff of smoke, forcibly escaping the damage of this sword intent with his powerful speed. However, almost at the same time, an ordinary steel sword appeared mysteriously in his path of retreat!
Because Fan Xian was retreating so quickly, this Jianlu master was unable to stop his figure. But the sword could! This ordinary steel sword was released from his hand, flying perfectly beneath the thunderous figure, slicing horizontally at Fan Xian's left calf.
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Fan Xian's speed could not decrease. Once his speed slowed down even slightly, he would be surrounded by these four Rank Nine experts, and he would never have another chance to break through in a one-on-one situation.
However, the sword techniques of the Dongyi City Jianlu disciples were indeed miraculous. In such a high-speed combat situation, the released sword could still accurately and ruthlessly slice at his calf, making it seem as if Fan Xian was foolishly crashing his calf into the opponent's sword.
Fan Xian did not decelerate, nor could he decelerate. Contrary to everyone's expectations, he forcibly twisted his body in mid-air, but the angle of the twist was too small to have any effect. In the blink of an eye, his calf slammed hard against the sharp blade!
With a crisp clang, no one could describe their emotions when they saw this scene, because Fan Xian's leg... did not break!
On the contrary, the mysterious blocking sword seemed to have been struck by a heavy hammer, falling to the ground in despair, rolling uncontrollably.
Fan Xian's calf was struck by a heavy blow, and his entire body rolled in the air, turning to face the darkness of the Mei Pu courtyard, the only gap for escape hidden in the darkness.
Directly in front of the gap was an old plum tree, without flowers, only withered old branches, gnarled and stretched out, twisting and shaking endlessly.
At this moment, Fan Xian was rushing toward this old plum tree at the fastest speed. As long as he passed through this gap, he could safely enter the darkness.
However, he had ultimately underestimated the methods of the Jianlu experts. Two of the four Rank Nine swords had already been released, while the other two had silently calculated Fan Xian's retreat route and arrived behind the old plum tree, in the darkness.
As Fan Xian rushed toward the old plum tree at high speed, his eyes narrowed slightly, and a cold glint appeared in his pupils. He looked at the two men in green robes behind the tree and the swords in their hands, slowly piercing the trunk of the old plum tree.
Slowly piercing, it was just an illusion of time. In such a high-speed operation, it was extremely difficult for human power to reverse the situation.
The two swords seemed to be moving forward without hesitation, foolishly piercing the air behind the old plum tree, but Fan Xian knew that these two swords were extremely powerful and had accurately found the point.
The point where the sword tips would meet Fan Xian's body.
With Fan Xian's domineering technique at this moment, forcibly increasing his speed, he would inevitably have the closest contact with these two sword tips as he rushed toward the old plum tree without hesitation.
He thought for a long time, but it was actually just a fleeting moment.
The hard trunk of the old plum tree stood in front of Fan Xian, making contact, but it became soft, like a steel bar turning into a gentle touch.
Fan Xian's momentum crashed into the old plum tree, and the force of his body pressing on the tree pushed it forward, getting closer and closer to the sword tips that seemed to have found the weak spot in the Mei Pu courtyard.
No one could change this. In the next moment, Fan Xian should be pierced through the chest by these two miraculous swords.
But the old plum tree changed everything.
The trunk of the plum tree slowly deformed, and the bark behind it had been shattered into pieces by the sword intents that were close at hand, but it... did not break, did not shatter, still blocking Fan Xian's body behind itself, seemingly not wanting Fan Xian to be harmed in any way!
The eyes of the two Jianlu disciples in green robes suddenly lit up, as if they had seen a scene they had never seen in their lives.
The plum tree bent to the extreme that the wood could bend, but it still did not break.
Even though Fan Xian's domineering momentum was so violent, why hadn't this plum tree broken yet?
The sword tips gently touched the trunk of the old plum tree. With two soft sounds, the sword intent flowed up the wood, directly stabbing at Fan Xian's heart meridians.
However, Fan Xian's domineering momentum was long gone at this moment. He was like a leaf, attached to the plum tree, as if he himself were a part of this old plum tree!
The plum tree sprang back miraculously, bringing Fan Xian, who was like a leaf, back with it, just managing to avoid the two swords that the Jianlu disciples in green robes had been brewing for so long!
With countless rustling sounds of shattering, the old plum tree was transformed into a sky full of splinters under the assault of the two green steel swords.
And Fan Xian had already turned back into a gray dragon amidst the splinters, flying back in the direction he had come from with extreme violence. Like lightning, he swept past the Jianlu masters behind him, who were completely unprepared, and crashed hard into the wooden door of the courtyard, rushing into the house.
The two Jianlu masters in green robes behind the remains of the old plum tree exchanged glances, a strange light flashing in their calm eyes. They knew who the person was. Amidst their hidden excitement, they couldn't help but feel a strong sense of admiration.
Initially domineering like a raging thunder, then gentle as a breeze when it touched the old plum tree and encountered the hidden swords, lightly caressing the tree trunk, and taking advantage of the momentum to return, avoiding the two Jianlu swords with exquisite skill. In an instant, the gentle breeze turned into a violent hurricane, unexpectedly crashing back into Wang Shisanlang's residence in the courtyard.
The ambushing Jianlu experts all thought that Fan Xian was trying to escape. No one had expected that his retreat, which he had been building up for so long, was actually an ambush for the final breakthrough into the courtyard. No one had expected that Fan Xian would still have the courage not to retreat in the face of the ambush by four Rank Nine Jianlu experts.
Making such complex calculations in such a short period of time, even including the old plum tree on the retreat route and the possible responses of the Jianlu masters, Fan Xian's simple retreat and advance contained countless life-and-death experiences and determination in dealing with enemies.
But what surprised and admired the Jianlu masters the most was Fan Xian's ability to freely control and change the nature of his true qi. If Fan Xian did not possess such a miraculous ability, he would have broken through the plum tree and fallen into the ambush of the two swords when he first touched the old plum tree.
In this world, there has never been anyone who could simultaneously cultivate two true qi methods of completely different natures, yet each being the most top-notch in their respective fields, let alone someone like Fan Xian, who could switch between domineering techniques and natural methods so naturally and easily.
That was why the two men in green robes exchanged glances, seeing the fear and admiration in each other's eyes. In this world, only that Master Fan from the South had simultaneously cultivated the domineering true energy art of Qing Emperor's lineage and the natural method of the Heavenly One Path of Northern Qi.
The masters in Dongyi City had certainly studied this information for a long time, but even they had not expected that Fan Xian could simultaneously use these two true qi methods in an instant, thereby exceeding the expectations of all the experts and finding the gap with exquisite skill.
In this world, there is only one freak who possesses both the major and minor Zhoutian cycles: Fan Xian.
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Fan Xian crashed into the courtyard, rushed into the back room, and then saw Wang Shisanlang sitting cross-legged on the bed, his face sallow, his eyes sunken and lifeless. It was obvious that Wang Shisanlang had been poisoned. For some reason, seeing this scene made Fan Xian feel very angry.
Like a gust of wind, he rushed to the bedside and flicked his right finger at the woman who was holding a sword against Wang Shisanlang's throat.
Fan Xian had rushed in too quickly. The woman obviously hadn't expected that the simultaneous attack of her five martial uncles wouldn't kill the enemy, but instead allowed him to rush into the inner courtyard. Her face was filled with shock and incomprehension, and she couldn't react at all. She watched helplessly as Fan Xian's extremely fierce finger wind struck her vital point, about to cause her death.
But at this moment, a look of pain flashed in Wang Shisanlang's eyes.
Fan Xian's expression did not change, but he felt a slight sadness in his heart. He slightly retracted his finger, and the finger force deviated slightly, striking the left chest of the Jianlu female disciple.
The female disciple groaned and fell onto the bed, falling into a coma.
There was no time to say anything at this moment. Four Rank Nine experts from the Jianlu were still chasing after him from outside. Fan Xian didn't ask Wang Shisanlang why he had been poisoned. He just silently picked him up on his back and stomped hard on the bed with the tip of his toe.
With a crash, the carved wooden bed collapsed, and Fan Xian's figure rushed back out of the courtyard in the direction he had come from! With a retreat, an advance, and then another retreat, Fan Xian's three consecutive choices of direction were very strange, completely contrary to common sense, and completely exceeding the expectations of the Jianlu masters.
Seeing Fan Xian enter the courtyard, the four Rank Nine Jianlu experts felt a complex mixture of fear, respect, anger, and alarm in their hearts. They immediately calculated that the opponent would definitely take their younger brother and break through the wall behind the courtyard to escape. They never expected that Fan Xian would be so foolish as to carry Wang Shisanlang on his back and rush out from the direction of the main gate!
At this time, three Rank Nine experts and that Rank Eight disciple had already flown up like large birds, rushing toward the courtyard, hoping to intercept Fan Xian's path in the shortest possible time.
However, as they were in mid-air, they were extremely shocked to discover that Fan Xian was on the ground, passing them by, and rushing toward the Mei Pu courtyard.
The green-robed swordsman, whose swordsmanship was extremely fierce, was greatly shocked by the sight. He let out a loud whistle and forcibly turned back in the night sky, relying on his extremely high cultivation. Kicking at the bright moon in the sky, his entire body drew an arc in the air, directly stabbing at Fan Xian's back, but because he was worried that Fan Xian was carrying Wang Shisanlang on his back, the tip of his sword was aimed at the back of Fan Xian's head.
Kicking the moon and stabbing, arriving from mid-air, this sword was so dashing and casual!
And outside the main gate of the courtyard, another green-robed swordsman, holding a sword with both hands, had an extremely cautious expression on his face. With his elbows slightly bent, he stabbed at Fan Xian's face head-on with a proper sword stance.
It was still these two green-robed swordsmen, still Fan Xian, but now it had turned into the two green-robed swordsmen attacking Fan Xian from the front and back.
Fan Xian lowered his head and rushed forward, seemingly not caring about the moon-kicking sword stabbing at the back of his head. He glared fiercely at the green-robed swordsman at the gate with his eyes, seemingly wanting to stab the other party to death with his gaze.
At this moment, a sudden change occurred.
Fan Xian's footsteps struck the ground like iron hammers. With each step, smoke and dust rose up. In just a short while, smoke filled the front of the courtyard Mei Pu, enveloping his figure and the body of the green-robed swordsman in front of the gate.
The green-robed swordsman flying from behind suddenly noticed that Fan Xian's body had become somewhat vague, but his mind was not disturbed in the slightest. He still flew the sword to stab, but suddenly felt his left eyelid jump extremely strangely, seeming to feel some extremely frightening sensation.
There was an extra shadow under the moonlight. Was it his own shadow?
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Fan Xian rushed into the smoke, a black dagger already in his hand, sword light scattering everywhere. The green-robed swordsman in the smoke also had a sword in his hand, sword light scattering everywhere. Each cared only for the front and not the back, exerting their sword intent to the extreme. A look of panic suddenly flashed in the eyes of the green-robed swordsman. A deep cut was made in the weak spot under his left armpit. The person didn't know why, but his mind was disturbed, actually allowing Fan Xian to rush past!
And a shadow passed through the air, another green-robed swordsman shrieked, forcibly withdrew his moon-kicking stance, and slashed horizontally, but it completely cut through the air. Immediately afterward, he felt a chill in his left chest, his true qi immediately leaked out, and severe pain arose, causing him to fall to the ground!
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When the smoke cleared, the four Rank Nine disciples of the Jianlu met in front of the Mei Pu courtyard, two injured, two standing there stunned, looking at the empty open space in front of the courtyard, not knowing what to say for a long time.
No one had expected that the two most proud Rank Nine swordsmen of the Jianlu would actually be injured by the other party's sword in just one move. They believed that even if senior brother Yun Zhilan personally took action, or if junior brother had not been poisoned, it would not be possible to injure them with just one sword.
"What's going on?" One Rank Nine expert from the Jianlu looked at the third and fourth martial brothers, who were sitting on the ground, with a face full of shock.
The two men in green robes were precisely the third and fourth martial brothers, the most skilled in the Jianlu. The Jianlu had a total of thirteen disciples, but twelve of them were Rank Nine, with the third and fourth martial brothers being the best among them. They couldn't believe what they were seeing.
The third disciple of the Jianlu had a small cut made in his left armpit by Fan Xian's black dagger, which was not a big deal, but his mind had been scattered, allowing Fan Xian to carry Shisanlang and escape lightly. And the fourth disciple was injured more seriously, having been stabbed in the chest by a sword, fortunately not hitting the heart, but the blood was flowing horizontally, looking very terrifying.
The two green-robed swordsmen exchanged glances again. At this time, the fear in their eyes was no longer admiration for Fan Xian's strength, but real terror.
"The smoke is poisonous."
They had another big secret that they hadn't said. The little Master Fan from the South was a master of poison, which the Dongyi City faction knew very well. Even if Fan Xian's trick of spreading poison by stopping was miraculous, the third disciple of the Jianlu shouldn't have been defeated by the other party in one move. And the fourth disciple of the Jianlu, who had glimpsed the essence of Sigu Jian by kicking the moon and stabbing, shouldn't have been injured like this, even though he had been suddenly attacked by the assassin hidden in the shadows beside the courtyard gate.
The two green-robed swordsmen slowly lowered their heads, digesting the shock in their hearts, knowing that this matter was really too big and must be reported to their master. The defeat in one move was not entirely due to strength, but rather due to the shock to their minds caused by that sword, that shadow!
Fan Xian from the South actually knew where the weakness of Sigu Jian's sudden departure was! The assassin hidden in the darkness was actually using the most orthodox Sigu Jian, and the sword intent was even fiercer and more bloodthirsty!
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(Originally, this section should have been only half a chapter long, but I don't know why, maybe it's because Qing Yu Nian hasn't written a fight for a long time. I wrote it myself and got more and more excited. After finishing the fight, I calculated and hey, I actually wrote more than 6,000 words... scratching my head, it seems I'm also a violent person? Regarding book reviews, let me explain again, I'm not lazy so I don't read book reviews. In fact, in the year after I started writing, I basically read every book review, but later I was really afraid to read them. I'm not very fond of listening to unpleasant advice and bitter medicine, mainly because I'm afraid of affecting the mood of writing, please understand. Regarding the group issue, I'll post several group numbers tomorrow, and everyone can go to the club to hang out when you have time. There should also be group numbers in it. The club is Qing Yu Nian Cat Fans, which is easy to find... rubbing my belly, time for dinner, I'm a little hungry after the fight.)