Zhou Ruoxi, who was channeling her energy to heal her injuries, was suddenly struck by a small stone. Her autumn eyes snapped open, and she saw that it was Wan Yunting who had thrown it. He gave her a look, then stood up and walked away into the distance.
Zhou Ruoxi stopped her cultivation. She looked at her senior sister Lu Shuang and He Shanyue, who were sleeping against the stone wall. She also saw Qi Xiu and Chong Ling'er, Zhang Xian'er and Zhao Xuyan, who were all asleep. Only then did she carefully get up and follow Wan Yunting.
Ji Ruxue, who was resting against another stone wall, opened her alluring eyes slightly. She watched Wan Yunting and Zhou Ruoxi leave, a faint smile curving her lips. She then closed her eyes to rest again, still holding the sandalwood box beside her.
“Yunting, are you really going to part ways with us after dawn?”
Following Wan Yunting to the other side of the hill, Zhou Ruoxi looked back to see if anyone was following before turning to the man and saying, “Also, are you really going to take the Snow Mountain Sect’s martial arts manual?”
Wan Yunting nodded and said, “I plan to go back to the valley and go into seclusion for a while. As for the Snow Mountain Sect’s martial arts manual, I’ll find an opportunity to hand it over to the various sects after I’ve finished learning it.”
Zhou Ruoxi raised an eyebrow, her autumn eyes looking at him with concern, and said, “But doing this will only make the relationship between you and the various sects more tense.”
Wan Yunting reached out and tidied Zhou Ruoxi’s slightly disheveled hair, smiling. “In the eyes of those people, I’m already an evil heretic, so I don’t care about these things. The Snow Mountain Sect’s martial arts manual was enough for the Kunlun Sect to attack you. If I don’t learn it, wouldn’t this trip be in vain?”
Seeing that the man had made up his mind, Zhou Ruoxi could only accept it helplessly, feeling upset in her heart because she couldn’t help him.
“Alright, you don’t have to worry. Even if I go out, those various sects won’t dare to do anything to me. At most, they’ll just condemn me. After I learn all the Snow Mountain Sect’s skills, I’ll find an opportunity to give them the manual then.”
Wan Yunting took Zhou Ruoxi’s delicate hand and smiled gently, “You don’t have to blame yourself. Now you are the sect leader of the Emei Sect. It’s best if our relationship is not known to them, otherwise it will be detrimental to you.”
Zhou Ruoxi gazed at him with her autumn eyes. “Don’t you blame me?”
“Why would I blame you?”
Wan Yunting stroked her cheek and smiled, “When you’ve stabilized the Emei Sect, I’ll announce to the entire martial world that you, Zhou Ruoxi, are my woman.”
These words made Zhou Ruoxi’s pretty face blush. She rolled her eyes at him and shook her head, “I don’t care about those things. I’m just worried about how you will face the various sects and the Heavenly Eye Divine Religion in the future!”
Wan Yunting released her delicate hand, turned around, and said, “As long as the Divine Lord of the Heavenly Eye Divine Religion doesn’t set foot in China, I’ll be fine. But you don’t have to worry. After I come out of seclusion, I’ll go straight back to the capital. Under the Emperor’s watch, the Heavenly Eye Divine Religion’s hands wouldn’t dare to openly extend in to harm me.”
Zhou Ruoxi nodded and was about to say something more when…
“Ah…!”
Suddenly, a scream came from over there. Wan Yunting and Zhou Ruoxi’s faces changed. They exchanged a look and immediately hurried back.
They saw Zhang Xian’er and Zi Qing, Qi Xiu and Chong Ling’er, Zhao Xuyan and Lu Shuang, along with He Shanyue, standing up. They were all looking warily at the suddenly appearing sect leader of the Divine Sword Sect, Yan Changjian, as well as the sect leader of the Kongtong Sect, Lu Chen, and the young sword attendant and Meng Yan, and a young disciple named Zhang Zhou from the Kongtong Sect. They were confronting Ji Ruxue.
“Are you the Divine Mother of the Divine Serpent Tribe?”
Yan Changjian held his broad sword and pointed it at the box in Ji Ruxue’s hand containing the Snow Mountain Sect’s martial arts manual. “Hand over the manual, and I’ll spare your life.”
Ji Ruxue held the box in her left hand and her red snake whip in her right. Her sharp, alluring eyes fixed on Yan Changjian and the others. Her fiery red lips let out a chuckle, and she didn’t bother to speak.
“I wonder who it is, so it’s Sect Leader Yan!”
Wan Yunting and Zhou Ruoxi returned, not expecting Yan Changjian and Lu Chenzi to be back. It was clear they were after the Snow Mountain Sect’s martial arts manual.
“Wan Yunting, I advise you to obediently hand over the Snow Mountain Sect’s martial arts manual, or I’ll make sure you remain in this godforsaken Death Valley forever!” Yan Changjian shifted his broad sword to point at the returning Wan Yunting, sneering.
Wan Yunting smiled and said, “Sect Leader Yan, are you so confident that you can kill all of us?”
“Wan Yunting, you’d better obey Sect Leader Yan. With your few youngsters, you’re no match for Sect Leader Yan.” Lu Chenzi also jumped out, now completely relying on Yan Changjian.
Wan Yunting looked at him and smiled, “I really don’t know what benefits you got from the Heavenly Eye Divine Religion, Sect Leader Lu, that you’re willing to be their dog?”
“You…!”
This statement made Lu Chenzi’s eyes widen, and his face darken.
Qi Xiu and Chong Ling’er, Zhang Xian’er and Zhao Xuyan, Zhou Ruoxi and Lu Shuang, all stared intently at Lu Chenzi. He roared, “Tonight, none of you will leave alive!”
“I knew it.”
Wan Yunting glanced at them dismissively and smiled, “Whether it’s the Snow Mountain Sect’s martial arts manual, you’ll come to kill us just to prevent us from exposing your relationship with the Heavenly Eye Divine Religion!”
Qi Xiu and Chong Ling’er, Zhao Xuyan, and the others looked at Yan Changjian and Lu Chenzi coldly. As long as they could survive and leave, they would definitely expose the unspeakable relationship between the Divine Sword Sect and the Kongtong Sect, as well as the Cang Sect and the Heavenly Eye Divine Religion…
“Since that’s the case, let’s not waste any more words.”
Yan Changjian’s eyes turned cold. He rotated his broad sword and, before he could finish speaking, lunged forward. His broad sword stabbed directly at Ji Ruxue…
How could Ji Ruxue stand by and do nothing? She swung her red snake whip to the right. The triangular tongue struck Yan Changjian’s incoming broad sword with a clang, but it only deflected it slightly. Yan Changjian snorted and simply leaped into the air, his broad sword slashing towards Ji Ruxue’s head…
Clang!
The sword energy was sharp, and the speed was extremely fast, giving Ji Ruxue no time to retract her whip and counterattack. His broad sword had already struck down…
Clang!
At the critical moment, Wan Yunting rushed forward with his Gentleman’s Sword, blocking Yan Changjian’s sword strike for Ji Ruxue, and then spun around, punching towards Yan Changjian’s chest with a fluid motion…
Crack!
Yan Changjian reacted quickly, using his left hand to form a palm and block his chest, receiving Wan Yunting’s powerful punch, which made him retreat several steps. He stopped and glared fiercely at Wan Yunting, snorting, “Kid, I’ll let you experience my Divine Sword Sect’s Thirteen Sword Techniques now…”
Wan Yunting stood in front of Ji Ruxue and said to him, “I’ve already seen your Divine Sword Sect’s Thirteen Sword Techniques!”
These words made Yan Changjian’s eyes narrow. He immediately thought of his father’s visit to the Wuliang Daoist temple. Could this brat have met his father?
No, if his father had really met him at the Wuliang Daoist temple, would Wan Yunting still be alive?
“Yan Donghai visited our Wuliang Daoist temple a few days ago!” Wan Yunting stared at Yan Changjian with cold eyes, a smile on his lips.
Zhou Ruoxi, Zhang Xian’er, Qi Xiu and Chong Ling’er beside them were surprised, naturally unaware of this.
Yan Changjian frowned, his sharp eyes fixed on Wan Yunting, a bad premonition inexplicably growing in his heart. He asked, “Did you really see my father?”
Wan Yunting held the Gentleman’s Sword, his sharp eyes meeting Yan Changjian’s sharp eyes. “I have some bad news for you. Your father is already dead!”
“What? That’s impossible!”
Upon hearing this news, Yan Changjian cried out in disbelief, his heart shaken. He was the first to refuse to believe it.
Lu Chenzi, Meng Yan, Zhang Zhou, and the others, as well as Qi Xiu and Chong Ling’er, Zhou Ruoxi and Lu Shuang, were all astonished and looked at Wan Yunting in disbelief. Even the Kunlun Sect’s Third Elder Guan Yongwu and Fifth Elder Ren Bo, who were tied up and sitting on the ground behind them, were full of shock.
After all, Yan Donghai had challenged various sects when he founded the Divine Sword Sect. Everyone knew that his self-created sword techniques were peerless, and he had defeated many powerful cultivators from various sects.
How could such a legendary figure have lived in seclusion for decades, only to come out and die at the Wuliang Daoist temple?
“Kid, you’re talking nonsense! My father’s martial arts realm has reached the peak of perfection. With just those people from your Wuliang Daoist temple, you couldn’t possibly kill my father?” Yan Changjian’s eyes glared furiously, his broad sword pointing at Wan Yunting, unwilling to believe it.
Wan Yunting smiled and said, “Did you forget about that flood dragon?”
As soon as these words were spoken, Yan Changjian’s heart trembled violently. The bad premonition grew stronger. He knew that the black flood dragon with dragon horns that appeared today was brought by Wan Yunting.
With that flood dragon’s terrifying combat power, his father was likely no match for it.
Could this guy really not be lying to him? Did his father really die at the Wuliang Daoist temple, otherwise how could this kid still be alive and appear in Death Valley?
“Your father was eaten by it!” Wan Yunting said.
“Ah, impossible! You must be lying to me…!”
Yan Changjian’s emotions instantly went out of control and he roared, waving his broad sword and pointing it at Wan Yunting, “No one in the entire martial world can match my father’s martial arts! He couldn’t possibly have died! Kid, you’re deliberately tricking me to disrupt my mind! I’ll kill you right now…”
Roaring, Yan Changjian swung his sword and attacked. Wan Yunting immediately met the challenge with his Gentleman’s Sword, laughing as he did so, “What a pity for your father, Yan Donghai. He created peerless sword techniques, and his reputation deterred the entire martial world. It’s a shame he ended up with no bones left, becoming snake dung, hehe, truly lamentable…”
“Ah, kid, you dare to talk nonsense again! I’ll tear your mouth off…”
Yan Changjian, whose emotions were out of control, became furious. He swung his broad sword with grand, sweeping movements and fought fiercely with Wan Yunting. Although he was very reluctant to believe that his father had been eaten by that black flood dragon, Yan Changjian’s mind was in chaos. He also knew that his father might have really met with an accident.
Facing Yan Changjian’s furious emotions, his broad sword strikes became heavier with each one. Wan Yunting was forced to retreat repeatedly, appearing quite disheveled, but he was accumulating strength and looking for an opportunity to deliver a fatal blow to Yan Changjian.
“It’s a real shame about your father, such a powerful expert of the sword path. I originally wanted to spar with him properly, but I didn’t expect him to be so stubborn and insist on fighting that flood dragon, ultimately meeting such a tragic end…”
Wan Yunting continued to provoke his agitated nerves with his words while blocking Yan Changjian’s fierce sword moves, saying, “Sect Leader Yan, your father died pitifully. The flood dragon chewed him in its mouth several times, the sound of bones being crushed was chilling, and blood spurted from the snake’s large mouth…”
“Tsk tsk, it made me feel pain, and the tragic cries of your father were truly pitiful…”