Chapter 138: Dual Mastery of Blade and Sword
Jade River Mountain, amidst the forest of jagged rocks.
Xiao Zifeng asked in a condensed voice, "Is Bai Ziyun dead?"
Lin Ao shook his head and replied, "No. It is said that he escaped from the Heaven River Sect through a secret passage."
"As long as Bai Ziyun lives, my heart will not find peace!"
Xiao Zifeng clenched his fists tightly. "If Bai Ziyun escapes, who knows when I will be able to track him down again? I am determined to kill him with my own hands."
Lin Ao frowned slightly. "Right now, Jade River Mountain is in complete chaos and filled with hidden perils. Even the Four Absolute Sect has lost control..."
Xiao Zifeng waved his hand and said in a deep voice, "It doesn't matter. As long as I don't run into those old monsters, I am not afraid of anyone, not even Wang Longtang, Gu Xuan, or Duan Anyu."
Lin Ao said no more, knowing that Xiao Zifeng's intent to kill was already set in stone.
......
Aray of Heaven, night descended.
Yang Xing awoke from his meditative state. By this moment, his aura had completely stabilized, and his internal energy was charged to the absolute limit.
He gripped the ghost-head saber by his side, executed the Three-Fold Cloud Dragon technique, and his figure instantly vanished from the spot.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Stepping lightly upon the tree branches, Yang Xing triggered an explosion of internal energy, launching his body forward to land on a nearby tree.
As his weight touched down, the tree trembled slightly, but amidst the surrounding environment, it was not conspicuous at all.
"Ah..."
At that moment, a miserable scream echoed from ahead.
Yang Xing leaped forward, racing toward the source of the sound.
With all the mountain paths guarded by the Four Absolute Sect, many experts chose to travel via narrow trails under the cover of night. After all, Jade River Mountain was simply too vast for the Four Absolute Sect to completely seal off every route.
And the dead of night was the best time for the disciples of the Heaven River Sect to escape.
Regardless of everything else, visibility at night was far worse than during the day.
Following the slaughter of the previous night, many opportunists attempting to fish in troubled waters had already perished miserably, leaving behind only formidable experts with genuine strength.
Before even reaching the battlefield, Yang Xing caught the pungent stench of blood.
Soon, he landed on a tree, looking ahead through the dense foliage.
"That is..."
The battle ahead was exceptionally fierce. Several corpses already littered the ground, two of which Yang Xing actually recognized.
They were none other than the old woman who had escaped the previous night, and the other was Shi Ming.
One had to know that both of these individuals possessed Dan-realm cultivation.
A shock rippled through Yang Xing's heart as he quickly directed his gaze toward the center of the clearing.
The two factions were completely mismatched: one side consisted of seven or eight people, while the opposite side had only a single person.
That person was of medium build, wielding a saber in his left hand and a sword in his right. Amidst the encirclement of seven or eight foes, he cut a bloody swath through the crowd. His saber and sword danced continuously, and within moments, several experts met a miserable end.
"Wu Sen!"
Amidst the chaotic melee, someone roared furiously, "My Lian family will never let you go!"
A thought stirred in Yang Xing's mind.
......
In River Center Prefecture, there was a roster of fugitive martial artists wanted by the imperial court year-round, which was why they rarely showed their faces in the pugilistic world.
Wu Sen was one of them, holding the moniker "Double Ultimates of Saber and Sword." No less than three or four lower Dan-realm experts had died at his hands, earning him a formidable and ferocious reputation throughout River Center Prefecture.
Once, two middle Dan-realm bounty hunters had joined forces to capture Wu Sen for the reward. After tracking him for more than half a year, they ultimately returned empty-handed.
Not only was Wu Sen formidable in combat, but his methods for concealing his aura were also exceptionally brilliant.
In the forest.
Wu Sen let out a cruel laugh. "If you want to blame someone, blame yourselves for being so audacious as to dare snatch things from Grandpa Wu."
As his words fell, the long saber in Wu Sen's hand slashed fiercely forward.
Internal energy burst forth, and a ferocious blade wind spat out.
Splat—!
That Lian family expert was cleaved apart on the spot, blood spraying in all directions.
In the blink of an eye, two more Lian family experts met their deaths at Wu Sen's hands.
"If you want the treasures, you have to see if you have the life to keep them."
Finally, a young man of the Lian family let out a low roar and forcefully hurled the bundle in his hands.
Clatter—!
Cultivation manuals, medicinal pills, gold, silver, jewels, and ancient texts instantly scattered in all directions.
"Scumbag!"
Fury surged in Wu Sen's heart. With a single sword thrust, he ran the Lian family youth through, then lunged toward the scattered treasures.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Whoosh! Whoosh!
At the same time, several lurking experts in the surroundings also rushed out.
Some lunged toward the gold and silver jewelry, some toward the martial arts manuals, and others sprinted toward the corpses of the old woman, Du Xing, and the rest on the ground.
"A great opportunity!"
Seeing this, Yang Xing executed the Three-Fold Cloud Dragon technique and dashed toward one of the old woman's bundles.
He remembered very clearly that this was the old woman's pack.
The experts of the Heaven River Sect had all fled down the mountain and were undoubtedly carrying massive amounts of wealth.
Seeing that Yang Xing shared his target, a nearby man swept his sleeve outward.
Swish, swish, swish!
A massive cloud of white lime powder was scattered toward him.
"Nothing more than child's play!"
Yang Xing sneer coldly. Raising his arm, a surging torrent of internal energy lashed out, forming razor-sharp gusts of wind.
"Ah—!"
Reaping what he had sowed, the man felt a burning, agonizing pain erupt in his eyes, and he let out a shrill, miserable scream.
Yang Xing vibrated his ghost-head saber, unleashing a piercing beam of blade light that ended the man's life with a single strike.
Seizing the bundle on the ground, he leaped up and soared swiftly into the distance.
"Scumbag! Where do you think you're going?!"
......
Seeing his spoils being snatched away by someone else, Wu Sen could hardly endure it. He stamped his foot hard and gave chase to Yang Xing.
"Who is that kid? How dare he snatch food from the tiger's mouth!"
"He's a dead man. Wu Sen is a ruthless character."
......
Seeing Wu Sen give chase, the surrounding people hastily picked up whatever was on the ground and vanished from the spot.
Yang Xing sprinted through the forest, pushing his Three-Fold Cloud Dragon technique to the absolute limit.
Yet Wu Sen clung tightly to his heels, lifting the long sword in his hand.
"Kid, drop the items, and I might spare your life."
Clang!
A chilling sword light cleaved through the branches ahead. Yang Xing leaped, dodging the flash of the blade.
Crack!
The sword light slashed into a tree branch, snapping it neatly in two.
"I will kill you!"
Seeing Yang Xing completely ignore him, a chilling intent to kill surfaced in Wu Sen's eyes.
"That will depend on your ability."
Yang Xing suddenly wheeled around, his body transforming into a flurry of afterimages as he lunged forward viciously.
"Such terrifying speed!"
Reflecting rapidly in Wu Sen's shrinking pupils, he hurriedly sidestepped.
The moment Wu Sen dodged, the air ahead exploded violently. Yang Xing's fingers were like two sharp steel needles, piercing through the air to thrust straight at the other's throat.
Unable to dodge in time, Wu Sen could only raise the flat of his blade to block his face.
Clang—!
The instant they collided, the sound of striking metal rang out, and a visible ripple of energy expanded outward.
Wu Sen felt a sudden wave of unease wash over him as his footsteps retreated in a flurry.
The next moment, Yang Xing closed in with a massive stride, curled his five fingers into a tight fist, and punched straight toward Wu Sen's chest.
This punch carried immense weight, brimming with surging, turbulent True Warrior internal energy.
Wu Sen thrust his palm out horizontally, blocking it right in front of his chest.
Bang!
The moment they collided, Wu Sen was forced to retreat repeatedly, a trace of shock surfacing on his face.
"How is this possible?!"
He had already opened four primary meridians and was a genuine lower Dan-realm peak expert. Whenever he clashed internal energy with other lower Dan-realm experts in the past, he had never once been defeated.