Blood Under the Sword Can Fill the Sea

Cai Tanggu looked at the old butler opposite him. Although he had learned from the classics concerning the Xunyang Marquis Manor that Tong Ji had broken through to the peak of the Cave Nether Realm twenty years ago, he had broken through to this realm even earlier. He never expected that Tong Ji would be so difficult to deal with.

"I followed the Marquis to conquer all directions. The blood under my sword could fill more than half of the Naihe Sea, while you sit in the Fish Abyss Academy. Even if you are in the same realm as me, you are still far behind."

The old butler looked down at the sword belonging to the white-robed cultivator and sighed, "It's a pity that my sword is dead. Without it, I am not the complete Tong Ji. Everyone calls me the number one expert under the Marquis, so I naturally have to live up to that title."

Tong Ji raised his eyes, gently stroked the sword in his hand, and chuckled, "At this moment, I am Tong Ji, not the lame butler of the Marquis Mansion."

He was like a sword hidden in its sheath for endless years, accumulating a chilling killing intent that surged out the moment the sword was unsheathed.

Cai Tanggu's wrinkled face rippled like water waves. "You have a limp and don't have your most familiar sword. How much of your true combat power can you unleash?"

Tong Ji smiled, "You'll know if you try."

The flying swords of cultivators were naturally not ordinary items. No matter how low their realm or poor their background, the weapons in their hands could not be casually made up.

But it was undeniable that although the swords of the green-robed and white-robed cultivators were not ordinary, their rank was not very high, and they could only barely be considered presentable.

They were naturally incomparable to Cai Tanggu's sword.

But he was Tong Ji, so the problem of the weapon could be ignored.

The sword came out, exuding a chilling killing intent.

It was as if a fierce wind appeared out of nowhere, making Cai Tanggu unstable for a moment.

His expression was solemn, and he swung his sword to attack. The two forces were evenly matched, and then they both rose into the air, like two meteors fiercely colliding in the night sky.

Accompanied by the giant wooden kite hanging high over Hun City, the sparks from the collision of the two swords were as brilliant as fireworks, causing the common people at the temple fair to stop and watch, cheering joyfully.

Jiang Wang, who was also watching the scene, secretly sighed, "Uncle Tong is really amazing."

Dong Chongyang silently raised his saber. The strength of the young man before him exceeded his expectations. It seemed Cai Tanggu had not exaggerated. He needed to be more serious.

While two swords were clashing in the air, two sabers were also displaying their prowess on Qixia Street.

Jiang Wang knew that he didn't have much time, so he began to counterattack aggressively, charging forward.

His moves were without any pattern; he just wielded his saber and smashed around.

This also made Dong Chongyang a bit overwhelmed.

It was one thing that he had no pattern, but the power of his saber strikes was also incredibly strong. Every unexpected saber swing, even if blocked, would result in a significant loss in a hasty manner.

Xie Wuxing, standing on the rooftop, raised an eyebrow and said, "Why do I always feel like Jiang Wang truly has no cultivation at all? Which sect would teach their disciples like this? It's clearly like a child swinging a wooden sword around randomly."

The man surnamed Xiao remained silent.

He felt a slight itch in his hands at the moment and looked at Xie Wuxing.

Xie Wuxing frowned and said, "Why are you looking at me?"

He resisted the urge to overthink.

The man surnamed Xiao said, "I'm very interested in the Sword Pavilion. Shall we fight?"

Looking at the scene on Qixia Street, Xie Wuxing said, "If we fight again, this place will become too chaotic."

The man surnamed Xiao said, "I've heard that Sword Pavilion disciples are all warlike. Do you need to choose a venue to fight?"

Xie Wuxing's expression turned solemn. "Since you are interested, I will accompany you to the end."

Feng Linghuai instinctively retreated, almost falling off the rooftop.

The man surnamed Xiao's lips curved into a smile, and he drew his sword decisively.

Xie Wuxing had always felt that the man surnamed Xiao was not simple. He chose to draw his sword first.

Sword energy traversed the entire Qixia Street.

The man surnamed Xiao raised an eyebrow and said, "No need to test. Please unleash your strongest sword."

Xie Wuxing was slightly stunned and chuckled, "Then, as you wish."

The River Stream Sword Intent stirred the Qi of heaven and earth, pouring down. The houses under their feet directly collapsed. Feng Linghuai, in a panic, leaped to another rooftop. Due to the use of his Qi, he felt a stinging pain all over his body, his face pale.

The man surnamed Xiao hovered in mid-air, looking at the ruins below, and chuckled, "It's my turn to draw my sword."

He lightly raised the hand holding his sword, and a surge of sword energy fiercely rushed towards Xie Wuxing.

The River Stream Sword Intent was directly shattered.

Before Xie Wuxing could react, the sword energy dissipated before his eyes.

The man surnamed Xiao had already sheathed his sword.

Xie Wuxing broke out in a cold sweat.

He looked at the man surnamed Xiao in disbelief. "What realm are you at?!"

The man surnamed Xiao replied, "I'm not very sure myself."

Xie Wuxing panted, "How can someone not be sure of their own realm?"

He was greatly disheartened.

He didn't feel burdened by losing to Jiang Wang, as they were considered evenly matched, and he had only lost by a small margin. However, the man surnamed Xiao had only drawn his sword once, and it wasn't even a full draw, yet he had inexplicably lost.

The original purpose of descending the mountain was to subdue demons and monsters and display the might of the Sword Pavilion, but he had suffered two consecutive defeats. Xie Wuxing felt the deep malice of the world towards him.

He watched the man surnamed Xiao, his eyes widening, "Where is your Yellow Court?!"

The man surnamed Xiao said nothing.

Xie Wuxing exclaimed in shock, "Could it be that you're not a cultivator, but a martial artist?!"

Only by forging a Yellow Court could one become a true cultivator. Without a Yellow Court, one was naturally a martial artist. As for Grandmasters, besides talismans, they had no other means. Being able to float and fly meant they were at least Grandmasters.

But martial artists were different from cultivators. To reach the Grandmaster realm, even with great talent, one couldn't be too young.

Moreover, if the man surnamed Xiao were truly a Grandmaster, he could suppress peak cultivators of the Cave Nether Realm, but Xie Wuxing wouldn't have lost so quickly. In fact, he had the ability to kill ordinary Grandmasters with a single sword strike.

Unless the man surnamed Xiao was a Great Grandmaster!

But a Great Grandmaster this young was unheard of in the entire world.

Most importantly, the man surnamed Xiao clearly possessed the aura of a swordsman, so why would he be a martial artist?

This was too strange!

Xie Wuxing couldn't figure it out no matter how hard he thought.

Suddenly, his expression changed drastically.

It was because he remembered his teacher saying that in the past decade, strange things had happened in the world. There was a person who called himself Jianli who, without forging a Yellow Court, possessed the abilities of a cultivator and was renowned in Longchan, Sui Kingdom.

That person was also a swordsman.

But he was somewhat different from the swordsmen recognized by the world.

That Jianli carried a wooden sword, a simple sword carved from ordinary bamboo and wood. No one could discern his realm, yet he possessed the strength of a great cultivator beyond the peak of the Cave Nether Realm.

This also made the commoners in Longchan who were not qualified to forge a Yellow Court aspire to him and revere him immensely.

The Qingxuan Bureau had spent a long time searching for him everywhere, but he was elusive, like a dragon that shows its head but not its tail. To this day, they hadn't found any trace of him, only knowing that his surname was Liu and his given name was Pian.

Xie Wuxing maintained his shocked expression and cupped his hands, saying, "May I ask your honorable surname?"

The man surnamed Xiao was silent for a moment, then said, "My surname is Xiao. It's not what you think."

With this question and seeing his demeanor, the man surnamed Xiao could guess what Xie Wuxing was thinking.

But Xie Wuxing was even more shocked.

If the man surnamed Xiao before him was not the same person as that Jianli named Liu Pian, then it was very possible that Liu Pian had truly opened up another path, one where one could cultivate without Hundred Days Foundation Establishment and without forging a Yellow Court?

This would undoubtedly be something that could change the entire world's situation!

The path of cultivation was difficult. The Hundred Days Foundation Establishment alone deterred most people. Even those who completed Foundation Establishment might never find the opportunity to forge a Yellow Court in their lifetime, resulting in a scarcity of cultivators in the world.

If the initial steps of cultivation were made easier, allowing everyone to cultivate, it wouldn't be impossible.

If there was only one Liu Pian in the world, it could be explained as him being extraordinarily gifted, knowing things from birth.

But if more people like Liu Pian could emerge in the world, then searching for Liu Pian would become more important than searching for an immortal.

After all, Liu Pian was a 'treasure' placed directly before them that could make the Sui Kingdom's power even greater!

Although his experiences after descending the mountain were humiliating, if this matter could be confirmed, Xie Wuxing couldn't imagine what kind of prosperous era the Sui Kingdom would become.

He asked again, "Brother Xiao, are you cultivating under that Senior Liu?"

The man surnamed Xiao shook his head and said, "My Yellow Court is just not in its usual position."

Xie Wuxing was bewildered.

The Yellow Court could be in other places?

The man surnamed Xiao continued, "It's like some people's hearts are on the right side."

Xie Wuxing understood.

But he still found it somewhat unbelievable. Was it an excuse he deliberately made?

"The Yellow Court is the foundation of a cultivator. If you are so peculiar, Brother Xiao, how can you casually reveal the truth?"

Xie Wuxing stared at him with a probing gaze.

The man surnamed Xiao smiled, "I just said that some people's hearts are on the right side. I didn't say where my Yellow Court is. My physique is indeed a bit special. Even if I told you my Yellow Court wasn't in its usual position, you wouldn't find it."

This was the longest speech he had given.

Xie Wuxing looked at him deeply.

At higher realms, and even within the same realm, one could discern the location of the opponent's Yellow Court. Even if the man surnamed Xiao's Yellow Court was in a special position, it should still be detectable.

And the fact was, he truly couldn't find the location of the man surnamed Xiao's Yellow Court.

But whether such a situation truly existed in the world was something he absolutely had to ask his teacher at the Sword Pavilion.

The most foolproof method would be to bring the man surnamed Xiao to the Sword Pavilion as well.

Otherwise, if he left Hun City and couldn't find the man, even if he confirmed that the man surnamed Xiao had some connection with Liu Pian, it would only lead to disaster.

This matter involved too much. If Xitan detected any clues and found Liu Pian first, the Sui Kingdom would face a great crisis.

Xie Wuxing finally decided to stay in Hun City, keep a close eye on the man surnamed Xiao, and do his best to uncover his secrets.

Seeing Xie Wuxing's expression, the man surnamed Xiao had no intention of explaining further.

At this moment, Cai Tanggu and Tong Ji had returned to Qixia Street.

However, it was Cai Tanggu who fell from the night sky. Just as he was about to get up, Tong Ji held his sword to his forehead.

Cai Tanggu's face was grim. "You truly live up to your reputation as the Marquis's foremost subordinate. Even crippled and without your usual weapon, you could still defeat me."

Tong Ji's expression was calm.