Sword Qi Screen

A Reincarnated Adept?

That was the first thought that burst into Xu You's mind!

No! How could that be! How many Reincarnated Adepts were there in the entire Daoist sect?

Could his luck really be this good?

Xu You's eyes were bloodshot as he stared fixedly at Xie Zhen in the center of the Spirit Severing Array—

The Azure Origin Pill shattered, and immense Qi spread outward, transforming into a sea of clouds that boiled hotly, churned, and surged!

Xie Xuanyi, suspended at the heart of the cloud sea, slowly raised his head and fixed his gaze upon the highest point of the deep darkness.

The rolling Qi changed along with its master's lifted gaze.

The sea of clouds began to split apart, then gather anew.

In the end, the Qi from the fourth Azure Origin Pill Xie Xuanyi had crushed transformed, under the command of his divine soul, into more than a hundred small azure-gold swords.

"Sword Qi Screen..."

Cold sweat seeped from Xu You's forehead.

His voice trembled slightly. "This is a sword Daoist Art that only a great cultivator of at least sect leader level can perform."

The life-bound artifacts of sword cultivators were mostly "flying swords."

The more flying swords, the better!

The Great Grain Sword Palace, located in Great Chu's northern borderlands, produced cultivators who were all outstanding in the sword path. These people shared one trait: their divine souls were extraordinarily powerful, allowing them to command more than one flying sword in battle at once... Fighting sword cultivators was something that gave every cultivator a headache.

Each flying sword wielded by those genius sword cultivators was incomparably nimble.

With only a thought from its master, it could shift and turn in an instant, killing invisibly.

Fighting a flying-sword sword cultivator—

Was fighting countless flying swords!

Most of the time, the number of flying swords... was the symbol of a sword cultivator's realm.

And the "Sword Qi Screen" Xu You spoke of required at least a hundred flying swords. To command such a number of flying swords, one's divine soul had to be cultivated to an unimaginably high realm!

Upon reaching that realm, one would truly be qualified to receive the title of sword immortal, revered by all.

"Not bad eyesight."

Xie Xuanyi raised a brow. He had not expected this Qi Guiding Realm deputy city lord of Taian City to recognize this move.

Sword Qi Screen was something he had done deliberately.

Xie Xuanyi had always pursued efficiency in the use of Qi... Once an Azure Origin Pill was crushed, the Qi that spilled out began counting down toward dissipation. If he wanted to win this battle, he needed to make use of the Azure Origin Pill's Qi to the utmost. Thus, he divided that Qi into flying swords.

This was the "killing method" he had been familiar with ten years ago. It was just a pity that there was still too little Qi now. Otherwise, the number of flying swords could have been greater—far greater!

"No, that's not right."

Xu You, who had already been preparing to flee, noticed something strange.

If this truly were the legendary Sword Qi Screen, how could he possibly still have the chance to speak?

He would have been sliced apart by Sword Qi in an instant, his corpse dismembered!

The streams of Qi circling Xie Zhen... carried an exceedingly familiar aura. They were clearly the aura of the Azure Origin Pills he had given away!

"You think you can bluff me?"

Xu You suddenly came to his senses and roared, "Xie Zhen! At death's door, and you're still putting on an act!"

"..."

Seeing this, Xie Xuanyi sighed softly within.

The Sword Qi Screen was of course real, but it was also true that this move was an imitation.

This Xu You truly was a madman—a desperado. He had laid down array patterns to ambush and kill him, yet even after seeing a "sword move" far beyond the Qi Guiding Realm, he had not considered retreating. It seemed he had made up his mind to kill him here... Only at this moment did Xie Xuanyi finally understand the source of his unease.

There was only one thing Xie Xuanyi could not understand: why was this fellow's killing intent so heavy for no reason at all?

Surely it was not because of five Azure Origin Pills?

"Go!"

With a sharp cry, the hundreds of small azure-gold swords behind Xie Xuanyi shot skyward in unison.

Bang!

At the same time, Xu You kicked heavily against the shaft of his great spear. Rather than retreating, he leaped down from the mountaintop and crashed toward the sea of clouds. Against the hundreds of golden sword lights, he fearlessly thrust out his spear. The red tassel flew wildly as the spear tip produced dozens of phantoms, tearing through clouds and wind, carrying terrifying pressure as it came smashing down!

The flying swords condensed from Azure Origin Pill Qi shattered the instant they collided with the sixth-grade treasure artifact!

Clang clang clang clang!

For a time, the entire world was filled with densely packed, crisp explosions!

Xu You was like a fierce tiger descending the mountain, unstoppable!

At this sight—

Xie Xuanyi frowned slightly.

The reason he had kept two Azure Origin Pills without consuming them earlier was to deal with unforeseen events after leaving the city!

The Golden Qi in his body had only just been gathered and accumulated, and its quantity was pitifully small...

Once battle broke out, he would need to draw upon external "Qi"!

When he had slain Reverend Heavy Mist in Northern Prefecture, Xie Xuanyi had realized this point. If the Qi of heaven and earth was thin, then his strength would also be affected...

Thus, these two Azure Origin Pills were the "Qi" he had reserved for himself!

But unfortunately—

Pills were still only pills.

The Qi within Azure Origin Pills was meant for cultivation.

Using it in battle made it seem somewhat "fragile."

The Qi that cultivators tempered step by step, year after year, was far superior in quality to pill Qi!

Taking a step back—

A Great Chu official like Xu You, responsible for guarding Taian City, was on an entirely different level from a cowardly wretch like Reverend Heavy Mist!

If the two were in the same realm and fought to the death... without any surprise, Xu You would win in a crushing fashion!

This man truly was ruthless.

The current situation was far more severe than the battle to exterminate demons in Northern Prefecture!

Watching Xu You forcibly carve a bloody path through the encirclement of countless flying swords and race toward him—

This time—

Xie Xuanyi felt that long-lost sense of "danger."

"Hah!"

He gently exhaled a breath of turbid air.

Xie Xuanyi rose to his feet and murmured softly, "If I beat this fellow to death, that feeling of having my fate line controlled by someone... should disappear, right?"

"...?"

Xu You vaguely sensed that something was wrong.

Although these flying swords condensed from Azure Origin Pill Qi were low in quality and shattered on contact, their angles of attack were exceedingly tricky. He had fought his way down from the mountaintop with momentum like bamboo splitting apart, yet more than a dozen wounds had still been cut across his body. Such minor injuries were not worth mentioning.

What truly struck him as strange was...

Not a single one of these flying swords was merely putting on a show!

So long as there was a flaw in his spear technique, a flying sword would certainly find that opening and slip in instantly!

What did that mean?

It meant... Xie Zhen's sword move was real!

This was the genuine article—Sword Qi Screen!

"This brat has a huge secret. Once I capture him, I must subject him to brutal interrogation!"

Having made up his mind, Xu You charged toward Xie Zhen. The cloud sea of Azure Origin Pill Qi spread and diffused, nearly shrouding the entire Spirit Severing Array.

Xu You wanted to use the Spirit Severing Array to isolate Xie Zhen from heaven and earth.

Then he had to destroy the sea of Qi clouds before him!

Without hesitation, he thrust out his spear!

Rumble rumble rumble!

Wind and clouds swept about, thunder erupted from level ground, and a massive hole was punched through the cloud sea.

Qi Guiding Realm cultivators could already be said to have entered the hall and ascended the chamber. Their control over the Qi within their bodies had reached a high level. Every thrust Xu You delivered now carried the Qi he had personally condensed... The two currents of Qi clashed head-on, and superiority was decided in an instant!

The power leaking from the Azure Origin Pills began to deplete at a rapid rate!

"Kill!"

In the space between lightning and flint, Xu You caught sight of Xie Zhen.

He crashed into the sea of clouds!

One spear thrust out!

With a clang, a crisp metallic collision erupted from within the cloud sea!

Xie Xuanyi slapped his palm against the spear tip and was shaken backward by the immense force.

He narrowed his eyes.

This spear thrust had not been impossible to dodge... After confirming its trajectory, he had deliberately struck it aside.

Right now, he still needed some time to adapt to his body.

This battle was the best opportunity!

Xie Xuanyi knew that this new body of his was powerful, but he did not know exactly what level it had reached—

The result of that brief probe was somewhat unexpected.

Bare-handed, he had withstood a sixth-grade treasure artifact! On this point alone, he could already rival Buddhist disciples who specialized in body tempering!