Blink Blink

The edge of a saber lay in its chopping power.

There were also techniques such as sweeping, stabbing, intercepting, blocking, bursting, slashing, wiping, carrying, and entangling. They were fierce and swift, their momentum intimidating and their force vigorous, like a ferocious tiger pouncing on its prey.

The key to Breaking Saber Style was using lightness to overcome weight and speed to restrain slowness...

The essence of Breaking Saber Style flashed through Chen Luo's mind in an instant. He stepped forward, and the wooden branch in his hand unleashed thirty-six transformations in a split second, before the thirty-six transformations fused into a single move. The Mantis Demon's twin arm-blades were already right before him. From an inconceivable angle, Chen Luo thrust the branch out, striking the spatial node where the Mantis Demon's twin blades were being swung and causing its rhythm to falter slightly.

In that brief instant of hesitation, Chen Luo swept his wooden branch left and right. In the blink of an eye, the Mantis Demon's twin blades were knocked aside, leaving its defenses wide open. Chen Luo pressed forward, gathering all his strength as the wooden branch jabbed into the Mantis Demon's chest. The branch shattered under Chen Luo's tremendous power, leaving only a seven-inch-long broken piece in his hand. Its shape resembled a dagger.

Chen Luo did not pause. He thrust out his right hand, and under his immense strength, the dagger-like broken branch plunged straight into the Mantis Demon's chest. Green fluid immediately began to flow out.

It all happened in the blink of an eye. The Mantis Demon looked down at its chest in astonishment, but Chen Luo raised his right leg and drove his knee heavily into its abdomen. The Mantis Demon bent forward on reflex, and Chen Luo immediately swung his elbow across, striking the head that had dipped low as the Mantis Demon doubled over.

The Mantis Demon took the elbow head-on and staggered to the ground. Chen Luo pounced on it, straddling its body as both knees pinned down its twin blades. Then he slammed fist after fist into the Mantis Demon's head.

One punch, another punch, another punch...

Green fluid splattered everywhere, spraying across Chen Luo's face. Only then did Chen Luo stop. Looking at the Mantis Demon whose head had been smashed apart, he suddenly felt a wave of nausea and hurriedly backed away several steps, putting distance between himself and the corpse.

"Zhong Kui!"

Zhong Kui's figure appeared behind Chen Luo. "My lord..."

"Go see if it's really dead."

Zhong Kui hurried over and stretched out his hand. An iron hook flew from his sleeve and sank into the Mantis Demon's body. Moments later, it pulled out a green ball of light.

Zhong Kui said, "My lord, it's completely dead. Its soul is in my hands."

"Can you control it?" Chen Luo asked. Zhong Kui could currently only deal with ghostly entities. If he could control the Mantis Demon, it would at least make useful cannon fodder to scout the way!

Zhong Kui shook his head slightly. "Reporting to my lord, this soul is innately incomplete. It should have been refined by someone long ago. It cannot be considered a ghostly entity, and if I tried to control it, it would dissipate very quickly."

Chen Luo wiped the remaining green fluid from his hand onto his body. He felt thoroughly sickened and waved dismissively. "Eat it, eat it. See if there's any useful information..."

Zhong Kui nodded and reached out to grab the ball of light. Like eating an apple, he swallowed it in a few bites.

"Any discoveries?" Chen Luo asked.

Zhong Kui closed his eyes and digested it for a moment before saying, "My lord, this soul was indeed refined by someone. Much of its information was concealed, so it didn't know much."

"What did it know?" Chen Luo walked to the corpse, intending to remove the two blade-arms and use them as weapons. Since the Mantis Demon had chased him here, Lian Ai might appear at any moment. He had to make some preparations.

"Reporting to my lord, this demon was a Gu demon refined by the Gu Sect. Its true master bestowed it upon that demoness Lian Ai. The demoness is currently injured and healing at her original location."

"Oh? Is that so?" Chen Luo's face brightened. This was indeed good news. "Do you know how long she'll need to recover?"

Zhong Kui shook his head. "There was no time-related information. However, judging from this creature's understanding of the demoness, it shouldn't take too long."

Chen Luo was just about to tear off the Mantis Demon's arms when he discovered that its corpse was rapidly decaying. Even the twin blades, which had gleamed with chilling light, turned yellow and curled up.

"Damn it, it won't even give me a chance to loot the corpse..." Chen Luo cursed, then continued asking, "What exactly is the Gu Sect? Also, can you tell how strong Lian Ai is?"

"The Gu Sect is an ancient school of cultivation that worships the Gu God and draws its power from Gu worms. The Gu Sect has ten grades in total, with the lowest being ninth grade and the highest being transcendent grade. The Gu God is transcendent grade."

"There was no further information about the Gu Sect in the Mantis Demon's memories. However, it did reveal that among the Gu Sect's first nine grades, the first three form a single level, roughly equivalent to the Confucian Scholar realm of the Confucian School. As for the demoness Lian Ai, she broke through seventh grade a year ago and entered sixth-grade Life Gu, equivalent to the Master Realm of the Confucian School after crossing the First Mountain-Sea."

"That means she's one level higher than Advisor Li and Ji Zhong!" Chen Luo made a quick comparison in his mind, then immediately ran forward at full speed.

"My lord, what happened?" Zhong Kui hurried after Chen Luo.

"What do you think happened? Run! If that demoness catches up, I won't be able to beat her..."

At the same time Chen Luo beat the Mantis Demon to death, the cocoon where Lian Ai was located suddenly trembled slightly. A low shout came from within—

"Useless!"

The cocoon slowly floated upward. It actually began spinning in midair, and as it rotated, the strands of silk covering it turned black and fell away one by one.

Clearly, Lian Ai had paid some unknown price and begun accelerating her recovery.

"Everyone, look closely. This is a portrait of Earl of Wan'an!" In a solemn government office, a fat man wearing auspicious-cloud robes and a Cold-Snow Saber at his waist held up a portrait of Chen Luo and addressed the orderly ranks below. "According to Wenchang Pavilion's calculations, Earl of Wan'an was abducted by a demon, and he is most likely within a five-hundred-li radius outside Central Capital City. Quickly dispatch the personnel under your command and search for His Excellency the earl."

At that moment, someone below stepped out of formation and cupped his hands. "Lord Qianyin, Floating Cloud Mountain is also within that area. Should we enter the mountain to investigate?"

The fat man furrowed his brows and pondered for a moment. "Floating Cloud Mountain... Issue a bounty and have the demon lords within Floating Cloud Mountain get moving. Tell them their chance to serve the imperial court has arrived."

"Yes." The questioner returned to formation. The fat man waved his hand, and everyone turned and walked outside in unison. Each person wore a pure white cloak bearing a large character: "Suppress."

The sky gradually darkened. After walking for another day without his feet touching the ground, Chen Luo finally began to feel tired, despite having already entered the physical-body Meridian Opening Realm.

Chen Luo stopped. He was beginning to suspect that this valley had no end. Suddenly, his ears twitched, and he heard the gurgling of running water.

"There's water!" Chen Luo was overjoyed. The valley ran lengthwise, so if there was flowing water, that meant it led to an exit. His body suddenly filled with strength again, and he gritted his teeth before running toward the source of the sound.

After running for several minutes, Chen Luo saw the valley bend. When he rounded the corner, the view before him suddenly opened wide. No longer hemmed in by unchanging sheer cliffs on either side, he found himself before a vast, lush, and majestic mountain forest.

What delighted Chen Luo most was the crystalline river right in front of him.

Chen Luo shouted, stripping off his clothes as he ran. Then he leaped high into the air and dove headfirst into the river. The cool water refreshed his body, and Chen Luo felt the grime coating him being carried away. His entire body relaxed.

"It would be perfect if I could arrange for someone to scrub my back!" Chen Luo floated on his back in the river. Suddenly, his brows furrowed, and he flipped over at lightning speed. At the instant he turned, a column of water shot into the sky from the spot where he had been.

Chen Luo warily scanned his surroundings, finally fixing his gaze beside a small tree on the riverbank. There, a pair of large eyes blinked repeatedly as they met Chen Luo's gaze...

A flower that was not a flower, mist that was not mist. Read this book, and friends will feel like old acquaintances.

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