So-Called Five Hearts, Head and Four Limbs

Shen Bai, listening from outside the door, gripped the iron sword at his waist when he heard the words "Five Hearts Sect."

"The Five Hearts Sect again."

This organization was connected to Old Master Qian, yet the yamen couldn't uncover any roots, making it unusually mysterious.

More importantly, this woman seemed to be investigating matters related to the Five Hearts Sect.

When he encountered her at the Qian Family residence last night, she was surely investigating then.

A rough idea formed in Shen Bai's mind, and he decided to continue listening.

Neither the woman nor the little girl spoke. Instead, a weak male voice emerged.

"Five Hearts Facing Heaven, free and unfettered! Let me go, or the Sect Master will kill you!"

Though the voice was weak, Shen Bai detected something unusual in it.

Hatred, madness, and a bone-deep hysteria.

Shen Bai narrowed his eyes: "Someone from the Five Hearts Sect."

At this moment, the woman spoke again.

"Five Hearts Facing Heaven is originally a legitimate cultivation method, but your Sect Master has inverted yin and yang, teaching you nothing but the Anti-Five Hearts Method."

"The more you cultivate, the more crazed you become, separating your head and limbs from your body. If you cultivate limbs, it's fine; detaching them won't kill you. But if you cultivate your head, you die instantly."

"If you want to live, just be obedient."

There was a hint of disgust in the woman's tone.

The man's voice continued.

"Five Hearts Facing Heaven! The Sect Master won't harm us, he's leading us to freedom, die die die die!"

As this voice rang out, Shen Bai heard sounds of fighting.

The weak man seemed to have broken free and was fighting the woman.

Occasionally, a booming sound would erupt.

It was fortunate that this place was remote with hardly anyone around; otherwise, a crowd would surely have gathered by now.

Shen Bai stroked his chin, wondering if he should turn around and leave first.

"You actually cultivated a second heart!"

Just then, he heard a whooshing sound, approaching from a distance, seemingly heading towards the door.

Shen Bai reacted incredibly fast, his legs enveloped in airflow as he rapidly retreated.

The moment he stepped back, the door was burst open from the inside.

A woman with gentle features, unadorned by makeup, flew backward, her back slamming into the door.

Dressed in a goose-yellow robe, the woman held a pair of short daggers. She rolled three times after landing on the ground, blood spilling from the corner of her mouth.

Blood was seeping from her abdomen.

"Careless! You cultivated two hands!"

"You... who are you?"

As she spoke, the woman in yellow finally noticed Shen Bai, a look of surprise on her face.

She couldn't understand why, even in such a remote spot, someone would still be passing by.

Shen Bai pondered for a moment, then very seriously said, "Just a passing commoner."

The woman in yellow looked utterly unconvinced.

But there was no time to say more; footsteps sounded from inside the room.

Shen Bai turned his head, finding the scene before him utterly horrifying.

A scrawny man emerged from the room, his hands detached from his shoulders and floating in mid-air.

In addition, the man's pupils were skewed, one looking left, the other right, displaying a look of madness and idiocy.

One of his arms was gripping the little girl who sold medicine by her hair.

The little girl cried out in pain but still said, "Daddy, it's Yaya! Don't you recognize me?"

"Yaya?"

The scrawny man's mouth was twisted and his eyes askew. He shook his right hand, saying, "To seek freedom, one must sever all roots of烦恼."

The other hand, floating in mid-air, made a turn and swung towards Yaya's head.

Seeing this, the woman in yellow charged forward, her short daggers ready.

But before she could take more than a few steps, blood suddenly gushed from the wound in her abdomen. The woman in yellow cried out in pain, her steps slowing considerably.

She could only watch as the hand approached Yaya, a look of unwillingness and despair in her eyes.

At that moment, a rusty longsword appeared from the middle.

Clang!

A clang of metal rang out.

The longsword struck the arm, somehow sparking violently.

Shen Bai felt a surge of power and was slightly surprised. "What incredible strength."

The woman in yellow noticed this and then looked at the rusty longsword, feeling a strange sense of familiarity.

After a closer look, she remembered the events of the previous night, and a look of pleasant surprise appeared on her face.

"It's you, the expert from last night!"

An expert?

Me?

Shen Bai was full of questions.

He didn't think he counted as an expert, considering he hadn't been involved in this circle for very long.

But now wasn't the time for such thoughts.

The thin man, seeing Shen Bai block him, actually released the little girl and attacked Shen Bai.

With his arms separated, one hand reached for Shen Bai's iron sword, while the other hammered towards Shen Bai's chest.

Seeing this, Shen Bai unleashed Blood Sword Dance, his vital energy surging within him.

As his vital energy pulsed, a grand and righteous aura appeared on Shen Bai's iron sword.

"Clang!"

This time, the sound of their clash was dramatically different.

The longsword sliced one arm in half. The arm fell to the ground, writhed twice, and then turned into a wisp of black smoke before vanishing.

At this moment, the other arm was already close to Shen Bai's chest.

Because the two arms were separated, there was no limit to their range; it was as if Shen Bai was being attacked by two people at once.

At this point, Shen Bai had no way to dodge.

The longsword had just been swung, and it would take time to bring it back.

The woman in yellow, seeing this, endured the pain and raised her short dagger.

Last night, this expert had been investigating the Qian Family. At the time, the woman in yellow had never seen such fierce sword techniques and, terrified, had quickly fled.

But in the current situation, if Shen Bai were hit by an arm as hard as metal, the woman in yellow feared he would die.

She had an injury on her abdomen, and the pain was unbearable, but she wanted to intervene, if only to secure a glimmer of hope.

Because in the woman in yellow's perception, Shen Bai seemed to have no room to maneuver.

Just then, the woman in yellow saw Shen Bai raise his left hand.

On his left hand, a layer of golden light appeared, enveloping his fist.

From within the golden light, Buddhist chants echoed, as if the Buddha had descended.

In addition, there was a murderous aura, reminiscent of Vajra Subduing Demons.

This punch landed on the thin man's arm.

Cracks appeared inch by inch on the arm, and under the invasion of the golden light, it exploded with a crash.

Black smoke billowed, and this arm also vanished.

With both arms gone, the thin man let out a cry of agony, his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground, instantly falling unconscious.

Shen Bai turned his head to look at the woman in yellow beside him.

The woman in yellow was stunned.

In her eyes, Shen Bai held the longsword in his right hand and clenched his left hand into a fist.

On the longsword was a grand and righteous aura, and on his fist were waves of Buddha's Light.

Righteousness and Buddha's Light intertwined, along with waves of an illusory murderous power, continuously flowing around Shen Bai.

A scorching wave of vital energy, like a towering mountain, surged towards her.

The woman in yellow felt that she would never forget this scene for the rest of her life.

She had only one thought in her mind.

Ascending Cloud County, so small, yet it has such an expert?