Is It Your Master Who Took Your Entire Life

The first form of the Grass Character Sword Art—Spring Sprout Breaking Through the Soil.

A glint of cold light appeared at the tip of Jiang Qingyi's sword, like a tender sprout in early spring pushing through frozen earth.

The long sword in the young woman's hand brimmed with boundless vitality and piercing sharpness.

"Break!"

The young woman gave a soft cry.

Jiang Qingyi concentrated her Sword Qi into a single point and thrust at incredible speed. Even the tip of her sword was surrounded by phantom blades of tender green grass.

The Formation laid by the Blood Butterfly Pavilion disciple before her was broken open by Jiang Qingyi.

A flash of cold light crossed his eyes.

By the time he realized what had happened, the world was spinning around him, and his head dropped straight to the ground.

"Whew."

Jiang Qingyi took a deep breath and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

In the past ten days, this was already the third Blood Butterfly Pavilion cultivator Jiang Qingyi had encountered.

And each encounter had come sooner after the last.

It was clear that the Blood Butterfly Pavilion had more or less pinpointed her location.

Now they were closing in, tightening the net around her.

Jiang Qingyi sheathed her sword and hurried into a nearby cave.

Inside, Xiao Mo slowly opened his eyes.

The first thing he saw was his disciple running toward him.

"Master, are you all right?"

Jiang Qingyi asked anxiously.

"It's nothing serious." Xiao Mo shook his head. "Sorry. This body of mine seems less and less able to help you."

When the Blood Butterfly Pavilion had launched its attack just now, Xiao Mo had been regulating his Spiritual Meridian, and he had reached a crucial moment. He hadn't been able to intervene, so Jiang Qingyi had had no choice but to lead the attackers away and face them alone.

"Master, please don't say that." Jiang Qingyi shook her head. "If you hadn't held off that Nascent Soul Realm assassin three days ago, I'd have been dead already."

Xiao Mo smiled. "Isn't protecting one's disciple only natural?"

Jiang Qingyi's eyes curved into crescents. "Then isn't it only right for your disciple to protect you when it matters?"

"You..." Xiao Mo sighed softly. "I just hope you don't resent me for holding you back."

Jiang Qingyi frowned and pouted. "Master, if you say that again, I really will get angry!"

"All right, all right. I won't say it again." Xiao Mo got to his feet. "Let's keep moving. More people from the Blood Butterfly Pavilion will be here soon."

"Yes, Master."

Jiang Qingyi helped her master up, and they left the cave.

Outside stood a wild Lu Shu horse with the bloodline of a Lu Shu.

Jiang Qingyi had come across the horse ten days ago. After giving it a beating, she had tamed it, and it was just right for her master to ride.

In truth, even a Golden Core Realm cultivator could fly faster than a Lu Shu horse.

And different terrain affected the horse's speed, too.

But there was nothing to be done.

Her master's injuries were worsening, and he could no longer fly for long.

"Hyah!"

After helping her master onto the Lu Shu horse, Jiang Qingyi swung herself up behind him.

She held the reins, her arms around her frail, sickly master.

At first, riding together on one horse made Jiang Qingyi happy, but she was also a little embarrassed and couldn't help letting her thoughts wander.

But after some time—especially once the assassins became more numerous and their situation more perilous—Jiang Qingyi no longer had such thoughts.

All she wanted was to get her master away from the pursuit.

For now, Myriad Laws Under Heaven was certainly not safe.

So Jiang Qingyi wanted to take her master and flee to Myriad Monster Country!

Once they reached Myriad Monster Country, not even the Blood Butterfly Pavilion would be able to catch up with them.

When she was stronger, she would return and wipe out the entire Blood Butterfly Pavilion, from top to bottom!

As for whether they could make it to Myriad Monster Country, Jiang Qingyi was very confident.

Xiao Mo, however, didn't share her confidence.

The Blood Butterfly Pavilion weren't fools. They must know he was heading for Myriad Monster Country.

Besides, after the battles they'd fought so far—especially the clash with a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator—his body had grown weaker and weaker.

Every time he fought, every wound he suffered, was another heavy blow to his battered body.

Forget thirty years. At this rate, Xiao Mo didn't think he'd live another year.

How many more times can I fight? Xiao Mo wondered. It looks like I'll have to bring that plan forward.

Another two months passed.

Xiao Mo and Jiang Qingyi encountered more and more assassins.

The Blood Butterfly Pavilion had completely tracked their movements.

Not only was Xiao Mo's body deteriorating, but Jiang Qingyi had also suffered serious injuries.

They were now no more than thirty days from the border between Myriad Laws Under Heaven and Myriad Monster Country.

Jiang Qingyi's eyes were full of hope.

But Xiao Mo knew his own body all too well.

He was still alive only because he hadn't yet done one last thing, clinging to that final breath.

Now that they were drawing closer to Myriad Monster Country, it was about time he brought this life to an end.

At the foot of Blackwind Mountain.

Jiang Qingyi and her master raced along a shortcut toward the border of Myriad Monster Country.

Jiang Qingyi and Xiao Mo's minds tightened at once, and they leaped into the air together.

The next instant, a long spear plunged down like a shooting star.

The Lu Shu horse was pinned to the ground and died on the spot.

A Nascent Soul Realm man wearing a tiger mask stood with his hands behind his back atop the spear's shaft. A breeze stirred his robes, embroidered with a blood-red butterfly.

Immediately afterward, seven Blood Butterfly Pavilion cultivators burst out: three at the Dragon Gate Realm and four at the Golden Core Realm.

"Been a long time, Eldest Young Master."

A man in a blue-green robe stepped out, holding a fan. He looked like a scholar, seemingly refined and courteous.

But in Xiao Mo's eyes, he was nothing but a beast in scholar's robes.

The man's name was Sun Jin. He was one of the advisers to the Xiao Prince of Liang Kingdom. It was bad enough that he was devious in his schemes, but he was also greedy for life and afraid of death, with not a shred of a scholar's backbone.

Xiao Mo despised him most of all.

"Did you come here to die?" Xiao Mo asked.

"Heh, heh, heh." Sun Jin laughed. "Not at all. I came to take the heads of you and the young lady back with me."

As he spoke, Sun Jin looked at Jiang Qingyi. "I never expected that the girl from back then would grow into such a lovely young woman—and reach such a high level of cultivation, too. Truly remarkable. It's all thanks to the Young Master."

"Cough, cough. Enough nonsense. If you're going to kill us, get on with it." Xiao Mo coughed a few times, and the long sword in his hand gave a shuddering ring.

"Kill them!"

The masked man waved his hand.

In an instant, the Blood Butterfly Pavilion assassins vanished from where they stood.

When they reappeared, cold light was already flashing before Jiang Qingyi.

Xiao Mo stepped forward, hoping to help his disciple.

But the masked man thrust his spear at Xiao Mo.

Xiao Mo's Grass Character Sword Art turned into nine Sword Qi, nine invisible swords striking at the enemy's vital points.

But the masked man managed to scatter Xiao Mo's Sword Qi every time.

Xiao Mo soared into the air, and the masked man followed close behind.

Grass Character Sword Art—Rain Beating Banana Leaves.

Sword Qi gathered without pause around Xiao Mo. The white clouds in the sky were shredded by it, turning into swords.

"Fall!"

More than a hundred swords formed from white clouds shot toward the masked man.

Xiao Mo charged in with his own sword, his strikes swift and dense, like a sudden downpour beating against banana leaves, ringing out in a continuous flurry of crisp impacts.

"Fine swordsmanship, fierce Sword Qi, profound sword intent. You might have reached the Immortal Realm. But what a pity—how did you end up with your foundation so badly damaged?" The masked man sighed.

In the next instant, the silver spear pointed straight at Xiao Mo's heart.

Xiao Mo's mind tightened, and he raised his sword to block.

The immense force slammed into Xiao Mo's blade, driving it back into his chest.

"Boom!"

Like a cannonball, Xiao Mo was hurled toward the summit of a mountain.

The summit shattered on impact, and boulders tumbled down the slopes.

"Master!"

Surrounded by enemies, Jiang Qingyi was frantic to help her master, but the other Blood Butterfly Pavilion disciples blocked her way.

"Move!"

Jiang Qingyi gripped her sword tightly, fury filling her eyes.

"Move?" Sun Jin chuckled. "Miss Jiang, you're going to die here today. In a way, it's for the best. Dying without knowing anything is the last mercy the Prince can show you and the Young Master."

"What kind of bullshit is that?"

She stepped forward, and the properties of the Xuan Shuang Long Sword mingled with the young woman's Sword Qi.

Within a one-li radius around her, everything was instantly covered in frost.

The young woman thrust her sword. Her frost-cold sword intent, sharpened by the Grass Character Sword Art, pierced the heart of a Blood Butterfly Pavilion disciple at the Dragon Gate Realm!

On the other battlefield, the masked man knew Xiao Mo wasn't dead.

He drove his spear down as he descended.

Xiao Mo rose to his feet and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

His sword moved like wind sweeping across the grasslands, flowing without end. It seemed gentle, yet held an unyielding force—deflecting, redirecting, and turning the enemy's strength against him. His Sword Light formed the wavering phantom of a sea of grass.

After Xiao Mo sent him flying with a slash, the masked man plunged his spear into the ground.

The spear carved a hundred-meter-long furrow through the earth. The masked man's momentum finally stopped when his back struck a tree.

The mask on his face had shattered.

The masked man simply tossed it aside and spat out a mouthful of blood.

He hadn't expected this cultivator, who was like a candle guttering in the wind, to still possess such strength. He really was no ordinary foe.

But the man had to die here today.

In the next instant, the masked man's Spiritual Energy surged. Cold light bloomed from the spear in his hand.

This was his final move.

He thrust his spear, and the force around it transformed into a massive dragon.

"Roar!"

The dragon roared furiously and lunged at Xiao Mo.

Xiao Mo calmly watched the spear coming at him, took a deep breath, and used his Sword Bone to drive his Spiritual Meridian.

Xiao Mo's Sword Qi climbed higher and higher. Even the masked man's breathing made him feel as though countless tiny swords were stabbing at his lungs!

Xiao Mo swung his sword, and his Sword Qi formed a sword stele before him.

"Clang!"

The spear struck the sword stele and couldn't advance even an inch.

The next instant, the masked man felt a figure drift past him.

When he lowered his head, a gaping hole had already been pierced through his heart.

Xiao Mo stood behind the masked man. With a casual flick, he sent the blood on his sword splattering onto a tree.

The masked man fell forward, not making a sound.

"Cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough..."

Xiao Mo coughed violently. His face grew paler and paler as he gasped for air.

"Qingyi." Xiao Mo wiped his mouth and flew toward his disciple.

At the same time, Jiang Qingyi swung her sword and cut off the head of the last Blood Butterfly Pavilion disciple.

Sun Jin, standing off to the side, looked grim.

In Sun Jin's eyes, Jiang Qingyi was as good as dead.

But he had never expected her strength to be so astonishing. She was practically invincible among those of the same realm. Even a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator would have to struggle to kill her.

Sun Jin sensed danger and tried to flee.

But how could Jiang Qingyi let him leave alive?

Jiang Qingyi formed a sword incantation with her fingers, and the little grass frozen on the ground suddenly shattered.

The fragments transformed into chains of black ice and bound Sun Jin.

Jiang Qingyi gave a pull in the air, and Sun Jin slammed straight into the ground.

Sun Jin tossed out his fan.

Two ink-black tigers leapt from it.

Taking advantage of the painted tigers holding his opponent off, Sun Jin turned and ran.

But he hadn't gone more than a few steps when ice spikes pierced both ink tigers, which melted into ink and flowed across the ground.

Jiang Qingyi flew after him and thrust her sword toward his back. Sun Jin turned and tried to block the tip with his fan.

Like a pebble skipping across the water, Sun Jin bounced again and again across the ice before finally crashing into a tree.

When Sun Jin got back to his feet, Jiang Qingyi's long sword was already pointed at his throat.

Seeing the icy look in Jiang Qingyi's eyes, Sun Jin hurriedly begged for mercy. "Immortal, spare me! Immortal, please spare my life!"

"Answer my questions! If you answer well, I'll spare you," Jiang Qingyi said coldly.

"Ask away, Immortal! I'll tell you everything I know!" Sun Jin's face had gone deathly pale with fear, and he had completely forgotten how arrogant he'd been just moments ago.

Looking at a man like him, Jiang Qingyi felt that even killing him would dirty her sword.

"Who wants to kill my master?" Jiang Qingyi asked coldly.

Jiang Qingyi had always wondered who her master had offended, that they would pursue him to the ends of the earth.

She had asked before, but her master had always kept silent.

"This..." Sun Jin looked troubled, hesitating to speak.

"Talk!" Jiang Qingyi slashed off one of his arms.

"Ah!" Sun Jin clutched his severed arm and screamed. "I'll talk! I'll talk! Prince Xiao wants to kill your master!"

"What Prince Xiao? What grudge does he have against my master?"

"Prince Xiao is Prince Jing Xiao of the Liang Kingdom, and your master is his son. In truth, the Prince doesn't just want to kill Xiao Mo—he wants to kill you, too.

"Do you remember when you were four years old, and your parents were killed and you were taken to a house?

"That was the Prince's doing. Because you had an Innate Sword Bone, he had someone take you there to transplant your Sword Bone into Xiao Mo!

"Your parents refused, so they were casually killed."

"W-what did you say..." Jiang Qingyi looked as if she'd been struck by lightning. Her face turned pale, her pupils trembled, and the long sword slipped from her hand and fell to the ground.

Secretly gripping a hidden weapon behind his back with his other hand, Sun Jin continued, "You heard me right. It was your master's father who killed your parents.

"You could have become a Sword Immortal renowned throughout the world, but your master had your Sword Bone transplanted into him!

"The only reason your master could enter the Nascent Soul Realm at eighteen was your Sword Bone.

"Those father and son ruined your family and stole your whole life."

[For reference, the realms are as follows—

Lower Three Realms: Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Cave Abode.

Middle Three Realms: Dragon Gate, Golden Core, Nascent Soul.

Upper Three Realms: Jade Unblemished, Immortal, Ascension.]