A Frost-Cold Sword

At that moment, a sword gleam flashed in Granny Hundred Flowers' eyes.

Looking at the Old Daoist, she said word by word, "If you dare lie to me, I'll make you wish you were dead!"

After saying this, Granny Hundred Flowers instinctively glanced outside the main hall. A terrifying killing intent shot outward.

To the Old Daoist, this madwoman's threat was nothing. It was as if she meant to trouble his disciple just to pick a fight with him.

Wang Xian was walking out of the kitchen when a sudden chill ran through him. The hairs on his back stood on end... He was just about to swing his sword to block when his master's voice reached his ears.

He immediately gathered the strength of his body and seized a branch from behind him, swinging it in one smooth motion...

Then a heartrending scream rang out through the wind and snow!

After ten years of hard cultivation in the Heavenly Book World, Wang Xian's body had now reached the minor achievement stage of Spirit Gathering.

In that split second, he had actually used his own body to forcibly withstand Granny Hundred Flowers' frost-cold sword!

The branch in his hand swept out with One Sword No Trace!

It cut away most of that Sword Qi, which was indestructible and impossible to resist.

But even the faint trace of frost-cold power that remained was more than Wang Xian could withstand.

As the Old Daoist roared in fury, Wang Xian was sent flying ten zhang, then crumpled down into the snow...

The Old Daoist was so enraged that the instant he shot out of the hall, he roared, "You old hag! If you hurt my disciple, I'll slaughter everyone in Hundred Flowers Valley!"

A cold wind swept past, and suddenly it grew bitterly cold.

Wang Xian tried to climb up from the snow, but couldn't help spitting out a mouthful of blood.

That Sword Qi had come too fast. Who in this world could withstand it? And who could know where this deadly sword had come from?

Wang Xian's pupils contracted sharply.

In that instant, he realized that this seemingly kind old woman was actually more vicious than any of the people he had encountered before.

The moment his master charged out of the hall, Wang Xian suddenly broke into a cold sweat.

The Old Daoist darted over, gripping Wang Xian's small hand with one hand and pressing the other against his back, channeling some spiritual energy into his body.

He tried to drive out that trace of frost-cold energy.

"Don't worry, Master. I won't die!"

Wang Xian tried to draw a breath, but instead spat out another mouthful of blood.

The Old Daoist angrily turned to glare at the mother and daughter emerging from the hall, then barked coldly, "Old hag, how many elders and disciples does Hundred Flowers Valley have for me to kill?"

With that, he released Wang Xian's hand and threw back his head with a long howl.

"Even if I had never seen that Divine Sword, even if it were in my hands, what could you do to me?"

The Old Daoist stopped pretending. He released the full force of his aura and pointed at Wang Xian on the ground.

"Come on! You can kill my disciple! If you dare hurt him, I'll kill the master of Hundred Flowers Valley and make your daughter die before your eyes!"

The Old Daoist was as wild as a mad tiger. Granny Hundred Flowers was one thing—

Even Baili Wenqiu, standing behind her, was stunned. She simply couldn't understand why her mother would attack a boy in the Foundation Establishment Realm.

Only Wang Xian, lying in the snow, knew the truth.

That vicious woman had hurt him, but with his master watching, even if she had the courage of a leopard, she wouldn't dare come over and grab his hand.

Let alone search him all over.

At that moment, Wang Xian was just as ready to go all out as his master!

"You think I'm afraid of you?"

Granny Hundred Flowers breathed out softly and said calmly, "Come on. Let's see if you can break through my sword!"

The Old Daoist flew into a rage. With a clang, his spirit sword left its sheath and pointed at the mother and daughter approaching through the wind.

Wang Xian was stunned. He hadn't expected his master to draw his spirit sword in a fit of anger!

After all, when Nalan Ming from Tianshan and his martial uncle had forced his master to act, he hadn't seen his master draw his own spirit sword.

It seemed his master had truly lost his temper today!

Looking at the old woman before him, whose smile didn't reach her eyes, the Old Daoist shouted, "Once you're done fighting, get out! My temple doesn't welcome you two!"

At that, Granny Hundred Flowers' expression finally changed. She was no longer calm.

The spirit sword stirred the cold wind, just like its master's mood. It seemed to sense the threat carried on the wind, too.

It let out a clear ring and trembled slightly.

Granny Hundred Flowers sighed. She didn't know that, one autumn, she and the Old Daoist had fought and crossed swords, yet neither had gained the upper hand.

She even wondered: if she had a Divine Sword,

could she send a streak of Sword Qi a thousand li, allowing her dignity to reach beyond Hundred Flowers Valley?

Although she had just wounded the little Daoist with a streak of frost-cold Sword Qi, her expression remained calm.

She believed that no matter how profound the Old Daoist's Daoist arts were, he couldn't threaten her.

But only now, when the Old Daoist drew his spirit sword, did she finally realize...

That man who had once fought her with nothing but his bare hands was angry today!

This refined, courteous old man had actually drawn his spirit sword—a first!

She had never seen the Old Daoist's sword before, but she could still feel the killing intent coming from it.

So she had no choice but to draw her own sword.

Granny Hundred Flowers slowly reached out and grasped the hilt, her face growing solemn.

She even wondered if she had made a mistake.

Should she really have used the little Daoist to provoke this old man?

Wang Xian sat in the snow, clutching half a branch.

It was just like when he sat in the main hall, holding that wolf-hair brush, its hard shaft making him uneasy.

This was Kunlun, the Cloud-Rising Taoist Temple on South Mountain, his and his master's territory. And all along, he had been learning to write that Peace Talisman from his master.

Although he had yet to enter the path of talismans and couldn't even write a complete talisman,

at that moment, his hand began to scrawl in the snow without his realizing it. The strokes flowed like dragons and snakes, just as when he had copied the Dao Scripture that morning.

Then he had danced around in the snow with his wooden sword in the same way.

"Vmm!"

A barely audible hum sounded, and a faint golden light shone out from the snow behind the Old Daoist.

To Granny Hundred Flowers and Baili Wenqiu, it looked as though the Old Daoist, furious, had gathered all his cultivation and was about to fight them to the death.

Only the Old Daoist was startled. In that instant...

He saw the crooked talisman in the snow, and couldn't help smiling to himself.

A split second between life and death!

His not-so-dull disciple had actually used a branch to write a Peace Talisman in the snow.

It was even more astonishing than the strokes Wang Xian had once left on the desk, pressing through the paper with his brush.

There were many cultivators in the world, but very few talisman masters.

That was because talisman masters not only had to cultivate, but also had to comprehend the Way of Heaven and Earth...

And his beloved disciple had actually broken through right there in the snow.

He had become a lowly little talisman master.

With a flick of his sleeve, the Old Daoist erased the marks in the snow. The corner of his mouth twitched.

At his words, Wang Xian scrambled to his feet and shot into the kitchen.

While Granny Hundred Flowers and Baili Wenqiu stood there dumbfounded, the kitchen door slammed shut from the inside.

From that moment on, whatever bloody fight they had outside had nothing to do with him.

The Old Daoist secretly laughed, though his face remained covered in frost.

Looking at Granny Hundred Flowers, he said, "Let me see your sword!"