Draw the Sword!

Upon hearing this, Zhou Buqi immediately laughed.

"Still pretending?"

Fan Yuan ignored him, his gaze remaining fixed on the branch.

He was certainly not completely unaware.

A few days ago, a tiger head appeared out of nowhere in Jiang Zhuo's home.

That Tiger Spirit has harmed many people.

So when Tiger Head appeared, the martial arts school erupted in cheers, saying that revenge had finally been taken.

At that time, Fan Yuan vaguely guessed that the person who made the move was most likely Qin Wangchuan.

It's the same thing, as you can guess.

Seeing it with your own eyes is another matter entirely.

He had considered that Qin Wangchuan might intervene.

I also thought that the Tiger Spirit would die easily.

But he hadn't expected it.

It turned out to be a tree branch.

A tree branch that was casually broken off.

The Tiger Spirit was beheaded, the cut as clean as a mirror, and it was nailed to this spot, pressing down on it so that none of the cultivators could pull it out.

How can this be considered Celestial Person?

Could an ordinary Celestial Person truly accomplish such a thing?

Fan Yuan's heart sank slightly, but his face remained calm.

"You think you can just get away with saying you didn't know?"

Shen He smiled faintly, gave Huo Qingyang a look, and then slowly walked around to Fan Yuan's back.

"Brother Fan, do you really think we haven't investigated anything?"

"Some interesting things happened in Willow Creek Town, where you live, a while ago."

"A tiger's head suddenly appeared in the home of a family with a martial arts school."

He said this in a mocking tone:

"Where did that head come from? It's so hard to guess."

At the same time, Huo Qingyang slowly moved to the other side, completely blocking Fan Yuan's escape route.

"Fan Yuan, there's no need to pretend now that things have come to this."

"To be able to kill Tiger Spirit and leave such marks, the person who did it must be Celestial Person."

"The Celestial Being Realm..."

"It's been so many years, it's practically a legend now."

Zhou Buqi stood directly in front, staring at Fan Yuan, his gaze gradually turning cold.

"Don't you just want to monopolize this fortuitous opportunity so you can come back and settle old scores with us someday?"

"What a pity, such a big thing—"

You can't swallow it.

"Even if you manage to escape by chance, once the news gets out and Cultivator across the land know that a Celestial Person has emerged from this place, how many days do you think you'll have left to live?"

The three men, one in front, one behind, one on the left, and one on the right, tightly sandwiched Fan Yuan in the middle.

An invisible sense of oppression pressed down layer by layer.

Fan Yuan suddenly fell silent.

He stood silently in place, letting the aura of the three men press down on him.

Whether the gentleman was truly Celestial Person, he did not know.

But there was one thing he was very clear about.

Once word gets out about this...

At that time, the gentleman would never have a peaceful day again.

The gentleman had been kind to me; I absolutely couldn't stand by and watch this happen.

Thinking of this, Fan Yuan slowly exhaled, his eyes gradually turning cold.

Having said that, the rest...

There was no other way but to take action.

He raised his head, his gaze sweeping over the faces of Huo Qingyang, Shen He, and Zhou Buqi.

Three Cultivator of the same level.

It will definitely be a tough battle.

So what!

Fan Yuan got into position.

The disciples of Soaring Tower retreated far away, their expressions tense, and no one dared to approach even a step closer.

In the mountain valley, the wind suddenly stopped.

A major battle is about to break out.

At this crucial moment...

A presence suddenly burst in from the end of the mountain path.

It happened very suddenly and in a chaotic manner.

Even though they were still quite far apart, the people in the arena were able to lock onto that aura immediately.

Huo Qingyang frowned.

Shen He glanced sideways.

Zhou Buqi subconsciously tilted his head.

Fan Yuan suddenly turned around, a look of astonishment flashing in his eyes.

"Zhou Heng?!"

"Master!"

Zhou Heng stood at the entrance of the mountain path, holding his sword, panting heavily and covered in sweat.

Although he didn't recognize Huo Qingyang and the others, he could tell at a glance that something was wrong in the atmosphere.

The three old men stood on three sides, tightly surrounding their master in the middle.

The murderous intent had not yet been revealed, but the oppressive aura had already silenced even the wind in the mountain valley.

Zhou Heng's heart skipped a beat.

Broken.

I shouldn't have come along.

He was only worried about Fan Yuan, but after returning, he inquired along the way and asked several people before finally finding the mountain valley next to Galloping Horse Lake.

Who would have thought that I would encounter such a scene as soon as I arrived?

But this scene caught Fan Yuan's eye and his eyes lit up.

Yes!

The sword the gentleman gave me is a divine weapon capable of interfering with the Divine Soul!

Why fight a bitter battle when you can use it to kill the enemy?

"Good timing!"

He gave a low shout, flicked his sleeves, and grabbed at the air with his palm.

Buzz!

The longsword in Zhou Heng, which had just been sheathed, suddenly trembled, and flew up along with its sheath, turning into a Shadow Figure that landed directly in Fan Yuan's palm.

Zhou Heng suddenly felt his arms go empty and was completely stunned.

"Division--"

Before he could finish speaking, he was pushed backward by an invisible gust of wind and could only stand at a distance, staring blankly.

Huo Qingyang and the other two did not stop them.

It's not that I don't want to.

Rather, it's unnecessary.

In their eyes, Fan Yuan was a trapped beast.

Giving him a sword won't change anything.

What they want today is not Fan Yuan's life.

Instead, they used him to force out the person hiding behind the scenes.

As for whether or not that person is someone we can afford to offend, that's a matter for another time.

The most important thing is to force people to come out first.

Zhou Buqi looked at the sword in Fan Yuan's hand and even twitched the corner of his mouth.

"Fan Yuan."

"I remember your swordsmanship has never been very good."

"What, now that you're at your wit's end, you want to fight to the death with a sword?"

Fan Yuan did not respond to him.

He simply let his hand slowly stroke the scabbard, his five fingers tightening.

"My swordsmanship is indeed not very good."

As he spoke, he gently tapped the surface with his thumb.

Clang--

The longsword was drawn.

A flash of cold light, like water, flowed out from the sheath.

Fan Yuan raised his eyes, gazing at the sword blade as it was drawn from its sheath, his voice calm.

But this sword is different.

Huo Qingyang and Shen He initially held a hint of sarcasm in their expressions.

But the instant their gaze fell upon the sword—

The world suddenly went dark!

The two of them suddenly felt everything go black, and then, an indescribable sword shadow slashed down without warning!

That wasn't Sword Light.

It wasn't even Sword Intent.

It is something higher, older, and more irrational.

It was as if it were the first sharp edge in the world since the Heaven-Opening.

A sword fell.

Everything is divided.

Huo Qingyang's blood froze instantly.

Shen He's pupils constricted sharply, and his Divine Soul trembled violently.

Before they could even react, they were dragged into an endless Deathly Stillness by the Dao Sword.

The next moment.

Huo Qingyang's face suddenly flushed.

Shen He was also taken aback.

Something warm splashed all over their faces.

Both of them were jolted violently, their Divine Soul forcibly returning to their original positions.

Huo Qingyang raised his hand and touched it.

It's blood.

Shen He stiffly looked up.

Zhou Buqi remained standing in the same spot, motionless.

But his head had already flown off.

The head hovered in mid-air, lingering there, as if time itself had been stretched out at that moment.

Huo Qingyang and Shen He could even clearly see the changes in the expression in Zhou Buqi's eyes.

First came the bewilderment of having just escaped the shadow of the sword.

It was as if he hadn't yet understood why he had suddenly come back to his senses.

Immediately following was confusion.

He seemed puzzled as to why the two people in front of him were looking at him with such horrified expressions.

Until the next moment.

Out of the corner of his eye, he finally caught a glimpse of the headless corpse below.

And so, the bewilderment and confusion in those eyes instantly transformed into an overwhelming fear.

'I... am dead?'

The moment the thought arose, it plunged into darkness along with my consciousness.

Zhou Buqi's head slammed into the mud with a thud, rolled twice, and finally came to a stop.

The headless body stood frozen for a moment before collapsing heavily to the ground, blood gushing from the severed neck.

The entire valley was deathly silent.

Huo Qingyang and Shen He's minds went blank.

How so?

When did Fan Yuan become this powerful?

No--

Wrong!

Shen He was the first to react, his face instantly turning deathly pale, and he shouted in a hoarse voice:

"It's that sword!"

Without even thinking, he turned and retreated.

At the same time, Huo Qingyang also retreated rapidly, his eyes no longer showing any of his previous composure, only utter horror.

But a cold glint flashed in Fan Yuan's eyes, and with a stomp of his foot, he lunged forward like an arrow released from a bow.

"Too late!"