Yaoguang Scatter, Azure Sky Chant

Just as he spoke, it was too late.

At that moment, it was too fast...

Lu Wu-bing suddenly exploded, his combat power surging. After instantly killing Song Zhong of the [Peaceful Axe], he turned his attention to Yin-Yang Monk Deng Yuan.

He moved like lightning, his sword thrusting repeatedly.

Ahead, staff shadows crossed the sky. Amidst the Yin-Yang Monk's wild laughter, the two fought with increasing ferocity.

In the eyes of Ouyang Lan and Ji Wenxiu.

They discovered that Lu Wu-bing couldn't break through at all, like a moth caught in a net.

He flew extremely fast and attacked with great ferocity.

But as soon as he got close to the Yin-Yang Monk, his speed would slow down by nearly half.

Blocked by the opponent's profound internal energy, his sword speed was delayed, forcing him to react to every move, dodge, and change tactics.

He had actually fallen into a disadvantage.

Ouyang Lan's expression grew anxious. Gritting her teeth, she used Inch Step a few times, circling in an arc. As Lu Wu-bing's sword attack retreated, she suddenly lunged forward.

This time, she didn't use the [Thirteen Life-Snatching Swords], nor did she use the Celestial Star Sect's advanced signature sword technique, the [Yaoguang Sword].

Instead, she adopted a peculiar stance.

Her hands held the sword against her left side, her right shoulder forward, her right palm held inward, fingers spread like a fan.

As she approached the Yin-Yang Monk, her legs bent like a bow and arrow, and she ducked under the sweeping staff strike.

As her hair fluttered like clouds, she let out a sharp cry, "Scatter!"

As the clear sound pierced the ears, the Yin-Yang Monk Deng Yuan's face was full of disdain and cruelty. He was about to strike back with his staff.

He had already figured it out.

This young girl who had just joined the battle, although her cultivation was higher, already reaching the upper stage of Seventh Rank.

However, with so little internal energy and such slow sword speed.

As long as she dared to get close, the next strike would turn her into a pulp.

But at this moment.

Ouyang Lan held her sword with both hands, pulling her left arm back and pushing her right arm out, exerting force simultaneously.

The long sword in her hand suddenly exploded into dozens of sparkling, shimmering fragments.

The fragments turned into a torrent.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...

They shot out like streaks of light.

Piercing through the Yin-Yang Monk's protective Diamond Force.

As Ouyang Lan unleashed her "Yaoguang Scatter," her entire body's meridians throbbed with intense pain. She opened her mouth and spat out a mouthful of blood, her legs feeling weak, unable to stand steadily.

She gathered all her strength for one strike; it was either the enemy's death or her own.

When her mother taught her this move, she had said that she must never use it unless facing a life-or-death crisis.

Once used, her entire body would be drained of strength, leaving no chance to resist.

With her sword strike unleashed, Ouyang Lan watched as the [Diamond Force] surrounding the Yin-Yang Monk was penetrated like smoke. Her eyes held no worry or fear, but a hint of anticipation.

She knew that her junior disciple would definitely not disappoint her.

Not only Lu Wu-bing had not disappointed her.

Ji Wenxiu had not either.

As Ouyang Lan charged forward, she didn't notice that Ji Wenxiu, who had arrived right behind her, had a delicate face like porcelain, flushed as if about to bleed.

Her body radiated heat, and the surrounding light distorted.

The young girl didn't swing her sword forward. Instead, she leaped into the air, like a phoenix spreading its wings, her arms outstretched.

At the same time, her small mouth opened, and she let out a clear, piercing whistle.

"Ah!"

It was unimaginable how such a loud and clear cry could come from Ji Wenxiu's petite frame.

As the whistle erupted.

The entire forest trembled, and the leaves rustled.

Birds, insects, and ants all retracted their necks, as if encountering a natural predator.

Even Ouyang Lan, who had just used her ultimate move, and Lu Wu-bing, who had seized the opportunity to strike like lightning, felt a sharp pain in their eardrums...

It was as if someone was probing the limits of their ears with a sharp needle.

For a moment, their minds buzzed, and all surrounding sounds disappeared...

Let alone the Yin-Yang Monk Deng Yuan, who bore the brunt of it.

Boom...

His head felt like it had been struck by a sledgehammer, and blood trickled from his ear canals.

A pair of fierce, orange-yellow eyes rolled slightly upward...

He was clearly stunned for a moment.

And that moment.

Was the dividing line between life and death.

By the time the Yin-Yang Monk regained his senses, his eyes regaining their light, his throat felt a sharp pain.

"Chh..."

A sword light pierced through his neck.

The first thing he heard as his hearing returned was a whistling sound.

No.

It wasn't the wind.

It was the sound of his own blood splashing.

"I..."

The Yin-Yang Monk couldn't believe he would die at the hands of three youngsters.

These people looked unremarkable.

Their cultivation was so low it wasn't even interesting, like ants he could casually kill.

But each of them possessed strange and peculiar skills.

And when they joined forces.

He was left with almost no ability to fight back.

"Bang..."

The Yin-Yang Monk, who died with his eyes wide open, slowly leaned back and fell to the ground as Lu Wu-bing withdrew his sword.

The two girls beside Lu Wu-bing, one tall and one short, also tilted and fell.

One fell to the left.

One fell forward to the right.

Lu Wu-bing released his sword and caught them both.

From the Yin-Yang Monk's body, a wisp of smoke, along with a mist of blood, was uncontrollably inhaled into his open mouth.

He felt his spirit transform once more into a raging inferno.

That bloodthirsty, violent urge, like a seed, was deeply imprinted in his sea of consciousness.

It was as if he had consumed a potent tonic, wanting to vent, wanting to kill...

Even looking at the two women he was supporting.

He saw them as a delicious, irresistible feast.

"Damn it... What kind of cursed technique is this?"

Lu Wu-bing suppressed the torment in his heart and helped the two women lean against a tree stump on the grass.

He no longer cared about finding a clean spot and, with bloodshot eyes, immediately sat down cross-legged.

He used all his mental focus.

To suppress his boiling Blood Essence...

Controlling the surging [Dripping Water Force] internal energy within his body, he made it frantically assault the [Hand Shaoyin Heart Meridian].

The last shred of rationality in his mind allowed him to recall what Senior Sister Xiaolan had told him that day.

The [Hand Shaoyin Heart Meridian] governed emotions, allowing the heart to remain as pure as ice, maintaining constant calmness.

The [Dripping Water Force] was the most upright and peaceful, making it impossible to fall into a demonic state.

As long as the internal energy remained, external demons would naturally stay away.

The logic was sound.

However, Lu Wu-bing found that a bucket of water seemed insufficient to extinguish a raging inferno.

His internal energy was not enough.

The scene before him seemed to plunge back into bloody slaughter.

He remembered his past life as a young man with soaring ambitions, and later, how he had bowed his head for a meager living, toiling day and night for a few pieces of silver...

Then he thought of his current life, the life of a young master that countless people would envy, which, under the threat of the Eastern Sea Sword Sect, had finally turned to smoke and clouds.

A surge of resentment welled up in his heart, impossible to expel.

"Heaven gives birth to all things to nourish man, yet man has nothing to repay Heaven. Kill, kill, kill! In this damned world, there is no one who cannot be killed."

"Swallowing spirits and devouring souls to strengthen my body and soul, integrating all sword techniques under heaven to forge a divine sword reaching the heavens, and questioning the path to eternal life."

"Release your true spirit and original form, break free from all shackles. What is morality, what is law, are all rules set by the strong for the weak. Why should they be obeyed?

The strong prey on the weak, it has always been this way, and it will continue to be so..."

"If my aspirations are realized one day, I will dare to laugh at Huang Chao for not being a true man!"

These thoughts, like a river breaking its banks, began to erode the last vestiges of Lu Wu-bing's rationality.

Until clear and pleasant incantations reached his ears.

The incantations were like the clear smoke from a Taoist temple, floating in the clouds...

Or like the bell chime from a Buddhist hall, resounding in the distant sky.

Finally, they transformed into a gentle, flowing rain, falling upon his heart.

In a daze, Lu Wu-bing seemed to see a fertile field, with green sprouts growing and flowers in full bloom.

He smelled the fragrance of flowers and saw a flowing spring.

He also saw two pale little faces filled with concern.

And a small mouth opening and closing, mumbling something.

"What spell is this?"

The violent urge, like an extinguished volcano, was pressed back into the depths of the earth by layers of rock and soil.

Lu Wu-bing felt his mind as clear as washed water, and for a moment, the scenery before him became incredibly vivid.

There was no longer any trace of cynicism or the urge to kill that boiled within him.

He had overcome this trial!

Lu Wu-bing understood in his heart where the incantations that echoed in his ears had come from when he was in agony.

"It's the [Small Clear Sound Mantra] passed down by Aunt."

Ji Wenxiu let out a long sigh, a smile blooming on her face.

She had only tried it on a whim, and when she found that her spell was indeed effective, she felt a surge of joy.

"You know, my Ji family's martial art, [Heaven Bearing Phoenix Blood], is incredibly powerful, but those who cultivate it, while gaining immense benefits, can also be trapped by the phoenix blood.

In fact, even those in the family have to admit that this isn't [Phoenix Blood], but [Mad Blood].

Aunt left the capital when she was young and joined the Bright Moon Palace.

Although there were various reasons, the main one was to find a way to suppress the madness of the phoenix blood."

"She must have succeeded."

Lu Wu-bing thought of the incantation he had just heard. He had heard it clearly then, but now, recalling it, he couldn't remember a single word.

It was truly miraculous.

"No, she only obtained some incomplete methods. They are useful, but they cannot completely eradicate the influence of [Mad Blood].

However, I believe that with her intelligence, she will find a complete solution one day."

Whenever Ji Wenxiu spoke of her aunt, the Cold Moon Fairy, her eyes would light up.

Clearly, she greatly admired her.

"I'll teach you the [Small Clear Sound Mantra]. Senior Brother, your life-risking technique has too severe consequences; it twists the mind and damages the spirit. It's perfectly suited to be suppressed by this mantra.

According to Aunt, any illness that affects the mind can be alleviated with this spell.

Oh, and this spell requires a unique breathing technique, otherwise, you won't be able to remember it."

"I'll go search first and see what treasures these two fierce criminals have on them?"

Ouyang Lan suddenly said.

"Senior Sister, you can listen too. It's just a small spell, and Aunt didn't forbid me from teaching it to others. Learning more things can give you more means when you travel the jianghu."

Thinking of Ouyang Lan's desperate resolve to risk death and then find life, channeling all her cultivation into a single strike, Ji Wenxiu was filled with admiration.

The three of them had gone through life and death together.

Their bond was naturally extraordinary.

Teaching a skill was a small matter, not worth mentioning.

"Alright, I'll learn it too. Never mind this [Clear Sound Mantra], even if Junior Sister Wenxiu taught me that life-risking [Azure Sky Chant] from before, I would dare to learn it."

Ouyang Lan said with a smile.

"Ahem, Senior Sister, you jest. You don't have [Phoenix Blood] in your body, so you can't learn this vocal technique.

It harms yourself before it harms others... Even for me, using it once would result in serious injuries. The consequences would be even more severe than you forcefully using [Yaoguang Scatter]."

So that's how it is.

Lu Wu-bing looked at the two women, who seemed to be suffering from a serious illness, and suddenly understood.

Requesting monthly votes.