Heroes of the Grass and Serpents

The moment the four-way melee reached its climax—

A sudden flash of white light erupted, only to vanish in a heartbeat.

A sword rode the wind from the west, its speed neither hurried nor slow.

The blade was seven feet long, half a foot wide, and an inch thick.

It shimmered with a coarse, dark luster, carrying gale-force winds and subtle fluctuations of spiritual energy as it flew toward the Three Thousand Sword Formation of Liu Xuanye.

Lu Ya took a sip of his wine, feeling a sudden sense of contentment.

The guest has finally arrived...

On the Sword Terrace.

The delicate body, previously as graceful as green bamboo, instantly turned as sharp as a hanging blade.

Liu Xuanye's sword-like brows furrowed, a rare trace of solemnity appearing between her picturesque features.

This black sword was far too bizarre!

It possessed a spiritual pressure exactly equal to her own, that of a One-Star Immortal Sect master.

The sword's speed was measured, as if it were granting her ample time to prepare for the clash.

Liu Xuanye swept her sleeve with a flourish.

In an instant, the Three Thousand Sword Formation coalesced into a single blade.

The sword hung like a crescent moon, radiating brilliant light.

At the same time.

The black sword suddenly accelerated, striking directly at the giant crescent blade.

The instantaneous surge of spiritual pressure disrupted the space, sending the members of the Ink Immortal Sect tumbling in disarray.

The crescent moon shattered abruptly, vanishing into nothingness in the blink of an eye.

The black sword continued its flight!

Liu Xuanye calmed her Immortal Platform, her picturesque brows relaxing slightly.

She sensed a familiar aura, and suddenly, a figure surfaced in her mind.

"This is..."

The black sword did not stop, continuing its forward trajectory.

The spiritual pressure grew slightly, and its speed increased.

It thrust straight toward the crimson fox shadow that swayed like a flame!

Hm?

Wine Fox Immortal felt the spiritual pressure was somewhat familiar, but with no time to ponder, she immediately released the Illumination Immortal Sect and flicked her long tail.

"Wine Sea Overlapping Waves!"

In an instant, the space rippled like a tidal wave, swaying with a violent, intoxicating sensation that nearly caused the nearby Illumination Immortal Sect to collapse.

The fox claws spread wide.

Three tails swayed.

Wine Fox Immortal prepared to catch the sword with her bare hands!

Where Liu Xuanye had failed, she was determined to succeed!

"Come!"

The black sword plunged into the wine sea with lightning speed, performing a flamboyant, twisting maneuver that bypassed the waves and whirlpools, piercing the red fox's shoulder at a bizarre angle.

Wine Fox Immortal's fox form was instantly broken, forcing her to revert to her human shape.

A gash opened on her delicate shoulder, blood staining half of her Immortal Court cloud-patterned robe.

Looking at the unscathed Liu Xuanye on the distant Sword Terrace, she was suddenly overcome with a sense of defeat.

Wait, this sword pressure—

It's him!

The entire scene fell into dead silence.

This sword strike was too powerful.

It was so powerful that the Immortal Court guards and inspecting deacons were jolted into alertness, forgetting their previous humiliation as they all speculated which high-ranking official of the Immortal Court had arrived.

There was no need to guess anymore.

The person had already arrived.

A tall, imposing figure stepped through the air from the west, covering a hundred feet with every stride, quickly matching the speed of the black sword as he walked slowly toward Lu Ya at the prow of the flagship.

This was a tall man clad in a wide black robe, his hair disheveled and his face covered in stubble, yet his features were heroic and extraordinary, his jawline as sharp as if carved from stone.

Heavy bags under his eyes spoke of a life weathered by wind and frost.

His half-lidded eyes looked down upon everything with disdain!

This was a face everyone in the East Floating Immortal District recognized.

It was none other than the former head of the East Floating Immortal Court, the man who had been demoted to herd sheep on the edge of the Colored Cloud Immortal Domain for a hundred years, the strongest man in the history of the East Floating Immortal District—

Li Wuxie!

Azure Phoenix City, at the edge of the plaza cliff.

Gazing at that long-lost face, Ning Zhongzi was filled with worry, thinking to herself that they were in big trouble now.

Even if she had confidence in Lu Ya, she would never believe he could be stronger than Li Wuxie!

Li Wuxie's cultivation was the highest in the East Floating Immortal District—a Seven-Star Immortal Venerable!

But he was not merely a Seven-Star Immortal Venerable.

Seven-Star Immortal Venerable was only his lowest cultivation level!

In his youth...

He was an Immortal Emperor!

Legend had it that Li Wuxie reached the Immortal Emperor realm at the age of three thousand and held immense prestige on the West Court Continent, originally slated for a position at the main headquarters of the Immortal Court.

However, due to a disastrous entanglement with a snake immortal of the Immortal Tail three thousand years ago, he was demoted to the East Floating Immortal Court to serve as a district head.

This ill-fated romance also damaged his foundation, causing his cultivation to plummet from a Nine-Star Immortal Emperor all the way down to a Seven-Star Immortal Venerable.

People mockingly called him—

The Grass-Python Hero.

Ning Zhongzi still did not understand the meaning behind this nickname.

But Li Wuxie's tragedy did not end there.

One hundred years ago, Li Wuxie sent the Wine Fox Immortal deep into the Beast Nest Forest to investigate the largest rogue immortal organization in the East Floating District—[Zhai Tan]. As it happened, while the Wine Fox Immortal was away, he inadvertently flipped through her files and, for some inexplicable reason, was demoted to herd sheep in a remote immortal district of the Colored Cloud Immortal Domain, where he had remained ever since.

Though his fate was twisted, his strength remained formidable, far surpassing that of an average Immortal Venerable!

Ning Zhongzi never expected that Li Wuxie, who had vanished for a hundred years, would suddenly appear!

And Lu Ya had just crushed Xu Yinglong's skull, even threatening to take the Immortal Court's inspection ship...

Ning Zhongzi dared not think any further.

In the air.

Although the Wine Fox Immortal was injured, she was in high spirits.

She could finally watch the show without having to fight.

Haha, this is the Grass-Python Hero Li Wuxie!

Lu Ya, you're in for it now.

Telling me to roll onto the bed, telling me to dance, telling me to fight my own sect members...

The Heavenly Dao revolves.

Retribution is swift.

Hahahaha!

Meanwhile.

On the other six immortal ships.

Seeing Li Wuxie appear, the Immortal Court guards and inspection deacons were in an uproar.

Even a certain Han Immortal Sect member, who had been preparing to return to his cave dwelling to watch his furnace, turned back around.

"It's, it's... it's Head Li!"

"Head Li has returned!"

"Head Li looks like he's become even stronger!"

"A single sword strike that suppressed his cultivation and defeated both Liu Xuanye and the Wine Fox Immortal; Head Li is too strong!"

"Look, his purple clay teapot is gone, his gaze and aura are different—his illness is cured!"

"It seems Head Li has come to crusade against the rebel!"

"With Head Li here, can Lu Ya still act so arrogant?"

Li Wuxie strode forward with his head held high, walking through the air, feeling as though he hadn't felt this majestic in a long time.

These people hadn't hesitated to gossip behind his back in the past, but now that they had been beaten like dogs, they suddenly remembered him.

Although the medicinal effect of the Eastern Divine Wolfberry was potent, it was a pity that one sip only lasted for half an hour; it couldn't last long, so he had to finish the battle quickly.

Thinking this, he spoke bluntly:

"I've been gone for less than a hundred years, and you've already lost all the face of the East Floating Immortal Court."

The two Nine Star Immortal Sect members looked exceptionally wretched; not daring to look at Li Wuxie, they only lowered their heads and bowed.

"Mo Yuzi greets Chief Li."

"Zhao Shanbai greets Chief Li."

Li Wuxie ignored the two and continued walking straight ahead.

Upon reaching a distance of a hundred paces from Lu Ya, he suddenly asked:

"Are you Lu Ya?"

Lu Ya had already discerned this man's extraordinary nature.

His cultivation appeared to be only at the Seven-Star Immortal Venerable level, but he had at least fallen from the rank of Immortal Emperor to his current state.

His talent was the highest Lu Ya had ever seen, surpassed only by Liu Xuanye.

Furthermore, judging by how he had defeated both Liu Xuanye and the Wine Fox Immortal with a single sword strike just moments ago, his swordsmanship far exceeded that of Liu Xuanye.

By the standards of his own max-level swordsmanship, Liu Xuanye's skill was a seventy, while this man's was well above ninety.

In terms of swordsmanship alone, he had reached a god-like level.

Yet, somewhat comically, this man suffered from severe kidney deficiency—so severe that he likely couldn't even urinate naturally, forced to rely on spiritual power to push out even a few drops...

Fortunately, it seemed he had just consumed a potent tonic!

Perhaps he could finally stretch his limbs a bit.

Thinking this, Lu Ya didn't bother with any pleasantries.

"My name is unimportant; I have been waiting for you for a long time."

"???"

Li Wuxie was left completely bewildered by Lu Ya's words, taking a long moment before saying:

"Regarding today's events, I apologize to your sect on behalf of the East Floating Immortal Court. You have already crushed Deacon Xu's skull, so let this matter end here. However, if you still want the Immortal Court's ships, I will not agree to it."

An apology?

If apologies were useful, what would be the point of the police?

Wait... you are the police!

Ahem.

Lu Ya smiled warmly.

"My shipgirl enterprise cannot function without ships, so I want all seven of these vessels."

The entire scene fell into dead silence.

Ning Zhongzi's forehead was covered in black lines.

The Wine Fox Immortal had long anticipated this moment and was secretly delighted. He plopped down onto his large gourd, chose the best spot to watch the show, and looked toward the two men with great interest.

It was the first time Li Wuxie had ever encountered someone so arrogant.

He couldn't help but stop in his tracks.

But his sword...

Did not stop.