The wave of rats trampled over the corpses of their companions and surged forward even more frenziedly.
Though Li Xiaoyu's sword net was fierce, facing such endless numbers was beginning to strain him.
His spiritual energy was rapidly running low.
"This can't go on."
I have to end this quickly! Li Xiaoyu thought.
Just as he was preparing to use a more powerful Daoist art, a purple figure drifted out of the shadows in the passage behind him, ghostlike.
It was Jin Ping'er, who had returned.
"Giggle. Young Master Li, looks like you're in trouble."
Jin Ping'er covered her mouth and giggled coquettishly. The purple ribbons in her hand turned into streaks of light, circling around her.
"Would you like this servant to help?"
"No need."
Li Xiaoyu replied coldly. He knew this enchantress had no good intentions.
"Is that so? Then this servant will just enjoy the show."
As she spoke, Jin Ping'er swayed and floated onto a rock above the passage, watching Li Xiaoyu struggle to hold out amid the tide of rats.
Li Xiaoyu ignored her and focused on the crisis before him.
There were simply too many rats.
He felt like a reef on the shore, weathering the relentless pounding of raging waves.
Gradually, gaps began to appear in his sword net.
A demonic rat seized the opportunity, darted out from beneath his feet, and opened its bloody maw to bite his calf.
Li Xiaoyu reacted instantly. With a backhanded slash, he cut the demonic rat in two.
But more demonic rats surged toward him from every direction.
Watching from above, Jin Ping'er's smile grew wider and wider.
She meant to wait until Li Xiaoyu was exhausted, then step in to "save" him, giving her leverage over him so she could force him to reveal the secrets he carried.
But the scene she had imagined—Li Xiaoyu groveling and begging for mercy—never came.
Just as the tide of rats was about to engulf him, a look of resolve flashed in Li Xiaoyu's eyes.
He knew he could no longer hold back.
"Enchantress, watch closely."
He suddenly called up to Jin Ping'er, his voice cold.
Then he aimed the Immortal-Slaying Gourd at the tide of rats ahead.
"What's that?"
Jin Ping'er's pupils abruptly contracted.
She saw a faint golden light suddenly glow across the surface of the Wine Gourd.
The next moment,
Li Xiaoyu silently spoke in his heart.
"Go!"
A golden thread of sword qi, finer than a strand of hair, flashed out of the gourd's mouth!
The sword qi made no sound and stirred no earth-shaking force.
It simply sliced through the dark air, quiet and soundless.
Wherever it passed, time seemed to stand still.
Jin Ping'er's eyes flew wide, filled with shock.
She watched the fine golden line arc through the tide of rats.
Then there was nothing more.
Every Bloodthirsty Demonic Rat touched by the golden line vanished, body and sound, in an instant.
They weren't cut apart or shattered.
They were erased at their very roots by a force so sharp it had reached the utmost extreme!
One breath.
It had taken only one breath.
The tide of rats ahead, enough to drive any Jade Purity Realm cultivator to despair, had been wiped out!
A vast fan-shaped dead zone had been forcibly cleared through them!
The surviving rats seemed to sense a terror rising from the depths of their souls. They let out shrill screams and fled, vanishing into the depths of the darkness in an instant, never daring to show themselves again.
The cave fell silent once more, as silent as death.
Only Jin Ping'er's quick, startled breaths remained.
Jin Ping'er stared blankly at the young man in blue below, standing calmly with the gourd in his hand.
She felt her heart spasming wildly.
What was that?
What on earth was that thing?
The golden sword qi had been faint, yet the keen intent it contained made even her, a Jade Purity Realm Seventh Layer expert, feel her soul tremble!
She had no doubt that if that sword qi had been aimed at her just now,
she would never have been able to block it!
She would have died for certain!
As Jin Ping'er looked at Li Xiaoyu, the earlier teasing amusement had vanished from her eyes.
In its place was deep wariness!
This Green Cloud Sect disciple looked to be only at the fourth layer of the Jade Purity Realm, but he was clearly hiding many great secrets!
With the threat of the Bloodthirsty Demonic Rats cleared, Li Xiaoyu continued deeper into the Nameless Cave.
Jin Ping'er said nothing as they went, and the atmosphere was strange.
She looked at Li Xiaoyu with wariness.
Meanwhile, Li Xiaoyu quietly recovered the mental energy he had spent activating the Geng Metal Sword Qi.
Though that strand of sword qi was faint, it had still taken a great deal out of him.
At the deepest part of the cave, they discovered an abandoned altar.
The Blood Refining Hall's emblem was carved into it, and dried bloodstains and shattered magical artifacts lay scattered around.
This had once been a secret stronghold of the Blood Refining Hall. They had raised the Bloodthirsty Demonic Rats here.
For reasons unknown, the place had been abandoned, leaving behind only the out-of-control demonic creatures.
Having uncovered the truth, Li Xiaoyu had completed his mission.
Li Xiaoyu didn't linger with Jin Ping'er. They parted ways at the mouth of the cave, and he immediately returned to the Green Cloud Sect on his sword.
"Interesting, Li Xiaoyu, was it? We'll meet again."
A flash of purple light passed, and Jin Ping'er disappeared as well.
Back at Morning Sun Peak, Li Xiaoyu reported what he had seen and heard on the trip to his master, Shang Zhengliang.
After hearing him out, Shang Zhengliang praised his performance lavishly and gave him pills to heal his injuries and replenish his spiritual energy. Then he sent him back to rest and prepare for the upcoming Seven Meridians Martial Arts Tournament.
Life returned to its quiet routine.
Every day, aside from cultivation, Li Xiaoyu studied the mysteries of the Immortal-Slaying Gourd. His life was simple and fulfilling.
However, this peace was soon shattered by a group of uninvited guests.
One day, Li Xiaoyu was practicing his sword in the courtyard.
Suddenly, several streaks of sword light descended from the sky and landed in the Martial Arts Arena on Morning Sun Peak.
The man at their head was imposing and wore a smile. He was none other than Qi Hao, the senior brother of Dragon Head Peak.
At his side stood a young woman in a pink dress: Tian Ling'er of Big Bamboo Peak.
Several Dragon Head Peak disciples followed behind them, their expressions haughty and arrogant.
Their arrival stirred all of Morning Sun Peak.
When Shang Zhengliang received word, he immediately brought Li Xiaoyu, Chu Yuhong, and the others to the Martial Arts Arena.
"May I ask what brings Nephew Qi to our humble peak?"
Shang Zhengliang looked at Qi Hao and asked in a flat tone.
He had little fondness for this Dragon Head Peak disciple, who had stolen his own disciple's fiancée.
Qi Hao respectfully bowed to Shang Zhengliang, his smile flawless.
"Your junior, Qi Hao, pays his respects to Martial Uncle Shang."
Qi Hao straightened and looked at Li Xiaoyu behind Shang Zhengliang.
"I came today on a personal matter."
He drew Tian Ling'er at his side closer and said loudly, "A few days ago, Junior Sister Ling'er was young and ignorant, and she and Junior Brother Xiaoyu had a falling-out."
"When I heard about it, I felt terrible, since the matter began because of me."
"So today, I've brought Junior Sister Ling'er in person to apologize to Junior Brother Xiaoyu."
Qi Hao's words were impeccable, and he adopted a humble stance, like a cultured and reasonable gentleman.
Yet the tone of his voice and the contempt in his eyes whenever he looked at Li Xiaoyu exposed what he truly thought.
Qi Hao hadn't come to apologize at all. He had come to show off.
To Li Xiaoyu and to all of Morning Sun Peak, he was flaunting his victory, boasting that he had won the beauty.
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