Riot

Chapter 1: Riot

With the sword unleashed, a wondrous feeling followed. Yu Ci felt as if he had returned to the moment he used his flying sword to kill Daoist Yan, but this time, the situation was different.

Last time, he had used the Seven Star Talisman Sword he condensed himself. Rather than a flying sword, it was more like a flying talisman. He had only just broken through the barrier of the Luminous Aperture, allowing him to summon spiritual resonance with his divine thought, which produced such an incredible effect.

But this time, the sword he swung had no talismans attached to it. It was pure, natural form, spirit, and killing intent, merged with the sword. It was similar to Daoist Yan's peculiar sword-controlling method. However, his pursuit, lock-on, swing, and kill actions flowed like water, with almost no trace of deliberate effort. It was as if his hand, eyes, mind, and courage were unified in the face of life and death. The sword strike was utterly exhilarating.

As he was still savoring this rare feeling, a shout of joy from Ye Tu rang out from below and to his side. As if that wasn't enough, he jumped up like a madman and waved at Yu Ci. Yu Ci waved back and slid down the cliff face, quickly returning to the slope above.

"Uncle Yu, amazing, amazing!"

Ye Tu jumped up and down, praising him repeatedly. He had first seen Lu Quan's corpse fall from the sky, then he had personally watched "The Number One Villain Under Heaven" have half his head sliced off by Yu Ci. Following that was that dazzling sword strike. After the initial discomfort of seeing blood, it was replaced by deep admiration.

In truth, for Ye Tu, whose living environment was very peculiar, his standards were vastly different from ordinary people. However, everything is relative. He was clearly no match for the Poisonous Snake Monk. Yet, Yu Ci not only cleanly killed the monk but also eliminated his two companions, whose strength was no less than the monk's. More importantly, Yu Ci achieved all this while clearly at a disadvantage in cultivation, and he won so spectacularly that Ye Tu couldn't help but admire him.

"Amazing!" The young man was as excited as if he had killed the enemies himself. "Three early stage Spirit 통, no, the last one was almost at the middle stage, and Brother Yu killed him like slaughtering a chicken, too amazing!"

He mimicked Yu Ci's sword-wielding posture, praising him endlessly. "Uncle, your primordial spirit controlling the sword is already this proficient, it's incredible! With such divine skill, it's no wonder..."

"Primordial spirit controlling the sword? Isn't it spirit and soul?"

"Ah?"

Ye Tu was taken aback by the question. He then remembered that Yu Ci was a newly initiated rogue cultivator. He scratched his head, about to offer an explanation, when his mind suddenly went blank. "You don't know? If you don't know, how did you do it?"

"It was the first time I did it."

Yu Ci didn't think it was a big deal. He patted the young man's head again. "Just drawing a sword to kill someone, why so many fancy names!"

"The first time!"

The young man's eyes widened, and then, as if recalling something, he muttered in a daze, "But this is different..."

"What's different?" Yu Ci had just killed three opponents whose cultivation was higher than his, and he was feeling mentally exhilarated. He took the opportunity to lecture the young man. "No matter what sword technique or secret method it is, in the end, it's all about killing. Does it matter how you kill? I've focused on Talisman Arts since childhood and only have a superficial understanding of swordsmanship. I haven't even practiced many sword techniques, yet I can still draw my sword and kill, right?

"When truly facing an enemy, thinking too much is useless. First, you need to summon your blood qi and courage, making your hand, eyes, mind, and courage one. Don't be swayed by the enemy. Your mind should be clear, and where your intent goes, your sword follows. Sometimes, when you're in the zone, what wondrous moves can't you unleash? Treat yourself this way, and when facing an enemy, it's the opposite – killing an enemy is about killing their courage. No matter how strong the enemy, if their courage is broken, they're just a chicken waiting to be slaughtered. Like the Poisonous Snake Monk and that Xu Lao Er, if their courage hadn't been broken, with their cultivation, how could they have died so easily..."

This was not just a lecture for Ye Tu, but also Yu Ci's own reflection. As he said, he had never systematically studied swordsmanship, and his movements lacked a set pattern. However, relying on his exceptional courage and his consistently clear and lucid state of mind, he had always found survival and victory in perilous situations.

The secret to his swordsmanship lay entirely in the words "courage" and "peril." That is, intimidating the enemy with courage and achieving victory through peril. His ability to seize fleeting opportunities, honed in life-and-death struggles, and his composure in the face of danger were the foundations of both. With such internal and external harmony, and his mind and body as one, he had repeatedly overcome his enemies.

After speaking, Yu Ci felt even more refreshed. He somewhat understood why people said "it feels good to be a teacher." Putting aside the psychological sense of superiority, simply expressing what one knows clearly through words and making it known to others was an unparalleled enjoyment.

Unfortunately, Ye Tu's temperament was vastly different from his. He clearly wasn't absorbing this kind of discourse well, and his expression was even more dazed, making Yu Ci feel that his words were likely wasted.

Just as Yu Ci and Young Master Ye were having their unclear discussion, a deafening roar suddenly exploded. Initially, the original sound of the roar could be heard, but in an instant, the vast sound waves reverberated, turning into rumbling thunder that swept through the canyon. Compared to this, the thunderous sound created by the Five Thunder Talisman earlier was pitifully weak.

Yu Ci and Ye Tu exchanged glances, not yet understanding what had happened. Suddenly, a sharp cry came from within the clouds, followed by a continuous stream of similar sounds. After another one or two breaths, a swirling mass of blood-red clouds shot out from the depths of the mist and, without stopping, rushed towards the top of the canyon.

Blood Vultures! And not just one, but nearly a hundred Blood Vultures gathered together, charging upwards in this hasty and panicked manner.

Yu Ci grabbed Ye Tu by the collar and retreated towards the inner side of the slope. Amidst the whistling wind, this flock of Blood Vultures quickly passed over their heads, their sharp cries fading into the distance.

But this was just the beginning. Soon, both of them on the slope saw that the ferocious beasts and birds in the valley seemed to have gone collectively mad. The faster ones were exerting all their strength to escape upwards, while the slower ones were frantically fighting with other creatures. Yu Ci saw two flying demon apes, belonging to the same species, biting each other and tumbling into the deep valley. As for the ferocious beasts that constantly fought each other daily, they were now engaged in a fight to the death with the nearest creatures.

"What's going on?"

Ye Tu was stunned, but for once, he wasn't scared by the scene. Yu Ci patted his shoulder, telling him to be quiet. In just this short period, two or three waves of ferocious beasts had rushed onto the slope. Fortunately, none of them stopped; they just moved away even faster.

Yu Ci moved to the edge of the slope and looked down. The scene that met his eyes made his heart lurch. He saw, within the boundless clouds below, a serpentine creature dozens of feet long, like the Teng Snake of legend that rides the mist and clouds. It was originally winding through the clouds, but now it was struggling and thrashing wildly. Its long tail struck the clouds, and occasionally it hit the rock walls, causing large amounts of碎石 to splash down. The impacts sent clear tremors through the slope.

No matter how one looked at it, it seemed like a death throe.

Yu Ci recognized this behemoth, which he suspected was a Teng Snake, as one of the most powerful creatures within the range of the Zhaoshen Map. It usually roamed leisurely in the misty canyon, with no natural enemies. What had happened to it now?

The "Teng Snake" struggled for nearly half an hour. Countless raptors and ferocious beasts were smashed to pieces by its flailing tail. Only then did it slowly stop and sink into the deeper parts of the mist. It was likely that its fate was dire. Influenced by it, the beastly riots in this area had somewhat subsided. At least, there weren't so many ferocious creatures rushing onto the slope.

Yu Ci breathed a sigh of relief, then said to Ye Tu, "We can't stay here long, let's go!"

Ye Tu was now completely obedient to Yu Ci. He nodded, and the two of them climbed up together. However, after only a quarter of an hour, they slid back down, covered in dust and grime.

They couldn't get through. The flock of Blood Vultures that had just flown over their heads seemed to have brought the chaos from the depths of the canyon to the area above. Within a few miles of the slope, the conflicts between raptors and ferocious beasts were no less intense than below. It was fine for the two of them to stay on the slope, but as soon as they moved, they would be attacked. If it were just Yu Ci alone, it would be fine, but with the addition of Young Master Ye, things became very troublesome.

With no other choice, they had to retreat back to the slope and wait for this chaotic period to pass. They waited for an entire night.

Yu Ci was not in a hurry because he had the Zhaoshen Map. Even though the illuminated range at night was reduced to within thirty miles, he had enough ability to monitor the surrounding situation. In comparison, he was more worried about Ye Tu's condition.

At this time when raptors and ferocious beasts were going berserk, the young master had displayed an unusual calmness. Or, more accurately, the boy had entered a state of severe distraction, completely immersed in his own world, ignoring and deafening himself to external events.

To put it nicely, this was called self-forgetfulness; to put it bluntly, this was madness...

As daylight dispelled the darkness and the range of the Zhaoshen Map slowly expanded, Yu Ci let out a long sigh of relief. The most difficult night since entering Sky裂谷 had finally passed. Over the night, he had killed four raptorial beasts that attempted to attack the slope, temporarily securing the area. And through observation with the Zhaoshen Map, this wave of chaos seemed to show signs of subsiding. He planned to wait a little longer, at least until Ye Tu returned to normal.

With nothing else to do, Yu Ci began to clear the Shrimp Whisker Grass remaining on the slope. Time flew by during this tedious and intricate work. When the total number of Shrimp Whisker Grass he possessed exceeded four thousand stalks, he heard the boy's extremely excited scream.

The boy's voice was full of vitality again. Yu Ci turned his head and saw Ye Tu waving and gesturing as if dancing. The stark change from stillness to motion made Yu Ci want to touch his forehead.

Ye Tu didn't care what Yu Ci was thinking. He waved vigorously, "Hurry over, hurry over! This time, Uncle Yu, you'll definitely understand what I'm talking about!"

It took Yu Ci a few more moments to understand what Ye Tu meant. So, this boy, who had been acting strangely for days, was still thinking about teaching him the basics of cultivation?

Before he could show any emotion, Ye Tu rushed over, laughing, and pulled him to the flattest part of the slope. A neat circle had already been drawn on this ground, with a relatively smooth stone placed at the center. The boy pointed at the drawing and proudly announced:

"This is my latest achievement!"

Yu Ci looked at the crude drawing, then looked up after a long pause, not knowing what to say. "This?"