Death of a Grandmaster

Cultivators from the surrounding area gradually rushed over, but none dared come too close. At the very least, they watched from several hundred meters away. Otherwise, if a Grandmaster casually struck them dead, that would be a terrible loss.

"Where are they?" a cultivator who had just arrived asked between gasps.

"Can't you see? Right over there. Three Grandmasters—this trip to North Spring Mountain wasn't wasted after all."

"Why haven't they started fighting yet? What are they talking about?"

"What do you know? A battle between Grandmasters isn't some street brawl; it's different from fights between ordinary cultivators like us. Their essence, Qi, and spirit are fused into one, perfectly rounded and whole. They must first use words to seize the momentum and seek out flaws in their opponent's mind." A middle-aged man in splendid robes, a longsword at his waist, rebuked him.

"Brother, what insight! May I ask your honored name?" someone beside him asked.

"My name is Sun Jingui. In the Jianghu, they call me the Hundred Knowledgeable Person of the Jianghu."

"May I ask what your cultivation level is? Of course, if it is inconvenient to say, then forgive my presumptuousness."

"By sheer luck, I broke through to the third level of True Martial last month." Sun Jingui lightly stroked the dark beard beneath his chin, every inch the lofty expert.

The Jianghu folk standing at the front had been listening to his eloquent analysis of a Grandmaster battle and were just about to turn and see which great expert he was. Yet upon hearing his cultivation level, they all curled their lips and turned their attention back to the three Grandmasters in the distance.

Atop Hongyan Mountain, a figure swept onto the crest of the waterfall. Clad in coarse hemp robes with a gourd hanging from his waist, he looked over the Six Heroes of Dragon Gallbladder Mountain lying on the ground. He crouched and sent out a thread of True Qi. But the instant it entered the corpse, a lingering strand of Sword Qi followed it back in retaliation. With a rub of his fingers, he extinguished that Sword Qi.

"These six fellows truly had fate marked by an evil star. Of all places, they had to choose this one. A single strike severed their heart meridians with Sword Aura and Sha Qi, yet there isn't even the slightest wound on the outside of their bodies. Such an unfathomable attainment in the sword path could only have been the work of the Sword Demon, Chu Wusheng."

The old man in hemp robes stood upon a Green Stone and looked down, just in time to hear what Old Man Tianzhu, Jiang Hongguang, had said.

His gaze rose and settled on the young man in the Scenery Pavilion. He muttered, "Just what is on North Spring Mountain? Jiang Hongguang doesn't dare enter, and even Sword Saint Qin Wuya came twice without climbing the mountain. Could there truly be something beyond Grandmasters? That little brat Void Form definitely knows something..."

Gu Yuanqing was somewhat taken aback. Just moments ago, he had already prepared himself: the instant the hunchbacked old man stepped into North Spring Mountain, he would use the mountain's power to seal his strength, testing how Grandmasters fared within North Spring Mountain so he could devise his next strategy.

Yet he had not expected the old man to stop just one step from the threshold.

Listening to the voices below the mountain, Gu Yuanqing pondered, In my previous life, I once heard the saying: before the golden wind stirs, the cicada senses it first. Perhaps Grandmasters possess such a realm of the mind—truly miraculous. But if this is the basis for judgment, and Grandmasters sense that entering North Spring Mountain is dangerous, then it means I can use North Spring Mountain's power to suppress them.

With that thought, Gu Yuanqing felt somewhat more at ease and gained a measure of confidence.

Looking down, he could faintly see the two men facing off from afar, swords in hand. He eagerly anticipated the coming battle.

These were Grandmasters—he had understood the weight of those words since childhood! Having lived so many years, this was also his first time seeing them.

At the foot of the mountain.

Old Man Tianzhu, Jiang Hongguang, stood with his head raised for a long time without moving.

Sword Demon Chu Wusheng could not help shouting again, "Jiang the Hunchback, what exactly are you planning? Are you leaving or staying? Say something. If you're scared, if you're afraid of death, then we'll withdraw now. I have no desire to offend the Imperial Court for no reason at all."

Qin Wuya stood unmoving in the distance. He too wanted to see what Jiang Hongguang would choose. If he chose to enter North Spring Mountain, what would happen? Though he had volunteered for an Imperial Decree to come here, that did not mean he intended to do everything himself. Holding Chu Wusheng in check would be enough to give the Emperor an explanation.

Jiang Hongguang did not answer. His hunched body suddenly straightened.

"This old man has cultivated for more than two hundred years. My final limit draws near, and I have been merely dragging out a feeble existence."

As he spoke, the wrinkles on his face gradually vanished, and he seemed to become decades younger.

Sword Demon Chu Wusheng's expression changed. "Jiang the Hunchback, you..."

Only upon seeing this did he become completely certain that Jiang the Hunchback's earlier words had not been an exaggeration. The person on that mountain was even more terrifying than Mu Shengxue.

Jiang Hongguang turned around, his eyes gleaming as battle intent surged from him. He continued slowly, "If I can witness what lies beyond Grandmasters before I die, then I shall die without regrets!"

Qin Wuya's pupils contracted slightly. A Grandmaster's essence, Qi, and spirit were refined into one and returned to the Dao Embryo. As their final limit approached, their bodies gradually decayed, no longer able to maintain perfect wholeness, and their aura began to leak away. They had to conceal it within the Dao Embryo to prolong their lives.

But now, Jiang Hongguang had dispersed the essence, Qi, and spirit hidden within his Dao Embryo throughout his body, returning to his peak in an instant. Unless faced with life or death, a Grandmaster nearing his final limit would never do this, because it meant that every moment consumed what little lifespan he had left.

Atop the waterfall, the old man in hemp robes took out his Wine Gourd and drank a mouthful. Then he gently shook it and hung it back at his waist, chuckling. "That old fellow Jiang Hongguang is going all out. Well, he doesn't have many years left anyway. If he can see what lies beyond Grandmasters and glimpse even a thread of opportunity, perhaps he may find a sliver of life in desperate straits! Then I shall see just what North Spring Mountain is hiding."

Jiang Hongguang took a deep breath and felt every aspect of himself return to its absolute peak. His knees bent slightly, and he shot upward. In the blink of an eye, he had reached a height of thirty zhang. He lightly tapped the sheer cliff face and continued upward.

Qin Wuya, Chu Wusheng, the old man in hemp robes atop the mountain, and the surrounding Jianghu spectators all fixed their eyes on him.

Suddenly, Chu Wusheng's expression changed. He saw Jiang Hongguang's body, which should have continued upward, abruptly stiffen. The rock beneath his feet shattered, and his body actually began falling.

Such a crude mistake could never happen to a Grandmaster. Even a high-level True Martial cultivator would never step through the rock beneath his feet!

Jiang Hongguang swung his Bamboo Staff and drove it into the cliff wall, steadying his descent. As he looked up, he saw a streak of sword light descend through the air, the rushing current of air sending countless shattered stones flying.

Chu Wusheng turned and raced toward the North Spring Mountain cliff. Something was clearly wrong with Jiang Hongguang's condition.

Qin Wuya was equally astonished. When he saw that streak of sword light, he could not conceal the expression on his face.

He too wanted to know what Jiang Hongguang had experienced that had left him unable even to control his footing. But as an Imperial Court retainer, and having personally requested the Imperial Decree, he naturally could not let Chu Wusheng go over.

"You said it yourself just now—your opponent is me!"

Qin Wuya took one step forward. His sword was like an immortal flying from beyond the heavens, stabbing straight for Chu Wusheng's back.

"Get lost!"

With an enraged roar, Chu Wusheng turned and slashed his sword. Heaven and man converged, Vital Energy gathered, and in an instant it became a massive sword wreathed in black Qi that swept out.

Boom!

Sword Qi collided, and violent force burst in every direction. Wherever it reached, whether rock or tree, everything was ground into powder.

But in the next instant, Qin Wuya had already passed through the center of the collision, closing the distance.

His blue robes fluttered in the wind, his expression indifferent and his tone calm.

"Sixty years ago, for the debt of one sword, today... Hm?"

Qin Wuya abruptly stopped and looked toward the cliff.

Chu Wusheng also turned back, his expression blank.

At the very instant the two exchanged blows, a longsword pierced through Jiang Hongguang's head, traced an arc through the air, and returned to the mountaintop.

Jiang Hongguang helplessly released the Bamboo Staff with his right hand and fell backward.

Dead?

A dignified Grandmaster had been finished in a single exchange?

They had not even seen who had struck—only a Flying Sword had torn through the air!

Below the valley, atop the waterfall, and among all those who witnessed this scene, silence fell.