The Lesser Clarity Sword

"When he charges, I'll leave Yi Light Condensing Edge in place," Li Yu said through voice transmission, explaining his idea.

Ying Feiyun's Sword Escape Technique was extraordinarily fast. The greater his speed, the greater its power-but by the same token, an attack that struck him during his sword escape would also have its power vastly amplified.

After hearing this, Qin Jian looked at Li Yu with an expression that said great minds thought alike.

"The sword Junior Sister Xu holds is called Lesser Clarity. It's one of the Sword Embryos used to select the wielder of the Taiqing Divine Sword, and the Taiqing Divine Sword's sword intent is sealed inside it. As long as she can unleash it, she can definitely cut that fellow down."

The Taiqing Divine Sword!

Li Yu was slightly startled to hear this and gave Xu Wei a doubtful glance.

Her cultivation was the lowest of anyone present, only at the qi refinement ninth layer. Even Ying Ruomu, whom he had casually slain, had been able to overwhelm her. He had never expected her to wield such an important sword.

Under Li Yu's doubtful gaze, Xu Wei's face flushed scarlet. She wanted to argue, but when she remembered that she would already have died at Ying Feiyun's hands without Li Yu's intervention, she could not get the words out.

"In that case, let's give ourselves two layers of insurance."

At this point, Li Yu could only put his faith in Xu Wei. Qin Jian was already gravely wounded and could barely keep himself standing on the sea.

Apart from Li Yu himself, Xu Wei was the only one who could still fight.

But then Qin Jian added, somewhat apologetically, "Please make a feint, fellow Daoist. Junior Sister Xu's Lesser Clarity Sword needs heart's blood to awaken its edge. Since she hasn't reached the qi refinement tenth layer yet, she can only make up for it with ordinary blood essence. It may take a little time."

Li Yu asked, "How long?"

"A moment," Xu Wei answered. Gritting her teeth, she extended her left hand and clamped all five fingers around the Lesser Clarity Sword's blade.

Li Yu watched a great gush of blood spurt from her palm, coating both sides of the blade evenly.

Soon, a limpid radiance began to shine. Xu Wei trembled all over, her cheeks draining of color until they were deathly pale, but the bone-piercing chill of the sword's edge made the hairs on Li Yu's body stand on end.

Suddenly, Li Yu shouted, "Watch out!"

Boom!

Ying Feiyun, who had been standing at a distance regulating his breathing and recovering his energy, had unleashed the Sword Escape Technique again. Like a streak of lightning, he reached Xu Wei in the blink of an eye.

Clearly, he too had sensed the Lesser Clarity Sword's edge.

Although he was confident in his strength, Ying Feiyun had no intention of letting his opponents unleash their ultimate techniques unhindered. Ignoring the pain in his body, he used sword escape once more.

Li Yu detected this immediately through Taiyi Starshine. Without the slightest hesitation, he opened his mouth and spat out a pale white stream of qi.

The formless sword edge had only just taken shape when it intercepted Ying Feiyun.

His sword escape has slowed down!

Li Yu and Qin Jian both caught this detail at the same time. Previously, the only thing Li Yu had that could keep pace with Ying Feiyun's sword escape was the Su Yi Essence Shield, which he could activate instantly with his spiritual sense.

At this realization, Li Yu's eyes lit up. His hopes of defeating this opponent had grown.

"A mere grain of light!"

Even charging at full speed, Ying Feiyun remained keenly aware of his surroundings. His spiritual sense detected the formless sword edge, but he merely sneered and fearlessly slashed at it with the Golden Light Sword.

At the instant of contact, the Golden Light Sword easily severed Yi Light Condensing Edge. Ying Feiyun was about to pass through when his spiritual sense suddenly warned him of danger, and a jade pendant at his waist cracked apart.

A golden light barrier appeared out of thin air and enveloped his entire body. Outside the barrier, at his neck and heart, two white sword marks abruptly appeared.

This was Li Yu's Yi Light Condensing Edge.

The most formidable aspect of this spell was that it had no physical substance. As long as his spiritual sense could keep up, the heaven and earth slaughtering metal qi could scatter and gather, separate and combine, reforming into a formless sword edge in the blink of an eye.

But he had not expected Ying Feiyun to possess a protective magic artifact as well.

Regret crossed Li Yu's face.

He had come so close to killing Ying Feiyun.

You little brat! You destroyed my Golden Light Pendant. You'll be the next one I cut down! Ying Feiyun had never expected one careless moment to cost him his most precious spiritual treasure, and hatred surged in his heart.

But his mind remained clear. He knew that his first priority was to deal with Xu Wei.

The Mount Lao Sword Sect was, after all, a great order of the Mystic Sects, with countless profound arts and wondrous techniques. The might revealed as the Lesser Clarity Sword's edge awakened made even his hair stand on end.

Thus, Ying Feiyun immediately gathered his focus and unleashed the Sword Escape Technique, his target clear as he charged straight at Xu Wei.

Seizing the time Li Yu's Yi Light Condensing Edge had bought, Qin Jian forced up a breath and burned his heart's blood essence, unleashing his true essence. He slashed his Fool-Transforming Sword out in front of Xu Wei, trying to intercept Ying Feiyun's sword escape.

The silvery-white Fool-Transforming Sword, tinged with red, gave a sharp crack the instant it crossed Ying Feiyun's Golden Light Sword and shattered into dozens of pieces.

Qin Jian's freshly treated wounds split open again, and he spat out a great mouthful of blood. Unable to keep his footing, he was thrown backward, tumbling through the air before crashing heavily into the sea.

Yet his desperate, all-out interception had bought Li Yu another brief moment.

Li Yu had been beside Xu Wei to begin with. He immediately used Wandering Yi Void Step, trying to move her aside and evade the Golden Light Sword.

But the moment he drew close to her, his expression changed.

Xu Wei held the Lesser Clarity Sword's hilt in one hand and its blade in the other. Though the blood ritual to awaken its edge was not yet complete, the cold radiance surrounding her made his entire body sting as he approached.

Without the slightest hesitation, Li Yu kicked her directly in the waist. The kick sent her flying out of position, but it also saved her life.

Yet Ying Feiyun was simply too fast. The Golden Light Sword swept past, and agonizing pain tore through Xu Wei's right shoulder. Her sword-holding right arm had already been severed.

Still, she had survived rather than being cut in two.

After cutting off Xu Wei's right arm, Ying Feiyun continued charging across the sea for some distance.

Boom!

Using Taiyi Starshine to predict where Ying Feiyun would stop, Li Yu activated a Yi Firmament Thunder Talisman. But the blue-white lightning that struck Ying Feiyun merely sent ripples across the golden barrier covering his body.

Ying Feiyun ignored the lightning. After ending his sword escape, he turned to Li Yu, noticed his bleeding right foot, and said coldly, "Pointless mercy. You might have been able to withstand another two blows from me, but now all you can do is wait for death."

The kick Li Yu had delivered to save Xu Wei had also exposed him to the Lesser Clarity Sword's edge. He felt as though a sword had pierced him. In this condition, even if he could use Wandering Yi Void Step, he certainly could not evade Ying Feiyun's sword escape.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!

Golden lightning flickered over Ying Feiyun's body once more as he was already preparing to recover his energy for his next sword

escape.

Faced with life or death, Li Yu instead grew calm. He circulated the true essence within his body, driving the Su Yi Essence Shield's power to its utmost, while gathering the heaven and earth slaughtering metal qi into a formless sword edge before him.