The light of Golden Autumn shifted, pushing back the Thunderbolts filling the sky. Autumn rain fell in wave after wave, its radiance hazy.
"These old bones of mine can't withstand Sword Intent."
Daoist Baoqiu muttered a few words. The way he grumbled made him seem more like an old man than an accomplished cultivator. He took out a shabby Blue-Cloth Treasure Bag, tied with a Golden Rope, its contents swelling and churning.
Xu Xuan did not act rashly, merely watching him in silence. The old man before him displayed little imposing presence, yet placed considerable pressure on him. Utterly pure hidden metal qi spread outward, perfectly aligned with Golden Autumn.
"Come, come. Let me see what a Sword Immortal of the Li Kingdom can do. I'm getting on in years-might you let me make the first few moves, young friend?"
The old man smiled, but Xu Xuan merely swept his Spirit Sword outward. The Heavenly Laws around him changed, and countless silver-white and pitch-black Thunderbolts spread out, crisscrossing to suppress the hidden metal qi between heaven and earth.
"You jest, elder. I'm younger, so I must ask you to yield a few moves to me instead."
The two stood in a subtle standoff, but Baoqiu merely smiled faintly and said:
"Please."
The Blue-Cloth Treasure Bag abruptly opened. Countless rays of golden light seemed to spring from within, making Xu Xuan's eyes ache as though a dense swarm of golden needles had stabbed into them. Two streams of cloudy tears flowed uncontrollably down his face.
Yet his sword hand did not waver in the slightest. With that stroke, the Thunderbolts between heaven and earth crashed down, black-and-white lightning erupting violently.
Baoqiu raised a white-iron ruler, sending up white light that gleamed like jade and shone like snow. It converted yang into