Divine Sense

Li Wangxu felt the wood splinters shattered by his protective True Astral Qi...

Qin Lian likewise glanced at the section of wooden sword blocked by True Astral Qi in front of his throat...

The two exchanged a look and laughed at the same time.

"A draw."

"I lost."

The two spoke.

Li Wangxu even added, "I know your strongest method is the Blood Burning technique in the Blood-Burning Sword Art. Even without you using Blood Burning, the outcome was still mutual destruction. Naturally, I lost this sparring match."

"I don't believe Sect Master Li has no secret technique for a sudden burst of power."

Qin Lian shook his head.

"I do have a secret technique, but it might not compare to your power of Blood Burning!"

Li Wangxu was all smiles.

"Hahaha!"

Song Huangting laughed as he stepped forward from the side, taking one man's hand in each of his own. "You two, stop being so modest with each other. You are both talents of the caliber of the Sleeping Dragon and Young Phoenix of our Pure Yang Sword Sect! You are the hope of everyone in our sect!"

He brought their hands together. "I believe that with you working as one and leading us together, the Pure Yang Sword Sect will surely weather this crisis stirred up by the Heavenly Martial Bureau and become great once more!"

Mu Xingchui, standing nearby, also smiled. "With our sect master's grand talents and vision, and Grandmaster Qin's overflowing gifts, why should our Pure Yang Sword Sect fear being unable to withstand the Heavenly Martial Bureau's schemes?"

Hearing this, Li Wangxu and Qin Lian stopped their pointless exchanges of modesty and argument.

"If the Heavenly Martial Bureau wants to deal with our Pure Yang Sword Sect as it did the Overlord Blade, Ten Thousand Swords, and Penglai, it won't be so easy!"

Li Wangxu spoke emphatically.

Qin Lian also nodded slightly.

Although he would not fight to the death for the Pure Yang Sword Sect if he truly faced mortal danger with no way out, he was currently a member, and everyone in the sect had treated him well. He would do his part for its safety.

"With Wangxu and Qin Lian supporting each other, one in the open and one behind the scenes, our Pure Yang Sword Sect will have much more room to maneuver."

Song Huangting spoke.

Mu Xingchui also nodded. "I've confirmed that several months ago, a band of powerful outlaws poured into Jiangzhou from Yi Province. Their leader was Blood-Blade Luo Chong..."

He paused. "Rather than powerful outlaws, they're more a pack of vicious hounds kept by the Heavenly Martial Bureau. Anything the bureau finds inconvenient to do itself, it leaves to them. Their entry into Jiangzhou now is plainly aimed at us."

"Blood-Blade Luo Chong, the tenth-ranked expert on the Black Ranking!"

Li Wangxu's expression grew somewhat grave.

The Black Ranking listed the notorious grandmasters of the unorthodox path.

Although only the top four were great grandmasters whose manifestations had reached perfection, the caliber of its top ten...

Was essentially on par with those ranked twentieth or thirtieth on the Grandmaster Heaven Ranking.

In other words, Luo Chong's strength could be considered at the very peak of the Second Grade, putting him in the same league as Li Wangxu and Ye Yingxiong.

But that made sense. Without such strength, he would not have dared step into the ring against their Pure Yang Sword Sect.

"We know the Heavenly Martial Bureau's plan very well. They're having Luo Chong lead roving bandits into Jiangzhou and Qingzhou, the two provinces under our jurisdiction, then using an influx of refugees from Yi Province to throw both provinces into chaos. Once the chaos reaches a certain point, the court will order us to quell the unrest as quickly as possible."

Li Wangxu said, "If we act during this period, we'll undoubtedly be picked off one by one. And if we remain unable to deal with Luo Chong for too long, they can enter Jiangzhou and Qingzhou under the pretext of quelling the unrest."

He turned to Mu Xingchui. "The greatest problem now is that the enemy is hidden while we're exposed. We must locate Luo Chong and his men as quickly as possible."

Mu Xingchui nodded. "We're looking into it."

"Say, can our Pure Yang Sword Sect only respond passively like this?"

Qin Lian could not help asking, "Can't we take the initiative?"

Song Huangting, Li Wangxu, and Mu Xingchui exchanged glances, each seeing the helplessness in the others' eyes.

Only after a long while did Li Wangxu speak. "I know what you mean, but we can't do that. It would draw all the Heavenly Martial Bureau's attention onto us."

Mu Xingchui also said, "The Heavenly Martial Bureau was founded by the reigning dynasty's Martial Saint, Divine Fist King Wang Xuanji. He nominally serves as its Director, with four great experts under him: Great Sword Sect Chi Mo, Wandering Immortal Fang Tianqian, Divine Mathematician Wei Cexuan, and Ghost Shadow Xue Wuguang! Every one of these four is a great grandmaster at the perfection of the First Grade!"

He paused. "Judging by what the Overlord Blade and Ten Thousand Swords have suffered over the past year or two, barring any surprises, the one acting against those two sects and our Pure Yang Sword Sect should be Wandering Immortal Fang Tianqian."

"Not 'should be.' This is precisely Fang Tianqian's style!"

Song Huangting added, "Xue Wuguang generally doesn't participate in the Heavenly Martial Bureau's operations, only providing intelligence support. Chi Mo likes to challenge people to fights and beat his opponents into submission one by one. Wei Cexuan's methods are varied-timing, terrain, whatever he can use, he uses. The maritime disaster at the Penglai Sea Pavilion was probably his handiwork."

He paused. "Only Wandering Immortal Fang Tianqian likes to work from the outside in, or even from the inside out, squeezing away his opponent's room to survive bit by bit, strangling them to death like a tightening noose."

"All we can do is dismantle Fang Tianqian's offensive little by little and make him realize our Pure Yang Sword Sect is a tough bone to gnaw."

Li Wangxu sighed. "That way, he'll naturally shift his time and energy to other factions, buying us precious time, perhaps even... allowing us to hold out until the day Grand Preceptor Wen dies."

Hearing this, Qin Lian did not know what to say.

"All right. Find Luo Chong as soon as possible. Once he's dealt with, Jiangzhou's chaos will unravel like bamboo beneath a blade. Otherwise, even if we spread our disciples throughout the commanderies, we'll only be treating the symptoms rather than the root, while risking being picked off one by one."

Song Huangting spoke to the two of them.

Li Wangxu and Mu Xingchui nodded.

Song Huangting then turned back to Qin Lian. "Do you need any supplies? If so, ask Mu Xingchui directly."

"Yes. I'd like some Spirit-Consolidating Incense."

Qin Lian spoke.

"Spirit-Consolidating Incense?"

Mu Xingchui was not surprised.

When Divine Intent first formed, Spirit-Consolidating Incense could indeed effectively stabilize its state.

However...

"Ever since the Three Pure Ones Temple brought all the Divine Dao under heaven under its rule a century ago, our Pure Yang Sword Sect has lost its production site for Spirit-Consolidating Incense. Treasures like this can only be purchased elsewhere."

Li Wangxu took over the matter. "Since Spirit-Consolidating Incense can stabilize not only Divine Intent but also Divine Sense, practically all the incense we purchase is kept at Forget-the-World Peak. I'll give you a note. Go find Peak Master Ning Qing there."

"All right."

Qin Lian nodded slightly.

He immediately left Pure Yang Hall and headed for Forget-the-World Peak.

However, upon reaching Forget-the-World Peak, something else occurred to him, and he did not rush to see Peak Master Ning Qing right away.

Daoist Shan Hui's Dream-Wedding Technique deserved the greatest credit for his comprehending the Great Void Divine Intent so quickly and even breaking free of the Heavenly Extreme Demon Sword's slaughter illusion.

Since he had come to Forget-the-World Peak, he ought to pay a visit and offer his thanks.

He adjusted his route slightly and headed toward the courtyard where Daoist Shan Hui lived.

This time, the courtyard was quite peaceful.

Daoist Shan Hui sat alone beneath the shade of a tree, sorting some kind of medicinal herb, seemingly preparing to refine it into a powder.

"Supreme Elder."

Qin Lian bowed.

"Oh? You're here."

Daoist Shan Hui spoke casually. "Sit. What is it? Is there something you don't understand and want to hear this old man ramble about?"

"It's my good fortune to receive your guidance, Supreme Elder. How could I call it rambling?"

Qin Lian responded with a smile.

"Hehe, you certainly know what to say."

Daoist Shan Hui smiled and glanced at him.

Yet with that single glance, he seemed to detect something. A sharp gleam suddenly shot from his eyes, and a force of Divine Sense pressed directly toward Qin Lian as though it had substance. A trace of disbelief also appeared between his brows.

"You... you've developed Divine Sense?!"