Silence Him

Once the Heavenly Secrets Sword Technique released nine streams of flame, it meant it had reached the level of [Nine Stars Flash in Unison].

Ordinary new disciples could only manage [Three Stars Chase the Moon] during the Qi Refining Stage. Those with greater talent would comprehend [Six Stars Across the Sky] around the ninth layer of Qi Refining.

Only after reaching the Foundation Establishment Realm, and with powerful comprehension as a prerequisite, could one unleash [Nine Stars Flash in Unison].

Thus, [Nine Stars Flash in Unison] was not something every Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator could perform.

Like the Heavenly Secrets Sword Technique, the Jade Pivot Sword Art was one of the Famous Sword Sect's supreme signature arts, and it actually shared certain similarities with the Heavenly Secrets Sword Technique.

The essence of the Jade Pivot Sword Art lay in storing force,

With its jade pivot in water, it could stack nine layers of force. Unlike the explosive power of the Heavenly Secrets Sword Technique, it was a sword art that grew stronger the longer one fought.

Once it accumulated nine layers of force, every sword strike could cleave mountains and shatter the earth.

Unfortunately, Song Xianming could not yet store nine layers of force.

His cultivation was at the Foundation Establishment Early Stage, and his Jade Pivot Sword Art had only reached the level of storing seven layers.

Yet only nine layers of stored force could match [Nine Stars Flash in Unison]. Even going all out now, he had only used seven layers, so naturally, he was no match for Nine Stars Flash in Unison.

Inside the cavern, a great cloud of white vapor rose the instant water clashed with fire.

As water and fire battled, streams of flaming Gang Qi pierced through layer upon layer of water vapor and suddenly struck Song Xianming.

Contests between cultivators were often like this: a single move decided victory or defeat.

If mortals fought, techniques still mattered.

But techniques mattered only when the two were at roughly the same level. Once they had exhausted their spiritual power, they had no choice but to pit their techniques against each other.

But if their strength was unequal to begin with, and one side could crush the other, who gave a damn about techniques?

They could simply unleash a killing move and end the battle in one strike.

Bang!

The seven layers of water vapor were broken through, and the flames burned so fiercely that even the ground caught fire.

The roaring flames frightened the bats hiding in the corners into fleeing outside.

Song Xianming was knocked to the ground. The flames had burned away half his clothes, leaving him covered in soot and looking utterly bedraggled.

The force of those flames had even left streaks of charred scars across his chest.

-And this was already the result of Qin Yi holding back.

If Qin Yi had gone all out as well, that single move would have burned Song Xianming to ashes.

After all, the Heavenly Secrets Sword Technique's Nine Stars Flash in Unison was no joke.

Defeated, Song Xianming was astonished. He had never imagined he would lose in swordsmanship as well to Qin Yi, who had joined less than a month ago.

Although Qin Yi had indeed bested him in fist techniques earlier, his mastery of the Jade Pivot Sword Art ranked among the top five of his peers.

Yet despite that, he had still lost.

Heat now rose from his entire body. The Sword Qi of the Heavenly Secrets Sword Technique did more than merely burn. Once it entered the body, a scalding sensation would seep out through every pore, causing terrible discomfort.

Perhaps while cooking, you had experienced the pain of being splashed by scalding oil.

The scalding sensation of the Heavenly Secrets Sword Technique could equal a hundred times that pain.

Song Xianming wanted to get up quickly so he would not look so wretched, but as he struggled, he discovered that his right leg had somehow been injured without his noticing.

A strand of Sword Qi had injured the bone. His entire leg was now numb, without any sensation at all.

Thus, he could not get up even if he wanted to.

Qin Yi looked gratefully at Xu Xinran. "Xinran, it was all thanks to your kiss of true love. Without that kiss from you, I really couldn't have brought out this power to resist him."

Xu Xinran had been worried about him earlier. Now that she saw he had won, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

She said rather shyly, "I'm very happy I could help you."

Song Xianming roared wildly.

This wretched woman was actually flirting with another man right in front of him!

"Qin, kill me if you have the guts!" Song Xianming suddenly shouted in fury.

Of course Qin Yi wanted to kill him, but he was, after all, Xu Xinran's former partner.

Even if he wanted to kill him, he needed Xu Xinran's approval first.

Otherwise, killing him outright might leave a shadow in Xu Xinran's heart.

"We're all fellow disciples. Why talk about killing? I only wanted to tell you that Xinran is my woman. Don't harass her again, and I won't make things difficult for you," Qin Yi said.

"In your dreams!" Song Xianming raged. "You pair of filthy adulterers! If you don't kill me, I'll report this to Master as soon as I return. You wretched woman, Xu Xinran, just wait for your punishment. An unchaste woman deserves the wooden horse punishment."

The wooden horse punishment was designed specifically for women. A thick wooden rod stood on the horse's back, and the woman would be forced to sit down on it.

Basically, once a woman underwent the wooden horse punishment, her lower body would be ruined.

In the prisons of the ordinary mortal world, this punishment was also often used on unchaste women.

At those words, Xu Xinran's pretty face instantly turned deathly pale.

She looked at Qin Yi in fear and tugged at his sleeve.

"Is there really such a punishment?" Qin Yi asked.

She thought for a moment and nodded. There really was such a provision in the sect rules.

Seeing Xu Xinran's fear, Song Xianming burst out laughing. "You wretched woman, just wait for a life worse than death."

Qin Yi still did not hurry. He was still waiting for Xu Xinran's response.

After hesitating for a moment, Xu Xinran suddenly bit her lip and said to him, "Husband, kill... kill him."

For a traditional woman to say those words, she had made a tremendous resolution.

This was, after all, an act born of helplessness.

If she could, she would rather not kill Song Xianming either. After all, there had been some affection between them in the past.

But if Song Xianming did not die, she would have to suffer punishment.

The wooden horse punishment would not only leave her lower body paralyzed, but would also keep her from ever holding her head high again.

At the same time, as her "adulterous lover," Qin Yi would certainly be punished as well.

To keep both of them from suffering such a backlash, the only solution now was to kill Song Xianming and end it all.

"Kill him?"

"Yes. If he doesn't die, we really will be in serious trouble," Xu Xinran said firmly.

Qin Yi remained calm on the surface, but inwardly he laughed. He had been waiting for those words all along.

As long as Xu Xinran was the one to say it, he could officially make his move.

"Very well. For Xinran's sake, I can only play the executioner this once."

Qin Yi picked up the longsword and suddenly hurled it from his hand at Song Xianming, aiming for his heart.

If this sword struck, it would pierce Song Xianming's chest and kill him in a single blow.

Yet at that very instant, with his life hanging by a thread, a hard stone flew through the air from somewhere outside the cavern. With a clang, it knocked Qin Yi's longsword aside.

At the same time, footsteps slowly approached from the cavern entrance.

The man beckoned into the air, and a bright pearl fell into his hand.

As he toyed with the pearl in his palm, everything that had just happened inside the cavern could be seen playing over and over within it.

-An Image-Recording Pearl!

It could record holographic images.

Everything that had just happened in the cavern had been recorded by it.

"Tsk, tsk. An adulterer and his whore, caught in bed, and you still wanted to commit murder. If this news reaches the Famous Sword Sect, tsk, tsk, Dripping Water Sword Gu Yanshan will probably lose face all the way to his grandmother's house."

The newcomer sneered and flicked a finger, sending a medicinal pill flying through the air into Song Xianming's hand.

Song Xianming immediately shoved it into his mouth and swallowed it.