The demonic bird charged too fast and was cleaved in two by Zhou Wuji's sword. Its body exploded like fireworks in the impact of the Sword Qi.
Black feathers fluttered everywhere, while blood and flesh were scattered all over the place.
Zhou Wuji sheathed his sword. He was protected by Sword Qi, and his black raincoat was free of any bloodstains or even the smell of blood.
Thousand Spirits Mountain is teeming with Demon Beast, and getting your clothes stained with the smell of blood will attract a lot of unnecessary trouble.
Zhou Wuji was always very careful in this regard.
Upon opening the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment, a sudden demonic bird offered a destiny worth six taels and eight mace, which could be transformed into Origin Mystic Essence.
Demon Beast, being beings with abundant Essence Blood, will all transform into Origin Mystic Essence.
Zhou Wuji always kept several strands of Origin Mystic Essence in his hand, just in case.
Now that he had gained another six taels and eight mace of Origin Mystic Essence, he was in a very good mood.
As long as you're not killed on the spot, this Origin Mystic Essence will allow your body to immediately recover to its original state.
With that seven taels and seven mace of Origin Profound Qi, it's practically like having an extra life. Later, when he obtains the Third Rank Army-Breaking Sword, all that Origin Mystic Essence can be converted into cultivation resources.
Zhou Wuji felt a little regretful after thinking about this. The Northern Pole Sword was powerful, but it was actually not as practical as the Army-Breaking Sword.
If one possessed Third Rank Army-Breaking Sword, with the help of these Origin Mystic Essence, one might be able to reach the Third Rank body refinement level, at which point one would be comparable to Third Rank artist.
More importantly, a strong physique can comprehensively enhance one's personal protective capabilities.
"Senior Brother, Divine Sword!" Su Wuyi used her lightness skill to leap up. She looked at the flesh and blood on the surrounding branches and leaves, her pretty face full of regret.
"The flesh and blood of such a high-level demonic bird should be somewhat useful; perhaps it could be used for alchemy. What a pity."
Zhou Wuji shook his head slightly. "The demonic bird came too fast; there was no way to hold back."
Killing a demonic bird with a single sword strike isn't too difficult, but capturing it alive is more than ten times harder.
In a dangerous place like Thousand Spirits Mountain, the risks are completely uncontrollable, so doing this would be extremely unwise.
Su Wuyi was just saying that; she then praised, "Senior Brother's Swordsmanship is amazing!"
"With my senior brother's divine sword, we have a much better chance of slaying the snake demon!"
Zhou Wuji didn't try to be modest; with his Swordsmanship skills, further modesty would be hypocritical. He smiled and said, "I hope so."
Shui Wushang also flew up, and couldn't help but ask, "Excuse my intrusion, but I wonder where your sword came from?"
"It's Swordsmanship passed down from my master, called the Xiaoxiang Sword."
Zhou Wuji said, "During my visit to this academy, I was honored by the sect leader's high regard, and I even learned a technique called the Northern Pole Sword."
Although the Xiaoxiang Sword is powerful, it is ultimately difficult to fully adapt to the Northern Dipper Tianshu Scripture.
He might need to use the Northern Pole Sword at Thousand Spirits Mountain, so he should make that clear to Su Wuyi and Shui Wushang beforehand to avoid them overthinking.
"I see."
Shui Wushang had never heard of the Xiaoxiang Sword, but she could tell that Zhou Wuji's swordsmanship was extraordinary, not much inferior to her own Big Dipper Heavenly Mandate Sword.
Of course, the true power of the Big Dipper Heavenly Mandate Sword lies in its Heavenly Mandate Sword Intent, which is certain to kill anyone struck by it. This is the supreme martial art of the Kaiyang Lineage.
She then said earnestly, "Fellow Daoist's Swordsmanship is superb, far surpassing mine. I admire you."
"Fellow Daoist, you are too kind. I have long admired Kaiyang for his path to enlightenment through martial arts."
Zhou Wuji said politely, "Let's exchange ideas and learn from each other more often when we have time." "That would be excellent," Shui Wushang nodded in agreement.
She was extremely passionate about martial arts, and when she met Zhou Wuji, a master swordsman, she felt both admiration and curiosity.
She was forced to go into seclusion in Cangyan Terrace because there were no suitable experts within the sect to exchange ideas with.
If she could exchange and spar with Zhou Wuji, it would undoubtedly greatly benefit her martial arts skills.
Su Wuyi was delighted to see that Shui Wushang and Zhou Wuji were getting along so well.
Shui Wushang is cold and aloof, focused on martial arts, and doesn't like to talk.
Over time, even the cultivators of Kaiyang began to have reservations about Shui Wushang.
The Big Dipper Heavenly Mandate Sword, along with the continuous mutation of Shui Wushang's body, made her personality even more withdrawn and eccentric.
Su Wuyi was genuinely worried about Shui Wushang; she didn't think that formal True Disciple was that important.
The Northern Pole Sect is so large, yet only three to five people have become its true True Disciple.
The other cultivators are all living well too.
Becoming a formal True Disciple is just one goal in life, not the only one. Shui Wushang's ability to befriend Zhou Wuji Shui Wushang a great thing for him, and it will also be more advantageous in slaying the snake demon.
Shui Wushang wasn't just being polite with Zhou Wuji. That very night, while they were camping, Shui Wushang went to Zhou Wuji to discuss Swordsmanship.
"I have long heard of the Kaiyang Lineage's superior martial arts, but I do not know what Kaiyang Lineage fundamental cultivation method is. I would be grateful if you could enlighten me, fellow Daoist."
Zhou Wuji had met Kaiyang cultivators in the Upper Court, but the Kaiyang Lineage was very weak in the Upper Court and had almost no outstanding talents.
"The fundamental Secret Method of my lineage is the ' Northern Dipper Wuji Divine Gang Scripture ', which gathers the power of the Big Dipper Seven Stars to condense divine energy. It is a method that cultivates both internal and external aspects."
"However, the external cultivation method is too domineering and causes great damage to people. In the past few hundred years, no one has been able to truly cultivate the Northern Dipper Wuji Divine Gang."
"It sounds somewhat similar to the Army-Breaking Sword?" Zhou Wuji asked.
"The methods all originate from the same source and do have commonalities. The Army-Breaking Sword is simpler because it works from the inside out."
" The Northern Dipper Wuji Divine Gang is even more domineering and fierce, its power like a mountain collapsing and the earth splitting. It is also one of the top martial arts methods of the world."
"Pity..."
Shui Wushang also cultivated the Northern Dipper Wuji Divine Gang, but she soon discovered that the external Qi technique was too domineering and exceeded her body's limits.
If he forced himself to cultivate, his body would likely collapse completely before he reached fifty. Zhou Wuji, however, was somewhat fascinated; Kaiyang actually possessed such a unique skill.
Although his physical talent was average, it was not difficult for him to cultivate the Northern Dipper Wuji Divine Gang with the Origin Mystic Essence.
The seven Northern Pole Mountains each possess unique strengths, which is why they were able to stand firm in the fierce competition.
Once he becomes the sect leader, he can simultaneously cultivate the Seven Meridians Secret Method. With this as his foundation, becoming the number one in the world shouldn't be difficult.
By integrating the Secret Method of various Buddhist and Daoist sects, one can directly ascend to the heavens!
These thoughts flashed through Zhou Wuji's mind, but he quickly suppressed them; it was too early to think about them now.
Zhou Wuji then asked, "What Swordsmanship do you practice, fellow Daoist?"
" The Big Dipper Heavenly Mandate Sword. This sword condenses a strange Sword Qi; anyone struck by it will surely die. Hence the name Destiny..." Shui Wushang casually introduced it, which wasn't exactly a secret.
"Such Swordsmanship exists?" Zhou Wuji was even more astonished. He found it hard to imagine what kind of Sword Qi could be so miraculous!
"The saying 'whoever is hit will surely die' is just that—a saying. If the difference in cultivation levels between the two sides is too great, the Big Dipper Heavenly Mandate Sword will be useless."
Shui Wushang then said, "The snake demon should be at the Third Rank, with strong Qi and Blood and vitality."
" The Big Dipper Heavenly Mandate Sword is specifically designed to counter the life force of living beings. As long as I can pierce the snake demon, I should be able to finish it off..." "With such Divine Ability, fellow Daoist, I will certainly cooperate fully."
Although Zhou Wuji said this, he was somewhat determined to find an opportunity to kill the snake demon.
For Shui Wushang, killing the snake demon at close range is extremely dangerous. Even if she were to kill the snake demon, it wouldn't make much sense. It's better for him to do it.
However, he didn't need to explain his calculations to Shui Wushang.
The battle was ever-changing, and they even ventured deep into Thousand Spirits Mountain to search for the snake demon. No one could say for sure what the specifics of the battle would be.
Making too many plans now is pointless.
Shui Wushang didn't think that much about it; she was simply very interested in the Xiaoxiang Sword Xiaoxiang Sword and inquired about its details.
Zhou Wuji didn't hide anything and even demonstrated the Xiaoxiang Sword in front of everyone.
The original sword techniques of the Xiaoxiang Sword were quite ordinary, but through Zhou Wuji's continuous improvement, the sword techniques were refined to the extreme.
Shui Wushang highly praised the Xiaoxiang Sword, believing that its Swordsmanship was exquisite and skillful, and that its sword techniques had reached a certain pinnacle...
For the next few days, Shui Wushang exchanged Swordsmanship with Zhou Wuji Heavenly Capital.
Zhou Wuji was proficient in the Northern Dipper Seven Star Sword and the Northern Pole Sword, and his Xiaoxiang Sword had even reached the Heaven Tier. In terms of Swordsmanship, it would not be an exaggeration to call him a Swordsmanship grandmaster.
His interactions with Shui Wushang were so casual that even a few words of advice were enough to greatly benefit Shui Wushang.
Within a few days, Shui Wushang felt that he had made considerable progress in Swordsmanship and was completely convinced of Zhou Wuji's abilities.
She originally addressed Zhou Wuji as "fellow Daoist," but at some point, it became "senior brother."
Actually, in terms of age, Shui Wushang and Zhou Wuji are the same age, but she is even a few months older than Zhou Wuji.
Su Wuyi was initially quite happy to see Shui Wushang and Zhou Wuji's relationship growing closer.
After a few days, Shui Wushang had stopped paying attention to her and spent all his time with Zhou Wuji, which made her feel somewhat uneasy.
She wasn't jealous, but she felt neglected by her best friend, who was being affectionate with someone else right in front of her.
It had nothing to do with romantic feelings; it just made her feel a little awkward...
Su Wuyi's Swordsmanship was mediocre, and she couldn't get a word in edgewise, so she could only pout and walk behind.
Fortunately, they arrived at Purple Leaf Valley in just a few days.
The trees in the valley all had purple leaves, their trunks were crooked and without a main trunk, and their drooping aerial roots looked like long snakes. A thin mist permeated the entire valley, which was actually the toxic gas produced by the decaying and fermenting vegetation.
Su Wuyi pointed to the open entrance of the valley and said, "Last time, we followed the stream at the bottom of the valley forward. We hadn't gone far when we saw that snake demon. It spewed a breath of poisonous gas from afar, and we ran away as fast as we could when we saw something was wrong..."
She and Shui Wushang survived that blast of poison, but the little monkey Medicine Master was slightly poisoned and nearly died.
Thanks to her abundance of elixirs, she was able to barely maintain her life until she met Zhou Wuji, who finally eradicated the snake venom.
The little monkey Medicine Master was extremely afraid of the valley. As soon as it arrived, it grabbed Su Wuyi's collar and squeaked incessantly, looking pitifully terrified.
Su Wuyi tried to soothe the Medicine Master, but it kept calling out. Having no other choice, she gave it half a elixir, and the little monkey quickly calmed down after eating it.
The little monkey's eyes kept darting around, clearly still very uneasy.
Su Wuyi stroked the little monkey with one hand and said, "This time I specially prepared the Earth Baleful Intent Heart-Burning Grass to make pills."
"This substance is extremely poisonous, especially the Earth Baleful Intent Heart-Burning Yin Fire, which is the most intensely venomous."
"As long as it finds prey to stuff into its belly, that snake demon isn't very smart. Even if it has Third Rank cultivation level, it will still be burned to death by the Yin Fire after swallowing the Earth Baleful Intent Heart-Burning Grass..."
"The yin fire of the Heart-Burning Grass directly targets the spirituality of living beings. Even if the snake demon senses something is wrong, its mind will be affected by the Heart-Burning Grass, making it easier for us to take action."
Zhou Wuji nodded; the plan sounded pretty good. Most demons are foolish, and even if they are powerful, it's easy to find a way to counter them once their weaknesses are discovered.
Su Wuyi immediately set up an altar and established a magic array.
Zhou Wuji then took out a demon monkey he had captured along the way.
This thing was at least Fifth Rank, but it was only five feet tall and moved as fast as lightning. However, it was stunned by the Thunder Method and was captured alive by Zhou Wuji.
Su Wuyi fed the black-haired monkey two pills, and then Shui Wushang forcefully threw the monkey into the valley.
The monkey was jolted awake upon landing. As it opened its bloodshot eyes and looked around in confusion, a huge black shadow suddenly pounced on it.
The monkey tried to dodge but its body went limp, and the dark shadow opened its massive jaws and swallowed the monkey whole...
Su Wuyi, who was peeking from the entrance of the valley, beamed with joy. The snake demon was indeed foolish; half the battle was already won!