The End
"Oh!"
Flowing Cloud Manor Master chuckled softly, "Not in the martial world?"
"Not in the martial world, but in the clouds, that is my wish."
The blood on his hands flowed down to his fingertips, almost dripping, his face pale, yet he seemed greatly encouraged.
"For an opponent like you to say I'm no longer in the game only proves that I'm not old yet, and I'm still striding confidently down the path I want to take."
"Let's see if I, who haven't strayed from the path, can control this sword, if I can..."
"I'll shatter your world of martial arts!!"
He waved his hands outwards, spraying blood into the air, and his hands became clean again.
The pine tree shook, and a white figure rose into the air.
A crane soaring through the air, though not quite reaching the heavens, has nonetheless surpassed the height of this cliff.
Flowing Cloud Manor Master pointed his fingers together in the air, his left hand brushing against the sword-like fingers of his right hand.
Sword Qi, over three feet long, extended and took shape from his right hand.
Everyone on the lake was watching this scene.
In their eyes, the figure of the Flowing Cloud Manor Master was almost a tiny dot.
But just as this tiny man condensed his sword, a vast illusion seemed to appear in the sky.
The blue sky suddenly changed, the white clouds became polluted, and colorful halos appeared everywhere.
It is predominantly gray, white, and dark red, with other colors mixed in.
Dazzling colors spread across the sky, coloring all directions, slowly surging.
Hallucination, that's definitely a hallucination.
But this kind of illusion, capable of affecting thousands of martial artists, was something they had never seen before.
An overwhelming sense of shock and horror grew within them.
Lu Shuangyan stared intently at this scene.
He had already learned of the existence of the so-called Mist and Rosy Clouds Realm Layer from Chu Tianshu.
The freak was born from his swordsmanship and has endured in the Mist and Rosy Clouds Realm Layer.
A human soul cannot linger in the Yanxia, Weapon Soul, free from distractions, cannot remain still amidst the Yanxia.
This freak might be called Dharma Spirit.
Just like fish native to the deep sea, they are not afraid of seawater.
The Dharma Spirit can roam freely in the Yanxia, but it cannot grow much from it. It needs more substantial food and longs to be born into the Human World.
Lu Shuangyan wanted to see this sword strike clearly, to see what part of it belonged to her and what part had deviated from it, and in turn, she wanted to distort herself.
Chu Tianshu was also looking up at this scene, his pupils glowing like wheels, sometimes expanding and sometimes contracting.
He did not try to stop it.
After their exchange, he had confirmed that the Flowing Cloud Manor Master was a rare find in this region, a martial artist of a similar type to himself.
His internal strength is profound and enduring, his techniques are endless and adaptable, and he has no weaknesses in any aspect.
He will likely need to drag out the fight for several hundred more moves to defeat the Flowing Cloud Manor Master.
However, within these hundreds of moves, the Flowing Cloud Manor Master could unleash his Fifteenth Sword strike at any moment.
It all comes down to whether the person has made that decision.
You can't stop it; when you get into close combat, you'll be caught off guard by that sword strike.
It would be better for both sides to readjust and fight to the death.
Chu Tianshu's mind raced through all the details of the Death-Claiming Sword Technique, recalling his experience of severely injuring the Demonic Saber Art Spirit.
The Dharma Spirit of the Demon Blade was severely stunted as soon as it began to emerge, due to the restriction imposed by the sect's treasured sword.
The nutrients that Sect Leader Qiu temporarily fed it were not enough.
Meanwhile, the Flowing Cloud Manor Master was unleashing this sword with boundless generosity.
The celestial phenomena changed dramatically, and colors shimmered in all directions.
The figure of the Flowing Cloud Manor Master suddenly reversed and fell downwards.
The iridescent colors in the sky suddenly froze.
People nearly cried out in alarm, only to find themselves unable to move.
They seemed to have turned into hundreds of statues, unable to move even the slightest bit.
The small boat's undulations slowed down, and even the ripples on the lake seemed to come to a standstill.
Chu Tianshu's mind trembled uncontrollably.
This is completely different from the Death-Claiming Sword in TV dramas.
Although he hadn't originally intended to use that thing as a reference.
But when faced with this sword strike, he couldn't help but want to curse.
This is actually the Fifteenth Sword strike?
The deadly Fifteenth Sword strike, is it really like this?
Is this Sword Fifteen, or Sword Twenty-Three?!
Chu Tianshu sensed something was wrong in a flash.
He had already fully adjusted his mind and body, achieving clarity and focus, so why would he suddenly have these distracting thoughts?
However, his body was also rendered immobile.
It seems the only thing that can move is thought and intention.
Even his thinking seemed to have become faster.
In the blink of an eye, he had gone through all the visualization patterns of the Vertical and Horizontal Method in his mind.
This is something that would be impossible under normal circumstances.
Furthermore, it's understandable to try to freeze others in place.
But at the moment when the Flowing Cloud Manor Master flipped over and fell, it was clear that, propelled by the power of the Yanxia, his falling speed was extremely fast.
Why does it look like he's falling so slowly now?
The lake surface is frozen, the waves are frozen.
Only the Flowing Cloud Manor Master was able to move and wield his sword in the air.
This is already the most auspicious scene.
But he really didn't look happy; he really looked like a white cloud, drifting slowly down.
Rivers will dry up, and all things will die.
This sword strike, perhaps deliberately slowed down, allowed death to approach little by little, letting the victim taste the ultimate fear.
Even Chu Tianshu, while pondering, felt an ever-growing, chaotic sense of panic welling up within him.
However, Chu Tianshu had long been accustomed to chaotic fear.
He did everything in his power to facilitate a simple gesture of raising his hand.
When his gaze fell on the palm of his hand, he understood everything...
That hand was cloudy and transparent!
His physical body still stands on the reef.
But his soul ascended, and half of it had already separated from his body.
It was as if his very soul wanted to meet that sword strike head-on.
First destroy the soul, then sever the body.
This sword strike didn't freeze time; instead, it separated a person's mind from their body.
The rapid acceleration of thought processes fills one's soul with distracting and impure thoughts.
Ordinary people cannot perceive this difference and assume that their thinking is still at a normal speed.
This, in turn, makes everything around seem to slow down and stand still.
Although Chu Tianshu sensed this, he was unable to control his body at this moment.
The figure in the green robe stood there, seemingly awaiting death.
The sword is getting closer and closer.
Chu Tianshu could now clearly see every subtle change in the eyes of the Flowing Cloud Manor Master.
The man's eyes were now filled with Sword Intent.
Life was extinguished, and the world withered and decayed.
The faster your thoughts race, the closer you get to death.
No matter how turbulent the rivers may be, they all lead to death at their end.
Since everything leads to death, isn't pursuing a transcendent state high in the clouds far better than the meaningless flow of a river?
He wielded the sword with the spirit of flowing clouds.
Chu Tianshu could sense that even his own Weapon Soul was affected by this sword strike and Dharma Aspect.
The simpler something is, the less it can resist this sword strike.
However, a chaotic mind cannot control the physical body.
No, humans are inherently complex. Why is it that a complex person can control a complex physical body in normal circumstances?
It is the matching of mind and blood.
When the flow of Qi and blood in the brain is complex enough to keep up with the mind, it will send out orderly commands, and the body will naturally be able to follow the movement.
Under the influence of the Fifteen Death-Claiming Swords, a person's thought process speed far exceeds the changes and operation of blood and qi signals in the brain.
So, instead of trying to control the whole body, let's focus on interfering with the flow of qi and blood in the brain.
Those are the smallest things, and therefore the most easily interfered with.
And my brain... is strong enough to withstand this acceleration!
As the Flowing Cloud Manor Master's sword fell, what he saw reflected not only his physical body but also the half of his soul that had already separated from him.
The sword is about to shatter its soul.
The end of this sword strike is ultimately death!
But at that moment, the scene he saw suddenly changed.
The frozen body suddenly rammed upwards.
The soul has not returned to the body; it means the physical body has collided with the soul's position.
When!!
Chu Tianshu's palms caught the Sword Qi, blood trickling from his brow, his eyes turning crimson, even more so than blood.
"Break!!"
Break! Break! Break! Break! Break! Break!!
The end of life is death, but the end of this sword is...
When essence, energy, and spirit are in harmony, Sky-Spanning Divine Art achieved.
Layers of azure light and lightning erupted from between his palms, instantly transmitting to the tail of the Sword Qi and striking the Flowing Cloud Manor Master.
Thirteen bursts of energy, giving it their all.
Qi and blood, Mind Power, are all transforming into internal strength.
Behind the Flowing Cloud Manor Master, thirteen layers of air waves erupted, starting from his arm, causing his skin and flesh to peel away layer by layer.
(End of this chapter)