"It's too late."
Jiao Chen smiled faintly and said, "From today onwards, there will be no more Su Qingjiu of Changming Mountain in this world!"
He gently tapped the bottom of the boat with his green bamboo pole, and a golden ripple spread across the sea. Immediately, countless stars rose and filled the entire sky. He squinted his eyes and said with a laugh, "More than two thousand years ago, a star fell into the East Sea. The star's power eroded it, killing more than half of the marine creatures in our East Sea. In the end, I risked my life and finally refined this star."
As he spoke, Jiao Chen opened his palm, and a brilliant star floated in his palm. His aged face looked quite ferocious, and he laughed, "By refining the stars from beyond the heavens to merge with the Dao, I achieved this fourteenth realm. I have spent many years honing it and finally created this 'Stars Sink into the Sea' killing formation. I originally intended to use it on Fusu Changcheng and Lin Wanhua, but you, Su Qingjiu, are just as good. After killing you, this 'Stars Sink into the Sea' killing formation will have its first sacrificial offering."
Su Qingjiu stood suspended in the air, her gaze calm. At this moment, any panic or frenzy was useless. The spiritual energy here had been completely sealed. Moreover, this "Stars Sink into the Sea" killing formation not only contained Jiao Chen's entire fourteenth realm foundation but was also connected to the fate of the entire East Sea. Let alone a twelfth realm sword cultivator like Su Qingjiu, even a fourteenth realm cultivator would find it difficult to escape this situation today.
"Go!"
Jiao Chen raised his hand gently, and his natal star shot up into the sky, transforming into a vast expanse of starlight that seeped into the countless stars densely packed in the air. He looked up at the starry sky and laughed, "There are a thousand stars in the great formation. Only one is the gate of life, and the rest are gates of death. You, Su Qingjiu, are the strongest twelfth realm in the world. Have you thought about which star to pick?"
"..."
Little Jiuer frowned, suddenly feeling a sharp pain in her chest. The pain wasn't because she was about to die, but because she would never see Brother Lin Zhao again, would never have the chance to reunite with her master in the Upper Realm, would never eat the food made by Sister Dongcang again, and would never be able to take care of her junior sisters on Changming Mountain.
"Don't want to choose?"
Jiao Chen's dark eyes held a cold sneer. "It doesn't matter if you don't want to choose. The 'Stars Sink into the Sea' star formation is slowly rotating. If you don't choose, you will eventually be ground to dust and annihilated by the star power of the formation. It's only a matter of time. The longer you drag it out, the faster you will die. In your human words, not choosing is like boiling a frog in warm water, and in the end, you can't escape death."
"Oh."
Su Qingjiu furrowed her delicate brows. At this moment, all her sword intent and extraordinary swordsmanship were useless. When she raised her palm, she saw blood qi being erased between her fingers. Her fingers were actually annihilating.
She frowned, wishing for Brother Lin Zhao with all her heart at this moment.
In this life, she would probably never see him again.
...
Early morning, in the mountains.
A woman with a beautiful face, a martial artist, carried the immortal sword "Xunyue" on her back and stepped onto the dewy grass in the forest, arriving by a stream to wash the wounds on her fists and arms. Her skin was very fair, not at all like a martial artist, and not even a Yuan Realm martial artist. This had a lot to do with Yu Wanling's background. Yu Wanling was born into a prominent family in the ancient Shu Kingdom of Baihua Tianxia. She chose the path of martial arts with her father and mother's approval. Therefore, when Yu Wanling practiced her punches, her family had enough elixirs and medicines to nourish her body. While other martial artists' fists became rough from training, Yu Wanling's skin remained as beautiful as jade. Only her fists were a little rough, but it was insignificant.
As Yu Wanling was washing her wounds, the sound of breaking wind came from behind her.
A man dressed as a noble young master, accompanied by a group of cultivators, passed by. It was He Shufan, the young master of the He family in Shuzhou. He Shufan was leading a group of retainers and cultivators to search for the whereabouts of the Xunlu Sword. He originally didn't intend to stop, as it was just an ordinary female martial artist washing her hands by the stream. However, when He Shufan's gaze fell on the sword on Yu Wanling's back, he couldn't look away. The sword could be considered immortal-grade, and its appearance was extremely similar to the Xunlu Sword depicted in picture books and prophecies.
"Senior He Wei,"
He Shufan thought to himself, "Didn't they say that the Xunlu Sword was in the hands of Gu Yanshu, the disciple of Sword Saint Lin Shenghan? Why... is it behind this woman? The aura of this sword is extremely strong. I have seen many treasures, and by rights, this sword must be an immortal sword. Could there be some oversight?" Da Feng Novel Network
"Not necessarily."
He Wei, a twelfth realm cultivator, frowned and said, "Young Master, this sword might not be the Xunyue Sword, but even if it's not, it must be a good sword. There are only a few such immortal swords in Shuzhou."
A young cultivator said sourly, "Senior He Wei, don't speak rudely."
"Get lost!"
He Wei wished he could punch that brat to death, but having spent so much time together in the Qinling Mountains, he had grown accustomed to it. He regarded these young cultivators as his juniors. His words were harsh, but in reality, he was very fond of them.
He Shufan said, "She, a female martial artist, is not qualified to wield such a divine artifact. We, the He family, as the rulers of Shuzhou, should do something, shouldn't we?"
"Yes."
He Wei was speechless in his heart. If the young master wanted to snatch the sword, let him snatch it. He just wanted to have a legitimate excuse, which was pointless. There were not many people in this great mountain, so why be so secretive? Just show his true colors.
In an instant, He Shufan gracefully descended and stood behind Yu Wanling, cupping his fists and smiling, "Miss."
"Hmm?"
Yu Wanling had already sensed the arrival of everyone. After washing her hands clean, she turned around and said, "What is it?"
"Is the sword behind you the Xunlu Sword, Miss?" He Shufan asked with a smile.
"What if it is, what if it isn't?"
Yu Wanling knew at a glance that this matter could not be resolved peacefully, so her tone was no longer polite.
"Hahahaha~~~"
He Shufan laughed and said, "If it is, I am willing to pay one hundred gold Zizhi coins to buy this sword. We will keep it for you. After all, the Xunlu Sword is one of the ten great swords in the world, and the matter is of great importance. You alone might encounter some misfortune. If not, please tell us the origin of this sword. If you can explain it clearly, then there will be no problem. If you cannot, then this sword may not remain in your hands."
"Oh..."
Yu Wanling sneered, "If it belongs to someone else, and you can't explain it, it belongs to you. If you can explain it, but you insist that they haven't explained it clearly, it still belongs to you, right? Instead of saying it like this, why not just rob it?"
He Shufan drew his sword and said with a smile, "Since Miss says so, then we will have to rob it! You are such a beautiful woman, and we really don't want to resort to force."
"So hypocritical."
Yu Wanling smiled and said, "You make me feel disgusted. If you want to fight, then fight."
Saying that, Yu Wanling leaped forward, her figure floating and standing on the surface of the stream. She possessed the technique of "crossing a river on a reed," and fighting on water had a certain advantage no matter what.
"Forgive me!"
He Shufan flew up and slashed down with his sword in the air. Immediately, a torrential rain of sword energy erupted behind him, overwhelmingly attacking Yu Wanling. He Shufan did not suppress his eleventh realm sword cultivator aura. Since the other party dared to be so arrogant under such circumstances, he must have some ability. Therefore, He Shufan attacked with all his might, without any reservation.
Yu Wanling stood on the water's surface, sliding back half a step with one foot, and pulled out a boxing stance with rich spiritual energy. Then, her entire body erupted with dense fist intent, blasting a punch upwards. In an instant, a powerful wave of fist energy burst forth, crushing He Shufan's sword energy one by one. When Yu Wanling's heavy punch landed on the sword blade, He Shufan felt as if he had struck a mountain of sword blades. His hand was almost unable to hold the sword. How hard were the fists of this seemingly delicate woman?
"Good!"
He Shufan flipped his body and unleashed another sword strike from a tricky angle. Streams of sword energy shuttled and attacked on the water's surface.
Yu Wanling's body sank. While throwing a punch, her fist intent converged into a wall of energy to protect her body. After shattering the chaotic sword energy with crackling sounds, she once again met the opponent's sword blade head-on, shaking He Shufan far back on the water's surface.
"..."
He Wei, a twelfth realm cultivator, watched the battle on the stream and frowned. Although He Shufan's swordsmanship was already top-notch among the younger generation in Shuzhou, there were always people better than others. That female martial artist was definitely not simple. Her boxing techniques were profound, her fist intent was dense, and she most likely had a Divine Soldier's Gall. Such an eleventh realm martial artist was quite troublesome, comparable to Chen Xi and Lin Ruo. To be honest, if it were a fight to the death, the young master might be killed by this female martial artist's punches within fifty moves.
"Miss!"
He Wei did not stand by idly. This twelfth realm great cultivator soared into the air, exuding an extremely strong oppressive aura. Waves of spiritual energy flames erupted. He looked down at Yu Wanling and said with a smile, "Just leave the precious sword, and we won't trouble you. Look, my young master is determined to have this sword. Why not accept one hundred gold Zizhi coins and leave? It will save us trouble, and both sides will have a way to back down. Isn't that good? If things escalate to a point where both sides are injured, you will be the one who suffers the most, which is not worth it."
"Stop being so indecisive, fight!"
Yu Wanling's body sank. As she threw a punch at He Shufan, she suddenly twisted her body and threw a punch at He Wei as well. In an instant, He Wei could only resort to offensive means. The other retainers and cultivators of the He family in Shuzhou also rushed forward: "Go, go, let's all go together, everyone gets a share, help the young master snatch the sword!"
In an instant, Yu Wanling fell into an absolute disadvantage, facing overwhelming odds.
...
In the distance, a figure in a dark purple long gown, carrying three swords on his back, suddenly stopped. He leaped up and crouched on a large blue boulder, staring at the battle unfolding in the distance. He couldn't help but squint his eyes and laugh, "Impressive, the dirty dealings in the human martial world are truly endless. So many people are ganging up on a weak woman. I'll wait until they're tired and then go up, kill all these bad guys, and then cut off the woman's head and snatch her sword. This way, both martial ethics and personal gain will be satisfied!"