"Reporting, young master."
Lu Hua bowed slightly and said, "That seven-realm rogue cultivator is called Jia Huapin. His cave dwelling is on Green Bamboo Mountain, ten li south of Copper Mirror Lake. But... that was his realm a hundred years ago. If nothing unexpected happened, this Jia Huapin, who has scoured everywhere in heaven and earth, should be well beyond the seventh realm now. Perhaps eighth, perhaps ninth. In short..."
"Forget it."
Han Yurou said, "Young Master Lin Zhao, you are now in a reincarnated body after a soul severance. Don't go taking risks for Yurou anymore. I believe Xi Cheng also wouldn't want you to put yourself in danger for our matters. If anything were to happen, how could we bear it..."
"It's alright."
Lin Zhao smiled faintly and pointed to the Sword Immortal behind him. He chuckled, "Anyway, I won't be the one fighting. I brought someone. A Star River realm Sword Immortal. Isn't that enough to deal with one rogue cultivator?"
"..."
Han Yurou pursed her red lips, her heart filled with complex emotions. Lin Zhao, a Sword Cultivator of the lower five realms, could actually command a Star River realm Sword Immortal? Truly, the young master is a divine being. She said softly, "Then... Young Master, please be careful on your journey. If you can retrieve the flying fish message, do so. If not, then forget it. Xi Cheng and I have lived as neither human nor ghost for so many years. Those few years of exchanging letters at least let me know he was alive, that he still cared for me. I should be content..."
"You're content with that?"
Lin Zhao couldn't help but chuckle and said, "It's alright. With me here, you and Zhang Xi Cheng will be reunited this time. It's only a matter of time."
Upon hearing the word "reunited," hope seemed to surge into Han Yurou's eyes. She murmured, "Really?"
"Really."
Lin Zhao smiled faintly, clasped his hands, and said, "As Sword Immortals of our generation, we do not speak falsehoods!"
He turned to look at Wu Zhi and said, "Let's go. To Green Bamboo Mountain to find Jia Huapin!"
"En!"
...
A beam of sword light ascended into the sky. Wu Zhi brought Lin Zhao through layers of clouds. The ten li distance was covered in mere moments. The two descended from the sky on their swords. Beneath the clouds, there was indeed a verdant green mountain peak, covered with green bamboo. It was entirely different from the deathly stillness of the surrounding mountains, clearly indicating that a cultivator had nurtured auspicious energy here.
Within a cave dwelling hidden beneath the bamboo forest, spiritual energy was abundant. Inside the cave dwelling, there was another world within. Three grand halls stood beside a lotus pond. Spiritual energy swirled within the pond. Above the water's surface, more than ten long swords radiating auspicious light floated in the air, their sword qi crisscrossing. Clearly, the owner of this cave dwelling was a Sword Cultivator, and a powerful one at that.
In the main hall, a middle-aged cultivator in a golden robe sat before an incense burner. He had a rat-like face and was exuding the aura of a tenth-realm Sword Cultivator. This was the rogue cultivator Jia Huapin, who had snatched Han Yurou's flying fish message and talisman stone from Copper Mirror Lake back then!
Jia Huapin was notoriously capricious, arrogant, greedy, cunning, and cruel. He had wreaked havoc among hundreds of mountains in the Northern Region, almost depleting all the natural treasures of an entire territory. This was how he had cultivated to the Star River realm. As for the more than ten renowned swords floating above the lotus pond, they were seized from cultivators in worldly dynasties and from amongst the mountains and rivers. As a rogue cultivator, he resorted to any means necessary. These swords were stained with blood.
Furthermore, besides being avaricious, Jia Huapin had another characteristic: lust.
Within a hundred li radius, any female spirits with even a semblance of beauty were captured and kept in his cave dwelling. His life philosophy was that he must sleep with more women in this lifetime, be she human, demon, ghost, or spirit. If he couldn't defeat her, he wouldn't let her go. What was the point of being a man born between heaven and earth if he couldn't have a different woman every night?
He frowned slightly, feeling a pang of displeasure. In the two side halls, he kept over a hundred women, including noble ladies from human families, demonesses, and spirits born from mountain flora. However, it was the Peach Blossom Spirit Han Yurou from Copper Mirror Lake who had captured his heart at first sight. To fall asleep embracing Han Yurou would be a great pleasure in life!
Unfortunately, Han Yurou was strong-willed. Even after her flying fish message was stolen, she refused to yield. Jia Huapin, considering himself a "gentleman who cherishes the fairer sex," dared not force her. After all, the essence of Copper Mirror Lake, the Copper Mirror, was Han Yurou's life artifact. If he forcibly broke through Copper Mirror Lake, that mirror would inevitably shatter, and Han Yurou would vanish with it.
"Alas..."
He sighed. Cherishing the fairer sex was truly his weakness!
"Buzz~~~"
Jia Huapin stood up. It was time to temper his sword intent by the lotus pond. He needed to refine those more than ten renowned swords into his own, and even if they weren't his natal flying swords, their power would be extraordinary. Once all these renowned swords were refined, he should reach the mid-stage of the Star River realm. At that time, a mid-stage Star River realm Sword Cultivator, how many would there be in the Great Shang Dynasty? No matter where he went, he would receive princely treatment.
The moment he stepped out of the main hall, he felt a flicker of disorientation. In the sky of his cave dwelling, there seemed to be a golden dawn. Jia Huapin's heart chilled. Dawn appearing within the cave dwelling was not a good omen. This had never happened in the past hundred years!
The next moment, the dawn began to extend, accompanied by dull rumbling sounds. After a few breaths, a full streak of dawn stretched across the sky, directly slicing through the heaven and earth restrictions of the cave dwelling. Immediately, two figures descended from the sky. One was an unremarkable, fifth-realm trash Sword Cultivator, and the other had a majestic sword aura, belonging to the same realm as himself, a Star River realm Sword Immortal. She held her sword in her left hand, her right sleeve empty, with delicate features and a beautiful face.
Not good, someone is crashing the party!
...
"You!"
Jia Huapin let out a low growl and roared, "Who are you? Why have you trespassed into my cave dwelling!"
"Jia Huapin, right?"
Lin Zhao asked with a smile.
"That's right!"
Jia Huapin raised his hand and drew his sword, his entire body radiating with sword qi. Within his cave dwelling, his strength was amplified by at least thirty percent. In fact, even if that female Sword Immortal were at the peak of the tenth realm, Jia Huapin was still confident of having a good chance of winning. Moreover, the opponent only had one arm and used a left-handed sword. How many formidable individuals could there be among those who wielded a left-handed sword, especially a woman?
After all, she wasn't Sword Immortal Wu Zhi. Sword Immortal Wu Zhi was an upper-five-realm Sword Immortal!
"That's correct then."
Lin Zhao held the Thunderclap Sword and said, "The Peach Blossom Spirit of Copper Mirror Lake, Han Yurou's flying fish message and talisman stone, you stole them, didn't you?"
"So what?"
Jia Huapin's lips curled. He looked at the dissipating dawn in the sky with utter venom. "Not only did you destroy my cave dwelling, but you also want to avenge a beauty? Do you even know your own capabilities? You, wanting to avenge Han Yurou?"
His gaze fell upon Wu Zhi, sweeping across her waist and hips, and he chuckled, "I'm afraid you'll fail to get revenge, and your own sword attendant will end up as my bedmate!"
Lin Zhao frowned. He felt a genuine aversion to this Jia Huapin. To be a person to this extent was truly reaching a new level. He then communicated to Wu Zhi in his heart, "You go first later. I'll help you fixate him with a special sword technique."
"No need."
Wu Zhi pursed her lips and smiled faintly. "Master, although my realm has fallen, I am still a peak Star River realm Sword Immortal. In the same realm, I am invincible. Do I need help to defeat a mere rogue cultivator like him? Master, please stand back and wait. Your subordinate can finish him off in three swords. However, I would like to ask, Master, how should this rogue cultivator be dealt with? Killed, or left alive?"
"Leave him to continue harming the world?"
"Understood."
The next moment, Lin Zhao retreated with his sword to the edge of the lotus pond's stone platform, while Wu Zhi rose gracefully and swung a sword at Jia Huapin. Instantly, sword light rained down from the sky, all focusing on Jia Huapin's forehead. In truth, Wu Zhi also found this rat-faced rogue cultivator quite annoying. They say outward appearance reflects inner nature. Wu Zhi was not one to judge by appearance, but this person's visage made her feel immense hatred upon first sight. Thus, this sword held no mercy!
"You..."
Jia Huapin was furious. Such a beautiful woman, and she attacked just like that?
For a moment, Jia Huapin took a step forward, his sword intent erupting in all directions, transforming into dense, fine sword qi. Simultaneously, he pointed his sword towards the sky, immediately condensing a beam of sword light that chopped towards Wu Zhi's myriad sword qi.
The air was filled with the deafening clang of colliding sword qi. Wu Zhi's sword continued to descend, and the stone bricks beneath Jia Huapin's feet began to crack, the upward-pointing sword being suppressed by the opponent! Jia Huapin's heart turned cold. He had underestimated this woman's sword intent and swordsmanship. Both were in the Star River realm, but his sword intent and swordsmanship seemed to be on entirely different levels from hers.
"Damn it all!"
Jia Huapin roared. He raised his right hand holding his sword, while his left hand suddenly grabbed towards the surface of the lotus pond. He roared, "Little lady, you're forcing me to use my killing move—Sword, come!"
"You, unworthy to say 'Sword, come'?"
Wu Zhi descended another sword from mid-air. At the same time, her two natal flying swords transformed into two beams of light, charging towards Jia Huapin. Jia Huapin hastily summoned his two natal flying swords as well. Sword light collided in the air, and in an instant, one of Jia Huapin's natal flying swords shattered. He was completely outmatched. Just as his realm was about to fall, the more than ten renowned swords on the lake's surface blazed with light, all rushing towards Wu Zhi's back.
This must be Jia Huapin's ultimate move.
Wu Zhi stood in the wind, her long skirt fluttering. Her pretty face was filled with killing intent. She raised a finger, and a wisp of sword intent guided her sword to continue its descent and complete the strike. Simultaneously, she spread her five fingers backward and cried out, "Come!"
A dozen seductive blood-red long swords materialized in the air, their sword qi immense. There were ten of them, her ten Demon Soul Swords. Compared to her Demon Soul Swords, which had been refined to the peak of perfection, Jia Huapin's more than ten unrefined renowned swords appeared like amateurish displays. One by one, they were sent flying by the Demon Soul Swords. At this moment, Jia Huapin's face was ashen, realizing that his life was about to end!
...
"Why kill me?!"
Jia Huapin roared before his death.
Lin Zhao stood at the edge of the lotus pond and said calmly, "Because you deserved it~~~"