The night was clear, the moon hung high in the sky.
In the mountain peak villa, silence reigned. Lin Zhao and the old man sat by the lotus pond, each with a fishing rod, fishing in the dark.
Soon, a sword light flew from the east. A disheveled man stood on the flying sword; Tang Guangjun had returned from the ancestral court of the military school.
"Mountain Lord."
Tang Guangjun clasped his hands in greeting from afar. When his gaze fell upon the old man beside Lin Zhao, he felt an almost blinding presence, making him hesitant to probe the man's cultivation. Tang Guangjun wouldn't doubt for a moment that this frail-looking old gentleman could blow him away with a single sneeze. The Mountain Lord was truly extraordinary, with important figures around him as numerous as blades of grass!
"How is it?"
Lin Zhao put down his fishing rod and stood up. "How is Brother Huo's injury?"
"He can be saved."
Tang Guangjun said in a deep voice, "The Sect Master and the Military Ancestor worked together to suppress his injuries. There's no major issue; his life is certainly secured, and there's a high chance he can even retain his thirteenth realm. The Sect Master even praised the Mountain Lord's decisive action. If he had been sent back to the ancestral court any later, the martial temple might have lost one of its statues."
"That's good, that's good..."
Lin Zhao rubbed his hands, a smile on his face.
"Tang Guangjun pays his respects to the old gentleman!"
The sword cultivator of the military school grinned at the old man and said, "I am Tang Guangjun, the most loyal henchman of the Mountain Lord's junior brother!"
The old man smiled. "You have a good state of mind, young man. Your state of mind is so good that I almost couldn't resist slapping you to death."
The smile on Tang Guangjun's face froze. "The old gentleman speaks very pleasantly."
The old man waved his hand and chuckled. "Go, go. Don't disturb me and young Zhao fishing. After all... days like these are few and far between. In a blink of an eye, we'll be off on another arduous journey."
"Yes, I shall take my leave!"
Tang Guangjun bowed and scraped, then flew away on his sword with a smile.
Lin Zhao sat down to fish again. He glanced in the direction of the ancestral mountain of the demon race and asked, "Sir's sir, besides the demon king Man Yuan, who else is involved in the ancestral mountain's plan this time?"
"There's also a white ox at the bottom of the water."
The old man smiled. "His name is Liu Bai, also a demon king. His Great Dao is close to water."
Lin Zhao couldn't help but understand. "I see. One's Great Dao is close to fire, the other's is close to water. In fact, the demon race's ancestral mountain raised these two demon kings to create a pattern of water and fire merging?"
"Yes."
The old man nodded with a smile. "Water and fire do not naturally mix, but the demon race has painstakingly nurtured two demon kings. Once Man Yuan and Liu Bai truly achieve a water-fire fusion, the combat power of these two thirteenth realm cultivators will ascend to a higher level. Perhaps even fourteenth realm cultivators in the human world would be unable to stop them."
Lin Zhao frowned. "Then what should we do? Is there a solution?"
"There is."
The old man looked east and smiled. "We will use the sword dao fortune of the entire human realm to support a fourteenth realm great sword immortal. Once that person steps out of the East Sea, I believe humanity will have a chance to break the deadlock."
"Mm."
Lin Zhao nodded and smiled. "Then I don't need to worry about it. I just need to focus on what's in front of me."
The old man nodded with a smile.
...
Kusong River, upstream.
A spray of blood splattered across the sky. After taking a blow from the Sun, Moon, Water, Fire Staff, Cao Ying tumbled out, sword and all. A small portion of her body was mangled. Fortunately, her foundation as a twelfth realm sword cultivator was solid, and her physical body was well-tempered. Otherwise, that single blow might have vaporized her entirely.
But without a doubt, Cao Ying was heavily injured and had lost her combat effectiveness.
"Clang clang!"
With two crisp sounds, Su Qingjiu's sword, Lingxi, and Lin Wanhua's sword, Jinghua, their tips simultaneously touched the Sun, Moon, Water, Fire Staff. Sword qi surged, and Man Yuan, wielding the staff, was filled with killing intent. He channeled the demon qi within him, continuously pressing the staff forward, causing both Lingxi and Jinghua to bend.
However, these two twelfth realm cultivators were indeed formidable, managing to withstand Man Yuan's blow!
"Xu Shuo!"
Lin Wanhua transmitted her thoughts, "Su Sword Immortal and I will hold off Man Yuan. You quickly sever the upstream water transport."
"Mm."
Xu Shuo punched the river's surface. The water surged, and a Mo family formation, previously buried, erupted into the sky, relentlessly shattering the water transport in the river. The power source for the entire formation came from Xu Shuo's cultivation. In mere seconds, his cultivation plummeted from the peak of the twelfth realm to the mid-twelfth realm.
"Cao Ying."
Su Qingjiu resisted Man Yuan's assault and transmitted her thoughts, "You can leave. Don't die in vain."
"..."
The already severely injured Cao Ying hovered in the air, half her body a bloody mess, blood dripping down. She frowned and, without much hesitation, said in a deep voice, "You too, take care."
"Go."
The next second, Cao Ying transformed into a fiery red sword light and headed east.
...
"Hmm?"
Man Yuan narrowed his eyes, looking at Xu Shuo on the river. He had seen through everything and chuckled. "Playing such clever tricks right in front of me? You're just asking for death!"
Saying this, he swung the Sun, Moon, Water, Fire Staff and attacked fiercely.
Su Qingjiu and Lin Wanhua fought with all their might, using all six of their natal flying swords, even resorting to their hidden trump cards, the lesser refined flying swords. Dozens, even hundreds, of flying swords weaved and attacked in the air. However, Man Yuan held the advantage in terms of realm and depth of power. With a single Sun, Moon, Water, Fire Staff, he smashed each flying sword.
In terms of strength, if Su Qingjiu and Lin Wanhua were at the peak of the thirteenth realm at this moment, they might have been able to fight. But they weren't, and they could only face Man Yuan at the twelfth realm. They had no choice. The human race's plan was set: until one person reached the fourteenth realm, no human twelfth realm sword cultivator was allowed to break through. Even though they were in the Ghost Realm, if the two of them broke through, it would drain a significant amount of the human realm's sword dao fortune, given their foundations.
"Boom—"
With a loud explosion, Xu Shuo had fallen to the eleventh realm. He stomped his foot, and the surface of the entire Kusong River sank by at least ten meters. The water transport from upstream was severed and shattered. At this moment, it meant that Liu Bai, who lay dormant at the bottom of the river, had completely lost the opportunity to ascend to the fourteenth realm.
The backlash of the Great Dao immediately arrived. Xu Shuo coughed up a large mouthful of blood, his face incredibly pale. He had lost his combat effectiveness.
"You go."
Lin Wanhua transmitted her thoughts, "An eleventh realm cultivator has no chance. There's no need to die. The Mo family cannot afford to lose another fifth realm cultivator."
"Understood."
Xu Shuo's breath trembled. He then flew his sword in a detour, circumventing the battle of the three, and headed straight east.
...
Man Yuan didn't pay him any attention. Or rather, for Man Yuan, killing the Mo family's Xu Shuo was meaningless. It was far more advantageous to kill the Lord of Fusou Great Wall and the Lord of Changming Mountain. After all, if these two died, half the human sword dao would dim. Furthermore, if Fusou Great Wall became masterless, it would be easier for the four northern tribes to march south.
In the heavens and earth, pillars of flame light connected heaven and earth. Man Yuan finally created a pocket dimension, engulfing Su Qingjiu and Lin Wanhua. He grinned and sneered, "It's fine that Cao Ying and Xu Shuo are gone. The two of you, however, must die!"
At that moment, Su Qingjiu and Lin Wanhua felt a chill creep into their hearts, sensing they were trapped in a cage. The terror Man Yuan brought was even greater than that of Ning Yuansheng leading ten twelfth realm great demons combined!
"Boom!"
Man Yuan punched out, directly smashing one of Su Qingjiu's medium-refined flying swords into powder. He sneered, "With these, you think you can kill me? What are you hesitating for? Break through! If the two of you break through, there's a sliver of hope. If you keep holding on like this, hmph, then you won't even have a chance to break through."
Su Qingjiu said nothing, only continuing to parry his attacks.
Lin Wanhua's injuries were more severe, and she could exert less strength. The battle was almost entirely supported by Su Qingjiu alone. Su Qingjiu pushed her Sword Heart Unification to its absolute extreme, her eyes glowing with a rich golden luster. The offensive power of her sword and natal flying swords increased continuously, but it was still not enough. She was no match for the demon king before her.
"If you don't break through, you die!"
The Sun, Moon, Water, Fire Staff swept out. The two figures were sent flying together, spitting blood.
"Are we at our limit?"
Lin Wanhua's heart was filled with despair, but she was truly unwilling to die in the Ghost Realm. She said in a deep voice, "Su Sword Immortal, hold him off for a moment."
"Mm."
As Su Qingjiu thrust her sword forward, the flying sword Willow Catkin flew out and entangled itself with the Sun, Moon, Water, Fire Staff, unleashing waves of sword qi. She was doing her utmost.
Lin Wanhua's body was covered in righteous sword intent. She suddenly raised her hand towards Fusou Great Wall and shouted, "Come!"
In the sky, strands of sword intent gathered in her palm. In a flash, she had summoned half of the broken Fusou Sword into her hand. This was a gift from the Military Sage Ding Muchen to his junior. The Great Dao of Fusou Great Wall recognized her!
"Move aside!"
Lin Wanhua's sword fell.
The moment Su Qingjiu moved aside, the half-broken Fusou Great Wall "screeched" as it cleaved open the demon king Man Yuan's chest, blood splattering and the wound deep enough to see bone. However, the next moment, the Sun, Moon, Water, Fire Staff swept out, and Lin Wanhua flew out with a spray of blood, the half-broken Fusou Sword in her hand also dissipating. It still wasn't enough.
Seeing this, Su Qingjiu hardened her heart and grabbed the almost unconscious Lin Wanhua. She unleashed a flying sword to send her away. Simultaneously, her natal flying sword, White Fish, cleared the path. With a deafening roar, White Fish self-destructed at the edge of the pocket dimension, while the other flying sword carried Lin Wanhua's body and sent her towards the human realm.
Su Qingjiu gave a bitter smile. Brother Lin Zhao had hoped she would look after Miss Lin, and this was the only way.
...
The natal flying sword White Fish self-destructed. Su Qingjiu coughed up blood incessantly, her cultivation plummeted, and she almost fell out of the twelfth realm. Her strength was even less able to contend with Man Yuan. She directly opened her hands and closed her eyes, awaiting death!
"I grant you your wish!"
Man Yuan raised the Sun, Moon, Water, Fire Staff and, from high above, brought it down directly towards Xiao Jiu'er's head.
"Buzz~~~"
Just as Su Qingjiu thought she was facing certain death, a peach blossom hairpin in her hair suddenly buzzed incessantly. Two lines of text were engraved on the hairpin: "Peace" and "Smoothness."
At this moment, the word "Peace" on the hairpin glowed with golden light, slowly dissolving into countless golden sand particles. These sand particles tightly wrapped around Su Qingjiu, as if clothing her in a coat filled with Confucian righteousness. Countless Confucian texts manifested in the sky. The entire world, because of a small hairpin, was filled with Confucian atmosphere!
"Thump!"
The Sun, Moon, Water, Fire Staff was directly repelled, while Man Yuan, injured further, spurted blood from his seven orifices, wailing in mid-air while clutching his head.
...
Lin Zhao had no other desire but for Xiao Jiu'er to live a life of peace and safety.