Chapter 150: Slaying Demons with the Sword Qi

Zhou Qian was first startled, and then amazed. The voice sounded exceedingly familiar, as if—as if it belonged to Senior Sister Lu!

"Do not reveal your emotions, lest the old fiend becomes suspicious. Yurong's projected avatar is concealed within the Invisibility Banner; the slightest disturbance will alert him. If you wish to save little Liu, follow my commands implicitly!"

Giving an almost imperceptible nod, Zhou Qian confirmed that she could see him. Although he did not know when or why Senior Sister Lu had done this, at this moment, he had no choice but to trust her. Lu Yurong's voice sounded once more—

"After observing for a long time, I discovered that what occupies little Liu's physical body is not the Profound Mystery Old Fiend himself, but rather his residual soul surviving through demonic arts. Doubtless, Patriarch Profound Mystery had long planted a demonic seed within him. Back during the heavenly tribulation, Yurong wondered how this old monster could be destroyed so easily. It turns out he had already abandoned his cultivation base and hidden inside little Liu."

"If you wish to save little Liu, you must get within three feet of him, allowing my avatar to drill into his physical shell, awaken little Liu's three souls and seven mortal spirits, and take the opportunity to force the residual soul out of his body! Crucially, that residual soul is also formed from a primordial spirit; your immortal sword cannot harm it, and if it escapes, it will inevitably plague the region. Therefore, it must be utterly destroyed. When the time comes, open your mind completely and let my avatar enter your body to lend you a hand!"

Although Lu Yurong spoke swiftly and urgently, the old fiend was no fool. The reason he sat back and watched was that in another half an incense stick of time, without needing to lift a finger himself, Zhou Qian would dissolve into pus and blood and die. This Demonic Heaven Tainted Blood Art was a malefic technique involving changes to the primordial spirit, using secret incantations to communicate with the netherworld and summon specters mixed with fresh blood. Requiring no active magic power, it was one of the few formidable spells he could execute after seizing a body. Having cast this technique, he naturally had no desire to fight Zhou Qian; feigning procrastination was the proper course of action.

As for how to get within three feet of him, Lu Yurong had not specified, evidently leaving him to figure out a way on his own. Perhaps in Senior Sister Lu's eyes, whether someone of a heterodox sect like little Liu lived or died was of no consequence; eliminating the old fiend's residual soul would already be a great achievement.

Zhou Qian harbored no such thoughts. Having come from the mortal realm, he possessed many traits of a martial artist of the pugilistic world. Little Liu was a bond-brother of life and death who had fought to the death for him—how could he abandon him to his fate? Gritting his teeth, the white light of his willow-wood sword surged and he slashed straight ahead. Acting like a cat toying with a mouse, the Profound Mystery Old Fiend blocked with the Liqueque Hook while retreating backward. The flying sword was as swift as a shooting star, breaking through bamboo with unstoppable momentum, yet it could never breach the cold light barrier cast by the five Liqueque Hooks, causing his heart to grow increasingly anxious.

Only now did he bitterly regret why he had not refined more restrictions into the willow-wood sword earlier. Otherwise, relying solely on the sword qi he had cultivated, how could he be no match for the Liqueque Hooks? As his magic power grew deeper, this flying sword was becoming increasingly inadequate—

He unleashed the Invisibility Banner, and Zhou Qian instantly vanished without a trace. Since a frontal assault failed, perhaps a covert trick could achieve miraculous results.

Patriarch Profound Mystery slightly narrowed his eyes. Was this boy giving up, or was he harboring delusions of a sneak attack? Even as he thought this, he conjured five-colored true flames from his hands, enveloping his front, appearing extremely cautious. This demonic flame flickered between bright and dim, dancing unceasingly as if possessed of great intelligence, displaying even greater power than when little Liu had used it—after all, this art was created by the old fiend himself, and the depth of comprehension was vastly different.

This terrain had already been heavily damaged by their duel, resembling shattered walls and broken cliffs. Suddenly, a loud noise erupted from below. Before Patriarch Profound Mystery could look down, boulders crashed down amidst surging dust, and a streak of white vapor escaped into mid-air. Glancing downward, the old fiend saw that the cliff face had long been unstable, and having its supporting pillars severed by the flying sword, its collapse was hardly surprising. Yet Patriarch Profound Mystery remained puzzled: what was the boy's intention with this maneuver? Did he actually think he could fight him in mid-air? Just a greenhorn who could not even manage basic sword-flight? Relying on that, wouldn't it be a joke?

Suddenly, a commotion came from above, and nearly ten Leaving-Fire Divine Thunders plummeted from the sky. With a wave of his arm, five Liqueque Hooks swept horizontally and slashed vertically, shattering the divine thunders in an instant. The quality of this Round-Penetration Realm magical artifact was truly superb; if Zhou Qian had tried that with his willow-wood sword, the blade would likely have suffered structural damage. Having made a move, how could Patriarch Profound Mystery fail to spot his location? Calculating the coordinates, a golden hook swept across a section of the cliff face, carving out a massive boulder like tofu with a thunderous crash. Simultaneously, a figure plummeted downward. Realizing his position was exposed, Zhou Qian put away the Invisibility Banner—after all, operating the artifact consumed a vast amount of magic power—and kicked off the cliff wall, leaping toward Patriarch Profound Mystery.

Yet even after crossing three or four zhang, the two were still over a dozen zhang apart. Raising his sword-finger, he recalled the willow-wood sword, stepped upon it, and flew another seven or eight zhang. Good times do not last; since he had not yet mastered the art of sword-flight, the sword light could not sustain his weight and began to scatter. He hastily leaped forward, coming within a hair's breadth of 'little Liu's' body.

Although Patriarch Profound Mystery did not know the boy's plan, he recognized the intent to close the distance. The white vapor shifted and he retreated, while the five Liqueque Hooks transformed into a golden rainbow, qi surging as they slashed toward Zhou Qian's physical body, exploiting his lack of leverage in mid-air. With a sharp cry, a little azure bird descended from the sky, seizing his shoulder and beating its wings desperately, barely managing to evade the strike. To get within three feet of his target, Zhou Qian had long since laid an ambush with the azure bird precisely for this moment!

Simultaneously, the chilling white radiance of the willow-wood immortal sword was about to pierce his chest. Patriarch Profound Mystery dared not risk his life to test whether the boy cared about little Liu's life. He flicked his protective demonic flame upward, instantly causing the sword light to crackle and sizzle, while forcing himself to swerve right to dodge the sword's momentum.

Zhou Qian's eyes lit up. This was the exact opportunity he had been waiting for! Grabbing the bird's claws with one hand, he swung hard and leaped forward...

Little Liu viewed Zhou Qian as a close brother, and in past casual chats, had bared all his secrets. Naturally, he knew that Zhou Qian's ability to soar through the air did not stem from refining a flying sword to shrink and grow at will with spiritual responsiveness, but rather from practicing a phosphorus-fire escape technique found within the *Profound Mystery Five-Poles Taisu True Scripture*. This escape technique harvested the azure phosphorus fire from nighttime graves and ruined tombs, refining it through ghostly arts. Because these bluish phosphorus fires were formed from the residual souls of the dead and rejected by the world, they drifted aimlessly with the waves, bound for nowhere, and remained untouched by the underworld's summons. Weightless and light, once refined, they were usually concealed within skin and flesh, and summoned when needed to wrap around the body and pierce the void.

Although this technique was exceedingly easy to master, it was ultimately unorthodox. Not only was the escape speed quite slow, but shifting positions was also extremely clumsy. Knowing this, Zhou Qian had taken a calculated gamble to fight in mid-air!

Seeing Zhou Qian leap over with nothing to rely on, Patriarch Profound Mystery could not help a surge of delight. Raising his claws, a burst of demonic fire erupted. Before he could act further, Zhou Qian hurled a small banner that grazed his cheek. Without time to think, a female phantom materialized—cloud-like hair, arched eyebrows, and clothes whiter than snow; it was none other than Lu Yurong. Taking advantage of the old fiend's failure to seal his five senses and consciousness, she flashed brightly and transformed her entire body into a streak of red mist, drilling straight into his dantian sea of qi. Instantly, little Liu's body stiffened and plummeted straight down. With sharp eyes, Zhou Qian caught him just in time. Coincidentally, the azure bird flew over again; grabbing little Liu's hand with one hand and the bird's claw with the other, amidst the bird's pitiful chirping and with its wings nearly fractured, he finally cushioned the descent and landed on the ground.

Little Liu's face flickered between pitch black and bright red, two beams of light flashing chaotically as cold sweat poured down ceaselessly. After a long while, billowing black qi surged from his mouth, followed closely by the red mist, which split into two streams. One stream trapped the black qi, while the other transformed into Lu Yurong's phantom, though much dimmer than before. With a panicked expression, she cried out, "Quickly let me possess you!"

Zhou Qian grinned wryly—what an exceedingly bizarre thing to say. Closing his eyes and quieting his breath, he dispersed his consciousness. Instantly, an immortal spiritual qi surged into his body, settling into the extraordinary meridians and circulating in a profound pattern. Moments later, Lu Yurong temporarily superseded Zhou Qian's will, taking temporary possession of this physical body. With a solemn expression, she summoned the willow-wood immortal sword and murmured, "Heaven and earth thunder light, assist me in slaying demons, Falling Thunder Sword, emerge!"

Instantly, crackling streaks of lightning surged across the blade of the flying sword. Zhou Qian was astounded to find that he could perceive the circulation pattern of the immortal spiritual qi within his body, along with its profound processes of reorganization and decomposition. So wondrous was it that he could not help but become immersed in it, until a sudden, earth-shaking clap of thunder shocked his spirit. Looking outward, a bolt of lightning as thick as a rice bowl plummeted from the sky with majestic might, instantly shattering the black qi. The millennium-old willow wood naturally possessed the property of warding off evil, and this startling thunder sword technique brought out its power to the absolute twelfth degree!

The black qi reaggregated, transforming into the shape of a withered, emaciated Daoist priest, though it was now merely a hollow shell. Zhou Qian believed that a single strike from himself would be enough to finish him.

Unreconciled to being slaughtered, Patriarch Profound Mystery cried out in terror, "Young benefactor, spare my life! This old servant is willing to serve you as master, pass on to you longevity arts, and even teach you how to refine that ten-thousand-year-old Azure Emptiness! With just this, in less than ten years, you can transcend the heavenly tribulation and achieve the right fruit of a primordial spirit!"

"And what of the common folk near the Xiang River?" Zhou Qian countered.

"What do the lives and deaths of those mortals matter to you! Little master, do not emulate those hypocrites of the major sects who act righteous on the surface while engaging in filthier deeds behind closed doors. Furthermore, little master has been poisoned by my Tainted Blood Art and your days are numbered; only this old servant knows the antidote! Do not ruin others and yourself alike! Besides, that Emei woman's Kan-Li avatar and I fought to a mutual destruction; master need not worry about her interfering!" Patriarch Profound Mystery threatened and cajoled simultaneously.

Seeing Zhou Qian lower his head in silence, Qin Yurong, transformed by the red mist, also urged anxiously, "Junior Brother Zhou, I know that once the ten-thousand-year Azure Emptiness is severed, the subterranean water veins will inevitably burst, causing a massive flood in the Xiang River and threatening hundreds of thousands of surrounding civilians..."

"How could it not matter?!" Zhou Qian's consciousness was slightly blurred; clearly, the poison of the tainted blood had invaded his meridians, yet his memories had become sharper. He thought of Duck Egg from the fishing village, Aunt Liu, Uncle Liu—

*'The Xiang River is our territory. In the future, we must protect this river, and the river god will help Daddy catch more fish so Daddy won't have to work so hard. Division-Water General, am I right?'* Who had said those words? Why couldn't he remember clearly?

Drawing a long breath, his gaze grew bright once again. Suddenly, he laughed heartily and unconcernedly, "I am the Division-Water General, ranked number one among the three hundred generals under the Steamed-Bun Overlord of the Xiang River! The Xiang River is my turf, how could I let you run amok?!"

The willow-wood sword transformed into a brilliant radiance and cleaved straight toward the head of Patriarch Profound Mystery...