Chapter 88: Peerless Swordsman Strike the Scorpion

Chapter 88: Peerless Swordsman Strikes the Scorpion

"Great Master, since the Seal is about to break, why don't we lend a hand? After all, once this Seal is broken, Great Master will be spared many troubles."

Just then, a laugh came from behind.

Under the moonlight outside the hall, a figure stood at the entrance, his wide sleeves dancing in the wind, his skin as wrinkled as tree bark, and a pair of sinister eyes fixed on Fa Zhi.

"Patron Zhang." Fa Zhi sighed upon seeing the newcomer, "When the Seal breaks, the world will face a disaster. Do you know this?"

"Nonsense."

Zhang Zhixing took a deep breath and said, "Beneath this Seal is Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi. What disaster could there be? Besides, if I obtain this Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, why should I care about the people of the world?"

"amitābha."

Fa Wu glanced at Zhang Zhixing, then clasped his hands together.

Fa Zhi put down the wooden fish in his hand and slowly said, "Patron Zhang, have you forgotten that you yourself are also a person of this world?"

Zhang Zhixing sneered, "Great Master Fa Zhi, it's not that this old man doesn't understand grand principles, but I am not here to debate with you today. This wisp of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, I am determined to obtain it today."

With that, Zhang Zhixing took a step forward.

"Thump!"

It seemed like a casual step, but it contained extremely violent Internal Energy. The moment his toe touched the ground, ripples spread out from its center, and then the entire main hall began to shake wildly.

"Such powerful Internal Energy!"

Upon seeing this, Fa Wu felt a chill in his heart, and his heart began to pound wildly.

He was a First Rank Cultivator, yet facing Zhang Zhixing's probing step, he felt a sense of powerlessness, which showed Zhang Zhixing's terrifying strength.

"Patron, why are you so stubborn?"

Fa Zhi clasped his hands together, then placed them in front of his chest.

"Buzz! Buzz!"

As Fa Zhi clasped his hands, golden rays of light suddenly shot out from behind him, like a dazzling sun in the darkness, making it impossible for people to open their eyes.

"Bang, bang, bang, bang!"

Two streams of Qi fiercely collided, and the astonishingly violent Qi waves spread out in all directions.

An Jing, in his dark blue long robe, swiftly ran across the branches and leaves. Although he had only been here once, he was quite familiar with Faxi Temple.

Before long, he arrived at the mountain gate of Faxi Temple.

The last time he came was during the Yulanpen Festival (Ghost Festival) of Buddhism, and it was daytime. Back then, there were crowds of people, but now it was different. Faxi Temple was extremely quiet, with only the gentle breeze and the chirping of night insects.

An Jing's body leaped, scaling the over ten-foot-high courtyard wall as if walking on flat ground, and his body landed on the ground like a flying swallow.

"Hmm! ?"

Suddenly, the ground shook violently.

"There's a master?!"

An Jing's eyebrows raised slightly, and he quickly moved towards the direction of the vibration.

Just by the sound of the Internal Energy vibrations, he knew that the two people fighting were definitely not of low Cultivation.

An Jing stepped onto the eaves and soon arrived in front of the Vairocana Hall's main door.

"Hmm! ?"

Just as he was about to step in, a black shadow rapidly attacked his calf.

Clang—!

An Jing's palm instinctively touched the hilt of his sword. He swung his sword, and a cold light flashed, casting a chilling glow on the ground.

"Pfft!"

The black shadow was instantly cut in half, and blood splattered. Upon closer inspection, it was a thumb-sized venomous snake.

After the snake was cut in half by the Sword Qi, it continued to twitch.

"This snake…"

An Jing felt a bit strange. It was normal for venomous snakes to appear frequently in Faxi Temple, which was located deep in the mountains. An Jing had also gone up the mountain to gather herbs before. As long as one didn't invade their territory, venomous snakes generally wouldn't attack.

Before he could react, several more venomous snakes appeared around him and rushed towards him.

"It seems there's a master who plays with snakes here."

An Jing's eyes narrowed, and he swung the long sword in his hand.

A cold Sword Qi shot out from the blade.

"Hiss!"

The several venomous snakes were instantly cut in half.

"Good swordsmanship!"

A clear, cold voice came from a distance. An Jing looked in the direction of the voice, and under the moonlight, there was a graceful and ethereal woman. Although she was extremely beautiful, her eyes carried a hint of coldness.

This person was none other than Miss Dai, whom he had met at the night market that day.

An Jing saw Dai Ling and thought, 'As expected.' These two were indeed here for the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi. Now, Zhang Zhixing might be in the Vairocana Hall.

"You flatter me." An Jing said indifferently.

"Your Excellency, this wisp of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi is for my Five Venoms Sect." Dai Ling's voice was somewhat cold.

Five Venoms Sect!?

An Jing then recalled that he had seemingly heard Zhou Xianming mention that this Five Venoms Sect had someone named Zhang Zhixing, whose strength seemed extremely high. And the Sect Leader of the Five Venoms Sect was named Dai Danshu, who seemed to be an extremely powerful and ruthless person. So, this Miss Dai, coming from the Five Venoms Sect, must have a close relationship with Dai Danshu.

Tianji Pavilion divided the entire Great Yan Jianghu into Seven Gangs and Five Schools, and also established the Jianghu dragon and tiger rankings. Although there were some biases, most of it was based on some facts, otherwise it would not have been sought after by Jianghu people.

Among them, the dragon and tiger rankings had the most controversy. Every year, masters would rise to fame in the Jianghu, and these people were not included in the dragon and tiger rankings, as if they had suddenly appeared. Old timers in the Jianghu knew that some masters were incredibly powerful, but they were not recorded in the Jianghu dragon and tiger rankings. These were the reclusive masters of the current era.

Compared to the Jianghu dragon and tiger rankings, the controversy surrounding the Five Gangs and Seven Schools was much less, though Zhenyi Sect was an exception.

In the eyes of the world, the Five Gangs and Seven Schools should be called Five Gangs and Six Schools, as the strength of Zhenyi Sect was completely on a different level from the other six Schools.

Apart from Zhenyi Sect and the high and mighty Black Robe Guard, the Six Great Schools were the top-tier forces in the Great Yan Jianghu. This was an undeniable fact.

Moreover, the strength of the Six Great Schools was, to some extent, even above that of the Five Gangs. After all, these Schools had histories spanning hundreds of years at least, possessing profound foundations and hidden reclusive masters within them. Ordinary Jianghu individuals dared not cause trouble.

"What about the Five Venoms Sect?"

An Jing's tone was dismissive. He had come to collect his green Opportunity this time, so how could he leave because of Dai Ling's two sentences?

"Then don't blame me for being impolite!"

Dai Ling's eyes turned cold, and she clapped her hand forward.

The two were several feet apart. Dai Ling's palm technique came surging, and only the whistling sound was heard in the air.

An Jing stood still. He felt as if this palm technique was not coming from directly in front of him, but from all directions simultaneously, as if he were in a giant spider web, becoming the prey on this spider web.

"Whoosh! Whoosh!" "Whoosh! Whoosh!"

He leaped, easily dodging the palm, then shot towards Dai Ling like an arrow, his long sword pointing directly at Dai Ling's throat.

The moment An Jing's body sprang up, Dai Ling's hair stood on end, and her heart leaped to her throat.

This feeling only occurred when encountering a Swordsman with extremely high Dao Realm.

At that moment, she dared not be careless in the slightest, and her Internal Energy circulated throughout her body.

"Click! Click!" "Click! Click!"

The surrounding temperature instantly dropped, and then streaks of ice silk appeared. These ice silks, shimmering and translucent under the moonlight, condensed into ice blocks, gradually forming an indestructible ice wall.

Ice Scorpion Chain City!

Dai Ling Cultivated the Scorpion-form martial art, Heavenly Scorpion Art. Because she had consumed a piece of thousand-year-old cold jade with the help of her father, Dai Danshu, since childhood, her Internal Energy contained cold breath. When performing the Heavenly Scorpion Hand, her Internal Energy could condense into streaks of cold breath, doubling its power.

An Jing's expression remained calm, and the long sword in his hand continued to stab forward.

The moment the sword tip collided with the ice wall, dense cracks, like a spider web, formed around the sword tip.

"Bang!"

The seemingly indestructible ice wall did not block An Jing for a moment. The sword tip pierced straight through, heading directly for Dai Ling's throat.

Dai Ling was greatly alarmed and quickly moved to the side.

As Dai Ling dodged in a panic, An Jing's swordsmanship had long reached the pinnacle. Although she dodged her throat, the sword tip shifted and pointed directly at Dai Ling's heart.

"Hiss!"

This sword was as clever and unpredictable as a hanging antelope horn, precisely piercing Dai Ling's chest.

Then, the sword tip seemed to encounter something hard, making it impossible to advance even an inch.

"Hmm! ? Inner armor?"

An Jing paused with his hand, thinking to himself.

Inner armor was a type of armor worn inside clothing, mostly woven from precious gold threads and thousand-year-old vine branches. It was not only impervious to blades and spears but also capable of blocking a portion of Qi impact. It was a life-saving treasure, rarely seen in the Jianghu.

"Tap, tap, tap"

Although her body was not pierced, she was still shaken by the force and retreated repeatedly.

After she stabilized herself, her face first turned pale, then flushed, and her eyes stared intently at the Swordsman in the dark blue cloak in front of her.

"So hard? But I prefer soft." An Jing sneered.

"You are that Peerless Swordsman!?"

Dai Ling was both angry and annoyed when she heard this, suddenly remembering the highly renowned Swordsman from Jiangnan Province recently.

Originally, she had scoffed at this Swordsman, thinking how an unknown person could stir up such a storm in Jiangnan Province, and even the Cao Gang and Black Robe Guard had no way to deal with him.

Now, seeing the Swordsman's strength with her own eyes, she realized that Jianghu rumors were not always exaggerated.

With her Second Rank Cultivation, if she hadn't been wearing inner armor just now, she might have been directly pierced by that Swordsman's sword.

Thanks to 20190314181014221 and Brother Mumu, who is a Great Master, for the reward! Thank you!!!

Many people misunderstand the Realm, Heaven, Earth, and Human Three Flowers. This Realm is not something I made up; it is recorded in Taoist scriptures. However, they correspond to Qi Refining, Spirit Refining, and Soul Transformation, respectively. You can search for it on Baidu. I just think that Heaven, Earth, and Human Three Flowers are simpler, clearer, and easier to visualize, making them easier to understand.