Chapter 56: Ripples in Stagnant Water, Sudden Murderous Intent

On the moonlit street, the youth with a sword at his waist and the warrior in purple armor met, as expected.

When the companion-moon sword at Lu Yun's waist began to shimmer with light, the warrior in purple armor also moved.

Dragging its heavy broadsword, it charged forward with all its might.

Behind the warrior in purple armor, a trailing wake of purplish, dazzling light cut through the night.

Soon, both Lu Yun and the purple-armored warrior reached their utmost speed, leaving anyone looking across the street to see only two streaks of light moving at extreme velocity.

The purple light collided with the pristine brightness of the moon, and even the illusory full moon was affected, rippling like a moon shattered in water.

Sword light flashed alongside moonlight. Lu Yun held his sword horizontally, blocking the third head-on slash from the purple-armored warrior.

Lu Yun's figure was forced back step by step, while the purple-armored warrior pressed forward relentlessly, its broadsword seemingly unstoppable.

"Though it's a bit tough, but..."

Lu Yun's gaze remained indifferent as he gripped the sword with both hands. "...it's not entirely unwinnable."

The bright moon, the water's surface, and the reflections all shattered at that very moment. In the eyes of the purple-armored warrior, there seemed to be nothing left except Lu Yun's eyes, which looked like a pool of stagnant water.

A ripple stirred in the dead water, and killing intent surged abruptly.

...

Luo Ze's wide robes trailed on the ground as he stood beneath the moon, gazing far into the distance outside the Anluo Palace.

There, a streak of sword light flared up, followed by a sword strike swift as the wind.

In the dead of night, it was as bright as day.

"What a fine youngster."

Admiration filled Luo Ze's eyes. Such sword intent appeared as bland as water, carrying a touch of the moon's tenderness, but was in reality intensely fierce.

Yet, just this was not enough.

Luo Ze suddenly grew interested and chuckled, "If you小子 can truly hold off this purple-armored warrior all by yourself, I, Luo Ze, wouldn't mind giving you a few pointers."

...

Countless sword qi nearly broke through the heavy armor of the purple-armored warrior, but it was only nearly.

Beneath the armor covered in sword scars, that pair of purple eyes remained bright.

Lu Yun's figure swayed.

To him, this was of no consequence. Pausing for just a moment, Lu Yun took a wide step forward and continued to strike with his sword.

The broadsword in the warrior's hand had already snapped in two. At this moment, it gripped a jagged fragment of the blade in one hand and held a short saber in the other, its eyes devoid of any emotional fluctuation as it charged at Lu Yun once more.

If the purple-armored warrior truly possessed sentience, it would surely have considered the fellow before it an absolute fool in the truest sense.

Where did it come from?

It was a talisman crafted personally by a throne-level great demon!

No matter how weak Old Bo might be, the upper limit of the purple-armored warrior was bound to be much higher than he imagined.

Even though the blade in its hand had already shattered.

Lu Yun perceived this, but his choice to engage the purple-armored warrior in a hard clash was actually to make his sword intent more solid and concentrated.

At the summit of the Ten Thousand Mountains, he had already made up his mind to set aside martial arts and attempt to walk that path of pure swordsmanship.

Yet the old blind man had offered a rare piece of advice, saying that it was not yet time to shatter and rebuild one's foundation, and that he might as well wait until sixty years later at the Lianzhu Grotto-heaven.

Lu Yun felt this made a lot of sense, so he decided not to rush, choosing instead to train his entire body's sword intent to the absolute limit first.

"If you truly lack spiritual intelligence, then you certainly won't be able to block this sword!"

Lu Yun watched the blade swung toward him by the purple-armored warrior, maintaining his calm.

After exchanging blows for so long, he had figured out some of the warrior's patterns.

Certain fixed, unyielding, and clumsy trajectories.

Flaws, fleeting and brief!

Lu Yun thrust his sword. The brilliant light of the companion-moon sword pierced precisely into the warrior's neck at the exact moment the arm wielding the blade rose above its head.

The blade touched nothing at all, as if the tiny gaps in the tightly fitted armor of the purple-armored warrior were truly nothing more than empty space.

But Lu Yun was well prepared. From the sleeve of his left hand, a small dagger was instantly flicked out, shooting straight toward the eyes of the purple-armored warrior.

In the vision of the purple-armored warrior, that small dagger was fast approaching, and the longsword Lu Yun had withdrawn was also held before his chest to guard against any unexpected counterattacks.

Everything seemed to have been settled. In the next moment, either Lu Yun would have to retreat, or...

It would be slain right here.

What a pity, to be killed here by a mere brat.

If you had sentience, how filled with resentment you would be.

Though merely a talisman, are you truly willing to vanish at this very moment?

No...

Not willing!

It suddenly woke up to realization, and then threw a punch.

Lu Yun's expression changed drastically.

He saw that the purple-armored warrior's eyes, previously filled only with purple light, suddenly dimmed, and then brightened once more, blazing with a dazzling radiance.

...

Outside the Anluo Palace, Old Bo, who was preparing to return home and wait for good news, abruptly halted his steps.

How could this be?!

Yet it had indeed happened; he had unquestionably lost that faint, tenuous connection with the talisman.

"Impossible, impossible..."

Old Bo muttered, "Could it be that Luo Ze made a move? That shouldn't be. He seeks rare treasures, and I stir up trouble; unless it involves a threat to Anluo's survival, he has no reason nor the face to interfere..."

Old Bo's younger sister, Lei Xi, noticed that her brother's complexion was amiss and quickly asked, "Eldest brother, what happened?"

Old Bo looked into the eyes of his siblings, paused for a moment, and then said, "The purple-armored warrior... seems to have died."

...

Smoke filled the air as Lu Yun slowly walked out from the haze, arriving before that pile of armor.

Even for him, a deep sense of bewilderment filled his mind at this moment.

It suddenly gained sentience, threw a punch at him, and then, right when it had the chance to kill him, it turned into a pile of... scrap metal?

What kind of situation was this?

...

Upon a throne piled high with dry bones, a great demon devoid of flesh and stark white all over crushed a skull to pieces with its bare hands.

"Just a little bit more."

The great demon sneered coldly, "What a pity. Such a sword dao seed that betrayed the wilderness—had it been any later, it wouldn't have been so easy to kill."

"Whom are you trying to kill?"

An old man's voice suddenly rang out.

Bai Ying suddenly let out a roar, and the skulls beneath his feet abruptly ignited with flames of various colors.

Yet in the next instant, those skulls that had not yet risen exploded one by one, scattering countless fine powders.

Those bizarre, colorful powders engulfed the great demon upon the throne.

No one witnessed how the throne-level great demon Bai Ying was actually forced to his knees by a surge of overwhelming presence.

"If there is a next time, I will surely kill you. The First Ancestor of Treading Moon Mountain, Zhou Mi, and Bai Ze as well... Heh heh, feel free to try and see if they can save your life when I make a move!"

That voice continued slowly, "I really dislike this place of yours. So if you dare to collect even one more skull, I will crush your head."

If Bai Ying had a face, it would undoubtedly have turned livid, but under that overwhelming pressure, he could only submit.

When that voice vanished entirely, Bai Ying staggered to his feet. Around him, those dry bones would never return.

Bai Ying was consumed by boundless fury, yet utterly helpless.

All because of that person...

The founder of the Daoist temple.

...

At the summit of the Ten Thousand Mountains, the old blind man stood with his hands clasped behind his back and said, "Have I stayed in the Ten Thousand Mountains for too long, emboldening those fellows to act so wildly and even dare to kill my disciple?"

Bai Ze stood behind the master of the temple, offering a personal assurance, "There will never be a next time."