Sword Seed.

The second-generation Mountain Master of the Temple of Martial Arts, Jiang Quan, cultivated the Sword Seed Path, entering the Seeking Dao Realm at the age of twenty-six and the Divine Realm at sixty-one.

During the internal turmoil of the Jing Dynasty, with a young ruler and a suspicious court, eunuchs, nobles, and officials wreaked havoc on the court, causing the people to suffer. Jiang Quan donned a well-laundered blue Daoist robe, entered the Imperial Capital empty-handed, declared himself the State Preceptor of the Jing Dynasty, and stabilized Shangjing City for twelve years, ensuring peace in the dynasty.

The fourth-generation Mountain Master, Lu Xingzhou, started cultivating the Sword Seed Path and on his first day caused a resonance between heaven and earth, entering the Divine Realm at thirty-six.

At the time, Korea initiated border conflicts, creating the Haedong Sword Dao, challenging the Jing Dynasty Martial Temple, and splitting the "Beacon of the World" plaque on the mountain gate with a single strike.

In his sleep, Lu Xingzhou severed with a sword, while in the Temple of Martial Arts cast the sword seed 1,180 miles to the Jingfu Palace, cleaving the Divine Martial Gate. The resplendent sword seed hung above the Hall of Diligent Governance for seventy-two days until the Korea Envoy traveled to Liaoyang Prefecture to surrender, retrieving the sword seed back to the temple.

These are stories from storytellers, three parts truth, seven parts fiction. But whenever the words "sword seed" appear in these tales, they are always the main character.

So, when the sword seed appeared on the tiger's back, the words spread like ripples on a lake, carried by the mouths of Mo Blade soldiers into the distance.

At this moment, Li Xuan lost his horse and retreated back into the Yulin Army, shrinking the formation with the cover of Qi Zhenzhuo and Duobao.

Yuan Heng Lizhen's horse stumbled, got back up but didn't spare Li Xuan another glance, and instead fixed his gaze on the armored soldier running towards the ridge.

He removed the half-broken mask, revealing a heroic face, with sword-shaped eyebrows and starry eyes: "Such effort and nowhere to find him, yet found him without any effort at all."

With that, Yuan Heng Lizhen abandoned the Yulin Army, led the Mo Blade soldiers up the mountain, with one group pursuing from behind and another maneuvering from the foot of the mountain, leaving only over a hundred engaged with the Yulin Army and the Divine Machine Camp in close combat.

The purple-clad woman, holding a long knife, said beside Yuan Heng Lizhen, "There are still important tasks here, you stay and deal with the Ning Dynasty people, I'll chase him."

As Yuan Heng Lizhen climbed the mountain, he calmly replied, "For the Temple of Martial Arts, nothing in this world is more important than the Sword Seed Path. Dynasty, throne, power, money, women, fine wine, they are all but worldly shackles, insignificant in the face of Martial Arts. The Night Patrol can always be killed later, this year, next year, or the year after, but our temple has searched for this sword seed bearer hidden in the Jianghu for hundreds of years."

The purple-clad woman, walking beside him, also calmly stated, "Even the Divine Realm is not invincible, and if there is anyone invincible, it would only be the Mountain Master."

"I will be the next one," Yuan Heng Lizhen said confidently, striding through the mountains as if treading on flat ground.

The purple-clad woman showed no emotion, "Your eagerness to kill this person is only to ensure the Mountain Master merges with the Dao and ascends the Forty-nine Heavens faster. Only then do you have a chance to become the first Martial Saint of the two dynasties... Otherwise, the Mountain Master will always be the great mountain pressing down on you."

Yuan Heng Lizhen, even though exposed, was not angry but candidly agreed, "That's correct."

The purple-clad woman's lips curled with a hint of sarcasm, "Your mindset alone makes it difficult to become a saint."

Yuan Heng Lizhen was forthright, "The Mountain Master is the great mountain pressing down on everyone in the world, not only suffocating both dynasties but also every disciple under the temple. It's only natural for me to be wary. Unfortunately, I don't cultivate the Sword Seed Path, or I would definitely challenge the Mountain Master's brilliance in this lifetime."

The purple-clad woman turned to him, "Do you think the reason why the temple's Mountain Masters have always been the best in the world is solely because of the sword seed?"

Yuan Heng Lizhen was indifferent, "The world's heroes are as numerous as fish crossing the river. There have been countless who surpassed the Mountain Master in talent. There have been many Mountain Masters, yet the temple's Mountain Master has always been the foremost in the world. What else could it be if not because of the sword seed? The Sword Seed Path shouldn't remain in this world. It would be better for the Mountain Master to ascend the Forty-nine Heavens with it sooner."

The purple-clad woman said no more.

As they climbed the mountain, heat waves swept up from the south of the mountain. Every gust of wind brought ash and smoke, blinding to the eyes.

Chen Ji wiped sweat from his face on the ridge, clearing away some blood but smearing on new dust, making his face more indistinct.

He glanced back and then ran eastward for his life. Two miles east lay the Zhengou River, where someone awaited him.

…

…

At the foot of the mountain, Hong Zuer led the Night Patrol, stealthily moving up amidst the chaos.

Upon reaching the mountainside, they suddenly saw Chen Ji desperately running along the ridge, as if he had stirred a hornet's nest, with hundreds of Mo Blade soldiers in hot pursuit.

Zhou Fang from the Five Armies Camp observed silently for a moment, unaware that a sword seed had appeared on the mountainside, and wondered, "This person is clever, knowing to run to the ridge to force the Mo Blade Camp to abandon their horses, but... why would the Mo Blade Camp forsake the Divine Machine Camp and the Yulin Army to chase him?"

Gao Yuan was uncertain and puzzled, "Who is this person? What is he doing?"

Hong Zuer furrowed his brow deeply, trying to recognize him by his figure, but the armored guise looked completely different from his memory. He tried to discern from his movements, but with or without armor, a person's appearance is different in every way, even in their running posture.

Hong Zuer took a deep breath, "He's trying to draw away the Mo Blade soldiers to gain a lifeline for those on the mountainside."

Zhou Fang quietly admired, "Brave."

Hong Zuer pointed up the mountain to all the Night Patrols and said, "You go up there and rescue people, I'll go have a look, maybe I can lend some support."

Zhou Fang looked at him and said, "Earlier you said not to save him, and now you're the one wanting to save him. You've said it all."

Hong Zuer said in a deep voice, "Do you really think Hong Zuer views human life as trivial? Earlier, it was impossible, and we had to exchange lives to take a piece of flesh from the Mo Blade Camp. Now, this person has drawn away most of the Mo Blade soldiers, so it's different... Go, don't let this person's effort be in vain."

With that, he turned his horse around. At the foot of the mountain, he aligned himself with Chen Ji and the Mo Blade Camp on the mountainside, heading east.

At this moment, on the mountain ridge, Chen Ji was running while taking off the heavy armor of the Mo Blade soldiers. The armor was to sneak to the front lines, but now, with his life at stake, the dozens of pounds of armor had become a burden.

Shoulder armor, body armor, arm guard, neck guard... Zhang Xia was extremely proficient in helping him put it on, it seemed very simple, but when he tried to take it off himself, he realized how complicated it was.

Chen Ji simply didn't untie the straps and used a sword seed to cut them off one by one.

As the armor fell piece by piece, he turned back to look: The Mo Blade soldiers on this mountain path lost their war horses and were far slower than him; the Mo Blade soldiers on the mountainside were riding and encircling, sooner or later they would block his path.

Behind him, there were Yuan Heng Lizhen and that woman in purple, both in the Seeking Dao Realm, even if Yuan Heng Lizhen was wearing heavy armor, he was far more skilled than him.

What to do?

At this moment, Yuan Heng Lizhen also stepped onto the ridge with a Mo Blade in hand. The mountain wind blew with sparks flying up to the ridge, like waves crashing against the black armor.

In the next second, Yuan Heng Lizhen raised the Mo Blade over his shoulder and suddenly exerted force, throwing it at Chen Ji's back, "Go!"

The seven-foot-long heavy Mo Blade swept through the air with a howling wind, sparking and smoky trails spun into a fiery red comet-like tailwind.

Hearing the wind, Chen Ji leaped off the ridge. On the path where he once stood, the Mo Blade carved a gash into the mountain ridge, sending boulders tumbling downhill.

Simultaneously, a sword seed ambushed on the path burst to attack, aiming for Yuan Heng Lizhen's ankle.

But Yuan Heng Lizhen reacted extremely quickly, dodging the blade with a flick of his toe, kicking it across the sword's body, sending the sword seed flying dozens of feet away.

Before the sword seed could return, the woman in purple struck a Sword Gang across the air, like a crescent moon slicing through the sky, striking the sword seed. With a crack, a split appeared in the sword seed.

Chen Ji spat out a mouthful of blood silently, feeling as though his heart and lungs had been struck, his face paling instantly.

Liang Family's Saber Technique.

Jiang Liuxian!

Wu Yun learned the Liang family's Path, and Chen Ji was one of the people most familiar with the Liang Family's Saber Technique. How could he not recognize this Sword Gang? He remembered Brother Cat Liang Mao'er once said, the woman from the Jing Dynasty, Jiang Liuxian, went into hiding by marrying Liang Gou'er, and after stealing the Liang Family's Saber Technique, returned to the Jing Dynasty, but he never expected to meet her here.

Liang Gou'er's saber techniques are fierce, and Jiang Liuxian's saber techniques are sharp. They are not something ordinary people can handle.

Should he reveal his identity and use his connections with Liang Gou'er to seek a glimmer of hope?

No, Jiang Liuxian could leave Liang Gou'er without sentimentality; she is not a person to act emotionally. His identity must remain hidden.

However, at this moment, a fire suddenly ignited down the mountain.

Chen Ji was startled, he looked over to see a familiar figure on horseback, holding dozens of burning pine sticks, tossing them into the forest, setting a fiery path ablaze.

This path of forest fire quickly spread up the mountain, roaring like a fiery dragon, igniting a wall of fire on the North Mountain's untouched Tiger's Back, blocking all the Mo Blade soldiers on horseback encircling Chen Ji. The Mo Blade soldiers could only turn their horses back at the fire's wall, seeking another direction to encircle.

Hong Zuer!

At this moment, Hong Zuer dismounted on the other side of the fire wall, stabbing his mount in the flank.

The battle horse, in pain, galloped eastward.

Hong Zuer yelled angrily from the mountainside, "Go!"

Chen Ji understood the signal and immediately chased down the mountain with all his might following the horse's tracks, he and the horse were like two converging lines, finally meeting at the foot of the mountain.

When man and horse converged, Chen Ji reached out to grasp the front of the saddle and was carried away at great speed.

He looked back, but saw that Hong Zuer had somehow already concealed himself in the shadows of the woodland, mission accomplished, nowhere to be seen.

On the ridge, Yuan Heng Lizhen sneered as he removed his armor, the speed of a Seeking Dao Realm Executive Officer might not be slower than that of a warhorse.

But before he could take off all the armor, Jiang Liuxian had already leaped lightly off the ridge like a gust of wind, chasing far ahead, leaving him far behind.