Yu Xiyi clenched his teeth, his expression turning grim.

However, even so, the young great sword immortal did not choose to withdraw his sword. Instead, he mobilized the countless strands of sword qi within his apertures and once again charged forward.

Between heaven and earth, a faint image appeared, Yu Xiyi himself became the sword, with countless streaks of sword light surging forth toward Daoist Wuyang ahead, while the latter stood unmoving, like a mountain.

It seemed utterly futile.

Controlling the lightning pool, Yun Jianyue frowned slightly. With a wave of his hand, a small cluster of lightning appeared in his palm. The young daoist of the Daoist sect silently chanted in his heart, and the lightning ball left his hand, shooting into the sky.

After the lightning pool absorbed that bolt of lightning, it did not react much; only a single strike of heavenly lightning descended. The lightning held little apparent power, merely forming a faint purple line that happened to fall upon Yu Xiyi’s flying sword, Wild Grass.

Between heaven and earth, that purple line flickered in and out of sight, faint and indistinct.

But the moment that purple line connected with Yu Xiyi’s flying sword, the Sword Intent in his eyes grew even stronger. He grinned and said, “A'Yue, you’ve still got some decency.”

Yun Jianyue paid it no mind.

Though it seemed he had merely summoned a single bolt of heavenly lightning, in that instant, Yu Xiyi not only gained shared control of the lightning pool like Yun Jianyue, becoming half its master, but could even wield its heavenly lightning as his own.

He borrowed Yun Jianyue’s lightning techniques.

In this world, sword cultivators were hailed as supreme in killing power, yet the daoist lightning techniques were said to rival that very might.

Now, the two forces combined as one. Yu Xiyi laughed loudly. If I’d had this trick back when I challenged the Sword Sect’s Sect Master, I wouldn’t have needed to worry about him pressing me down so fucking hard back then!

Heavenly lightning fused into his sword qi, and the blade of Yu Xiyi’s flying sword slowly straightened. Daoist Wuyang narrowed his eyes as a sharp pain pricked his fingertip, and a drop of blood fell from it.

Daoist Wuyang glanced at the drop without expression. Then, with a wave of his sleeve, that single drop of blood dispersed, transforming into countless sharp flying swords that shot in all directions.

Yu Xiyi was the first to bear the brunt of it. He had no choice but to pull back his sword and slash forward at the countless faint yet terrifying strands of Dao rhythm and qi that rushed toward him.

The sword light flashed past, seemingly cleaving them apart in an instant. But in truth, his sword qi and those chaotic Dao rhythms had already collided and entangled with one another.

Thus, not far ahead, a strange phenomenon appeared. A radiance of five-colored clouds suddenly emerged, though to the naked eye, that brilliance appeared utterly twisted.

But Yu Xiyi remained cautious. He knew that even if he stepped into that area himself, escaping from it would cost him dearly.

Daoist Wuyang’s seemingly casual move was actually highly calculated. Part of his technique targeted Yu Xiyi directly, while another part struck at the lightning pool itself. Though he had no wish to fight Yun Jianyue, Daoist Wuyang had no intention of sitting idle either. By damaging the lightning pool, he gave Yun Jianyue something to deal with, preventing him from intervening here for a short while. That was exactly Daoist Wuyang’s plan.

Sure enough, Yun Jianyue could no longer simply hover in midair watching the battle. He began working to dismantle Daoist Wuyang’s technique.

Meanwhile, Yu Xiyi had already unleashed his second sword strike.c

Above the lightning pool, the winds howled continuously, and a bolt of heavenly lightning as thick as two men’s arms encircling each other suddenly fell from the sky.

The speed at which that heavenly lightning descended was so fast that it was almost impossible to track; but that was not what was most terrifying. The true horror lay in how, as the heavenly lightning fell, all the sword qi distributed throughout the lightning pool surged toward it.

It was as if what descended was not a bolt of heavenly lightning, but a lightning sword!

Daoist Wuyang waved his sleeve, scattering Yu Xiyi’s streak of sword light. Then, forming a hand seal with one hand, a purple barrier appeared above his head, resembling a lake’s surface, with Dao rhythm rippling within it.

Daoist Wuyang no longer paid attention to the heavenly lightning. Instead, he narrowed his eyes and looked toward Yu Xiyi, his figure suddenly shifting - appearing, vanishing, and appearing again.

For a moment, Yu Xiyi could not determine where Daoist Wuyang’s true body was.

But he still followed his instincts and slashed toward a certain spot.

His vast sword qi struck out, and by sheer instinct or coincidence, it seemed to have hit Daoist Wuyang’s true body.

Daoist Wuyang’s wide sleeve fluttered, swallowing that sword strike entirely, then pointed distantly with one finger.

A streak of azure light shot from his fingertip, slamming into Yu Xiyi.

Yu Xiyi’s chest was instantly pierced through.

Within the wound, faint Dao rhythm threads attempted to crawl into his meridians.

Blood trickled from the corner of Yu Xiyi’s mouth, and his face grew pale.

Daoist Wuyang shook his head. He acknowledged that Yu Xiyi’s talent in the Sword Dao was terrifyingly high - likely no weaker than that of the Sword Sect’s Sect Master. But his realm was still lacking, and that alone made everything else meaningless.

No matter how great a genius one was, before an absolute difference in realm, it was useless.

Yu Xiyi said nothing. He simply worked to purge the Dao rhythm invading his meridians. Then, this young great sword immortal gripped his flying sword tightly, wiped the blood from his lips, and sighed.

Damn it, after finally reaching the end of Nepenthe and becoming one of the few great sword immortals in the world, shouldn’t I be flaunting my strength, roaming the world with my sword, cutting down anyone I don’t like with a single strike?

At this level, whoever takes a sword from Your Father, if they dare talk back, they can only swallow their broken teeth and keep quiet!

But damn it, who could have guessed that in Your Father's very first battle, I’d run into Daoist Wuyang, this old ox-nosed daoist, and end up being completely suppressed?

Damn, Your Father's heart aches!

Yu Xiyi shook his head. And Chen Chao still hasn’t shown up? Fine, fine, let Your Father try again.

Yet, just as that surge of heroic spirit rose in his heart, before long, Yu Xiyi was struck several times in succession by Daoist Wuyang’s sweeping sleeves.

Beaten until his head spun and his vision blurred.

This was only because Daoist Wuyang was unwilling to use lightning techniques within Yun Jianyue’s lightning pool; otherwise, Yu Xiyi would have already lost half his life by now.

But the more he was beaten, the more Yu Xiyi’s temper flared. In the next few exchanges, he poured his full strength into his sword strikes, each one grand and overwhelming. Daoist Wuyang’s sleeve was even shredded by one sword, leaving him looking somewhat disheveled. Though in truth, he had not suffered even half a sword wound.

After dispersing Yu Xiyi’s vast sword intent once again, Daoist Wuyang’s mood grew complicated. He was not without suspicion. Chen Chao’s long absence could not help but make him wonder.

That young martial artist knew full well that the three of them working together offered the best chance to defeat him. So why, even now, had he not acted?

Could it be that Chen Chao had gone to the Infatuation Daoist Temple, taking advantage of his absence to destroy it?

But in truth, there were definitely reclusive experts guarding that place. Still, if Chen Chao had indeed brought along many of the Great Liang Dynasty’s powerhouses, the outcome was uncertain.

Moreover, this lightning pool here largely blocked his spiritual perception.

Even so, Daoist Wuyang thought for a moment and glanced toward Yun Jianyue. Whatever the case, he believed A'Yue would never betray his own.

That thought eased his mind somewhat, though his dao heart could not remain completely calm.

As the black-robed monk had once said - nothing in the world could easily disturb his mind anymore. Yet there were still two things he could not let go of: one was Yun Jianyue before him, and the other was the Infatuation Daoist Temple.

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