Chapter 8: Qingyun Sect

The disciples of Shenxiao Sword Sect encountered a swarm of Black Water Crows in the sky.

Although the Elders outside were continuously clearing the Black Water Crows, there were simply too many of them, and a considerable number still broke through into the crowd.

Everyone drew their swords from their Qiankun Pouches and engaged in sword riding while cutting down the Black Water Crows.

Eighty percent of a Black Water Crow's combat power lay in its cry.

Their method of attack was to first use their cries to trap prey in an illusion, then move in for the kill and feast.

Once their cries lost their effect, the Black Water Crows' strength would be greatly diminished.

Lin Feng also drew an ordinary sword, dispatching any Black Water Crow that drew near.

However, to avoid drawing attention, he made sure to appear as though he was struggling.

The battle continued.

Black Water Crows were cut down one after another, falling into the dense forest below.

Occasionally, one or two disciples of Shenxiao Sword Sect would fall as well.

A few minutes later, several Black Water Crows converged on Lin Feng and let out a simultaneous screech.

He was just about to draw his sword and cut them down when he spotted a figure moving rapidly toward him. He immediately feigned a momentary daze.

Only after the Black Water Crows around him had all been slain did he slowly "come to."

"Many thanks for saving me, Junior Sister Ye!" Lin Feng clasped his fists in gratitude.

The figure he had spotted was none other than Ye Qingxuan. To avoid revealing his true strength, he had chosen to hold back in time and wait for her to come to his rescue.

At the same time, two hostile gazes fell upon Lin Feng.

As Shenxiao Sword Sect's heaven-blessed prodigy, Ye Qingxuan had no shortage of secret admirers — many of them talented individuals in their own right.

Her cold and aloof personality meant she rarely spoke to anyone, so her proactively coming to someone's aid naturally stirred resentment in certain people.

As it happened, among the four Core Disciples heading to the Nine Nethers Secret Realm, both Zhu Jie and Yang Fan harbored feelings for Ye Qingxuan.

"No need to thank me. Since I promised Master I would keep you safe, I will do everything in my power to do so. Stay by my side from here on — I can't afford any accidents that I'd have to answer for to Master and Senior Uncle Su." Ye Qingxuan replied with an expressionless face.

"Then I'll be in your care, Junior Sister Ye."

Although Lin Feng would have preferred to keep his distance from Ye Qingxuan, she was only acting out of concern for his safety.

He would just have to wait until they entered the Nine Nethers Secret Realm to find an opportunity to slip away.

From then on, Lin Feng stayed by Ye Qingxuan's side, watching as she swung her sword again and again, cutting down each Black Water Crow that broke through.

Ye Qingxuan was truly worthy of being Leng Hanshuang's Core Disciple — her strength was absolutely at the pinnacle among her generation.

Her Dao-heart was formidable; the cries of the Black Water Crows had not the slightest effect on her.

Before long, the last of those wretched creatures was finally exterminated.

In this battle, roughly twenty to thirty disciples of Shenxiao Sword Sect were left behind forever in the Ten Thousand Mountains.

After dealing with the Black Water Crows, the Twelfth Elder Gu Mingzhou led everyone onward toward their destination, showing not the slightest trace of grief or sympathy for the fallen disciples.

Black Water Crows were considered among the lowest-tier dangers in the Ten Thousand Mountains, and the Elders had already intercepted the vast majority on the outer perimeter. If someone couldn't even survive that, they had only their own weakness to blame.

They hadn't even reached their destination and had already lost more than ten people — the Cultivation World was just that brutal.

Four hours later, the group from Shenxiao Sword Sect arrived at a mountain valley.

This was their destination — Nine Nethers Valley.

The valley had not always borne this name, but after the Nine Nethers Secret Realm first opened, it was renamed, and the name had persisted for over ten thousand years.

By the time Gu Mingzhou led the Shenxiao Sword Sect disciples to Nine Nethers Valley, a number of smaller sects and independent cultivators had already arrived ahead of them.

They watched the massive procession of sword-riding cultivators soaring through the sky, their eyes filled with undisguised envy.

Other factions had transported their disciples using large Magical Artifacts.

Only Shenxiao Sword Sect arrived by sword riding.

Sword Cultivators were the dream of the vast majority of cultivators.

Not only were they extraordinarily powerful — fighting above their level was as natural as breathing — but sword riding alone was breathtakingly cool.

One had to understand that cultivators who had not yet reached the Sky Mastery Realm could not sustain prolonged flight on their own.

They could only rely on flying Magical Artifacts.

And every flying Magical Artifact was priceless — not something just anyone could possess.

But Sword Cultivators were different. One only needed to reach the Sea Condensation Realm to learn the art of sword riding.

That was something other cultivators could only envy.

If not for the exceptionally stringent talent requirements for Sword Cultivators, Shenxiao Sword Sect would likely have long since become the foremost power on Li Continent.

"Wow! Shenxiao Sword Sect is here! Sword riding! So cool! I wish I could find a Shenxiao Sword Sect disciple as a cultivation partner — then I could ride swords with them too. So amazing!"

A young woman exclaimed.

A man immediately retorted.

"Keep dreaming! Anyone who makes it into Shenxiao Sword Sect is a genius — you think they'd look twice at you?"

"Can't I even imagine it?"

"Lady! Let's be realistic here! It's broad daylight — stop daydreaming."

"Who are you calling a lady?! Your whole family are ladies!"

This exchange was just a small snapshot of the scene.

Whether they were from smaller sects or independent cultivators, everyone who laid eyes on the Shenxiao Sword Sect members wore an expression of profound envy.

They all wished they could be one of them.

The procession of over two thousand people flew past the gathering below and continued onward to a small hill near Nine Nethers Valley — this was Shenxiao Sword Sect's encampment.

Every time the Nine Nethers Secret Realm opened, they would station themselves here to send their disciples in, then wait for three months.

There were four such hills in total, corresponding to the four great powers of Li Continent.

They were: Shenxiao Sword Sect, Qingyun Sect, Wuji Demon Sect, and Seven Slaughter Sect.

Shenxiao Sword Sect and Qingyun Sect maintained relatively friendly relations, while Wuji Demon Sect and Seven Slaughter Sect were closely aligned with each other.

The four top-tier powers had formed a kind of balance.

Recently, however, Wuji Demon Sect seemed intent on breaking that balance.

Shenxiao Sword Sect was not the first to arrive — before them, Qingyun Sect and Seven Slaughter Sect had already set up camp.

The several thousand people had barely finished making camp when a voice rang out.

"Brother Gu, long time no see! I didn't expect you to be leading the group."

The speaker was Wang Chuan, the Law Enforcement Elder of Qingyun Sect, with three young disciples — two male and one female — following behind him.

"I didn't expect Qingyun Sect to send you either, Brother Wang." Gu Mingzhou stepped forward to greet him.

The two were old acquaintances.

"Luoyi, you all go and get acquainted with the outstanding disciples of Shenxiao Sword Sect. Once you're inside the Nine Nethers Secret Realm, you'll need to cooperate with each other. Brother Gu and I have matters to discuss." Wang Chuan said to the three disciples behind him.

"Yes, Law Enforcement Elder!" the three replied in unison.

Inside the hastily erected tent of Shenxiao Sword Sect, Wang Chuan sipped his tea and casually asked, "Brother Gu, I heard Shenxiao Sword Sect has run into some trouble recently?"

"Just a minor issue. We've been at odds with Wuji Demon Sect for so many years — haven't we always come through just fine? What can they do to us?" Gu Mingzhou was entirely unconcerned.

"That's true! Still, Brother Gu, you should be careful. Those people from Wuji Demon Sect are always scheming to dominate Li Continent. If you ever need anything, Qingyun Sect will not hesitate."

"Then I'll thank you in advance, Brother Wang."

"By the way — I've heard there's a mysterious Sword Cultivator who, after wiping out Luocha Sect, frightened off that demon Demon Qian Daoxiong with a single sword strike. Which master from your Shenxiao Sword Sect might that be?"

"On that point, I hope Brother Wang will allow me to keep it a mystery." Gu Mingzhou gave no answer.

The truth was, he didn't know either.

The upper echelons of Shenxiao Sword Sect had gathered specifically to discuss this matter, but had reached no conclusion.

They didn't even have a suspect.

To frighten off Demon Qian Daoxiong with a single sword strike — the number of Sword Cultivators on Li Continent capable of such a feat could be counted on one hand, and all of them were in Shenxiao Sword Sect.

No one had ever heard of a Sword Cultivator from another faction possessing such power.

Of course, Li Continent was vast — there was no telling whether some ancient recluse might be cultivating in secret, but what reason would they have to help Shenxiao Sword Sect?

"Since Brother Gu doesn't wish to say, I won't press further. For this trip into the Nine Nethers Secret Realm, let our two sects follow the old arrangement and join forces. I have a feeling those people from Wuji Demon Sect are planning something."

"If they want to start something, we'll be happy to oblige." Gu Mingzhou replied with a fierce look in his eyes.

* * *

On the other side, the three Core Disciples of Qingyun Sect — Li Luoyi, Xu Wei, and Yang Guangzhi — gathered together with Shenxiao Sword Sect's Ye Qingxuan, Lin Feng, Yang Fan, and Zhu Jie.

Being Core Disciples, they all had things to talk about.

In a situation like this, the Inner Disciples of Shenxiao Sword Sect had no standing to join in.

Li Luoyi and Ye Qingxuan, both heaven-blessed prodigies, quickly warmed up to each other.

Xu Wei, Yang Guangzhi, Zhu Jie, and Yang Fan also got along well in conversation.

Only Lin Feng sat alone in a corner — his personality simply wasn't suited to putting on a social performance.

No matter how cheerfully these people were chatting now, the moment their own interests were at stake, they might turn on each other in an instant.

After a while, Li Luoyi glanced over at Lin Feng and asked, "And who might this Junior Brother be?"

"Senior Sister Li, he's no junior brother — he's Senior Brother Lin Feng, the Senior Brother of our Shenxiao Sword Sect." Zhu Jie replied with a smile.

"Ah, so you are Senior Brother Lin!" Li Luoyi offered a polite greeting.

Xu Wei and Yang Guangzhi both looked over with curiosity.

Lin Feng himself wasn't particularly famous, but the title of Senior Brother of Shenxiao Sword Sect was another matter entirely.

Everyone knew that Shenxiao Sword Sect's Senior Brother was a good-for-nothing who never left his quarters and didn't even participate in the Sect Tournament — they hadn't expected to actually meet him today.

The three of them studied Lin Feng with curious eyes.

Lin Feng paid it no mind. The more others looked down on him, the happier he was.

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Edited by Fat Goose