飘零影音

Arc 15: Heavenly Secret Realm | Chapter 295: The Fisherman Profits

If he had tried to break through the sword formation of leaves during the three-way battle, the moment they noticed him, it would have been disastrous. However, the powerful energy released by the three had already shattered the sword formation, making it much easier for him to snatch the sword fruits. In just the blink of an eye, the Passionate Sword Young Master was already near the sword fruit. With a flick of his long sleeves, he took the fruit and stored it in his bag!

Of course, the three combatants were not completely off guard when it came to the Passionate Sword Young Master. But amid a fierce and evenly matched battle, it was inevitable that they would let their guard down just a little.

And it was in that brief moment of negligence that the Passionate Sword Young Master seized the opportunity!

After successfully taking the sword fruit, the Passionate Sword Young Master immediately retreated, preparing to descend from the tree.

His primary goal for climbing the sword-shaped tree was to obtain this very sword fruit, and he wasn’t greedy.

The Passionate Sword Young Master knew well that he was from the demonic path and was acting alone. Even though his cultivation was on par with the two Sword Sovereigns, he could not match their combined strength. And given the fact that the Wanjian Immortal Sect held the upper hand, how could they possibly allow him to share the spoils?

He had thought it would be incredibly difficult to claim even one sword fruit. But then, Yun Lie had unexpectedly entered the fray.

The Passionate Sword Young Master, as a cultivator of both the righteous and demonic paths, didn’t concern himself with whether Yun Lie would threaten his standing—after all, within the demonic path, there was no one else who had reached the fourth realm of sword intent like he had. However, the Wanjian Immortal Sect had always managed this territory, and Yun Lie’s emergence threatened their position, which worried them far more. With that in mind, it only took the Passionate Sword Young Master a moment to decide that he would take advantage of the situation and steal a sword fruit. And he succeeded.

As the Sentimental Young Master had anticipated, the Wanjian Immortal Sect had been the sword dao hegemon for countless years, and in the realm of swordsmanship, no one had been able to surpass them for a long time. Over time, while the sect maintained strict rules and a good reputation, the great masters at the top gradually turned their honor into stubbornness. The deeper their cultivation grew, the more deeply ingrained this stubbornness became.

Had Yun Lie joined the Wanjian Immortal Sect, he would have easily gained the favor of the two Sword Sovereigns, receiving all resources and cultivating without any worries. But Yun Lie was not part of the Wanjian Immortal Sect and even posed a threat to their status. Thus, the two Sword Sovereigns, stubbornly clinging to the honor of being the leaders of the Sword Dao, couldn’t help but harbor murderous intent toward him. This had led to the earlier ambush and the ongoing battle.

“—How dare you!” The Thunder Dragon Sword Sovereign roared, and the thunder flood dragon, which had been clashing with the golden swords, immediately turned its head and charged toward the Passionate Sword Young Master. The Sword Sovereign was enraged. The outcome of the battle was still uncertain, yet this demonic path cultivator had already taken advantage of the situation—how could he stand for it?

The Wind God Sword Sovereign was also not one to take things lying down. With a flick of his finger, three tornadoes shot toward the Passionate Sword Young Master, reaching him in the blink of an eye.

However, the Passionate Sword Young Master seemed prepared for this. He struck back with a strange force—likely sword intent. Though it still carried sharpness and killing intent, it had an oddly colorful, seductive quality, as if it was imbued with an amorous and ambiguous aura. It seemed that touching it would evoke unspeakable reactions in those affected.

This sword intent, though it appeared tender, was actually extremely difficult to deal with.

The thunder flood dragon, upon charging at him, appeared to be entangled by that sticky sensation. Its serpent-like head, strangely enough, showed a human-like expression of twisted agony… It seemed to be struggling with something, as if trying to break free from some form of control.

The three tornadoes, too, were slightly slowed down for a brief moment.

And in that very instant, the Passionate Sword Young Master had already escaped far away, leaping down from the tree!

At the same time, on Yun Lie’s side, another change was taking place.

Initially, the two Sword Sovereigns could barely hold their ground against Yun Lie, trying their best not to be overwhelmed by the merciless sword intent. However, with the thunderflood dragon diverted and the tornadoes split into several parts, Yun Lie immediately felt half the pressure lifted from him! As a result, he swiftly gained the upper hand!

Yet, the momentary attempt to stop the Passionate Sword Young Master was futile. Unable to stop him, the two Sword Sovereigns, focused on combating Yun Lie, had no choice but to give up in frustration. Their earlier strike had already been an impulsive move made out of unwillingness.

But after venting their frustration, they realized Yun Lie had seized this brief opening to make a quick decision. He suddenly threw Xu Ziqing, who had been on his back, outward.

In that instant, Xu Ziqing understood Yun Lie’s intentions. Yun Lie didn’t need to explain, nor could he afford to be distracted by doing so in such a dire situation. Yet, Xu Ziqing fully grasped the purpose behind his Shixiong’s action.

—Avoid the aftermath of the sword intent clash and seize the opportunity to snatch the sword fruit!

As Xu Ziqing plummeted from the air, the vines around him wildly danced!

Rongjin, having absorbed the essence of Yimu, not only regained its vitality but was now brimming with energy.

Now, with just a single thought from Xu Ziqing, Rongjin didn’t require any further control. It rose on its own, transforming into dozens of massive vines as thick as barrels. Each one extended over ten zhang in length, forming a massive wall in front of Xu Ziqing to block the incoming forces!

Xu Ziqing had trained in swordsmanship alongside his Shixiong for several years. Even though his spiritual energy was depleted, after a brief rest, his body had slightly recovered. With a kick of his legs, he shot forward, heading directly for the nearest sword fruit!

He reached out and plucked it with all his might!

The Wind God Sword Sovereign’s face turned livid. “How dare this brat!” As he spoke, the largest tornado streaked toward Xu Ziqing, about to tear him apart!

Rongjin rose to the challenge. With a single flick, several vine whips lashed out wildly, striking at the tornado to disperse it.

Although the tornado was formidable, its force was continuously weakened under the relentless attacks. As long as the base was disrupted, the upper winds would lose their foundation and scatter in all directions. The hurricanes formed were all blocked by the massive vine wall.

At the same time, the gigantic thunderflood dragon also charged forward, its massive tail on the verge of crashing into the vine wall!

The vine wall, having focused all its strength on resisting the less than ten percent of the Wind God Sword Sovereign’s tornado sword intent, could not possibly withstand the full force of the thunderflood dragon!

If struck, the wall would surely collapse, and Xu Ziqing, in the midst of plucking the sword fruit, would be swept by the dragon’s tail and killed on the spot!

…But how could Yun Lie allow this to happen?

Seeing that Rongjin could barely protect Xu Ziqing, Yun Lie’s eyes flickered, and he immediately sent several golden swords slashing toward the thunder flood dragon.

After a series of metallic clangs, the thunder flood dragon, though not a living creature, let out a pained roar as its strength diminished!

“Roar—!” It turned its head and lunged at Yun Lie, fangs bared!

In an instant, the thunderflood dragon and the numerous tornadoes clashed with Yun Lie once again.

Any attempt by the two Sword Sovereigns to attack Xu Ziqing was immediately blocked by Yun Lie, preventing them from succeeding.

In just a few breaths, Xu Ziqing had already plucked a sword fruit and stored it in his storage ring. He then quickly ran toward the nearest second fruit!

With Yun Lie holding off the two Sword Sovereigns and Rongjin, empowered by the essence of Yi Wood, protecting him, Xu Ziqing felt only slight physical discomfort but proceeded smoothly. Soon, he had collected three sword fruits and continued without stopping. It wasn’t out of greed, but rather due to a lingering resentment in his heart.

Originally, the nine sword fruits on the sword-shaped tree were meant for the four sword cultivators present. Aside from being cautious of the demonic cultivator, Yun Lie, with his personality, would likely only take two fruits and avoid competing further with cultivators from the same sect.

Unfortunately, the two Sword Sovereigns had truly gone too far! First, they launched a sneak attack, then they teamed up against Yun Lie two-on-one, clearly intending to kill him!

Though Xu Ziqing was gentle and tolerant by nature, allowing others to plot his Shixiong’s death without retaliation would be sheer foolishness! He thought to himself: Since these two are so ruthless, I’ll take all the sword fruits, leaving them with nothing!

Thus, Xu Ziqing’s current actions were aimed at gathering every sword fruit, unwilling to leave even a single one for the two Sword Sovereigns.

In any case, after this incident, those two Sword Sovereigns would inevitably hold a grudge against his Shixiong, and naturally against him as well. What did it matter if their enmity deepened?

Besides, treasure hunting was based on one’s own ability. Competing in swordsmanship on the sword-shaped tree was the rule here. If they lost in terms of swordsmanship, would those Immortal Dao elders dare to resort to brute force in public after leaving this place? That would only result in them losing face, and they’d likely develop inner demons from the shame.

Even if the two Sword Sovereigns sought trouble with the brothers in the future, they could only do so secretly and never openly.

Once they returned to their sect, both Xu Ziqing and his Shixiong could focus on cultivating. When his Shixiong achieved the Immortal-Demon Body and Xu Ziqing fully nurtured Rongjin, there would be little left to fear! With these thoughts, Xu Ziqing quickened his pace, continuously plucking sword fruits. He was fast, and harvesting the fruits wasn’t difficult. In no time, only two sword fruits remained!

On the other side, the two Sword Sovereigns looked on with eyes wide in fury.

That brat dared to act like this! His audacity was outrageous, and his crime unforgivable!

In that moment, they no longer cared about Yun Lie and directed all their sword intent toward Xu Ziqing. With only two sword fruits left, if they didn’t stop the boy in blue now, all their efforts would be in vain!

But Yun Lie would never let them succeed.

At this point, the sword hearts of the two Sword Sovereigns were already in disarray.

A sword cultivator’s invincibility comes from their unwavering sword heart, which is also their Dao heart.

As long as the sword heart remains intact, their will cannot be extinguished. Even if they’re down to their last breath, they could still turn defeat into victory! But if the sword heart wavers, the sword cultivator’s momentum will also falter.

Their swords would tremble, and their sword intent would be at risk of collapsing. This was exactly what was happening to the Wind God Sword Sovereign and the Thunder Dragon Sword Sovereign.

Having first lost a portion of their gains to the demonic cultivator and then being repeatedly thwarted by a much younger cultivator, they had now even seen their treasured sword fruits snatched away! After such repeated blows, they could no longer maintain their composure. As a result, even though they had been evenly matched with Yun Lie earlier, they now found themselves utterly defeated!

Translator: Lynn

Translations are not 100% correct. Please let me know if there are typos/mistakes in the chapter.

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