138: One Heart Sword

The carriage door opened.

The young figure sitting cross-legged dispersed the illusions in his mind, opened his eyes, and a sword shadow seemed to flash across them.

A sapphire blue treasured sword rested upon his knees.

The scabbard was simple and ancient, lacking any other decorative patterns; the sword hilt was sapphire blue, slightly heavy, and likewise devoid of decorative markings.

This young figure was clad in dark profound-colored fitted clothing, bearing a snake pattern emblem on his chest, appearing neat, clean, and untouched by a speck of dust.

Sensing the fighting outside the carriage, the young figure softly murmured:

"Another person has delivered himself to test the sword."

He grasped the sapphire blue treasured sword in his left hand, and then gracefully descended, exiting the carriage.

"Eldest Young Master."

The mortals of the Zhou Family hiding in the center to avoid disaster saw this young Cultivator in dark profound-colored fitted clothing, their eyes filled with reverence, and they softly greeted the young Cultivator.

Zhou Xiuyuan nodded toward the few people, and then strode toward the location where the Cultivator surnamed Liu was fighting, which was the closest to him.

With every step he took, the Aura around Zhou Xiuyuan would undergo a slight change, and waves of sharp intent gathered around him.

He held the sapphire blue treasured sword in his left hand, and all the sharp intent gathered on his body merged into the treasured sword in his left hand.

"Hmm?"

The masked Black-clothed figures fighting the Cultivator surnamed Liu let out a soft sound of surprise.

Clearly, he had already noticed Zhou Xiuyuan approaching.

"Hmph!"

The man snorted coldly, used the magical sword in his hand to slice the attacking vines controlled by the Cultivator surnamed Liu into several pieces, and then his figure flickered, heading straight for Zhou Xiuyuan.

Zhou Xiuyuan was too young; judging by his appearance, he was only seventeen or eighteen years old, and based on his attire, he was likely a member of the Zhou Family's younger generation.

This man had been unable to defeat the Cultivator surnamed Liu for a long time, so upon seeing Zhou Xiuyuan's figure, he intended to switch targets and attack him, thereby breaking the deadlock and forcing the Cultivator surnamed Liu to divide his attention and hold back.

"A Disciple of a great Family, truly ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth."

The man's figure rapidly changed, and looking at the indifferent and seemingly unaware Zhou Xiuyuan not far away, he sneered dismissively in his heart.

"You merely had a good rebirth; today, this grandpa will send you to be reborn one more time, to see if you can still possess such good fortune and Dao."

Viciousness flowed from the man's heart.

"Be careful!"

The Cultivator surnamed Liu shouted loudly at Zhou Xiuyuan, somewhat caught off guard, as he was still relatively young and his fighting awareness was slightly weak.

The decision made by the man in an instant meant the Cultivator surnamed Liu was ultimately a beat too slow; he could only frantically circulate his magical power, causing the trees, flowers, and grass in the surrounding soil to come alive and attack the masked Black-clothed figures rushing straight toward Zhou Xiuyuan.

The man paid no attention; the Spell hastily condensed by the Cultivator surnamed Liu naturally couldn't stop him.

Waving the magical sword in his hand, he completely shattered these techniques.

Zhou Xiuyuan watched the constantly approaching masked Black-clothed figures without stopping his steps, seemingly unaware, his eyes indifferent, calmly observing the figure drawing closer.

The masked Black-clothed figures neutralized the attacks from behind, and seeing the composed Zhou Xiuyuan before him, a fierce look flashed in his eyes.

The magical sword in his right hand left his grip, moving according to his finger's direction, extremely fast, attacking Zhou Xiuyuan.

Ten zhang, eight zhang, five zhang... The magical sword closed in, and the masked Black-clothed Cultivator followed closely behind, forming hand seals; if Zhou Xiuyuan blocked or dodged the magical sword strike, having him right behind would allow him to react quickly and deliver Zhou Xiuyuan a fatal blow.

Behind him, the Cultivator surnamed Liu dispersed the vines surrounding him, looking anxious, and rushed toward Zhou Xiuyuan.

He naturally knew the news that a direct descendant of the Zhou Family was traveling with the convoy, and he had heard rumors about Zhou Xiuyuan, but since joining the convoy, Zhou Xiuyuan had remained inside the carriage and had not interacted with him.

Therefore, he naturally didn't know much about the strength of Zhou Xiuyuan, the Eldest Young Master of the Zhou Family.

If this person were allowed to kill Zhou Xiuyuan here...

Even with the Zhou Family's excellent reputation, none of the Cultivators present would likely escape severe punishment.

"Quickly dodge!"

The Cultivator surnamed Liu was frantic; hardening his heart, he overloaded his magical power circulation, his face flushed, intending to save Zhou Xiuyuan.

The masked Black-clothed Cultivator rejoiced in his heart, confirming his guess.

The hand seal in his hand silently changed direction, waiting only for the Cultivator surnamed Liu to arrive to deliver a fatal blow.

"Clang!"

Just at this moment, the sound of a sword cry rang out.

The sapphire blue treasured sword in Zhou Xiuyuan's left hand was pushed open by an inch, revealing two ancient seal characters.

The sword's name was one heart sword.

"Clang!"

As the sound of the sword cry rang out, an invisible, sharp intent fiercely blossomed from the treasured sword that had been pushed open by an inch.

Within the sea of consciousness of the masked Black-clothed figures, a shocking sword light seemed to strike; this sword light was so magnificent, covering the sky and obscuring the sun, leaving the self within the sea of consciousness nowhere to hide.

"No!"

The invisible sharp will pierced through the body of the masked Black-clothed figures; fresh blood gushed from the man's mouth, his Aura dropped sharply, and the divine light in his eyes vanished.

With a 'clank,' the magical sword, only a foot away from Zhou Xiuyuan's face, quietly dropped.

"What kind of technique is this?"

The body of the masked Black-clothed figures slumped to the ground, his breath dissipated, leaving behind only a confused question before he perished.

Zhou Xiuyuan released his left thumb, and the one heart sword slid back, perfectly achieving Fusion with its scabbard.

He glanced at the corpse on the ground, offered no reply, and walked toward another fighting location.

"So strong!"

The Cultivator surnamed Liu was dumbfounded; he had absolutely no idea how the masked Black-clothed figures, who had been evenly matched with him, had died by Zhou Xiuyuan's hand.

A chill ran down his spine. Was this the Eldest Young Master of the Zhou Family?

The Cultivator surnamed Liu looked at the corpse before him and recalled the rumors about Zhou Xiuyuan:

Extreme in heart, extreme in sword; using the sword to condense Qi, using intent to control the sword, entering the Dao with the sword.

The Eldest Young Master of the Zhou Family, Zhou Xiuyuan, the one heart sword, who descended the mountain at thirteen years old, before reaching Mid-stage Qi Refining.

This evaluation came from True Person Qingmu of the Xuanqing Sect. True Person Qingmu had once been a guest at the Zhou Family, saw Zhou Xiuyuan practicing his sword, and recalled a few scattered words recorded in the Sect's ancient texts.

It was only then that he involuntarily spoke these words.

However, it was somehow circulated and became a rumor.

Zhou Xiuyuan's steps did not stop; an invisible, sharp will encircled his body, but he couldn't help feeling a little disappointed in his heart. This person was too weak and was completely useless for his sword practice.

A moment later, at another location of engagement, a masked Black-clothed Cultivator lay gushing blood onto the ground, while the remaining Loose Cultivator holding a Magical Artifact looked somewhat bewildered.

Afterward, seeing the arriving Cultivator surnamed Liu, the two exchanged glances and couldn't help but feel a sense of mutual appreciation.

The two joined forces and moved to surround the remaining masked Black-clothed Cultivators.

With Zhou Xiuyuan's assistance, the Zhou Family's side quickly broke the situation and began a multi-person encirclement, causing the masked Black-clothed figures to rapidly retreat.

The face of the leading masked Black-clothed Cultivator, who was at Qi Refining Fifth Layer and close to Sixth Layer of Qi Refining, changed drastically.

"What trash!"

The expression on his face flickered uncertainly; he knew in his heart that the general trend was lost, and if he didn't leave now, he would likely perish here.

In an instant, the leader made his decision: he scattered the Talisman in his hand, transforming them into a sea of fire; feinting an attack, he used the sea of fire to force back the Non-Gu-surname Cultivator of the Zhou Family, and his figure quickly retreated, intending to withdraw into the mountain forest.

The Non-Gu-surname Cultivator of the Zhou Family's expression changed slightly; magical power surged out, breaking through the sea of fire, just as he was about to give chase.

A brilliant sword light flashed out, illuminating the fleeing Black-clothed figure.

The sword light was like daylight, showing no trace of Aura, bright and clear, flashing across the Black-clothed figure and disappearing.

The fleeing Black-clothed figure's body suddenly stiffened, the thoughts in his mind halted, his consciousness ceased functioning, and his body split into two halves, staining the ground beneath him red.

Not far away.

Zhou Xiuyuan's expression was calm and indifferent; holding the sword in his right hand, he casually performed a sword flourish and slowly returned the one heart sword into its scabbard.

As the saying goes: "A hall full of flowers intoxicates three thousand guests, a single sword chills fourteen prefectures." This was precisely that.