25: Chapter 25 Crimson Spirit Stone Marrow

Both were in the Five Viscera Realm, the first of the Great Four Passes, and both were Inner Courtyard Disciples who had not yet entered the Main Sect, so naturally, neither possessed the Cultivation Technique for the Five Viscera Realm of the Great Four Passes.

It could be said that their Realm was the same, and their cultivation level was the same!

Yet Fang Jiming felt as if he were facing a top-tier expert from the second or even third pass of the Great Four Passes; the suffocating pressure was overwhelming!

He couldn't fight; he simply couldn't fight. The two were not on the same level at all!

But where this gap came from, Fang Jiming could not explain at all!

'Why... why is the gap so large...' Fang Jiming raged impotently in his heart.

Yu Xiu casually twirled the long sword in his palm and said unhurriedly, "You said you wanted to spread the news that I possess a secret treasure. That might indeed bring me trouble, but there is one problem right now: you are about to die."

"How, then, will this news be spread?"

Fang Jiming sighed as if resigned to his fate, "I have something I don't understand. Can you clear my confusion?"

Yu Xiu shook his head, "No."

'You...' Fang Jiming's words choked off. He flicked the long sword in his hand, "The sword in my hand is forged from the essence of black iron and added with the essence of Northern Sea cold iron. A single strike can seal the throat and freeze a person's blood. It kills without shedding blood or leaving a trace. If nurtured properly, it has the potential to advance into a Spirit Weapon."

He looked at the sword in Yu Xiu's hand, "My sword is a hundred, a thousand times better than the one in your hand. If I die today, you can take this 'Qinghan Sword' and nurture it until it becomes a Spirit Weapon."

Yu Xiu smiled, "If I kill you and then hold your sword, when I return to the Sect, it would be no different than telling everyone that you all died at my hands."

"The Senior Brothers from the Enforcement Hall would likely throw me into the Earth Fire Dungeon the moment I returned. You are using this Qinghan Sword as bait to make me greedy, and then send me back to the Sect to die."

"If I'm not mistaken, this sword of yours likely has some history and would be very easily recognized by others."

"Using a sword to kill, seeking revenge for yourself—you still haven't learned to be honest even now!"

Fang Jiming listened quietly and sighed, "It seems I cannot kill you!"

"So be it. Come, have a sword duel with me. Let me see where your swordsmanship truly excels."

The long sword in Yu Xiu's hand suddenly trembled, emitting a "clanging" sword hum. The next instant, his figure blurred, leaving only faint words drifting in the air, "As you wish."

'What a fast sword!' Fang Jiming's eyes narrowed. He instantly pushed his essence, Qi, and spirit to the limit. The True Qi belonging to the first pass of the Great Four Passes erupted, transforming into Sword Qi. Instantly, Sword Qi emanated from the Qinghan Sword in his hand, dancing so densely that it was impenetrable, covering his entire body.

This sword technique was not for killing the enemy, but solely to block Yu Xiu's sword, which was too fast to see!

However, no matter how fast his sword was, how could it possibly be faster than Yu Xiu's sword, which was imbued with 'Riding the Wind'?

Almost the instant Yu Xiu's figure blurred, a thin line of blood already appeared on Fang Jiming's throat, but he did not know it himself and continued to dance his sword.

Yet his speed grew slower and slower, while the line of red on his throat grew larger and redder.

Invisible Sword Qi poured from his throat into his body, shattering his Five Viscera, shredding his meridians and Qi Sea, and severing all his life force!

His eyes revealed 'unwillingness' and 'confusion', and in the end, only a murmur remained, "Is the gap truly this large?"

'Bang!' Fang Jiming stopped dancing his sword and collapsed to the ground.

He was dead!

'Too weak!' Yu Xiu sheathed his sword.

Even though they were both in the Five Viscera Realm of the Great Four Passes, and Fang Jiming had even stayed in this Realm longer, he had no qualification to even draw his sword in front of Yu Xiu.

Wind Walk: Riding the Wind! Sword Heart: Hidden Edge! These two points were what made Yu Xiu obviously different from others.

But beyond that, what was even more unreasonable about him was his lifespan and Comprehension Ability.

A lifespan of over fifteen hundred years made his Life Spring vast and deep, and his life force seemed endless. Reflecting this, his True Qi was equally pure and powerful, far beyond what anyone of the same Realm could compare to.

His Comprehension Ability of 1429 meant that all sword techniques in his hands were at the flawless level of Perfection.

And after these sword techniques reached Perfection, every time he used them, they moved according to his heart. Countless flashes of inspiration would constantly pass through his mind, and even he himself did not know how this sword strike would be executed or how it would come out.

His swordsmanship had long since exceeded the framework of swordsmanship itself. Every strike he made was traceless, and its power exceeded that of normal Perfection-level sword Moves. Even if it was the same sword technique, others could not see his flaws, nor could they find any Move to block it.

Therefore, even without using Wind Walk and Riding the Wind, without using Sword Heart and Hidden Edge, his true strength was far beyond what any cultivator of the same Realm could compare to.

In his eyes, Fang Jiming was effectively no different from a piece of wood that couldn't Move.

As for Song Yue, Pang Wei, Zhang Yun, and the others, they were even worse than wood. By the time Yu Xiu's sword was unsheathed, those few were already dead.

Fang Jiming wanting to use the lives of these few people to restrain Yu Xiu and buy time for his own escape was, in fact, nothing more than a superfluous act.

Ignoring the dead Fang Jiming, Yu Xiu turned and returned to the thatched cottage.

He didn't even look at Qin Shu, Zhao Zheng, and the others lying scattered on the ground, and unhurriedly sat down by the old table in the middle of the main room, "Will you come out yourself, or shall I invite you out?"

As his words fell, a low voice sounded, "I have existed in Guiping County for a long time. Apart from you, many other cultivators have come, but I have lived safely until today."

Yu Xiu nodded, stood up, and drew his long sword. His figure instantly blurred, "Understood. You are reminding me to kill you as quickly as possible."

"What kill me as quickly as possible?" the low voice said in panicked anger, "I am reminding you that I also have someone backing me. You dare..."

Before the words were finished, the sword edge had already reached before its eyes.

This was a Yin Demon that had occupied the Physical Body of a middle-aged man. On the surface, no Yin Demon aura could be detected, so it had hidden itself very well.

But Yu Xiu came too fast and too swiftly, giving it no chance to react at all!

'Swish!' Sword light flashed, and the head fell to the ground. Even more terrifyingly, that invisible Sword Qi followed the sword into the body, instantly slashing into every part of the middle-aged man, and also slashing into the Yin Demon that had occupied his Physical Body.

'Ah...' the Yin Demon roared deeply, but it was meaningless.

Even though Yu Xiu had not activated Sword Heart and Hidden Edge, his Sword Qi had been infused by the Sword Heart and was far beyond what ordinary Sword Qi could compare to. It was extremely difficult to erase and sharp to the extreme. Even though the Yin Demon was formless, it still could not escape the chaotic slashing of that invisible Sword Qi, instantly turning into a ball of black Qi and dissipating completely.

'Cling!'

A crisp sound of something hitting the ground rang out. The Yin Demon dissipated, and an object that looked neither like gold nor jade fell to the ground.

Yu Xiu hooked his hand, and the object floated into his palm.

It felt warm to the touch, dark red in color, and hard in texture.

'Red Spirit Stone Marrow!' Yu Xiu recognized this item. It was a medicinal Spirit Stone material used for Alchemy, considered a relatively common medicinal stone, and was not of high value.

Better than nothing.

Yu Xiu put it away, quickly rummaged through Fang Jiming and the others, then casually slashed a deep trench in the room, buried them, and vanished.