39: Bury me in that peach blossom forest

"Otherwise, what?" Young Master Lin retorted, not backing down.

Wang Changhe's aura surged dramatically.

He spoke, word by word, "Otherwise, death."

Lin Mu's aura also climbed steadily.

The bamboo forest beneath him, unable to withstand the pressure, was flattened in swathes.

Lin Mu's tone was somewhat cold as he replied, "I also advise you of one thing: whoever covets that item, dies!"

"For Xu Liying's sake, I'll give you one chance. Retreat now, and you can keep your life."

As Lin Mu finished speaking, their two auras suddenly collided.

This terrifying clash of auras caused Xu Liying, caught in the center, to turn pale.

Seeing this, Lin Mu suddenly reined in his aura and pulled Xu Liying, flying towards the ground.

Wang Changhe also withdrew his aura.

As soon as Lin Mu landed, he spoke to Xu Liying with a solemn expression, "Some things are unavoidable."

Xu Liying was already crying, her face streaked with tears, but what could she do?

She wanted to take Lin Mu's hand and tell him not to go, but in the end, she couldn't.

Just as Lin Mu was about to fly up, another figure suddenly flew over.

Before he even arrived, he anxiously called out, "Sect Master, why are you lingering here? All the elders and peak masters are waiting for Sect Master to return and take charge of the overall situation."

Lin Mu looked at Yun Feiyang, who had flown over, calling him Sect Master, and was somewhat displeased: "When did I say I would be the Sect Master?"

Yun Feiyang had sensed a compelling sword qi from Heavenly Dao Sect, which seemed somewhat familiar, so he came alone to investigate.

After flying for more than ten li, he happened to see Lin Mu landing on the ground, which is why he spoke up.

Hearing Lin Mu's somewhat questioning tone.

Yun Feiyang smiled cunningly and said,

"Ever since the disciples within the sect witnessed Young Master's divine might, they have unanimously nominated Young Master as the Sect Master."

"I couldn't go against the will of the masses, but Young Master, rest assured, the mundane affairs of the sect will not bother you."

What kind of person was Lin Mu?

In his previous life, he had seen many people fawn over him.

Since things had come to this, he no longer bothered to argue.

It was merely a title.

"You can handle the sect's affairs. I will return to the sect after I deal with this person."

Yun Feiyang followed Lin Mu's gaze upwards and said, somewhat surprised, "Wang Changhe?"

"Could it be that the sword qi just now was from him? Sect Master doesn't need to personally intervene; allow me to meet him."

With that, he leaped and flew to within a zhang of Wang Changhe.

"Wang Changhe, after a hundred years, your cultivation seems to have improved slightly."

Although Wang Changhe appeared humble on the outside, he was actually very arrogant. Throughout his life, the people he truly respected could be counted on one hand.

And this Yun Feiyang was one of them.

In the great battle a hundred years ago, although he hadn't used his full strength,

he could feel that Yun Feiyang had also held back.

Even if he was confident he could win, it wouldn't be easy, and in the end, it would only result in a draw.

"You've also made considerable progress in these hundred years," Wang Changhe said truthfully.

"Today, I have an important matter to attend to. We can reminisce later, or are you here to stand up for that kid?"

Yun Feiyang heard Wang Changhe call Lin Mu "that kid" and couldn't help but feel a chill.

"Haha, Young Master Lin is the new Sect Master of my Heavenly Dao Sect, and the Sect Master's affairs are my affairs."

Wang Changhe looked at Lin Mu with some surprise. What virtue or ability did this kid possess to make the arrogant Yun Feiyang bow down to him?

It was precisely because Yun Feiyang had spoken disrespectfully to the Emperor of Yanshan Kingdom that the Third Prince had ordered Wang Changhe to fight him back then.

Was there some hidden reason?

"Since you want to stand up for him, then make your move. Let me see the results of your hundred years of cultivation." With that, Wang Changhe decisively made his move.

Yun Feiyang chuckled, drew his long sword, and engaged Wang Changhe in battle.

Because both sides had reservations, they didn't use powerful, large-scale divine abilities.

They merely controlled their long swords, testing each other with thrusts and parries.

Wang Changhe's sword struck Yun Feiyang's long sword. The two swords met but didn't immediately separate.

"I never thought that the arrogant Qingyang Sect Master would one day become a pawn for someone else."

Wang Changhe mocked as he channeled his spiritual energy.

Yun Feiyang didn't get angry; instead, he lowered his voice and said,

"You are just a lone wolf; you don't understand my pursuit. One day, when you see me standing at a height you cannot even glimpse..."

Then he smiled mysteriously and added, "Oh, perhaps you won't live to see that day."

Lin Mu watched the two of them exchange blows for almost an hour without a clear victor.

He could only fly between them, shaking his spiritual energy with both hands, pushing them back.

"You retreat first," Lin Mu glanced at Yun Feiyang.

Yun Feiyang knew his task was complete and said no more.

He swiftly retreated to Xu Liying's side, shielding her behind him.

The upcoming battle would not be a mere playfight like before.

Wang Changhe was shocked to be sent flying by Lin Mu's strike.

He hadn't expected this person to actually possess some skill, his strength probably not inferior to Yun Feiyang's.

He cast aside his contempt for Lin Mu.

To avoid further complications, he decided to use his ultimate technique, attempting to kill Lin Mu before Xu Liying could react.

He slowly drew a circle in front of him with the hand holding his sword.

The moment the circle was completed, the long sword transparently vanished.

His figure also disappeared with it.

Lin Mu had been observing Wang Changhe's movements.

It wasn't until Wang Changhe's figure disappeared that Lin Mu quickly released his divine sense to investigate, but he couldn't capture Wang Changhe's trace.

In the instant Lin Mu was momentarily stunned, a flash of sword light, without warning, swept across his throat. The sharp blade surprisingly left no scratch.

If it had been an ordinary martial artist, this sword strike would have already severed their head.

Seeing that one sword strike was ineffective, Wang Changhe continuously struck again.

Lin Mu's body was instantly slashed with more than ten cuts. Although his skin wasn't wounded, his clothes were already tattered.

Yun Feiyang, watching from a distance, was also incredibly shocked.

Wang Changhe hadn't used this sword technique when he dueled him back then, and he believed he couldn't have dodged this strike.

But what shocked him even more was that such a sharp sword technique couldn't even break through Lin Mu's physical defense.

"This guy is truly a monster. My decision back then was indeed correct," Yun Feiyang couldn't help but feel a little smug.

Wang Changhe was equally shocked.

He hadn't expected that his ultimate technique, the true Shadowless Sword Art, couldn't break Lin Mu's defense.

"Now I can only go all out."

Wang Changhe's figure suddenly reappeared. Before Lin Mu could react, the long sword once again vanished before Lin Mu's eyes.

Lin Mu suddenly felt a surge of sword qi attacking his sea of consciousness.

He instinctively mobilized the heavenly dao sword in his sea of consciousness and slashed it across.

A sound of a long sword shattering was heard, followed by a figure spilling blood across the sky, then falling straight towards the ground.

Xu Liying, who was watching the battle, saw her Senior Brother fall from the sky.

She cried out and rushed over, embracing Wang Changhe.

At this moment, only a hilt remained of the long sword in Wang Changhe's hand, and his body was covered in sword marks.

His soul was also on the verge of collapse.

Xu Liying could no longer hold back her tears and cried loudly.

"Senior Brother, how are you?"

Wang Changhe used all his strength to open his eyes and said weakly, "Xiaoying, don't cry. Senior Brother is fine."

With that, he tried to raise his still bleeding hand to wipe away Xu Liying's tears.

However, he only lifted it halfway before it fell limply.

There was no fear in his eyes.

Only a sense of relief and his lingering concern for Xu Liying.

Xu Liying frantically grabbed Wang Changhe's hand and placed it on her face.

Calling out Wang Changhe's name repeatedly.

"Senior Brother, Senior Brother, wake up!"

Looking at Xu Liying, whose face was streaked with tears, Wang Changhe used his last ounce of strength to speak.

"Take me back to Luocheng Mountain, bury me in that peach forest. I... I..."