28: This disciple is a serious and vicious sword demon.

"Whew~"

Holy Empress Xuanyuan sheathed her longsword, her face pale, her chest heaving violently, and beads of sweat subtly seeping from her forehead.

Across from her, Cao Meng drew his shen ya sword.

The longsword danced.

Sword shadows solidified in mid-air, one after another.

One sword~

Two swords... one layer

Two layers

...In the blink of an eye, eleven afterimages of Sword Qi appeared before Holy Empress Xuanyuan~

The last sword~

Eleven layers of Sword Intent were stacked, and a beam of Sword Qi swept past, appearing incredibly slow, yet wherever it went, beneath the sword's edge, space subtly rippled, seemingly tearing through Chaos... Whoosh~

A wisp of Sword Qi flicked out, and the lake water on Jingpo Lake nearby was cleanly sliced into two halves, forming a water line dozens of zhang long, reaching straight to the bottom.

"Sword Eleven! Sword of Domain Break. This kid, he was clearly only at the seventh realm of the Sword Dao before..."

Xuanyuan Baizhi's eyes widened, "We've struck gold this time! For such a Prodigy of the Sword Dao to fall into Wu Feiyan's hands is truly a waste of talent!"

After unleashing a sword, Cao Meng remained in that profound and mysterious state, his star-like, brilliant eyes growing brighter and brighter.

After a long while, Cao Meng finally emerged from that feeling, saying with unconcealed delight:

"How miraculous, Master, what Divine Ability is this? It feels just like I personally performed it myself... My Sword Dao has improved so much~ Master, you are too amazing, if I could do this two more times, this Disciple would be able to comprehend the Dao through the sword."

"What are you thinking?" Xuanyuan Baizhi smiled sweetly: "This is the wondrous method of 'A Thousand Years of Dream Residue.' This Master Cultivates both the Sword Dao and supreme enchanting illusions. Through this method, I can let you experience my Sword Dao firsthand. The first time is the most effective; after that, it won't be as good."

Cao Meng was slightly startled, and at the same time, secretly felt fortunate.

What a powerful enchanting illusion. Fortunately, Xuanyuan Baizhi had no murderous intent, otherwise, his life would have been over.

Seemingly seeing through Cao Meng's thoughts, Xuanyuan Baizhi smiled: "Although 'A Thousand Years of Dream Residue' is powerful, it consumes a great deal of mental energy to cast. Moreover, with your Cultivation and Dao, if this Master harbored ill intentions towards you, you would be able to perceive it in the illusion. As for whether you could escape the illusion of 'A Thousand Years of Dream Residue,' that's another matter."

"So that's how it is." Cao Meng smiled:

"Thank you, Master."

Xuanyuan Baizhi waved her hand, saying with a hint of arrogance: "This sword art is named 'Time,' comprising nineteen swords in total, representing the Time Sword Dao, leading directly to the realm of a Sword Immortal. It integrates everything this Master has learned in her life. You have now broken through the sword domain in one step, and in terms of Sword Dao comprehension, you are no longer inferior to Xu Tian."

"From now on, every night at the third watch, come here, and this Master will personally supervise your sword techniques... And by the way, you will also help this Master resolve the poison of the Ten Thousand Year Profound Yin Ice Soul."

"Yes!"

Cao Meng bowed respectfully, then added: "Master, actually, this Disciple possesses the Pure Yang Sacred Body. If Master, you..."

"Pure Yang Sacred Body?"

Xuanyuan Baizhi's beautiful eyes widened, "Dual Sacred Body? Sword Heart Illumination? You..."

Everyone knew that Empress Wu Feiyan had taken in a Blood Spirit Sacred Body as a sword-rearing Disciple, which made countless powerful figures envious... Who knew that this kid also possessed the Sword Spirit Body, and even the Pure Yang Sacred Body... After a brief moment of astonishment, Xuanyuan Baizhi reacted to the meaning in her Disciple's words.

"Rebellious Disciple, how dare you~ You actually want to rebel against your Revered Master."

Boom~

In the blink of an eye, more than a dozen light and shadow phantoms appeared before Cao Meng, and then~

A beautiful boot fiercely kicked him in the chest.

His body flew out like a cannonball, heavily crashing into the icy Jingpo Lake.

"Pfft~"

Cao Meng emerged from the water in a sorry state, only to see his Holy Empress Master treading on the moon and departing, her ethereal immortal figure like a Heavenly Immortal descended to the mortal world.

"Hey, Master, what I said is true. This Disciple's Pure Yang Sacred Body can not only resolve the Profound Yin Ice Soul but also help you Cultivate the Immortal Body in reverse. Consider it..."

"Scram~"

"Honestly, there's no trust left between Master and Disciple." Cao Meng soared out of the lake, his Cultivation Technique circulating, instantly evaporating all the moisture from his body and clothes.

He looked up at the bright moon in the sky again.

"It's past the fourth watch, time to go see that Old Sword Demon... Haha, I never thought I, This Cao, would have a day where I'd be a three-named traitor."

...Fifth watch, Tide Pavilion.

The Old Sword Demon Li Daoxuan stood in the pavilion with his hands behind his back, his putrid smell detectable from a great distance.

"Kid, you're quite punctual." Li Daoxuan slowly turned around and saw the travel-worn Cao Meng.

"Greetings, Senior!"

Cao Meng cupped his hands in a bow.

"Kid, are you not very curious right now why this Venerable One wants to take you as a Disciple?" Li Daoxuan said with a profound and inscrutable expression.

"Yes." Cao Meng understood perfectly in his heart, but could only feign ignorance, "Senior is Xu Tian's Master, and Xu Tian and I are enemies. Logically, Senior should not take me as a Disciple."

"Exactly!"

Li Daoxuan nodded, "However, what you don't know is that this Venerable One has a blood feud with that Wu Feiyan."

"Ah?" Cao Meng was startled, then feigned sudden enlightenment, "So that's it. Senior, you are surnamed Li, and your Sword Dao is profound. Could it be that you are from the Li Imperial Clan? That explains it..."

"Indeed, you are very clever."

Li Daoxuan sneered: "It is precisely for this reason that I prevented Xu Tian from challenging you to a second life-and-death battle yesterday. After his Awakening, Xu Tian's strength has greatly increased. With your meager Sword Dao, you would probably be a corpse by now."

"I'll thank your whole family~ You conceited idiot," Cao Meng cursed inwardly.

If it weren't for you, Old Thief, meddling, I could have annihilated him again.

"The Karma is clear, you may now acknowledge me as your Master." The Old Sword Demon said nonchalantly.

Cao Meng, however, smiled: "Wait, Disciple wants to know what Senior can give me."

"This!" Li Daoxuan waved his large hand, and a blood-red sword-shaped jade pendant appeared in his palm, "This is the Li Clan Sword Tomb, a Sword Talisman of the seven swords of absolute gods. Only three exist in the current world. Holding it allows you to activate the seven swords of absolute gods."

"And then?"

Cao Meng was a little puzzled. He didn't have the seven swords of absolute gods, so what was the point of giving him a Sword Talisman?

Li Daoxuan sneered: "Three days from now, at the Academy's Sword Trial Assembly, the winning Disciple can enter the Li Clan Sword Tomb to Cultivate. This is also why White Deer Academy protects my Li Clan. At that time, once you enter the Sword Tomb, you can activate the seven swords of absolute gods, eliminate Qingluan, Nether Pupil, Xu Tian, and all the elites of the Great Zhou Empress's lineage. Then, you can remain in the Sword Tomb to Cultivate... Even if Wu Feiyan enters the Sacred Realm, she won't be able to do anything to you!"

"What!"

Cao Meng "was greatly alarmed," "Kill Qingluan, Nether Pupil, Xu Tian? Kill all the elites of the Great Zhou Wu lineage... Wu Feiyan will surely flay me alive!"

"Why don't your Li Clan people do it yourselves? That Sword Tomb originally belongs to your Li family..."

"Because, back then, Great Liang, Northern Wei, and Wu Zhou, the three Imperial Dynasties, along with White Deer Academy, made an agreement with my Li Clan. If Academy Disciples enter my Li Clan Sword Tomb to Cultivate, my Li Clan must not harm anyone, otherwise, the three Imperial Dynasties will jointly punish us." Li Daoxuan chuckled, "But you are different!"

"You are Wu Feiyan's Disciple. If you act and kill people from the Wu Zhou Dynasty, kill Wu Feiyan's Disciples and son, Wu Feiyan has no reason to blame my Li Clan."

"Because that would be Wu Feiyan's failure to properly instruct her Disciples! No one else can be blamed~"