Chapter 13

Xu Yuantong did not expect the demon to be so tenacious. His flying sword was ineffective, and the demon had already rushed to his side. He had to retract his hand that was reaching for the black jade gourd and hastily cast two Taiyi Divine Thunderbolts. The golden light of the thunderbolts shattered the demon's arms, but they regrew in an instant. He quickly summoned the Kanli Dart, which shot out a burst of cold air, knocking the demon off the platform.

Xu Yuantong reached for the gourd on the altar again, grabbed it, and was about to fly away when he suddenly felt intense pain in his hand. Four of his fingers were severed, blood gushing out, staining the apricot-yellow tablecloth a deep red. Upon closer inspection, what he had grabbed was not a gourd but a silver-glowing sword. Realizing the danger, he quickly flipped backward. The sword, like a windmill, spun and slashed at him. At the same time, a flying sword shot out from below the altar, attacking him from both sides and piercing his chest.

Bang! Xu Yuantong exploded into a yellow light, leaving behind many pieces of paper. His true body had already fled using the light of escape.

Yue Qing chased after him with two flying swords. The four demons in the sky were held back by Wu Yuanzhi's Wind and Fire Fan, which had summoned thirty-six wind dragons and seventy-two fire dragons to entangle them. Unable to interfere, Wu Yuanzhi adjusted the array, inverting the upper and lower positions. Xu Yuantong, who was clearly flying upward, crashed into the ground, his forehead hitting a rock, causing blood to flow and cover his face. Fortunately, his two flying swords, which were imbued with spiritual awareness, automatically protected him, intercepting Yue Qing's two silver swords and saving him from being dismembered by the flying swords.

Xu Yuantong was in a dire state, missing four fingers on his right hand, a sword wound on his thigh, and a bleeding forehead. He fell to the ground, summoned the Kanli Dart and his two swords for protection, and shakily took out a small porcelain bottle, crushing it and swallowing all the pills inside. Only then did he recognize the flying sword that was chasing him and couldn't help but curse, "Yue Qinbin! Truly a demon of the Wutai Sect! A dog can't change its nature, to practice such evil magic, you will surely be punished by heaven!"

Yue Qing did not respond. He looked up and saw that only Wu Yuanzhi was driving the four demons away, and the ambushers had not yet acted. He did not dare to recklessly use the array to kill Xu Yuantong, for fear of revealing any flaws. Instead, he intensified the attack with his two swords, spitting out two more mouthfuls of essence to summon two more demons to attack from both sides.

Although Wu Yuanzhi could not see the situation below clearly, he saw the array filled with wind and clouds, demons and their shadows, and the heart-wrenching screams. His junior, Xu Yuantong, was nowhere to be seen, and he knew something was wrong. He intensified the movement of the banana leaf fan, urging the wind and fire dragons to fly toward the altar, circling around it. Still, he could not find Xu Yuantong and decided to use the wind and fire dragons to destroy the altar.

The black jade gourd on the altar sensed the danger and naturally retaliated, spewing out large clumps of viscous demon blood mist, enveloping the entire altar and preventing the wind and fire dragons from advancing.

Wu Yuanzhi was surprised by the gourd's power. Suddenly, two young Taoist priests flew down from the sky, Xu Xiang'e, his own disciple, and Lei Que'e, Xu Yuantong's disciple. Each held a golden cymbal, and they shouted, "Master! Master Canhua said this array is a direct transmission of the Wutai Sect, and the demon is a technique from the Northern Demon Sect of old. Master has already gone to save Uncle Xu, and we are here to assist you and help you retreat quickly!" They then threw their cymbals.

Yue Qing was secretly pleased to see Wu Yuanzhi enter the array. He was about to close the array and focus on killing Xu Yuantong when a golden light column suddenly descended from outside the array, breaking through the life gate and enveloping Xu Yuantong. The golden light was like a copper wall and iron wall, and Yue Qing's two swords bounced off, sending sparks flying.

The sudden change startled him. He recognized the light as the Liheshen Light of Master Yutan from the Chaoyin Cave on Baihuashan. A girl then descended along the light column, holding Xu Yuantong with her left arm and immediately flying away without a moment's hesitation.

Yue Qing recognized the girl as Wu Wenqi, the chief disciple of Master Canhua on Huangshan.

Master Canhua was originally a disciple of Longmei Zhenren, her Daoist powers surpassing even the seven immortals of Luofu. She established a separate residence on Wenzhibi Peak on Huangshan. The second sword duel was held on Huangshan, and she was the host. After the second duel, she entered the Buddhist path, becoming a disciple of Master Yutan, practicing both Buddhism and Daoism, and her powers far exceeded those of her former classmates like Wu Yuanzhi and Xu Yuantong.

If Yue Qing faced the seven immortals of Luofu, he would have no qualms, even if he faced two or three of them at once. However, facing Master Canhua, he could only flee. Moreover, she was not alone!

At this moment, Xu Xiang'e and Lei Que'e's two demon-subduing cymbals struck down. These were also magical treasures refined by Master Yutan, specifically to counter all evil demons. As soon as they were thrown, thunder and lightning rolled, and countless golden snakes and lightning bolts pierced the blood mist, accompanied by the heart-wrenching screams of the six demons. The viscous blood mist hissed and sizzled, turning into wisps of blue smoke amidst the lightning and thunder, filling the air with a strong smell of burning.

Yue Qing turned and fled into the cave. Situ Ping was meditating, and upon seeing Yue Qing rush in, he called out, "Master!" but was immediately picked up and told, "Hold onto my neck, don't let go!" Situ Ping obediently held Yue Qing's neck, his two small hands tightly clasped together, and was then bound to Yue Qing's chest with a silk belt.

Yue Qing took some necessary items from the cave, put them in his treasure pouch, and then turned to leave.

The demonic clouds around the altar had been completely dispelled, and a middle-aged Taoist nun stood there, wearing a purple robe and holding a duster. It was Master Canhua from Huangshan. She had used the demon-subduing cymbals to break the demonic blood mist and was about to collect the gourd. However, not knowing the Wutai Sect's techniques, she could not do so as easily as Yue Qing had when he took it from Zhu Hong. She could only use the Liheshen Light to suppress it and seal it with magic, to be slowly deciphered later.

Yue Qing walked out of the cave and laughed, "Master Canhua, it's been a while!"

Master Canhua paused her Liheshen Light and politely greeted, "Daoist Yue, this poor nun greets you!"

Yue Qing laughed, "Indeed, you are polite, breaking my array and seizing my treasure right from the start, very polite indeed!"

Master Canhua said, "Although the Grandmaster of Taiyi Hanyuan was arrogant and protective, he was still a master of Daoism. Since the end of the Song Dynasty, no one has practiced such evil treasures. Daoist Yue, you were once a strict follower of the rules, never touching the magic of the demon sect. It was only after the second sword duel that I heard rumors of you refining the Divine Infant Sword. Now, have you even refined such a malevolent gourd?"

Yue Qing sneered, "What I refine is my own business, what does it have to do with your Emei Sect?"

Master Canhua sighed, "This thing is too malevolent and cruel. The day it is completed, you will surely be punished by heaven."

Yue Qing said sternly, "If heaven punishes me, that is heaven's business. Your Emei Sect is too meddlesome!"

Master Canhua reached for the gourd, "The Emei Sect does the work of heaven."

"Nature operates on its own, why does it need human intervention? Those who kill on behalf of the executioner will themselves be killed. This is the teaching of Laozi. Do you not agree, Daoist friend?"

Master Canhua was about to speak when a white-robed old nun descended from the sky, landing on the platform with a burst of colorful light. She shouted, "Sister, why waste words with this demon?" and released a colorful sword light toward Yue Qing.

Yue Qing recognized the old nun as one of the skilled practitioners among the seven immortals of Luofu, the Yuan Yuan Nun from Xiangxue Cave on Luofu Mountain. Her sword, the Qingni Sword, was made from 196,742 embroidery needles. When used in combat, if the opponent used a sword to block, the needles would immediately scatter, piercing the enemy with a thousand needles. Therefore, he did not dare to use his flying sword to block and instead carried Situ Ping to hide in the cave behind.

The old nun's voice echoed, and the sword indeed scattered into a cloud of needle shadows, piercing the air. Yue Qing quickly merged with his sword, turning right along the ground. The tens of thousands of steel needles all pierced into the rock at the cave entrance. As soon as he took off, the needles jumped out of the rock, forming a torrent and chasing him into the sky, while the cave entrance collapsed in a shower of rubble.

Yue Qing, carrying Situ Ping, tried to escape with his flying sword, but suddenly, Wu Yuanzhi, the Wind and Fire Taoist, appeared in the clouds, pointing and releasing his Wind and Fire Sword to slash down. Four Emei disciples, two men and two women, appeared in the four directions: Wu Yuanzhi's disciple Xu Xiang'e, Xu Yuantong's disciple Lei Que'e, Master Canhua's disciple Wang Juanjuan, and Master Yuan Yuan's disciple Wu Wenqi. Each held a magical pearl, forming an array and releasing millions of golden sword shadows, creating a light net to tear Yue Qing to pieces!