Chapter 58

Recommendation votes, Three Rivers votes, thank you!!!

Once again, four updates!

**************************

Amidst the fluttering cherry blossom petals, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of the promise written there.

A dark green sword light flickered as twenty-eight palm-sized, carp-shaped handleless flying swords darted about in the air, bringing up countless sword lights like fish scales that enveloped Yin Xuege. A three-meter-long bloody sword light circled around Yin Xuege, colliding rapidly with the fish-scale sword lights, emitting continuous crisp clashing sounds.

Cold sweat continuously dripped from Yin Xuege's forehead, and his dark red robe was drenched in sweat. The sword lights coming from all directions carried little force, but their speed was astonishingly fast. Each strike contained at least three continuous hidden forces, causing the Blood Spirit Sword controlled by Yin Xuege to tremble constantly, nearly flying out of his control several times.

Jiang Tianying stood a hundred meters away, his hands tucked in his sleeves, his eyes faintly gleaming. Surrounded by a clear aura, he silently practiced the Jiang Clan's secret 'Jade Purity Sword Technique.' A mouthful of primordial energy attached to the twenty-eight flying swords, forming the Twenty-Eight Constellations Sword Array, which made Yin Xuege look utterly disheveled.

Yin Tianjue and several elders of the Yin Clan stood atop a small hill in the distance, watching the confrontation between Yin Xuege and Jiang Tianying, occasionally shaking their heads in sighs. Clearly, apart from the actual power gap, in terms of sword skills alone, Yin Xuege had already suffered a significant defeat.

Jiang Tianying, in his early twenties, was just an outstanding ordinary disciple in the Jiang Clan. He had just completed the tempering of his flesh, and his acquired true breath had barely transformed into innate true qi. He was currently performing the water-grinding transportation technique to lay the foundation for the Great Dao. It would take Jiang Tianying at least several decades of hard work to reach the Golden Core stage and condense the initial liquid core.

As for Yin Xuege? Having received twenty drops of prince's blood from Fane Castle and consumed the entire blood energy of three thousand-year dukes from the Brian Castle family, he had already entered the Duke realm. The cultivation of the Blood Demon Clan was vastly different from that of human cultivators. Although Yin Xuege had not condensed a Golden Core, his absolute strength was already comparable to that of a human cultivator who had just formed a Golden Core.

However, over the past few days, Yin Xuege had continuously sparred with the younger generation of the Jiang Clan, losing every single match.

Although their own strength was inferior to Yin Xuege, these young cultivators of the Jiang Clan, whether in sword skills, various spells, or even talismans and formations, far outstripped Yin Xuege. In terms of comprehensive combat power, Yin Xuege was indeed no match for these young cultivators of the Jiang Clan.

"Too little experience!" Yin Tianmie's face was grim as he forcefully pulled his hair. "If Xuege had trained for a few more decades, these young Jiangs would be easily crushed. Big Brother, it's time to pass on the secret techniques of our Yin Clan! The secret techniques of the Blood Demon Clan alone are not enough to deal with orthodox cultivators."

"The secret techniques of our Yin Clan are worlds apart from the Daoist scriptures passed down by the Jiang Clan!" Yin Tianjue's expression was also unpleasant. "Just take the Jade Purity Sword Technique, which encompasses all things. Our clan's ancestral 'Flying Cloud Sword Record' can't even compare. Even the half-volume of the Qingcheng Lingxiao Sword Scroll, which our clan obtained with great difficulty, is like a grain of sand compared to the moon when compared to the orthodox lineage of the Daoist sects."

The several elders of the Yin Clan looked deeply at Yin Xuege, who was being forced back by countless dark green sword lights, and then shook their heads simultaneously. Compared to the Eastern superpower Jiang Clan, the foundation of the Yin Clan was still far too weak.

A glimpse of the whole can be seen from a small part. Although it was a sparring match between Yin Xuege and the younger generation of the Jiang Clan, the various secret techniques used by these young cultivators of the Jiang Clan made the elders of the Yin Clan feel sour. Their own inherited secret techniques, whether the demonic techniques awakened in the Blood Demon bloodline or the Eastern immortal techniques obtained through various means over the centuries, could not compare to the inheritance of the Jiang Clan.

"Our Yin Clan's foundation is simply too shallow!" Yin Tianjue sighed helplessly. "We must make good plans. Fortunately, in a few months, the cross-realm altar will be completed, and then there will be countless benefits."

The several elders of the Yin Clan were visibly moved. They nodded one after another, and a hint of smugness could not be concealed.

With a loud 'clang,' Yin Xuege had exhausted his mental strength. He staggered backward a few steps, and the Blood Spirit Sword, trailing a bloody light, was struck by nine consecutive dark green sword lights and flew nearly a hundred zhang away. Three carp-shaped flying swords grazed past Yin Xuege's body at high speed, cutting three fine slits in his robe. The sky filled with dark green sword lights suddenly converged and fell into the sword pouch on Jiang Tianying's back.

"Brother Xuege, I have the advantage of being a few years older!" Jiang Tianying, having won the sword duel, did not show any arrogance. He politely saluted Yin Xuege, his words very courteous.

As one of the five major superpower clans in the Eastern cultivation world, the Jiang Clan had extremely strict rules and regulations. All young disciples of the Jiang Clan were disciplined from a young age and dared not deviate from the rules under the strict guidance of countless elders. Therefore, the Jiang Clan had very few spoiled children, and all its descendants were polished like fine jade, smooth, tough, and with a demeanor of inner brilliance and no sharp edges.

Yin Xuege, hands on his knees, panted heavily for a while before finally lifting his head and returning the salute to Jiang Tianying.

"Brother Tianying, your cultivation is profound, and I am far inferior." Shaking his head, Yin Xuege took out a bottle of the Yin Clan's secret blood essence potion and poured it into his mouth. A pure, warm energy flowed through his body, and Yin Xuege quickly recovered all his strength. He straightened up, slowly exhaled a long breath, and stared intently at Jiang Tianying.

Yin Xuege was now convinced of the prowess of the Jiang Clan's young disciples from the Eastern cultivation world!

He could sense that the mysterious power within Jiang Tianying was less than one-tenth of his own demonic energy. If it were a direct power struggle, Yin Xuege could crush Jiang Tianying with a single palm. However, once combined with various spells, talismans, and flying swords, Yin Xuege had fought nearly a hundred matches over the past few days and had not won a single one!

Yin Xuege was only convinced of his inferiority, but he was not at all convinced in his heart! Given enough time and the opportunity to practice the various secret techniques of the Yin Clan, he did not believe he could not handle these Jiang Clan disciples. After all, Yin Xuege was still young, only eleven years old.

Jiang Tianying watched as Yin Xuege gulped down the dark red, blood-scented potion, his face twitching. Although the Jiang Clan's disciples knew that the Yin Clan were all Blood Demons, seeing Yin Xuege take the blood essence potion in front of him still felt very strange.

After all, the Jiang Clan was a prestigious and orthodox sect in the Eastern cultivation world. The Yin Clan, on the other hand, were considered heretical and were widely despised.

With an awkward smile, Jiang Tianying saluted Yin Xuege and quickly left on a sword light. The cooperation with the Yin Clan was out of necessity, and many of the Yin Clan's actions were at odds with the teachings the Jiang Clan's young disciples had received since childhood. They were simply not on the same wavelength.

Watching Jiang Tianying's retreating figure, Yin Xuege waved his hand slightly toward the Blood Spirit Sword stuck in the ground in the distance.

The Blood Spirit Sword, trailing a bloody light, emitted a light hum and flew swiftly toward Yin Xuege. The intelligent Blood Spirit Sword, unwillingly, circled around Yin Xuege a few times. Over the past few days of continuous battles, if Yin Xuege had allowed the Blood Spirit Sword to unleash its full ferocity, the Jiang Clan's disciples would not have been able to resist this ancient divine weapon. These days, Yin Xuege had relied solely on his own strength to fight the Jiang Clan's disciples, and the Blood Spirit Sword had been suppressed.

"Don't worry, don't worry, you'll have your chance to shine eventually." Yin Xuege sheathed the Blood Spirit Sword and gently stroked the hilt, soothing it softly. "I'm just starting to understand these Eastern cultivators. I want to see their true strength."

A gentle breeze blew, and Yin Tianjue appeared beside Yin Xuege. He grabbed Yin Xuege's shoulder and quickly led him out of the valley to a secluded ravine. After being carried at high speed, Yin Xuege touched the ground and hurriedly saluted Yin Tianjue.

"Supreme Elder, what do you need from me?"

Blood light flickered in Yin Tianjue's eyes. He glanced around and lightly flicked his hands, sending out a dozen faint blood mists that quickly formed a blood-colored barrier, enveloping a space of several dozen meters. He flipped his palm and pulled out a stack of black-tinged talismans from his sleeve, caressing them lovingly.

"What is this?" Yin Xuege looked at the talismans in surprise. The green talismans were covered with countless twisted small characters, the black ink resembling a swarm of ants, which seemed to twist and wriggle constantly, giving one a headache and a tingling sensation if looked at for too long.

"These are the 'Heaven Stealing Spirit Talismans' secretly made by the Xuxia Academy in ancient times." Yin Tianjue smacked his lips, lost in reminiscence as he looked up at the sky, as if transported back to the era before the decline of the Dharma, when deities and Buddhas roamed the heavens.

"The Xuxia Academy was an anomaly in the cultivation world, integrating the strengths of various schools and being despised by countless sects and families, ultimately being destroyed by a coalition of all schools." With a few strange laughs, Yin Tianjue handed the stack of dozens of Heaven Stealing Spirit Talismans to Yin Xuege.

"The Heaven Stealing Spirit Talismans are special talismans that can only be refined by the high priests of the Xuxia Academy. Whether it's immortal scriptures, demon classics, Buddhist sutras, magic books, or various jade discs, jade slips, scrolls, and secret strategies, one Heaven Stealing Spirit Talisman can copy all the content without any loss." Yin Tianjue's tone was strange as he laughed coldly. "Thus, the Xuxia Academy integrated the strengths of various schools, obtaining countless secrets of immortal sects and families, and was once a prominent force in ancient times."

"In short, these Heaven Stealing Spirit Talismans can steal others' unique secret techniques!" Yin Xuege understood what Yin Tianjue wanted him to do as he took the talismans. With the opening of the Jiang Clan's cave, the Yin Clan's elders, including Yin Tianjue, would naturally be closely watched by the Jiang Clan's disciples and would not be able to do anything in the cave.

However, Yin Xuege was just a child. Although his strength was strong, his recent performance of losing every match had convinced the Jiang Clan's cultivators that this little guy was weak and did not need much attention.