Chapter 28: Flying Leaves Slay the Enemy, Such Overbearing Sword Qi
Chen Ji ignored Li Ya, her gaze fixated on Li Xuanyu as she said with a bewitching smile, "Li Xuanyu, aren't you the Daughter of Heaven? Why are you in such a sorry state? It seems you and your brother are not our match."
Xu Ruye stepped towards Li Ya.
Li Xuanyu abruptly threw her sword. Mid-flight, the blade suddenly split into four sword shadows, all converging on Xu Ruye.
Xu Ruye reacted incredibly fast, swiping his right hand to unleash a burst of purple energy like flames, forcibly blocking Li Xuanyu's sword.
Chen Ji appeared behind Li Xuanyu like a phantom, a red fan emerging in her hand. With a forceful flick, a torrent of red poisonous mist billowed out, forcing Li Xuanyu to jump away.
The red mist spread rapidly through the forest, a giant python moving swiftly within, leaving trails of rising mist that quickly enveloped both Li Ya and Li Xuanyu.
Li Xuanyu landed beside Li Ya, scanning the surroundings, no longer able to see Chen Ji, while Xu Ruye hovered above the forest, looking down at them.
"How dare you harbor thoughts of murder in the territory of the Supreme Sect?" Li Ya asked in a stern voice.
Xu Ruye, with a smirk, mocked, "I've heard that since the current Sect Leader took over, the Supreme Sect's control over its borders has steadily waned. It seems the intent is for the disciples to resolve conflicts at the fringe, the eight Outer Sect Cities like a wall—noble within, yet ruthless and survival of the fittest outside, no different from the Demon Dao."
"With no one coming to the rescue so far, it appears that beyond the Outer Sect, the Supreme Sect doesn't bother with guards. Today, if I kill you and capture your sister, I can always skip the grand outer door convention. What do you think?"
"And those from Medicine Valley, I'll kill them too. For Princess Li to come and shelter you personally, surely they mean a lot to you."
Xu Ruye seemed to think of something, licking his lips hungrily.
"Buy me some time." Li Xuanyu spoke softly as she crossed her legs and sat down. She swiftly formed hand seals, a faint golden flame emerging on her forehead.
Li Ya's gaze sharpened, and he suddenly crouched down before leaping up with his sword above him. His Sword Qi erupted like a geyser, Qi Force lashing towards the sky, causing the forest within a hundred feet to shake violently. The rolling red mist was swept up by the tremendous force, a magnificent sight against the twilight.
Xu Ruye sneered contemptuously, swiftly pulling out a purple banner from his storage pouch, the flag embroidered with a fierce Evil Ghost as if it could burst out at any moment.
His left hand struck down, Spiritual Power bursting forth to form a massive palm pressing down, forcibly suppressing Li Ya's Sword Qi.
Li Ya frowned; his Spiritual Power was far less than Xu Ruye's and could not resist.
Under his gaze, the purple banner in Xu Ruye's hand emitted a purple whirlwind that disoriented his Divine Soul.
Not good!
Li Ya's face turned pale as a strong sensation of dizziness assailed him, and what terrified him most was that his body could not fall.
"He wants to capture your soul; how brazen!" Ancestor's voice resounded in Li Ya's mind, the tone both shocked and angry.
Li Ya panicked even more upon hearing it.
"Let me taste the soul of the Tai Cang imperial lineage!" Xu Ruye said with a vicious laugh, greed in his eyes.
Whiz—
A sharp whooshing sound came from afar, causing the immobilized Li Ya to unconsciously glance over. Even Li Xuanyu, who was meditating and cultivating energy, couldn't help but look up.
A leaf carrying fierce Sword Qi flashed across the sky, quick as lightning, heading straight for Xu Ruye.
Xu Ruye's gaze instinctively flickered, but the leaf was too fast for him to react.
Boom!
His head exploded on impact, with blood mist drifting away. The enveloping red mist was cleared by a powerful wind, Li Ya being thrown to the ground while Li Xuanyu exerted her Spiritual Power to shield against the wind, yet still pressured to stand up hastily.
"Xu Lang!"
Amidst the gale, Chen Ji cried out in shock. Just as she was about to leap up, another whooshing sound came, and as she turned her head, the terrifying wind pressed the red mist against her body, pulling her robe tight and revealing the perfect curves of her figure.
Reflected in her pupils was a leaf.
Bang!
The leaf pierced through her skull, blood spraying, painting the forest. The leaf continued on its path, cutting down trees and stirring up dust as it finally lodged in the trunk of a large tree.
Thud! Thud!
Xu Ruye's corpse hit the ground, followed by Chen Ji's. Soon after, only the sound of the wind remained in the forest.
Li Ya propped himself up; his black hair in disarray, he was completely stunned.
Not far away, Li Xuanyu was equally frightened, staring at the corpses of Xu Ruye and Chen Ji, lost in a daze.
"Leaf slaying an enemy, such domineering Sword Qi. This person must be at least of Nascent Soul Realm with an extremely high Sword Dao achievement!" Ancestor's voice echoed in Li Ya's mind.
Li Ya snapped back to reality and promptly stood up, cupping his hands and shouting, "May I know which senior has lent a hand?"
Li Xuanyu also got up and looked around after hearing him.
Alas, no one responded to them.
"Boy, go check it out over there!" Ancestor's voice sounded again, urging Li Ya towards a certain direction.
Li Ya immediately walked over, trembling and feeling unwell from his injury and the Soul Capturing.
Li Xuanyu, meanwhile, went to check Xu Ruye and Chen Ji's corpses. She jabbed two more sword strikes, using Sword Qi to grind their hearts into pieces.
Li Ya walked a full two hundred feet before he stopped in front of a tree, his gaze falling on the trunk, and his expression suddenly changed.
"How could this be…"
Li Ya murmured, his voice trembling, following his gaze a leaf was stuck in the trunk, with a wisp of sword qi winding around it, the whole trunk was already cracked, as if it were about to burst open at any moment.
"This person made a move from ten miles away, I can only capture the direction, but not his qi," said the Ancestor, filled with emotion, and followed with marveling, "It seems that Supreme Sect isn't so bad after all, having Great Cultivators watching over the outside."
Li Ya looked at the leaf, trying hard to calm his emotions.
At that moment, Li Xuanyu came up behind him, and when she saw the leaf clearly, she was equally stunned.
...
As night fell over Profound Valley, the Valley Master's attic was ablaze with lights, Gu An and his disciples sat around a large round table, toasting and drinking, the atmosphere was joyful.
Xiaochuan and Tang Yu were competing in drinking, Xiaochuan, the Ancestor, was already red-faced but refused to admit defeat, disregarding the others' persuasion, and continued to drink.
The wine they were drinking was not ordinary wine, it was Spiritual Wine that Gu An had specially purchased from the Outer Sect, a pot worth two Low-Grade Spirit Stones, the equivalent of a Servant Disciple's two months of salary.
"Today we encountered two Demon Cultivators, there won't be more coming later, will there?" Su Han suddenly asked, a question that made the atmosphere at the table immediately cool down.
Everyone's smiles disappeared, all starting to worry.
Gu An reassured with a smile, "Don't worry, the Outer Disciples are patrolling, didn't you see today? Maybe after this, the patrolling will be intensified."
He himself wasn't worried because he was immersed in joy.
By slaying Xu Ruye and Chen Ji, he had successfully seized one hundred and twelve years of Life Span.
He was summarizing the pattern of Life Span he had captured, he could only determine that the number of years seized depends on the target's remaining Life Span between half complete to two complete, the exact amount was not fixed, it felt rather random.
Although killing cultivators yielded more Life Span, Gu An wasn't hoping for such encounters in the future.
Killing too many enemies, one would inevitably run into trouble, it was safer for him to accumulate Life Span through Medicinal Herbs, like now.
There is always someone stronger in the Human World, there's always another heaven outside of heaven, even if Gu An could get stronger quickly by killing enemies, if he encountered a far more powerful adversary, he would still die.
He couldn't determine how high the highest level of Cultivation in the Human World was.
But he thought that if he could just survive quietly for a thousand years, ten thousand years, he should be invincible in the Human World.
Hearing Gu An's words, everyone found it reasonable and the atmosphere became cheerful again.
Gu An didn't just think about himself all the time, he started chatting with his junior brothers and sisters, asking them about their upcoming cultivation goals, the atmosphere was continuously uplifted and even he began to drink.
The first Spring Festival in Profound Valley was a success.
It went on until late at night, everyone dispersed.
Gu An then went to Eight Scenic Cave Heaven.
Jiang Qiong was sitting under the Cang Teng Tree cultivating energy, her body surrounded by Demonic Qi, looking quite terrifying.
Gu An came carrying food and said, "Ancestor, today is Profound Valley's Spring Festival, this meal was cooked by my junior sister, will you try it? I wish you a speedy recovery of your power."
Hearing this, Jiang Qiong opened her eyes, puzzled, she asked, "Spring Festival? What is that?"
Gu An voiced the explanation he was prepared to give, the same one he'd give anyone who asked, something he had heard from an old man.
"Uh-huh, setting up a festival is indeed a good idea, capable of uniting people's hearts," Jiang Qiong nodded approvingly, then she looked at the basket and wooden box in Gu An's hands.
Gu An immediately set down the basket and wooden box, took out the dishes one by one, and a small pot of wine.
Seeing this, Jiang Qiong's eyes lit up, she pondered and said, "Since it's your thoughtfulness, I cannot decline."
She directly picked up a bowl of food, started shoveling it into her mouth, gorging herself.
Gu An quickly poured wine for her and curiously asked, "Ancestor, there's something I've always not understood."
"Speak…" Jiang Qiong mumbled, then she took the bowl of wine, drank it in one gulp, her mouth covered in fluid - it was unclear whether it was oil or wine.
"Why does Thousand-Autumn Pavilion plant spies outside the Outer Sect? I feel like Profound Valley can't get any information," Gu An asked.
Jiang Qiong glanced at him, unamused, she said, "Who told you to gather intelligence, your role is to just stay put, waiting for the Cang Teng Tree to fully grow, then this place will be a stronghold for Thousand-Autumn Pavilion, The job of gathering intelligence is done by others."
Hearing this, Gu An became even more concerned.
What?
To be a stronghold?
Gu An frowned and asked, "Is only Profound Valley suitable to be a stronghold?"
"Of course not, besides Profound Valley, there are at least five other Medicine Valley Masters that are spies for Thousand-Autumn Pavilion, but they don't know each other's identities, it's been a hundred years since Thousand-Autumn Pavilion's spies climbed to the position of True Disciple, now they're probably Elder Level figures," Jiang Qiong casually responded.
Gu An was silent.
Had Supreme Sect become riddled like a sieve?
Jiang Qiong set down her empty plate, grabbed a large chicken leg, and and smiled, "The taste isn't bad, although I have long practiced Fasting, it's still nice to indulge occasionally, as a reward, I will teach you a secret technique from Thousand-Autumn Pavilion later."