Chapter 51: Another Hidden Old Monster

The unparalleled young master, his sword intent like a rainbow.

Everyone was stunned by the sight of that full moon, rendered speechless.

Wu Duantian staggered to his feet, unable to hide his shock.

Qingxuan Daoist's Qingxuan Sword trembled slightly in his hand.

Deep within the mountains of Qingyun Sect, in a hidden paradise, an old woman with white hair, sitting in meditation, suddenly furrowed her brows.

Li Qingran gazed at the moon, entranced.

Within the moon, a figure danced with a sword, wild and unrestrained.

"The bright moon rises over Tianshan, amidst the vast sea of clouds—!"

A ethereal voice echoed through the moonlight, its lingering sound piercing yet not grating, instead captivating and mesmerizing, gradually drawing everyone into its spell.

The sword dance within the moon was like a dream, with cold, sharp lights shooting out, piercing the sea of clouds.

Suddenly, the sword's momentum shifted, swift as a thunderbolt!

The ethereal voice laughed again: "The long wind travels thousands of miles, blowing through the Jade Gate—!"

"Condense—!"

High in the sky, the sword intent was awe-inspiring.

The dancing figure stopped, and with a light flick of his sword, he made a downward slash.

Swoosh!

The sea of clouds parted, the heavens and earth cleared, and the moonlight grew even more intense.

Yet, an overwhelming sense of killing intent descended.

Wu Duantian's heart raced, his face pale, as he frantically shouted to those around him:

"This is bad! Quickly stabilize the sect's protective formation and evacuate the disciples from the plaza!"

When the mysterious cultivator first appeared, his aura only seemed to be at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, so Wu Duantian hadn't taken it too seriously.

He had thought that even if Qingxuan Daoist couldn't win, he could at least hold his own, and if necessary, he could ask the elders for help.

Who could have guessed that as soon as the other party's sword technique began, just the sword intent alone sent chills down his spine?

Could this person be a hidden old monster from the Sword Pavilion?

How could he wield such a terrifying sword technique?

It was well known that many cultivators used swords, but pure sword cultivators rarely achieved greatness.

Yet, once a sword cultivator achieved greatness, the destructive power of their techniques was unmatched in the Cangyun Realm.

There was no time to think. The sword had already fallen, aimed directly at Qingxuan Daoist.

The coldness of the moonlight and the sharpness of the sword intent merged into one.

From a distance, it still had form, but up close, the vision was filled with nothing but silver-white light.

Qingxuan Daoist gripped his sword, unable to tell if what he saw was moonlight or sword light. He was surrounded on all sides, with no way to escape. He could only grit his teeth and unleash the strongest move of his Great Formless Sword—Grasping the Milky Way.

The Qingxuan Sword carried a trail of starlight, dazzling to the eyes.

This should have been a grand and powerful strike, but under the moonlight, it seemed childish and laughable.

A single spark can start a prairie fire.

But starlight before the bright moon can only be devoured and dissolved.

…

The full moon disappeared.

The plaza of Qingyun Sect was covered in dense sword marks, growing more concentrated the closer they were to the center.

Qingxuan Daoist, covered in blood, leaned on his sword to support his trembling body. The Qingxuan Sword, which had accompanied him for over a century, was riddled with holes, just like his body, which was covered in sword scars. It seemed as if the slightest movement would cause him to fall apart.

A beam of moonlight fell behind Qingxuan Daoist.

Chen Huaian stepped out of the moonlight, not even glancing at the bloodied figure kneeling in the center of the plaza.

He walked slowly to Lu Changtian.

"Will you do it yourself, or shall I help you?"

Lu Changtian looked up at Chen Huaian, his face growing paler. He swallowed hard and said hoarsely, "I… I'll do it myself…"

His spiritual energy reversed, and with a muffled sound, Lu Changtian clutched his dantian, writhing in pain on the ground.

His piercing screams echoed across the plaza.

Qingxuan Daoist's body twitched, trying to stand, but after struggling for a moment, he fell back into the pool of blood.

"Every debt has its debtor."

Chen Huaian walked up to Mu Baisuang, staring at the beautiful young girl. His golden vertical pupils held only indifference.

At this moment, the girl looked at him like a frightened deer, her lips and body trembling.

Her pitiful appearance was indeed tempting, as if a single finger could crush her.

But a drop of sweat rolled down Chen Huaian's temple.

[Mu Baisuang - Female - 347 years old - Mid Nascent Soul (self-sealed) - Innately Alluring Bone]

Two pieces of bad news.

First, this was a top-tier hidden old monster.

Second, to put on a grand show, he had already exhausted his spiritual energy.

The two stared at each other for a moment before Chen Huaian slowly spoke: "Hand over Li Qingran's water spirit root."

"Senior, I…"

"Will you hand it over, or not?"

Staring into those golden vertical pupils filled with killing intent,

Mu Baisuang gritted her teeth, weighing her options carefully.

If she didn't hand it over, she would have to release her self-sealed cultivation and fight this monstrous sword cultivator. Not only would her identity be exposed, but if the other party still had strength left, wouldn't she be throwing her life away?

She had to survive to help her young master.

She couldn't expose her identity.

It was just a water spirit root, useless to her young master, and she didn't care for it either.

"I'll give it," Mu Baisuang pretended to be aggrieved, puffing out her chest and tilting her head to expose her fair neck. Her delicate face was full of sorrow, and tears had already begun to fall as she spoke. "Senior, take it directly."

Truly, the Innately Alluring Bone was something else.

Chen Huaian was speechless.

[Please select the spirit root to extract]

Holy crap!

Chen Huaian was inwardly exclaiming.

Although he didn't know how this demoness had hidden the previous set of spirit roots from Qingxuan Daoist,

now was the time to seize the opportunity.

He'd take both, hahaha!

Since she was a hidden demoness, would she dare to say anything? Would she dare to expose herself?

Chen Huaian selected both.

Two glowing orbs lit up in Mu Baisuang's lower abdomen. He reached out and, without any resistance, his hand passed through her body, extracting both orbs. He stuffed them into his inventory while giving Mu Baisuang a meaningful look.

Mu Baisuang was dumbfounded.

The pain of losing her spirit roots was nothing compared to the fear and horror that made her scalp tingle.

She was born with the Innately Alluring Bone and had no spirit roots of her own. She had taken the spirit roots of others and cultivated a technique from the Heavenly Demon Art to hide them. In theory, even a Unity Realm cultivator shouldn't be able to see through her. So how…

She thought about that meaningful look, feeling a chill run down her spine.

Could this cultivator have seen through her?

But if he had, why didn't he expose her?

Could he also be a demonic cultivator?!

Mu Baisuang's mind was in turmoil. She looked up, wanting to confirm with Chen Huaian's gaze,

but found that he had already turned and was walking toward Li Qingran.

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He had beaten the people, avenged the grievances, taken what he needed, and exhausted his spiritual energy.

Chen Huaian was ready to take Li Qingran and leave.

As he passed by Qingxuan Daoist, he considered whether to finish off the half-dead old man, but then he sensed multiple late-stage Nascent Soul auras locking onto him.

Wu Duantian didn't speak.

But Chen Huaian could read the message in the silence.

Know when to stop, or it will be a fight to the death.

Fine, Qingxuan Daoist wasn't some great evil, just an incompetent teacher.

"Qingran, let's go."

"Go?" A hoarse voice sounded behind him.

At some point, a white-haired old woman had appeared beside Qingxuan Daoist.

She leaned on a dragon-headed cane, her cloudy eyes fixed on Chen Huaian. She exuded no aura, appearing silently and blending seamlessly with her surroundings.

"You come to my Qingyun Sect, cause havoc, and now you think you can just leave?"

"That doesn't seem quite right, does it?"

The old woman struck the ground with her dragon-headed cane.

Thud—!

Green ripples spread out like waves on water.

Several late-stage Nascent Soul elders of Qingyun Sect, along with Wu Duantian, knelt down and kowtowed.

In front of the sect's grand hall, the atmosphere was deathly silent.

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