Fake

"Be careful!"

Sensing the energy emanating from Tang Tianyuan, Xia Ci immediately sheltered Xia Xiayin behind him. His hands were already raised, ready to unleash the Dragon Subduing Eighteen Palms at any moment.

Simultaneously,

He also called upon the system, claiming both the Divine Finger Flick Technique and the Cloud Stepping Skill.

At this moment, Xia Ci had the Nine Yang Divine Skill protecting his body, the Dragon Subduing Eighteen Palms as his powerful offensive technique, the Cloud Stepping Skill for movement, plus the Dragon Capturing Skill and Divine Finger Flick Technique as supplementary abilities.

Therefore, although Tang Tianyuan now seemed quite sinister, Xia Ci wasn't overly concerned.

At this moment, even a blind man like Xia Ci could sense something was wrong with Tang Tianyuan, let alone Tang Tianhao and the others.

"You've practiced unorthodox martial arts!" Tang Tianhao's face changed dramatically.

Just then,

Two people walked into the courtyard—Shen Bai from the Canglan Sword Sect and his junior sister.

Shen Bai walked in front, calmly saying, "If I'm not mistaken, you've cultivated the Blood Cauldron True Scripture, haven't you?"

Upon hearing Shen Bai mention the Blood Cauldron True Scripture, Tang Tianhao and the others were shocked, including Xia Ci.

He recalled hearing Tang Buyi mention before that Tang Tianyuan's wife had been killed by a demonic master named Fan Yuyun who practiced the Blood Cauldron True Scripture.

Seeing Shen Bai enter, Tang Tianyuan showed no surprise, saying very calmly, "You've finally come, Shen Bai. You've been chasing me for half a year. Today, we should settle this once and for all."

"So it really is you," Shen Bai said. "Three years ago, Fan Yuyun was wounded by my master. By all rights, he shouldn't have survived. Yet strangely, the Blood Cauldron True Scripture still appeared frequently in the martial world. I was sent to investigate and encountered you at every location where the Blood Cauldron True Scripture surfaced. I've long suspected something was amiss. Now I see—your search for Fan Yuyun to avenge your wife was a pretense. In reality, you've been impersonating Fan Yuyun, killing people all along. Perhaps your wife wasn't even killed by Fan Yuyun but by you instead, isn't that right?"

Tang Tianyuan gave a cold laugh, readily admitting it, "That's correct. I killed her. That worthless woman actually tried to stop me from cultivating the Blood Cauldron True Scripture. Hahaha, Shen Bai, I should actually thank your master. If he hadn't severely wounded Fan Yuyun, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to obtain the Blood Cauldron True Scripture, much less inherit Fan Yuyun's martial power!"

Shen Bai said, "It seems Fan Yuyun, before dying, transferred his Blood Cauldron true energy to you. I've heard that practitioners of the Blood Cauldron True Scripture can transfer their internal energy—it appears to be true."

"Correct!"

Tang Tianyuan said, "The Blood Cauldron True Scripture allows for the transfer of internal energy. I inherited nearly a century's worth of cultivation from Fan Yuyun. Over three years, I've killed more than two hundred people, successfully refining Fan Yuyun's power completely.

Ah, Shen Bai, you actually didn't have to die. I hadn't planned to expose myself. I originally intended to kill Tang Tianhao, take control of the Tang family, then kill that group of unorthodox masters, using them to aid my cultivation. Unfortunately,"

Tang Tianyuan pointed at Xia Ci and said, "That blind man ruined my plans, forcing me to reveal myself. Since I've chosen to be exposed, I might as well unleash a massacre. So, I've been waiting for you to arrive. That blind man has considerable martial power, and your power is also substantial. Tang Tianhao is somewhat inferior, but still useful. With you three aiding my cultivation, my martial insight will reach completion. In just a few years, I'll become a Grandmaster. Then, the whole world will be mine to roam freely!"

"Hmph, dreamer!"

In an instant, Shen Bai drew his sword.

The sword in his hand was the divine Wugou Sword, freshly forged from the Tang family sword forge. The blade was long and straight, like a clear icicle, gleaming with a cold radiance in the light. Its color was like frost and snow, pure and flawless, as if carved from thousand-year-old ice crystal.

The sword's momentum was like a rainbow, radiating light in all directions, resembling the brilliant stars of the Milky Way cascading down, or a rainbow piercing the sun, with white clouds surging, dazzlingly magnificent.

This was the renowned skill of Canglan Sword Sect's Grandmaster Ye Liuyun—the Cloud Flowing Sword Technique, one of the world's supreme skills. Shen Bai, as Ye Liuyun's direct disciple, had deeply inherited his true teachings. His Cloud Flowing Sword Technique had already reached the pinnacle of perfection.

Facing Shen Bai's advancing sword,

Tang Tianyuan wore a trace of contemptuous smile. From his mouth came a low, hoarse roar as his demonic power fully erupted. A mountain-toppling wave of black energy, with him at its center, swept in all directions.

In an instant,

Shen Bai's sword arrived before Tang Tianyuan.

But Tang Tianyuan extended a palm, energy flowing over his hand, emanating wisps of blood-colored mist, directly blocking Shen Bai's sword.

However, Shen Bai showed no panic. He merely lightly shook his long sword, releasing waves of sword energy. Where the energy passed, the ground was forcefully torn into deep, bottomless crevices. Gravel and sand were swept in, instantly pulverized.

The sword energy instantly broke through Tang Tianyuan's true energy.

Tang Tianyuan's face still bore a calm, sinister smile. He lightly tapped his foot and flew backward like a wild goose. Then he reached behind his back and drew a long sword that was identical to the Wugou Sword in Shen Bai's hand, like a clear icicle.

Tang Tianyuan struck with his sword.

Unlike Shen Bai's sword, which emanated righteous energy,

Tang Tianyuan's sword was permeated with blood energy, like an evil ghost from hell, radiating a terrifying aura of despair, as if everything in the world would be mercilessly destroyed and annihilated under this one sword.

Seeing that Tang Tianyuan's sword was identical to his Wugou Sword, Shen Bai suddenly felt a sense of foreboding.

With a "clang,"

When the two swords clashed,

Shen Bai's foreboding was realized. His Wugou Sword was actually broken by the sword in Tang Tianyuan's hand.

"This is a fake!"

Shen Bai was greatly alarmed, immediately realizing that his sword had been switched by Tang Tianyuan.

However, in a battle between masters, decisive moments often occur in an instant.

With his sword broken, he instantly found himself in dire straits.

Tang Tianyuan thrust his sword forward. Shen Bai had nowhere to dodge and could only watch helplessly as the sword aimed straight for his heart.

However, at that critical moment,

A whistling sound, "swoosh," cut through the air.

A stone appeared abruptly, striking Tang Tianyuan's sword and deflecting it.

Given this moment of respite, Shen Bai quickly retreated.

Tang Tianyuan's blood-red eyes, shrouded in black mist, turned toward Xia Ci. His voice was hoarse: "It's you again, you blind bastard. You truly deserve to die!"

"Second Brother, how did the Wugou Sword come to be in your possession?" Tang Tianhao asked.

"I secretly switched it days ago," Tang Tianyuan said mockingly. "The sword was actually completed after sixty-some days, but to make it sound more mysterious and to enhance your reputation, you insisted on waiting for the auspicious ninety-nine days. Didn't that just give me the opportunity to steal the sword?"

Everyone looked at Tang Tianhao.

Tang Tianhao looked embarrassed and said, "Well, it was just for show..."

Tang Tianyuan said, "Originally, I planned to send the fake sword to the Canglan Sword Sect. They would soon discover it was a fake and announce the forging had failed. By that time, I should have already taken control of the Tang family. Then, in my name, I would forge another sword and send the real Wugou Sword to the Canglan Sword Sect. I didn't expect things would go awry. Now this sword will first be used to kill people from the Canglan Sword Sect!"