But in Xiao Mo's eyes, he was nothing more than a beast in human clothing.
The man in the green robes was named Sun Jin, one of Prince Xiao of the Liang Kingdom's advisors. His schemes were sinister, and he was a craven coward, utterly lacking a scholar's backbone.
Xiao Mo detested him.
"Did you come here to die?" Xiao Mo asked.
"Heh heh heh..." Sun Jin chuckled. "Not at all. I'm here to take the young master's head, and hers."
As he spoke, Sun Jin glanced at Jiang Qingyi. "I never thought the little girl from back then would not only blossom into such a graceful beauty but also reach such a high realm. Truly remarkable. And it's all thanks to you, Young Master."
"COUGH, COUGH, COUGH... Enough talk. If you're going to kill me, then come on." Xiao Mo coughed, and the longsword in his hand began to hum.
"Kill them!"
The masked man waved his hand.
In an instant, several assassins from the Blood Butterfly Pavilion vanished.
The moment they reappeared, the cold glint of steel was already before Jiang Qingyi's face.
Xiao Mo took a step forward, intending to help his disciple.
But the masked man, wielding a Long Spear, thrust it at Xiao Mo.
Xiao Mo's Grass Character Sword Intent manifested as nine streams of Sword Qi, nine formless swords striking at his opponent's vital points.
But each time, the masked man scattered Xiao Mo's Sword Qi.
Xiao Mo shot into the air, and the masked man followed right behind.
Grass Character Sword Intent—Rain on Plantain Leaves.
The Sword Qi around Xiao Mo condensed unceasingly. The white clouds in the sky were shredded by the Sword Qi, reforming into a host of longswords.
"Fall!"
A hundred longswords formed from the clouds shot toward the masked man.
Xiao Mo closed in, sword in hand. His strikes were fast and dense, like a sudden downpour on plantain leaves, producing a continuous, crisp sound of impact.
"Excellent Sword Technique, sharp Sword Qi, and profound Sword Intent. You might have been able to enter the Immortal Realm. What a pity... how did your foundation become so damaged?" The masked man let out a regretful sigh.
In the next instant, the silver Long Spear aimed straight for Xiao Mo's heart.
Xiao Mo's concentration sharpened, and he brought his sword up to block.
The immense force crashed against his sword, driving the blade back into his chest.
BOOM!
Like a cannonball, Xiao Mo was sent flying into the peak of a mountain.
The peak shattered on impact, sending massive boulders tumbling down.
"Master!"
Jiang Qingyi, who was under siege, grew frantic. She wanted to help her master, but the other Blood Butterfly Pavilion disciples blocked her path.
"Get out of the way!"
Jiang Qingyi gripped her longsword, her eyes filled with rage.
"Get out of the way?" Sun Jin smiled. "Miss Jiang, you're going to die here today. In fact, it's for the best. Dying without knowing the truth is the Prince's final act of mercy toward you and the young master."
"What kind of bullshit is that!"
She took a step forward, the properties of her Profound Frost Longsword intertwining with her Sword Qi.
Frost spread out for a li in every direction, with her at the center.
She thrust her sword, its frosty Sword Intent imbued with the ferocity of the Grass Character Sword Intent, and pierced through the heart of a Blood Butterfly Pavilion disciple at the Dragon Gate Realm!
On the other side of the battlefield, the masked man knew Xiao Mo wasn't dead.
He plunged downward, thrusting with his Long Spear.
Xiao Mo got to his feet, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth.
His Sword Stance was like the wind sweeping ceaselessly across a grassy plain; it appeared gentle but possessed a tenacious strength. He deflected, neutralized, and redirected the force of the attack, the light of his blade creating the phantom image of a swaying sea of grass.
The masked man was knocked flying by Xiao Mo's sword, and he plunged his Long Spear into the ground to halt his momentum.
The Long Spear carved a hundred-meter trench through the earth before his back slammed into a tree, finally bringing him to a stop.
The mask on his face had shattered.
He discarded the broken mask and spat out a mouthful of blood.
'I never expected this Cultivator, who's like a candle flickering in the wind, to still possess such power. He's truly something else. But he must die here today.'
In the next instant, the man's Spiritual Power surged, and the Long Spear in his hand erupted with a chilling light.
This was his final move.
With a single thrust, the momentum of the spear coalesced into a long dragon.
"ROOOAR!"
The long dragon let out a furious roar and lunged at Xiao Mo.
Xiao Mo calmly watched the spear approach. He took a deep breath, channeling power from his Sword Bone through his Spirit Vein.
Xiao Mo's Sword Qi surged ever higher. The man felt as if countless tiny needles were pricking his lungs with every shallow breath he took.
He swung his sword, and the Sword Qi materialized into a Sword Stele before him.
THUD!
The Long Spear embedded itself in the Sword Stele, unable to advance another inch.
In the next instant, the man merely sensed a figure drift past him.
When he looked down, he saw that a large hole had been pierced through his heart.
Xiao Mo stood behind the man. With a casual flick of his sword, he sent the blood splattering against a tree.
The man collapsed forward, utterly silent.
"COUGH, COUGH, COUGH... COUGH, COUGH, COUGH, COUGH..."
Xiao Mo was wracked by violent coughs. His face grew paler by the second as he gasped for air.
"Qingyi..." Xiao Mo wiped his mouth and flew in his disciple's direction.
...
Meanwhile, Jiang Qingyi swung her sword, lopping off the head of the final Blood Butterfly Pavilion disciple.
Sun Jin, who was standing to one side, looked extremely grim.
'In his mind, Jiang Qingyi's death had been a certainty.'
But he'd never expected her power to be so absurd. She was practically invincible among those in her realm; even a Nascent Soul Realm Cultivator would have a hard time killing her.
Sensing trouble, Sun Jin decided to flee.
But Jiang Qingyi had no intention of letting him leave alive.
Jiang Qingyi formed a sign with her hands, reciting her Sword Formulas. On the ground, the ice sculptures of tiny blades of grass suddenly shattered.
They transformed into Profound Ice Chains that bound Sun Jin.
With a tug through the air, Jiang Qingyi slammed Sun Jin to the ground.
Sun Jin threw his fan.
Two ferocious, ink-black tigers leaped from the fan.
While the painted tigers kept her busy, Sun Jin turned to run.
But he hadn't taken more than a few steps before the two ink tigers were pierced by Ice Cones, dissolving into pools of ink on the ground.
Jiang Qingyi flew forward, thrusting her sword toward the center of his back. Sun Jin spun around, trying to block the tip of her blade with his fan.
Sun Jin was sent skipping across the ice like a flat stone, finally crashing into a tree.
By the time Sun Jin scrambled to his feet, the tip of Jiang Qingyi's longsword was at his throat.
Looking into Jiang Qingyi's icy eyes, Sun Jin immediately began to beg, "Fairy, spare me! Please, spare my life, Fairy!"
"Answer my questions! Answer them well, and I'll spare you!" Jiang Qingyi said coldly.
"Ask away, Fairy! I will tell you everything I know and hold nothing back!" Sun Jin, pale with fear, had completely forgotten his earlier arrogance.
Looking at this man, Jiang Qingyi felt that killing him would only dirty her sword.
"Who wants my master dead!" Jiang Qingyi demanded.
'She had always been curious. Who had her master offended so badly that they would be hunted to the ends of the earth? It wasn't that she hadn't asked, but her master always refused to speak of it.'
"This..." Sun Jin looked conflicted, hesitating to speak.
"Speak!" With a single slash, Jiang Qingyi severed one of his arms.
"AGH!" Sun Jin screamed, clutching his stump. "I'll talk! I'll talk! It's Prince Xiao! He's the one who wants your master dead!"
"Prince Xiao? What grudge does he have with my master?!"
"Prince Xiao is Prince Jing Xiao of the Liang Kingdom. Your master is his son. In truth, the Prince doesn't just want to kill Xiao Mo; he wants to kill you.
Do you remember when you were four years old? Your parents were killed, and you were taken to a room?
The Prince was behind that. Because you possess an Innate Sword Bone, the Prince had his people take you so they could transplant your Sword Bone into Xiao Mo!
Your parents were unwilling, so they were killed without a second thought."
"You... what did you just say..." Jiang Qingyi looked as if she'd been struck by lightning. Her face went pale, her pupils trembled, and the longsword fell from her grasp.
Sun Jin's remaining hand secretly gripped a hidden weapon behind his back as he continued, "You heard me correctly. It was your master's father who killed your parents.
You could have become a world-renowned Sword Immortal, but your master took your Sword Bone for himself!
The only reason your master was able to reach the Nascent Soul Realm at eighteen was because of your Sword Bone.
That father and son destroyed your family and stole the life that should have been yours."
...
.....
[A note on the Realms—
The Lower Three Realms: Qi Cultivation, Foundation Establishment, Cave Mansion.
The Middle Three Realms: Dragon Gate, Golden Core, Nascent Soul.
The Upper Three Realms: Jade, Immortal, Ascension.]