Chapter Thirty: Cui Huaigu

“Pfft!” The sword energy pierced through the man’s chest without resistance. A gush of blood spurted out, and that expert, filled with bitter unwillingness, slowly collapsed to the ground.

He died with his eyes open, for he had already heard the voice of his Fifth Senior Brother. He was so close—if only he had held on a moment longer, his Fifth Senior Brother could have saved his life.

But there are no such ifs. Long Yun slowly withdrew his true energy.

The profound power within him circulated, true energy rushing through his meridians to replenish what he had expended.

At the same time, a figure slowly descended before Long Yun. He looked to be no more than twenty-seven or twenty-eight, clad in a blue robe, with a three-foot sword at his waist, true energy swirling about him—clearly a master of the Bone-Transformation Realm.

Long Yun’s brows knit together. With his current cultivation, facing a Bone-Transformation master would be quite a challenge, especially since this man was not alone.

Even as he considered this, two more figures suddenly landed before him. Of these two, one was a Bone-Transformation master as well, and the lesser was at least at the Spirit-Concealing Realm.

The three glanced at the corpses on the ground, the murderous aura between their brows deepening further.

The Bone-Transformation master who had arrived first fixed his gaze on Long Yun’s face and said, “You killed all three of them?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Long Yun shrugged, answering with indifference.

The man’s eyes narrowed, a frosty light flashing within, his tone growing colder. “Such ruthless methods. With that, you think yourself worthy of being a disciple of a righteous sect?”

Long Yun only sneered. “So what if I am? As fellow disciples, they tried to kill me time and again. Am I to sit and wait for death, to let myself be slaughtered?”

At his words, the man’s murderous intent intensified. His eyes swept over Long Yun and the three behind him, and his heart stirred uneasily. Against Long Yun alone, he was confident in victory.

But the veiled woman in white standing behind Long Yun—though her face was hidden, her cultivation was surely far above his own. She must be the disciple of Phoenix Pavilion the Grand Elder had spoken of.

He had heard of the Phoenix Pavilion’s reputation from his sect elders. When he took on the mission to kill Long Yun, the Grand Elder had warned him that Long Yun might be accompanied by a Phoenix Pavilion disciple, and under no circumstances should he provoke her.

“You must be the lady from Phoenix Pavilion. Long Yun is a disgrace to our Jade Sword Sect. I was sent by the elders to bring him back. If we’ve disturbed you, please forgive us.” The disciple took the opportunity to speak.

He knew that Long Yun already saw through their identities, so there was no reason to hide any longer. Besides, he believed that Phoenix Pavilion would not bother getting involved in the affairs of one as insignificant as Long Yun.

“Well played,” Long Yun secretly admired, glancing back at the woman in white as though waiting for her response.

“Your sect’s matters are no concern of mine. But these two, I will be taking with me,” the woman in white said softly, her voice cold and flat. Yet perhaps only she knew the inner turmoil she was experiencing at that moment.

A faint smile played on Long Yun’s lips. “I’ve only just met this Senior Sister from Phoenix Pavilion. Brother of the Heavenly Sword Lineage, you needn’t worry she’ll help me.”

The disciple of the Heavenly Sword Lineage found himself quietly impressed by Long Yun’s composure in such circumstances. Clearly, this man had his own ways, though he was still a fool for getting himself into such a predicament.

“Our Jade Sword Sect is also of the righteous path; we would never make enemies of another righteous sect. We are here only for Long Yun. Please, take your companions and leave,” the man replied with a slight smile.

The woman in white said nothing. She touched Huang Yun lightly on the arm. Huang Yun immediately understood. Though she worried for Long Yun’s safety, she knew that she and her husband were mere mortals and could offer no help.

She tugged her husband’s sleeve, and the two followed the woman in white, moving away.

As the two figures passed by, Long Yun did not so much as glance at them. He merely kept his gaze on the three disciples of the Heavenly Sword Lineage. Beneath her veil, the woman’s exquisite features twitched ever so slightly.

For some reason, her heart ached faintly, as if she had lost something precious.

“Will you come with us quietly, or must we use force?” the man asked coolly, seeing that the woman in white had left.

Long Yun smiled. “At least tell me your names, so I may die with some understanding.”

“My name is Cui Huaigu, fifth disciple of the Heavenly Sword Lineage. Behind me are my Fourth Senior Brother and Seventh Junior Brother. Rest assured, as fellow disciples of the Jade Sword Sect, we will give you a dignified death,” Cui Huaigu replied.

Long Yun nodded. “To think Elder Qiu would send two Bone-Transformation disciples after me—he must think highly of me. Let’s begin, but know that my death will not come so easily.”

“Long Yun, I must admit I admire your courage. But compared to the Bone-Transformation Realm, you are far outmatched. Leave your life here!” Cui Huaigu snorted.

Long Yun closed his eyes, extended his sword fingers, and unleashed a surge of sword energy. Waves of sword intent began to flow, vast and unrestrained, pouring out from his being.

“What formidable sword intent!” Cui Huaigu and his Fourth Senior Brother frowned in unison. Such sword intent even their master Qiu Di had never possessed. How had this youth achieved it?

It must be the Sword Stone of the Heart Sword Lineage!

The three attributed everything to the Heart Sword Lineage’s Sword Stone. Still, though Long Yun possessed powerful sword intent, they felt little pressure.

The Bone-Transformation Realm meant transcending mortal bones, replacing them with spiritual ones. To reach this stage, one must find a set of spiritual bones—usually from spirit beasts—and fuse them into oneself.

The quality of the spiritual bones determined the strength of one’s Bone-Transformation cultivation. Cui Huaigu had only half a set of spirit beast bones, yet even so, Long Yun was no match for him.

“Die—” Long Yun struck first, sword intent surging and transforming into the Compassionate Great Bliss Sword Intent, rolling forward in waves as though becoming tangible, enveloping Cui Huaigu.

“Impressive, to think you have such means,” Cui Huaigu nodded slightly. True energy surged within him, and with the power of his spiritual bones, he blocked the invading sword intent.

With a flick of his finger, a beam of light shot out, shattering Long Yun’s sword intent.

Long Yun leapt back, his face flushed. As he expected, the bandits at Mount Bhikkhu had also been in the Bone-Transformation Realm, but none had fused with spiritual bones. Compared to Cui Huaigu, they were on a completely different level.

Cui Huaigu had easily fended off his most indomitable sword intent and forced him back with a single move. It seemed this battle might truly be his last.

“Prepare to die!” Cui Huaigu pressed his advantage, wielding the full might of the Bone-Transformation Realm. His sword remained sheathed as, like Long Yun, he formed a sword-finger, sending forth a burst of sword energy.

This sword energy was imbued with spiritual power—clearly the aura of his spiritual bones—which gave it even greater force.

Long Yun gritted his teeth. Even if he managed to withstand this blow, he would surely be gravely injured.

But he would not sit and wait for death.

He unleashed his sword energy once more—not through sword-finger, but with all five fingers splayed. From each fingertip burst a stream of sword energy.

The Five Ultimate Killing Sword Techniques were executed together: five streams of sword energy, each representing a different sword path, shot forth from Long Yun’s fingers and fused into one.

A dazzling, resplendent sword energy roared forth to collide with Cui Huaigu’s attack.

Boom! Sword energies clashed and exploded. Long Yun spat a mouthful of blood and staggered backward, mustering the last of his true energy to use the recoil to flee at full speed.

Cui Huaigu was about to pursue when a great force swept over him, forcing him back five or six steps. Shock flickered across his face.

“Do you think you can escape so easily? It won’t be that simple!” Long Yun’s dash was abruptly halted, for not far ahead, the Fourth Senior Brother was blocking the way, smiling at him.

A bitter smile tugged at Long Yun’s lips. Now, even with wings, there was no way out.