Volume Two: The Weapons Register Chapter 133: Immovable as a Mountain

"I'll take your life!"

Shangguan Yun watched as his blade descended toward Liu Xiaoyi's head, but just three inches away, his massive broadsword plunged into an invisible mire and could go no further. A concentrated, nearly tangible spiritual energy locked the surrounding space firmly, preventing the weapon from advancing even a fraction of an inch.

How is this possible! Not only was Shangguan Yun in disbelief, but the surrounding martial artists all thought their eyes were playing tricks on them. With a gap of five major realms between their cultivations, a full-strength strike carrying a hint of the Heavenly Sun Realm's might had actually failed to harm Liu Xiaoyi.

Seated securely atop Zhenyuan Mountain, Liu Xiaoyi kept his eyes closed, seemingly indifferent to Shangguan Yun's actions. The hand seals he formed shifted slowly, and with the rhythm of his breathing, the spiritual energy gathered around him rose and fell in unison.

The Lin Formula was the most reliable protective technique among the Nine True Words. When cultivated to an advanced stage, one could freeze the ambient momentum with a mere gesture. Although Liu Xiaoyi had not reached that level, he had already achieved initial mastery. Just moments ago, when he wanted to dodge, an inexplicable confidence had surged within him, causing his body to act on its own accord, even though his heart was in complete turmoil.

Had his intuition been wrong, he would have been cleaved in two. Fortunately, the two spiritual roots sustained his vital energy and paralyzed the broadsword, allowing him to escape disaster by a hair's breadth.

Shangguan Yun could neither pull his blade back nor force it down. Feeling the burning, glaring gazes of the onlookers upon him, he felt so ashamed he wished he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

Uncle Cang inwardly broke into a cold sweat. This kid was always pulling such dangerous stunts, seemingly unafraid of truly being decapitated if he wasn't careful. He had already been prepared to step in and help a moment before, but sensing the surrounding natural momentum contract and become impenetrable, he had set his mind at ease.

True to his personality, even though he didn't make a move, his tongue remained merciless: "Little Yun! Even a junior can't be bothered to look you in the eye. You've lived to this age in vain!"

Nearby, the silent Sword Saint sat motionless, the eyes behind the unicorn mask revealing a strange glint as the sword on his back suddenly quivered, seeming somewhat excited.

A sentient weapon would always react to a homologous true qi. The next moment, a verdant precious sword materialized behind Shangguan Yun, accompanied by rolling surges of sword qi that poured downward.

Ever since he had been pressured by the Yin-Yang Twin Swords, which unlocked the secret hidden within the sword-shaped necklace, Liu Xiaoyi had mastered the technique without a teacher. He had learned this cascading river of sword qi and immediately decided to test it on Shangguan Yun.

Without panicking, Shangguan Yun reached out with his bare right hand to grab it while sneering, "Audacious! Not only do you not run, junior, but you dare to counterattack!"

The river of sword qi swept past in a rush, unleashing a force far exceeding the seventh tier of the Earth Soul Realm. Facing an opponent of equal cultivation, Liu Xiaoyi could walk the martial world unhindered with this single move alone. Consuming a vast amount of true qi to direct a sword technique at a single target was something the Profound Moon Slash could never compare to.

This showed that the creator of the necklace was even superior to the Langya Sword Mountain!

With such thoughts in his mind, his focus inevitably slipped for a moment. But Shangguan Yun was seasoned and experienced; as his hand shot out, the sword qi failed to block it by even half a centripetal point. He caught the blade of the Lühuang Sword directly in his palm, yet it failed to pierce his protective true qi.

His cultivation was still far too inferior. Liu Xiaoyi sighed and finally rose to action. The moment he moved, the golden-ringed broadsword locked in mid-air moved with him, colliding with Zhenyuan Mountain and emitting a ringing clang.

Two streams of black and white brilliance extended from Liu Xiaoyi's arms. Although he had practiced swordsmanship for years, wielding dual swords simultaneously still felt somewhat unfamiliar. Fortunately, the twin swords possessed a spiritual nature, guiding their new master step by step in executing the sword techniques.

The Yin-Yang Twin Swords lacked a scabbard. Once retrieved, they had transformed into miniature swords and submerged into his dantian, floating near his spiritual roots. With a subtle flick of Liu Xiaoyi's mind, the twin swords surged out along his arms, as swift as heavenly lightning.

No sooner had Shangguan Yun grabbed the Lühuang Sword than a chill ran down his spine. He hurriedly recalled his broadsword to guard his back, colliding once again with the sword qi. This time, Shangguan Yun staggered forward, his head spinning from the impact.

Regaining his wits, he saw Liu Xiaoyi's arms wreathed in black and white currents. Though he couldn't see what weapons were held within, their power undoubtedly surpassed that of the Lühuang Sword.

Being repeatedly outmaneuvered made him extremely uncomfortable. Needing to unleash his full strength against a junior meant that even if he captured his opponent, he would gain no honor from it.

"Look at this!" Shangguan Yun suddenly widened his eyes as golden light erupted from them once more, instantly traversing the short distance of several yards to land right before Liu Xiaoyi's chest.

The black and white sword qi intertwined, shattering and annihilating the golden light. Instead, Liu Xiaoyi seized the initiative, closing the distance while Shangguan Yun's feet were still planted.

When learning martial arts and building his foundation, Liu Xiaoyi had never neglected close-quarters combat. Xia Liang had instructed him meticulously, far more earnestly than most masters. A swordsman could not rely solely on the sword; even without a sword in hand, as long as he held the sword in his heart, he could still fight.

Shangguan Yun had never trained extensively in close combat. With the two of them less than two feet apart, he was caught off guard, unable to execute any proper techniques in such tight quarters. Liu Xiaoyi swung his arms, integrating the Yin-Yang Twin Swords into his fists, and for a time actually beat Shangguan Yun down, driving the peak Earth Soul Realm expert back step by step amidst pained groans.

Meanwhile, seeing that Shangguan Yun had failed to accomplish his goal, the rest of the Shangguan clan members abandoned their respective opponents and converged on the scene, only to have their paths blocked from all directions by the junior disciples of Three Flowers Valley.

Hua Shaoqing put away his Qi-Gathering Inkstone. With the mission of this trip successfully completed, he was in high spirits. Knowing that his retrieval of the inkstone and subsequent disruption of the formation had nearly cost Liu Xiaoyi his life, he felt a lingering sense of guilt and therefore ordered his three junior martial brothers to step in and help.

Compared to the disciples of Three Flowers Valley, the Shangguan clan members were somewhat inferior. These individuals were merely clan members roaming nearby, their cultivations varied and uneven. Facing the three disciples who joined forces to execute their techniques, the clan members lost out in momentum and dared not step forward for a long time.

Taking it all in, Shangguan Yun felt anger surge to his head. He pushed out fiercely with both palms, releasing the true qi of his twelfth realm without any finesse, easily blasting Liu Xiaoyi and his swords backward through the air, which finally brought him some peace and quiet.

With enigmatic experts like Uncle Cang and the Sword Saint lurking nearby and watching the battle with hungry eyes, Shangguan Yun naturally kept his guard up against them. The Sword Saint was a man of honor, but that red-nosed old man was an absolute rogue who frequently engaged in petty, underhanded tricks. If he let his guard down even for a moment and was ambushed by this old fellow, the losses would outweigh any gains.

Weighing the situation, Shangguan Yun made up his mind to pull back and create distance. Unwilling to lose face even in defeat, he called out loudly to Uncle Cang, "Today, out of respect for Uncle Cang, I'll temporarily spare your life! Once you step out of Wangtianting, we'll settle this again!"

With a flick of his wide sleeves, he turned and strode away with the most dashing and composed air imaginable.

Uncle Cang waved a chicken bone as a farewell gesture and shouted, "Then I'll come visit your estate another day, and you must treat me to roasted chicken!"

His words went unanswered. Looking back at the empty space, bold martial artists had already begun to follow him. The heavenly lanterns atop Wangtianting were within arm's reach, and who would ultimately claim victory remained to be seen!