Please, Young Master, Slay the Demon!
Chapter 864 - 74: Peach Blossom Village [Request for Monthly Tickets!]

Chapter 864: Chapter 74: Peach Blossom Village [Request for Monthly Tickets!]

Swish swish—

As only a short segment of the incense remained, Chu Liang and the Sword Emperor of the Western Sea reached the end of the corridor, where there was a pure white high wall with a platform in front of it and a circular crack of light on the wall.

It seemed that entering through that crack would lead to the next layer of the Sword Domain, but such an action would likely prevent any return, so Immortal Qi Jing did not rush in but waited on the platform instead.

Above the crack hung a brightly shining treasure sword, which occasionally stood upright and emitted bursts of sword aura. This sword, in terms of quality, was not inferior to the Xaoyun Ancient Sword, yet in this secret realm, it served merely as a tool within a formation.

After ascending to the platform, Chu Liang removed the remaining puppets beside him and turned around. Thanks to his efforts, no challenger had died along the way, and everyone had briskly advanced close to the end.

Jiang Yuebai and Uncle Yin arrived shortly after, watching as the incense was about to burn out, while the few challengers behind them surged forward. Just as they were about to reach their goal, the sword aura shone brightly again!

At this crucial moment, if one paused, the candle would burn out and the sword aura would arrive instantly; but if ignored, moving forward would still lead to death.

In that critical instant, Immortal Qi Jing shouted loudly, "Go!"

His voice boomed like thunder, startling the others who did not hesitate and continued to charge forward.

The sword aura flashed, and in a blink, three streaks of white light shot out. With a sweep of his large sleeve, Immortal Qi Jing closely trapped the streaks of white light.

Bang—

His sleeve burst open, and he staggered a few steps back. With his cultivation, he could indeed withstand the sword aura, but just barely.

However, his crucial moment of resistance allowed the final challengers to make it to the platform, each landing safely.

The champions of two generations of the Shu Mountain Flying Sword Race had managed to keep everyone safe.

"Thank you, kind saviors!"

The fellow challengers who had reached safety were still shaking from the ordeal and bowed down in unison, thanking Chu Liang and Immortal Qi Jing.

"No need for such formalities," Chu Liang quickly helped them up, "It was nothing."

"There’s no rush to thank us, let’s see what the next layer of the Sword Domain holds," Immortal Qi Jing suggested, then dashed ahead into the crack first.

Whoosh—

As the light flashed and everyone landed, the first thing that met their eyes was a sea of peach blossoms.

"How fragrant," Jiang Yuebai said as her nose twitched.

"This place is..."

Chu Liang looked around, surrounded by blooming peach trees, their petals flying through the air like snowflakes. They appeared to have arrived in a thriving peach blossom forest, as if entering an illusion field.

Sure enough, the crack behind them had disappeared, leaving no way back.

Before the newcomers had stabilized themselves, a bang sounded from ahead—

Everyone immediately went on alert, their nerves still tense from the life-or-death crisis they had just escaped, and the sound seemed to signal impending danger.

Unexpectedly, the figures that rushed out from the peach forest were a group of men and women dressed in colorful clothes, led by an elder in a high hat, numbering around dozens. They gathered around with smiles on their faces, looking extremely welcoming.

"Welcome, new friends!" the elder exclaimed loudly. "I am the headman of Peach Blossom Village. Since you all passed through the Sword Control Gate, you must be exhausted. Come, have a rest in our village. If you don’t wish to continue forward, you are welcome to stay with us," he said, pointing to a cluster of houses not far away.

It indeed looked like a sizable village, though naturally, it could not compare in scale to the Heavenly Palace City outside.

This place seemed to be a settlement for those who had passed through the Sword Control Gate but did not wish to continue further, gradually evolving into this mountain village.

Several of the fellow challengers seemed tempted, looking like they did not want to continue advancing. They had now seen the reality—if it weren’t for Chu Liang and Immortal Qi Jing’s intervention, it was uncertain how many of them would have survived, and to proceed further would only amount to throwing their lives away foolishly.

However, Chu Liang and his companions had no intention of staying longer. Immortal Qi Jing waved his hand and said, "We won’t rest long. Please tell us where the entrance to the next challenge is, we’ll be on our way."

"Ah—" The elder slightly raised his hand and said, "Don’t rush. We have a custom here. To proceed to the next challenge, you must complete a task first."

"What is it?" everyone asked.

The elder replied, "Having children."

...

Places isolated from the world with sparse populations posed a great challenge regarding breeding, often unavoidably leading to intermingling of existing bloodlines. Over time, this easily resulted in individuals like Empress Feng — referring specifically to aspects of intelligence.

Therefore, each new bloodline that arrived was precious, and their requirements for bearing children were understandable. However, for Chu Liang and others who wanted to proceed to the next level, this posed a considerable difficulty.

"Brother, that’s a bit too demanding," said Immortal Qi Jing, spreading his hands, "You ask these strong lads here, and it’s still reasonable. But how could this old man possibly manage?"

He gestured towards Uncle Yin, who had nearly died outside and had just passed through the Sword Control Gate, looking truly frail.

But upon hearing Immortal Qi Jing’s words, Uncle Yin still puffed up his chest and declared firmly, "Who says I can’t?!"

Is that right?

Men fear being incapable until death, don’t they?

Seeing Uncle Yin’s posture, even if there came a day when he was at his last breath, if someone were to ask if he could still do it, he would muster his last breath to prop himself up.

"We’re not having an easy time here!" the village head lamented, "Not to conceal from you, I think this old brother is not much older than me, and here I am, still striving day and night..."

"Didn’t a few robust young fellows stay behind?" Immortal Qi Jing pointed to some of the other challengers and said, "We are in a hurry. Please let us go first."

"I can’t do that," the village head said, shaking his head resolutely. "Rules are rules. If you don’t agree, don’t plan on leaving. I see your cultivation is supreme. Perhaps all of us together aren’t your match, but I am the only one who knows the way to the next challenge. If you don’t stay, I won’t tell you the way."

"Hey..." Immortal Qi Jing saw that the old man was stubborn and was about to employ some measures. With his mastery of Brahman Sanskrit, it wouldn’t be hard to have the village head speak. However, that would certainly lead to conflict.

Chu Liang hurriedly waved his hands, saying, "Let’s step aside for a word."

Dragging the village head aside, he took out a Spirit Plant and asked, "Village head, what is this?"

"Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure," the village head scoffed. "What we least lack here is spiritual energy. You can find these in any mountaintop — take as much as you like."

"Is that so..." Chu Liang smiled awkwardly. His attempt at bribery having failed, he thought for a moment and then pulled out another item, asking, "What about this?"

This time he pulled out a book. The village head took it and his eyes widened: "Huh?"

"Shush..." Chu Liang raised a finger to his lips and whispered, "Let’s keep it quiet. I have many more like this. If you tell us the way out, I’ll leave them all with you."

This book was one of the albums he had purchased for his master while outside.

This time, when he was out, he had bought several sets of rare albums for Empress Feng, many of which were forbidden items in Yu Dynasty Land and could only be obtained beyond the Nine States. He hadn’t yet had a chance to deliver them to her, but here they were proving useful.

The old village head indeed showed a troubled expression, looking quite conflicted.

"Consider this, with these items, wouldn’t our village’s birth rate possibly increase significantly?" Chu Liang earnestly persuaded: "I tell you, these items are not easy to come by outside. If you don’t want them, I might just keep them for myself."

"Alright, alright!" the village head gritted his teeth, "I’ll take you there!"

Jiang Yuebai, watching the suddenly cooperative village head, asked Chu Liang curiously, "What did you give him to change his mind so quickly?"

"He-he, just catering to his interests," Chu Liang said with a grin."Do you want to see?"

"What is it?" Jiang Yuebai blinked her eyes, driven by curiosity and reached out her hand.

Chu Liang then pulled out an album and handed it to her. At that moment, a loud thud was heard.

Thump—

The village head was leading the way when he suddenly saw Chu Liang’s figure drawing an arc in the air and flying out to crash against a distant mountain.

The old man shook his head, "This Young Hero is indeed impatient."

Uncle Yin also smirked wryly, "Young folk, always in a rush, it’s inevitable."

He turned his head, then said to Immortal Qi Jing: "The map for the next part is already recorded, the second challenge of the Sword Domain Heavenly Palace is the Sword Bearing Pass."

"Sword Bearing Pass?"

"In the second barrier, we will enter a land filled with treasure swords. The Flying Swords above will sequentially shoot at the challengers, all wielding Heaven Lifting Swords with immense power. Challengers must not only dodge these sword attacks but also catch the Flying Swords with their hands to pass the challenge."

"That is what is meant by bearing the sword."