Stealthily cultivating in the chaotic world of demons and martial artists
Chapter 1110 - 964: Sword Fight

Chapter 1110: Chapter 964: Sword Fight

"I am Fang Xi, greetings to you, Sir..."

Fang Xi thought for a moment, and finally suppressed his killing intent first, expressing his respect with a polite gesture.

Seeing that Peng Xifan, the ’Cold Mountain Swordsman,’ appeared calm and collected, he couldn’t help but suspect that the man must be unaware of Yan Tie’s death at his own hands.

"So it is Mr. Fang."

Peng Xifan indeed did not know of this matter, as it concerned a life-saving benefactor from many years ago, and he was not skilled in divination; he was even unaware that Yan Tie had passed away.

Fang Xi, seeing as such, naturally did not make any special effort to inform him, and after exchanging a few courtesies, his eyebrows suddenly twitched as he looked towards the woods.

"It seems you have a few more guests, Sir. I shall wait over there..."

Peng Xifan glanced over, smiled slightly, and walked directly into the thick forest.

Before long, several figures emerged from another direction.

At the forefront, was a woman with a beautiful countenance and skin as radiant and clear as jade—none other than Lady Yu, Cui Feifei!

Following Cui Feifei were two young swordsmen; one was Zhuo Yifan, known as the ’Golden-Eye Ape,’ and the other was Nangong Bu’er, known as the ’Peach Blossom Divine Sword.’

Upon seeing Fang Xi, the three of them were overjoyed, "Brother Fang is unharmed, truly wonderful! What about the Monster Tiger?"

"Ahem... after a fierce battle, I finally managed to slay the Monster Tiger and the evil cultivators."

Fang Xi answered frankly.

"Brother Fang... no, this junior has always admired the Taoist path and is wholeheartedly devoted to cultivation. I beseech you to take me in as your disciple!"

Cui Feifei, though a woman, was very decisive.

It was she who had persuaded Zhuo Yifan and Nangong Bu’er to return.

Seeing that Fang Xi was safe and sound, she understood that his cultivation was profound and knelt to offer herself as his apprentice.

"That cannot be..."

Fang Xi sidestepped lightly, avoiding the gesture, "We are of the same generation, how could this be appropriate?"

He looked at the two youths next to her; Zhuo Yifan followed suit, wanting to kneel as well, but Nangong Bu’er, despite being tempted, hesitated and did not follow through with the motion to kneel.

"Moreover, my own learning is shallow and insufficient to accept disciples..."

Fang Xi, without a second thought, rejected the offer.

A joke!

In this world, were there not numerous instances where masters were burdened by their disciples? He could not fathom why cultivators would have any need to take on disciples?

Well, within the Demon Path, they are adept at using disciples to shield themselves from calamities, and it is said that there are special secret skills for refining disciples into magic weapons.

Sects that are not concerned with karma widely accept disciples to strengthen their prestige.

As for the authentic mysterious sects? Probably only for the sake of gathering followers to accumulate good deeds... Precisely because of this, they set the bar so high, with extremely stringent requirements for character, temperament, and aptitude.

Seeing Fang Xi’s response, Cui Feifei’s heart turned cold, and she was about to plead earnestly when Fang Xi did not bother with another word, controlling his sword light, soared towards the sky, and disappeared from sight in a blink of an eye...

"Those three young and handsome figures, truly possess the bravery of a knight..."

Peng Xifan, caught in a beam of cold light, followed Fang Xi’s sword light, heading together towards the gathering place of the righteous path sword immortals, and made this joke at the time.

Fang Xi merely smiled without replying.

On the way, he noticed Peng Xifan riding a flying sword, its silver brilliance dazzling, the edge of the sword extremely sharp—it was genuinely a proper flying sword, not an imitation artifact like the Sky Demon Slayer Sword, which also stirred his interest.

Though the Cold Mountain Swordsman also followed an alternative route, it was evident that his sect was quite remarkable to possess a flying sword.

Peng Xifan, noticing Fang Xi’s gaze, couldn’t help feeling secretly proud.

His ’Cold Mountain Sword’ was a treasured possession of his sect, crafted from ten-thousand-year-old cold iron from the sea floor. Starting from his master’s generation, it took nearly three generations of disciples, almost six years’ worth of time, to finally temper it to perfection.

For cultivators, possessing a flying sword was like a martial artist acquiring a divine weapon, enabling their martial prowess to skyrocket by several levels instantaneously.

It was thanks to this ’Cold Mountain Sword’ that Peng Xifan earned the moniker ’Cold Mountain Swordsman’ and gained a formidable reputation among the individual cultivators of the Central Shu area.

His only issue was that he was somewhat older and did not quite fit the image of a young sword immortal.

However, considering the lifespan of cultivators, which easily ran into the hundreds of years, Peng Xifan was definitely considered young.

At least in the world of cultivation, he was still seen as a junior.

"The place where we are gathering is on a plateau near a cliff not too far from here... There are many notable figures, including ’Flying Dragon Sword’ Jian Caifei, Fairy Miao Miao, Monk Long Zen of the Vajra Temple... as well as a few talented individuals from the Fly Thunder Sect and the Mountain-Moving Taoists."

Peng Xifan briefly introduced the situation to Fang Xi.

Upon hearing this, Fang Xi’s mind stirred, "I heard that Shu Mountain and Qing City are the leading orthodox sects in the Central Shu area... I wonder if anyone from there is coming?"

Peng Xifan immediately felt awkward.

Shu Mountain and Qing City were top-tier sects.

Unless there was some old demon planning to destroy the world, or at the very least conducting a blood sacrifice of a city, it would be unlikely to draw their attention.

His own Cold Mountain Temple, similar to the Fly Thunder Sect, the Mountain-Moving Taoists, and the Vajra Temple, could only be considered as second or third-rate, not even part of the orthodox mainstream sects, but rather an alternative path.

"That is, there has been no sign of high disciples from those two great sects..."

"So that’s how it is."

Fang Xi didn’t say much, and before long, several mountain peaks appeared ahead.

Atop a cliff, a huge rock jutted out, surrounded by precipitous cliffs that even skilled Martial World practitioners would find hard to climb.

At this time, however, it had been carved into a platform where a drinking feast was laid out.

A group of people, some sitting on the ground, others singing with their swords aloft... there was a sense of the ancient sages, retreat into nature and poetry.

Fang Xi and Peng Xifan landed their Sword Light and looked around.

These Cultivators were easy to distinguish, each one with an immortal aura and a physique of jade. They were dressed in robes of clouds and mists, some with various colored auras and glows flickering around them.

Any who saw them would have to praise, "What a magnificent group of young Sword Immortals!"

He noticed that the ’Cold Mountain Sword’ Peng Xifan had put away glistened with silver light, not exceeding a foot in length, sharpened at both ends, and without a hilt, exuding a sharpness that almost pained the eyes.

In this realm, the forms of Flying Swords varied widely, ranging from the ’Sky Demon Slayer Sword,’ which didn’t differ much from the swords of the Martial World, to the shuttle-like ’Cold Mountain Sword,’ as well as a Sword Immortal legacy which refined Flying Swords into ’Sword Pills,’ usually kept inside the body, nourished by Magic Power, achieving Sword Heart Clear and Bright, saving the trouble of combining human and sword.

’His Flying Sword doesn’t seem to fully merge with True Qi Mana inch by inch, obviously, his ’unity of man and sword’ Cultivation isn’t perfected; his swordsmanship is likely mediocre...’

Operating a Flying Sword also had many levels.

The most basic was to infuse the Flying Sword with Magic Power, branding it as one’s own, a mere rudimentary application.

More advanced, was to refine the Flying Sword until it became an extension of the body, able to be kept within for nourishment.

But the Sword Immortals of the mysterious sect preferred to refine their Flying Swords into something formless and intangible, fusing it with their own Magic Power, so that any mere exertion of Magic Power would release a Sword Qi imbued with full strength! Man and sword as one, such dueling was incomparably sharp.

"Brother Peng, you’ve finally returned from chasing the Monster Tiger, and who is this?"

Fairy Miao Miao wore a robe of clouds and mist, her demeanor was gentle and graceful.

"This is Mr. Fang Xi... who had personally slain the Monster Tiger earlier."

Peng Xifan introduced.

"So it’s Sir Fang. With Sir’s assistance, our Righteous Path gains a strong ally," Fairy Miao Miao said with a smile.

No sooner had she spoken than ’Fly Dragon Sword’ Jian Caifei sneered.

He saw Fang Xi’s Sword Light impure and erratic and judged him for the poor-quality sword he wielded, and in his heart, he thought less of him.

Nevertheless, considering he deemed himself among the Righteous Path and in front of many peers, he refrained from expressing too much disdain.

On the other hand, a few Cultivators from Fly Thunder Sect already had a sneer of contempt at their lips.

As if to say, such an item also dares to be called a Flying Sword?

Seeing the expressions of everyone, Peng Xifan hurriedly said, "Mr. Fang’s Divine Thunder technique is particularly miraculous at dispelling Demonic Beasts and demons, very sophisticated."

He had some insight and knew that although Fang Xi’s Magic Power came from a lesser-known branch, its foundation was of the Five Elements Great Dao, balanced and harmonious, subtly deemed one of the highest ranks among the lesser paths.

Yet these young Sword Immortals and Swordsmen were too arrogant, and even though a few had discerning eyes, they didn’t speak up at the moment, making the situation somewhat awkward.

Monk Long Zen, appearing to be in his early twenties and dressed in a pale monk’s robe, brought his hands together in prayer, "It’s good that Brother Peng has arrived. The Evil Monarch has just issued us a challenge, setting a duel at Endless Mountain in three days’ time!"

"An upstart clown..."

’Fly Dragon Sword’ Jian Caifei sneered.

Although they were only second or third-tier sects, they still belonged to the higher echelons of the lesser paths with some authentic teachings.

The henchmen gathered by the Evil Monarch, mostly Warlocks of the Martial World, not only had mixed and impure Magic Power but also had strange looks. They relied on one or two vicious techniques to run amok.

In the eyes of Cultivators, they indeed resembled clowns.

"Indeed, this Endless Mountain duel between the forces of good and evil is an excellent opportunity for us to make a name for ourselves," said several other young Swordsmen eagerly, full of dynamism.

"Indeed, the henchmen under the Evil Monarch are a bunch of trash."

Fang Xi’s right hand hidden in his sleeve performed a Taoist calculation, and he divined the origins of the Evil Monarch.

The man was a Martial Arts Master from the Demon Sect of Central Shu, the most gifted newcomer in a hundred years.

Moreover, he had fortunate encounters, being noticed by an old demon of West Kunlun who took him as a disciple and passed on to him the secret skill ’Five Poison God Evil Qi.’

This technique of the Authentic Sky Demon Sect required the absorption of poison from five kinds of poisonous creatures at specific times, in combination with Demon Path techniques, refined into powerful Evil Qi, known as ’Five Poison God Evil Qi.’

This ’Five Poison God Evil Qi’ could erode magical artifacts and the protective Gang Qi of Cultivators, a first-class formidable Evil Qi.

Even those experienced Sword Immortals could be caught off guard and infected.

Once infected, the flesh and the five organs would be corroded by the Evil Qi, leading inevitably to a grim fate, leaving only the soul to seek reincarnation!

As for the old demon who taught the Evil Monarch the ’Five Poison God Evil Qi,’ Fang Xi could only discern that he was from West Kunlun, but digging deeper would touch upon the demon’s fate and alert him to Fang Xi’s probing.

Those from the Demon Path typically had no knowledge of divination, but old demons were an exception.

Quite the contrary, the demons who had managed to survive the continual sieges of the righteous sects were each incredibly skilled.

Especially those old demons who ruled a territory would often use dark magic to bind mountains and rivers or lay hidden Yin Thunder traps, ready to unleash terrible destruction upon encountering danger, causing upheaval for miles around, determined to perish together with their foes.

Fang Xi was speechless at this approach; these were all too adept at holding the world’s creatures hostage, perhaps a shadow cast by the abuse of the Righteous Path.