The Blade-Wielding Legend
Chapter 239 - 167 Maitreya Appears, The Demon-slaying Sword at Noon and Midnight_2

Chapter 239: Chapter 167 Maitreya Appears, The Demon-slaying Sword at Noon and Midnight_2

Shopkeeper Wu hurriedly said, "I have already enquired about this matter and truly, Hall Master Bai is not to blame."

"Before this, he accidentally obtained some clues that the traitor Zhao Changsheng’s men were hiding in Guodu Town, prompting him to lure a few Mystical Sect magicians there, and it turned out to indeed be Zhao Changsheng’s secret base."

"No one knows what this traitor wants to do; we must be careful."

"Moreover, because of the Drum King competition, many experts have come to the city. Acting rashly would only result in being caught in one fell swoop."

"Oh."

Upon hearing this, Long Sanjiu’s expression remained unchanged as he spoke indifferently, "Given the situation, there is room for understanding. How about Shopkeeper Wu goes into the city and informs Bai Ruoxu to meet me outside the city tonight? How does that sound?"

Shopkeeper Wu’s heart skipped a beat as he clasped his hands and said, "I will follow Brother Long’s instructions."

He knew this was a test...

...

"People from the Law Enforcement Hall have returned?"

As he just returned to the small courtyard, Sha Lifei hurried up to inquire.

Li Yan was startled, "Aren’t you supposed to be at home tinkering with those things? How come you’re so well-informed?"

Sha Lifei’s face turned awkward as he rubbed his head, "Well, since you wouldn’t let me buy gunpowder in the black market, I went to find someone to buy ’Fireworks Puppets’, and just happened to hear about it."

Li Yan couldn’t help but laugh dumbfoundedly, "It seems Uncle Sha is quite frustrated."

"Fireworks Puppets," a craft passed down from the Song Dynasty, is a "Washi Craft" that integrates fireworks, paper cutting, carving, painting, puppets, and drama.

These contain quite an amount of gunpowder.

Although they are somewhat expensive, with the Lantern Festival approaching, purchasing some "Fireworks Puppets" wouldn’t draw attention.

"Just be a bit careful."

Li Yan did not press further and called upon Wang Daoxuan, who happened to be stepping outside, to return to the house and explain the whole situation.

Others might not need to know, but these two comrades, who had been through life and death together, must be aware to prevent future trouble.

"So that’s what happened..."

Sha Lifei suddenly realized and said, "No wonder you’re fighting over the position of the Xianyang Divine Fist Association leader while your father went to Chang’an for work."

"Coward, that Zhao Changsheng is a bit sinister. It gives me the creeps just hearing about him, Brother Yan; you better not do anything foolish."

"Of course."

Li Yan nodded and said, "Such a person gives even the Taixuan Orthodox Sect a headache, let alone me. Even a Rejuvenator would probably find it difficult to get close."

Wang Daoxuan stroked his beard and said, "Now that his roots have been exposed, the court will surely pay attention and won’t allow him to continue wandering freely."

"What worries me is something else. With the Law Enforcement Hall capturing the Tomb Snake, they must be trying to lure out Maitreya’s accomplices; these days are likely unsafe."

"Hmm."

Li Yan pondered and said, "Daoist is right; we should be more cautious these next few days. It’s best not to approach Guangde Square..."

As he was speaking, his brows suddenly furrowed as he looked outside.

At the same time, a knocking sound came from the door.

After leaving the room, Sha Lifei opened the door and immediately smiled, "Sister Hong, I was just saying we should visit you."

The visitor was none other than the Crimson Yaksha.

And accompanying her was the proprietor Feng Feiyan.

"Happy New Year to you all."

The Crimson Yaksha greeted them with a hearty smile, then shook her head, "Sorry, I’ve been busy practicing the secret techniques passed down from my sect and only now have I managed to come and give New Year greetings."

"Sister Hong, you’re too polite. We should have been the ones to visit."

Li Yan returned the pleasantries and then asked with interest, "Sister Hong, have you mastered it? Would you allow us the pleasure of witnessing it?"

He was referring to the Crimson Yaksha’s Demon-slaying Sword.

During the previous dispute with the Fire Bear Gang, they had fought over this Magic Artifact. Once Crimson Yaksha reclaimed it, she relentlessly practiced day and night, and Li Yan was curious about the power of this weapon.

"Of course."

The Crimson Yaksha, unpretentious, pulled out her long sword from behind her.

The Demon-slaying Sword was not small in size; its blade was as wide as a palm, half a foot longer than ordinary precious swords, but it seemed just right in the hands of the tall and formidable Crimson Yaksha.

Atop the sword hilt was a small, round Tai Chi Diagram, which looked to run through both ends, more than mere decoration.

’Zi’ represents the most Yin time of the day, and ’Wu’ the most Yang.

Thus, ’Zi Wu’ also embodies the concept of Yin and Yang.

"There are two supreme techniques in my sect’s Demon-slaying Sword."

With the precious sword in hand, the Crimson Yaksha’s aura dramatically changed, and her eyes filled with a lethal intent as she spoke gravely, "The first is the Demon-slaying with Divine Astral Qi!"

As she spoke, she held the sword in her right hand, formed a seal with her left, stepped in the pattern of the Astral Step, and brandished her long sword.

Whoosh~

The sword light flickered like lightning, and a wild wind suddenly rose around.

The accumulated snow and fallen leaves were swept up together, creating a captivating scene.

"Excellent!"

Li Yan’s eyes lit up when he saw it.

He could smell from the treasure sword in Crimson Yaksha’s hand the scorching Gang Qi rising, even carrying a whiff of the Incense Fire God’s Astral.

The accumulating snow and leaves swirling around were simply the result of the flow of Gang Qi and had no real power.

But the treasure sword, combined with its unique swordsmanship, had already vaguely formed a certain "momentum," similar to his Three Talents Demon Suppression Coin enhancement, but clearly with greater power.

The Yin beings and evil demons would likely scatter with a single strike.

Crimson Yaksha twirled her sword, ran her finger along the blade, emitting a buzzing sound, "This is the Yang Sword, infused with Gang Qi. Ordinary demons and zombies can be suppressed and killed with a single stroke!"

"Of course, the real killing move is the Yin Sword!"

With that, she flung her arm, pointing the sword towards the southern sky.

Clang!

The sound of a dragon’s roar echoed.

But it was seen that a section in the middle of the Child and Mother Sword turned into a small sword that whistled out, accompanied by a cold sword light, and with a "pfft" embedded itself into a stone bench in the courtyard.

It was somewhat like a rope dart, but not so simple.

The sword blade gathered Yin Evil Qi, chilling to the core.

"The Yin Sword can sever souls!"

Crimson Yaksha said and then with a sudden tug—

Buzz buzz buzz!

The Tai Chi Diagram on the sword hilt spun rapidly, revealing a clever mechanism, with a thin wire connected to the small sword, directly retracting it with a clang as it sheathed.

"What a treasure!"

Li Yan couldn’t help but exclaim.

The Yang Sword excelled in slaying demons, and the Yin Sword was proficient in destroying souls with its Yin Sha.

Truly mastered, it was indeed a formidable demon-slaying weapon.

Not only that, this sword was a close-combat Magic Artifact, and the mechanism inside was exceedingly ingenious; he couldn’t even see how it operated.

The creation of this treasure sword must have been exceedingly costly.

No wonder it could become a hereditary Magic Artifact of demon hunters.

Sha Lifei was also wide-eyed, flattering, "Sister Hong, amazing! Could this be the legendary flying sword?"

Crimson Yaksha lost her smile, "The flying sword is not like this."

Li Yan caught the hint, "Sister Hong, you’ve seen a flying sword?"

Crimson Yaksha sheathed her sword and fell into thought for a moment, then said, "Have you seen pugilistic performers ’swallow swords’ or ’swallow iron pellets’?"

"Of course, I’ve seen that." Li Yan nodded in response.

Such tricks were commonly performed by street entertainers; some were deceiving, using Mechanical Swords and Ancient Colorful Magic to fool the audience, but some were genuine skills.

He had witnessed the real skills both in his past and current life; iron pellets the size of walnuts swallowed down, stuck in the esophagus, and then propelled out two meters high by the sheer power of the chest and diaphragm.

Of course, practicing such skills was an incredible hardship and common in street performance, only enough to scrape a living.

"The real flying sword is somewhat similar..."

A glimmer of reminiscence flashed in Crimson Yaksha’s eyes, "When my master was alive, he took me with him around the pugilistic world; once, we took a job to go to a village in Shu to suppress a Corpse Demon."

"We set up a trap and, taking advantage of the evil creature’s midnight attack, we critically injured it. We didn’t kill it, though, and it escaped into the mountains of Shu..."

"My master and I tracked it down and finally found traces, but the Corpse Demon had gained spirituality and was very cunning."

"When it was about to escape, a Daoist on a distant mountaintop appeared, spitting out iron pellets that transformed into small swords, like a spun steel whip, and the Corpse Demon, along with a large tree behind it, was directly cut in two!"

"After the Daoist killed the demon, he immediately left. My master and I knew we had encountered a hidden master. We searched in the mountains for months without seeing any trace, reluctantly returning to Chang’an..."

"After returning and telling the story, everyone said my master and I had been deluded. Since then, my master became somewhat distracted, often leaving alone for months at a time, until eventually, an accident occurred..."

Listening to her story, everyone exchanged puzzled glances.

"Are there really Sword Immortals?"

Sha Lifei was stunned, his face filled with disbelief.

Li Yan shook his head, "Perhaps it’s some secretive heritage; there are many hidden masters in the world, it’s just that our experience falls short."

As he said this, he was already thinking of one particular group:

Ascenders!

Off to the side, Feng Feiyan was distracted when she noticed the "Puppet triggered by gunpowder" that had been dismantled in the distance, puzzled, she said:

"Eh, the Puppet was fine, why has it been taken apart?"