The Blade-Wielding Legend
Chapter 57 Shangyi Village

Chapter 57: Chapter 57 Shangyi Village

Compared to the Evil Wolf, the leopard’s speed was more than just a notch faster.

Moreover, the two leopards had a remarkable understanding. One on the left, the other on the right, constantly changing positions, making it difficult to predict their line of attack.

Whoosh!

Li Yan only saw a blur in front of him.

Two gusts of foul wind, one after the other, were already pouncing.

What a beast!

Li Yan was also startled, his pores bursting open.

The leopard’s movements were so fast that he could not clearly see the weak points on its neck and belly.

To recklessly wield his knife, even if he hit, once the fierce beast got close, a swipe of its claws could disembowel him.

But he couldn’t avoid it either, for behind him stood Wang Daoxuan.

Feeling the direction of the foul wind, Li Yan bent his body backward, his spine like a mighty dragon, suddenly tensing up, then with a forceful push from his right leg in mid-air, he performed a Kui Star Inverted Kick.

Kui Star is the god in charge of literary fortune, often depicted in statues standing on one foot atop a giant turtle, symbolizing exclusive preeminence.

Among the ten major sequences of Red Fist, there is one that mimics the Divine Statue of Kui Star kicking.

Li Yan’s Kui Star Inverted Kick was performed by turning his whole body around, similar to a soccer player performing an inverted hook, but the force was from the bottom up.

At the same time, his Hidden Energy surged.

Bang!

A loud noise was heard as Li Yan felt his right leg shake, as if he had kicked a rubber tire. The leopard also received a blow to the chest and flew seven or eight meters away, crashing onto the rocky mountain.

However, with that, Li Yan also lost his balance and fell to the ground.

At the same time, the other leopard was already pouncing.

"Go to hell!"

Just as Li Yan was about to roll over and dodge, he heard a furious roar nearby.

It turned out that Sha Lifei had lost his temper.

Because of the Three Talents Demon Suppression Coin, these spiritually acute leopards only saw Li Yan as a major enemy and attacked him together, neglecting Sha Lifei standing next to them.

This is the limitation of wild beasts.

Even with their spirituality, their subconscious mind still followed the habits of the mountains.

When facing multiple prey, despite their fearsome presence causing others to scatter and flee, allowing them to isolate and defeat each one, humans reacted differently.

The leopard focused only on attacking Li Yan, leaving an opening for Sha Lifei.

Sha Lifei closed in, and at the same time, held a knife backwards on his arm, and rammed into the leopard from the side.

Being tall and strong, with bulging muscles, he sent the leopard flying.

Simultaneously, the leopard’s belly was pierced, leaving a bloody hole.

"Roar!"

The leopard was fierce. It rolled on the ground, then sprung back up, ignoring the blood pouring from its belly, its fangs bared ferociously, roaring at the group.

Rustle, rustle...

The other leopard, struck on the hillside, with dirt and stones rolling down around it, also struggled to its feet. However, blood filled its mouth, and it swayed, barely able to stand.

It turned out that Li Yan’s blow had used Hidden Energy, which, though causing no external injuries, had fractured the leopard’s ribcage and caused internal bleeding.

Eventually, both leopards realized the danger. Despite being wounded, they relied on their robust vitality, endured the severe pain, and darted into the forest, disappearing in a blink.

"No need to chase, the main task is urgent!"

Ignoring them, Li Yan quickly turned his attention to the center of the forest.

For wild animals in the wilderness, such severe injuries were as good as dead, and if he remembered correctly, he had also heard the roar of a tiger earlier.

He was concerned that this commotion might disturb the treasure.

Just then, the spiritual light in the forest suddenly disappeared.

"We’re in luck!"

Zhao Lvzi’s joyful voice came at the same time.

The three burst with excitement and rushed into the forest.

Soon, they found Zhao Lvzi.

Although the young man had a smile on his face, he was pale and sitting on the ground, surrounded by wooden sticks and red ropes, clearly indicating that acquiring the treasure was no easy task.

Their attention, however, was drawn to the jujube tree struck by Divine Thunder.

This jujube tree, about the height of a building, was rather ordinary, but the top part was scorched black, clearly burned by the Thunder Fire.

The entire canopy was gone, leaving a bare patch, and cracks were visible, yet the tree’s vitality had not dissipated. Around it grew many branches, full of greenery.

That section of iron-clad rope was tied above it.

"Don’t come closer yet."

Upon seeing Sha Lifei wanting to step over the jujube wood and red rope on the ground, Zhao Lvzi quickly stopped him and then called for a long saw. It took quite an effort to saw it off.

Boom!

Accompanied by a loud noise, the jujube wood collapsed.

Zhao Lvzi then wiped the sweat from his forehead and chuckled, "With this, the Heavenly Thunder Gang Qi inside is preserved. Even if we go to Chang’an, it will fetch a good price. It’s a pity it withstood only one Heavenly Thunder."

Wang Daoxuan asked curiously, "What’s the significance of that?"

Zhao Lvzi was taken aback, "Daoist, you didn’t know?"

Wang Daoxuan gave a wry smile, "This poor Daoist only has magic artifacts made from ordinary peach wood; I’ve never seen such high-class treasures."

Zhao Lvzi said in jest, "The Daoist jests."

Zhao Lvzi felt a bit embarrassed and quickly explained, "In crafting magic artifacts, maple is regarded as the ’Heaven’ and jujube heartwood as the ’Earth’. Maple represents the essence of all woods while jujube is the messenger among woods, also known as the two woods of Heaven and Earth."

"Peach wood has a stronger Evil Exorcism power, but its soft texture makes it difficult to withstand Heavenly Thunder and survive. Therefore, the materials for superior magic artifacts are mostly Thunderstruck jujube wood."

"Common Thunderstruck jujube wood is not rare, but only those that can withstand Heavenly Thunder and completely retain that Gang Qi have the chance to become a Heavenly Spirit Earth Treasure."

"It’s somewhat like an elf’s cultivation; after turning into a Heavenly Spirit Earth Treasure, it will eventually face the second Heavenly Thunder. If it withstands it and absorbs that Thunder Astral, the crafted magic artifact will be even more powerful."

"I’ve only heard my father mention that the Taixuan Orthodox Sect’s Divine Thunder Seal and Taixuan Demon Exorcising Sword were made from jujube wood that withstood six Heavenly Thunders, but such things are extremely rare and difficult to obtain without great luck."

Saying this, he looked at the Thunderstruck jujube wood on the ground and shook his head, "My father found this piece of Thunderstruck Wood years ago and saw its extraordinary nature, thinking to wait a few more years to see if it could withstand a second Heavenly Thunder."

"Unfortunately, after waiting all these years, there was no opportunity. Manager Wan at the other end had accepted a big job and wanted this material, so we harvested it ahead of time."

"Let’s get to work, folks. The roots of this tree are also valuable. Though it lacks the Heavenly Thunder Gang Qi, it can still be carved into a demonic-suppressing ornament, and the money from selling it can be split among us."

"Zhao brother is generous!"

Hearing about the money, Sha Lifei immediately perked up.

Everyone picked up hoes, and after a lot of hard work, they managed to extract the roots and cut some rolling logs to pad and drag them out.

Leaving Leopard Gully, they just plopped it into the small river.

This saved them a lot of effort as they used ropes to pull it out.

By the time they were out of Yetai Mountain, a hint of dawn graced the horizon.

Sha Lifei ran back to Chunhua County, called the prearranged laborers, and hurriedly brought a bullock cart to load the Thunderstruck Wood. Zhao Lvzi covered it with a red cloth and bound it with red ropes; only then was everything considered done.

By the.time they returned to Xianyang City, it was already evening.

Manager Wan, having received the news, had already personally arrived with several disciples.

They did not enter the city but went to a nearby village of Xianyang City.

As for Zhao Lvzi, he clasped his hands and bid farewell.

He adhered to his family’s teaching, never entering others’ homes. His home was located in the nearby Mountain God Temple, where he usually guarded the temple and the incense offerings, spending most of his time in the wilderness.

Li Yan noted the address and agreed to meet him for a drink another day before leaving with Manager Wan and his group.

The village they visited was called Shangyi Village, Manager Wan’s hometown. Originally a village of ancient craftsmen, even now every household earns a living as carpenters.

"Wow, what a treasure!"

The arrival of the Thunderstruck Wood attracted many onlookers in the village.

Manager Wan was all smiles, cupping his hands towards the crowd, "Folks, we’re short on time, and several skilled hands from our village need to lend a hand. If we can finish before the winter solstice, I’ll make sure everyone has a prosperous year ahead!"

"Agreed!"

Manager Wan clearly held a high status in the village, and the villagers unanimously agreed.

Because of the carpentry work, the yards in the village were quite large, especially Manager Wan’s, where many craftsmen were busily at work amidst clouds of sawdust and the constant chiseling sound.

In the corner of the yard, several large drum frames were already arranged.

Sha Lifei, always quick to speak, eagerly asked, "Elder Wan, this is quite a setup; what big job have you taken on?"

Manager Wan didn’t hide it, inviting the three inside a room before smiling, "The Doumu Institute from Taibai Mansion is holding a grand ritual at the winter solstice and needs a complete set of ritual music drums. If this old man handles this well, my disciples need not worry about their livelihood thereafter."

"Congratulations!"

The three quickly clasped their hands and expressed their joy.

No wonder Manager Wan was taking this so seriously—it was a job from the Taixuan Orthodox Sect.

Although the Taixuan Orthodox Sect is the national orthodox, it is vast and not dominated by any single faction; there are various factions within, mainly worshipping different Divine spirits.

Their sects are divided according to "institutes".

For example, the Doumu Institute mainly worships the various Heavenly Star Gods.

Below that, "Mansions" such as Taibai Mansion are under the jurisdiction of the Doumu Institute, located on Taibai Mountain, connected to Zhongnan Mountain, and one of the thirty-six lesser Grotto Heavens, holding a significant status.

"It is nothing but luck,"

Manager Wan politely dismissed before his expression turned serious, "Everyone, Xianyang City is utterly in chaos right now. You all should settle down here; do not enter the city for the time being."

Li Yan frowned, "What happened?"

Manager Wan sighed and shook his head, "Zheng Xianhuai, one of the Eight Great Guardians, has died; his entire family, none spared."

"There’s already been violence... rules are out the window..."