It was hard to imagine that that grotesque, scaly creature by the river was actually this refined and imposing swordsman standing before him now. Li Yanchu’s gaze was sharp as a saber as he said, “Your body reeks of blood and death, surrounded by restless grievances, and you call that the pursuit of a higher realm?” Back at Wangjiang Pavilion, Li Yanchu’s Qi Sight hadn’t seen through Long Hai. But tonight by the river, when Long Hai revealed his true form as a half-man, half-dragon, the aura he had hidden was now impossible to suppress. Long Hai’s eyes were equally cold and piercing. He spoke in a frosty tone, “No need for more words, let’s fight!” He suddenly drew the elegant Xia sword at his waist, and the flash of the sword lit up the three faces in the dark. Long Hai raised his sword before his chest. A wave of sword qi exploded forth into the rainy night, slicing the falling rain clean in half! The Sword Challenge Form! The moment he struck, he unleashed his deadliest move. While the Qian sword embodied slaughter and dominance, the Xia sword emphasized nobility and refinement. Long Hai wielded the Xia sword with flawless grace. He knew full well how powerful this young Daoist was, so he held nothing back. His very first strike was his strongest. Li Yanchu’s eyes darkened. He infused his inner force into the Jiaoslayer and slashed forward. His saber style was all about domination and killing intent, suited both for duels in the jianghu and killing on the battlefield. Sword qi and saber force clashed in midair. A deafening explosion tore through the night. A wave of invisible force rippled outward, and the surrounding trees were all cleaved in half! Wen Jin stared blankly at her own blood-soaked waist. Just now, the residual force from the clash of sword qi and saber force had sliced through nearly half of her body. She suddenly realized that Long Hai was far stronger than she had ever imagined. But what was even more terrifying was that this young Daoist was far stronger than Long Hai! Wen Jin... was dead. This woman, who had suffered a tragic life and fallen into the Demonic Dao, had died in a moment that felt almost absurd. She felt a strange sense of peace. “My whole life... really was a joke...” Long Hai stood dazed for a moment. The Xia sword in his hand had completely shattered, and only the hilt remained. The sleeve on his arm had been shredded by the saber force, and his flesh was torn open with blood streaming down. A powerful, scorching inner force was now ravaging his body from the inside. Such a terrifying saber technique actually existed in this world?! He lost focus for an instant, but then his gaze sharpened with renewed resolve. Jianghu martial arts were merely minor tricks, after all. Long Hai drew in a deep breath, and his body began to transform! Hard and dark scales began to appear on his face, arms, and legs. In the blink of an eye, the elegant swordsman once clad in a fine robe with a Xia sword at his side had become a hideous, sinister creature: a half-human, half-dragon! “ROAR!!” Long Hai let out a thunderous roar, his might surging like a tidal wave. Li Yanchu had always harbored a bit of a romanticized view of the jianghu. He lived a life of chivalry, upholding justice, and roaming the land with sword in hand. But here in Kingdom of Qian, the reality was clear. Most martial fighters stood no chance against demons, ghosts, and heretical cultivators, and were always at a disadvantage. Yet Li Yanchu still longed for that world of flashing sabers and clashing swords, of swift vengeance and honor repaid with blood. He shook his head slightly and felt... at peace. After all, this was a world that truly did contain Buddhist and Daoist cultivators, demons, monsters, and ghosts. “The jianghu of the Kingdom of Qian... is rather dull, isn’t it?” As he watched Long Hai’s aura soar higher and higher, demonic qi surged skyward, as if some ancient, terrifying power within him was awakening. Even the ground beneath their feet began to tremble. Li Yanchu channeled the full force of his Six Yang Force into the Jiaoslayer and brought it crashing down! A deep chasm split open in the earth. The scorching saber qi carved a searing red arc through the night sky, and Long Hai’s monstrous form was instantly engulfed by the crimson saber light. The source of this content ɪs novel•fire.net “NO—!” Long Hai howled in disbelief. And in the next moment, this towering, half-dragon creature wreathed in demonic qi was completely erased into the rain-drenched darkness, as if he had never existed at all. Li Yanchu tapped his fingers lightly on the saber of the Jiaoslayer, and a crisp, ringing tone echoed, like the cry of a dragon. By Wangjiang Pavilion, the Celestial Master from Mount Longhu stood quietly. His presence alone was enough to suppress the countless prying eyes hidden in the shadows. No one dared make a move as he gently moved his fingers in a calculation gesture. A faint smile appeared on his weathered face. “The younger generation is truly fearsome.” The fate of Li Yanchu was already veiled by the Sun Veil, making him impossible to divine. What the old Daoist had been calculating was the fate of Long Hai and his group. “Gufeng... go ahead and count this debt against me,” the old man muttered to himself, unable to hide the amusement at the corner of his lips. Clearly, he knew this so-called “Heavenly King” of the Bare Body Sect. He had remained stationed in Wei City to prevent chaos from erupting, and had quietly eradicated a number of heretical demons and dark cultivators in secret. He had long since become a thorn in the side and a dagger in the flesh for the Demonic Dao. Now that so many of the Bare Body Sect’s experts had perished in Wei City, most would naturally believe it was the doing of this Celestial Master. No one would suspect that a young Daoist had the strength to single-handedly wipe out an entire branch of the Bare Body Sect. This was something the old Daoist understood very clearly. Still, he was more than happy to take the blame. His gaze drifted toward the distance, a complicated look flickering in his eyes. “Xuancheng, your disciple is quite something.” The next day, after completing his breathing and meditation exercises, Li Yanchu remained in the Daoist temple to begin crafting talismans. He had learned a wide array of disciplines. He knew a bit of talismans, alchemy, formations, artifact forging, and he even had some knowledge of tantric sex [1]techniques and Daoist sexual practices[2]. By now, his cultivation had stepped firmly into the second realm, and the spirit qi within his dantian had grown increasingly robust. His talisman-crafting skills had also advanced significantly. Sitting upright at the desk, Li Yanchu focused intently, holding a brush dipped in a mixture of cinnabar and rooster blood. As his mind centered, he began to draw. And with the final stroke completed, a Water-Repelling Talisman was born. The yellow talisman paper faintly radiated a sense of spiritual resonance. An hour later, a pile of talismans had formed before him. He casually pinched a Water-Repelling Talisman between two fingers, and with a surge of qi from his palm, the water from a nearby bucket rose toward him. Without activating any Qi Shield and solely by relying on the Water-Repelling Talisman, the hovering sphere of water instantly dispersed and scattered away. “Interesting.” Li Yanchu thought of how he’d been drenched in the rain the night before. If he’d had this talisman on him, he wouldn’t have gotten wet at all. He tossed the talisman back into the bucket of water. After a while, he fished it out and found that this ordinary yellow talisman was still completely dry, with no sign of having been soaked. For avoiding rain, a standard Water-Repelling Talisman was more than enough. Although the talisman would lose its power once its spirit qi faded, it didn’t matter, because Li Yanchu could mass-produce them. These were yellow talismans drawn using his own cultivation, and he could make them in large quantities, which was enough for him to use freely. And more importantly, in extreme circumstances, he could enhance them. After finishing the Water-Repelling Talismans, Li Yanchu began crafting another type, the Plague-Dispelling Talismans. These were used to ward off plagues, poisons, and Gu[3]curses. “Enhance!” Li Yanchu mimicked the familiar sound of the Great Dao, and proceeded to enhance a Water-Repelling Talisman and a Plague-Dispelling Talisman. He then tucked both into his robes for use. After that, Li Yanchu didn’t continue drawing more talismans. Instead, he opened the technique chapter of the Yellow Court Classic, browsing through to select a new spell or divine technique suited to himself. By now, he had already mastered Qi Sight, Deity Summoning Art, Immobilization Spell, Art of Pursuit, Telekinetic Retrieval, and Sun Veil. It was time to learn a new Daoist technique. 1. Tantric sex refers to a range of practices in Hindu and Buddhist tantra that utilize sexual activity in a ritual or yogic context. Tantric sex is associated with antinomian elements such as the consumption of alcohol, and the offerings of substances like meat to deities. ☜ 2. This refers to the ways Daoists may practice sexual activity. These practices are also known as "joining energy" or "the joining of the essences". Practitioners believe that by performing these sexual arts, one can stay in good health, and attain longevity or spiritual advancement. ☜ 3. Gu was a venom-based poison associated with cultures of south China, particularly Nanyue. The traditional preparation of gu poison involved sealing several venomous creatures (e.g., centipede, snake, scorpion) inside a closed container, where they devoured one another and allegedly concentrated their toxins into a single survivor, whose body would be fed upon by larvae until consumed. The last surviving larva held the complex poison. Gu was used in black magic practices such as manipulating sexual partners, creating malignant diseases, and causing death. According to Chinese folklore, a gu spirit could transform into various animals, typically a worm, caterpillar, snake, frog, dog, or pig. ☜