In the blink of an eye, Su Yi did not hesitate for even a second, choosing the most oppressive close-range sword strike!
At this life-or-death moment, Zhuge Hong's pupils shrank to pinpricks, his survival instinct overwhelming everything else! He frantically channeled his life-saving spiritual energy, causing a dense, ancient brownish-yellow glow to burst from his chest!
“Buzz—”
A spiritual shell, covered in arcane patterns and looking as solid as a real tortoise shell, instantly materialized, shielding his whole body tightly behind it!
This Black Tortoise spiritual shell was clearly a high-grade defensive spiritual treasure. As light flowed across it, it exuded an indestructible, heavy aura.
“Clang—!!!”
Su Yi's heavy, overwhelming sword chop crashed violently onto the Black Tortoise spiritual shell!
A deafening metallic clash resonated across the mountain peak!
Sparks flew everywhere as a violent shockwave of spiritual energy exploded outward from the point of impact, whipping the clothes of the crowd below. Those with weaker cultivation were even forced back several steps.
Su Yi felt an extremely powerful recoil travel back up through his blade, sending a burst of numbness down his entire arm! He felt a chill of astonishment in his heart: 'What a powerful defensive spiritual treasure!'
Under the protection of the Black Tortoise spiritual shell, Zhuge Hong wasn't directly wounded by the sword edge, but the terrifying impact that passed through the treasure hit his chest like an invisible sledgehammer!
“Pfft!”
He spat out a mouthful of blood and flew backward off the ground like a broken puppet. Accompanied by a prolonged scream, he flew straight off the sword stage, tumbling down toward the mountainside below!
Murong Yu, Murong Yue, and even Qiu Ning simply watched in silence in the direction where Zhuge Hong fell. Not a single person stepped forward to rescue him.
Murong Yu's crimson eyes remained indifferent, without a ripple of emotion in her heart.
She had long disliked this useless Young Master who kept pestering her younger sister. Besides, falling down to the mountainside was hardly a fatal threat to a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
If Zhuge Hong could actually die from a fall of this height, then for such a piece of trash to die, Murong Yu would just consider it her bad luck to have known him.
“What a strong defensive spiritual treasure.” Su Yi shook his numb right hand, looking at the glowing Black Tortoise spiritual shell falling along with Zhuge Hong, secretly astonished. The defense of this spiritual treasure far exceeded his expectations.
“Young Manor Lord Su, are you all right?” Behind him came Murong Yu's cool voice, carrying a faint, barely perceptible trace of concern.
She was not one to miss what was important; she understood full well why Ancient Sword Mountain had come this time!
However, before Su Yi could answer, a white figure swept in like the wind, wrapping her arms around his waist from behind!
Ming Xi pressed her cheek against Su Yi's back, her golden eyes glaring discontentedly at Murong Yu as she spoke first:
“How could he possibly be all right? You people from Ancient Sword Mountain let your Young Master run wild! And you still ask if he's all right?”
Taken aback by Ming Xi's sudden move, even someone as cool and detached as Murong Yu couldn't help a flicker of disbelief crossing her eyes.
'The Young Pavilion Master of Perching Phoenix Pavilion and the Young Manor Lord of Divine Might Manor... are their relations already so intimate that they can do this in public?'
“You shameless girl! How do you have the nerve to lecture others?! Let go of my Senior Brother!” Seeing this, Gongsun Lin rushed forward in three quick steps, reaching out to tear Ming Xi's arms away from Su Yi's waist, trying to peel the brazen woman off him.
Meanwhile, Su Yi seemed still immersed in the astonishing defense of that Black Tortoise spiritual shell. His eyes remained fixed on the direction where the treasure fell, his brow slightly furrowed.
...
Meanwhile, at the foot of the mountain, the sword intent waterfall continued its thunderous roar.
“Woah! That Junior Sister from Divine Might Manor is way too strong, isn't she?”
“Yeah! She's already endured over half an hour in the sword intent waterfall! That record has surpassed the one Senior Sister Murong Yu set back then, right?”
“Tsk tsk, truly terrifyingly formidable...”
Atop a giant boulder, Tantai Yunzhi, sitting cross-legged, slowly opened her eyes.
The sword astral energy surrounding her swirled like tangible ice-blue currents, completely shredding and absorbing the sharp sword intent blasting toward her.
Phantom shadows of swords faintly flickered within her usually limpid eyes.
'The sword intent waterfall here is indeed the best place to hone sword intent and condense a sword heart.' Realization dawned in her heart; she felt that her own sword intent had become even more condensed and pure after this tempering.
With a slight shift in thought, she felt that with her current level of sword realm, she should now have the ability to challenge, and even defeat, the phantom of sword intent that Murong Yue had left behind in that longsword.
However, just as she was preparing to rise and leave—
“Boom!!”
A huge tortoise shell glowing with brownish-yellow spiritual light dropped from the sky like a meteor with a human figure wrapped inside, smashing heavily onto the nearby ground and kicking up a cloud of dust.
This sudden turn of events immediately drew the eyes of all the Ancient Sword Mountain disciples cultivating around the waterfall.
As the dust settled slightly, everyone caught sight of the figure struggling out from behind the tortoise shell—his Taoist robes torn, blood trickling from his mouth, looking thoroughly disheveled—and couldn't help letting out exclamations:
“Is... is that Senior Brother Zhuge?!”
“The Young Master?! How did he fall from up there?!”
“Who knocked him down?!”
A flurry of hushed chatter broke out, filled with shock and disbelief.
Tantai Yunzhi's cool gaze also landed on him.
'The Young Master of Ancient Sword Mountain?' she mused internally.
Thinking how she had just borrowed Ancient Sword Mountain's sword intent waterfall to cultivate, which counted as owing them a favor, she flipped her fair hand and took out a bottle of high-quality healing pills upon seeing that he seemed injured. Supporting it with a gentle strand of spiritual energy, she sent it over through the air:
“You are injured. Take this.”
Zhuge Hong, dizzy and disoriented from the impact of the fall, looked up at her voice and happened to see that otherworldly, elegant figure standing alone in the dust.
Tantai Yunzhi's peerless, exquisite face—especially those crystal-clear ice-blue eyes that seemed untouched by dust—instantly captivated him, making him forget most of the pain wracking his body.
“Young Master! Thank goodness! You're all right!” At that moment, his lackeys came scrambling down the mountain path. Seeing that Zhuge Hong was disheveled but seemingly unharmed, they wept with joy and swarmed around him.
Jolted out of his trance by his lackeys' shouts, Zhuge Hong felt he had lost face before such a stunning beauty, and a surge of anger rose in his heart.
“What could possibly happen to me?! That Su Yi was injured by the recoil of my spiritual treasure; he might not be doing any better than I am!”
He then pushed aside the lackey crowding him, forced himself to stand straight, smoothed out his torn Taoist robes, and tried his best to put on a suave demeanor. Holding the bottle of pills, he flashed what he thought was a charming smile at Tantai Yunzhi:
“Fair maiden—”
“Buzz—”
Before he could finish his words, the smile froze on Zhuge Hong's face.
He watched as a terrifying sword intent, far sharper than any within the sword intent waterfall, erupted into tangible form centered right around that stunning woman! His mouth hung open, unable to utter another word.
Before him, Tantai Yunzhi's ice-blue eyes locked onto Zhuge Hong. All indifference was gone from them, replaced only by a piercing, bone-chilling cold glint.
At a total loss, Zhuge Hong felt a surge of chill rush straight from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head.
Tantai Yunzhi took a step forward, ignoring the lackeys who had collapsed in terror to the ground. Her voice sounded like grinding iron as she hurled each word at Zhuge Hong:
“Who did you say you injured?!”
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