This time, Nie Jiuchong was not as careless as before. As he raised his blade, his aura underwent a transformation. Sharp and dominant, unparalleled in its supremacy. In an instant, a soaring sense of dominance surged within him. Radiant and peerless, unmatched! Then, with a loud shout, Nie Jiuchong proclaimed, “The blade embodies dominance!” Accompanied by this roar, the peak of Cliffside seemed as if the Blade Emperor had descended, with endless pressure pouring forth from the void, causing even the mountain under Xiao Shun’s feet to tremble slightly in the vast blade intent.
This earth-shattering momentum did not end there but continued to rise fiercely as time passed. In an instant, Xiao Shun felt a flash of light before everything fell silent. The thunderous roar in his ears, the world in his eyes seemed to lose its color. Within his pupils, all that remained was a blade – a resplendent blade bursting with rainbow-colored energy. The majestic Heavenly Blade descended, its rolling killing intent shocking the world. A drop of cold sweat slid down Xiao Shun’s forehead. Under this pressure, he felt threatened for the first time, despite being a peak Anterior realm expert. Facing Nie Jiuchong’s stunning blade, he felt intense unease. Nie Jiuchong’s mastery of blade intent was enough to make him unrivaled in the way of the blade. The silver needle that had damaged the “Stag’s Sever Blade” before was now swept away by that blade intent, disappearing without a trace.
“Never expected that after nurturing the blade for ten years, I would reveal its true edge to you. You should be content to die under this blade!” Nie Jiuchong’s eyes blazed with fury, then he gripped the hilt with both hands and made a sudden move. At that moment, the pent-up blade intent finally erupted entirely, even the air seemed to turn chilling and bone-piercing in its assimilation.
A fierce white light flashed, and the onlookers at the foot of the mountain saw a dazzling light tearing through their eyes before everything returned to calm. At this moment, nobody spoke; they only gazed motionless at the peak of the mountain, their faces displaying a mixture of paleness, fear, anticipation, and more.
The phrase “It’s over” resonated in both the bamboo forest and the mountain base. The speakers were Higushi and Yen Nantian! Simultaneously, on the mountaintop, a figure stood with a sword in hand, snowflakes falling on his shoulders as if draping him in a snow-white garment. “Is that all you’ve got?” he sneered after heavily plunging the treasure sword into the ground. Then, he summoned his spiritual energy and shouted down the mountain, declaring, “From today onwards, Cliffside belongs to my ‘New School Society.’ If the Old School Society dares to invade, I will not spare them!” His voice reverberated throughout the entire mountain.
“Did Master Nie lose?” The seniors of the Old School Society were dumbfounded at the base of the mountain. “Did Mr. Xiao win?” The Eastbrook Old School Society members in the bamboo forest were filled with shock. Meanwhile, on the summit, Xiao Shun picked up the “Stag’s Sever Blade” from his feet and walked slowly towards the “Hanging Flask Inn.”
The battle with Nie Jiuchong just now was the most difficult fight he had faced since he started. Although Nie Jiuchong’s cultivation was only at the third level of the Anterior realm, when combined with his comprehension of the way of the blade, it was comparable to the fifth level. If Xiao Shun had not reached the peak of the Anterior realm before this battle, he might have had to retreat in the face of Nie Jiuchong’s stunning blade and dared not touch its edge.
At a critical moment just now, Xiao Shun used his “Mind Technique” to break free from Nie Jiuchong’s blade intent lock and then, with the help of the “Ghost Door Needles,” dealt a heavy blow to Nie Jiuchong. He had initially wanted to kill Nie Jiuchong on the spot. However, Nie Jiuchong was very cautious. After being injured, he abandoned his renowned weapon and leaped from the cliff, fleeing westward.
Although Xiao Shun could have pursued and completely dealt with this enemy, the Hanging Flask Inn was of great importance. In order to retrieve the “Chromatic Earth” and “Cerulean Asherah” as soon as possible, he had to temporarily abandon the chase. Although the threat was not permanently eliminated, he still gained a lot from this battle.
From now on, Eastbrook would undergo a transformation, and many Old School Society seniors would join the “New School Society.” No one would ever again have the opportunity to spy on everything in the Hanging Flask Inn! Thinking about these matters, Xiao Shun followed Ning Zhiyuan’s instructions and walked out of the back door of the Hanging Flask Inn, striding to a certain cliff edge. After a moment of searching on the ruined wall, he found a hidden mechanism, lightly pressed it, and the surrounding rocks trembled, slowly splitting open a crack.
Seeing this, Xiao Shun smiled slightly. “Well, this is quite impressive. They actually carved out a space within this ruined wall!” Speaking to himself, he stepped into it. Passing through a dark and narrow corridor, everything suddenly became clear in front of his eyes. “This should be the true main peak of Cliffside. The ‘Hanging Flask Inn’ actually carved out a huge hole directly. This kind of project is not something ordinary people can achieve; it probably took several generations to carve out!” Looking up at the large opening above, Xiao Shun could already smell a strong, fresh fragrance of herbs – so rich and new!
Withdrawing his gaze from the opening, his eyes focused on a flower meadow where rare herbs were planted. With a quick glance, Xiao Shun had already discovered many precious herbs that even he had never obtained, treasures recorded in his master’s notes! His eyelids twitched, and he quickly walked towards the Hanging Flask Inn. Standing on the edge, Xiao Shun felt refreshed and comfortable all over. Staring at the rare and exotic herbs before him, he didn’t dare to take a step into the Hanging Flask Inn, fearful of accidentally trampling on a precious treasure! With this thought in mind, Xiao Shun was extremely excited.
“These treasures need to be moved out immediately, even the soil where these herbs are grown has to be taken back.” Cultivating so many herbs, the soil of this herb field was definitely not ordinary. Probably under the herbs’ influence, it had turned into a soil with medicinal properties. This was truly a rare treasure. By taking it back, Xiao Shun could freely plant herbs in this soil in the future without worrying about their survival. After much contemplation, he made up his mind.
Then, suddenly, his attention was drawn to a fenced area behind the Hanging Flask Inn. This area was small, only a few square meters, and although there was some distance separating them, Xiao Shun could faintly see a faint blue light emanating from within the fence. His heart raced, filled with excitement. After all, that was the Asherah!