Chapter 168

He had always been under the care of his senior sister, and today, finally having the chance to compete fairly with other disciples, he was determined to prove to Senior Sister Su that her junior brother was neither useless nor a coward.

Drawing his sword, the young man shouted in a deep voice, “Come on!”

Unlike talismans and poison weapons, a duel between sword cultivators was straightforward and unembellished, with blades clashing openly. It was both exhilarating and extremely perilous.

Xu Ye focused intently, recalling his master’s and senior sister’s teachings over and over in his mind. The pure, water-like sword intent filled his body, causing a fragrant wind to blow around him, dispelling the dim, bloody demonic aura.

“This kid has great potential!”

Outside the mystic mirror, Tian Xianzi remarked, “His spiritual energy is so clear; he’s a rare talent. I just don’t know how his swordsmanship is.”

He then fell silent, watching the figure in the mirror intently, raising an eyebrow in thought.

White light shone like daylight, cutting through the entangled demonic energy. Xu Ye suddenly opened his eyes and slowly raised his long sword.

“Ninety-nine returns to one, life everlasting—”

As the sword skill was recited in a deep voice, the sword light around Xu Ye intensified. The gale around him sliced through a broken branch, and just as he was about to shout the next phrase—

A heavy sword swung abruptly, hitting him squarely and sending him flying three meters high without a word!

The elders all twisted their faces and simultaneously let out an “Ahhh—”.

He Zhizhou: …

Help! Lu Minghao had slammed his giant sword down right while Xu Ye was reciting his skill! Why does a sword cultivator need to recite skills? Do you consider yourself a magical girl transforming!!!

Lu Minghao hadn’t struck with full force; he only used his sword energy to knock Xu Ye far away.

The poor child didn’t realize what was happening until he soared into the air. He spiraled into the air with a dazed look on his face. The sword in his hand drew a blinding white light, dancing a waltz of love with him in mid-air.

When Ning Ning arrived, having received the distress signal, she saw him tearfully landing in front of her.

He Zhizhou: Well, the cultivation world never disappoints.

He Zhizhou had a question since he was a child: since the recitation of each skill is so long, why doesn’t the villain take advantage of the situation and defeat the protagonist directly during this time?

Now, the cultivation world has shown him firsthand that reciting skill in a duel is a brain-dead move.

Ning Ning, not understanding what had happened, was startled by Xu Ye’s tearful, pitiful appearance. She quickly helped him up and wiped the blood from his mouth.

Lu Minghao, looking quite innocent, scratched his head and frowned.

“What is this little brother…doing? It’s not my fault. He insisted on standing there motionless and getting beaten.”

As he spoke, his expression suddenly turned serious.

“Something’s wrong around here!”

“Finally noticed?”

A woman’s soft laugh came from not far away; it was Wei Lingbo from Suwen Hall.

“This poison is my latest creation, colorless and tasteless, spreading everywhere with the wind.”

She was known for her eccentricity, often burying herself in medical books in a dark room and creating strange new things.

But this poison was no mere trinket.

“Once in the poison’s range, not only will you become weak, but your spiritual energy will also be gradually sealed, making it hard to use. Its toxicity isn’t very strong, and ordinarily, with your cultivation, it wouldn’t affect you much… But thanks to this demonic energy, its potency has increased at least fivefold.”

She leaned lazily against a broken wall, her figure thin and her eyes surrounded by dark circles, as if stained with ink.

“Don’t you all feel… that you’re running out of strength? Too bad my junior brother and I took the antidote beforehand, so we can’t share in this delight.”

Although medicine cultivators were known for their benevolence, there was a well-known rule in the cultivation world: never provoke a medicine cultivator. Once targeted, you might not even know how you met your end.

“This is bad.”

He Zhizhou tried to mobilize his spiritual energy, only to find it almost entirely depleted. The poison was bizarre, seeming to have a hypnotic effect as well, causing his eyelids to droop uncontrollably.

“Even the demonic energy is aiding her; this is clearly the perfect alignment of time, place, and people… Are we all going to be defeated here?”

Ning Ning looked around, pondered for a moment, then whispered, “I have an idea, but I’m not sure if it will work.”

She seemed hesitant, carefully choosing her words.

“According to the principles of physics, when airflow passes over a convex surface, it moves faster and the pressure is lower; over a flat surface, it moves slower and the pressure is higher. This creates a pressure difference, generating lift.”

He Zhizhou was baffled.

“And then?”

“This is the principle behind how bamboo dragonflies and helicopters lift off. Don’t you think the shape, with a convex top and flat bottom, resembles our sword scabbards?”

Ning Ning raised her Xinghen sword and brought it to his attention.

“Although our spiritual energy is weak, we can still easily jump and spin the scabbard. This way, we can treat the scabbard as the rotor blades of a helicopter, and by spinning it while jumping, we can create a strong sword wind—”

He Zhizhou suddenly understood.

“And the sword wind can blow away all the demonic energy, reducing the poison’s effect!”

Xu Ye was bewildered by the technical explanation, but he managed to grasp Ning Ning’s general idea: they needed to spin their swords continuously in the air, using the sword wind to repel the poison.

“I got it!”

He Zhizhou gently patted her shoulder. “It’s just like Doraemon’s bamboo dragonfly! Since your spiritual energy is depleted, leave this to me!”

Xu Ye, too ashamed to face his senior sister in the distance, immediately raised his right hand to salvage his dwindling image in her eyes.

“I’m in too! There’s strength in numbers!”

Thus, dozens of eyes inside and outside the mystic mirror simultaneously witnessed an unbelievable miracle.

Xu Ye and He Zhizhou simultaneously raised their swords above their heads, using their remaining spiritual energy to leap high into the air. At the same time, they silently recite their sword skills, causing the swords to spin rapidly in their hands.