Chapter 21

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As Ximen Chui Xue ascended from the base of the ice peak into the void, the malevolent cultivators dispersed like the plague, parting to create an expansive clearing amidst the sky.

“The Xuanming Scroll? The one rumored to be crafted by the Saint of the Nether Realm, with countless versions in circulation?” Ximen Chui Xue spoke with an air of nonchalance, his lengthy white tresses cascading down, concealing his visage.

“Is that so? Are you interested as well?” The Yin Yang Scattered Man sneered, “So we’re all cut from the same cloth, no better than one another.”

“Dare you compare yourself to me?” Ximen Chui Xue cast a fleeting, disdainful glance at the Yin Yang Scattered Man.

The Yin Yang Scattered Man hesitated momentarily but then emboldened himself, “Ximen Chui Xue, don’t push too hard. Even if you are the sole person to have challenged the Destruction Dao Master and lived to tell the tale.”

Feng Yun Wuji observed quietly, noticing that since the emergence of this peculiar swordsman named Ximen Chui Xue, he had dominated the scene. These proud evil cultivators seemed to harbor a deep dread of him.

Ximen Chui Xue glanced at Feng Yun Wuji, who immediately sensed the profound sword intent he harbored, an intent so dense it seemed almost solid, yet only revealed in his gaze.

Among the ancient masters, everyone’s aura was palpable, with some beings exuding such vastness that approaching them was exceedingly difficult. However, few were like this man, who had all his sword intent contained within, not leaking out at all, except through his eyes.

Feng Yun Wuji’s curiosity was piqued, and upon closer inspection, he realized that every movement of this swordsman named Ximen Chui Xue followed a certain pattern. The force of each swing of his arms primarily utilized inertia, and each step he took seemed to harness the wind. Although he walked in the void like everyone else, his energy expenditure was significantly less. To be precise, this man appeared to have an exceedingly peculiar habit: no matter what he did, he did it in the most physically and spiritually economical manner.

“The Xuanming Scroll in his hand, it belongs to you, doesn’t it?” Ximen Chui Xue turned to Feng Yun Wuji.

“It indeed fell from my grasp.”

Ximen Chui Xue turned to Moon Demon without uttering a word, merely staring at him quietly, yet the message was unmistakably clear.

Moon Demon stood there dazed, occasionally feeling the Xuanming Scroll in his arms, then fearfully glancing at the long sword at Ximen Chui Xue’s waist, his face etched with a struggle.

After a while, Moon Demon’s hand finally reached for his scroll, his fear ultimately overcoming his avarice.

“Wait! This Xuanming Scroll was first discovered by me; you can’t just take it because you’ve arrived,” Zhan Po Hand suddenly interjected.

Ximen Chui Xue abruptly turned, a flash of cold light rising from his waist, a startling rainbow appearing, leaving all the evildoers pale-faced. The pervasive chill in the sky changed the very hue of the heavens.

That sword light, which altered the colors of the world, appeared and vanished in the blink of an eye, with Ximen Chui Xue’s white robe fluttering as a three-foot-long sword pointed directly at Zhan Po Hand’s throat, his two fingers, capable of crushing gold and breaking jade, still in a position of opening upwards.

Fast, too fast! No one present could discern how Ximen Chui Xue had drawn his sword; as soon as the sword light flared, it was already aimed at the throat. Zhan Po Hand’s prideful fingers had not even had a chance to react.

Among those present, some may have had greater cultivation than Feng Yun Wuji, but few could match his swordsmanship. With Feng Yun Wuji’s understanding of the sword path, he naturally perceived that this strange man, Ximen Chui Xue, had a sword speed that had reached the limits of human capability. The sequence of drawing a weapon held no significance for him; the concept of seizing the initiative was entirely ineffective against such a person.

“I know but a single move, a single thrust of the sword. Whoever can withstand this one strike, the Xuanming Scroll shall be theirs,” Ximen Chui Xue stated indifferently, before slowly sheathing his long sword.

“Really?” The Yin Yang Scattered Man glanced at Zhan Po Hand, suspicion in his eyes.

“Indeed!”

“Very well!…” However, before the Yin Yang Scattered Man could finish his resolute declaration, a gurgling sound interrupted. Looking towards the source, they saw Zhan Po Hand clutching his throat with one hand, pointing at Ximen Chui Xue with the other, his eyes bulging, the gurgling emanating from his throat.

“What say you, Zhan Po Hand?” The Yin Yang Scattered Man questioned coldly.

“You… you…” Zhan Po Hand’s face was etched with terror. As everyone watched in horror, blood gushed from between his fingers clutching his throat. His head abruptly tilted to the side and slid from his shoulders, a torrent of blood erupting from the smooth, severed neck, followed by his rigid corpse plummeting from mid-air.

Ximen Chui Xue’s sword had not struck his neck, but the sword energy had severed his throat. The onlookers had thought Ximen Chui Xue had shown mercy, but they were unaware that Zhan Po Hand had already been a dead man moments before.

A gentle breeze swept through the air, lifting a few snowflakes, casting a chill over Youming Peak. All who witnessed this scene shuddered inwardly.

The smugness on Yin Yang Scattered Man’s face had vanished, replaced by sheer terror.

“I no longer wish for the Xuanming Scroll,” Yin Yang Scattered Man stammered, his face pale as parchment.

Yin Yang Scattered Man and the seven behind him retreated in unison, but Ximen Chui Xue didn’t even deign them a glance.

“Beware!”

At that moment, Ximen Chui Xue’s back was turned to Yin Yang Scattered Man and the others. From Feng Yun Wuji’s vantage, he saw Yin Yang Scattered Man look back mid-escape, a sinister grin spreading across his face as he flung a flickering black gleam backward.

Seeing the black gleam shoot towards Ximen Chui Xue, barely a foot away, yet he remained motionless, Feng Yun Wuji grew anxious. But then, the black gleam, the size of a little finger, suddenly split left and right about three inches from Ximen Chui Xue, dividing into two, then again up and down, splitting once more. Half by half, it multiplied…

The black gleam forcibly divided into hundreds, thousands of tiny black dots, radiating outwards.

Boom, boom, boom!!!

Each dot of black light pierced an ice peak, obliterating whatever it touched.

At that moment, Ximen Chui Xue turned around suddenly, his right hand gripping the hilt of his sword, unleashing a sky-piercing sword energy that flashed and subsided, but hundreds of meters away, Yin Yang Scattered Man and the others halted abruptly, their bodies then splitting like the black gleam, blood spraying, falling from the sky…

“Here you go!” Moon Demon hurled the coveted Xuanming Scroll as if discarding a hot potato, then without looking back, he vanished into the vast mountains after a few leaps.

Ximen Chui Xue, with a lift of his hand, caught the Xuanming Scroll as it shot towards him.

“Why are you still here?”

At the sound of Ximen Chui Xue’s voice, the evil crowd scrambled to flee, vanishing in the blink of an eye as if they had never been. Feng Yun Wuji couldn’t help but marvel at the sheer might of Ximen Chui Xue.

“Here you go!” The Xuanming Scroll, for which the evil ones had fought so fiercely, was discarded by Ximen Chui Xue as if it were a worn-out shoe, not even warranting a second glance.

…