Chapter 65
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Chapter 65: The Sword Demon, Du Gu Wu Shang
Snowflakes danced in the howling wind, swirling away to the peak of a towering ice cliff a thousand feet high. There, with his left hand chopping like a blade, Du Gu Piao released intermittent bursts of knife energy. Suddenly, a figure flickered into view—Feng Yun Wuji, appearing atop the cliff.
“Master,” Du Gu Piao stood, bowing respectfully. Feng Yun Wuji waved his hand dismissively and said, “You needn’t call me ‘master.’ Since you’ve chosen to follow me, you must obey my commands. Here is a set of bone-shrinking techniques that can drastically alter one’s appearance. Study it well. In three days, you will go to the Blade Domain and pledge yourself to the Blade Emperor. I will contact you when necessary. Unless there is a significant matter, you need not contact me for a long time. This technique was hastily created by me in the past, and due to insufficient power, it could not unleash its full potential. Now, my swordsmanship has reached a certain level, and I have developed a strong aversion and rejection to knife energy, making it almost impossible for me to wield it. As my power increases, I may not be able to execute the ‘Left Path’ at all. Thus, this Left Path can be considered your unique skill. Train hard, and I believe that in the Blade Domain, by referring to various top-tier knife techniques, you will surely achieve greatness.”
“Thank you, Master!” Du Gu Piao said reverently, kneeling again and receiving the secret manual that Feng Yun Wuji pulled from his bosom with both hands.
“Sword Demon, Du Gu Wu Shang… Sword Demon, where are you?” Feng Yun Wuji gazed into the vast whiteness of the distance, murmuring to himself.
Du Gu Piao’s body suddenly trembled, and Feng Yun Wuji, catching this out of the corner of his eye, asked, “Do you know where Du Gu Wu Shang is?”
Regarding the Sword Demon, Du Gu Wu Shang, Feng Yun Wuji only knew from Ximen Yibei that they had once met. On that occasion, both felt a mutual understanding. Despite Ximen Yibei’s strength and the urge to draw his sword, he dared not do so lightly. According to him, if he were to strike, it would be a fight to the death, and Ximen Yibei was not confident that he could kill his opponent before being slain. Although they did not engage in combat, they exchanged names, and thus Ximen Yibei learned that this formidable swordsman was known as the Sword Demon, Du Gu Wu Shang, also an ascender from another plane. However, his whereabouts were unknown, and they never met again.
Feng Yun Wuji had been troubled about where to find him, but it seemed that Du Gu Piao might know something about this name.
Du Gu Piao knelt on one knee, head lowered, his long hair falling over his face, concealing his expression. After a long silence, he finally sighed and said, “That is my benefactor and master!”
Boom!
Feng Yun Wuji was thunderstruck by this revelation.
“Du Gu Piao, Du Gu Wu Shang… Du Gu Piao… Du Gu Wu Shang… Could it be…” Feng Yun Wuji looked at Du Gu Piao, a thoughtful expression in his eyes.
Du Gu Piao remained silent, but Feng Yun Wuji noticed his knuckles had turned white from gripping the ice too tightly.
“Tell me, where is he?” Feng Yun Wuji demanded, his tone brooking no refusal.
Du Gu Piao hesitated for a moment, then slowly lifted his head…
…
In an ordinary mountain cliff cave with no apparent remarkable features, Feng Yun Wuji found the Sword Demon. It was originally the dwelling place of a demon bird, which had long since vanished. The moderately sized cave was very clean.
“Feng Yun Wuji pays his respects to the Sword Demon, Du Gu Wu Shang, senior,” Feng Yun Wuji greeted with a fist to his chest.
In front of Feng Yun Wuji, an old man with a silver beard, dressed in a green robe, sat cross-legged with his eyes closed. On the wall behind him, from left to right, were embedded swords of various materials, each with different levels of hardness.
“Please, have a seat,” the Sword Demon Du Gu Wu Shang, who was very thin, exuded no aura of a powerful figure. He appeared just like any ordinary human Feng Yun Wuji had seen before his ascension, making it impossible to associate him with the term ‘master’.
Feng Yun Wuji, with a hint of doubt, sat cross-legged on a mat beside Du Gu Wu Shang.
“Is it that child Du Gu Piao who told you to come?” Du Gu Wu Shang opened his eyes and said indifferently.
Feng Yun Wuji nodded and said, “I learned about you from Ximen Yibei, and then coincidentally found out where you were from Du Gu Piao.”
Du Gu Wu Shang sighed, “That child is still so stubborn, unwilling to return.”
“I wonder…”
“He is my eldest disciple and also my adopted son. I took him in after my ascension,” Du Gu Wu Shang spoke indifferently, his expression as still as an ancient well, showing no discernible emotions, as if narrating someone else’s story: “His parents were killed by demons. I happened to pass by and killed the demon, adopting him as my son. Later, I took another disciple, who had a conflict with my second disciple. Being young and impulsive, he left and hasn’t returned for many years… I heard he joined the Palace of Destruction and became a subordinate of the Lord of Destruction.”
“Is he alright?” followed with an additional question.
Feng Yun Wuji nodded, “He’s doing well. I noticed he has a greater affinity for knives than swords, so I taught him a set of ‘Left Path’ knife techniques.”
Du Gu Wu Shang glanced at Feng Yun Wuji, a fleeting look of surprise in his eyes.
“His parents both practiced the way of the knife.”
Upon hearing this, Feng Yun Wuji felt a slight movement in his heart, finally understanding why his cultivation in swordsmanship had plateaued, while his proficiency in knife techniques was so high.
“Ximen Yibei, did he say that if I join your Sword Domain, he would also join?” Du Gu Wu Shang suddenly asked.
Feng Yun Wuji’s body trembled slightly, about to respond, when his expression changed slightly, looking strangely towards the cave’s entrance.
“You also sensed it, that’s my very unique second disciple,” Du Gu Wu Shang said with a calm smile, then stood up. In that instant, Feng Yun Wuji suddenly felt the earth shake and mountains rumble, as if the person in front of him had suddenly become towering, making the cave feel cramped. This strange sensation disappeared as the Sword Demon casually grabbed a wooden sword from beside him and walked out of the cave.
“Du Gu Wu Shang, I have made many corrections to my ‘Only Me Sword Intent’. Today, let’s fight again,” a cold-faced man stood on the opposite cliff, his robe fluttering in the wind, with countless broken and incomplete swords densely packed around him, floating quietly in the void.
“This is my second disciple, Xiao Jian,” Du Gu Wu Shang introduced to Feng Yun Wuji, his voice filled with an uncontrollable pride.
“Xiao Jian, are you ready? This time, I will still only use one move, the ‘Broken Sword Style’ from the ‘Du Gu Nine Swords’ to break your move,” Du Gu Wu Shang said to Xiao Jian.
The plain old man, the simple wooden sword, with these, Feng Yun Wuji really couldn’t associate it with the master-level swordsman Ximen Yibei had mentioned.
Xiao Jian glanced coldly at Feng Yun Wuji behind Du Gu Wu Shang, his eyes slightly moved, then looked at Du Gu Wu Shang again: “Get ready, I’m about to make my move!”
He formed a sword gesture with his right hand, pointed at Du Gu Wu Shang, and in the void, hundreds of thousands of broken swords swirled towards Du Gu Wu Shang like a swarm of bees, accompanied by the sound of breaking the air.
Du Gu Wu Shang’s face became solemn, he said coldly, “Du Gu Nine Swords, Broken Sword Style!” Then he took a step out from the cliff, swayed diagonally, without any apparent momentum, just a simple sword strike with the wooden sword.
Suddenly, the void was filled with the continuous sound of trembling. The swirling broken swords in the sky, like a domino effect, started colliding and cutting each other from the front, eventually leading to hundreds of thousands of broken swords colliding with each other, and finally, three meters in front of Du Gu Wu Shang, they all turned into pieces of iron.
Du Gu Wu Shang swung his green sleeve, and with a wave, the still flying pieces of iron were swept away by the strong wind and disappeared without a trace…
“Amazingly powerful!” Feng Yun Wuji was extremely shocked inside, finally understanding why Ximen Yibei, with his pride, did not dare to draw his sword lightly in front of this person…