Chapter 322
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Chapter 322: Transformation
The young man with white hair strolled on the city wall, surrounded by soldiers who dared not stop him.
Even as he passed by, not even Lord Chen could muster any fighting spirit and almost fell to the ground weak-kneed.
"Who… who is this person?"
The defending soldiers on the city wall looked horrified.
"From the looks of it, he bears a resemblance to the previous Qiao Pian. Could this person also be a member of the Qiao family?"
The legend of the Qiao family member is well-known in the big city of Linhe City, where there are many knowledgeable people.
A sergeant saw Lord Chen’s legs go weak and almost fall to the ground, wanting to help but was pushed away by Lord Chen, who looked pale.
"What about the Qiao family member?"
Lord Chen leaned on the city wall and looked ahead over the railing.
At this moment, the area below the city had turned into a vast expanse of water, submerging the plains and fields below, leaving only a few isolated trees and mountains. The city had almost become a lonely island.
The rushing tide sounded like thunder. Among the waves, a giant beast dozens of meters high continued to expand with the converging water flow. It headed towards the ancient city wall, aiming to devour the circling Jingwei Bird.
However, the Jingwei Bird was circling near the city gate tower, and the converging water flow from the Sky Piercing Giant Demon had already raised waves over twenty meters high.
While it aimed to devour the Jingwei Bird, just the sweeping waves could potentially collapse the already crumbling city wall!
"The immortal leader didn’t consider the Qiao family member important… This was their last chance to escape!"
Lord Chen had such thoughts in his mind.
Although he feared Qiao Mu, he didn’t have any intention to oppose him. As a high-ranking official, he naturally had a broad perspective.
He knew that another Qiao family member had just died.
In the Southwest Province for the past century, the most powerful martial artists were Spear Saint and Demon Spear Qin Li.
But whether it was Spear Saint, Demon Spear, or the previously deceased Qiao Pian, they were all seen as insignificant in front of the immortal leader of Yunxiao Sect.
Lord Chen’s mind was one step ahead of the others, and his thoughts raced faster.
No matter how high their martial arts skill, they were still just a big fish in a small pond among ordinary people.
The best in the world, but not worth mentioning in front of the Immortal Gate.
The other soldiers were still afraid of the sudden appearance of the Qiao family member.
And he had already seen the outcome of the Qiao family’s martial arts, knowing that in the end, whoever speaks in Southwest Province would have the final say.
Others fear me because I am greedy!
Lord Chen made a decisive choice, gathering courage and angrily shouting:
"Speaking without acting, your Qiao family members are highly skilled in martial arts, being the most mysterious martial arts family of the time."
"If I had your martial arts skills, what would happen if I entered the battlefield with a sword?"
"We are just ordinary people with low strength, is it wrong to live in this world? As the leader of this city, I naturally have to consider the lives of the people, everything is to protect this city."
"The one who can save this city is the immortal leader of Yunxiao Sect!"
The soldiers beside him blinked.
The young man with white hair suddenly paused, saying lightly:
"I am Qiao Xin, I didn’t say for you to go and die like a hero."
"Surviving by any means isn’t wrong." Qiao Mu lowered his head and pulled out a long sword from the waist of a soldier next to him.
"As the official of this city, your every word and action are observed by others. Don’t rush to seek pity!"
Lord Chen suddenly felt a great fear as he saw a powerful and heavy aura emanating from Qiao Mu. Holding a sword in his hand, Qiao Mu seemed like he was carrying a mountain.
Just don’t engage with him.
Just looking at him up close made one feel intimidated.
Will Qiao Xin become angry and act against him?
Qiao Mu unsheathed his sword, not paying attention to him, but instead looking at the huge wave crashing towards the city wall.
"If you want to be a dog, don’t drag innocent civilians into it!"
With a powerful force surging out, Qiao Mu swung his sword forward.
The sword light, like a dazzling flash of lightning, suddenly appeared, illuminating the dim sky for a moment.
The silver-white sword light descended from the sky like a river of stars, landing on the waves in front of the city wall.
In an instant.
The wave, taller than the city wall, suddenly split in half from the middle and collapsed downward abruptly.
The churning water surface split in two, forming a deep trench that was a hundred meters long, with the sea water rolling back and crashing down into the trench in the water surface.
The rushing sea water on both sides cascaded down from the cut, forming two small waterfalls.
This sword shattered the waves!
At the same time, it also conveniently separated the Sky Piercing Giant Demon riding the waves and the Jingwei Bird soaring above the water surface to the two sides of the trench.
On the city wall, Lord Chen and others watched this scene in shock, feeling like their understanding of martial arts was being completely overturned.
"The flood was split by a sword?"
"How can the sword energy expand beyond a hundred meters? How can a martial artist’s internal strength manifest externally in such a powerful way?"
"Is this really martial arts? How can this be martial arts?"
As everyone watched in disbelief, they saw Qiao Mu raise his sword and point it towards the Sky Piercing Giant Demon riding the waves, as well as the hundred-meter-long trench in the middle of the sea, his eyes gleaming with sharpness like a sword:
"Can you understand human speech?"
"You can come this far, but you cannot cross."
The Sky Piercing Giant Demon formed by the surging waves seemed to hesitate for a moment.
Meanwhile, the Jingwei Bird facing it had already reacted and was flying towards the city wall.
Qiao Mu turned around and looked at Lord Chen and the others behind him.
"Where was your fairy leader when things were dangerous just now?"
Lord Chen’s face changed color from green to white, unable to speak.
Qiao Mu stepped onto the city wall, leaped into the air like a light swallow.
……………….
"Where did this ordinary person come from, causing trouble again?"
Above the clouds, Immortal Yu Hua furrowed his brow, looking somewhat annoyed.
This Sky Piercing Giant Demon is a newly born water spirit, although it has endless potential, its intelligence should have just begun to develop and has not yet grown.
Just as this water spirit was about to devour the Jingwei Bird once again, someone intervened, breaking the cycle of life and death for the Jingwei Bird.
"He is a member of the Qiao family," Taoist Child Yu Shan reminded nearby.
"This is a martial arts family from the mortal world. They are a bit mysterious. Every Qiao family member has the ability to teleport once in their lifetime. They must have trained in mortal martial arts and cultivated internal strength, becoming a half-demon."
Taoist Child Yu Shan had witnessed the teleportation of a Qiao family member in Xishan Village before, so he reminded them promptly.
"Teleporting once in a lifetime? Such mysterious things don’t exist," Immortal Yu Hua shook his head.
"Junior brother, as a Taoist Child of our sect, do you really believe in such far-fetched ideas from mortals?"
"This so-called Qiao family is likely descendants of some kind of earthbound monster, with the ability to burrow underground–just a skill passed down from their monster lineage."
"….Yes, what Senior Brother said makes more sense," Yu Shan’s eyes twitched slightly.
He didn’t like the condescending tone of his Nascent Soul Stage senior brother. Earlier, it might have been a reminder out of sect camaraderie, but now…
"The Jingwei filling the sea matter has been successfully completed, even the Sky Piercing Water Spirit has been a great success," Yu Shan spoke up.
"With senior brother here, I don’t think my humble self in the Golden Core stage needs to assist."
"If senior brother has no other matters, I will return to our sect first and report to the sect leader about this matter."
Immortal Yu Hua seemed quite surprised by this.
He knew in his heart that his junior brother, who was also a Taoist Child, had never quite looked kindly upon him. Although they were from the same sect, they had been secretly competing since the Foundation Building stage…
Little did he know that today…
"Well, you can go first." Immortal Yu Hua waved his hand.
"Junior brother shouldn’t underestimate this mere mortal–" he corrected himself:
"There’s no need for you in the Golden Core stage to underestimate yourself. Work hard in your cultivation, wait patiently for the right moment, and it will be the time when you form your nascent soul."
Taoist Child Yu Shan fell silent for a moment, then swiftly turned into a rainbow and left without pausing for a moment.
After flying for several dozen miles, he stopped and sneered in the direction of Linhe City.
A martial artist known for cutting waves with a single sword, which surprised Yu Shan and the other two Taoists.
The magic of a Nascent Soul cultivator can cause great destruction, so what can this martial artist, who can cut waves with a single sword, do?
They, who were not deeply versed in mortal martial arts, had no idea what astonishing things Qiao Mu had done.
Yu Shan didn’t really expect Qiao Mu to suddenly appear and defeat their Nascent Soul Stage senior brother.
So instead of leaving, he stayed hidden, waiting for the right moment to act.
If Qiao Xin could provoke Immortal Yu Hua a little, maybe he could secretly help and cause Immortal Yu Hua to be injured… preferably with an injury that is hard to repair.
The Yunxiao Sect only has five Nascent Soul Immortals, and with limited resources, if Immortal Yu Hua is injured, this Taoist Child could possibly take his place.
Once he reaches the Nascent Soul Stage, he can continue his cultivation with the sect’s resources. As a Taoist Child, he might become the second most important figure in the sect after the sect leader.
With calculations in his mind, he noticed some commotion in the distance on the side of the city.
……….
The Sky Piercing Giant Demon retreated.
The tide that was about to break through the city walls also receded slightly.
Qiao Mu walked in the water in front of the city, the swift water underneath him reaching up to his waist.
"Found it." He reached out towards the water, his arm swelling and extending in an instant, grabbing hold of something beneath the water, pulling it out with a strong tug and lifting it in his hand.
It was the King Qin Sword.
When he died earlier, the King Qin Sword in his hand fell from the sky, along with his remains, into the floodwaters.
However, with the Jingwei Bird circling nearby, Qiao Mu didn’t have to exert much effort to find the King Qin Sword.
"To deal with the inhuman, I naturally need my good brother, to use the blood of the inhuman as a sacrifice to the spirit of King Qin in heaven, to have more companions for him."
Qiao Mu held the King Qin Sword, and rinsed it in the water a few times to wash away the mud and sand on top.
At that moment.
Lightning flashed in the sky, thick electric snakes snaking down, with lightning falling like rain.
Qiao Mu looked up, gazing at the sky.
His face showed no expression, like a statue, unmoving, only the energy around him boiling completely.
The water below suddenly started to ripple, spreading out in circles.
A bolt of lightning struck directly towards his head, but stopped a foot above his head, gradually fading and disappearing.
Qiao Mu looked at the sky, a slight smile on his lips, then he slightly bent his legs.
With a loud boom, the water suddenly exploded, Qiao Mu’s figure had disappeared in an instant, turning into a blurry silhouette shooting straight into the sky.
Immortal Yu Hua on the sky above looked down, the Green Blood Vine from his sleeve stretched out.
"Green Blood Vine, go!"
Suddenly, the Green Blood Vine extended rapidly.
While still in Immortal Yu Hua’s sleeve, it was just an ordinary vine.
As soon as it came out of the sleeve, it grew rapidly in the wind, turning into a dense and almost sky-covering long vine.
Lightning magic was just a minor skill, Immortal Yu Hua’s true specialty was controlling spiritual beasts.
In the sky, the blue-green long vine danced in the wind, over a hundred vines kept twisting, resembling a sea of wriggling snakes.
Swoosh!
Over ten thick vines swiftly came through the air, each vine as thick as two people hugging. The vines blocked all of Qiao Mu’s paths.
However, Qiao Mu didn’t back down.
In the last fifty years of his dream, how many times did he fight with Immortal Yu Hua?
Even though it was a battlefield in his mind, with Immortal Yu Hua as he perceived, not the real one, it was still challenging.
"Heavenly Dragon Eight Steps!"
Over the long four hundred years, Qiao Mu had mastered the Heavenly Dragon Eight Steps, like a ninth level jump in the air, giving him eight chances to change direction and accelerate in the air.
His afterimages flickered continuously as he sped up, heading straight towards a huge vine as thick as two people hugging. He thrust his King Qin Sword fiercely into the vine.
The vine trembled and sap splattered.
Taking advantage, Qiao Mu stepped on the vine, holding firmly onto the King Qin Sword inside it, and then used his footwork to run madly towards the sky on the vine.
Hiss!
As he ran, the King Qin Sword in his hand cut through the hundreds of meters long Green Blood Vine underneath, and blood-red sap rained down.
Mastering the Heavenly Dragon Eight Steps to perfection, Qiao Mu could ascend with just a little push, and the hundreds of meters long Green Blood Vine had become a staircase under his feet.
Boom!
The thunder kept rumbling, electric serpents snaking and chasing after Qiao Mu as he ran towards the sky, with the King Qin Sword dragging along and sap raining down.
The way was filled with blood blossoms and lightning!
"What kind of creature is this Qiao family member?" frowned Immortal Yu Hua.
In the past, Qiao Pian struggled against the Green Blood Vine connected to his soul, even with a sword strike using all his internal strength before he died, he couldn’t completely cut off the Green Blood Vine’s protection.
But this person claiming to be Qiao Xin had made the King Qin Sword in his hand inexplicably sharp?
This is not just about the difference in the quality and quantity of internal strength.
"The toughness of the Green Blood Vine is strong, it can be cultivated as a protective creature, but its intelligence is low, which is why it can communicate with my thoughts… And this mortal named Qiao Xin, does his sword contain some kind of mental impact?"
Immortal Yu Hua formed a hand seal and shouted:
"Come back!"
The Green Blood Vine trembled, its vines surged towards his body like a tide, attaching themselves to him and transforming into a dark green vine garment.
This vine garment transformed from the Green Blood Vine is not like ordinary protective garments, as it is a powerful monster, combining both offense and defense.
The ends of the vines transformed into the green vine garment wrapped around Immortal Yu Hua’s body, while dozens or even hundreds of giant vines lashed like whips, attacking Qiao Mu amidst the wild dancing of electric lights.
But at this moment.
Qiao Mu, who was running towards the sky on the vines, suddenly stopped in his tracks.
"Do you think I have to be close to you to kill you?"
He suddenly pulled out the King Qin Sword from the vines under his feet, then lowered his head to cut his wrist with the Eye Sword Technique.
The gushing blood gathered on the King Qin Sword, forming a giant sword shape made of blood.
"Blood Sword Technique, chop!"
The blood-colored sword light slashed through the sky, roaring across a distance of a hundred meters.
Immortal Yu Hua was originally casting a spell with one hand, a few talismans floated out from his sleeve, but the blood-colored sword light arrived suddenly.
Swish!
His body suddenly stiffened, his movements stopped abruptly, and the floating talismans fell from the air.
Immortal Yu Hua widened his eyes.
He saw Qiao Mu’s sharp eyes from a hundred meters away, the receding flood on the barren plain below, the Sky Piercing Giant Demon diving into the water with the waves, the ruined city wall of the mansion, and Lord Chen and others on the city wall showing expressions of fear and confusion.
And all that his eyes saw began to slowly fade from his view, even his sight became dim.
Unwilling, resentful, astonished, angry… countless thoughts crossed his mind.
The last emotion that emerged in his mind was still confusion.
"This is not martial arts at all! This is not internal strength!" Immortal Yu Hua struggled to speak:
"Internal strength is just a mere trick of mortals, unable to reach the soul of a cultivator on the path of immortality…"
"What kind of monster are you after all?"
In his gradually dimming vision, he saw Qiao Mu stepping on vines, his robes rustling in the high sky as he walked towards him step by step.
His body shattered along with the green vine robe on him, blood and limbs scattered, and fluids splashed down.
"This is martial arts," Qiao Mu said, raising his fist, his eyes shining brightly like stars.
"Martial arts is not just about physical strength, but also about training the mind and spirit."
"Physical training and spiritual refining go hand in hand, blending spirit and energy is the right path!"
"Turning the unreal into reality, turning falsehood into truth…"
"This is true strength! This is true martial arts!"
As he finished speaking, he waved his fists like the wind, striking out punches one after another.
The fierce punches swept through, hitting a faintly glowing translucent figure that flew out of a body’s head as if knowing in advance.
The translucent figure had just flown out when it shattered into pieces in the punches, completely disappearing into the cold wind.
With a quick grab, Qiao Mu caught the relatively intact head of Immortal Yu Hua in his hand.
His robe fluttered in the wind, making a rustling sound. His figure descended gracefully like a goose and landed on the city wall of Linhe City.
At this moment, the soldiers on the city wall were silent, still trying to process the recent dramatic events.
Seeing Qiao Mu approaching with Immortal Yu Hua’s head, the crowd gasped and took several steps back in horror, afraid to even glance at the head in Qiao Mu’s hands.
Qiao Mu’s lips curved slightly upwards.
He casually walked up to Lord Chen and threw Immortal Yu Hua’s head in front of him.
"Your immortal has arrived," Qiao Mu said coldly, scanning the surroundings with indifferent eyes.
"Now that you’ve seen the immortal, why not bow down?"
