With a glance left and right, Ye Wen realized that in his frantic haste, he had arrived, without noticing, in a desolate, deep mountain region—a perfect spot for him to come to blows with someone, free from the fear of harming any innocent common folk.

Having spotted his location, Ye Wen abruptly pressed down on his sword light, halting on a relatively flat mountaintop. He then turned to face the pursuer who was riding a golden beam of light right behind him.

The man appeared to be somewhere around forty, sporting a short, black goatee and clad in a long robe sewn from superior materials. He stood suspended in the air, observing Ye Wen in return, yet the gaze itself rubbed Ye Wen the wrong way—it was a look brimming with sheer contempt.

"If I don't teach you a lesson, you’ll actually start believing you amount to something!"

Ye Wen had intended to say something more, but seeing the look on the man's face made him instantly lose the desire to waste words. He simply remained rooted to the spot, the Zixiao Sword hovering near him. Its light pulsed faintly, giving no hint of its terrifying power; only those familiar with the unassuming, faintly luminous longsword knew the horror it contained.

The man scrutinized him for a moment longer before slowly drifting down to stop a short distance before Ye Wen. The moment his feet touched the ground, however, the man extended a palm toward Ye Wen and declared, "Hand over the Jiuzhou Ding, and I might spare your insignificant life!"

Ye Wen burst into silent fury upon hearing this. Though a smile still played on his face, it held no warmth; anyone could see that Ye Wen was currently burning with rage.

"What an arrogant tone!"

Seeing Ye Wen’s response, the man merely sneered, "Whether my tone is arrogant or not is not for a nobody like you to judge!" With that, he clasped his hands behind his back, head held high, radiating an air of supreme pride. "I am Ren Tuze, one of the Three Elders of Emei. I advise you to surrender the Jiuzhou Ding immediately; it’s the least you can do to ensure the safety of your Shu Mountain Sect..."

The moment those words were spoken, Ye Wen's fury erupted. Liquid Glass Fire spewed forth from his entire body, swirling in an endless display of seven-colored brilliance that illuminated the pitch-black mountaintop. The Liquid Glass Fire seemed to sense its master's anger, losing the gentle, placid nature it held within him, and baring the violent aspect of flame.

As the Liquid Glass Fire manifested, Ren Tuze was momentarily startled, uttering, "No wonder Zhang Jiyu and Wang Pan couldn't do a thing to you—it turns out you rely on this Liquid Glass Fire!"

Previously, when Wang Pan and Zhang Jiyu battled Ye Wen high in the sky, Ren Tuze hadn't paid close attention, merely sitting in his chamber and vaguely sensing the general situation overhead.

He had only vaguely known that Wang Pan and Zhang Jiyu had engaged Ye Wen successively, but he remained entirely ignorant of the specifics, how the fight unfolded, or how the victor was determined. He had vaguely sensed the appearance of the Liquid Glass Fire as well; at first, he had assumed it was Zhang Jiyu’s Nine Heavens Blazing Fire Array. But looking at it now...

He remained unaware that the seven-colored Liquid Glass Fire had originated from Zhang Jiyu's Nine Heavens Blazing Fire Array, but ultimately, it failed to defeat Ye Wen. Instead, it benefited him, allowing Ye Wen to absorb the fire into his body and subsequently temper his entire being anew.

As for Ren Tuze himself, he was one of the Three Elders of the Emei Sect. The Heavenly Elder among them, Daoist Tian Xing, was the current Sect Master of Emei, and Ren Tuze was his junior martial brother. Although they did not share the same lineage master, holding the rank of the Sect Master's junior brother granted him the right to possess such arrogance in his efforts to help forge the Emei Sect into a major power.

Regarding Ye Wen, a completely unknown figure he had never even heard of, Ren Tuze simply viewed him as a junior. Even if Ye Wen had been cultivating for a comparable number of years, he wouldn't have taken him seriously. When Wang Pan and Zhang Jiyu joined forces against Ye Wen earlier, Ren Tuze's inaction wasn't born of avoiding complicity; he genuinely couldn't be bothered.

In his mind, Ye Wen likely couldn't handle those two. Even if Ye Wen managed to defeat them both and escape, Ren Tuze was confident he could reach Ye Wen in the shortest time possible to turn the tide of defeat. The speed with which he had caught up to Ye Wen's fleeing sword light—in mere moments—revealed the basis of his confidence.

He even felt that deigning to speak with Ye Wen at all was granting him considerable respect. If Ye Wen were wise, he would present the Jiuzhou Ding readily, and all would be well. If not!

What he didn't realize was that a single sentence from him had just ignited Ye Wen's ire. If Ren Tuze had merely been rude to Ye Wen personally, it wouldn't have mattered much; Ye Wen, having studied the Daoist canon for so many years, had cultivated a broad mind. This was why, during his exchange with Zhang Jiyu and Wang Pan, even though their attacks were fierce, he harbored no resentment because he judged them to be upright in their actions, and thus, he hadn't struck with full lethal force.

But Ren Tuze was different. The man opened his mouth with the swagger of someone utterly superior, and his words subtly threatened the Shu Mountain Sect. This was the line Ye Wen could not tolerate. At this moment, channeling all his power, he shot out a palm strike from a considerable distance.

"Hmm?"

Ren Tuze had been tilting his head back, expecting Ye Wen to buckle. He never anticipated the man opposite him attacking with a palm strike from over ten meters away. Immediately following, a massive purple hand, shimmering with seven-colored Liquid Glass light, shot directly toward him.

"Huh? The Buddhist Great Hand Seal?"

Ye Wen’s strike bore a strong resemblance to the Buddhist divine ability, the Great Hand Seal. Since the Earth Elder of the Three Elders, Chan Master Di Hong, specialized in Buddhist divine arts, Ren Tuze—as Di Hong’s junior martial brother—was familiar with them. Seeing Ye Wen casually unleash a palm strike so similar to the Buddhist Seal, he couldn't help but look at Ye Wen with newfound interest.

This was because cultivating Buddhist divine arts demanded not only aptitude but also a deep comprehension of Buddhist teachings—what was termed 'wisdom root.' Without wisdom root, no amount of diligence would lead to mastering superior divine abilities. Hence, Buddhist disciples were highly selective in accepting novices, and accomplished high monks dared not easily take on disciples indiscriminately.

For an ability like the Great Hand Seal, many individuals, even if they knew the method, could not master it. And even if mastered, they could not deploy it as effortlessly as this.

That Ye Wen used it so casually led Ren Tuze to mistakenly believe Ye Wen was deeply versed in Buddhist divine arts! He was unaware that Ye Wen’s strike wasn't a Great Hand Seal at all; it was a plain, ordinary palm strike, merely saturated with true essence and the seven-colored Liquid Glass Fire, which was why it possessed such terrifying might.

Furthermore, since the seven-colored Liquid Glass Fire was a divine fire of Buddhist origin, it naturally carried a trace of Buddhist solemnity, leading Ren Tuze to this misunderstanding.

Seeing the massive palm surging toward him, radiating intense heat from the Liquid Glass Fire, Ren Tuze immediately activated his flying sword. A brilliant field of golden light erupted before him, directed straight at the center of the palm print, intending to meet Ye Wen's attack head-on and shatter the palm strike solely with the power of his sword.

He couldn't resist muttering, "Showing off before an expert! Let this junior recognize my might first!"

Ren Tuze prided himself on being one of the Three Elders of Emei, carrying an air of arrogance wherever he went. Even when moving to fight, he couldn't forget to flaunt his status, fully convinced that Ye Wen's palm strike would be easily broken.

Although he had been slightly shocked by Ye Wen's palm strike just now, his Second Senior Brother, Chan Master Di Hong, was a master of Buddhist divine arts and had sparred with him countless times. He had seen many people perform techniques like the Great Hand Seal and refused to believe that Ye Wen’s execution could possess the same power as those wielded by renowned high monks.

A beam of golden light and a colossal purple handprint collided in mid-air with a deafening boom. The scattered residual winds sent several massive boulders rolling heavily, interspersed with flickers of flame—flames that, upon touching anything, instantly incinerated the object until not even ash remained.

Of course, the turbulent winds also carried the sword energy accompanying Ren Tuze's flying sword. Many boulders were cleanly sliced into multiple pieces by the dispersed sword qi, and a few were even ground into dust by the scattering energy—whoever offended them, one could only guess.

Though these events sound complicated, they transpired in a mere instant. What horrified Ren Tuze even more was that after shattering the force of Ye Wen's palm, his Golden Light Demon-Slaying Sword was instead repelled, tumbling high into the air—a stark contrast to his expectation that the sword would continue pressing forward to assault Ye Wen after breaking the palm force.

"That palm force was able to match my flying sword?"

Ren Tuze was inwardly astonished. He truly hadn't expected Ye Wen to possess such formidable strength. At this moment, he felt a touch of regret for not having watched Ye Wen's earlier engagement with Wang Pan and Zhang Jiyu; at least then he would have been forewarned instead of being completely blind to the situation like now.

While Ren Tuze was inwardly reeling, Ye Wen gave him no quarter. Having launched his palm strike, Ye Wen anticipated it would be blocked by Ren Tuze's flying sword. Thus, even as he urged the Zixiao Sword to attack Ren Tuze’s flank, Ye Wen himself followed closely behind his own palm force, aiming for a close-quarters confrontation.

In past confrontations, Ye Wen would usually unleash the Zixiao Sword and then stand aside to watch the fun. But this time was different; Ren Tuze was so arrogant, so powerful, and had spoken so many cutting words that Ye Wen dared not let this man escape. He was determined to use his full power to hold him down.

So, while Ren Tuze was still processing his shock, a figure burst forth from a cloud of dust. Before Ren Tuze could even register what was happening, he felt two sharp currents of wind slam into him—one aimed at his face and the other at his abdomen.

"Damn it! I almost forgot this guy is a Martial Cultivator!"

What was a Martial Cultivator? In the cultivation world, they were the kings of melee combat. Ren Tuze’s haughty stance earlier was based on the certainty that he could neutralize Ye Wen from a great distance!

Although rumors and reports from his disciples suggested Ye Wen possessed a superior flying sword, as a Sword Cultivator, how could Ren Tuze respect Ye Wen’s sword? He figured his junior disciples hadn't seen much of the world and mistook an ordinary flying sword for a treasure!

As for Ye Wen's sword manipulation skills? He was even less inclined to believe they could surpass his own!

His reasoning wasn't entirely flawed; if it came purely to sword techniques for killing, Ye Wen was indeed inferior to Ren Tuze. But was Ye Wen truly using a flying sword there? That was merely sword-form energy! More importantly, Ye Wen could attack with his sword while engaging in close combat simultaneously—making him far harder to deal with than a typical Sword Cultivator.

Moreover, while flying swords held immense power and offered numerous tactical applications, if the distance between combatants closed, the sword’s power was significantly diminished. Its full effect could barely surpass that of an ordinary longsword. Ye Wen understood this perfectly, which was why he charged straight into Ren Tuze's personal space from the beginning, forcing him to be unable to utilize the full might of his flying sword.

The two palm strikes Ye Wen used weren't the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms or the Soft Palm; rather, they were the rarely used Iron Palm. Ye Wen felt the Iron Palm was more suitable for this situation: first, because of its fierce power and rapid delivery; second, because the Iron Palm offered more variations, ensuring he wasn't caught off guard if Ren Tuze suddenly pulled out some strange maneuver, allowing Ye Wen to calmly adjust his responses.

As the upward and downward palms were launched, exactly as Ye Wen predicted, Ren Tuze immediately recalled his flying sword to defend himself. Simultaneously, he formed a hand seal and spat out a stream of sword qi!

Ye Wen was caught completely off guard by this move. He had expected the man to produce some treasured artifact or deploy a protective spell, but instead, he countered offense with defense, intending to use the sword qi to force Ye Wen back and buy time for his flying sword.

As for the sword qi itself, having reached this level, Ren Tuze had nurtured a substantial reserve of internal sword qi, which he could summon even more readily than Ye Wen could—after all, he was a genuine master Sword Cultivator!

The sword qi shot out, reaching Ye Wen in less than the blink of an eye, forcing Ye Wen to twist his body sharply, barely evading the attack. However, this dodge meant both his palms could no longer land their intended blows. Fortunately, Ye Wen adapted quickly; even as he twisted, he followed up with a sweeping kick: 'Sweep Across a Thousand Armies.'

This move was drawn from the Seven Revolving Slashes technique he had recently acquired. This discipline didn't restrict the practitioner to using a specific weapon or unarmed strikes. Although the manual described it as a palm technique, its moves could be adapted to swords, blades, legs, whips, or staffs as long as the situation was appropriate.

Therefore, Ye Wen’s deployment of the move now in a kick did not diminish its power. On the contrary, because the power generated by the legs surpassed that of the fists and palms, the impact was even greater!

When Ye Wen launched this kick, he forced Ren Tuze to jump slightly to evade the strike. But Ren Tuze hadn't anticipated that Ye Wen would use the momentum from the rotation to immediately follow with another sweep. This time, it wasn't aimed at the lower body, but directly at Ren Tuze's abdomen as he leaped slightly into the air.

Against an ordinary martial artist, this kick would surely have drawn blood; a weaker opponent might have been routed immediately.

But Ye Wen was facing not a mere martial artist, but a Sword Cultivator. Thus, the kick did not connect solidly with Ren Tuze, who used a simple dispersal spell to float backward and avoid the direct impact.

However, Ren Tuze didn't escape entirely unscathed. Ye Wen’s power was profound, and a kick launched with such force couldn't be entirely inert. This kick was not only tremendously powerful but also subtly incorporated the 'Scythe' aspect of the Seven Revolving Slashes, unleashing a wave of blade-like energy. Although Ren Tuze dodged the kick itself, he couldn't evade the residual energy. A long, bloody gash was carved across his abdomen by the sweep. Fortunately, the wound wasn't deep, posing no mortal threat.

Even so, Ren Tuze was enraged: "You refuse a toast only to demand a penalty! Watch my sword!" Ren Tuze was accustomed to wounding others; how long had it been since he himself had been injured? Shame and fury mingled, and he was determined to slay Ye Wen right here.

In that brief moment, the Golden Light Sword had already returned, its golden sword qi threatening to transform the entire vicinity into a golden expanse. The seven-colored radiance steaming off Ye Wen seemed like a tiny boat on a vast, turbulent sea, constantly on the verge of being swallowed by the boundless golden light.

Ye Wen showed no fear. He knew that while the golden light was spectacular, its destructive power was within his tolerance. Moreover, his Zixiao Sword was far from decorative. A streak of purple light drew an elegant arc, striking precisely against the flank of the Golden Light Sword. A sharp, crisp sound shattered the silence of the mountain, and immediately, the golden light surrounding the sword dimmed drastically. The blade wobbled in the air, looking as if it were drunk.

Seeing his chance arrive, Ye Wen executed his palms again, launching two purple lotus blossoms that shot out toward the Golden Light Sword—he intended to use the linking force of the Heavenly Heart Lotus Ring for a fatal blow against Ren Tuze’s sword.

Unfortunately, Ren Tuze was no corpse and wouldn't stand idly by while Ye Wen dismantled his flying sword. He waved his hands several times, sending streaks of golden sword qi shooting out from his voluminous sleeves, aimed directly at the two lotus forces Ye Wen had released, trying to intercept these lotus flowers—which he couldn't tell were magic artifacts or pure energy strikes—before they reached their target.

The sword qi was swift. Before Ye Wen’s two lotus blossoms could fully connect, Ren Tuze's golden sword qi arrived. With a series of muffled thuds, Ye Wen's two lotus blossoms were shredded like tattered cloth, riddled with holes, and finally dissipated into the air.

But the moment the lotus blossoms vanished, Ren Tuze noticed Ye Wen—with his right hand forming a sword finger and immediately followed by his left—also releasing two beams of purple sword qi. This was the Purple Heaven Dragon Qi Sword, the technique that had originally made Ye Wen famous. As Ye Wen's cultivation deepened and the Zixiao Sword began to take form, this technique was used less often, but that didn't mean it was obsolete. In fact, because the Purple Heaven Dragon Qi Sword was quick and easy to deploy, Ye Wen had kept it hidden as a surprise move, and its true nature was immediately revealed upon deployment.

Ren Tuze had just finished releasing his sword qi and was temporarily out of countermeasures. He felt a blur before his eyes, catching glimpses of two purple streaks, followed by a series of clanging sounds from his own flying sword. When he snapped back to awareness, his flying sword was spinning wildly in the air, and the light radiating from it had dimmed considerably, almost revealing the sword's true form.

"How is this possible?"

He specialized in the Way of the Sword. Upon reaching higher cultivation levels, Sword Cultivators gained internal sword qi as a form of harmonization between man and sword—a unique advantage of their path. How could Ye Wen, a Martial Cultivator, also possess sword qi? Was he actually a Sword Cultivator in disguise?

Ren Tuze didn't know that Ye Wen had begun studying sword qi techniques while practicing martial arts, and his mastery of sword qi had only improved after breaking through the Void. It was akin to one person practicing a skill since childhood, while another only began learning it in adulthood.

While the surface might show no difference, subtle distinctions remained. Because of this minor divergence, Ye Wen's Purple Heaven Dragon Qi Sword, once revealed, caused Ren Tuze immense shock.

But that wasn't all. Ye Wen's continuous attacks against the Golden Light Sword were merely groundwork for his next maneuver. As Ren Tuze launched himself forward to reclaim his flying sword, he suddenly felt immense pressure originating from behind him—Ye Wen had directly leaped into the air, unleashing his full power with the Purple Qi Coming From the East technique, aiming for Ren Tuze's heart meridian.

Simultaneously, the Zixiao Sword erupted in a rainbow of sword light, attacking from the flank. If Ren Tuze continued to dive for his sword, he would have to endure two earth-shattering strikes!