The sky was blue, and the ground beneath was blue, but the streak of emerald light not far ahead soured Ye Wen’s otherwise passable mood. "This fellow is here; could it be..." A terrible possibility crossed his mind, one that he felt was frighteningly close to the truth.

"It's the Ancestor of the Verdant Blood!" Ye Wen emerged from Ning Ruxue's sword light, now hovering in the air—he had been carried by her all this way, focusing entirely on recuperation. Though not fully recovered, standing suspended was no longer a significant difficulty.

On the surface, Ye Wen appeared fine, yet only he knew the true state of his body; the depleted True Qi had not returned. Although the Innate Violet Qi was tirelessly mending his internal injuries and struggling to restore his power, the diminishing supply of Glazed Essence, coupled with the scarcity of Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi, had drastically slowed the recharge rate of the Violet Qi, making it nowhere near what it once was.

"Without Glazed Essence (the substance formed by combining the Crimson Fruit and the Glazed Fire) as a backup, even the recovery speed has plummeted!" Still, given the current circumstances, Ye Wen had no choice but to feign normalcy. He addressed Qiu Yuanlong: "May I ask why the Ancestor has detained me?" Qiu Yuanlong had been scrutinizing Ye Wen from the moment he appeared, looking him up and down.

After a long appraisal, he found nothing outwardly amiss. Hearing Ye Wen's question, he replied, "I have a serious matter to discuss with Sect Master Ye!" "Oh." Qiu Yuanlong chuckled: "I wish to borrow something from Sect Master Ye!" Ye Wen blinked, then sneered: "Surely the Ancestor isn't going to say something as unoriginal as, 'Lend me your head to ease my mind!'?" Qiu Yuanlong paused at this, then erupted into laughter: "One who knows me indeed, Sect Master Ye!" At these words, Ning Ruxue and Hua Yi stepped forward simultaneously, unleashing brilliant sword light to shield Ye Wen behind them.

Ye Wen paused, realizing the two women were concerned for his safety and, knowing his own weakened state prevented him from fighting, had preemptively protected him. But their actions clearly broadcasted his poor condition, indicating he was unfit for battle, right?

As expected, upon seeing this display, Qiu Yuanlong laughed heartily: "Sect Master Ye is indeed wounded! You cannot blame this Ancestor for taking advantage!" Before the words fully left his mouth, a wave of sword energy struck through the air.

Qiu Yuanlong instantly executed an escape technique, creating distance between himself and Ye Wen's party. Only then did they notice the sword energy originated from a long sword glowing with a greenish-jade light, wielded by the woman clad in the azure long skirt.

"Heh heh, Sect Master Ye! Are you reduced to hiding behind a woman now?

Truly despicable!" Seeing this, Qiu Yuanlong assumed Ye Wen’s injuries were severe and felt his chances of victory soar. He muttered internally: "I had planned to fight tooth and nail, even risking grave injury to cripple Ye Wen, but to stumble upon such a golden opportunity!" "Senior Brother's intelligence was correct.

If I can slay Ye Wen, the Shu Mountain Sect will be headless. Even if others can manage affairs temporarily, they won't recover quickly.

The rise of the Qingcheng Sect hinges on this moment!" Thoughts raced in his mind, but his hands were swift. The Ancestor of the Verdant Blood waved his wide sleeve, and a long sword glowing with bloody light materialized before him.

As the sword manifested, the heavens and earth were stained crimson, and the clear azure sky seemed to transform into the Asura Hell. Qiu Yuanlong stood suspended, his long hair flowing—the very image of a peerless demon lord.

"With that kind of styling, how can you expect to be good?" Ye Wen inwardly scoffed, retreating slightly, watching quietly as Ning Ruxue and Hua Yi engaged Qiu Yuanlong. Others might not know, but Ye Wen, having spent countless days with the two women, was acutely aware of their power levels.

Although the dwindling essence within their bodies meant their progress could no longer match his own rapid advancement, it had afforded them time to consolidate their cultivation. In these past few years, the two women's overall power hadn't increased significantly, but their application of that power was leagues beyond what it was before, accompanied by a deeper understanding of their own techniques and moves.

Consider this: under the reflection of the omnipresent crimson light, Hua Yi summoned her newly mastered Aqua Divinity Light with a mere wave, releasing a gentle mist that purified much of the bloody aura, preventing it from harming her—a testament to the women's vast improvement. Then, Ning Ruxue's brow shone, and the Azure Lotus reappeared above it.

As if receiving a command, the Azure Lotus Sword suddenly accelerated dramatically, its erupting sword energy surging by two or threefold. It carved a brilliant pillar of cyan light across the sky, plunging directly towards Qiu Yuanlong.

Qiu Yuanlong had expected the two women's cultivation to be shallow; after all, he had seen Ning Ruxue fight before, and though her flying sword was decent then, it hadn't captured his attention. He hadn't anticipated such an explosion of power after only a few years.

However, he was not afraid even of this much. With a sharp pinch of his fingers, the Nine Heavens Demonic Blood God Sword seemed to obey, unleashing an even more terrifying bloody radiance laced with black vapor.

The blade swirled in the air, aiming straight for Ning Ruxue's Azure Lotus Sword. "Touch this with my Nine Heavens Demonic Blood God Sword, and your flying sword will be useless!" Although his sword couldn't harm Ye Wen's Purple Heaven Sword back then, Qiu Yuanlong believed his divine sword hadn't been fully refined then, and Ye Wen’s sword must possess some peculiarity.

He refused to believe that any random sword from the Shu Mountain Sect could withstand his divine sword, especially now that the Nine Heavens Demonic Blood God Sword was fully refined and far more potent. Unexpectedly, Ning Ruxue directed her Azure Lotus Sword into a head-on collision with his demonic blade.

Qiu Yuanlong was shocked yet secretly delighted: "Little vixen, you'll pay for this!" With a deafening crash, the two pillars of light collided. The sound was like several massive thunderclaps echoing beside their ears simultaneously, while potent gale forces blasted outwards, whipping up monstrous waves even on the sea surface.

Ye Wen glanced at the seawater below, thinking only: "The nearby area is fine, but I wonder if these waves will turn into tsunamis by the time they reach the other side of the Pacific?" As for the collision between Ning Ruxue's and Qiu Yuanlong's flying swords, he felt utterly uninterested. Firstly, neither Ning Ruxue’s nor Qiu Yuanlong’s swords were known for brute, overwhelming force.

Ning Ruxue’s sword focused on intricate variation (more importantly, it wasn't a true physical sword), while Qiu Yuanlong’s demonic blade specialized in eerie deceit and numerous vile properties that most ordinary flying swords dared not touch. But Ning Ruxue’s sword was condensed from her own sword energy, making it immune to such things; at worst, she could discard the corrupted parts and simply replenish them with sword energy via her mental link to the sword.

Thus, while the resulting impact between their swords was terrifying, it was insignificant in Ye Wen's eyes. What mattered more was Ning Ruxue’s subsequent move.

Sure enough, after the clash with Qiu Yuanlong’s demonic blade, Ning Ruxue’s sword seemed to shatter into pieces, scattering across the air as tiny flecks of green. This spectacle surprised not only Ye Wen but also Qiu Yuanlong: "Is that flying sword so fragile?

Destroyed in one blow?" He mentally assumed Ning Ruxue’s sword had been smashed to pieces by his demonic blade, not considering other possibilities. To his surprise, these fragments of the Azure Lotus Sword transformed into a shower of green flower petals.

Instead of drifting down, they flew outwards in all directions towards Qiu Yuanlong. At this point, Qiu Yuanlong realized his error—the sword hadn't been destroyed; this was a special attribute of the opponent's weapon: "Where did the Shu Mountain Sect acquire so many miraculous flying swords?" Ye Wen’s Purple Heaven Sword was one thing, but this woman’s sword was also bizarrely unique, capable of fragmenting into countless pieces?

He recalled witnessing Ning Ruxue use the imprisoned Azure Lotus Sword to injure the True Man of Diancang, but back then the sword transformed into several beams of green light, which was quite different from this situation. This turn of events made Ye Wen smirk secretly, realizing Ning Ruxue was employing the characteristics of his own Minor Formless Art, mimicking Zhang Ling's ability from Senbonzakura (Thousand Cherry Blossoms).

This ability was perfectly suited for a weapon forged entirely from condensed sword energy. The only difficulty was the need for extremely fine control.

Simultaneously, Ye Wen noticed that as these green petals flew, they increased in number. He focused his senses and realized that Ning Ruxue’s technique didn't just imitate Senbonzakura; she was also using the method of the Thousand Fading Light Sword, condensing spiritual sword slivers shaped like flower petals for the attack.

Given the current world's scarcity of spiritual energy, condensing such a massive quantity of spiritual energy swords was impossible, but creating tiny, petal-sized fragments was achievable. Ning Ruxue had clearly considered this, making her execution of the technique both practical and precise!

This vast cluster of petals surged towards Qiu Yuanlong. Seeing the danger, the Ancestor of the Verdant Blood immediately tried to recall his flying sword for defense, only to find he couldn't.

Glancing over, he saw the other woman employing some unknown technique that had snagged his sword. It was Hua Yi, using the Three-Color Divine Light she had successfully mastered, entangled with the demonic blade, forcing it to remain preoccupied and ensuring Ning Ruxue’s strike would be fatal to the Ancestor of the Verdant Blood.

Hua Yi swept her right hand, unleashing a stream of Geng Metal Divine Light. The white radiance, like a flowing sash, struck the blade of the retreating demonic sword with an exceptionally crisp clang of metal on metal.

Struck, the demonic sword seemed to flare with aggression. It spun twice in the air, and even more black mist erupted around it, within which countless vengeful spirits seemed to gather, accompanied by shrieks of agony.

Hua Yi’s expression darkened slightly, but her hands showed no hesitation. She swung her left hand, releasing the black divine light of the Aqua Divinity Light.

As the light emerged, numerous perfectly pure water droplets sprinkled out. Upon contact with the black mist, the mist instantly turned into white smoke and vanished into the air.

What astonished Ye Wen even more was that as the white smoke dissipated, he thought he saw figures of the deceased flying out, their faces etched with expressions of joy. "Are those the vengeful souls trapped within the sword?" While musing, Hua Yi retracted the two streams of divine light.

She then swung both hands forward, unleashing a blast of azure light. As this azure divine light appeared, continuous lightning bolts sparked forth with thunderous roars, striking the demonic sword one after another.

Hua Yi was employing these moves at full strength, so although the demonic sword was formidable, it couldn't break free immediately. However, destroying it with just these few techniques would not be easy.

Even so, this frustrated Qiu Yuanlong greatly. His most relied-upon flying sword was tethered, and the enemy’s assault was upon him.

Even with his Thousand-Mile Instantaneous Ethereal Escape, he wasn't immortal. Ning Ruxue's adaptation of the Thousand Fading Light Sword into the Senbonzakura style was vexing Qiu Yuanlong.

In panic, he unleashed every magic artifact he possessed. Beams of light flew from his hands, dazzling in every conceivable color, seemingly without repetition!

The Ancestor of the Verdant Blood had cultivated for ages and roamed the world for centuries, accumulating no small fortune, further supplemented by the Qingcheng Sect's clandestine funding. The array of artifacts he deployed made even Ning Ruxue pause in awe.

He first used eighteen thunder-fireballs that boomed as they blasted an opening in her petal mass. Then, he flung out several talismans which, instead of flying far, instantly expanded to form a diamond-shaped protective shield around him.

Next, Qiu Yuanlong tossed out a lotus pedestal, mounted it, and in the same motion threw out a long spear that immediately ignited, the surrounding flames coalescing into a fiery phoenix that let out a crisp cry before charging toward the newly opened gap. The Ancestor of the Verdant Blood piloted the lotus pedestal close behind, finally breaking free of the encirclement.

To prevent Ning Ruxue's technique from pursuing him, he flipped a prism-like object behind him. This prism object was pitch black and utterly unremarkable, seemingly worthless.

However, when one of the petals touched it, it erupted with terrifying heat. In an instant, the area where the cluster of green petals had been transformed into a sea of fire—a green fire, clearly not ordinary flame.

"Ghost fire?" The Ancestor of the Verdant Blood’s tactic startled Ning Ruxue. However, with a flick of her divine sense, she confirmed her flying sword was not completely destroyed; only the petals, temporarily condensed from spiritual energy and lacking sufficient density, had been incinerated.

With a thought, she commanded the Azure Lotus Sword to reform within the flames and blast out, escaping the green fire. Yet, the moment the sword emerged, Ning Ruxue discovered the green flame seemed to cling to it.

No matter how she channeled her power, the green flame stubbornly remained attached to the Azure Lotus Sword. Furthermore, she sensed a bone-chilling coldness mingled with a searing pain in the divine sense she had embedded within the sword.

She immediately understood this green fire could injure her divine sense. Sensing this, Ning Ruxue did not hesitate.

She instantly dispersed the Azure Lotus Sword, transforming it into an infinite torrent of sword energy that rushed towards Qiu Yuanlong, with only a single thread of energy flying back towards her—this thread was the essence of sword qi she had tempered between her eyebrows for years, the foundation of her current command over the Azure Lotus Sword, and vitally important! Though Qiu Yuanlong didn't know the specifics, his rich experience allowed him to guess that the single thread of green light was crucial.

Ignoring the boundless azure sword qi hurtling toward him, he snapped his fingers, redirecting the fire phoenix that had guided him out to strike directly at Ning Ruxue’s thread of sword qi, attempting to intercept and destroy it. However, Qiu Yuanlong hadn't anticipated that just as he thought he was about to obliterate Ning Ruxue’s strand of azure sword qi—which he believed would immediately destroy the woman’s flying sword—the seemingly thin strand suddenly flared with intense green light, reforming into a long sword glowing with cyan radiance.

It then slightly shifted its trajectory, turning instead towards his Six Harmonies Welcoming Phoenix Spear. "Damn it!" Qiu Yuanlong, realizing he had been tricked, became flustered.

He commanded the lotus pedestal to evade the azure sword qi, directed his Six Harmonies Welcoming Phoenix Spear to avoid the flying sword's attack, all while desperately trying to disentangle his demonic sword from the other woman’s entanglement. At that precise moment, a sudden rushing sound reached his ears.

Turning hastily, he saw that the woman who had been grappling with him had somehow closed the distance. With a sweep of her hands, her pair of delicate palms seemed to multiply endlessly, enveloping him in an ocean of shadow palms.

With Ning Ruxue’s current power, her Heaven's Net Takedown technique was far from the mostly feigned moves of the past. If the former Ning Ruxue possessed one true strike out of ten, the current one might have three or four.

More critically, her feints looked more real, were faster, and produced more shadows, sealing off virtually every possible blind spot. Qiu Yuanlong had hoped the talismans would hold for a moment, but as Ning Ruxue’s swarm of palm shadows appeared, the talismans instantly disintegrated—Ning Ruxue had destroyed those talismans first!

And then… there was no then. Only a continuous series of pfft-pfft sounds followed, and Qiu Yuanlong instantly vanished from the world, obliterated by countless strikes from the infinite sword qi until not even ashes remained.

At that instant, another massive sound echoed. The Six Harmonies Welcoming Phoenix Spear and the Azure Lotus Sword finally met.

Having lost its master, the spear’s flame extinguished, reverting to its original form as it flew wildly into the distance, until it was caught squarely by a passing monk.