Though the sword itself dissipated, the powers of ice and fire, along with the violet lightning, still lingered. They burst outward, instantly carving a chasm several dozen zhang deep into the earth below.

Not only the Ye sisters, who were moments from death, but even Qiu Ling found their gazes drawn toward the direction where the sword energy had raged.

Even Qiu Ling stood frozen, his jaw slack with astonishment!

The tyrannical, overwhelming surge of the sword force had pulverized virtually everything in its path! It had even left a blank void where nearby free-floating spiritual energy had been. In that instant, the spiraling sword light seemed to cleave heaven and earth itself!

In that moment, Qiu Ling felt his scalp tingle, a gooseflesh crawling over his entire body.

He hadn't clearly witnessed the fierce exchange between Zong Shou and Yun Xu. But he knew this vast sword momentum was something even a peak Martial Ancestor of the Sixth Meridian Earth Wheel could not withstand head-on! It was truly unstoppable, ridiculously powerful!

Then, his eyelids suddenly twitched, and a sensation of extreme peril flooded his heart. Amidst the turbulent gales of protective energy ahead, a spark of cold light flared, instantly arriving before his eyes. It was unmistakably a Yun Wen flying dagger, its cold gleam shimmering and shifting unpredictably.

"It is the Jing Yun Shen Mie Sword Intent!"

Almost instantly, Qiu Ling perceived the martial intent contained within the flying dagger.

He gave up on capturing the two girls who were moments from falling into his grasp, abruptly retreating, his feet kicking back as he darted over sixty zhang away.

His gaze never left the tip of the dagger, constantly discerning its erratic trajectory. Finally, his eyes widened, and he swiftly pinched his fingers in front of him. A handleless flying dagger immediately materialized between his fingertips. With its residual force still vibrating violently, just as Qiu Ling allowed himself a slight breath of relief, the dagger suddenly exploded, shattering into thousands of fragments. One shard, the tip, pierced through his fingers, instantly accelerating several times its speed, aimed directly at his throat!

"This is True Energy Detonation?"

Qiu Ling's face instantly flushed a sickly green and white. In a movement barely separable from the previous one, he violently wrenched his head aside. He narrowly avoided the thrust aimed at his throat, but the sharp shard pierced deeply into his left shoulder, passing through his body and leaving a thin line of blood.

Even with his iron-strong nerves, he gasped sharply. What kind of demonic cultivation technique had this young master of the Qiantian Mountain learned? The vital energy remained latent until triggered, only exploding hundreds of zhang away! Was he serious? Why had he forgotten that scene in the forest that day? Though it was also concealed sword energy triggered by the man himself, it had lain dormant for a full half a day!

All will to fight vanished from Qiu Ling's heart. [Baidu Shen Huang Bar] He cast a look tinged with regret toward the myriad fragments of flesh and blood scattering wildly in the distance. His senior brother was a ruthless man, and extremely intelligent. Dying here was truly a pity.

Then his pupils constricted as he witnessed a sight that plunged him into absolute terror. Zong Shou’s sword light had barely faded when a puff of blue smoke rose from the back of his head.

It was the size of a millstone, wreathed in violet lightning, fearless even under the harsh midday sun. Within the smoke, three talismans seemed to reside. Carrying the Lei Ya Sword, the soul entity flashed forward swiftly.

"You are a Spirit Master, in the Soul Projection realm—no! Three true talismans, the soul power pure and condensed—you are a Spirit Master who has entered the Night Roaming realm!"

Muttering curses incessantly, Qiu Ling’s eyes split wide with rage. At this moment, unprecedented despair engulfed his soul.

He immediately abandoned all thought of escape. A Spirit Master's soul-roam covered miles in an instant, far surpassing that of a Martial Master. Even now, fleeing might not guarantee safety.

Almost instantly, he donned a white, silk-like fist glove. All the strength in his body exploded outward at that moment, surging into his limbs and meridians. Every pore on his skin burst open.

Just as Zong Shou’s Nascent Soul descended from above, Qiu Ling roared, his vital blood and primal yang surging, gathering all his True Energy power, and unleashed a punch towards the sky.

In this fight, he had no retreat! Only by exerting his utmost strength could he find a sliver of survival.

Zong Shou’s Nascent Soul showed no restraint. In his mind, it remained utterly cold and sharp. The forceful surge of blood and yang slammed toward him, but before it even made contact, it was shattered by the violet lightning. Yet, it still caused his Nascent Soul minor damage, sending a burning, searing pain.

But it in no way affected his consciousness; his mind was cold as bedrock ice.

As the slanted light descended, it too manifested as a giant spiral, spinning as it slashed downward!

If the sword momentum during his fight with Yun Xu could only be called domineering, then the momentum now was utterly annihilating—a complete crushing obliteration!

He, possessing only a Congenital body, even with the aid of an external elixir, commanded merely ninety thousand jin of strength. Yet, now, using his Nascent Soul to command the sword, a full two hundred thousand jin of force was added to the blade!

Sword met fist, and a string of muffled peng-peng sounds immediately echoed in the void.

Qiu Ling’s hand was flesh and blood, but those silk gloves were impervious even to spiritual swords. However, after just a dozen strikes, his bones cracked and bent unnaturally. And the power of ice and fire instantly surged downward!

This time, the sword momentum seemed even more tyrannical. The Ye sisters watched with ghastly pale faces as the spinning sword shadow carved through Qiu Ling’s body, shattering it into pieces of minced meat scores of times smaller than fingernail clippings, which spattered outward violently, dyeing a full thirty zhang of snow-covered ground a deep crimson.

And when the spiraling sword momentum finally met no resistance and struck the ground, another deafening boom reverberated, as if the heavens and earth were shaking. Dust and debris billowed up from the snow, mingled with shards of flying ice.

When all the smoke and dust finally cleared, a massive crater, nearly a hundred zhang in diameter, gaped open!

Zong Shou’s Nascent Soul ascended once more. Carried by a clean breeze, it instantly returned to his physical body.

Ye Feishuang and Ye Feihan remained rooted to the spot, unable to look away, staring blankly at the enormous, fresh crater before them.

They felt that no language could currently describe the thoughts swirling in their minds; they could only gaze silently from a distance.

And within Ye Feishuang’s mind flashed a thought almost identical to Qiu Ling’s: Zong Shou was actually a Spirit Master! Three true talismans meant his soul energy had completed its qualitative change—a genuine Night Roaming realm practitioner, a being comparable to a Martial Ancestor among Spirit Masters!

This youth, whom she had previously assumed was merely an ordinary stone quarryman, not only slaughtered Congenital masters as easily as butchering dogs, possessing swordsmanship and martial arts capable of standing against these elite Martial Ancestors, but he also commanded such profound mastery in spiritual arts!

What kind of terrifying figure had she and her sister encountered here in Water Lily Lake?

As Zong Shou returned to his body, he casually beckoned, pulling the Demon-Eyed Silver Bear guarding his side back into his sleeve.

While contemplating when to unseal this soul beast, he frowned and tapped his forehead, attempting to alleviate a burgeoning headache.

Qiu Ling's blood energy and yang power hadn't caused him much trouble. It was his own sword that had injured him.

When the sword momentum fully erupted, his Nascent Soul could not evade it. Though not taking the direct impact, the recoil alone had wounded him severely.

Turning around, he glanced at the two massive craters he had created, one before and one behind, and Zong Shou couldn't help but feel speechless. Failure, failure!

The sword momentum was strong, yet unable to coalesce—that was the first failure. In the end, he couldn't even control it himself—that was the second failure! Though the lingering force was potent, if the initial strike was intercepted, it could barely be unleashed—that was the third failure! It consumed too much power; just two strikes had drained him of all his strength—that was the fourth failure!

Although he had won this battle, it was too embarrassing. Even in the fight with Yun Xu, where he had seized the initiative and held all the advantages, he had nearly been turned around by Yun Xu’s explosive counterattack. If not for the aid of his Six Gods Controlling Blade Technique, he might have been instantly killed by the opponent's final outburst. And when finally killing Qiu Ling, he was foolish enough to be wounded by his own sword.

Luckily, no one else was present. The two girls were still too low in realm to understand the truth. Otherwise, he would be utterly mortified today.

This Han Shi Sword style he employed clearly required further refinement before it could be practically implemented; it was far too early.

However, Yun Xu's swordsmanship truly possessed some merit. He estimated his Han Shi Sword could take Yun Xu's life within a single breath, yet it was held off for a full five breaths. This wasn't due to relying on the impossibly fast Mo Kui Remnant Sword, but purely on his exceptional swordsmanship!

"This man, even without cultivating the Mo Kui Remnant Sword, would only be slightly inferior to Li Xieling. Alas, you were a beauty, but fate made you a eunuch..."

With a slight sigh, Zong Shou felt infinite melancholy. He glanced again at the two sisters. He saw Ye Feihan's mouth being tightly covered by Ye Feishuang, and within the latter's eyes, a faint shade of wary defense was already emerging.

Zong Shou paused, then broke into a wry laugh. With a wave of his wide sleeve, the Hei Lang Sword flew back across the distance, disappearing into his sleeve. The remnants of Yun Xu, Qiu Ling, and the others were collected just as unceremoniously.

"Girls, take care. This place cannot be lingered in. I won't be staying long either. I could protect you once, but I cannot protect you a second time. Zong Shou bids farewell!"

Without another word, Zong Shou turned and left. He still held his hand up, walking toward the bank with a kacha-kacha sound, but he had only gone halfway when a sharp cry of "Wait!" echoed from behind.

Zong Shou didn't bother turning around, but as soon as he passed the hundred zhang mark, a whooshing sound came from behind him. Raising an eyebrow, Zong Shou casually caught two objects handed to him. One was about the size of a fist, perfectly round and extremely smooth.

Upon closer inspection, it was a transparent crystal sphere. Spiritual patterns were etched externally, and suspended within was an object that was like a sword yet not a sword, radiating a sharp, potent aura.

The second object was a stone, utterly unremarkable, pure black.

"These are items my mother acquired by chance years ago from a sword cultivator who carried them. One is a Sword Nurturing Stone, the other a Sword Sheathing Pearl. Seeing as you use your Nascent Soul to command your sword and excel in the Dao of the Sword, these two items shall serve as your reward for saving our lives today!"

Ye Feishuang lifted her chin slightly, a hint of coldness in her tone: "Lest you claim later that we sisters are ungrateful and fail to recognize kindness!"

The corners of Zong Shou's lips instantly curled upward uncontrollably. He grinned broadly and tucked the items away.

He wasn't foolish enough to discard such treasures. With his existing mood, he certainly wasn't going to refuse these benefits.

These two treasures—if he missed this opportunity today, he might never find such a chance again.

Waving his hand casually backward, Zong Shou chuckled and winked at Ye Feihan before continuing his walk, moving like a wooden puppet, but his pace had increased slightly.