Chapter 60: Martial Arts or Immortal Cultivation?

Bitter One walked to the edge of the cliff, his gaze sweeping over the snowfield below. He watched the Qingxiao Sect members surround the three of Yang Jueding, his eyes moving forward, and his brows suddenly furrowed as he squinted.

He saw seven figures walking side-by-side through the snow mist towards the Qingxiao Sect members, and his expression changed slightly.

“How did they get here… This isn’t good!”

Bitter One immediately turned and rushed up the mountain.

Xu Ning and the Disciples of Qingxiao Sect approached the three of Yang Jueding, with Xu Ning even bypassing everyone to walk at the very front.

“Those seven people are not simple,” Zhang Yuchun said in a low voice as he came to Xu Ning’s side.

Xu Ning was only taller than his shoulder, but the Aura she displayed at this moment far surpassed his. Her eyes were calm, as if she didn’t put the seven people in front of her in her sight.

To Zhang Yuchun’s reminder, Xu Ning merely hummed in acknowledgment.

Zhang Yuchun turned around and smiled as he saw Disciples continuously descending the mountain from afar.

Aside from the True Disciples who practiced the Hunyuan Scripture, the other Disciples had practiced martial arts for years and ate very well daily. Yang Jueding had not held back, passing on his powerful Internal Skill to them, which allowed these Disciples’ martial arts to grow very quickly. Even if they couldn’t compare to first-rate masters, they were not ordinary people.

In Zhang Yuchun’s view, this battle was not a crisis; he felt that the Qingxiao Sect needed such a moment of tempering.

How could a person in the Martial Forest not experience fighting and killing? How could a Martial Forest School always quietly practice martial arts? Only by understanding the power of those in the Martial Forest could they set greater goals.

Qin Ye, holding an iron staff, came to Xu Ning’s side. He hesitated for a moment but still chose to step back, not wanting to steal his Senior Sister’s thunder.

The Seven Sons of Qingxiao also arrived. Huang Shan, who had just reached the Nourishing Origin Realm, First Layer, was very excited, ready to show off his skills. However, he saw only seven people in front, which made him calm down.

If there were many enemies, there must be weaklings mixed among them. If there were few enemies, they were likely all masters.

Huang Shan had, after all, gained experience in the Jianghu, knowing quite a bit about its affairs.

Judging by the postures of the seven people in front, they must be terrifyingly strong.

One by one, the Disciples of Qingxiao Sect stepped forward, standing behind Qin Ye in a line. Li Yang looked at this scene and suddenly felt that the Qingxiao Sect had changed so much. Some Disciples, whom he had seen with childishness last time he visited, now possessed the courage to face an enemy.

Soon, the seven figures in the snow mist revealed themselves: six men and one woman, all holding weapons and wearing ghost masks, like soul reapers from the underworld.

“Senior Brother, I didn’t expect a bunch of children to dare block our path.”

“Don’t underestimate this girl. She was actually able to cut my Flying Sword, and although the Qi on the blade dissipated quite a bit, it still shows that this girl’s martial arts are not low.”

“If the martial arts myth’s divine skill is truly here, that would be an unexpected delight.”

“Indeed, our Crown Prince, Your Highness, appears to be a carefree wanderer, but in reality, he has his own purpose wherever he goes. He should not be underestimated.”

These seven people discussed among themselves, completely disregarding the Qingxiao Sect members.

Yang Jueding stared intently at the seven people, trying to recall. His face suddenly changed dramatically, and he muttered to himself, “Could it be them…?”

Li Yang turned to him and asked in surprise, “Do you know them?”

“They are very likely the Seven Fiends of the Demonic Sect. Rumor has it that the Seven Fiends of the Demonic Sect are six men and one woman, each wielding different weapons, and all possess capabilities no less than the top martial artist of a prefecture. One of the Fiends even once won the title of the top martial artist in Yuzhou. Ever since the Demonic Sect was wiped out by the imperial court, their whereabouts became unknown. I didn’t expect them to still be alive after twenty years…”

Yang Jueding’s face grew grim, and his tone was very heavy.

Li Yang, as a scion of a noble family, knew more about the Demonic Sect than those in the Jianghu, and he was equally terrified.

Since the founding of the Great Li Dynasty, the most powerful Martial Forest School was the Demonic Sect, not even comparable to the three founding sects.

The Demonic Sect spread across several prefectures, sweeping through the Martial Forest of the world. Its experts were countless, and many gained the title of the top martial artist in various prefectures, their demonic might soaring to the heavens.

The most crucial point was that the Demonic Sect was not annihilated by the righteous sects of the Martial Forest; it was massacred by the current emperor with a massive army, and it is said that a considerable price was paid for it.

It is no exaggeration to say that the most recent martial arts myth was the Demonic Sect. However, the imperial court strictly forbade discussion of the Demonic Sect and destroyed all records related to it, so the younger generation rarely heard of its deeds.

“The Seven Fiends of the Demonic Sect are top-tier existences within the Demonic Sect, completely on par with the Four Protectors. It’s not good to confront them head-on,” Li Yang whispered.

Yang Jueding stared intently at the Seven Fiends of the Demonic Sect and said, “If we turn and flee now, we’ll die even faster.”

His gaze involuntarily shifted to Xu Ning at the very front. Xu Ning had always given him a profound and unfathomable feeling, but facing the Seven Fiends of the Demonic Sect, he felt very uncertain.

He gritted his teeth, stepped forward, and prepared to fight alongside Xu Ning.

The Seven Fiends of the Demonic Sect arrived five zhang from Xu Ning, stopped, and playfully sized her up.

The only woman among the Seven Fiends chuckled, “Little girl, your martial arts are pretty good. Do you want to join our School? If you agree, you can choose any ultimate art in the world, and there will be various precious medicinal materials to help you Body Tempering. Within five years, you’ll be able to enter the realm and become a true top expert.”

Xu Ning did not answer. She drew her sword and pointed it at the Seven Fiends of the Demonic Sect, her attitude already clear.

The Seven Fiends of the Demonic Sect all wore ghost masks, preventing anyone from seeing their true faces, but judging by their movements of gripping their weapons, they had already been provoked by Xu Ning.

Just as Yang Jueding arrived beside Xu Ning, a piercing cry echoed between the two peaks, causing him to instinctively look up.

He recognized this cry; to be precise, all the Disciples of Qingxiao Sect recognized it. Everyone looked up, even Xu Ning.

“What? Are you starting to pray to the heavens?”

The axe-wielder among the Seven Fiends of the Demonic Sect sneered. He was burly, like an iron tower.

They had all heard the eagle’s cry and didn’t pay much attention to it. Could the Qingxiao Sect really use an eagle to deal with them?

Just then, a strong wind descended from the sky, scattering the snow mist above their heads. The Seven Fiends of the Demonic Sect were startled and looked up. Immediately after, they were all so frightened that they adopted combat stances.

A dark shadow descended, plunging them into darkness. Their ghost masks only revealed their eyes, which were now wide open, filled with shock and fear.

A giant black eagle with a wingspan of five zhang hovered before them, continuously flapping its wings. Its talons hung in the air, sharp and gleaming, reflecting cold light, even sharper than the blades of the Seven Fiends of the Demonic Sect.

The Seven Fiends of the Demonic Sect, who had traveled the Jianghu for decades, believed themselves to be the most terrifying beings in the world. But today, seeing this giant black eagle, they were all terrified. They immediately leaped backward, creating distance from the black eagle.

Sunlight pierced through the snow mist, falling upon the giant black eagle. The Seven Fiends of the Demonic Sect looked closely and were horrified to discover a man standing on the black eagle’s back.

A very young, handsome man.

The Qingxiao Sect side was also startled by Xiao Ba’s sudden arrival, but when they saw Li Qingqiu’s back, they all became excited.

Yang Jueding breathed a sigh of relief. The pressure the Seven Fiends of the Demonic Sect brought upon him was immense. Fortunately, Li Qingqiu had arrived.

But then again, how could he stand on an eagle’s back and descend from the sky?

Yang Jueding was invigorated by Li Qingqiu’s dramatic entrance, clenching his fists within his sleeves.

Li Yang looked up at Li Qingqiu, his mouth agape, his eyes wide with astonishment.

“Who are you, demon?”

The whip-wielder among the Seven Fiends of the Demonic Sect asked with a trembling voice. The oppressive Aura of Li Qingqiu and Xiao Ba was too strong, causing the Seven Fiends of the Demonic Sect to feel immense pressure.

Li Qingqiu did not reply. He raised his right hand, and in an instant, sword drawing sounds continuously rang out. The iron swords in the hands of the Qingxiao Sect Disciples, numbering more than ten, all flew from their sheaths and hovered around him.

This scene terrified the Seven Fiends of the Demonic Sect, their eyes changing dramatically. They turned and fled.

The Disciples of Qingxiao Sect stared wide-eyed. Aside from Xu Ning, even Zhang Yuchun and Yang Jueding were shocked by Li Qingqiu’s control over the iron swords. Some even looked down at their own sword sheaths, thinking they were dreaming.

Li Qingqiu stood on the eagle’s back, waving his right hand forward. In an instant, the dozen or so iron swords hovering around him transformed into streaks of cold light and shot away.

A Seven Fiends expert wielding dual blades heard the sound of rushing air, immediately turned, and swung his dual blades forward, attempting to block the incoming Flying Sword.

Pfft—

Blood splattered. This Seven Fiends expert was directly beheaded, his body still maintaining the posture of gripping his blades, while his dual blades shattered like mirrors, scattering in the air.

This scene terrified the other six Fiends. They knew they couldn’t hide, so they all turned, intending to resist together.

Flying Swords came at them with incredible speed, making their movements seem so slow. They were successively pierced through by the Flying Swords. The female expert standing at the very back was even dragged backward by a Flying Sword for dozens of zhang, finally pinned to the snowfield, her limbs hanging down, her eyes beneath the ghost mask filled with despair.

No sooner said than done, from Li Qingqiu’s move to the demise of the Seven Fiends of the Demonic Sect, less than two breaths of time passed.

It happened so fast that the Qingxiao Sect members didn’t even have time to react.

In the distance, Su Xiling hurried to the edge of the cliff, just in time to witness this scene. She widened her eyes and instinctively rubbed them, confirming that she hadn’t seen wrong.

Li Qingqiu withdrew his hand, and the Flying Swords detached from the corpses, swiftly flying back to him. He then waved his hand backward, his sleeves fluttering. These Flying Swords shed their Sword Qi, transforming into ordinary iron swords, and returned to their sheaths. The Disciples of Qingxiao Sect only felt a tremor in their tiger’s mouth, looked down, and saw that their swords had already returned to their sheaths.

“Elder Yang, remember to collect the bodies.”

As Li Qingqiu’s words fell, Xiao Ba flapped its wings, stirring up a raging wind. It soared into the sky and disappeared into the swirling snow mist.

Even after he left, the Disciples of Qingxiao Sect still hadn’t fully processed what had happened.

Li Yang collapsed onto the snow, kneeling. He looked up at the sky, as if in a dream. What had he just seen?

“Is it martial arts… or immortal arts?”

Xu Ning, meanwhile, looked into the distance. She sensed the Aura of Zhao Linglong and Dian Ming. Without waiting for the Disciples of Qingxiao Sect to recover, she charged forward with her sword, quickly disappearing into the snow mist… In the guest courtyard, Yan Lan held a book. Bitter One had been down the mountain for some time, and for some reason, he felt restless and couldn’t calm down to read.

“Could this calamity be more than just the Qingxiao Sect’s calamity?”

Yan Lan murmured to himself. He put down the book in his hand, stood up, and walked out of the courtyard.

Bitter Two, who was recuperating, also stood up and followed his steps.

Just as he walked out of the courtyard, a gust of wind swept in, blowing down the accumulated snow from the trees. Yan Lan raised his hand to block the falling snow. He suddenly felt his vision go dark, then instantly returned to light. He instinctively turned his head and couldn’t help but widen his eyes.

He actually saw a giant black eagle, as monstrous as a demon, flying over the forest, and on top of the black eagle was a figure with his back to him.

Yan Lan was stunned, doubting if he had seen correctly.

Bitter Two walked out from the courtyard. He didn’t see Li Qingqiu, only Xiao Ba. Xiao Ba’s wings just happened to obscure Li Qingqiu’s body from the side.

“What a large eagle! Are there such wondrous creatures in this mountain?” Bitter Two walked to Yan Lan’s side, his voice filled with awe.

At the same time.

Li Qingqiu stepped on Xiao Ba’s head and cursed in a low voice, “Can’t you be less mischievous?”