Cohabitation with Sword Spirit

Chapter 370 - 107: A Heartfelt Reunion

"Tch, they really found me."

When Zhao Jincheng finally used the Golden Jade Secret Technique to locate the enemy who had been toying with him repeatedly, Li Wanqing released the white sword she held with some disappointment on a desolate mountain not far from the outskirts of this distorted plain.

The white sword was about three feet long, with the tip embedded in the mountaintop. Its blade faintly revealed mysterious flowing patterns, and if examined closely, one could see details like mountains and rivers that seemed to vaguely correspond with the surrounding mountains.

When Li Wanqing let go of the sword, a graceful young man in white suddenly appeared next to it, gently picking up the white sword and meticulously wiping the hilt with a handkerchief.

Li Wanqing’s eyebrows twitched as she watched: "Do you think I’m some kind of dirty thing!?" she said, blushing slightly, "I don’t have sweaty hands, you know!"

Wang Jiu responded righteously, "You were eating snacks just before you held me."

"...I wiped my hands with a handkerchief."

"Your handkerchief hasn’t been washed for a day, and the last time you did, you used a low-end, mass-produced detergent."

"Are you really such a clean freak!?"

"Even Shen Qingming, that idiot, knows to disinfect and clean seriously before holding me. Where do you get off criticizing me for being a clean freak?"

"...Fine, I was wrong. Let’s prepare for the battle; that guy is about to come out."

As she spoke, Li Wanqing let out a light breath, her expression turning serious.

Thus, the preludes of this great battle concluded. The two deputy city lords had indeed provided significant assistance, and now they had to rely on their own strength to face this hard-hitting fierce battle.

——

In Shen City, two strikes broke the earth vein flow of the southern city mountains, causing an earth vein storm right beneath Zhao Jincheng’s feet.

Normally, this kind of earth vein disturbance is not naturally formed but induced by external forces, an act against the heavens, and would soon be dissolved by the great power of nature. Also, during an earth vein storm, the rampant spiritual power is entirely chaotic, and no one can predict what phenomena might occur within the storm.

Unless there is an expert who can exquisitely master the earth vein spiritual power’s circulation, who at the moment of the earth vein storm’s detonation, can integrate their power into it, guiding the flow of earth vein spiritual power with unparalleled skill.

Theoretically, no cultivator could do such a thing because the True Essence obtained through Immortal Cultivation, though largely derived from nature, is transformed by the body and divine sense and is no longer akin to the natural world. A cultivator’s True Essence mixed in with the earth vein spiritual power would react like cold water hitting boiling oil, instantly causing an explosive response. Even a Saint Sect Leader, with overwhelmingly strong force, might constrain the operation of the earth vein’s spiritual power forcibly, but to integrate their strength into the earth vein, leading it as a natural leader, is utterly impossible.

Even during the ancient times of the Immortal Demon war, those Heaven Shattering Realm cultivators found it difficult to perfectly merge their power with nature; it is only those who have surpassed the Celestial and Human Boundary, fully entering the Void Realm as True Immortals, that might achieve such an ideal state.

This is the realm where the Celestial Divine Sword resides.

The Celestial Divine Sword, refined from the essence of Jiuzhou by the Jiu Immortal Venerables, inherently has an intimate connection with every grass and tree on the Jiuzhou Continent, and its power within the Sword World can emulate a cultivator’s True Essence or transform into the myriad forms of energy existing in nature.

This naturally includes the earth vein spiritual power.

At its peak, the Celestial Divine Sword possessed divine techniques commanding heaven and earth; its sword edge could overturn mountains and rivers, and make the sun, moon, and stars rotate. However, after the collapse of the Sword World, these divine techniques vanished without a trace, especially since the laws of heaven and earth in Xiangzhou now differ from back then, making it impossible to cut the modern officials with an ancient sword.

What the current Celestial Divine Sword can do is merely fish in troubled waters. First, the two deputy city lords of Shen City disrupted the earth vein flow among the mountains, and after the original order disappeared, the Celestial Divine Sword swiftly integrated, gaining temporary control over the earth vein.

Although the duration is short, within this limited time, the Celestial Divine Sword can act as the overlord of heaven and earth, dominating the temporal and spatial changes here, and altering the landscapes. But this requires the Celestial Divine Sword to focus entirely, immersing itself without distraction; it cannot spare any effort to consider how the local time-space should change or what kind of trap to create.

Fortunately, the Celestial Divine Sword is not fighting alone. Right next to Wang Jiu is a talented young girl adept at trap construction, Li Wanqing, who harnessed skills honed from her childhood scheming with Li Ruwen. With the Celestial Divine Sword in her grip, Li Wanqing controlled the overall situation and devised an entire set of traps tailored for Zhao Jincheng.

First, she used illusions to lure away two bodyguards, then, created perfectly timed fog and spatial barriers to draw off the two Guiding Dogs, finally leaving Zhao Jincheng to maim himself in a twisted loop.

Before the battle began, the combat ability of Zhao Jincheng’s entourage had already been reduced by ninety percent; even Zhao Jincheng himself was seriously injured, making the situation extremely favorable.

However, facing a Rain Cover Realm expert, a grand master trained personally by City Lord Golden Jade, this battle still had no guarantee of absolute victory.

Even with the assistance of the Celestial Divine Sword’s true form.

When Zhao Jincheng stepped through space, tearing it apart with his blood-splattered, flesh-shaped palms amidst lightning and void... even though they were more than ten miles apart, Li Wanqing felt a shiver from the depths of her heart.

This was far beyond the oppressive aura of an ordinary Rain Cover Realm expert... The slight pressure she felt when teasing Sister Xin at home was incomparable to the presence of this 30-year-old young man before her.

Although Zhao Jincheng had only recently entered the Rain Cover Realm, and his True Essence Realm was not yet stable, making his True Essence fluctuation not particularly strong... the dazzling and overwhelming spiritual light of his magical treasures, combined with his immense killing intent, created an authentic sense of pressure.

Even with Wang Jiu assisting, this battle would inevitably be fierce, as Wang Jiu was not in his perfect state.

Using his body as a central hub to control the Earth Vein storm consumes greatly for the nascent Sword World. Li Wanqing could clearly feel Wang Jiu’s True Essence fluctuation had weakened by at least half. The biggest issue, however, is that he was too far from his mount.

Although the Celestial Divine Sword no longer needed Shen Qingming to provide necessary energy, with the Wind Gathering Array, Spirit Gathering Array, and Light Gathering Array within the Sword World self-sufficient now, it remained undeniable that when the Sword World itself over-exhausted, extracting energy directly from his mount was still a critical source for the Celestial Divine Sword. But now, Shen Qingming was still confined underground at the City Lord’s Mansion, more than a hundred miles from Wang Jiu... making it hard for Wang Jiu to draw energy from her.

Weakening Zhao Jincheng with the Earth Vein storm while the Celestial Divine Sword was also weakened. Although calculating the situation it was profitable, it was not yet a definitive victory. This fierce battle required full concentration.

For a cultivator in the Rain Cover Realm, a distance of ten miles was but a blink.

A moment ago, Li Wanqing clearly saw Zhao Jincheng standing far away, ten miles across, with space distorted behind him. The next moment, the distortion seemed to teleport before her eyes, with the scent of blood and fire rushing forth, and Zhao Jincheng’s twisted face appeared within reach!

"So fast!"

Li Wanqing was shocked and was about to activate the Yuqing Taoist Armor, when a white shadow appeared before her eyes.

The Celestial Divine Sword’s reaction was far quicker than Li Wanqing, and at the moment Zhao Jincheng initiated his move, Wang Jiu effortlessly predicted his every forthcoming motion.

This close-range illusion technique, the Yin Yang Shifting tactic, was simply too classic.

Back in the day, an old friend used this move to slay countless Demon Generals, despite having an average True Essence Realm among the Jiu Immortal Venerables, its explosive starting power was among the top, with a kill rate in the first three moves surpassing even Shen Kaishan.

Zhao Jincheng’s starting step was fast enough to show rigorous training, yet Wang Jiu responded instantaneously, positioning himself at Zhao’s key landing point as he lunged at Li Wanqing.

Feeling the discomfort of being obstructed mid-air, Zhao Jincheng realized initiating the Yin Yang Shifting Technique was becoming difficult. The spatial nodes he left were about to be wasted.

Moreover, the precision of the opponent’s interception left the question of whether it was mere coincidence or...

As these thoughts rapidly coursed through his mind, Zhao Jincheng, without panic, instinctively adapted as per his sister’s teachings. Since the Yin Yang Shifting Technique was unsustainable... neither was the half-spun Yin Yang Wheel.

With a quick turn of his internal True Essence, the spatial node within the rift expanded swiftly, transforming into a black-and-white wheel. Simultaneously, a similar wheel emerged in Zhao Jincheng’s left hand.

By casting out this wheel, he could overlap the ten-zhang space covered by it. Overlapping the spatial fissure’s chaotic laws with the opponent’s space would inflict the utmost damage possible on cultivators below the Mountain-Overturning Realm.

All thanks to the opponent’s Earth Vein storm, for without it, tearing space apart in this powerfully ordered Xiangzhou Continent would not have been easy.

Meanwhile, witnessing Zhao Jincheng’s suspended wheel in mid-air after his first misstep, Wang Jiu had to once again marvel at the completeness of the old friend’s heritage.

Compared to the almost lost Sword Forging Skill and the entirely hidden Immovable Tyrant Body of the Li and Shen families, the Zhao’s lineage was astonishingly intact. Yet, the more complete it was, the more it played into his hands.

Back when Mr. Zhao used this move, he had warned her once, that if one’s next move was anticipated first, merely targeting the wheel could prematurely detonate it, making Mr. Zhao reap what he sowed. And during practice fights, he’d repeatedly defeated her with this tactic, only to be pestered into playing the caretaker of the wounded, which was somewhat bothersome...

Now, using the same old trick...

Yet, just as Wang Jiu prepared to condense Sword Qi for an early detonation of the wheel, in mid-air Zhao Jincheng’s expression suddenly changed, crushing the wheel in his hand himself, and alighted not far before the crowd.

Then, with a trembling voice, filled with excitement, he softly asked, "Wang Jiu... oh no, brother-in-law, is that you?"