Firmament Sword

”I told you, you talk too much. You think using a Forbidden Skill to manifest a Dharma Aspect makes you invincible,” Xu Luo sighed, preparing to strike.

”Let me,” Xu Qing said softly. ”After all, this is a grudge between my Xu Family and him.”

”Alright. I suppose if you do it, his death will be a bit cleaner,” Xu Luo said.

”You’re at death’s door and still talking so tough! Fine, I’ll send you on your way!” Wu Lei shouted as he charged straight for Xu Luo. Behind him, the massive claws of his azure dragon Dharma Aspect lunged toward Xu Luo!

In Wu Lei’s eyes, Xu Luo was the greatest threat among them.

As long as he killed Xu Luo, the rest of them posed no threat to him at all.

”Dragon Bell, it’s all up to you now!” Xu Qing whispered with a soft sigh.

HUMMM!

With a single hum, Wu Lei’s body unexpectedly burst apart!

The Azure Dragon Dharma Aspect behind him radiated a tyrannical aura. Its giant claws were already descending upon Xu Luo’s head, but with Wu Lei’s body bursting apart, it lost its source of power. It let out an indignant dragon’s roar before dissipating into thin air.

A flash of Seven-Colored light flew into Xu Qing’s hand.

Looking at the spot where Wu Lei had stood, now just a gory mess of shredded flesh and blood, Xu Qing immediately threw up...

The young woman had seen dead bodies before, but this was the first time she had ever killed someone. And the scene... it was just too horrific.

The young women beside Xu Qing were also deathly pale. They clearly hadn’t processed what had just happened.

They couldn’t understand how Wu Lei, who had already unleashed his Dharma Heaven and Earth, could have his body just suddenly burst apart and die.

As for Xu Luo, while his face was also a bit ashen as he looked at the gory scene, he was generally able to stomach it. He shook his head slightly and sighed, ”Was it really necessary? You just weren’t discreet enough. If you were truly discreet, you wouldn’t have jumped out now.”

Xu Qing fought back her nausea and said softly, ”You’re right. If he hadn’t revealed himself just now, I would have considered him the most trustworthy person once I’d secured the Dragon Bell. When that time came... forget me, I’m afraid even my uncle could have been assassinated by him!”

”Yes, he was a bit too green,” Xu Luo said, glancing at Xu Qing. ”Are you alright?”

”I’m fine. I owe you for today, Xu Luo. I will never forget that you saved my life.” Xu Qing’s face was pale, but her gaze was firm as she looked at Xu Luo and spoke with sincerity.

”I had already promised your uncle I’d help you obtain this Dragon Bell. At least I’ve fulfilled my duty. As for this incident... it was completely unexpected. But since it happened, I couldn’t just ignore it,” Xu Luo said with a faint smile.

”Yeah... if you hadn’t killed that guy earlier, we almost thought he was part of your group...” the pretty girl beside Xu Qing said, a little embarrassed, sticking her tongue out playfully.

The corner of Xu Luo’s mouth twitched. ’I knew they’d think that.’

Still, it was an understandable assumption; the timing had been a little too perfect.

Xu Qing glared at the girl beside her and explained, ”Even if that man had escaped, I wouldn’t have suspected you.”

When Xu Qing said this, the three other women gave her a peculiar look. Xu Qing retorted, ”What are you looking at me for? If he wanted to snatch the Dragon Bell, would he really need to resort to a scheme like that?”

”You’ll believe anything if you’re sweet on him...” the pretty girl muttered under her breath.

Xu Qing’s face turned crimson, but she didn’t say anything more.

Just then, Xu Luo walked over to the man he had killed with a single punch. He flipped the body over and tore the mask from his face, revealing an unremarkable, ordinary man.

Xu Luo looked at Xu Qing and the others and said, ”Do you recognize him?”

”Hey, I’ve seen him before!” the woman in her early twenties beside Xu Qing exclaimed. ”He was with a group of disciples from the Shaking Light Sect.”

”I remember him too! He was definitely with those people from the Shaking Light Sect!” the pretty girl added.

”Someone from the Shaking Light Sect? That’s outrageous! They act all friendly with us to our faces, but then they pull something like this behind our backs!” another female disciple from the Jade Balance Sect said furiously.

Xu Qing glanced at the body. ”Let it go for now. There may be more to this than we know. We should wait until we’ve left the Small World before we discuss it further.”

At this point, it was no longer a personal grudge. It involved two major sects, so they couldn’t jump to conclusions.

Xu Luo glanced into the distance. ”We should get out of here first,” he said. ”After all that commotion, I’m sure someone will be here soon.”

Xu Qing nodded. Her own injuries were severe, and activating the Dragon Bell had only worsened them. If she weren’t forcing herself to stay upright, she would have collapsed long ago.

Wu Lei died because of his own ignorance. If he had snatched the Dragon Bell and immediately fled, then taken the time to refine it before seeking revenge, he might have had a chance.

Unfortunately, he was too overconfident and smug. He never imagined that the Golden Talisman wasn’t meant to seal the Dragon Bell, but to subdue it with a wave of righteous energy!

In other words, from the moment Xu Qing placed the Golden Talisman on the Dragon Bell, the Dragon Bell... had already become Xu Qing’s Spirit-Connected Magical Artifact!

Wu Lei had only assumed the Golden Talisman was meant to seal the Dragon Bell. He never expected... that his ignorance would cost him his life.

The group left the area. After traveling for several dozen miles, Xu Qing’s injuries grew progressively worse. Even though she had taken a Healing Elixir from her sect, it couldn’t take full effect so quickly.

Xu Luo glanced at Xu Qing, then took out four Chaos Peaches and handed them to her. ”Eat these. You’ll feel much better.”

A moment ago, Xu Qing had seen Xu Luo eating a peach. It was a peach that shimmered with a purple light, obviously very different from any ordinary fruit.

Now that she held them in her hands, she discovered that the surfaces of the purple peaches were covered in countless naturally formed runes!

”Th-this... what kind of peach is this?” Xu Qing was shocked. She glanced at Xu Luo, then something suddenly clicked. ”Could it be...” she gasped.

For the past few days, rumors about the Chaos Peach had been spreading like wildfire throughout the Small World. Although Xu Qing’s group had been focused on tracking the Dragon Bell, they had heard the stories. She never imagined that Xu Luo actually possessed the legendary Chaos Peach, a treasure of mythical quality!

The pretty girl, who had been wondering why Xu Luo was so relaxed he was eating fruit, finally realized these were no ordinary peaches. She couldn’t help but gulp, her mouth watering.

Smiling, Xu Qing gave one of the peaches to each of the three women with her.

”Senior Sister, you should eat it. Your injuries are the most severe!” Although the pretty girl’s eyes were glued to the peach, she managed to resist.

”Go on, take it. This is a gift from Young Master Xu. He brought enough for all of you,” Xu Qing said with a gentle smile.

The pretty girl and the others finally accepted them. They didn’t even need to take a bite; the rich, penetrating fragrance alone was intoxicating.

”Eat up. It should be good for your cultivation as well,” Xu Luo said. ”You can keep the pits. You might be able to grow a similar treasure tree from them, or use them when forging Magical Artifacts. They’re treasures in their own right!”

”’Forget about growing another tree like me!’ Master Tao sneered in Xu Luo’s ear. ’Unless I allow it... those seeds will never grow into a powerhouse like me!’”

”’If every ancestor thought like you, the world would’ve fallen silent long ago,’ Xu Luo retorted with a cold laugh.

”’I’m not human, so why should I care about all that?’ Master Tao grumbled.”

Meanwhile, Xu Qing and the others treated the peaches like precious jewels. Even Xu Qing herself was tempted to save hers for later.

Xu Luo said, ”Gu Xing from the Shaking Light Sect and Xiaohai from the Black Water Sect were fighting to the death over these peaches earlier. If they saw you with them, they’d be green with envy and would kill to get them. The safest place for them is in your stomachs.”

”Mmm, that makes sense!” the pretty girl said with a wide grin, revealing two cute little canines. She took a big bite of the peach. The sweet juice was so delectable it nearly made her swallow her own tongue, and she cried out, ”Delicious!”

Seeing her take a bite, the others followed suit.

They devoured the peaches in the blink of an eye. When they were finished, all of them stared at Xu Luo with expectant eyes.

”Don’t be greedy now,” Xu Luo said. ”Hurry up and refine the energy from the peach. Do you want to let it all go to waste?”

”Whoa, it’s so hot!” the pretty girl exclaimed. Realizing her unfortunate choice of words, she blushed, quickly sat down cross-legged, and began circulating her energy to refine the power in her Dantian.

The others all followed her lead, sitting down to refine the powerful energy contained within the Chaos Peach.

Xu Luo watched the four young women cultivating right in front of him without the slightest guard up. A wry smile touched his lips. ’They really trust me completely, don’t they? Most of these sect disciples are so inexperienced, so lacking in vigilance. Aren’t they worried I might be a bad guy?’

With a weary sigh, Xu Luo also began to circulate the Shadow Shaking Heart Method to recover the energy he had expended earlier.

Ever since Xu Luo had upgraded it through his own insights, he could cultivate the Shadow Shaking Heart Method anytime, anywhere, without needing to sit in a formal meditative trance.

Of course, sitting in a trance was still the best way, as it was much faster.

As dusk fell, the woman in her early twenties was the first to awaken. She opened her eyes to see Xu Luo leaning against a tree, his own eyes lightly closed, a trace of fatigue on his handsome face.

A warmth spread through her heart. ’This young man, practically a stranger, has been standing guard over us this whole time. He might say it’s because of a promise to the Sect Leader, but how many people in this world are truly like him, whose actions are as good as their word?’

As she stirred, Xu Luo opened his eyes. He glanced at her and smiled. ”Finished refining it all? How do you feel?”

”I feel... better than I ever have before! Young Master Xu... thank you!” the woman said, mustering her courage to meet his gaze.

”Whoa, whoa, whoa, that was amazing! I jumped three whole levels! Three levels! I’m finally a Ninth Tier Sword Venerable! La la la la!” the pretty girl exclaimed the moment she opened her eyes.

The last woman opened her eyes as well. She remained silent, but her face was alight with joy. Clearly, she had also made significant gains.

At this time, only Xu Qing was still cultivating with her eyes closed, showing no sign of waking up.

The woman in her early twenties shot the pretty girl a look and pressed a finger to her lips. ”Shh!”

The pretty girl stuck her tongue out playfully, looking like a kid who’d just been scolded. She stood up and bounced over to Xu Luo’s side. ”Brother Xu Luo, thank you so much!” she whispered.