"What a great swordsmanship," Master Lu exclaimed, with a hint of genuine regret, "It's a pity that we don't have enough tacit understanding."
It's not that they don't have enough tacit understanding, it's that they have too much tacit understanding. Gu Pinglin didn't know what to say. It was really unexpected that Duan Qingming would take the initiative to cooperate with him.
There was no time to discuss countermeasures. More skeletons ran towards this side, arranged in an orderly manner, and formed several magic circles.
Gu Pinglin was shocked.
These magic arrays were not sophisticated, they were very common, with occasional changes, and were not as exquisite as his own sword arrays, but he could control more than ten large arrays at the same time, in a thorough and orderly manner, with seamless transitions between array changes, which was very rare, and he would also find it difficult to do so if it were him.
This is talent, the innate advantage, the gap that makes many people despair.
Mr. Lu's talent in formation is no less than Duan Qingming's talent in swordsmanship! Unfortunately, he put more energy into practicing the art of clever words, and he didn't have Duan Qingming's ability to multitask, so his formation was neglected. If he could concentrate on formation, he would definitely achieve extraordinary results.
In the battle with Yan Sen in his previous life, I'm afraid everyone present underestimated him.
Gu Pinglin realized this and immediately understood the meaning of Duan Qingming's previous words. It was not really an derogatory thing to call this Master Lu his opponent. He discovered that Master Lu's formation skills were extraordinary when they first started fighting. His intuition was extremely sharp.
In order to prevent the news from spreading, Master Lu set up a barrier in Yanlai Village, making it easy to get in but difficult to get out. The two were trapped by the formation and suppressed by the realm. They had no way to retreat and could only face the enemy with caution. Both tried their best to cooperate with each other, but unexpectedly, this kind of "cooperation" always had problems. The sword path became more and more chaotic, and they were in danger many times within a few moves.
Gu Pinglin had a new wound on his shoulder, but Duan Qingming had already appeared beside him and pressed his shoulder to stop the bleeding. "What's wrong?"
"It's just a minor injury, no problem," Gu Pinglin paused, "Fight as you like."
Duan Qingming said: "Okay."
After hearing these two sentences, the two stopped trying to cooperate and attacked on their own. Instead, the situation slowly got better, and they inadvertently formed a strange tacit understanding, breaking several magic arrays and sending bones flying.
"Your swordsmanship really surprises me." Master Lu sighed.
The battle across realms consumed a lot of energy for both of them. Duan Qingming, who was at the ninth level of Na Yuan, also had an unstable aura: "Your Excellency is not simple either."
"What a pity, you can't be used by me." After Master Lu finished speaking, the skulls in the air suddenly shrank, and all the skeletons on the ground no longer cared about any formation, and pounced towards the two of them like crazy.
"He wants to leave!" Gu Pinglin shouted, "Stop him!"
Master Lu was indeed a smart man. He knew that he could not kill the two people in a short period of time, and there was no benefit in delaying. If the other party discovered Qiao Yan's secret and woke up Nie Yu, it would be even more troublesome. So he decided to escape.
How could they let him go if their goal was not achieved? Duan Qingming took the lead in blocking him. A vast sword realm spread out, with sword lights flashing in it. It was Gu Ying's famous sword move "Goose Shadow in the Clouds". The sword move was becoming more perfect and more powerful.
"Good move!" Master Lu's tone changed slightly, and he seemed moved. He was not a sword practitioner, he only knew that this move was too powerful and must not be an ordinary sword technique, but he did not pursue it too much. If it were someone else, they would at least ask the name of the sword move, and then doubt the identities of the two people.
This kind of power... is at least the sixth level of Qi transformation. Gu Pinglin's eyes dimmed, and he also used all his strength to send out a move called "Flowering Butterflies".
The skull flashed with green light and it tried to escape with its clever tongue. Just as it got out of the vast clouds, it was trapped in the chaotic sea of flowers.
slow.
Gu Pinglin's heart sank.
As expected, the speed and range of the Flower Sea Sword Realm could not keep up with the "Goose Shadow in the Clouds". Master Lu was proficient in formation techniques, and his strength was in observing the overall situation and finding flaws. He seized the flaw perfectly, and the skull cleverly slipped away from the gap between the two sword realms.
"Excellent!" Master Lu's voice came, "Unfortunately, you can't keep up with him and stop me."
Gu Pinglin dropped his arms after failing at the last hurdle.
He was not wrong. In terms of sword moves alone, "Butterflies and Flowers in Disarray" could indeed be compared with "Wild Goose Shadows in the Clouds". However, there was a gap in cultivation between himself and Duan Qingming, between the second level of Qi Transformation and the sixth level. The gap was too big, and it would only get bigger.
Gu Pinglin calmly accepted the reality and was thinking of a way to delay time when Duan Qingming next to him suddenly looked up and asked, "Why would it be so difficult to keep you here?"
A bright moon rises in the dark sky!
It's the sword light.
The famous wind sword turned into a ten-foot-long phantom, spinning in the sky like a wheel. The sword light formed a huge full moon. In a blink of an eye, a black shadow flew up silently, facing the sky, and swept across the full moon obliquely. With both arms stretched out, each holding a sword gesture, it was like an eagle flapping its wings, breaking the moon shadow in the sky!
The famous move appeared in the world, attracting the might of heaven, and the sword intent attracted the power of Taiyin, pouring down!
Master Lu was a master of inner alchemy, so it was not difficult for him to break this move, but his soul was embedded in the magic weapon, and he was not fighting with his real body. If he rushed forward forcefully, he would risk damaging the magic weapon's magic spring. He could not bear to do that, so he had to retreat.
"Eagle strikes the moon shadow." Gu Pinglin looked up at the sky, shifted his gaze away from the man, and looked at the blurry blood halo outside the faded sword moon shadow, with a hint of doubt on his face.
It was only a matter of time before this move appeared in the world. Since it absorbed the strengths of the sword techniques of the Yao, Qi, and Duan schools as well as the Soul Sword School, it was slightly different from the previous life. None of this was surprising, but the evil spirit... could it be because of the "Nine Chapters of Spirit Refining" technique
"Good move, very good." Unable to escape, Master Lu was silent for a moment, but surprisingly still did not get angry. "You are holding me back, are you waiting for someone from Feijian Palace?"
Despite the realm suppression, Duan Qingming used a killing move. He gasped, but his handsome face was full of energy: "No, I have heard of your great name for a long time. I am just very curious about your true appearance."
"More than that." Master Lu said calmly.
"By the way, please do me a small favor."
"Oh?" Master Lu asked with interest, "What if I don't want to?"
"I think your Excellency would be willing."
Master Lu thought about it and really asked, "What do you want me to do for you?"
Duan Qingming said: "Please meet an old friend of mine."
"who?"
"It's me, your father!" The elite sword energy broke through the air, carrying with it a cold and murderous aura, and pierced straight into the skull in the air!
The opponent came with extraordinary force, and Master Lu reacted quickly. He moved his tongue cleverly, and the skull grew bigger again, splitting into dozens of small skulls, which were stacked into three skull towers, blocking the skull in front.
There were no extra tricks, just an ordinary sword energy, but it was so powerful that the three skeleton towers were destroyed one after another!
“This is…” Master Lu’s voice tightened, and seeing that he could not dodge in time, the skull suddenly opened its mouth wide, and its clever tongue spit out a ball of red air, forming a red word “挡” in the air. Then, the Zhou sisters who had lost their minds suddenly flew up and pounced on the sword energy!
He actually used the Zhou sisters as a shield to buy time.
The two sisters were about to be pierced through the heart by the sword energy. At the critical moment, purple sword energy suddenly entered the battlefield. The shadow of the "Qian" hexagram faintly appeared in the sword energy, and it faced the sharp and evil sword energy!
Gu Pinglin's cultivation was not good enough, but fortunately the sword energy had been blocked three times by Lu Gongzi's skull tower before, so the remaining strength was limited. When it hit the purple hexagram, the two sword energies were dissipated at the same time. Gu Pinglin flew over to catch the Zhou sisters, quickly sealed their minds, and took one in each hand, bringing them back to the ground.
"Junior brother is such a kind person." Duan Qingming narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Men, you shouldn't let women stand in front of you." Gu Pinglin left the two sisters and turned around. He didn't care much about the Zhou sisters, but they were being used by the two of them. Even for the sake of the Hanying Twin Swords, he shouldn't let them lose their lives in vain. This time he took action after calculating the opponent's remaining strength, so it was not a risk.
Master Lu avoided the crisis, knowing that he had encountered a strong enemy, and said with a hint of fear: "Since we are fellow travelers, why are you making things difficult for me?"
"Hehe, you don't recognize me, but I recognize you, the tongue-teller Lu Zhiren." The sword energy disappeared, and Yan Sen descended from the sky, holding Xin Ji in his hand. Xin Ji had obviously suffered a great loss, his face was as pale as gold paper, the front of his nightgown was stained with blood, and he looked so miserable, how could he still look like a fairy!
"Senior Yan is finally here," Mingfeng Sword flew back, Duan Qingming resumed his smiling face, and looked at Xin Ji in black in surprise, "Oh, why is it Senior Xin, where is Cheng Yi?"
Being captured by Yan Sen, Xin Ji lost face and looked sinister. Hearing this, he felt even more embarrassed. Hearing Duan Qingming arrange Cheng Yi and Gu Pinglin to act at the same time, he became more cautious and coaxed Cheng Yi to change clothes in private - white clothes are too eye-catching, and it is not safer to act alone than to act together? At least the possibility of being picked is lower... Who knew Yan Sen would chase him!
"You old piece of trash, you're not even worthy of sacrificing my sword," Yan Sen threw him to the ground without even looking at him, and turned to Duan Qingming, "Boy, you always surprise me."
Duan Qingming said: "No, I wonder if you are satisfied with this result, Senior?"
Yan Sen laughed: "If you can find this man, I will show mercy and let you live a few more breaths. I will kill him first, and then I will kill you." He pointed at the skull in the air and said: "Lu Zhiren, did you recognize me when I struck you with the sword just now?"
"Soul Sword Style, Yan..." The bright red tongue danced up and down, as if Master Lu was reminiscing, "Yan Sen? Are you the Sword Demon Yan Sen?"
"That's right," Yan Sen said, "Then do you know why I'm looking for you?"
Master Lu said slowly, "I'm sorry, I did kill someone by mistake. His sword energy is very similar to yours, so he must be your disciple."
Yan Sen said: "My disciples were raised to refine swords. Killing one or two is not a big deal, but the one you killed happened to be the one I raised with materials for fifty years. I can't just let it go like this."
Prince Lu sighed, "The dead cannot be resurrected, what are you going to do?"
"I'll make you pay for it." Yan Sen laughed strangely and wielded the Soul Wood Sword to chop it over.
The inner alchemy masters clashed, and the outer barrier shook. Master Lu was forced to give in, but his voice was fearless: "When the snipe and the clam quarrel, the fisherman gains. Aren't you afraid of falling into someone else's trap? The people from the Feijian Palace are about to be attracted. You and I can settle the feud another day."
Just as Gu Pinglin expected, Yan Sen had a strange temper and refused to give up: "No matter how cunning those two guys are, they are only at the outer Dan level. It's easy to kill them. If I let you go, who knows where you will hide next? Haha, I heard that your clever words can also cultivate soul power. It must be a great supplement to use it to nourish the soul sword. I'll deal with you first."
Master Lu said, "Your swordsmanship contains hidden soul attacks, which are indeed scary to ordinary people, but you are too conceited."
The skull opened and closed its mouth, and the bright red tongue bounced rhythmically, uttering sweet words. Unlike before when he could only hear the voice in his heart, Master Lu must have used all his strength this time. The surroundings were filled with various sounds, very noisy. Even though Gu Pinglin had the Creation Art and the Pure Heart Art, he still had an unbearable headache. Duan Qingming frowned beside him, and Xin Ji on the ground was vomiting blood.
Yan Sen was slightly distracted, but he regained consciousness immediately due to his high level of cultivation: "You really have soul power. No wonder you are not afraid of my soul sword flow, but that's all you can do."
The Soul Wood Sword used its powerful move again, but who would have thought that the sharp sword energy would become weak and dissipate just after it was released!
Yan Sen's expression changed drastically: "How dare you plot against me!"
Master Lu said "Huh" and stopped talking: "You were poisoned?"
"It's not you?" Yan Sen realized and his face turned black.
As expected, Duan Qingming stepped forward and said with a smile: "I only have external alchemy skills, so it's easy to kill. In order to avoid being used to refine swords by the seniors, I had to use a little trick."
Yan Sen said, "Bullshit! How can you poison me when you didn't even do anything?"
"There is a trace of sword poison I left in this clothing," Duan Qingming pointed at Xin Ji's nightgown and patiently explained to him, "When Senior Xin fought with you, it was activated. This poison is called 'Long Night' and it takes effect only when it attaches to the spiritual consciousness. Senior cultivated the Soul Sword Style, and your soul is too powerful, so you were completely unaware. The Long Night can't do anything to you and will dissipate on its own after half an hour. Thanks to Master Lu's clever words just now, you lost your mind for a moment, so the poison could take advantage of the opportunity to enter."
The poison of spiritual consciousness was very serious. Xin Ji's face turned pale. He hurriedly lowered his head to look at his clothes. He wanted to touch them but didn't dare to: "This... Mr. Duan..."
"Don't move, be careful of being poisoned," Duan Qingming sighed, "Alas, this dangerous mission was originally assigned to Cheng Yi, but I didn't expect that you would take the initiative to exchange with him. It's rare to see such a caring heart."
Xin Ji smiled awkwardly, his expression was uglier than crying.
The poison devoured his spiritual consciousness, and Yan Sen could only rely on his powerful soul to barely hold on. He encountered ambushes again and again. In his rage, he had already lost his mind, and forcibly gathered his soul power, roaring: "I will kill you, you little bastard!"
Before the Soul Sword was drawn, Duan Qingming and Gu Pinglin had already made their move, but their target was Master Lu.
"It's still too slow," Master Lu successfully escaped from the encirclement and said gently, "I'll remember what happened today. See you again someday."
The skull disappeared into the night sky. Seeing that they could not catch up, the two men stopped at the same time without wasting their energy.
Gu Pinglin said: "If this person is not removed, there will be endless troubles."
"It doesn't matter. We've had enough surprises today." Duan Qingming was not disappointed. "For such an outstanding person, life is more valuable."
Gu Pinglin remained silent.
The people from Feijian Palace are about to arrive. They just need to trap Master Lu for a while. If I were stronger just now, I would be able to catch up with him...
There was a chill on the tip of his nose. Gu Pinglin raised his hand and brushed it away. Then it started to rain in the dark night sky.
"It's raining." The Mingfeng Sword returned to its sheath and disappeared. Duan Qingming looked up at the night sky, took out an umbrella from his Qiankun bag and opened it.
The white umbrella tilted over to block the cold rain. Gu Pinglin was silent for a moment, put away the Gu Ying Sword, turned around and walked towards Yan Sen: "Deal with it as soon as possible."
Duan Qingming said "hmm", holding an umbrella, and walked side by side with him to Yan Sen.
Yan Sen's sword was not released in the end. "Long Night" was too powerful. If it weren't for his strong spirit, he would have fainted by now. He sat cross-legged on the ground, his eyebrows raised, gritting his teeth, and he was somewhat helpless: "Such a despicable poison, where did you get it from?"
Duan Qingming laughed and said, "Losing is losing, why bother saying such unpleasant words."
Yan Sen roared, "Bullshit! Using poison is just a mean person's way."
Duan Qingming didn't argue with him: "I think you can reconsider the conditions from last time."
Yan Sen laughed loudly, his expression becoming even more ferocious: "I can't escape today. As I said before, if you want to control me, you're dreaming!"
"Then I will have no choice but to hand you over to Feijian Palace."
"I'll die if I want to. I don't want to be a dog."
"No," Duan Qingming said, "It is temporarily under control, and it will not affect future success. As long as we are alive, anything is possible. Do you not want to break through the Soul Sword Flow? Or do you want to learn a more advanced sword technique, such as my sword technique?"
Yan Sen was stunned: "Are you willing to let me learn?"
"As long as you are alive, anything is possible. Whether you can learn or not depends on whether you satisfy me." Duan Qingming threw the soul stone to him again. "One price, thirty years."
His face full of gloating turned into astonishment, Xin Ji asked anxiously: "Thirty years? This... Master Duan?"
"Only thirty years?" Yan Sen was also surprised.
"For a senior of your status, thirty years is about right," Duan Qingming paused and said, "Or do you think it's too short?"
Yan Sen snorted coldly, pondered for a moment, and asked: "Do you keep your word?"
Duan Qingming did not answer directly: "You only have two choices, die at the hands of Feijian Palace, or use thirty years to bet that I will keep my promise. There is no absolute thing in the path of Taoism. You should not give up as long as there is a glimmer of hope. What do you think?"
"Forget it," Yan Sen knew that his question was meaningless, so he admitted defeat, "You better remember your promise, I'm not that easy to mess with."
"Of course, how dare I, a person who is easy to kill, deceive my seniors."
Since the decision was made, Yan Sen readily drew out a wisp of his soul and threw the soul stone back to Duan Qingming. Thirty years is really not a long time for a cultivator. Xin Ji almost vomited blood in anger, but he had to accept it. The people from Feijian Palace were about to arrive, Yan Sen should not stay for long, and Xin Ji could not reveal his identity. Duan Qingming asked the two to leave overnight and wait at the front road.
Here, Gu Pinglin solved the spell and everyone from Guangling Sect woke up.