"Damn rat, I will never let you go," the tall figure grunted, wiping the blood from his lips before quickly sitting down to heal.
This man was Song Daoyi, the contemporary head of the Song family.
Having lost his son and had his spirit annihilated, he would not let Wu Tao off so easily.
Cultivation knows no calendar; in the blink of an eye, another year had passed. Wu Tao was now forty years old.
After a year of recuperation, Wu Tao's body, heavily injured from forcefully using the Forbidden Annihilation Sword Art, had mostly recovered.
Wu Tao opened his eyes, stood up, and looked at the Chu Xi Sword planted in the ground beside him. He sighed and said slowly, "Time is truly ruthless. In the blink of an eye, I'm already forty. If I were a mortal, I'd have children by now."
The Chu Xi Sword, having been nurtured by Wu Tao for years, seemed to shimmer with a flowing light. Though still somewhat damaged, its gleaming edge was visible, and a hint of coldness emanated from it.
Wu Tao walked out of the bamboo hut, sighing. Unconsciously, one day had passed, and another had arrived.
Wu Tao walked along the spiritual stream, leaving the Mingxuan Bamboo Forest and wandering to various places.
There were not many disciples on Sword Peak, only a dozen or so.
After several months of interaction, Wu Tao had become familiar with them.
Sword Peak was extremely quiet. Apart from the occasional spiritual birds and cranes that landed, there was no trace of human activity. These spiritual birds were not timid, but the untamed aura emanating from Wu Tao prevented them from daring to provoke him.
Spending a long time here, Wu Tao felt as if he were in another world. Looking at this pristine land before him, he felt a sense of unreality.
Suddenly, he heard the whistling sound of the wind from above and couldn't help but look up.
Within the cloud mist tens of feet high, a green lotus several feet in diameter, glowing with green light, emerged from the dense fog and slowly descended.
This green lotus seemed to be an extremely rare innate treasure, with six petals of green lotus leaves. Each petal was crystal clear, with naturally formed law patterns flowing within, containing rich life force.
Upon the six-petaled green lotus stood a young woman, appearing as if she were high above, a celestial maiden of the Nine Heavens, overlooking all creation. Her aura was noble and dignified, with a commanding presence, giving one the feeling of an empress who ruled the world.
The woman wore a light green dress. Her features were delicate and beautiful, her skin fair and smooth. Her figure was slender and well-proportioned. Her charming oval face was adorned with large, bright almond eyes, and her alluring red lips, her waist like a willow, and her jade-like feet were exquisitely beautiful, enveloped in wisps of immortal light.
The green lotus descended, and the woman stepped onto it, enveloped in a verdant, wood-attribute spiritual energy that shimmered and floated, untouched by dust. She was an unparalleled beauty, one in ten thousand.
...
Though Wu Tao had seen many beauties recently, upon first sight of this woman, he couldn't help but feel a touch of awe.
In Wu Tao's impression, in terms of looks, perhaps only Shangguan Yujie, Zhang Wan'er, Lin Yue'er, and Shangguan Yujie could rival her.
However, the beauty of these five was distinct.
Zhang Wan'er possessed a charming and alluring seductiveness. Her allure was mixed with the capable and fiery nature of a strong woman. Coupled with her well-formed figure, she invariably inspired feelings of admiration.
Shangyu Yi's beauty, on the other hand, was a cold, ethereal, and sacred beauty that intoxicated one while also making them hesitant to approach rashly.
Despite possessing an exceptionally beautiful face, she was exceptionally arrogant, making men's desire to conquer her even stronger.
Lin Yue'er had a petite figure and was gentle and graceful. At first glance, she appeared to be a lady from a good family, but within her core, she harbored a deep demonic nature. Her eyes flickered with charm, her delicate nose was prominent, her jade-like cheeks were slightly flushed, her lips were alluring and dewy, and her snow-white face was as pure as jade.
The aura of this woman reminded Wu Tao of a famous poem: "In the North there is a beauty, peerless and standing alone; one glance can topple a city, a second glance can topple a nation."
However, Wu Tao was no longer as young as he once was and had seen much of the world.
The initial awe lasted only an instant. Soon, Wu Tao regained his composure.
...
"Are you the new junior disciple of Sword Peak? I am your senior sister. Quickly go and inform your master."
The woman's cherry lips parted, and her voice was crisp and pleasant to the ear. However, in her words, she preemptively asserted her superiority over Wu Tao.
Wu Tao frowned, inwardly praising her. After a slight bow, he said, "Junior disciple, may I ask who Senior Sister is?"
There were simply too many inner disciples in the Taiyi Immortal Sect, and Wu Tao didn't recognize many of them.
"I am the third disciple of Elder Qi Mei of Phoenix Peak. Junior disciple, you can call me Chu Jiayi."
Wu Tao's expression changed, and he said with a solemn tone, "So it is the famous Chu Jiayi, one of the Nine Great Holy Sons. I am indeed honored. May I ask why Senior Sister has come to my Sword Peak?"
Chu Jiayi lightly nodded her head and said in a flat tone, "I am here under my master's orders to request ten stalks of ten-thousand-year Mingxuan Green Bamboo from Senior Aunt Shangguan Yujie to forge a magic treasure. Junior disciple, please hurry and inform her!"
Because Wu Tao disliked Chu Jiayi's ingrained arrogance and condescending gaze, he spoke briefly and sent Chu Jiayi away.
As for Chu Jiayi wanting him to lead the way to find Master Shangguan Yujie, that was a pipe dream and completely impossible.
...
In Wu Tao's heart, he would never indulge anyone who looked down on him.
Chu Jiayi's expression changed drastically, as if she had never expected Wu Tao to treat her this way.
Wu Tao had always disliked those so-called proud and lofty prodigies.
Chu Jiayi seemed to sense the shift in Wu Tao's emotions and dissatisfaction. She frowned slightly, waved her hand, and with a surge of spiritual energy, said displeasedly, "Junior disciple, how can you be so rude!"
Before Wu Tao could utter a word, he felt a powerful surge of spiritual energy rush towards him. Unprepared, Wu Tao almost fell! Fortunately, in recent years, Wu Tao had already reached the Great Perfection stage of the Foundation Establishment realm and was ready to advance to the Core Formation realm at any moment. Otherwise, he might have truly been in a pathetic state from her mere wave of the hand.
"Chu Jiayi, what do you mean by this!" Wu Tao, who already had a poor impression of Chu Jiayi, was unable to contain himself after this incident and drew his sword against her.
Chu Jiayi, who had only intended to teach Wu Tao a small lesson, was slightly stunned by this turn of events, and her expression gradually turned cold.
At that moment, Wu Tao clearly felt a murderous aura! Standing at the crest of this murderous aura, Wu Tao felt a chilling killing intent that penetrated to his bones!
Wu Tao did not back down, and a bloodthirsty killing intent erupted from him.
The two equally powerful killing intents collided in mid-air. As time passed, their spiritual energy was rapidly and violently consumed.
"
Just as Wu Tao began to feel strained, the opposing murderous aura finally ceased. Chu Jiayi had also clearly expended a considerable amount of energy; a trace of pallor appeared on her face, which had originally been as beautiful as a celestial maiden's.
"Hmph, you damn woman, what can you do to me?" Wu Tao's mouth was ruthless.
"You're seeking death! It seems I must teach you a lesson in place of your master," Chu Jiayi said, her face as cold as ice, staring at Wu Tao. In the next second, countless lotuses formed from spiritual energy were hurled towards Wu Tao.
Wu Tao, unwilling to waste more words, unleashed a world-shattering sword qi from his Chu Xi Sword,
easily shattering the majority of the lotuses. The sword qi, like a rainbow piercing the moon, caused the entire Sword Peak mountain to tremble and shake!
Chu Jiayi, with a frosty expression, danced in the air, performing the legendary and magical "Honglian Jingwu Bu" (Crimson Lotus Astonishing Dance Steps).
As she danced, a resplendent green lotus, nearly a hundred feet in size, appeared in the sky, illuminating the heavens and earth.
Such an astonishing display of power undoubtedly attracted the attention of others on Sword Peak. Both Wu Tao's senior sisters and the other handyman disciples looked towards the Asking Sword Pavilion in utter astonishment!
They saw an extremely beautiful figure standing in the air, surrounded by the nearly hundred-foot green lotus, radiating an aura of invincible power.
Wu Tao channeled his divine sense into the Chu Xi Sword, compressing and condensing countless sword qi within it. As endless radiance flowed, the sword qi pointed directly at Chu Jiayi.
With flowing robes and flying hair, Chu Jiayi, and Wu Tao, standing tall and unyielding like a pine tree, neither dared to make the first move within Sword Peak.
Shangguan Yujie, the peak master of Sword Peak, was drinking from her wine gourd and watching the two youngsters put on quite a show, yet neither was making a move.
She shook her head and cursed, "Two cowards, why don't you just fight."
After a while, Shangguan Yujie decided to end the farce. She used the Rank Two divine ability, Spatial Transposition.
The Rank Two divine ability of Spatial Transposition could control a portion of spatial power, a profound and unfathomable force that cultivators below the Core Formation realm could not resist.
Although Shangguan Yujie did not fully master spatial power, she forcefully utilized a part of its might to directly transport Chu Jiayi and Wu Tao to her side.
After sternly scolding Chu Jiayi and Wu Tao, Shangguan Yujie waved her hand, signaling them to quickly get lost.
Having been rebuffed by Wu Tao and then lectured by Shangguan Yujie, Chu Jiayi had no choice but to slink away dejectedly.
Next to the Asking Sword Hall was the Sword Hiding Pavilion. The Sword Hiding Pavilion was constructed from hundred-year-old profound iron, entirely light gray, simple and unadorned. It bore no traces of carving and resembled a massive boulder resting on the mountainside.
The Sword Hiding Pavilion contained the sword intent left behind by generations of Sword Peak ancestors. For cultivators not walking the path of the sword, it was completely useless.
Within the Sword Hiding Pavilion were many shelves. Each shelf held various sword techniques or annotations on the way of the sword. This place was the culmination of the efforts of pioneers in the Sword Dao in the current era, over ten thousand years.
The reason Wu Tao had been able to further his understanding of the sword in recent times was due to the experience of numerous sword masters, which served as his foundation and nourishment, enabling him to reach his current realm.