Xuan Nan and Xuan Shan's Zen staffs were halved, and the other unarmed eminent monks also sustained varying degrees of injury.
Xuan Shan, being cautious, was unharmed.
Seizing the opportunity, Wu Tao moved swiftly and broke free from the encirclement, disappearing outside the inn.
Xuan Shan stood by, sighing as he looked at his injured fellow disciples, clearly furious.
He cursed himself for being overconfident and not letting his martial grand-uncle intervene, which had resulted in Wu Tao's escape.
Du Kong, who had been observing the entire scene quietly, saw everything.
He mused inwardly, "This old Taoist Qingyunzi, after living for so long, his body is still so robust..."
"He's fought with these young juniors for so long, yet he hasn't shown any signs of fatigue. Strange! Truly strange!"
Du Kong had guessed correctly. With Wu Tao's current body, his old bones and joints would have given out long ago from fighting this much.
It was precisely for this reason that Wu Tao chose to escape when the opportunity arose.
Reaching the outskirts of the city, Wu Tao breathed a sigh of relief as he saw no one around.
Just as he stopped, a sharp cry came from behind him: "Old man, behold my sword!"
Wu Tao's heart leaped in surprise. He twisted his body, and the sharp sword grazed his chest. He quickly retreated three steps, only to see a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl in a red robe suddenly appear before him.
The girl was now holding a sword, pointed at him.
Her clear and beautiful eyes looked at him with surprise.
Then, the girl in the red robe snorted and said, "You old liar, you do have some skill. But running into me means you're truly out of luck."
As she spoke, the exceedingly beautiful girl unleashed several swift sword strikes.
Her speed and strength were decent, but her offense and defense were not balanced, leaving many openings. Her swordsmanship was far from masterful.
Wu Tao, without even moving his feet, twisted his body a few times and easily evaded her attacks.
Seeing this, the girl in the red robe widened her cherry-like mouth and exclaimed, "Hmph!" Then, in a fit of anger, she declared, "You wretched old man, you damned fortune-teller, Xu Mozi! After deceiving others into ruin, you dare to look down on me..."
"Draw your sword, and I'll make sure you die a willing death!"
Wu Tao patted his forehead, and said with a wry smile, "Little girl, you've mistaken me. I haven't offended you. You should find the person who deceived you..."
"If I, this old Taoist, didn't have some internal energy, my life would have been taken by you long ago..."
"Besides, my Taoist name is not Xu Mozi at all. This old Taoist's name is Qingyunzi..."
Upon hearing this, the girl's complexion changed dramatically. She was greatly surprised to encounter the foremost Taoist under heaven in this place.
Seeing that the girl neither apologized nor left, Wu Tao narrowed his eyes, a hint of surprise flashing within them.
He stroked his snow-white beard and smiled, "Miss, why haven't you left yet? Is there something else?"
It turned out that this girl in the red robe was the youngest daughter of the Su family, the most prominent family in Jiangnan. Her name was Su Tuhong.
This outing was essentially a runaway from home, venturing into the martial world.
Within a few days, she encountered a group of swindlers who preyed on young heroes. Exploiting her compassionate nature, they tricked her out of all the money she had brought.
Finally realizing what had happened, she angrily pursued them, only to chase the wrong person. This was a truly embarrassing misstep.
She, the eldest daughter of the Su family, had run away from home, only to find the foremost Taoist under heaven, Qingyunzi. If she turned and fled now, and was recognized later, it would not only damage her reputation but also the honor of the entire Su family.
Su Tuhong's thoughts raced, and she considered many seemingly plausible yet utterly ridiculous schemes. In a short time, beads of sweat appeared on her forehead.
Feigning panic, Su Tuhong suddenly stamped her foot. A smile appeared on her pretty face, and she said with a mature air, "Hahaha, fine, fine! I don't want that silver anymore!"
With Qingyunzi, the foremost Taoist under heaven, knowing her appearance, it would be incredibly difficult for her to slip away unnoticed.
Moreover, if she managed to escape and encountered him again in the future, it would be a tremendous scandal.
Therefore, Su Tuhong could only speak nonsense, choosing to let the misunderstanding play out to its conclusion, acting like a foolish imposter.
Wu Tao, seeing that Su Tuhong was still so insistent, was taken aback.
He moved his body, and his True Martial Sword let out a whistling sound as it thrust towards Su Tuhong.
Su Tuhong, being from a prestigious family, saw the swiftness of the True Martial Sword and its myriad of changes. She knew Wu Tao was undoubtedly testing her martial skills, her strength, and her origins.
Already fearful of being recognized, Su Tuhong cried out, "Ah!" and scrambled away clumsily, barely avoiding the attack.
Seeing this, Wu Tao smiled slightly, but his feet did not stop. The True Martial Sword continued its pursuit of Su Tuhong!
Wu Tao's Heavenly Calculation Swordplay was designed to strike only after the opponent had attacked, making it more than sufficient to exploit the weaknesses of a novice like Su Tuhong.
After all, the best way to make someone reveal their flaws was to make them unable to defend themselves, to make their limbs unresponsive. And what could be more effective for this than striking after them?
Water can extinguish fire, but if the fire is strong and the water is weak, the water will only fuel the flames! Gentleness can overcome hardness, but extreme hardness can also break gentleness. This is the principle.
In the face of Su Tuhong's counterattack, Wu Tao had used the technique of deflecting force the first two times. But this time was different.
Wu Tao took a step to the left. Simultaneously, he flicked the True Martial Sword backward, tracing a large arc, and attacked Su Tuhong's arm!
At this moment, Su Tuhong's sword had just begun to thrust to the right.
Wu Tao's move had already bypassed Su Tuhong's sword technique before it was even executed, as if he had known it beforehand.
However, for Su Tuhong, this was terrifying. Wu Tao's next strike was already upon her, and she had no way to evade it.
If Wu Tao had not pulled back his sword, he could have severed Su Tuhong's left arm at the shoulder.
Fortunately, in the end, Wu Tao, because she was a young girl, retracted the True Martial Sword.
Within this short period, Wu Tao had already analyzed Su Tuhong thoroughly.
It was as if he had anticipated her next move and was waiting for her to fall into his trap!
Su Tuhong was instantly drenched in a cold sweat. If she had been struck by that sword just now, her arm would have been gone.
After dozens more exchanges, Su Tuhong, only fifteen or sixteen years old, could no longer endure being toyed with like a monkey.
She used her family's direct lineage sword technique, the Sword Rain Swordplay, and her most proficient move, "Wind, Flowers, Snow, Moon."
Su Tuhong's sword whirled, creating numerous sword flowers. Following that, numerous sword energies, like petals, flew towards Wu Tao.
"So, she's a direct descendant of the Su family!" Wu Tao thought to himself.
...
Immediately after, Wu Tao turned his body, took a step forward, and with a perfectly executed sword strike, he directly broke through the "Wind, Flowers, Snow, Moon" technique and, with a backhand move, subdued Su Tuhong.
By the time Su Tuhong reacted, Wu Tao was already in front of her. She inwardly thought, "This is bad!"
A supremely powerful sword light, with the force of cleaving mountains and splitting the earth, slashed down ferociously!
The imposing aura, like the sunlight from the horizon, caused Su Tuhong's complexion to change drastically, and she cried out, "Help!"
Feeling that she was about to die, Su Tuhong's vision went black, and she collapsed straight down without even a whimper.
As the sword energy dissipated, Wu Tao focused his gaze and exclaimed, "Good heavens, this is bad."
If this prank were to result in death, it would be a terrible affair.
He immediately checked Su Tuhong's breathing and, realizing she had fainted from extreme fright, breathed a sigh of relief.
He looked around at the desolate landscape outside the city. Fearing that Su Tuhong might be preyed upon by wild wolves or leopards, and unable to just leave her abandoned, he had no choice but to stand guard for her.
Half an hour later, Su Tuhong, thanks to her decent post-natal internal energy, slowly regained consciousness.
Wu Tao sighed and said, "Alright, now that you're awake, little girl, hurry home. I imagine your Su family is frantic looking for you."
Hearing Wu Tao's voice, Su Tuhong knew her identity had been exposed.
Torn between shame and anger, she disregarded her age for a moment. She turned and attempted to slap Wu Tao.
Seeing the rapidly approaching slap, Wu Tao snorted and, with even greater speed, grabbed her hand.
Wu Tao was about to teach the little girl a lesson, but upon seeing Su Tuhong's fearless gaze, he deflated like a punctured balloon, losing all desire to act.
Even when caught by Wu Tao, Su Tuhong, this young girl, remained unafraid, clearly displaying the dignity of a young lady from a reputable family.
However, when Su Tuhong noticed the clearly visible death spots on Wu Tao and his graying hair, she suddenly felt a pang of guilt.
She wanted to say something but felt it was difficult to articulate and too embarrassing. Wu Tao had already walked several steps away. Suddenly, she felt an immense sense of grievance, and with a loud sob, she burst into tears.
Wu Tao, though intending to harden his heart and leave, could not bear to listen to the increasingly loud cries.
He stopped and looked down, asking, "Hey, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
This question, however, only intensified her crying. The tears poured down like a cataclysmic event.
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