"A prodigy ranked fifth among the Ten is truly astonishing."
Guan Du exclaimed in amazement as he walked.
Xu Yang smiled. "I have you to thank for that. If you hadn’t drugged it and driven it into a frenzy, I probably could have only driven it back. That creature’s scales are just too hard."
Guan Du nodded. The Tuo Dragon was difficult to kill not just because of its indestructible scales, but also because of its wariness. The moment it sensed danger, it would retreat into Moon Lake, where no one, no matter how powerful, could touch it.
"How did you figure me out?" he asked curiously.
He was certain he’d never revealed any flaws to Xu Yang. He’d shown great concern for him, acting exactly as a senior brother should.
"The Cyan-Scaled Eagle attacked the mine twice, and both times it happened after you left. Of course, that could be a coincidence. But the Five Poison Water you gave me before was completely useless. If I still couldn’t figure out something was wrong with you, I’d be a complete idiot," Xu Yang said.
More importantly, Guan Du had been watching in secret. Xu Yang’s heightened senses had identified him just from his gaze.
If Guan Du wasn’t up to something, he wouldn’t have been hiding near the mine.
The only thing he hadn’t expected was that Guan Du had actually killed Chen Yong.
Guan Du smiled. "The Cyan-Scaled Eagle really had nothing to do with me; that was a coincidence. The original plan was to use the Tuo Dragon to kill you, but it seems I’ll have to do it myself after all."
"For the sake of our time as fellow disciples, if you have any last words, you’d better say them now."
As he spoke, he put down Chen Yong’s head and the Spirit Iron he was carrying.
"Senior Brother Guan, we have no quarrel, do we? You’ve gotten what you wanted. Why not just leave? Why do you insist on killing me?" Xu Yang asked, curious.
Guan Du shook his head. "This Spirit Iron was only one of my objectives. My real target is you."
Xu Yang’s pupils contracted. "You’re with the Blood Lotus Sect?"
The doubt in his heart was finally resolved. Guan Du and Chen Yong weren’t on the same side at all. That was why he’d killed Chen Yong after getting the item.
’The Purple Sun Sect is truly riddled with holes. For someone of Guan Du’s status to be a member of the Blood Lotus Sect... perhaps there are even Elders or Peak Masters who are their people.’
"Junior Brother Xu is truly clever. I didn’t particularly want to kill you, but alas, your talent is too great. You’ve also killed disciples of the Holy Sect several times. The Holy Sect has issued a death order for you to save face."
"With your level of Cultivation, why must you be a mole for the Blood Lotus Sect?" Xu Yang sighed.
Guan Du laughed heartily. "If not for the Holy Sect, how would I have this level of Cultivation? I was stuck as an Outer Disciple for three years without reaching Marrow Cleansing. After the Holy Sect found me, I achieved Marrow Cleansing in half a year."
"They’ve provided me with resources all this time, allowing me to reach my current Cultivation. Without them, I’m afraid I would have died as an Outer Disciple long ago."
"Do you have anything else to say? If not, then I’ll send you to the embrace of the Holy Mother."
Xu Yang smiled faintly, holding Red Blood horizontally before his chest. "Are you that confident you can kill me?"
"Have you forgotten? I’m your fifth senior brother. I have a Half-Spirit Weapon too. You just fought a long, arduous battle with the Tuo Dragon. How much strength could you possibly have left?"
CLANG! Guan Du drew a long saber from his back, the aura of a Half-Spirit Weapon radiating from it without restraint.
"Has Senior Brother forgotten about a little something called the Profound Yuan Qi Transformation Pill?"
With a deadpan expression, Xu Yang swallowed two Profound Yuan Qi Transformation Pills right in front of Guan Du. In an instant, his depleted Gang Qi was completely restored.
Guan Du’s face instantly darkened. Over a month had passed, yet Xu Yang still had Elixirs on him. ’Doesn’t he usually use Pills for his cultivation?’
"Elixirs can restore your Gang Qi, but not your stamina! Die!"
With a long cry, Gang Qi surged from Guan Du’s body like a tide. The aura of Marrow Cleansing Great Success swept out, kicking up a rolling wave of dust.
Tapping his toes on the ground, his body tore through the dust wave, shooting forward like an arrow released from a bowstring.
A tyrannical pressure spread across the land like a tidal wave, crashing down on Xu Yang.
A sharp light flashed in Xu Yang’s eyes. Specks of gold appeared on his body, quickly spreading to cover him completely.
Golden Gang Skill!
Sharp Gang Qi erupted from his pores, making the ground beneath his feet tremble. It then quickly converged, forming a half-foot-thick layer of Protective Gang Qi around his body.
BOOM!
The clash of invisible auras created a dull thud. The ground cracked silently as the tyrannical pressure continued to bear down on Xu Yang.
"My strength may not match that beast, the Tuo Dragon, but I’m not an Exotic Beast without intelligence."
The killing intent in Guan Du’s eyes blazed, and the invisible pressure grew even more terrifying.
"You have some intelligence, but not much. You think what you saw is everything?"
A mocking smile touched the corner of Xu Yang’s lips. His eyes sharpened as he let out a soft shout, "Break!"
With that soft shout, the space above his head twisted. An intangible Saber Intent burst from his body, seeming powerful enough to shatter the very heavens.
The tide-like pressure bearing down on him was instantly split down the middle.
"Saber Intent?!" Guan Du shrieked.
His charging figure froze. His face turned deathly pale in an instant, and his scalp went numb.
He had watched the fight from a distance and hadn’t been able to sense the Saber Intent Xu Yang emitted while clashing with the Tuo Dragon at all. He had assumed it was the power of the Half-Spirit Weapon in Xu Yang’s hand that allowed him to so easily shatter the Tuo Dragon’s scales.
’So it was Saber Intent!’
A creature with low intelligence like the Tuo Dragon had no concept of what Saber Intent was, nor could its Heart Spirit sense its existence. That’s why the power of Xu Yang’s Saber Intent seemed minimal and had little effect on the Tuo Dragon.
But he was different. He was a Martial Artist at Marrow Cleansing Great Success. His Heart Spirit was strong, making him far more sensitive to an outrageous power like Saber Intent.
The moment Xu Yang’s Saber Intent emerged, he felt a terrifying sensation, as if his body was about to be torn apart. It was as if a sharp blade hung over his head, ready to fall at any moment, pressing down on him so hard he could barely breathe.
"Not bad!"
Xu Yang’s voice was like ice that hadn’t thawed in a thousand years. Behind him, the terrifying visage of a Blood Prison faintly emerged.
Guan Du trembled, his face a mask of disbelief.
Blood Prison Heart Saber Scripture!
’Xu Yang had actually mastered the Blood Prison Heart Saber Scripture, something no one had accomplished in years! With such talent, those idiots at the Purple Sun Sect had only ranked him fifth among the Ten Prodigies.’
BOOM!
A resounding explosion erupted as Xu Yang’s figure vanished from his spot in a flash of golden light.
He held his saber in one hand, striking like a thunderclap. The speed of this slash was extreme.
Against a monster like the Tuo Dragon, with its high attack and high defense, a fast saber was of little use. But against Guan Du, it was a different story. His entire body wasn’t as hard as a single one of the Tuo Dragon’s scales.
"AH!"
Terrified, he brandished his own saber, creating a screen of light to protect himself.
But it was useless. The long saber, infused with Golden Gang Qi, was as fast as lightning. It precisely cleaved through the screen of light.
A golden saber light flashed. With a SQUELCH, the screen of light dissipated. Guan Du’s eyes widened as he looked down. He hadn’t even felt the pain yet, but half of his chest had been sliced open, and hot blood was gushing out.
"How is this possible..."
He could hold his own against the Tuo Dragon, trading blows back and forth. How was it that against Xu Yang, he was utterly crushed without any ability to fight back?
"The Blood Prison Heart Saber Scripture: where the heart goes, the saber follows," Xu Yang said, shaking his head.
"Against a monster like the Tuo Dragon, with its high attack and defense, all techniques are just flashy tricks. Only true power is useful. That’s why my Saber Technique, despite having reached the realm of Saber Intent, wasn’t entirely useless, but its effect was limited."
For him, the hardest part wasn’t hitting the Tuo Dragon’s body, but breaking through its defensive scales.
But Guan Du’s defenses were no different from paper to Red Blood. The power of the Saber Technique was instantly revealed.
"To think the Blood Prison Heart Saber Scripture is this terrifying... To die by its blade is, in a way, an honor."
The intense pain finally registered. Guan Du slowly sank to his knees, the color draining from his face.
"For the sake of my Cultivation, I’ve betrayed countless fellow disciples and stained my hands with their blood. To think that in the end, I still couldn’t reach the peak."
"I thought that taking your head would help me glimpse the Celestial Essence realm, but you... you are this astonishing."
A bitter smile spread across Guan Du’s face. He had never expected this outcome.
Xu Yang strode forward. "Who else in the Sect is a mole for the Blood Lotus Sect?"
To kill him, the Blood Lotus Sect had been willing to expose someone of Guan Du’s status. Naturally, he wanted to find all of their members and kill them.
"I don’t know. We only have one-way contacts," Guan Du said, shaking his head.
"Any last words?"
Hearing no response, Xu Yang looked down. Guan Du was already dead.