Unsheathed

Chapter 52: Shudder

Bai Yuan arrived before Ning Yao in a single stride, raising his arm and forming a fist before hammering down at her head.

Ning Yao raised her saber to block this attack, with the blade of her saber facing Bai Yuan's wrist. At the same time, she viciously thrust her sword at his chest, with the tip of the sword pointing at his heart.

Surprisingly, however, Bai Yuan's fist opened up into a palm, and he nimbly grabbed the blade of her saber. Meanwhile, his other hand instinctively shot over to grab the tip of her sword.

It was clear that his attack had only been a facade, with his true intention being to invite a careless attack from Ning Yao.

As someone from Sun Scorch Mountain, a holy land for swordsmen in Eastern Treasured Vial Continent, Bai Yuan was naturally able to tell that this sword was extraordinary with a single glance.

In order to grab it, he had even been willing to replenish his Qi for a second time.

In fact, the tip of the sword had already pierced through his chest, and it was only an inch or so away from penetrating his heart.

Seeing that she was in a precarious situation, Ning Yao resolutely let go of her sword. At the same time, she forcefully tugged at her saber, causing it to slide through Bai Yuan's grip and emit a piercing scraping sound, like that of metal against rock.

After freeing her saber, Ning Yao quickly leaped back and retreated.

Sure enough, the old ape turned around and flicked his wrist, causing the sword to fly dozens of meters away.

He then launched a kick at the young girl.

Ning Yao raised her right hand which was now empty, and with a thump, she was struck by Bai Yuan's kick and sent flying 20 meters into the distance. She landed heavily on her back, and only after taking a few tumbles did she finally manage to dig her saber into the ground and halt her momentum. Thankfully, the earth near the banks of the creek was relatively soft and loose, and the rocks on the ground were also round and smooth instead of jagged and sharp. It was because of this that her back didn't become a bloody and mangled mess.

Bai Yuan didn't give her any time to rest, with his large body soaring forward and slamming down from the sky.

Ning Yao didn't even have time to retrieve her saber from the ground as she retreated again and again.

Bai Yuan didn't continue to pursue her, and after landing, he raised a foot and stomped on the hilt of her saber. When the young girl who was down on one knee looked up, Bai Yuan increased the force underfoot and sent the saber deep into the earth, with its hilt drawing level with the ground.

A golden-purple aura fluctuated near the old ape's face, and it appeared especially dazzling when juxtaposed against the darkness of the night sky. He sneered and said, "You practice the sword, yet you also practice the saber, causing your techniques to become disorderly and unrefined. It's inevitable that you're in such a miserable situation!"

Ning Yao stood up and forcefully stopped herself from vomiting a mouthful of blood before saying, "Is that all you've got?"

Bai Yuan shook his head and said with a smile, "I was only giving you one last chance."

Ning Yao took a deep breath before saying in a solemn voice, "In my hometown, we don't care about who someone's parents are when we fight against them. If someone has the ability to kill you fair and square, then you can only blame yourself for being too weak and inferior. If my parents learn of this in the future, they'll at most only come to Eastern Treasured Vial Continent to target you. They definitely won't target Sun Scorch Mountain. So, you can be at ease and fight me with your full strength."

This was the first time Bai Yuan had seen her being so talkative, and she appeared completely different from the young girl with a veiled hat who was reserved and didn't show many emotions.

Bai Yuan suddenly felt a cold chill at the back of his neck at this instant, and this caused him to immediately turn his head to the side.

A blade scraped past his neck, leaving a shallow wound.

If he hadn't turned his head, the sword would have severely wounded him even if it couldn't directly run through his neck. At that time, the tables would turn on him, and he would eventually fall to a bigger and bigger disadvantage. Moreover, if he revealed his true form too early, he would lose his moral high ground and thus lose his bargaining chip against Qi Jingchun and Master Ruan. Perhaps this would even affect his young mistress and lead her to face all kinds of danger by herself. With this in mind, Bai Yuan finally became enraged for a third time.

The flying sword didn't return to its sheath, and it instead flew around Ning Yao as if it were trying to ask for praise and also please her.

Bai Yuan laughed in anger upon seeing this, and he said, "Very well, I wasn't able to fight to my heart's content with Song Changjing just then, so I guess I'll play around with you for a little while! However, just how many heavy strikes can your fragile body withstand?"

Ning Yao frowned slightly as she observed the golden-purple aura around Bai Yuan's face. Even though he had already used his mystical abilities three times, it was clear that he still had some remaining strength. At the very least, his acupoints hadn't collapsed and forced him to reveal his true form. Moreover, having one's lifespan shortened would be a huge blow to those below the Upper Five Tiers, but it would be much less of a blow to this Mountain-moving Ape, even though it would still be painful.

Ning Yao moved her fingers slightly, causing her sword to spin in an agile manner. She smiled and said, "No wonder my father said that Eastern Treasured Vial Continent's Sun Scorch Mountain isn't worth a mention. The cultivators there talk big but have little skills to back up their boasts. You people have blind courage, but you're unfortunately stupid and have extremely shallow sword qi."

Bai Yuan flared up in rage, and he bellowed, "You're seeking death!"

He charged at the impudent young girl.

Ning Yao didn't zealously continue to fight, and she instead retreated toward the north.

Her situation remained precarious, and if it wasn't for her flying sword receiving two characters from the plaque "unmatched aura", allowing it to grow explosively in sword qi and spirit, she would have faced many more life-threatening situations. Now, however, the flying sword was linked to Ning Yao's mind, and this allowed her to control it with her thoughts. It was because of this that she was able to block many of the old ape's vicious attacks.

If this were a bonded weapon that she had spent a huge amount of effort to nurture, Bai Yuan wouldn't have been astonished at all. However, he knew very clearly that this definitely wasn't the strange young girl's bonded sword.

She seemed more like an ordinary martial artist who was traveling through the world with a convenient weapon in her hand. All that she cared about was the sharpness of her blade. She didn't care about nurturing her sword heart, nor did she care about nurturing a sword spirit. However, what was strange about her was that she wasn't fully walking the path of a martial artist either. This was because martial artists who focused on tempering their physiques yearned to reach a state of "remaining indestructible even as heaven and earth shattered". If their weapons took over and gained the ability to act on their own, they would be regarded as disreputable martial artists from heretical sects.

After chasing Ning Yao for so long, Bai Yuan was unable to capture her partly because of the flying sword, and partly because she had practiced so many different arts. She practiced sword arts, martial arts, and also cultivation. Bai Yuan wracked his brains, but he truly couldn't think of a sect in Eastern Treasured Vial Continent that could raise such a strange disciple. Thus, he became increasingly careful with his attacks as he attempted to ascertain her identity and background.

In any case, everything would be fine as long as they didn't get too close to the small town. Regardless of how messy things were there, Bai Yuan wouldn't face any dangers in this place.

Ning Yao became increasingly pale as she continued to flee.

"You're a spent force!" Bai Yuan said with a wicked smile.

"To say nothing of whether you can flee back to the small town, even if you can, and there's someone there to help you, do you really think that I can't kill you?"

Bai Yuan stamped his feet and leaped up, ignoring the flying sword and directly jumping over Ning Yao's head, landing in front of her and blocking her path. He then swung his fist and sent the flying sword spinning hundreds of meters into the distance. However, the irritating flying sword instantly soared back again and stabbed at his head.

When Bai Yuan tried to grab the flying sword and hold it still, it slyly retreated from his reach as if it could read his mind. Coming and going like the wind, the flying sword was extremely unpredictable and hard to defend against. Even though Bai Yuan wasn't afraid of being wounded thanks to his strong physique, he was still left in a slightly disheveled state thanks to the flying sword.

Ning Yao wasn't willing to face Bai Yuan head-on, so she changed her direction and started to run toward the northeast.

Bai Yuan changed directions along with her, threatening her no matter where she went.

He swatted aside the flying sword that was speeding toward him as if he were swatting a fly, causing it to pierce almost a meter into the ground. Like a young girl swaying her hips, the flying sword swayed back and forth as it pulled itself from the ground with much difficulty. Hovering in the air, its tip shuddered violently as if it were a furious little kitten. After pausing for a brief moment, it viciously stabbed at the old ape again.

Bai Yuan was incredibly annoyed, and he couldn't help but say, "Why is this flying sword allowed to ignore the rules of this place? Tell me, what's your relationship with Qi Jingchun or Ruan Qiong?!"

Ning Yao was almost struck in the forehead by the old ape. As she leaned back, she reached out to grab the hilt of her flying sword, which forcefully dragged her back and out of the range of Bai Yuan's attacks.

After retreating some distance, Ning Yao decided against retreating all the way to the small town for some reason. Instead, she stopped and stood still, cocking her head and spitting out a mouthful of blood. The flying sword rang continuously as it hovered beside the young girl, and it was as if it were a young and puzzled student who was rattling away to his elders and asking a million questions.

Ning Yao placed her right hand on her left shoulder.

Bai Yuan suddenly slowed down, laughing heartily and saying, "Just as I expected. This flying sword recognizes you as its owner, and it can indeed act against the rules of this place. However, it's only a flying sword after all, and even if it has its own spirit, it can only do so much without your commands.

"However, it's a shame that both your body and your soul were severely wounded in the small town, and you're still yet to recover from these injuries. As such, you're completely unable to command your flying sword. It's because of this that your attacks have been random and disjointed. It's also why you're allowing your flying sword to attack by itself. In any case, you were never genuinely trying to wound me in the first place. However, when it comes to life-saving defensive techniques, you have no option but to control the flying sword with your mind."

Ning Yao finally spoke again, saying, "You speak so much."

Her lips were sanguine, and her face was as pale as a sheet.

Standing before the backdrop of the night sky, the young girl in green looked much like a female ghost who was wandering around the wilderness of the small town.

Bai Yuan strode forward, clicking his tongue in wonder as he said, "You have a powerful flying sword, but it's a shame that your body is too weak to fully control it. You're just like a tree with powerful branches but a weak trunk. How pitiful!

"You and that young boy from the alley wracked your brains to come up with ways to force me to replenish my qi, such that I'll invite retribution from this heaven and earth. Young girl, why don't you take a guess? After I exhaust this third breath of Qi and replenish my Qi for a fourth time, will I invite the wrath of heaven and earth? And will I be able to endure that wrath?"

An amused smile suddenly spread across Ning Yao's face as she lightly tapped her feet and jumped back. She only jumped up less than three meters, and she only jumped back less than two meters.

Bai Yuan, who was just about to attack her, couldn't help but find this odd. Afraid that there was a trap, he continued to advance in a slow and cautious manner, keeping his eyes peeled for any sudden changes.

While she was in midair, Ning Yao lightly tapped her feet again, this time exerting a little more power and also twisting her toes, causing her to jump to the side instead of straight back.

As it turned out, the flying sword had already flown beneath her feet while she was still in midair, allowing her to use it as a platform and continue to jump higher and also further back.

Even Bai Yuan, who had seen many things and experienced many battles, faltered upon seeing this. This was a strange and slightly farcical sight.

Like a small milu playing hopscotch, Ning Yao continued to hop around in a graceful and lively manner. It wasn't long before she vanished in the night sky.

Moreover, perhaps afraid that the old ape would suddenly attack her, Ning Yao's movements appeared extremely random and unpredictable, sometimes jumping to the left, and sometimes jumping to the right, sometimes jumping higher, and sometimes jumping lower, sometimes jumping forward, and sometimes jumping back.

Bai Yuan pursed his lips, his expression extremely complicated as he said, "Just like a bounding antelope."

However, he didn't stand still as he watched her flee. With a flick of his foot, he casually kicked up a stone and caught it in his palm. With a swing, he then ferociously launched the stone into the air.

One after another, Bai Yuan continued to flick stones into his hands before viciously throwing them at Ning Yao.

Even though most of the stones missed, there were still seven or eight that greatly threatened Ning Yao, forcing her to control her sword to shatter them.

Like the rumbling thunder of spring, explosions intermittently reverberated through the air.

Bai Yuan's expression became dark.

This young girl had either gone crazy, or she was absolutely stupid.

She was clearly able to fly beyond the range of his stones, yet she insisted on maintaining the same height. She was like a lightly armored cavalry pacing back and forth along the edges of the battlefield, tempting the enemy archers to continuously waste their arrows and strength on her.

Before he knew it, they had already arrived near the west side of the small town.

Bai Yuan roughly estimated how much Qi he had remaining — it wasn't much. He then picked out two egg-sized stones, one in each hand, before striding forward and swinging an arm, his muscles bulging as he did so. This was an astonishing sight, and the stone surprisingly crackled as it soared through the air, leaving a trail of sparks behind it. This was extremely peculiar, and it was as if it were a slender fire dragon that was soaring into the sky.

"Get down here!" Bai Yuan roared.

A brilliant spark exploded in the air before a low rumble traveled over.

Ning Yao groaned as she plummeted toward the ground.

Flying erratically like a drunkard, the flying sword whimpered in grief as it tried its best to help its owner.

Bai Yuan didn't spare the young girl and flying sword so much as a glance, and he instead squinted his eyes as he peered at the rooftops to the west of the small town. When a streak of black flashed past, he forcefully stomped his feet and released the remaining stone, chortling with laughter and saying, "Trying to save her? You die first!"

Ning Yao vomited blood and screamed, "Don't come over!"

The heavily wounded young girl couldn't bring herself to look over. At this moment, she felt a slight sense of despair.

She held onto her sword with much difficulty, and when one arm became too tired, she would hurriedly switch to the other arm. She did this again and again, slowing herself down as she fell to the ground.

Ning Yao never imagined that it would be her "clever act" that would kill Chen Ping'an.

The young boy in straw sandals who had a bamboo basket on his back and a fish basket by his waist. The young boy who walked as briskly as the wind as he hurried about every day, busily earning money and busily brewing medicine.

To die just like this... Ning Yao felt like this wasn't right!

After shakily landing on the ground, she put her index finger and middle finger together to form a sword. She then placed her fingers on her glabella and said through gritted teeth, "Come out! Shatter this heaven and earth!"

A thin golden line materialized on her glabella, slowly growing and expanding downward.

This was just like an immortal opening their Heavenly Eye!

Under the ancient stone arch bridge, the covered bridge of today...

A rusty blade whose tip had been pointing toward the deep pool for thousands of years suddenly yawned like someone who had just woken up from a deep slumber.

The rusty blade shuddered slightly.

The covered bridge shuddered along with it.

The entire creek also shuddered.

The entire small world also shuddered.

Deep in a mountain, a travel-worn Qi Jingchun was walking with several other people. As he peacefully walked through the mountain, he suddenly raised a foot and was just about to forcefully stomp down. However, he suddenly smiled and gently lowered his foot.

Sitting next to an oil lamp in the Yang Family's medicine shop, Old Man Yang was suddenly roused from his nap. He tapped the table with his tobacco pipe.

Standing in his official residence, Song Changjing suddenly started to stamp his feet and curse.

In a blacksmith shop by the creek, Ruan Qiong surprisingly missed the sword billet as swung down with his hammer, causing an expression of shock to spread across the face of the young girl who was holding the sword billet for him.

Lying on a rooftop and gazing at the night sky, Ma Kuxuan, who was treated as a retard by everyone, suddenly sat up straight, with killing intent bursting from his body.

Right at this moment, a familiar and extremely worried voice suddenly rang out, drawing closer and closer to Ning Yao. "Ning Yao, why are you stupidly standing there?! Run! I'm not dead! That was just a shirt that I took off! That old beast is stupid, but why have you gone stupid as well?"

Ning Yao's mind was already fuzzy at this moment, with the Edict Ceremony almost reaching completion. However, she suddenly felt like she was taken on a ride through the clouds and mists as someone tossed her onto their shoulder and ran toward the alleyway.

Ning Yao suddenly came to her senses, with her body bouncing up and down with the movement of Chen Ping'an's shoulder. She felt slightly uncomfortable, and she felt even more embarrassed. She was completely stupefied as she murmured, "Huh?"