Chapter 31: Lijiang Swordplay

Qin Mu's heart hammered wildly. Drawing the pig-slaying knife from behind, he felt this was the first time he had encountered such a formation.

Mu Bi Feng's demeanor, though subtle, pressed down on him with invisible force. Every action, every word spoken by this old man since entering the village, exuded boundless pressure. Fighting Qu Shixiong, one of Li Jiang's Five Sons, had pushed him to his limits, forcing him to strike. But the formation before his eyes now instilled a degree of apprehension.

"I peed on the stone statue at the village entrance, what else is there to fear? The demons of Wu Women and Town Central Palace, I've seen them! I wasn't afraid then, so why be afraid now? No matter how strong Mu Bi Feng is, he can't be stronger than gods and demons!"

Qin Mu steadied his mind, the panic in his heart gradually subsiding. He surveyed his surroundings, his brows furrowed slightly. The village wasn't large. Everyone gathered here, including himself, numbered twenty-two. They stood like stakes rooted to the ground, each in a distinct position, their figures staggered, filling the small village completely.

The village chief lay on a stretcher, the Pharmacist stood beside it. Butcher, missing his lower body, stood atop a wooden stake. Ma Ye leaned against one. Granny Si carried a basket. The mute stood at the blacksmith's shop door. The deaf man held a pole brush still dripping with ink. The cripple stood on one leg, propped up by his crutch.

Mu Bi Feng's group also held carefully considered positions, each person's stance remarkably peculiar, making it difficult for anyone to move quickly within the village, let alone engage in combat.

This situation demanded exceptionally high proficiency in controlling qi to wield a sword!

If one were to control a sword with qi, they would need to be meticulously cautious, lest their own blade strike another or be influenced by others. It required incomparably delicate sword techniques. Qin Mu cultivated Butcher's pig-slaying knife method, a martial technique school's knife method that couldn't achieve this level of finesse.

"We fight here?" Qin Mu asked.

Qian Qiu nodded. "Just here!"

Qin Mu sheathed the pig-slaying knife back into the pouch behind him, freeing his hands.

Qian Qiu, seeing Qin Mu put his knife away, a glint of light flashed in his eyes. Qin Mu's willingness to fight barehanded was somewhat unexpected.

Before arriving, Mu Bi Feng had already taken them to view the ruins in the valley. From the bones of Qu Shixiong, gnawed until only bone remained, Mu Bi Feng had deduced that Qin Mu used a knife method. At the time, Qin Mu had picked up a small wooden stick from the ground and used it as a knife, striking Qu Shixiong, leaving tiny nicks on his bones. The bones in the places where he struck showed fine cracks.

From this, they deduced that Qin Mu's knife method was exquisite. Furthermore, Qin Mu's footwork and movement speed must have been incredibly fast. Only with exquisite leg techniques could he continuously move and attack every corner of Qu Shixiong's body!

Mu Bi Feng's ability was extraordinary; he was a top expert beneath the heavens. Judging from the traces Qin Mu left, Qin Mu undoubtedly used a martial technique. The martial technique school excelled at close combat but had few attainments in controlling a sword with qi.

From that moment, Mu Bi Feng had devised the method to kill Qin Mu. Upon entering the village, each person took a different stance, setting up the Li Jiang Water Dragon Array, deliberately leaving nine array eyes. Mu Bi Feng stood at the head of the dragon. The others, except for Qian Qiu, were all top experts of the Li Jiang Sect. To prevent the Li Jiang Water Dragon Array from unleashing its combined attack power, the villagers of Disabled Elderly Village had to block the array eyes one by one. The Village Chief and Pharmacist blocked the dragon's eyes, the blind man blocked the heart eye, the cripple, Granny Si, Ma Ye, and Butcher stood at the joints of the Water Dragon Array's limbs, the blacksmith suppressed the dragon's body, and the deaf man suppressed the dragon's tail.

This created the current situation in the village: everyone stood in different positions, their figures staggered, making it incredibly difficult to move quickly within, and very hard to control a sword with qi, unless one had exceedingly high attainments in that regard.

Evidently, Qin Mu was not such a person.

And his disciple, Qian Qiu, was precisely such a person. Although he was still a Spirit Embryo realm warrior, his attainments in controlling a sword with qi were extremely high. He had refined his vital energy into incredibly fine silk, and his sword control technique had reached astonishing heights. He once used vital energy to control a brush, drawing a portrait of a beauty thirty *zhang* away, the strands of hair on the portrait distinct and in perfect order.

As long as Qin Mu responded with his knife, he was bound to be defeated.

And Qin Mu sheathing his knife and responding barehanded was somewhat unexpected by Qian Qiu. However, barehanded against a spirit sword seemed a clear disadvantage. Moreover, the sword he brought this time was no ordinary sword, but a spirit sword, one nurtured and born within the divine treasury of a god-passer in the Six Harmonies realm.

A spirit sword, in terms of sharpness, toughness, strength, and spirituality, far surpassed ordinary weapons.

Qin Mu bowed and said, "Senior Brother, please."

Qian Qiu returned the gesture. The treasure sword in the pouch behind him hummed. "Junior Brother, please."

Qin Mu lifted his foot to move, but at that very moment, the treasure sword in the pouch behind Qian Qiu unsheathed with a clang. A thread of vital energy drove the treasure sword, its cold qi piercing, its sword light pointing towards Qin Mu as it stabbed!

That thread of vital energy was incredibly fine, almost invisible to the eye. With a slight tremor, the treasure sword stabbed out sword flowers one by one, attacking Qin Mu from various tricky angles. Its speed was so fast it was dazzling!

As a warrior, to cultivate the ability to control a sword with qi to this level was already a rare and valuable achievement!

Qin Mu's footwork was agile, shuttling between the still figures. And Qian Qiu's sword was even faster, his sword method so delicate it was astounding. For the other motionless people, his sword held no threat, but for Qin Mu, every move of his sword was a strike for his life!

That sword light was unpredictable, making it impossible for Qin Mu to escape even by displaying the cripple's Heaven Stealing Leg Method. There were simply too many obstacles here. Every single person standing still limited his speed, preventing him from fully unleashing his potential!

*Hu——*

Qin Mu observed the situation. His vital energy suddenly became incomparably violent and restless. A faint dragon roar emanated, and vaguely, a fiery dragon appeared, coiling around his arm. This fiery dragon was indistinct, sometimes its head merged with his fist, sometimes its claws merged with his fingers, changing shape unpredictably.

As the sword light stabbed, Qin Mu met it with a punch. Just as his fist was about to collide with the spirit sword, his five fingers suddenly spread wide. The air between his palms exploded with a boom, shaking the stabbing sword tip into an unsteady sway!

*Dang dang dang dang dang——*

Qin Mu's five fingers popped out in turn, one after another, striking the sword tip, the sword body, and the sword hilt. Each strike produced a loud *dang*, like a giant iron hammer pounding heavily on the sword. By the time his fifth finger popped out, the spirit sword was sent flying by his strike, and Qian Qiu's vital energy thread was also snapped by the raw force of his fingers.

Qin Mu's footwork moved quickly, his body weaving through the crowd, flying towards Qian Qiu. The distance between them was only one *zhang*. Just then, Qian Qiu's face remained expressionless. From the sword pouch behind him came another sword hum. The second spirit sword flew out of the pouch, stabbing towards him.

Qin Mu's heart jolted, and he hastily retreated. This time, the third spirit sword flew out of the sword pouch, then the fourth, the fifth, the sixth, the seventh...

More than ten spirit swords followed one after another, all connected by a single thread of vital energy piercing through the sword tips and hilts. The hilt of the first sword rested against the tip of the second, the hilt of the second against the tip of the third, connecting together to a length of six or seven *zhang*, like a vibrant silver dragon flipping and dancing in the air, or like the Li Jiang river, with its thousand twists and hundred turns.

Li Jiang Sword Method!

The foremost sword method of the Southern Border.

Qian Qiu's first sword was incredibly agile, flipping and flying up, down, left, and right, and the swords behind it followed suit, passing through the crowd without touching a single person. From Qin Mu's perspective, he could only see the tip of the first sword, unable to see the swords behind it.

A strong sense of danger arose in his heart. Unable to see meant unknown, and unknown meant unable to dodge, unable to predict!

The Li Jiang Sword Method was indeed insidious and fierce!

Just then, the first spirit sword shook out several dozen sword flowers, stabbing towards Qin Mu, the sword light dazzling. And behind these dozens of sword flowers, the second spirit sword detached from the chain of swords, connected by an independent thread of vital energy, suddenly appeared, slashing towards Qin Mu's neck!