Chapter 463
"Lu Junxing!"
Qin Ran couldn't help but exclaim in awe.
On Dan Peak, he sat by Sword Washing Lake with Chasing the Wind, now shrunk to the size of a small cat, cradled in his arms. He gazed up at Lu Junxing in mid-air, who was single-handedly suppressing the Hengduan Mountain Alliance.
Chasing the Wind had taken some medicinal pills and eaten a lot of meat, and was now in a state of recuperation and healing.
Qin Ran turned to Li Shiyin and Tian Wenjin and said, "With him around, it's both your fortune and your misfortune.
"The fortune is that there will always be someone ahead of you, clearing the path and shouldering the greatest pressures and responsibilities.
"The misfortune is that he will always be ahead of you."
Li Shiyin and Tian Wenjin were practicing swordsmanship on the lake to speed up their recovery. Hearing this, they looked up and saw Lu Junxing's invincible aura.
"Brother Lu is indeed impressive," Huang Feiyu, standing behind Qin Ran, said with a serious expression. "Even in the Lingnan Immortal Sect, there aren't many like him."
Qin Ran glanced back at him and smiled, asking, "How confident are you against him?"Huang Feiyu, despite his cunning nature, had to show respect to Qin Ran.
His life had been saved by Qin Ran from the clutches of death, and he had been given the opportunity to join the Lingnan Immortal Sect through Qin Ran's Immortal Invitation.
In essence, for someone like him, he could forget Tian Wenjin, Liu Boxian, or even his own parents, but in the short term, he couldn't forget Qin Ran's great kindness.
"None," he shook his head and honestly replied, "I have no certainty of winning."
But then he added, calculatingly, "The Lionheart Inferno Beast was only a fourth-tier demon beast. If Uncle Qin had used a sixth- or seventh-tier demon beast's heart for the transplant, I might have had a chance."
Ah! Just listen to what this man is saying.
Tian Wenjin, the very person involved, could hear him clearly from the lake.
You see, it was to repay the debt of the fourth-tier demon beast's flames and demon core that Tian Wenjin had become a task fanatic. She had taken on countless missions to finally repay Qin Ran's spirit stones.
Although, as the saying goes, every cloud has a silver lining, Tian Wenjin's missions had given her valuable experience and combat skills, propelling her into the realm of true talent. However, Huang Feiyu's words proved that he had no conscience whatsoever.
Qin Ran stealthily glanced at Tian Wenjin, who was expressionless, just continuing her sword practice with Li Shiyin.
Since Tian Wenjin didn't react, Qin Ran decided not to say anything either. He just smiled at Huang Feiyu and said, "It's a pity I didn't have the strength of a Huashen or Hedao back then; otherwise, I could have gotten you a seventh-tier demon beast's heart."
"Brother Lu's talent is truly exceptional..." Huang Feiyu pretended not to catch Qin Ran's sarcasm and continued, "It's a shame he's limited by resources. If Brother Lu were to join the Lingnan Immortal Sect, ascending to immortality would be a breeze."
"Well, such things are a matter of personal choice," Qin Ran replied casually, not wanting to delve further.
But after a while, Huang Feiyu asked again, "Uncle Qin, do you know where the Sect Master has gone?"
"He's the Sect Master; how would I know his whereabouts?" Qin Ran replied in surprise. "Do you need to find him for something?"
Huang Feiyu hesitated, then finally shook his head. "No, it's nothing."
"They all say you're invincible in the same realm..."
When the entire Hengduan Mountain Alliance was silent, a voice suddenly rang out. Another Nascent Soul cultivator flew out from the cloud ship and landed in front of Lu Junxing, in the spot where Bu Tianming had stood, addressing Lu Junxing, "They all say you're the most gifted swordsman in centuries. ℞₳
"But in my eyes, you're still a junior... You're too young, lacking in experience. Experience shapes the sword path, and your sword path must be insufficiently seasoned."
Lu Junxing recognized him and quickly bowed, showing respect. "May I ask the esteemed name of the senior?"
"No need for formality..." the man replied. "I am Wu Lan, the Sword-holding Elder of the Celestial Sword Sect."
He didn't dare to claim himself as "the true self."
Lu Junxing had once led a mission to intercept members of the Celestial Sword Sect... Though it was officially an interception, the real purpose was to allow Qin Ran to infiltrate the Celestial Sword Sect. At that time, he had met Wu Lan.
And Wu Lan, under the influence of Qin Ran's persuasion in Zhican Valley, had led a rebellion and incurred a great punishment... This time, it was he who had actively requested to challenge Lu Junxing, aiming to cleanse his sins and regain his share of power.
If he could kill Lu Junxing, it would be a great merit, enough to regain his position. But... it seemed that Qiu Huahui found him annoying and had agreed to his request.
"So it's an elder from the Celestial Sword Sect," Lu Junxing said, his expression serious. "It's quite a distance from the Celestial Sword Sect to the Dao Sword Sect. It's commendable and an honor for the senior to travel such a distance just to die here."
"You insolent brat, thinking yourself a genius swordsman, yet you're nothing but a glib-tongued scoundrel!" Wu Lan sneered.
"Alas!" Lu Junxing sighed. "I wasn't always like this. I truly am an invincible genius of the sword path.
"It's just that Uncle Qin of Dan Peak is a sly one. After getting to know him, he's full of dark humor, and I've been influenced by him. I apologize to the elder."
After saying that, he asked, "How long will the elder continue to chat? Could it be that you still have lingering attachments to the mortal world and don't wish to die quickly?
"If so, please return to the Celestial Sword Sect. I won't pursue it."
He then added, as if remembering something, "But Uncle Qin is a cunning one. He'll definitely cause trouble for the Celestial Sword Sect. Alas!!"
Hearing this, Wu Lan shouted, "Enough of this idle talk!"
He drew his sword, channeled his spiritual energy, and prepared to strike.
"That's more like it, elder. It's better to die bravely," Lu Junxing said.
As he spoke, he raised his right hand, combining his index and middle fingers.
"Why aren't you drawing your sword?"
Lu Junxing replied very seriously, "Elder Wu, you overestimate yourself."
With that, he slashed with a single finger!
A slash that split mountains and rivers, the landscape piercing through space. Wu Lan raised his sword to block, but his technique was broken, his lifebound sword shattered, and his head fell to the ground.
Another sword strike.
An ordinary strike.
Another Nascent Soul cultivator was dead.
In a short time, two Nascent Soul cultivators had died, as if Nascent Souls were mere cabbages.
Lu Junxing looked at the cloud ship, his smile gentle, his voice warm, "Next!"
But his voice was like a chilling wind, sending shivers down the spines of everyone on the cloud ship.
The same Nascent Soul cultivation, but completely different combat power.
They were not even in the same world.
When facing Qin Ran's schemes, they had mustered their courage and accelerated, not giving Qin Ran a chance to act further, and had charged to the Dao Sword Sect;
When facing Qin Ran's formations, they had worked hard to find formation masters and had risked their lives to break the formations;
When facing the transformation into divine being of the flood dragon, they had devised various methods and had lured the black dragon to its death.
They had never thought of giving up.
But now, facing Lu Junxing, they wanted to flee.
What the Dao Sword Sect would do to them later, what the Thousand-faced Poison Lord would do to them, that was all in the future.
Now, at this moment, Lu Junxing was right in front of them. Lu Junxing's sword hung there, as if it were pressed against everyone's neck.
A few days ago, when they had first arrived at the Dao Sword Sect, they had faced Qin Ran and Chasing the Wind, and they had praised the Thousand-faced Poison Lord for his courage; now, facing Lu Junxing, they felt their own courage was admirable, as they willingly placed their necks on someone else's sword.
"Lu Junxing is angry,"
On Dan Peak, Qin Ran sighed.
Many members of the Dao Sword Sect had died, including Liu Baixuan, and Lu Junxing should be furious.
"It seems he's never been serious before."
"Shiyin, Wenjin, look, God has descended!"
Li Shiyin, Tian Wenjin, Huang Feiyu, and the other wounded who resided on Dan Peak all looked up at the sky, witnessing a deity descending.
Lu Junxing was a figure no less than Su Changqing.
What made Su Changqing stronger than Lu Junxing was his foundation built on the Dao Scripture.
Su Changqing, who did not cultivate the sword path but comprehended sword qi, could fight against someone at the Harmonization Realm with just his golden core.
So, for Lu Junxing to cut down a Nascent Soul cultivator with a single sword strike was no problem.