Chapter Ninety-Four: Chen Ping's Invitation

Yang Xiao did not dare underestimate his opponent. He slapped his storage pouch and drew forth the Dragon-Snake Sword. In an instant, the sword shot skyward and split into hundreds upon hundreds of flying blades, each one identical to the next. In a sweeping surge, the countless swords slashed toward a gigantic finger descending from the heavens.

The falling finger instantly froze, meeting the thousand-odd flying swords in direct opposition. Locked together, the two sides wrestled in stalemate, neither gaining the upper hand.

But the statue that Liao Hui had empowered with outside force, upon seeing Yang Xiao unleash the Sword Soul Realm, actually seemed to hesitate like a living being. Not long after, that borrowed power withdrew of its own accord.

Without that support, the finger strike Liao Hui had unleashed could no longer withstand the slaughter of Yang Xiao’s flying swords and was quickly driven to defeat. The massive finger was hacked to pieces by the innumerable swords.

Once Yang Xiao shattered Liao Hui’s spiritual energy, Liao Hui was naturally wounded as well. He staggered and spat out a mouthful of blood.

“This is impossible. That move was my strongest secret art, and it even drew on the power of our founding patriarch. Yet it still could not withstand his flying swords. This is far too incredible.”

Liao Hui was utterly baffled. According to his master, their founding patriarch was a great figure who had long since ascended to the Spirit Realm. As long as they offered up faith and spiritual power as sacrifice and borrowed the patriarch’s strength, their battle prowess could be greatly enhanced. Yet this time, even after borrowing that power, the patriarch actually withdrew it on his own upon seeing Yang Xiao’s methods, as if unwilling to have Yang Xiao killed, fearing he might offend some great personage.

How strange.

Could it be that this man also had a formidable background?

Liao Hui was doubtful and unwilling to accept the outcome, but Chen Ping was equally shocked. Yang Xiao had actually used one of the Heavenly Sword Sect’s supreme arts, the Unrivaled Sword Technique, and he had already cultivated the second level, the Sword Soul Realm, to success. Even Chen Ping had only just glimpsed the doorway to that realm and had not fully mastered it, yet Yang Xiao was using it with such effortless fluency. That left Chen Ping puzzled as well.

Liao Hui was unwilling to let it go and wanted to use other methods against Yang Xiao, but Chen Ping stopped him.

Then Chen Ping said to Yang Xiao, “Brother, may I ask your name? And how is it that you know the supreme art of our Heavenly Sword Sect?”

“My name is Yang Xiao. I once happened upon the first two levels of the Unrivaled Sword Manual on the remains of an ancient cultivator in a cave residence, so I began cultivating it. This sword manual is indeed exquisite and has benefited me greatly. However, I did not know it was a supreme art of the Heavenly Sword Sect. I only thought it was a technique created by that senior, so if I have shown any disrespect to your sect, I hope you will forgive me.”

“If what Brother Yang says is true, then it is only natural that you would learn our sect’s technique,” Chen Ping said. “But I wonder if you found anything else on that senior’s body? If there were any other relics, perhaps you could let me have a look. Maybe then I could figure out exactly who this senior was.”

Yang Xiao had originally displayed the Unrivaled Sword Technique precisely so Chen Ping could see it. In truth, Yang Xiao was also very curious about the identity of that ancient cultivator. After all, the other party had left him many fine treasures; otherwise, he would not have advanced so quickly to his current level.

“There is a jade pendant left by that senior. It does bear the words Heavenly Sword Sect on it. Brother Chen may take a look.”

As he spoke, Yang Xiao handed the jade pendant to Chen Ping.

“This is indeed one of our Heavenly Sword Sect’s entry tokens. Normally, the tokens issued to disciples bear the owner’s name. Let me see what the senior’s name is.”

Chen Ping formed a hand seal and sent a thread of spiritual energy into the token in his hand. On the back of the originally blank token, two words slowly appeared: Xiao Jian.

“Looks like this senior’s name should be Xiao Jian. I have never heard of this name before, but he was certainly a cultivator of our Heavenly Sword Sect. His name should be recorded in the sect’s disciple registry. And his cultivation level must not have been ordinary, otherwise he would not have been able to receive the transmission of the Unrivaled Sword Technique. Speaking of which, since Brother Yang has obtained the sword manual left behind by this senior, you can count as half a disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect. You also killed Wang Hai this time, which counts as a great service to our five sects. In that case, we are now on the same side, and there is no need to make a big fuss over the relics on Wang Hai’s body,” Chen Ping said with a smile to Yang Xiao.

Seeing Chen Ping and Yang Xiao grow so cordial simply because they had both cultivated the same technique, Liao Hui knew that it would be impossible for him to obtain Wang Hai’s belongings this time. Besides, he truly did not have the confidence to defeat Yang Xiao. Even his strongest move had just been beaten back, and with Chen Ping and Yang Xiao now so close, any further designs on his part would be meaningless. In the end, he could only force down all his thoughts.

“What Brother Chen says is quite right. It seems there truly has been a misunderstanding today,” Yang Xiao agreed.

Since the other side no longer wished to continue the conflict, Yang Xiao was naturally happy to go along with it. After all, he was not fully confident that he could definitely kill Chen Ping and Liao Hui, and even if he could, he would probably be injured himself. It was better not to do anything so dangerous.

Chen Ping returned the token bearing the name Xiao Jian to Yang Xiao, then said, “Brother Yang, how about I invite you to join our Heavenly Sword Sect? With your current ability, you would certainly rank among our elite disciples. Moreover, the Heavenly Sword Sect is a major sect with abundant resources for cultivation. It would surely ensure that your future achievements go far beyond this. That would be much better than staying in some smaller faction. I believe that if you enter our Heavenly Sword Sect, the sect master will surely welcome you warmly. After all, you killed Wang Hai and rendered great service. The sect master may even reward you handsomely. Such an excellent opportunity, Brother Yang, I hope you will give it serious consideration.”

Liao Hui was somewhat surprised by Chen Ping’s words. Just moments ago, they had still been enemies, and now he was inviting the man over. Still, given Yang Xiao’s age, he was already among the best of any sect’s disciples, so if Yang Xiao joined any sect, he would certainly provide a boost in strength. From that perspective, Chen Ping’s suggestion did make sense.

Yang Xiao had his own considerations as well. If he were to join the Heavenly Sword Sect so casually, it would feel somewhat improper, because he still did not understand the sect very well. Moreover, he remained somewhat wary of Chen Ping. Although Chen Ping seemed to be thinking of him at every turn, who could say whether, if Yang Xiao readily accepted and traveled with them, he might end up being dealt a hidden blow? Such experts at one’s side were impossible to guard against completely. In the cultivation world, cases of smiling faces offering sweetness on the surface while hiding blades in the dark were far too common.

Still, the conditions Chen Ping offered were somewhat tempting. As Chen Ping had said, a major sect had abundant cultivation resources and would indeed be an excellent place to train. At the very least, one would not have to live like a wandering cultivator, worrying over every manner of resource and running here and there in search of them. That would certainly waste a great deal of time.