Yu Mi was extremely wary of the crazed Nanshan Yijian but couldn’t bring herself to abandon Bao Gu. After a moment of hesitation, she bit her lip and slowly approached Bao Gu, whispering, “What now?” She tried her best to conceal her aura, making herself appear as an ordinary mortal.
Bao Gu, holding onto the wooden-like Nanshan Yijian’s arm, told Yu Mi, “We’re heading back to Xuan Yue Ancient City!”
Yu Mi gave Bao Gu a deep look and said, “Wait a moment!” She turned back to Master Feng to request a teleportation array platform and had him inscribe the coordinates of Xuan Yue Ancient City.
Xuan Yue Ancient City was vast, with many buildings protected by arrays and various defensive mechanisms. If the coordinates of the teleportation array were not accurately marked, cultivators emerging from the void could collide with these arrays, facing the lethal combination of defensive arrays and spatial forces, leaving almost no chance of survival.
Yu Mi handed the teleportation array platform to Bao Gu, saying, “Take Nanshan Yijian back to Xuan Yue Ancient City through the teleportation platform. We’ll follow shortly.”
Bao Gu, noticing Yu Mi and Master Feng’s apprehension towards Nanshan Yijian, didn’t question why she was asked to return first. She told Nanshan Yijian, “We’re going back to Xuan Yue Ancient City.” Seeing no response from him, she activated the teleportation platform with spirit stones, pulling Nanshan Yijian onto it. In a few breaths’ time, they arrived at the gates of Xuan Yue Ancient City.
The biting cold wind immediately hit them, causing Bao Gu to sneeze repeatedly and shiver uncontrollably. Unable to endure the severe cold outside the city gates, she wrapped herself tightly in a tiger skin coat, drawing continuous sideways glances from passersby.
Nanshan Yijian, dressed in a thin Taoist robe, appeared dazed but his handsome features and elegant posture perfectly matched the temperament of a cultivator, unlike Bao Gu, who dressed like an ordinary person and attracted more attention.
Under the curious gaze of the crowd, Bao Gu tightly gripped Nanshan Yijian’s arm and headed into the city. She saw many cultivators stepping out of teleportation platforms from the void, wearing beautiful clothes and appearing very powerful, even their platforms seemed more durable than the one Master Feng had given her, which could only be used once before breaking.
As soon as Bao Gu entered the city gates, she heard someone shout, “Bao Gu!” She instinctively stopped to look back but then, thinking better of it, continued forward without turning her head.
The person behind her exclaimed, “It really is you!”
A figure descended from the sky, landing in front of Bao Gu.
Bao Gu saw that the person blocking her path was a young man dressed in the inner disciple uniform of the Tai Yin Sect. She naively asked, “What’s the matter?”
The Tai Yin Sect disciple sneered, “What’s the matter? You stole my storage bag and think you can just leave?”
Bao Gu looked at him disdainfully as if he were an idiot, grabbed Nanshan Yijian, and attempted to bypass the Tai Yin Sect disciple to continue into the city.
The Tai Yin Sect disciple shouted, “Trying to leave?” and reached out to grab Bao Gu’s shoulder.
Bao Gu ducked and stepped back, hiding behind Nanshan Yijian.
The Tai Yin Sect disciple, blocked by Nanshan Yijian and seeing him as just an ordinary mortal, slapped Nanshan Yijian across the face, shouting, “Get lost!”
Five clear finger marks immediately appeared on Nanshan Yijian’s face.
The Tai Yin Sect disciple, looking fierce, knocked Nanshan Yijian to the ground with a curse, “Useless!” and stepped on him as he reached for Bao Gu.
Seeing this, Bao Gu drew a Golden Core stage treasure sword from her storage bag and slashed at the Tai Yin Sect disciple, shouting, “What skill is there in hitting someone who doesn’t fight back?”
The Tai Yin Sect disciple was no pushover. As Bao Gu drew her sword, he also summoned a Golden Core stage treasure sword and struck with full force at Bao Gu, who was protected by her full-body defensive treasures.
Bao Gu, only at the fourth level of Qi Refining, was far weaker than the Tai Yin Sect disciple. Their swords clashed, and she was forced back several steps by his sword qi. If not for her diligent sword practice and protective treasures, that strike could have been fatal. Stabilizing herself, Bao Gu, sword in hand, challenged the Tai Yin Sect disciple, “Does the Tai Yin Sect have no shame?”
Without another word, the Tai Yin Sect disciple attacked Bao Gu again.
Bao Gu couldn’t gauge the full extent of the Tai Yin Sect disciple’s power, only knowing he was stronger than her. But what did it matter if his cultivation was higher? Her senior sister had slain Golden Core stage demons at the end of the Foundation Establishment stage, overcoming the strong as the weak. As a fellow disciple of Ling Yun Peak, Bao Gu couldn’t show weakness. With her body full of treasures and having faced Golden Core stage masters before, now equipped with a Nascent Soul stage protective amulet, she wasn’t afraid of an inner disciple whose strength was at best at the Golden Core stage.
Outmatched, Bao Gu went all out from the start, activating all her Golden Core stage defensive treasures and channeling her Qi into her sword, employing the sword techniques from the combat skills in her attack.
In that moment, Bao Gu felt the chilling sword intent, but her heart remained as calm as an ancient well, as natural as flowing water. Her sword moved with her heart, executing the sword moves she had practiced hundreds of times.
The combat skills’ sword moves were basic, without fixed routines, emphasizing adaptability and changing according to the opponent.
Seeing the incoming sword thrust, Bao Gu parried and counterattacked, using the basic sword techniques she practiced daily. To anyone watching, it was clear she was a novice.
The Tai Yin Sect disciple sneered continuously, attacking Bao Gu while taunting, “Isn’t the Xuan Tian Sect’s combat skill known as the king of combat skills? Bao Gu, as an inner disciple of Xuan Tian Sect, didn’t your master teach how to use a sword? You fight like a novice. Didn’t you receive the supreme Xuan Tian sword inheritance? Use it! Use it!” His taunts grew more arrogant as his attacks intensified.
Bao Gu kept retreating, facing danger at every turn. Yet, she didn’t launch a single attack, focusing instead on the swords and figures swirling in the sword shadows. She understood that no sword technique was without flaws, especially the more elaborate ones .
In combat, it’s about defense and exploiting the opponent’s weaknesses. Overconfidence and underestimating the enemy are fatal mistakes in a fight. Even a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit.
Bao Gu focused on her defense, protecting her vital points when necessary, dodging as much as possible, and sometimes taking a hit to strike at the opponent’s weakness, forcing him to defend.
The Tai Yin Sect disciple, unable to defeat Bao Gu, who was only at the fourth level of Qi Refining and using basic sword techniques, felt humiliated and shouted, “Even if you have Golden Core stage treasures, I’ll crush you with one slap!” He gathered strength in his left palm, intending to blast Bao Gu away with the power of a seventh-level Foundation Establishment stage and finish her with a swift sword strike.
Sword and palm techniques are distinct; no one mixes them. The Tai Yin Sect disciple had never practiced combining them. Now, attempting to do both, his coordination was imperfect, revealing a flaw.
Bao Gu gritted her teeth and, as the Tai Yin Sect disciple’s palm came down, thrust her sword through the gap in his sword light!
Knowing that cultivators with higher cultivation levels have better physical resilience and that what would be a severe injury to mortals could be quickly recovered by cultivators, she aimed her sword a few inches higher as she stabbed towards his neck.
Blood flowed as the sword pierced through.
The Tai Yin Sect disciple also landed a palm strike on Bao Gu’s chest. The protective amulet around her neck suddenly emitted a soft glow, repelling the force, but Bao Gu still staggered back several steps before stabilizing.
As she retreated, she saw the Tai Yin Sect disciple also flying backward, with two figures rushing towards him, then clashing in mid-air.
Steadying herself, Bao Gu looked up to see the Tai Yin Sect disciple lying motionless on the ground, a vertical bloodstain on his forehead. She then looked up to see Master Feng and a man in a black Taoist robe fighting in the air.
Yu Mi rushed to Bao Gu’s side, examining her and exclaimed, “Impressive! A fourth-level Qi Refining cultivator killing a seventh-level Foundation Establishment cultivator!”
Bao Gu seriously replied, “I have a Nascent Soul stage protective treasure. He chose to attack me with a palm strike instead of a sword, which was suicidal. It wasn’t me who killed him; he was foolishly asking for it.” She showed no sense of achievement in defeating an opponent from a higher realm. Looking eagerly at Yu Mi, she asked, “Are all Tai Yin Sect members brainless? Why are they all so foolish?” As she spoke, she took out a Qi Refining Pill, chewing it like candy before swallowing it to use its medicinal properties to replenish her depleted Qi and soothe her aching organs.
An angry voice declared from the sky, “Xuan Tian Sect is quite arrogant, repeatedly killing my Tai Yin Sect disciples in the streets. Do you really think the Tai Yin Sect is easy to bully?”
Bao Gu glanced up, seeing a dark figure approaching from afar, unsure if it was a person or a bird, but the voice seemed to come from that direction. With her senior sister by her side and Pavillion Master Lu promising to protect her, she didn’t need to handle any powerful opponents herself. Calmly sheathing her sword, she pulled up the motionless Nanshan Yijian, who lay on the ground like a wooden sculpture, and patted the shoe print on his chest, curiously looking at him. She wondered if he was not crazy but simply foolish, given his lack of reaction to being hit. As she looked up, she noticed Nanshan Yijian staring at her and saying two words: “Well done!”
