Sword Sect Outer Sect

Chapter 256 That was a close call!
However, the surrounding area is quiet and deserted, with only the chirping of insects.

There were no signs of rescue around the body, and not a trace of spiritual energy left from the struggle.

"Could it be some kind of secret technique for faking death?"

Song Yan stepped forward and gently nudged him, but there was no response.

Really dead?
To be honest, he wasn't sure.

After a moment's hesitation, I decided to leave it alone.

The Dongyuan Sect and the Yang family do not have any close relationship, and rashly getting involved could easily lead to them being drawn into a vortex.

Furthermore, what if this state of death is just some kind of fake death technique?

It's not impossible.

"To be on the safe side, let's wait until we get out and then briefly mention this matter to Elder Zhang, and let him make the decision."

Others' knowledge is certainly broader than mine.

Although Song Yan is now a Foundation Establishment cultivator, there are still differences between Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Song Yan turned around, intending to leave.

hum-

But then a streak of crimson-gold light appeared, heading straight for him without missing a beat.

Without any scruples.

The crimson light cut through the mountain fog and hovered not far from Song Yan.

The apricot-yellow Taoist robes of the Xuan Yuan Sect fluttered in the wind.

Two yin talismans, two yang talismans, and two blank talismans swirled around him.

Song Yan recognized this person even more.

Xuan Yuan Sect, Fan Dongchen.

"Song Yan... is that his name?"

His expression was disdainful, his eyes full of arrogance, as he blocked Song Yan's path.

"Give me the talisman on your body, and then you can crawl away from here unharmed. Be quick."

Hearing Fan Dongchen's words, Song Yan was stunned for a moment, then suddenly laughed.

"Did you come here specifically to see me?"

Fan Dongchen narrowed his eyes: "You're overthinking it. I just happened to be passing by and kicked you to death on a whim."

Song Yan sneered inwardly.

The Xuan Yuan Sect has been acting as a local tyrant in the cultivation world of Chu for far too long.

Not to mention these truly talented disciples.

Even ordinary cultivators like Wang Xi and Shen Huai act arrogantly when they go outside.

Perhaps only the Dongyuan Sect is an anomaly, unwilling to be the Xuanyuan Sect's dog.

"Oh Well."

Song Yan spread his hands: "The talisman is right here. If you want it, come and get it yourself."

After saying that, he turned around and leisurely walked away into the distance.

Fan Dongchen's face stiffened: "Such arrogance! The lackeys of the Dongyuan Sect really need a good overhaul!"

Before he finished speaking, a powerful and scorching spiritual pressure was released from his body, enveloping Song Yan.

"If I were to do it myself, it wouldn't be as simple as just breaking bones!"

Fan Dongchen rushed over quickly, staring at Song Yan's back, his killing intent surging.

The golden light in Song Yan's eyes had not yet dissipated, and the mysterious spiritual light within it flashed by.

At that moment, Song Yan abruptly stopped.

Then he suddenly turned around.

Fan Dongchen looked up and saw those eyes, so cold and deep that just one glance made his heart tremble.

"Pretend to be a ghost!"

His body was instantly engulfed in crimson-gold spiritual energy, and with a flick of his wrist, flames roared up across the sky.

It converged on Fan Dongchen's palms, and the attack was a fierce and unparalleled killing move.

"Mysterious Fire Seal!"

He clasped his hands together.

A fiery seal, like a burning meteor, tore through the air and swept towards Song Yan.

All around, blazing flames and a storm converged, attacking all at once.

The fire imprint was incredibly fast, arriving in front of him almost in the blink of an eye.

boom!
The fire seal fell and shattered on Song Yan's protective amulet, turning into several fire snakes that instantly evaporated the already broken protective amulet.

"Ah."

Fan Dongchen scoffed, as if in his eyes, the so-called "killer star" was even more vulnerable than he had imagined.

He casually swung his hand.

A massive, even more intense fire seal suddenly exploded, transforming into countless smaller fire seals.

"I already said that..."

Fan Dongchen's lips curled into a mocking smile as he muttered under his breath, "When I come to collect it myself, it won't be as simple as just causing serious injury."

"Why bother with all that trouble and suffer the pain of being burned by the spiritual fire?"

In his vision, Song Yan's figure was like a small boat in a stormy sea. Under his powerful magic, Song Yan could only try his best to dodge and defend, but he looked extremely disheveled.

These so-called geniuses from other sects are nothing more than dogs that need to wag their tails and beg for mercy in my hands, nothing more.

A shattered fire mark struck Song Yan hard in the chest.

Bang!
In the next instant, several golden-red flames completely engulfed Song Yan.

"Die."

With a sinister laugh, he gathered his spiritual power and unleashed a palm print bursting with crimson-gold flames from the sky, smashing down and completely crushing Song Yan's figure.

Smoke and dust filled the air.

The scene was a mess. In the deep pit, there were scorch marks from the burning of spiritual energy and almost unrecognizable human-shaped fragments.

Fan Dongchen slowly floated in the air, watching all of this.

"Ah."

He exhaled softly, a look of satisfaction on his face as he released the ferocity in his heart.

However, this pleasure lasted only a very brief moment.

An intense sense of unease suddenly arose in my heart.

"..."

wrong.

It's so quiet.

Yes.

Screams, wails, the sound of shattering magic—nothing else…

But why didn't I feel there was anything wrong with it just now?
Moreover, although he clearly "killed" Song Yan, the three talismans surrounding Song Yan never appeared from beginning to end.

There was neither light that resisted his attack, nor was he teleported away by the formation when Song Yan "died".

They vanished as if they had never existed.

"Tick."

Just then, a clear sound rang in his ears.

Like a drop of dew in summer, falling from the very top of a tree.

Apply it to his brow.

Fan Dongchen's eyes widened suddenly, and all the muscles in his body twitched uncontrollably.

The scene before my eyes was like a mirage, flickering and peeling away.

The deep pit and scorch marks have all vanished without a trace.

He remained in the same spot, still in the posture of delivering his final blow, but his palm was empty.

Song Yan appeared unharmed a few feet to his side, sitting cross-legged on a large rock with his eyes lowered.

A black and white flying sword lay across his lap.

Beside him, three talismans rotated quietly, never disappearing from beginning to end.

"..."

Fan Dongchen was speechless for a moment.

I felt a chill run from the soles of my feet straight to the top of my head, and my scalp tingled instantly.

Fantasy?!
impossible.

If it weren't for those naturally born magical beasts and spirit beasts with innate illusionary abilities, the illusionary techniques practiced by ordinary cultivators would be utterly low-class!

Song Yan did not make a move, but lowered his eyes and pondered.

"The special effects of combining the sword pellet and the mirage pearl seem to be more direct than I imagined."

His gaze fell on Fan Dongchen, the dreamy gleam in the depths of his pupils not yet completely faded.

It captivates the mind and soul, as if one were gazing into an abyss.

"You dare to play me!" Fan Dongchen suddenly realized what was happening, waking up from a deep shock and humiliation.

The shame and indignation completely transformed into rage and murderous intent.

This time, he dared not underestimate him in the slightest, and even felt a trace of fear in his heart. However, the pride of the Xuan Yuan Sect disciples did not allow him to retreat in defeat.

With a roar, he forcefully suppressed the fear in his heart, and the crimson-gold spiritual flames around him surged once more, with countless profound runes appearing and disappearing in the flames.

He continuously drew upon the spiritual energy within his body, summoning a small black ring.

Even a fleeting glance was enough to sense its immense power.

It turned out to be a magical artifact.

However, just as Fan Dongchen pushed his spiritual power to its limit, and the Wuyang Ring had just manifested a ring of blazing fire, the moment...

Song Yan made a move.

The movement wasn't exaggerated; he simply raised his right hand, bringing his index and middle fingers together in a sword gesture.

A wisp of condensed sword light quietly appeared at the fingertips.

Right here, try out the true essence of swordsmanship.

As he whispered, the sword light inch by inch smeared across the unmoored boat.

The sword immediately began to hum.

At the same time, the rolling sword energy gathered instantly, and a dreamlike inspiration emerged together.

Behind Song Yan's head, a faint, radiant light condensed, its sharpness fully revealed and unstoppable.

Om-!
The sword rang out with a clear sound and shone brightly.

The black and white light flowed, deep and vast.

The sword points to the virtual point.

Unmoored Boat transformed into a streak of black and white light, slashing straight towards Fan Dongchen.

This sword strike was silent and unremarkable.

Fast? It doesn't seem fast.

Its momentum was also far less than the overwhelming flames that Fan Dongchen had previously unleashed.

However, in Fan Dongchen's eyes, the whole world has completely changed!
Where the sword flashed, the sky darkened and the earth collapsed.

This is an illusion! It's a hallucination!

but……

Fan Dongchen felt his soul was wailing, as if it were truly being torn apart by a storm and crushed by mountains and seas.

A fear originating from the depths of his soul instantly overwhelmed him.

He could clearly "hear" and "see" his limbs and torso being torn apart, and "feel" his internal organs shattering...

"what--"

A shrill, inhuman scream.

His condensed crimson-gold spiritual flame was extinguished in an instant, like a candle flickering in the wind. Wu Yang Huan let out a mournful cry as its spiritual light dimmed and it fell and dissipated.

The flying sword stopped an inch from his neck.

He went limp and collapsed to his knees, his body trembling violently and his face deathly pale.

All that remained were a pair of blank, empty eyes.

Like a mirage, it slowly fades away.

The wind was still the same mountain wind, the stream still babbled, and everything that had just happened was as if it had never occurred.

The unmoored boat was now quietly hovering beside Song Yan.

Fan Dongchen knelt in the mud, breathing heavily and gagging.

His eyes were unfocused as he looked at his unharmed body in disbelief, then at the dark figure in the distance in horror.

Song Yan remained expressionless, his fingertips gesturing in a half-hearted manner.

The six talismans surrounding Fan Dongchen slowly detached and floated lightly into Song Yan's hand.

The sword energy in his palm flashed and disappeared in an instant, erasing Fan Dongchen's mark and refining it one by one.

After doing all this, Song Yan didn't even glance at Fan Dongchen again, muttering to himself as he slowly walked away.

Song Yan, who was trying to unleash the complete sword intent for the first time, immediately sensed something was wrong.

He immediately changed his mind, concealing his sharpness and retaining only the effect of "mirage".

He never expected that the complete sword intent would be so powerful.

"That was close..."

In the final moment before being teleported away from this place, Fan Dongchen heard Song Yan's soliloquy drifting into his ears.

"I almost killed you just now."

……

A wide valley beyond the boundary.

A large number of people had already gathered in the square, including cultivators and elders from the Nine Meridians Sect, who were watching from the surrounding viewing platforms.

However, because the selection process did not involve the use of spirit clouds for observation, not many cultivators came.

Some of them also have vested interests and just want to inform their parents about the promotion as soon as possible.

All cultivators who have completed the selection process, whether eliminated or qualified, will appear in the central square.

The formal selection process is actually quite short, because most cultivators choose to leave immediately after they have qualified for advancement.

In order to retain their eligibility.

This is especially true for Qi Refining stage cultivators. Knowing that their strength is inferior to that of Foundation Establishment cultivators, if they linger there and are unlucky, they can easily become prey.

At this moment, a Qi Refining disciple from Suspended Sword Mountain appeared outside the boundary, with two spirit talismans, one yin and one yang, on his body.

Once outside the boundary, the two talismans naturally merged into one, transforming into a jade pendant with yin and yang colors, which fell into his hand.

He seemed to have been fleeing all the way here, and only now could he finally breathe a sigh of relief.

After looking around for a while, he spotted a fellow disciple who had also obtained the qualification in the crowd and immediately walked over to him.

"congratulations."

"Phew, luckily I ran fast. As soon as I got my hands on it, I dashed out without looking back."

"Who wants to stay any longer? What if we run into..."

"Cough cough."

Such conversations could be heard throughout the square.

Although only half a day has passed, the selection process is already nearing its end.

These cultivators are all outstanding young talents from the Nine Veins; once a battle breaks out, it ends very quickly.

Revealing even the slightest flaw may already signal defeat.

Although the selection mechanism has changed somewhat this year, the fundamental rules remain largely the same.

Few people would risk fighting others to obtain more talismans after qualifying for advancement.

After all, anyone who gets to this point must have some skills.

Unless you have absolute confidence in your own abilities, you may encounter unexpected problems and end up failing miserably.

Even Zhou Liu, the absolute strongest of this generation, did not engage in large-scale looting of spirit talismans.

He wasn't interested.

Xuan Yuan Sect cultivators naturally do not need others to grant them qualifications.

So he simply sent away a few people who were blocking his way, and in the end, besides himself, he also had a spot to advance.

The above describes the "formal" selection process. After this process concludes, there will naturally be "informal" opportunities.

However, that requires connections, resources, and financial strength to come together and demonstrate one's abilities.

In the square, the news of those who were eliminated could be heard from time to time.

They were either sighing or expressing resentment and dissatisfaction.

Occasionally, people would whisper among themselves: "That Fan Dongchen from the Xuan Yuan Sect is really like a madman, causing trouble for everyone he meets."

Most of the messages came from those who were eliminated during the selection process, and three or five acquaintances would gather together to curse the person's domineering behavior.

"It's fine for others to spar a bit, it's normal for them to do so for the sake of spirit talismans and qualification for advancement."

“He eliminated all the cultivators with blank talismans, some of whom were even at the Qi Refining stage. He has no shame at all.”

"When I was eliminated by him, this guy already had six talismans on him."

Shh, keep your voice down.

Ordinary cultivators rarely do such things due to the need for harmony among the nine meridians.

But the Xuan Yuan Sect has produced such a person...

"Sigh... I can only say I'm incredibly unlucky."

"Stop talking, stop talking! Zhou Liu and Xi Shuyan are right there, be careful..."

Suddenly, the person stopped speaking.

The surrounding buzz of discussion seemed to be choked, instantly plunging into a deathly silence.

Suddenly, the teleportation array in the center of the square lit up with a blinding light.

As the light faded, a figure appeared, staggering.

(End of this chapter)