Starting as pearl divers, they have endless jobs.

Chapter 130 Seven Realms of Sword Cultivation, Each Displaying Unique Abilities

Upon entering Black Wind Village, the first thing people see are rows of dilapidated wooden houses lining both sides of the road.

And on the beams of many houses, there are still rows of white bones hanging there.

As the mountain wind blew, the skeletons swayed gently, making a clicking sound, as if they were leisurely swinging on a swing, which was extremely eerie.

However, everyone present was a seasoned veteran, so they were not intimidated by this scene.

The team continued to venture deeper into the area.

After walking for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Chen Ye suddenly stopped.

Because he discovered that the path behind him had disappeared!
The path we came by was nowhere to be seen; in its place, a thick, impenetrable fog had swallowed everything.

Upon seeing this, Yun Heqing immediately took out a compass, but the needle on the compass spun wildly as if it had gone mad, rendering it completely useless.

However, since everyone was mentally prepared for this, they did not show much panic.

But accidents often happen at the most unexpected moments.

"Huh? Where are the bones?"

Lei Cang, who had been walking in silence, suddenly spoke up. He was astonished to find that all the white bones hanging in the houses by the roadside had disappeared.

Instead, a lively and bustling scene unfolded.

The dilapidated wooden house has been transformed into a brand new place. The house is brightly lit, and tables are laden with delicacies. A group of burly men with fierce faces are toasting each other, laughing and talking loudly, creating an extremely noisy scene.

Lei Cang's heart skipped a beat, and a strong sense of unease welled up inside him.

hum!
The tattoos on his face, chest, and back suddenly began to heat up, and the embroidered mythical beasts and mysterious runes lit up, emitting a faint glow in an attempt to resist this eerie illusion.

But just then, the scene before him changed dramatically once again.

A burly man with a face full of scars held up a bowl of wine and waved to him enthusiastically: "Brother, come and have a bowl!"

The aroma of the wine was so rich and the aroma of the roasted meat so tempting.

The light from Lei Cang's tattoos was instantly suppressed, his eyes became glazed, and he rushed directly towards the house by the roadside.

At the same time, in everyone's eyes, Lei Cang's expression became extremely strange, first wary, then confused, and finally revealing a trace of longing.

"Something's wrong! Stop him!" Xiao Hongye shouted sharply.

But it's too late.

Lei Cang's figure instantly rushed into the house by the roadside, and then everyone heard him let out a sigh of extreme satisfaction.

The next second, he was suddenly lifted upwards by an invisible force, and his neck was precisely caught in a hemp rope that had appeared out of nowhere on the roof beam.

His body twitched twice in the air, and then fell silent.

Lei Cang, who looked the fiercest, was the first to die, and his death was so bizarre and so quick that it was truly unexpected.

"He was just a useless piece of trash. It's good that he's dead, so he won't be a burden."

The first to speak was Zhao Ada, a sickly man with a sallow complexion. He covered his mouth with a handkerchief and coughed violently a few times, his cloudy eyes revealing no emotion.

No one answered.

The death of a teammate is really not a big deal for these people who live on the edge.

But this way of dying is too bizarre, making it impossible to guard against.

Xiao Hongye frowned, knowing that she must not let fear spread at this moment.

"Gentlemen, the greater the danger, the closer we are to that treasure." Her voice was cold, yet carried an undeniable power.

"The Black Wind Stronghold's chief has buried all the gold and silver he's amassed over half his life deep within this stronghold. Everyone, put in a good effort, and once we reach the destination, in addition to the agreed-upon commission, I will give you an extra ten percent of the loot, which will be divided equally among you!"

Under the reward, there must be a brave man.

Upon hearing this, a hint of greed appeared in the eyes of Zhao Ada, Yun Heqing, and the others.

"Miss Xiao is so straightforward!"

The towering Shi Meng spoke in a deep, booming voice, hoisting the massive door-shaped sword onto his shoulder. "Fortune favors the bold, let's do it!"

Although the others didn't speak, their actions spoke volumes.

The group set off again, but everyone subconsciously kept their distance from the houses on both sides of the road.

After walking another hundred steps or so, the Taoist Master Yun Heqing, who had an air of otherworldly wisdom, suddenly slowed down.

As he walked, he suddenly discovered a stunningly beautiful woman reclining on a blue stone by the roadside ahead. Her clothes were half-undone, and her snow-white skin shone so brightly in the sunlight that it made one dizzy.

At that moment, the beautiful woman was rubbing her slender ankle with tears in her eyes, as if she had sprained it. Her appearance was pitiful.

A sense of vigilance arose in Yun Heqing's heart. How could there be a woman in this abandoned bandit hideout?

But the next moment, the stunningly beautiful woman raised her head, looked at him with her watery eyes, and said in a soft and charming voice that could melt bones, "Daoist Master, my feet hurt so much..."

Yun Heqing's initial wariness vanished instantly.

"Don't be afraid, young lady, let me rub it for you!"

As he spoke, Yun Heqing moved closer with a lewd expression.

But this scene appeared completely different to Chen Ye.

He was walking cautiously along the roadside when Yun Heqing suddenly stopped, turned around, and grinned at him.

The smile was filled with an indescribable lewdness, which made Chen Ye's heart tremble.

Something is wrong!
Just then, Yun Heqing charged straight toward him!

A flash of bloodlust appeared in Chen Ye's eyes.

Bloody visuals, activated!

In an instant, everything around slowed down.

Then he clearly saw that Yun Heqing's neck was tightly wrapped by a black line as thin as a hair, and the other end of the black line extended silently into the depths of the thick fog in the distance.

That is not a physical entity, but a collection of resentment and curses!
Without the slightest hesitation, Chen Ye gripped the hilt of the sword with his right hand, channeling all the essence of the sun and moon he had gathered during this period into the blade.

Choking!

The long sword was drawn, leaving a cold, arcing light.

Xiao Hongye was startled by what she saw. Just as she was about to speak, Chen Ye's knife was already slashing towards the back of Yun Heqing's head.

A faint light, barely visible to the naked eye, shimmered on the blade.

laugh!
As if burned by the glittering light on the blade, the invisible black line snapped instantly.

At the same time, Yun Heqing, who was drooling and feeling that he was about to touch the beautiful woman's ankle, suddenly saw his vision shatter.

The beautiful woman and the blue stone have all vanished into nothingness.

He was jolted awake from the illusion. The first thing he saw was Chen Ye's expressionless face and a long sword held against his neck, radiating a chilling aura.

"Uh……."

Yun Heqing's Adam's apple bobbed, and cold sweat instantly soaked through his Taoist robe.

"What...what just happened?" His voice trembled; he still couldn't figure out what was going on.

“You were under an illusion spell. If Brother Chen hadn’t intervened in time, you would have ended up like Lei Cang.” Xiao Hongye walked over, her expression somewhat grave.

Although she didn't see the black line, she had already noticed something amiss, hence her words.

Only then did everyone suddenly realize.

No one expected that Chen Ye's swordsmanship would be so sharp that it could cut through invisible illusions!

"Thank you so much, Brother Chen Ye, for saving my life!" Yun Heqing came to his senses and bowed repeatedly to Chen Ye, his face full of lingering fear.

Xiao Hongye's gaze toward Chen Ye held even greater admiration.

With such a master in the team, the chances of success on this trip have undoubtedly increased.

Meanwhile, Lu Song's face grew increasingly gloomy, and his eyes were filled with apprehension as he looked at Chen Ye.

This young man at the Qi Cultivation Realm repeatedly challenged his understanding, causing his arrogance to vanish and leaving only a deep sense of crisis.

After this incident, the team dared not be careless in the slightest.

However, the rest of the journey went smoothly, and the group arrived at the deepest part of Black Wind Stronghold without any further trouble.

What appeared before them was a solitary little temple.

The temple was small and even somewhat dilapidated, but the strangest thing was that the plaque in front of the temple gate was hanging upside down.

A cold, ominous aura emanated from the temple.

The group exchanged glances, made their preparations, and then stepped into the temple.

The temple was dimly lit and simply furnished, with only a solitary shrine in the very center.

When everyone looked up and saw the statue of the deity enshrined on the shrine, they all gasped in shock.

The statue's facial features, hands, and feet were all upside down!

Its nose is on its forehead, its mouth is on its chin, and its eyes are even more extreme, with the corners of its eyes facing each other, looking down at the crowd that has broken into the temple in a twisted and cold manner.

An indescribable chill instantly crept up everyone's spine. In that instant, Chen Ye felt his scalp tingle and every hair on his head stand on end—the body's most instinctive reaction when facing extreme danger!
At the same time.

"Cough...cough cough!"

The sickly Zhao Ada's face suddenly turned ashen, but he reacted extremely quickly, opening his mouth abruptly and spitting out a fist-sized cloud of thick black gas!

The black mist quickly condensed in mid-air, transforming into a drenched water ghost that bared its fangs and claws, protecting him.

This sickly-looking man, who seemed on the verge of death at any moment, was actually a Yin-nourishing master who specialized in cultivating ghosts!

At the same time, countless colorful butterflies began to flutter around the innocent and naive Su Yuan without warning.

Each of these butterflies has a large, lifelike, ghastly green ghost eye on its wings, which tightly protects Su Yuan, forming an eerie yet magnificent barrier.

It was the Gu worm she had painstakingly nurtured since childhood, the Dream Awakening Butterfly!
On the other side, although Lü Song did not make any move, his face was extremely pale, the dark circles under his eyes were almost pure black, and his whole demeanor was weak, as if his energy had been drained.

In this situation, he suddenly pulled out a palm-sized black pottery jar from his pocket, ripped off the lid, grabbed a handful of white powder, and stuffed it into his mouth!
As soon as the powder appeared, a strong aura of yin energy spread out.

It was human ashes!

It turns out that the sect to which Lü Song belonged had a secret method that involved cultivating by consuming the yin energy of souls.

Because of the clash between Yin energy and kidney Yang, he appeared weak and frail due to kidney deficiency.

The ashes were also refined using their sect's secret methods. To ordinary people, they are extremely yin and evil, but to him, they are a life-saving tonic!

Sometimes, even during a fight, he would quickly grab a handful and stuff it into his mouth, and then, as if he were on drugs, he would fight even more fiercely.

However, the most amazing one is Xiao Hongye!
"break!"

With a clear shout, her long sword was suddenly drawn, and a dazzling sword light, as bright as a red leaf, slashed towards the shrine like a bolt of lightning!

Click!

As the sword flashed, a clear crack appeared on the eerie upside-down statue.

Before everyone could breathe a sigh of relief, a surge of yin energy, ten times stronger than before, suddenly erupted from the crack in the statue, instantly engulfing the entire small temple!

Amidst the yin energy, countless figures appeared indistinctly.

They were all bandits with fierce faces and wearing tattered armor.

Lei Cang, who had just died outside, was among them!
But now the tattoos on his face had turned as black as ink, and blood tears streamed from his eyes as he stared straight at the crowd.

"Don't panic!" Xiao Hongye shouted immediately, "These are just earth-bound spirits controlled by resentment. If we can hold out through this wave, we'll win!"

Upon hearing this, everyone's spirits lifted, and they immediately began to employ their methods.

The sickly ghost Zhao Ada coughed violently, and the water ghost that he spat out swelled up in the wind, dripping black water all over its body. With a wave of its sharp claws, it tore two or three bandit spirits that pounced on it to shreds.

The towering Shi Meng was even more direct. His massive sword, as thick as a door panel, transformed into an indestructible iron wall. Each swing of his sword was accompanied by a whistling sound that tore through the air, smashing away all the approaching ghostly figures.

As for the young master Lü Song, who suffered from kidney deficiency, after swallowing that handful of ashes, the dark circles under his eyes almost materialized. A chilling aura erupted from his body, and as his palms moved swiftly, black energy swirled around him, causing all who touched it to wail and dissipate.

The most glamorous of all was the young girl, Su Yuan.

Countless colorful Dream Butterflies surrounded her, their eerie green eyes on their wings emitting a strange light, forming a dazzling butterfly array.

Any ghost that enters the butterfly array will become sluggish, as if trapped in a bizarre dream, and then be silently swallowed up by the fluttering butterflies.

But the real main force is still Xiao Hongye.

Her sword was incredibly fast; each time it was drawn, it was accompanied by a dazzling flash of light, as bright as a red leaf.

The sword light was extremely sharp, as if it could cut through all the illusions of the world.

The seven realms of sword cultivation are: Knowing the Weapon, Sensing the Edge, Breaking Through Illusions, Understanding the Profound, Severing Thoughts, Roaming the Heavens, and Returning to Truth.

This woman's swordsmanship has already reached the third realm, the realm of breaking through illusions!

It should be noted that sword cultivators are already the most lethal among their peers, and when they reach the Breaking Illusion Realm, their strength far surpasses that of Qi Refiners and Martial Cultivators of the same level.

Therefore, when the sword is thrust out, it can truly be said that even ghosts and gods are terrified.

Chen Ye was not idle either; the moment the ghost tide surged, the blood-red color in his eyes lit up.

Bloody visuals!
The whole world seemed to slow down instantly in his senses.

Those menacing, ferocious ghosts now presented a completely different picture to him.

Each ghost was connected to a faint thread of resentment, and the ends of all the threads converged on the statue of the deity.

Then Chen Ye made a move.

He gripped his knife and weaved through the horde of ghosts.

Whenever a ghost approaches, he flicks his wrist, and a flash of light appears from his blade.

Chen Ye did not aim to sever the ghost's body, but rather precisely traced the thread of resentment connecting them.

laugh!
The thread breaks.

The ghost, which had been incredibly fierce just moments before, was like a puppet whose strings had been cut. It let out a mournful howl of resentment and instantly turned into wisps of smoke and vanished.

And so, alone with his sword, he weaved and darted through the dense horde of ghosts, seemingly in grave danger, but in reality, he handled it with ease.

In just a few breaths, he actually carved out a clearing several feet in diameter from the ghost tide!

This scene naturally caught the eye of Su Yuan, who was not far away.

A hint of surprise and curiosity flashed in her big, round eyes.

Others might not see the clues and only think Chen Ye's swordsmanship was strange, but as a Gu Master, her perception of various auras and energies was far beyond that of ordinary people, and she immediately realized the true purpose of Chen Ye's sword strikes.

This man can see those threads of resentment!

interesting.

Su Yuan's lips curled up slightly, and a thought crossed her mind.

The Dream Butterflies surrounding her immediately parted and fluttered around Chen Ye.

The eerie green eyes on the butterfly's wings spun in unison, releasing rings of invisible, strange ripples.

Any ghost that is hit by the ripples will experience a momentary lapse in movement.

This negligible delay, which might be meaningless to ordinary people, was magnified infinitely under Chen Ye's bloody vision!
The previously fleeting opportunity to strike has now become crystal clear.

Chen Ye no longer needed to bother finding the right angle; he only needed to swing his sword at the moment the ghost froze!

laugh!laugh!laugh!
The blades flashed, doubling the efficiency!

The two, one attacking and the other supporting, worked together seamlessly without exchanging a single word.

The originally surging tide of ghosts melted away rapidly before them, like ice and snow under the scorching sun.

In the blink of an eye, they had cleared out nearly 30% of the ghosts in the temple!

With the pressure on Xiao Hongye's side decreasing, she seized the opportunity and concentrated all her strength into a single sword strike. The sword shone brightly with red light, pointing towards the shrine.

"Everyone, help me!"

She roared, preparing to unleash a thunderous strike to utterly destroy the idol.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ada, Shi Meng, and the others immediately began to gather their strength, preparing to cooperate.

Only Lü Song's eyes flickered, and he quietly took half a step back, slowing down his movements, appearing to be going through the motions.

As for Chen Ye...

The moment Xiao Hongye drew her sword, he took a deep breath and compressed all the energy he had gathered from the Golden Toad Swallowing Qi Technique into the tip of his blade!
Needle point!

hum!
The tip of the blade emitted a soft hum, and a gleam of condensed, cold light flashed and disappeared.

The last come first!

Before Xiao Hongye's earth-shattering red leaf sword light arrived, Chen Ye's supreme strike had already pierced the depths of the initial crack on the statue with unparalleled precision!

Immediately afterwards, Xiao Hongye's sword light, Zhao Ada's water ghost, Shi Meng's giant sword... all the attacks bombarded the statue!

Click!

The statue let out a mournful cry filled with resentment and bitterness, and then shattered into pieces.

At the same time, the countless ghostly figures let out a shrill scream and vanished into thin air.

Immediately afterwards, the cold and ominous atmosphere inside the temple vanished.

"call……"

Everyone breathed a long sigh of relief, looking as if they had survived a disaster.

But Xiao Hongye didn't even glance at her surroundings. The moment the statue shattered, she rushed into the ruins.

She pushed aside the broken stones, her expression focused, and carefully lifted something out from inside.

It was the size of a fist, a dull gray heart that looked like a stone.

Chen Ye's heart stirred.

That is...

The secret sealed within the statue!

(End of this chapter)