Immortality begins with the Swordsman.

The night is deep!

In a secluded courtyard in Chang'an City.

Under the lamplight, a blood-soaked corpse lay silently on a stretcher on the bluestone ground in the courtyard.

The victim's right arm and head had both been severed, the cuts clean and sharp, clearly the result of a single sword strike. His face was stiff, his fear lingering, as if he had glimpsed something horrific before his death.

This person was none other than Ji Wujiu, who died by Gu Changfeng's sword an hour ago.

"Those two sword strikes were truly formidable."

More than ten people surrounded the body, all dressed in black with solemn expressions. One of them stared at the clean wound and couldn't help but sigh.

"Even I couldn't have done it so cleanly and efficiently," another person chimed in, his tone tinged with admiration, but more so with apprehension.

"It wasn't Cai Ling Shuang's doing; she doesn't have that skill. Besides Ouyang Qing Zhao, I really can't think of anyone else with such martial arts skills," another person analyzed.

"Whoever killed my disciple, I will make them wish they were dead."

The last to speak was a burly man with no nose, none other than the infamous "Whiteboard Killer" Ji Wumian.

He was eccentric and ruthless throughout his life, and cannibalism and murder were commonplace for him. However, he was a master of martial arts, and others dared not speak out against him.

Unexpectedly, his only disciple was killed just a few days after he arrived in Chang'an.

Ji Wumian's eyes flashed with murderous intent as he turned his gaze to a masked man in front of him, his voice icy: "Young Master, my disciple acted on your orders, yet he has died without explanation. What should we do?"

The masked man remained unmoved, his tone indifferent: "Brother Ji, I will definitely investigate this matter thoroughly and give you a satisfactory explanation."

"Alright!" Ji Wumian nodded and said, "I can't wait to see when you plan to make your move against the Sword Sect."

"The time isn't right yet, no rush. We still need to give those three a good talking to." The masked man smiled slightly. "However, if you're itching for a fight, you can go stretch your muscles. Except for Cai Ling Shuang, who is off-limits, you can do whatever you want with the others... Of course, if you can kill Ouyang Qing Zhao, that would be even better."

Ji Wumian licked his lips and grinned maliciously: "We can give it a try."

A moment later, three distinguished guests slowly walked into the courtyard.

These were the heads of the Pei, Xue, and Liu families: Pei Muchen, Xue Huairong, and Liu Wenling.

All three were in their forties, with upright postures and calm demeanor, clearly having practiced martial arts for many years, befitting their status as members of a martial arts family.

The three had just entered the hospital when they saw a corpse lying on the ground, its blood still wet.

Pei Muchen frowned and asked in a deep voice, "Young Master Dongfang, what is the purpose of summoning us here so late at night?"

The masked man glanced at the three men and said coldly, "You three have seen it yourselves; I've already suffered casualties. Isn't that enough to prove my sincerity?"

Xue Huairong calmly replied, "You still refuse to show your true face, so how can we trust you?"

The masked man sneered and didn't continue the question, but instead spoke one sentence at a time.

"As far as I know, the sword and qi sects of the Huashan Sect have been fighting for many years. Now the leaders of the two sects have expressed their intention to merge. However, two tigers cannot share one mountain, and a battle between the two sects is inevitable."

"The Sword Sect is powerful now. If we don't take this opportunity to cut off one of their arms, we'll see what happens after they quell their internal strife."

"You know Ouyang Qingzhao better than I do. Do you think you'll be allowed to live when the time comes?"

"The only way for us now is to cooperate and destroy the Chang'an Sword Sect."

Liu Wenling said in a deep voice, "Your Excellency has many experts under your command. How can we be sure that after using one tiger to devour another, you won't become the second Ouyang Qingzhao?"

"My goal is to weaken the Huashan Sect. I really don't care about what's in Chang'an."

The masked man sneered, "I'll give you one night to think it over. If you still don't want to make a move, I'll turn around and leave. I won't waste any more time playing with you. Whether you live or die will be up to your own fate."

Pei Muchen, Xue Huairong, and Liu Wenling, the three family heads, exchanged glances and nodded: "We'll think about it and give you an answer first thing tomorrow morning."

"good!"

The masked man nodded and said, "While you're at it, help me find out who killed Ji Wujiu."

After Pei Muchen and the other two agreed, they took their leave.

As soon as they stepped out of the courtyard, Liu Wenling invited the two men, saying, "Brother Pei, Brother Xue, how about we find a place to have a couple of drinks?"

"That's exactly what I was thinking!"

"please!"

however.

As the three of them turned into an alley, a dark figure silently descended and blocked their path...

……

……

The next day, at the Huashan base.

Cai Lingshuang's face was gloomy, as if it could drip water.

She has bathed three times since last night, using all the perfumes she could find, but she still feels a lingering sour smell on her body.

If Ouyang Qingzhao hadn't called her, she would probably be taking her fourth bath right now.

Go out.

After passing through a long corridor, I came face to face with Cheng Buyou.

Looking up, she saw Cheng Buyou with a broad smile on his face, a smile that Cai Ling Shuang saw as nothing less than a blatant mockery.

She immediately flew into a rage: "If you laugh again, I'll kill you!"

Cheng Buyou was taken aback for a moment, then laughed even more heartily: "Is it really that big of a deal? I just threw up all over you. It's unavoidable when you're traveling the martial world."

"Hmph!" Cai Ling Shuang took a deep breath and asked, "Where are you going?"

"Go find Gu Changfeng; Uncle-Master Ouyang needs to speak with him."

Upon hearing Gu Changfeng's name, Cheng Buyou couldn't help but laugh: "Junior Sister, do you know?"

"That kid threw up several times after he came back last night. He didn't even eat breakfast. He's probably still throwing up in the backyard right now."

"Tsk tsk! So what if he's a genius? He's still just a greenhorn. He gets scared like this just from killing someone. He's a disgrace to Mount Hua."

Cai Ling Shuang frowned slightly and said coldly, "Then let's go together. I want to see if he's vomited to death."

A moment later.

The two walked around the covered walkway and came to the backyard, where they saw Gu Changfeng under a bright red maple tree.

He sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, his expression calm, his left hand gently twirling a string of black and white prayer beads, as if a monk were performing a ritual to guide the souls of the dead.

Cheng Buyou stepped forward and said sarcastically, "It's just killing someone, why make such a fuss? I know a high-ranking monk from Shaolin Temple, why don't I send you to Shaolin Temple to become a monk..."

Gu Changfeng opened his eyes and glared at Cheng Buyou. He had almost gotten another fill-in-the-blank question right, but Cheng Buyou's interruption ruined his efforts.

He said coldly, "Cheng Buyou, do you still remember you owe me a favor?"

Cheng Buyou was taken aback for a moment, then straightened his chest and replied, "I remember! A true man keeps his word; how could I break it?"

Gu Changfeng's lips curled into a cold, ambiguous smile: "Fine, then go to Shaolin Temple and become a monk now, as a way of repaying this favor."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Buyou's face darkened.

Cai Ling Shuang said calmly, "Stop fooling around, Uncle Ouyang needs to see you..."

Gu Changfeng said "Oh," and glared at Cheng Buyou as he stood up: "Remember, you still owe me a favor. Be more discreet in front of me in the future, or I'll make you a eunuch next time."

The three of them then walked in silence to the inner hall.

Upon entering the inner hall, Gu Changfeng noticed that it was unusually busy today, with disciples coming and going, all with a hint of tension and seriousness on their faces.

"What's going on?" Even Cai Ling Shuang was somewhat surprised.

Ouyang Qingzhao slowly said, "Early this morning, those three families suddenly joined forces and launched a full-scale attack on our Sword Sect's business."

Cai Ling Shuang frowned and asked, "Uncle-Master, is this what you summoned us for?"

Ouyang Qingzhao smiled and said, "You children don't need to worry about these business matters. I called you here because there is something very important I want to tell you."

At this point, his expression turned serious: "After you killed Ji Wujiu last night, his master, 'Whiteboard Fiend,' went berserk and retaliated against us. Overnight, several of our shops were burned down, and several of our disciples were killed."

Cai Ling Shuang angrily said, "This person has no sense of chivalry at all. We didn't even use numbers to bully the few when we killed Ji Wu Jiu."

Ouyang Qingzhao shook his head and said, "So during this period, unless I give you orders, the two of you will stay at the camp to practice your skills and are not allowed to go out at will."

Gu Changfeng frowned: "Are we just going to hide like this?"

Ouyang Qingzhao gave a bitter smile: "The enemy is in the dark, and we are in the light, so we can only hold our ground for now."