You call this the way of the sword?

If he could, Yang Qingfeng wouldn't have wanted to take action, but when the young man in blue suddenly walked over, he realized that he had probably been exposed.

Considering the other party's swift and decisive killing, if he did nothing, he would likely face certain death.

"Stop hiding, I know you're there."

When they were still seven or eight meters apart, the young man in blue stopped and said loudly, "Hand over the item, and I won't kill you."

Yang Qingfeng acted as if he hadn't heard, only gently stroking his sword with his fingers.

Through his observations, he now knew that the Heavenly Dao Network had failed.

In this secret realm, one cannot see information about other people, and the young man in blue kills in a rather strange way, making it difficult to guess his methods. However, some rules remain unchanged.

Throughout history, only newly promoted cultivators have been able to enter the Talent Secret Realm. Even if the young man in blue robes has a strong Dao, he is only at level 1.

The power of a level 1 skill is limited, mainly relying on past accumulation. In addition, he just killed three people in a row and used the skill three times, so his mana should be almost exhausted, and he probably only has one last attack left.

So he didn't just barge in; instead, he tried to trick himself into showing himself.

"His skill requires him to lock onto a target."

Thinking of this, Yang Qingfeng's gaze darkened slightly, and he raised his hand and waved it lightly.

The sword spirit crouching beside him immediately fell backward and ran into the forest, holding the mist ball in his hand.

Suddenly, a rustling sound came from the woods, as if someone was fleeing.

The young man in blue was shrewd. He didn't immediately chase after them into the woods. Instead, he kept his eyes fixed on the dense foliage in front of him and once again enticed them loudly: "Stop playing tricks. My name is Sha Yinzhen, the young master of the Sha family of Tiannan. As long as you give me the item and help me awaken my talent, I'll protect you..."

He couldn't finish his sentence because he could smell the strange fragrance emanating from the essence rapidly receding.

It seems they really have run away.

But the woods in front of us are strangely dense; there's a good chance something's up.

It's likely that two people worked together, or it was the opponent's skill.

With his keen intuition, Sha Yinzhen sensed a hint of danger, which made him want to retreat, but it was immediately overwhelmed by his desire.

The lingering fragrance in the air was just too sweet!

The opponent possesses significantly more vital energy than I do. No, I cannot allow it to grow stronger!

On the path of cultivation, if you are slow at one step, you will be slow at every step. If the other party completes the trial first, you will not have the chance to awaken your talent!

Sha Yinzhen turned his gaze and quickly bypassed the bushes in front of him, rushing into the dense forest from the other side.

The lingering scent in the air helped him pinpoint his direction, allowing him to pursue the sword spirit.

Yang Qingfeng remained perched in the tree, quietly watching Sha Yinzhen's figure. At the same time, his sword silently drew from its sheath, revealing a sharp, mirror-like edge that reflected his slightly cold gaze.

If Sha Yinzhen had backed down when faced with difficulties, he could have let it go. But Sha Yinzhen knew there was a trap and still insisted on pursuing it, which was simply courting death.

Yang Qingfeng had never heard of the young master of the Sha family, a fellow townsman from Tiannan, and didn't care.

Its sharp edge is unsheathed.

Driven by his thoughts, the sword flew out of his hand, hovering in the air, and shot into the forest.

……

Deep in the dense forest, countless trees have intertwined roots.

They have existed for countless years, with even the smallest canopies reaching over ten meters in height. Their dense foliage obscures the starry sky, casting tiny patches of light on the ground.

Sha Yinzhen moved with lightning speed, chasing after them in one direction.

As the surrounding light dimmed, the exotic fragrance in the air grew stronger.

Until the light spots on the ground completely disappeared, a blue and white figure appeared in the darkness about a hundred meters ahead.

"Got you!"

Sha Yinzhen was overjoyed and suddenly increased his speed.

The sword spirit stood under the tree, its sword slung across its shoulder, and a rich fragrance emanated from the mist in its hand, spreading outwards.

It's as if it's saying, "Come, come and take it."

The darkness in the forest limited Sha Yinzhen's vision. It wasn't until the distance closed to twenty meters that he suddenly realized something was wrong: the guy in front of him had no face!

"What the hell?"

Sha Yinzhen stopped in surprise, a chill suddenly rising in his heart.

This was the first time in his life he had ever seen a ghost.

Although there are many demons and monsters in this world, and quite a few evil spirits, being in a dark and deep forest at this moment, this sudden attack still had a considerable impact on him.

He stopped moving forward and even considered retreating, but just as he was slowly backing away, a sword light suddenly appeared from behind.

"who!!"

Sha Yinzhen cried out in surprise, instinctively swinging the dagger back in his hand.

With a clang, a sudden burst of superhuman strength knocked him back several steps, and then a flash of sword light shot out, aiming at his face once more.

Sha Yinzhen then realized that it was another sword spirit!

The hairs on my body stood on end.

A sudden surge of fear made him scream and swing his dagger, desperately trying to repel the sword spirit.

However, the sword spirit's movements were graceful and his sword strikes were fierce, like a sword master who had been resurrected from the dead. His sword techniques were continuous and extremely entertaining, suppressing Sha Yinzhen.

Before long, Sha Yinzhen was unable to withstand the blows and was struck by several swords. The intense pain made him scream and curse loudly, but at the same time, he regained a sliver of reason amidst his shock and anger.

"No, we have to escape!"

"If we keep dragging this out, we'll die here!"

Finally, Sha Yinzhen remembered that he still had a life-saving skill.

He possesses a superior mainstream Dao body, named Shadow, and has two innate skills: Shadow Kill and Shadow Escape.

As the name suggests, the most common shadow in the world is actually the shadow.

Sha Yinzhen felt that wherever there was a shadow, that was his home turf. As long as there was a shadow, he was invincible. And what made him even more invincible was that... no matter where in the world, day or night, where was there no shadow? Who didn't have a shadow?

"Ha, I don't care what kind of demon or monster you are, you can't kill me."

Facing the incoming sword light once again, Sha Yinzhen showed no fear in his eyes, and even a hint of mockery appeared on his lips. However, when he looked at the ground to find his shadow, he suddenly froze.

No!?

How could it not be there?!

"wait…"

Just as Sha Yinzhen was about to change his tune and beg for mercy, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest.

The blue and white sword light had already pierced his chest.

The sword spirit faithfully carried out the sword master's orders. As long as the sword master did not call a halt, its attack would not stop. So even after it had completed its attack, it did not stop and kept pushing Sha Yinzhen into the tree.

At the same time, the sound of wind breaking through the darkness howled in.

Sha Yinzhen saw the faceless sword spirit in front of him suddenly turn its head to the side, revealing a flying sword behind it, which rapidly magnified in his eyes.

Whoosh!

A three-foot-long green peak pierced right between his eyebrows, carrying him and a tree through his skull.

This sword strike pinned Sha Yinzhen to the tree, ending his life.

Even after he died, Sha Yinzhen's expression remained blank. He couldn't understand why the sword soul had no shadow, let alone a tree shadow.

"Strange...could I have miscalculated?"

In the pitch-black darkness, Yang Qingfeng was completely baffled.

According to his calculations, Sha Yinzhen should have at least one more skill to use, but this guy was stabbed right through by the sword spirit and didn't even need to use it. It's a shame he waited for so long.

"Forget it, it's better if he's dead."

Illuminated by the soul light of the sword spirit, Yang Qingfeng arrived in front of Sha Yinzhen's corpse and stared at him for a long time. "Sword control does not consume mana, which is more useful than I imagined. However, I am not very proficient yet, and the speed is slightly insufficient. I still need to practice."

"Thank you so much for risking your life to test the sword for me. My life has not been in vain."

When Yang Qingfeng killed someone with his sword for the first time, he felt no ill will; on the contrary, he was deeply moved.

Chang Maofu said, "If something is impossible, don't force it; if you need to compete, then compete boldly."

At first, he also felt that this statement was somewhat contradictory, but now he understands that every word the gentleman said had a deeper meaning.

"If the trial itself cannot be completed, then one should not force someone to take a life. But if there is an external force preventing one from completing the trial, then one should fight to the death."

Yang Qingfeng chuckled with relief: "Sir, you look refined on the surface, but you're actually quite fierce."

Driven by his thoughts, the flying sword was drawn away and returned to hover behind him.

Blood flowed down the blade and dripped from the tip.

Sha Yinzhen's body then fell to the ground, and wisps of vital energy emanated from his body.

Yang Qingfeng immediately retreated, hoping the sword spirit would come and absorb it, but unexpectedly, the essence did not completely leave Sha Yinzhen, but instead swirled around his corpse.

In the space between Mount Sumeru, strange phenomena appeared.

Sha Yinzhen's wounds suddenly began to heal, and his complexion quickly became rosy, making him look even healthier than before he died.

Yang Qingfeng frowned, and the sword behind him immediately flew out, severing Sha Yinzhen's head.

After waiting for a while, the imagined resurrection did not occur, but the hope of life did not dissipate either.

Several strands of vital energy separated and surrounded Sha Yinzhen's corpse, keeping them in their original state, which was quite strange.

As Yang Qingfeng watched this scene, his mind raced with thoughts.

Soon, he thought of the flowers on the grassland.

The flowers grew exceptionally well, each one vibrant and beautiful, yet they had no fragrance. Moreover, once separated from the essence, they immediately turned to ashes, as if they were originally inanimate objects.

"Dead but not gone, its spirit endures?"

Yang Qingfeng realized that he was completely unable to understand this phenomenon with his knowledge, so he simply stopped thinking about it.

The sword spirit stepped forward and collected the essence.

After the vital essence was removed, Sha Yinzhen's body indeed cracked open again, and blood gushed out onto the ground.

At the same time, the mist formed by the concentrated essence became even denser, as if it was about to condense into a solid form.

"It smells even better now."

"I don't know what it will turn out to be in the end."

Yang Qingfeng examined the fog and seemed to vaguely sense some kind of power.

It was this power that allowed Sha Yinzhen to remain upright even after death, and that made the flowers wither but not scatter.

Before he could think further, the two sword spirits beside him simultaneously drew their swords in alert.

In the woods, a restless atmosphere arose at some point. Accompanied by wild growls, figures emerged from the shadows—a pack of wolves!