From the beginning of Swordsman, he created a legend in the martial arts world.

Although Linghu Chong was closest to Yue Lingshan, the two men in black beside him were desperately blocking him, making it difficult for him to break free.

Just as the long sword was about to strike Yue Lingshan's shoulder at the critical moment—

"laugh!"

A sharp whistling sound rang out from an inconspicuous corner outside the crowd!

A pebble the size of a thumb, carrying a sharp gust of wind, struck the blade aimed at Yue Lingshan with perfect accuracy, like a shooting star chasing the moon!

"clang!"

With a crisp crack, sparks flew!

The man in black holding the knife felt a sudden jolt in his wrist, his hand went numb, and the knife involuntarily veered off course, grazing the hem of Yue Lingshan's clothes.

Still shaken, Yue Lingshan instinctively dodged to the side, while her gaze quickly swept towards the direction from which the stones had come—there, at the very end of the line, was only the porter who had been silently bowing his head and carrying a shoulder pole.

At that moment, the porter seemed to have aggravated his injury from exertion, and he was wiping away a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth. Although his movement was quick, Yue Lingshan happened to catch it.

It was him? That unassuming porter? How could he... possess such skill? And the blood at the corner of his mouth...

Yue Lingshan was shocked. She looked at Meng Fei's disguised figure with disbelief and doubt in her eyes.

"Get out of here!"

Taking advantage of the moment when the two men in black were slightly distracted by the pebble attack, Linghu Chong shouted and his longsword suddenly unleashed astonishing power, forcing the two men back like a whirlwind sweeping away fallen leaves.

He then moved with lightning speed, rushing towards Yue Lingshan's location!

"Jingle bells!"

A series of rapid clanging sounds rang out!

Disregarding his own safety, Linghu Chong parried all the weapons aimed at Yue Lingshan, his sword flashing so densely that it was impenetrable.

However, such a desperate interception left him wide open, and his back and ribs were slashed by the swords of two other men in black. The wounds were so deep that bone could be seen, and blood instantly stained his figure.

Just as he was desperately blocking the attack and his body became unsteady, the booklet he had carefully wrapped in oilcloth in his arms—the score of "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer"—slipped out and fell to the ground with a "thud".

A sharp-eyed man in black spotted the booklet wrapped in oilcloth. Seeing Linghu Chong so desperately protecting Yue Lingshan, he instinctively assumed it was something extremely important. Connecting this to their objective, a flash of inspiration struck him, and he exclaimed, "It's a sword manual! The Evil-Slaying Sword Manual?!"

This shout was like a spark thrown into a pot of oil. The eyes of several men in black nearby instantly turned greedy. They abandoned their current opponent and pounced on the music score like hungry tigers!

"Don't even think about it!"

Upon seeing this, Linghu Chong was terrified!

This musical score was entrusted to us by our two predecessors, Liu Zhengfeng and Qu Yang, before their deaths. How could it be lost!

He immediately roared in anger, disregarding his serious injuries, and wildly brandished his longsword, trying to force him back.

However, faced with the temptation of the "Evil-Repelling Sword Manual", these men in black had gone mad and their attacks became even more reckless. Linghu Chong was instantly caught in a hail of swords and blades, facing constant danger!

"Die!"

A man in black grinned maliciously, spotted an opening behind Linghu Chong, and mercilessly slashed his steel knife down towards Linghu Chong's back!

"Chong'er—!"

Having just repelled two interceptors and was rushing towards this side, Yue Buqun, seeing his beloved disciple about to perish under his blade, couldn't help but let out a heart-wrenching scream.

In desperation, he held nothing back, channeling all his power, and threw the longsword that had been with him for many years like an arrow released from a bow!

"Whoosh—!"

The longsword transformed into a streak of light, carrying a piercing whistle and the full power of Yue Buqun's life's work, striking first despite being behind!

"clang--!!!"

A deafening explosion!

The longsword struck the steel blade aimed at Linghu Chong's back with pinpoint accuracy, breaking the hundred-refined steel blade in two.

The force of the impact was still strong, and the man in black was so shocked that he spat out blood and flew backward!

Yue Buqun threw his sword to save the man, but his body did not stop. He pounced through the air like a bird, his palms shrouded in purple energy, and he slammed them out, breaking the bones of the other two black-clad men who were approaching.

However, he lost his longsword, and in order to save Linghu Chong, he forced himself to muster his inner energy, which aggravated his old injuries, causing him to slack off.

Seeing this, the men in black around them were not about to let go of this golden opportunity. Immediately, five or six of them abandoned their other opponents and rushed over fearlessly.

Although Yue Buqun was highly skilled in martial arts, he was overwhelmed when facing several skilled fighters with his bare hands, and he also had to take care of the seriously injured Linghu Chong and the frightened Yue Lingshan.

After only a few exchanges, he was struck in the shoulder and thigh by swords, his green robe stained with blood, and the situation became critical once again!

"Senior brother!"

Ning Zhongze cried out in despair and led the remaining disciples who were still able to move to charge forward desperately.

Lin Pingzhi also mustered his inner energy, and his sword light rose again. He and several senior brothers and sisters formed a small formation, desperately blocking the enemy on one side.

Seeing his master injured while saving him, Linghu Chong was filled with extreme pain and anger. He suddenly found a surge of strength and struggled to his feet. He picked up his longsword and fought alongside Ning Zhongze and the others to the death!

Seeing their sect leader and senior brother fighting to the death, the other Huashan disciples were also inspired and charged forward fearlessly.

A fierce and chaotic battle ensued, with both sides suffering heavy casualties. In the end, seeing that their leader was dead and that Yue Buqun, though wounded, was still brave, the men in black knew that the situation was hopeless. With a shout, they carried the wounded and the corpses and retreated in a sorry state into the dense forest.

The crisis was temporarily averted, but everyone from the Huashan Sect was injured and exhausted.

Despite his severe injuries, Yue Buqun first checked his disciple's injuries. When his gaze fell on the oilcloth-wrapped book that Linghu Chong was clutching tightly in his hand, his brows furrowed slightly.

"Chong'er, what exactly are you protecting with your life?"

Yue Buqun's voice was hoarse, carrying a hint of barely perceptible anger and exhaustion.

Linghu Chong knelt on the ground, holding the oilcloth package in his hands. His voice was choked with emotion but firm: "Master, this is the score of 'The Smiling, Proud Wanderer' entrusted to me by Uncle Liu of Hengshan and Elder Qu... Qu Yang before their deaths. I have been entrusted with this task and will not fail in my duty!"

Sheet music?!

Upon hearing this, Yue Buqun was first taken aback, and then an uncontrollable surge of anger welled up in his heart.

He and his disciples fought a bloody battle, suffering heavy casualties, all for a musical score co-authored by a demonic cult member and a "traitor"?! And this score could even become leverage for others to accuse the Huashan Sect of "colluding with the demonic cult"!

Upon realizing this, his face instantly turned ashen, and the injury in his chest aggravated him, causing him to cough up blood.

Ning Zhongze quickly stepped forward to support him and whispered words of comfort.

Yue Buqun looked at Linghu Chong, who was covered in blood but still stubbornly holding the musical score, and then at the disciples around him who were also covered in wounds and had different expressions. He knew that this was not the time to lash out.

He then forcibly suppressed his anger, closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and when he opened them again, he had returned to his usual calm, but the coldness in his eyes was even stronger.

"Never mind... Let's leave this place first and heal our wounds."

The group found a small town nearby, booked an inn, and stayed inside to focus on healing their injuries.

Although Yue Buqun was seriously injured, his Zixia Divine Skill was indeed unique. With the help of spiritual medicine, his injuries stabilized after a few days, and his internal strength recovered to 70-80%. The injuries of the other disciples also showed improvement.

After this battle, perhaps because of the heavy losses, or perhaps because they were intimidated by Yue Buqun's final display of fighting spirit, no one tried to stop them on the way.

Back at Mount Hua, after settling the wounded, Yue Buqun finally launched his attack.