The Confucian and Taoist Sages of Mortal Cultivation

Yang Qingyuan, however, looked thoughtful and replied, "In this situation, I'd like to compose a poem!"

Upon hearing this, Qingwen Daoist, Wu Jiuzhi, and Wan Xiaoshan were all taken aback.

"Even on the verge of death, you still want to compose poetry?" Wu Jiuzhi sneered repeatedly, mocking, "Bookworm!"

Yang Qingyuan, however, remained calm and composed, standing with his sword in hand, and softly recited, "Ten years to hone this sword, its frosty edge yet to be tested!"

"Today I present this to you; who has a grievance to redress?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the bamboo slips in his dantian began to hum.

A silver seal character the size of a grain of rice appeared on the surface of the bamboo slip; it was clearly the character "sword".

The "Sword" mantra has two effects: firstly, it amplifies the power of flying swords and magical artifacts, while also increasing the power of sword-based divine abilities and reducing the mana consumption of sword-based spells and artifacts. Currently, it can more than double the power.

Secondly, it can help cultivators comprehend sword techniques and refine flying sword-type magical artifacts and treasures.

However, wielding the sword incantation requires consuming one's righteous energy.

Righteous energy, like magical power, can be restored after being consumed.

"It really works!" Yang Qingyuan was overjoyed to see that the ancient poem "The Swordsman" by Tang Dynasty poet Jia Dao had actually condensed into a true saying.

The next moment, he had a thought, raised his hand and threw out the Rainbow Sword, and at the same time opened his mouth and spat out a stream of silver light.

The rosy light spun around and condensed into the character "sword," then pounced onto the Rainbow Sword.

The rainbow sword in mid-air then emitted a clear sword hum, buzzing and emitting a sharp sword light.

Wu Jiuzhi and Qingwen Daoist only glanced at the Long Rainbow Sword, but they felt as if their eyes were being cut, and their hearts sank.

"What a sharp flying sword!"

"This is truly bizarre! This sword is clearly only a mid-grade magic weapon! How can it emit such a sharp sword light!"

Yang Qingyuan raised his right hand, brought his sword fingers together, pointed at Wu Jiuzhi's chest, and whispered, "Slash!"

The next moment, the Rainbow Sword flew out in response, transforming into a streak of crimson light that pierced through the air and headed straight for Wu Jiuzhi, accompanied by a whooshing sound.

"So fast!" Wu Jiuzhi was startled, his expression turned serious, and all traces of his earlier playfulness vanished. He quickly urged his Azure Light Sword to meet the attack and block the path of the Rainbow Sword.

The two flying swords met in mid-air, colliding and sending sparks flying everywhere.

The Azure Light Sword was knocked away in a single exchange, embedding itself in the stone wall, its blade trembling incessantly.

The Changhong Sword, its power undiminished, continued to stab towards Wu Jiuzhi.

"What! My Azure Light Sword is a top-grade magic weapon! It can't even stop a mid-grade magic weapon!" Wu Jiuzhi was shocked and hurriedly took out a talisman from his pocket and stuck it on his chest.

"A beginner to intermediate level defensive talisman, the Vajra Talisman." Wan Xiaoshan, who came from a prestigious family, recognized the talisman at a glance.

Immediately afterwards, a pale golden spherical shield appeared around Wu Jiuzhi's body, protecting him firmly inside.

At the same time, the Rainbow Sword had already arrived, piercing the golden shield with its blade.

To everyone's surprise, the Vajra Shield was as fragile as paper when faced with the Rainbow Sword, and was easily pierced.

Wu Jiuzhi felt a sharp pain in his chest. He looked down and saw a crimson flying sword stuck in his chest.

Only the hilt of the flying sword remained outside; the blade had already pierced through Wu Jiuzhi's flesh.

"How...is this possible?"

"I've only just joined the Holy Church, and I haven't even... reached the Foundation Establishment stage yet..."

Wu Jiuzhi's eyes widened as he felt as if his body had been hollowed out, leaving him with no strength, and his consciousness gradually faded into darkness.

The next moment, he fell backward to the ground, his chest ceasing to rise and fall.

"What!" The Qingwen Daoist next to him was also startled by Wu Jiuzhi's death, his eyes twitching wildly.

That sword strike was so fast that even he didn't have time to react.

"What a powerful sword technique! It can actually unleash such power from a mid-grade flying sword!" The Azure-Patterned Daoist frowned, his previous contempt gone. He reached into his robes with his left hand and pulled out a pair of golden rings.

The golden ring radiated a dazzling light, clearly indicating that it was no ordinary item.

"A complete set of top-grade magic artifacts, the 'Golden Locking Rings'!" Upon seeing the pair of golden rings, Wan Xiaoshan's face immediately turned extremely ugly, and his heart was filled with unease.

Qingwen Daoist then jokingly said, "As expected of a member of the Wan family of Kuya Mountain, you are indeed knowledgeable and well-traveled."

"It's an honor for you two to die beneath the golden lock!"

Seeing that Qingwen Daoist easily took out top-grade magic weapons, and even a complete set, Yang Qingyuan became anxious. He immediately manipulated the Long Rainbow Sword to pull it away from Wu Jiuzhi's body and stab it at Qingwen Daoist.

The Taoist with green patterns showed no fear and casually tossed out a pair of golden rings.

The golden ring flew out of his hand, meeting the crimson stream of light transformed from the rainbow sword. In the blink of an eye, they clashed more than a dozen times, producing a continuous metallic clang. Sparks flew everywhere, and they were locked in a stalemate.

"To actually allow a mid-grade flying sword to withstand the Locking Gold Ring, what formidable swordsmanship! But it ends here..." Upon seeing this, the Azure-Patterned Daoist's eyes flashed with surprise, but he also felt relieved and said sarcastically, "I have killed so many people and have never failed, and this time is no exception!"

Seeing that the Rainbow Sword could not defeat his opponent, Yang Qingyuan's expression turned solemn. He opened his mouth again and spat out a stream of silver light.

The silvery glow condensed into the character "sword" and headed straight for the azure sword stuck in the stone wall.

As the incantation "Sword" entered Wu Jiuzhi's azure sword, Yang Qingyuan instantly refined the azure sword. With a thought, he caused the azure sword to fly backward and break away from the rock wall.

When Qingwen Daoist saw that Yang Qingyuan had refined Wu Jiuzhi's Azure Light Sword in such a short time, he thought it was a fantasy and exclaimed, "How is this possible?"

"Wu Jiuzhi has only just died, and his magical power still remains in the Azure Light Sword."

"How could you possibly refine it!"

Little did he know that this was the second effect of the "Sword" mantra, which could help cultivators quickly refine flying sword-type magical artifacts.

Under Yang Qingyuan's control, the Azure Light Sword transformed into a streak of azure light, piercing towards the Azure-Patterned Daoist.

The Green-Patterned Taoist was greatly alarmed. He manipulated two golden lock rings to block one of the flying swords, while simultaneously raising his whisk.

A white, hazy light flashed across the whisk, then extended more than three zhang (approximately 10 meters) outward, transforming into a long whip that lashed out at Yang Qingyuan.

"There's even a magic weapon! Brother Yang, don't panic, I'll help you!" Seeing this, Wan Xiaoshan quickly poured his magic power into the bronze mirror in his hand, condensing another shield in front of Yang Qingyuan.

The whip lashed out, making the shield sway, but it couldn't break through the shield's defense for the time being, and the situation became deadlocked again.

"Hmph!" Qingwen Daoist sneered, "It's quite remarkable that two mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators have managed to hold out this long."

"Once the Lin brothers kill Han Li and arrive, you will all be doomed."

When Wan Xiaoshan heard that Qingwen Daoist had reinforcements, he couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine.

Yang Qingyuan remained calm and composed, vaguely remembering that there were indeed two people chasing after the protagonist Han Li at the Tai Nan Small Meeting, but Han Li later killed them.

Thinking of this, he felt relieved and chuckled, "In this situation, I must recite a poem!"

"What!" Upon hearing this, the Green-Patterned Daoist's eyes widened in shock. He thought to himself, "This person's strength increased dramatically just from reciting a poem, allowing him to kill Wu Jiuzhi!"

"If I were to make him recite another poem, wouldn't he kill me too?"

Qingwen Daoist gritted his teeth and frantically swung his long whip, trying to kill Yang Qingyuan, but was blocked by the shield.

At this moment, Yang Qingyuan spoke again, softly reciting, "Zhao Ke Man Hu Ying"

"The Wu hook sword gleams like frost and snow. The silver saddle reflects on the white horse, swift as a shooting star."

"Kill one man in ten steps, leave no trace for a thousand miles. After the deed is done, dust off your clothes and leave, concealing your identity and name."

"Leisurely passing through Xinling, I drink, sword laid across my knees. I offer roasted meat to Zhu Hai, and raise my cup to Hou Ying. After three cups, I utter a solemn promise, as light as the Five Sacred Mountains. After my eyes are blurred and my ears are burning, my spirit soars like a rainbow."