The blind girl is called a saint with a sword!

Gongsun Hongdie responded with an "oh".

Although it isn't yet, it will be soon.

Sikong Tingxue could, of course, understand what her cheap apprentice was thinking.

She whispered in Gongsun Hongdie's ear, "Actually, I have a way to help you catch up with your sister quickly."

Gongsun Hongdie's eyes lit up: "Really?"

Sikong Tingxue laughed and said, "Why would I lie to you? Miaozhen and I have both used that method, but... I don't know if you and Lan Xiaogu can accept it."

Gongsun Hongdie was stunned.

What method could possibly require her and Lan Xiaogu to accept it together?

She humbly asked, "Master, what method is it?"

Sikong Tingxue said, "There are too many people here right now, so it's not convenient for me to talk to you. I'll tell you when I have more free time later."

Gongsun Hongdie nodded obediently. What method could it be?

The lively scene of clinking glasses and exchanging toasts continued until the early hours of the morning.

After seeing everyone back to their rooms, An Qingwan inspected her haul under the bright moonlight.

This time, she killed four Grandmasters in a row, and her gains were considerable.

"The Rain-Covering Sword Technique (Note), the Eight Secrets of the Heavenly Blade, the Heavenly Demon's Yin Condensation, and Xie Xiaofeng's sword techniques!"

Among them, the Overturning Rain Sword Technique is a sword technique that Lang Fanyun comprehended from the waters of Dongting Lake. It can seize the creation of heaven and earth and has unfathomable power.

The Eight Techniques of Heavenly Blade are the sword techniques of Song Que, the Heavenly Blade. Heavenly Charm Condensing Yin is a movement technique that combines speed and change. When practiced to its extreme, the body is transformed. Once Yin energy is condensed, the body seems to lose its weight, like a gentle breeze.

As for Xie Xiaofeng's swordsmanship, it refers to the new level he reached after years of seclusion at Cangjianlu and his swordplay duel with Ding Peng.

This is not just a sword technique, but a state of returning to simplicity and authenticity, a state that surpasses the Fifteen Deadly Swords and the realm of a single sword originating from heaven and earth.

This sword technique no longer serves to improve An Qingwan's strength, but this insight is a good reference for her. The realm of the Overturning Rain Sword Technique, which states that "only by reaching the extreme of emotion can one reach the extreme of swordsmanship," is also a wonderful reference.

"The next step is the realm that the Dao Lord comprehended before his death, and then it is the true integration with nature."

All night long, An Qingwan sat quietly by the stone table in the courtyard.

Bathed in moonlight and cold dew, she was completely immersed in that mysterious realm.

When Sikong Tingxue saw her again, she seemed to be covered with a thin veil of snow.

News of the outcome of the battle at Shaoyangzhou spread quickly.

But the army that gathered north of the Huai River was even faster.

The next day at daybreak, the tens of thousands of troops had already crossed the Huai River.

At first, the Xu family thought the news of Xu Chong's death was false, but as Xu Chong failed to show up for a long time, the morale of the garrison stationed near Zhongli finally collapsed.

When the morale of a large army collapses, the situation becomes extremely dire.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, this major battle in Huainan should be coming to an end.

Even faster than the changing battle situation was An Qingwan.

After resting for a night in Zhongli, An Qingwan immediately headed north, her target being the Qingshuang Sect.

Xu Chong and the Holy Master Cangming are both dead. If we can also get rid of the old fox Han Jing, the long-turbulent martial arts world should be much more peaceful.

An Qingwan originally intended to go to the Qingshuang Sect alone. After all, that was Han Jing's stronghold.

She was worried that bringing too many people might cause an accident.

However, Sikong Tingxue, Yu Miaozhen, and the others were worried, so in the end they let Leng Qingyou, who was good at running away, go with them.

The two set off from Zhongli and arrived at the Qingshuang Sect in Shandong in just one day, which was quite fast.

Upon arriving at the Qing Shuang Sect, An Qingwan did not knock on the door directly. Instead, she covered herself with black clothes and cloth, and then secretly slipped inside with Leng Qingyou in tow.

I wanted to give Han Jing a surprise, but I didn't expect that the old fox Han Jing was also extremely cautious.

Before setting off for Zhongli, he had already prepared to flee.

He hasn't returned to the Qing Shuang Sect at all, and his meditation room has been emptied out in advance, so empty that even a mouse would feel bewildered if it came in.

"At least he managed to dodge!"

Leng Qingyou let out a helpless hum.

An Qingwan reached out and gently stroked the stone wall. After a long while, she sighed, "I have checked carefully, and there should be no secret passage here."

Leng Qingyou said, "Since we can't find him, what should we do now? Should we expose his evil deeds and reveal that he is a hypocrite?"

An Qingwan shook her head: "Although we know he is the mastermind, we don't have any concrete evidence. Given his reputation in the underworld over the years, even if I make a statement, it won't affect him much. But even if it doesn't affect anything, we still have to spread the rumors. We can't let him really stay out of it."

The cold celadon glaze nodded slightly in agreement.

"Let's go."

Before leaving, An Qingwan deliberately removed her disguise and sent a letter to the Qing Shuang Sect.

"It's alright if Senior Han Jing isn't here. I have a letter here. Please give this letter to the person in charge of the sect now, and ask him to pass it on to Senior Han Jing later."

The Qing Shuang Sect disciple guarding the gate quickly agreed.

"Please rest assured, Miss An, I will go and deliver the letter to Senior Sister Lu immediately." Senior Sister Lu?

An Qingwan asked, "You mean Lu Qinghui? Is she at the Qing Shuang Sect now?" The gatekeeper disciple replied, "That's right. Senior Sister Lu returned a few days ago."

Before leaving, the sect leader temporarily entrusted all affairs of the sect, large and small, to Senior Sister Lu.

An Qingwan frowned.

Why did Lu Qinghui suddenly return to the Qing Shuang Sect instead of taking care of Princess Changning in the capital?

An Qingwan said, "Since Miss Lu is in the sect, I will personally deliver this letter to her."

The gatekeeper disciple was perfectly fine with it, and he quickly stepped forward to lead the way.

An Qingwan met Lu Qinghui at the main hall of the Qing Shuang Sect. The moment they met, she sensed something was wrong.

This lifeless appearance, this even colder voice than before, this almost unresponsive body...

Isn't this the same as the two puppets she saw in Shaoyang Prefecture?

What's wrong with Han Jing? Why is he turning his master Bai Wuchen and his most prized disciple Lu Qinghui into puppets one after another?

An Qingwan calmly handed the letter to Lu Qinghui.

After bidding farewell to the Qing Shuang Sect members, she quickly changed into night clothes and sneaked back into the Qing Shuang Sect, where she kidnapped Lu Qinghui without saying a word.

"You went to Qing Shuang to deliver a message, why did you bring a woman with you?"

Leng Qingyou stared at Lu Qinghui, who was being held in An Qingwan's arms, her eyes filled with vigilance.

An Qingwan said, "Stop making wild guesses. My relationship with her is completely innocent. I brought her out because..."

She described Lu Qinghui's current condition.

Leng Qingyou exclaimed in astonishment, "Why would Han Jing resort to such a vicious act?"

An Qingwan shook her head: "I don't know. Let's go to the capital first and see why Lu Qinghui suddenly ran back to Qingshuang Sect. If we can find out the reason, we might be able to guess something."

So the two turned around again and ran all the way from Shandong to Guanzhong.

Upon inquiring, they learned that Lu Qinghui had sent Princess Changning to Dou Pu's residence.

"Heroine An".

At the Duke of Chu's house.

Dou Pu recounted everything that had happened that day.

"In my opinion, Fairy Lu must believe that her master, Mr. Han Jing, poisoned Princess Changning, which is why she rushed back to question him. She told me that if she didn't return, I should find you, Lady An. I never expected that you would come to me first. Judging from the current situation, Princess Changning was indeed harmed by Mr. Han Jing, and Mr. Han Jing may have done even more, otherwise he wouldn't have gone to such lengths to harm Fairy Lu."

That old bastard!

An Qingwan had just finished cursing in her heart when Leng Qingyou asked suspiciously, "Why didn't Lu Qinghui bring more people to question Han Jing?"

Dou Pu said, "If she brought too many people, how could Mr. Han Jing admit it? She has no evidence. Besides..."

Leng Qingyou asked, "And what?"

Dou Pu said, "Moreover, her relationship with Mr. Han Jing is extraordinary."

An Qingwan said, "I would like to hear the details."

Dou Pu said, "Lu Xianzi's biological father was the Marquis of Yi'an. Many years ago, the Marquis of Yi'an was ordered to quell a rebellion, but because he missed the opportunity, the rebel army captured Nanzheng in Hanzhong. The emperor was furious and ordered the Marquis of Yi'an to be executed. After the Marquis of Yi'an died, Lu Xianzi and her mother were taken into the Yeting Palace. During her time in the Yeting Palace, it was Princess Changning who, out of consideration for their past relationship, protected her, which allowed her to grow up safely."

"But Princess Changning was ultimately unable to rescue her from the Piting. It was only when Mr. Hanjing came to court that he unexpectedly saw her and felt that she was intelligent and had a great future in martial arts. That's why he pleaded with the emperor to take her away from the Piting."

"Mr. Hanjing not only saved Fairy Lu, but also carefully taught her how to conduct herself in the world, as well as the martial arts of the Qingshuang Sect. In Fairy Lu's eyes, Mr. Hanjing was a person closer than her biological father. When she was with me, she was always quiet and reserved, but she was most lively when she mentioned Mr. Hanjing."

"Just imagine, if Fairy Lu suddenly learned that her fatherly figure, Mr. Han Jing, might very well have harmed her closest relative, Princess Changning, how would she feel, and what should she do?"

Leng Qingyou was stunned for a moment: "This..."

Dou Pu said, "She was naturally heartbroken, but she didn't want to reveal this directly. What if she guessed wrong and the person who harmed Princess Changning wasn't actually Mr. Han Jing? But she revealed it so early, how would she face herself? I guess she was too confident, thinking that even if Mr. Han Jing really wanted to harm her, she would have room to maneuver. Her martial arts skills are not bad; in theory, Mr. Han Jing would need several moves to subdue her. She could have shouted for help and made a scene. However... it seems she underestimated Mr. Han Jing's strength. Not only did she underestimate his martial arts skills, but she also underestimated his ruthlessness."

An Qingwan fell silent.

Leng Qingyou retorted, "You guessed all of this? You guessed it, but you didn't stop her."

Dou Pu said, "I couldn't stop her. She had already made her own decision. She wasn't in a state where she would listen to others at the time, and besides..."

As he spoke, Dou Pu looked at An Qingwan.

An Qingwan pulled Leng Qingyou aside, telling her to stop talking.

Ultimately, Dou Pu and Lu Qinghui's relationship was merely one of mutual exploitation. Dou Pu was already showing great consideration by helping Lu Qinghui take care of Princess Changning; why would he risk offending Mr. Han Jing to help Lu Qinghui?

An Qingwan did not linger at Dou Pu's residence any longer.

She only allowed Dou Pu to continue taking care of Princess Changning, while she herself left with Lu Qinghui.

She planned to go to the Celestial Venerable and the Sword God to see if they could glean anything from Lu Qinghui.

The result was disappointing.

Even though the Celestial Venerable and the Sword God were knowledgeable and experienced, they couldn't immediately discern the depth of Mr. Han Jing's abilities, nor could they remove Lu Qinghui from control.

"These two, one was bewitched, and the other's mind was completely suppressed and he became a living corpse. They are truly unfortunate."

Leng Qingyou shrugged.

Where do we go next?

An Qingwan said, "Several days have passed. I guess the Palace Master of the Nine Nether Palace has already released the news. Since there's nothing else to do right now, let's go and meet her first and see if she has any ulterior motives."

The two of them quickly ran towards the crowd with Lu Qinghui.

As expected, the Palace Master of the Holy Palace had already informed Tingfeng of the time and place of the competition.

February 4th, on the shore of Dongting Lake!

The location was chosen with extreme care.

It was after she killed the doubles of the Iron-Clad Ancestor and the Joyful Taoist on the shores of Dongting Lake that An Qingwan's title of "Goddess of Xiaoxiang" truly spread throughout the martial arts world.

"I never imagined I'd return to Dongting Lake in this way!"

What An Qingwan didn't expect was that when she returned to Dongting Lake, she mastered a sword technique she had learned from Dongting Lake: the Overturning Rain Sword Technique.

Fate, amazing.

"Why did you think of choosing this place as the competition venue?" An Qingwan stood quietly on the fishing boat.

Another fishing boat was floating on the lake three zhang away from her, and the Palace Master of the Holy Palace was standing on that small boat.

The Palace Master of the Holy Palace still came alone today.

She was tall and slender, wearing a long black robe with tassels cascading down her waist like a waterfall. Her handsome face, which was usually devoid of smiles, now wore a gentle smile that perfectly matched the spring day after the snow had just melted.

She was actually laughing?

"I didn't mean anything by it. I just thought it would be interesting to choose this place as the location for the competition, since it's the first time you've used that move, Flying Immortal from Beyond the Heavens. Besides, it won't affect ordinary people since the competition is in the middle of this big lake."

An Qingwan nodded and asked, "What do you want to compete in? Martial arts? Swordsmanship? Fist and kick? Or agility and physique?"

The Palace Master of the Holy Palace said, "At first, I wanted to fight you, but after that night in Shaoyang Prefecture, I knew that I would never be your match. Although I defeated Xu Chong and the Holy Master Cangming, I certainly couldn't have done it as easily as you, so I no longer intend to fight you."

An Qingwan asked, "Then what do you want to compete in?"