Chapter Ninety: The Blade Technique of Reincarnation

Long Yun’s willpower was unyielding; he ran for nearly half an hour, exhausting every skill he possessed, yet he could not shake off his two pursuers. The distance between them grew ever shorter.

“Long Yun, will you not surrender?” Cheng Rongxiang called out coldly. With a single-handed grab, he drew a stone the size of a washbasin into his palm, channeled his true energy, and hurled it toward Long Yun.

Sensing the gusts of wind behind him, Long Yun dared not be careless. Relying on his agile footwork, he dodged aside, letting the heavy stone smash into the ground with a thud.

Yet this brief evasion only brought his pursuers closer.

Qi Ling’s eyes brightened—indeed, a clever tactic. He immediately coordinated with Cheng Rongxiang, continuously drawing up stones to attack Long Yun. After several exchanges, Long Yun was once more forced within range of their attacks.

“Let’s see where you run now!” Cheng Rongxiang laughed heartily, sword energy swirling as he swept it toward Long Yun.

Realizing there was no escape, Long Yun ceased his evasive maneuvers. Instead, he stood atop a massive boulder, the Azure Grain Sword in his hand pointing at Qi Ling and Cheng Rongxiang, killing intent surging.

“Well! I never thought that aside from me, Qingzong, the Green Mountain Sect could produce another disciple of your caliber. It’s truly impressive. You ought to keep a low profile—perhaps in a few years, you would have a place in the sect. But instead, you flaunt your talents. Don’t you understand that ‘the tallest tree in the forest is the first to be felled’?” Qi Ling, having learned the reasons behind Cheng Rongxiang’s pursuit, gazed at the now motionless Long Yun and spoke softly.

Long Yun kept silent, his heart calm as still water. The power of Samsara roared within him. Even if he were to die today, he would drag Cheng Rongxiang to hell with him.

Cheng Rongxiang snorted, “Senior Brother Qi Ling, there’s no need for words. In Long Yun’s hand is our sect’s long-lost peerless treasure, the Azure Grain Sword. Let’s capture him and deliver him to the elders!”

Qi Ling paused. From Long Yun’s sword, he indeed sensed a familiar aura. Now, hearing Cheng Rongxiang confirm it was the Azure Grain Sword, his gaze settled upon it.

“If that’s the case, so be it. But for the two of us to join forces against a boy not even at the Innate Realm is somewhat unseemly. Rongxiang, you handle it; I’ll watch your back to prevent his escape,” Qi Ling said.

Cheng Rongxiang nodded. He had never considered Long Yun a real threat; perhaps only Long Yun’s footwork had earned his respect. As for Long Yun killing Situ, Cheng Rongxiang believed it was a sneak attack—a view shared by many disciples and even elders of the sect.

With this in mind, Cheng Rongxiang stepped forward, sword unsheathed. “To let you see my sword is already giving you face. I’ll grant you a dignified death.”

Long Yun’s eyes flickered coldly. “Unnecessary. No one decides my fate but me.”

As he spoke, his form shot forward. The power of Samsara erupted at the sword’s tip, transforming into a surging wave of energy that shot straight at Cheng Rongxiang’s chest.

“Impressive!” Cheng Rongxiang exclaimed, sensing the strength of Long Yun’s attack. The force of this strike indeed surpassed that of his peers.

It seemed this Long Yun was truly remarkable, yet such a move was rarely withstood by disciples at the Innate Realm.

Cheng Rongxiang’s sword arm moved fluidly, following a special trajectory. The entire sword seemed set into the fabric of heaven and earth, meeting Long Yun’s sword energy head-on with perfect precision.

But just as the two streams of sword energy were about to collide, Long Yun’s immense sword intent surged into the Azure Grain Sword.

Infused with his intent, the Azure Grain Sword rang out with a joyful hum, as if in response. Along the sword’s blade, a vast surge of sword will poured into the already unleashed sword energy.

Touched by this sword intent, the energy split into three streams at the moment of contact with Cheng Rongxiang’s attack. One stream met Cheng Rongxiang’s sword energy head-on, while the other two skimmed along his blade, flanking his defense like two hidden arrows and shooting straight for his chest.

Cheng Rongxiang’s face changed dramatically; he had not expected Long Yun to employ such a cunning move. By the time he reacted, the two streams were already upon him.

Too late to fully defend, he hastily erected a shield of true energy and struck down one stream with his free left palm.

Yet the remaining stream pierced through his protective aura. Fortunately, he was quick enough to twist aside, barely dodging a fatal blow.

Still, Long Yun’s sword energy grazed his right shoulder, tearing away a spray of blood and flesh.

Long Yun, too, staggered backward, coughing up three mouthfuls of blood. This move had combined the power of Samsara with a sudden surge of sword intent, splitting his attack into three—a calculated ambush.

Yet he had not anticipated Cheng Rongxiang’s swift reactions. The surprise attack had only cost him a patch of flesh, inflicting no serious injury.

Long Yun raised the Azure Grain Sword, every bone and limb burning with pain. Such was the might of a cultivator at the Innate Soul-Merging Realm; his true energy far exceeded that of the lower Innate Realms.

Otherwise, he would not have suffered such grave wounds from a single exchange.

“You wretch! You dare wound me? I intended to spare your life for the elders, but now you’ve angered me. I’ll tear you to pieces!” Cheng Rongxiang snarled.

In a single clash, he—a master of the Innate Soul-Merging Realm—had been wounded by a mere Postnatal Realm youth, and in front of his senior brother no less.

This humiliation drove Cheng Rongxiang nearly mad. With a furious roar, he thrust out his sword, his vast spiritual sense enveloping Long Yun.

Long Yun narrowed his eyes. The greater the peril, the clearer his mind became. Now locked in place by his opponent’s spiritual pressure, he found an uncanny calm.

As Cheng Rongxiang’s sword energy howled toward him, Long Yun moved.

Sword intent, suffused with a sacred aura, erupted from within. Cheng Rongxiang’s spiritual power, which had pinned him down, broke apart like a breached dam beneath the onslaught.

Instantly, his true energy transformed into the power of Samsara. Gripping the Azure Grain Sword with both hands, he wielded it like a saber, cleaving down with all his might.

He unleashed the supreme technique, the “Samsara Art,” taught to him by Zhong Xuan in the Tomb of Life and Death, in concert with the three saber moves—the “Samsara Saber Techniques”—forged by Zhong Xuan through three thousand years and tens of thousands of life-and-death battles.

In this moment, Long Yun brought them all to bear. Before the naked eye, a saber energy ten fathoms long burst forth from his sword.

This saber energy was like a colossal blade, upon which a great yin-yang fish symbol spun rapidly. All the power was concentrated in this symbol—the very heart of the technique.

As the blade fell, Long Yun’s face turned deathly pale. Blood seeped from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth; his meridians were shattered by the force. His internal organs shifted from their places. Had his body not been tempered by the mysterious powers of dragon bone and Dragon Gate pine, surpassing ordinary men, the backlash alone would have meant his end.

Even so, he barely clung to life, collapsing to the ground, unable even to lift the Azure Grain Sword. His gaze remained bright, fixed on the path the saber energy had carved, marveling at its ferocity.

Amid the thunderous clash of true energy, Cheng Rongxiang’s hoarse howls were drowned out.

As the light faded, Cheng Rongxiang stood, his robes reduced to ashes, his sword shattered to pieces.

His face was as pale as paper, his eyes full of hate as he looked at Long Yun. He spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed.

“Rongxiang, are you all right?” Qi Ling’s expression changed. He had not expected Long Yun’s explosive power to be so overwhelming. If Cheng Rongxiang were killed before his eyes, he too would be implicated.

Placing his palm on Cheng Rongxiang’s back, Qi Ling steadily channeled his true energy into his companion’s body.