Chapter 120: The Bamboo Hat Man's Trump Card, the Sword Gourd

Cheng Fang had produced a mid-grade magical instrument, a flying blade, which allowed him to easily parry Chu Xin'er’s willow-leaf blades.

The death of Old Xun, whose soul had been so thoroughly extinguished that even a fragment could not escape, had shocked the man in white and his dao companion. Yet, the prospect of the spoils they might claim after killing Chu Xin'er was enough to make them greedy. Moreover, the strange, giant mosquito’s aura suggested a cultivation level only at the peak of the twelfth layer; unless it relied on its bizarre, stealthy tactics, it would not necessarily pose a threat. The crucial point was that such ambush tactics were unlikely to be effective once exposed.

Thus, the man in white and his companion exchanged glances and ultimately chose to stay, though they both activated their protective light shields while launching their full-scale attacks. Seeing that they had not retreated, the youth in the conical hat naturally had no intention of leaving either; after all, with Old Xun dead, his share of the spoils would be even greater.

"This man holds the most intense hostility toward me. And his surname is Cheng? Could he be from the Cheng Family Fort?"

Hearing Cheng Fang reveal his origin, Chu Xin'er’s heart skipped a beat, and her expression turned grim. Having been tempered by countless battles over the past two years, her sharp intuition allowed her to sense that Cheng Fang’s hostility was different from the others—it felt like an irreconcilable grudge, whereas the greed driving the late Old Xun and the rest was merely simple avarice. Now that she knew his surname was Cheng, it could hardly be a coincidence; it was highly probable that her identity had been exposed.

If it were only the few thugs before her, Chu Xin'er would have been confident in eliminating them all with Xiao Wen’s help. But if this were to attract a Foundation Establishment expert, she might not be able to escape. Therefore, she could not afford to drag this out; a swift resolution was her best option. As she thought this, Chu Xin'er manipulated her Diamond Sword and willow-leaf blades to parry the incoming attacks, while quietly grasping several mid-grade offensive talismans in her hand.

However, before she could activate them, a shrill cry erupted from the fray. The light shield surrounding the woman in white shattered like a bubble, and a sharp, arc-like blade struck her left shoulder, drawing a spray of blood.

"You dare harm my companion? Die!"

The man in white could never have imagined that the monstrous mosquito, whose aura seemed unremarkable, could combine a wind-blade-like technique with its razor-sharp claws to instantly breach his wife’s defenses. Shouting in fury and alarm, he abandoned his assault on Chu Xin'er and recalled his flying sword to strike fiercely at Xiao Wenzhi. Although the woman in white was injured, she did not wait to die; she dodged the incoming wing-blade arcs while condensing a tongue of fire to retaliate.

Gray shadows flickered. Dividing into six, Xiao Wenzhi successfully evaded the lethal strikes. As his illusions dissipated and the man’s flying sword collided with the tongue of fire, Xiao Wenzhi closed the distance behind the woman in white, extending his razor-sharp claws toward her neck.

During their last battle against Liu Xiuqian, Xiao Wenzhi had felt that his wing-blade strikes lacked only a fraction of the power needed to shatter the opponent’s protective spiritual light. Now that his cultivation had broken through, and by using his refined claws to strike a single point simultaneously, the protective light of the woman in white—who was only at the early thirteenth layer—could not withstand the assault. Without her shield, she was nothing more than a lamb for the slaughter in his eyes.

The shock of the "Demon Shadow Art" creating six images caused the woman to falter, her movements slowing just enough. By the time she sensed the danger, a foul wind was already upon her neck. Seeing the opening, Xiao Wenzhi did not hesitate. His sharp foreclaws slashed repeatedly, and with a series of snapping sounds, her spine shattered. She let out a piercing shriek. But that was not the end; while crushing her spine, Xiao Wenzhi flapped his wings, sending arcs of sharp energy through her skull to extinguish her fleeing remnant soul.

"No!"

Witnessing the tragic death of his companion, the man in white was overcome with agony. He drove his instruments and spells with near-manic desperation, clearly intent on obliterating Xiao Wenzhi. But Xiao Wenzhi was not so easily handled; by perfectly coordinating his "Swift Demon Art" and "Demon Shadow Art," he dodged the man’s attacks with ease.

On the other side, Chu Xin'er, feeling the pressure ease, put away her talismans and quietly palmed her flying needle instrument. With a thunderous boom, she used her willow-leaf blades to entangle Cheng Fang while exerting her full strength to guide her Diamond Sword into a heavy collision with the man in the conical hat’s weapon. Soon, cracks spread across his low-grade flying sword.

Chu Xin'er’s plan was simple: eliminate the man in the conical hat first, then deal with Cheng Fang and his mid-grade instrument. As for the remaining man in white, she trusted that Xiao Wen could handle him, or at least keep him occupied. The strategy of picking them off one by one was sound, but the cultivation world was full of strange and unpredictable things; things rarely went exactly as intended.

Seeing his flying sword on the verge of destruction, the man in the conical hat suddenly slapped his storage bag and produced a pale gold gourd.

The gourd was roughly the size of a common dipper, but it was inscribed with complex, intricate runes. As he uncorked it, a biting, frigid sword aura billowed out.

*A Sword Gourd.* It didn't look like a mere entry-level trinket, either. This "Lin" fellow had been hiding his true strength.

A Sword Gourd is an offensive instrument crafted by cultivators who specialize in the way of the sword. Unlike ordinary flying swords or blades, its brilliance lies in its ability to seal sword qi within, which can be unleashed in a single, massive burst during a critical moment—a power that terrifies those of the same rank. Of course, this was only a basic gourd; higher-grade versions could even absorb the essence of heaven and earth to replenish their energy automatically. If one could not shatter the gourd or kill its user, the sword qi it could unleash was virtually endless. No cultivator could face such an opponent without feeling a splitting headache.

Seeing the man in the conical hat produce the gourd and fix his cold gaze on her, Cheng Fang was overjoyed. "Brother Lin, do it! Once she is taken, my Cheng family will certainly reward you handsomely." As he spoke, Cheng Fang redoubled his own assault on Chu Xin'er.

The man in the conical hat did not hesitate. He formed a seal with his left hand and spat the word "Swift." From the gourd in his right hand, streams of golden light erupted. The moment they left the nozzle, they transformed into light swords, each a foot long and radiating a pressure nearly equal to a technique condensed by a Foundation Establishment cultivator. There were over a dozen such swords—a concentrated burst equivalent to the simultaneous strikes of a dozen Foundation Establishment experts, or the explosive activation of a dozen sword-qi talismans.

*Oh no.*

Feeling the crushing spiritual pressure of the light swords, Chu Xin'er’s expression changed drastically. She had no time to ponder the meaning behind Cheng Fang’s words. The sword-qi attack was too fast and too powerful; her Diamond Sword could barely parry one or two, leaving the rest completely unchecked. As for dodging, she had never trained in sophisticated footwork, so that was out of the question.

Gritting her teeth, and though it pained her, Chu Xin'er activated her protective spiritual light to its limit and reached out to crush two mid-grade earth-type defensive talismans.