Chapter 170: An Unprecedented Crisis
The Xi River that ran through the Ancient Great Mountain Range froze over during the harsh winter.
A group of young Clear Sky Sect disciples lay prone atop the ice, peering through one hole after another as they stared unblinkingly at the turbulent river water flowing beneath the ice.
On a rock not far away, a male disciple of the Clear Sky Sect was practicing swordsmanship.
It was none other than Liu Jie, one of the Seven Sons of Clear Sky.
This group of young disciples all came from villages at the foot of the mountain and were related by blood to the Seven Sons of Clear Sky.
Today, Liu Jie had deliberately brought them here to relax.
If they could catch fish, that would count as a contribution for these disciples as well.
Snowflakes drifted through the air as Liu Jie’s swordplay flowed with agility.
Every strike looked as smooth as drifting clouds and flowing water, carrying its own unique charm.
Among the Seven Sons of Clear Sky, he had never stood out.
Even within the current sect, he possessed little prestige.
Yet he had never complained, and instead greatly enjoyed this comfortable and leisurely life.
He did not possess the outstanding talent and perseverance of Huang Shan or Yu Lin.
He preferred a stable life and even disliked going down the mountain for trials.
On ordinary days, he would at most return to the village to stay for a while.
The title of the Seven Sons of Clear Sky had long since been replaced by later generations.
Younger disciples preferred hearing new stories.
When Liu Jie walked within the sect, he was no different from an ordinary disciple.
No one recognized him.
Only the children from the villages still admired him, admiring the Seven Sons of Clear Sky.
While practicing his sword, Liu Jie suddenly noticed someone walking toward them from within the distant snow mist.
At first, he paid it no mind.
But as that figure drew closer and closer, an inexplicable unease rose in his heart.
There was only one person, and judging by the figure, it did not look like an adult.
How could an ordinary child come up the mountain alone during such a season?
Liu Jie immediately sheathed his sword and shouted, “Alright, all of you, head back up the mountain!”
The children did not listen to him and continued lying on the ice catching fish.
“That’s enough!”
Liu Jie gathered his Vital Energy and let out a thunderous shout, startling the children so badly that they all shuddered and looked at him in fear.
Staring intently at the distant figure, Liu Jie said in a low voice, “Go up the mountain immediately. Go back to Clear Sky Mountain! Hurry!”
The children followed his gaze and saw someone approaching.
They immediately ran toward the mountain.
Although they were not sure whether the person was dangerous, they trusted Liu Jie.
Liu Jie would never harm them.
As the children ran past Liu Jie, one young boy turned back and asked, “Cousin, do you want us to call for people?”
Liu Jie hesitated for a moment, then said, “Call them.”
If he was mistaken, at worst he would endure some complaints from the Enforcement Hall disciples.
But he did not want to cause a grave mistake.
In these chaotic times, even Jiang Zhaoxia’s family had been exterminated.
He could not afford to be careless.
Upon hearing his reply, the children grew even more nervous, quickening their pace as they rapidly disappeared into the snow mist.
Liu Jie stared ahead.
Soon, he saw a white-haired youth approaching.
The other party walked neither fast nor slow, and Liu Jie noticed that his body was covered in bloodstains.
Seeing this, he let out a sigh of relief.
He had not raised a false alarm.
But immediately after, his heart tightened again, because he would have to face the white-haired youth alone.
Although the other party was young, he had a full head of white hair, which was truly eerie.
His intuition told him that this person was likely very dangerous.
At that moment, Liu Jie’s mind suddenly echoed with the criticism his senior brother Huang Shan once gave him:
“Xiao Jie, people need fighting spirit. Don’t be listless all day, or one day you’ll regret why you didn’t work harder back then.”
Liu Jie saw the white-haired youth begin to sprint toward him.
He immediately raised his sword, preparing to fight.
“Today… I won’t end up regretting it, will I…”
Liu Jie thought silently, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.
Although his heart was filled with worry, he did not choose to turn and flee.
He was one of the first batch of disciples after the Clear Sky Sect’s reconstruction.
Liu Jie could retreat, but as one of the Seven Sons of Clear Sky, he could not.
Right now, he could only trust in his sword.
“Stop right there! This is Clear Sky Sect territory. Who dares trespass?”
Liu Jie shouted loudly.
At this critical moment, he did not lose his rationality and shouted with all his strength.
The nearby ground was flat, so he did not fear triggering an avalanche.
If anyone could hear him, he would have a slim chance at survival.
Of course, if he could personally capture the intruder, that would be even better.
However, ever since entering the Clear Sky Sect, Liu Jie had never been able to defeat fellow disciples.
When it came to actual combat, he truly lacked confidence.
Seeing the other party drawing closer, Liu Jie forced himself to calm down and recalled the sword techniques he had learned.
The white-haired youth ran faster and faster, like a ghost roaming the snowy plains.
When the distance between them shrank to less than seven steps, Liu Jie immediately swung his sword in a slash.
This strike contained everything he had learned over ten years.
Bang!
Blood burst forth.
Like Jia Yi before him, Liu Jie was beheaded, his head flying high into the air.
After easily killing Liu Jie, the white-haired youth did not slow down.
He charged toward the fleeing children, his face filled with an excited and greedy grin.
“Fresh flesh and blood…”
The white-haired youth let out a beast-like roar.
His speed was terrifyingly fast.
Very soon, the group of children Liu Jie had been protecting entered his field of vision.
The children turned back to look and were all frightened into screaming and crying.
Whoosh—
A piercing sound ripped through the air, startling the white-haired youth into immediately turning around.
A long sword wrapped in sword energy swept past right in front of him.
He focused his gaze and saw a group of Clear Sky Sect disciples riding swords through the air.
Leading them was none other than Xue Jin.
Xue Jin had taken Tempering Hall disciples to patrol other peaks that day, preparing to choose locations for branch halls.
He had heard Liu Jie’s shout from afar and immediately rushed over with his people, only to witness this scene.
The white-haired youth immediately turned and pounced toward Xue Jin and the others.
Xue Jin was the fastest.
With a wave of his hand, the long sword he had thrown earlier attacked the white-haired youth from behind.
This time, the white-haired youth merely tilted his head and easily dodged it.
As the sword hilt swept past his ear, he raised his hand and grabbed it.
Almost instantly, Xue Jin felt his connection with the sword severed.
Before he could think further, the white-haired youth charged straight at him.
Xue Jin leaped into the air and cast a technique with both hands, causing the sword he had previously been standing on to slash toward the white-haired youth.
Clang—
The white-haired youth’s palm was like a blade, directly chopping the long sword away.
He then leaped forward, killing his way to Xue Jin’s front.
The white-haired youth slashed with Xue Jin’s own sword.
Xue Jin immediately sidestepped to evade.
But just as he dodged that strike, he was struck in the abdomen by the white-haired youth’s palm.
A large mouthful of blood sprayed from his mouth as his body was sent flying backward at even greater speed.
Seeing Xue Jin defeated in a single move, the other Tempering Hall disciples were utterly shocked.
Before they could even feel fear, the white-haired youth continued slaughtering toward them.
If someone as strong as Xue Jin could not stop the white-haired youth, the other Tempering Hall disciples stood no chance at all.
Screams rang out one after another.
Blood rained down, decorating the snowy ground with blossoms of crimson.
Xue Jin crashed awkwardly into the snow.
He felt as though his internal organs were churning violently.
Raising his eyes, he saw the Tempering Hall disciples dying one after another, his pupils suddenly shrinking.
Ignoring the intense pain wracking his body, he shakily struggled to his feet and rushed toward the white-haired youth.
With every step he took, another disciple died.
Thud!
The last Tempering Hall disciple had his neck snapped by the white-haired youth, his corpse smashing into the snow.
A total of fifteen Tempering Hall disciples—all dead.
The white-haired youth licked the blood on his hand and turned his head to look at Xue Jin, saying in surprise, “You’re still alive?”
His expression turned ferocious as he sneered, “What a pity. This body isn’t my true self. Otherwise, I could absorb your cultivation and flesh.”
Xue Jin looked at the corpses strewn across the ground and felt as though the entire world was trembling.
He had killed many people before, but this was the first time he had witnessed so many fellow disciples die before his eyes.
An unprecedented sense of powerlessness surged into his heart.
The white-haired youth stepped toward him.
Xue Jin raised his hand, drawing broken swords along the way into his grasp.
His steps quickened, blood covering his face.
In his heart, there was only one thought.
That was to avenge his fellow disciples!
Sizzle sizzle sizzle—
A piercing sound rang out.
The white-haired youth glanced sideways and saw a bolt of swift lightning tearing through the snow mist as it rapidly approached.
Behind the lightning, he saw a figure charging forward at high speed.
The one who arrived was Xu Ning!
Lightning wrapped around Xu Ning’s body.
Even her silver hair crown reflected flashes of thunderlight.
She moved as fast as a startled swan, thrusting forward with her sword.
The white-haired youth slammed a palm onto the snow.
In an instant, thick wooden vines burst out from beneath the snow, surging toward Xu Ning like a nest of serpents, forcing her to dodge.
Seeing Xu Ning arrive, Xue Jin let out a sigh of relief and then dropped to one knee, all strength draining from his body.
Xu Ning dodged the vines and charged to the white-haired youth’s front.
Her sword techniques were fierce, like a raging storm as she attacked him.
However, his hands were harder than blades, easily catching her sword without suffering the slightest injury.
The white-haired youth was quite surprised.
Xu Ning’s movement technique was extremely fast, and he marveled inwardly, “So there truly exists someone in the mortal world whose cultivation has reached such a height. No wonder the Qi Clan couldn’t take down the Clear Sky Sect.”
He did not panic.
Instead, he grew even more excited.
Bang!
He kicked Xu Ning’s sword blade with one foot.
The tremendous brute force sent her flying backward, unable to maintain her offensive.
Immediately after, the white-haired youth charged straight at Xu Ning.
Xu Ning struggled to stabilize her body.
Her tiger’s mouth throbbed with pain, blood seeping out, but her gaze remained locked onto the white-haired youth.
She realized that this time, the trouble was enormous.
The Clear Sky Sect was facing an unprecedented crisis.
Since stepping onto the path of immortal cultivation, this was the first time she had felt that she might die, even though it was only their first exchange.
Even with a strong sense of danger in her heart, she did not feel fear.
Wasn’t all her hard cultivation for this very moment?
She forcibly stabbed the sword in her hand into the snow beneath her.
Her body was jerked to a halt, and she barely managed to stop.
She then bent backward, dodging the white-haired youth’s flying kick as he lunged toward her.
As they crossed past each other, a wooden vine suddenly burst out from within the white-haired youth’s white hair.
Startled, she instinctively twisted her body, but her waist was still pierced through, blood bursting forth.
Xu Ning reacted extremely fast.
She used her left hand to sever the vine, then stepped with Heavenly Thunder Step, rapidly shifting like a bolt of lightning across the snowfield, pulling distance between herself and the white-haired youth.
She stopped ten zhang away, supporting herself with her left hand on the ground.
Lowering her head, she saw that a wooden vine was still embedded in the right side of her waist, blood pouring out uncontrollably.
She raised her eyes to look at the white-haired youth, her gaze grave.
The white-haired youth turned around and looked at her, praising, “Your reaction speed is truly fast. Someone with talent like yours is something I’ve never seen before.”
Xu Ning stood up and pulled the wooden vine from her waist.
Her brow did not even crease.
Seeing that even Xu Ning—whom he regarded as second only to the sect master—had been injured, Xue Jin’s heart sank.
Amid the howling wind and snow, Xu Ning’s robes billowed violently.
Under her gaze, the white-haired youth’s hair began to grow longer, and thick wooden vines emerged from his back, swaying like more than a dozen long tails.