Chapter Eleven: Divine Sword Purple Shadow

  In the forest, the four great masters of Yi Garden stood in mid-air, forming a square shape, ready to force out the ghostly immortal at all costs. Suddenly, different colored lights burst forth from each of their bodies, with dark blue as the main color. Among them, Ziyang True Person's body burst forth with a cyan-red light, while Jingyue Great Master and Qianyuan had dark blue lights. Xuanyin True Person's light was dark blue with black mixed in, accompanied by the aura of the Demon-Slaying Sword.

  Only the four people's auras merged and fused slowly in mid-air, finally forming a vast, dark blue aura that enveloped the entire forest. In mid-air, Xuan Yin Zhen Ren held his treasured sword in one hand and pinched a seal with the other, shouting loudly: "Yin-yang Five Elements, Qian-kun Eight Trigrams, open my Heavenly Eye, reveal all things!" As soon as he finished speaking, a burst of blue light shot out from between Xuan Yin Zhen Ren's eyebrows, and in the circular opening, the blue light flickered like an eye.

  The Tianyan on the head of Xuan Yin Zhenren flashed a dazzling blue light, and in an instant, that beam of blue light struck the treasure sword in Xuan Yin Zhenren's hand. Suddenly, the treasure sword in Xuan Yin Zhenren's hand emitted a blue light, instantly illuminating all the space around it. At this moment, only a black ghostly shadow was seen hiding in the cold pool, which was the ghost fairy from just now.

  Lu Yun and Zhang Aosnow gazed at the mysterious figure in mid-air, their eyes filled with astonishment. Especially Lu Yun, he never thought that the Tianyan of Taoism could be used like this. In his cultivation of Tianyan, it was usually just a beam of light to find hidden things. He had never thought that the mysterious blue-green light that made all demons visible could be used in such a way with the help of the treasure sword. It really broadened his horizons and he learned another trick.

  At this time, the ghost fairy had already felt that he had been discovered and involuntarily flashed out of his body, wanting to escape from the siege of the four. The four people of Xuanyin Zhenren came out of the same door, joined hands with each other, very harmonious, and cooperated seamlessly. Seeing the ghost fairy rise up, two extremely powerful sword auras, one blue and one red, instantly chopped out, aiming at the ghost fairy. At the same time, another two sword auras struck from below, sandwiching the ghost fairy, wanting to cut it off in mid-air.

  The ghost fairy let out a loud roar, and her body suddenly spun rapidly at a frequency of 6,400 times per second, flashing by in high speed. The shadow that was too fast for the naked eye to see seemed to be motionless due to its extreme velocity, looking very strange. Green rays continuously shot out from the ghost fairy's green eyes, instantly forming layer upon layer of green gas masks around her body, beautiful yet full of menace.

  Four people joined forces, and a colorful glow flowed around them. In the blink of an eye, a thick, colored mist formed, making it impossible for Zhang Aoxue and Lu Yun on the ground to see what was happening inside. The two could only see a swirling mass of color surrounding the four great masters of Yi Garden and the ghostly immortal, with the colors constantly shifting and emitting bursts of thunderous sounds, indicating that the battle between them was extremely fierce.

  Suddenly, a burst of black light exploded out, and the four figures retreated instantly. Xuan Yin True Person and Jing Yue Master, each with a pale face, had an expression of shock and surprise, clearly unexpected by such a result. They never thought that this legendary ghost fairy would be so fierce. At this time, the ghost fairy was also loudly roaring, and the black light around it dimmed significantly. Apparently, although it shook off the four people, it itself was also seriously injured, its body having suffered a severe attack.

  Four people with profound and mysterious aura exchanged a glance, nodded slightly, and reappeared around the ghost fairy. Four incredibly powerful sword auras, instantly tearing through everything with an overwhelming momentum, formed four beams of light that converged into a single point in mid-air. In an instant, a five-colored radiance burst forth from the convergence point, instantly trapping the ghost fairy within a six-foot-wide space.

  The demon fairy seemed to have sensed the crisis as well, and a black airflow surged rapidly, transforming into countless small black shadows that formed a black aura around it. At the same time, numerous green air thorns filled with an eerie atmosphere fiercely struck the five-colored light halo formed by the four people. In an instant, the green lights flashed, and the five-colored light halo outside the demon fairy dimmed, apparently being eroded by the eerie atmosphere of the green air thorns, rapidly weakening.

  Xuanyin Zhenren's face changed slightly, and he shouted loudly: "Aoxue, quickly draw your sword! This is a rare opportunity!" As soon as the words fell, a purple light burst into the sky, instantly covering up the brilliance of the sun. The entire forest was shrouded in a layer of purple light, and all the black ghostly energy around them disappeared instantly. Zhang Aoxue leapt to his feet, and his divine sword emitted an extremely powerful purple light that floated down from above the heads of Xuanyin Zhenren and the other three people. Only then did they see Zhang Aoxue holding his sword in his right hand, his body rapidly spinning in mid-air, and the divine sword transforming into a purple dragon that struck towards the ghostly immortal with a slash.

  The demon fairy felt a crisis, and his whole body suddenly shrunk, instantly turning into a black light ball the size of an inch in diameter. At the same time, this black light ball was flashing at a frequency of 9,600 times per second, rapidly dodging in the narrow space, hoping to avoid the attack of the divine sword.

  Lu Yun looked at the black light ball, his eyes revealing a hint of shock. This ghost fairy was indeed formidable. Even if Yi Yuan Si and the other high-level cultivators joined forces, they wouldn't be able to deal with it. If not for Zhang Aosnow's cleverness in using the divine sword, they probably wouldn't have had any way to counter this ghost fairy. Lu Yun widened his eyes, only to see Zhang Aosnow descending from mid-air. The purple dragon shadow instantly engulfed the black light ball, and a strange noise shook the air. The entire forest seemed eerie and mysterious. Suddenly, a burst of black gas erupted, only to be shattered by the purple divine sword in an instant. It slowly dissipated into the air.

  At this moment, Lu Yun's mind stirred, and his spiritual wave fluctuated at a frequency of 13,600 times per second. A wisp of black air shot towards the cold pool. Although this wisp of air was extremely weak, Lu Yun still sensed that it was the ghost immortal's aura. It was truly unexpected that in such a situation, it had managed to escape with its life, although its vital energy was severely injured.

  Zhang Aoxue's white clothes fluttered down like snow, her expression calm and elegant, without a hint of excitement. The four masters of the Yi Garden also descended, their faces all showing a heavy look of concern, quietly gazing at the cold pool.

  Qianyuan Zhenren said in a deep voice, "This ghost fairy is indeed extraordinary. This time, thanks to the help of Ao Xue's divine sword, we were able to eliminate it. However, this passage has obviously been opened, and we must find a way to seal it first. Here, Master Xuanyin is the most skilled in this aspect, does Master have any methods?"

  As soon as the words fell, the three people's gazes all shifted to Xuan Yin Zhen Ren's face, quietly waiting for him to speak. He slowly walked closer to Han Chi, his eyes fixed on the pool, and said with a slightly hesitant expression: "Regarding the matter of sealing, I indeed know quite a bit. However, this time the ghostly energy is extremely heavy, so ordinary sealing methods probably won't last long. That's why we need to use our sect's 'Yi Tian Zhen Hun Jue' in order to have any hope of sealing it. The problem is that you all also know that without Xuan Yu Shixiong's agreement, we can't lightly use the 'Yi Tian Zhen Hun Jue'. So for now, I'm not in a position to make a decision either. Furthermore, without our sect's 'Yi Tian Chi' in hand, even if we do use it, its power will be greatly reduced."

  Zi Yang Zhen Ren said in a low voice, "At this time, Shifu is not here, we can only discuss it ourselves. This matter, I believe that even if Shifu returns, he will not blame us. So go ahead and do it, if Shifu blames us later, we'll take responsibility together." As soon as he finished speaking, the other two also nodded in agreement.

  The True Person of Profound Darkness looked at the three people and said in a low voice, "Alright then, I'll do my best to cast this spell. Hopefully, it can seal this place off. When your Shifu returns, we'll have to re-seal it again to be safe." As soon as he finished speaking, his body suddenly rose into mid-air, and the surroundings of his body began to slowly gather True Essence. Strange, dark blue lights flashed and shone brightly above the Cold Pool, growing thicker and more intense.

  Lu Yun looked at the four masters of Yi Garden, but in the end did not mention the matter of Gui Xian. Instead, he quietly walked to Zhang Ao's side and watched with her as Xuan Yin Zhen Ren demonstrated the "Yi Tian Zhen Hun Jue". Lu Yun asked softly: "Shi Jie, what was that 'Yi Tian Zhen Hun Jue' that Shi Shu just mentioned? How come I've been here for a year now, but have never heard of it?"

  Zhang Aoxue glanced at him lightly and turned to look at the mysterious figure in mid-air, saying: "That is one of the four great secret techniques of our sect. New disciples wouldn't know about it. Besides the four institutes each having a set of mysterious sword techniques, there are also four great secret techniques. These four great secret techniques are generally unknown to ordinary people, and they are the foundation of our sect, the true reason why we have been standing in the world of cultivation for thousands of years without decline. These four great secret techniques cannot be easily used without the consent of the headmaster."

  Lu Yun's heart skipped a beat as he heard this, and he couldn't help but think that Yi Garden had an unknown secret technique. No wonder it was able to spread its fame far and wide among countless cultivation sects. Looking closely at the half-empty space, Lu Yun saw that Xuan Yin True Person's body was surrounded by a burst of cyan light, which instantly enveloped him in a layer of cyan glow, making him look even more bizarre. The surrounding dark green true yuan began to fluctuate in layers, and its speed was rapidly increasing, becoming almost invisible in the blink of an eye.

  At this time, the airflow in the forest began to gather towards Xuan Yin Zhenren. As the true yuan fluctuated, Lu Yun felt that the entire earth was trembling. Looking at Xuan Yin Zhenren being enveloped in a green light, the surrounding true yuan gradually transformed into countless talismans and spells, flying towards the cold pool. Countless colorful talismans and seals overlapped layer by layer, slowly forming a yin-yang bagua pattern above the cold pool. The yin-yang bagua was rapidly rotating, emitting two kinds of light, red and green, illuminating the clear water of the cold pool. Countless spiritual energies began to gather there, forming a seal made of spiritual energy, gently rotating. Finally, only the spiritual seal overlapping with the yin-yang bagua was seen, slowly shrinking, gently falling into the cold pool. When the spiritual seal fell to the bottom of the pool, suddenly a green and red light shot up into the clouds.

  Xuan Yin Zhen Ren's body was suspended in mid-air, his face slightly pale, a hint of a smile in his eyes as he slowly descended. He glanced at the few people beside him and said softly, "Finally, it didn't disappoint my expectations. It seems that for now, we can seal it for a period of time. When Shifu returns, we'll just need to seal it once more."

  Qianyuan Zhenren smiled and said, "Junior brother, you're also tired. Let's go back first. As for the origin of the divine sword in Aoxue's hand, let's talk about it when we get back." After finishing speaking, he slightly smiled, his body instantly rose with a sword, a green light flashed by, and he disappeared in an instant. Immediately after, five more lights flashed by, and the forest returned to calmness in an instant.

  Back at Yi Garden, the six of them arrived at Xuan Yin True Person's place and sat down together in the room. At this time, Lin Yun Feng had already recovered some of his vital energy and felt that the six people were back, so he walked in as well, quietly sitting beside Lu Yun and looking at everyone.

  At this moment, everyone's eyes were focused on Zhang Aoxue. Jingyue Master spoke up, "Aoxue, tell us in front of everyone, how did you obtain this sword?"

  Zhang Aoxue glanced around and said calmly, "As Master said, this sword was indeed obtained from that forest, in the cold pool. A few days ago, I was practicing my sword alone outside the courtyard when I accidentally discovered a faint purple glow emanating from the forest. Out of curiosity, I went to investigate and found a purple light in the cold pool. At the time, I didn't know what it was and thought it might be some kind of spiritual treasure. After keeping watch for three hours, I finally realized it was a precious sword. The sword transformed into a purple dragon, moving rapidly through the water and occasionally jumping out of the surface. I tried many methods to lure it out, but just as I was about to succeed, Lin Yunfeng, a fellow disciple from the Yin courtyard, appeared unexpectedly and scared the sword away. It wasn't until today, when I saw the purple light reappear, that I went again and finally obtained this precious sword after much effort."

  The masters of the four institutes of Qiankun, Yin and Yang, looked at each other in surprise. Xuan Yin Zhenren spoke up: "It seems that the time has come, according to Ao Xue's words, this sword must have been used to suppress the evil spirit back then. No wonder it can restrain the ghost immortal and make it extremely fearful. Unfortunately, after many years, the seal there must have been broken, so the sword was able to transform into a dragon and emerge. At the same time, it also implies that the calamity will return to the world again. All of this is destined, Ao Xue's ability to obtain this sword also means that she has a predestined relationship with it, and in the future, it may be used through her hands to display its divine power and slay demons."

  Jingyue Master said: "Aoxue, since you have obtained this divine sword, from now on, you must cultivate diligently and strive to improve your cultivation. In the future, make more contributions to the world and bring glory to our sect, promoting the status of Yiyuan in the Xiantian realm. When Shixiong returns, he will examine the origin of this sword. There is nothing for you young ones to do here now, go down first, we have some matters to discuss."

  Zhang Aoxue nodded slightly and stood up to leave. Lin Yunfeng also pulled Lu Yun's hand, quickly following behind Zhang Aoxue, leaving the room. After exiting the door, Lin Yunfeng spoke: "Lu Yun, come sit with me for a bit, it's been a year since we last met, I have many things I want to say to you. Let's go, Shifu won't be going." Finishing her sentence, she pulled Lu Yun towards her own room. Lu Yun glanced at the captivating figure in front of him, his eyes revealing a hint of contemplation. Unfortunately, he was soon dragged away by Lin Yunfeng.

  Lin Yunfeng closed the door, and said in a low voice: "In this year without seeing you, you are really amazing, actually mastering the ultimate skill of Yangyuan, Tiangang Jianqu to the eighth level of fire. It's unbelievable. At your speed, I'm afraid that in two more years, you can surpass Li Hongfei and our proud Snow sister. Hehe, not bad, having a promising future. When that time comes, you will have everything when you win over our Yiyuan's most beautiful Snow sister."

  Lu Yun glared at him and said, "You're still recovering from your injuries, yet you're spouting nonsense here. Be careful or I'll make sure you won't recover. I'm asking you, where did you learn that extraordinary Yin-Yang sword technique you used today? Its power is unmatched, and it's definitely not one of our Yi Garden's ultimate skills. Tell me the truth, when did you learn this? Was it before you came here, from your previous master?"

  Lin Yunfeng's eyes rolled, and a sly smile appeared on his face as he said with some evasiveness: "Hehe, this is my unique skill, if it weren't for saving you, I wouldn't have used it so easily. Alright, let's not talk about that anymore, let's talk about something else... how's Ao Xue Shijie doing?" He finished with a sly laugh.

  Lu Yun's face revealed a strange smile, and he said in a low voice: "Don't give me any nonsense, quickly tell me how you learned your Yin Yang magic sword. If you don't confess honestly today, I won't let you off easily. I think you're hiding something from me that nobody knows about. Is it that your master taught you everything before you came here? He sent you here not only to learn the demon-slaying sword, but also to give you a good environment to secretly cultivate your own skills. Am I right?"

  Lin Yunfeng's face changed slightly, and he looked at Lu Yun with a surprised expression, saying in a low voice: "No way, you're so amazing, you know everything. Hehe, I think you're not human, but a god, who knows the heavens and the earth even with your eyes closed, it's really impressive, I admire you extremely."

  Lu Yun smiled and said, "You little rascal, don't try to make small talk. Hurry up and confess honestly, I don't want to hear you speak nonsense. It's just the two of us, so tell the truth! If you don't say it, be careful, if I'm not in a good mood and accidentally let something slip out, don't blame me." A faint smile appeared on Lu Yun's face, making Lin Yunfeng feel extremely uneasy inside.

  Lin Yunfeng glared at him fiercely, then helplessly said: "Forget it, since you've already figured it out, I'll just tell you. Anyway, there's nothing to keep confidential. Actually, what you said is basically correct. I came here to find a good place to learn the 'Demon-Slaying Sword' while improving my cultivation and mastering all the techniques taught by my master."

  Lu Yun smiled and said, "You're still quite honest, so I'll ask you one more thing. Today, your master Xuan Yin Zhen Ren used a mysterious technique called 'Yi Tian Shen Hun Jue' after joining forces to eliminate that ghost fairy. It's extremely powerful, do you know this technique? I heard my senior sister mention before that our Yi Garden has four great secret skills, don't know if you know or not, I didn't dare ask my senior sister, so I'm asking you."

  Lin Yunfeng's face showed a hint of joy, his eyes shining brightly as he looked at Lu Yun and said: "You really saw Master Shi Zhan perform the 'Soul-Shaking Technique' today? How was its power? Tell me quickly." After finishing speaking, his face was filled with urgency, clearly very concerned about this matter.

  Lu Yun looked at him, a hint of a smile in his eyes, and lightly recounted the events that had transpired after he left. Finally, he spoke up: "It seems you're aware of our Yi Garden's four great secret techniques - truly not simple. Since you know everything now, it should be your turn to speak."

  Lin Yunfeng looked at Lu Yun and said in a low voice, "I naturally know about this matter. In fact, I'll tell you that the reason I know all these things is because of my master's involvement. My master calls himself Gui Dashi, but do you know what his true identity is? You probably can't guess it. His real name is Xuan Gui Zhenren, and he's the younger brother of Yi Yuan's Zhuchi, who is also my current master, Xuan Yin Zhenren."

  Lu Yun's face showed a hint of surprise, and he said in a low voice, "This is truly unexpected. I didn't think you had such a master. No wonder he wanted you to come back here. Then why did your master leave this place?"

  Lin Yunfeng chuckled and said, "I once heard my master mention it unconsciously. He said that he had a good relationship with Xuanyin Zhenren back then. Once, the Yin Institute held an election for a new head, and they asked my two masters to compete to see who was stronger in their cultivation. My previous master left voluntarily because of his feelings for the other person, and went traveling alone. Master said that after he left here, he accidentally obtained an old yellowed book in a remote mountain cave, which recorded many secrets for capturing ghosts and demons. From then on, Master began to study it carefully by himself, and everything I learned came from that book. After I finished learning, Master asked me to come here, learn the ultimate skills of Yiyuan, and cultivate the secrets in the old book. Master said my cultivation was shallow, and without a good place to practice, it would be difficult to make great progress, so I came here."

  Lu Yun's face revealed a hint of an unusual smile, unexpectedly finding that he had some similarities with himself, perhaps this was fate. Lu Yun asked again: "As for the four great secret techniques of Yi Garden, you must be very clear about them, so tell me and let me understand more about the situation here."

  Lin Yunfeng looked around and saw that all the doors were tightly closed, then said in a low voice: "This matter is a secret of Yiyuan, ordinary people don't know about it. Just like you, coming here for a year, still not knowing everything. The feelings between us, I can tell you that's no problem, but you mustn't speak randomly, lest the four masters of our sect find out, that wouldn't be fun. I heard Master say before parting ways that Yiyuan has four great secret techniques, but actually only three are useful. Among these three secret techniques, there is Yin Institute's 'Yitian Zhensheng Jue', Qian Institute's 'Lieshan Jue' and Kun Institute's 'Fenyun Jue'. These three secret techniques are the essence of Yiyuan's martial arts, generally not to be lightly displayed in front of outsiders. So ordinary people only know that Yiyuan has four great sword techniques, but don't know that Yiyuan also has four great magical techniques."

  Lu Yun heard this and said in a low voice: "Why do the other three institutes all have secret techniques, but our Yang Institute alone has no secret technique?"

  Lin Yunfeng smiled and said, "Actually, your Yangyuan also has a secret technique. Unfortunately, since the establishment of Yiyuan for over a thousand years, no one has ever practiced it successfully, so now no one mentions this secret technique anymore. It is said that the name of this ultimate skill is 'Five Thunder Heavenly Technique', and since no one has ever practiced it successfully, it has been placed in the Yangyuan's library all along."

  Lu Yun's expression changed slightly upon hearing the words, and he couldn't believe that the technique he had been searching for was actually in Yangyuan. He looked at Lin Yunfeng and smiled, "I didn't know our Yiyuan had such a great skill! I didn't expect that our Yangyuan still had an unaccomplished secret technique. When I have time, I'll go take a look, maybe I can learn something."

  Lin Yunfeng smiled and said, "You're so formidable, it's worth taking a look. However, it's best not to let others know. These four major secret techniques are not casually taught to disciples, except for the next head of the institute's successor. Generally, other disciples can't master them. So, I think learning that Soul-Shaking Technique is extremely difficult too. Alright, let's work hard together and hope we have a chance to participate in the Six Institutes' Martial Arts Conference a year later."

  Lu Yun smiled and said, "Alright, work hard, you must also work hard. I hope that in a year's time, you will have achieved something and we can make our names known throughout the land together!" After finishing speaking, he patted his shoulder and left with a smile.