Sword light flashed like blood as the flood dragon wreaked havoc.
In the eyes of mortals, the Black-Robed Guards were like divine beings or fiends, yet beneath Qi Yuan's sword, they were utterly fragile.
Qi Yuan glanced up at the waning moon in the sky.
"They don't even count as elite mobs, and there's no EXP. What bad luck."
Yue Nü looked up at the towering figure beside her, the moon within her pupils curving into an arc.
The sword, like a blood dragon, continued slaughtering the enemy.
The powerful, enigmatic Black-Robed Guards fell one after another.
The sword returned to its scabbard, which Yue Nü held up with both hands.
Qi Yuan said, "Come on, to the next spot."
Before leaving, Qi Yuan intended to crush every single minion of the extraterrestrial demons in the mortal realm.
After all, it was a game. Clearing out the trash mobs before taking on the big boss was standard practice, wasn't it?
Kunwu City's walls rose nearly two zhang high.
Suddenly, a streak of sword light swept in from the south, plunging into the city.
Only a teasing voice echoed down: "This sword slays only chief villains and the powerful; it butchers only Sovereigns!"
The voice drifted ethereally, ringing in the ears of everyone in the city.
Many stood blankly bewildered, some were dumbfounded with shock, others were thrilled, while some flared with fury.
Inside Kunwu City, an old man scrambled up from the bed of a tender young maiden, rage plastered across his face. "What impudent brat dares be so insolent!"
What answered him was a blood-red flash of sword light.
"Ah!" The maiden, without a thread on her body, screamed in terror as she watched the old man's head tumble to the floor.
At the same time, sword light ran rampant throughout Kunwu City, and heads rolled everywhere.
The entire city instantly plunged into chaos.
Right then, a burly man turned deathly pale. "Eldest Brother! The City Lord is dead!"
Hearing this, the fair, pudgy fat man's eyes went wide.
Just then, that ethereal, teasing voice drifted down once more: "From this day forth, the filial piety decree is abolished. Honoring the elderly is well and good, but one must also care for the young, care for all people, and above all, care for oneself."
As the words fell, a sword resembling a blood-red flood dragon flew out from the city.
The fat man looked up with suspicion in his eyes. "Why does that voice sound so familiar?"
He suddenly recalled that faceless man he had encountered while queuing outside the city that day.
Could it be...
A terrifying thought sprouted in his heart.
Meanwhile, outside Kunwu City.
The sword slid back into its sheath.
Qi Yuan looked down at the petite Yue Nü. "How much have you mastered by now?"
"Nine... ninety percent."
"Why are you still falling short?" Qi Yuan thought of something. "I can't go turning you into another Chenxiang. Come, on to the next city."
For seven consecutive days, the entire Hundred Cities Alliance was thrown into utter chaos.
A faceless swordsman, leading a tender young girl who carried his sheath, set foot across a hundred cities.
In every city, his sword struck like a dragon.
Every Sovereign and corrupt nobleman across the cities was put to death.
A beggar in the distance had once covertly spotted that faceless swordsman. After slaughtering the lackeys of the extraterrestrial demons throughout an entire city, he asked the sword-bearing girl, "How much have you learned?"
The girl merely lowered her head, clutching the corner of her hem. "Ninety percent."
Swordsmen in other cities had also caught glimpses of the same scene from afar.
They hailed that faceless swordsman as the Faceless Sword God, and the girl as the Ninety Percent Maiden.
In seven days' time, Qi Yuan led Yue Nü across one hundred and thirty-seven cities of the Hundred Cities Alliance and thirteen Ten Thousand Graves Caves.
Those he killed were beyond count, and blood flowed like rivers.
On the final day, Qi Yuan stood in the last city, hands resting on his hips, having found no one who could stand as his rival.
"How much this time?"
"...Ninety percent," Yue Nü replied cautiously, yet with firm conviction.
Hearing this, Qi Yuan said helplessly, "I've slaughtered every mortal minion the extraterrestrial demon had.
"He should be catching on any moment now. Still saying ninety percent isn't very honest of you."
Yue Nü fell silent. She looked up at Qi Yuan, a pleading look showing on her small face. "Could you... wait three hundred years before going to slay the extraterrestrial demon?
"When that time comes... I will still carry your sword for you."
"During the heavenly hound's lunar eclipse?" Qi Yuan looked at the moon in the sky, then down at Yue Nü. "No matter how fun a game is, you can't play it for three hundred years, can you?"
Yue Nü said nothing, stubbornly gazing at Qi Yuan.
"Come on, let's head back to July Lake. It's time for me to leave." Qi Yuan took Yue Nü's hand, their figures vanishing into the boundless heavy snow.
At July Lake, the shimmering water had vanished.
Over it lay thick ice, blanketed by falling snowflakes.
Qi Yuan sat back down on that cold bluestone. Looking at the little girl, he said slowly, "Rest for a night. Tomorrow, I'll be on my way."
Yue Nü watched Qi Yuan without a word.
Having spoken, Qi Yuan closed his eyes.
Yue Nü lingered, watching him for a while, before turning back toward the wooden cabin.
Meanwhile, atop Seven Colors Peak, Qi Yuan exited the game.
He stepped out of his thatched cottage and came before Jiang Lingsu's room.
"Junior Sister."
"Senior Brother, what is it?" Jiang Lingsu looked as though she had just bathed, her hair still slightly damp.
"I'm preparing to establish my foundation. It could take three to five days at the shortest, or half a year to a year, maybe even longer.
"If anyone comes looking for me during this time, pass along the word for me."
"Huh?" Jiang Lingsu was dumbfounded. "Does Foundation Establishment take that long?"
"Junior Sister, I plan to achieve a Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment, so naturally it will take longer," Qi Yuan said earnestly.
Jiang Lingsu was rendered speechless.
Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment? Keep dreaming.
Besides, even a Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment shouldn't take anywhere near that long.
She suspected Senior Brother was likely cultivating some secret art.
With Senior Brother possessing such terrifying combat prowess, it probably had everything to do with cultivating numerous formidable secret arts.
"All right, don't worry, Senior Brother, I'll keep watch," Jiang Lingsu said. Then, a thought struck her, and she asked, "Senior Brother, cultivating your secret art won't cause you to starve to death, will it?"
Qi Yuan was lost for words. "I still have the spirit stones you gave me. How could I starve to death?
"For a grand immortal cultivator to starve to death would be far too humiliating."
Jiang Lingsu, however, felt that Senior Brother was genuinely capable of doing something like starving himself to death.
Qi Yuan gave a few more instructions before returning to his room.
He looked down at Kitchen Knife in the courtyard, bent over, and untied the rope around its neck. "I won't keep you tied up anymore. While I'm in seclusion, you have to guard the house for me."
Kitchen Knife's body seemed to give a slight shudder, taking it as an agreement.
Qi Yuan entered the room and used array jade slips taken from the Black Mountain Sect to lay down a few small formations.
He then entered the game once more.
Cold snow drifted onto his face. Opening his eyes, he saw a small, red-frozen hand gingerly brushing the snow from his shoulders.
"Mister... you're awake?" Yue Nü shrank her hand back the moment she saw Qi Yuan open his eyes.
She was afraid she had awakened him.
"Yes." Qi Yuan gazed into the distance at the vast expanse of white, exhaling a puff of white vapor.
Beside him, Yue Nü instantly felt her body warm up considerably. Looking at Qi Yuan, she asked, "Is Mister setting off tomorrow to slay the extraterrestrial demon?"
"Yes." Qi Yuan nodded.
The expression on Yue Nü's small face froze. She said, "After tomorrow, I will leave the Moon Sovereign Clan. I will cultivate diligently, and I will go help Mister, to slay the extraterrestrial demon together with you!"
"Don't raise flags for me, and don't raise flags for yourself either." Qi Yuan stroked Yue Nü's hair.
Yue Nü didn't quite understand, but she nodded and said, "Wait a moment, Mister."
She planned to bring out the fish soup she had cooked.
Before he left, he had to take a sip of the fish soup she had made with her own hands.
Having said that, Yue Nü hurried back toward the cabin.
Qi Yuan watched her receding figure, then turned his gaze toward the Ancient Qi Toon Tree.
Thick snow now blanketed the boughs of the Ancient Qi Toon Tree.
Icicles hung suspended from several branches.
"North country scene, hundreds of leagues locked in ice, thousands of leagues of whirling snow."
Qi Yuan couldn't help recalling those lines, along with their author.
Then he recalled another verse.
"Bitter sacrifice strengthens bold resolve, which dares to make sun and moon shine over a new world."
Looking across the desolate world, he murmured softly, "This world truly is as beautiful as Jin Li said.
"And as a player... I can clear out NPCs without needing any sacrifice."
The sound of pattering footsteps drew near as Yue Nü carried a steaming bowl of fish soup in her hands.
She jogged with brisk steps, her feet crunching softly in the snow.
Over the span of several dozen paces, the warm steam from the soup drifted up into her small face.
Had she been nearsighted and wearing glasses, she likely wouldn't have been able to see the road clearly.
"Walk slower, don't fall," Qi Yuan said with his back to her.
Yue Nü watched Qi Yuan, carefully holding the brim-filled bowl of fish soup.
All of a sudden, a sharp sliver of silver light plummeted from the sky. A fishing line darted straight toward Yue Nü at blistering speed, intent on angling her away.
Yue Nü still held the bowl, one foot lifted mid-step in the air, completely oblivious to the fishing line descending from the heavens.
Qi Yuan's sword remained planted slantwise in the snow.
He still sat on the bluestone, watching the falling flakes settle upon the ends of his hair.
The fishing line was razor-sharp, piercing directly into flesh with such speed that blood didn't even have time to spill.
The bowl in Yue Nü's hands shattered against the ground.
Her eyes went wide, and tears nearly welled in her sockets as she looked at the figure beside her.
Qi Yuan held her tucked firmly against his waist with one arm, his other hand raised toward the sky.
The fishing line had run straight through his arm.
Staring at the line, Qi Yuan suddenly burst into laughter. "Haha, you damned game, I knew you'd try to gut me with tragedy at a time like this!
"I was prepared long ago.
"On the surface, I was admiring the snow, but in truth, my eyes were watching every direction and my ears listening to all sides, just waiting for when you'd try to stick a tragic knife into me!
"Hmph, those corpses beneath the Ancient Qi Toon Tree already stabbed me once—you think you can stab me again?"
Qi Yuan roared.
The precious sword left its sheath, and the power belonging to Level 99 erupted completely in this instant.
Qi Yuan dropped the act; he was done pretending.
With all the minions wiped out, it was time to confront the game's big boss head-on.
In this moment, the formidable sword was held back no longer, baring its fangs to the fullest.
"Sever!"
Qi Yuan let out a mighty shout.
Sword met fishing line.
There was no massive shockwave; on the contrary, it was eerily calm.
*Snap.*
The Flesh-Fishing Hook, hailed by the Five Ancestors as utterly indestructible, was cleaved in two by Qi Yuan's single strike.
Fresh blood seeped from the fishing line.
Seeing this, Qi Yuan laughed loudly. "That's it?"
He set Yue Nü down and drew a wooden hairpin from his robes.
It was a jade hairpin he had meticulously carved back in Tianjue.
He had originally intended to present it to Jin Li in person as a greeting gift.
Unfortunately, the chance had never arrived.
He handed the wooden hairpin to Yue Nü. "Its name is... Ru Jian Qing. Keep it safe for me, and give it to..."
He had wanted to say a woman named Jin Li.
Yet on second thought, he had no idea which era of the future Jin Li belonged to.
"Leave it in an appropriate place. Let fate decide."
Having said that, his sword returned to its scabbard.
He held the sword in one hand, while a trickle of blood dripped from his left arm.
Yue Nü accepted the wooden hairpin and carefully tucked it away.
Looking at Qi Yuan, she seemed to realize something. "Mister... will I ever be able to carry your sword for you again?"
Qi Yuan gave no answer; only the howling north wind answered her.
No answer was an answer in itself.
Yue Nü gazed stubbornly at Qi Yuan. Looking at his wounded arm, she seemed to make an important decision.
"Wait a moment, Mister."
With that, she leaned in close to Qi Yuan's arm and bit down on the puncture left by the fishing line.
That wound, which even Qi Yuan could not mend in the short term, miraculously began to heal with Yue Nü's saliva.
A crescent moon mark appeared where the wound had been.
Yue Nü's small face turned pale, and the moon in her eyes dimmed, yet a radiant smile spread across her face. "Mister, it doesn't hurt anymore, does it?"
It was as though she had chased away a bit of winter's bitter chill.
Looking at the mark on his hand, Qi Yuan thought of Xiao Jia.
Both were equally sensible, and their sensibleness was equally heartbreaking.
He forced a smile. "It doesn't hurt anymore."
Along with his voice, he vanished into the boundless heavy snow.
Staring at the empty expanse of snow, Yue Nü stood rooted to the spot, lost in a daze.
...
"Is this Dijue?"
Qi Yuan opened his eyes and saw a massive door.
"Xiao Jia?" he called out.
There was no reply.
"It seems slaying the big boss is my task alone.
"No one else can come here."
The moment he entered Dijue, Qi Yuan felt his connection with Xiao Jia sever.
The mark on his chest had vanished as well.
Only the faint crescent moon trace on his left hand remained.
"This is fine too."
Xiao Jia was clumsy to begin with, stumbling even when she walked.
The current Qi Yuan, gripping his great sword, looked barely any different from when he had first entered the game.
The only difference was that his level was now Level 99.
Within his experience pool lay a vast sea of EXP.
Yet he had not leveled up.
Before Qi Yuan stood an enormous bronze door.
Having weathered uncounted years of scouring, the door was mottled with rust.
"Open sesame," Qi Yuan remarked casually.
To his surprise, the bronze door swung open at the sound.
A desolate, empty world unveiled itself before Qi Yuan.
In the world ahead, there was no earth, no trees, and no clouds.
It was as if one were suspended in the sky.
High above the heavens, however, hung a solitary sun.
"So this is Dijue?"
Qi Yuan stepped into Dijue.
A heavy, chilling voice rang out: "Trespassers in Dijue shall be slain without mercy!"
Qi Yuan looked over to see a golden-armored man standing amidst the void high in the distant sky.
His face was resolute, his features sharp and sculpted like a statue.
His build was imposing, with a bear's torso and a tiger's back. Donning golden armor, he looked all the more valiant and heroic, his eyes carrying boundless majesty.
"Heavenly God... Jin Jia?"
Qi Yuan recognized Heavenly God Jin Jia at a glance.
This was the husband whom the Bridal Gown Imperial Princess had waited a thousand years for in bitter longing.
He was the unattainable white moonlight that the Flower Burial Fairy had sought after her entire life.
He was also the Master of the Divine Court's Four Divisions, the Heavenly God who had swept across the six realms.
Yet at this moment, he was nothing more than a puppet, a gatekeeping guard for the extraterrestrial demons.
Looking at Heavenly God Jin Jia, Qi Yuan took a step forward. "Even if you are Xiao Jia's father and my father-in-law, you can't go plagiarizing my lines.
"What you just said was copied straight from what I taught Yue Nü: 'Whoever crosses this sword shall be slain without mercy.'"
Heavenly God Jin Jia stared at Qi Yuan, his tiger eyes devoid of any emotion.
Without a word, he merely took a step forward, walking toward Qi Yuan.
"You aren't speaking. Could it be you want to say that all great writings under heaven are copied from somewhere, or that since our words come from the dictionary, it doesn't count as plagiarism?"
Qi Yuan quipped casually.
Heavenly God Jin Jia approached Qi Yuan and drew the longsword at his waist.
"Aiya, flew into a rage out of shame! When you can't win an argument, you resort to violence!"
Qi Yuan drew his own sword as well.
"Though Xiao Jia and I are going through a divorce, we're still in the cooling-off period.
"Since you're Xiao Jia's father, I'll personally grant you release."
Qi Yuan swung his blade.
Facing Xiao Jia's father, he still showed respect by drawing his sword in person.
*Slash.*
A flash of blood-red light swept past.
This former Master of the Divine Court, a cultivator at the peak of the Divine Domain and once the strongest man in this realm, was decapitated with a single strike.
Slaying a peak Divine Domain expert in a single blow was nothing to Qi Yuan.
Yet in the very next breath, Heavenly God Jin Jia revived, returning to his original form.
Completely intact, without a single wound on his body.
Seeing Heavenly God Jin Jia, Qi Yuan sighed, "He can't be killed, constantly reviving.
"I'm afraid Long Pan, Tong, Yu, and the others would have struggled to get past even this hurdle."
He swung his sword again, slaying Heavenly God Jin Jia once more.
Yet Heavenly God Jin Jia seemed truly unkillable.
Every time Qi Yuan struck him down, he would swiftly revive and attack Qi Yuan anew.
Qi Yuan furrowed his brows. "Too boring."
He kept killing without pause.
Regardless, it was just a matter of a single slash.
Qi Yuan drew his sword: strike, revive, strike, revive.
After repeating this fifty or sixty times, Qi Yuan suddenly roared, "Extraterrestrial demon, hurry up and come out! This is getting way too dull.
"You wouldn't want me to keep endlessly butchering your puppet, would you? Sure, he can revive indefinitely, but what's being drained is your source energy, isn't it?"
Qi Yuan's voice echoed through the entirety of Dijue like rolling thunder.
This time, Heavenly God Jin Jia's revived body did not walk toward Qi Yuan.
Right then, an amicable voice drifted over: "When a young friend visits my cave abode, tea should be brewed."
Qi Yuan turned to see an old man of transcendent, immortal bearing appear before him.
The elder had snowy hair and a youthful complexion, appearing extraordinarily benevolent.
Had Qi Yuan run into him by chance back in the Canglan Realm, he would have certainly taken him for an enlightened immortal master.
Yet this was Dijue.
This transcendent old man gave Qi Yuan a sense of danger that exceeded even the Level 119 Golden-Armored Divine General.
Qi Yuan glanced at the elder.
[Hu Shan, Level 119 (Fallen Realm State).]
Qi Yuan wasted no pleasantries on the old man, immediately drawing his sword. "Extraterrestrial demon, prepare to die!"
With the very strike that had cleaved the Golden-Armored Divine General in two, he slashed toward the old man once more.
Yet when this blow landed, the elder remained rooted to the spot, unmoving.
An amicable smile still graced his face. "Though this old man has fallen from the Fifth Realm, I am not someone a mere Fourth Realm cultivator like you, young friend, can slay."
Qi Yuan watched this extraterrestrial demon with complete vigilance.
Many thoughts flashed through his mind.
Was this because the other party's cultivation tier surpassed his, granting him far more exquisite control over power?
Could that be why his strongest strike couldn't even scratch the man?
This was the first time he had encountered such a thing.
Seeing that he had stunned Qi Yuan, the elder spoke: "Young friend, you repeatedly claim that I am an extraterrestrial demon, but in truth, I am no such thing.
"This old man and several fellow Daoists were invited to this realm solely to save this world.
"You must have been deceived and blinded by treacherous scoundrels into mistaking us for extraterrestrial demons."
Qi Yuan sneered. "Sure enough, high-level bosses have their deception skill maxed out."
"It seems you still do not believe me, young friend." The elder wore a look of regret as he continued, "You have visited Kunwu City, have you not?"
Qi Yuan said nothing, pondering how to slay this extraterrestrial demon.
Furthermore, he had a lingering premonition that there was certainly more than one extraterrestrial demon here.
"Please take a look, young friend."
Having spoken, the extraterrestrial demon waved his hand.
A scene appeared before Qi Yuan's eyes.
Chapter 77