Chapter 164: Chapter 149: The Green Hills Captivate Me (2)

“You’re still not using your Sword Intent!” Kuimu Quan shouted loudly.

Han Shuangjiang glanced at him, directly struck with her sword, completely ignoring him.

Chu Huaixu watched this scene, yet he could understand her inner thoughts.

“Haven’t you also refrained from activating your Secret Technique and entering your mad dog mode?”

Seeing her cold demeanor, Kuimu Quan began to activate the Geng Metal Spirit Vein within himself.

A golden airflow started to circulate around him, unleashing a fierce, killing aura spreading in all directions.

As it was now autumn, this killing aura seemed quite fitting with the current weather.

His Sword Momentum grew increasingly fierce, and the murderous intent emanating from his whole being became more intense.

Han Shuangjiang, however, remained organized, performing the Body Technique [Feixuan] and the Defense Technique, causing petals of Ice Lotus to form around her, protecting her body.

Unlike Kuimu Quan, who wore a ferocious grin, she truly seemed like a Female Sword Immortal descended to the mortal world.

Although each sword strike was sharp, it still appeared pleasing to the eye.

As she turned and swung her sword, her jet-black long hair danced in the air.

When someone reaches the pinnacle of beauty, even each strand of hair seems to exude allure.

With each sword strike, a flurry of ice crystals would fall from the air.

Even after activating the Geng Metal Spirit Vein, Kuimu Quan could not gain the upper hand.

Helpless, he could only raise his finger, sweeping it across his eyes, beginning to activate Spring and Autumn Mountain’s Secret Technique.

Instantly, his eyes turned dark red, shades deeper than during the previous duel.

A golden mark appeared at his forehead, and the aura around him gradually became frenzied.

Waves of scorching air flowed out in all directions, and veins bulged on his forehead.

Kuimu Quan let out an enraged roar, and golden streaks began to appear on his right hand, extending along his arm.

The long blade in his hand emitted a series of sword cries, and the Artifact Spirit attuned to his heart seemed to enter a rather frenzied state as well.

Han Shuangjiang’s expression turned slightly grim, her face as calm as still water.

She could sense that only now was Kuimu Quan using his full strength, with nothing held back.

Thus, she dared not be reckless.

“Han Shuangjiang, if you don’t use your Sword Intent now, there might not be another chance!”

He swung his blade forward, even beginning to taunt Chu Huaixu below the stage.

“Chu Huaixu, if I end up severely wounding your woman later, don’t blame me for being ruthless!” he sneered.

The young man in the black robe looked at him with a puzzled expression.

“Why do you have such high self-regard?” Chu Huaixu thought to himself.

“You simply don’t understand how terrifying her Reincarnation Sword Intent truly is!”

On the stage, for the first time, Han Shuangjiang began to freely unleash her Reincarnation Sword Intent.

Around the vast Daoist Sect, she had only entered that profound state once before, during a practice bout with Chu Huaixu.

Her aura suddenly changed.

Her jet-black long hair turned silver-white in an instant.

This scene was almost identical to what happened in the Annulus Secret Realm, reflecting alongside Chu Huaixu beneath the ice surface.

Youthful silver hair presented an undeniable contradiction, characterized by stark contrast.

As if one side was vibrant with life, while the other approached the twilight of death.

Han Shuangjiang’s aura had drastically changed from before, and even her expression and gaze had shifted.

If the cold-faced girl before was full of icy indifference, now she appeared utterly detached.

— No joy, no sorrow.

Upon seeing this scene long ago, Chu Huaixu inexplicably recalled a line from the “Tao Te Ching.”

— “Heaven and Earth are unkind, and treat the myriad things as straw dogs.”

This line had been misunderstood early on by many, interpreted as heaven and earth being unkind, treating all beings as mere offerings.

Nowadays, it was widely understood that this phrase meant heaven and earth are impartial, allowing all things to thrive and perish on their own.

Heaven and Earth do not act on emotions, embodying the essence of impartiality.

This is why there is another line: “The sage is unkind, treating the people like straw dogs.”

Currently, Han Shuangjiang somewhat exuded this sentiment.

Life and death equal reincarnation.

Two streams of airflow, one black and one white, began to appear on the edge of the Zhegu Heaven sword.

They interwove yet were completely opposite.

Seeing this, Kuimu Quan was momentarily bewildered.

To the observers, the scene on stage presented a stark contrast now.

One was excessively arrogant, while the other was exceedingly detached!

Han Shuangjiang’s eyes seemed devoid of any emotion.

Her entire Heart Lake remained incredibly calm, without any ripples.

On the high platform, Situ Cheng and others fixed their eyes.

They had only read of Yan Shen’s Reincarnation Sword Intent in ancient texts, never witnessing it firsthand.

This was their first time seeing it!

Hence, not only were the younger spectators beside the stage shocked, but these Great Cultivators also watched every detail with utmost attention, unwilling to miss any aspect.

“This is the second-generation Observatory Master’s legacy!”

“Second only to the Dao Ancestor!”

Han Shuangjiang looked at Kuimu Quan and casually waved her hand.

Despite wielding immensely powerful Geng Metal Spirit Vein and entering a berserk state, Kuimu Quan was sent flying with just one, incredibly simple sword strike.

He spat out a mouthful of blood, with several ribs broken, even losing grip of the long blade, which fell directly off the stage.

He had, in the previous duel, caused that Daoist Sect disciple to fall off the stage the same way.

Feeling humiliated afterward, he had arrogantly started calling people out, asking who dared to face him.

Now, the outcome was decided.

Han Shuangjiang had replicated the scene from that day, except the role of falling had changed.

When she says she will win, she will win!

Her long silver-white hair fluttered in the wind as she sheathed her sword.

Her eyes remained devoid of emotion.

It seemed this grand victory brought no joy to her at all.

The mountain wind blew, setting her long silver-white hair dancing in the breeze.

The feeling she gave off became increasingly ethereal.

Mei Chuxue sighed from the stage: “Our Spring and Autumn Mountain’s path to enlightenment differs from other sects, but to reach enlightenment through the forms of the seven emotions and six desires ultimately leads to such an almost emotionless state, the ’Celestial Human Realm!’”

“Unexpectedly, the Reincarnation Sword Intent of the second-generation Observatory Master Yan Shen bears a similar miraculous resemblance!”

“Kuimu Quan’s loss is not undeserved.”

Even the prestigious Eighth Realm cultivator felt that they had gained new insights.

Situ Cheng and Teng Lingyi exchanged a glance, realizing that the Reincarnation Sword Intent was even more formidable than they had imagined.

Teng Lingyi even wondered: “If what Mei Chuxue said is true, and this resembles entering the ’Celestial Human Realm,’ wouldn’t it mean that Divine Sense type techniques would have little to no effect on her?”

As one of the Four Great Divine Swords, Situ Cheng’s thinking took a different direction.

He began to imagine, if this elevated into a Reincarnation Sword Heart or even a Reincarnation Sword Domain, what kind of scene would unfold?

He now understood why, a thousand years ago, the second-generation Observatory Master Yan Shen could claim the title of the foremost under the Dao Ancestor and why she could suppress the Sword Sect completely in her time.

“If Han Shuangjiang could also grow to this extent…” Situ Cheng could hardly imagine it!

At this moment, there was dead silence below the stage.

Great Cultivators felt shocked, to say nothing of these Low Tier Cultivators.

Even someone as formidable as Kuimu Quan, the number one seed of Spring and Autumn Mountain, was soundly defeated!

What exactly is this Sword Intent!

Amidst the silence, one person began clapping loudly, cheering enthusiastically.

The silver-haired Han Shuangjiang turned around, looking at the zealous Chu Huaixu.

She gazed at the man who had walked with her through the Annulus Secret Realm, the one who sat with her on the ice lake at the end.

In her eyes, the entire world seemed only black and white, just like the two swirling streams around her sword’s edge.

Yet among the crowd, the only one clapping and leading the applause was as lively as ever.

He seemed different from everyone else.

— I see all living beings as grass and trees, but you are the green mountain.

Han Shuangjiang’s practically dead Heart Lake suddenly stirred with ripples.

…

(ps: First update, a 4,000-character Chapter, requesting monthly votes!)

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep