Volume 3, Chapter 184 – “What Kind of Sword Is That? How Is It So Strong?”

“Then let’s see if you’ll live to see tomorrow’s sunrise.”

Elder Han withdrew his divine sense and stretched out a hand. A golden sword materialized before him. Gripping the hilt, he soared into the air like an eagle, diving straight toward Cheng Hongling.

“Hmph!”

Cheng Hongling’s delicate brows furrowed slightly. With a light step, her figure shot upward. Her Blue Scale Sword traced a crescent-shaped afterimage as it clashed head-on with the golden blade.

“A frog at the bottom of a well! How dare you meet me head-on? What kind of sword is that? And what kind of sword is this?”

Elder Han’s face twisted with disdain once more. The sword in his hand contained roughly twenty percent Gold Radiance Stone—even within the Tujiang Sect, it ranked among the finest divine weapons. How could some ordinary scrap metal hope to compare?

Clang!

The two swords collided. The energies wrapped around them exploded first, sending shockwaves roaring outward like tidal waves.

Cheng Hongling’s hair fluttered wildly, yet she showed no sign of exhaustion. Though her cultivation level was lower, she had multiple advantages. First, she had refined the Profound Ice Core, making her true qi far purer than his. Second, her enhanced Blue Scale Sword allowed her to unleash two hundred percent of her strength.

After the clash of power came the raw contest of blades—no tricks, just sheer force.

Crack!

Instead of the expected metallic ring, the crowd heard a crisp snapping sound. One of the weapons had been overwhelmed.

Indeed, the moment the blades met, Elder Han’s gleaming golden sword was sliced apart as easily as tofu. The outcome stunned him, freezing his thoughts for a split second.

Cheng Hongling showed no mercy. Instead of retreating, she pressed forward, her sword’s momentum unbroken as it slashed toward his carotid artery.

Elder Han, however, was no amateur. His divine sense had been locked onto her the entire time, allowing him to react instantly. He jerked his head aside in evasion.

Swish!

The two figures flashed past each other. Cheng Hongling stood proudly behind Elder Han, her posture as graceful as ever.

Elder Han, on the other hand, was far less composed. He frantically touched his neck, finding a shallow but bleeding gash where his jugular vein had been severed.

He exhaled in relief. Had he been a fraction slower, the wound would have been deeper—and far deadlier.

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“What kind of sword is that? How is it so strong?”

Elder Han clutched his broken blade, his voice trembling with lingering fear.

“The Blue Scale Sword. Passed down from my master.” Cheng Hongling glanced at her beloved weapon, a rare softness flickering in her eyes. “Last year, at the provincial Evergreen Conference, I vowed that this sword would be remembered by all. Those present surely recall it. Unfortunately, outsiders only remember that I was eliminated early. But the world’s stage is vast enough.”

“Then… just how much Blue Scale Stone is in that sword?”

Elder Han scrutinized the blade, his eyes widening in disbelief. Normally, the more Blue Scale Stone a weapon contained, the more scale-like patterns it bore. But the markings on her sword were so dense they were uncountable.

“This sword is forged from pure Blue Scale Stone”, Cheng Hongling corrected. “So the real question is—how much of it is impurities?”

Crack!

At that moment, the formation below finally collapsed completely.

“Old dog! Pay for my disciples’ lives!”

Zhao Li roared, shooting into the sky. Her fingers flicked rapidly, unleashing a barrage of ice spikes toward Elder Han. The projectiles tore through the air with piercing shrieks.

“A sword is just a sword. Han Yu has plenty to spare!”

Elder Han’s face twisted into a manic grin as he reached into his robe and crushed a talisman. A massive cyclone erupted, swallowing the ice spikes whole.

“Doppelgänger… come forth!”

With another shout, a shadowy figure emerged from his body—an exact replica of himself, save for a green leaf mark on its forehead, the signature of a male doppelgänger.

Cheng Hongling wasn’t surprised. Any cultivator who reached the Incarnation Realm possessed a doppelgänger. The only question was which soul it belonged to.

The moment the doppelgänger appeared, it charged at Zhao Li with a drawn sword.

Meanwhile, Elder Han summoned another sword—this one a dull gold, its luster far inferior to the last.

“Again!”

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With a roar, Elder Han vanished, reappearing as a black streak of lightning streaking toward Cheng Hongling. Earth-yellow true qi coiled around his blade, stirring visible currents of air—far more terrifying than before.

“Then let me send you off.”

A faint smile touched Cheng Hongling’s lips as she, too, disappeared. The human-shaped Profound Ice Core in her qi sea spun rapidly, flooding her sword with glacial energy. The temperature plummeted, and a light drizzle began to fall.

Like two meteors, they closed the distance in an instant. But just before impact, Elder Han’s movements faltered.

In that split second, they flashed past each other again. Cheng Hongling’s superior speed allowed her to sever his remaining carotid artery with a single stroke.

“Why…?”

Clutching his throat, Elder Han plummeted from the sky. In that final moment, an unbearable cold had seized him—a bone-deep agony like the worst fever of his childhood. But how could an Incarnation Realm expert fall ill?

“You wanted to know what Profound Ice is? When I cut your veins earlier, I injected Profound Ice Qi into your body. Now, your blood is freezing solid.”

Cheng Hongling descended slowly. The Profound Ice Qi emitted by her core was tyrannical—far more than just creating unbreakable ice.

“P-Profound Ice? You… you cultivated Shuiyu Valley’s Water Exquisite Art? But… aren’t you a disciple of the Honghua Sect?”

Elder Han’s grip on his neck tightened in disbelief. As far as he knew, only those who practiced Water Exquisite Art could refine their qi core into a Profound Ice Core.

“Apologies. That was my dowry gift to her.”

Mu Ruoyi stepped forward, a sly smile playing on her lips.

“You… you two are serious?!”

Shock flashed across Elder Han’s face—but the Profound Ice Qi soon drained the light from his eyes.

With the main body dead, the seven corporeal souls scattered to dust. The doppelgänger battling Zhao Li vanished instantly, confirming it had been one of them.

Free of her opponent, Zhao Li turned her fury on the remaining Tujiang Sect disciples.

Meanwhile, Elder Han’s Life Soul fled his corpse. Due to his high cultivation, it hadn’t yet split into the three ethereal souls—Heavenly, Earthly, and Human. But without a vessel, the Heavenly Dao’s suppression would soon force the separation.

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“Trying to escape?”

Cheng Hongling’s eyes narrowed. Her divine sense coalesced into a giant hand, snatching the fleeing Life Soul mid-air.

Elder Han’s divine sense wasn’t weak—in fact, it had been slightly stronger than hers at his peak. But now, with only the three ethereal souls remaining, his power was halved. How could he break free?

“You can’t kill me! The Tujiang Sect will never let you go!”

In his final moments, Elder Han resorted to threats.

“I’ll return those words. Without evidence, who will know it was me?”

Cheng Hongling remained unmoved. The hand of divine sense clenched tightly.

Under the combined pressure of her will and the Heavenly Dao’s suppression, Elder Han’s Life Soul let out a final, agonized scream before dissolving into the night.

An Incarnation Realm expert had fallen.

“Hongling, you’re as dashing as ever! I really, really like you!”

Mu Ruoyi sidled up, her eyes sparkling with infatuation.

“You like my blood, you mean.”

Cheng Hongling stepped aside with a frown. Unlike her infatuated doppelgänger, she had no interest in romantic entanglements with other women.

“That’s so cruel!”

Mu Ruoyi pouted playfully.

Cheng Hongling scoffed. She wasn’t naive enough to believe the most beautiful woman in the cultivation world had unusual preferences. This was all about profit.

“Fairy Hongling, we owe you our lives today.”

Having finished off the remaining enemies, Zhao Li approached to express her gratitude.

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“No need. I was repaying a debt.”

Cheng Hongling’s tone was frosty.

“What debt? I told you, that was a dowry!”

Mu Ruoyi interjected hastily.

Cheng Hongling ignored her. Whether dowry or debt, she intended to settle it all. She had no plans to spend her life with this woman.

“Now that you’re safe, I’ll take my leave.”

She sheathed her sword and turned to go.

“Where are you going? If it’s the Nine Nether Demon Cat you’re after, we’d have better chances working together.”

Mu Ruoyi’s voice was teasing but pointed.

“Give me a reason.”

Cheng Hongling didn’t stop walking.

“Simple. Right now, the Nine Nether Demon Cat’s whereabouts are unknown. Even the Huxiao Sect is at a loss. And you know better than anyone how useful my Wooden Exquisite Art is for tracking targets.”

Cheng Hongling’s steps slowed.

“Besides, the path ahead is blockaded by the major sects. You won’t get far alone.”

Mu Ruoyi pressed her advantage.

Finally, Cheng Hongling halted. She turned back.

“Then who gets the cat if we find it?”