Tonight was moonless, with high winds and darkness.

Indeed, it was perfect weather for killing.

Mu Zizhe sat in his chair, his right hand resting on the Sleeping Dragon Sword, his left hand toying with a silver needle.

Xie Ba had also ordered someone to bring him a chair, placing it at the courtyard entrance directly facing Mu Zizhe. He asked for a pot of wine, occasionally taking sips and cursing, sitting there from daylight into darkness.

Behind Mu Zizhe stood forty white-robed figures, while behind Xie Ba were dozens of long-blade wielders.

The two groups stood in tense opposition, ready to strike at any moment. But since both clan heads remained seated without a word, they could only wait.

“We’ve known each other for many years. Though we walk different paths, we share years of friendship. There’s no need for this armed confrontation,” Xie Ba said slowly.

“Mu Bai is dead,” Mu Zizhe replied with just four words.

Xie Ba spread his hands. “I know, but it wasn’t our Xie Clan who killed him. My favorite disciple is dead too. How about this—I’ll become the Grand Elder, make you the Second Elder, and then we can destroy the Su Clan together?”

“The position of Grand Elder will be mine,” Mu Zizhe said gravely.

“Damn it, I’ve been sitting here all night until my legs are numb, and you’re still as stubborn as a wooden fish,” Xie Ba cursed helplessly. “Of the Dark River’s three clans, it’s always been the Xie and Su clans leading the charge. What qualifications does your Mu Clan have for this position?”

Mu Zizhe raised an eyebrow slightly, his fingers flicking the silver needle toward Xie Ba.

Xie Ba leaped up suddenly, crushing the chair beneath his feet to pieces, then swung his blade to deflect the silver needle. “Since we can’t talk sense, let’s fight! Brothers, charge in and slaughter all these Mu Clan members!” The Xie Clan blade wielders had been waiting for just these words from Xie Ba. They drew their blades without hesitation and charged forward.

“Form the formation, [Guxu]!” Mu Zizhe stood up and swept his sleeves.

A thick fog suddenly spread throughout the courtyard. Mu Zizhe and the forty white-robed figures behind him vanished instantly. Xie Ba mentally cursed “Not good,” but when he turned around, the courtyard gates had already been closed and were quickly covered by the dense fog, making them impossible to find.

“Damn it, so this bastard was stalling all this time to set up the Guxu Formation,” Xie Ba cursed.

Xie Qidao bent slightly, gripping his blade handle tightly. “Years ago, the Demon Sect laid down the Hundred-Li Guxu Formation, trapping many martial arts masters to their deaths. At that time, some Mu Clan disciples were also trapped in the formation. Who would have thought that just a few years later, they would recreate the Guxu Formation?”

“In the Guxu Formation, what you see isn’t real. Everyone be careful—” Before Xie Ba could finish, a scream rang out as a Xie Clan disciple was pierced through the chest by a broken blade that came from nowhere.

Xie Qidao planted his blade on the ground and shouted: “Break!” After his angry shout, the figure of a Mu Clan disciple about to attack appeared beside him. Xie Ba turned and with one slash decapitated the man.

“Back then, the Third City Lord of Snow Moon City, Sikong Changfeng, broke the Hundred-Li Guxu Formation with a single spear thrust—truly displaying supreme divine might. My blade swing can only clear three feet before me,” Xie Qidao sighed lightly.

Xie Ba called out loudly: “Everyone gathers around, back-to-back, don’t act rashly!”

“Clan Head, below… there are hands below!” someone cried out in alarm.

Xie Ba looked down to see countless horrifying ghostly claws emerging from the ground. He swung his blade and roared: “Peerless Clarity!”

Seeing this, Xie Qianji immediately raised his blade and shouted: “Xie Clan disciples, begin the Evil-Dispelling Blade Dance!” As the Xie Clan’s expert in mechanisms and formations, he had instantly devised a countermeasure.

The Xie Clan members, who had been in chaos, immediately steadied themselves and began wildly dancing with their blades, performing the Xie Clan’s secret Evil-Dispelling Blade Dance. This blade dance wasn’t considered top-tier among the Xie Clan’s many blade techniques, but it was used in their annual clan ceremonies to dispel evil spirits and worship ancestors. As they all swung their blades in unison, the dense fog began to dissipate.

Mu Zizhe appeared on the roof eaves, holding the Sleeping Dragon Sword, looking down at them coldly.

“Mu Zizhe!” Xie Ba leaped up, swinging his blade as he charged.

Mu Zizhe extended a puppet string that caught Xie Ba’s blade, then pulled back, throwing Xie Ba onto the roof eaves on the other side.

Xie Ba stuck his blade into the tiles, sliding ten zhang away. He smiled: “Since you’re holding the Sleeping Dragon Sword, why not show me your swordsmanship? Using puppet strings is a hard skill.”

As Mu Zizhe was about to reply, he suddenly felt a chill behind him. He spun around, instinctively raising the Sleeping Dragon Sword. With a loud “clang,” Mu Zizhe was knocked through the roof and into the house, sword and all. Xie Qidao rested his blade on his shoulder, but before he could speak, he noticed several white paper butterflies floating around him.

“Butterfly Dance, [Jiuzhangji],” Mu Zizhe called out softly.

“Damn it,” Xie Qidao cursed under his breath, swinging his blade to cut down the paper butterflies, but he was a step too late. The butterflies instantly burst into flames and explosions, blasting Xie Qidao off the roof.

“Qidao!” Xie Ba cried out in alarm, rushing forward, but when he landed, he realized the entire house was filled with paper butterflies.

“This is a trap,” Xie Qidao sighed.

“Butterfly Dance, [Shasheng Bu Liu Chen],” Mu Zizhe’s fingertip flickered with ghost-fire as he flicked it toward Xie Ba and his companion.

Xie Ba and Xie Qidao exchanged glances, both leaping backward simultaneously, their backs meeting as they swung their blades together.

Mu Zizhe’s pupils contracted slightly: “The Xie Clan’s Twin Life Twin Death Blade.”

“When executing missions in the past, we always worked together. None of our opponents ever survived, and you won’t be an exception,” Xie Ba shouted while wildly swinging his blade.

Explosions continued to ring out, but the blade light formed by the two men remained brighter than the flames of the exploding paper butterflies. Mu Zizhe lightly shook the Sleeping Dragon Sword in his hand and slowly retreated.

After a long while, the explosions finally ceased, and the smoke surrounding the two men gradually dispersed. Xie Ba and Xie Qidao’s clothes were in tatters, their muscles bulging and heaving with their heavy breathing. Xie Qidao wiped the dust from his blade: “Clan Head Mu, you alone against the two of us have no chance of victory.”

“Who said I was alone?” Mu Zizhe flicked his left hand, and five puppets descended from above.

Xie Ba snorted coldly: “Fighting with Mu Clan people is never straightforward. If it’s not formations, it’s secret techniques, and when it comes to actual blade and sword combat, they send out a bunch of fake people. How boring.”