Dragon energy concealed within sword energy, a mass of ferocity.

In just one instant, it already carried surging killing intent, sharp enough to pierce straight to the bone.

Such a sudden unexpected attack—even though Wu Duan had Nascent Soul stage cultivation, at this moment he was too late to rescue.

The domineering, almost violent White Bone Dragon Sword energy was already before them!

Xie Buchen raised his eyes, only able to see that pair hidden behind the fierce sword energy…

Eyes frozen like an icy world of snow.

Without the slightest emotion.

The White Bone Dragon Sword was one he had fought against before, but today’s sword had changed wielders and adopted a completely different style.

Xie Buchen’s brow furrowed slightly. His left hand formed finger seals, executing a hand technique, and a roughly ten-foot diameter ancient, clumsy disc composed of phantom and floating light instantly spread outward from his hand seal as the center!

But Jian Chou’s attack was simply too fast, too fierce, too ruthless. No matter how quick Xie Buchen’s reaction, his movements were still an instant too slow.

“Boom!”

The ancient disc was half-formed when the White Bone Dragon Sword energy crashed down thunderously!

In an instant, the disc shattered, the sword energy weakened by seventy percent, but the remaining thirty percent struck Xie Buchen’s body without reservation.

“Puff.”

The sword energy hit his chest, and immediately a small mouthful of fresh blood spilled out, staining his dark green robe a heavy deep purple.

Xie Buchen’s form trembled violently, almost unable to control himself as he stepped back.

However…

It was only one step.

The next step, his feet were already firmly planted in place, as if he would rather die than retreat another inch.

His gaze lifted, falling once again on Jian Chou’s face.

As if through such observation, he wanted to discover something else.

Unfortunately, in Jian Chou’s eyes, besides the killing intent that was almost seeping out, there was nothing else!

No one would have expected that in just this one encounter, Jian Chou would start fighting without even a greeting.

Nie Xiaowan completely didn’t understand what was happening, and Lu Xiangleng also felt caught off guard.

But Jian Chou had no intention of considering others’ thoughts.

Kunwu?

What did being at Kunwu matter!

Even though her reason screamed in her mind thousands and thousands of times that this moment was absolutely inappropriate for fighting, with deep vengeance and great hatred before her, how could she swallow her anger?

When life is fulfilled, one must draw the sword; when great revenge is at hand, one should sing loudly with sword in hand!

The sword just struck out was merely driven by the killing intent that arose in an instant, without any fancy techniques.

Having succeeded with one sword and seeing Xie Buchen already injured and spitting blood, the killing intent that suddenly rose in Jian Chou’s chest not only didn’t disappear but grew even heavier, ready to reach the sky!

Before the aftermath of that previous sword had diminished, the White Bone Dragon Sword’s tip traced an arc, and a new sword technique from the Azure Mountain River Star Sword was already assumed by Jian Chou in its opening stance.

Her form flashed, instantly giving people a sense of being enveloped by galaxies, about to advance forward and strike again.

Strike while he’s ill, take his life!

But when this sword was unleashed, Xie Buchen, who had been not far in front of her, was nowhere to be seen.

Taking his place was a white-robed figure appearing before her.

Wu Duan’s gaze held some solemnity. Though he didn’t understand how this situation had suddenly arisen, both Jian Chou and Xie Buchen were leading figures of the new generation from Yashan and Kunwu—absolutely nothing could go wrong here.

Gritting his teeth inwardly, he only saw Jian Chou before him, seemingly standing beneath the vast starry sky, and was amazed by her remarkably high comprehension and extremely high attack power!

How was this like a cultivator who had just formed her Golden Core?

His palm swept out, Wu Duan’s palm concealing a Dao Seal, striking directly toward the direction of Jian Chou’s sword thrust!

How swift was Jian Chou’s sword strike?

The moment Wu Duan moved to stop her, it was already unavoidable.

Jian Chou’s gaze turned slightly cold. Even though she could clearly see who was before her, she showed no sign of withdrawing her sword.

This scene happened in a flash of lightning, so fast that people couldn’t sort out the relationships involved.

The White Bone Dragon Sword drew closer and closer. Just as Wu Duan was about to be pierced through the palm by this sword, Nie Xiaowan felt that both the killing intent projected from Jian Chou and the cold, condensed aura from Wu Duan were almost suffocating her.

At that moment, she couldn’t control herself and covered her mouth, as if her heart would leap from her chest the next moment!

The White Bone Dragon Sword emitted a humming disturbance, as if someone was controlling it, trying to make it escape from her grasp.

But how astonishing was Jian Chou’s grip strength?

In that instant, even this sword’s original master who had blood-bonded with it couldn’t summon it back.

The sinister white bone sword remained gripped in Jian Chou’s hand—

Moving forward!

It reflected no light, yet the heart-stopping feeling it gave people only increased.

That sword-wielding posture carried a nearly solitary determination.

She wouldn’t retreat, and Wu Duan wouldn’t yield!

As the sword drew closer, that sharp aura made people feel increasingly suffocated.

“Clang—”

The sword sang clearly, as if accompanied by dragon roars.

Wu Duan’s heart had already sunk considerably.

He could certainly retreat safely at this moment, but Xie Buchen was already injured, and it was uncertain whether his injuries from the Azure Peak Nunnery’s hidden realm had fully healed.

If he retreated, how could he know if Xie Buchen would be safe?

The White Bone Dragon Sword was his heart-connected, master-recognizing sword—he could naturally forcibly reclaim it.

But Jian Chou’s sword-holding posture clearly showed she absolutely wouldn’t let go. If he forcibly took the sword, he might injure Jian Chou, creating another disaster.

In the lightning-fast moment of thought, Wu Duan had already been forced to a desperate situation by this sword.

His brow furrowed, his expression tightened, and cold intent floated in his eyes. He neither dodged nor avoided nor retreated, still meeting it with his palm!

The White Bone Dragon Sword thrust swiftly, transforming into a white flame mid-course. Jian Chou’s expression remained completely unchanged, almost staring down Wu Duan.

But at the instant when the sword tip was about to touch Wu Duan’s palm and pierce through it, she turned her wrist, and the originally vertical blade actually turned with it at the crucial moment.

“Hiss.”

A sharp, brief sound rang out in an instant.

The White Bone Dragon Sword’s body actually passed through Wu Duan’s finger gaps in that moment!

A trace of blood immediately appeared on the sword body—blood from the slightly rough sword surface scraping his finger skin. Wu Duan’s entire palm remained intact with all five fingers whole, not having any cut off as everyone had seen.

A ball of white light appeared in his palm, perfectly pierced by this sword.

At this moment, the White Bone Dragon Sword was clamped between his two fingers with force, unable to move at all.

Or perhaps, Jian Chou simply wasn’t competing with him.

Everything changed from extreme motion to extreme stillness, taking no more than a snap of the fingers.

Many who saw this scene had broken out in cold sweat, only feeling the chill behind them after everything had calmed down.

Wu Duan was also cold all over, only now slowly breathing a sigh of relief.

The brief exchange of combat had given him an unprecedented heart-stopping feeling, even making him tremble with fear!

If she achieved great cultivation in the future, who knew if she wouldn’t be a ruthless character who struck like thunder?

Lifting his head with some stiffness, Wu Duan saw Jian Chou’s eyes.

Those eyes that were calm to the extreme!

Yet strangely, Wu Duan actually saw from them a bit of deeply hidden…

Madness!

Although in that previous sword, Jian Chou had turned at the last moment, not truly harming him.

But during her previous sword advance, Wu Duan had seen no trace of mercy.

He remained immersed in shock for a long time, unable to speak, until many people on the training ground had noticed the abnormal scene here, and only then did he react.

Jian Chou’s five fingers gripped tightly, but now she slowly lowered her brow and gradually loosened her five fingers, while the ruthless gleam in her eyes also gradually faded.

When her five fingers completely left the White Bone Dragon Sword’s hilt, the ruthless gleam in her eyes finally disappeared completely.

Her sharpness faded, leaving only peaceful composure throughout her being.

That lightning-fast bold attack seemed to exist only in everyone’s imagination.

“Having newly obtained the White Bone Dragon Sword, I tested the Azure Mountain River Star sword technique and couldn’t control my emotions. Junior Brother Wu, please don’t laugh.”

Jian Chou’s voice also had no fluctuation, just like her eyes at this moment.

Wu Duan turned his finger, and the entire White Bone Dragon Sword was spun by him, instantly sheathed into the snow-white scabbard with a crisp “clang,” the blade completely hidden within the sheath, no longer showing any of its previous leaked brilliance.

Hearing Jian Chou’s words, Wu Duan couldn’t describe what he felt inside.

Forcibly suppressing that feeling of palpitation, his gaze swept over the group of Kunwu disciples in the distance who were in shock, and he managed a strained laugh: “Senior Sister Jian Chou’s talent is exceptional, truly something Wu Duan has rarely seen in his lifetime.”

Though he said this, his entire person still stood in place without retreating a step, clearly afraid Jian Chou would attack again.

“Senior Brother Xie!”

A cry of surprised joy suddenly came from the distant mountain path.

A woman in a green dress stood on the mountain path, seeing the crowd below from afar. Her gaze shifted, and only one person remained in her eyes. At that moment, she was extremely happy and directly leaped down from the mountain path.

In the blink of an eye, she appeared before everyone.

Gu Qingmei had delicate features with some pampered young lady’s charm. Without looking at others, she went directly to Xie Buchen’s side. Just as she was about to speak, her gaze froze, falling on Xie Buchen’s clothing.

His right hand’s five slender fingers were somewhat stiffly curved, pressed against his chest.

There was already a small patch of scattered fresh blood on his clothing, and some had gotten on his transparent nails—shocking to see.

His thin lips were stained redder by the blood, tightly pressed into a nearly stern arc.

Xie Buchen stood in place, his spine rigidly straight, his entire body showing a dangerous quality within stillness due to tension.

His left hand hung at his side, the long, wide sleeve covering half his palm. Those slightly opened five fingers were as rigid as his spine, with several streams of water flowing between his five fingers. Due to the sleeve’s concealment, only vague shadows could be seen, not clearly.

His gaze fell on Wu Duan in front of him, yet seemed to pass through Wu Duan, watching Jian Chou who was blocked by Wu Duan.

“Senior Brother Xie, what’s wrong with you?”

Gu Qingmei finally couldn’t suppress the horror in her heart, crying out in distress.

This cry finally broke the suffocating tension here. Wu Duan finally breathed a sigh of relief, stepping back slightly toward Gu Qingmei and Xie Buchen.

Splash…

The surging river flow in his palm instantly disappeared.

But Wu Duan, turning to look, keenly caught this trace.

His gaze passed over Xie Buchen’s eyes, clearly full of calm and indifference, yet he inexplicably sensed an almost bone-deep emotion that then changed to coldness and finally became nothing.

The River Flow Sword Intent was something Xie Buchen had learned from Yue He.

The strength of this sword intent was beyond imagination.

Wu Duan’s heart was already cold. If he had let these two continue fighting, Xie Buchen’s next move would probably have been this sword intent.

Facing Gu Qingmei’s almost nagging concern, Xie Buchen’s face showed no excess expression, only slowly lowering the somewhat stiff fingers that had been placed in front of him.

At this moment, he was once again completely detached.

His gaze passed over Wu Duan’s shoulder, falling on Jian Chou across the not-great distance.

The cold ruthlessness in his eyes was gone, the deep hatred was gone, and even that flash of killing intent was so quick it seemed like everyone’s illusion.

Jian Chou stood over there with almost complete composure, even with a trace of smile on her lips, also looking at him.

Eye contact.

Such extraordinary eye contact.

Former spouses, current mortal enemies.

What great self-control and terrifying patience did it take to suppress that killing intent that nearly burned away reason?

Jian Chou didn’t know.

She only knew that at this moment, even though she hadn’t trampled his life under her feet, there was indescribable satisfaction in her heart.

You killed me but I didn’t die. Today I’ll let you know what kind of prairie fire will grow from yesterday’s unremoved roots, and what kind of tenacious, stubborn strength the wild grass that once depended on flourishing trees possesses…

Let you see that I’m still alive, standing perfectly fine before you, and can take your head at any time…

Thus, no kill, no death; no death, no rest!

The divine light in her eyes was unprecedentedly bright, even reaching a brilliance that was almost burning to the eye.

At this moment, Jian Chou’s elongated eye corners even carried a sharp beauty, cold enough to make hearts tremble, yet with some inexplicable power that drove people mad…

That was the killing intent spreading from her heart, disguising her entire being, making her once again become the person in everyone’s minds…

The kind Jian Chou from Yashan.

Perhaps, besides Xie Buchen, no second person could read her at this moment.

At that moment, his gaze finally flickered slightly, then returned to a nearly cold deathly stillness.

So calm that no waves could be found.

What surging undercurrents lay behind, perhaps only each of them knew.

Just this mutual gaze between them was already laden with sword shadows and blade light!