The sword-light was resplendent, carrying with it a might that could split mountains and seas.

Even the crying northern winds froze for a moment, and the whole world fell silent.

When Dong Chenyu saw such a terrifying scene, he secretly gasped and wondered, ‘This… What kind of sword is this?’ How could it be so terrifying?’ The sword attack had completely shattered his understanding of the path of swords. Given that a top-grade Spiritualist could display such a sword aura, it could only be described as “unprecedented”.

The sense of danger in his mind reached its peak. Every cell and hair on his body seemed to be screaming.

Dong Chenyu hurriedly exhaled the turbid air in his chest. His Dantian Lake was boiling. At this moment, even if he was a Venerable One, he did not dare to be arrogant.

His state of mind was restrained. He gathered his Qi and exhaled. All of a sudden, he roared, and a voice that sounded like a demon or a monster was heard.

The world suddenly became quiet. It would be fine if that was all but spurs that curved like a deer’s antlers grew out of the top of his head, emitting black gas. They were very terrifying, and a bewitching and spooky rune instantly lit up on every part of his skin.

Dong Chenyu raised his hand and pressed it forward. An ominous black figure condensed.

A ruthless look flashed in his eyes. He dug his hand into the center of his eyebrows and tore off a piece of flesh, then he threw his head back and shouted, “Sacrifice!” The moment his voice spread out, the black figure opened its large mouth, revealing sharp white teeth as it swallowed the piece of flesh in one bite. Its body swelled up and grew larger until it covered an area of 233 to 266 meters. Following that, it condensed and transformed into a horned dragon that was 333 meters long. The dragon’s eyes were bloodshot and bloodthirsty. Countless corrosive Qi spread out. Its scales were pitch-black and flickered with cold lights as if they were cast from fine steel. A terrifying aura spread out.

Dong Chenyu’s expression was crazed as he growled, “Go to hell!”

As he shouted, he raised his hand and pointed forward.

The horned dragon roared, and an invisible wave of Qi swept out in all directions. Its tail curled up, rolling up the fog.

At this moment, if someone were to look down from the sky, one would not believe that this area of several kilometers had become an independent space.

A sword-light that had been condensed to the extreme slashed forward. Around it, numerous spiritual Qi bubbles emerged and transformed into small spiritual Qi swords that bent toward the sword Qi as they were worshipping it.

On the other side, a horned dragon raised its head and roared at the sky. It looked like a mad demon, and its eyes were filled with a ruthless aura that was faintly discernible within the black mists. It pushed aside the black mists in an instant and surged continuously without an end to crash towards the area from a distance. At this time, even the space was rippling with plenty of fine ripples.

At that instant, the sword-light and the horned dragon collided with a loud bang. It did not cause the world to rumble, but it was like spring rain that moistened everything and made no sound.

For a moment, there was actually a stalemate as neither of them was defeated.

He Jian’s expression was gloomy. He sighed and said, “If it was back then, ah… It’d be futile to talk about this now.” At this moment, he had developed the will to die because his aura had been wrapped up layer by layer by Dong Chenyu. Even if he wanted to leave, he would not be able to escape. There was no unwillingness in his heart; there was only a faint bitterness.

At this time, Dong Chenyu’s heart was practically surging with monstrous waves. He thought to himself, ‘Just which family did this monster come from? That kind of sword move didn’t have the slightest bit of complexity. It was directed straight to the heart.’

He was certain that if the other party was also a Venerable One, under that move, he would not be able to retaliate at all. He would be instantly killed.

1 breath, 2 breaths, 3 breaths…

After 100 breaths, the difference between their cultivation bases was revealed.

The sword-light had the intent to cut through everything, but the disparity between He Jian’s cultivation and that of the Venerable One was too huge.

He Jian eventually showed signs of weakness as if he did not have enough energy left. He even showed signs of collapsing.

Upon seeing this, Dong Chenyu was ecstatic. He said coldly, “With your cultivation base, you were trying to defeat me? You can’t!” Before his voice fell, his Dantian Lake emitted a dense light. At the same time, he spat out a large mouthful of blood essence and fused it into the horned dragon’s body. Consequently, the dragon’s aura increased greatly.

“I still can’t do it? It seems that I can only use my body to merge with the sword…” He Jian sighed.

As soon as the thought appeared in his mind, his dantian started to burn like a furnace. There was no joy or sadness in his eyes.

“Senior He, you can’t!” An anxious voice burst out. Before the owner of the voice arrived, the voice arrived first. The golden sword mark carved on the back of Ou Yangming’s hand resonated with the heaven-lifting sword intent that He Jian had slashed out. Along with joy, the golden light soared into the sky.

“This… Mount Return Sword?” He Jian’s body even began to tremble.

He collected his emotions and shouted loudly, “Brother Yu, lend me your sword!”

Ou Yangming was slightly startled. His furrowed brows relaxed, and he uttered, “Borrow!” The mists in his heart dispersed, and he felt as if he had cleared the mists and seen the clear sky. ‘No wonder—no wonder Senior He invited me to go out to look for wood and kept probing me with his sword. It turns out that he has a great relationship with Mount Return Sword.’ He had long guessed that He Jian was not simple, but he never thought that the old man would have a relationship with Mount Return Sword and even Xu Aoran.

Before his voice faded away, a golden light flashed on the back of his hand and let out a joyful sword ring, merging into the sword-light that He Jian had slashed out.

They quickly merged like alcohol and water.

The sword-light that He Jian had slashed out expanded and filled the entire sky. It really had the power to split the sky and the earth.

“Break!” A cold light flashed in He Jian’s eyes. He swung his longsword forward brazenly, and the sword-light grew even bigger.

At the same time, he gave Ou Yangming a signal, indicating that they should take this opportunity to retreat.

“Boom…” The sword-light exploded, and the sky and earth changed color, igniting a prairie fire. A wave of Qi that could destroy all living things swept out in all directions. The mists stirred the void, and it was like many invisible large pens drawing a large circle on the yellow sand. They overlapped, then the yellow sand filled the sky and exploded tens of meters high.

Given that this aura could destroy all living things, even Dong Chenyu did not dare to face it head-on. He could only temporarily avoid the sword-light.

Moreover, he felt an innate fear toward the power of this sword explosion. It was like an ice cube falling into a volcano or like an ordinary beast encountering a divine beast.

When the light dissipated, the ground was filled with desolation, and black smoke rose from it. Ou Yangming and He Jian had vanished.

Dong Chenyu’s face was gloomy. He glanced at the tear in his long sleeve and thought to himself, ‘Just the edge of the sword Qi has destroyed my long sleeve and caused the blood Qi in my body to surge. You should be proud of this. That said, the Blood Horned Dragon Clan won’t be able to swallow this indignance. I’ll surely take revenge for this.’

He waved his large hand down viciously, causing the space within a radius of tens of meters to explode. Afterward, he glanced at the horizon and flashed into the distance.

※※※※

In the sky, Ou Yangming carried He Jian on his back and rushed out.

With a flip of his wrist, he took out a medicinal pill and handed it to He Jian. He said in a low voice, “Senior He, this is a Spiritual Qi Pill. It has the effect of healing injuries and can also recover one’s spiritual Qi. You should eat it first.”

He Jian gently wiped the blood on the edge of his mouth with his sleeve. He knew Ou Yangming was an alchemy master that did not lack pills. As such, he did not act pretentious and accepted the pill. After taking it, he swallowed it in one gulp and expressed weakly, “Brother Yu, thank you very much. If you hadn’t lent me that sword, I would’ve been killed there.”

“You were so righteous that you inspired reverence,” Ou Yangming complimented.

The truth was indeed that. How many Spiritualists would dare to face a Venerable One head-on and be bold enough to ask his companion to leave first while he would hold back the Venerable One?

How many people in the world while knowing they would die were not afraid and did it for the belief and perseverance in their hearts?

He Jian’s face was pale but light gathered in his eyes as he went straight to the point and asked, “Brother Yu, forgive me for being so straightforward but have you heard of Mount Return Sword?”

Ou Yangming’s eyes narrowed slightly and even his breathing was a little messy. He nodded lightly and answered, “I’ve heard of it.”

Even though he was already certain, when he heard the question, he was still surprised. After all, this was one of the reasons he had entered the Big Ruins.

He Jian did not ask further. After all, it was not a good time to discuss matters.

Nonetheless, they both noticed the surprise in each other’s eyes, and they knew they had found the right person this time.

On the other side, Lil’ Lan was in the tree hole. She stared at the windmill in a daze and counted in her heart how many rounds it had spun.

1, 2, 3… 150.

The spirit ores on the ground that were ignited by the Heavenly Phoenix Fire had become much dimmer, but she could still make out her surroundings clearly.

A gust of cold wind blew over, and Lil’ Lan’s body trembled as she shrank back. She only felt her body turn cold as she softly muttered, “The windmill has already spun 170 times, why aren’t they back yet? Could it be… Could it be that they don’t want me anymore?” At the thought of this, she only felt that the sky outside was getting darker, and the wind that blew over was getting colder.

The spiritual Qi within the spirit ores was getting lesser, and the light that was being emitted was also getting dimmer. It was almost as if there was only a speck of red light left.

Lil’ Lan’s body kept shrinking back, and her body curled up.

She was scared, and she cried out in a low voice. Not every child was as strong as Lil’ Man.

“Lil’ Lan, is that you?” At this moment, a gentle voice came from the darkness.

The voice was not loud, and it was even subtle. Despite that, it dispelled all the darkness in Lil’ Lan’s heart as if the summer sun was shining into her heart.

After a while, the tree hole lit up.

Ou Yangming took out some lean meat from his interspatial bag and carefully roasted it.

He was an Advanced Spiritualist while He Jian was a top-grade Spiritualist. It would be fine if they did not eat for a few months, but Lil’ Lan could not do it. Her cultivation base was too low, and she must not stop eating.

He Jian’s complexion was much better. He sat next to the firewood while Lil’ Lan sat beside him. She did not cry or make a fuss and was very sensible.

Even so, when she looked at the pieces of meat on the firewood, her eyes flashed with a different kind of light.

Very soon, a fragrance that could trigger one’s appetite was released from the tree hole.

“Lil’ Lan, are you hungry? Quickly eat some.” Ou Yangming smiled gently and handed over a piece of meat. There was a hint of pity between his eyebrows.

“Thank you,” Lil’ Lan responded. She timidly raised her hand and took it. She ate it in small bites, and she looked graceful and delicate.

“Senior He, have some too. The meat contains spiritual power, which is also good for your injuries.” As he spoke, he handed a piece over.