Chapter 1293: An Old Acquaintance
Chapter 1293: An Old Acquaintance
Memories from the past surfaced, and Qin Sang paused slightly. Cangqing and Jingyu stopped as well.
Following Qin Sang’s gaze, Cangqing saw a Small Cold Domain Golden Core cultivator below, who was wielding a treasured saber and fighting fiercely. His expression shifted slightly.
"Daoist, do you know him?" Qin Sang turned his head and keenly noticed the change in Cangqing’s expression.
"Daoist Qin, do you have some connection with that kid?" Cangqing looked surprised. "I remember him a little. His saber art is quite good, and he has some reputation among rogue cultivators. Daoist Huangfu of Yinlu Sect once thought highly of his talent and wanted to recruit him. But the kid refused, saying Yinlu Sect’s handed-down arts completely differed from his Dao. Fortunately, Daoist Huangfu valued talent and did not make things difficult for him."
Qin Sang’s thoughts shifted. He recalled that the Huangfu mentioned by Cangqing was the current sect leader of Yinlu Sect, and one of the Golden Core cultivators of this generation most likely to break through to the Spiritual Infant Realm. It was said that even Gong Liangyu fell slightly short of him.
Yinlu Sect stood between righteousness and evil and styled itself as an unorthodox sect. It once gathered forces rivaling both righteous and devilish paths, forming a three-way balance.
Later it declined, but in recent years it showed signs of revival. The current sect leader leaned closer to the devilish path. All Yinlu Sect cultivators practiced saber arts, with two major handed-down arts, the Yinlu Saber and the Cicada Wing Saber Art.
"Still a rogue cultivator?" Qin Sang glanced downward, pondered briefly, and said, "You two go ahead. I will follow shortly."
***
On the battlefield, both sides had already fallen into a blood-red frenzy.
Bang! With a single strike, Shangguan Lifeng split apart a crimson spear that shot toward him. He gasped for breath and swept his gaze across the surroundings. His heart sank.
This Sin Abyss force should not have appeared here. It descended like a divine army from the heavens.
The Two-Domain Alliance did not expect Sin Abyss, which seemed to be in retreat, to send troops here to set up an ambush. They walked straight into the trap without realizing it. As soon as the battle broke out, their formation collapsed, and they could only fight individually.
Although their overall strength exceeded that of Sin Abyss, the situation was now extremely unfavorable.
In the distance, dark clouds gathered, and lightning and flames rained down with terrifying force. That was the battlefield of the Spiritual Infant experts.
The grandmasters of both sides fought fiercely, their figures invisible within the storm. No one knew when the outcome would be decided.
Sin Abyss prepared in advance. Our Spiritual Infant grandmasters likely cannot secure victory anytime soon. If this continues, defeat is inevitable. I must find a way to retreat...
Just as this thought flashed through Shangguan Lifeng’s mind, a faint pain pricked his brow as the crimson spear struck again.
He quickly cleared his mind, formed a saber seal, and the saber hummed. A shocking blood fiend killing aura suddenly erupted!
His opponent, a young man in red robes, felt his mind tremble under the impact of that killing aura. A trace of fear rose within him. Alarmed, he hurriedly steadied his mind.
Slash! The saber knocked the crimson spear aside once more.
At the same time, faint ripples suddenly spread through the void behind Shangguan Lifeng. A tiny, transparent sword, no thicker than a finger, appeared silently and thrust toward him.
Someone had launched a hidden attack.
At this critical moment, Shangguan Lifeng’s expression did not change at all. He completely ignored the hidden sword and suddenly lunged toward his own saber, gripping it tightly as he charged at his opponent.
Man and saber became one!
In that instant, Shangguan Lifeng and his saber vanished. Only a crimson saber light dozens of zhang long remained, flashing like lightning as it appeared above the red-robed youth and slashed downward.
The surrounding cultivators sensed the disturbance and all looked over in shock.
"Save me!" The red-robed youth’s face turned pale as he screamed.
The hidden attacker cursed under his breath. Shangguan Lifeng completely ignored the sword behind him and clearly intended to fight to the death. Even if he managed to kill Shangguan Lifeng, the red-robed youth would also die.
He could not watch his companion perish before his eyes, so he revealed himself to intervene.
Bang! The saber light was blocked.
The red-robed youth narrowly escaped death. His heart trembled with lingering fear, then anger surged within him. With a furious shout, he joined forces with his companion to attack Shangguan Lifeng.
Shangguan Lifeng no longer pressed forward as before. He fought while retreating, but facing two opponents alone, he gradually struggled.
None of the three noticed a sword shadow appear silently beside them. Then they suddenly felt the surrounding space grow dim. Their opponents vanished, and it seemed they had been dragged into an unknown realm.
The strange scene startled Shangguan Lifeng. He raised his saber defensively, yet felt no immediate danger.
Then two screams rang out. Darkness receded like a tide, and his vision returned.
Only then did he realize in shock that both of his opponents were already dead. Their bodies and astras were completely intact, showing no external injuries, yet their auras had vanished. They had become lifeless corpses.
Such ghost-like methods sent a chill through Shangguan Lifeng. The two lay dead with eyes wide open, staring into the sky. The sight made his heart pound even harder.
Whoosh! The ebony sword turned into a streak of sword light and flew back.
A trace of hesitation appeared on Shangguan Lifeng’s face. Then he followed the sword and saw it fly toward a man before entering his body.
"I, Shangguan Lifeng, thank you for the assistance, Senior!" Shangguan Lifeng hurried forward and bowed respectfully, lowering his head without daring to look closely.
A soft sigh sounded. "Daoist Shangguan, have you forgotten an old acquaintance?"
Shangguan Lifeng was still lost in thought, wondering why a Spiritual Infant cultivator had intervened to save him. Hearing this, he froze, then suddenly looked up, his expression filled with uncertainty. "Senior, you are..."
"I am Qingfeng. It has been a long time. Are you well?" Qin Sang said with a faint smile.
This man was someone Qin Sang had met long ago while searching for medicine with Wandering Man. They had fought side by side before. Since that parting, two hundred years had passed before they met again.
He still remembered that Wandering Man had spoken highly of Shangguan Lifeng. His judgment had proven correct. Shangguan Lifeng had indeed reached the Golden Core Realm. Though only at the early stage, it was already remarkable for a rogue cultivator.
Even more impressive, Shangguan Lifeng’s saber art now carried a trace of the killing sword intent from the Primordial Spirit Sword Nourishment.
Back then, before they parted, Shangguan Lifeng had given up a thousand-year spiritual herb just to ask Qin Sang to demonstrate the sword art. He truly comprehended something from it and had now developed his own path.
"Daoist Master Qingfeng!" Shangguan Lifeng cried out in shock, his face full of disbelief.
That demonstration of the sword art had profoundly influenced his cultivation path. How could he ever forget?
Two hundred years ago, they had both been at the Foundation Building Realm.
Shangguan Lifeng had struggled for his entire life, searching tirelessly. Only after more than two hundred years did he finally seize an opportunity and form his Golden Core with great difficulty. With his exceptional saber art, he had earned a place among cultivators of the same level and gained some reputation.
Now, upon meeting again, the old acquaintance had already become a Spiritual Infant cultivator!