[This is the last month where MGS is activated in this book so I hope to break mgs. I hope you’ll help this book earn a little month this month by gifting a castle or a spaceship today as today is the last day of May. Thanks and yes now I’m uploading the massive mass release.]

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These mother-child returning blades were extremely vicious; even with a protective spiritual garment, if the child blades failed to kill, the mother blades would follow.

They circulated and returned, making them difficult to avoid.

But strangely... the bloody scene everyone imagined did not occur.

The opponent’s figure suddenly shifted forward a few inches, and as the blades returned, he shifted back a few inches.

"..."

To outsiders, he remained motionless.

Yet, he was completely unharmed.

"This Fellow Daoist..."

Song Yan slightly turned his gaze, the faint golden light in his eyes fading, leaving only deep black.

A dangerous smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

"Why resort to deadly force without a word?"

The Long-faced Cultivator’s expression hardened, his heart already on guard.

Movement technique?

The man in yellow robes was somewhat knowledgeable; the continuous changes in the opponent’s figure within a breath already spoke volumes.

The Cultivator at the 5th Level of Qi Refining was short but very arrogant, as if having these two big brothers by his side meant he could rest easy.

With his big brother and second brother working together, what was there to fear even if the opponent was at the 10th Level of Qi Refining?

"Hehe, you little..."

Buzz—

Before he could finish his words, a black-and-white stream of light flashed past his ear, heading towards the horse-faced Cultivator.

"Second Brother!"

A earthy-yellow stream of light suddenly surged from the yellow-robed man’s hand, blocking it upwards without hesitation.

Clang!

The sound of weapons clashing echoed throughout the entire front yard.

A pair of large hammers crossed in the yellow-robed man’s hands, and under the vibration of spiritual energy, they pushed the Unmoored Boat upwards.

The black-and-white stream of light circulated in the air, returning to Song Yan’s side.

At the same time, he slowly retracted his sword-finger.

"..."

The short, stout Cultivator looked dazed, slowly lowering his head. His protective spiritual garment had already shattered and disappeared, and a small hole at his heart was gushing blood.

"Ugh..."

The short, stout Cultivator fell to his knees with a thud, his mouth overflowing with blood.

His hands twitched and waved wildly, as if trying to grasp something.

But he quickly lost his breath.

If he could ensure a rapid reduction in enemy numbers, Song Yan never held back. His Sword Dao True Essence could be called his thunderous means at this moment.

"Third Brother!"

What fast Sword Qi!

The yellow-robed man was both shocked and enraged. The opponent had raised his hand almost the instant he moved to block the Flying Sword for his second brother.

That Sword Qi... if he had to take it, he would have suffered greatly if caught off guard!

The two on this side were facing a formidable enemy, but Song Yan’s expression was calm.

Normally, he would choose to use his Sword Essence to first kill or severely wound the Qi Refining Stage Seventh Level Long-faced Cultivator.

Then he would fight the yellow-robed man with all his might.

But clearly, the yellow-robed man had been cautious from the start and stayed very close to the Long-faced Cultivator.

If he could achieve an instant kill, only this short, stout Cultivator was a relatively sure target.

"Alright, I can try that..."

With a flick of his finger, the Flying Sword Lian Li swiftly flew out from the sword box behind him, immediately attacking the Long-faced Cultivator.

The Unmoored Boat, on the other hand, struck towards the yellow-robed man.

"Divided attention?!"

"Too much bullying!"

When Song Yan made his move, his aura was fully exposed, revealing the Realm of Qi Refining Stage Seventh Level.

This slightly eased the minds of the two Cultivators who had been on high alert.

However, his method of simultaneously controlling two Flying Swords still startled them.

The gradually chilling corpse of their third brother beside them also reminded them that this young man was no ordinary Cultivator.

The yellow-robed Cultivator’s spiritual energy surged, abundant Spiritual Qi adhering to his pair of earthy-yellow large hammers, which he crossed to block, meeting the Unmoored Boat.

Clang—

The sound of clashing echoed through the temple.

Feeling the rapidly depleting spiritual energy, the yellow-robed Cultivator’s expression immediately changed drastically.

"High Grade Spiritual Artifact?!"

Sword Intent, as the final piece of Song Yan’s Sword Dao puzzle, had too many things it influenced when it was achieved.

Dao Heart and Sword Intent fused, carried within the sword body.

The current "Unmoored Boat" was truly a complete Lifebound Flying Sword.

Its might had even reached the level of a High Grade Spiritual Artifact!

The Chu Region was remote, and spiritual resources were not abundant. Ordinary Loose Cultivators, Cultivators from common immortal Cultivation families, and even most Sect Disciples rarely possessed Spiritual Artifacts above Medium Grade.

Qi Refinement Stage Cultivators with High Grade Spiritual Artifacts were generally only those Genius Disciples from the Six Major Sects.

The yellow-robed Cultivator naturally did not understand the profound mystery, only thinking he was "lucky" to have encountered one here.

However, he and the Long-faced Cultivator had been roaming the Chu Region, plundering and killing for so many years, and it wasn’t as if they had never encountered such opponents.

In their minds, such people usually had one fatal flaw.

That was extreme arrogance.

People who had always had things go smoothly could easily fall into a vortex of arrogance.

As long as they showed a slight opening, they would easily take the bait.

For example, the person in front of them, who clearly had the ability to fight steadily and contend with them, insisted on showing off.

Once he and his second brother put up a slight resistance, and then deliberately showed a few openings to create the illusion of being about to lose, they would induce the opponent to act recklessly.

The opponent’s Divine Sense would soon tire, and his spiritual energy would quickly bottom out.

At that time, he and his second brother would naturally be fish on a chopping block.

The Long-faced Cultivator also tacitly understood, immediately activating the mother-child twin blades, circulating them by his side, and retreating continuously as if showing weakness.

Of course, Song Yan was not being overconfident.

With his current Divine Sense strength, simultaneously controlling two Flying Swords to fight was not strenuous.

All the battles he had encountered so far were either manageable with one Flying Sword, or two Flying Swords together would not have made a difference.

So he had almost never used it.

After returning to the Sect, besides practicing Insightful Void Sword Eye and Lingyun Intent, he reviewed many other sword control techniques from the Essentials of Swordsmanship.

Finally, he became "audacious."

He began to look at the section on "Sword Formations."

Sword Formation, as the name suggests, is to use Flying Swords as Formation eyes to form a large Formation.

It is extremely powerful in attack, kill, and defense.

However, to master the art of Sword Formation, skillfully controlling multiple Flying Swords to fight simultaneously is only the most basic requirement.

Besides that, sword control methods and the number of Flying Swords are also crucial, and even knowledge of Formations is required.

With his current level in various aspects, he had not yet reached the point where he could delve into Sword Formations.

However, the Senior who compiled the "Essentials of Swordsmanship" also knew the difficulties of cultivating Sword Formations.

Therefore, he thoughtfully recommended several sets of sword styles within it for transition beforehand.

After some comparison, Song Yan finally chose one to practice, and he had just barely gotten started.

This time, he also harbored the thought of practicing on these two people.

The opponent showed weakness, which he naturally saw clearly. How could two Late Stage Qi Refining Cultivators only have this much ability? As the Unmoored Boat entangled with the yellow-robed Cultivator, the opponent feigned an "unstable" posture, flipping and leaping.

Song Yan remained calm, his fingertips moving slightly, and his sword incantation suddenly changed.

The Unmoored Boat charged forward fiercely, directly aiming for the yellow-robed Cultivator’s face. The latter blocked with his twin hammers in front of him, using the momentum to deflect the force.

But the Unmoored Boat’s sword body rotated slightly, and its hilt gently tapped the hammer.

Although the sword edge was parried, a sword shadow split off from it, circulating swiftly, winding and moving like a green snake flicking its tongue, pointing directly at the yellow-robed man’s glabella.

The yellow-robed Cultivator was greatly alarmed. Unable to dodge, a necklace hidden around his neck burst forth with a vibrant green light.

It barely blocked this sword strike.

However, the Unmoored Boat had already re-established its offensive, and the yellow-robed Cultivator raised his hammer to clang again.

Metal clashed, and another sword shadow emerged from it, circulating to his ribs.

"Hiss."

The sharp sword shadow cut through the yellow-robed Cultivator’s protective spiritual garment, leaving a foot-long wound on his body.

"What kind of strange swordsmanship is this?!"

The yellow-robed Daoist grunted, his heart filled with dread.

Song Yan’s right hand, with his sword-finger, simultaneously controlled two Flying Swords to fight the two, while his left hand suddenly dropped.

A green Sword Qi circulated out from his large sleeve, supple yet extremely condensed, like green smoke, and also like a sword gleam.

This Sword Qi swept out suddenly, like a strong wind rolling leaves, rushing towards the yellow-robed Daoist at an extremely fast speed!

How could he dare to be arrogant? His spiritual energy surged wildly, and earthy-yellow spiritual light circulated and covered his entire body.

Hiss.

Two shattering sounds overlapped, one left and one right, and the protective spiritual light was instantly torn open with two huge cracks.

The yellow-robed Daoist felt a pang of lingering fear. If he hadn’t cultivated a special method for guiding spiritual energy, he would have been severely injured by this attack.

He looked up, only to see that the young Cultivator did not appear to be showing much fatigue.

This person’s spiritual energy and Divine Sense were far beyond those of ordinary Cultivators!

Ju Luyi had long since found a corner to hide, secretly observing the situation in the field.

Seeing that this Senior Song could actually fight one against two and suppress the opponents, she couldn’t help but feel a little astonished.

"So powerful."

Song Yan felt the power of that Sword Qi just now, his eyes flickering.

This swordsmanship was called "Sleeve Green Snake."

It was a set of sword techniques, not only sword skills and moves but also included methods for using Sword Qi and techniques for controlling swords.

It was not very difficult to grasp the basics, and its Sword Dao was profound and intricate, worthy of long days of practice and study.

Most importantly, some of its core Sword Dao principles would be extremely helpful for future practice of Sword Formations.

The Long-faced Cultivator beside him also noticed that something was wrong.

This young man was fully engaged with his big brother while also dealing with his side, clearly not the kind of fool they often encountered before.

The two exchanged glances, seeing the ruthlessness in each other’s eyes.

The spiritual energy fluctuations around both of them began to intensify.

"It seems they are only getting serious now."

At this point, Song Yan had lost interest in fighting them to practice his sword skills.

If he were to face two ordinary Late Stage Qi Refining Cultivators like these, without any particularly powerful techniques or Spiritual Artifacts, then with his Sword Dao True Essence and Cloud Piercing Sword, he could indeed fight one against two.

However... there wasn’t just one green snake in his sleeve.

"Xiao He."

Hiss—

The hiss of a cold-blooded animal sounded, and a bamboo leaf-shaped green leaf, like a flying knife, attacked the Long-faced Cultivator.

He frowned and leaped up, but was surprised to find that the faintly glowing green leaf actually pursued his movements like a Spiritual Artifact!

In a moment of desperation, the mother-child flying blades were immediately thrown out, cutting the green leaf into two halves.

One of the halves grazed his protective spiritual garment, and the spiritual energy slowly melted away like snow under a warm sun.

"What?!"

Xiao He slightly opened her mouth, and green demonic energy condensed within it.

It quickly transformed into a new green leaf, which shot out with a whoosh, continuing towards the Long-faced Cultivator.

Then it swiftly moved, disappearing amidst the wreckage of the Daoist temple.

Thereafter, from time to time, one or two green leaves would shoot out from who knows where.

Yet, the demonic energy within them was condensed and its nature bizarre; a single misstep would result in one’s spiritual energy being dispelled.

"Damn beast!"

The Long-faced Cultivator cursed, his Divine Sense expanded to its maximum, but he found no trace of the small snake.

He had to contend with the Flying Sword while also guarding against the small snake’s insidious sneak attacks, his mind growing weary, and his spiritual energy consumption accelerating.

The yellow-robed Cultivator’s heart sank, and a spiritual talisman flew out from his qiankun bag.

The spiritual light on it surged, transforming into a blood aura that disappeared into his chest.

His body slowly grew larger, and in a moment, he actually transformed into a "giant" about ten feet tall.

Spiritual energy poured out, and his twin hammers also grew in size.

He slammed them into the ground, unleashing a large golden wave of spiritual energy that surged outwards.

With the Long-faced Cultivator held up by Xiao He, Song Yan no longer held back.

In the blink of an eye, his eyes were tinged with gold.

Sword Qi surged around him, his white Daoist robe billowed without wind, and the Zhen Dao Sword Mansion emitted a clear sword cry.

Lingyun Intent was unleashed, dodging the surging spiritual light.

At the same time, streaks of white sword shadows, imbued with the color of wind and thunder, swiftly flew out from the sword box behind him, circling and circulating in the air.

With a flick of his sword-finger, the Unmoored Boat transformed into a black-and-white stream of light.

Buzz—

The yellow-robed Cultivator charged towards Song Yan, his large hammers flying and deflecting the Unmoored Boat.

But the Flying Sword was sharp, with wind and thunder surging upon it.

The yellow-robed Cultivator’s protective spiritual light seemed on the verge of shattering and collapsing.

He, however, paid it no mind. One of his large hammers dragged on the ground, then suddenly lifted, stirring up flying sand and rocks to obscure vision.

Then, spiritual energy condensed, falling from the air, attempting to kill Song Yan on the spot.

Boom—

The twin hammers slammed into the ground, creating a huge crater in the ground of Nanshan Temple, with countless cracks spreading outwards.

However, there was no bloody figure within it.

"How..."

Buzz!

The Unmoored Boat’s spiritual light surged, suddenly stabbing from behind. No matter how quick the yellow-robed Cultivator’s reaction, he merely turned around and blocked with his twin hammers in front of him.

A green sword gleam flickered within, following the momentum of the Flying Sword, and instantly pierced out.

Green scales hide their edge, waiting for the right moment to strike.

The protective spiritual garment was immediately shredded by these two sharp sword gleams, like venomous snake fangs.

"Not good!"

Wind aided the thunder’s momentum; nine white sword shadows containing the spiritual intent of wind and thunder swiftly circled around him. The Unmoored Boat flipped and flew, hovering above his head.

At this moment, the yellow-robed Cultivator was at a point where his old strength was gone and new strength had not yet emerged.

Hiss.

The first sword shadow pierced into the yellow-robed Cultivator’s shoulder, a sharp pain struck, lightning surged, his shoulder and arm went numb, and the large hammers in his hands almost slipped.

Then five more sword shadows entered in quick succession, penetrating various vital acupoints on his body.

"Ah—"

He cried out in pain, his huge body leaning forward, about to fall.

But a powerful Sword Qi slowly lifted him up.

All the Sword Qi in that instant suddenly converged, and the black-and-white sword light, accompanied by wind and thunder, crashed down with a roar.

Boom—

The chaotic Sword Qi, carried by the mountain wind, dispersed the bloody smell in the temple.

Xiao Ju had hidden in a corner behind the Pill Furnace early on. When the strong wind subsided, she slowly opened her eyes.

She saw several white sword lights, trailing streaks of afterimages, circling and converging in the sky, one by one returning to the sword box behind Song Yan.