Chapter 217 — The Cerulean Marsh

My Dao to Eternity

Chapter 217 — The Cerulean Marsh

His footsteps blurred a heartbeat later. Space fractured around his body as he vanished and reappeared directly before her, his sword already descending in a silent vertical cut without the slightest warning.

She tore the strand of pearls from her throat in a desperate final motion and crushed three of them at once. Three shields of swirling blue water formed before her in rapid succession. The first shattered instantly. The second cracked and dispersed. The third slowed the sword for a single breath, giving her enough time to throw herself backward, but the edge still caught her shoulder and cut across her collarbone before she crashed into the mud.

Of the seven cultivators who had entered the clearing, only Jiang Chenyu and the badly wounded woman remained upright. Five bodies lay motionless in the reddening fog.

Li Fan stepped forward, his boots striking wet limestone with soft clicks. His sword pointed downward as a single drop of blood slid from its edge and disappeared into the mud. The woman clutched her ruined shoulder, breathing heavily, her eyes fixed on him as his shadow reached her.

He raised his arm and aligned the sword with her throat.

The killing strike never landed.

A streak of starlight tore through the fog from directly overhead. It moved so quickly that Li Fan's sword had not yet reached the woman's throat when the surrounding air changed. The heavy, humid water-qi of the Nine Rivers Sect vanished, replaced by cold, sharp sword pressure. The starlight struck the ground inches from the woman's head and exploded into white sparks. Li Fan withdrew half a step, his Sword Intent suppressing the strongest residual force before it reached her.

Four figures descended from the high canopy with controlled movements. Long white robes bordered in silver settled around them as their feet touched the ruined limestone.

The Falling Star Sword Sect.

At their front stood a pale young man with an elegant face and an expression Li Fan could not read. His stillness came from long discipline of the sword. In his right hand was a named treasured sword whose edge carried faint stellar light, bright enough to force the surrounding fog back twenty yards. Behind him stood a heavier cultivator with a sharper aura. Two younger disciples followed, each wearing a matching silver-steel sword at the waist.

"A fine sword," the leading cultivator said. His voice remained cold and detached, his attention fixed upon Li Fan's sword rather than the bodies scattered through the clearing. "To comprehend such pure Sword Intent at Early-Stage Core Shattering, in a region this distant from the teachings of a major sect, is rare. It is unfortunate that your life ends here. I am Jian Suyao."

Jiang Chenyu, still protecting the ribs damaged by his own reflected River Dragon, drew a ragged breath. "Jian Suyao. Your Falling Star Sect dares interfere in Nine Rivers affairs?"

Jian Suyao did not look toward him. "The Nine Rivers Sect has already failed here. This masked cultivator possesses knowledge concerning the western formation trace. My master requires his soul for questioning. Stand aside, Jiang Chenyu, before my sword forgets the alliance between our sects."

Li Fan stood between the two groups, his divine sense moving rapidly while his expression remained hidden behind the mask. Two Great Sects had converged upon his exact position within the same hour. Such a coincidence required attention. He stored the matter in his mind for later consideration.

Rather than retreat or raise his sword in open challenge, Li Fan did something that caused both leaders across the clearing to narrow their eyes.

He sheathed his sword.

With his right hand, he drew a high-grade spirit stone from his storage ring, then took out a deep crimson Spirit Restoration Pill and swallowed it without hesitation. Medicinal heat spread through his exhausted meridians. His palm closed around the spirit stone, drawing its stored energy into his depleted reserves. His movements remained calm despite the eight cultivators watching him.

"Arrogant," the heavier Falling Star cultivator said. His sword left its sheath with a sharp ring. "Senior Brother Jian, allow me to take his head."

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"No." Jian Suyao's voice remained quiet as Meteor's Edge rose to a measured forty-five-degree angle. "His Sword Intent is deep. You cannot kill him alone. We attack together. Do not allow him to finish recovering."

He stepped forward. The moment his boot touched the mud, cold dark-blue radiance spread from his body thirty yards in every direction. The fog within the area froze into fine crystals and drifted slowly through the suddenly frigid air.

Li Fan felt the domain press against his mind. The force targeted his consciousness and composure rather than his physical body. His will remained steady. He released the drained spirit stone from his palm. His qi had recovered to nearly eighty percent, while the medicinal heat remained within his chest.

"A domain," he said through the mask. "Then let us see whether your stars can withstand the origin."

The two Early-Stage Core Shattering Falling Star disciples moved first. They attacked from opposite flanks, twin streaks of white light aimed toward both sides of Li Fan's head. His footsteps blurred between them. Space fractured as he vanished and appeared behind the nearer disciple. His sword followed immediately in a backward thrust that pierced through the shoulder and disrupted the man's meridians. His next motion was a low sweep that struck the second disciple's knees before the man could react. Both cultivators fell within a single breath.

"Die!"

The heavier cultivator roared and leaped over his fallen companions. His broad sword descended in an arc filled with compressed stellar qi, carrying the full force of his Mid-Stage Core Shattering cultivation.

Li Fan did not retreat. His left hand shot forward, his fingers hardened by Returning Marrow strength. A sharp force erupted from his palm and caught the flat of the descending sword, pulling its angle away from its intended path. His right hand moved at the same instant, driving his sword directly into the joint of the man's elbow.

The tendons parted beneath the strike. The broad sword fell into the mud as its owner staggered backward, clutching his damaged arm and gritting his teeth against the pain.

Before Li Fan could pursue, a sudden and immediate danger surged through his senses.

Jian Suyao had moved to the edge of his own domain. Meteor's Edge drew backward in a slow, controlled arc. The full power of his Peak Core Shattering cultivation gathered within the sword. His understanding of the sword condensed into the blade as the frozen stellar light of the domain rapidly converged toward its edge. The clearing fell into darkness.

Li Fan planted his feet. The darkness remained for a single breath before the attack arrived.

Jian Suyao's sword cut through the darkness with concentrated stellar force. The sword light tore through the fog, stone, and ancient timber between them, filling the entire path of attack.

Li Fan understood that conserving strength would cost his life. He gathered every remaining strand of qi, extended his divine sense to its limit, and concentrated the strength of his will into the tip of his sword.

He did not raise a shield or attempt to redirect the attack. His sword drove forward in a single committed thrust. Sword Intent, qi, and physical strength gathered into one point and collided directly with the incoming stellar force.

The collision produced no sound at first. A vast pressure spread through the clearing and swept the fog from the canyon for three miles. The limestone beneath the two cultivators shattered into fine white dust. A moment later, the shockwave reached the surrounding terrain, and the resulting boom thundered through the basin, sending beasts fleeing from their dens a mile away.

Dust filled the space where the fog had been. Broken stone covered the ground around the point of impact. Some fragments remained hot from the released force, their surfaces darkened by scorched marks.

Jian Suyao staggered backward three steps. Blood appeared at the corner of his mouth. Meteor's Edge trembled violently in his hand as the sword force he had gathered was completely exhausted.

His knees nearly gave way, but he forced himself upright. His breathing came in short, heavy pulls that produced faint white mist in the cold air returning to the clearing.

Li Fan was thrown across the ruined ground. Thirty yards of scorched earth tore beneath his boots as he struggled to remain standing. Both sleeves of his robe had been torn open, and a metallic taste filled his mouth. He forced the rising blood down with Returning Marrow vitality. The density of his bones and the strength of his body allowed him to remain upright beneath the shockwave.

He looked across the wreckage. Jiang Chenyu had disappeared. During the collision, he had taken the wounded woman and retreated from the battle. Their presence had already vanished into the returning fog at the edge of the basin. The heavier Falling Star cultivator lay curled around his damaged arm. The two Early-Stage disciples remained where Li Fan had struck them. Only Jian Suyao still stood. His hand shook as he tried to raise Meteor's Edge for another attack, the cold composure from his arrival replaced by intense determination.

The light of Meteor's Edge had weakened. Its stellar glow continued to fade with each passing breath.

Li Fan assessed his condition without revealing anything through his posture. His qi remained at roughly thirty percent. Both arms ached from the force transferred through the collision. Beneath the ringing in his ears, he understood that news of this battle would spread quickly. Pursuing Jian Suyao for a complete kill would consume too much strength. Two Great Sects had already appeared here, and further cultivators could be drawn by the disturbance.

Blood ran from a shallow cut along his jaw where a fragment of stone had struck him during the collision. His left sleeve hung in two loose strips, its edges blackened by the heat. He did not stop to examine either wound. Neither would hinder his movement.