Chapter 645 (1): Obtaining Golden Cores

The young sword cultivator barely had time to feel stunned, and the old sword cultivator had already retracted his fist stance and stood still in a graceful manner, with one hand clasped behind his back. He raised his other hand and stroked his beard, smiling and saying in smug satisfaction, "My sword qi truly is invincible."

This left the young sword cultivator dazed for a long time. This area of the battlefield was already empty, with the demons in the distance taking a detour and running to other areas of the battlefield instead. In fact, even the demons that had yet to gain intelligence still ran away on instinct.

The old sword cultivator swept his gaze across the battlefield. Several demon cultivators with relatively low cultivation bases had already been annihilated along with their weapons, leaving not a single item behind. This was quite a shame.

He needed to take more care the next time he attacked — a measly profit was better than nothing.

The young sword cultivator flew to the old sword cultivator's side and asked, "Old Senior?"

The old sword cultivator stroked his beard and smiled, replying in a hoarse voice, "Just call me Senior Sword Immortal. I haven't lived long enough to be called old. Oh, I truly don't deserve to be called old."

The young sword cultivator was rendered speechless.

Meanwhile, the old sword cultivator had already flown away on his sword, sticking close to the ground as he rapidly barraged through the demon formations like an agile fish through seaweed. He exclusively launched his flying sword at the demon cultivators, killing them if he could, and wounding them if that was the best he could do.

He also timed his attacks perfectly, not affecting the attacks launched by the other sword cultivators on the battlefield.

The young sword cultivator glanced at the weaving and attacking figure of the so-called senior sword immortal, unable to gauge his cultivation base. He suppressed the puzzlement in his mind and ventured south with his sword, making his way to another area of the battlefield.

More than six thousand Middle Five Tier sword cultivators left the great wall to fight on the battlefield time and time again. This sounded like a huge number, but in reality, it was nothing compared to the size of the battlefield, which stretched for over five hundred kilometers. The sword cultivators would all face immense danger from the tsunami of attacking demons.

Meanwhile, the many Abode Tier and Sea Observation Tier cultivators were largely just tempering their swords and familiarizing themselves with the battlefield. They needed to both hone their sword skills and kill demons at the same time, so it was inevitable that they needed to be somewhat looked after by the sword cultivators with higher cultivation bases.

According to the rules set by the Hidden Official, cultivators at the Abode Tier and Sea Observation Tier should first seek to stay alive before seeking to achieve a breakthrough, and the last thing they should seek was to kill more demons. As for earth immortal sword cultivators, who possessed relatively high cultivation bases and destructive power, they should first seek to kill demons and secondarily seek to protect the weaker Abode Tier and Sea Observation Tier sword cultivators.

There were sword cultivators guarding the city wall, so they didn't need to worry about demons sneaking around the battlefield to attack the city wall. Of course, this was as long as the northern and southern defensive lines didn't collapse too badly.

Dragon Gate Tier sword cultivators, who sat between the earth immortals and the two lower tiers of the Middle Five Tier cultivators, had relatively fewer responsibilities by comparison, allowing them to act more decisively. They could kill demons by themselves, or they could form teams with companions at the same cultivation base. They weren't bound by many rules.

Many sword cultivators formed groups of three to five, and what was unique was that the bonded mystical abilities of the various flying swords could stack. While slaying demons beyond the city wall, these teams also strove to improve the cooperation of their flying swords on the battlefield.

The Golden Core Tier and Nascent Tier sword cultivators responsible for protecting the latter groups of sword cultivators would often prioritize this responsibility over killing demons to earn military merit. This was especially the case since the earth immortal sword cultivators would face heavy punishment if these groups of sword cultivators suffered damage to their Great Dao or flying swords, or even lost their lives in battle. Ignoring the safety of these groups of sword cultivators and trying to earn military merit to balance the punishments would be an incredibly bad deal.

Once the sword cultivators left the city wall, however, there were actually few rules from the Hidden Official restricting their actions on the battlefield. As a result, the sword cultivators were able to pay very close attention to each rule.

The old sword cultivator passed through a section of the battlefield very far away from the city wall, where the battles taking place were especially violent and deadly.

These sword cultivators had managed to kill all of the demons near the city wall and advance south more than five kilometers, a clear representation of their outstanding destructive power and killing intent.

However, the seven sword cultivators were already surrounded by dozens of demon cultivators and thousands of ordinary demon soldiers. In fact, there were even three Golden Core Tier "great demons."

The old sword cultivator saw two familiar faces: the Dragon Gate Tier Ren Yi and the Golden Core Tier Pu Yu. Both had been responsible for manning the three trials on the streets back then, and the old sword cultivator heaved a sigh as he glanced at Pu Yu. He was still an eyesore, and his appearance was still as punchable as always.

Thankfully for the handsome young master, he wasn't part of the Hidden Official's lineage. Otherwise, he would have been severely scolded by the old sword cultivator already. So be it if the graceful young master in white sparred with others in the city while drinking wine, but he was even insisting on displaying the demeanor of an otherworldly immortal while fighting on the battlefield? This was fairly inappropriate, no?

The standard Dao robe from the garment market didn't cost a single copper coin, so was it a very impressive feat for him to be wearing one? If it weren't for the rules stating that each sword cultivator could only collect one standard Dao robe for free, the old sword cultivator could even wear seven or eight if he wanted to. At the same time, he would carry another seven to eight standard swords from the sword market as he rushed to the battlefield.

This old sword cultivator, who insisted on others calling him Senior Sword Immortal, was naturally none other than the infamous Lord Hidden Official.

After gaining the nicknames "Second Shopkeeper Who Deals Fairly" and "Felled By One Punch Chen Ping'an," he had now earned himself one more nickname, "Truly Hidden Official Leaving Others to Die."

The Hidden Official had previously been "killed" in a surprise attack by the traitorous Sword Immortal Lie Ji.

The position of Hidden Official had been left empty for a long time, and when the messenger flying sword engraved with the characters "Hidden Official" arrived at the city wall, almost all of the sword cultivators at the Sword Qi Great Wall were already roughly aware of the situation.

After all, when the demon tribe had summoned a torrent of immortal treasures and the sword cultivators of the Savage World had challenged the Sword Qi Great Wall two times, the waterfall of sword qi at the city wall had shifted formations many times and killed a great number of Nascent Tier demon cultivators.

After a while, and following some rumination from the sword cultivators, they had understood more about the purpose of the wine shop.

If it weren't for the Hidden Official's flying sword blocking the sword cultivators from rendering assistance when the formidably powerful Great Demon Yang Zhi was brutally killing sword immortals, the young outsider who had become the second shopkeeper and then become the Hidden Official would have completely turned his reputation at the Sword Immortal around, going from extremely disreputable to incredibly reputable.

Chen Ping'an was in no hurry to make a move. As a Golden Core Tier sword cultivator, Pu Yu was very likely the guardian sword cultivator for this group of young sword cultivators. Moreover, as a Dragon Gate Tier sword cultivator who could casually wander around the battlefield, Ren Yi probably wanted to join forces with Pu Yu to break the enemy's formations. They could look out for each other, and they could also kill more demons at the same time.

This was because Pu Yu's bonded flying sword, Rain Curtain, possessed strong illusion capabilities, able to transform into many forms and thus easily deceive enemies on the battlefield. In any case, Pu Yu was able to rapidly swap between his true and false flying swords, with his destructive power also fairly decent.

Chen Ping'an carefully observed the battlefield, feeling even less worried after doing so. He feigned wanting to help, yet his appearance betrayed his supposed lack of confidence. He wandered around the fringes several times, killing some demons that were attempting to navigate around the battlefield and charge toward the city wall in the north.

The demons could earn military merit as long as they reached the city wall, and they would further receive abundant military merit if they managed to ascend the city wall. Even if they were eventually killed and had no kills of their own, the military tents of the Savage World would still record their military merits and reward their clan or disciples.

Chen Ping'an had his eyes locked on a seemingly unremarkable demon cultivator. It wasn't that the demon cultivator was exuding the aura of a great demon, but rather, Chen Ping'an instinctively found the demon cultivator to be an eyesore. At the same time, the demon cultivator appeared confident of victory on this small battlefield, seemingly unconcerned and happy to either attack or defend. Yet, despite this, the demon cultivator appeared unreasonably content to fight to the death.

This demon cultivator's cultivation base was currently unknown, and it looked as if it were carelessly attacking with its full strength, unleashing offensive spirit tools in a very flashy manner. However, this demon cultivator could count itself unlucky to have come across the so-called old sword cultivator.

A Golden Core Tier demon overseeing this section of the battlefield also found the wandering old sword cultivator to be a huge eyesore, so it instructed three of its subordinate demon cultivators to test the old man's mettle.

What Chen Ping'an cared about wasn't the three demon cultivators that had left the battlefield, nor the command of the Golden Core Tier demon. Rather, his focus remained on the demon that was very possibly a concealed demon cultivator. Chen Ping'an became increasingly confident that it was this demon that had warned the Golden Core Tier demon cultivator to deal with him, a minor uncertainty on the battlefield, lest he ruin their grand plans. For example, the demons' plan to kill Pu Yu and Ren Yi, two young and prodigious sword cultivators.

This was because Pu Yu and Ren Yi both possessed decent cultivation bases and had participated in two major battles before. Moreover, they would have very good chances of retreating from the battlefield if they were willing to abandon the other youthful sword cultivators and leave them for dead.

Pu Yu and Ren Yi were undoubtedly young prodigies of the Sword Qi Great Wall, and they couldn't be written off as minor characters simply because the so-called small group they belonged to had the resplendent Qi Shou and Gao Yehou.

Dong Huafu had once offered assessments of the two sword cultivators in private, surprisingly speaking positively of Ren Yi and relatively negatively of Pu Yu. On Ren Yi, Dong Huafu had described him as one of the younger Dragon Gate Tier sword cultivators with the quickest flying sword. On the other hand, he had described Pu Yu as the most fragile Golden Core Tier sword cultivator, someone who was all show and no substance.

However, while true for sword cultivators in battle, these assessments didn't paint the full picture for sword cultivators in general. The lineage of the Hidden Official held Pu Yu and his bonded flying sword in extremely high regard, seeing that the flying sword could play a remarkable role on the battlefield. Thus, Pu Yu's bonded flying sword was categorized as a third-grade flying sword, only slightly inferior to Qi Shou's Jumping Spider, which was categorized as a second-grade flying sword by the lineage of the Hidden Official.

Meanwhile, Wu Chengpei's Sweet Dew was a first-grade bonded flying sword. Other second-grade flying swords included Yue Qing's Thousand Feet Spring and Soaring Cloud Sparrow, as well as the bonded flying sword of the Southern Whirl Continent's Sword Immortal Yuan Qingshu. However, it was quite surprising that many destructively powerful bonded flying swords of sword immortals weren't ranked highly by the summer palace.

Of course, this was a very basic form of categorization from the lineage of the Hidden Official, especially given that it only considered these flying swords in the context of the battlefield.

Chen Ping'an didn't hesitate anymore after confirming the demon's trump card, no longer wandering around as he stepped onto the standard sword from the sword market and charged at the three subordinate demon cultivators using the legitimate sword manipulation techniques of sword cultivators. He stuck close to the ground and flew around in a huge arc, just barely dodging the attack of a bonded spirit tool before tapping his foot against the standard sword and sending it rushing toward a demon cultivator as if it were a flying sword.

Meanwhile, the so-called old sword cultivator had already jumped off the standard sword and summoned a bonded flying sword called Account Book, using it to target another Sea Observation Tier demon cultivator. The flying sword pierced through the demon's head, and Chen Ping'an reached over to stabilize the corpse, preventing it from self-destructing its bonded acupoints. At the same time, he grabbed a copper bell from the demon's waist and put it inside his sleeve, after which he threw the corpse at the spectacular attack of the third demon cultivator.

His actions were as smooth as drifting clouds and flowing water, a reflection of just how practiced he was.

Chen Ping'an reached forward and made a grabbing motion, summoning the standard sword back to his side. He stepped onto the blade and ignored the two demon cultivators with middling cultivation bases as he directly charged at the great demon that was concealing its strength. He tapped his foot and dodged the attacks of several immortal techniques and spirit tools, after which he stomped the standard sword into the ground and leaped high into the air, holding two fingers together and forming hand seals as he did so.

Just like Pu Yu's Rain Curtain, Account Book instantly split into more than a dozen swords, with each sword containing varying amounts of sword intent. Regardless, all of the flying swords pointed directly at the sacrificial demon.

Chen Ping'an used his mind's lake to warn Pu Yu and Ren Yi, saying in a hoarse voice, "Don't let military merit cloud your judgment, and be careful of falling into their trap."

The sacrificial demon had at most appeared like a Sea Observation Tier cultivator the entire time, but seeing that it couldn't dodge Chen Ping'an's attack, it immediately shed its disguise and transformed into a sword cultivator. Not only that, but it was at least at the peak stage of the Golden Core Tier.

A flash of sword light appeared on its glabella, and its mystical bonded flying sword materialized as specks of flickering gold, forming a shield that surprisingly blocked the dozen or so flying swords launched by the unfamiliar old sword cultivator from the Sword Qi Great Wall, releasing a series of crisp ringing sounds.

Meanwhile, the sacrificial demon sword cultivator that had been concealing its strength the entire time also used its mind's lake to warn the three Golden Core Tier demon cultivators, saying, "He's at least a Golden Core Tier sword cultivator, and his flying swords are very strange. All of them are real, which is different from Pu Yu's Rain Curtain. Don't hold back anymore, and aim to kill Ren Yi and wound Pu Yu, which should entice this person to stay behind. We can then work together to kill him."

The specks of golden light released by the demon sword cultivator's bonded flying sword rapidly gathered together, eventually condensing into a single speck that became increasingly radiant. It then shot toward its enemy's head.

The old sword cultivator, who had astutely seen through the demon sword cultivator's concealment, rapidly descended to the ground and nimbly changed directions before continuing to charge forward.

The sacrificial demon casually made a grabbing motion and retrieved an abandoned standard sword from the ground, shifting slightly to the side as it slashed down.

The old sword cultivator bent his knees slightly and released a sudden burst of power, kicking up plumes of dust and causing the earth to rumble as he moved as quickly as a wisp of smoke, dodging a flying sword and evading a ray of sword light before rapidly approaching the demon sword cultivator.

This allowed the sacrificial demon sword cultivator to feel much more confident. Its opponent had a great number of strange flying swords, and he was also able to skillfully manipulate them, but the destructive power of the flying swords was very ordinary and nothing to be afraid of. However, the bonded mystical ability of the flying sword was yet to be revealed, and this would definitely prove to be most troublesome.

Yet, by the looks of it, its opponent actually dared to charge forward to engage in close-quarters combat? In that case, the demon sword cultivator wouldn't hold back anymore. This impudent old geezer actually wanted to challenge the toughness and strength of his physique?!

Their flying swords clashed again in the next moment, with Chen Ping'an's flying sword once again transforming into more than a dozen swords, and the demon sword cultivator's flying sword shifting between specks of golden light and a condensed speck of light. Sparks flew as the distance between them shrank to thirty or so paces.

When the distance between them was less than fifteen paces, their flying swords clashed again, with ripples of sword qi exploding outward alongside the dazzling sparks. The surrounding spiritual energy became chaotic, and many sparks that contained remnant sword qi inflicted excruciating pain upon the demons they struck even though they appeared so insignificant. Looking again, these sparks had actually blasted bloody and gaping wounds into the bodies of the demons.

The demon sword cultivator felt even more composed and confident. It was still holding back a little in these exchanges, while its opponent had likely unleashed his full strength. They could see each other very clearly now, with just fifteen paces between them, and sure enough, the old sword cultivator was showing signs of wanting to retreat after his large number of nimble flying swords failed to achieve their aim.

A hint of panic flashed through the old sword cultivator's eyes, with his rapid charge suddenly slowing down ever so slightly. Yet, he still feigned composure as he ground to a halt and jumped backward. At the same time, he channeled his flying swords with his full power, evidenced by the fact that he was finally willing to activate their bonded mystical ability. He no longer concealed his abilities, and he summoned a sword formation that separated him and the demon sword cultivator.

The demon sword cultivator no longer felt any concern. Even though the old sword cultivator before him wasn't recorded in the book describing sword cultivators from the Sword Qi Great Wall, being able to kill a Golden Core Tier sword cultivator from the Great Wall was ultimately an unexpected surprise and a source of bountiful military merit!

The demon sword cultivator used its bonded flying sword to shatter the old man's formation, not giving him any chance to retreat and flee. It then lunged over and slashed down at the old sword cultivator, who had a desperate look in his eyes.

He needed to pay with his life if he wanted to rescue the others!

Flustered and with no other option, the old sword cultivator could only tilt his head and raise a hand to block the sword strike. Otherwise, it would be difficult for him to escape the fate of being cleaved into two.

Everything happened in a flash.

The sacrificial demon sword cultivator appeared a little dazed as it looked down. Its soul tremored violently, and its heart was gripped by agonizing pain.

The old sword cultivator in front of it still had an expression of terror and panic, yet his left hand had an extremely firm grip on the slashing sword. Not only that, but his right hand had punched through the demon's chest like an armored horseman punching through the enemy formation.

His fist didn't pierce through the back of the demon's body, however, and it was instead wrapped around an elusive golden core. Before this, he had already released his tremendous fist intent to destroy the acupoints neighboring the demon's bonded acupoint. It was as if Chen Ping'an had created an isolated small world in the demon's body, preventing it from self-destructing its golden core.

Before losing consciousness for the final time, the sacrificial demon sword cultivator saw the bastardly old sword cultivator continuing to put on a show. There was a sincere look of lingering apprehension on his face, but this was quickly replaced by a wide smile as Chen Ping'an said in a modest and apologetic voice, "I was very lucky to enjoy this small victory."

Elsewhere, the Savage World's attacking army was successfully split into two by the golden river created by the sages of the Three Teachings.

The sword immortals protected the long river, while the demons behind them could only fight like caged beasts, with no reinforcements able to break through. The demons were forced into a chaotic battle against the Middle Five Tier sword cultivators who had left the city wall.

However, it most certainly wouldn't be easy for the sword immortals to guard the river for extended periods of time, severing the battlefield into two and holding the colossal demon army at bay.

Each sword immortal needed to face a huge number of ferociously charging demons.