White-Robed Chief

‘Ding…’ went Chu Li’s Modesty Sword. With his sword sideways in front of his throat, he blocked Zhuge Tian’s sword.

A copious amount of force was conveyed from the body towards him. It forced Chu Li to move a step backward due to it.

The Modesty Sword was stuck; it was glued tightly to Zhuge Tian’s sword in such a way that it could not be break loose from the amount of strength exerted on it.

A peculiar inner energy was passed on through the Modesty Sword, which turned into a strange tack. Even if Chu Li freed his palms, the Modesty Sword would still be stuck due to friction and he could not get rid of it.

Chu Li scoffed softly. He wanted to see if he could actually hold it until the end!

Spiritual force gushed into Chu Li from all directions, which transformed into his own inner energy. However, his inner energy was engulfed in the blink of an eye and turned into Zhuge Tian’s inner energy.

Zhuge Tian held onto his long sword and sneered.

Chu Li really had some capabilities as he had managed to block his invincible and impervious sword technique. Indeed, he had a well-deserved reputation. Chu Li’s sword technique must then be astounding as well.

Nevertheless, Zhuge Tian was much stronger than Chu Li. Other than the Cloud Slashing Sword Technique, the Cloud Slashing Power was also one of his expertise. With the two techniques combined, Zhuge Tian’s sword technique would not kill Chu Li but engulf his inner energy instead. This would directly destroy his body, causing him to lose his life instantly.

Zhuge Tian frowned, he noticed something weird.

Chu Li’s limit of inner energy was odd. Although it had been engulfed since the beginning of the battle, there was no sign of depletion at all. For a normal person, the inner energy would have already been drained by now; this would have allowed Zhuge Tian to manipulate his foes as he wished.

Even though his inner energy was growing continuously, Zhuge Tian grew hesitant instead. He wondered if he should stop the absorption, in case he lost control. Moreover, Zhuge Tian was dismayed by this development as well; if he engulfed a large amount of vigorous inner energy, his cultivation level would improve again. Even if he was not able to catch up to his father’s level, he would now.

If he did surpass his father, Zhuge Tian’s words would finally be heard in the Crouching Bull Mountain. He could finally walk with his head held high!

Spiritual force from all directions kept flowing through his body. Chu Li stared at Zhuge Tian with an intense expression as they both held on to their swords. They were locked in place and competed vigorously to engulf each other’s inner energies.

Zhuge Tian’s inner energy kept growing stronger. Yet, at a gradual pace, he showed signs of losing control. He was slightly startled and withdrew himself. He planned to remove himself and perform a channeling instead to cut off Chu Li’s heart meridian.

Zhuge Tian was unwilling to use that inner energy to attack Chu Li. This was because once Chu Li dies, that inner energy would disappear along with him as well. He would not be able to channel it back into his body in time and would not be able to turn them into his own cultivation level.

Out of greed, Zhuge Tian started to transport the inner energy back.

Chu Li was relieved, his Heavenly Demonic Orb turned and engulfed that inner energy instantly. His energy was greatly replenished.

Zhuge Tian’s expression changed. With a sudden realization, Zhuge Tian knew that he had paved the way for Chu Li!

Chu Li instantaneously attacked him with his Modesty Sword.

In Zhuge Tian’s state of shock, Chu Li pierced right through his shoulder during his distraction. He did not manage to dodge it in time but managed to move his heart away from being pierced at that crucial moment.

‘What a pity!’ thought Chu Li. He then stabbed him with his sword again.

He dared not dismiss the fact that the Heavenly Demonic Orb could turn into the Heavenly Demon Body. Without the Heavenly Demonic Orb, Chu Li would not be able to defeat the Cloud Slashing Power.

Zhuge Tian’s sword glinted as he performed the Cloud Slashing Sword Technique.

‘Ding, ding, ding, ding…’ The lightning speed of their moving swords was unbelievably fast and unrivaled.

Chu Li frowned as he already could not transform into the Heavenly Demon Body. Even after the Infinite Azure Sea was overlaid five times with the rampart of the Seven Forms of Godly Sword, he was still not quicker than the Cloud Slashing Sword Technique. The Cloud Slashing Sword Technique was truly formidable.

‘Tss!’ Chu Li narrowly escaped the sword’s clutches from slicing his throat.

All of Zhuge Tian’s traditional studies were slightly inferior as compared to Chu Li’s.

Zhuge Tian had a nimble body technique, a swift sword technique, and overbearing inner energy. It was fortunate that Chu Li had the Omniscient Mirror and the Life and Death Scripture, so he was still able to withstand all of the disadvantages. If someone with a similar cultivation level had attempted to fight Zhuge Tian, that person would have been dead long ago from the mercy of the sword; or passed away from Zhuge Tian’s Cloud Slashing Power.

Chu Li suddenly pointed at Zhuge Tian with the Petrifying Finger.

The Petrifying Finger managed to hit him.

‘Puff’ went half of the inner energy within Chu Li’s body. The energy disappeared but Chu Li was quite pleased.

However, the force of the Petrifying Finger was suddenly engulfed by Zhuge Tian. It was like a clay ox being swallowed up by the sea. It disappeared into his body without stirring a sound. Zhuge Tian did not slow down; not even the slightest. Instead, his inner energy had greatly increased due to this. His attack with the sword had gotten even faster.

Chu Li saw that something was off, so he shot out a flying blade.

“Ding…” The flying blade was easily deflected away by the body of the sword.

Chu Li frowned. He suddenly took two steps back and seven steps in great speed and disappeared from Zhuge Tian’s sight abruptly.

Zhuge Tian immediately chased after him. He almost managed to catch up to Chu Li’s shadow. He was only a step away.

He lowered his head to look at Chu Li’s footsteps and imitated him as he took seven steps back.

Unfortunately, Zhuge Tian was right where he stood before. Nothing had changed.

Zhuge Tian stepped onto a treetop and flew under the moonlight. After he had dashed away for a moment, he lowered his head only to find that he was still at the same spot as before. He was going in circles.

He realized that he had fallen into a formation. Zhuge Tian did not think that Chu Li actually knew the formations!

—

Chu Li teleported and appeared in a courtyard that was halfway up the mountain. He arrived at a woodshed in the courtyard and opened a floorboard under the bed which revealed a cellar.

The cellar was not very big as it was only about ten feet. Inside the stone cellar, there was a shelf with a few things placed on it. On the very top was a purple box with a murky luster.

Chu Li smiled. He went up and opened the box that revealed a thin book placed inside.

Four tiny characters were written on the thin book, as each line and stroke was written properly and neatly to spell: “Cloud Slashing Treasure Manual.”

By the looks of it, the four tiny characters were written by someone who was poor in writing. It looked ugly and unsightly. However, one must not judge the book by its cover.

From the four characters, one would certainly doubt if it was the real Cloud Slashing Treasure Manual.

Chu Li flipped through every page and read through it. Each page showed a sword technique, where the content recorded was exactly like the Cloud Slashing Sword Technique.

From what he could perceive, the Cloud Slashing Sword Technique was not exquisite in any way. Chu Li could only describe it in one word — quick.

It took speeds to the extreme. This made its user shockingly quick and far beyond one’s imagination.

It was the quickness that made him lose out in a big way from every facet of the battle.

Regardless of how exquisite the Seven Forms of Godly Sword was, he was always slower than Zhuge Tian. This prevented Chu Li from being able to completely perform the sword technique. This caused him to change his technique halfway in order to go against Zhuge Tian. The technique completely repressed the Seven Forms of Godly Sword.

After the Cloud Slashing Sword Technique, there was a page on the topic of a heart technique. After that, there was nothing else.

Chu Li frowned. ‘Could it be that the secret manual is incomplete?’ he thought to himself. ‘Wasn’t it supposed to involve the secret of the Enlightened Mastery’s Boundary?’ Throughout the entire record, there was nothing related to the Enlightened Mastery.

Chu Li kept the book so that he could slowly study it when he returned. He took it away and looked at the other items in the cellar.

He found a treasured sword and a treasure knife. Other than that, there were only a couple of curious items.

Chu Li had no interest in curiosities at the moment since he was not in need of money. He was not one who desired wealth. Nonetheless, it would be nice if he brought some back for Xiao Shi to admire them since those were all unique and top-grade antiques.

Chu Li wrapped those items up in his bag and swept everything away. He then teleported and appeared at the Tianshu Courtyard.

The lights at the Tianshu Courtyard illuminated with such intensity that it looked like it was daytime.

Xiao Shi just had her dinner and was dressed in a loose, pink gown. She was walking around in the courtyard leisurely and enjoying the moonlight. When she saw that Chu Li had appeared with a bag, she smiled. “What were you up to this time?”

Chu Li replied, “I’ve got some good stuff.”

After he said that, Chu Li placed the baggage on the stone table and opened it. He presented a couple of the antiques.

Xiao Shi sat down next to him. When she saw those antiques, she was quite interested.

Ever since she was a child, Xiao Shi’s body was too weak to conduct extreme movements. She mostly spent her time reading books or playing the harp. She would admire and play with antiques as her hobby. Although she was not very fond of the activity to the point of enthusiasm, it was something she enjoyed doing to perk up her mood.

“Where did you get these from? This jade is quite nice. Unfortunately, its carved work is not as good as yours.” Xiao Shi took a jade rabbit out and played with it. She shook her head gently.

Chu Li said, “I brought them from the Crouching Bull Mountain.”

“Have you killed that man?” asked Xiao Shi casually. She did not look up at all.

Chu Li sighed. “It’ll have to wait for a while.”

The power of the formation he performed was not very strong. Chu Li made it hastily and did not manage to set it up meticulously. Nonetheless, it would be able to trap Zhuge Tian for long. He wanted to see if it would wear him out.