Shen Lian focused his gaze on the word, “Yuan”. Each of the strokes could be broken down, and he felt as though he was placed deep in the void staring the few impressive sword aura cutting through the sun, moon, and the stars; it made its mark on the eternal great Way.
These feeling touched him. He thought that if he were the owner of the sword aura, there was nothing that he would fear in this world, and he would be invincible.
All these were merely an illusion; Shen Lian focused his thoughts and shook off the feelings.
The sky was still dark and the snow was thick. The little demonic bird perched lazily in the corner. There were some soft straws behind it, and the little sparrow next to it stood guard responsibly akin to a bodyguard.
When Shen Lian appeared, the little demonic bird perked up and went over in a friendly manner. Shen Lian stopped it at its peak and blocked it from getting closer.
“I will feed you a little bit every day, and you should not be greedy for more,” Shen Lian shook his head and spoke.
The demonic bird moaned unhappily.
However, Shen Lian’s Mana was a lot stronger than its own. With a breeze from his fingertip, Shen Lian restrained the demonic bird and hung it up. Shen Lian toyed with it, and the demonic bird was displeased. It gave off the strange Qi and undid Shen Lian’s breeze. With a few gentle flaps of its wings, it stood on the rooftop opposite within seconds.
Shen Lian was surprised by its speed.
With Shen Lian’s spiritual consciousness, he was surprised that he did not catch all of the demonic bird’s movements earlier. Even though he was caught off guard, it still said a lot about the little demonic bird’s capabilities.
The key point was that it was still so small and weak. Imagine if the bird had reached adulthood and went through the Trial of Shapeshifting, it would be so speedy that only the likes of land immortals could capture it.
Shen Lian did not know that this demonic bird had just escaped from the hands of a Demon King as strong as a land immortal.
After the nine states of cultivation, these individuals could not be estimated with rational common sense. They were someone great who could claim to have endless Mana, and resided comfortably at some corner in the world.
Shen Lian still had the mood to toy with the bird. It was as though he had forgotten about the enemy that was soon to come.
He named the demonic bird as Qianmo, and the normal little sparrow was given the name Xiaoxun.
Qianmo meant little road, and it signified how he found the demonic bird from the roadside. On a deeper meaning, the ancient scriptures referred to “Qian” as the direction of a space. “Qian” also meant “to walk”. The Southern Dipper decided on life, while the Big Dipper decided on death. It showed the process from life to death. The character “Bai” which formed part of “Mo” in Qianmo was connected to time too. From sundown till sunrise, that was a full day. In the eyes of those who were skilled in Shushu, the time period could be segregated into one hundred portions.
When Qian and Bai were used to forming a phase, it was connected to time-space and the universe, which contained Shen Lian’s curiosity towards Qianmo itself. The eight Qi of Taixu was inseparable from the formation of the universe, and the fact that Qianmo could absorb the eight Qi of Taixu showed that both of them had some form of connection unknown to Shen Lian.
The normal little sparrow, Xiaoxun, had a name with much simpler origin. It meant that it was the one who found Qianmo.
Xiaoxun was a normal bird, to begin with, and had attained spirituality due to Shen Lian. It had also found its meaning to live due to Qianmo. On the other hand, Qianmo was not only the nobility amongst the birds, it was of precious bloodline even amongst other animals. There was a vulture that came looking for food. One stare from Qianmo had sent it flying away in fear.
Only Shen Lian would have the patience and mood to help both of the birds to shapeshift, what more to name one of the birds that could not be considered as a demon.
Time flew like water, and three days had passed just like that. Tonight, the quarter moon was shaped like a blade. The Temple of Killings had its door opened.
The enchanting moonlight shone on the white snow, but it was different from when Chen Jianmei was fighting with Monk Baoguang. Back then, it was a full moon, and right now it was a quarter moon.
Back then, Chen Jianmei had attained the state of Huandan; on the other hand, Shen Lian had not.
It was not a fight between equals; in fact, Shen Lian did not know why his opponent approached him. Perhaps they had previous grudges. If so, he probably was not qualified for Shen Lian to even look at back then.
It was the same now.
The moon outside of the window would not be different tonight.
Qianmo and Xiaoxun made themselves a nest in the hall. However, they were spiritual and did not make a mess out of the hall. The hall still looked as clean and neat as usual.
The word, “Yuan” remained at its usual spot, and was hung at the spot where one would worship the deities.
There were flames in the Daoist temple, and the moonlight that filtered in was not as bright as the man-made lamps. The wind was not strong tonight, which was why the flame did not waver in the air.
Outside the Temple of Killings, the moonlight was suddenly blocked out. A red cloud had flow over, and the Qi of devilry was seeping through. It was swirling on top and did not come down, the gigantic spiritual pressure had caused the flames in the hall to alternate between brightness and darkness.
Xiaoxun was frightened. Qianmo pecked it lightly. From its expression, it seemed to think that Xiaoxun had not seen enough of the world.
Shen Lian thought that the person would rush into the Temple of Killings. He did not expect the battle to be held in the sky. Shen Lian did not feel that he was at a disadvantage. He swept through the air like the wind and ended up in the sky. There were mists coming from the bottom of his feet. It was the combination of the Taixu force of sky and water, and he could ride on the wind and remained stable.
Shen Lian wore his Daoist robe and looked really clean. He looked like a teenager. If a great painter were to work on a painting of Celestials, Shen Lian would make a great muse.
Shen Lian’s opponent sat on a blood-red cloud and was normal-looking. His skin was fine and tight, like that of yellow jade. There were hints of blood in it, and he was clothed in bloody clothing. The material was normal, and it seemed aged.
Shen Lian’s gaze fell on the strange person opposite of him. “It has been so long, and I still do not know your name,” Shen Lian asked.
“Xiao Shiyi,” the strange person replied without much hatred in his voice.
Shen Lian heard the word, “Xiao” and fell into deep thoughts. He stared at the strange person’s face, and his lips and nose did remind Shen Lian of someone. That would be Xiao Zhu, whom he had accidentally killed many years ago.
He latched on to the important information and racked through his brain. He finally remembered a person whom he had met when he went to Qing Xuan. Before he entered the mountain gate, he had disabled one of the descendants of the Xiao family of Flying Celestials Island. Right now, almost everyone on the Flying Celestials Island was murdered.
Shen Lian thought the man had died a long time ago, and he did not expect to run into him again today. He was a lot more different than earlier, and Shen Lian took a closer look at his blade. The Qi of devilry was contained within it. Shen Lian recalled his conversation with Zhang Ruoxu in regard to the Flying Celestials Island incident. The clues were all here now, and they were right in front of Shen Lian. Shen Lian understood the broad strokes of the cause and effect of the incident.
“So you are the one who was cultivating the Blood Dissipating Sword? I did not expect you to be from the Xiao family. Are you here to avenge yourself or for your kinsmen at the Flying Celestials Island?” Shen Lian queried.
“Mostly for myself, but I’m acting out of guilt too,” Xiao Shiyi replied impartially.
After hearing it, Shen Lian observed his expression and realized that he was not putting up an act, and was truly detached. Shen Lian harbored a thought – he would not let this man walk away alive tonight.
He had never wanted to kill someone so badly, and it was not vengeance that he felt. Shen Lian simply thought that the person who stood in front of him was not fit to be considered as a human.
The great Way was emotionless, and some even lost their humanity and killed their kinsmen. They did so to break of their bonds to the secular world. They could free themselves as they killed too. Shen Lian could not pass his judgment on them, but he would kill each and every one of them that he came across. He did not even need a reason to do so.
Xiao Shiyi was different from them. He was not determined and cruel enough. However, what he had been doing essentially made him the same as them.
The more he wished to kill this person, the calmer he was. The Taixu Divine Qi was calm and settled within him, and his eyes seemed like stars. He looked mystically charming, and it moved Xiao Shiyi. It was as though Shen Lian was trying to leave him behind in the vastness of the void and to let him die in isolation.
The blade in his arms emitted coldness, and it soaked through his mind and spirit to offer some clarity.
The clouds underneath started flowing and attacked their opponent. Endless cries of suffering could be heard, and these were the resentment from the living creatures that he had killed all these years. Even after their deaths, they were still at his disposal and were trapped in eternal misery.
The mist and clouds underneath Shen Lian’s feet started to take the shape of a giant flying sword. It struck the blood-red cloud and broke it into pieces. The remnants rushed towards his clean Daoist robe.
Before the resentful spirits could strike, flames were coming out from Shen Lian’s body. He burned like the ancient God of Fire, and the flames were strong.
Taixu Divine Qi, dealing with changes, controlled by one’s heart.
The fire was not just any normal fire of the Qi of Vitality, but was controlled by a strand of Shen Lian’s spiritual consciousness. The spirit was strong, courtesy of the training he had from the water of the River of Spirits.
Regardless of how powerful of these resentful spirits were, they were merely the last resentful breath of the deceased and remained behind out of stubbornness.
Shen Lian reacted accordingly. When facing his enemy, he was not affected at all.
The flame surrounding him dispersed the resentment. The sky cleared up. A struck on the head followed, and the blade had the color of the night – dark and deep. Shen Lian snickered. There was yellow gas coming out of the body, which seemed to be falling speedily.
However, the blade gleam chased after it and attacked the yellow light forcefully. The yellow light seemed to be unaffected, as it was endless and signified the life force. It was drawn from the force of the earth and could regenerate itself the moment it was extinguished.
When Shen Lian got closer to the ground, the Qi of earth from the deserted mountains rushed in from the sole of his feet. The spirit remained strong, and his eyes looked like the eternal stars. He stared coldly at the Blood Dissipating Sword that blended into the night.
The Blood Dissipating Sword held by Xiao Shiyi fell from the sky, and it was fast. It took advantage of the period of time when the yellow light was extinguished and had yet to regenerate, the blade was less than a feet away from Shen Lian’s brows.
Shen Lian felt slightly nervous; it was an excitement that he had not felt in the longest time.
It was easiest to improve at the moment between life and death. Shen Lian calmed his heart and pointed out a finger. Strands of misty smoke flew out from his fingertip, and they immediately took shape as eight different sword aura. The colors were clear, and they tried to stop the blade that was flying right at them.