Chapter 292: Chapter 123 The Unity of Man and Sword! The Sensitivity of the Sword!_2
Su Changkong did not show any signs of abnormality, walking forward with his head lowered at an unhurried pace.
“Li Han, where’s your brother? Why have you come alone?”
As he continued to move forward, a voice tinged with a hint of suspicion rang out. A man with a whiskered beard appeared at the entrance to the back mountain, a Longsword hanging from his waist as he eyed Su Changkong.
There were also several other pairs of eyes secretly watching Su Changkong.
However, Su Changkong was not the least bit flustered. Upon hearing the question, he respectfully answered, “My brother caught a cold today and was afraid he might displease the Sect Leader, so he did not come. I am here alone to deliver the meal.”
Imitating ‘Li Han’s’ voice, Su Changkong, who had been observing in secret at the Iron Sword Sect for several days, had overheard conversations between Li Han and his brother; he knew his voice well enough to mimic it convincingly.
“That kid should practice his Martial Arts more. As long as he reaches the Internal Strength Realm, he would be immune to a myriad of ailments!”
The whiskered-beard man shook his head upon hearing this.
The Li brothers both had average martial arts talent and came from an unblemished background, which is why they were assigned to handle some of the logistic chores within the Iron Sword Sect.
“Off you go, don’t keep the Sect Leader waiting.” The whiskered man did not question further, as it was not the first time ‘Li Han’ had come to deliver the meal. Even though ‘Li Han’ was alone today, it never crossed his mind that the ‘Li Han’ in front of him was an impostor.
“Yes.”
Su Changkong nodded respectfully and stepped into the forbidden area of the back mountain, carrying the food and drink.
“Over there… there is a sharp presence! It must be Huangfu Honglang!”
This was Su Changkong’s first visit to the forbidden area of the back mountain, but he did not lose his way, as Huangfu Honglang’s presence was too distinctive, like a Treasure Sword bursting with Sword Qi, domineering and detectable from afar.
Su Changkong followed the mountain path, and soon he arrived at Huangfu Honglang’s place of seclusion.
The area was surrounded by gigantic sword-shaped stone carvings; the shorter ones stood one to two meters high, while the taller ones soared nearly ten meters, resembling towering rocky mountains. Each of these sword-shaped stone carvings, sculpted by the swords in the hand of someone, emanated a faintly sharp aura!
Su Changkong also saw Huangfu Honglang in person, a man in his forties with unkempt appearance, his black hair carelessly draped over his shoulders, dressed in a linen robe, sitting in quiet meditation with a rusted iron sword resting on his knees as if silently sensing something. Around him, rolls of cutting Qi surged—if anyone dared to approach him carelessly, they would be torn to shreds.
“Huangfu Honglang is stronger than I had anticipated!”
Thought Su Changkong to himself.
Huangfu Honglang had reached the Qi Blood Seven Transformation realm, and in terms of combat strength, he was far more formidable than the previous Chief of Ten Thousand, Jiang Qian, and the State Governor’s brother, Pei Chen. Just feeling the sharp aura around Huangfu Honglang told Su Changkong that his Swordsmanship was exceedingly remarkable!
Su Changkong waited respectfully until, after more than a dozen breaths, Huangfu Honglang spoke indifferently, “Put down the food and drink and leave.”
“Yes.”
Su Changkong responded, placing down the tray he was carrying along with a jar of wine. Nearby, there were empty wine jars and plates, probably leftovers from the previous day’s meal. So, Su Changkong tidied up a bit and then turned to go.
In fact, Su Changkong did not go far but waited for Huangfu Honglang to eat the food he had spiked with Boiling Blood Scatter. Although it wouldn’t be enough to directly kill a master like Huangfu Honglang, it would certainly cause his Qi and Blood to boil and greatly affect him, making the job of killing him much easier!
Not until Su Changkong’s silhouette vanished from sight did Huangfu Honglang open his eyes, licking his dry lips. In life, only fine wine and the sword are worth cherishing!
“Buzz, buzz, buzz!”
Just as Huangfu Honglang prepared to enjoy his fine wine and delicacies, and continue comprehending his Swordsmanship, the rusty iron sword hanging at his waist started to buzz as if warning him of something.
“My sword is alerting me! There’s something wrong with this meal!”
Huangfu Honglang’s expression changed drastically. He had been practicing swords since the age of five and possessed extraordinary talent for Swordsmanship. At eighteen, he had slain his own master, and now, after nearly forty years of practice, he had reached the unity of man and sword, capable of sensing responses from the sword.
If a deadly threat was imminent, his sword would instinctively alert him, just as some masters can sense looming danger on a whim.
Now, as he was about to partake in the feast before him, the alarm from his sword made it abundantly clear that there was something wrong with the food!
“Dammit! Where do you think you’re going!”
Huangfu Honglang’s face instantly turned grim as he abruptly stood up, letting out a Furious Roar, and chased in the direction Su Changkong had left. There had to be something wrong with the food, and the person who delivered it could not be unrelated!
Huangfu Honglang was also astonished as to why ‘Li Han’ would poison the food, which was daring to the extreme, but once he captured him, all would become clear.
“Hm? I’ve been discovered?”
The explosive roar behind him also caused Su Changkong a slight shock. He had not gone far, preparing to make a turnabout attack once Huangfu Honglang consumed the meal laced with Boiling Blood Scatter. He hadn’t expected Huangfu Honglang to be so perceptive to detect poison in his meal!
“What’s that noise? Did Li Han offend the Sect Leader?”
At the entrance to the forbidden area of the back mountain, the Iron Sword Sect martial artists guarding the entrance all looked towards the interior, astonished by Huangfu Honglang’s ferocious call.