Chapter Five: The Sword of Symbols

  Yu Ci slid down the steep cliff, then rushed out a few steps. The breath of Yan Daoist behind him had already been cut off. But he knew that relying on the secret cave to escape was not feasible with the ability of the legendary Tongshen cultivator. So, after taking a deep breath, he continued to sprint while trying to calm his mind and drew symbols with his fingers in his sleeve, using the power of the copper mirror to temporarily preserve himself.

  This is also one of the effects of the Divine Bronze Mirror, but the retention time and the number of retained talismans are limited. Only three can be temporarily stored, and the time is just half a stick of incense.

  The drawn talismans were extremely complex, and Yu Ci had to run out for ten miles before he could barely draw two. Just as he was about to draw the third one, the night sky suddenly lit up, and a fiery red glow shone over from behind him, accompanied by an intense smell.

  Yu Ci was only able to confirm that the smell was the stench of burning blood, mixed with the killer's own murderous intent, irritating her nostrils.

  He had thought Yan Dao would catch up, but he didn't expect him to catch up so quickly.

  He spat out a mouthful of turbid air, suddenly and without warning flipped over, and sprang out with a loud thud. The next moment, the red thread flashed past, and the two large trees he had just crossed, five feet above the ground, were cut in half, and then crashed down. Although it was midnight, dust and smoke rose everywhere, and branches and leaves flew about. The beasts and birds were frightened and cried out, and the quiet mountain forest suddenly became noisy.

  Yan Daoshi still smiled happily despite missing the hit. His laughter grew louder and closer, soon catching up with Yu Cijun: "Little white face, is Master Dao's Jiuyang Symbol Sword effective?"

  "Jiuyang, isn't it the Three Yang Symbol Sword?"

  Yu Ci rarely opened his mouth to ask a question, but also slowed down because of this. Suddenly, he felt a scorching heat on top of his head, and Yan Daoshi had already flown past him with a rolling hot wave, blocking his way. Yu Ci immediately stopped in his tracks, assuming a defensive stance, his expression serious but without any sign of panic.

  "Xiao Bai Lian's curiosity is getting heavier..."

  Yan Daoshi spoke and laughed, his eyes wide open, staring intently at him. Yu Ji still had that expression, as if the scene of more than 20 medicine collectors lying dead, the enemy's ridicule, and the divine power of the Jiu Yang symbol sword could only make him express to this extent.

  "Alright, you're quite bold. But Master Dao is still worried that you're just a coward who will flee in disarray!"

  The more astonished he was at Yu Ji's boldness, the more Yan Daozi wanted to break that ghostly thing. He didn't rush to take action, but instead took a step forward, within two zhang of Yu Ji, lightly swaying his sword, and chuckled:

  "Why is it the Nine Yang Symbol Sword? Dao Ye can indeed tell you a thing or two. Heh heh, White Day Manor is so stingy and petty, only bringing out the mediocre Three Yang Symbol Swords to deal with these ordinary people, and yet they're already delighted beyond measure, unaware that within White Day Manor, there are also Six Yang Symbol Swords, Nine Yang Symbol Swords, and Pure Yang Symbol Swords of far superior quality!"

  "Of course, the last three items will never be taken out by the White Day House. No matter how cunning they are, they will have to drink my foot-washing water. As early as ten years ago, I had already sneaked into the house and learned the 'Fusion' technique. As long as there is enough Three Yang Sword Symbol as a foundation, it can be refined step by step, from Three Yang to Six Yang, Nine Yang, and then eliminate impurities, returning to Pure Yang, this is the ultimate goal."

  "For the past two years, Daoist Master has been traveling between Tianlie Valley and Juebi City. Although it's been arduous, he has finally completed the Nine Yang Symbol Sword, which is only a hair's breadth away from being a pure yang product. The 3-3-9 transformation has reached its peak, with nine being the extreme limit of yang energy. With this sword in hand, even if you were to encounter a streak of bad luck and gather enough Qi Xiu Grass to exchange for a Three Yang Symbol Sword, it still wouldn't be able to withstand Daoist Master's single slash!"

  When he finished speaking, Yan Daoshi burst out laughing again. However, in this laughter, Yu Ji still maintained his previous posture, neither relaxing nor panicking, and naturally there was no special expression. In the vast mountain forest, only those awakened wild beasts and birds responded with a few loud calls.

  The laughter stopped abruptly, Yan Daoshi couldn't laugh anymore, his eyes narrowed in an unusual way. He finally understood that the little white face in front of him was not some inferior good-for-nothing who could be intimidated by a few words. If he continued to entangle with him, it wouldn't just be about finding fun, but even if he managed to kill him in the end, he would still have to vent out a belly full of fire.

  "Alright, alright, I'll see this brave little white face off on his journey!"

  Yan Daoshi's mouth said, taking another step forward, and raised the Jiuyang Fu sword in his hand. His height and arm length made these movements, and the red light that was spat out almost crossed a distance of two zhang, engulfing Yu Ci.

  In the midst of the sudden heat wave, Xiu Jian's unique sharp and fierce aura directly reached his brow. Yu Ci also couldn't hold on, slowly retreating a step back while her left hand, which had been hidden in her sleeve, slowly clenched into a fist, grasping the talisman stored on the Sheng Shen Tong Jing mirror.

  "Hmm?" Yan Daoshi sensed something, and his gaze flicked to Yu Ji's sleeve. A large amount of misty air burst out from the small white face on his sleeve. In an instant, a layer of fog formed, and under the reflection of the firelight, the figure behind the fog became vague and elusive, making it even harder to discern as the light shifted.

  "Want to escape again!" With a loud roar, Yan Daoshi's sword sliced through the wind, making a hissing sound. In an instant, it tore apart the fog in front of him and also chopped down the moving figure behind him with one slash.

  The sword light flashed by, and Yan Daoshi immediately knew that something was wrong. This was clearly a trick to distract him. Instinctively turning around to slash again, he swung at empty air once more.

  He stood with his sword, gazing around cautiously, his face as calm as water. In just a few breaths, the surrounding mountains and forests within a range of several acres were shrouded in a thin layer of fog. This fog couldn't actually block anything, but at this moment, deep in the forest, there was no light to be seen, and the only source of light came from the sword he held.

  In a place illuminated by flames, he could see clearly, but beyond this range, his line of sight was greatly obstructed.

  Yu Ji was wandering at the edge of the light, as if he would fall into the depths of the mountain forest at any moment.

  "Sly little white face, but this kind of shallow trick won't work on me, Dao Ye!"

  "This thought passed, he also felt a little regret: 'It's a pity that the forced breakthrough has only been two years, and the divine soul still needs to be nourished. Some abilities cannot be used freely, otherwise, what would have happened to this kid?'"

  With this in mind, Yan Daoshi didn't even use his eyes, and with a pure spiritual intention, the situation within a radius of ten zhang was reflected in his mind. He soon discovered that Yu Cui seemed to have no intention of escaping far away. Although her figure appeared and disappeared from time to time, she remained within his line of sight.

  No way, this young guy is waiting for an opportunity!

  He burst out of the realm of divine transformation, his tall body suddenly shrinking and contracting, almost suspended just a few inches from the ground. In mid-air, he made a flip, lightly as if jumping between trees like a spirit monkey, and in an instant, he was already several meters away.

  His toes had just left the ground, and a light explosion that scorched the air whizzed past his ears. The mountain forest under the illumination of the flames suddenly surged upwards in brightness again, a chain of intense white light tore through the void, piercing through.

  Even as he was rolling in mid-air, Yan Daoshi noticed the long chain of electric light, and his eyes seemed to have been seared by the dazzling light chain, leaving an indelible mark that lingered for a long time.

  A loud explosion, the lightning did not strike Yan Daoshi, but instead swept across this area, striking a large poplar tree on the outer edge of the forest opposite. The poplar tree snapped and then caught fire.

  Yan Daoshi finally landed, his soul just settled, and he stood up straight. He glanced sideways at the Yang tree that had been charred by the lightning, and his eyes twitched involuntarily. If it weren't for this period of time where his divine intent had gradually become more agile, allowing him to enter a state at any moment, he might have been struck just now, and wouldn't even know what was happening.

  Palm thunder! To use it so quickly, I'm afraid there's some kind of jade symbol involved.

  "The young man still has some family property."

  He forced himself to calm down, sneering repeatedly, but unknowingly, he changed "little white face" to "youngster", and immediately gritted his teeth and said:

  "Let's see who has more tricks up their sleeve, you with your stored symbols or me with my skills!"

  Before he finished speaking, his two fingers in the food suddenly rose, swift and wind-like, drawing out ten curved trajectories in the void, with threads of red light tracing like branding irons, suspended in mid-air.

  "Wind and fire like wheels, swift!"

  The ground suddenly rose with a violent wind, carrying the hot air to all directions. The thin fog that had been laid out around was blown away in an instant. Yu Cijun, who was outside, was still regretting missing the palm thunder and saw this situation, his face changed immediately:

  "Qi condenses into symbols!"

  This is the real deal!

  Although he had expected it, he couldn't help but take a cold breath after the final confirmation. This was not the trick he had played with the divine bronze mirror before, but the real ability of the fierce man in front of him.

  Able to draw talismans in the void, without using any medium to induce spiritual light to attach itself, is not something that can be achieved by relying on human physical strength. That must be cultivating one's body and energy to an extremely high level, where one's spirit and soul have grown to a certain extent, with what is called "separating consciousness and transforming thoughts" as the foundation for cultivation. From the spirit and soul, a wondrous substance is generated, known as "divine intention", which is further divided into divine consciousness and divine thought. This replaces cinnabar, peach wood, and other spiritual summons, calling forth spiritual responses to form truly effective talismans.

  In that case, the fierce man in front of us must be a Tongshen realm cultivator, having already escaped the "Mundane Three Passes" and become one of those legendary "Cultivators" with boundless divine powers.

  The difference between the two sides is clear!

  Without the cover of fog, Yan Daoshi caught sight of Yu Ji's trail with his eyes. He turned around and sneered coldly: "Youngster, do you know the power of Dao Master now?"

  Yu Ci pursed her lips and remained silent.

  Yan Daoshi burst out laughing and strode forward slowly, saying as he walked: "Are there any more tricks? Bring them on and let Master Dao take a look!"

  Yu Ci seemed to grit his teeth, and suddenly inserted his right hand into the sleeve of his left hand, while his left hand was still wrapped in the sleeve, with a very strange posture.

  At this moment, a red light flashed in front of him, and Yan Daoshi had already rushed up silently, with one sword slashing down. Only then did he shout:

  "Go die for the Emperor!"

  Yan Daoshi just narrowly escaped being struck by lightning and is still shaken, how could he possibly let Yu Ji take the initiative to attack?

  Yu Cimeng suddenly raised his head, his eyes fixed on the dazzling sword tip at the front of Fu Jian's sword, not blinking or dodging. He seemed to be stunned, but as the sword light approached his head, he turned his hand over and lightly drew out a green glow from his sleeve, which shot up in a counter-chopping motion. A loud ringing sound echoed through the air, and incredibly, it directly blocked the sharp edge of Jiu Yang's symbol sword.

  Yan Daoshi felt slightly surprised, but then he coldly smiled and withdrew his sword, adding more force to it. He struck again with another sword slash. The Nine Yang Symbol Sword was incredibly powerful, and Qing Mang had barely blocked the first strike before a buzzing sound shook him, causing his light to nearly dissipate. With Yan Daoshi's second strike coming down, Yu Cui was about to be split in two.

  Yu Ci's eyes widened, and she suddenly opened her mouth, spitting out a blood arrow that hit the unstable cyan light right on its head. At the same time, a sound was squeezed out from between her teeth:

  Hurry!

  Suddenly appeared cold and stern.

  Under Yan Daoshi's incredulous gaze, the vibrant blood threads spread out in the cyan light, and as the blood color permeated, the cyan light grew even more dazzling. The light at the central area was almost condensed to the point of emitting a nearly substantial glow.

  Jiuyang Fu Jian slashed down, and Yu Ci used Qing Guang to meet it for the second time. The sound was still a metallic clang, similar to gold and iron. This time, only the outer light dissipated, while the condensed Qing Guang area remained intact.

  Yu Ci's face turned pale, but she smiled with a twisted mouth.

  He had never really thought of escaping. The previous escape was just to gain time, and the symbol of welcoming the enemy. But time was pressing, he could only manage to get out of the fog flow and palm thunder, and even during the battle, it didn't take effect.

  Thanks to Yan Dao's big mouth, he said a few more words, letting him seize the opportunity. With swift and nimble hands in his sleeves, he condensed the "Seven Star Sword Symbol". Finally, with a mouthful of heart's blood, he activated it, turning the virtual into reality, condensing this sharp weapon. The process was as smooth as if aided by gods.

  Of course, relying solely on a symbol sword may not be enough to defeat Yan Dao Shi. But the Yu Ji who uses symbol magic and the Yu Ji who wields a sword are vastly different. He is skilled in symbols, but loves swords more; compared to the complexity of calculations when using symbol magic, he is more accustomed to the simplicity and directness of choosing between life and death in white blade battles. Having wandered for twelve years, how many times has he unsheathed his sword to kill?

  This is his true nature.

  All distracting thoughts were cast aside, facing a formidable foe on a higher level, Yu Ji sneered with a smile:

  "Let's see how my Seven Stars Symbol Sword compares to your Nine Yang Symbol Sword?"

  Brother Yu likes simplicity and straightforwardness. I'm also very frank in saying that I like collecting red tickets. The special topic will be removed soon, so please give your support!