Chapter 31: Lijiang Swordsmanship

Qin Mu's heart pounded. He pulled the pig-slaughtering knife from his back; it was the first time he had encountered such a situation.

Mu Baifeng's demeanor exerted an invisible pressure on him.

Every move and word of the elder since he entered the village exuded immense pressure.

When he had fought Senior Brother Qu of the Five Sons of Lijiang, he was forced to the limit and had no choice but to act. This current situation, however, made him a little apprehensive.

"I've peed on the stone statue at the village entrance, what is there to fear? I've faced Wu Nu and the demons of Zhenyang Palace; I wasn't afraid then, so why now? No matter how strong Mu Baifeng is, he can't be stronger than gods or demons!"

Qin Mu composed himself, and his panicked mind gradually settled. He looked around, frowning slightly. The small village was packed; including him, twenty-two people stood like wooden stakes, each in a different, staggered position, filling the space completely.

The Village Chief lay on a stretcher, the Apothecary stood by its side, the Butcher (who was only half a body) stood on a wooden stake, Grandpa Ma leaned against another stake, Granny Si held a basket, the Mute stood at the blacksmith's door, the Deaf man held a brush still dripping ink, and the Cripple stood on one leg, propped by his crutch.

The people Mu Baifeng brought also stood in peculiar, intricate positions, making it difficult to move quickly or fight within the village.

This arrangement placed extremely high demands on qi-controlled sword techniques.

Using a qi-controlled sword would require extreme caution to avoid hitting or being affected by others, demanding incredibly precise swordsmanship. Qin Mu, who practiced the Butcher's combat-skill knife technique, could not achieve this.

"Shall we fight here?" Qin Mu asked.

Qianqiu nodded, "Right here!"

Qin Mu sheathed the pig-slaughtering knife on his back, leaving his hands free.

Qianqiu's eyes gleamed as he watched Qin Mu sheath the pig-slaughtering knife. Qin Mu's decision to fight bare-handed was unexpected.

Before their arrival, Mu Baifeng had already led them to inspect the canyon ruins. From the gnawed bones of Senior Brother Qu, he had deduced that Qin Mu used knife techniques.

Qin Mu had picked up a small wooden stick from the ground then, using it as a knife to strike Senior Brother Qu. This left tiny impact marks on his bones, with subtle cracks appearing where the marks were.

From this, it could be inferred that Qin Mu's knife technique was masterful. Furthermore, his footwork and movement speed had to be exceptionally fast; only with superb leg techniques could he continuously move and attack every part of Senior Brother Qu's body.

Mu Baifeng, a top master in the world, possessed extraordinary skill. Judging by the marks Qin Mu left, he concluded that Qin Mu employed combat techniques.

Combat-technique practitioners excelled in close combat but showed little proficiency or achievement in qi-controlled sword arts.

From then on, Mu Baifeng devised a plan to eliminate Qin Mu. After entering the village, each of them took a specific, distinct position to form the Lijiang Water Dragon Array, intentionally leaving nine key points, with Mu Baifeng occupying the dragon's head position.

Apart from Qianqiu, the others were the Lijiang Sect's foremost masters. To prevent the Lijiang Water Dragon Array from unleashing its full combined power, the villagers of Disabled Elderly Village had to block the formation's key points one by one: the Village Chief and the Apothecary blocked the dragon's eyes, the Blind man blocked its heart, the Cripple, Granny Si, Grandpa Ma, and the Butcher stood at the joints of the Water Dragon Array's limbs, the Blacksmith suppressed the dragon's body, and the Deaf man anchored its tail.

This created the current situation in the village: everyone stood in different, staggered positions, making it difficult to move quickly or employ qi-controlled swords, unless one possessed extraordinary mastery of such techniques.

Clearly, Qin Mu was not such a person.

However, his disciple, Qianqiu, was precisely such a person.

Although still a martial artist of the Spirit Embryo realm, his mastery of qi-controlled sword techniques was exceptional. He had refined his vital qi threads to be incredibly fine, achieving astonishing proficiency in sword control. He once used vital qi to manipulate a brush, drawing a lady's portrait from thirty zhang away, with every strand of hair distinctly rendered and perfectly in place.

If Qin Mu fought with his knife, defeat would be inevitable.

Qin Mu sheathing his knife and fighting bare-handed was somewhat unexpected for Qianqiu, though facing a treasured sword unarmed appeared disadvantageous in any case. Furthermore, Qianqiu had brought no ordinary sword; it was a spirit sword, one born from the divine treasure of a Six Directions Realm divine abilities practitioner.

Qin Mu bowed, saying, "Senior Brother, please."

Qianqiu returned the bow, and a treasured sword hummed from the scabbard on his back. "Junior Brother, please," he replied.

As Qin Mu lifted his foot, a treasured sword clanged out of the scabbard on Qianqiu's back. Vital qi threads controlled the sword, radiating chilling energy and sending points of sword light piercing toward Qin Mu.

The vital qi threads were incredibly thin, almost imperceptible to the naked eye. With a slight tremor, the treasured sword produced a flurry of sword flowers, thrusting at Qin Mu from various cunning angles at a blinding speed!

For a martial artist, cultivating qi-controlled sword techniques to such a degree was an extraordinary accomplishment!

Qin Mu's footwork was incredibly agile, as he wove among the unmoving figures. Qianqiu's sword, however, was even faster, its intricate swordsmanship astonishing. While his sword posed no threat to the other stationary individuals, every one of its moves was lethal to Qin Mu!

The sword light was impossible to defend against; even if Qin Mu used the Cripple's Sky-Stealing Leg Technique, he couldn't escape. There were simply too many obstacles here; every unmoving person restricted his speed, making it impossible for him to unleash his full potential.

*Whoosh*—

Qin Mu focused, and his vital qi suddenly became incredibly violent and wild. A faint dragon roar sounded, and a blurry fire dragon vaguely appeared, coiling around his arm.

This fire dragon was indistinct, its dragon head merging with his fist at times, and its dragon claws with his fingers and palm at others, constantly shifting.

As the sword light pierced forward, Qin Mu met it with a punch. The instant his fist was about to collide with the spirit sword, he suddenly splayed his fingers. The air in his palm exploded, causing the incoming sword tip to waver uncontrollably!

*Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!*

Qin Mu's five fingers flicked out in rapid succession, striking the sword's tip, blade, and hilt. Each flick produced a loud clang, as if a massive iron hammer had struck the sword.

By the time his fifth finger flicked, the spirit sword was sent flying, and Qianqiu's vital qi threads were forcibly snapped by his finger strength.

Qin Mu moved rapidly, weaving through the crowd and quickly closing in on Qianqiu until only a zhang separated them. At that moment, Qianqiu, his face expressionless, heard another sword hum from the scabbard on his back, and a second spirit sword flew out, thrusting towards him.

Qin Mu was startled and quickly retreated. Then a third spirit sword flew out of the scabbard, followed by a fourth, a fifth, a sixth, a seventh…

Over ten spirit swords were linked end-to-end, all threaded through their tips and hilts by a single vital qi thread. The hilt of one sword pressed against the tip of the next, forming a continuous chain six or seven zhang long. It resembled a vivid silver dragon twisting and dancing in the air, or the meandering waters of the Lijiang River itself.

The Lijiang Sword Technique!

Southern Xinjiang's foremost sword technique.

Qianqiu's first sword was incredibly agile, flipping up, down, left, and right, while the swords linked behind it followed, weaving through the crowd without touching anyone. From Qin Mu's angle, he could only see the tip of the first sword, the others hidden from view.

A strong sense of danger arose in his heart. Not seeing meant the unknown, and the unknown could neither be dodged nor predicted!

The Lijiang Sword Technique was indeed treacherous and fierce!

Just then, the first spirit sword produced dozens of shimmering sword flowers, striking at Qin Mu with dazzling light.

Behind these dozens of sword flowers, a second spirit sword suddenly detached from the formation, connected by an independent vital qi thread, and swept unexpectedly towards Qin Mu's neck!