Sword Demon Is Here!

The disciples of the Wanjian Immortal Sect looked up at the strange vision in the sky and exclaimed excitedly.

"Sect Master's had a breakthrough!"

"He has reached the Out of Aperture realm! There are lower chances of us losing when fighting the Sword Demon tomorrow!"

"A breakthrough the night before the duel! God bless us!"

From the lowest to highest, the different realms of cultivation were Qi Refining, Foundation Building, Golden Core, Yuan Ying, Out of Aperture, Distraction, Combination, Cross Tribulation, and Mahayana.

Only a cultivator at the realm of Yuan Ying and above would be considered strong and powerful enough to lead a sect. Most that ranked above Yuan Ying were monsters that rarely came out. 

Throughout the night, an oppressive air lingered above the Wanjian Immortal Sect, making it difficult to breathe. The elderly man stood stationary, transfixed in the same spot with his body upright, looking like a longsword from afar.

At the first ray of sunlight, a black shadow descended from the sky. 

"A last-minute breakthrough! Interesting! Wanjian Immortal Sect, Bai Wuchen, your name's worthy to be remembered by Deity."

The Sword Demon…had arrived!

Sizz!

It was as if the black sword in the ground had been summoned. It rose into the sky and lingered at the feet of the Sword Demon.

With a solemn expression, Bai Wuchen raised his hand to unsheathe the longsword from his back and flew into the sky toward his opponent. He did not seem confident. Though he had a last-minute breakthrough, his chances of winning were still slim.

"Imperial Flying Sword, Moon Style!"

Bai Wuchen stood on the longsword with his feet. Instantly, he was transformed into an arch, exuding strong Sword Qi. It was as if the sky was a big white sheet, powerfully split by Bai Wuchen launching toward the Sword Demon.

A glint of excitement flashed through the Sword Demon's eyes. He used his fingers as a sword and pointed toward the sky. Following his gesture, a gigantic phantom sword appeared behind him, exuding a destructive aura that pierced through the air. Even the disciples who watched from afar could feel the sharp pain on their cheeks.

"Cut the air!"

The two opposing Sword Intent crashed into one another, swirling the Qi in the air and blasting like a clap of muffled thunder.

The disciples that watched the duel could not keep up with their speedy movements. All they could see was constant flashing in the sky with countless Sword Intents piercing through the air, damaging the surrounding trees and mountains.

The fight did not last for long. Loud laughter was heard coming from the Sword Demon, as the Fallen Demon Sword under his feet emitted a layer of black smoke, viciously engulfing and dominating Bai Wuchen.

Sizz!

The Autumn Water Sword in his hand broke into two and a scar appeared on his chest. The wound was turning black…

"Argh!"

Bai Wuchen spat out a mouthful of blood. His body fell from mid-air. As he was falling, a paper scroll fell out from his pocket, free-falling with him.

"Hahaha! My swordsmanship is truly undefeatable! I'll destroy the Wanjian Immortal Sect today!" the Sword Demon declared proudly.

Bai Wuchen's face turned pale. He looked at the scroll and said bitterly, "What a shame. If only I had three more days to study this drawing, I could've attained a tenth of the Sword Intent from the drawing and I wouldn't have been defeated."

"What're you saying?" the Sword Demon scoffed. "Nobody in the world has better swordsmanship than I do! Nobody!"

The Sword Demon followed his gaze and his eyes landed on the drawing. In an instant, it was as if he was struck by lightning. A wild wave of Sword Intent exuded from him, cutting the trees around him into halves. 

"What in the world is this Sword Intent? How could there be such a strong Sword Intent!? It's not real, it's a fake!" The Sword Demon's face darkened. He picked up the drawing, which instantly vanished into powder. 

"What did you do!" Bai Wuchen cried out in agony, panting heavily. Watching the drawing being destroyed felt much worse than being killed by the Sword Demon!

The Sword Demon glared at all the disciples with his red, murderous eyes. "The Sword Intent in this drawing is crooked! My Sword Intent is unbeatable! Who's the painter? I'm going to kill him!" His cold and murderous tone froze everyone with terror.

Bai Luoshuang's face turned pale instantly. The image of a gentleman appeared in her mind. Biting her lip, she walked forward and said coldly, "You're the crooked one! To me, you're nothing close to the person who drew this! He'll destroy you with a finger!"

"What're you saying?" The Sword Demon raised his hand, and instantly, Bai Luoshuang's body floated mid-air, strangled by an invisible force. "Do you know where he is? Bring me there, I'm going to kill him."

"Fine," Bai Luoshuang said through her gritted teeth.

She was not concerned about the safety of Li Nianfan. To her, the Sword Demon was no match, not even to Blackie. She was only afraid that the expert might blame her for bringing the demon over. However, she had no choice now. If the expert was upset by her, she would not hesitate to kill herself as an apology.

It was funny… If Li Nianfan had any idea who Bai Luoshuang was about to bring to him, he would have cursed loudly and ran away at once!

…

The Sword Demon held Bai Luoshuang captive as they flew over to the mountain where Li Nianfan resided while Bai Wuchen and his wife followed swiftly behind. The pace they traveled at was way faster than the pace Bai Luoshuang and her two Seniors traveled at yesterday. They arrived at the four-part architecture in less than an hour.

The Sword Demon declared with a deadly glow in his eyes, "I, the Sword Demon is here. Get out of your house and face me!"

However, he was answered by prolonged silence. 

Bai Luoshuang's heart sank and her pretty face turned pale in fear. She had run through many possibilities, including one where the expert decided not to help them at all. However, the one possibility she did not come across was the possibility that he was not at home!

She called out, "Mr. Li, are you home?"

No response.

He was not home indeed.

They knew well enough that the Sword Demon would start killing violently in the next instance. Both Bai Luoshuang and Bai Wuzhen felt a sense of sadness and sombreness. 

"Hahaha! So this is the so-called expert you were talking about? It seems that he saw me coming and ran away in fear!" the Sword Demon laughed arrogantly. 

"Since the coward ran away, I'll destroy his residence!" He scoffed coldly as he held the Fallen Demon Sword in his hand. In an instant, the Spiritual Qi between the sky and the ground converged out of thin air, forming a long black beam of light. The sword light tilted slightly and was just about to fall upon the four-part architecture, slicing it into halves!

"Please, stop!" Bai Luoshuang cried out in panic, her tears almost rolling down her cheeks.

She was already guilty for bringing the Sword Demon here. If he destroyed the building, she could never face Li Nianfan ever again…

Shriek!

Right as the sword light was about to touch the architecture, a loud bird cry resonated in the air. The jade pendant hanging at the front porch of the house emitted a crimson light, glaring brightly against the black light emitted by the sword!

Instantly, the black light vanished into thin air, like snow melting by a raging fire. Yet, the red light emitted by the jade pendant did not dissipate. Instead, a pair of huge wings appeared out from the jade. As its wings stretched out, a gigantic bird rose majestically from burning flames and into the sky. Its golden feathers and the raging fire around it made it difficult for one to look directly at it. Wherever it flew, it left a trail of flames in its path.

"This, this is…a phoenix?!"