I lead my disciples to seek immortality in the sect's cultivation.

Chapter 13 King 6

The toxic fumes etched shallow indentations into the ground, and a pungent, fishy stench permeated the courtyard.

Wang Liu clutched his severed right arm at the shoulder, his old face contorted in agony, his eyes bloodshot as he stared intently at Shen Gui.

The blood from his wound stopped gushing out. As expected of someone who cultivates precious herbs, he took out a handful of herbs from his bosom, applied them to the wound, and then used his magic to seal the injury. The bleeding stopped shortly afterward.

"Shen Gui! How cruel you are!" Wang Liu roared hoarsely, his voice broken by the excruciating pain. "I sincerely invited you to treat my grandson, offering you miraculous herbs and a pill-making furnace, yet you cut off my arm for no reason, ruining my grand plan! My Wotugou and your Daling Village have never had any enmity, why do you have to be so ruthless!"

Shen Gui held his sword across his chest, the blade of the fine iron sword stained with drops of blood, and his aura was chilling.

He shielded Ahe half a step behind him.

"No grudges? You tormented your own grandson, Wang Xiaoshi, turning him into a living puppet who can only lie in bed and breathe. Do you dare to call yourself innocent for such beastly acts? When you first met Ahe, the greed and covetousness in your eyes were unmistakable. Did you harbor any evil intentions? Do you dare to deny it?"

Shen Gui took a small step, and with a gust of sword wind, he blocked all the dissipating poisonous smoke, protecting Ahe behind him from any harm.

"Fellow Daoist Wang, now that things have come to this, there's no need to pretend anymore. The poisonous herbs have been exposed, so let's have a showdown today."

Before he finished speaking, Shen Gui had already moved!

With a slight flick of his wrist, the longsword transformed into a dense, cold light, heading straight for Wang Liu's vital acupoints!

His swordplay was swift and agile, fast yet not superficial, accurate yet not clumsy; every strike predicted Wang Liu's movements and blocked them.

There are no direct sword moves in "Insights into the Swordsmanship of Fengtian Palace". Shen Gui has been practicing swordsmanship for more than a year, and the direction of his sword moves has become his own unique style.

Wang Liu was both shocked and furious. He had cultivated diligently for decades and had already reached the fourth level of the embryonic breathing stage. But now, facing Shen Gui's swordsmanship, he felt like a flying insect caught in a spider web, struggling to defend himself and unable to maneuver.

"Arrogant!" Wang Liu roared, and dark gray magic light surged out, transforming into two thick beams of light that fiercely pierced towards Shen Gui.

Ordinary cultivators who practice the embryonic breathing technique don't have many offensive spells available, and this is even more true for these clan cultivators and independent cultivators.

Such a trend-based technique is already quite rare.

Shen Gui's eyes were calm, his steps were light and graceful, and he avoided the light of magic. He then flicked his longsword, aiming it directly at Wang Liu's left arm.

"clang!"

In a haste, Wang Liu drew his broadsword from his waist. The blade was heavy, and he tried to parry.

However, the swords did not clash. Shen Gui's sword was cunning and sharp. With a slight shift in his footing, the sword bypassed the broadsword and pierced Wang Liu's wound again, causing the wound to reopen and blood to splatter even further.

"Where did your swordsmanship come from?!" Wang Liu was utterly shocked. He had been wandering the Northern Frontier for a hundred years and had never seen such exquisite swordsmanship!

Shen Gui did not answer, and his sword stance changed again.

The swordsmanship of Fengtian Palace has no fixed moves or forms; it all depends on each person's own understanding and perception.

Shen Guijian moved with him, his longsword flashing, slashing, thrusting, and cutting, each strike aimed at Wang Liu's vital points, keeping him firmly in the center of the courtyard and preventing him from getting even a step closer to Ahe behind him.

Ahe clutched Shen Gui's clothes, her little face showing a hint of fear, and she bit her lip tightly.

She watched as her master's graceful movements and swift swordplay overwhelmed the old cultivator at the fourth level of the Nascent Soul stage, leaving him utterly powerless. Her clear eyes were filled with admiration.

The battle lasted no more than ten breaths, and Wang Liu already had three deep, bone-revealing wounds on his body.

He possessed profound magical power at the fourth level of the embryonic breathing stage, yet he couldn't even touch the hem of Shen Gui's clothes, feeling extremely frustrated.

Looking at the disheveled Wang Liu, Shen Gui sighed inwardly, "The sword is indeed worthy of its reputation as the foremost of all methods of killing."

"I don't believe it! I don't believe I'll lose to a junior like you!" Wang Liu went completely mad. He knew that if he couldn't escape today, he would surely die. A resolute glint flashed in his eyes. "My grand plan! It's only one step away from success! I absolutely cannot ruin it here!"

He bravely endured Shen Gui's sword strike, then swept his broadsword wildly with his left hand, forcing Shen Gui to pause slightly. Ignoring his wounds, he turned and ran wildly towards the entrance to the basement.

"Trying to escape?" A cold glint flashed in Shen Gui's eyes.

How could he allow this vicious and evil cultivator to escape back to the basement and continue his schemes and tricks?

Shen Gui took a step and his figure flashed out like a ghost, his speed three times faster than before. He poured all his magic power into the sword, and the sword light appeared.

The sword strike was fierce, aimed directly at Wang Liu's heart!

Before Wang Liu could even turn around, the sharp blade easily pierced through his remaining magical defenses, penetrating his chest from behind and emerging from his heart with a spray of blood mist.

Wang Liu's body suddenly froze, his running steps came to an abrupt halt, and the large knife in his left hand fell to the ground with a "clang," his aura instantly weakening to its extreme.

"I... my big matter..." Wang Liu murmured to himself, his eyes filled with intense resentment.

Just as he was about to die, a ruthless glint flashed in his eyes. His left hand trembled as he reached into his robes and, with his last ounce of strength, pulled out an ancient, yellowed talisman with strange patterns on it.

He slammed the talisman hard onto his forehead.

Shen Gui's eyes narrowed, and he was about to swing his sword to strike, but it was too late!

A strange gray light burst forth from the talisman, and Wang Liu's eyes instantly dimmed. A grayish-white, transparent soul with a distorted and terrifying face suddenly left his body from above. The soul's face was exactly the same as Wang Liu's, filled with resentment and unwillingness, and its mouth was open as if it was about to fly into the basement.

But as soon as the soul appeared, before the ferocity on its face could solidify, it disintegrated and vanished without even a breath, leaving not a trace.

Wang Liu's body crashed to the ground, completely lifeless, utterly dead.

Shen Gui sheathed his sword and stood there. Apart from a slight depletion of his magical power, he was unharmed.

He crouched down to examine Wang Liu's body, then looked at the ashes of the talisman fragments on his forehead, his brows furrowing slightly.

Shen Gui looked at the direction Wang Liu's soul wanted to go, not to attack him, but to Wang Xiaoshi in the basement.

"Could it be possession?"

Thinking of this, Shen Gui chuckled to himself. He had never heard of such a fantastical thing from a novel in the cultivation world.

Whether it was due to poor talisman skills or insufficient cultivation, the extracted soul did not last long and was instantly scattered.

Even without engaging in a magical battle with himself, using this strange talisman would likely lead to certain death.

Thinking of the soul-targeting attack methods used in Daling Village, and then looking at Wang Liu, who had failed in his attempt to separate his soul from his body.

"These two places are so close together, they must be connected."

This old evil cultivator, even in death he was still dreaming, but in the end he met a tragic end, his body and soul scattered, which was entirely his own fault.

"Master..." Ahe quickly walked to Shen Gui's side, her little face showing a trace of lingering fear. She gently tugged at his sleeve. "What...what kind of evil magic did he use? It's so scary."

Shen Gui gently patted Ahe's head, his voice soothing as he calmed his little apprentice: "It's just a broken evil talisman. Forcibly extracting his soul will ultimately cause it to dissipate. It's retribution for his many evil deeds."

He stood up, his gaze fixed on the closed basement entrance, his eyes calm and serene.

Wang Xiaoshi is still in the basement, and the alchemy furnace he promised Ahe might also be hidden somewhere in this courtyard.

Shen Gui held Ahe's little hand and slowly walked towards the basement, his tone firm: "Follow your master closely and see how much filth and depravity is still hidden in this fertile ditch."