The night was pitch black, with no moonlight and a howling wind.
Indeed, it was a perfect night for killing.
Mu Zi Zhe sat on a chair, his right hand resting on the Sleeping Dragon Sword while his left fiddled with a silver needle.
Xie Ba had also ordered a chair to be brought and placed at the courtyard gate, sitting directly opposite Mu Zi Zhe. He called for a jug of wine, taking occasional sips and cursing intermittently, sitting there from day until night.
Behind Mu Zi Zhe stood forty figures clad in white, while behind Xie Ba were dozens of long blades.
The two groups were on the verge of drawing weapons, ready to strike at any moment. But since the two family heads remained seated in silence, they could only wait.
"We've known each other for many years. Though our paths differ, we've shared this bond for so long. Must it really come to this?" Xie Ba said slowly.
"Mu Bai is dead," Mu Zi Zhe replied with just four words.
Xie Ba spread his hands. "I know, but it wasn't our Xie Family who killed him. My favorite disciple is also dead. How about this—I'll become The Head, appoint you as the Second Head, and together we'll wipe out the Su Family. What do you say?"
"The position of The Head is mine," Mu Zi Zhe said firmly.
"Damn it, sitting here all night has made my legs sore, and you're still as stubborn as a wooden fish," Xie Ba cursed helplessly. "Among the three families of Dark River, it's always been the Xie and Su Families who charge into battle. What right does your Mu Family have to claim this position?"
Mu Zi Zhe's brow twitched slightly as he flicked the silver needle in his hand toward Xie Ba.
Xie Ba abruptly stood, shattering the chair beneath him with a stomp, then swung his blade to deflect the needle. "If words won't work, then let's fight! Brothers, charge in and slaughter every last one of these Mu bastards!" The Xie Family blade-wielders, who had been waiting for this command, unsheathed their weapons and rushed forward without hesitation.
"Activate the formation—Lone Void!" Mu Zi Zhe rose to his feet, sweeping his sleeves wide.
A thick fog suddenly spread across the courtyard, and Mu Zi Zhe, along with the forty white-clad figures behind him, vanished in an instant. Xie Ba's heart sank—"Not good!"—but when he turned, the courtyard gate had already slammed shut, quickly swallowed by the encroaching mist.
"Damn it, so this bastard was stalling to set up the Lone Void Formation," Xie Ba spat.
Xie Qidao crouched slightly, gripping his blade tightly. "Years ago, the Demon Sect trapped countless martial masters in the Hundred-Mile Lone Void Formation. Back then, even Mu Family disciples were caught in it. Who would've thought they'd recreate the formation in just a few short years."
"The Lone Void Formation deceives the eyes—stay sharp!" Xie Ba's warning was barely out when a scream pierced the air—a Xie disciple had been impaled through the chest by a blade from nowhere.
Xie Qidao drove his sword into the ground and roared, "Break!" With his furious shout, the figure of a Mu disciple preparing to strike materialized beside him. Xie Ba spun and beheaded the man in a single stroke.
"Back then, Sikong Changfeng, the Third City Lord of Snow Moon City, shattered the Hundred-Mile Lone Void Formation with a single spear thrust—such divine might. With one swing of my blade, I can only clear three feet of space." Xie Qidao sighed softly.
Xie Ba called out, "Gather close, back to back—don't act recklessly!"
"Family Head... there are hands—hands coming from below!" someone shrieked.Xie Ba lowered his head and saw countless eerie, ghastly claws emerging from the ground. Swinging his long blade, he roared angrily, "Purify Wushuang!"
Seeing this, Xie Qianji immediately raised his own long blade and shouted, "Xie Family disciples, perform the Evil-Warding Blade Dance!" As the most skilled in mechanisms and formations within the Xie Family, he instantly devised a countermeasure.
The panicked Xie clansmen quickly steadied themselves upon hearing his command, their blades dancing wildly as they executed the Xie Family’s secret technique—the Evil-Warding Blade Dance. Among the many blade techniques of the Xie Family, this one was not the most refined, but it was the very dance used annually during ancestral rites to ward off evil spirits. As they swung their blades in unison, the thick fog gradually dispersed.
Mu Zi Zhe’s figure appeared atop the eaves, the Sleeping Dragon Sword in hand, his cold gaze fixed upon them.
"Mu Zi Zhe!" Xie Ba leaped into the air, charging forward with his blade.
Mu Zi Zhe flicked out a strand of Puppet Silk, entangling Xie Ba’s long blade before yanking it backward, hurling Xie Ba onto the opposite rooftop.
Xie Ba plunged his blade into the tiles, skidding a full thirty meters before coming to a stop. He grinned. "You’re holding the Sleeping Dragon Sword—show me your swordsmanship! What kind of skill is relying on Puppet Silk?"
Mu Zi Zhe was about to retort when a sudden chill ran down his spine. He spun around instinctively, raising the Sleeping Dragon Sword just in time to block. With a metallic clang, the impact sent him crashing through the roof and into the building below. Xie Qidao rested his long blade on his shoulder, but before he could speak, he noticed several white Paper Butterflies had silently fluttered around him.
"Butterfly Dance, Nine Looms," Mu Zi Zhe murmured.
"Damn it," Xie Qidao cursed under his breath, swinging his blade to slash the butterflies—but he was too late. The Paper Butterflies ignited and exploded in an instant, blasting him off the rooftop.
"Qidao!" Xie Ba cried out, rushing forward ahead of time. But when he landed, he realized the entire room was filled with Paper Butterflies.
"It’s a trap," Xie Qidao sighed.
"Butterfly Dance, Slaughter Without a Trace." A ghostly flame flickered at Mu Zi Zhe’s fingertips as he flicked it toward the two Xie warriors.
Xie Ba and Xie Qidao exchanged a glance before simultaneously kicking off the ground, retreating back-to-back as they swung their blades in unison.
Mu Zi Zhe’s pupils constricted slightly. "The Xie Family’s Twin Life and Death Blades."
"Back when we carried out missions, it was always the two of us together. None of our opponents ever survived—and you won’t be the exception," Xie Ba roared, his blade dancing wildly.
Explosions erupted continuously, yet the brilliance of their twin blades outshone even the blazing flames of the Paper Butterflies. Mu Zi Zhe gave the Sleeping Dragon Sword a light flick and retreated step by step.
After what felt like an eternity, the explosions finally ceased, and the smoke surrounding the two men gradually dissipated. Xie Ba and Xie Qidao stood with their robes in tatters, their muscles taut and heaving with each labored breath. Xie Qidao wiped the dust from his blade. "Patriarch Mu, you stand no chance against the two of us alone."
"Who said I was alone?" Mu Zi Zhe flicked his left hand, and five Puppets descended from above.Xie Ba snorted coldly, "Fighting with the Mu Family is never satisfying. It's either formations or secret arts. When it finally comes to swords and blades, they send out a bunch of fakes. How boring."
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