Song Qianji's voice pierced through the roaring sea wind, rushing toward the ocean surface.
The Dead Sea's peril was not limited to its sunless depths.
Occasionally, a few Flame Gulls swept through the air, flying wing-to-wing with the morning clouds, opening their beaks to spit clusters of eerie blue flames.
Their bodies were crimson red, with four wings and long beaks, preying on other seabirds and fish leaping from the sea. Occasionally, they supplemented their diet with cultivators daring to venture into the Dead Sea.
Manipulating the Shadowless Sword, Song Qianji skillfully dodged the fireballs while keeping a sharp eye on the sea surface.
Amid the dark waves, silver "islands" darted swiftly. Massive water columns erupted from these islands, towering into the clouds, rising and falling in succession.
It was the migration season for the Silver Island Whale pods, during the transition between spring and summer.
These sea beasts had silvery-white, smooth skin and bodies as vast as islands, hence their name.
A Flame Gull flew past Song Qianji, only to be swallowed whole by a leaping giant whale in an instant, without even time to screech.
Top predators leaped from the water in groups, stirring colossal waves with each rise and fall, a magnificent spectacle.
The Shadowless Sword, light and concealed, sped through the giant waves and blood mist. After observing the whale pod for a moment, Song Qianji suddenly raised an eyebrow and smirked: "Still hiding from me?"
Anyone witnessing this would have thought him insane.
He actually pressed the sword downward and dove, riding the current into the gaping maw of a Silver Island Whale as it opened its mouth.
Silver Island Whales lacked sharp teeth, possessing only stout baleen. As seawater rushed in, the deep esophagus resembled a giant waterfall. Song Qianji rode the flow straight into the whale's belly.
The whale's stomach was pitch-black and stifling, with a nauseating stench.
But as he ventured deeper, the sour, rotting odor vanished, replaced by a flow of Spirit Qi in the surroundings.
Who would have thought the whale's belly held a world of its own?
This space was simple and tidy, with a bamboo table and chairs, and someone hugging a cushion while flipping through an old book.
A tangerine lamp glowed on the table, its faint light illuminating the person's profile and the densely packed talismans covering the whale's inner walls.
Beauty viewed under lamplight becomes even more beautiful.
An old acquaintance viewed under lamplight becomes even more detestable.
Song Qianji sneered coldly: "The renowned number one swordsman under heaven, once so majestic, now hiding in a beast's belly, too afraid to show your face."
The whale's belly echoed like a cave, amplifying every sound.
The man resignedly set down the book, muttering to himself: "Incredible. To be found even like this."
He turned and grinned: "My good disciple, I knew you were tough enough to come back alive! So, did you finish them all off?"
"Xian Jianchen!" Song Qianji strode forward, brandishing the Shadowless Sword, "This is no way to do business!"
Xian Jianchen leaped up from the bamboo chair, dodging the sword: "Pointing a sword at your master? Planning to betray your ancestors? A disciple striking his master invites heavenly lightning!"
Song Qianji, radiating formidable momentum, swung the sword as if it were a feather duster, showing no trace of his recent brush with death: "Who's your disciple? Who are you to call yourself master? I'm beating you precisely for that!"
"Can you even beat me?" Xian Jianchen dodged and weaved, "If not for this place being inconvenient for fighting…"
Damaging this whale would mean expending great effort to find, subdue, and prepare another.
The two exchanged blows fist to flesh in the "cave," without using Spirit Qi.
Setting aside cultivation realms and considering only martial techniques, Song Qianji and Xian Jianchen were evenly matched.
Driven by fury, Song Qianji struck ruthlessly, gaining the upper hand as he pinned Xian Jianchen down and pummeled him relentlessly:"I agreed to kill one person for you, but I ended up having to kill him four times! The fourth time nearly cost me my life!"
"How could this be? It seems he's grown even stronger..." Xian Jianchen muttered to himself unconsciously. Realizing he was in the wrong, he handed a cushion to Song Qianji: "Here, take this. Play with it to cool your temper."
Song Qianji grew even angrier upon seeing it, snatching it away: "This was mine to begin with!"
"The pillow may be yours, but the sword in your hand is still mine!" Xian Jianchen shouted, "Give it back!"
Suddenly struck by a thought, he stared at the Shadowless Sword: "Did it lead you to the Dead Sea?"
Song Qianji scoffed: "There must be a connection between you and your sword. Where you are, others may not know, but your sword does."
Xian Jianchen glared at the Shadowless Sword: "Get back here!"
The Shadowless Sword trembled slightly, then pretended to be dead and stopped moving.
Xian Jianchen fumed: "How many years have you been with me? How come after one trip out, you've been tamed by this brat?"
Song Qianji retorted: "What skill is there in intimidating a sword? Do you think you're smarter than everyone else, that hiding inside a beast's belly is an idea only you could come up with?"
Xian Jianchen wondered: "Have you hidden like that too? When were you ever injured, and who was chasing you?"
Song Qianji thought to himself, I've played all these tricks before. Hiding inside a giant beast not only conceals your tracks and scent but also provides you with protective magic robes and a fast-moving magical artifact.
Having fought enough, his muscles and bones felt relieved, and his anger had mostly subsided. It was time to get down to business.
So he pulled out a bamboo chair and sat down, hugging the cushion that Xian Jianchen had taken—originally his own—as if he were the master of the place:
"I'll give you a chance to explain."
"This matter started because of me, and I'll handle the rest," Xian Jianchen said instead. "You should leave, go back to your Thousand Canals."
Song Qianji frowned: "How do you plan to handle it? How will you kill him?"
"I left my Lifebound Sword at the edge of the continent, using the earth's veins to nurture its sword intent. Once I recover from my injuries, I'll set off to retrieve it." Xian Jianchen, indifferent to having his lip split by a junior, hissed in pain but still wore a proud and arrogant expression. "With my Lifebound Sword in hand, I remain invincible under the heavens."
Song Qianji thought for a moment: "Fine, let's go."
Xian Jianchen was stunned: "What did you say?"
Song Qianji: "I said, let's set off for the edge of the continent, retrieve your sword, and kill that person. Did I make myself clear?"
Xian Jianchen couldn't believe it: "Why? What's in it for you?"
"I've sworn an oath to cut him down with my sword, no matter how far the ends of the earth!"
"Don't you know what's happening outside right now? Both of us are injured; we should recuperate in a hidden place," Xian Jianchen frowned.
After the unrivaled Sword God was injured, the entire world could become his enemy.
Once the Huawel Sect officially declared war on Thousand Canals, the King of Thousand Canals would have to die, whether he wanted to or not.
"He's also recovering. The destruction of his avatar severely wounded his true form. We can't miss this opportunity. I suspect he's using the Sky-Supporting Tree to heal. We must leave now!" Song Qianji's attitude was firm and unyielding.
To defeat an almost unbeatable enemy, you have to be even more ruthless than they are.
Xian Jianchen studied Song Qianji: "Right now, he has the backing of many sects and noble families, and he's about to ignite a war in the Cultivation World. With the state we're in, what cards do we have to play on this journey?""You, plus me, plus your nine swords. Though we're still outnumbered, we'll always have one more thing than them."
Xian Jianchen raised an eyebrow: "Don't tell me you've hidden money away? Which bank is it from?"
Song Qianji couldn't be bothered to banter with him: "You'll find out when we set off."
"No way." Xian Jianchen stood up and moved closer to him, "Last time I saw you, you were lazy and hated trouble, stubbornly guarding your little plot of land, acting like picking a flower would kill you! How come you're a different person now? Kid, aren't you worried about your Thousand Canals?"
This was something Song Qianji had indeed been anxious about before entering the secret realm, but now he stated with certainty:
"Even without me, Thousand Canals will be taken care of."
Meng Heze and his group had left the secret realm through the underground river of Blood River Valley. Unless something unexpected happened, they should be unharmed and could return directly to Thousand Canals.
Xian Jianchen circled around him like a child observing a rare Iron Beast:
"Song Qianji, oh Song Qianji, you've actually learned to trust people!"
Song Qianji replied calmly: "When people trust me, I trust them. What's wrong with that?"
He thought to himself that Xian Jianchen, having been the world's number one for so long, was arrogant, domineering, and unreasonable, with personality flaws numerous enough to terrify anyone with trypophobia.
Moreover, judging from Wuxiang's various descriptions, Xian Jianchen had always been cruel in his methods, completely lacking the cultivation befitting a Great Adept and master of his generation.
"If not forced by circumstances, who would want to partner with someone like this."
Xian Jianchen turned his head away, no longer looking at Song Qianji.
He thought to himself that this young man appeared gentle and polite, but was actually unyielding to both soft and hard approaches. Though clearly a junior, he was more difficult to deal with than those old fogies.
"If not at my wit's end, who would want to travel with him."
Despite their mutual dislike, the two still had to journey together, from the Dead Sea to the edge of the continent.
Song Qianji was retracing his path of escape from his previous life.
This time, could he change the outcome?
"Not only do I trust people, but we're teammates now, so we should temporarily trust each other too." Song Qianji said, "Tell me everything you know about him, everything you've done."
Xian Jianchen suddenly laughed: "You've already heard plenty from him in Blood River Valley, are you still willing to listen to me?"
"Believing only one side shows lack of wisdom."
"Fine." Xian Jianchen took out a tea set from his Storage Bag and said leisurely: "This matter... it starts from three hundred years ago..."
...
Early summer, a heavy rain in Thousand-Ditch Prefecture washed the mountains clean inside and out, thoroughly watering all the flowers, plants, and trees.
The weather was clear, with drifting clouds floating in the azure sky, sunlight shining over green fields.
The noon heat was intense, cicadas chirping incessantly. Farmers who had just finished their meals gathered in shady spots to chat and smoke pipes, even the water buffalo lay under tree shadows, lazily swishing their tails to shoo away flies and mosquitoes.
Not far away, a group of children played tirelessly in the canal under the scorching sun, laughing and splashing loudly.
When the two Huawei Sect cultivators exhausted all efforts to infiltrate Thousand Canals, what they saw all day were scenes of summer countryside.
The two looked at each other, extremely anxious.
"The sect ordered us to destroy Song Qianji's Golden Statue, cutting off the foundation of his luck. But where exactly is his Golden Statue hidden?"
"We've already searched Sky City. The God Temple has been converted into a prison, and the village temples in every settlement have been leveled and filled to make farmland."
"It must be hidden in a secure, concealed place. Thousand Canals is only so big - we can search every inch if we have to.""What if Song Qianji doesn't even have a Golden Statue? Reporting like this will surely bring punishment."
As the two were anxiously communicating through transmitted messages, a booming shout suddenly erupted:
"Immortal Master! It's those two—unfamiliar and suspicious, sneaking around! We've been watching them for a long time!"
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