Young Master Passionate did not attack either side in the three-way battle. Instead, he sprang toward one of the now-exposed Sword Dao Fruits!
He had not been standing aside merely to watch the fight. He meant to profit while the others fought.
Had he tried to break the leaves’ sword array while the three were clashing, they would have noticed, placing him in danger. But their fierce power had destroyed the arrays for him. Plucking a Sword Dao Fruit was now much easier.
Thus, in the blink of an eye, he reached a fruit.
With a sweep of his long sleeve, he gathered it away!
The three combatants had not been entirely unprepared for Young Master Passionate.
But in such an evenly matched battle, a moment’s lapse in vigilance was unavoidable.
And that moment was enough for Young Master Passionate to succeed!
After obtaining the fruit, he immediately turned to flee, intending to leap down from the tree.
From the moment he saw the Sword Dao Fruits, obtaining one had become his chief goal in climbing.
Besides, he was not greedy.
Young Master Passionate knew he belonged to the demonic path and was alone. Though his attainment matched the two sword venerables’, he could not defeat them together, since they belonged to the same sect. With the advantage on their side, why would the Myriad Swords Immortal Sect share the benefits with him?
He had originally thought it extremely difficult to obtain even one fruit. Then Yun Lie suddenly appeared.
Young Master Passionate cultivated the orthodox demonic path and did not mind Yun Lie threatening his position. After all, among active demonic-path sword cultivators, he was now the only known person to have reached the fourth realm of sword intent. On the immortal path, however, the Myriad Swords Immortal Sect had long controlled such advantages. Yun Lie’s emergence would carve away part of their supremacy, making them the ones who felt threatened.
Within a single thought, Young Master Passionate had resolved to steal a fruit when the opportunity appeared.
And he had succeeded.
Just as Young Master Passionate expected, the Myriad Swords Immortal Sect had stood at the pinnacle of sword cultivation for countless years. No other group had threatened its brilliance in the Sword Dao for ages.
Over time, although the sect maintained strict rules and a generally decent atmosphere, some of its mighty elders had allowed their pride to harden into stubbornness. As their cultivation increased, that stubbornness only grew.
If Yun Lie had been a disciple of the Myriad Swords Immortal Sect, the two sword venerables would have cherished his talent, providing every resource so he could cultivate without worry.
But Yun Lie belonged elsewhere and threatened their sect’s status. Obsessed with being foremost in the Sword Dao, the two venerables could not help developing killing intent toward him. That had led to the ambush and then the battle.
“How dare you!”
At the Thunder Dragon Sword Venerable’s furious roar, the thunder wyrm fighting the golden swords instantly turned and charged Young Master Passionate.
The venerable was enraged. While the contest’s outcome remained undecided, a demonic-path cultivator had taken a prize for nothing. How could he tolerate that?
The Wind God Sword Venerable was not one to suffer silently either. He pointed, sending three tornadoes racing toward Young Master Passionate, reaching him in a breath.
But Young Master Passionate seemed prepared. With a backward sweep, he released a strange force resembling sword intent, carrying a sharp edge and killing energy. Yet within it shimmered shifting colors and an ambiguous, enticing intimacy, almost as though anyone who touched it would experience an unspeakable reaction.
The intent looked tender and clinging, but was extremely difficult to resist.
When the thunder wyrm struck it, a sticky sensation seemed to ensnare the beast. An almost human grimace appeared on its twisted head as it struggled to escape some unseen control.
The three tornadoes swept across as well, but were momentarily obstructed.
And in that instant, Young Master Passionate had already escaped far away, leaping down from the tree!
At the same time, the battle around Yun Lie changed.
Previously the two venerables had barely managed to oppose Yun Lie while resisting suppression by his Ruthless Slaughter Sword Intent. With the thunder wyrm diverted and several tornadoes sent elsewhere, their pressure on Yun Lie was immediately reduced by half!
He seized the greater advantage in an instant!
The attempt to stop Young Master Passionate lasted only a moment. When it failed, the two venerables reluctantly abandoned the pursuit and resumed concentrating on Yun Lie.
The strike had been an impulsive act born of frustration.
Only after venting their anger did they discover that Yun Lie had instinctively taken advantage of the opening.
He had thrown Xu Ziqing off his back.
In almost the same instant, Xu Ziqing understood his senior brother’s intention.
Yun Lie had neither explained nor had any chance to do so, yet Xu Ziqing knew precisely what he meant.
Escape the sword-intent shockwaves, and seize the chance to gather Sword Dao Fruits!
Xu Ziqing dropped through the air, the vines wrapped around him lashing wildly.
Rong Jin had absorbed the Essence of Yi-Wood. Not only had its vitality recovered, but its reserves of energy were full.
Now a single thought from Xu Ziqing was enough. Without requiring careful control, Rong Jin reared up and became dozens of enormous vines thick as water barrels. Each stretched more than ten zhang, forming a wall in front of him!
Xu Ziqing had practiced the sword with his senior brother for years. Although his spiritual energy had been exhausted, the short period of rest had restored a little of his physical strength.
He pushed off with one foot and shot toward the nearest Sword Dao Fruit!
He grabbed and plucked it with all his strength!
The Wind God Sword Venerable’s face turned livid. “You dare, brat!”
As he shouted, his largest tornado rushed toward Xu Ziqing, threatening to shred him!
Rong Jin rose to meet it. Several vine whips shot out from the great wall and lashed furiously at the tornado.
The tornado was formidable, but the relentless blows weakened its force.
So long as the solid lower portion was broken apart, the raging wind above lost its foundation and dissipated. The vine wall blocked the hurricane completely.
Meanwhile, the enormous thunder wyrm rushed forward, its massive tail about to slam into the wall!
The vine wall had already committed all its strength to holding back a tornado containing less than a tenth of the Wind God Sword Venerable’s sword intent. How could it possibly withstand a full-strength blow from the thunder wyrm?
If the tail struck, the wall would collapse immediately. Xu Ziqing, busy gathering a Sword Dao Fruit, would be swept away and killed!
How could Yun Lie allow that?
Seeing that Rong Jin could barely protect Xu Ziqing, Yun Lie’s eyes flashed. He sent several golden swords slashing toward the thunder wyrm together.
A barrage of ringing clashes sounded. Though the wyrm was not a living creature, the reduction of its power made it let out a pained roar!
“Roar!” It turned and lunged toward Yun Lie again!
For a time, the thunder wyrm and numerous tornadoes were once more engaged with Yun Lie.
Whenever the two sword venerables attempted to attack Xu Ziqing, Yun Lie immediately barred their way.
Within a few breaths, Xu Ziqing had collected one Sword Dao Fruit and stored it in his storage ring.
He sprinted onward toward the second nearest fruit!
With Yun Lie holding both venerables back and Rong Jin’s power enhanced by the Essence of Yi-Wood, Xu Ziqing encountered little trouble apart from soreness in his body.
He quickly gathered three Sword Dao Fruits in succession and kept running.
It was not simply greed driving him. Xu Ziqing felt anger rising.
There had been nine fruits on the tree and only four sword cultivators at the top. Apart from the demonic-path man they needed to watch carefully, they were all sword cultivators of the immortal path. Given Yun Lie’s temperament, he would probably have taken two fruits and then refrained from competing further with another sect.
But these two sword venerables had gone far too far!
First an ambush, then two against one. They clearly intended to kill Yun Lie!
Xu Ziqing was gentle and generous, but if he continued to yield when others wanted to murder him and his senior brother, he would be an utter fool!
Since you two are so vicious, I’ll take every last Sword Dao Fruit and leave you with nothing!
That was why he was gathering so relentlessly. He intended to sweep up all the fruits, refusing to leave even one for the venerables.
After this affair, those two sword venerables would inevitably be enemies of Yun Lie, and therefore enemies of Xu Ziqing as well.
Why should he fear deepening their hatred?
Besides, treasure contests depended upon ability. This tree’s rule was that contestants competed in Sword Dao attainment. Having lost in that field, would these venerable immortal-path ancestors dare murder them openly using superior cultivation once they left? They would lose all face and might even develop heart demons.
If the two sought trouble in the future, they would have to do it secretly rather than openly.
Once Xu Ziqing and Yun Lie returned to their sect, they could concentrate on cultivation. When Yun Lie attained an immortal-demonic body and Rong Jin matured, they would have much less to fear!
Having reached this conclusion, Xu Ziqing ran faster and gathered fruit after fruit.
He was swift on his feet, and the fruits were not difficult to pick. Before long, only two remained!
Watching from the other side, the two sword venerables were nearly beside themselves.
That junior dared act so outrageously! His insolence deserved death!
Instantly they disregarded Yun Lie and directed all their sword intent toward Xu Ziqing. Only two Sword Dao Fruits remained. If they could not stop the youth in green, all their efforts would have been wasted!
Yun Lie would never let them succeed.
By now, the sword hearts of the two venerables were in disarray.
Sword cultivators pursued a path that would break through any obstacle. Their Dao heart was their sword heart.
So long as the sword heart remained unbroken, their will could not be extinguished. Even with only a thread of strength left, they might still reverse a defeat!
But once the sword heart wavered, a sword cultivator’s imposing spirit wavered too.
The sword itself became unstable, and the sword intent risked collapse.
That was exactly what had happened to the Wind God and Thunder Dragon Sword Venerables.
After losing part of the prize to a demonic cultivator, they had been checked at every turn by a junior who had cultivated for less than a fraction of their own lifetimes. Now their greatest treasures were being snatched before their eyes!
The repeated provocations robbed them of composure.
And so, although they had previously been capable of holding Yun Lie to a stalemate, they now suffered a decisive defeat!