Green Mountain

Old Xianggen had just crossed the mountain top and saw a mass of armored soldiers advancing towards him, frightening him to turn and run.

The Mo Blade Camp and Tokyo Road elite all clad in black armor, amidst the white snowy mountain forest, resembled two black dragons made of iron sand, chasing together behind Old Xianggen.

The two black dragons got closer and closer, and just as they were about to catch up to Old Xianggen, they fiercely collided, their armors clashing with a sound of metal thunder, rows of armored soldiers falling down.

Both the Mo Blade Camp and Tokyo Road elite tacitly agreed not to use weapons, as they were both orthodox of the Jing Dynasty; if anyone initiated weaponry, it would be a capital crime of treason.

In less than ten breaths, the two sides quickly distinguished superiority, with Tokyo Road soldiers pairing up two by two, barely restraining the Mo Blade Soldiers. But Tokyo Road soldiers, fearless of death, tackled the heavy-armored Mo Blade Soldiers and rolled down the mountain.

Even if the Mo Blade Soldiers shook them off, ascending the mountain again would require considerable effort.

Yuan Hengli Zhen remained unmoved, leading the Mo Blade Soldiers forward, colliding head-on with Tokyo Road soldiers, knocking them upside down, horses flailing.

Yet, the Tokyo Road elite raised a human wall ahead, arm locking arm to pull up an iron curtain. Once Jiang Zhuang and other elite vanguards passed, they braved death to close in, blocking all of the Mo Blade Camp before the iron curtain.

Yuan Hengli Zhen used force to break through the wall, but new soldiers replaced those in front. When another layer was broken open, Tokyo Road elite soldiers lay on the snow, grabbing his legs, each step forward dragging two burdens.

"Courting death."

Yuan Hengli Zhen was just about to crush the hearts and lungs of Tokyo Road soldiers with a kick, when Jiang Zhuang shouted loudly while chasing Old Xianggen: "Yuan Hengli Zhen, if my Tokyo Road boys are crippled or dead, my Commander will surely report you to Your Majesty, then your title will not be secure!"

The force Yuan Hengli Zhen was about to unleash suddenly withdrew.

Jiang Zhuang glanced back and immediately focused all efforts on capturing Old Xianggen, as Tokyo Road elite couldn’t hold Yuan Hengli Zhen for long. Although he brought elite soldiers, they couldn’t compare with the Mo Blade Camp. If allowed to fight freely, the Tokyo Road elite would already be defeated.

Old Xianggen’s soul seemed about to leap out in fear.

His otter-warm ear hat was askew; he could only hold it in place while running, even dropping the King Wen Drum and Martial King Whip he had just retrieved from the Temple of Martial Arts into the snow.

A disciple turned back, seeing the master had dropped the King Wen Drum, and urgently cried out: "Master, the drum, the drum!"

Old Xianggen gasped: "At this moment, who cares about this drum, do I look like the King Wen Drum?"

The earlier discarded King Wen Drum and Martial King Whip were ancestral items, everything else was replica.

Years ago, the Hu Family made a grave mistake, and these two items were seized by Mountain Master Lu Yang. Without them, they could only seek resolution from the Immortals, not even qualifying as legitimate Executive Officers.

Though the old items were recovered, in such circumstances, having a whole body intact was a blessing, not bothering with the King Wen Drum or the Martial King Whip.

Five people scurried downhill; yet Old Xianggen saw his disciples running farther, while he slowed down, desperately shouting: "You brats, wait for me!"

Four middle-aged men turned back, realizing their master was left behind.

The four glanced at each other, gritted their teeth, and ran back uphill, two grabbed Old Xianggen’s arms and two grabbed his legs, hoisting him onto their shoulders and rushing downhill again.

Old Xianggen was moved: "Raising you wasn’t in vain!"

One man glanced back at several dozen relentless Tokyo Road elite, wondering: "Master, did you break heavenly law?"

Old Xianggen irritably said: "I killed your father."

The man was doubtful: "Really?"

Old Xianggen furiously: "If you can talk, talk; if not, shut your mouth."

The man questioned: "... Then why are they chasing us?"

Old Xianggen speculated: "Maybe there’s noble backing behind this Sword Seed Inheritor trying to kill us for silence? But Grandmaster Hu San said nothing! Quick, run to the Temple of Martial Arts; survival is assured upon reaching it!"

Five people fled in disarray, not running downhill, but rather scrambling uphill.

Jiang Zhuang watched their figures from afar, sensing something amiss: "Can these really be Sword Seed Inheritors? With that stomach for courage, daring to steal the Holy Relic of the Weapon Master?"

The Tokyo Road elite beside him was equally puzzled: "These five act like ants moving house, who’s the Sword Seed Inheritor? Sir, could we have mistaken?"

Jiang Zhuang hesitated as well: "Could that who initiated something have lied?"

Looking back, he saw the Mo Blade Camp had broken through the iron curtain in pursuit. But amidst the black armor, a streak of silver sword light flashed, threading through the armor gap at a Mo Blade Soldier’s neck, spilling blood across the snow.

Daylight had fully dawned, with sunlight reflecting off the snow illuminating the blood in stark red.

Jiang Zhuang suddenly realized: "Sword Seed!"

Looking further ahead, it was clear Old Xianggen and the others, running without turning back, were not the ones wielding the Sword Seed.

Jiang Zhuang suddenly grabbed a nearby soldier’s arm, halting and no longer chasing Old Xianggen, instead frantically running back where they came: "Where are the youngsters and old head we took on the mountain?"

"Haven’t seen them; when fighting broke out, who paid heed to them!"

Jiang Zhuang shouted angrily: "Catch them!"

...

...

At this moment, the sword light within the crowd did not linger, delivering one strike before disappearing behind a pine tree.

Just as everyone’s gaze turned north following the Sword Seed, a scream emanated from the opposite direction; all followed the noise, seeing another flash of sword light disappear.

Another Mo Blade Soldier clutched his armored gap, slowly falling to the snowy ground, his hand letting go as blood flowed from the armor seam.

"How can the Sword Seed be so fast? It was just at the north side, then suddenly south?"

In the time spent on these words, the west side saw the Sword Seed reaping another Mo Blade Soldier’s life like mowing grass.

Yuan Hengli Zhen stepped forward to inspect, but before he could get close, another wail echoed from the east. He abruptly turned his head, just in time to see the sword light disappearing into the mountain forest.

Everyone’s attention was so overwhelmed by the wails and sword light that they couldn’t keep up, looking east, south, west, and north, but all they managed to see was the last instant of the sword light vanishing.

Whenever a wail drew their attention away, a sword light would suddenly emerge in another direction, yet only one sword seed ever appeared at a time.

It was as if this sword seed could traverse the void, appearing everywhere at once, omnipresent.

It also seemed as though a juggler performing the trick of "Three Immortals returning to the cave" was hidden in the forest, shifting a red ball between two bowls, and you could never guess under which bowl the red ball truly lay.

One could not guess where the sword light would next appear.

Suddenly, snowflakes cascaded silently from a pine branch, moving without any wind.

Yuan Hengli Zhen fiercely hurled his Mo Blade at the pine tree, the blade whistling through the air, shattering the tree and the snow together, and striking the sword seed hidden behind the tree.

The sword seed, as light as a feather, drifted back and once again disappeared into the woods.

But before Yuan Hengli Zhen could relax, cries of pain echoed from behind him.

Yuan Hengli Zhen frowned and turned back, only to see another Mo Blade soldier fallen in a pool of blood. His pupils contracted slightly, and he declared, "There’s more than one sword seed, more than one Sword Seed Inheritor!"

Yuan Hengli Zhen stood clad in armor at the spot, a black mask hiding his expression, and he said deeply, "Form up!"

The Mo Blade Camp swiftly regrouped, raising a phalanx around Yuan Hengli Zhen with their Mo Blades, and only then did everyone realize that the sword seed only targeted Mo Blade soldiers, leaving the Tokyo Road armored soldiers untouched.

Yuan Hengli Zhen cast a cutting glance at Jiang Zhuang who had just returned: "What is the crime of Tokyo Road harboring Sword Seed Inheritors?"

Jiang Zhuang, utterly confused, replied: "What nonsense are you saying?"

Yuan Hengli Zhen calmly replied, "This person only kills my Mo Blade Camp and spares your Tokyo Road armored soldiers. Why is that? No wonder Tokyo Road wants to muddy the waters, surely here to aid him."

Jiang Zhuang glanced around; over ten Mo Blade soldiers were dead, whereas not a single one of his armored men had fallen.

His close aide cautiously inquired: "My lord, did the Commander mention this matter to you?"

Jiang Zhuang chuckled in exasperation: "Get lost."

He paid Yuan Hengli Zhen no mind, instead wandering the forest searching for Chen Ji and Old Ears, occasionally helping up fallen Tokyo Road armored soldiers.

But after making a round, he still hadn’t seen any sign of Chen Ji or Old Ears.

Jiang Zhuang stood in place, a troubled look on his face, and his aide approached, asking: "My lord, what’s on your mind?"

Jiang Zhuang sighed: "If we head back like this, the Commander will laugh us to death..."

Then, an armored soldier shouted loudly: "There are footprints leading downhill here!"

Jiang Zhuang moved to check it out. Since neither the Tokyo Road soldiers nor the Mo Blade Camp went downhill, these footprints could only belong to that old and young pair: "Pursue!"

This time, Yuan Hengli Zhen was faster, grabbing his massive Mo Blade and leading the charge ahead of everyone.

Yuan Hengli Zhen chased downhill following the footprints, shedding his armor as he ran. Against an ordinary Executive Officer, armor could protect the entire body, even against blades and axes.

But against a sword seed, the slightest gap in the armor was a deadly flaw, making the dozens of pounds of armor a burden instead.

As he passed a pine tree, a flash of sword light suddenly swept from the left side.

Yuan Hengli Zhen raised his Mo Blade, a clang rang out as the sword seed was sent flying over ten yards, with cracks like a spider web spreading across its blade.

But the ambush was not over, as another flash of sword light came from the right.

Yuan Hengli Zhen turned and kicked, pinning the concealed sword seed against a distant pine tree. Standing in the empty forest, he calmly said, "Too slow, too slow, you dare to ambush me without even being in the Seeking Dao Realm?"

However, at this moment, Jiang Zhuang, who had followed along, looked at the ground beneath Yuan Hengli Zhen’s feet and his face changed.

Yuan Hengli Zhen noticed his expression and instinctively lifted his foot to evade. A lurking sword seed beneath the snow cut at his tendon but found only empty air.

Yuan Hengli Zhen was perplexed and uncertain; this was already the third sword seed!

Before he could think further, a fourth sword seed fell from the snow-covered pine needles like a leaf.

By the time Yuan Hengli Zhen realized, it was too late. He leaned back to evade, but saw the sword seed graze past his mask, just like it did at Chongli Pass, the sharp sword seed cleaving the mask in one swipe.

The difference this time was that this strike left a deep bloody gash across Yuan Hengli Zhen’s handsome face.

Yuan Hengli Zhen wiped the blood from his face, muttering to himself: "Chongli Pass..."

At that moment, four sword seeds flew down the mountain at once, and Yuan Hengli Zhen looked in the direction they left, seeing a masked figure standing a hundred paces away, quietly observing him.

The figure was lean, clad in rough gray clothes, with disheveled hair, looking less like a Grand Official cultivating sword seeds, more like a water-carrying youth from next door untouched by worldly fame and fortune.

Yuan Hengli Zhen questioned across the distance: "Was Chongli Pass outside your doing too?"

Chen Ji did not respond and turned to disappear into the woods.

Yuan Hengli Zhen hesitated, momentarily uncertain whether this was a trap for luring enemies deep, so he waited for the Mo Blade Camp to totally reach his side before being escorted downhill in pursuit.

Jiang Zhuang remained in place, not giving chase; when his aide arrived, he whispered: "My lord, are we pursuing?"

Jiang Zhuang pondered for a long time: "No, let’s head back to Huanglong Prefecture and immediately report this to the Commander!"

...

There will be another update tonight, for everyone to see in the morning. Also, asking for June’s guaranteed monthly ticket. Younger readers might say I update too little to earn their votes, but veteran readers already read other books to keep me going. Thanks to all the readers, thanks to all my supporters~