As the densely packed two hundred thousand Northern Frontier Army cavalry rushed northward, a young sword cultivator traveling the desolate plains of the north happened to witness this scene. At the far end of his vision, a massive dark force surged forward, hooves flying, racing from where his gaze reached. The young sword cultivator was momentarily stunned, then muttered, "Great Liang's frontier army?"
As a young sword cultivator who roamed the world all year round, although he dared to cross the Great Wall into the desolate plains of the north as his first time to the Northern Frontier, he remained extremely low-profile. The recent intense battles between the two peerless emperors in the desolate north had left the desolate north's demons too preoccupied to pay attention to anything else, allowing him to remain safe and sound.
Despite it being his first time in the desolate north, when the young sword cultivator who had always been well-informed about the north's situation saw this scene, he still found it hard to believe.
In the conflicts between the human and demon races, humans typically played a defensive role. Even if they would occasionally take the initiative to attack, it would not be on such a large scale, with such a significant cavalry force advancing northward at such an exhausting pace. This swift marching speed would be taxing even for a cavalry army. The young sword cultivator couldn't help but be curious about what had happened.
But this was happening right in front of the young sword cultivator, making him incomparably curious about what was going on.
Frowning slightly, the young sword cultivator was tempted to follow and seek the truth. However, sensing the lingering sword qi to the northeast, he gritted his teeth and ultimately chose to change direction and head northeast.
Rather than riding his flying sword, he chose to sweep ahead with his sword qi. Although this consumed more energy, it was more discreet and less likely to attract attention.
However, after several hundred miles, the young sword cultivator encountered a group of about a hundred demon scouts. As the two parties met, the young sword cultivator did not hesitate to summon his flying sword. The flying sword named Wild Grass let out a sword cry and cut across the sky. In just an instant, it swiftly took the head of a demon.
A battle that was not too unexpected concluded quietly in a few short minutes. Finally, the flying sword hovered in front of a demon scout, its sharp tip continuously emitting sword qi, but it did not pierce the demon's heart.
The young sword cultivator was naturally Yu Xiyi, who had left the Sublime Bright Mountain and journeyed all the way north.
Yu Xiyi arrived before the demon and went straight to the point, "What major incident has occurred in the desolate north?"
That demon remained indifferent, keeping silent.
With a thought, Yu Xiyi pressed Wild Grass against the other party's chest, cutting into the flesh. The sharp sword tip inflicted intense pain on the demon, making him feel impending death.
Yu Xiyi said calmly, "I'll ask again, what has happened in the desolate north?"
Wrapped in sword qi, the demon still gritted his teeth, refusing to answer the young sword cultivator's question.
Being chosen as a scout, this demon was naturally no pushover.
Wild Grass's sword tip pressed a little deeper, and Yu Xiyi asked for the last time, "What exactly happened in the desolate north?"
At this moment, the pale-faced demon finally could not resist opening his mouth to say, "The human monarch ventured deep into the desolate north, and the royal court has dispatched a large army to besiege him."
Hearing this, Yu Xiyi was taken aback, finding it somewhat unbelievable, "Are you saying the Great Liang Emperor ventured deep into the desolate north? How many people did he bring?!"
The human emperor, even when placed in the foreign land cultivation world, was an extremely important figure. He could even be mentioned in the same breath with those true big shots. Such a character of utmost importance, how could he possibly venture deep into the desolate north at this moment? This was the Son of Heaven, how could he take such a risk?
"The human monarch is all alone. At this moment, he's currently battling the Demon Emperor by the banks of the Onan River..."
Yu Xiyi still wore a face of disbelief. The Great Liang Emperor in a battle against the Demon Emperor?
Was this something ever recorded in the history books?
And according to what this demon said, the demons surely had a second plan; they definitely would not want the Great Liang Emperor to leave the desolate north.
Yu Xiyi finally realized that he might be witnessing history. However, he immediately asked, "Besides the Great Liang Emperor, is there anyone else?"
He clearly sensed remnant sword qi in the northeast direction.
That demon paused.
"There's another human sword immortal, in the northeast direction..."
……
……
Yu Xiyi rode his sword towards the northeast. Along the way, he clearly saw the scattered corpses of demons. The demons, whose blood had stained large patches of the land, all had shocking wounds that were consistent – they died from being cut open by a sharp weapon.
That was the way a sword cultivator killed people!
Yu Xiyi sped like the wind on his sword and, at the end of the horde of demon corpses, he saw a figure covered in blood.
That person was drenched in blood, sitting on a mound of soil, with a sword propped in one hand. The blood had not coagulated yet, flowing along his palm, down the hilt, and further down the blade before dripping onto the plain.
Yu Xiyi leaped down and arrived in front of the blood-covered figure. Only then, did he notice a large severed head beside the person. It belonged to a demon, though it was unclear which type of aberrant beast it was.
Yu Xiyi was just about to speak when that person's eyebrows twitched lightly. He opened his eyes strenuously, and looked at Yu Xiyi.
Yu Xiyi quickly extended his hand, and a stream of sword qi landed in this person's body.
After a moment, the blood-soaked individual regained some vitality, and struggled to speak, "Sword cultivator? From which sect..."
Yu Xiyi clasped his hands and bowed, introducing himself, "This junior comes from the Sword Sect, Yu Xiyi."
In reality, all sword cultivators considered themselves to be part of the same family. However, the Sword Sect lineage was always different from other sword cultivators in the world. It was difficult to say that there was any relationship. If Yu Xiyi were elsewhere, he might not have chosen to reveal his sect so readily. Still, this sword immortal senior before him was admirable, and naturally, Yu Xiyi had no reservations.
The man paused and said softly, "So, it's the guy who took away Wild Grass."
When the Sword Qi Mountain's Hundred Year Sword was born, although he was not present at the scene, he had heard about it. He knew that the young sword cultivator who took away Wild Grass was from the Sword Sect, named Yu Xiyi.
Yu Xiyi nodded and said, "Senior, you're too severely injured. This junior will take senior away immediately."
The man shook his head, "Since I'm so severely injured, it's not that easy to leave right now. I'll need at least an hour before I can move."
Yu Xiyi nodded, understanding the situation. He quickly took out some medicinal pills and handed them to the man. He also asked, "May I know senior's name?"
The man chuckled, "Academy's Liu Banbi, my companion sword is Embracing Cicada."
Yu Xiyi was taken aback, then immediately said, "Turns out that senior is the sword cultivator from the academy who came to the Northern Frontier many years ago."
With Xie Nandu's current fame in the foreign cultivation world, many people were aware of that sword cultivator from the academy. It naturally brought up discussions about the first-generation swords cultivator from the academy, Liu Banbi. Back then, he was a student with the potential to become a great confucian scholar. However, he ultimately chose to practice the sword, becoming a genuine sword immortal. Moreover, in recent years, he had been killing demons in the Northern Frontier without ceasing. Actually, many sword cultivators would not care that he was half a daoist. There was more of admiration.
Liu Banbi exhaled a breath of turbid air and asked, "Did you bring alcohol?"
Yu Xiyi was taken aback, and then quickly took out a flask of wine. Liu Banbi reached his hand out with great effort to take it, strained even more to put it to his lips, took a sip, and felt invigorated. He grimaced and cursed, "It's just that I didn't bring enough wine. Otherwise, those damn two great demons wouldn't have escaped."
In the previous battle, which lasted for several days, aside from the black-robed great demon, there was another great demon. Of course, later on, numerous demons got involved. The initial two great demons were reluctant to take action, letting Liu Banbi, who they believed was in a hopeless situation, bear the brunt. However, as the demons suffered casualties, and they saw that Liu Banbi was an arrow at the end of its flight, they finally made their move. Little did they expect that in the end, Liu Banbi, one person and one sword, slew a great demon, and severely injured the other. Countless demons fell under his sword. Furthermore, something worth mentioning was that he was already seriously injured before this.
The last great demon fled to the north, and he had no strength left to pursue.
......
