When the realm of Qingming had vanished from view, and they were certain there were no spies from other factions nearby, Wei Yuan took out a map and said, “Time is of the essence, so we won’t be going back to rest. The Xu Clan still has two mines, a herb farm, and a small town; whereas the Shamans control two caravan camps, a village, and two horse bandit strongholds. Let’s push through and take down two more of their outposts before we rest.”

No one objected, so they set off toward their next target.

There was no one around, so everyone took off their masks to catch their breaths for a bit. Hsu Yi was standing beside Wei Yuan, and she couldn’t help but chuckle when she looked at his horse.

At first, her chuckle made Wei Yuan feel uncomfortable. Then, he glanced at his horse and realized why she was laughing. A light rain was falling at the moment, and the air was thick with mist-like droplets. The air was so damp that his warhorse was soaking wet, as if it had just been pulled out of the water.

Wei Yuan’s horse was a vivid red color and far too conspicuous for this expedition. Thus, he had it painted gray before they set off. However, the paint had started to peel off within a matter of days, and now, in the rain, it was visibly fading from gray to white, and from white to red.

Unfortunately, apart from cursing the unscrupulous merchants who had scammed him, Wei Yuan had no way of fixing this. He could only vow to make those paint-selling swindlers pay the next time he encountered them—though deep down, he knew that he would likely never see those bastards again.

Hsu Yi added, “Your disguise has one more flaw, boss.”

“What is it?” Wei Yuan asked modestly.

“Horse bandits live by the saber, and die by the saber—they’re as crude and vulgar as they come. You, on the other hand, sound far too cultured and refined. What kind of bandit doesn’t curse someone’s ancestors for eighteen generations?”

Wei Yuan frowned. It was indeed a challenge for him to spew such vulgarities; he would rather just stab whoever he was speaking to dead.

Sneaking a giggle behind her palm, Hsu Yi suggested, “It’s not like there aren’t other ways. You can either spew vulgarities like you eat them for breakfast, or speak less. The fewer words you speak, the more dignified you’ll appear.”

Wei Yuan nodded immediately. “That works.”

They hadn’t been on the road for even an hour when a band of horse bandits suddenly burst out of the woods ahead, blocking their path. The two leaders appeared to be brothers; one brandished a low-grade mystic artifact and began taunting them with a string of curses.

Looking at this band of bandits—barely a hundred men, ragged, and with several people sharing a single weapon—Wei Yuan couldn’t help but feel a pang of pity for them. That said, a worthless bunch like them was perfect to practice and test out what Hsu Yi’s advice.

So, while radiating a chilling aura, Wei Yuan spurred his horse forward and bellowed, “I, bandit[1]! Give me your money!”

As expected, a fight ensued. Moments later, Wei Yuan stared at the floor of dead bandits and seriously wondered what he did wrong.

Half a day later, Wei Yuan looked at the group of five hundred horse bandits blocking their paths and sighed exasperatedly. “Just how many horse bandits are there in the western regions?”

At least these bandits looked much stronger than the previous ones. They numbered five hundred in total, with fifty elites wielding mystic artifacts. At the moment, several of their leaders had stepped forward to issue a challenge.

Wei Yuan had no interest in listening to what they had to say. Instead, he ran his hand over his mask and thought to himself: Do we really look that weak? Why else would these horse bandits ambush a fellow bandit group instead of a merchant caravan? This is the second time today!

By the time the enemy had finished issuing their challenge, Wei Yuan turned to Wang Yu on his left and asked, “Who are these people?”

Wang Yu replied, “There are five bands who claim to be the three largest horse bandit groups of the western regions[2]. The one opposite us is the Bloodthirsty Riders. Roughly speaking, they’re ranked seventh in strength among all the horse bandits.”

“How do you know such things?” Hsu Yi asked.

Wang Yu replied, “The townspeople were talking about it while we were resting in town.”

Hsu Yi looked stunned. “We only had a meal there, and weren’t you with us the whole time?”

Wang Yu’s expression was conspicuously blank as he responded, “My Yin Eye can hear things from quite a distance.”

“That’s...” Hsu Yi didn’t know what to say. Suddenly, she recalled something and asked, “You didn’t use your Yin Eye for anything bad, did you?”

“No. If I see something I shouldn’t, I’ll suffer severe backlash. That’s why I dare not look at or listen to anyone who’s clearly stronger than me.”

Hsu Yi felt reassured at first, but the more she thought about it, the more it didn’t sit right with her. Out of everyone in the group, there were only two people who were stronger than Wang Yu—and she wasn’t one of them[3].

Just then, Wei Yuan stepped forward to face the enemy. He had barely spoken a sentence when, as expected, fighting broke out again.

Moments later, the three largest horse bandit groups of the western regions had been reduced to just four[4]. The group that had originally ranked eighth had no idea that its position had moved up by one.

Wei Yuan pulled out a map and, growing irritated, muttered, “We’ve run into two bands of horse bandits just trying to raid a mine. What kind of hellhole is this place? Do they want the ordinary people to die out? Anyway, we’re only fifty li from the mine now; surely we won’t run into another bandit—”

No sooner had he spoken than the sound of hooves echoed from the distance. Then, a cavalry unit emerged from behind a hill amidst trembling ground. The two groups were headed straight toward each other—a true case of meeting on a narrow path.

Hsu Yi giggled behind her palm. “Impressive, boss! Your words are practically the law at this point!”

To her surprise, no voice responded to her. Sensing something amiss, Hsu Yi looked sideway and found Wang Yu shutting his eyes tightly while tears streamed down his cheeks. His face was contorted in pain as he cried out in warning, “Careful! Immortal foundation ahead!”

On the other side, more cavalrymen were pouring out from behind the hill until they formed a square formation. Not only did they look exceptionally disciplined, two of them boasted such deep, potent auras that even Wei Yuan couldn’t see through them.

Since when are horse bandits this sophisticated? Wei Yuan was truly flabbergasted. It was practically on par with the Snow Hawk Cavalry led by the young Northern Liao chieftain!

Cursing under his breath, Wei Yuan spurred his horse forward and bellowed, “Strip or die!”

The fight began.

A flash of steel suddenly appeared before Wei Yuan’s eyes—it was a pair of daggers closing in on him in an instant!

The weapons were wielded by a young man, one aiming at his throat and the other at his heart. It was a deadly, ruthless attack right from the get go. But immediately, a soft saber gleam appeared from the side and blocked both daggers at the same time. Then, an eight-chi-long blade forcefully pulled the daggers and the young man aside.

At the same time, Wei Yuan gripped his spear and locked his eyes on the man with a short beard. Then, he charged forward on horseback!

The short-bearded man first waved his hand and pointed a finger, signaling his cavalry to attack. Then, he calmly drew his sword to meet Wei Yuan in combat.

As their horses crossed paths, Wei Yuan let out a thunderous roar, raised his spear, and brought it crashing down toward the man’s head!

The short-bearded man hadn’t expected Wei Yuan’s strike to be so ferocious. In fact, his long sword was at a distinct disadvantage in terms of reach. Left with no choice, he swung his sword to parry the attack before gently turning his blade to divert most of the force to the side. Despite this, the residual impact still sent a tingling shock through his wrist, and his warhorse let out a pained whinny, nearly losing its footing.

Xu Xinhui was genuinely shocked at the moment of contact. In terms of physical strength, the horse bandit was so powerful that it almost seemed inhuman. His Dao energy also surged like raging waves, pressing down on him so fiercely that he could barely breathe.

For a moment, Xu Xinhui felt as though he was facing his fated nemesis again, as he had during the grand competition in the Sword Palace all those years ago.

In that instant, a flame ignited within him, and the heroic spirit and fiery passion that had long lain dormant erupted simultaneously. It was rare to encounter such an opponent in the western regions—of course he had to fight this battle to the fullest!

Xu Xinhui’s aura shifted, and a blazing sword energy soared straight toward the heavens!

Wang Ziyan, watching from afar, was also startled. How many years had it been since his Big Brother’s fighting spirit burned so fiercely? Had he finally met a true rival?

Just then, a voice rang in his ears, “You dare let your guard down in front of me?”

Wang Ziyan turned just in time to see the girl swinging her eight-chi-long saber with both hands in a horizontal sweep. Faster than even the blade, the saber light rippling out of the saber like water was just a few zhang away from him!

From their brief exchange moments earlier, Wang Ziyan had already realized just how extraordinary the girl’s saber technique was. He took her seriously and crossed his daggers in an attempt to parry the incoming blow.

As their blades clashed, Wang Ziyan suddenly felt a terrific force surging through his hands—it was as if he was struck by the palm of an Immortal Lord, or lashed by the tail of a colossal dragon. The next moment, he soared upward as though riding the clouds—the girl had actually sent him flying with a single strike!

Meanwhile, Xu Xinhui ran two fingers along the blade of his sword and imbued it with an immortal sword. The long sword immediately burst into a blazing glow, and surging sword energy coalesced into a whirlwind that engulfed everything within dozens of zhang of him!

Immortal sword in hand, Xu Xinhui’s aura shifted once more and became fierce and untamed. He declared, “To summon Young Sky in a single blow—you have every right to be proud of yourself.”

But before he even finished his words, his warhorse abruptly let out a mournful whinny. Its hind legs gave way, and it collapsed to the ground just like that, flinging Xu Xinhui into the air. Understandably, the swordsman looked deeply furious. Anyone would be in a foul mood if they were interrupted during a moment of passion.

Xu Xinhui was puzzled, though. His warehorse was a rare gem; a one-in-a-thousand steed. How could it be so feeble as to collapse in the middle of a battlefield?

When he looked down, he finally noticed that a huge chunk of flesh was missing from its hindquarters. The massive wound was bleeding profusely as well. No wonder it couldn’t stand. When he glanced back to Wei Yuan, he noticed his mottled-colored horse chewing furiously on something and sending spurts of blood everywhere.

When Xu Xinhui scanned the horse with his perception, he recognized that the blood was, in fact, his horse’s blood. Finally, he put two and two together. During the brief moment the two horses had crossed paths, the riders weren’t the only ones who had clashed—the opponent’s horse had also taken a vicious bite out of his own warhorse!

It was one thing when he didn’t know, but now that he had noticed, the horse’s disguise was utterly meaningless before the senses of a sword cultivator. Sword qi surging within his eyes, Xu Xinhui saw right through the horse’s true nature—it was, in fact, a rare demon horse!

Demon horses were fierce by nature and extremely difficult to tame. Realizing that the man across from him had tamed a demon horse, Xu Xinhui couldn’t help but raise his opinion of him a few notches.

While this was going on, the one thousand cavalrymen under Xu Xinhui’s command had split into two groups. They were currently circling around the two dueling men and launching a pincer attack against the dozens of masked riders.

Wei Yuan grunted, and the Great Realm materialized, bestowing its power upon himself and his riders. At the same time, dozens of blue qi vanished from his sea of consciousness. He had imbued everyone including Feng Tingyu with fortune!

The fifty Heaven Fighting riders were just seconds away from being surrounded by enemies who outnumbered them dozens to one. Then, without any warning whatsoever, they all suddenly soared into the sky while chaotic light exploded all around them. It was the light resulting from countless Dao spells and mystic artifacts merging into a storm!

Xu Xinhui and Wang Ziyan were shocked as a matter of course. Not only were the fifty horse bandits all Dao Foundation stage cultivators, not a single one of them was a pushover! Were they really horse bandits? Were they not a squadron secretly assembled by a captain from the Nine Armies of Great Tang?

The battle instantly reached a fever pitch.

Blessed with fortune, Feng Tingyu’s saber light instantly engulfed everything within dozens of zhang of herself including Wang Ziyan, smashing him around left and right. No, not cut—smash.

Wang Ziyan felt as though his opponent wasn’t wielding a saber, but a saber-shaped sledgehammer, swinging it wildly without a care in the world. The relentless barrage left him gasping for breath, and even his sea of consciousness were trembling incessantly from the impact.

On the other hand, Xu Xinhui was gaining the upper hand. The Immortal Sword Young Sky boasted boundless power, and it took him just a few strikes to sever Wei Yuan’s spear in two.

As the spear snapped, a long jet of flame erupted from its shaft and startled Xu Xinhui. He quickly relaxed when he noticed that it was just mundane fire, though.

“Stop!” Wei Yuan called out.

Xu Xinhui sheathed his sword and hovered in the air. He asked, “What more do you have to say?”

Wei Yuan spoke with righteous indignation, “You were clearly a noble once—why have you become a horse bandit?”

At a loss for words, Xu Xinhui responded, “Aren’t you a horse bandit yourself?”

Wei Yuan paused. He had, in fact, temporarily forgotten his own new identity.

That said, history was full of examples of people harshly condemning their opponents. When it came to verbal sparring, Wei Yuan was not an easy opponent to overcome. He immediately retorted, “You’re a sword cultivator. Would you feel proud of yourself if you won solely thanks to the power of your mystic artifact?”

Xu Xinhui let out a laugh of anger and disbelief. “This is the Dao Foundation I cultivated myself! Am I not allowed to use it?”

Wei Yuan huffed. “Fine, I’ll cut to the chase. I’m going to borrow a top-tier mystic artifact right now. Tomorrow, we’ll meet again on the battlefield and have a fair fight. Do you dare accept my challenge?”

Xu Xinhui felt his blood boil upon hearing this. He replied sharply, “Why wouldn’t I dare?”

Wei Yuan responded, “Good! At noon tomorrow, there is a sheer peak three hundred zhang high five hundred li to the northwest. I’ll be waiting for you at the summit!”

Xu Xinhui mentally reviewed the map; the location Wei Yuan mentioned was a full seven hundred li from the realm of Qingming[5]. He replied, “Fine! I’ll definitely be there on time!”

“Let’s go!” Wei Yuan immediately signaled his riders, and they sped off like the wind. They did not hesitate for even a moment.

It was at this moment Wang Ziyan approached Xu Xinhui and asked, “Could this be a trap?”

“No need to worry. That place is a full seven hundred li from the realm of Qingming. Its power literally cannot reach that far. As long as it’s a fair fight, what do I have to fear?”

Wang Ziyan realized he had a point and said no more.

What the two did not know, however, was that while Qingming’s domain was indeed only one hundred and twenty li wide at the moment, the Shaman curse that sealed all immortal swords spanned a thousand li.

1. Totally not an I, Robot reference. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ☜

2. Not a mistake. What, you think these horse bandits give a shit about accuracy? ☜

3. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) The gall to tell her to the face that he’s been spying on her! Respect, Wang Yu! Respect! ☜

4. This is, again, not a mistake. ☜

5. And well within the range where his power is still boosted. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ☜