Chapter Ninety-Six: The Sword Immortal's Duel

“Senior Wine Master, you cannot duel here!” Zhou Qian’s face changed drastically. He fully understood the power of the Sword Immortal; if unleashed without restraint, it could burn mountains, boil seas, and cleave waves with ease. Yet, the young ladies on the flower boat would be innocent victims caught in the crossfire.

“Don’t rush, don’t rush! The wine hasn’t arrived yet!” the Wine Taoist said, eyes glazed with intoxication.

“What?” Zhou Qian asked urgently.

“The old Taoist’s fine wine has yet to come!”

“Wine Taoist!!!” Zhou Qian exclaimed angrily.

“Without good wine, this old Taoist cannot contend against the combined might of those three.”

“Master, Senior, here comes the century-old Daughter’s Wine~” Madame Wu swayed her slender waist as she pushed open the door, carrying an ancient green porcelain jar. “Oh? Master, why such a grim expression?” she asked in puzzlement.

“Fine wine!” The Wine Taoist beckoned, and the jar of wine floated over to him. He blew onto the jar, and a stream of crystal-clear liquor flowed from his mouth, returning to the jar mid-air. Madame Wu was stunned. The Taoist waved his sleeve, unleashing a tremendous force that tore off the roof, letting through hazy sunlight. Grabbing Zhou Qian by the collar, he soared into the sky, then descended rapidly, now a hundred zhang above the ground. The gourd at his waist grew to several zhang in size, suspended in the air, transforming into a streak of azure light that shot like thunder and lightning toward their foes.

The three outsiders were momentarily stunned. The Wine Taoist’s domineering style—advancing rather than retreating—was striking. He snapped his fingers, and hundreds of thunder-infused sword qi erupted violently, coiling toward the trio.

Among them, only Xiang Jie, the Fire Toad, was sharp-eyed enough to recognize this as the Five Thunder Sword Qi, a divine skill achieved by mastering the Supreme Heaven’s true techniques at an advanced level. It trapped the power of celestial thunder within sword qi, exploding upon contact like thunder pellets, devastatingly powerful and specialized in breaking demonic sword immortals.

Lu Lingzi and Zhao Lei hurriedly shifted their sword light aside to dodge, while Xiang Jie, relying on his hybrid demonic physique, spat out a demon pill and ignited his entire body with flames, preparing to charge through. The Wine Taoist flicked his wrist and called out, “Explode!”

Like a hundred firecrackers igniting simultaneously, a crackling roar erupted, and on the Qinhuai River, a ring of thunder appeared. Its halo flashed, and the river suddenly churned wildly, as if a heavenly calamity had descended.

Seizing the chance, the two others unleashed their demonic arts. Lu Mingzi ruthlessly bit off three fingers on his right hand with a snap, chewed briefly, then spat out a wave of blood that surged toward the Wine Taoist. This was a strange technique from the Western demonic sect called Blood Devouring **, which used the practitioner’s own essence blood to summon boundless blood tides from the underworld. The caster was immortal during its use, and the blood waves were relentless and vicious, especially effective at contaminating flying swords and magical treasures.

The Wine Taoist frowned and retreated the gourd. Pushing his palm forward, a golden light phantasm appeared—a Tundun Mirror at its center, its mirror body inscribed with living Bagua scripts, spinning forwards and backwards. A massive Bagua totem rose into the sky, blocking the blood waves. The golden anti-demon light clashed fiercely with the underworld’s blood tide, matching it blow for blow.

Zhao Lei waved his wings, each as large as a door panel, the roar of wind and thunder howling. He managed to dodge the Five Thunder Sword Qi and the golden light-blood tide combination, then in a single sweep spanning eight thousand li, flashed before the Wine Taoist. His sharp talons pierced toward the Taoist’s eyes. Zhou Qian acted immediately, his Broken Courage Sword surging with rolling wildfire as he slashed toward Zhao Lei’s face.

The clang of metal meeting flesh rang out. Zhou Qian was knocked back several steps by the recoil, nearly falling into the river, his hands trembling violently. Zhao Lei, however, bore only a faint shallow scar on his golden cheek, no blood spilled. He sneered disdainfully, “I have cultivated for a hundred years through countless hardships to forge this immortal demonic body. Mortal iron cannot harm me!”

In a moment of recklessness, the Wine Taoist pressed the wine jar before him. Zhao Lei’s heart burned with fury; with a flap of his wings, tiles shattered and wine splashed everywhere. His talons nearly touched the Taoist’s eyes—

Unexpectedly, the Wine Taoist chuckled coldly. With a finger snap, the splattered wine droplets transformed into gleaming azure swords, sharp and fierce. With a wave of his hand, the secret demonic immortal body technique of the Red Sect was pierced through with countless holes of varying sizes. Zhao Lei screamed in terror, howling like a celestial demon. His body quickly sprouted red scales, and the wounds visibly healed. Shaking his head, his short black hair turned into silver strands as thick as fingers, shooting forward over ten zhang toward the Wine Taoist.

In this critical moment, the Wine Taoist clasped his hands, silently chanting “Gather!” Countless azure swords coalesced into smoke, then fused into a seven to eight zhang-long sword that struck the demonic body.

The sound of tearing silk echoed repeatedly. Zhao Lei’s body was severed in two from head to toe by a single sword, and a gray phantom emerged from his body, screaming continuously—

“You actually mastered the technique of sword light division! Impressive, Wine Sword Immortal. After my master restores my body, I will surely seek revenge!” With that spell cast, his body exploded, blood mist spreading—this was the demonic blood escape technique. Within moments he vanished a thousand li away, leaving only a black dot in the sky.

The Wine Taoist furrowed his brow as the azure sword light barrier slowly dissipated. He had not expected Zhao Lei to survive a heavenly tribulation. No wonder he dared to fight to the death. One heavenly tribulation expert and two outsiders at the infant stage of primordial energy formation—if it weren’t for his secret “Sword Light Division” technique, he might have perished alongside them.

Meanwhile, Lu Lingzi and Xiang Jie were combining their demonic and magical arts to shatter the Bagua formation created by their Tundun Mirror, black mist billowing upward. Even the mirror itself emitted faint mournful sounds, losing spiritual energy rapidly and showing signs of regressing from True Form to the Circulating Enlightenment stage. To clarify, the five realms—Earth Fiend, Heavenly Gang, Circulating Enlightenment, True Form, and Pure Yang—only at True Form does an object gain spiritual awareness and become a true magical treasure. The rest are mere enchanted items. Pure Yang treasures can choose their owners and cannot be wielded unless selected.

By now, Xiang Jie no longer looked human. His ten fingers webbed, eyes bulging fiery red, and his chin had membranous folds. Legend said he was born after his mother was tainted by the Earth Fire Divine Toad’s essence, making him a hybrid between human and beast who favored cunning and sly associates. This time entering the Central Plains, he was mocked by a treacherous friend to witness the Sword Immortal’s prowess. Due to the Heavenly Gate’s sword duel, masters from both righteous and demonic sects gathered in the Supreme Heaven Demon Mother’s soul-seizing formation. Yet they had not met a formidable opponent until now, leading to overconfidence. This time, however, they faced a tough adversary.

From the toad’s mouth came fiery saliva bombs the size of fists, with explosive power and toxic fumes from the fire toad. Ordinary methods could not counter them, and they corroded and burned the Tundun Bagua formation. Although his wounds had mostly healed, it was clear his constitution was extraordinary, part beast.

The Wine Taoist chanted sacred words as azure light flashed. The Tundun Bagua diagram suddenly expanded to hundreds of zhang, beams of golden light piercing straight into the Qinhuai Riverbed. The lake roared and churned, the banks unable to hold it back. Fortunately, the Wine Taoist had preemptively sealed the area, preventing overflow and flooding.

Within a radius of several li, it seemed like a celestial paradise, surrounded by rosy clouds and misty vapors. Yet the earth fire, wind, and water forces stirred violently, threatening to shatter this realm and remake the cosmos—this was the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths Demon-Slaying Golden Light Formation, one of the rarest and most ferocious formations in the mortal world.

Suddenly, a black light pierced through the golden barrier, flying southward. The Wine Taoist was about to give chase but paled. Despite unleashing killing moves, his power was insufficient, forcing him to give up.

At some unknown moment, he pulled out a wine bottle, took a swig, and muttered, “This time, the old Taoist will spare your lives. To dare take others under my hand is still too naive!”

Turning his head, he said, “Young one, the immortal’s power is awe-inspiring, isn’t it? Do you wish to cultivate immortality alongside me?”

Unnoticed, Zhou Qian had already been knocked unconscious.