A fierce hum, representing the fury of its master, resounded from the small silver sword that Ding Ning had deflected above his head..

A strike from a realm five cultivator was obstructed by a youth like this. Also, this youth did not die under the attacks of a second sword!

For the master of this flying sword, this was a great humiliation. Yet, in a battle of cultivators, life and death was just a difference of a fraction of a second.

The small silver sword emitted a powerful buzz in the sky drawing a beautiful crescent in the air. As it fell down towards Ding Ning like a meteor, Qiu Zaixing was surrounded by cracking sounds.

The dozens of invisible chains that the yellow robed youth had created at the cost of his life, finally shattered into pieces.

The shattered invisible chains fell around Qiu Zaixing, onto the ground, like real chains. Each piece that landed emanated an enormous energy wave. There seemed to be blooms forming around Qiu Zaixing’s body.

Once Qiu Zaixing lost these energy restraints and his power was released, his gaze fell onto the small silver sword attacking Ding Ning. His hands slapped towards the wall behind him!

Two straight sword energies formed a transparent sword, charging fiercely.

The courtyard behind the noodle shop exploded like an overly inflated goat’s intestine. The shattered pieces all sprayed backwards. Next, this enormous sword pierced several walls and courtyards that were at the rear of the noodle shop.

Waves of dust successively surged to form a straight road to a small courtyard, pointing at a middle-aged cultivator standing in front of a well.

The anger on the middle-aged cultivator’s face instantly transformed to terror. He knew he had no time to react and could only close his eyes in despair.

Crack!

The bones in his abdomen were destroyed, and his entire body was almost bisected by this sword.

He fell backwards, into the well behind him.

The small silver sword this cultivator controlled was less than ten feet from Ding Ning. However, the small silver sword lost control and spun above Ding Ning”s head to fall into the ditch by the side of the street.

Qiu Zaixing had ignored the flying sword heading towards Ding Ning and killed the master of the sword instead to end the problem at the root. However, Ding Ning’s eyes did not show any joy. Because at this moment, the two flying swords grappling on the eaves had reached a resolution.

The snowy flying sword that had flown out of the carriage had a great disparity compared to the light green flying sword. It held no more power and was sent flying towards the distant buildings by a strike.

The light green flying sword danced happily around the half-collapsed noodle shop, waiting for an opportunity. A threat of two more flying swords still loomed over the battlefield; this light green flying sword, and that grey-black flying sword that could disappear and reappear at will.

The light green flying sword flew around the carriage. The person in the carriage had lost their sword and Qiu Zaixing must not want to leave. Even before Qiu Zaixing could defeat that light green flying sword, he still had to face the flying sword of the Qi Fly Pond flying sword art.

At this time,feeling the twenty two crystal pieces made from the star fiendish energy in his body, Ding Ning felt very fortunate. If he hadn’t obtained this kind of attacking method from the Zhou Family Ink Garden, Zhangsun Qianxue would have been forced to fight today. Then, he and Zhangsun Qianxue would have had to flee Changling.

But Ding Ning did not have any confidence that these twenty two fiendish swords could last until Qiu Zaixing defeated that flying sword or until reinforcements came.

The “Fly Pond” was one of the strangest cultivation places of the Qi Dynasty. It was an ancient mass grave with a yin spring. It was a place with a high density of yin energy, and many flies called “yin flies” hovered outside the sect. Any inner sect disciple, who wished to leave, had to kill all the flies with their swords and only then would they be allowed out- provided no fly touched their body.

The “Untraceable Ghost Sword” was one of the most important arts of the Fly Pool. One needed to spend countless years of great effort to reach such a level. No matter why this cultivator was participating in this assassination attempt, he was definitely an inner sect member of the Fly Pond.

A cultivator from a cultivation place naturally did not have just this tactic. From the start, that yellow robed youth had trapped Qiu Zaixing at the cost of his life. This cultivator from the Fly Pond was the key to this assassination attempt.

A patch of fallen leaves by Ding Ning’s side suddenly blew upwards. At an unknown point in time, the grey-black sword had hidden underneath the fallen leaves by Ding Ning’s side.

“Careful!”

Qiu Zaixing had used a large amount of vital energy in his previous attack, but his spirit was still strong. So the moment he sensed the minuscule movement by Ding Ning’s side, he sounded a warning.

However, even as he shouted, he knew that if Ding Ning himself hadn’t detected the abnormality, it would be too late.

While Ding Ning had not detected the grey-black sword early, the moment the leaves started to flip, he sensed the existence of this sword. Feeling the coldness there, his eyebrows rose slightly. His exposed left hand moved minutely once again.

Buzz!

This seemed like one sound in people’s ears because the time gap was so short that it surpassed the limits of a human’s ear, but there were two less fiendish crystal pieces in his meridian points.

Two black sword lights charged out of Ding Ning’s fingers and almost in unison, accurately hit the grey-black flying sword that flew off the ground. With a muffled sound, the little sword hiding in the leaves like a poisonous snake, was thrown to the ground, creating numerous cracks on the stone ground.

Zhang Yi’s eyes widened. He felt great joy, but his body quickly turned cold again because this grey-black sword, had once again, shot up wildly towards Ding Ning!

As more power bloomed, black energy wrapped around the small grey-black sword like countless small ghosts about to burst. Thanks to this chance, Ding Ning finally sensed the weak lines in the air, and where this cultivator from Fly Pond was located.

This cultivator from Fly Pond was a beggar on the street, sitting in a worn-down building two streets away!

With this distance, Ding Ning was certain that even if Qiu Zaixing detected the other, he would not be able to kill quickly. As for himself, he could not pass through two streets to reach the other.

The coldness within rose, but the emotions without remained calm.

Three black sword lights successively charged out of his left fingers, Striking the grey-black sword, one after another.

The grey-black sword destroyed two of his sword lights, finally slowing down before the third.

Ding Ning struck with the Last Flower remnant sword at this time, and viciously hit the grey-black sword.

The grey-black sword was once again sent flying.

A thunderous shout sounded.

Qiu Zaixing once again raised his two hands. But unlike before, his hands were sweeping quickly through the air.

Dozens of criss-crossing energies lit up. These energies did not seem like sword lights, but blades. His arms were like blades that manipulated the primal energies of the universe to criss-cross.

The light green flying sword had not expected a tactic like that from him. They were forced by the violent blade lights into a narrow space. With a boom, one of the blade lights finally caught the tracks of the sword and viciously struck the light green sword.

A powerful yet muffled grunt sounded from the distant alley.

The blow to the light green sword clearly had caused serious injury to its master. However, the master of this little sword was well versed with the situation and continued to persist. The light green sword, after retreating several dozens meters, started to accelerate again, and created countless twisted afterimages in the air.

In the small courtyard not far from Ding Ning and Zhang Yi, Xue Wangxu sat on a rattan chair in the bedroom. Ever since the battle started, he had been frowning and hiding silently in this dim room.

Shen Yi had closed the door and was standing by him, nervously.

Hearing the sounds of battle outside and sensing Ding Ning’s performance, he grew more nervous but his eyes grew brighter.

“Five foot behind you, swing!” He suddenly shouted to Shen Yi.

Shen Yi’s nerves were taut and his hands covered in sweat.

He did not sense anything but Xue Wangxu’s shout was filled with an undeniable order. He instinctively turned and swung his sword.

Boom!

A bolt of lightning landed five feet next to him. There was a window five feet behind him.

As he swung the sword and brought down the lightning, a dot of grey-black light snuck through the window.

The grey-black sword that Ding Ning had just stopped had snuck in silently!

Hiss!

The grey-black sword stilled. It had been burned by the lightning. Green smoke rose from the blade and it seemed to writhe in pain.

Shen Yi had completely stopped breathing. Even he could feel that this sword was accumulating power and was going to attack again.

After Xue Wangxu shouted, his breathing stuttered, he wanted to cough. But he suppressed the urge, his face flushed red, he shouted again, “Sword essence of the Painting Remnant Scroll, attack!”

Shen Yi’s vital energy almost unconsciously flooded out along this shout. The seal scripts on the longsword in his hand immediately lit up with black light, like a patch of ink about to consume the entire room. At the tip of his sword, however, were countless clean and bright lines of light.

An extremely bright ray of light attacked the grey-black sword.

The entire room shone like it contained a clean sun. Pure and bright light shone through all the cracks!

Translator Ramblings: Fly Pond in Chinese is Mianchi, an actual city located in present-day Henan Province.