Chapter 278: Overconfidence

　　Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

　　“I, Mu Qiufeng of Five Immortals Order, am here to visit the respected ones of Qingjiang Sword Sect.”

　　This voice was filled with cold and slick mana, making every sick in the heart, instantly removing all the understandings they got from Shen Lian’s sermons.

　　Shen Lian stopped his lectures and he saw a black gleam of light covered in poisonous mist, ascending from the mountain foot. As it traveled all the grass and woods as it passed them, stripping lives off them.

　　The poison mist dispersed and there stood a young man in his twenties, dressed very cleanly in a white robe.

　　So-called Five Immortals Order, was actually the Five Venoms, but ‘Five Venoms’ was a nickname the outsiders had given them, while they self-proclaimed to be ‘Five Immortals’ which showed their means of pursuing immortality.

　　This most powerful skill of the Five Venoms Order was none other than the Mystical Art of Five Venoms. It was rumored that its founding grandmaster once used this venomous technique to kill an immortal Zhenren, which was a horrible sight.

　　Zuo Shaoqing rose and said, “Are you looking for trouble by trespassing into our Qingjiang territory?”

　　“No, no, we the Five Venoms Order are neighboring clans with Qingjiang Swords Sect for centuries. Our friendship is as long as it can be. I heard recently that you lot are facing a large trial, so I came here under my Master’s order to see how I can help. Please do not make me look like a bad guy.” Mu Qiufeng held his fists to bow casually, but with his outstanding venom skills, as soon as Zuo Shaoqing caught a scent that smells like orchids, he felt dizzy and could not use his mana. Usually, he would have already swung his sword as soon as the young man appeared, but he couldn’t do so due to his injuries.

　　He sneered, “We do not need your good Order’s help here.”

　　Mu Qiufeng was not angry as he slowly walked up. He was obviously an influential disciple of the Five Venoms Order, not only his venom prowess was outstanding, he was rather gutsy to enter the crowd of Qingjiang disciples alone, and he said calmly, “Qingjiang Sword Sect has always been the ruler of the Nanjiang region. Now that it is facing hard times, I believe that you gentlemen will be able to overcome this obstacle, and I only intend to come to your aid and help make that day arrive sooner. At the same time, my kind Master knew that you lot are not as capable as before, so he offered to help you gentlemen to safeguard your classic literature so they won’t get lost. We will return them to the original condition when it is done.”

　　He scanned around the rubbles of the sword palace as he talked, and brushed past Shen Lian. Only when he laid eyes on Ruoxi, his eyes glowed, an obvious show of interest when he saw her extraordinary beauty.

　　Zuo Shaoqing only scoffed, “What a brilliant idea. You really think that we Qingjiang will do as you dictate?”

　　Mu Qiufeng stopped his steps and smiled, “We in Five Immortals Order have no ill intentions, but the Chiyan Clan and the Dark Wind Cave are both your destined foe. It is my Master who stopped these two clans from charging in towards you. Brother, please do not frame me as the bad person here.”

　　“Are you done?” Shen Lian asked.

　　Mu Qiufeng followed the voice and saw the good-looking man sitting on the palace rubbles. He smiled, “I actually have more to say, little brother. I see that the young lady beside you has some talents in her. Why don’t you let her admit to my order, and I assure you a bright future.”

　　Shen Lian replied, “Ridiculous.”

　　He saw Shen Lian lifting one finger. Before Mu Qiufeng could react, he saw a gleam surrounding him and sent him flying across layers of mountains and waters. In the process, all his venom skills were nullified and he finally slammed on the ground, causing him immense pain by breaking quite a number of bones.

　　His white robe was shredded. The young man’s voice was heard saying, “Ask your leader to come and apologize to us before tomorrow evening, or your Five Venoms Order will be delisted from Nanjiang.”

　　Mu Qiufeng had his mystical arts nullified by Shen Lian using one finger. He did not know of Shen Lian’s origins, but his techniques were scarily powerful. He crawled and stormed back to his mountain gates.

　　Zuo Shaoqing bowed, “Shaoqing is incapable that we need you to lift your finger.”

　　Shen Lian replied, “You must remember this feeling today, of how helpless you are. This will be your inspiration to improve yourself.”

　　Zuo Shaoqing said nothing, as he clenched his fist so hard that it was already covered in blood.

　　“Looks like the more urgent matter here is not teaching you Daoism, but swordsmanship. Today I will teach you one sword formation. Once you have practiced this well, you can still stand tall in Nanjiang when I leave in a month’s time,” Shen Lian explained.

　　The disciples of Qingjiang thought that Shen Qian will teach them some high-level sword formation. Never did they expect that he was only teaching the thirty-six steps of the True Wandering Light Sword, which was only divided by Shen Lian into two parts of ‘cloud’ and ‘water’, eighteen steps each, allocated to nine people, and he explained in detail everyone’s position in every formation.

　　They were very well versed with the True Wandering Light Sword steps, but only a few could release the sword gleam of True Wandering Light Sword.

　　Shen Lian’s sword formation gathered their mana all into one Qi, with the correlation between cloud and water, a sword gleam of the True Wandering Light Sword was formed, so powerful and long-lasting, which would greatly increase their combat power.

　　A night had already passed, but Shen Lian’s meticulous teaching had them in a daze and not realize anything else.

　　In the morning, a ray of the morning sun shot through the white clouds, and as the red sun rose, the cloudy mist changed colors engulfing the heavens and earth, then only they were aware of it.

　　Soon after, they saw Shen Lian and Ruoxi sitting on a cloud, a thousand feet from the ground. At this point he looked like a god with the eight colored mana around him, falling from the skies and fused into the rubbles.

　　Then, everyone saw a miracle they could never forget. The stones grew and stacked up to form buildings, followed by the crawling ivy growing on it and the flowing waters. Within half a day, the rubbles of the sword palace turned into a majestic standalone Daoist courtyard. The noise of the rushing waterfall in front highlighted the serenity here. A Daoist restriction was also formed along the outer wall of the courtyard, taking in the spiritual energy of this mountain. It might not be as tightly guarded as before, but it was now rich in Daoist atmosphere, cutting out a lot of violence.

　　To build this Daoist courtyard in less than half a day, even gods would find it difficult to achieve. Only Shen Lian’s Taixu Strategy had the ability to utilize the forces of the nature of his arms and perform such a feat.

　　Now in the hearts of the Qingjiang Sword Sect, Shen Lian was not only a mere Zhenren Shen of Qing Xuan Daoist sect, as their worship towards him had increased.

　　The disciples of Qingjiang Sword Sect entered the courtyard to inspect their new living place. It was now more serene and delicate, much better than the previous cold Sword Palace.

　　The way Shen Lian decorated this Daoist courtyard had its profound meaning as well. To become the number one sword cultivator in the world, one should not be in a violent environment for too long, so they would not deviate from their swordsman path and not achieve big things.

　　Last time Chen Jianmei had only his sword and himself as the center, which was why Zhang Ruoxu prohibited him from leaving the mountain and travel. Instead, he was ordered to stay in Qing Xuan, be kept under the influence of the mountain, polish his swordsman’s heart, and eventually achieving Huandan.

　　Shen Lian was the total opposite of Chen Jianmei. He had the Daoist heart from birth but lacked the firmness in swordsmanship due to this. Therefore, Zhang Ruoxu ordered him to leave the mountain, so he would be put on the verge of death and harbor his survival instincts.

　　That was why Zhang Ruoxu once told him that, “Your challenge is in your own personality”, meaning that he excelled and face obstacles both because of his natural Daoist heart.

　　Shen Lian only understood all these recently, and he was increasingly thankful for Zhang Ruoxu’s goodwill, but he had passed on, so he felt quite sad.

　　The evening had set in, and no sign of anyone coming to the mountain. Obviously, Shen Lian’s warning to the Five Venoms Order had fallen on deaf ears.