Mysterious Sword Technique

In the backyard of Liu Family Village, next to the carriage.

Liu Shiyuan, all alone, quietly opened a hidden compartment in the floor of one of the carriages.

He obtained a dark purple wooden box, over a foot long, and skillfully defused the sealing wax.

Inside the box was a very thin booklet.

The leather cover feels cool to the touch.

Opening it reveals dense line drawings and ancient incantations; on the back of the drawings is a map of mountains and rivers.

Liu Shiyuan's eyes widened after just one glance.

"This...this is actually that person's forty-nine-style sword manual?!"

He gasped, feeling the booklet in his palm suddenly become incredibly heavy.

The sword techniques depicted in the manual are ruthless, sharp, and domineering, with a murderous aura almost leaping off the page. Their exquisite detail and lofty intent far surpass ordinary martial arts techniques.

"No wonder that little fox Huang Zhenggang went to such lengths!"

Liu Shiyuan's fingertips traced the knife marks on the leather cover. The fierce trajectories of the forty-nine knife techniques on the manual seemed to leap off the page. Even if he couldn't practice these knife skills, just reading and comprehending them would elevate his palm techniques to a higher level!

Even... giving it away to someone else would be considered an act of great kindness.

Stay?

The thought had barely crossed my mind when I broke out in a cold sweat.

The sect leader probably understands this all too well. His spies are all over the martial world. The fact that this sword manual was delivered to Liu Family Village through Huang Zhenggang's hands was probably a test in itself.

"We must send it out immediately! According to the original plan, take the secret passage directly to the main headquarters in Sichuan!"

He made the decision and even felt a sense of relief.

however.

Just as he was about to turn around to arrange manpower!

"BOOM!!!"

A loud bang suddenly came from the direction of the gate, as if the city gate had been breached!

Immediately afterwards, the sharp alarm, the agonizing screams, and the clanging of weapons, like a hornet's nest exploding, instantly shattered the tranquility of the night!

"Huh? Enemy attack?!?"

Liu Shiyuan's expression changed drastically, and he suddenly looked up!

Under the moonlight, dozens of dark figures surged in through the collapsed gate of the manor, killing anyone they saw, their attack as swift as a tidal wave!

A dark purple figure, like a ghost, darted through the crowd, unstoppable, and sped towards his location!

"They arrived so quickly!"

Liu Shiyuan's heart sank to the bottom—the enemy had come for this thing! His own manor had become a battlefield!

He no longer cared about arranging any secret passages to deliver the supplies; he shoved the secret manual into his robes and roared, "Prepare for battle!!!"

With a whistling sound, he sprang up to meet the terrifying purple figure.

With Liu Shiyuan's sharp shout, lights instantly lit up in all the rooms of the manor, and nearly a hundred figures, wielding swords and knives, roared as they rushed out to fight the surging in men in black!

The sounds of clashing weapons, roars, and screams echoed through the night sky, plunging the entire Liu Family Village into a bloody chaos!

...........

at this time.

Guest room area.

"Enemy attack! Grab your weapons! Don't panic!"

Wang Tiezhu was the first to kick open the door and rush out. With his extensive experience, he could tell at a glance that the men in black were coming aggressively and in large numbers, and that there were people all around, so a direct confrontation was definitely not the best strategy. His eyes flashed like lightning as he quickly scanned the courtyard and locked onto the ancient well covered with withered vines in the corner.

"Everyone! Stop fighting! Follow me! Go into that well!"

Wang Tiezhu let out a low shout, deflected an incoming arrow with his steel knife, and charged towards the ancient well first.

Li Shitou, Zhou Ping, Sun Ji, and several other quick-thinking guards immediately followed, knowing that Wang Tiezhu's judgment could often save lives.

Chen Le's left arm was severely injured, making him slow to move. He was so frightened that his face turned pale, and Zhao Daqi grabbed him by the collar and dragged him away.

Su Yang reacted extremely quickly, leaping out of the room with his knife the moment Wang Tiezhu spoke.

His gaze was calm as he quickly assessed the situation—the men in black surged in like a tide, the manor was surrounded, and more than thirty feet away, Liu Shiyuan was engaged in a fierce battle with a terrifying purple figure, with strong winds blowing everywhere, which was definitely beyond his ability to intervene.

"We can't fight them head-on!"

Su Yang's mind raced as he saw Wang Tiezhu leading his men toward the ancient well in the corner of the courtyard.

Just then, Liu Shiyuan and the man in purple robes exchanged a fierce palm strike, and the shockwave exploded outwards, pushing the battle circle several feet towards the guest room!

The purple-robed man's sharp gaze swept over Su Yang like lightning, and Su Yang instantly felt as if he were being stared at by a ferocious beast!

"Too many people are gathered at the well near Wangtou; it's too conspicuous and could easily be wiped out by the men in black!"

Su Yang made a quick decision: the more remote the place, the safer it is!

He pushed off the ground with his feet and leaped over the wall like an arrow, landing in the abandoned courtyard. His eyes instantly locked onto the dry well at the base of the wall, which was half-covered by debris. There were many fallen leaves on the ground, and even the servants probably rarely came here. It was a good place to hide.

.........

at this time.

In the center of the courtyard, Liu Shiyuan was already engaged in battle with the man in purple robes!

The two fought with lightning speed, their energy overflowing!

Liu Shiyuan's palms flew, the pale purple palm shadows layered upon each other, as delicate and unpredictable as lotus petals, yet carrying immense power.

The purple-robed man's figure was elusive, his sleeves billowing as his dark energy surged like raging waves crashing against the shore, fierce and domineering! His palm strikes were layered, one wave higher than the next, clearly indicating an extremely profound technique!

"What terrifying cultivation level!"

Hiding in the dry well, Su Yang felt a chill run down his spine. The battle outside the well was like a raging storm, with the clashing of energies creating a deafening roar.

"boom!!!!"

Liu Shiyuan and the man in purple robes clashed again with a palm strike, this time the force of which was extremely terrifying!

The purple lotus petal palm shadow collided violently with the dark air wave, producing a deafening explosion. The fierce energy exploded in a ring, blowing away and shattering all the bluestone slabs within a five-zhang radius! Several black-clad men and guards who were slightly closer were struck as if by an invisible giant hammer, spitting blood as they flew backward!

Amidst the billowing smoke and dust, two figures could be seen staggering apart.

"puff!"

Liu Shiyuan staggered back more than ten steps, spitting out a mouthful of blood. His brocade robe tore at the chest, and something in his arms was sent flying by the force of the impact—it was a dark purple leather booklet with silver thread sewn along the edges of the cover. It tumbled in the air, the corners of the pages lifted by the night wind, vaguely revealing the obscure patterns inside.

The man in purple robes groaned and staggered back seven or eight steps, his boots leaving two deep marks on the bluestone slab before he finally regained his balance.

A trickle of blood escaped from the corner of his mouth, and the purple robe on his shoulder was torn in half by the force of the palm strike, revealing the bulging muscles and bleeding wounds beneath, clearly indicating that he had suffered a serious internal injury.

"That's it!"

Upon seeing the discarded books, the purple-robed man's eyes instantly blazed with greed. Ignoring the excruciating pain in his internal organs, he stomped his foot on the ground and lunged at the books in mid-air like an arrow.

Liu Shiyuan reacted even faster. Taking advantage of the momentum of the backward movement of the energy, he stretched out his wrist and his fingertips hooked the spine of the booklet first.

"Bring it to me!"

The man in purple robes shouted sharply, gripping the booklet with his left hand while his right palm suddenly changed direction, no longer aiming for Liu Shiyuan's vitals, but instead striking at Liu's wrist holding the booklet. Liu Shiyuan had no way to dodge and could only exert force, pulling the booklet diagonally backward.

"Sizzle—!!!"

A sharp, tearing sound ripped through the night sky as the leather booklet was ripped in two by the immense force of the two people working in opposite directions!

Liu Shiyuan staggered back three steps, clutching the front half with the cover tightly in his hand. The leather was warm and supple to the touch, and a deep knife mark on the cover gleamed faintly in the moonlight.

The man in purple robes grabbed the second half of the booklet, looked down and saw the strange landscape painting on it. His face instantly lit up with wild joy—this was the very fragment he had been looking for!

"Hand over the first half!"

The man in purple robes looked at Liu Shiyuan, roared angrily, and his wounded ferocity erupted completely. The moment his foot stomped on the ground, several fine cracks appeared on the ground. His figure pounced on Liu Shiyuan again like a ghost, and his palm wind, carrying a strong fishy smell, went straight for Liu Shiyuan's face.

Liu Shiyuan's face was ashen, his internal organs felt as if they had been repeatedly crushed by a blunt instrument, and every breath was accompanied by excruciating pain.

Knowing he was severely injured and unlikely to withstand another full-force attack, his gaze swept across the chaotic courtyard like lightning. Out of the corner of his eye, he quickly glanced at the vine-covered courtyard wall on the west side. Behind the wall was the abandoned courtyard of the Liu family's old residence, with an abandoned well inside. The wellhead was covered by half a bluestone slab and overgrown foxtail grass. Not to mention outsiders, even the old servants of the family had almost forgotten its existence.

"Hiding it here is a thousand times safer than carrying it on my person!"

Liu Shiyuan's mind raced, and a plan to escape was instantly formed.

Instead of fleeing eastward as the purple-robed man had predicted, he suddenly gathered all his remaining inner strength, changed his footwork, and his figure became a blur, rushing towards the abandoned courtyard in the opposite direction to the west.

Liu Shiyuan's unusual route made the purple-robed man pause for a moment, but his gaze remained fixed on Liu Shiyuan from beginning to end. In his view, Liu Shiyuan was clutching the first half of the booklet and could not escape his grasp no matter where he ran. His current "reverse escape" was nothing more than a desperate struggle.

"You old fox! Where do you think you're going!"

The man in purple robes roared and chased after him, completely unaware that when Liu Shiyuan rushed into the courtyard, he deliberately lowered his body, his back almost touching the ground, which conveniently blocked his view.

Liu Shiyuan's figure swept past the corner of the courtyard wall, and out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of the dry well half-hidden by weeds.

The purple-robed man's aura grew closer and closer behind him. He suddenly spun around, and using the momentum of the turn, his wrist flicked out like lightning—the half-book was clutched in his palm, and he threw it with the speed of a gust of wind, which was perfectly blocked by the old locust tree in front of him.

The booklet traced a faint, dark purple arc through the air before precisely falling into the dark well opening. The entire process took only a breath, without even a whiff of wind.

"Traitor! I, Liu, will avenge this humiliation!"

After doing all this, Liu Shiyuan didn't stop. He suddenly exerted force with his feet, and his body abruptly turned eastward. His speed was three times faster than before, and his voice could be heard from afar.

"You think you can get revenge later? Do you think you can escape!"

When the man in purple robes reached the gate of the villa, he caught sight of Liu Shiyuan fleeing eastward. His eyes flashed with cold light; without even glancing at the abandoned villa, his figure moved like a soaring owl, filled with overwhelming killing intent, relentlessly pursuing Liu Shiyuan eastward. At the same time, he shouted an order: "Everyone, listen up! Chase after him!"

The men in black who had sacked the village responded with a resounding roar. Shouts, footsteps, and the clashing of weapons mingled as they chased after the enemy eastward, quickly disappearing into the night.