84: Chapter 74 An Unwilling Request (Second Update!) 84: Chapter 74 An Unwilling Request (Second Update!) The cold wind blew in front of the great hall, lifting the white garments of little girl Yuan Yi.

The sound of Sword Sound was still echoing.

Yet, the front of the hall had fallen into extreme silence.

The pungent scent of blood drifted in the wind, the entire great hall so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

Chu Man’s complexion was pale as she stared at the head that had crashed down not far from her…

The child was dead beyond any doubt.

The role of an Array Pattern Master was crucial.

If they could successfully form the grand formation, then with their power alone, they could withstand the attacks of several powerful beings of the same realm.

This was actually the reason for his death.

Because it was too important.

Therefore, it had to be taken out as a priority.

“Hissing—”

This thick blood wind finally blew towards Xie Xuanyi, moving his broad hat and black robe.

Xie Xuanyi stood right next to Yuan Yi, three feet apart.

Three feet, the distance of a sword.

And also the distance within reach.

With just a reach of his hand, he could pull out the “reed” from Yuan Yi’s embrace.

No one would have thought that in just a few breaths, the Chu Family, which had an imposing aura almost overwhelming Baihua Valley, now only had three Grotto Heavens left— all the South Border Evil Cultivators had been completely annihilated.

Xie Xuanyi’s sword was too fast; killing these people was like slicing through melons and vegetables.

At this moment, all three Grotto Heavens stood tensely, as if facing a great enemy, and no one made any rash moves.

Xie Zhen killed that Grotto Heaven Realm Array Pattern Master in the blink of an eye…

so how long would it take to kill the second Grotto Heaven?

Perhaps still just a blink of an eye.

The standoff thus continued.

Chu Man narrowed her eyes, staring at the black-clad Xie Zhen.

She had noticed his seemingly light and breezy attitude, but his breathing had become slightly erratic.

She raised her phoenix brows and pointed out Xie Xuanyi’s situation, “He has no Primordial Energy left!”

Holding the sword, Yuan Yi was startled into a cold sweat by these words.

She instinctively looked toward the black-clad youth beside her.

Although his face under the broad hat remained calm, beads of sweat were sliding down the edge of his cheek—

Xie Xuanyi indeed had no Primordial Energy left.

Though he was a world-famous genius Sword Immortal.

But after all, he was currently only at the Foundation Establishment Realm.

Actually, using the Sky-reaching Sword Skill to kill a Grotto Heaven Realm being…

was already an unreasonable act!

Chu Man’s intuition was very accurate.

In a sense, there wasn’t much difference between Xie Xuanyi and the Taoist Reincarnated True People.

Furthermore, Xie Xuanyi was even more pure when it came to “killing”, because almost all the secrets in his Sea of Consciousness were related to the Sword Dao.

As long as he held a sword, as long as the Primordial Power allowed, he could kill an enemy far beyond his current realm.

The child died very unjustly as he died at the sword of someone in the Foundation Establishment Realm.

But it was also reasonable, because the name of that person in Foundation Establishment was “Xie Xuanyi”.

“No Primordial Energy?”

Meat Buddha spoke in a deep voice, his tone somewhat skeptical.

He extended his hands and slowly stood up, pushing against the shattered stone walls.

Those two sword beams just now had made his body go soft.

The Golden Body Buddha did not take action immediately but instead looked towards the old crone.

The old crone, a Mechanism Master, also did not act.

Both of them were skeptical about Chu Man’s words, and so neither stepped forward.

At this moment, the residual sounds of Sword Sound surrounding everyone, like birds flapping their wings, gradually rose higher, continuously swirling…

Although the sound was faint, it was still chilling.

“Miss Chu has good eyesight; I indeed have very little Primordial Energy left.”

Xie Xuanyi said with a faint smile, speaking in a gentle voice, “Probably…

one more sword strike?”

One sword strike?!

Meat Buddha and the old crone looked at each other, with a fearful expression, reminiscent of the previous strike, which was so sharp that any contact would shatter, a death for those who approached!

“Miss Chu, it’s not that we’re unwilling to cooperate with you,”

Meat Buddha gritted his teeth, the first to pass on a message saying, “Xie Zhen’s Sword Qi is too terrifying.

Is it really necessary to fight him to the death?”

Chu Man was slightly stunned; she noticed that as Meat Buddha spoke, he was also releasing his Golden Body.

His intention was quite clear.

He did not want to fight to the death with Xie Zhen here!

“Valley Master Chu, we came here to search for treasures in the Secret Realm.”

The old crone also spoke up in agreement at this moment, “With all the Grotto Heavens of Baihua Valley dead, there is no one to interfere with us.

Why insist on exterminating all of us?”

Why insist on exterminating all—this statement coming from South Border Evil Cultivators was indeed ironic.

But Chu Man had already understood the intentions of these two Grotto Heavens.

They had been frightened by Xie Zhen’s sword and wanted to retreat!

No matter whether what Xie Zhen said was true or not, they were no longer willing to step forward and try.

If they really had to fight to the death with Xie Zhen…

Then it would need to be her who made the move, to break this sword strike.

But could she break this one sword strike herself?

Chu Man truly had no confidence; she fell into deep thought.

She was 90% sure that Xie Zhen was simply bluffing!

But what if he wasn’t?

“Humming!”

After a brief silence, Xie Xuanyi reached out again.

He grasped the sword in Yuan Yi’s embrace, and the sound of Sword Sound suddenly grew louder.

Meat Buddha and the old crone both changed their expressions.

This vibrating sound echoed in front of the great hall, interrupting Chu Man’s contemplation.

“Go!”

Chu Man let out a low shout, grabbed her ancient zither, and retreated rapidly.

Meat Buddha and the old crone, relieved, quickly withdrew towards the dark recesses—

Xie Xuanyi did not give chase.

He just held the handle of the reed sword until ten breaths passed; darkness still held no sign of movement.

Only then did Xie Xuanyi release his sword-holding hand.

The great hall’s array patterns slowly opened a crack, and a pale but pretty face peeked out from inside.

The disciples of Baihua Valley, who had survived, had been hiding in the great hall all along, anxiously watching the battle; they dared not make a sound, nor show themselves until now, finally daring to unseal the array patterns.

“Junior Sister Yuan Yi!”

The female disciple who peeked her face out promptly called out.

Yuan Yi took a long breath and instinctively walked forward two steps before remembering something.

She quickly turned around; she slightly bent her knees, took Xie Xuanyi’s hand, and placed it on her shoulder—

Xie Xuanyi looked at her in surprise.

He did not refuse.

Xie Xuanyi let Yuan Yi support him as they entered the main hall.

The Dao patterns closed.

Once inside, he saw the terrible scene in the hall—the Chu Family’s surprise attack had caused immense losses to Baihua Valley, with all four from the Cave Heaven Realm fallen in battle.

But including Yuan Yi, there were still seven survivors.

All seven were female disciples, each injured, with the most severely wounded missing an arm, now unconscious and leaning against a pillar in the hall.

“Sister Lu.”

Yuan Yi’s eyes filled with sorrow as she looked around the devastated hall, “Is this all that’s left of Baihua Valley?”

Named Lu Yuan, the sister who had activated the Dao patterns was also severely injured, her half-white garment soaked with blood, now speaking in a disheartened voice: “Yes.

This is after Sister Hong Jing’s protection… We were attacked as soon as we entered the secret realm.”

All four from the Cave Heaven Realm, except for Hong Jing…

nearly wiped out.

And Hong Jing was besieged by the Meat Buddha and the old crone!

As the foremost disciple of Baihua Valley, her realm was not weak, but she could not handle two opponents alone and could only lead her fellow sisters in retreat.

Fortunately, the changes in the secret realm’s Array Patterns were timely, and Hong Jing, with six sisters, managed to escape and come here.

“Inside this great hall, aside from the Dao patterns, there are several mechanism formations.”

Lu Yuan’s voice was hoarse: “Sister Hong Jing said, if we can hold on for a while, the abnormality in the secret realm will be discovered… This hall is full of mysteries, making it an excellent place to defend.”

Hong Jing’s plan was good.

But unfortunately,

among those evil cultivators from South Border was Chu Man, proficient in killing with music!

If not for Chu Man, perhaps they could have truly relied on the hall’s array patterns to negotiate with the evil cultivators.

“Sister Hong…”

Yuan Yi’s voice was choked with emotion.

She dared not look back at the pool of blood outside.

The young girl’s ten fingers were deeply embedded into her palms.

If only she had arrived earlier, could Sister Hong have been spared death?

She had hurried every step of the way.

Although Liu Ye could offer a vague sense of direction, the constantly shifting Array Patterns of the Bai Ze Secret Realm led them on many detours; in addition, they lost some time when they encountered the Skin and Bones Ghost…

“It’s all my fault.”

Yuan Yi clenched her teeth tightly, full of remorse.

Seeing this, Lu Yuan simply shook her head in silence.

She didn’t say anything but instead turned her gaze to Xie Zhen.

“Master Xie.”

Lu Yuan softly asked, “Your Primordial Energy seems to be greatly depleted, have you been injured?”

“…”

Xie Xuanyi did not respond, just silently observing the disciples of Baihua Valley before him.

After many years in the Jianghu,

Xie Xuanyi knew one thing—

Never reveal your full strength; the more desperate the situation, the less you can show weakness.

Chu Man guessed right.

His Primordial Energy was indeed running low.

But if just now, Chu Man had decided to make a move with those evil cultivators, he surely would have unsheathed his sword again.

And not just once!

If Chu Man wanted to expose his “lie,” she would have to pay a bloody price…

While facing these seemingly innocent disciples of Baihua Valley, Xie Xuanyi remained alert, his hand constantly resting on Yuan Yi’s shoulder, appearing to be due to weakness.

But that was not really the case.

Xie Xuanyi was ready to draw the reed sword at any moment.

If Lu Yuan and the others harbored ill intentions, the moment their true nature was revealed would be when the Sword Qi unsheathed anew!

Surviving in the world of cultivation required one to always suspect the worst in others.

“Inside here are Green Yuan Pills.”

Lu Yuan took out a pouch from her bosom.

She could see that Xie Zhen was still on guard, so she handed the pouch directly to her sister, Yuan Yi.

She spoke gently, “If Master Xie deems it suitable, these pills might compensate for some of the loss of your Primordial Energy.”

Yuan Yi blinked her eyes.

She was naive but not stupid; she understood why her sister handed her the pouch.

“Master Xie?”

She carefully opened the pouch, revealing the Green Yuan Pills, and tentatively asked.

They were authentic Green Yuan Pills.

After seeing them, Xie Xuanyi picked up a pill, not hesitating to crush it.

With a “boom,” a surge of Primordial Energy spread in his palm—

The next moment, like a clay ox entering the sea, it was swiftly absorbed into the skin of Xie Xuanyi’s palm!

The emptiness in his Dantian filled with Primordial Energy.

Xie Xuanyi’s complexion visibly improved.

His expression softened when looking at Lu Yuan.

“Today’s life-saving grace, Lu Yuan will never forget, it will be engraved on my heart for this lifetime!”

At that moment,

Lu Yuan slowly stepped back several paces, and with a thud, knelt down!

She looked back at those behind her.

The injured disciples of Baihua Valley also knelt down with her.

Xie Xuanyi frowned as he looked at these young female disciples kneeling down.

“I have an unkind request…”

As she knelt on the ground, her body trembled, and so did her voice, “We do not fear death, yet we refuse to sit here and await it… If Master Xie can leave the Secret Realm, please tell everything about today to Young Valley Master Ye Qinglian.

Baihua Valley has never suffered such betrayal, the collusion between You Hai King and the South Border evil cultivators, the Chu Family must pay the price!”

…

…

(PS: Because I was really tired from this afternoon’s livestream, I took a nap, which is why the update is a bit late.

However, I didn’t skimp on the promised ‘10,000-word explosive release,’ and there will be another update tonight.)