Chapter 67: Pure Yang

Though the Vajra was suppressed and Su Xiuyan could not fully deploy his techniques, not a trace of panic showed on his face.

"Go, intercept Shen Chang'an."

With a wave of his hand, several people who had been guarding him charged forward rapidly, surrounding Shen Chang'an.

Meanwhile, Su Xiuyan brandished his sword fiercely, charging straight toward Li Qingqing.

Both Li Qingqing and Su Xiuyan hailed from the White Lotus Sect. As the Holy Son and Holy Maiden, the training and education they had received were far beyond the reach of ordinary White Lotus adherents.

Having spent so many years together in the White Lotus Sect, the two were already quite familiar with each other's methods and strengths. Therefore, the moment they clashed, there was not the slightest room for hesitation.

Clang!

Their sword blades intersected. Their swordsmanship stemmed from the exact same origin, and the moment they crossed, they immediately bounced apart. Utilizing each other's momentum, they shifted their stances and swiftly thrust out another sword strike.

If anyone else had faced them, they would have been wounded long ago under this flurry of blows. However, with identical swordsmanship, the same rhythm of drawing, retracting, and thrusting, and matching sword paths, their renewed clash was merely a blur before they plunged into an even faster assault.

Li Qingqing had once mentioned that there was a grandmaster of swordsmanship within the White Lotus Sect whose cultivation had reached the realm of Heaven and Man. With the sword techniques passed down by this person, ordinary swordsmen of this world were simply no match for the two of them.

However, Li Qingqing's heart was not set on swordsmanship; she only knew how to use the techniques without bringing them to life. While she could still display her prowess against ordinary swordsmen, when faced with a brute possessing astonishing strength like Shen Chang'an, she did not even harbor the thought of drawing her sword.

Su Xiuyan, on the other hand, was quite fond of swordsmanship, yet his talent for it was abysmal. Even after learning the sword, his skill remained utterly mediocre.

Among the three successors of the White Lotus Sect, only the other Holy Maiden had achieved notable accomplishments in swordsmanship.

After crossing swords for several rounds with neither being able to do anything to the other, the two instantly began to alter their strategies.

Suddenly, Li Qingqing flicked her fair hand, and a ghostly figure abruptly lunged out, fiercely clawing toward Su Xiuyan's face.

Had this move landed solidly, Su Xiuyan's face would have been utterly ruined.

Su Xiuyan, however, let out a cold snort. In an instant, an aura of pure yang radiated from his entire body, and a majestic, profound pure yang cultivation energy surged forth, directly shattering the ghostly figure.

"Li Qingqing, how many times have we fought? Your wicked arts and bizarre techniques might barely suffice against others, but trying to use them against me is sheer courting of death."

Who would have imagined that Su Xiuyan, the Holy Son of the heretical White Lotus Sect, practiced a primary pure yang mental cultivation method?

As mentioned previously, although the White Lotus Sect was a heretical cult, the majority of the mental techniques and methods within their sect were actually inherited from the three teachings of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism.

It was just that what the White Lotus Sect inherited happened to be those sinister, eerie, and bizarre arts, while those truly practicing orthodox righteous methods were exceedingly rare.

And Su Xiuyan happened to be one of those exceedingly rare individuals.

The White Lotus Sect was a notoriously renowned heretical cult, so their standards for selecting a Holy Son and Holy Maiden were naturally far from low. The sole reason Su Xiuyan was chosen as the Holy Son was that he possessed a Pure Yang Dao Body.

Given Su Xiuyan's talent, had he gone to Changchun Abbey or the Purple Wei Palace, or any of these major Taoist sects, he undoubtedly would have been a core disciple, highly likely to be groomed as the next sect leader.

Yet fate is capricious; Su Xiuyan did not enter these "righteous sects of good repute," but instead joined the heretical White Lotus cult.

Having discovered Su Xiuyan's astonishing talent, the White Lotus Sect naturally groomed him as their Holy Son. This pure yang cultivation art was a profound, authentic supreme classic of the Profound Gate—the Pure Yang Wuji Immortal Scripture—carefully handpicked and meticulously sought out by the White Lotus Sect.

Li Qingqing specialized in the ghostly path and possessed tremendous talent in controlling spirits and summoning ghosts. When she assassinated Shen Chang'an, she had even transformed her physical body into a ghost form; her mastery in this domain could be described as profound.

Yet in the presence of pure yang energy, ghosts were like snow melting under the great sun—they could only be dissolved and vaporized, possessing virtually no capacity for resistance.

With her ghost claws shattered, Li Qingqing's figure retreated swiftly. Simultaneously, the sword in her hand swept horizontally, the blade imbued with a frigid ghostly aura, slashing outward to block Su Xiuyan's advance.

Su Xiuyan, however, was in no rush. He advanced step by step, the blade in his hand emanating an intensely rigid and yang-like aura. His eyes were cold, and he wished he could kill Li Qingqing right then and there, yet he remained singularly calm in his heart, refusing to pursue rashly under such circumstances.

Sure enough, after he had taken three steps, a pair of ghostly hands suddenly burst forth from beneath the earth, fiercely grabbing his ankles. The withered bone-like fingers dug into his heels, threatening to sever his tendons instantly.

Yet with a mere flick of his sword, Su Xiuyan shattered the ghostly hands, leaving only two trails of blood on his skin.

"You really still love using these underhanded tricks."

Su Xiuyan spoke indifferently. Circulating the pure yang energy throughout his body, ordinary ghosts could not harm him. Those ghostly hands could be considered Li Qingqing's trump card, yet they still failed to inflict the slightest injury upon him.

Li Qingqing's expression darkened slightly. To be fair, her strength was on par with Su Xiuyan's, but being thoroughly countered by him left her truly with few options.

The techniques Li Qingqing practiced were numerous, and any single one of them would require an ordinary person a year or two to master. Yet, endowed with brilliant intelligence, she had mastered them all.

Su Xiuyan, conversely, had none of these tedious cultivation methods. He practiced only a single art—the *Pure Yang Wuji Immortal Scripture*—and relying solely on his pure yang energy, he could easily defeat most opponents and restrain Li Qingqing.

Walking with steady strides, Su Xiuyan was about to close in on Li Qingqing once more when suddenly his foot stepped into empty space. A jolt of shock coursed through his heart; he hastily steadied his stance, retreated two steps, and vigilantly scanned his surroundings.

"Who is it?"

The surroundings were filled with the clamor of battle. Su Xiuyan's men had blocked the martial artists outside, so no one should have been able to approach this area.

Silently, a withered wooden sword blade suddenly probed out from the darkness, its edge constantly shifting between decay and new life. With a gentle slash, it actually pierced through his protective pure yang energy.

Su Xiuyan was startled in horror. Internal energy erupted throughout his body, and ignoring the toll it took, he unleashed a fierce surge of force to drive the figure in the darkness back.

As his energy shook, a shadow drifted backward gracefully, lightly tracing an arc upon the ground to neutralize his force.

With a handsome visage, sword-like eyebrows, and starry eyes, holding a withered wooden sword blade—who else could it be but Shen Chang'an?

In a flash of realization, Su Xiuyan murmured, "Daoist Lingxiao... Heh... I should have guessed that they couldn't stop you."

"You..." Seeing Shen Chang'an suddenly break into the fray, Li Qingqing's heart instantly swelled with joy.

Just as she was about to speak, Shen Chang'an waved his hand and softly said, "Go help the others; I will kill him."

"Be careful," Li Qingqing uttered before her figure retreated swiftly, plunging back into the fierce battle.