Xuanqing Guard

Chapter 261: Chapter 261: One Strike

Shen Hao was fully prepared mentally.

In Nie Yun’s words, he already regarded this Cloud Sword as his mortal enemy.

The instant his left hand touched the cluster of Cloud Sword, Shen Hao felt his entire body wrapped by a strange membrane, as if he had entered a completely different space.

The surroundings were all clouds, above, below—every direction, dark and oppressive, with only a ten-foot radius of empty ground at his feet. ƒгeewebnovёl.com

Is this the interior of the Cloud Sword? Clearly just a fist-sized thing, yet it can encompass a whole person—truly miraculous.

While marveling deep down, Shen Hao kept his guard at its highest. His perception was wide open, closely sensing everything around him.

Which kind of Sword Cloud is it? Will it transform into a human form for battle, like the one Nie Yun subdued before?

"Buzz!"

Without warning, a minuscule vibration sounded behind Shen Hao’s right side. Immediately, a sense of fatal crisis descended, causing all his pores to contract, his body reacting before his thoughts—True Qi surged out forming a shield, and he raised his Yanji Saber at an angle to guard his flank.

At the same time, Shen Hao threw his entire body forward and to the right, trying to dodge the threat coming from his rear right.

Fast! Way too fast!

Shen Hao’s reaction was fast; his Soul Strength, meridian toughness, and Sea of Consciousness all surpassed others in his realm, and he was fully alert in battle, so he managed to respond in time.

But...

Shen Hao was fast, but the killing blow from behind him was even faster!

Almost just as Shen Hao lifted his blade halfway, body slightly twisted, with his True Qi Shield barely set up at his side—the attack arrived.

"Crack!"

The Mid-grade Yanji Saber, issued upon his promotion to Hundred Households Officer, took the brunt of it. The immense force, carrying indescribable sharpness, struck like a Giant Crossbow, smashing Shen Hao aside and instantly shattering the Yanji Saber!

"How is this possible?!"

Stunned, aware things had gone wrong, Shen Hao could only keep surging True Qi to reinforce his shield, all the while willing himself to use Earth Escape and leave—but...he couldn’t sense a trace of Earth Spirit Qi beneath his feet!

It’s all been drawn into the Cloud Sword, the space isolated—how could there be any Earth Spirit Qi?

Just in the blink of an eye, that razor-sharp attack first shattered the Yanji Saber in Shen Hao’s hand, then pierced the True Qi Shield.

The True Qi Shield that could usually block Feathered Arrows was now like paper, torn apart in less than a moment. The attack instantly cut into Shen Hao’s body.

"Clang!"

"Pfft!"

The black robe of the Xuanqing Guard flickered and shattered again, but thankfully, beneath the robe was a Magical Artifact Inner Armor—that was Shen Hao’s strongest and final line of defense.

After breaking through layer after layer of defense, the attack weakened considerably. The Inner Armor held for half a breath, and this half-breath became Shen Hao’s only chance.

He forcibly reversed his True Qi, twisting his body out of the side-slash’s massive force, dodging narrowly.

Using that half-breath, he leveraged Reverse True Qi to wrench his body out of the inertia, finally shifting position. With a swish, the attack—with lingering force—etched a deep mark into the Inner Armor as it grazed past and disappeared into the clouds in a blink.

All this, such mortal peril, happened within just two breaths’ time.

Cold sweat finally broke across Shen Hao’s forehead; gripping half a Yanji Saber, half-crouched, nervously watching all around him.

But after that one strike, there was no further attack; a moment later, the swirling, constricting cloud condensed into a dark vest, suspended before Shen Hao.

"Is this...Top-grade Soft Armor?!"

Top-grade Magical Artifact was already rare for Shen Hao, not to mention the exceedingly scarce Soft Armor. freewёbnoνel.com

Nie Yun’s words about hidden opportunities inside Cloud Sword were proven true. Just this Top-grade Soft Armor was worth all of Shen Hao’s possessions.

He reached out and took it. In the next instant, light flickered around him, and before Shen Hao could react he was back where he’d started, facing Nie Yun, who watched him with a smiling gaze.

"Hey, not bad! Top-grade Soft Armor—this is a coveted item even in the Sect. Haha, you struck it rich!"

Shen Hao weighed the feather-light black Inner Armor in his hand, then calmly stowed it in his Storage Bag, finally cupping his fist to Nie Yun: "Thank you, Nie, for guiding me."

"Heh, no thanks needed. Let’s go back. Looks like you need to recover a little yourself."

Shen Hao nodded wordlessly. He really did need to adjust—his heartbeat hadn’t returned to normal yet, and cold sweat drenched his entire back.

Survived by the skin of his teeth!

Within those brief two breaths, Shen Hao’s perception and reaction speed, the Yanji Saber’s first defense, the True Qi Shield’s second, then finally half a breath won by the Low-Grade Inner Armor on his body, plus his instant decision to Reverse True Qi and forcibly change his position—any slower or slightest mistake at any step would have meant instant death.

This was the "one strike" Nie Yun mentioned to Shen Hao before. Not just a sudden attack, but shockingly powerful. Even with Shen Hao’s Soul Strength and profound Sea of Consciousness, he nearly failed to sense when the strike arrived—in the end, only that Inner Armor let him narrowly escape.

Looking at his spoils, the risk and reward were certainly balanced.

Once back at the large manor, Shen Hao quickly refined the new Top-grade Soft Armor and donned it, finally feeling a bit more at ease.

Yet, seeing the half-broken Yanji Saber left in his hand, he could only sigh. He now had no weapon, his combat ability instantly halved. Getting a new weapon wasn’t impossible, but he’d need to leave Caiyuan Village, and outside there were plenty of Hundred Households of Xuanqing Guard trapped in the Cloud Sword Domain’s Illusion Realm. Their sabers were the same grade Shen Hao used—he could spend some time re-refining one for use.

But tonight, there wasn’t enough time.

Nie Yun found some rice and cured meat from the manor, washed it and cooked it in a pot with fragrant sausage, paired with Wuliangye—tsk, the taste was quite satisfying. Of course, Shen Hao only got rice and cured meat, not the liquor; with such little wine left, Nie Yun the drunkard wouldn’t even mention sharing.

October 19th, dawn. Shen Hao spent his first night in the Cloud Sword Domain.

"Nie, I want to go out and search for a weapon. Could I trouble you to take me outside the village?" Shen Hao hurried to ask as Nie Yun finished his meditation. With his strength, he still couldn’t handle Tomb Beasts; entering and exiting depended entirely on Nie Yun.

"I can, but I reckon someone from the Sect will arrive this afternoon or evening. Other than those recklessly rushing in unaware, there’ll definitely be cultivators like me. You might not be safe outside—are you sure you want to go?"