Chapter 401: Linghu Jiu vs. Ning Zhuo

A white mist of light rapidly spread in all directions, creating a space to serve as a battlefield within a few breaths.

Ning Zhuo sighed, stepped forward, emerged from the crowd, and stood before the image of Linghu Jiu.

For Ning Zhuo, he disliked unprepared battles. In his heart, war was a perilous undertaking, and each battle should be approached with extreme caution.

This was because once fighting truly began, it inevitably meant all other means had been exhausted, and it was the last resort taken out of necessity.

But the current situation was quite special. Whether it was Lin Bufan, Shen Lingzhu, or Zhu Xuanji, Wuxing Shenzhu, they all hoped Ning Zhuo would fight.

Forced by the circumstances, Ning Zhuo, being just a small Foundation Establishment cultivator, could only comply.

"This battle must be won," Ning Jufan looked at Ning Zhuo's back and sighed inwardly, "Intelligent as you are, you must also understand that this is no simple contest, right?"

Ning Zhuo naturally knew!

The challenge from the image of Linghu Jiu was indeed unexpected, originating from the idea of the Lonely Sword Lord's dharma body within the Linglong Reflected Wall, not an arrangement by Zhu Xuanji or Lin Bufan.

But this battle was still about the distribution of benefits from this journey and the future relationship between the Ning Clan and the Ten Thousand Medicine Sect.

If Ning Zhuo won, the Ning family would gain more benefits, and the Ten Thousand Medicine Sect would show more respect towards the Ning family. The reverse was also true.

Ning Zhuo had already decided to win, but he still had to say some pleasantries: "Brother Linghu, I recall our cheerful drinks and revelry. This battle today is truly not what this younger brother desires."

Linghu Jiu, however, shook his head and said, "My virtuous brother, to tell you the truth, your humble brother has long harbored the desire to spar with you. Today, I seize this opportunity. Please, virtuous brother, fight with all your might!"

Linghu Jiu was quite direct. After twirling his wrist and executing a sword flourish, he immediately lunged at Ning Zhuo.

"I shall gladly accept your guidance!" Ning Zhuo clenched his fists and also charged forward.

He had not yet engaged in such a direct, close-quarters battle with a Foundation Establishment cultivator who wielded a weapon, and his heart was filled with anticipation.

Sword Technique - Cup Overflowing.

Linghu Jiu's sword edge cut through the air, forming a phantom image. Like an overflowing wine cup, it trembled and swayed slightly, reaching the pinnacle of subtlety.

Bloody veins appeared on Ning Zhuo's hands, serving as gauntlets, and blocked the sword edge.

Linghu Jiu, however, did not press the attack, like a dragonfly touching water, stopping after a brief touch.

This was contrary to common sense. Ning Zhuo was slightly surprised, thinking, since you don't attack, then I will.

Ning Zhuo took the initiative to attack, closing in on Linghu Jiu.

Linghu Jiu chuckled lightly and said, "Virtuous brother, receive this."

Sword Technique - Fragrance in the Wine.

In an instant, the long sword in his hand turned from solid to ethereal. Sword intent surged forth, like the diffusion of wine fragrance, soft yet containing an attack.

The offensive was fierce!

Ning Zhuo could only retreat, retreat, constantly retreating.

After attacking a few moves, Linghu Jiu suddenly withdrew his hand again, adopting a defensive stance.

Lin Shanshan exclaimed, recognizing it: "This is the Wine Forest Sword Technique that Senior Brother and I co-created."

Everyone looked sideways.

Lin Shanshan gave a sheepish smile and explained the reason.

It turned out that back then, Linghu Jiu was confined in the Ten Thousand Demon Cave, extremely bored and lonely. His thoughts ran wild, and he came up with the idea of creating his own sword technique.

When Lin Shanshan delivered meals, Linghu Jiu showed off his creation, but it made Lin Shanshan quite angry.

Because Linghu Jiu's sword techniques were all named after wine, fully revealing his strong craving for fine wine.

Lin Shanshan couldn't stand this point, so she actively participated in the creation of the sword technique, adding her own concepts to it, hoping to use this method to strongly persuade her senior brother to quit drinking!

Wine Forest Sword Technique - Meeting a Friend Over Wine.

Linghu Jiu's long sword condensed again, turning from ethereal to solid. The sword tip extended, clearly quite sharp, yet it gave a feeling of warmth and enthusiasm, as if inviting someone to drink together!

Ning Zhuo couldn't dodge in time, and his shoulder was pierced. Fortunately, he was protected by the Demonic Blood Vessel Technique, which blocked the sharp sword edge.

Ning Zhuo broke out in a cold sweat and quickly retreated.

Linghu Jiu's sword technique attacked incessantly, leaving Ning Zhuo in a state of disarray, only able to desperately dodge.

Seeing this, Lin Shanshan couldn't help but clap and laugh: "Senior Brother, well done. Give this big head a good lesson!"

The image of Linghu Jiu heard these words and immediately became more energetic, smiling: "Little Junior Sister, then you watch carefully."

Wine Forest Sword Technique - Sleeping Drunken in the Clouds.

Linghu Jiu's sword moves suddenly became wide and sweeping, without any pattern like a drunken man dancing, yet the offensive became even sharper.

Ning Zhuo was momentarily unable to discern, only feeling the sword edge stabbing from various tricky and strange angles, making it difficult for him to defend himself. He was stabbed many times in an instant.

In a few instances, the sword tip repeatedly struck the same location, breaking through the blood vessel defense and causing Ning Zhuo to get injured.

Ning Zhuo quickly retreated and unleashed the Demonic Blood Vessel Technique to rapidly heal his wounds.

He directly displayed his demonic cultivation before everyone, which was also a proactive public appearance.

Generally, orthodox cultivators would always scold others for practicing demonic cultivation. But Lin Bufan saw that even Zhu Xuanji was unmoved, looking as if he had known for a long time, so he could only follow suit and accept it.

Lin Shanshan's expression froze slightly.

Ning Zhuo had just been injured, which suddenly made her realize that her senior brother was only an image, while Ning Zhuo was a living body of flesh and blood. In a spar, Ning Zhuo was naturally in greater danger.

But soon, Lin Shanshan became angry at herself again: "Why am I worrying about him?"

"This Ning Big Head, he clearly has a cultivation technique that can be used for close combat, but he's been hiding it from me all this time!"

Wine Forest Sword Technique - Stopping When Content.

Linghu Jiu's sword edge was like drinking in a hurry, swift and fierce, as if to annihilate the enemy completely. But suddenly, at the peak of his offensive, he stopped abruptly. His sword stance returned to defense, transforming into flowing sword energy like water, protecting himself.

As a result, he directly missed the opportunity to attack. He should have pressed on, turning the advantage into victory, but he instead chose to retreat.

The onlookers understood the reason. This was because the Wine Forest Sword Technique was co-created by Linghu Jiu and Lin Shanshan, and their philosophies were at odds. Linghu Jiu wanted to drink, while Lin Shanshan wanted him to quit drinking. This was reflected in the sword technique, where offense and defense suddenly switched, sometimes attacking, sometimes defending, making it difficult for others to grasp the pattern.

Since Linghu Jiu retreated, Ning Zhuo took the initiative to attack.

He gradually adapted to the Wine Forest Sword Technique and began to turn the tide.

"This sword technique is not profound; it is very disjointed."

"One part is exquisite and meticulous, while another is broad and free-spirited!"

Ning Zhuo shouted: "Brother Linghu, if you intend to defeat me with this sword technique, aren't you looking down on people too much?"

Lin Shanshan inwardly scoffed: "This smelly big head, he just found his footing and he's already getting arrogant. This is nothing! Senior Brother hasn't even truly displayed his strength yet."

"But speaking of which, this Ning Zhuo guy is indeed intelligent. How long has he been at Minor Competition Peak? He's improved so much in close combat. I still remember when he first arrived..."

Lin Shanshan felt a sense of relief and recalled the past, reliving the good times she had spent with Ning Zhuo.

"Bah! This smelly big head kidnapped me and even publicly antagonized my father. He has ill intentions!" Lin Shanshan quickly stopped her wandering thoughts.

Wine Forest Sword Technique - Lingering Scent in a Drunken Cup.

Linghu Jiu shifted to defense. As he defended, he gained the upper hand.

Ning Zhuo was injured again and retreated in surprise.

Zhu Xuanji suddenly let out a light chuckle: "This sword technique is starting to get interesting."

It turned out that Lingering Scent in a Drunken Cup, seemingly just a defensive move, actually contained an attack. It was like a meticulously arranged trap, enticing the enemy to attack continuously.

Ning Zhuo seemed to have the advantage, but in reality, the sword wind was constantly entering his body, causing him to suffer many hidden losses. At first glance, the sword wind was subtle, but with more instances, the accumulation could not be underestimated.

If the previous sword techniques had the conflicting philosophies of Linghu Jiu and Lin Shanshan, leading to a fragmented sword technique with poor practical effect, by this move, their opposing philosophies had surprisingly unified in a clever way, forming an unexpected effect.

Wine Forest Sword Technique - Smelling Wine Through the Curtain.

Linghu Jiu's sword moves were still subtle and profound, like smelling wine fragrance from a distance through a curtain. The moves were primarily defensive.

But Ning Zhuo felt a strong sense of impending threat.

This was because he had drunk wine with Linghu Jiu, and at this moment, he understood the psychological state of the other party when creating this sword technique.

Smelling Wine Through the Curtain... Linghu Jiu's desire was blocked by the curtain. How could a thin curtain block his craving for fine wine?

Once the craving burst forth, the wine fragrance would surely be strong and overwhelming.

Ning Zhuo retreated rapidly!

Seeing the sword move miss, Linghu Jiu was both disappointed and delighted: "My virtuous brother Ning Zhuo, you understand me."

"Can you receive this move?"

The final stance of the Wine Forest Sword Technique - Raising the Cup to Banish Sorrow!

In an instant, Linghu Jiu returned his sword to defense, but the sword intent surged and dissipated, mournful and melancholic. The bitterness in his heart had nowhere to vent, and could only be expressed through heavy drinking.

It was both an attack and a defense. It was both a physical restraint and an emotional outburst!

Ning Zhuo was struck!

Blood spurted, and a large wound appeared on his chest.

The defense of the Demonic Blood Vessel Technique was simply like paper.

The onlookers' expressions changed.

Lin Bufan, whose cultivation was as high as the Nascent Soul stage, also showed a hint of surprise. This was because he saw the shadow of a profound secret scripture in this sword technique.

"Is it the Lonely Sword Scripture?"

Ning Zhuo retreated again and again, quickly swallowing pills and simultaneously rapidly circulating the Demonic Blood Vessel Technique to heal his injuries.

As a result, although the bleeding stopped, the wound did not heal immediately. A sword intent lingered at the wound, which could not be dispersed in a short time, greatly hindering Ning Zhuo's self-treatment.

"Wine Forest Sword Technique... I wonder how it compares to the saber technique I created myself, which is better?" Within the Mechanical Dragon, Sun Lingtong also felt a surge of fighting spirit.

"How formidable!" Ning Zhuo praised loudly.

He was not discouraged at all and had a very good心态.

This was because he knew that Linghu Jiu had been immersed in close-quarters sword techniques for many years. How long had he spent?

They simply couldn't be compared.

It was normal to be unable to defeat him!

"I've learned, I've learned!" This spar gave Ning Zhuo a lot of insights and great gains.

He wished he could always spar with Linghu Jiu in this way until he was defeated.

"But given the current situation, it's best for me to win."

The significance of this battle was by no means a superficial spar, but concerned the future of the Ning family and the Ten Thousand Medicine Sect, and the gamble between Wuxing Shenzhu and Lonely Sword Lord.

"The probing ends here. I'm getting serious!"

"Brother Linghu, please receive my move."

After exchanging greetings, Ning Zhuo took a deep breath, his expression solemn, and quickly unleashed a wood-element spell.

Root and Vine Entanglement!

Tree roots and vines appeared out of thin air and quickly entangled Linghu Jiu.

Close combat... was merely Ning Zhuo's weakness. The Five Elements spells, on the other hand, were becoming his strength!

(End of this chapter)