Chapter 271 What is Sword Control?
As for the Young Priest You Chuan, everyone in the Ten Thousand Poison Cave only knew that he was suddenly brought back by the Poison Lord many years ago, and then trained with great care as his adopted son, and it seemed that he was the candidate to succeed the next Witch King.

Therefore, when the news that "the Shao Si official stole the holy Gu and colluded with the Nanping Kingdom" came out, no one even believed it. It was not until the end that according to legend, someone saw the Shao Si official helping the Nanping Kingdom on the battlefield that they finally admitted it.

An adopted son is still an adopted son after all. It’s a pity that the Witch King treats him like his own son, but he is still just an ungrateful person who can never be tamed.

For a time, there were different opinions on whether the young priest You Chuan was from Raojiang, and on how to deal with such a traitor.

The Poison Master Chi Li had no children and had never married in his forty years of life. It was said that there was a girl named Raojiang who admired him more than ten years ago, but the Poison Master had a very strange temperament and was extremely serious in his behavior. He had no interest in matters between men and women, so until the end, he devoted all his energy to witchcraft.

After this incident, people in the Ten Thousand Poison Cave had a different feeling about Du Gong, the leader who had been serving Rao Jiang for decades. Some people sympathized with him, some felt sorry for him, but few people complained.

After all, normally no one can tell that You Chuan is a wolf cub, right?

Chi Meng was so angry after hearing these news.

Although she had no extra feelings for You Chuan, and was extremely dissatisfied with his stubborn and stupid ideas before, this did not prevent her from always treating him as her brother. How could she not know what kind of person You Chuan was?

"That bastard Du Gong! In order to seize power and usurp the throne, he first tried every means to put my father under house arrest, and now he has even framed You Chuan!"

On the mountain path, it was drizzling. Chi Meng wore a bamboo hat and shook his head in disappointment: "I told You Chuan a long time ago that the Poisonous Turtle can't be trusted. Who told him not to listen to me? How could a man like the Poisonous Turtle take away my father's power just to prevent Raojiang from being involved in the war!"

Before the King of Gu became too ill to leave his bed, Lord Du had taken direct control of all affairs and in fact put the King of Gu under house arrest. Chi Meng had an argument with You Chuan about this matter. At that time, You Chuan only said that Lord Du did this for the sake of Raojiang's stability, and his words implied that he thought the King of Gu was weak and incompetent.

This made Chi Meng very angry and he broke off his friendship with You Chuan. From then on, he was mentally prepared to save the Gu King alone.

Now You Chuan has been framed by the Poison Lord and even Rao Jiang cannot return. He has witnessed the "weak and incompetent" side of the Poison Lord that is different from the Gu King. He has brought this upon himself.

However, Chi Meng really did not have the mood to gloat over other people's misfortune.

As carefree as she was, it was not until this moment that she finally realized that Rao Jiang had completely changed. Cunning and insidiousness filled the entire Shiwan Mountains. The originally simple Rao Jiang was easily tied to the dump truck of war and crashed into an unknown abyss.

So, can she save her father?
Can Dad save Rao Jiang again?

Thoughts filled her mind, and an inexplicable sense of crisis enveloped her, unable to be shaken off.

"This You Chuan..."

Ji Ruxue opened her mouth, but looking at Chi Meng's small shoulders in front of her, she hesitated and changed the subject: "Now that the Poison Lord is in control of the Ten Thousand Poison Cave, the situation of the Gu King has also been sealed up in secret. If we want to expose him, we need the support of the various villages in Raojiang. If we want to gather strength, shouldn't we have a place?"

"Of course there is!" Chi Meng was in high spirits. He stood beside the road with one hand on his waist and pointed to the south. "Twenty miles further, there is a Jiuli village. The village chief Lao is my father's best friend. It will be safe to go there!"

"Little Pot, what do you think?"

Xiao Yan, who was walking at the end, thought for a moment, held down his bamboo hat and looked at the dense rain in the sky, and said, "Let's hurry on. The Poison Lord won't just sit there and wait for us to make a move. He will definitely strike first. The closer we are to the Poison Cave, the more alert we must be. It won't be too late to go to Jiuli Village to check out the situation before making any plans."

The two girls had no objection, so they continued on their journey while it was still early.

As for Hou Qing, who should have traveled with them, he was not included in the same group for some reason. Therefore, according to Du Gong's intelligence, there were indeed only two people from the Central Plains, a man and a woman, around Chi Meng.

……

Looking back to the north for dozens of miles, outside the road leading to the outside world from several villages, a group of people were walking in a hurry.

The route that Xiao Yan and his companions took to the Cave of Ten Thousand Poisons was not simply heading south. The places they passed through were generally haunted by corpse monsters, so they wasted a lot of time on the way. The people in the villages in these areas only knew that the saint had eliminated the corpse monsters for them, and they knew no other information.

According to Chi Meng's idea, after getting rid of the corpse monster, he should explain the changes in the Ten Thousand Poison Cave to some village leaders, such as the Poison King imprisoning the Gu King and falsely accusing You Chuan, etc.

However, Xiao Yan did not waste his time. Sometimes, the truth would become more and more obscure after being explained, and would always be deliberately labeled inadvertently. With just a little effort, Chi Meng would easily be accused of "the thief crying thief" by Du Gong.

After all, from the perspective of the people of Raojiang, the Poison Lord and the Ten Thousand Poison Caves were also trying their best to eliminate the corpse monsters that were causing trouble. Not only that, facing the threat from the Nanping Kingdom, it was the Poison Lord who led the various villages in Raojiang to fight back. On the contrary, it was Chi Meng who had just left the Ten Thousand Poison Caves when the corpse monsters that were wreaking havoc in Raojiang instantly broke out. From the perspective of the people of Raojiang, she was more suspicious.

If I try to explain it, it would seem absurd, as if “why would you help if you didn't hit him?”

This kind of behavior of Fu Yi Qu has the effect of dispelling rumors. Whoever questions should provide evidence. Chi Meng cannot prove that Du Gong is the one behind all this, but Du Gong, who framed Chi Meng, did not produce any solid evidence, did he?
Naturally, some people will doubt the truth behind this.

This group of hurried troops came from the Ten Thousand Poison Cave. The corpse monsters arranged by the Poison King in Raojiang were completely cleared out by Xiao Yan and his men. Naturally, they needed to attack some villages that could not see the situation clearly. All the necessary troops must be sent out, and the ruling position of the Witch King was also unquestionable.

The ultimate goal, of course, is to weaken the influence that Chi Meng has re-accumulated.

On a big tree with only dead branches left by the side of the road, Hou Qing held up a bone flute and looked out. The sky was overcast and the rain was falling heavily, but he had a red umbrella to shelter from the rain, so his clothes did not get wet.

The group glanced at this strange man with some caution, and without asking too many questions, they hurried past.

Hou Qing looked back with some confusion. Why did these people dare to go over when he was blocking the road so blatantly?
He thought about it carefully, and then it dawned on him.

I look like a good person, no wonder they look down on me.

Hou Qing jumped up lightly, kicked the tree trunk hard with both feet, and flew out with the momentum. The tree behind him trembled violently.

With the red umbrella tilted and folded, Hou Qing landed on the ground like an arrow. He tapped the ground with the bone flute in his hand, flipped forward in the air, and as his feet touched the ground, he suddenly opened the umbrella again, blocking the group of people.

The latter and others were stunned for a moment, and then some tried to control the Gu, some drew their swords, as if facing a powerful enemy.

The old man in the lead saw that Hou Qing was just holding a bone flute and not making any moves. He was alert but still asked politely, "Why are you blocking our way, young man? We are from the Ten Thousand Poison Cave. Can you please give us some help?"

"No." Hou Qing said.

The old man narrowed his eyes and asked sinisterly, "Boy, are you from the Saint's side?"

Hou Qing was holding a red umbrella, with his sleeves fluttering in the wind behind him. He did not answer, but seemed to be thinking about something.

Not saying anything, pretending to be an expert?
The old man had some plans in mind and wanted to send two men to test the waters. However, Hou Qing suddenly said, "The Saint asked me to tell you something."

"She is protecting the thirty-four strongholds in the north. If anyone of you dares to touch them..." Hou Qing touched his neck with the bone flute and said seriously, "Whoever dares to touch them will be finished."

"How shameless!" Someone in the team immediately took a step forward and was about to chant a spell to control the Gu.

Hou Qing snapped his fingers, and a broken branch from a dead tree beside the road suddenly flew up and went straight to the back of the man's neck. It was so fast that it seemed to flash by.

The people around were all shocked when they saw this scene. Judging from the power, the person who had not yet had time to control the Gu would obviously die on the spot.

But in the next moment, everyone heard a cracking sound, and looking carefully, they saw that the broken branch suddenly broke into pieces when it was about to pierce the back of the man's neck, as if it could no longer bear anything.

Hou Qing sighed.

This is why he was willing to stay in the north to prevent the poison cave from being damaged.

Xiao Yan taught him the art of wielding a sword, and he stayed behind to deal with the people from the Ten Thousand Poison Cave.

According to Xiao Yan's sword-wielding skills, the broken branch might have to pierce through a dozen heads before it would break. After all, attaching extremely strong energy to the broken branch is not only a test for the sword-wielder, but also for the broken branch to bear a huge pressure, the size of which cannot be explained by a little trick.

For Hou Qing, this sword-controlling technique is comparable to the music-controlling Gu technique. Both are powerful tools for showing off. Just imagine the scene where the sword arrives before the person does. It is really cool!
So naturally, Xiao Yan became Hou Qing's half-master. The former just wanted to make a deal, but the latter insisted on becoming his disciple, so he had no choice but to accept him.

"You still have to practice."

Hou Qing nodded, and then his figure disappeared out of thin air, and in a flash he came in front of the people who survived the disaster.

The latter and others were still pale, but suddenly they saw a red umbrella slowly spinning in front of them, and then it changed from red to green, captivating their hearts.

After a while, Hou Qing continued to walk south with an umbrella, practicing music and flying swords on the way without delaying either. A group of people followed behind him, following him like zombies, as if they were lost.

------

The sky was gloomy and the rain was continuous. Chi Meng was shivering from the cold, but she was still explaining things to the two of them.

"Although Jiuli Village is not a big village, it is the place with the most Gu Masters outside the Ten Thousand Poison Cave, except for Guishizi. It has strong soldiers and horses and should not be underestimated!"

"If we want to fight our way back to the Ten Thousand Poison Cave and gather the power of Raojiang, this is the best place. The leader of Lao Village is a loyal person. My father praised him personally. You can trust him."

Ji Ruxue kept nodding. She had cultivated some Guiyuan Qi and was not afraid of the cold. She gently nudged Xiao Yan with her arm and asked in a low voice, "Should we walk faster? Chi Meng seems to be a little exhausted."

The rain was not heavy, but the chill it brought was real. Chi Meng's internal strength was not strong, so he inevitably caught a cold.

Xiao Yan thought for a moment, then grasped the hilt of the sword behind him with his backhand, then drew the sword in an instant and threw it forward.

The long sword spun in the air, pointing straight to the front, hanging in the air motionless, and the surrounding sword energy flowed back and cut through the raindrops.

Ji Ruxue was a little surprised, but Chi Meng just kept clapping: "Xiao Guoguo is so awesome!"

Xiao Yan smiled, then pointed his toes, and flew up, with his feet stepping on the sword edge one after the other. Finally, he closed his eyes and raised his fingers. The long sword instantly rose into the air, flew back with the wind, and went straight for nearly a hundred meters.

Chi Meng opened his mouth wide, tugged at Ji Ruxue's sleeve, pointed in the direction where Xiao Yan left, and stammered, "Fly... Xiao Guoguo flew up!"

Ji Ruxue was no less shocked than she was. She still remembered that when they were heading south along the Huai River, she had asked Xiao Yan if he had the ability to fly with a sword like in the stories. Xiao Yan just smiled and said that the things in the stories could not be believed.

But Xiao Yan turned back again, his sword sank a little, he stretched out his hand, and suddenly picked up the two girls, one on the left and one on the right, and then the sword was powerful. Amid Chi Meng's panicked cry, he suddenly rose from the ground, flew quickly to the south, stepped over the layers of woods, and flew away on the sword.

In the north, Hou Qing, who was being carried on the road by several zombies, narrowed his eyes, jumped to the top of a big tree, and looked out with his hand covering his forehead.

He didn't know if it was an illusion, but he seemed to see something flying past.

……

This sword-flying journey of more than ten miles consumed nearly 50% of Xiao Yan's internal energy, and his face turned a little pale, but it took very little time. According to the ruggedness of the mountain road, they might not be able to reach Jiuli Village at night.

However, the only pity was that the sword finally had cracks. The previous few uses had made it bear unbearable pressure. The fact that it did not completely break after such high-intensity use today was already a sign of Xiao Yan's proper use.

Ordinary iron in the world will become dull due to flesh and blood when fighting on the battlefield, let alone carrying such a huge amount of internal force.

Chi Meng and Ji Ruxue's worldviews were obviously greatly impacted. Ji Ruxue was fine, as she had seen Xiao Yan's sword control on the Huai River before, and could barely accept it. Chi Meng had already discovered a new world. Although she was so scared that she dared not open her eyes along the way, it did not prevent her from asking questions after landing. She basically regarded Xiao Yan as a god.

Xiao Yan was not surprised. This was also the first time he used the means of flying with a sword since coming to this world. In his previous life, this was just the basic skill after a small success in sword cultivation. It was nothing. However, in this world, obviously only a small group of people are qualified to try it, and not everyone can succeed.

For Yuan Tiangang, this may not be considered a means of gaining entry.

When Jiuli Village heard that the Saint Lady was coming, they naturally mobilized their troops. The village chief Lao personally led the elders out of the village to welcome her, and held a grand banquet at night. He also promised personally that he would gather troops and follow the Saint Lady into the Ten Thousand Poison Cave to rescue the Gu King the next day.

During the dinner, Xiao Yan and Ji Ruxue were just two good friends of Chi Meng and did not say much.

At night, Chi Meng finally had a sound sleep, but was awakened by a slight noise.

After a moment, she carefully woke up Xiao Yan and the other person, and handed Xiao Yan a note she found in the crack of the door.

"Jiuli Village is an enemy, not a friend. Leave immediately."

Xiao Yan looked at it again and again and asked, "Can you see who left it?"

"When I woke up, there was no movement outside." Chi Meng hesitated, but still pointed at the note and said, "But the handwriting on it looks a bit like what You Chuan wrote..."

(End of this chapter)