Chapter 30 - 28: Gu Qingyan’s Earth-Shattering Sword Strike, Jiang Hao’s Astonishment

Chapter 30: Chapter 28: Gu Qingyan’s Earth-Shattering Sword Strike, Jiang Hao’s Astonishment

"Qinghe Sword Technique!"

A light shout echoed through the mountain forest. Boundless Sword Qi crisscrossed the air as a figure in flowing white robes struck with a timeless, breathtaking elegance.

"ROAR!"

Accompanied by the unwilling roar of the giant python, the Sword Qi pierced the heavens and earth. It tore through the void and slashed across the neck of the roaring serpent, leaving behind a stark line of blood.

The next moment, WHOOSH! The giant python’s head flew into the sky. Endless blood erupted like a fountain, rocketing dozens of meters into the air and showering the heavens. The massive, thousand-foot-tall body of the Celestial Python slowly collapsed.

BOOM! Dust billowed and ancient trees toppled as the Beast King python slammed into the mountain range, lying dead across the earth.

In the air, the young man sheathed his sword and descended. He landed atop the canopy of ancient trees and looked calmly at the girl in white.

"Miss Qingyan, what do you think?" Jiang Hao asked with a smile. Compared to three months ago, the furrow in his brow had relaxed, replacing his heavy solemnity with a newfound ease. He was now at the Unity Realm First Layer, and he had cultivated the *Qinghe Sword Technique* to the Great Success Realm.

Gu Qingyan looked at Jiang Hao, whose progress over a mere three months had been earth-shattering. Her beautiful eyes were filled with shock.

She thought, "To think his talent in the Sword Dao is so unprecedented."

To master a Sword Technique to the Great Success Realm in just three months—while simultaneously pouring most of his energy into breaking through his cultivation realm—was a testament to a truly terrifying aptitude for the sword.

Though deeply astounded, Gu Qingyan maintained her composure. She even deliberately feigned a trace of aloof disdain. "Not bad, but if you want to defeat that prodigy from the Qi family, relying solely on this *Qinghe Sword Technique* won’t be enough."

Jiang Hao frowned slightly at her words. He knew very little about Qi Tianyang, the Qilin Child of the Qi family. Gu Qingyan, on the other hand, seemed to have investigated him thoroughly, which was why he had asked for her assessment. His question wasn’t a boast, but a genuine inquiry into his odds of winning against Qi Tianyang. Hearing her say it wasn’t enough naturally left him feeling a bit helpless.

Gu Qingyan looked him up and down. "Is this the only Sword Technique you know? Do you have nothing else?"

In a deadly duel between experts, martial arts techniques were just as indispensable as cultivation realms. A powerful martial technique could push a cultivator’s combat prowess to the absolute limit, allowing them to unleash strength far beyond their realm.

Jiang Hao offered a bitter smile and sighed deeply. "To be honest, my father disappeared so suddenly back then that he didn’t leave any martial techniques behind. This *Qinghe Sword Technique* is the only one I’ve been able to acquire so far."

This technique was the signature martial art of the Ye family. In such a short period, he simply hadn’t had the chance to seek out anything of a higher grade.

Gu Qingyan beamed, seemingly having come to a decision. She looked up abruptly and asked, "Jiang Hao, setting aside the Divine Pill Pavilion and all matters of mutual benefit... are we friends?"

Jiang Hao was slightly taken aback. Spending day and night together for the past two months had bridged the gap between them. Furthermore, Gu Qingyan had acted as his guardian during this time, even occasionally forcing upon him pointers during his breakthroughs. He owed a significant part of his rapid ascent to the Unity Realm to her help.

However, Jiang Hao didn’t answer directly. He only smiled helplessly. "I am honored to know you, Miss Qingyan. But as for the Young Master of the Divine Pill Pavilion, I wouldn’t dare overstep my bounds."

Gu Qingyan laughed at his response, her smile exceptionally sincere. "Since we’re friends, we should help each other out. Great Pill Master Jiang, you wouldn’t refuse the goodwill of a devoted friend, would you?"

Jiang Hao looked up, his face full of question marks. "I don’t quite understand what you mean, Miss Qingyan."

She gave him a mysterious, radiant smile. "I have a sword strike that can slay a Qilin. If Great Pill Master Jiang doesn’t mind, I can lend you this sword. You can simply pay me back, with interest, in the future."

"You?" Jiang Hao was slightly stunned.

Gu Qingyan’s smile grew even brighter. "You didn’t think Pill Masters only knew how to practice Alchemy, did you? When it comes to talent in the Sword Dao, I am second to none."

As she spoke, her aura abruptly shifted. Her dress fluttered without wind, and a palpable Sword Intent suddenly permeated the air.

Jiang Hao snapped his head up, staring blankly at the towering Sword Intent. His entire body shuddered.

An ancient, snow-white sword had appeared in Gu Qingyan’s hand at some unknown moment. She looked like a Sword Immortal descended to the mortal realm, her terrifying Sword Intent shrouding the surroundings in breathtaking splendor.

"Great Pill Master Jiang, I will only demonstrate this once. Whether you choose to learn it is entirely up to you."

Her beautiful eyes turned impossibly sharp, much like the ancient sword in her hand—as if capable of obliterating all enemies in the world.

With a single movement, the girl vanished into thin air. She transformed into a series of afterimages, shifting positions with monstrous, sky-blotting Sword Intent.

Jiang Hao’s pupils contracted sharply. He watched in absolute awe as her beautiful silhouette continually reappeared atop the endless canopy like teleportation. Every time she appeared in a new position, she executed an unfathomable sword move that left him pale with shock.

After vanishing and reappearing dozens of times, Gu Qingyan tore through the air and thrust her sword forward. However, the earth-shattering Sword Qi he expected didn’t materialize. The entire world fell deadly silent.

Yet, the very next instant, BOOM! In the direction of Gu Qingyan’s blade, countless ancient trees explosively shattered. The destruction spread rapidly, violently carving a ravine-like sword scar several hundred meters long into the endless primeval forest.

Jiang Hao stood completely frozen atop the canopy, staring at the aftermath of that strike in sheer horror.

"What is this...?" He couldn’t help but step forward, his breathing ragged.

At that moment, Gu Qingyan’s melodious voice drifted over.

"Sword Intent!" Her eyes remained fixed on the terrifying ravine. As if the strike carried too much of her past, her gaze filled with sorrow. "This strike is neither a sword nor a technique. It is called—*Heaven-Piercer*."

"Sword Intent? Neither a sword nor a technique?" Jiang Hao muttered to himself, his eyes locked onto the terrifying scar in the earth.

For a moment, the world seemed to quiet down. Gu Qingyan’s movements and sword stances replayed on an endless loop in Jiang Hao’s mind, while she appeared lost in her memories. A scene from the past seemed to surface in her beautiful eyes.

In her mind’s eye, a peerless young man stood with his hands behind his back. With a mere lift of his gaze, an invisible Sword Intent crashed forward. The earth collapsed, mountains and rivers shattered, and a shocking sword scar stretching for miles was carved into the world.

"Qingyan, I created this strike for you," the young man’s voice echoed in her memory. "You love gazing at the sky but refuse to look at me. Thus, this strike shall be named—*Heaven-Piercer*."

In the memory, the young man’s smile could shift the winds and clouds. Yet the scene shifted, and that peerless young man lay in a pool of blood, his body slowly dissipating into smoke and dust.

Unconsciously, two lines of tears slipped from the corners of Gu Qingyan’s eyes. She smiled mournfully, as if bidding a final farewell to the creator of the strike. A short while later, before Jiang Hao could notice anything amiss, Gu Qingyan discreetly wiped away her tears. She turned around and lightly waved her sleeve, sending a Mental Technique scroll flying out to land gently into Jiang Hao’s hands.

"This is the Mental Technique for *Heaven-Piercer*," she said. "There is no ’Great Success’ stage to it; you simply need to learn how to circulate it.

"When you are forced into a desperate situation, it will draw out your body’s absolute limits, helping you unleash your strongest strike.

"With this strike, paired with your *Qinghe Sword Technique*, you will have at least a fifty percent chance against Qi Tianyang.

"Jiang Hao, through our time together, I’ve realized that your talent in the Sword Dao is the greatest I’ve ever seen, second only to ’those two.’

"I hope you can bring this sword to its full glory. Do not disappoint the dying wish of the one who created it."

Looking at the Mental Technique in his hands, Jiang Hao felt as if he had been struck by lightning just from reading the first page. The very first line alone laid bare the creator’s terrifying mastery of the Sword Dao and their fearsome comprehension of the sword. Committing every word to memory, Jiang Hao slowly looked up at Gu Qingyan, his emotions complex.

That night.

After mastering the circulation method for the strike, Jiang Hao did not stay on Wuyang Mountain. Instead, he and Gu Qingyan left the primeval mountain range together. Only three short days remained until the three-month agreement. He was about to confront the Qilin Child of the Qi family head-on, bearing all of his anger and humiliation.

As the two walked out of Wuyang Mountain, they were surprised to find that countless cultivators from Xingyue City had flooded the region.

Unbeknownst to them, these cultivators had all come for that so-called peerless monster, hoping to catch a glimpse of his glory. However, no matter how thoroughly the crowd from Xingyue City searched the surroundings, no one could find the teenage boy and girl that Li Qingyi’s group had spoken of.

Little did they know, the very boy and girl from Li Qingyi’s tale had just brushed past them.