Comprehending Myriad Techniques as Woodcutter

As the mark on his arm grew hot, a buzz resounded in Xie Yuan’s mind, and he was flooded with a multitude of incomprehensible images and fragments.

Pages of a book burning endlessly, an ever-shifting black lotus, a constantly spinning bagua, a succession of different weapons, and then a sky full of flames, a thousand miles of ice and frost...

Countless images overlapped in his mind, making his head throb with pain.

His hand tightened, and he subconsciously gripped the Treasure Saber he had just acquired at his waist.

The illusory images in his mind suddenly found a physical reference point. The black lotus and the bagua flew higher and higher; the former vanished into the book’s pages, while the latter disappeared without a trace. The rotating weapons gradually faded away, leaving only a single long saber dancing in Xie Yuan’s mind.

Looking closely, the image of that long saber was precisely that of the Treasure Saber in his hand!

The long saber, held by no one, danced in the air. It was erratic, its movements like the wind, turning and twisting without end.

The saber’s momentum was like a pack of wild wolves amidst the lone smoke of the great desert, galloping from afar and kicking up a vast cloud of dust. They ran faster and faster, like a black line on the horizon that suddenly rushed before his eyes. It was an endless wolf pack, now so close their ghastly white fangs were clearly visible, enough to make one’s blood run cold.

The wolf pack howled, leaping violently forward to pounce. Their maws were right before his eyes!

Xie Yuan snapped awake, gasping for air. He felt that something new had been added to his mind.

’It’s a saber technique... but there’s something else besides the technique.’

He didn’t have time to investigate further. He looked down at the fair, delicate hand on his left arm.

The hand was slender, with faint blue veins visible beneath the skin. Its elegant, long fingers were fair and immaculate, resting on his arm.

’A bit thin, but not like a withered branch, nor a chicken’s foot...’

The strange thought occurred to Xie Yuan as he stared at the hand. As if sensing his gaze, the slender hand suddenly retracted, pulling a corner of the window curtain with it.

He followed the movement with his eyes and saw "Lin Zhen" revealing the lower half of her chin. It was pointed, fair, and had a perfect contour. ’Did her oval face become a melon-seed face?’

’No, this isn’t Lin Zhen. This is the person in black!’

’Her way of speaking, the way she makes the mark react... only the person in black can do that.’

’She’s finally appeared again!’

Just as Xie Yuan’s spirits were lifting, he suddenly heard a strange whistling. It sounded like something was tearing through the air at high speed, creating a clamorous, wind-ripping noise.

At first, the sound was faint, coming from a great distance. But in the next moment, it rapidly grew louder and louder. The object seemed to be approaching at incredible speed; in the blink of an eye, the noise had become deafening!

Xie Yuan turned his head instinctively and saw a flickering shadow appear on the main road. Within a few breaths, it had arrived right before them.

"Hahahaha! Miss Yun, you really know how to run! But old me still found you!"

The figure stopped a short distance from Xie Yuan, revealing a coarse, scarred face, a body taller than the average man, and a horse-chopping saber in his hand.

The coarse, scar-faced man wore a leopard-skin tunic, his chest bare to the early spring wind, revealing exceptionally developed pectoral muscles. He wore tight-fitting cotton trousers and a pair of beast-hide boots, giving him a very formidable appearance.

Xie Yuan felt the scar-faced man exuding an unconcealed, overwhelming aura. His Blood Qi practically soared into the sky, even causing the air in front of him to distort as if from an oppressive heatwave. Even from a distance, Xie Yuan found it difficult to breathe.

’What powerful momentum, what oppressive Blood Qi...’

Even though the large man wasn’t looking at him, Xie Yuan felt as if a heavy stone was pressing down on his body.

He had never in his life encountered such Blood Qi, such an aura!

Shen Longteng’s Blood Qi was already quite intimidating and often put pressure on Xie Yuan. However, compared to this man, it was like a rock to a mountain peak, a stream to a great river. They were on completely different levels.

This man’s cultivation level was far beyond that of the Chief Escort.

’Qi Blood Third Transformation?’

’No, he might even be an expert who has opened the Heaven and Earth Bridge!’

Xie Yuan’s gaze hardened. This was a Grandmaster.

Seeing the man casually shouldering his saber, but with his eyes fixed intently on the carriage, it was clear he had come with ill intent.

Xie Yuan’s expression flickered, but he didn’t dare to move a muscle.

In front of a Grandmaster, with his current strength, he had no room to resist.

The man’s aura faintly enveloped the entire convoy. Xie Yuan was afraid that any sudden move would bring that horse-chopping saber down on him.

The horse-chopping saber was taller than Xie Yuan himself, and he had no desire to find out what it felt like to be struck by it.

The carriage remained motionless. The few guards and the coachman were already trembling. Under the pressure of the man’s aura, they were not only rendered speechless but could barely even stand.

The atmosphere was heavy. The large man narrowed his eyes and laughed again.

"Miss Yun, you should just hand the item over. As long as you give it to me, I promise I won’t make things difficult for you."

"In your dreams."

A cold voice came from inside the carriage. The few servants looked back in surprise.

’Why does the young miss’s voice sound different?’

’What’s going on now?’

The people from the Lin family estate were utterly confused. Only Xie Yuan’s thoughts raced. ’It’s likely the person in black—Miss Yun—was using Lin Zhen’s identity to escape with some treasure, but was intercepted by this man.’

’Come to think of it, when I first met her in the woods behind Little Rock Village, she seemed to be in a frantic hurry, as if she were running and hiding.’

’No wonder "Lin Zhen" took so long to get ready at the Lin family estate earlier today. It must have been Miss Yun applying a disguise!’

’But Miss Yun and Lin Zhen have completely different face shapes and body types, and their voices are vastly different too. After her disguise, not only did I not notice anything strange, but even Landlord Lin was fooled! She even mimicked her personality and mannerisms. That level of skill is truly extraordinary.’