201: Chapter 200 Wu Xia Ameng 201: Chapter 200 Wu Xia Ameng Hou Niao had no time to reflect when a round of applause came from the other end of the bridge,
“Impressive perception, connecting the Purple Mansion over the Wei River with a sense of homeland on a single-log bridge.
Wu Dao A’Meng, congratulations Daoist on ascending to a higher level.”
Wu Dao, the Daoist Sect of Wu Country, a colossal entity, controlling several countries, is the true giant of the Daoist Sects.
Hou Niao had always been curious about what exactly the internal relationships and connections in the inheritance of these Daoist Sects were like.
Are all Daoist Sects the same?
Or do they have different philosophies?
Or perhaps they share a unique core principle, but their focuses differ?
For a thousand years, the Daoist Sects had demonstrated this form, named after countries rather than by the Daoist heritage itself; the same went for the Buddhist Sect, with each prefixed by a country’s name, as if avoiding something.
It was only some smaller sects, however, that dared to proudly declare their own Daoist lineage, such as the Huncheng Sect and the Blood Transformation Sect, most of which were categorized under the Demon Sect, including the Quanzhen Sect, nominally the leader of the Demon Sect.
Hou Niao looked toward this Daoist, who appeared intermittently in the night, remaining vigilant, as this man had always hidden in the shadows with considerable concealment skills.
The so-called tests he thought he was conducting were actually him being used as a tool by the Daoist.
“Daoist from afar, what lessons do you bring me?”
A’Meng’s voice was also faint, “Lingjing assassinations, Sanjiang sect extermination, as a Quanzhen Sword Cultivator you move through Anhe Country as if it were uninhabited.
We, as hosts, must show our hospitality and not let the Quanzhen friends feel we are neglectful, right?”
Hou Niao sneered, “This is Anhe.
What, has the host changed now?”
A’Meng was indifferent, “In our cultivation journey, the capable rise and the mediocre fall, which is the unchangeable principle of progress in Cultivation; yes, Anhe has changed its host now, even if on the surface it’s still the same old things.
Are you dissatisfied, hoping Anhe always remains weak so the Quanzhen friends can do as they please?”
“If you want to be the Lord of Anhe, your Wu Country Daoist Sect needs to prove something!”
Both parties fell silent, but beneath the silence lurked potential dangers.
Hou Niao tried to extend his Divine Sense as far as possible.
Currently, he could only utilize five senses, the most important being sight and hearing, which were the premise for all his actions.
At the same time, centered at his feet, he activated the Hesitation Skill, needing to identify this person’s hiding spot first before launching an attack.
The silence did not last long.
Suddenly, a spark in the darkness burst into a great ball of fire, lighting up the Wei River bridge from top to bottom as bright as a burning sun, one would be scorched if within it.
But Hou Niao did not move, casually flicking his longsword, spearing a strange-looking, four-winged, transparent cyan worm on the tip of his sword, which struggled futilely under the circulating Gang Qi.
The cyan worm, a very insidious creature for stealth attacks, its aggressiveness was not strong, even weaker than a waist-thin bee; but it could blend with the spiritual qi and become invisible; cultivators naturally absorb Heaven and Earth Spirit Mechanism in battle to replenish themselves, and this creature would ambush by blending with the spirit mechanism, wandering through the body’s meridians, entering the Dantian, making it difficult to locate and even more troublesome to clean out, a process lasting months.
If not cleansed, cultivating, circulating qi, and fighting, it would intermittently trouble them, as irritating as wood thorns in a mortal’s body, disturbing the cultivator’s concentration greatly.
Neither side uttered a word, both knew they had met a formidable opponent; verbal sparring was useless, real skill would be shown through action.
The light gradually extinguished, and darkness reclaimed the surroundings.
Just before the light completely vanished, a shadowy arrow abruptly appeared, silent without the sound of cleaving the air.
Its spell was sudden, and only accelerated when it was a few feet away from Hou Niao.
Hou Niao was no longer quiet.
He quickly stomped his feet on the bridge, executing the Sword Yu Step in a small radius, allowing the shadowy arrow to slip past him.
For those below the Tongxuan Realm without control of Divine Sense, whether it was techniques or artifacts, once deployed, it was difficult to maneuver over a large area.
The opponent couldn’t either, but the difficulty with this Amon was that his attacks always came in a sequence rather than just targeting a specific pinpoint.
As expected, the moment he moved, a small patch of quicksand formed under his feet, aimed at disrupting his movement rhythm.
But Hou Niao, having focused on an Escape Technique for two years, had made minor achievements in the Sword Yu Step.
Feeling something odd under his foot, he preemptively slid away.
At the same time, he slashed upwards with his longsword, colliding squarely with a descending Wind Whip in mid-air.
It was another triple technique combination.
His body suddenly accelerated, leaping from the bridge to the riverbank, covering several feet in a few moments before he stood embracing his sword.
He missed again but gathered some essential information: the person was skilled in Wind Skills, possessed at least two Spiritual Artifacts, preferred tactical combinations, acted with plans, and his Escape Technique was unknown.
However, from this pursuit and the opponent’s evasive distancing, his speed was not less than his own.
A weakness was also faintly visible: the technique combinations were unpredictable, but they failed in singular strength.
If a combination failed, there was no power to break the enemy head-on.
This was a common flaw among many Daoist Sect disciples.
Hou Niao’s weaknesses and strengths were equally clear: his Close Combat Sword Skills were formidable, but he had no chance to use them under mid-range technique attacks.
Especially in the dark, he couldn’t immediately change the passive situation, but these were changeable factors, like understanding further or daybreak.
Combat is , strengths and weaknesses always shift with various factors and never remain constant—it’s all about whether you can keep your cool and wait for that moment of change.
Hou Niao had such patience, but he didn’t get that opportunity, as his opponent was equally experienced and made wise decisions on trade-offs.
Through the Hesitation Skill, Hou Niao knew his opponent was slowly moving away, while that voice laughed, saying:
“What a keen Sword Cultivator.
Today’s excitement ends here.
We’ll continue this battle if we meet again!”
Amon decisively left.
These two combination attacks were not his full ability but represented seventy percent of his technical skill.
His opponent handled them with ease, clearly having surplus strength.
He didn’t risk a head-on attack; he was merely waiting for the right opportunity!
He knew too well what his opponent was thinking: this was not only a formidable swordsman but also a steady-minded individual—difficult to deal with.
If his opponent floundered about like a headless fly, he would bring out all his means for a direct hit; but with such a shrewd and intellectual sword user, he chose to leave.
Yes, Anhe was still Anhe, not the Wu Sect.
It was fine for him to confront a Quanzhen Sword Cultivator, but blindly insisting on a stubborn fight would be foolish.
A worthy opponent; he rarely met such exciting and dangerous individuals within the Anhe Daoist Sect.
Since they were neighbours, they would meet again sooner or later.
…Only in Daoist tranquility, grasping the day unknown.
Under the bridge the river darkens, amidst the fog the rain flies cool.
Chess is dull without challengers, drinks are few trusting one’s guts.
This meaning, this season, seeking opportunities not yet busy.