Sword drawn from the constellations, poison as its edge.

Chapter 81 Sword Shadow Hanging in the Clouds
Jiang Mingzhe had no time to think about how the Crocodile God of the South China Sea found this place.

The opponent's palm strike was clearly delivered with full force; the wind arrived before the palm, forcing Jiang Mingzhe to hold his breath instantly.

With nowhere to dodge, Jiang Mingzhe stomped his right foot on the cliff face and, still holding the rope in his left hand, swung up like a swing, narrowly avoiding the inevitable palm strike from the South China Sea Crocodile God.

The South China Sea Crocodile God reacted extremely quickly, flicking his wrist to throw out the rope and then swinging his arm wildly.

Jiang Mingzhe then realized that the other party had already cut the rope.

Having lost his footing, he instinctively bent his left leg to the side and raised his right leg back to regain his balance.

In this way, his body stretched horizontally in mid-air, head in front and feet behind, and he thrust out the Seven Child Swords.

This sword strike was both swift and ruthless. If the Crocodile God of the South Sea had continued swinging his arm, he would have been struck. He quickly changed his move, leaning back to avoid the blade, and exclaimed, "What excellent swordsmanship!"

Jiang Mingzhe's eyes lit up: Isn't this sword strike of mine the one that Azi calls "the puppy peeing" in the Chuiyun Sword Technique?

In an instant, a flash of inspiration struck, and the problem that had puzzled me for so long suddenly became clear—

This sword technique wasn't originally performed on flat ground, but rather in mid-air! So, could its corresponding method of internal energy circulation be...?

In the blink of an eye, his body was about to fall. Jiang Mingzhe gritted his teeth and followed the method, visualizing the jade pillow. He quickly raised his internal energy, moving it from the Ren and Du meridians to the Huantiao acupoint.

He felt a sharp pain in his buttocks, and involuntarily kicked his right leg back, while his left leg naturally tucked to his side. In an instant, he was upside down, with his feet forward and his head backward.

The Crocodile God of the South Sea twitched his eye, thinking to himself, "If I dodge his kick, he might step on it and end up on the cliff. I'm determined to make him fall and crash. If he goes up the cliff, wouldn't I have lost?"

Once the thought of winning arose, he refused to back down, crossed his arms, and took Jiang Mingzhe's kick head-on.

Jiang Mingzhe felt as if he had kicked a wall, and his body was about to fly backward involuntarily. With a whoosh, his right hand opened his sword into a fan shape and swung it horizontally with all his might—

No matter how much they pondered before, they couldn't figure out how to connect this move, but now they used it naturally. Only then did they realize that the move depicted in the picture was neither a downward slash nor an upward slash, nor a series of seven sword strikes, but rather a turn by using the momentum of a sword fan.

Jiang Mingzhe spun around in mid-air for a good half-circle, then kicked off with his left leg, soaring up the cliff with a whoosh. Without touching the ground, his sword fan was already aimed at the face of the South Sea Crocodile God.

This move caught the South Sea Crocodile God completely off guard. The opponent was in the air, turning and twisting as if riding the wind and clouds, his posture was incredibly elegant, but his attack was extremely fierce.

As a burst of colorful light descended upon him, the South China Sea Crocodile God let out a strange cry, leaped backward, and pulled out crocodile-mouth scissors and crocodile-tail whip from behind his back.

Jiang Mingzhe's fan missed its target, so he struck down with it, like a roc spreading its wings. His inner strength flowed to his waist, making him feel incredibly light and agile. He spun around again, relentlessly pursuing the South Sea Crocodile God. His fan transformed into a sword, and he thrust it towards the South Sea Crocodile God's shoulder.

The Crocodile God of the South Sea swung his whip at the sword. Fearing the sword would break, Jiang Mingzhe quickly pulled back. In the instant the whip and sword crossed, he suddenly flicked his wrist and opened his fan. In a flash of colorful light, the Crocodile God of the South Sea's left hand, which was holding the crocodile tail whip, silently separated from his wrist.

Jiang Mingzhe waved his sword fan and flew back several feet, landing lightly on the ground. Looking at the South Sea Crocodile God's bare wrist, which was gushing blood, he could hardly believe that such a master as the South Sea Crocodile God had his hand cut off by him in just a few moves.

The Crocodile God of the South Sea was also somewhat dazed. He blinked his beady green eyes, raised his wrist and looked at it for a moment, then let out a strange cry and retreated repeatedly: "Second Sister, Second Sister, this boy has learned demonic magic!"

Ye Erniang arrived in a flash, her fingers moving like the wind, striking several acupoints on the South Sea Crocodile God to stop his bleeding. She then tore off a piece of her skirt and wrapped it around his neck while scolding, "Fool, now you know to call me Second Sister? You're not going to be Yue Lao Er anymore?" Tears streamed down the South Sea Crocodile God's face as he grimaced and cried, "I'm crippled now, destined to be Yue Lao San for life, I can't be Yue Lao Er anymore. Second Sister, quickly send a message to the eldest brother, tell him to avenge me."

Ye Erniang ignored him, looked coldly at Jiang Mingzhe, and said in a deep voice, "Zuo Zimu and Xin Shuangqing are really fools. Generations of people have guarded this treasure land, and you, brat, have taken advantage of it. If you know what's good for you, hand over the secret manual and the divine sword, and I might spare your life. Otherwise, I'll kill this man and woman first, and then tear you to pieces."

Jiang Mingzhe glanced around and saw seventeen or eighteen people standing behind Ye Erniang. The leaders were Zuo Zimu and Xin Shuangqing, and the rest were also familiar. They were experts from the East and West sects of Wuliang Sword. Some of them had long ropes on their backs. Duan Yu and Zhong Ling were captured by them, and their mouths were stuffed with cloth so they could not make a sound.

They roughly understood the situation: a Shennong Gang disciple had recognized Duan Yu and pointed out that he had not died after falling off the cliff, which led the Shennong Gang members to the cave in the valley.

The fact that the Wuliang Swordsmen were not making any moves was probably because Ye Erniang had kidnapped Zuo Zimu's son, and Jiang Mingzhe had tricked her into covering her retreat, leading to a fierce battle with the two villains.

It now seems that the people of Wuliang Sword surrendered again. In order to save their lives, they revealed the secret below the cliff and brought two villains to search for treasure, where they discovered Duan Yu and Zhong Ling on the West Peak.

Having figured out the whole story, Jiang Mingzhe laughed heartily, not even glancing at Ye Erniang, and went straight to the Wuliang Sword Sect members, cupping his fists in greeting: "Sect Leader Zuo, Sect Leader Xin, we really are destined to meet. Sect Leader Zuo, I have already sent your son back; I wonder if he is well?"

Zuo Zimu's eye twitched, and he glanced at Ye Erniang with fear before forcing a smile and saying, "Thank you for your concern, my son is doing very well."

Jiang Mingzhe smiled with relief: "That would be best. However, Sect Leader Zuo, this Ye Erniang is known for committing all kinds of evil. She has a natural love for torturing and killing children. These evil people are not very smart and act very stubbornly. Your son escaped from her clutches. I'm afraid she will be angry whenever she thinks about it, and she might try to kill him at any time."

Zuo Zimu trembled and hurriedly said, "No, no, Senior Ye promised me that as long as I take her to the bottom of the valley to find the immortal's treasure, he will let my child go."

Jiang Mingzhe shook his head and sighed, "Sect Leader Zuo, you are a married man. You should know that the most taboo thing for a woman as she gets older is the word 'old.' You are fifty years old, aren't you? You call her 'senior,' so how old must she be? Just for this one reason, she will not let you off the hook! As for what she promised you, hehe, once someone has committed all sorts of evil deeds, do you think she would keep her promises?"

He sowed discord in front of Ye Erniang, and Zuo Zimu's face turned pale and then red. Ye Erniang, however, didn't care at all and sneered, "You're quite the talker. No wonder that fool Yue Laosan keeps falling for your tricks. Heh, but if your mouth is so good, what's the point of having a knife? Even if you talk your way out of the world, does Wuliang Sword dare to be an enemy of the Four Evils?"

Jiang Mingzhe chuckled and said, "Although the Four Evils are infamous, they are not invincible. Sect Leader Zuo and Sect Leader Xin, the most vicious of the Four Evils, are already dead. They were ferocious and ruthless, but today I will not allow them to live..."

Before he could finish speaking, the Crocodile God of the South China Sea roared, "If you won't let me live, let's see who dies first!" He grabbed the crocodile-mouth scissors and slashed at Jiang Mingzhe's neck.

Jiang Mingzhe easily stepped aside, avoiding the attack, and continued in the same tone: "The remaining two are only the Great Evil and the Second Evil. And your Wuliang Sword is not fighting alone. The Duan family is in charge of Tiannan, so how could they stand aside? From now on, the Wuliang Sword is a good friend of the Duan family. If your disciples want to become officials or join the army, they can be promoted and appointed!"

Zuo Zimu and Xin Shuangqing exchanged a glance, both of them realizing that the other was interested. The remaining dozen or so experts also couldn't help but show joy on their faces, and some of the more impatient ones had already gripped their sword hilts.

Ye Erniang was stunned. She hadn't expected Jiang Mingzhe to try to win her over like this, and she immediately lost her composure, saying anxiously, "Don't listen to his nonsense. Can he make decisions for the Duan family?"

Zuo Zimu whispered, "This person is the Duan family's retainer, 'Invincible Divine Sword' Long Aotian!"

Ye Erniang was stunned. Seeing Jiang Mingzhe effortlessly evade the South Sea Crocodile God's repeated attacks, his two-foot sword gleaming, she thought to herself: So this person's reputation is so great. No wonder he cut off Lao San's hand in just a few moves! Lao San is a real fool. He actually told me that this person's only skill is lightness, and his other martial arts are not worth mentioning. In fact, he didn't take him seriously at all.

He stubbornly retorted, "They're just mere retainers. The Duan family is royalty. Do you think we can let a mere retainer make the decisions?"

Jiang Mingzhe swiftly opened his sword fan, startling the South Sea Crocodile God into leaping far away. He pretended to fan himself and said calmly, "I can't make the decision, but there is someone who can. Sect Leader Zuo, remove the contents from my brother's mouth and ask him if he'd like to be good friends with you."

(End of this chapter)