A person in Japan, a sword that soars to immortality.

The Harima region, Himeji Domain.

After coming from the dock, Taichi and Sakichi arrived at a post town called "Himeji-sou".

A post station town is a temporary town built around a post station.

Basically, any shop you can find in a castle town can be found in a post town.

After all, this is where all the daimyo would stay when fulfilling their duties as sankin (military officers), and it is also the preferred resting place for merchants and travelers from various domains.

"Let's replenish our food first. We can save the rice balls for the road."

When Taiichi spoke, he smacked his lips to indicate that he wanted to save food, but Sakichi covered his mouth and chuckled to himself.

Why leave it to eat on the way? It's obvious you just think the rice ball is tasteless and not tasty.

As the two were talking, they arrived at a buckwheat shop, right next to which was a post station.

"This is fine, boss. Two bowls of buckwheat noodles, plus some meatballs, and please fill this pot of wine for me."

Taiyi pressed down on the sword hilt, lifted the scabbard, and then sat down on the stool with an air of nonchalance.

The passersby, seeing that the samurai was not only tall and mighty but also exceptionally handsome, and that the woman beside him was tall, beautiful and charming, couldn't help but focus their attention on the two of them.

"Sir Samurai, have you fallen behind?"

While serving food, the buckwheat shop owner smiled and asked Taiyi.

Ok?

Taiyi glanced at the other person discreetly, and after noticing nothing amiss, said in a deep voice:

"Why do you say that?"

"Hey, it seems you're not with those people from before. I apologize for being so abrupt."

The buckwheat shop owner apologized and then offered an explanation.

As Taiichi listened, his eyebrows slowly rose, while Sachi across the table also showed a surprised expression.

After the boss left, Zorche lowered his voice and said:

"Unexpectedly, Brother Shuxian and the others also arrived here, leaving an hour earlier than us."

"Yes, they're all going to support the Himeji Domain. This route is the shortest, so it's not surprising. Let's eat."

Taiichi patted Sakichi's head, earning him a big eye roll from the other.

Just as the two were slurping their noodles, a winding path stretched between two mountains.

A group of thirty people, including samurai from the Yamada clan such as Shugen and Genji, as well as more than twenty samurai from the Mizuno Tadakuni family, were slowly walking along the road.

"Brother Shuxian, we must achieve the greatest merit this time we go to Himeji Domain!"

"Let Taiichi see who the Yamada family's best samurai really is!"

Genji raised his right arm and placed his left hand on his right biceps, flexing his muscles as he shouted loudly.

Shu Xian remained focused on the distance, not immediately responding to his lofty ambitions.

Dianzuo, who was following behind, shook his head speechlessly.

Brother, no one could accept what you just said.

Taiichi was personally appointed the best in the land by the Shogun. If you say you are better than him, aren't you negating the Shogun's judgment?

That's impolite and disrespectful!

Just as he shook his head and sighed, his master, the blind samurai Yamada Asaemon Shion, suddenly placed his right hand on the hilt of his sword and turned his head to listen to the nearby woods.

Even faster than him was Shuxian.

click!

The famous sword Zhenfo Jianming was drawn, and without saying a word, Shujian slashed at the woods on the left.

It appeared as if he was slashing at the air, but in reality, a slash radiating black light instantly flew from his blade and swept directly into the forest.

Sword energy!

If Taiichi saw this scene, he would recognize it at a glance.

This is a move that Shu comprehended after sitting alone in his room for three days following the bloody battle in Taiyi Flower Street and after observing the martial arts competition at Taiyi World Sacrifice.

boom!

"Hahaha!"

A deafening laugh echoed through the canyon, followed by a tall figure leaping out of the woods and landing in front of Shujian and the others.

"As expected of the greatest warrior in the world, so you also know about the existence of 'ki'!"

Wearing a straw hat and a cloak printed with the character "山" (mountain), Yamakage, one of the four pillars of the Nezu ninja, crossed his arms in front of his chest and laughed heartily.

Who?

Shuxian was stunned for a moment, then turned to look at the Yamada family members. They looked at each other and then all showed an expression of barely suppressed laughter.

Although Shan Ying couldn't see his expression clearly, she could clearly feel his breathing catch in his throat.

Damn it, I made a mistake!

Are all those people in the intelligence team just sitting around doing nothing? This is a serious dereliction of duty!

"It seems we made a mistake, but since we've run into each other..."

Beneath the straw hat, only the silhouette of the mountain's chin was visible. Suddenly, the corners of his mouth turned up, and then he placed his thumbs and little fingers together, pressing his index fingers down with his middle fingers, and said softly:

"fight!"

not good!

Shu Xian's pupils suddenly contracted, and goosebumps instantly rose all over his body.

In his eyes, a huge, earth-yellow lion made of "qi" was roaring and charging toward them.

"Watch out!" With no time to retreat, he could only hold the knife in the center of his body and suddenly use the Tang Slash to unleash a sword aura.

Unfortunately, his strikes, though fierce, appeared somewhat insignificant in the face of the enormous lion's head.

Like a pine branch falling into a lake, the two attacks collided, and the extraordinary slash immediately vanished without a trace.

Upon seeing this, Shu Xian's eyes widened in anger, his muscles swelled instantly, and veins, resembling vines, spread across his hands that were gripping the knife.

"How could the samurai of the Yamada family be defeated by such sorcery!"

"Try One-Sword Style: One Moon!"

This time, instead of using sword energy, Shu Xian enveloped all his energy around the blade, leaping high to deliver a slash to the lion made of energy that was right in front of him.

boom!

The enormous explosion echoed throughout the valley, startling countless birds into flight, and the violent airflow snapped several trees on both sides of the valley in half.

The process may seem complicated, but it actually happens in an instant.

When the people behind him reacted, Shu Xian was still standing with his knife in hand, but when he looked down, the blood dripping between his feet indicated that he was seriously injured.

"Brother Shuxian!"

"Behead him!"

At this moment, everyone in the Yamada family also turned red-eyed, drawing their swords and slashing at Yamakage.

whispering sound......

Beneath the straw hat, a smirk appeared on his lips. Then, with a wave of his hand, dozens of figures burst forth from the trees on both sides, while hundreds of hidden weapons flew rapidly toward the crowd.

The clanging sounds were incessant, but apart from Genji, Norizusa and Shien, who blocked all the attacks, almost every remaining samurai was injured.

"Not bad samurai, but with this level of resistance, he can't hold out for long!"

Shan Ying removed his straw hat, revealing skin that resembled a rock, pieced together in chunks.

Then, in Shuxian and Shiyuan's eyes, he was enveloped in a thick aura, and after stomping on the ground, he shot towards them like a cannonball.

"The will of the Yamada family will utterly crush you!"

Shu Xian raised his head, his eyes now pitch black, and his entire being resembled a demon, radiating a fierce aura as he swung his sword at his opponent.

A little while later...

Yamakage shook his neck, looking at Shuzen, whose clothes were already tattered, who was kneeling on one knee but still holding his katana in reverse and sticking it into the ground to support his body, and couldn't help but feel a little annoyed.

The others had long been defeated by their own men, leaving only the samurai before them.

Despite the vast difference in strength between them, and despite enduring so many deadly attacks, they simply couldn't defeat him.

"How about we play a game? If you can withstand the next blow, then I'll let you go."

"After all, killing the wrong target is of no benefit."

Although Shuxian did not speak, he was just panting with his head down.

But his hands gripping the hilt of the sword tightly, and his stance of not retreating even a step, gave Yamakage the answer.

He smiled wickedly, then interlaced his fingers, extended his index finger, pointed at Shujian from a distance, and said calmly:

"Those!"

A highly concentrated, yellowish-brown cloud of gas, compressed with great force, condensed at the tips of his two fingers and pointed towards Shuxian's forehead.

Immediately afterward, a flash of light appeared, and a beam of energy, seemingly capable of piercing through everything and shattering all obstacles, shot out in an instant.

Bang!

"You are......"

Shan Ying's pupils contracted; the tremor that a herbivore felt when facing a tiger instantly swept through its entire body.

The reason for this is that the scene of someone's head bursting open did not materialize as expected.

The attack by the character "者" was shattered halfway through by a suddenly appearing figure.

"My name is Yamada Asaemon Taichi." Taichi tilted his head, a slow, wide smile spreading across his face as he looked at Yamakage. As he drew his sword, he spoke calmly:

"I'll play a game with you too."

"If you can withstand this sword strike, then I will let you go."

"After all... if you can't catch it, the result will be... annihilation!"

【Three Qi Traverse the Heavens - Metal - Beyond Dust】