I Have A Sword

Three hours ago, in front of a cliffside, Ye Guan stood quietly, sizing up the rocky wall before him. He stepped forward, ready to draw his sword. Just then, he turned sharply and saw a man in Daoist robes walking toward him.

The man was none other than the Great Daoist Brush Master.

Ye Guan's face darkened. Damn it, this bastard came, too?

The Great Daoist Brush Master laughed as he saw Ye Guan. "I knew you backstabber wouldn't stay put.Hahahaha..."

Ye Guan coolly replied, "Right back at you."

The Great Daoist Brush Master snorted and walked up to the stone gate embedded in the cliff. After glancing at it, he chuckled, "I shouldn't have come here. I should have let you get burned here."

Ye Guan looked at the stone gate. It was blocking divine sense. Clearly, it was sealed, and not by some ordinary spell.

The Great Daoist Brush Master suddenly said, "Hey, pun, I know how to break this seal. But you'll need to give me something in return."

Ye Guan said flatly, "You could also choose not to break it."

The Great Daoist Brush Master looked at him.

Ye Guan calmly remarked, "If you break it, I'll go in. If you don't, I won't. We can both wait it out."

"Shameless!" The Great Daoist Brush Master was fuming. "You've completely given up on your dignity,huh?"

Ye Guan remained composed. "Break it now, and we'll split it two ways. If we dilly-dally here and Gu Pan ends up waking up, we'll have to split it three ways."

The Great Daoist Brush Master's face turned gloomy. He glared coldly at Ye Guan. "Fine."

He stepped up to the stone gate and lightly tapped it with a finger. The gate shattered, revealing a wall of densely packed runes behind it. The runes resembled tadpoles, and they emanated an eerie dark energy.

The Great Daoist Brush Master's brow furrowed deeply. "This kind of sealing technique... damn, it really is connected to that thing..."

Ye Guan glanced at him, but the Great Daoist Brush Master didn't explain. He began forming complex seals with his hands, and soon, the runes began to quiver. Bit by bit, the dark energy they emitted began to dissipate.

Ye Guan couldn't help but be impressed.Gotta admit it; this bastard does have some skills.

Just as the runes were about to vanish, the Great Daoist Brush Master's face suddenly changed. The runes turned into a beam of light and enveloped him.

"The core of the array isn't here; it's inside! Get in there and break it!" he shouted.

Without hesitation, Ye Guan charged into the passage.

As soon as Ye Guan disappeared into the passage, the Great Daoist Brush Master smirked. After waiting for a while, something felt off. With a wave of his hand, he dispelled the dark energy binding him.

He entered the cave, walked for a while, and his face darkened.

Ye Guan was sitting cross-legged, seemingly resting.

Ye Guan opened his eyes and smiled. "Ah,you're here!"

The Great Daoist Brush Master stared silently at him.

Ye Guan sternly remarked, "Next time you act, can you at least make it look convincing? Otherwise, you're insulting both of us."

The Great Daoist Brush Master laughed. "You didn't inherit any of your father's good traits, but all of his scheming pettiness? You got that in full."

He walked deeper into the cave.

Ye Guan glanced at him and followed. Being around this guy, he had to stay on full alert; any lapse in attention could be dangerous. They walked forward, and soon, the tunnel widened. After passing through an archway, a massive ancient palace emerged before them.

It was an underground world.

Suspended above the palace was a black moon that emanated an ominous dark glow.

The Great Daoist Brush Master narrowed his eyes.

Ye Guan also frowned. The place was deathly still and brimming with eerie energy. The palace itself looked more like a tomb.

Seeing the Great Daoist Brush Master standing still with a grim face, Ye Guan became even more cautious and stayed still.

The Great Daoist Brush Master suddenly chuckled. "Interesting..."

Ye Guan was curious, but didn't ask. If he did, he'd only be humiliating himself. Besides, the Great Daoist Brush Master probably wouldn't answer, but he would probably talk about it by himself.

The Great Daoist Brush Master suddenly looked at Ye Guan.

Ye Guan calmly said, "Not interested."

The Great Daoist Brush Master retracted his gaze. "I was going to tell you about the seal here, but since you're not interested, never mind."

He started walking forward.

Ye Guan suddenly asked, "Is that thing inside really that powerful?"

The Great Daoist Brush Master grinned. "Didn't you say you weren't interested?"

Ye Guan glanced around. "Doesn't seem like a big deal."

"Ignorant fool." The Great Daoist Brush Master said, "Do you know what kind of existence this seal contains? Something far stronger than that Great Dao River in you. You—"

Ye Guan interrupted, "If it's so awesome, can it beat my uncle?"

The Great Daoist Brush Master's face froze. He was so angry that he actually laughed. "Ha. Ha. Ha.Are you done?"

"Just a question. Why are you so worked up?"

"You're going to get yourself killed one day."

The Great Daoist Brush Master turned away and walked toward the palace.

Ye Guan followed.

Little Pagoda asked,"Why do you keep provoking him?"

Ye Guan replied,"Well, it feels good."

Little Pagoda was speechless.

At the palace entrance, two puppets were standing guard. They looked like those puppets used in rituals and were suspended in midair, to boot.

The Great Daoist Brush Master stared at them with a grave expression.

Ye Guan asked, "Can you beat these two?"

The Great Daoist Brush Master turned to him, chuckling in fury. "So you're planning to do absolutely nothing, huh?"

"How about one each?"

The Great Daoist Brush Master gave him a cold look. "You choose one."

Ye Guan said, "I'm not fighting."

"Fuck!" the Great Daoist Brush Master shouted, "So you want a free ride?!"

"I was joking." Ye Guan laughed. He looked at the puppet on the right. "I'll take this one."

The Great Daoist Brush Master cast him a frosty glance, and then he spread his palm. Dao seals manifested above his palm moments later.

Just then, the puppets opened their eyes and floated toward them like ghosts.

The overwhelming aura they gave off made both of them turn pale.

Without thinking, both men spun around and bolted from the cave.

Once outside, they both sighed in relief upon realizing that they weren't being chased.

The Great Daoist Brush Master's face was grim. "Seventh-level of the True Dao... that's an impossible fight!"

Ye Guan also looked serious. The aura those two emitted was extremely off.

Something was wrong here.

The two of them suddenly turned and looked at each other, and then they immediately dashed back into the palace.

The puppets were still standing there.

The Great Daoist Brush Master squinted. "Damn it. We got pranked."

Ye Guan also looked annoyed.

Little Pagoda asked,"What's wrong?"

Ye Guan stared at the figures."They're fake. That aura was an illusion."

"What the fuck?!" Little Pagoda exclaimed."No way!"

Ye Guan said,"I'm pretty sure of it."

Little Pagoda asked,"How did you figure it out?"

Ye Guan said solemnly,"Speed. If they were as strong as they appeared, we wouldn't have been able to escape. However, we widened the gap in an instant. They were just pranking us."

Little Pagoda was speechless.

Ye Guan suddenly stepped forward and released his aura. The puppets' eyes snapped open, and they floated toward him like ghosts. Their aura was terrifying, an invisible pressure pressed down on the two, and a deathly chill crept into their hearts.

Still, they didn't move.

The figures reached them and threw punches at both Ye Guan and the Great Daoist Brush Master.

In that instant, both of their faces changed.

Though they were convinced the threat was fake, the sheer force behind those punches felt all too real. Even before the blows landed, the pressure had locked their bodies in place, and the looming sense of death pervaded their hearts.

They both started to panic a bit.

Ye Guan saw that the Great Daoist Brush Master wasn't flinching, so he gritted his teeth and held still. The Great Daoist Brush Master saw Ye Guan unmoving and refused to be outdone.

It's fake! It's all fake!

That was the only belief left in their minds.

Boom!

Two fists struck the chests of Ye Guan and the Great Daoist Brush Master at the same time.

A figure was sent flying with tremendous force, instantly hurtling out of the cave and crashing heavily to the ground. The impact created a massive abyss in the earth...

It was the Great Daoist Brush Master

Ye Guan hadn't moved, but cold sweat poured down his face like rain. The fist of the puppet had landed squarely on his chest. Yet, there was no force behind it; it was indeed fake...

However, the puppet beside him was real!

At the bottom of the abyss, the Great Daoist Brush Master's fleshly body was shattered, and even his soul suffered severe damage. Struggling to his feet, he trembled as he cursed, "Damn it... one real and one fake... what a prank..."