Chapter 661 (2): Surrounding One Person? Or Being Surrounded by One Person?

At the foot of a mountain extremely far away from Tun Tan, Chen Ping'an disappeared with a flash before reappearing the next instant. Right now, he was standing on a relatively slender "mountain range."

Under his feet was the corpse of Hou Kuimen, which had revealed its true demon form after being killed. As for the black chainmail armor, the golden-purple crown, and the two long feathers, they were damaged but not shattered from the conflict just then.

Theoretically speaking, the young Hidden Official who liked to pick up trinkets and scraps should have thrown these damaged treasures into his rucksack already. However, Chen Ping'an didn't take everything this time, and he only placed the feathers in the minimization treasure that he had "temporarily borrowed" from Yan Ming. Not only that, but the previous contents of the minimization treasure had already been emptied.

As for Hou Kuimen's armor and golden-purple crown, Chen Ping'an had already used a transport technique to place them far away from the demon's corpse.

Chen Ping'an was severely wounded right now, with his face deathly pale and his entire right arm shaking slightly and refusing to listen to his command. This was extremely rare for Chen Ping'an.

Hou Kuimen's attack just then had been far too vicious and underhanded, and Chen Ping'an had essentially faced the full power punch of a tenth tier martial artist. If he hadn't managed to dodge slightly, Hou Kuimen's fist would have blasted directly through his heart.

If this were on the training ground, then facing a punch at the peak stage of the tenth tier and managing to survive would have been an incredible feeling. Now, however, it was extremely difficult for Chen Ping'an to break free from the encirclement of the demon prodigies even though he was seemingly toying around with Tun Tan. This was a terrible feeling.

Indeed, Chen Ping'an had felt deeply exasperated after failing to properly hit Tun Tan with his sword strike just then. If his physique were in peak condition, the head of the prodigious demon sword cultivator should have been in his pocket treasure at this moment.

However, the longer Tun Tan was trapped here and unable to forcefully break free from the isolated small world, the more time Chen Ping'an would have to recover.

Chen Ping'an looked at the young demon being protected by the hands of the Golden Dao Manifestation, not retracting his gaze for a long time.

Tun Tan didn't look at the Dao Manifestation pretending to close its eyes and rest its mind at the peak of the mountain.

Instead, he stared intently at a wisp of remnant aura in the distance. Tun Tan couldn't see the scenery at the foot of the mountain clearly, but he was certain that the true body of the young Hidden Official was hiding in that location.

The majestic Dao Manifestation atop the mountain peak opened its eyes and formed a sword seal with two fingers, summoning numerous gigantic flying swords from the sword case on its back and sending them hurtling toward Tun Tan.

The Dao Manifestation protecting the young demon sword cultivator with its hands spun around, turning its back toward the flying swords that were as large as immortal ships.

Tun Tan gritted his teeth and spat out a mouthful of blood.

His sword, which was crackling with lightning, suddenly hovered in midair, releasing two threads of sword light from between its hilt and tip and sending them racing toward the sky and the earth.

Seeing this, Chen Ping'an used his mystical ability to wantonly fold heaven and earth, trying his best to change the trajectories of the two threads of sword light. Once they were knocked off course and no longer perpendicular to the boundaries, Tun Tan would be unable to properly assess the size of this isolated small world.

The young demon sword cultivator unexpectedly chose to blast his sword apart, causing the rays of sword light to suddenly expand and appear like towering pillars between heaven and earth.

This sword was actually Tun Tan's second bonded flying sword.

At the same time, the miniature heavy cavalry gathered together and condensed back into his first bonded flying sword, Armored Cavalry, before returning to his acupoint.

The Dao Manifestation appearing like a divine maiden held its hands together to protect its owner, who had gone as far as to sacrifice one of his bonded flying swords. It raced after the pillar of sword light, clearly planning to leverage its destructive power to break free from this isolated small world.

The Dao Manifestation atop the mountain peak raised a hand, with its palm facing the gaping hole in the sky created by Tun Tan's sword light. Meanwhile, it placed its other palm on the mountain peak, using its power to repair the crater in the distance created by the young demon.

The palms of Chen Ping'an's Dao Manifestation were being continuously eroded even though they weren't in direct contact with the sword light.

Chen Ping'an had divided the isolated small world into three layers, from the inside to the outside like layers of an onion. The first layer was used to protect his true body, the second layer was a restricted area where he used his mediocre Dao Manifestation to target the first demon sword cultivator to charge over, and the last layer was the thinnest layer used as an illusion to trick the four remaining demon sword cultivators.

His main objective was to buy more time to rest and recuperate, as well as separate his enemies and target them one by one. He would wound them if possible and kill them if the opportunity arose, and even killing a single one of them would be a win.

Judging from the current situation, however, even killing Tun Tan wouldn't be an easy task. It was extremely likely that he needed to retract the third and outermost layer of this isolated small world to reinforce the second layer, thereby giving it enough power to potentially kill Tun Tan.

Chen Ping'an was still unwilling to reveal the complete mystical abilities of his bonded flying swords so early on.

However, this depended on the situation, and the choices made by Tun Tan were quite unexpected. As such, Chen Ping'an could only choose the lesser of two evils and kill the young demon sword cultivator first.

When Tun Tan sacrificed a bonded flying sword for the sake of forcefully creating a path to escape the isolated small world, a ray of sword light had already pierced through the heavens belonging to the second layer of the isolated small world.

Holding a short saber in each hand, Chen Ping'an was just about to intercept and kill Tun Tan when his heart suddenly wavered, causing him to stop in his tracks.

It was also at this moment that the minimization treasure in Chen Ping'an's sleeve suddenly vibrated without warning.

Not only that, but the chain mail armor and golden-purple crown that he had thrown into the distance also exploded at the same time.

A burst of sword light from the outside world appeared like a crescent moon in the sky as it sliced through two layers of the isolated small world, coincidentally striking the location of the shattered chain mail armor.

However, Chen Ping'an's gaze was drawn elsewhere, and he looked at the extremely vague traces of a flying sword appearing at the location of the golden-purple crown, which had exploded by itself. There was no eye-catching sword light, there was no wisp of sword qi, and there wasn't even a single ripple.

Chen Ping'an wouldn't have noticed this at all if he weren't the person overseeing this isolated small world.

When Chen Ping'an decided to track the path of the flying sword, however, he found that he was surprisingly unable to discover its presence.

One had to realize that overseeing a small world was akin to being a sage who could use observation techniques at any moment to freely scan an area without restrictions.

This caused Chen Ping'an to feel extreme caution toward the flying sword of unknown origin. In fact, he was far more worried about this flying sword than the flying sword that had broken through the barrier of the small world, especially since it was like a more exaggerated version of Qi Shou's Heartstring. Things would definitely be very troublesome if he were targeted by this flying sword on the battlefield.

This wasn't Yu Si's flying sword, nor was it Li Zhen's. It didn't belong to Zhu Qie either, who had already unleashed an incisive sword strike before. That being the case, it most likely belonged to the female sword cultivator whom the others referred to as Liu Bai.

It was no wonder Tun Tan had told Liu Bai to get ready to launch a sword strike to kill him. Her bonded flying sword was similar to that of Xie Songhua, the female sword immortal whom Chen Ping'an had once fought alongside in the Northern Complete Reed Continent.

Liu Bai was skilled at nurturing sword intent, and her attacks would be incredibly quick and possess immense destructive power. She strove to kill in a single strike, determining life and death in an instant.

Chen Ping'an abandoned his thoughts of killing Tun Tan. The situation had changed, and it would be greatly beneficial to leave a severely wounded Tun Tan on the battlefield.

It didn't matter whether Tun Tan was killed or left alive, while Liu Bai most definitely needed to be killed.

Li Zhen instantly arrived beside Liu Bai, and he performed some mental calculations based on the traces of sword intent left behind by Zhu Qie's sword strike, which had sliced through the barriers of the small world. He immediately revealed a secret, saying, "It's extremely likely that Chen Ping'an eavesdropped on the conversation in our mind's lake just then. He didn't borrow this isolated small world from someone else, and it's actually his to begin with."

"It was Yu Si, who's still at the top!" Liu Bai suddenly exclaimed in warning.

After she said this, Zhu Qie guarded Tun Tan, while Li Zhen protected Liu Bai. They had initially been very far away from each other to begin with, and they had all been hovering above a sea of clouds, yet they mysteriously appeared at the bottom of a colossal crater at this moment.

During this sudden change, the most outstanding young sword cultivators from the Savage World felt a gentle breeze brush over their faces, a sign of the isolated small world shifting its three layers around.

They reverted to their original positions in the next moment, with the four sword cultivators divided into two groups that were extremely far away from each other above the sea of clouds.

"Stop hiding your strength, Li Zhen. Create a larger isolated small world beyond the formation and continue to contract it," Zhu Qie said.

Li Zhen nodded and summoned seven bonded items that he had just refined recently. These bonded items soared into the sky, eventually appearing like celestial bodies in the heavens as they formed a line, after which they resonated with the large formation that Li Zhen had previously set up. The heavy darkness of night had blanketed the radiance of day just then, but at this moment, the brilliance of day shone through once again.

Li Zhen's figure slowly disappeared, with his soul traveling in seven different directions. While doing so, he said in warning to Zhu Qie and the others, "I can force Chen Ping'an's isolated small world to reveal its original form in at most fifteen minutes. However, I won't be able to unleash any sword strikes in the meantime."

There was a conflict of the Great Dao between the two isolated small worlds, causing heaven and earth to shake as a result. The scenery started to twist and contort in the eyes of the demon sword cultivators, and it was as if they were in a picture scroll being held by a corner and violently rocked back and forth along a study desk.

One after another, swords shot out from the sword case on Zhu Qie's back and raced into the distance with streaks of light trailing behind them. The seas of clouds and mountains in the isolated small world were all obliterated by the swords, with waves of sword qi suffusing outward along with the sword light.

The so-called ruins of some mountains and rivers attempted to regenerate the illusions after being destroyed, yet they were once again slashed into oblivion by the remnant sword qi.

Zhu Qie seemingly wanted to fill the entire small world with his boundless sword intent, forcing Chen Ping'an into a corner even if he was the sage of this place. Chen Ping'an would no longer be able to teleport around the isolated small world as he pleased.

There were no longer any swords in Zhu Qie's sword case.

Zhu Qie landed on the ground with a sword in his hand, and he rested the tip of the sword on the ground, following which it slowly sank into the earth and sent waves of ripples rapidly expanding outward.

Beads of water formed from pure sword intent continually rose from the ripples, appearing like a curtain of rain paused above the ground.

It was clear that Zhu Qie was no longer willing to wait for Li Zhen.

Tun Tan sat down cross-legged, while Liu Bai had already replaced Li Zhen to stand guard for Tun Tan.

Yu Si had promised the others just then that he would be the last to unleash a sword strike, and he was bloody and disheveled at this moment as he suddenly slid backward out of the sea of clouds with a sword in his hand, appearing as if he had been kicked in the abdomen. It was as if this kick had allowed him to forcefully break through the barrier of the isolated small world, thereby giving him the opportunity to hurtle toward Liu Bai.

Liu Bai directly summoned her bonded flying sword and thrust it through "Yu Si's" back.

Tun Tan once again summoned the Dao Manifestation of the divine maiden, which had an extraordinary background, having it hover behind him and protect both himself and Liu Bai, one with each hand.

This primordial musical performer didn't appear like an ordinary Dao Manifestation, and it was instead lively and agile like a living person. Its expression had surprisingly changed slightly upon being struck in the back by the flying sword of the Dao Manifestation atop the mountain peak just then.

Right now, its expression was kind as it looked down at its master.

"Yu Si" left as quickly as he had come.

Zhu Qie's sword vanished with a flash of sword light, disappearing through the gash that "Yu Si" had opened in the small world.

In the deepest layer of the isolated small world, Chen Ping'an smiled bitterly as he clutched his rib, which had just been impaled by a flying sword.

This was thanks to Liu Bai's ruthless reaction.

Even if Liu Bai were extremely cautious and merciless, Chen Ping'an had only envisioned that she would lightly wound Yu Si for the sake of confirming his identity. In that case, Liu Bai holding back slightly would give Chen Ping'an the opportunity to charge forward and get closer to her after facing her attack head-on. And once Chen Ping'an was close enough, he could choose to either kill Liu Bai or kill Tun Tan, enjoying a good chance of success.

Unexpectedly, however, Liu Bai's bonded flying sword had directly raced toward "Yu Si's" acupoint, one that was fundamental for all sword cultivators. This forced Chen Ping'an to slightly shift his body and resolutely retreat, suffering a minor wound in the process.

He had gone for wool but came back shorn.

It wasn't difficult for Chen Ping'an to evade Zhu Qie's sword, which had followed him back, and he quickly sent it away with all due politeness.

Meanwhile, inside Chen Ping'an's isolated small world, Yu Si was faring even worse than Tun Tan had just then.

This was because Chen Ping'an didn't attempt any other flashy moves as he gradually healed his physique. His isolated small world was now filled with flying swords.

Looking through the secret documents in the Hidden Official's summer palace, the records pertaining to the Jia Shen Tent's Sword Cultivator Yu Si were more detailed than the records pertaining to Zhu Qie and Liu Bai.

His bonded flying sword was called Waterfall.

Yu Si unleashed his flying sword, making it feel as if he were appropriately wearing a short jacket in a world plunged into icy winter.

Thus, he was able to withstand the situation even though he was surrounded by a torrent of criss-crossing flying swords.

If Liu Bai and Yu Si were to swap positions, Liu Bai would have most likely been killed already.

The bonded mystical abilities of Chen Ping'an's two bonded flying swords were coincidentally able to restrain and suppress Liu Bai's extremely strange flying sword.

However, it was a shame that things hadn't gone according to Chen Ping'an's plan. Indeed, today's battle was filled with unwanted surprises and undesirable outcomes.

There was Martial Artist Hou Kuimen, there were the three precious treasures that had been tampered with, there was the resoluteness of Tun Tan, and there was Liu Bai's viciousness toward her "companion"...

As for Chen Ping'an's mystical ability, which allowed him to fold his isolated small world like origami, this was inspired by his observation of Mr. Mao fighting through a peculiar formation in the capital of the Great Sui Nation many years ago.

It was a shame that Chen Ping'an was yet to fully master this mystical ability, however, or else Li Zhen and Zhu Qie wouldn't have been able to forcefully break through his formation in just fifteen minutes. This was because Chen Ping'an's flying sword, Caged Sparrow, wasn't a rigid formation, and it was also different from the academies and temples overseen by sages, as well as battlefield ruins. The territories overseen by sages were usually fixed, while Chen Ping'an's isolated small world was able to follow him around thanks to Caged Sparrow.

Moreover, Chen Ping'an was the Hidden Official of the Sword Qi Great Wall, so he was unable to place his full focus on cultivating Dao and practicing sword skills. Otherwise, he would have even greater control over the different layers of the isolated small worlds, with his manipulation of the layered cages becoming even smoother and more flawless.

Alas, this was the nature of worldly matters. It was impossible to achieve perfection and victories everywhere.

In any case, Chen Ping'an wouldn't have managed to nurture his two bonded flying swords, which enjoyed affinity with the Great Dao of the Sword Qi Great Wall, if it weren't for him becoming the new Hidden Official.

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