Chapter 179: Red Plum Sword Intent — My Sword Stirred the Outhouse

Gong Rumei twisted on the tip of his toe, and in the next instant, vanished from in front of Lian Mu, leaving behind only a few drifting red plum petals.

Lian Mu hadn’t expected him to be hiding another move—she was slightly surprised. But in the very next moment, she raised her sword to block the incoming Snow White Sword striking from the side.

His figure disappeared again, and a faint fragrance of plum blossoms spread in his wake.

The moment she caught a whiff of that scent, Lian Mu felt something was off. She immediately held her breath. A chill brushed past her ear—the edge of the Snow White Sword had already grazed her cheek.

“Not bad. Quick reflexes,” Gong Rumei’s voice whispered close to her ear. “But let’s see how long you can hold your breath.”

Lian Mu stepped back two paces. As he prepared to flash away again, she anticipated his movement and kicked up a spray of sand from the ground, sending it flying into his face.

With sharp eyes and quick hands, she caught a falling red plum petal between her fingers. As it spread and bled out color at her fingertips, she realized—it was blood. Ever since the Plum Blossom Sword had been drawn, it had always been red. These plum petals were actually formed from his blood.

Blood with a strange fragrance?

How convenient—they had matching attributes.

Lian Mu smiled faintly. After exchanging a few moves with him, she deliberately slowed down, letting him think he was gaining the upper hand, keeping the fight balanced in a state where neither side was winning or losing.

Gong Rumei, cloaked in the shadows of plum blossoms, was indeed fast—but in her eyes, still not fast enough. After all, she had once fought the top sword cultivator of the demon race. Compared to Xuan Che’s blinding speed that left no trace, Gong Rumei’s movements were child’s play.

Over time, Lian Mu began to see the pattern in his dual swords. He always attacked with the Snow White Sword, and as long as she didn’t make a move, the Plum Blossom Sword was essentially useless.

Snow White Sword only attacked, never defended. Plum Blossom Sword only defended, never attacked.

So that’s how the dual swords worked?

When she blocked a sword strike descending from above, Lian Mu deliberately lowered the blade of her Wealth Bringer sword in front of her, exposing a vulnerable spot on her neck.

As expected, Gong Rumei noticed. He tossed the Snow White Sword with his left hand, twisting his wrist in an odd motion to strike the hilt, trying to send it flying straight at her.

At the exact moment the Snow White Sword left his hand, Lian Mu lunged forward and crashed into his right hand, which held the Plum Blossom Sword.

The Plum Blossom Sword was struck, and even more petals scattered, the fragrance growing stronger and more intoxicating.

“Heh, walking straight into death,” Gong Rumei sneered, raising an eyebrow.

The cold blade skimmed past Lian Mu’s neck, carrying with it a surge of sword energy, trying to force her into a corner.

“Single-sword cultivators are just weak. One sword’s never enough,” Gong Rumei mocked her, taking the opportunity to insult all single-sword cultivators in one go.

At that very moment, outside the arena, a Venerable Elder had just finished repairing the image-recording stone. As soon as the screen lit up, Gong Rumei’s words echoed out loud. The gathered single-sword Venerable Elders all fell silent: “…”

Murong Yi twitched at the corner of his mouth as he watched the two figures on the screen. “How did those two end up crossing paths?”

Earlier, when Lian Mu had exited Penglai Sect, the image-recording stone had gone dark again. It wasn’t until just now that it reconnected with the Spirit Artifact carrying the Pangu Illusion Realm. Who would’ve thought that the moment it turned back on, they’d hear the Chief Sword Cultivator of Clear Thought Sect publicly trash-talking single-sword cultivators?

And here, gathered around the image stone, were nothing but single-sword Venerable Elders. Hearing that, none of them could keep a straight face.

Shang Liu said, “His name’s Gong Rumei? Promising talent, but far too arrogant.”

“Well, he is the only dual-sword wielder among the Chief Disciples… Oh wait, I forgot—the Chief Sword Cultivator of Returning Immortal Sect is also a dual-sword user,” Cheng Ling chuckled. “Lian Mu running into him? That’s just bad luck.”

“I’ve heard that Gong Rumei comprehended a unique Red Plum Sword Intent from a young age. When used in earnest, it can even rival Lu Feishuang,” said a Venerable Elder from Crimson Sky Sect. “This Sword Intent is fused with the Wunian Heart Method, hiding the killing blow within the scent. He was born with strange blood—his blood smells like plum blossoms. Anyone who inhales it becomes entangled by the Wunian Heart Method, their mental state eroded. Once he activates the Red Plum Sword Intent, victory becomes effortless.”

“Drawing power from others’ minds to fuel his own Sword Intent? That’s pretty twisted. But does he really need to go all out against Lian Mu?”

Murong Yi said dryly, “Whether Gong Rumei needs to or not, I don’t know. But Lian Mu definitely doesn’t need to go all out against him.”

The Crimson Sky Sect Venerable Elder muttered, “…I wasn’t asking you.”

Murong Yi: “Oh. Sorry, it just slipped out.”

The other Venerable Elders: “…”

“Strange, the spiritual energy fluctuations on Penglai Island are acting up,” said an artifact refiner Venerable Elder, watching his compass spin wildly. He looked up at the image map—black dots were spreading across multiple locations.

“Who disturbed all the Spirit Beasts on the island?” The artifact refiner Venerable Elder’s mouth twitched. “They managed to provoke such a huge swarm all at once. This will definitely affect the Heart Realm Trials of the disciples.”

All the Venerable Elders instinctively turned to look at the Returning Immortal Sect. So far, only their disciples had wandered into forbidden areas.

But without any image recordings, even the Returning Immortal Sect’s Venerable Elders had no idea what had happened.

“The Spirit Beasts are heading straight for our disciples,” the artifact refiner Venerable Elder frowned. “There are too many. If they’re still unconscious, their Spirit Artifacts will be completely devoured.”

“This is getting interesting,” Cheng Ling said with a smile. “Let them come. I’d like to see how these disciples handle a Spirit Beast stampede.”

Murong Yi had no interest in the Spirit Beast attacks; his eyes were fixed solely on the image-recording stone, watching the two figures locked in battle. In his heart, he silently prayed that Lian Mu wouldn’t fall for Gong Rumei’s tricks.

Inside the Illusion Realm, on a beach.

Lian Mu had narrowly avoided having her throat slit. Gong Rumei was growing more and more excited as the fight went on, his sword so fast it left afterimages.

“Is that all you’ve got?”

Lian Mu remained calm, parrying his strikes with composure. She was waiting for him to reveal his trump card, but he kept fighting in the same style without any change.

“……”

Looks like she’d have to take the initiative.

Suddenly, Lian Mu shifted her approach, launching a fierce assault. One of her strikes grazed his forearm, appearing to target his left hand—but in truth, her eyes were locked on his right.

The Snow White Sword was likely just a decoy. His real killing move had to be the Plum Blossom Sword.

Gong Rumei wasn’t holding back either. Sensing her intent, he raised his sword and pressed down hard on Wealth Bringer, trying to destroy it outright.

Lian Mu took a deep breath, and the scent of plum blossoms filled her nose.

Gong Rumei sneered, “Finally lost your patience?”

He thrust his sword at her shoulder—but to his surprise, Lian Mu caught it with her bare hand. He froze, clearly not expecting her to pull a stunt like that.

“I’ve always thought dual-sword cultivators are the weakest,” Lian Mu said, gripping the Snow White Sword tightly. Her hand remained uninjured, almost like a body cultivator’s invulnerable state when channeling a spirit body.

“If you can’t win with one sword and need a second, that just means you’re lacking.” She paused, then added, “Don’t take it personally—I’m talking about you specifically.”

Gong Rumei’s brows furrowed. He stepped back two paces and abruptly discarded the Snow White Sword.

Lian Mu: “?”

The moment he let go, the swirling plum petals around him converged, forming a sword of blood.

The fragrance surged, and Lian Mu felt a tightness in her chest, a sudden, inexplicable irritation.

But she’d guessed right.

“So this is your true ‘sword’?”

Gong Rumei’s figure flashed forward, aiming straight for Wealth Bringer. Lian Mu didn’t dodge—she met him head-on.

The difference in their swords’ quality was stark. In the blink of an eye, Wealth Bringer began to crack.

“Overestimating yourself,” Gong Rumei said coldly, increasing the pressure on his blade. “This is my Sword Intent. You think you can block it with a mere fourth-grade piece of junk?”

Sword Intent… what was that?

Lian Mu didn’t understand. She’d never even heard of the term.

But judging by his condition, this Sword Intent seemed tied to the strange fragrance in his blood.

The more she inhaled it, the more agitated she became.

Then, like a spark in her mind, something clicked. Instead of retreating, she pushed forward, letting him press Wealth Bringer even harder, deepening the cracks.

“You—”

Gong Rumei was about to accuse her of courting death when suddenly, a wave of putrid stench hit his nose—a corpse-like rot mixed with sour, rancid odors that stung his eyes.

“Urgh—!”

He couldn’t hold it in and dry-heaved. The blood sword in his hand began to waver and lose form.

The plum fragrance was completely drowned out by the stench. Lian Mu’s mind cleared instantly, the irritation vanishing. Seizing the moment, she drove her knee into his shin.

The blow dropped him to his knees.

Gong Rumei, raised in a noble clan, had never smelled anything so vile. His eyes watered, and he couldn’t even open them.

Wealth Bringer was shattered, but Lian Mu snatched the Plum Blossom Sword from him and turned it against him, stabbing toward his chest.

“Sorry, you’ve got fragrance—turns out I’ve got stench.”

Gong Rumei couldn’t move. Lian Mu pressed the broken hilt of Wealth Bringer against his cheek. That’s when she noticed two bright red cinnabar moles beneath his eyes, like tiny plum blossoms, perfectly symmetrical. Paired with his pale, delicate face, he actually looked quite pretty.

Gong Rumei turned his head away, refusing to look at her. Even with a sword in his chest, he stubbornly refused to bow.

“You used a dirty trick.”

Lian Mu chuckled and patted his cheek. “So what? You still lost, didn’t you? Want to hear a secret? I once stirred a latrine with this sword.”

Gong Rumei’s back went rigid. He gritted his teeth. “You—”

“I’m only telling you because you’re good-looking,” Lian Mu said cheerfully. “You’re the only one who knows. Don’t tell anyone, okay?”

She’d used this trick twice now. Against pampered young masters like him, it never failed.

Though after her recent advancement, the Green-Clawed Toad’s stench wasn’t as potent as before. Back during her entrance exam, Wealth Bringer had been at its stinkiest.

Before Gong Rumei could curse her, his body dissolved into a puff of white mist.

Lian Mu didn’t bother rifling through his spatial pouch. Someone like Gong Rumei was clearly a pure sword fanatic—he probably didn’t even have two taels’ worth of Spirit Stones on him, let alone any random valuables.

“Clear Thought Sect’s Chief Sword Cultivator Gong Rumei has been eliminated. He has been ejected from the Pangu Illusion Realm…”

The message came through her spirit jade token, and only then did Lian Mu finally relax. She looked down at Wealth Bringer—now cracked beyond recognition.

Her heart ached at the sight.

If only Wealth Bringer had reached first-grade sooner, then it wouldn’t have shattered so easily under the pressure of a higher-grade sword.

As she pondered this, a thunderous roar echoed from the sea. Countless aquatic beasts leapt from the water, breaking the surface into a froth of white waves.

Lian Mu extended her spiritual sense. Amid the chaotic swarm of sea beasts, she caught a fleeting trace of Wind Core Flower’s spiritual energy. It vanished in an instant, but she had already locked onto it.

As expected, the Wind Core Flower in this round of the Illusion Realm was hidden somewhere in this sea.