My Enemy Became My Cultivation Companion-Chapter 66 - 51: The Conscience Is Not Extinct

"Who exactly is this Outer Heaven Demon?"

Min Ning asked in confusion,

"Could it be related to the Chancellor’s case?"

"Who would I ask if not you?"

Chen Yi shrugged.

He really wasn’t lying to Min Ning; he had no idea who this Outer Heaven Demon was...

According to the original plot of "Heavenly Realm," the Demon Extermination Day wouldn’t come earlier, nor would there be any Outer Heaven Demon.

In places unknown to him, the Praying Place, even the entire world, was undergoing tiny changes. These changes culminated in a butterfly effect that eventually led to a deviation.

As for the connection between Praying Place and the Chancellor’s case...

There was indeed a connection, but he couldn’t tell Min Ning now. If she knew too soon, she could be in great danger.

"Keep investigating, the truth will emerge sooner or later," Chen Yi said.

Min Ning nodded slightly, and after a pause, she asked out of nowhere:

"By the way...what do you plan to do with your concubine?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Yi turned to look at Min Ning, finding the question rather inexplicable.

"What’s up? Why are you concerned about this?"

Min Ning turned her face slightly, looking sideways, she said:

"No matter what, you will eventually take a wife, right? If you marry a knowledgeable noblewoman, she could easily find out your concubine’s identity. What will you do then?"

Listening to her words, Chen Yi directly said:

"If I’m to take a wife, I must be able to know her thoroughly. I don’t care about her family or her background, I just need her to be beautiful and care for me, that’s enough."

Though he said so, Chen Yi actually already had someone in mind—Zhou Yitang.

Upon hearing this, Min Ning took a deep breath.

She didn’t know why she suddenly thought of asking this, possibly the chilly autumn wind reminded her of the Xiang King’s daughter, whose name included the word "snow." Recalling the girl, even with just a few encounters, she could tell from her apricot eyes that the girl both resented and obeyed Chen Yi.

Then, she heard his teasing comment:

"Why ask suddenly, could it be that Young Hero Min’s heartstrings have slightly moved?"

"How could it be?"

Min Ning snorted coldly and continued:

"Your concubine is still innocent, right?"

"Hmm?"

"Why not let her go? This way, you don’t have to worry about her being exposed when you take a wife..."

Before she could finish, Chen Yi interrupted:

"Let her go? Impossible. Unreasonably saying this, are you jealous or something else? Give me a reason."

Min Ning didn’t look at him, simply saying:

"Actually, your conscience hasn’t totally disappeared. I can see that these days."

Chen Yi felt inexplicably choked up, suddenly at a loss for words.

Whether Min Ning thought of him as a villain or a shameless person, he didn’t mind, but her saying his conscience hadn’t vanished actually made him uncomfortable.

"I’m feeling troubled."

"What’s wrong?"

"You saying my conscience hasn’t disappeared troubles me greatly."

Min Ning opened her mouth, wanting to scold him, when suddenly, some sounds came from outside the alley.

The alley was deep, neither wide nor narrow. They were originally planning to return to the Eastern Factory, but now the alley fell silent, a strange stillness pervading, with an indistinct presence approaching.

In the distance, a figure wearing a straw hat appeared, with grizzled hair and worn-out clothes patched up excessively, with a Ring Head Knife tied around his waist, covered purely with cloth, lacking a scabbard.

While walking, he sang, "The oil seller’s wife combs her hair with water, the meat seller’s son gnaws on bones..."

"Who’s there?"

Chen Yi asked directly.

"Fifth-generation true disciple of the White Willow Sect, You Xu."

The newcomer didn’t dawdle, directly stating his name.

"Sent by the Prince’s Mansion?"

Seeing the Ring Head Knife, Chen Yi asked.

"...Not officially,"

You Xu untied the cloth strip, revealing a Ring Head Knife almost identical to Huang Liuqing’s, though his demeanor carried a steadiness and restraint absent in the latter,

"I owe a meal to Yuxiu Manor. Within the time of a stick of incense, if I can kill you, my debt is paid. If not, I’ll apologize and offer you a Cultivation Technique."

Hearing this, Chen Yi looked bewilderedly at this stranger, You Xu.

Min Ning watched him nervously, preparing to draw her sword, but Chen Yi raised his hand to stop her:

"I’ll handle it, you’d just be a hindrance."

His tone serious, Min Ning immediately realized Chen Yi was not joking.

Min Ning stepped back several paces, giving sufficient space.

Chen Yi gathered his energy into his chest, drawing his blade.

Though unaware of You Xu’s background, it was a fitting opportunity to test his current skills.

Chen Yi raised his blade forward, enunciating:

"Come."

You Xu immediately launched an attack.

This martial artist, as one who understood destiny, flitted swiftly, a blade directed at Chen Yi’s face, initially lifted with just thirty percent effort but descending with overwhelming force, exerting fully!

Chen Yi silently recited the Shangqing Heart Method, causing the swift blade to slow perceptibly in his vision, a crucial pause in the heat of battle influencing critical judgment.

Initially considering blocking with his blade, Chen Yi, after a split-second realization, sidestepped this fierce slash. The Ring Head Knife missed, its sharp edge slicing a half-inch groove into the bluestone tiles.

Sidestepping left Chen Yi poorly positioned to strike, so he raised a hand and delivered a punch.

The powerful punch blasted forth, a wave of force pounding forward. Even as You Xu retreated swiftly, he still took a hit to the chest with a faint crack of bone, forcing him back six or seven steps.

"Good fists!"

You Xu praised.

"Impressive agility."

Chen Yi remarked casually.

He had delivered that punch extremely fast at such a close range, yet even so, this man in his fifties retreated in time, dispersing the punch’s power. His agility surpassed his fellow White Willow Sect’s Huang Liuqing.

Considering this, could this man, self-proclaimed from the White Willow Sect, actually be Huang Liuqing’s master?

As Chen Yi pondered, his expression grew fierce.

You Xu once more raised his blade, stamping his boot on the ground in a direct assault. He initially feigned a horizontal slash but suddenly raised his blade for a vertical chop when Chen Yi blocked left, seemingly aiming to cleave Chen Yi asunder brutally.

But, at the moment he switched his stance, due to the Shangqing Heart Method, Chen Yi instantly saw through it, stepping back again to evade the strike.

Failing to strike vertically, You Xu switched to a drag, soaring like an eagle to perform an upward Upper Slash.

Cold light flashed through the air.

Chen Yi lifted his blade, deflecting the strike’s force with the back of his own, then single-handedly pinned the lengthy Ring Head Knife, raising his elbow for a fierce blow towards You Xu’s face.

The elbow, the body’s hardest point, coupled with the Cangshan Fist, launched with unstoppable momentum.

In that critical instant, You Xu’s head jerked back as his chest rose, meeting the blow with a collarbone strike, causing blood to drip from his mouth and disordering his grey hair, forcing his retreat another five or six steps.

"Haha...fists do fear youth, nearly got elbowed to death."

Wiping the blood from his mouth, You Xu continued:

"Seems it’s only been...half an incense stick? Your response is not bad, but can it be, Fern Eagle was killed with such ease...there must be a hidden skill you’ve yet to reveal."

"Indeed."

This alley encounter, rather than a brutal fight, resembled a martial duel, skill meeting counter-skill facing each blow.

You Xu elevated his blade, elatedly saying:

"Come on, come on."

His form flickered, lifting his weapon for a straightforward vertical slash.

This slash held no feints, no change-ups, nor started with reserved force, purely with overwhelming might, the alley gusting with a crosswind!

Chen Yi no longer retreated as before, instead stepping forward and slashing abruptly.

Winds were cut; rain was cleaved.

Min Ning watched as the two blades clashed like thunder, a moment passed before a shattering, phoenix-like blade cry resonated in the alley!

It was piercingly sorrowful, as if a blade had been forcibly broken!

Clash—

Half of the Ring Head Knife spun through the air, circling again and again before falling to the ground in a clatter.

Chen Yi raised his hand to finish You Xu with another strike.

The old man reacted faster, dodging low with a bend then leaping back several steps.

"No martial ethics!"

You Xu cursed.

Then, he lowered his eyes, wistfully sweeping over the broken blade in his hand, a shock in his heart unable to dissipate.

Though he was heavily injured in his youth, nearly halting his path of Martial Arts, his blade skills were renowned within Jianghu.

Wandering the Jianghu for so long, he’d believed the Bai Liu Blade was among the top three for its sheer force among worldly blade techniques, yet who would have thought this young man could so forcefully shatter his Ring Head Knife!

In all likelihood, few could match this blade’s prowess, only the "Silent Slash" crafted by the Jin Country Chen Family’s blade master "Broken Swordman" whom, it’s said, upon ascending the martial list, traveled to ancient Qin, encountering the raging torrents of the Wuding River, cleaving it in one stroke, the muddy river split in two for thirty years unchanged!