I walk sideways in the game world

Chapter 174: First Exploration of the Holy Land, Surrounded by Dangers

The howling winter wind whipped up a blanket of snow, casting a desolate shadow over the majestic Kunlun Mountains. At the foot of the mountain, an ancient stone tablet stood proudly, inscribed with three powerful characters: "Martial Arts Holy Land."

Ren Xiaoyao and Xia Lin, disguised, blended in with the crowd of jianghu practitioners and embarked on the narrow path leading to the holy land. As soon as they entered the holy ground, an invisible pressure came over them, making their breath catch. The surrounding jianghu practitioners all had solemn expressions, their eyes scanning the surroundings vigilantly, like hungry wolves lurking in the shadows, ready to bare their fangs for prey.

"It seems that this martial arts conference is much more dangerous than we imagined." Xia Lin said in a low voice, her eyes sweeping across the crowd, taking in those who cast unfriendly glances at her and Ren Xiaoyao.

Ren Xiaoyao nodded slightly, tightened his grip on the sword, and said in a deep voice, "Better safe than sorry. We'll just wait and see what happens."

The two slowly followed the crowd, soon arriving at a vast valley. In the center, a massive bronze cauldron stood majestically, its body carved with lifelike mythical beasts, exuding an air of antiquity and timelessness. Around the cauldron, the flags of various sects fluttered in the wind. Hundreds of jianghu figures, divided into separate camps, held swords drawn, creating a suffocating atmosphere.

"Ren Xiaoyao, you are finally here!"

A resounding voice suddenly rang out, and the crowd parted automatically. An old man in a purple Taoist robe emerged, surrounded by a group of disciples. The old man, with white hair and a youthful face, looked energetic. He was none other than the Wudang Sect's head, Taoist Xuanfeng.

Taoist Xuanfeng's eyes flashed as he glanced at everyone present. He said loudly, "My fellow heroes, today, on behalf of the Wudang Sect, I am here to announce to you all: This secret treasure of the martial arts world is something we, Wudang, are determined to obtain! I hope you will give Wudang some respect and not make mistakes!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the crowd erupted in an uproar. Some members of smaller sects dared not speak out, but could only silently curse the Wudang Sect's tyranny.

Ren Xiaoyao's expression remained calm, but he sneered inwardly. This Taoist Xuanfeng had a brilliant plan, hoping to leverage Wudang's reputation to easily acquire the secret treasure.

"Master Xuanfeng is so arrogant!"

At this moment, a delicate cry came from the crowd, and the head of the Emei Sect, Master Emei, came out, surrounded by a group of female disciples. Her face was as cold as frost, and she stared at Taoist Xuanfeng fiercely, sneering, "This martial arts secret treasure belongs to the capable, not to whoever has the biggest fist!"

Upon hearing this, Taoist Xuanfeng's expression changed slightly. He snorted coldly and said, "Master Emei, what do you mean by this? Are you trying to become an enemy of Wudang?"

Nun Emei sneered and was about to open her mouth to retort when she suddenly felt a malicious gaze from the crowd falling on her. She followed the gaze and saw a young man in a long green robe looking at her with a half-smile, his eyes full of aggression and provocation...

Nun Emei, however, disapproved. A sneer curled her lips, and she ignored Taoist Xuanfeng's words. Her hawk-like gaze swept across the crowd, finally landing on the inconspicuous Ren Xiaoyao. Nun Emei's eyes shifted, and she secretly winked at the senior disciple beside her, whispering a few instructions. The disciple understood and quietly disappeared into the crowd.

"Brother Xiaoyao, be careful!" Xia Lin had been secretly observing the situation around them, and the actions of Master Emei and her disciples naturally did not escape her eyes. She pulled Ren Xiaoyao's sleeve and whispered a warning, "The people from the Emei Sect want to harm you."

Ren Xiaoyao nodded calmly, indicating that he understood what was going on. He had long felt that someone was secretly watching him, but he just watched the situation unfold calmly.

In the crowd, the Emei disciple took advantage of everyone's unpreparedness and quietly came behind Ren Xiaoyao, with a poison needle hidden in his hand, ready to wait for an opportunity to attack.

"Young man, I see that you have an extraordinary figure and bearing. I guess you are here to participate in the martial arts conference as well?" The Emei disciple pretended to be familiar and patted Ren Xiaoyao's shoulder, trying to take the opportunity to get closer to him.

Ren Xiaoyao had been prepared for this and dodged the other's touch. He turned around and said with a smile, "My dear brother, your praise is too much. I am just a nobody and do not deserve such praise."

Seeing that the attack missed, the Emei disciple was not discouraged. He continued to find topics to talk to Ren Xiaoyao, trying to distract his attention.

"Young man, you look very unfamiliar to me. I wonder who your master is?" As the Emei disciple spoke, he secretly reached into his pocket and tightly grasped the poison needle.

"I..." Ren Xiaoyao deliberately dragged out his voice. Just when the Emei disciple thought he was about to attack, he suddenly made a lightning-fast move, grabbed the other's wrist, and sneered, "I don't need to worry about where I learned my master!"

"You..." The Emei disciple was suddenly horrified and wanted to struggle, but found that his wrists were as if clamped by iron pliers and he could not move.

"What do you want to do?!" Upon seeing this, Nun Emei's face changed and she asked sternly.

"What?" Ren Xiaoyao sneered, his eyes sweeping across Emei Nun and her panicked disciple like a knife. "I'd like to ask, what do you, the Emei Sect, want to do?!"

After saying that, Ren Xiaoyao twisted his wrist hard, and with a crisp "crack" sound, the wrist of the Emei disciple broke, and the poison needle in his hand fell to the ground.

"Ah!" The Emei disciple let out a scream, covering his broken wrist and rolling on the ground in pain.

"How dare you hurt my Emei disciple!" Upon seeing this, Master Emei became furious and was about to attack Ren Xiaoyao.

"Master Emei, wait a minute!" At this moment, a resounding voice rang out, and the head of the Qingcheng Sect stepped out from the crowd. He swept his gaze over the tense crowd and said loudly, "Today is a martial arts conference. We have gathered here to fight for the secret treasures of the martial arts world, not to kill each other! In my opinion..." His eyes fell on the huge bronze tripod, "How about this, let's start with a duel..."

As the Qingcheng Sect Leader finished his words, the crowd erupted in agreement. While the various sect leaders were determined to obtain the giant bronze cauldron, none of them wanted to start a war at this point and jeopardize the relationship. Furthermore, no one wanted to be the first to test Ren Xiaoyao's abilities.

"Master Qingcheng is absolutely right!" Taoist Xuanfeng stroked his beard and was the first to agree. "In my opinion, why not let the younger disciples from each sect compete with each other first, and then stop when the time is right? This will also help us old guys broaden our horizons."

Everyone agreed. Although Master Emei was angry, she knew that this was not the time to act on impulse. She could only glare at Ren Xiaoyao and snorted coldly, which was considered as her agreement to the proposal.

"In that case, let me bear witness," said the Qingcheng Sect Leader, glancing around. "Which young man would like to offer his guidance?"

The crowd suddenly became quiet. Everyone knew that the first person to appear would have to face the tough guy Ren Xiaoyao.

"Let me do it," a cold voice broke the silence. Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw a swordsman in white slowly emerging from the crowd. He was thin, with a stern face. He carried an ancient longsword on his back, and exuded a fierce aura that kept strangers away.

"It's a sword maniac!"

"He's actually here too!"

A low cry of surprise suddenly rang out from the crowd, and many people showed fear in their eyes.

This sword maniac was a renowned swordsman in the martial arts world, his swordsmanship so superb that few could rival him. He was a solitary man, rarely seen in public, but unexpectedly, he had even come to participate in this martial arts conference.

Ren Xiaoyao looked at the sword maniac who was slowly approaching, and a trace of solemnity flashed in his eyes. Although he was very confident in his own strength, he also knew that this sword maniac was not someone to be trifled with.

"Please teach me." The sword maniac walked to the center of the field and bowed slightly to Ren Xiaoyao. His tone was cold and without any emotion.

Ren Xiaoyao did not dare to be negligent. He also clasped his fists in return, then drew the long sword from his waist and took a stance.

The next moment, the sword maniac moved.

He flashed and turned into a streak of white lightning, rushing straight towards Ren Xiaoyao. The long sword in his hand flashed with cold light, and with a move of "White Rainbow Piercing the Sun", he pierced Ren Xiaoyao's throat.

Ren Xiaoyao was prepared and dodged the sword by leaning sideways. He shook the sword in his hand and used the "Green Dragon Claw" move to attack the sword maniac's wrist.

"Ding!"

The two swords collided with a resounding clash, sending sparks flying. Ren Xiaoyao felt a surge of force emanating from the swords, causing his palms to go numb and he involuntarily took a half step back.

The sword maniac was in a dominant position and showed no mercy. The long sword in his hand turned into a series of afterimages and attacked Ren Xiaoyao like a violent storm. His sword moves were sharp and ruthless, and each move was aimed at the vital points, forcing Ren Xiaoyao to fight back and was in danger for a while.

Everyone only saw the flashing of swords and the interweaving of figures in the field. They could not see the movements of the two people at all. They could only hear the sound of metal clashing, which showed how fierce the battle was.

Ren Xiaoyao became more and more frightened as the fight went on. This sword maniac's swordsmanship was indeed well-deserved. Not only was his speed incredibly fast, but his angles were also tricky and his moves were brutal. Although he had already used all his skills, he was still in danger and found it difficult to resist.

"No, if this goes on, I will definitely lose!" Ren Xiaoyao thought to himself. While resisting the sword maniac's attack, he was thinking hard about how to break it.

As time passed, more and more wounds appeared on Ren Xiaoyao's body, and blood stained his clothes red.

"Haha, Ren Xiaoyao, you're nothing special!" Seeing that Ren Xiaoyao was at a disadvantage, the sword maniac couldn't help but laugh triumphantly, and his attack became more fierce.

At this moment, Ren Xiaoyao suddenly had an idea and his eyes fell on the tip of Jian Chi's sword... The corners of his mouth rose slightly, revealing an imperceptible sneer.

The sword maniac's blade, like a venomous snake spitting its tongue, aimed directly at Ren Xiaoyao's vital points. His sword techniques were powerful and majestic, yet subtle and subtle hints of murderous intent were hidden. Ren Xiaoyao was exhausted from fighting, and his wounds were increasing. However, he never gave up observing his opponent, searching for a glimmer of hope.

Finally, when the sword maniac unleashed his ultimate move, "White Rainbow Piercing the Sun," Ren Xiaoyao's eyes, sharp as lightning, caught a glimpse of something unusual. Before each move, the sword maniac's sword tip would tremble ever so slightly, a movement so slight that if it weren't for Ren Xiaoyao's incredible eyesight and the intense concentration he felt in this dangerous situation, he wouldn't have been able to detect it.

"So that's how it is!" Ren Xiaoyao suddenly realized. Although this swordsman's swordsmanship was sharp, it had a fatal flaw - his swordsmanship relied too much on speed and strength, and neglected the control of internal energy. Before each move, the trembling of the sword tip was a sign of unstable internal energy.

Having found the flaw, Ren Xiaoyao immediately had a plan in mind. He stopped defending and instead seized the moment when the sword maniac attacked, dodging the sword's edge with exquisite footwork. At the same time, he thrust out his sword like lightning, attacking the sword maniac's wrist.

"Ding! Ding! Ding!"

For a moment, the sound of dense weapons clashing could be heard in the field. Ren Xiaoyao seized the sword maniac's weakness and launched a series of counterattacks, forcing the sword maniac to retreat again and again, and his originally fierce offensive also stagnated.

"How is this possible! How could you find my flaw?" The sword maniac looked at Ren Xiaoyao in disbelief, his eyes full of shock and disbelief.

"Although your swordsmanship is exquisite, you are too focused on speed and strength and ignore the control of internal strength. This is your biggest flaw." Ren Xiaoyao said lightly, with a hint of regret in his tone.

Upon hearing this, the sword maniac's face turned pale. He knew that what Ren Xiaoyao said was true. He had practiced swordsmanship for many years, but still could not break through the bottleneck, precisely because of this reason.

"I lost." The sword maniac dejectedly lowered the long sword in his hand, his eyes filled with loneliness and unwillingness.

"Thank you." Ren Xiaoyao said with a fist salute, not getting carried away by his victory.

Although Ren Xiaoyao ultimately won the contest, it wasn't an easy victory. Jian Chi's swordsmanship put him under immense pressure and made him realize his own shortcomings in martial arts.

However, the fierce battle between Ren Xiaoyao and Jian Chi made everyone present look at him with new eyes. They originally thought that Ren Xiaoyao only had such strength due to some lucky encounters, but now it seems that his martial arts skills are definitely not ordinary.

For a moment, all the masters from various sects looked at Ren Xiaoyao with eyes filled with fear and greed. They were afraid of his strength, and greedy for the secrets he possessed.

"Good boy, I didn't expect you to have such skills!" A cold glint flashed in the eyes of the Qingcheng Sect Leader, and he slowly stood up. "However, if you want to stand out in the martial arts conference, this little skill alone is far from enough!"

As he spoke, he slowly walked into the arena, staring at Ren Xiaoyao with burning eyes. A powerful aura emanated from him, oppressing everyone to the point that they could hardly breathe.

"Next, let me learn from your skills!"