The three of them turned their heads sharply.
They saw a gaunt, white-haired old man, who had somehow appeared squatting on the railing of Ashina Castle.
He wore a straw cloak, held a katana emanating an ominous aura, and his eyes and expression were terrifying.
[Isshin Ashina]
[Level: LV15+]
[Traits: Sword Saint, Founder of Ashina Style, Master of All Weapons]
The moment he saw this person, Ying Ping's pupils suddenly contracted, and the hairs on his body stood on end.
The white-haired old man appeared without any warning, as if he had materialized out of thin air!
Even more terrifying, with his LV14 perception, he hadn't even sensed the opponent's presence!
And according to the system prompt, Isshin Ashina's LV15+ level was also above his!
"Get out of the way!"
Ying Ping almost instinctively shouted.
Isshin Ashina's withered hand slowly gripped the hilt of his sword. His movements seemed slow, yet they gave off an inescapable sense of pressure.
"Secret Art: Dragon Flash!"
"Swish—!"
A sword slash as black as ink tore through the air, sweeping towards them with a destructive force!
Where the sword slash passed, even space seemed to be torn open with a crack.
"Mortal Blade?!"
Ying Ping's heart trembled. "This sword is in his hands!"
In the nick of time, Ying Ping unhesitatingly activated maximum acceleration: "Inherent Time Control: Five Times Speed!"
The world seemed to stop for a moment.
Ying Ping rushed forward with astonishing speed, wrapping one arm around Cocoloa and the other around Irena, pulling them out of the danger zone just as the sword qi was about to strike.
"Boom!"
Where they had just stood, a gully several meters deep was carved out by the sword qi, and the entire main keep shook violently.
"Phew... cough cough..."
After dodging with the two, Ying Ping knelt on one knee, breathing heavily.
The burden of five times speed was far beyond imagination; he felt as if he was about to pass out.
All his muscles screamed in protest, his brain was dizzy, and his internal organs burned with pain.
"Master!"
Cocoloa hastily cast a healing spell, and a soft green light enveloped Ying Ping's entire body.
Irena quickly raised her staff: "Frost Nova!"
Extremely cold ice cones shot towards Isshin Ashina like a torrential rain.
"A petty trick of a side path."
Isshin Ashina snorted coldly, and with a gentle flick of the Mortal Blade, all the ice cones shattered in mid-air.
Ying Ping recovered, then gritted his teeth and stood up: "Shadow Legion, full attack!"
In an instant, countless black shadows surged out from beneath his feet.
Gyobu Oniwa, Genichiro, the elite Lone Shadows... all the converted shadow soldiers poured out, rushing towards Isshin Ashina like a tide.
"Heh, using the spirits of my subordinates to fight me?"
A hint of sorrow flashed in Isshin Ashina's eyes, but it was immediately replaced by fierce battle intent, "Then let me show you what a true Sword Saint is!"
He flickered and actually charged into the Shadow Legion himself!
"Musou Isshin!"
The sword qi of the Mortal Blade transformed into countless afterimages, like dimensional slashes, each strike accurately cutting at the shadow soldiers' vital points.
Although these shadows were immortal, they would temporarily dissipate when struck, and it would consume extra magic power and time to reform them.
Ying Ping watched with bated breath.
This old man's strength far exceeded his imagination!
LV15+ level combined with peak swordsmanship, he was actually at ease under the siege of the Shadow Legion!
If it were him against this Shadow Legion, he probably wouldn't last long before being defeated!
"Master, what should we do?"
Cocoloa asked anxiously, "If this continues..."
Irena's face was also solemn: "How about we retreat first? This old man is too strong; relying solely on our shadow soldiers might..."
Ying Ping, however, narrowed his eyes, seeing a glimmer of insight.
He carefully observed the battle and said in a deep voice: "Don't rush, wait a little longer."
Indeed, as time passed, Isshin Ashina's movements began to slow down.
An unnatural flush appeared on his pale face, and he would cough slightly after each sword swing.
"Sure enough..."
Ying Ping whispered, "He is old and seriously ill; he shouldn't last much longer."
Just then, an unexpected situation occurred—
Shadow Genichiro suddenly broke through the defense and stabbed Isshin Ashina in the thigh!
"Ugh!"
Isshin Ashina grunted, looking down at his once most beloved grandson, his eyes filled with grief, "Genichiro... you..."
This blow seemed to break the old man's last will to fight.
"Ah ah ah!!!"
Isshin Ashina roared to the sky, and violent sword qi shattered all the surrounding shadows: "If I were five years younger... no, three years! None of you rats could defeat me..."
Before he finished speaking, the old man suddenly coughed violently, a trace of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.
Ying Ping seized the opportunity and burst forth with all his might!
"Shadow Step! Innate Time Control Four Times Speed! Charged Strike! Crippling Blow! Blade Storm!"
All skills activated simultaneously, Ying Ping's figure turned into an afterimage, and the Sword of Hestia radiated dazzling light.
"Divine Blessing! Aurora Bloom!"
Cocoloa's buff magic landed in time.
"Die, Sword Saint!"
Ying Ping's sword light poured down like a galaxy, instantly engulfing Isshin Ashina!
"Boom!"
Countless sword lights rained down like a storm.
Isshin Ashina barely blocked the first three strikes, but the fourth strike severed his left arm, the fifth split his chest, and the sixth... By the time Ying Ping stopped, the Sword Saint had become a riddled, mangled corpse.
Isshin Ashina stumbled back, but still stood, leaning on the Mortal Blade.
"As expected of... the Sword Saint..."
Ying Ping gasped for breath, looking at his opponent who still hadn't fallen, "But you've probably reached your limit."
Isshin Ashina's body indeed had immortality; his wounds were slowly healing.
Perhaps it was due to drinking the Rejuvenating Water, but it was far inferior to Genichiro's Dragon's Heritage power when he was alive.
"Killing Intent Lock-on!"
Ying Ping wouldn't give the opponent a chance to recover, and once again swung his sword fiercely!
"Swish!"
The sword light flashed, and Isshin Ashina's head flew high into the air.
"[Killed Isshin Ashina, EXP + 200000]"
"[EXP full, Level increased to LV15]"
"[EXP full, Level increased to LV16]"
"[Obtained Special Item: Mortal Blade: Open Gate]"
"[Obtained Skill: Ashina Arts: Dragon Flash]"
"[Ashina Arts: Dragon Flash: Consumes 1 magic point, can release a wide-range sword qi attack]"
"[Obtained Skill: Ashina Arts: Isshin]"
"[Ashina Arts: Isshin: Consumes 5 magic points, can concentrate and release a large number of sword qi slashes]"
"[Obtained Title: Shura]"
"[Corpses pile up like mountains in the wilderness, the waters of Ryusui River run red like blood]"
"[Shura: When fighting strong enemies, or when immersed in slaughter, one becomes stronger, even able to ignite karmic flames on their body]"
"As expected of me, having defeated the Sword Saint, I actually leveled up twice again."
Ying Ping let out a long breath and picked up the dropped item on the ground, the ominous-looking Mortal Blade.
It felt cold to the touch, and he could feel the extremely powerful energy contained within it.
He had to be especially careful when using this sword.
Because once it wounded someone, the wound would likely not heal easily.
This sword was called the Mortal Blade because it could sever immortality.
"[Soul fragment detected, extract as Shadow Soldier?]"
"Extract."
Following Ying Ping's command, Isshin Ashina's corpse was enveloped in black mist.
Moments later, a shadow figure clad in a straw cloak knelt before him.
"[Shadow Soldier: Isshin Ashina]"
"[Level: LV15]"
"[Attribute: Immortal, Absolute Obedience]"
"Heh, even the Sword Saint has become my shadow soldier. Who in the Sekiro world can be my opponent now?"
Ying Ping nodded in satisfaction, looking at Irena and Cocoloa who had run over: "Everyone take a rest, then it's time to find the whereabouts of the other Mortal Blade."