Chapter 242
“Slaughtering mortals, is this the style of the Yaochi Sacred Land? If you want to capture me, why drag the innocent into this?”
“Little beast, you finally showed up!” The expression in Yu Ling Zhenren's eyes flickered with a hint of delight, but she sneered, “If you hadn’t hidden in Jiangchi City, I wouldn’t have even considered killing you. Since you know we’re here to catch you, you should have come out on your own instead of forcing me to drag you out!”
Dan Bai understood that arguing with the demons of Yaochi Sacred Land was pointless.
From the looks of the people around her, she realized—at this moment, she was utterly alone, with everyone standing against her.
“Now that I’m out, can you let them go?” she said softly.
“Let them go? What about the reputation of Yaochi Sacred Land?” Yu Ling Zhenren remained unmoved, her fingers clenched into a fist, and the vines continued to tighten.
Beside her, Yu Quan Zhenren was also casting spells.
Suddenly, the entire city was filled with vines, even the rogue cultivators who had been hiding underground were dragged out and bound tightly.
“Has the Yaochi Sacred Land gone mad? They find the wanted criminal and still want to slaughter us?”
The rogue cultivators, as if waking from a dream, gradually shifted from shock to anger and panic.
“So this is the renowned Yaochi Sacred Land? Your actions are no different from those of demonic cultivators?!”
“To slaughter a city for one person? The name of the Sacred Land is truly laughable!”
“Please spare me, esteemed one! I’m willing to give up all my possessions, just to survive!” A middle-aged cultivator in a sect robe suddenly knelt and begged for mercy, repeatedly bowing his head, his eyes filled with fear and humility. “Rest assured, I won’t breathe a word about today’s events. You can erase my memory… even if it harms my soul and foundation, I wouldn’t mind!”
“Too troublesome,” Yu Ling chuckled lightly. “It’s easier to just kill them all!”
Slaughtering Jiangchi City was the safest option; they could fabricate some evidence to frame the demonic cultivators later.
In fact, there was no need to fabricate anything at all, since the Zhenwu Sacred Land was on the verge of collapse.
By then, wouldn’t the Cangyun Realm be under the control of Yaochi Sacred Land and Fenjing Sacred Land?
Dan Bai’s expression darkened; she truly hadn’t expected the Yaochi Sacred Land to sink to such depths of shamelessness.
She had already come out, yet they still planned to massacre the city!
In that case, she might as well fight to the death!
Dying here was better than being captured.
But… she would have to apologize to her mother.
She felt so powerless, ultimately unable to save her mother.
Just then—
A cold voice suddenly rang out from the edge of the city.
“Yaochi Sacred Land? Ha, what a grand display!”
In the silver sand scattered by the moonlight, the wild grass at the city’s edge bowed in the fierce wind.
A figure in dark robes stood with a sword, flickering in and out of view among the grass, like ink dried by the passage of time.
Only Yu Ling and Yu Quan in the sky could clearly see the silhouette of the sword cultivator.
Dan Bai turned her head; through the towering city gate, she could only see a blurred shadow.
The wind brushed past her eyes.
She instinctively blinked.
That figure had already swayed to the city gate.
He held the sword in his right hand, walking slowly, the hem of his robe rustling in the wind.
He wandered past the street, moved out of the crowd, and came to her side.
With one final step, he stood before her.
His hair flowed like a waterfall, the black scabbard reflecting a sliver of moonlight, the sword tassel swaying in the wind like a burning flower of blood.
His fingers, long and powerful, gripped the hilt, as if the sword was not held in his hand but was an extension of flesh and blood.
“Who goes there?”
Yu Ling and Yu Quan could not discern the mysterious sword cultivator’s exact realm.
But it was precisely this uncertainty that made them feel a sense of impending doom.
“I am—”
Chen Huai'an’s gaze lifted, his eyes glinting like the first snow on a blade.
The seven words, accompanied by a chilling killing intent, shattered the stagnant air weighed down by the pressure of Dongxu.
“Ancestor of the Sword Pavilion—Chen, Huai, An!”
…
…
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Chapter 260: We Are Fated! (Jinghua +1)
Ancestor of the Sword Pavilion, Chen Huai'an?
Hearing that name, Yu Ling and Yu Quan’s expressions changed dramatically.
No wonder he could easily enter the killing formation.
Aside from the elders of the Zhenwu Sacred Land, the last person they wanted to encounter, and thought they would never meet, was Chen Huai'an.
But why was the ancestor of the Sword Pavilion here?
They worried that the Zhenwu Sacred Land would cause trouble because of Dan Bai’s connection to the deceased Zhang Yibai.
However, the ancestor of the Sword Pavilion, Chen Huai'an, had no ties to Dan Bai whatsoever; they had investigated thoroughly before taking action.
Dan Bai gazed at the figure standing before her, her focus drawn to the black-scaled sword.
The sword was entwined with the dual energies of black and white, reminiscent of the sword intent Zhang Yibai had once bestowed upon her, but seemingly more profound.
Though she didn’t know this sword cultivator, just by standing in front of her and emanating that familiar sword intent, she felt a sense of affinity.
Her usual wariness towards strangers diminished by half in an instant.
“Ancestor of the Sword Pavilion, Chen Huai'an, you have killed many elders of Yaochi; your crimes are unforgivable. Are you still going to obstruct us from capturing the wanted criminal of Yaochi? Are you determined to oppose the Yaochi Sacred Land?!” Yu Ling Zhenren did not want to fight Chen Huai'an.
Even though she was at the sixth level of Dongxu.
No one knew what level of power the ancestor of the Sword Pavilion, Chen Huai'an, truly possessed.
Chen Huai'an remained silent, his dark robe blurring in the moonlight, like a stroke of ink about to drift away from the paper.
His gaze deepened, fingers lightly caressing the sword hilt.
And at a certain moment… he suddenly tightened his grip.
All things in the world held their breath, the chirping of insects fell silent, the raging wind came to a halt, even the moonlight seemed to freeze in mid-air!
In the stillness, a hidden killing intent lurked.
It was this silence, this unspoken tension, that sent chills down the spines of Yu Ling and Yu Quan, both at the Dongxu realm.
“He’s about to draw his sword!”
As soon as Yu Quan Zhenren’s words fell, the sound of the sword drew forth, drowning out her hoarse cry.
Clang—!
The sword was out, the sword intent silent, the sword momentum invisible.
Only a white ribbon spanned the sky.
The sword energy tore through the night, like ancient ice shattering, its sharpness laid bare.
A shadow formed behind Yu Quan Zhenren, taking on the shape of Chen Huai'an, the black-scaled sword angled toward the ground, a drop of blood falling from its tip.
“Ten steps, one kill.”
The chilling voice echoed in Yu Quan’s ear.
“Not a single soul shall escape—”
Blood fell before the body did.
The wind left no trace, but the sword left its mark.
Before Yu Quan Zhenren’s pupils could even contract, her soul was already torn apart by the sword intent.
She stood frozen, like a statue caught in the moonlight, before crashing to the ground like a broken sack.
The crowd below scattered, only daring to observe from a distance.
It was only then that they noticed the bloodstain on Yu Quan Zhenren’s neck, which had been severed by a single sword strike.
Logically, even if a Dongxu realm elder’s body was shattered, they wouldn’t die; their souls were incredibly powerful, capable of fighting even after leaving their bodies, and could easily possess another’s corpse. But judging by Yu Quan Zhenren’s current state, it was clear she was dead beyond recovery.
“What a fast sword!” Yu Ling didn’t have time to mourn Yu Quan’s death.
On the contrary, a glimmer of delight sparked in her eyes. “I’ve heard that Sword Master Chen has unparalleled swordsmanship; today, I shall witness it!”
The strength Chen Huai'an displayed was only at the fifth level of Dongxu, while she was at the sixth.
In Dongxu, each realm was a world unto itself.
She could kill Chen Huai'an!
Chen Huai'an couldn’t be bothered to respond, his eyes devoid of joy or sorrow, as if he had entered a sage-like state.
The sword had returned to its sheath, but the shadow cast by the sword in the moonlight was already covered in frost.
Sword Style Seven—The Hero’s Journey.
Using this sword style would place the wielder in a state of calm, like still water, creating a field of killing intent around them. In this field, all opponents’ perceptions would slow down, while the wielder’s speed and evasion would reach their peak—this was Chen Huai'an’s understanding of the skill’s effect.
Yu Quan Zhenren was the first to strike, her fingertips flicking, and a vine bell flew out from her waist, revealing a phantom of a verdant little world behind her.
Boom! Boom! Boom!—The ground trembled.
Countless vines burst forth from the earth like giant pythons, sweeping toward Chen Huai'an.
The vines were lined with sharp thorns, glowing with a faint green light; each one was capable of piercing through a cultivator’s protective aura and carried potent poison.
The vines wove into a net, quickly surrounding Chen Huai'an.
“Oh no! The ancestor of the Sword Pavilion is trapped!”
The crowd realized what it meant to be caught in a web of heaven and earth.
“Why are you worried about the ancestor of the Sword Pavilion? Isn’t he sheltering the demonic cultivators?”
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