Chapter 248
The roar had barely faded when Zheng Fa felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. He looked up to see crimson smoke swirling through the air like fledgling swallows diving into the forest, rushing into the hall—
“Jian!”
Zheng Fa watched in disbelief as the bronze hall shimmered and transformed into a bizarre-looking bronze sword.
But the one wielding this sword was even stranger—a skeleton, or rather, an incomplete skeleton.
Its skull appeared to have been shattered, a jagged crack running from the center of its forehead down to its chin, a fatal and grotesque fissure.
Its body was missing parts as well—three ribs were absent, there was only one scapula, and the left leg was hollow below the knee.
One could only imagine the fierce battle this being had endured in life.
Yet, what made it seem less tragic was the purple glow emanating from each of its bones, giving it an otherworldly aura.
The gathering red smoke transformed into flames within its shattered eye sockets, burning fiercely.
At first, the two flickering flames seemed to be searching for something—perhaps the most authentic traitor among them, um, Yan Wushuang.
But the Sun-Setting Sword Immortal was cunning; he had fled with Yan Wushuang at full speed.
He was faster than both Zheng Fa and the others, already leaving Xiao Yuying’s war chariot far behind.
The skeleton appeared to scan the area, seemingly unable to find Yan Wushuang. It paused for a moment, then turned its gaze toward the surrounding cultivators.
“Traitors!”
“All of you are traitors!”
“Exterminate!”
Sword energy!
Though the sun had yet to set, an endless sea of stars appeared in the sky.
From this starry expanse, a wave of sword energy, imbued with boundless killing intent, descended from the heavens.
Zheng Fa was already a hundred miles away from the skeleton, yet at that moment, he felt an inexplicable prickling sensation on his scalp.
The iron-eating beast pulling the chariot let out a mournful cry, twisting its limbs as it rolled and crawled forward.
Zheng Fa turned to look back—
It was as if he were witnessing a strange silent play.
The dozens of cultivators closest to the skeleton, whether they were in the Nascent Soul or Golden Core stages, suddenly moved in slow motion.
They weren’t doing it on purpose.
Zheng Fa could see the confusion, fear, and despair in their eyes.
The sword energy swept through like an autumn wind, and all beings and objects quietly perished in its wake.
He watched as a Nascent Soul cultivator from the Hundred Immortals Alliance stood frozen in place, unscathed, showing no signs of injury or anything unusual.
But when the gentle breeze passed, the cultivator’s body, his clothes inside and out, and the magical treasures in his hands collapsed in an instant, turning to grains of sand.
“Xiao Xianzi…”
“Hmm?”
“Look.”
Zheng Fa pointed behind him.
Xiao Yuying turned to look.
The skeleton had come to a halt, the flames in its eyes gradually calming, as if it had exhausted its power in that one sword strike.
It was as if it had awakened from its fury.
It twisted its head, seemingly surveying the world around it, as if recalling something of utmost importance.
“Follow the Master, exterminate the immortals…”
It suddenly spoke.
“Exterminate the immortals…”
The skeleton raised the bronze sword, pointing it to the sky and shouting.
“Exterminate the immortals!”
Everyone stood dumbfounded, watching this scene unfold.
This being, long dead for hundreds of thousands of years, even as mere bones, seemed to remember those two words.
The bronze sword in its hand turned to ash in the wind.
The purple glow on its bones gradually dimmed, and it collapsed to the ground, no longer fearsome in the slightest.
After a long wait, the surrounding cultivators cautiously gathered, seemingly wanting to see what had happened.
Zheng Fa exchanged glances with the others, remaining still.
“Nothing remains.” The Sun-Setting Sword Immortal didn’t even look in that direction as he spoke, “Under that one sword strike… no cultivator, no magical treasure, could possibly survive.”
Zheng Fa could hear the tremor in the voice of this great cultivator.
He knew that Old Han, bearing the title of Sword Immortal, likely felt the terror of that sword more acutely than anyone else.
Moreover… Zheng Fa himself was quite sensitive to the phrase “exterminate the immortals”—ever since he realized the significant connection between the Xuanwei Realm and the modern world, he had read many related texts.
From wild histories to mythological novels.
Exterminate the immortals…
Zheng Fa couldn’t help but think of his own Five-Color Divine Light.
His doubts deepened.
Indeed, that group of people, despite their desperate search, even rummaging through the fallen skeleton, found no magical treasures or techniques.
The deceased cultivators should have left behind storage bags or magical artifacts.
But Old Han’s judgment was spot on—there was nothing.
“Five Nascent Soul realists, thirteen Golden Core cultivators… all dead for nothing.”
Xiao Yuying spoke with a tone of lament, even a hint of fear.
She respectfully bowed to the Sun-Setting Sword Immortal, filled with gratitude.
If it weren’t for his warning, she doubted she would have escaped that sword strike.
The Sun-Setting Sword Immortal smiled at Zheng Fa.
At that moment, Zheng Fa also bowed in return—he knew he had to acknowledge this favor.
Old Han was even more pleased, waving his hand, “We were quite lucky this time… nothing at all is better than having something…”
Everyone understood his meaning.
If there had been any new techniques or inheritances, things would have been troublesome.
That group of cultivators searched for a long time before reluctantly leaving in pairs.
The once bustling desert gradually fell silent.
“Alright! The show’s over! We’ll take our leave!” the Sun-Setting Sword Immortal said with a smile.
He clasped his hands toward Yan Wushuang and the others, and with a flash, the immortal sword transformed into a rainbow of light, carrying the two away.
Xiao Yuying watched them depart, then turned to Zheng Fa and said:
“Such a fruitless effort…”
Zheng Fa nodded, but there was no disappointment on his face; instead, he looked somewhat pleased.
“True, we managed to avoid a major hassle.” Seeing him so happy, Xiao Yuying misunderstood, nodding as she said, “Compared to those cultivators who died without knowing why, we’re much luckier.”
Zheng Fa smiled.
He didn’t speak; his happiness was not solely due to that.
…
A month later.
In the days that followed, some cultivators still tried to search for treasures here, but they were met with disappointment.
Nothing had been left behind.
After a few days, no one came back.
“Shidi! Why are we here?”
In the sky, the voice of Senior Sister Yuan rang out, sounding somewhat puzzled.
The Qingluan landed, revealing Zheng Fa and Senior Sister Zhang.
Senior Sister Zhang looked at Zheng Fa, her gaze filled with confusion, seemingly unsure why he had brought them to this desolate desert.
Senior Sister Yuan glanced around, frowning as she said:
“Shidi, I’ve heard about what happened here.”
“A few waves of cultivators came and went, all returning empty-handed!”
“When we flew over, we didn’t see a single person for a hundred miles! Clearly, they’ve all given up.”
“Why are we still here?”
Zheng Fa scanned the surroundings.
Indeed, aside from the red earth beneath them, there was nothing else.
No one was good!
No one was good for quietly doing archaeology!
“Senior Sister!” He pointed to the ground beneath their feet, “We have one purpose for coming here.”
“What is it?”
“To dig!”
“Dig?” Senior Sister Yuan was taken aback, then her round eyes lit up, “Are you saying there are treasures buried beneath?”
“…”
“Shidi! How do you know that?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then what are you going to dig for?”
Zheng Fa pointed again at the soil, saying, “This!”
“Earth?”
“Exactly!”
Senior Sister Yuan looked at Zheng Fa, then at Senior Sister Zhang, murmuring, “Senior Sister, Zheng Shidi is getting quite good at bossing people around!”
“…”
“For the sake of playing in the mud, he made us travel thousands of miles to dig dirt for him!”
“…” Senior Sister Zhang shot her a glance and turned to Zheng Fa, asking, “What’s your reasoning?”
Zheng Fa replied, “Senior Sister, I believe this soil has significant research value.”
“Research?”
Senior Sister Zhang was taken aback, “What’s there to research?”
This was the biggest difference between Zheng Fa and the cultivators of this world.
For instance, Senior Sister Zhang, though she had read quite a few modern academic texts, still thought like a cultivator from the Xuanwei Realm—
Is there a magical treasure?
Is there spiritual material?
Are there techniques?
If none of these exist, they would deem the place worthless.
But when Zheng Fa prepared that little booklet, he referenced many archaeological records.
From the perspective of modern archaeology, soil can preserve crucial information—sometimes even more than artifacts and documents.
Moreover, this soil surely contained many strange substances—
The red color of this soil might be the blood of the followers of this Tianhe Zun.
How many of the dissipated ash particles had fallen to the ground?
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