Chapter Thirteen Slaying The Serpent With A Blow
writer:
无罪 update:2022-07-21 15:26
The thin man with thick jointed fingers under the umbrella did not know what Ding Ning was thinking right now. He methodically followed the two foreigners, calm and cold.
The Fish Market was still shrouded in rain. The water in the ponds were about to spill out, and the green grasses on the shores swayed with the waves.
The thick-browed young person and the handsome young person walked out of the city. Soon, the enormous towers standing in the wind and rain disappeared behind them.
There were many wooden pavilions alongside the road. One of them was coincidentally called Autumn Rain Pavilion.
This was an old and dilapidated pavilion filled with dried vines.
Looking at this dilapidated pavilion and the pedestrians hurriedly passing it by, mist rose in the handsome youth’s eyes. This small pavilion had been built to provide shelter for the passerby from the wind and rain. Yet the autumn wind and rain were fiendish. In weather like this when travel was hard, the passerby were in a hurry, and no one took shelter from the rain.
Life was the same. The path one took usually was not the same as what one first thought.
The thick-browed young person holding the umbrella did not have such feelings. Eve since walking out of Fish Market, his brow had been slightly furrowed, and the murderousness in his bright eyes grew thicker.
Seeing the handsome youth in front of him stop at this pavilion, he lowered and his voice and asked, “Here?”
The handsome youth nodded. “Here.”
The thick-browed young person started to get excited. “I am fighting?”
The handsome youth glanced at him, expression as calm as water. “The other is strong. This is Changling, we cannot waste too much time here, so it is suitable for you to fight.”
The thick-browed young person became even more excited. His left hand, which did not hold the umbrella, rubbed on his clothes as though he already started to sweat.
The handsome youth seemed to be in a better mood, smiling and walking into the small pavilion to wait silently.
The thick-browed young person thought for a moment and did not follow, standing under the umbrella outside the pavilion.
In the distance, on the road they came, a yellow canvas umbrella slowly appeared like a dried lily pad in the pond.
Seeing the thick-browed young man and the handsome youth stopping in the pavilion up ahead, the thin tall man under the yellow canvas umbrella frowned slightly. However, he had great confidence in himself so he did not stop at all in his stride. He walked until he was nearly ten meters away from the thick-browed young person before he stopped.
The thick-browed young person’s eyebrow raised up. He became even more excited. However, countless lessons and battles had taught him to not attack before he heard an order come from behind him.
“You are not a Qin person,” The handsome youth standing in the pavilion said coldly.
The thin tall man under the umbrella did not refute this. He said coolly, “It appears you are not Qin either.”
The handsome youth said calmly, “Not Qin. If the person killed is also not Qin, then it has nothing to do with the laws of the Qin Dynasty. No one will put energy into an investigation. You have planned well, I see you have no fear. I fear this is not the first time you have done business like this.”
Was this person fishing?
The thin tall man under the yellow canvas umbrella frowned. He looked suspiciously at the surrounding roads. After confirming that there were no hidden Qin chariots in the rain, he looked with more puzzlement at the calm and handsome youth. He asked, “Ordinary foreigners go through intermediaries when doing business in Fish Market and do not dare to show their wealth. You do not follow the rules, you also know what business I specialize in, yet you waited here for me. You also do this kind of business?”
“I had no interest in killing and robbery.” The handsome youth shook his head. “We will fight back only when people target us, this is our way of conduct. But you have great bravery in daring to follow after detecting this, you are a fearless and lawless person.”
The thin and tall man under the yellow canvas umbrella smiled. He said, “I am originally a serpent of the water, not a small fish or shrimp of Fish Market, of course I am different. Since I spent effort in following you, I have to see it through.”
His laughter was sincere, and his words were arrogant. In the next moment, before he finished speaking, he turned without hesitation. The yellow canvas umbrella headed towards the thick-browed young person while he fled into the rain like a wild stallion breaking free.
“You have some smarts. You understand to advance by retreat.”
The handsome youth looked at the thin and tall man furiously fleeing and smashing through the rain and mist. The youth sighed and lamented, “Since you have come, you are not the one to say if you can advance or retreat.”
After saying this, the handsome youth said to the thick-browed young person, “Now.”
When he said the word, the spinning yellow canvas umbrella edge was less than an inch away from the eyes of the thick-browed young person.
The hissing of the umbrella edges cutting the air and the rain told people of the power contained in the item. Yet the thick-browed young person stood motionlessly and looked excitedly at the thin and tall man behind the umbrella.
A sharp cry suddenly sounded in the air. A thin and light sword, so red it was black, flew out of the sleeve of the thick-browed young person like lightning.
On its path, it cut through the handle of the yellow canvas umbrella. In the next moment, the yellow canvas umbrella screamed and completely collapsed, crushed by the terrifying power.
The pupils of the thin tall man contracted. His skin felt tight as though it was being pricked by needles.
He was not an ordinary cultivator. He was an experienced dragon. This was why he dared to do something like this. But in his conversation with the handsome youth, he had been parried at every turn, especially his tactic of advance by retreat which was pointed out immediately.
While he felt nervous and had retreated, that yellow canvas umbrella was his test. If the other was not as strong as he imagined, then he would advance rather than retreat.
The thick-browed young person’s strength was more terrifying than he imagined!
Pew!
The flying sword, already at a terrifying speed, accelerated. Accompanied by a white burst of energy, it appeared in his sight!
The thin and tall man howled fiercely. A dozen lines of fire the thickness of a finger appeared in the surrounding space and burned away the mist surrounding him.
That small sword, which had disappeared in his sight, suddenly appeared behind his back and stabbed three times towards his back.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Three enormous explosions!
The dozen criss-crossing lines of fire blocking the flying sword were cut apart. The great force caused the thin and tall man to uncontrollably fly forward.
The thick-browed young man pressed his lips together and took a step forward.
With one step, he appeared perfectly in front of the thin and tall man who was flying back.
The large worn umbrella in his hand flew up. He pulled a large black sword out of the umbrella handle.
The thin and tall cultivator’s face was pale. He knew he was at the border of life and death. Pressed by the presence of death, he finally reached the limits of his strength. All of the vital energy in his body exploded out of the countless apertures in his body.
Countless wisps of true fire appeared in front of him. They seemed to form the shape of a red serpent that leapt towards the thick-browed young person.
He was right. He was not a small fish or shrimp in a pond, he was a serpent.
The serpent created from the true fire was even more terrifying than a true serpent. The droplets of rain pouring down were burned away in the flames.
The thick-browed young person’s damp clothing immediately dried. He did not even blink. He pulled out the large black sword from the umbrella handle and simply swung it forward.
A loud noise.
The large black sword, carrying countless terrifying primal energies of the universe, shattered the serpent made from true fire and then hit the thin and tall cultivator.
This did not seem like a sword, but a giant hammer!
An enormous hammer that could shatter even a mountain of steel!
“One …… ……”
The thin and tall man only said one urgent sound before the terrifying power shattered all the meridians and bones in his body. Like a weightless bag, he flew out.
The moment the sword hit him, he only had time to say one urgent word.
He felt distraught.
That “one” represented many things.
Of the seven disciples of the Zhao Sword Furnace, the first disciple was called Zhao Zhi. They said he had two swords, one “Crimson Fiend,” one “Mountain Breaker.” Yet the cultivators of all the dynasties were used to calling him “Zhao Yi.” 1
Unlike other masters of the sword who also used two swords, his two swords, one a flying sword, the other a close-combat sword, were not used to defend and attack. He used both to attack.
He only cultivated one sword move. Regardless of the opponent he faced, he would only have one sword fly out, and then smash with the other.
Rare were the people who could take on one of his strikes.
He managed to coincidentally encountered a cultivator of the Zhao Sword Furnace, and one of the seven disciples. The thin and tall cultivator felt that he had not died for nothing as he fell to the ground.
His shock and amazement even overcame his distress and the terror of death.
So First Mister Zhao was so young. So this was Fourth Mister Zhao.
Bones completely broken, he gathered strength from somewhere he did not know and raised his head slightly. He wanted to look again at the handsome youth in the pavilion.
So that was Fourth Mister Zhao.
The legendary Fourth Mister Zhao was so young and handsome.
All the cultivators in the world knew that, while Fourth Mister Zhao was the fourth disciple that master of the Sword Furnace took on, Fourth Mister Zhao had the highest cultivation of all the disciples. All the disciples of Sword Furnace took orders from Fourth Mister Zhao.
Even First Mister Zhao respected and followed Fourth Mister Zhao like a servant, listening to his every order.
This thin and tall cultivator finally managed to make out the shadow of the handsome youth in the pavilion.
He died, with some bewilderment, some surprise, and contentment.
Volume 6 13 - Insect
Once Lian Bo had become a marquis, his birth, and much of his history was no longer a mystery.
From a certain point of view, all people who started as normal cultivators, and became a powerful marquis had had legendary experiences. These legends were widely spread, recorded in the history books or the books of the cultivation world, and changed into many different versions of stories.
Lian Bo’s birth was not a secret. He was once of the Wei, but the former Wei Dynasty had accidentally fallen for the trap of the Qin, relying too much on the Cloud Water Palace. As the Qin purposefully caused the Cloud Water Palace to dominate the Wei Dynasty, the sect he had been from had been ruthlessly sacrificed because they opposed the Cloud Water Palace.
His sect had been destroyed on the order of the Wei Emperor. He carried the great revenge of his sect, fleeing to Changling, becoming a general of the Qin. In the end, he led an army to fight his way into the Wei imperial palace. Even though he had not been able to kill the Wei emperor with his own hands, he had gotten revenge for his sect.
His growth and his revenge were inseparable from the help of the Qin people. Especially when Emperor Yuanwu did not care that he was from the Wei, and gave him the same respect, and made him one of the thirteen marquises of the Qin based on his military service. What kind of glory was this?
Any person who commented on this would say it was a great grace.
At the start, thirteen Qin grandmasters had worked together to kill Consort Zhao Xiang, but because of Lian Bo and Zhang Kuandao’s betrayal, eight grandmasters were trapped by sword formations of the Tin Mountain Sword Box. Right now, the strongest swordsman under Wei Wujiu’s command had died, and the others were seriously wounded.
While there were also two grandmasters outside, Consort Zhao Xiang still had Xiang Yan by her side.
The two Qin grandmasters who were outside the formation and not wounded in addition to Wei Wujiu himself facing Consort Zhao Xiang and Xiang Yan. Even if they could win, they may not be able to kill. At least, they would not be able to stop Consort Zhao Xiang from fleeing, much less that she may have other tactics.
In reality, whether or not Consort Zhao Xiang had other Chu weapons, if not for Lian Bo and Zhang Kuangdao’s betrayals, she would have undoubtedly died today.
This was a great battle enough to change the progress of history, but it was defeated at Lian Bo’s hands. How could Wei Wujiu not feel pain? He even felt great sorrow. He felt that Lian Bo had to give an explanation. He knew that Lian Bo would give an explanation.
Lian Bo fell to the ground, face pale. His expression was very complicated. Maybe because of his serious wounds, even his eyes were very dim.
“It is very simple.” He took a deep breath and faced Wei Wujiu’s gaze. “A long time ago, when I was cultivating in Wei, I met her. If not for her, I would not have been able to flee Wei, and would have died long ago.”
“Because I lived, I could continue to cultivate and fight.” He considered for a moment and then said, “I was able to become a Qin marquis mostly because of my cultivation and battles. I also contributed greatly for the Qin Dynasty in destroying the Wei. So in terms of grace, hers is greater than the Qin Dynasty’s.”
“Can you calculate it this way?” Wei Wujiu laughed harshly in anger. “Can grace be determined simply by order of precedence?”
“No, if something like grace is owed, it cannot be determined so simply.” Lian Bo laughed as well, his laugh was full of countless emotions. He slowly stood up. “If this is said to be shameless, then it is my matter. If I am dead, it has nothing to do with anyone else.”
Wei Wujiu and the two other uninjured Qin grandmasters suddenly felt cold. From Lian Bo’s words, they realized what was going to happen.
“Thank you,” Lian Bo had an even brighter smile as he said to Consort Zhao Xiang, “getting revenge is the happiest thing in the world. That day when I led the army into the Wei imperial palace, I was so happy I was willing to die right there. Later, I stayed in Changling and was made a marquis. I was slightly confused, not knowing what to do. I owed people, and felt weighted down.”
His words were not loud, but in the ears of Wei Wujiu and the other two grandmasters, they were like thunder. The three were wary, and their vital energy started to flow furiously.
Zzt zzt zzt zzt ……
Before the sound landed, Lian Bo’s body seemed to be pierced by countless sharp swords. The remaining vital energy and primal energies of the universe in his body shot out of his meridian points. Then his body rose upwards and fell instantly.
But a joyful sword essence had formed in his hand and slashed out. There were balls of wetness in the air, gathering in his sword essence. This sword light was like an enormous carp that leapt at Wei Wujiu.
Wei Wujiu was speechless.
This sword contained Lian Bo’s life energy, the sword essence so strong that it surpassed Lian Bo at his peak.
At this moment, he could only defend. The lifebond sword that had returned to his hand gave off many gray frost tracks. Frosty transparent walls seemed to form in the air.
Boom!
His body was still standing steady, but his hands started to tremble. Many of the frost had blown back on his body. Bone deep wounds appeared, the blood flowing out like bubbling spring water.
Two killing essences were falling towards Consort Zhao Xiang. The two grandmasters no longer cared about Wei Wujiu, just wanting to use this instant to kill Consort Zhao Xiang.
But at this time, Consort Zhao Xiang looked up, and smiled, baring her teeth at Wei Wujiu. Her expression was unusually solemn. “Now it is my turn to try to kill you.”
Pew!
A figure stumbled along with the sword essence.
Xiang Yan used his dagger axe to force this Qin grandmaster back, but once again, blood beaded in his palms.
At this time, a snowy white sword light fell towards Consort Zhao Xiang’s waist.
This sword essence was pure and focused, and this grandmaster came from the Autumn Mountain Sword School. His name was Qi Ruosheng. He was a legend in Changling as well. He was not astoundingly talented, and his comprehension was much worse than his fellow disciples. The Autumn Mountain Sword School was only second class in Changling. But he had focused on the relatively simple sect sword manual, and became the only realm seven cultivator of the Autumn Mountain Sword School. Because of his focus, his attack was terrifyingly steady.
Consort Zhao Xiang moved towards Wei Wujiu like the wind, and seemed to have no time to care for this attack.
Xiang Yan was done for after that attack. Seeing that he could not stop this attack, he did something that these Qin grandmasters did not expect. His body moved forward simply, like a shield, in front of this sword.
The snowy sword light stabbed into Xiang Yan tearing his clothing apart, but the sword tip did not make the sound of flesh tearing and bone breaking when the sword tip entered the flesh, just a muffled sound like hitting a iron wall!
The sword tip was unable to keep penetrating after going half a inch in! The sword energy went just half an inch further.
Xiang Yan’s face turned ashen. Blood, mixed with powerful vital energy and primal energies of the universe sprayed out of his mouth like fine bloody swords.
Qi Ruosheng screamed, his left hand moving in the sword art as the sword light swept away the blood energies. Due to his hurry, his own energies were suddenly shaken.
Wei Wujiu’s pupils shrank to pin points. He looked at the charging Consort Zhao Xiang. He did not choose to flee, but howled like a wild beast. He gathered all his vital energy into his lifebond sword. His lifebond sword shrank according to his thoughts, turning to a small sword the thickness of a finger, speeding up and stabbing at Consort Zhao Xiang’s heart.
There was a track of light left in the air, with the presence of destruction.
Consort Zhao Xiang looked at the sword light heading for her chest and did not change her path. Her seemingly small body gave off a world shaking power. She also gave an unimaginable scream.
With a boom, her fist hit at Wei Wujiu’s heart. In front of her fist, compressed by her power, a visible pillar of wind appeared!
Countless people on the battlefield shouted in shock. Everyone knew that she cultivated her body, but Wei Wujiu’s sword was focused on penetrating. How could her physical body resist it?
Sword and fist crossed. Was this going to be a destructive result?
The sword light fell on her body, illuminating her jade-like face. But her body just shook, and the sword light did not enter her body.
Boom!
Her fist hit Wei Wujiu but did not manage to send him flying. Instead, her fist went through his body, and she picked up him on her arm!
Everybody on the battlefield stopped breathing for a moment, and even time seemed to stop.
Wei Wujiu’s feet had left the ground. His power had completely disappeared, but he had not died. He looked in disbelief at Consort Zhao Xiang’s chest, and saw a simple copper mirror flashing with dim yellow light.
“I told you, I am the empress dowager of the Chu Dynasty. The strongest of the Chu weapons in the world are naturally with me.”
Consort Zhao Xiang coughed up blood softly, but whispered proudly, “Pity you are too pedantic. Even the most cunning fox, if they cannot change their habits, will fall in the trap of the hunters.”
Volume 2 13 - Silence at Painting Viewing
This chapter has been brought to you by me, and larkspur.
An unaffected Chen Chu looked coolly at Forefather Zhou and said, "Those two items are important weapons of the Chu Dynasty."
The two items that Forefather Zhou spoke of was naturally the Worryfree Horn and the Silver Rakshasa Thumb Ring. But he stated that these were important weapons of the Chu Dynasty, meaning that he would definitely return to the Chu Dynasty with these items unless he died here.
This was the same logic as what the Qin swordsmen said about the person dying with the sword. However, when this truth was stated by a realm seven grandmaster, it was unusually intimidating.
Forefather Zhou’s eyes imperceptibly flashed with greed. He smiled slightly and said, "The result will be that even you will remain behind."
Chen Chu stopped talking.
He took a deep breath. Ignoring the wounds from the previous fight, he forced his vital energy to flow powerfully through his body. His slightly pale face started to give off an unusual flush, and his black hair started to turn white.
A fresh and powerful presence filled the Worryfree Horn.
In the next moment, with a boom, the air in front of him scattered. The grass and leaves on the ground were crushed into powder. The Worryfree Horn, flashing with seven-colored light, headed straight towards Forefather Zhou.
Forefather Zhou narrowed his eyes.
Ever since Emperor Yuanwu ascended the throne, he had never fought anyone. He felt unusually unfamiliar facing this pressuring and suffocating presence. But at this time, there was a long-missing itch in his bones that was waking up.
He stood still, his right hand lifted slightly.
With a hiss, a black sword light flooded out of his fingers; and with precision, it hit the Worryfree Horn.
While the method was the same, his fiendish sword and Ding Ning’s fiendish sword were completely different.
Ding Ning’s fiendish sword only looked like crystal, but his fiendish sword was so condensed it was like the blackest of jewels. It shone with bright light, and had a presence slightly similar to the Nine Hell King Sword.
With a crack, this small black sword split into many small crystal grains. However, the advancing Worryfree Horn suddenly slowed, and halted in mid-air. In the next moment, it was forced to fly back by the power of these crystal grains.
Chen Chu’s frown deepened. His unusual flush grew stronger.
This was the first round of probes on both sides. In the eyes of the spectators, the result appeared to be extremely disadvantageous to him. Forefather Zhou’s fiendish energy seemed to have been accumulating in his body for a long time, and was condensed to an unimaginable degree. His vital energy, together with the power of the Worryfree Horn, was unable to withstand. Also, everyone could sense that he was forcing the flow of vital energy while ignoring his wounds.
In this situation where his organs were damaged, forcing the flow of vital energy would bring greater damage to his body and stop him from fighting for long.
A fight between realm sevens was not just so simple.
Reflecting on the presence changes of Forefather Zhou as the small black sword left his fingers and hit the Worryfree Horn, Chen Chu found a thread of hope from this seemingly unwinnable battle.
He took a deep breath again.
In this short moment, the space in front of him seemed to have transformed into vacuum.
He reached out towards the Worryfree Horn with his right hand giving everybody the impression that he was going to grab the Worryfree Horn that was flying back. Yet, in the next moment, several crystal purple droplets, undetectable in his energy sea, exploded out of his right hand at terrifying speed.
When these purple drops of liquid erupted out of his fingertips, they turned into a purple crescent moon in front of him.
As this purple crescent moon bloomed in front of him, the sky seemed to roar as though a great gap had been opened.
A bright pillar of light seemed to surpass the limits of time and descend from above to land on the purple crescent moon in front of him.
Everyone was shocked.
"What is going on?"
Xie Rou exclaimed in disbelief.
This purple crescent moon was clearly the lifebond item of this realm seven grandmaster.
In the previous battles, this realm seven grandmaster had fought with material items, causing people to doubt if he had a lifebond item. When his lifebond item suddenly appeared, the suffocating pillar of light coming down from above contained power that seemed to surpass the power of his lifebond item.
This scene of the sky opening and terrifying energy descending, was a scene described in records regarding realm eight, Heaven Opening.
As he felt with his mind, Ding Ning’s expression remained calm He knew the reason for the phenomenon was because Chen Chu’s lifebond item was a special seal weapon.
"As expected, the Chu are the best at seal weapons. But you can only borrow the appearance of realm eight with a material item, can you truly have the aura of a realm eight?"
Looking up at the bright pillar falling from the sky, Forefather Zhou shook his head and said in sympathy.
The Worryfree Horn was sent flying by the power of the crescent moon.
Chen Chu ignored the Worryfree Horn. He had merged into one with the purple moon, his body being carried by the moon’s power. Along with the purple crescent moon, he surged in front of Forefather Zhou with a boom.
Ding Ning, Fu Su, Xie Lianying, Xie Rou, the two drivers of the Zhou Family, the carriages, and even Forefather Zhou’s body was sent floating by this rich and unstoppable gust of wind.
The wild wind stretched taut the loose robes on Forefather Zhou’s body, completely exposing his concealed figure. As such, the large empty space on the side of his waist that cut deep into his body came into view. His abdomen was high, as though the flesh that had been cut away had been moved to his abdomen.
Forefather Zhou’s expression grew slightly fierce.
As he spread his ten fingers, the black crystal pieces appeared from his fingers. They did not immediately turn into small swords, but hovered on his hands.
In the next moment, an enormous roar, akin a mudslide, came from the sky. Invisible primal energies of the universe flooded into his body, and carried his vital energy to flow out of his skin.
The ten thin crystal pieces merged with his vital energy and the terrifying amount of energy he had moved with his Mountain Moving cultivation, formed a black crescent moon.
The black moon exuded a terrifying destructive presence and the colors of black and white.
Everything in the surrounding became purely black and white just like Ink Garden.
Everybody was bathed in black and white, as if they had been drawn into an ink painting.
This was the strongest killing essence of the Painting Remnant Scroll.
While Forefather Zhou’s comprehension of the Painting Remnant Scroll was skewed, and he had not completely understood the wax and wane, he had more than a century of study. He had completely mastered this kind of murderousness.
This was why Zhangsun Qianxue, who possessed the Nine Hell King Sword, had said to Ding Ning that she had no confidence in winning, even though his energy sea was solidified.
The black and white light stabbed into the enormous pillar of light coming from the sky.
The pure pillar of light was invaded by black and white. The purple crescent moon quickly dimmed, and seemed to show rusted scripts on the surface.
Chen Chu coughed uncontrollably when his lifebond item was damaged. Pink bloody foam came out of his nose and mouth. Blood dripped out of his skin and hissed as though he was leaking air.
This was due to the primal energies of the universe in his meridian points being squeezed out by the powerful force of his vital energy and primal energies surging to the extreme.
He knew that even if he won this battle, his cultivation would fall greatly, and his injuries would be so serious that he would not be able to fight in the future. Chen Chu grimaced, but his gaze was determined and flashed with heated light.
He reached out with his hand again.
The majority of his vital energy surged into the seal scripts of the Silver Rakshasa Thumb Ring.
A silver energy flow, small but with a presence of a river overrunning a dam, accurately hit Forefather Zhou at the empty part of his abdomen.
This was the hope of victory he wanted to obtain at any cost.
When this great force charged in through Forefather Zhou’s old injury, it would immediately tear apart Forefather Zhou’s organs and destroy his energy sea.
Even before death, Forefather Zhou would not be able to counterattack.
But at this time, Chen Chu suddenly felt cold.
He saw the smug expression in Forefather Zhou’s eyes.
The silver energy flow charged into Forefather Zhou’s body but seemed to enter an empty space. Even more accurately, his power seemed to have charged into an energy sea that had been prepared and was open like a bag.
Even if ordinary people had a passage directly connected to their energy sea, when such a destructive power forced its way into the energy sea, the energy sea would immediately be damaged to the extent that the cultivator would die in an instant.
But Forefather Zhou’s body was like a frozen space with stars.
It was filled with ice.
When it entered, this silver energy flow was immediately frozen.
Chen Chu finally understood the internal state of Forefather Zhou’s body, and why Forefather Zhou was slower than him. But at this time, he could not make any additional actions.
Forefather Zhou’s left hand gently pressed on his chest.
Strange sounds rang within his body.
In this next moment, with a string of cracks, the flesh on his back was pierced by numerous pieces of bones from his body, creating blooms of blood.
Translator Ramblings: Cunning Forefather Zhou …… he took what people knew as a weakness and turned it into a trap.
Volume 5 14 - Sword Smelting
Two prison officials in blue robes appeared immediately in the cell.
Before the cell door was even opened, two flying swords of different colors flew through the small ventilation window and stabbed towards Zhang Shiwu on the stone bed like lightning.
Zhang Shiwu was lying on the stone bed. His energy sea was penetrated and bound by special seal chains, and steel wire was threaded through his body so he could not even kill himself. But the surface of his body started to burn. Red energy waves appeared and bloomed like roses. Facing the two small swords coming through the window, he smiled and did not move.
Yet to the utter shock of the two prison officials, the two flying swords inexplicably stopped in the air, unable to advance! Only now did the two prison officials remember there was a kind of sword manual in the world called the Thought Sword.
Just like the Heart Thought Sword that Yi Xin of Mind Chamber Sect used during the Min Mountain Sword Trials, these cultivators cultivated the mind……
When one’s body was out of control, their extraordinary willpower and mental power could gather primal energy and transform them into powerful sword essence.
In the next moment, the two prison officials vomited blood. They lost their connection to the two flying swords. The two flying swords were pushed together by the red energy waves like a pair of scissors.
The dragon restraining chains passing through Zhang Shiwu’s energy sea were cut. As these metal chains were pulled out of the body, blood flowed out along the wound immediately.
In the next moment, there were faint popping sounds coming out of Zhang Shiwu’s body. Those steel wires that had stabbed deep into his body, trailing along his meridians and stopping his vital energy from flowing all charged out of his body and floated like willow branches around him. He smiled and sat up.
The blood flowing out of his body was strangely controlled by his thought to merge back together with the primal energies of the universe that had gathered. Then they shot outwards like red ribbons.
There was an enormous shock. The heavy iron door was sent flying outwards.
The two prison officials vomiting blood, and the six prison officials who came up behind them were all sent flying by the iron door. The red ribbons flew like they were alive, moving more than a hundred feet towards Lin Zhujiu who was in the deepest cell.
Shen Xuan still remained motionless. The mixture of energy and blood flew strangely by him and formed an odd yet beautiful scene.
When the first red blood ribbon fell into Lin Zhujiu’s body, his rotten body gave off a fresh presence.
“Blood Sacrifice. The Ba Mountain Sword Field managed to find such a method, I do not know how much effort those people in hiding expended trying to save you.” Shen Xuan sneered as he looked at Lin Zhujiu starting his regeneration in the water.
“This means that I am not a failure as a human being.” Lin Zhujiu laughed.
His body floated out of the water. The seal weapons imprisoning his body, including the steel wires and gold chains buried in his body were all squeezed out.
These steel wires and thin chains did not fall down after they left his body. They danced and flew, quickly weaving together in an intimidating manner to form a sword shape.
Shen Xuan frowned deeply. The sword forming in front of Lin Zhujiu gave off a powerful lifebond presence and an indescribable presence of flesh and blood.
He started to understand. In the past years, these things had imprisoned everything in Lin Zhujiu’s body. But everything in Lin Zhujiu’s body had been nurturing and refining these things.
This was a sword that Lin Zhujiu used ten years to nurture with energy and also his blood and flesh! The sword had just formed, and had not yet tasted an enemy’s blood. This was its most dangerous time!
The steel threads and fine chains grew more condensed in front of Lin Zhujiu until there were no more gaps. A deep red longsword took form, and shone red light.
Shen Xuan’s expression gradually changed.
The droplet of water silently floated in front of Bai Shanshui, vibrating but hesitant.
Du Qingli watched Bai Shanshui with one eye, the strength in his gaze growing stronger.
But Bai Shanshui put her hands behind her back and smiled at him. “Do you know? I actually do not need to win against you.”
Du Qingli’s concussion had not yet faded. He stilled, not understanding the meaning.
“I only need to keep you here,” Bai Shanshui said coolly, “That is enough.”
Du Qingli did not think her words were correct but he inexplicably had a bad feeling. So he had to determine victory.
In a blink, the primal energies of the universe that had accumulated for many years in his body surged out. An invisible giant seemed to appear between him and Bai Shanshui that suddenly blasted forward.
A visible energy wave charged at Bai Shanshui at terrifying speed.
Bai Shanshui did not move. The droplet of water started to change, turning to countless water droplets and then water bubbles which wrapped Bai Shanshui up in layers.
The impact hit the layers of bubbles. The layers of power were worn down between each layer of bubbles yet none of the water bubbles popped.
Du Qingli’s gaze turned shocked.
“The sword essence of Cloud Water Palace is the strongest and the softest.” Bai Shanshui stood in the glowing water bubbles and looked at him as though from many worlds away.
Du Qingli’s body started to turn cold. He found that he and most of Changling’s cultivators had made a serious mistake. Previously, they had seen Bai Shanshui’s most rigid side and never discovered her softest side.
“You will still not retreat?” Du Hongtan looked with sympathy at Zhao Si.
The enormous monument slashing towards him had slowly tipped upwards. Black sand surged into his hand, and then spilled out as black energy from his hand to the enormous monument. His hand seemed to be glued to the monument.
He was moving up.
The giant monument was also tipping upwards, and the weight also pressing towards Zhao Si’s end. In his view, when all the weight of the monument was pressing towards her, she would nott be able to bear it and her body would explode into pieces.
“While I really hope you will continue and die here …… you will really do that?” He continued to address the silent Zhao Si with clear sympathy.
Zhao Si still did not respond.
However, Du Hongtan abruptly looked back. He felt a dangerous presence.
The moment he looked back, some of the black sand-like energy flowing like a waterfall behind him suddenly gathered to form multiple stalks of bamboo that then produced deep red flowers.
Du Hongtan’s expression changed dramatically. His hand quickly left the enormous monument and slapped back.
A burst of black energy appeared in the empty space behind him, and then burst out over dozens of feet.
Within the black energy, a quiet woman in deep red robes appeared. She held an ancient zither. She slowly looked up, blood trailing out of the corners of her mouth. But her eyes were pure black and also flowing with black energy.
“Eldest Miss Shang?” Du Hongtan said in disbelief.
The quiet woman did not answer. Her hand moved on her instrument. Dozens of black strings flew and disappeared into the air.
Du Hongtan shouted angrily. The falling black sand flew in layers around his body. Multiple stalks of bamboo grew stubbornly in the black sand.
Zhao Si narrowed her eyes slightly, her two fingers left the enormous monument and gripped at empty space……
The enormous monument suddenly burned, turning into liquid metal and drenching the spinning black sand. White smoke gushed out.
Du Hongtan’s shouts continued, Zhao Si continued to advance.
As the monument disappeared, red light flashed at the core. The iron marrow had formed a scorching red little sword. The Zhao Sword Furnace were the best at smelting swords.
Zhao Si gripped this just forged sword and stabbed hard into the black sand ahead.
Du Hongtan stopped breathing completely. This was his home, where he was most strong. Yet for Eldest Miss Shang, this was also her strongest place.
Zhao Si’s burning sword, like a blood sun, was also the bane of
and ghost energy. He could not stop it nor could not be a match for the two of them working together. He could only watch the small sword pierce into his body.
His body was pierced through by this small sword. In the next moment, his entire body started to burn.
Volume 4 14 - Yan, Shangdu
This plain-robed middle-aged man had an indescribable bitterness on his face. In this moment, he understood the choice of the old man who had stood guard for many years.
“You hope to see a powerful and prosperous empire, so you can ignore the deaths of so many cultivators? I understand your intentions. Pity, I do not agree.”
He could sense the deliberate slowness of the force on the turret but he still shook his head. Also, he did not agree with the actions of the mistress of the palace and the man on the throne. He would compromise if he could, but he could only use the sword if he could n compromise. In Changling, many things could only be said with the sword. Even if he could not win, at least the sword would represent his intentions.
All of the wormwood on the eaves of the Treasure Light Temple were cut down in an instant. Those wormwoods that had grown for innumerable years and shone with faint treasure light immediately gave off a great amount of gentle light that flooded into the blade in front of him.
This profound and powerful presence called the Warden’s Office official in front of him to change expression. His body retreated, and he left behind exploding currents of air.
Yet the plain sword did not fall towards the Warden’s Office official or the power on the turret, instead, went upwards towards the sky.
There was a roar.
All the passersby moving through Changling’s streets at the moment looked in the direction of the Treasure Light Temple.
A plain pillar of light appeared in Changling, so tall it almost touched the moon.
For ordinary people, this was just a miraculous scene hard to understand, but for many people, this was a warning, a statement of intention.
The plain-robed middle-aged man had his hands behind his back as his vital energy and primal energies of the universe surged endlessly out of his body. When his energies were completely exhausted, this plain pillar of light slowly disappeared.
The sword that had flown high up into the sky fell down, creating a clean and glowing line of light. The sword fell like a meteor.
This middle-aged man welcomed the fall of the sword.
The sword passed through his heart and his body, stabbing into the ground behind him with flowing blood.
**
The empress stood by the side of the pond with blooming lotuses. The pillar of light and the sword light were extremely evident, and she could see them clearly.
Inexplicably, she became angry. She thought of Yan Xinlan. She thought of that similarly unbending sword essence.
Blood sprayed out from the body of the middle-aged man onto the sword hilt and flowed like a waterfall into the cracks in the tiles.
His decision was resolute, and his sword swift. He died quickly without any pain, peace on his face.
The tightly closed temple door opened behind him with a creak.
A round-faced young woman appeared. In the shadow behind her, there were many other youths with convulsing shoulders.
This round-faced young woman walked behind the middle-aged man. She gripped the sword hilt covered in blood and pulled the sword out of the ground.
Seeing the emotionless expression of the round-faced woman and how she pulled out the sword, the Warden’s Office official felt his heart tighten. He could not help asking behind him, “Who is she?”
“Hu Jingjing.” The official behind him had a hard time breathing and said, “Lu Ze’s direct disciple, orphan.”
The official from the Warden’s Office did not bear it, but when he saw how the round-faced young woman was holding the sword and the moving shadows in the temple behind her, he knew that this matter had to be controlled. So he took a deep breath and said harshly, “What do you want?”
The round-faced young woman looked up. She had no tears in her eyes. She said in a flat tone that was palpitating, “Participate in the war …… did you not say to my master that we are ordered to travel to the border?”
The high ranking official from the Warden’s Office inexplicably stilled. The cultivators behind him and some of the shadows behind the round-faced young woman also inexplicably stilled.
But strangely, everyone understood the meaning of this young woman …… First, she was not strong enough. Second, she needed to live.
The official of the Warden’s Office was speechless for a moment and closed his eyes in pain.
He could not help but ask within.
He did not question the empress’ determination or whether she could do something like this. Yet starting today, how many lives would be changed by her mad choice, and how many terrifying people would be created?
Not far from the Warden’s Office official stood a carriage.
Inside the carriage was a palace attendant. This palace attendant had replaced and taken over some of Palace Attendant Rong’s power. That said, her presence was not as cold as Palace Attendant Rong’s, but her face better looking.
Sitting opposite her was An Baoshi.
“I admire this student from the Treasure Light Temple.” An Baoshi turned and said to the palace attendant when he saw the girl pull out the sword and heard her response. “Her talent is average, less than most students participating in the Min Mountain Sword Trials, and her cultivation right now is low, but I feel that she would grow stronger than most youths in Changling.”
The pretty palace attendant nodded in seriousness. “Mister An is right.”
An Baoshi smiled faintly and said, “But no matter how strong, it is useless. Among the young people of Changling, I am always the strongest.”
His words were very arrogant, but his demeanour and tone made people feel this was a matter-of-fact.
The pretty palace attendant said seriously, “Mister An is right.”
Ding Ning stood by the window with a robe laid over him. He coughed softly. He had started to use the Nine Death Silkworm and the Heaven Replenishing Divine Art to heal his wounds, but he knew he could not make it too obvious and fast.
Seeing the pillar of light disappear from Treasure Light Temple, he said coolly, “As expected, Zheng Xiu has started to go mad.”
“You are proud or displeased?” Zhangsun Qianxue’s cool voice came from the darkness.
Ding Ning turned around to look at her and said, “When one sees many people die and is helpless, there is no more pride.”
“With the Nine Death Silkworm present, she and Yuanwu will not be happy.” Ding Ning added after a moment of silence. “But if she and Yuanwu do not die, I will not be happy.”
Huang Zhenwei was not on the turrets.
But he sensed the power coming off the turret. He could see the light charging into the sky from Treasure Light Temple. For a long time afterwards, he stood, unable to move and could not breathe properly.
He could almost see the helplessness and sorrow in the old man’s eyes. He could almost sense the decisiveness and determination of the plain-robed middle-aged man as he welcomed his own sword.
He knew that more people would die next. He knew what would rise next would be the same bloody storm as in the three years before Emperor Yuanwu’s ascension, and be even more intense.
He bit his lips bloody in pain.
This voice resounded within his body.
All he thought of now was, he just had to find the Nine Death Silkworm to end all this and stop the emperor and empress.
On the Wei River, a small boat floated.
Bai Shanshui, Zhao Si, Lin Zhujiu and Zhang Shiwu were all in this small boat. So the boat was low in the water like it would sink at any moment.
Ever since the pillar of light shone in Changling, Bai Shanshui stood at the bow of the boat with her hands behind her back. She narrowed her eyes and said, “Advisor Lin, what can we do?”
Lin Zhujiu slowly shook his head from within the cabin and said, “You can do nothing. Honestly, I am not an advisor, I am just a steward.”
Zhang Shiwu did not react at all. He was seriously injured, but he was calmly looking at the stove from behind Bai Shanshui where a pot of beef soup was being cooked.
Lin Zhujiu liked beef soup. It had been a long time since he had beef soup like this.
Zhao Si stilled. She looked at Lin Zhujiu. “What do you mean?”
Volume 3 14 - Chu Weapons
This voice was aloof but also extremely shrill. It seemed to be a female voice but also slightly different.
Xie Lianying’s brow imperceptibly creased. The grey-haired horse bandit leader was, in reality, the patriarch of the Guanzhong Chen Family, Chen Tunyun. The Chen Family were a recently risen family in Guanzhong, and had previous business conflicts with the Xie Family before. He was not surprised by their behaviour.
If the Xie Family could not resolve this matter, they would suffer a great blow in the future.
But Chen Tunyun was famed for his filial piety and was also a late child. In his mind, his old mother and this one son of the Chen Family were more important than his life. Since he had agreed to the exchange, who in the Chen Family would dare object?
Chen Tunyun suddenly turned around.
The speaker was not far behind him on a carriage and in grey robes. Their gender could not be distinguished as they were a small figure and wore a yellow cloth over their faces.
“I want to try.”
This person said again in an even thinner voice when Chen Tunyun turned to look back.
Chen Tunyun’s hands trembled slightly. His face was as pale as paper. He said in an inaudible voice, “Official ……”
“You have a small family that cannot compare to a country. Also, I may not fail, perhaps your family will not be harmed at all.” This grey-robed person had a gentle gaze, but the tone was determined and unequivocal.
Chen Tunyun’s chest surged violently. He was about to say something when the grey-robed person said, gaze harsh and voice cool, “Official Chen, do not forget your status. Do not forget that you are not of the Qin!”
Chen Tunyun seemed to be hit with an enormous hammer. He gritted his teeth and turned around.
Xie Lianying had remained silent this entire time. When Chen Tunyun turned around, he looked deeply at the other and said, emphasizing each word, “You should have heard of me say that I, Xie Lianying, dislike people who have regrets when doing business the most.”
As he spoke, two short and rushed whistles sounded in the air.
A red and an indigo sword light suddenly appeared in the carriages with their open curtains, flashing by the old woman and the child.
Two pieces of flesh flew away from the old woman and the young child out of the cabin.
The old woman and the young child shuddered violently, as though they were screaming at the top of their lungs. But for some unknown reason, they could not make any sound.
This kind of scene was even more terrifying.
“Xie Lianying!” Chen Tunyun roared like a wounded beast, his expression worse than if he was crying.
“Is this not good?” Fu Su’s face was pale. While he could not see the scene inside the carriages, he could guess what had happened.
“It is not good, but this is not what the Xie Family had anticipated.” Ding Ning’s expression turned cold. His gaze had remained on the grey robed person with the shrill voice behind Chen Tunyun. “If I am not wrong, only a powerful cultivator above realm seven could force this patriarch of the Chen Family to change his mind. This realm seven cultivator must know that the Xie Family caravan has no realm sevens so he stopped the Chen Family from trading hostages. He does not want to assassinate Xie Lianying quickly, he wants to use a tactic to steal the Chen hostages.”
“Xie Lianying should not be as mediocre as the rumors say. He should see clearly now if he does not put enough pressure on the other, then everyone from the Xie Family will die today.” Ding Ning’s voice grew colder. “Starting now, the other doesn’t want to obtain enormous benefits from the Xie Family, but to kill all the Xie Family members here.”
“Kill all the Xie family members here?” Fu Su was astounded. “The Xie Family is the richest of Guanzhong, one of the pillars of the Qin Dynasty. Kidnapping members of the Xie Family in exchange for astounding wealth will not disturb the palace, but it will cause great vibrations if the Xie family members are killed. Changling would investigate with full power. These Chen family members disguised as bandits cannot be kept secret. Why do they do this?”
Ding Ning sneered and said, “Maybe from the start, their goal is to remove this pillar, or rather to stop the Xie Family from what they are doing now.”
Hearing these words, Fu Su suddenly thought of a possibility and his heart jumped. At the same time, he became more nervous.
If this was like Ding Ning said, and the shrill cultivator was realm seven, then Xie Lianying, Xie Rou and the others were naturally in great danger.
Chen Tunyun screamed heart-wrenchingly, Fu Su and Ding Ning talked, and Xie Lianying wore a cold face. He looked at Chen Tunyun and said, “I do not know your intentions, I do not care what grandmasters you have among you. But I can promise that my two attendants will not care for their lives. No matter how fast your person can act, before I or they fall down, we will have your mother and your precious son’s heads fall to the ground.”
“I will not give you any opportunity to choose.”
Xie Lianying paused, and looked expressionlessly at the dozen of Xie family members surrounded by bandits behind Chen Tunyun. “If you do not release people in the span of three breaths, it will not be a piece of meat, but an arm that will come off them.”
“Do not!”
Chen Tunyun was soaked in sweat like he had been in water. He looked dazedly at the two figures bleeding out in the carriage. His right hand left the reins and moved upwards.
At the same time, the thin and short grey-robed person not far behind him narrowed their eyes.
He quickly released a thin but exceptionally sharp presence.
Chen Tunyun’s body was still making the movement of lifting his right arm, but his right arm did not lift up because his entire arm had separated from his shoulder and fallen down.
Chen Tunyun had reacted when the grey-robed person released their present, but he still could not stop the other from cutting off one of his arms. The moment his right arm was cut off, he finally attacked.
He gave a shout of despair.
A rainbow light appeared in his left hand and he attacked the grey-robed person behind him at astounding speed.
There were two horse bandits between him and the grey-robed person. The two bandits gave screams before they were even touched by the light of the rainbow. With the sounds of bones breaking through their bodies, they flew backwards.
This rainbow light dispersed a presence unique to a lifebond item but seemed to be more powerful than ordinary lifebond items.
The grey-robed person’s eyes seemed to be flashing with stars.
The rainbow light was astounding fast but extremely slow in his eyes.
When the two horse bandits in front of him were thrown back, their bones broken, he sedately reached out with his right hand.
He wore a silver-colored metal ring on his right thumb.
As he reached out, there seemed to be a silver mountain that fell down and instantly condensed into his metal ring.
Silver flows of energy flowed out through the small seal scripts on the metal ring and covered his palm.
His palm seemed to be filled with heavy mercury which then spread up his arm to his body.
Without any fancy moves, he used this silver hand to grab the rainbow light.
The moment the silver palm touched the rainbow light, bright beams of light flashed through his fingers. Great power was about to explode along these lights, but in the next flash, the power seemed to permeate into the sticky silver energy flows like they were sinking into the water.
The silver layer was covering half of the grey-robed person’s body. Without any obvious movement, lines suddenly shot out of the border of the silver covering. Like countless silver flowers, the lines bloomed over the other side of his body.
At the same time, Chen Tunyun’s eyes widened.
His body seemed to be crushed by an invisible but enormous object. He threw up a spray of blood in the air as his body flew backwards,appearing so light that he seemed to float through the air.
The rainbow light was firmly trapped by the silver palm. The light quickly dimmed and showed its true appearance, that of a horn-shaped rainbow jade.
Ding Ning had been focused on the silver thumb ring and the rainbow light. He had recognized what the two items were long ago, but had remained silent.
“It is the Silver Rakshasa Thumb Ring, and the Worryfree Horn.”
Fu Su’s expression turned ugly. He said coldly, “They are from the Chu Dynasty.”
The Chu Dynasty was the best at forging, and the strongest seal weapons in the cultivator world came from the Chu.
The Worryfree Horn came from the Worryfree Palace of the Chu Dynasty which had disappeared for many years. It was possible the item had been lost in other countries. But the Silver Rakshasa Thumb Ring was one of the treasures of the Chu Silver Thread Workshop. Although called a workshop, the Silver Thread Workshop was in reality one of the ten great cultivation places of the Chu Dynasty. A secret sect treasure like this naturally would not end up in the hands of cultivators from other dynasties.
“As a Chu person, you do not qualify to use the Worryfree Horn,” the grey-robed cultivator said coldly, shaking his head. He did not seem to want to conceal his identity at this time.
Translator Ramblings: Xie Lianying is gambling to win this hostage situation
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