Chapter Forty: Pride
writer:
无罪 update:2022-07-21 15:26
“Of course, I will welcome you.”
Ding Ning observed this youth closely and said, “While I do not know how you knew just now that that person was our enemy, but without you, maybe we would have to expend some effect. However, you have never met me before, so how come you are confident in me? You should know, this is a formation that only allows entry not exit. Do you have a way to get out?”
“I do not.” This youth clearly was not good at talking, and his words were very accented. He even had a hard time listening to Ding Ning’s words and he spoke slowly. “I have confidence in Yuanwu, and also, I do not have confidence in myself.”
Ding Ning stilled. Even he had no way of understanding this youth’s words.
“What do you mean?” Zhangsun Qianxue frowned and asked directly.
“I have never met someone stronger than my master but Yuanwu killed my master, so he is stronger than my master. Since he came here in person, and wanted to kill you at any cost, you are, of course, the person who poses the strongest threat to him.”
The youth’s head was still leaning against his knees. He did not look up. At this time, his figure seemed very sad. “Also, I know that I cannot surpass my master, and I cannot use my own strength in the future to kill Yuanwu.”
Tantai Guanjian stilled. He felt that the first words of the youth were very reasonable. This meant that this youth was very smart. And he was able to reach here traveling across a long distance. He had extraordinary bravery and state of mind. So he could not help but frown and say, “How come you know that you cannot surpass your master in the future? You should be the youngest realm seven in the world. Perhaps more accurately, you may be the youngest realm seven in history. Also, your sect is extraordinary. Your master was one of the strongest people in the world. You are so young right now. There must not be many realm sevens who would be a match for you right now.”
At those sincere words, the youth in black robes buried his head deeper and said slowly, “You do not know. I was able to reach realm seven so quickly because, in a certain point of view, I am my master’s lifebond item.”
Tantai Guanjian was stunned. Zhangsun Qianxue had not expected such a reason, and stilled as well.
Ding Ning thought for a moment, his head bowed. He seemed to figure out why.
Some of the strongest sects in the Qi Dynasty cultivated the path of ghosts, and were different from the other sects in the world. Yan Ying had made his own path and cultivated in the thousand graves. From some previous rumors and the actions of the black-robed youth, the cultivators of the other dynasties thought that the top grandmaster of the Qi Dynasty, Yan Ying, had forged the thousand graves into his lifebond item. And upon his death, the graves naturally were passed to his student, this black-robed youth in front of him.
This black-robed youth had previously moved this mountain into the imperial palace during the rebellion of the Qi Dynasty, using it against the enemy. In the view of outsiders, this was akin to Yan Ying giving his lifebond item made from his energy to his student, and his student used secret sect methods to perfectly control Yan Ying’s lifebond item.
But the true reason was, Yan Ying merged a lot of his lifebond energy into his student during his cultivation. In the many years of cultivation among the graves, he was nurturing his student and not the mountains or the graves.
“I heard that the Qi Emperor returned your master’s remains to the mountain of graves.” Ding Ning looked up at the black-robed youth.
“Our sect has a secret art. I used my master’s power to reach realm seven.” The black-robed youth nodded. He felt very bad inside. “But cultivation is a gradual thing, and I went directly to realm seven. I did not walk the paths of the other realms, so how can I reach realm eight? If I cannot reach realm eight, no matter how long I am a realm seven, I cannot win against Yuanwu.”
“I have no other choice. I am not as talented as my master. If I did not choose like this, maybe cultivating slowly, I may not catch up to Yuanwu when he dies of old age.” The black-robed youth slowly said, “I can just rely on others to kill Yuanwu.”
Everyone fell silent.
Ding Ning saw the shoulders of the youth were moving slightly. He knew that while this youth was not sobbing out loud, he was crying very hard.
While this black-robed youth was a grandmaster that the cultivators in the world feared, he was too young, and from his age, he was just a child. There had only been him and his master in the sect. After Yan Ying died, this black-robed youth was alone.
“If I can come out of this formation alive and flee, I will help you kill Yuanwu. I am capable of killing Yuanwu,” Ding Ning said after many breaths of silence.
While these words sounded like just words of comfort to a child, the black-robed youth turned his head upon hearing them and wiped his tears on his knees. Such young and childish movements meant that no one was able to relate him to the youngest grandmaster.
Then the black-robed youth looked up at Ding Ning and said, “It appears you are different from other cultivators. I think you are the same as Yuanwu says. You are that person reborn…… But you seem to have something else terrifying hidden in your body other than the Nine Death Silkworm. What is that? You clearly have a very powerful lifebond sword, but do you have another lifebond item?”
“Your master’s cultivation method is as extraordinary as expected.” Ding Ning smiled faintly and explained, “That is not a lifebond item, but the elixir of life, from the ancestral mountain.”
“Very strange. It is very close to our energy,” the black-robed youth was stunned, and said unconsciously.
Ding Ning originally thought that he would keep on asking about the elixir of life out of curiosity, so he was shocked when he heard the youth’s words.
“But it is not the same. It seems to be a product after a certain change.” The black-robed youth’s eyes flashed with light as he tried to sense.
Ding Ning frowned slightly and pondered the meaning of these words.
“These swords have the remains of the lifebond energies of previous cultivators, but then these energies were twisted. Just one sword is nothing, but when there are so many, it is very powerful.”
At this time, the black-robed youth seemed to fear that Ding Ning would dislike him and said, “I may not be able to reach realm eight, but the method of the Thousand Grave Mountain can be used like this…… In the future, I may be able to create an army.”
The last words were hard to understand, but this black-robed youth did not give others the time to think. His gaze landed on the ground at the side.
The soil there was turning over in large pieces, many of the pieces were raised by the black-robed youth’s energy like graves.
His gaze fell on a piece of ground. There was a bloody corpse there. This was the realm seven grandmaster that Tantai Guanjian had killed.
A black energy suddenly appeared in the air. It looked like a black gravestone was sinking down and falling on the corpse of the realm seven grandmaster.
A terrifying scene appeared.
That grand-master slowly and stiffly sat up.
“He cannot have his original power, but adding in my lifebond energy, he has a bit.” The black-robed youth turned to look at the shocked Ding Ning and the others.
“There was a Ghost Daoist during the You dynasty who was supposed to have the ability to control corpses to fight. Your methods are similar.” Ding Ning calmed down and asked the black-robed youth, “What are you called?”
The black-robed youth thought back. In his memories, his master had not seemed to name him. He pondered further and said, “Qian Mu.”
Translator Ramblings: Qian Mu is “thousand grave” so very imaginative name there.
Volume 4 40 - Learn and Teach
In the next moment, blood sprayed wildly out of Hu Jingjing’s mouth. She felt that she had vomited all the blood in her body.
The invisible wall in the sky was falling down towards the cavalry. The cultivator wearing the tiger skull mask shouted in fury. The five blood crescent moons flying around him flew upwards, and viciously struck at the falling invisible wall.
The invisible wall split apart into tangible wild winds and sharp sword energies. There seemed to be countless transparent swords slashing viciously into the ground. The five crescent moons only won a bit of time for the cavalry.
As the masked cultivator shouted in fury, this cavalry sank into chaos and urgently retreated.
The scattered transparent blades fell into the scattered cavalry and immediately created waves of blood.
These blades only killed about twenty soldiers in reality, most of those affected horses unable to dodge in time. When the riders found they could not stop this force, they had immediately left their horses.
Yet the chaos created was shocking to see.
Hu Jingjing felt she was about to die but even more shocked than the Wuzhi soldiers, she found power from some unknown place and shouted, “City Guarding Sword.”
Then she fell forwards.
Right up to the moment before she lost consciousness, she was still thinking, that was Mo Shoucheng’s sword essence.
In her knowledge, Huang Zhenwei was the heir of the old man who had killed her master, but why had not such a sword essence appeared from Huang Zhenwei and was now appearing in Li Xixing’s hands?
Li Xixing ignored her confusion and quickly shoved a medicinal pill into her mouth. Then he slapped roughly to force the pill from her throat into her stomach. His attention remained on the cavalry in chaos.
The cavalry tried to maintain their formation but did not dare to advance.
He knew that Hu Jingjing, this Changling young woman who had not heeded to his orders at all, had won her gamble. He took a deep breath, grabbed and hauled the woman onto his back. After moving through the grass for a few moments, he dug his fingers deep into the soil and pulled out a copper wire again.
There were more copper wires connected to the end of this wire. As he pulled, the copper wires, not laid out in a straight pattern, whipped. Wavy ripples appeared on the grass next to him like many cultivators were moving quickly in the grass.
Then he retreated. This time, he did not deliberately conceal his figure. He knew the best riddle was one that mixed true and false. If the enemy’s attention was attracted to some true scenes, they would miss some other traces.
The three thousand cavalry retreated five hundred feet away and then reorganized.
Seeing the waves of grass in the wilderness ahead, and the dust column where Li Xixing retreated, the mask-wearing cultivator, clearly the highest commander of the army, was silent for a moment and then produced some sounds of complex meaning.
The riders around him sounded at the same time, as though in disagreement, but were faced with harsher rebukes.
No one else around him dared to speak.
The cavalry started to retreat and then disappeared in the night behind him.
This general dismounted. His horse was taken away by the retreating cavalry. When the sound of hoofbeats almost disappeared, a curved blade from his black flew up like a blood moon.
The crescent blade flew higher and higher. Many breaths later, there was the sound of grass snapping behind him and soon arrived next to him.
An enormous wolf appeared next to him.
This was a grey wolf far larger than a normal wolf. There was a saddle on its back, and even some food and thick blankets tied there.
This general patted the giant wolf’s head and then mounted.
The medicine power activated in Hu Jingjing’s stomach. The wild medicinal power charged into her meridians. They could not quickly make her damaged meridians recover, but they went deep into her bone marrow and stimulated the production of blood.
The new pain caused Hu Jingjing to wake up quickly. Then she vomited a mouthful of blood.
“It is best if you do not lift your head. Otherwise, a blade of grass may blind you in one eye.”
As she unconsciously wanted to look up at the surroundings, Li Xixing’s voice reached her ears.
She woke up completely and realized Li Xixing was carrying her quickly through the grass as he ran. “We succeeded?” she obeyed and did not look up as she asked weakly.
Li Xixing was silent for many breaths and said, “The cavalry retreated.”
Hu Jingjing was delighted and then she sensed the domineering and unimaginable medicinal power in her body. Then she paid attention to her body and became truly shocked. “What kind of pill medicine is this?”
“White Bone Blood Birthing Pill.” Li Xixing replied simply.
“This is Han ……” Hu Jingjing gaped in disbelief and could not speak.
“This is the strongest healing medicine from the former Han Imperial Palace,” Li Xixing said simply. “My father was only assured that I could exist here with this kind of medicine on me.”
Hu Jingjing was even more shocked.
Then Li Xixing said, “But this is the last one.”
Hu Jingjing struggled out after multiple breaths of silence. “Thanks.”
Li Xixing said after a moment of silence, “No need for thanks. When the cavalry appeared, I also did not think of any way to achieve all aims.”
Hu Jingjing pressed her face to his back. The back of his fur was completely soaked in blood. It was frozen in the cold like cooked leather. But as he sprinted rapidly, some heat still came off his back and caused the heavily injured Hu Jingjing to feel warmth.
She hesitated for a long time and asked, “Why do you have Mo Shoucheng’s City Guarding Sword.”
Li Xixing too hesitated for long. He was likely the one among the Changling young talents worst at conversing with people, yet he still felt he had to say something.
“Do not hate Mo Shoucheng.” He said seriously after a long time, “He did not do it for himself.”
“Do you mean if you do not act for yourself, then that person is noble?” Hu Jingjing thought of the sword light in the night and her voice grew cold.
“No matter how you hate him, he is dead.” Li Xixing did not argue with her. He could understand her feelings. “At least to me, he is the person in Changling most skilled at keeping himself out of things and controlling Changling’s balance.”
Hu Jingjing did not understand him and listened silently.
“He will try to make up for some people’s mistakes.” Li Xixing continued. “Before I was exiled out of Changling, those people of similar age to me couldn’t beat me. If I aimed for Min Mountain Sword Sect, I should have entered Min Mountain Sword Sect faster than Duanmu Jingzong and the others, but I was exiled. He taught me the City Guarding Sword as compensation for my exile and a reward for what I do here.
Hu Jingjing struggled to breath and said slowly, “I admit that he is a good person to you, but for Treasure Light Temple, he is a criminal. But he is dead so I will no longer comment on him.”
The night grew deep. Everything returned to darkness like it had been washed.
Li Xixing, who had been moving bent at the waist and hanging his head, stopped.
“Where are we going next?” Hu Jingjing said.
Li Xixing slowly turned around and said coldly, “We may have nowhere to go next.”
Hearing his unusual tone, Hu Jingjing who was keeping her head down looked up. She looked up at him and then into the distant night.
“Someone is coming?” She said softly to Li Xixing, “One much stronger than us?”
Li Xixing did not answer.
“You go.” Hu Jingjing took a deep breath and said, “You should be able to go alone.”
“Do not speak and disrupt me from thinking,” Li Xixing said arrogantly in a cold voice.
Hu Jingjing frowned deeply. She said nothing else and did not struggle.
Li Xixing put her down, and gripped the handle of his long sword, but he stood motionlessly in front of her.
In the distant dark night, an unusual sound appeared, turning to a gust of wind!
A grey figure, carrying along a wild wind and yellowed pieces of grass, charged out of the night and into her sight!
“Fang!”
“You are Fang!”
A voice with an unusual hissing sound spread in the dark night with burning black fury.
Li Xixing’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Seeing the grey wolf representing the Wuzhi imperial house, he started to feel cold.
Volume 5 40 - City Massacre
The Imperial Guard set up base at the grass plains. Behind these plains were the twelve cities of the Qin Dynasty. Compared to the enormity of Yin Mountain, these two border cities were so tiny they were like twelve pearls scattered in the plains.
The closest city to the plains, and also the furthest from Yin Mountain was called Shanglao. This city had originally been the outermost border city of the Qin Dynasty, and once built for the prisoners sent here.
Near sunrise, a tall and large man appeared on the gates of Shanglao. He wore copper-colored armor. There were no visible patterns because the armor was covered with all kinds of sword marks. These marks, of various depths and age, were so dense they bloomed on the surface of the armor like dandelion flowers.
Under the sunlight, some metallic sections shone with golden light like cold lightning was moving within. Some marks were inches thick, but they had still not penetrated through. This meant the armor was astoundingly thick. Even more importantly, the sword marks were so close that under the pressure of these sword marks, the metal of the armor seemed to have changed, and some crystal-like lights had even appeared in the metal.
This tall man had a large face, and looked even rougher than people from Guanzhong. He wore two criss-crossing blades on his back, and not swords. The blade scabbards were leather and simply sewn. Even the fur on the surface had not been scraped off. They looked like grassland wolfskin. The hilts were light yellow and shone with a purple-red, not like metal but a kind of jade stone. His eyes were also like precious stones. They shone with the natural blue of the sky and looked as clear as the sky above the grasslands.
He looked far towards the grasslands, knowing well that that division of the Imperial Guard Army would reach this border city after noon today. He had come here because of that youth within the Imperial Guard Army. Yet he knew that his battle would finish before the youth arrived.
A morning breeze blew by. This wind came from Yin Mountain and was slightly chilly, adding some sense of murder to the air. It also carried over the distant scents of cow and sheep dung. Yellow grass rippled like the ocean.
The man standing on the gate tower narrowed his eyes. A grass blade, turning from green to yellow, appeared.
Shao Sharen, dressed in the robes of Min Mountain Sword Sect, slowly walked along the path made by horses and walked towards the gates.
**
There was a large clearing in the center of Shanglao. This place had originally been used to execute prisoners, but at this time, countless people were kneeling there, most of them women and children. The only one standing was a handsome man.
This man wore a white fox fur coat like he feared the cold. But the jacket was covered in dust and the weathered air of travel which even vital energy could not wash away. He had a long sword at his waist. There were many grand precious stones embedded in the sword hilt all carved into the shape of a skull.
The handsome man slowly raised his head among the wind that reeked of animal dung. Then he casually looked at the children and women kneeling ahead of him.
At this time, at the other end of the plaza, a man with ordinary and forgettable features appeared. But this man also wore green robes.
The man in the white fox fur jacket smiled faintly and said, “They all say the Human Butcher treats lives like grass. I had not expected this tactic to be effective against you?”
“Who can really treat human lives like nothing?” Geng Ren looked at this man and said without any special emotion, “But you, Yelu Canglang, the third crown prince of Donghu, someone extremely important to all of Wuzhi. You risk coming here because you treat other people’s lives like nothing or your own life like nothing?”
Yelu Canglang’s smile faded, replaced by a hint of coldness. “I am the most important person of the Wuzhi army. I naturally must appear at the most important place. Is there something more important than preventing people from Min Mountain Sword Sect from entering the battlefield?”
After a pause, he looked at Geng Ren and laughed self-deprecatingly. “If Min Mountain Sword Sect’s people will not appear on the battlefield, so what if I die?”
Geng Ren looked at him and said something only the two of them could understand at this moment. “If you are determined to do this, we may all become prey for someone else and die here.”
“So I did not kill these people to leave some conditions to talk to you. You only want to protect that disciple so important to Min Mountain Sword Sect to Donghu. I can get him to reach Donghu safely.” Yelu Canglang smiled faintly. “We can even go with you together to the border of Donghu, but the condition is we must leave together. My condition is any cultivator from Min Mountain Sword Sect will no longer enter Wuzhi.”
Geng Ren thought for a moment and said, “We also do not want to enter Wuzhi.”
Yelu Canglang took a deep breath and said, “I understand what Min Mountain Sword Sect feels so I feel that we can talk.”
Geng Ren looked at his eyes and said, “Without our protection, he will be in danger in Donghu.”
Yelu Canglang looked back into his eyes. “Ling Shan and I are here today. If we fight to the death today, he will be in more danger, even the Min Mountain Sword Sect will be in more danger.”
After a pause, Yelu Canglang said slowly, “And if he goes to Donghu, I can guarantee that none of Wuzhi will attack him.”
Geng Ren said slowly, “You are so reassured letting him go to the Donghu border?”
“That is between Donghu and Chu,” Yelu Canglang said with slight sarcasm, “If a realm five cultivator who loses the protection of Min Mountain Sword Sect can change everything there, then Donghu and Chu cannot influence the war between us and Qin at all.”
Geng Ren mulled.
Yelu Canglang glanced at him and said, “You do not have much time to make a decision. I had not thought that you value the youth so highly that even Shao Sharen has come.”
Geng Ren knew very well what he meant. After ten more breaths, if the strongest general of Wuzhi did not kill Shao Sharen, the latter would kill the other. Any person who was left alive likely would not have it easy.
He did not hesitate and nodded simply. “We will go with you to Donghu, and then return.”
Yelu Canglang smiled, then gave a clear howl……
Shao Sharen had already reached the front of the gates.
The man wearing armor on the gate tower had already gripped his blades in his hands. But hearing the clear howl, he shook his head with some regret and said to Shao Sharen, “We cannot fight.”
Shao Sharen’s figure disappeared among the yellow grass as did the man on the gates. Inside the city, Yelu Canglang and Geng Ren also disappeared.
The children and women kneeling started to sob loudly.
There were no hawks or vultures in the sky above. Looking down from high up, there was a circle of black and red low walls inside the border city’s walls.
The black were the remains of Qin soldiers in black armor and the bodies of the black vultures who usually flew in the sky here. The red was the spilled blood that had yet to congeal.
Other than these women and children, there was no one else alive in the border city.
Translator Ramblings: I’ve been using grassland/prairie all this time, but the location is technically the “Great Steppes” which cross all of Eurasia.
Volume 3 40 - Folding the Sword
The name of the Yan Madman, Li Caitian, was crazy to start with.
Since ancient times, even the emperors treated the heavens as above them. Many people had the “heaven” character in their names, but most were used as “respect to heaven”, “peace heaven” and so on. But names like “heaven opening” or “heaven creating” were somewhat unorthodox.
Originally, Li Caitian was an unnamed paper cutting child of a seal paper workshop. Yet, when he started cultivation, he named himself “Caitian”, meaning cutting the heavens. He was really mad.
However, people would frequently feel helpless at the madness of some people.
Li Caitain was not just the fastest cultivator in the last fifty years of the Yan Dynasty. When he reached realm seven, he had taught almost every elder in the Xieling Seal Sect a lesson.
Even more importantly, all of the elders he had fought respected him.
He had changed almost all the seals that the elders knew, and after his modifications, these seals increased greatly in power.
The end result was he was recognized as the top seal master in the Yan Dynasty. He also frequently held open classes in the Xieling Seal Seal, and never avoided discussing the seal path with people who were not part of the sect. Most of the Yan cultivators had received his teachings. So in the Yan Dynasty, most people respectfully called him ‘Teacher Xie’, meaning he was the most respected representative and teacher of the Xieling Seal Sect.
People like him did not have just powerful cultivation. His unorthodox madness and powerful comprehension gave him extraordinary creativity. In any person’s eyes, he was a treasure of the Yan Dynasty.
The Yan Dynasty was already surprised that they were the first to attack. It was even more incomprehensible that he was the person.
The emperor of Qi frowned deeply.
In reality, he had paid a great price in order to learn who would follow Emperor Yuanwu onto Deer Mountain. He had an understanding of Fang Xiang. He should have leaked some information to the emperor of Yan or Li Caitian as the Yan Dynasty was the first to attack, but he still abided by the words of the man in black robes to watch, and remained silent.
The emperor of Chu combed his beard thoughtfully.
He felt that even if the Yan Dynasty was going to show goodwill to the Chu, they did not need to pay such a price. If so, then this was a matter of the Yan Dynasty.
What kind of game was the Yan Dynasty playing?
When grandmasters fought, even when they had not yet acted and were just accumulating power, it was enough to cause a change in the world.
On the sky by Fang Xiang’s side, blue energy slowly invaded the white clouds, and caused multiple clouds to twist like blue scales.
Over by Li Caitian’s sky, a white line slowly appeared like an opening had been cut in the blue sky.
The mountain peaks around Deer Mountain were completely silent. The air was almost frozen, unable to flow. No wind blew through the mountains.
Li Caitian was mad in personality. Facing Fang Xiang’s bow, he only looked up at the sky and said softly, “Fighting like this is a pleasure. But it is a regret that I cannot learn from Emperor Yuanwu.”
Fang Xiang camly straightened, looked at him and said, “To me, you are already the best opponent. So I have no regrets and have won slightly.”
Li Caitian shook his head and said, “I have no regrets or ties. I have bathed and cleansed my body. My mind is at my peak, so we are equal.”
Fang Xiang nodded.
Boom!
As he nodded, the air between the two suddenly showed a clear ripple which spread towards both sides. While it resounded a deafening roar, the ripple was just bright light and intangible.
“Thought Sword Art!”
Numerous grandmaster-level people here had their own mysterious and profound moves. But when they saw this bright but intangible ripple, more than half of them changed expression, and knew they were not a match for the two.
Using mental power to form a sword, was to be fast. But the attack from Fang Xiang’s thought sword seemed almost close in power to a true flying sword. This kind of move was very rare in history books. However, Li Caitian forming a seal with a thought was similarly astounding.
“Please.” Fang Xiang reached out with a hand as he spoke.
A flat and dark sword light appeared in his hand, stabbing towards Li Caitian.
Hearing his words, it appeared as though the thought sword attack just now was only a test and not a true attack in his mind.
The sword movement was normal, but carried a power able to cleave mountains. The straight and sharp sword energy cut through many streams of primal energies of the universe. Many of the Yan Dynasty seal masters paled. In front of this seemingly ordinary sword, they would not be able to even make a complete seal.
Li Caitian had never encountered such a sword attack before. He frowned slightly, and a jade-like square seal silently appeared on the fingertips of his left hand.
With a soft poof, a pure wave of energy sprouted out of this blue seal.
His body suddenly disappeared from its spot and appeared behind Fang Xiang.
Uncontrolled gasps sounded.
Li Caitian’s movement appeared extremely simple, but under the pressure of this kind of sword energy, his simple drawing contained laws on the primal energies most realm sevens could not understand.
The sword was advancing forward, but Li Caitian was behind the sword. If this sword missed, Fang Xiang would undoubtedly be defeated.
However, the exclamations were not due to Li Caitian, but due to Fang Xiang’s sword.
Fang Xiang’s advancing figure did not change at all.
A dot of light appeared at the tip of his sword.
His sword passed through this dot of light and the blade bathed in this layer of light.
All of the sword energy ahead of the blade disappeared.
Countless white turbulent flows appeared behind his body.
Each white stream of turbulence was pure sword energy. These white streams completely shrouded Li Caitian’s figure.
Li Caitian’s expression remained calm as a yellow seal paper flew out of his hand and crashed to the ground.
All of Deer Mountain shuddered slightly. Millions of yellow grains of dust appeared from under his feet.
When the white turbulent flows and the yellow dust came into contact, time seemed to slow. Heavy power filled the air like multiple giant mountains. The white turbulent flows and the yellow dust did not change, but Fang Xiang’s body suddenly shook; his face paled and blood dripped from his nose.
This momentary confrontation ended with his injury, but his left hand was already rising behind him.
A blue sword energy flew out of his index and middle finger like a cluster of dragon scales. It flashed and disappeared from everybody’s perception.
There was a soft sound.
A hole appeared in Li Caitian’s left shoulder. Much of the yellow dust was stained by the splash of blood.
“A good sword!”
Li Caitian’s expression was aloof as he looked at Fang Xiang’s back.
Fang Xiang turned around, looked at him and said gravely, “Good seal.”
Both were injured, both were complimenting each other, but their attacks did not stop for a moment.
The moment Li Caitian said “good sword,” a giant shadow was already falling through the air.
Fang Xiang’s black longsword was missing from his hand.
Both of his hands were empty.
The enormous shadow falling through the air was an enormous mountainous sword.
This was an incredible scene.
Those on the peak of Deer Mountain, and even on the peaks surrounding Deer Mountain could clearly see this giant sword.
In other words, each of them clearly saw a giant dragon.
As the surrounding vital energy flooded in, the dragonscale sword expanded greatly. Each of the scale scripts on the blade turned into enormous black stones. If this was just all, everyone would feel that the sword was made from giant rock boulders, but there were two wisps of yellow flame at the tip of the sword.
The two yellow flames flashed with cold and violent emotion.
A powerful presence, completely unlike Fang Xiang, looked down on the world from the two flames.
This was a presence that only the powerful demon beasts would possess.
When demon beasts reached a certain level, they could no longer be described as demons.In the long history of humankind, they would dread, revere and bow to it.
Many of the serpent-dragons existing in the world now had a similar presence.
So this was the true dragon breath.
The story of legend was true. Fang Marquessate Establishment’s Dragonscale Sword had been refined with dragon blood, and had assimilated the vital energy power of a kind of dragon.
The emperor of Qi looked up at the giant sword, his eyes widened to their limits, his mind completely filled with shock and emotion.
Even though he knew beforehand that the legend had been true, he could not have imagined a sword transformation like this, or that Fang Xiang would be able to wield such a sword.
“So this is your true power.”
“No wonder Emperor Yuanwu had you accept the fight.”
Li Caitian looked at this giant sword, and sighed softly in understanding.
The item in his hand gave off the presence of a lifebond item; appearing in his hand was a slightly yellow seal paper.
Everybody sank into greater shock.
The seal paper in his hand had no seals. This was just an ordinary piece of yellow seal paper.
The lifebond item of the top sealmaster of the Yan Dynasty was a seal paper that could but cut into any shape, and did not hold any power in itself. Now, Li Caitian was going to use his lifebond item.
What kind of shape would he cut this seal paper into?
Unexpectedly, Li Caitian did not cut this unfinished seal paper into any shape.
He just simply folded the paper.
He folded the seal paper in half.
Translator Ramblings: The earliest Sword Dynasty chapters will be slowly edited. A new edit of chapter 1 is now up.
Volume 2 40 - Great Floating Water Prison
This chapter has been brought to you by me, and larkspur.
"From the beginning to the end, from using an army to forcibly reclaim Yangshan Commandery to challenging me at this moment, he wants to gain the initiative at all times."
"He not only wants to fight me and Emperor Chen of Han, but the entire world."
"So if there is to be an alliance, there needs to be a true alliance between you, the Yan, and the Chu."
Yan Ying stood up. His lips did not move, nor did anyone hear a sound, but the three sentences clearly reached the emperor of Qi’s ears.
The Qi Emperor appeared solemn and dignified, emanating an unique light. For he knew, this unusual warning was Yan Ying’s last words.
Yan Ying standing up was, naturally, his implicit acceptance of the challenge.
Emperor Chen of Han nodded to him in respect.
Yan Ying nodded in return.
Emperor Yuanwu smiled.
As he smiled, all of Deer Mountain suddenly bathed in a unique light.
The blowing wind and the rippling mist were as usual. But there seemed to be many lights, that should not appear, falling down from high up on Deer Mountain.
Every gaze was heavy.
This was a true realm eight, Heaven Opening.
A completely new world seemed to have opened in the sky. There were many waves of energy that other people could not feel. All of Deer Mountain was bathed in a unique light, as though it had become a transparent and bright jewel.
Ding Ning closed his eyes. Not due to the brightness, but the pain he felt at this moment.
Emperor Yuanwu’s cultivations had advanced much higher than he had imagined. This was something impossible, but it was happening before his very eyes.
In the doctrine of any cultivation sect, the crux to cultivation was to detect the tracks of primal energy that flowed through one’s body and the surrounding world. Emperor Yuanwu opened the heavens, and all the cultivators on top of Deer Mountain could naturally comprehend with their entire minds in hopes that they could comprehend some crucial principals.
Yet, unexpectedly, when their perceptions touched with the primal energies that seemed to come from another world, they only felt an enormous pressure, the kind that appeared to crush everything.
Even the realm seven experts present were no exception.
Under such pressure, their perceptions slowed. The perception of a cultivator was the source to controlling everything. When their perceptions slowed, everything slowed.
At this moment, few cultivators were able to comprehend anything related to cultivation from Emperor Yuanwu. They just felt that Deer Mountain was becoming an unique little world under the control of Emperor Yuanwu’s energy.
A world that belonged to Emperor Yuanwu.
At the thought of fighting in this small world that belonged to their enemy, most cultivators on top of Deer Mountain paled. They felt great terror.
They had yet to fight, but the realm sevens felt great terror. This was the enormous disparity between realm eight and seven.
Realm eight, Heaven Opening, was not just to communicate with the world, opening new passages for the flow of primal energies of the universe, and obtaining vaster primal energies. It was also creating a world that belonged to oneself.
Standing at the centre of this pressure, Emperor Chen of Han and Yan Ying felt this more clearly than anyone else.
But Emperor Chen of Han, who had forgotten even his glory, shame, and death, would naturally not feel any terror.
Instead, he wore a smile, sat down with his legs crossed. The fingers of his right hand acted as a sword as he stabbed towards Emperor Yuanwu.
As he sat down, bursts of red pill energy appeared underneath him. These came from the Heaven Stealing Pill. The countless spirit medicines used to create the Heaven Stealing Pill were amazing condensates of primal energies of the universe. A pill medicine, that claimed the power of an entire dynasty during its creation, had enough energy to resist the energy of a Heaven Stealing Pill. It separated the emperor of Han from this small world.
So when he sat down, it was like a red stone had been dropped into a pool. Regardless of whether he could match the world outside, he would first remain still.
Red pill energy shot out of the index and middle fingers on his right hand, accompanied by a burning hot energy.
This was the earthfire that he had absorbed into his body after cultivating diligently by
Mountain for a decade.
This was his lifebond item.
The pill energies themselves had been refined thousands of times by fire. With his body as the medium, the red pill energy and this ray of fire merged together into a crimson longsword.
A furnace formed in the world. A terrifying wave of heat exploded in front of him, driving away all the moisture from around the peak of Deer Mountain.
For all cultivators, a furnace forming when the sword appeared was a trait unique to the Zhao Sword Furnace. Yet at this time, Emperor Chen of Han’s sword had many times more murderousness and heat than what Zhao Zhan had displayed in his battle with Ye Celeng.
Emperor Chen of Han sat on the ground, his two fingers gripping this pill fire sword as he stabbed it calmly and happily towards Emperor Yuanwu’s chest.
Not far to his side, Yan Ying did not move. His black robe swelled slightly, and waves of dark wind blew.
He stood there motionless, but in the senses of everyone around him, he seemed to have turned into transparent air and disappeared into the bright light surrounding Deer Mountain.
Unlike Emperor Chen of Han who had turned into solid stone, the strongest grandmaster of the Qi Dynasty turned himself into a wind that hid in Emperor Yuanwu’s little world.
Emperor Chen of Han’s pill fire sword passed through the air.
As the sword moved, they passed by flowing lines visible to the naked eye. These were originally invisible seal lines that formed when Emperor Yuanwu used his perception to control the energies.
Numerous seemingly minuscule bursts of energy that contained great power formed and destructed in these seal lines. They turned into a wave able to shock a realm four cultivator to death.
This was probably the strongest sword that Emperor Yuanwu had encountered after his ascension, especially with someone like Yan Ying standing by. But Emperor Yuanwu still stood with his hands behind his back, and raised his eyes slightly at the sky.
Thunder seemed to roar through the sky.
Sound, in the world of cultivators, was something extremely slow. But when the enormous sound occurred, Emperor Chen of Han’s sword had yet to reach Emperor Yuanwu’s chest. The vibrating sound waves passed through the bright threads of light, turning into unique transparent swords that fell towards Emperor Chen of Han.
Ding Ning closed his eyes, and took the name of Emperor Yuanwu’s sword in his mind.
Emperor Chen of Han did not hesitate, the pill fire sword in his hand lifting upwards and swinging. It was not that he was too slow, but Emperor Yuanwu was too fast.
If he had not changed, before his pill fire sword reached Emperor Yuanwu, his body would have been cut into countless pieces by the sound seal swords.
The pill fire sword turned into an enormous pill cauldron that sprouted fire towards the sky.
The transparent sword charged into this pill cauldron, making an enormous noise.
The sound was loud and clear.
All of Deer Mountain shook. The peaks around Deer Mountain shook.
Many unimaginable sounds appeared in the world.
All of the leaves on Deer Mountain’s trees left their branches and danced.
All of the transparent swords shattered.
In the next moment, Emperor Chen of Han appeared to have been sliced by countless pieces of glass. Tears appeared on his cloth robe, and drew lines of blood.
Yan Ying looked quickly at Emperor Chen of Han and Emperor Yuanwu.
Only now did the fingers on his right hand move slightly.
Five lines of black energy burned on his fingertips like candlelights before quickly turning into five round black beads. There was a black thread connecting these five beads like they were a strange bracelet.
The five black beads started to spin and fly, brushing against those bright lines of light. They gave off unusually violent and sharp sounds. But the thread connecting the five beads was completely still, as though the furious revolutions of the five black beads had nothing to do with it.
There was a crack, followed by sudden silence.
The five black beads disappeared under Yan Ying’s fingers. Five furiously spinning black lights appeared around Emperor Yuanwu.
Because the rotation was so fast it surpassed the limits of people’s senses, these five balls of black light looked like spheres in many people’s eyes.
But these people could sense there were five black infants in different postures within each black light.
These five infants gave off unimaginably
wind, spinning furiously as they revolved around Emperor Yuanwu.
"Stone-Grinding Sword!" The emperor of Chu felt the essence and uttered in disbelief.
Not far behind Emperor Yuanwu, Huang Zhenwei’s eyes widened in disbelief. He was almost certain that this was the true Stone-Grinding Sword Essence.
The Stone-Grinding Sword had been one of that person’s original creations and could not have spread around. The Stone-Grinding Sword that Yan Ying was using right now was slightly different. He should have comprehended this kind of sword essence from the marks of combat that person left behind in the past, and the corpses of those he killed.
Being able to rely on those things to comprehend such a sword essence was a matter of talent.
Comprehending a peerless skill of another dynasty for one’s own use required humility and breadth of mind.
Huang Zhenwei looked at Yan Ying’s figure with a hint of awe in his eyes.
Emperor Yuanwu frowned slightly, as though in displeasure. His head tilted back further as though he was looking up at the stars at night.
Numerous white flames appeared in the sky and fell down faster than those sound seal swords.
Translator Ramblings: The way that the phenomenon is described, this should be more like "Sky Opening" than "Heaven Opening" but I guess it could be interpreted as "the opening to Heaven?"
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