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Chapter 65: Unknown Encounter
writer:无罪      update:2022-07-21 15:26
  The black and white rain was both real and unreal as it covered all of Ink Garden.

  In the streets of Changling, many youthful talents looked up at the rain, their eyes filled with fervent worship.

  In the distance, on a turret under blinding white sunlight, Huang Zhenwei and Mo Shoucheng’s eyes were filled with shock and emotion.

  The old man, whose hair floated like roots, looked away from the black and white rain towards the nearby streets. He caught the hot gazes of these young people and could not help but sigh. “Just like before.”


  Huang Zhenwei’s breathing suddenly stopped. He knew the meaning of Mo Shoucheng’s words.

  Only during the times of that person’s appearance and duels in Changling did the young people in the city have such looks. Ever since that person’s death, the young people of Changling never showed such expressions again.

  Huang Zhenwei and this old man, who was actually in charge of all turrets, were not the only people looking in the rain.

  In the cultivation place inside Endless Palace, the master, Pan Ruoye, was also gazing at Ink Garden from a turret. She had had great admiration towards Ding Ning all this time.

  In several dynasties of the past, the fastest time to realm five had been three years. Ding Ning’s breakthrough at such speed, and being able to express the sword essences of the Ink Garden Remnant Scroll with his flying sword right after his breakthrough refreshed everyone’s knowledge, and broke the record in the cultivator word.

  But for some reason, as she looked at the rain in Ink Garden, she felt no joy at all. She knew some things would end. But she could not help but think, maybe Palace Attendant Rong’s ending…… regardless of good or bad, may be her own ending.

  There were many small hills not far outside Ink Garden. On one of the small hills was a large compound. At this moment in a pavilion on the hill, there was a figure that looked like a mountain of meat.

  Only one fat figure could feel as powerful as a mountain, Marquis Xu of Hengshan.

  Of the Qin Dynasty’s thirteen marquises, only a few would frequently reside in Changling, and Marquis Xu’s would almost never leave Changling.

  “Is a palace attendant or the entire world more important?”


  This mountainous figure moved slightly as though he was shaking his head with a sigh. The entire hill seemed to tremble along with his moment.

  Bai Shanshui and Ye Celeng were also looking towards Ink Garden. The pair was the most sensitive towards Changling’s water, and knew what had caused the transformation in Ink Garden’s skies.

  “This is really a good rain.” Bai Shanshui could not help but laugh.

  Countless eyes were looking in the direction of Ink Garden. For many people who did not belong to Changling or the Qin Dynasty, this rain with distinct white and black color did not just mean that there was a new record of cultivation, it also meant that the state of the world would completely change.

  This rain only covered the Zhou Family Ink Garden. Yet it also seemed to cover all of Changling, and the world as well.

  In Changling’s imperial palace, Empress Zheng Xiu stood in front of the spirit lotuses whose petals had fallen and produced tiny lotus seeds. She was silent, but the star light, invisible in daylight, constantly fell from the opening in the ceiling, growing brighter and forming icy flames, indescribably beautiful, around her.

  Not far from her, but seemingly very far from her, separated by many courtyards, Emperor Yuanwu, dressed in commoner robes, also looked towards Ink Garden. His gaze was obstructed by many palaces, but his eyes reflected black and white color.

  “Really a miracle.” This strongest emperor in the world stilled slightly and expressed a sincere compliment.

  In the Northern Tiger-Wolf Army, Liang Lian heard a strange arrow sound. He walked out of the camp towards the perimeter.

  Palace Attendant Rong stood under the yellow eaves.

  She also could not see Ink Garden but knew that a black and white rain had fallen over Ink Garden. She also knew a sword light had flown out of Ink Garden.

  After Zhang Luyang left Changling, she had stood under the eaves for a long time each day, looking dazedly in the direction of the tea garden like a mud puppet.

  Her head finally started to turn. She looked at the surrounding walls, and the imperial palace walls in the distance.

  She suddenly broke into a miserable laugh.

  “This really is like a jail. I’ve never lived for myself my entire life. If I am able to kill you, I will kill you.”


  The yellow-robed middle-aged cultivator who frequently moved in the palace walked out of the empress’ study towards Palace Attendant Rong’s courtyard. His steps were like usual.

  I have never lived a day for myself. If possible, I will definitely live a day for myself. I think you are the same. He thought to himself as he walked in front of Palace Attendant Rong’s courtyard.

  A hint of a smile appeared on his lips, not a miserable one, but a strange smile with a strong braveness and anticipation. He then pushed open the half-closed door and walked in. He had been slightly bowed but then he quickly straightened.

  The courtyard was empty. Palace Attendant Rong could not be seen.

  Palace Attendant Rong was no longer here. She was walking through one of the side halls towards one of the side palace gates people used to exit the palace.

  Most people in the imperial palace learned of Ink Garden much later than Palace Attendant Rong. Many palace attendants and guards along the way saw her, but were not surprised. They did not know why she, who had been determined to reside in the palace, would suddenly depart.

  She did not linger at all. Just like usual, no one dared to stop her. Before many people could react to what had happened, she left through the palace gates and entered the streets of Changling.

  **

  This black and white rain did not last for long.

  When the fine white sword flowers disappeared in the air, the Last Flower remnant sword returned to its master’s side with a light vibration. Ding Ning looked at this Last Flower sword trembling in seeming excitement and felt satisfied.

  “Let’s go,” he said softly to Jing Liuli.

  “No carriage?”


  Jing Liuli instinctively prepared the carriage but then she saw Ding walk out of the courtyard and shake his head, walking outwards and not towards the carriage. Then she saw the worm Ding Ning had shoved into a long box on his back. She was stunned. “What is with the worm?”


  Ding Ning turned to glance at her and said, “You will know in the future.”


  Jing Liuli had sensed such an answer before he replied so she pressed her lips tight and did not speak.

  Ding Ning walked out of Ink Garden.

  Outside Ink Garden, Ye Zhengnan stood with a bowed head.

  Previously, each time Jing Liuli and Ding Ning left Ink Garden, he just watched them leave. He took care of Ink Garden like an actual laborer. Yet today, when he saw Ding Ning’s figure, he followed naturally.

  He walked behind Jing Liuli, several dozen feet away from her. He looked at Ding Ning’s back and his heart shook.

  There was a large metal box on Ding Ning’s back. Many swordsmen in Changling liked to carry sword boxes on their backs to hide the longswords they were skilled in. But no sword box would be so large.

  Even if he did not understand, he was almost certain Ding Ning’s trip out today was completely different than usual.

  Ding Ning also walked into Changling’s streets. While there were countless gazes gathered on his body, he was familiar with the streets of Changling, and he quickly moved through them.

  So his, Jing Liuli, and Ye Zhengnan’s figures quickly disappeared from most people’s sights.

  A feeling of shock spread through Changling.

  Spreading alongside it was the news that Palace Attendant Rong and Ding Ning had separately left the imperial palace and Ink Garden.

  Then more and more people learned that Palace Attendant Rong and Ding Ning had walked into the streets of Changling. No one knew where they were going or where they would meet.

  Volume 3 136 - The Last Battle for Top Ten

  Palace Attendant Rong walked quickly, casually entered a farm yard and changed robes.

  Usually, it would be easy for her to find the tracks of a person in Changling. However, it would be hard for people to find her as long as she was fast enough. So as she walked without stopping, almost everyone was a step slower than her, and only knew where she had gone.

  She walked into a deserted large courtyard. Originally, there had been a tall stage outside this large courtyard. Now, the top of the stage was gone. The stairs up to the stage had rotted away. The stage was covered in broken tiles and weeds.

  She had seen that person and his brothers here. She had admired them greatly and wanted to become one of them. Then, she finally had a chance to become a retainer of the Jiaodong Zheng Family, and the personal attendant of the perfect woman from Jiaodong.

  She walked past this stage and through a group of horse stables.

  The horse stables was deserted and the grasses had grown all over. There was a mass grave by the river port in the distance.

  She remembered she had done the first thing she did not want to do here, purposely delaying a military order so that a certain person would die in battle. That person had once been one of the people from the Ba Mountain Sword Field she had admired greatly.

  She did not stop. Her figure quickly appeared in an apricot forest.

  At the end of the forest were two small bridges facing two completely different directions. She walked over one of the bridges.

  These were the two bridges she had lingered over back then. After crossing this bridge, she had discovered she started to grow further apart from the person she wanted to be. In the end, she became someone she did not like.

  She took a detour and arrived at a lively market. These shops here were all those selling goods from north and south. Shade clothes were supported by bamboo poles. So even in the summer, it was extremely busy, and gave off the scent of all kinds of salted meat and species.

  The thick odor could not conceal the blood scent in her mind. She thought of that day three years before Emperor Yuanwu’s ascension.

  This place had been a mill of blood and flesh. Countless flying swords were broken easily like arrows and fell into the thick bloody mud. The corpses of realm four and five cultivators were piled up in mountains like they were ordinary soldiers.

  All the buildings here had turned to dust. The swing of each sword carried along mountainous bloody waves and hundreds of corpses like a giant ship in the waves.

  Most of the people she had seen on the stage back then had died here. She had watched from a distance. She was unable to stand, whether out of joy or terror, and sat on the ground trembling until her body turned cold.

  After that, she grew cold and cruel. She followed the miss who came from Jiaodong Commandery until she no longer felt terror.

  She knew she had completely become the empress’ shadow.

  Palace Attendant Rong looked towards her shadow.

  The shadow was very lonely. There was only one.

  She had walked along the shore and was not far from the tea garden now. Back then, wooden and vacant, she had walked here until she encountered that quiet tea master.

  He did not know her status. He thought she was a student from a cultivation place who had gotten lost, or one of the misses or retainers who had managed to survive from the bloody Changling households. He had taken her in.

  She ignored the mud and sat down on the shore facing the tea garden. She hugged her head and started to tremble just like how she had when facing the mountain of corpses.

  She felt she had returned to that time. Inexplicably, her thoughts became as clear as back then. She thought of what Ding Ning had done to her. She thought of what had happened all these days. She found it familiar as well.

  But then she thought of where she had just walked past and those two bridges.

  She quickly stood up.

  She walked towards Changling’s streets and started searching for Ding Ning among them.

  **

  Jing Liuli followed quietly behind Ding Ning like an attendant. Ye Zhengnan followed suit.

  Ding Ning passed through the streets faster than Palace Attendant Rong, and he would take many shortcuts. However, he would linger for a quick moment at certain places.

  His first stop was an unnamed little alley. There was a broken stele next to an ordinary farmyard covered in moss.

  Ding Ning stopped, and opened the metal box on his back.

  Then a sword essence flowed out of the metal box. A part of the moss from the stele went missing to reveal a smooth cut. Then a very faint sword essence flowed into Ding Ning’s metal box.

  Jing Liuli and Ye Zhengnan both suddenly stopped breathing.

  They all sensed that faint sword essence they could not comprehend…… If they could not comprehend it, it meant this sword essence was on a whole new level. But Ding Ning’s actions caused them to understand what he was doing.

  Especially Jing Liuli. She could not believe that Ding Ning was able to master that sword manual in such a short time.

  Ding Ning continued to walk past the streets and towards a mottled ancient wall……

  The white powder on the ancient wall had chipped off slightly, revealing some traces that other people would not be able to detect even if they came to investigate.

  He walked over a wide stone path that many carriages travelled across. A gust of dust suddenly shot out of the cracks in the stone.

  He walked past a vegetable garden.

  In the rainstorm last summer, when Ye Celeng and Zhao Zhan of the Zhao Sword Furnace fought, a sword energy had destroyed this vegetable garden.

  Other than Jing Liuli and Ye Zhengnan, even the cultivators who closely followed him could not sense these energies because they were not close enough. In their eyes, Ding Ning chose a very short path to head towards a hall.

  That hall was called the Gourd Hall, and was a large medical clinic. Among all of Changling’s clinics, it could rank second.

  As Ding Ning appeared here, many people started to realize this clinic had been surrounded by the Guanzhong Xie Family. The owner of the Gourd Hall, Sun Xingtang, was one of the most famous doctors in Changling. He was from Guanzhong.

  When Ding Ning came to the gates of the Gourd Hall, this old man in his seventies, was already waiting there.

  “You have already reached realm five.”


  Seeing Ding Ning bow calmly to him, this old man returned the bow and said slowly with unusual solemnity, “There has never been a cultivator as fast as you to reach realm five. So you have to take great care to not make mistakes.”


  “I understand your meaning.” Ding Ning smiled and said, “You hope that I will not be impatient, but if one always thinks to be patient, they will be too late. Maybe after today, it will be someone else.”


  The old man stilled and then bowed seriously. “I do not understand cultivation matters like you. What you say makes me feel that this is a truth of life.”


  Ding Ning returned the bow again. “So I will trouble Elder.”


  The old man nodded. He retreated to the usually lively but now quiet clinic where most of the doctors had been dismissed.

  Ding Ning stopped, put down the sword box on his back and stood it straight behind him. Then he calmly looked faced the main street as he stood at the gates.

  Seeing him stop, everyone understood he was waiting here for Palace Attendant Rong.

  Jing Liuli and Ye Zhengnan exchanged looks. They were even more certain Ding Ning would not leave after stopping here. So the two of them walked behind Ding Ning into the shadows of Gourd Hall’s gates.

  There was an inexplicable roar of thunder in the sky.

  There were no black clouds, but someone seemed to be beating the drum for the drama about to start.

  **

  There were no black clouds in the sky, but from a side alley, a patch of black clouds floated out.

  Everyone from that side looked fearfully over. Many people in Changling would use umbrellas on sunny days, but no one would have such black umbrellas.

  Seeing the flow of black umbrellas, everyone who saw knew that Bureau Chief Ye Celeng of the Astrology Bureau had arrived.

  There was a stone bridge not far from the clinic. A carriage was parked beside the bridge.

  The carriage was ordinary but gave off a rotten odor. Many cultivators did not even dare to pass by. Only those ordinary people did not sense a thing and flowed in a tide towards the hall.

  Looking down from the turrets, countless people were travelling in Changling’s streets towards that hall like ants.

  Huang Zhenwei, who had just ascended the closest turret to the hall, had a gaze full of worry and admiration. It had been many years since the entire city coming out had occurred.

  But at the same time, he was slightly stunned.

  His teacher, Mo Shoucheng, had not come.

  He did not know the reason.

  Translator Ramblings: A gourd, in ancient China, can symbolize a doctor/medicine. A lot of times, a doctor would put up a flag with a gourd in front of their shop.

  Volume 3 137 - Not Lacking

  Bureau Chief Ye Celeng of the Astrology Bureau had arrived as had Bureau Chief Chen of the Divinity Bureau. He even saw a carriage from the Fang Marquessate Establishment. Inside should be Fang Xiang who had his cultivation crippled.

  There were many other important people mixed in the sea of commoners, including numerous powerful personages from the Min Mountain Sword Sect.

  But Mo Shoucheng, who had paid close attention to Ding Ning all this time and never once missed any of Ding Ning’s fights, did not appear. Huang Zhenwei was puzzled. He even started to worry if something had happened to his health.

  More and more people flooded the streets close to Ding Ning. The center of Changling seemed to tilt in this direction. Not just because Ding Ning had been the victor of the Min Mountain Sword Trials. Not because there had been a sufficient prelude to this great drama. The key was this was a battle between people of different cultivation realms. Because, in the memories of many Changling cultivators, it had been that person who said there was no difference under realm four.

  Now, Ding Ning was realm five, and Palace Attendant Rong was realm six. If a realm five could win against a realm six, this would change everyone’s perception.

  The path in front of Ding Ning was completely blocked off. The people holding black umbrellas circled around an empty space in front of the clinic that was usually used to park carriages. As a result, Ding Ning appeared to have enough space around him.

  There were unusual shifts in the crowd.

  The black umbrellas suddenly separated so a young person who looked slightly older than Ding Ning walked in.

  Ding Ning smiled with some warmth and then bowed minutely to that person.

  It was Xu Heshan.

  After he exchanged bows with Ding Ning, he said seriously, “They are all studying in Min Mountain Sword Sect, so they let me come.”


  Hearing these words, Jing Liuli’s eyebrows rose slightly. She knew the “they” that Xu Heshan spoke of were Ding Ning’s group of friends. Xu Heshan was their representative.

  While Xu Heshan was the only one who came, when he said such words, this meant that those young people still stood on Ding Ning’s side.

  Thunder roared in the sky. The weather was hot and many people were gathered together. Many felt it was sweltering and almost fainted.

  Another unusual ripple appeared in the distant crowd. Gasps sounded, making people alert.

  A woman wearing the robes of an ordinary peasant walked slowly through the crowd with a cold expression.

  Most people did not recognize the woman, but from the gazes and reactions of other people and sensing the unusual presence the woman exuded, everyone knew this woman would be Palace Attendant Rong.

  Because of her special status, the meaning of this battle, and the special presence she gave off right now, the people on the two sides unconsciously moved back even though it was already very crowded. The people in front of her parted like the tide and the path appeared even wider.

  Most people wanted to see the results of this battle. Yet some were unwilling to see this battle occur.

  A middle-aged man dressed in seemingly ordinary clothes did not give way. Looking at Palace Attendant Rong who was walking near him, he nodded slightly and whispered. “Please do not be like this …… the empress does not want this.”


  “Not want this, then what?”


  Palace Attendant Rong looked expressionlessly at the middle-aged man and then walked by him.

  The middle-aged man stilled, and did not know the meaning of her words.

  Palace Attendant Rong’s cool voice reached his ears. “Wait for him to reach realm six, realm seven and then come to kill me? What I can do then is just wait in the imperial palace and wait for him to kill me one day?”


  The middle-aged man could not answer. For him, when Palace Attendant Rong did not turn her head when he mentioned the empress, he could no longer answer.

  After that, no one blocked the way.

  The streets descended into silence. Even those people who were on the verge of fainting from the heat started to have patience.

  Palace Attendant Rong walked to the border of the black umbrellas. The shadow of the black umbrellas covered her face so no one could see the expression on her face.

  Then the black umbrellas separated. She walked over and appeared in Ding Ning’s sight.

  Ding Ning looked calmly at the incoming Palace Attendant Rong and said coldly, “I challenge you.”


  His voice was not loud, but seemed to spread through the nearby streets and make many people tremble.

  Palace Attendant Rong slowly lifted her head. She looked silently at Ding Ning. Her lips looked even redder. Then she shook her head, and said, “This time, it is not you challenging me, but me challenging you.”


  The crowd breathed heavily. Many people had speculated what the pair would say when they finally met here. No one had made a correct guess.

  While many people were still shocked speechless, Ding Ning laughed contentedly. “I accept your challenge.”


  Then he put away his smile and looked seriously at Palace Attendant Rong.

  Palace Attendant Rong looked at him and her expression suddenly grew odd. She said, “He was not the one to leave behind the words in the tea garden.”


  “You mean the white bones?”


  Ding Ning glanced coldly at Palace Attendant Rong and said, “Even if he did not leave them, he may have told others.”


  “The key is, no one knows what that date represents. What is the meaning in saying these things now?”


  Before Palace Attendant Rong spoke, Ding Ning added disdainfully, “As long as you die, everything will finish.”


  Palace Attendant Rong laughed. It had been a long time since she had laughed like this, so her smile was exceptionally strange and dismal.

  “You think I fear death so I came to fight you?” She shook her head and said softly, “You are wrong. I came to atone for my crimes …… since everything is over, there is no meaning. Then the only one to atone for is Zhang Luyang.”


  Ding Ning said after a moment of silence, “People will only have such thoughts and think about meaningless matters when they are about to die.”


  Palace Attendant Rong’s face became aloof again and gave off a porcelain shine. “I want you to die before me.”


  Ding Ning smiled. “You can try.”


  “Since it is a battle of life and death, what are you waiting for?” Palace Attendant Rong said slowly, looking up disdainfully at Ding Ning.

  She gave off a vital presence. the dust from the stone path under her feet sprayed like a fountain.

  This was her choice. She would live for herself today so she needed the battle to start quickly.

  **

  A black-robed man wearing a bamboo hat stopped. He was not far from the tea garden where Zhang Luyang had lived.

  Ding Ning and Palace Attendant Rong were far from this tea garden right now, but the information he received previously said that he would be able to intercept her here.

  But now, the most recent news to reach him told him that something was wrong with his previous information.

  At least, there was a large problem with timing.

  Even if he had been slightly faster, he could not have intercepted Palace Attendant Rong here.

  Who had such capability to change the information passed to him?

  “Honestly speaking, fabricating military orders and deliberately delaying the delivery of information is the tactics Zheng Xiu is most skilled in.”


  As this black-robed man stopped, a female voice with unique rebelliousness came from the river and reached his ears.

  A black sword silently floated around him and moved as though it was alive.

  The black-robed man thought. His eyes suddenly lit up under the shadow of the bamboo hat. He said with disbelief, “Bai Shanshui?”


  “The Blue Sea Tide Sword is a majestic and elegant sword essence. But you follow Zheng Xiu and you manage to make it like a ghostly dream. Such a pity.”


  Bai Shanshui stepped onto the hill and looked down at this man. She shook her head with slight contempt.

  This black-robed man broke into laughter. He laughed until the bamboo hat on his head split into countless threads.

  “Bai Shanshui, what gives you the confidence to come and challenge me?”


  Hearing his words, Bai Shanshui also laughed.

  She looked at the handsome man and said, “Really, you should be more concerned why I have come to fight you.”


  Xu Fenqin stilled and then laughed. “Life and death are the most important matters. Who cares about anything else now?”


  Bai Shanshui looked into the sky with satisfaction and said, “Today, Zheng Xiu will lose her right and left hands in one go. I wonder if she will feel heartache.”


  Volume 3 138 - Public Pawn

  Accumulated dust sprayed out of the stone road. In many people’s eyes, they looked like an enormous sword formation in front of Palace Attendant Rong.

  Of the many cultivators who came today, many were secret experts who rarely left their sects. At this moment, their expressions changed and they narrowed their eyes. Previously, they had thought little of this Palace Attendant Rong, but now, they knew they had been wrong.

  This Palace Attendant Rong was an old person to Changling. She had experienced the most glorious and bloodiest era.

  Also, the cultivators she had seen were all the top cultivators of the time. She had personally experienced the heyday of Ba Mountain Sword Field and also its demise.

  Perhaps she had several top sword manuals in her possession. When she acted, she reminded all these cultivators that people who had experienced such things were fated to be extraordinary.

  This was like how any random retainer from that person’s command, and even a carriage driver, was very strong in the outside world.

  This palace attendant was also very strong. So strong, she surpassed their imagination.

  The dust formed enormous blurry swords that gave off true murderousness. They overlapped in front of Palace Attendant Rong to form a sword formation that could attack and defense.

  With such a formation, any energies that flooded towards Palace Attendant Rong would be cut up into layers, much less sword energy.

  Even Huang Zhenwei, on the turret, felt this was unbreakable.

  In his view, Ding Ning could only rely on the flying sword if he wanted to fight this palace attendant. But right now, Ding Ning and Palace Attendant Rong were less than a hundred feet apart, not sufficient enough.

  This kind of distance was not much at all for a realm six cultivator.

  In Palace Attendant Rong’s senses, there was no distance between her and Ding Ning.

  Enormous swords filled all the space between her and Ding Ning. With her next thought, these swords would press towards Ding Ning.

  Ding Ning, in the face of her sword formation, was like a little ship facing a storm in the ocean.

  There was no one who felt he could withstand it. No one but Jing Liuli and Ye Zhengnan who had followed him all the way.

  The pair’s gaze landed on the metal box standing behind Ding Ning.

  At this moment, Ding Ning opened the metal box.

  A sword shadow flew out of the box in a timely manner.

  This shadow was very small, light green and seemingly soft and powerless like a piece of moss, it greeted the moving sword formation. In front of the first large sword, it was like a thin dagger gently brushing a wall.

  A thin dagger could only cut down some dust if it brushed against the wall. How could it stop the wall from advancing?

  But this light blow broke the entire wall. This light green sword shadow silently sliced open the first incoming sword.

  Disbelieving gasps sounded.

  All the cultivators who could react in time did not believe that this aloof sword shadow had such power. Their pupils contracted. They had no time to react and did not know where Ding Ning’s sword shadow came from.

  As the sound of inhales and incredulity spread, Ding Ning gave them the answer.

  A sword light flew out of the metal box.

  This remnant sword with numerous fine white flowers was not unfamiliar to most people present. But in the perception of many powerful cultivators, today, this remnant sword was very different than usual.

  The color of the sword clearly had not changed at all, but it felt exceptionally mottled to them. There were numerous straight cracks on the Last Flower remnant sword.

  These cracks had formed when the sword broke. They stretched deep into the seal scripts and across the entire sword all the way to the hilt.

  The cracks were unusually straight. If the sword threads did not split, if the fine white flowers did not bloom from the cracks, no one could see them.

  Yet today, in the senses of these powerful cultivators, the cracks were not straight.

  These sword threads seemed to all be knotted differently to form this sword. The cracks were no longer straight. The blade had all kinds of shadows. So in the senses of these people, it appeared mottled.

  Just as the moss-like sword shadow silently landed on the moving sword wall and the Last Flower remnant sword flew out of the box, a knot on the blade of Last Flower disappeared.

  Then another sword shadow flew out of the Last Flower remnant sword. It was like dust from a grey wall.

  This grey sword shadow also fell into the sword formation. It pressed against one of the swords, and then crushed it.

  The sword formation Palace Attendant Rong had created was enormous. It contained her anger of many years, and her courage after losing everything and now having no care for her life.

  Compared to these sword formations, these shadows were too small and weak.

  But the sword essence in these sword shadows were all powerful, and they were so profound and powerful some people trembled.

  Some sword essences seemed to carry power to change the laws of energy, and shattered the moving swords.

  There were many of these sword shadows……

  One after another, the Last Flower remnant released mottled sword shadows that stabbed towards the incoming sword formation.

  A great boom!

  An enormous fat man seemed to appear in the sword shadow, falling down like a mountain and pressing the sword formation until it was in chaos.

  Palace Attendant Rong’s astounding attack was defeated like this.

  “Borrowing Sword Essence?” Someone reacted and said.

  But more cultivators knew that his words were wrong.

  “Borrowing Sword Essence” only used vital energy to activate the lingering sword essence, and just mimicked a similar presence.

  This was the “Controlling Sword Essence.” Supposedly, only Fang Marquessate Establishment’s Fang Xiumu had comprehended this secret sword. He would use sword scripts to obtain true sword essence and then attack the enemy with them.

  The knots on Ding Ning’s Last Flower remnant sword were the seals made from the sword threads. So, in this moment, he seemed to be borrowing the swords of many experts.

  For example, the sword essence that had just crushed the sword formation caused many people to think of Marquis Xu of Hengshan’s attack on Ye Celeng on the street in the past.

  “Ding Ning …… he really is Fang Xiumu’s student?”


  Someone could not help but scream.

  Palace Attendant Rong’s heart contracted sharply.

  When the first sword essence had flown out of the metal box behind Ding Ning, she had a layer of goosebumps on her skin.

  The great shock caused her heart to beat faster, and her lips grew brighter.

  Boom!

  Her sword formation was instantly defeated.

  Then two other powerful sword essences charged through the shattered sword formation and fell towards her body.

  One was a furnace of the world, the other an enormous wave.

  These were Zhao Zhan and Ye Celeng’s sword essences.

  These were the final attacks of the pair during their battle of life and death.

  When these two sword essences appeared, they did not collide but flew towards the same enemy.

  As water and fire fused, there was no sound. Yet stimulated by Ding Ning’s vital energy, he managed to create power that did not belong to his realm.

  Palace Attendant Rong had no time to think. She pushed forward with both hands.

  A presence unique to a lifebond sword surged out of her palm.

  There was still no sound. An unusually beautiful light shone in front of her.

  This was a ball of glowing water exploding from the inside. At the core of the water ball were countless dazzling red lines of fire.

  Palace Attendant Rong gave a muffled grunt through her red lips. Her body was thrown backwards into the air like a kite.

  The circle of black umbrellas quickly moved back, and caused gasps produced by the squeeze.

  The battle area was enlarged. The clearing created before was not enough.

  Fortunately, almost all those at the front were cultivators. The squeeze did not cause falls or trampling leading to more chaos.

  The ball of water exploded into floating water droplets.The water droplets were burned by the threads of fire and became balls of steam.

  Palace Attendant Rong’s eyes narrowed into lines. A sword light danced in pure white energy as it charged towards her.

  This was Ding Ning’s Last Flower remnant sword, his flying sword.

  Then Ding Ning’s figure disappeared into the mist in front of her.

  Volume 3 139 - Invitation

  Palace Attendant Rong paid no attention to Ding Ning. The ground within thirty feet of her was her world. He could not come within thirty feet of her without being discovered.

  Even more importantly, there was a great disparity in power between her and him. Only his flying sword was a threat to her. So, she only had to face his flying sword.

  The moment she narrowed her eyes, she accurately perceived the lightning fast flying sword.

  She swung her sword. Her lifebond sword had formed in her hand.

  This was a short sword two feet long. It was a withered yellow color, and slightly burnt yellow like the banana leaves that had dried up in autumn. However, it gave off a white porcelain sheen that appeared extremely cold.

  When she swung her sword, a clear crescent of light appeared in the air and a burst of wind surged. All of the humidity and some of the unextinguished lines of fire were blown away. She cleared the space in front of her.

  There was no Ding Ning.

  Jing Liuli and Ye Zhengnan still stood under the shadow of the gates. A faint sword light stood in front of Jing Liuli and Ye Zhengnan that blocked the steam and fire that blew towards them. Ding Ning’s figure and that large box was not standing in front of them.

  No one knew if Ding Ning had returned to the building behind him or went to hide in the surrounding streets. However, the flying sword with fine white flowers was still in the air.

  This remnant sword swayed like it was about to fall.

  Palace Attendant Rong had completed an attack. If she swung her lifebond sword again, Ding Ning’s flying sword would be blown away.

  Yet in the next moment, the sound of something hard cracking occurred.

  This sound came from behind Palace Attendant Rong.

  All the cultivators watching looked in shock behind Palace Attendant Rong.

  While this was summer, cracking ice was exploding behind her.

  Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

  Palace Attendant Rong”s body fell forward. Her shoes hit the ground and caused cloth to fly into the air.

  After multiple steps, she stopped her body. Her feet had sunk in a pile of rubble and there were two deep gullies behind her.

  The back of her robe was also damaged in one part. Some droplets of blood appeared bright and dazzling as they hung on the broken cloth under the sunlight.

  Most people could not understand what had happened in this moment and gasped.

  Palace Attendant Rong frowned and lightly coughed, exhaling a turbid breath from her abdomen.

  Sensing the bone deep chill behind her, and the lingering presence on the melting ice on her back, she looked up slightly and said to herself in a cool voice, “Frost Cicada.”


  At this time, the flying sword in front of her suddenly accelerated, not towards her, but smashed towards the stone street below like a falling star.

  Boom!

  Just as the flying sword made contact with the stone, sparks formed under Palace Attendant Rong’s feet.

  Dust and stone fragments started to burn urgently, turning into molten lava that flew towards Palace Attendant Rong.

  All emotions disappeared from Palace Attendant Rong’s face. Her expression turned absolutely cold again.

  Primal energies of the universe quickly flowed out of her body, covering her body completely and evenly like a shell of porcelain. Sparks shot out from under her in a fountain, attacking the porcelain shell but unable to penetrate.

  If not for the fact the summer day was too hot, this would be a beautiful scene.

  “Hell Lure.”


  On the turret, all of Huang Zhenwei’s attention was attracted to Ding Ning’s flying sword. The name of this secret sword appeared in his mind. His heart started to beat rapidly. A kind of nervousness and regret spread through his body.

  The disparity between Ding Ning and Palace Attendant Rong was too great. The sword essence of this secret sword could not even break through Palace Attendant Rong’s defensive energy.

  Just as he was thinking ……

  Another snap came from Palace Attendant Rong. The flying sword flew off the ground, speeding up as it targeted her brow.

  As Palace Attendant Rong coldly swung his sword, this flying sword continued to accelerate. But suddenly, it made a turn, and created a sword light that looked like a comet.

  Palace Attendant Rong’s lifebond sword did not hit the flying sword, just the comet-like sword light.

  The sword light was cut off, but the sword essence did not dissipate.

  A section of the sword light hit her face. It was not able to break through the energy protecting her, but left a red mark on her face, like she was slapped on the face……

  Palace Attendant Rong turned and walked towards the side streets.She was sure that Ding Ning had not returned to the courtyard behind Jing Liuli, and was hiding in the streets on that side.

  Ding Ning’s flying sword flew back, then it shone with light for no reason……

  The light was unimaginably blinding. It was like a sun that had fallen down, so white and bright that people felt their eyes would dry up even though they had closed their eyes.

  Crack!

  When the blinding light dissipated and everyone could see again, gasps sounded again in bursts.

  A faint wound appeared on Palace Attendant Rong’s left abdomen. Blood slowly seeped out.

  Palace Attendant Rong’s left foot was being lifted. Vital energy was coming out of her right foot, and supporting her body as it just began to leave the ground.

  The sudden appearance of the wound caused her to grunt. For the first time, she showed pain.

  The flying sword that had flowed dozens of feet away suddenly vibrated. With the vibration, invisible waves in the air attacked her hard.

  Palace Attendant Rong’s body flew forward. This time, she could not control her balance and hit the wall hard.

  Ding Ning’s flying sword disappeared like a ghost and charged into the outgoing waves of dust.

  Palace Attendant Rong’s figure appeared out of the dust and smoke in the next moment, another small wound appeared on her face.

  All the spectating experts, including the academicians of the Astrology Bureau who were at the forefront of the black umbrellas, were dumbstruck.

  “Frost Cicada.”


  “Hell Lure.”


  “Comet Tail.”


  “Sunglow Sword.”


  “Jade Cutting Sword.”


  “Great Sky Wave.”


  “Backlight Sword.”


  “Hidden Dust.”


  One secret sword after another …… everyone had imagined that Ding Ning would use a flying sword against Palace Attendant Rong, but no one had imagined he would use his flying sword so well. It was one secret sword after another that would never stop!

  Ordinary flying sword skills either pursued quick speed, unpredictability or concealment. For a cultivator who had just started to control a flying sword, it was very difficult to be outstanding in one of those aspects, much less use a secret flying sword art that could trigger unique vital energy power!

  What shocked these cultivators the most was that these flying sword secret arts did not come from the same sect.

  The Frost Cicada came from Min Mountain Sword Sect, the Hell Lure from the Zhao Lands, the Comet Tail from the former Han, the Jade Cutting Sword from the Fang Marquessate Establishment ……

  These flying sword secret arts came from different places but all appeared in perfect presentation from one person’s hand who had just reached realm five.

  If they did not see this with their own eyes, they would not believe this if they heard of it.

  **

  All of Palace Attendant Rong’s wounds were small.

  The cultivators present knew these wounds could not cause any tangible threat to her.

  Yet the blood flowing out of these wounds caused her clothes to be spotted in blood. She already looked miserable. Even more importantly, it was this flying sword that Palace Attendant Rong had faced all this time.

  She could not even see Ding Ning’s figure.

  The spectacting cultivators started to feel some sympathy for this palace attendant. They unconsciously thought, would she be slowly killed by Ding Ning’s flying sword without being able to see him from beginning to end?

  But then, Palace Attendant Rong lifted her head. Her face was pale, but her lips were so red they seemed to drip blood.

  “You think you can defeat me like this?”


  Her voice held no pain, only coldness.

  Volume 3 140 - Maliciousness Against Shamelessness

  Ever since the actual battle started, Palace Attendant Rong did not see Ding Ning at all. Yet she still felt she would not lose. She only needed to find him, and then appear in front of him for him to die. On her part, she could endure many more attacks from a flying sword like this. But her opponent could not withstand even one of her blows.

  She looked up. As she started to speak towards the alleys to her left, angry shouts suddenly erupted from under many black umbrellas.

  Those black umbrellas started to fly like black lotuses and flew towards where the people were gathered most densely in the streets.

  Palace Attendant Rong’s lifebond sword disappeared from her hand, but as she spoke, each of her words carried sword energy. They were still cold sword energies flashing with porcelain light.

  The sword energies flew and landed on the streets where her gaze was locked.The straight sword energies were small, but when they fell from the sky, they pulled along primal energies of the universe which manifested into even smaller sword energies.

  When these sword energies fell into the streets, nothing could escape. The roof tiles were cut up, the walls severed. Some of the cats and dogs, who had just then sensed danger, were cut into pieces.

  The sword energies did not stop after hitting the ground. They penetrated deeply into the earth and created numerous white waves of energy.

  Terrified screams accompanied the angry shouts of the cultivators with black umbrellas. Waves of energy flew from under the umbrellas, doing their best to protect the panicked and despairing ordinary people.

  The white energies were still charging upwards when Palace Attendant Rong’s figure appeared among them.

  She stood in the rubble, and appeared exceptionally cold and powerful against the panicked and despairing crowd around her. Yet the confidence in her eyes had disappeared.

  “How is this possible?” She shouted.

  Many cultivators felt the same. Some cultivators, who did not know each other but felt their cultivation was similar, could not help but exchange looks, wanting to get answers from each other’s eyes.

  When that sword had produced so many stunning secret swords in one go, they had finally managed to sense the presence of the user from the chaotic energies. They were certain that Ding Ning was in that area. Even if he could flee into the ground, he could not hide his tracks under Palace Attendant Rong’s attack.

  Yet Ding Ning was not there.

  Then where was he?!

  To the confusion and panic of these cultivators, they discovered Ding Ning’s flying sword had also disappeared.

  Just now, when Palace Attendant Rong’s sword energies made contact, their attention had been focused on the destroyed courtyard. But the flying sword, still in flight, had suddenly left everyone’s perception. This was not possible.

  Yet Ding Ning had managed to do it.

  The dusty ruins grew even hotter.

  Palace Attendant Rong’s fingers felt colder.

  That flying sword also disappeared from her perception.

  Coldness started from the fingertips and extended towards her entire body.

  This was obviously a duel of life and death, but Ding Ning turned it into hide and seek.

  She did not feel fear but was very angry.

  She had finally decided to live a day for herself. She had come to kill Ding Ning at all costs, but she was afraid that she could not kill Ding Ning.

  Blood finally dripped from her blood-red lips. She bit her lip. Then she opened her mouth, wanting to curse in fury.

  But at this moment, dust behind her flew up.

  She turned around, and her body naturally floated out in the opposite direction from the dust.

  There was a soft sound and a wave of blood surged from under her feet. There seemed to be a white energy stroking the bottom of her feet.

  The white energy had been created by her sword move just now. At this time, it carried no sword essence and had no power.Yet there was a silent flying sword without any murderousness within this white energy.

  The flying sword quickly pierced through the sole of her left foot then flashed and disappeared into a crack under her body.

  The sword wound was not large, but it was devious in cutting through multiple important blood vessels at the bottom of her foot.

  Blood furiously spurted out of her feet, and even sprayed in front of her face.

  Out of fury and pain, Palace Attendant Rong’s face twisted. Even so, she could do nothing, the flying sword had disappeared from her perception again.

  Hide and seek is a game that Changling children like to play. Yet right now, looking at the blood on Palace Attendant Rong, everyone did not feel this was a child’s game.

  Palace Attendant Rong used vital energy to stop the bleeding with a thought.

  But she had lost a lot of blood in this instant. This was the first attack to pose a threat to her.

  **

  Palace Attendant Rong landed back on the ground.

  At the moment of landing, the wound on her left foot stopped bleeding. A layer of porcelain light sealed the wound. The ground under her feet seemed to boil.

  Powerful vital energy surged out of her fingers, not towards the ground, but the sky above her. The rising wind carried all the air from the ground upwards along with the sand.

  A rising sandstorm formed. Each grain of sand grew heavier, brushing against each other in the wind, and growing sharper.

  Everyone in the surrounding streets sensed the heat was fading, but their breathing became more difficult. All of the heated energy and air were pulled into the sandstorm Palace Attendant Rong had created.

  Boom!

  The sandstorm turned bright red. It had combusted.

  Explosion!

  The heated air currents with countless sharp burning grains of sand exploded outwards.

  Previously, one of Ding Ning’s secret sword attacks had been like a rising sun, but that was just light.

  This explosion carried an enormous and tangible power, it was like a red sun exploding.

  So even from far away, one could see the ball of red fire expanding, and sense the enormous energy vibrations.

  This was a power that even realm seven cultivators would not display.

  Most realm sevens would not use their vital energy so recklessly.

  “Such a great disturbance? ”


  Xu Fenqin, dressed in black, sensed the energy vibration. He raised his eyebrows in surprise.

  Bai Shanshui was still looking patiently at him.

  He and Bai Shanshui had been here for a long time.

  The bamboo hat on his head had exploded into threads a while ago, yet these threads were still floating slowly above his head. It was like time had stopped still in this space for him and Bai Shanshui.

  There was a boom, thunder roared again in the sky.

  Unlike the previous thunder in clear skies, black clouds appeared over Changling accompanying this roar. A wet presence floated in from afar.

  Bai Shanshui suddenly smiled at him. A wave of water vapour floated over from the river behind her.

  Xu Fenqin’s heart suddenly jumped. He suddenly understood. Bai Shanshui had not attacked because she was waiting for this opportunity, and not because she was waiting for his weakness.

  Waiting for a weakness, and waiting for an opportunity to attack were completely different concepts for people like him and Bai Shanshui. The former meant that she was wary of his power, while the latter was just waiting for a chance to kill him.

  His confidence suddenly disappeared, just like Palace Attendant Rong when she could not find Ding Ning.

  With a scream, the floating bamboo threads flew outwards and wove into a large seal. The black sword that revolved around him furiously spun, forming black sword light that shrouded his body into a black top.

  Unlike Palace Attendant Rong who was in no hurry to kill Ding Ning, in Changling, if Bai Shanshui did not kill him quickly, Bai Shanshui would be the one to die.

  It rained around Gourd Hall.

  As the rain fell, the figure of a woman in white appeared among the black umbrellas. This white robed woman looked like a delicate young girl, but most cultivators felt great respect when they saw this figure.

  She came down from the sky with a rain that carried the presence of realm seven. She fell to the street and protected the panicked common people and the weaker cultivation students in the surroundings. However, she did not block the spread of the violent energy and sand. She just wove a large net outside the battlefield.

  The red hot air and sand danced. A residence on the right was the first to collapse and reveal Ding Ning’s figure.

  Volume 3 141 - A Brutal Start

  A thread of blood seeped out from Jing Liuli’s lips. She had bitten through her lip but had not detected it. She was very nervous.

  When managing the Min Mountain Sword Trials, the students, including Ding Ning, had been in danger, but she had not felt nervous. But now, it was different.

  This was a true battle of life and death. Both sides only had one goal, killing each other. No one would stop them.

  Corresponding to Ding Ning and Palace Attendant Rong’s cultivation realm, if Ding Ning were exposed under Palace Attendant Rong’s sight and perception, this meant death.

  “Hide and seek with me?”


  Palace Attendant Rong had expended a lot of vital energy, and blood started to bead out of some wounds. But a mad smile appeared on her face. “Now you cannot hide, can you?”


  She was an old person of Changling, and had been one of the closest to the group from Ba Mountain Sword Field.

  One would only think if one saw. If one thought, one could learn.

  Many of the strongest cultivators in Changling later on were usually the closest people to the top experts from Ba Mountain Sword Field. So Palace Attendant Rong’s sword manual was not ordinary, and also a secret sword that ordinary cultivation places could not imagine.

  As the mad smile spread across her face, wild sword essences came out of her mouth with strong vitality.

  Ding Ning started to cough up blood.

  Dust was still billowing around him. The sword essence that Palace Attendant Rong spat out had not yet landed, yet the pressure of the energy was something he already could not withstand. His feet were on the ground as he uncontrollably slid backwards, his soles felt like they were burning.

  The strong killing intent in the air even stunned the realm seven cultivators in the crowd watching who were stronger in cultivation than Palace Attendant Rong.

  So a person’s killing intent could be so strong and powerful.

  This was the sword essence in the “Heavenly Hatred Sword Manual”. It accumulated hate from many months and years, creating this unimaginable murderousness.

  Shining porcelain sword energy fell towards Ding Ning’s body. The air in front of these sword essences turned black. The rubble around him constantly exploded, turning into dust, and then was gathered by the powerful pressure to form some terrifying black ribbons.

  This was the difference of power. Ding Ning could not withstand this sword.

  Even Jing Liuli felt that he could not block this blow.

  Everyone felt that Ding Ning could not stop Palace Attendant Rong’s blow. Just like how, since the start of the battle, everyone felt a realm five could defeat a realm six. Nonetheless, they all still hoped to see a miracle.

  Then Ding Ning did let them see a miracle.

  He was coughing blood but his expression was extremely calm. A presence in his body, pressured by great power, accurately managed to permeate the metal box behind him.

  The surface of the metal box was covered in scorch marks from the hot smoke and burning sand. But in this moment, the scorch marks suddenly blackened like ink was going to flow out.

  The metal box gave off a faint and distant presence. The moment the presence erupted, Ding Ning stopped coughing blood and his breathing calmed.

  The great pressure from the sword energies were all eliminated. Pure white lines of light shot out of the metal box. Even the sword energies paused.

  A white scroll seemed to unroll around Ding Ning and capture everything within.

  Everyone was shocked speechless.

  Even Huang Zhenwei, on the nearest turret, looked with wide eyes, unable to fathom how the metal box could possess such a powerful presence.

  Palace Attendant Rong stopped breathing. Not because of shock, but because the air in front of her had almost solidified.

  Under everyone’s disbelieving gaze, the scorch marks on the metal box faded away. An ink scroll flew out of the metal box behind Ding Ning.

  Thunder roared in the sky. The entire sky turned the color of an ink painting, black and white.

  Palace Attendant Rong’s body suddenly shook. Her ears started bleeding.

  A sword light appeared in the black and white sky like a bolt of lightning.

  That was Ding Ning’s hidden flying sword.

  A burst of rain descended.

  The rain containing sharp sword essence exploded several feet around Palace Attendant Rong, creating numerous splashes. It could not create true damage to her, but caused her sword energy to stop in the air.

  The burning sun in the sky was covered by black clouds creating a crescent moon.

  All of the rain started to turn into ice. The white rain became blue-black ice.

  Everyone outside the battlefield felt the cold.

  The ice started to explode. Then many cold sword energies appeared, flying as they pleased and cut up Palace Attendant Rong’s sword energy.

  Palace Attendant Rong’s body started to tremble violently. The porcelain energy around her started to sway. Then she started to cough blood up lightly.

  “It’s the remnant scroll from the Zhou Family Ink Garden!”


  Many people started to react and exclaimed in shock.

  Jing Liuli finally started to breath again, and sensed pain from the wound on her lip.

  The remnant scroll of the Zhou Family Ink Garden was famous in Changling. No one had ever thought a cultivator could use this to fight.

  Yet Ding Ning’s miracles did not stop here.

  He looked up. The flying sword in the sky was suddenly covered in blue-black ice and drew a crescent in the air.

  The crescent seemed to be the missing part of the crescent moon and filled it.

  All the energy around Palace Attendant Rong started to explode.

  The remnant scroll that had flown out of Ding Ning’s metal box started to fragment along the ink strokes. There was no flame, but as the scraps flew away along the seal essence, they seemed to burn.

  In the middle of the explosion, Palace Attendant Rong gave off a shrill and terrifying scream. Blood sprayed out of her mouth. Her body was blown off the ground by an unstoppable force, and she fell hard to the ground.

  Another loud explosion.

  A deep pit appeared on the ground like the crater formed by a meteorite. Terrifying flame shot out of the deep pit mixed with scarlet blood.

  The surrounding streets were deathly silent.

  Palace Attendant Rong rose slowly from the deep pit. Her porcelain light had disappeared, and her skin was covered in shocking wounds. A part of her face was swollen. Blood seeped through her lips.

  After a pause, she screamed again in anger. Not just because of pain and her wounds, but because she had lost Ding Ning’s tracks again.

  The ashes of the Ink Garden remnant scroll were still floating through the air. The black ashes covered the sky like black snow. But the reflected light shone like white paper, causing space to be fragmented until it was impossible to see through.

  Ding Ning was no longer at that spot. Even his metal box had disappeared from the ruins there.

  He did not take the opportunity to attack, and chose instead to disappear and keep playing hide and seek.

  **

  While Palace Attendant Rong was howling furiously due to being actually injured, an old man with a white beard and hair was slowly walking towards the tea garden. He was the person Huang Zhenwei was worried about, Mo Shoucheng.

  Changling had no walls, but he himself was one of the unseen walls of Changling.

  Today, the entire city had come out. All of the attention was directed towards Palace Attendant Rong and Ding Ning’s battle. Then other places would naturally be neglected and it would be easy for unusual things to occur.

  He was truly wise, and naturally had prepared in advance.

  At this time, he could sense the killing intent of the Cloud Water Palace woman. He chose to come close to Bai Shanshui rather than be high up in the turret because he did not want any more accidents. He did not want the woman to escape.

  The black sword light was still spinning like a top, easily flinging out all the primal energies of the universe that landed on it.

  Just like a true top, strong force would make the top move faster.

  This was an invulnerable defense move. A realm seven could not break through.

  Yet from Xu Fenqin’s sword move, Bai Shanshui smiled brightly, despite knowing that her battle had already been sensed by some top experts of Changling.

  A glowing water droplet fell from high up in the sky.

  When it neared the ground, the glowing water droplet turned into a long river, a horizontal river.

  This river seemed to be like the slap from an enormous hand. The black top-like power turned on its bottom.

  As the force came down from up high, Xu Fenqin’s sword move was pressed downwards. The two enormous powers tore up the ground below and drilled an enormous hole.

  There was the sound of water surging deep below.

  Bai Shanshui and Xu Fenqin fell down.

  Xu Fenqin gave a furious howl accompanied by Bai Shanshui’s rebellious bell-like laughter.

  Volume 3 142 - Bone Breaking

  Mo Shoucheng suddenly stopped in his steps.

  He was already near Bai Shanshui and Xu Fenqin. At this moment, he could even clearly sense the specific locations of Bai Shanshui and Xu Fenqin.

  Yet he had wanted to walk closer. So he had missed the best opportunity to attack.

  He took a deep breath and then sighed deeply. Looking at the strands of white hair which had fallen off his forehead, and the dew that had condensed on his hair, he thought, this momentary slip may be truly the heaven’s will.

  He was one of the oldest people of Changling, and knew the geography of Changling and its building well. But he did not know the underground waters as well as Bai Shanshui.

  Bai Shanshui risked her life to stay in Changling in order to comprehend the Lonely Mountain Sword Hoard. While she did not manage to comprehend the true meaning of the Lonely Mountain Sword Hoard, her inexplicable gain was her great knowledge of Changling’s waters.

  Today, she had thrown herself and Xu Fenqin into the underground river. She used this to hide her existence. She successfully stopped Mo Shoucheng from sensing her. She also succeeded in hide and seek with Mo Shoucheng.

  The water that had fallen to the ground quickly evaporated in the heat.White mist shrouded the streets around where Ding Ning and Palace Attendant Rong were fighting.

  Ye Celeng could sense the waters in the many deep wells on this street tremble minutely. Her gaze grew more complicated.

  Up until now, everything Ding Ning had done was a miracle.

  He had made no mistakes in the plan he created at the beginning.

  Palace Attendant Rong roared miserably. Her eyes were closed. Blood seemed to lengthen in strings that flew outwards. She finally started to feel the threat of death.

  For many years, she had not experienced a battle like this, and had not been wounded at all. So the wounds on the surface and inside her body were magnified in her perception.

  Only the total amount of vital energy in her body was the most real and clear.

  She had used a lot of vital energy. Yet she had no room to choose. She had to find Ding Ning again.

  “The secret sword of the Fang Marquessate Establishment!”


  “The Ink Garden remnant scroll!”


  “What other tactics do you have!”


  “I do not believe they are endless!”


  The shrill howl caused many people to unconsciously tremble.

  Palace Attendant Rong’s lifebond sword came out strangely through her mouth and shot up into the sky as she howled. Immediately, it flew out of everyone’s range of sight.

  Her lifebond sword flew to a height no one could see, and was still flying upwards.

  Palace Attendant Rong looked upwards. Tears of blood trickled out of the corners of her eyes. She was not worried about an ambush from Ding Ning, but whether this could stop the starfire from the endless sky. She worried about the decree from the noblest woman in the imperial palace.

  Even her lifebond sword gave off a strong pleading presence. She pleaded for her mistress to give her a fair battle.

  Outside her range of perception into the endless sky, starlight flashed like someone had winked.

  No starfire came down.

  Palace Attendant Rong gave an even shriller scream. Her voice was full of surprised joy.

  A terrifying roar came from a great height.

  Everyone looked up towards the sky. A black shadow was falling at unimaginable speed.

  This was Palace Attendant Rong’s flying sword. It was falling faster than a real meteorite.

  When a meteorite fell, it would have a long tail of smoke, but when her lifebond sword fell, there were constant explosions at the top of her sword.

  The explosions layered together, and as the flying sword smashed to the ground, it fell by Palace Attendant Rong’s side.

  The ground trembled in waves.

  The crowd panicked.

  Ye Celeng, who was at the front, did not act this time.

  None of the surrounding buildings collapsed.

  The power of this blow all rushed strangely to one point.

  Boom!

  One of the shops among a group of shops suddenly disappeared like it had been punched by an enormous fist. The dust all flew into the air, and formed a pillar of smoke. There was a metallic light within the pillar.

  The suppressed gasps finally exploded into a frenzy now.

  That was Ding Ning’s flying sword.

  This blow had not managed to hit Ding Ning directly. It only caught his flying sword. But Palace Attendant Rong, still happy, was not disappointed.

  Her body flew up towards the enormous pillar of dust and she reached towards the Last Flower remnant sword.

  No swordsman under realm six could withstand such a power attacking their flying sword.

  When a flying sword under control was dealt a heavy blow, the controller would also receive a heavy blow. For Palace Attendant Rong, if she defeated the flying sword so Ding Ning could not use it, he would undoubtedly be defeated.

  She even did not have to rush to find Ding Ning who was playing hide and seek with her. She just had to rest, care for her wounds, and recover her vital energy.

  Among the tsunami of gasps, the Last Flower remnant sword that had rushed up with the pillar of smoke landed in her hands.

  This remnant sword was covered in dust, its light covered. It was not able to resist.

  Jing Liuli looked up. Seeing this scene, even she felt Palace Attendant Rong looked like a demonic god next to the enormous pillar of dust.

  Her expression grew ugly.

  For a swordsman, their sword was their life. She could not imagine how Ding Ning could win this battle with the Last Flower remnant sword in Palace Attendant Rong’s hand.

  At this time, the enormous pillar suddenly separated. In the summer sky, a white flow of snow cut the pillar of dust apart.

  Ding Ning reappeared.

  He was at the other side of the pillar. He held a very long sword, its color unknown because the blade was covered in thick snow.

  “Snow Mirror Sword!”


  On the turret, Huang Zhenwei stilled, and uncontrollably blurted out the meaning of the sword.

  Jing Liuli was stunned. This was her sword. This was one of the strongest swords of Min Mountain Sword Sect. Since she started learning from Ding Ning, he had kept the sword.

  She could imagine Ding Ning using this sword, but could not imagine what his sword essence was at the moment. She did not recognize what kind of secret sword move Ding Ning had used.

  But the power of this blow, and the tall and cold presence was greater than the “Thousand Snowy Mountains” she could create with the “Cold Mountain Snow” vital energy.

  Palace Attendant Rong’s body straightened slightly. Without even thinking she swung the Last Flower remnant sword.

  The tip of the Last Flower remnant sword separated slightly, and immediately howled, just like how she had screamed just before.

  The snow flowing towards her immediately collapsed.

  As the ice and snow flew, Ding Ning’s body seemed to be hit hard. He flew backwards, and threw up multiple mouthfuls of blood.

  Among the waves of gasps, the madness in Palace Attendant Rong’s eyes started to burn completely.

  She took a step forward. Her body moved more than a hundred feet through the air and chased Ding Ning’s flying body.

  “This is it?”


  “You have nothing else?”


  Her left foot that Ding Ning had stabbed started to bleed again. Many of her wounds started to bleed again but she did not care.

  In her view, everything was about to end.

  On the nearby turret, Huang Zhenwei’s robes vibrated slightly. He hesitated about whether he should act.

  Palace Attendant Rong’s Last Flower remnant sword swept towards Ding Ning’s neck.

  At this time, she knew why she hated Ding Ning so much, and had to see his head fly to feel happy. It was Ding Ning who caused her to hate everything, even herself.

  More gasps sounded.

  Ding Ning was seriously injured, and would not even be able to use his vital energy well, much less stop Palace Attendant Rong’s blow. Also, she was already too close to him.

  But then, Palace Attendant Rong felt a strange presence.

  She instinctively looked towards her right hand.

  Volume 3 143 - Public Pawn and Hidden Pawn

  Her right hand was her sword-wielding hand. She was holding Ding Ning’s Last Flower remnant sword.

  That strange presence seemed to first come from Ding Ning’s body, and then, like a spark igniting a pot of hot oil, it ignited a certain presence inside the Last Flower remnant sword.

  She had no time to consider this or the consequences of this unknown presence. She only felt this was dangerous.

  A sense of danger even stronger than when the flying sword pierced her foot caused her heart to contract violently. At the same time, her vital energy surged to gather on her right palm. Then it controlled the primal energies of the universe in the surroundings to create terrifying power.

  The Last Flower remnant sword suddenly lit up.

  Theoretically, Ding Ning had lost control of this little remnant sword. Yet, what stopped all the gasps was the blossoming of fine white flowers along the remnant sword.

  The packed fine white flowers bloomed at terrifying speed along the entire blade. It was more stunning than when Ding Ning had used it.

  A terrifying sword essence, as Palace Attendant Rong’s palm started to burst with power, came out of the Last Flower remnant sword.

  This was like the Controlling Sword Essence. Or rather, the experts in this moment felt this was the Controlling Sword Essence.

  But there were no marks on the surface of the Last Flower remnant sword. This sword essence came from the deepest part of each sword thread. They seemed to be the core of this sword, the soul.

  With a boom, two forces collided in Palace Attendant Rong’s palm, and then there was a violent explosion.

  “It’s Yan ……”


  An uncontrolled gasp sounded.

  This voice was old, yet the owner of this voice was a realm seven expert, an old person who usually stayed in a cultivation place and did not come out.

  So the two words seemed to be like two roars of thunder on the ground, like an ocean of primal energies exploding.

  In this moment, this old person of Changling and some of the other cultivators who also experienced those times realized at the same time. They realized …… the power coming out of the Last Flower remnant sword was one of the sword essences drawn out by the Controlling Sword Essence.

  This sword essence came from the sword itself. It came from the master of the Last Flower remnant sword.

  The Controlling Sword Essence was to form seals and mimic the sword essences of powerful swordsmen. Yet the sword essence Ding Ning activated at this moment came from the sword itself, and even carried the presence of its master from its last battle. It was like the sword was burning its soul.

  Within the violent explosion, Palace Attendant Rong’s body suddenly shook. Her face turned snow white. Her right palm turned to bloody mist.

  She had suppressed the power of the Last Flower remnant sword and the sword essence of that stubborn Ba Mountain Sword Field woman. But her palm was not as resilient as the Last Flower remnant sword. Blood and bone could not endure this kind of shock.

  An extremely cold presence pierced through the bloody mist of her palm and stabbed towards her body with great killing intent.

  “How is that possible!”


  One of the Astrology Bureau officials under the black umbrella was shocked speechless, and could not help but gasp.

  It was a serious matter when an official like him could not control their emotions even in Ye Celeng’s presence.

  Yet no one noticed.

  Even Ye Celeng did not notice. She, like all the cultivators, was still staring at the lingering remnants of the previous scene. But in their perception, they could sense the sword in Ding Ning’s hand getting near Palace Attendant Rong’s body.

  No one could understand how Ding Ning could control his trembling vital energy and make such a stab.

  Palace Attendant Rong could not understand either. Her vital energy was also in chaos right now. But she still had her left hand. So she did not sense the arrival of death. She still believed her left hand was enough to fend off Ding Ning’s blow and kill him.

  Her left hand stabbed forward. She forced the chaotic energies through the meridians in her left hand and out of her fingertips.

  Ding Ning took a deep breath. The Snow Mirror Sword in his hand collided with the power Palace Attendant Rong produced without any finesse. At the moment of contact, his face turned extremely pale. He once again vomited a bloody mist. Yet his Snow Mirror Sword did not retreat at all and flicked upwards.

  This was the secret sword of White Goat Cave- White Goat Hanging Horn.

  Palace Attendant Rong took a deep breath. She only needed a moment to breath and smooth out the energy in her body. If she had a breath, she could kill Ding Ning.

  Yet at this moment, she felt a pain in her energy sea. She looked down in shock.

  A hole appeared in her abdomen. A hole that went straight through.

  Her body started to tremble, her mind still blank. She did not dare to believe this was true.

  But true it was. Her cultivation, accumulated through many years of hard work, seemed to empty out like this, flowing out of her body through the hole. The feeling of power faded out of her body and her body flew up backwards into the sky, pushed by the energy shooting out of her body.

  All the spectators in the streets were dumbstruck.

  That was a sword light.

  It was the Last Flower remnant sword that had fallen powerlessly.

  But in that moment, the Last Flower remnant sword flew, penetrating through Palace Attendant Rong’s energy sea and flying in the sky behind her.

  No one was able to understand how Ding Ning was able to control his vital energy when he was seriously injured. No one was able to understand how Ding Ning could use the White Goat Hanging Horn to withstand a force much stronger than him, and take control again of the Last Flower remnant sword on the ground.

  No one could understand …… This was a miracle.

  A realm five challenging a realm six. This was a miracle.

  And all the cultivators had witnessed this miracle.

  Boom! Boom!

  There were two heavy sounds of falling.

  Ding Ning and Palace Attendant Rong fell to the ground.

  Dust billowed.

  Ding Ning struggled to sit up in the dust. He was covered in blood and dust. He appeared miserable yet he had a smile on his face.

  The Last Flower remnant sword flashed with cold light, advancing with difficulty in the air, swaying and falling like a dragonfly with one wing. But it was falling towards where Palace Attendant Rong had landed.

  Palace Attendant Rong laid within the dust, unable to get up. Blood spurted out of her large and small wounds, crawling through the dust like red earthworms.

  The surrounding streets were deathly silent. The entire world seemed to be silent.

  Everyone saw the sword swaying its way to Palace Attendant Rong and knew the result of this battle could not be changed.

  Palace Attendant Rong had used all her power to flip over when she fell to the ground. She faced the sky now. Her gaze was unfocused, and dazed like she did not see the piercing sunlight. All of her emotions seemed to flow out of her body with her blood.

  She felt her body very empty. She did not even see the flying sword falling towards her. She just felt everything was empty.

  She suddenly found it amusing.

  So, after being in Changling for so long and doing so many things, everything was empty.

  In the end, she had nothing.

  With a soft sound, the Last Flower remnant sword landed through her heart meridian.

  Her body did not move. It was like the body the sword stabbed had nothing to do with her.

  All those watching shook. The sword seemed to stab through them. Everything seemed to be quiet at this moment.

  Only Ding Ning was laughing.

  Everyone could feel his joy.

  Inexplicably, maybe because of the White Goat Hanging Horn sword essence, everyone thought of Xue Wangxu of White Goat Cave, the old man who died before the Min Mountain Sword Trials.

  Many people present had hoped that Ding Ning could win and Palace Attendant Rong could die. But when it happened, they felt no joy or pleasure looking at Ding Ning and Palace Attendant Rong’s expressions.

  The sky suddenly darkened. No clouds covered the sun, but the sky abruptly darkened.

  Ding Ning’s hands started to tremble minutely. This was a presence he was extremely familiar with.

  He knew who had come.

  Volume 3 144 - Imprudence

  The sky darkened despite the lack of clouds because many magical lines of light and energy blocked the sun. This kind of light was odd and enough for most cultivators present to tremble from the bottom of their hearts.

  In their cultivation, they had never come into contact with the energy contained in these lights. Or rather, they would never come into contact with these energies during their lifetime.

  These lights came from the high starry sky and usually would not even fall to the ground. The moment they reacted, these powerful cultivators hung their heads in fear. As though hanging their heads was not enough to express their respect, their bodies bowed slightly as well.

  The cultivators in the streets appeared much shorter than usual.

  As to the people of Changling who were not even cultivators, they were so shocked they almost knelt on the ground when they saw the perfect woman appear in the starlight that caused the sky to darken.

  No one made a sound at this moment. But at this moment, everyone knew that this woman so perfect she was not mortal was the mistress of Changling and the entire Qin Dynasty, Her Majesty the Empress.

  Huang Zhenwei looked in shock at the light which concealed everything in the world. Almost all colors in the world gathered on this perfect woman. He had not expected the empress to leave the palace and come here.

  Ding Ning did not look up. He sensed the familiar presence. While he forcibly controlled the trembling of his hands, he could not help his body trembling all over.

  He found that while he hated this woman from Jiaodong who changed the state of Changling and the entire Qin Dynasty, when he truly faced her, it was still extremely difficult and hard to bear. He did not know whether he wanted to look, or if he did not dare. From beginning to end, he did not look up at her.

  The starlight covered the sun.

  Her Majesty the Empress of the Qin Dynasty arrived.

  The last stream of blood from Palace Attendant Rong’s heart meridian was flowing out along the broken sword to the dust below.

  Palace Attendant Rong did not look towards the flying sword piercing her heart. She seemed to finally see this perfect woman who covered the entire sky clearly.Previously, she felt the entire city was empty, everything was empty. She felt everything was laughable, and did not even feel pain.

  But now, at the end of her life, the moment she saw this perfect woman, her body started to convulse. She felt great pain.

  She started to understand that she lived her entire life under the shadow of this woman. In the eyes of others, and even herself, all of her power came from this woman. She was amazingly powerful.

  Yet before her death, she knew now, that because the woman was so perfect and strong, she was no longer herself when she encountered this woman.

  She was just afraid. She had always feared her.

  The empress walked in front of her. Looking at Palace Attendant Rong who was convulsing and crying tears of blood, her brow slowly furrowed. A faint expression of incomprehension appeared on her porcelain-like face.

  “Why?”


  She looked at Palace Attendant Rong in the middle of her last pain. She asked softly a tone of hidden anger and indescribably painful regret, “I already said I can guarantee your safety if you do not leave the palace. Why did you leave?”


  Palace Attendant Rong looked at the empress. She should have died by now. Yet she discovered she had not. She still had the strength to speak.

  A fresh presence flowed out of the empress’ sleeve into her body, and flowed inside of her as a replacement for her blood. This presence was otherworldly and ethereal, like it was not of the mortal world.

  Yet this presence was so familiar to Palace Attendant Rong that she immediately thought of the lotus pond. The empress would spend a lot of time standing in front of the lotus pond each day.

  In other people’s eyes, this presence was a pure sacred white energy.

  Ding Ning did not lift his head but he could clearly sense the presence. At this moment, he froze inside when he felt that Palace Attendant Rong’s last breath was sustained.

  A dead person would not speak and would hide many secrets. But Palace Attendant Rong had not yet died.

  If she divulged a secret, he and many people in Changling may die, or encounter worse fates than death.

  **

  Countless words ran through Palace Attendant Rong’s mind. The power of the spirit lotuses could not save her from death, but caused her mind to be clearer than at any other time. She thought of the last moment of her fight with Ding Ning. She started to understand why he had managed to kill her.

  So this was why.

  It was not just because of Xue Wangxu, but for that person and many other Ba Mountain Sword Field members who had died because of her.

  She had an opportunity and enough time to speak now. Yet hearing the perfect woman’s pained voice, she did not speak in this precious amount of time.

  She used a lot of time to think of many relatively perfect scenes. She thought of how she had looked in admiration at that person fighting before she encountered the perfect woman. She thought of how she encountered that tea master. She thought of how she and that tea master imprisoned each other like they would do so for a lifetime.

  But then the scenes faded. Everything was gone. She cried tears of blood again.

  She looked at her perfect mistress. The other’s last words seemed to echo in her ear. “Why did you leave the palace?”


  “Because I cannot be as cold as you.”


  She smiled sorrowfully and spoke with her last strength, crying tears of blood.

  The empress’ presence suddenly froze.

  She was truly stunned. She had not expected Palace Attendant Rong to say such a thing at the end. Her body turned momentarily cold and stiff. But the emotions only appeared for an instant.

  In the next moment, her brow furrowed. All of the fury and pained regret in her eyes disappeared into indifference, or rather, a kind of unemotional gaze from a god.

  Control the world without any personal emotion. There was no trace of age or flaw on her perfect face.

  Her aloof gaze landed on Ding Ning who was coughing blood with his head bowed.

  Then she said emotionlessly, “I thought you will stay your hand, at least because of my kindness.”


  The words came without any prelude and not at a low volume. All the cultivators present could clearly hear. No one felt she was too aggressive. They just felt it as normal for her to say such a thing due to her status.

  Some people even started to recall her expressions of goodwill to Ding Ning and the other’s responses. They even unconsciously started to feel if Ding Ning did not state the reason, feel that he had gone over the line on this matter. Especially when Her Majesty the Empress was speaking personally to Ding Ning.

  Unexpectedly, Ding Ning just coughed and said, “My apologies.”


  The words swept these people’s minds like a cold wind.

  Ding Ning said nothing else.

  The empress turned. She did not say anything.

  The light grew brighter. The falling starlight started to disappear.

  Then she disappeared into the light.

  Ding Ning still did not look up.

  This was his first reunion with the empress.

  Translator Ramblings: I don’t think the author could make it any more clear how perfect the empress is supposed to be.

  Volume 3 145 - Break

  Some of the Changling experts who were present were silent when they sensed the empress’ departure. They could not sense Ding Ning’s mood. To them, he had refused the goodwill of the empress once again. This youth from the Falling Parasol wine shop had hung his head all this time but never bowed his head.

  Everyone’s gaze all gathered again on Ding Ning.Seeing this youth sitting in a pool of blood and still coughing blood, many people started to worry if he was so seriously injured it would affect his future cultivation.

  In the world of cultivators, when one’s vital energy rampaged through one’s body and they forcibly controlled the energy, it was akin to artificially controlling one’s energy without any regard for meridians.

  Hurried footsteps sounded. A host of doctors came out of the clinic. The leading doctor helped Ding Ning up, and was shoving a pill into his mouth at the same time, beginning treatment.

  “Do not allow anyone into the clinic to avoid hindering treatment.” The owner of the clinic, Sun Xingtang, said seriously to Jing Liuli and the others at the door.

  At this sight, everyone in the surrounding streets started to realize why the Guanzhong Xie Family had bought out the clinic at the start.

  Jing Liuli nodded. She glanced at Ding Ning who passed by her, and then sat down on the doorstep of the clinic without any airs. Gazing at the ground, she mulled, somewhat happy for Ding Ning.

  Most people on the street only saw Ding Ning’s revenge, and his pleasure at winning, but none could have seen what he had paid and sensed the pain he endured like she did. Yet at the same time, she felt something amiss about all this. Not because Ding Ning was able to inexplicably manipulate that flying sword, but there was something crucially wrong.

  She looked down, uncaring of the other eyes on her. As she deliberated further, she frowned even harder.

  The empress returned to her phoenix carriage. Her phoenix carriage was parked at the center of Changling’s main street. Tassels made out of pure gold hid her figure.

  She sat in the phoenix chair inside, and for the first time, her eyes showed anger. She knew that Bai Shanshui and Xu Fenqin were fighting at this time.

  The battle had not yet died. This meant that Bai Shanshui was far stronger than she had imagined. This meant that today, she would not just lose this palace attendant.

  **

  The underground rivers were an unknown world.

  Because they were unknown, most books called the underground rivers as the hell and nether rivers. Not because they never saw sunlight, but because they were too dark and cold, too heavy!

  They were not just deep. The earth and the weight of energy turned the waters of the

  river heavy and pressed down on cultivators. Fighting on the surface was completely different.

  To Xu Fenqin’s terror …… in this underground river, there were only him and Bai Shanshui, no one else would interfere.

  Previously, when he fought Bai Shanshui, it just caused him and Bai Shanshui to enter deeper rivers.The stronger and colder flows of water caused the pressure to increase on the black sword floating around him. He felt everything had slowed, and defensive problems would occur at any moment.

  Since defense was useless, he could only attack.

  The black sword that had been spinning constantly around him left him, passing through the black crystal flows of water. It slowly and steadily moved towards Bai Shanshui.

  In the darkness without any light, he could not see Bai Shanshui, but all this time, there was a green flow of water even heavier than the darkness flowing around Bai Shanshui and giving off killing intent.

  A green sword energy passed through the currents of the dark river without any obstruction and thrust towards Xu Fenqin.

  When Xu Fenqin’s black sword was moving through the water, more than a dozen wounds appeared on his body. Some wounds were deep to the bone. When the blood spilling from his wounds merged into the black water, it was like his body had red ribbons tied to him.

  Compared to the green water flowing around Bai Shanshui, Xu Fenqin’s sword appeared very small. It was like a small black fish hook meeting an enormous blue whale.

  Xu Fenqin’s expression did not change much. His sword was originally called the Whale Fishing Sword.

  When the black sword came into contact with the enormous green ball of light, the enormous light was stopped by his sword move. No more sword light could flow out.

  Sunlight seemed to shine through Xu Fenqin’s body.

  This was the primal energy of the universe burning in his body. The burning energy produced blinding rays like burning strings.

  His entire body was like a burning zither. This was his most terrifying time.

  Only a rare few knew that he had the name Xu Fenqin because his vital energy method was called the Burning Zither Scripture.

  The terrifying aspect of this method was that it could obtain more power through burning large amounts of vital energy in an instant. This power could only last for a brief time, but it was enough to kill someone or to flee.

  When the drop of water turned into a horizontal river that slapped him into this underground river, he confirmed that Bai Shanshui’s cultivation had grown completely different than before.

  Bai Shanshui now was not the Bai Shanshui who had sung and fought on the streets of Changling.

  But Bai Shanshui was not realm eight.

  He was certain if he could flee out of the river, he could live well. He only needed an instant.

  He was certain that Bai Shanshui could not defeat his Whale Fishing Sword unless she was realm eight.

  The burning string-like rays of energy stabbed upwards, immediately evaporating all the water around him, and causing him to bounce up at astounding speed.

  Yet in this instant, his face turned extremely pale.

  He sensed a new power appearing in the underground river. A power that inexplicably formed in the dark river, but as strong as Bai Shanshui.

  Yet this force formed like a storm, even more violent than Bai Shanshui and felt familiar to him. He soon realized who this power came from.

  “Ye ……” He shouted in disbelief.

  Yet he only had time to shout one word. His voice could not be heard in the underground river.

  The power that flowed along the river seemed to melt perfectly with Bai Shanshui’s power.

  He heard a cracking sound.

  The black sword had been thrown back, and stabbed deep into his body, cutting his abdomen almost completely. His energies and destroyed organs started to burn simultaneously.

  More sunlight sprayed out of his body.

  An explosion occured by a river bank in the suburbs of Changling.

  A patch of reeds started to burn.

  A ball of sunlight flew out of the ground and into the air.

  The phoenix carriage was returning on the Changling street.

  When the sunlight appeared on the horizon, the phoenix carriage suddenly sank.

  The thousands of golden threads covering the phoenix carriage floated outwards in unison, and gave off chiming sounds.

  The perfect woman from Jiaodong Commandery lifted her head slightly, and gazed in the direction of the sunlight.

  She knew what had happened. But her expression looked colder than when Palace Attendant Rong died, so cold it was unchanging.

  Translator Ramblings: Ye Celeng is a really good ally.

  Volume 3 146 - Like A Burning Wildfire

  Sitting on the stairs, Jing Liuli was still thinking. She felt that she had not managed to grasp a simple thing, but she just could not remember what it was.

  **

  The sunlight by the river only appeared for a short moment. But the powerful energy caused a gust of wind.

  In the camp of the Northern Tiger-Wolf Army, many tents swayed slightly. On the bamboo mat, Liang Lian suddenly opened his eyes.

  He was a realm seven expert and could sense that the wind itself came from energy vibrations different from other parts of Changling. When the wind reached the tents of the Northern Tiger-Wolf Army, it had a bone-chilling cold.

  In the moment Liang Lian opened his eyes, his hair and eyebrows were covered in a layer of blue-black frost. There seemed to be a wave of cold from the bottom of the world that reached him through space.

  His expression changed dramatically. With no time to think, his hands slapped towards the table in front of him.

  With a boom, the table shattered. A black rounded shield flew out from within the wood. The seal scripts on the surface floated out like red roses, and caused the primal energies of the universe to move like mountains.

  The tent at the center seemed to collapse like a deflated balloon.

  In the next moment, with a violent explosion, the entire tent turned into pieces of leather that stabbed out like swords.

  An extremely deep blue and black sword light flew out of somewhere, breaking through the air and passing through all of the Northern Tiger-Wolf Army, heading straight for the centre tent and Liang Lian who seemed to have swelled up.

  Numerous shouts rang out. Sword light danced. Dozens of flying swords decisively headed for the sword light.

  There was an intimidating string of explosions originating from cracked ice.

  On the path of this blue-black sword light, the flying swords that had attacked it were covered in ice and fell to the ground. Even numerous cultivators were frozen on the spot and turned into lifeless ice statues.

  To the shock of the swordsmen who had attacked with their flying swords, they did not even know where the user of the sword was.

  Liang Lian’s expression was so dark it was like he wore a metal mask. His heart contracted violently. He knew who the master of the sword was, and knew he was not a match.

  “Southeast, three four seven!”


  He shouted the location of the woman. At the same time, most of his vital energy surged below his body instantly.

  The carpet under him exploded to shreds and revealed a silver shining light. Six silver hexagonal pillars of metal rose out of the ground and shielded him at the center.

  Boom!

  The blue-black sword light, coming from an unknown distance, collided with the power given off by the six metal pillars, and caused an enormous explosion.

  Boom!

  Almost at the same time, an enormous sound that seemed to be hundreds of times stronger than this explosion took over all of the camp.

  All the chariots in the Northern Tiger-Wolf Army camp shone with light.

  A sea of light formed in the camp. The sound of many enormous things moving through the sky followed. Dozens of cloud-like energy waves exploded in midair.

  Dozens of spear-like weapons as thick as an adult’s waist broke through the clouds and fell towards the target Liang Lian had described.

  Cold energy was expanding from that place like a demonic lotus, and now formed a stormy world of wind and snow.

  Zhangsun Qianxue was standing in the center of the storm.

  All the soldiers and cultivators of the Northern Tiger-Wolf Army were extremely angry.

  They knew that the cultivator in the storm was extremely strong, and much stronger than General Liang Lian, the strongest person in camp right now. Otherwise, General Liang would not have activated the Six Door Lock, the strongest defense weapon they had.

  In the history of the Qin Dynasty, no one had managed to assassinate a general of the Qin right in the camp’s main tent.

  Among the armies that had fought the Qin Dynasty, maybe there had been examples of generals who led a hundred thousand people being killed by a Qin cultivator, yet the Qin Dynasty never had a history of their own general being killed in their center tent. Especially a direct assassination that had no fear.

  Any of the Qin armies, who had tens of thousands of people, were outfitted with seal weapons that could have killed one or two realm seven cultivators, much less the Northern Tiger-Wolf Army responsible for guarding Changling! The elite of the Qin Dynasty!

  Whenever necessary, most of them would not blink an eye if they had to sacrifice tens of thousands of soldiers even if they were among them.

  Their bravery was the most terrifying trait of the Qin army in the eyes of other dynasties.

  **

  Zhangsun Qianxue knew that even during that person’s peak, he could not have challenged an army like this on his own.

  When that person fought to the death in Changling, the strongest cultivators in the world had a clear understanding. The top cultivator of the world could at most kill twenty to thirty realm sevens and over twenty thousand Qin soldiers.

  Also, in the last few decades, the seal weapons of all the armies had improved greatly and grown more powerful.

  Zhangsun Qianxue sensed the power in the enormous metal seal weapons flying through the air. She had never seen them before.

  Right now, everything happening came from someone’s plan. She was just carrying out this person’s plan. So she had no need to think.

  She looked up at the thick giant spears falling down towards her. When the light of the metal reflected the wind and snow around her, when she was able to clearly see the dragon seal scripts on those enormous spears, she released all the energies accumulated in her body, including the power of her lifebond sword.

  Wind and snow rushed out in front of her. The dozens of enormous spears were swept up by the wind and snow, flying back and falling down on the camp.

  The wind and snow filled the camp.

  The tents were overturned, giving off metallic cracking sounds when they hit the ground as the soft and resilient leather were broken apart.

  The anger in many cultivator’s eyes turned to awe. They had heard some stories about this Eldest Miss Gongsun, and knew that that sword was in her possession.

  Looking at the camp that was sealed over in ice, they could not connect this kind of power to the rumored Eldest Miss Gongsun. Their sight was filled with blue-black color and they lost track of this woman once again.

  When they instinctively turned around, wanting to hear the next orders from the general, their breathing completely stopped.

  Dozens of enormous ice pillars seemed to stand upright within the army.

  The dragon seal scripts inside the ice pillars seemed to grow to the surface of the pillar. The black-blue pillars of ice looked like coiling dragons reaching upwards.

  These ice pillars locked down the entire core of the army. The wind and snow outside had quickly faded, yet the wind and snow intensified between the pillars.

  Even the realm five and six cultivators in the army could not get close to the increasingly cold energy. Their blood felt like they were going to freeze.

  **

  Zhangsun Qianxue looked towards the military camp from a distance.

  Those enormous metal spears had inherited the sword essence of the sword in her body. That sword and more energy had been poured into the metal spears, enough for the sword essence to last for a long time.

  She sensed her own strength. She was very pleased.

  Yet after using up all her power, she was now an ordinary person without any power.

  She took a deep breath and turned around, turning towards a forest behind her.

  A carriage was parked in the forest.

  The person driving the carriage appeared short and small, but even after seeing what Zhangsun Qianxue had done, this person did not appear too shocked. They asked in confusion, “This is it? Then who will kill Liang Lian?”


  Zhangsun Qianxue still had a cold expression. She seemed reluctant to answer, but said impatiently out of respect for this person, “That is none of my business.”


  Translator Ramblings: I think Liang Lian’s tent has had almost as many scenes than the wineshop.

  Volume 3 147 - A Sword Never Seen Before

  Liang Lian’s body was as cold as iron. His eyebrows and hairs were frozen into steel needles.There was a thin layer of ice on his skin that shone with blue-black light.

  The camp of the Northern Tiger-Wolf Army had turned into a true nether realm.

  Liang Lian’s gaze fell to his hands. He saw the cracks in his skin due to being frozen. He sensed the murderousness left in his body by the coldest sword energy in the world. He sensed the worsening of his internal injuries. His expression was indifferent and instead, he felt confused.

  Sealing the camp was to stop his subordinates from reaching this center area.

  This kind of cold would harm any cultivator who entered …… If this Eldest Miss Zhangsun wanted to get justice for the person who she both loved and hated deeply and did not want to not miss the opportunity to kill him after leaving Changling ……

  Then after the eldest miss of the former Gongsun Family left, who else could enter here and kill him?

  In Changling, who among those people would stand on her side and enter this place to kill him?

  Suddenly, his eyes narrowed. The corners of his eyes had cracked due to the ice, then frozen over like a red eyeliner had been drawn on his face.

  In the blue-black wind and snow, a figure suddenly appeared carrying a box.The box was covered in blue-black ice. It was extremely large like a coffin.

  This was a youth. A youth that should not be here but elsewhere.

  Military intelligence was usually the fastest. Liang Lian had not left the military camp, but had already learned the final result of the battle that had just finished.

  According to military intelligence, the youth was seriously injured.

  Liang Lian’s eyes slowly widened, and the corners of his eyes cracked again. He seemed to have found something amusing and could not help laughing.

  Then he looked seriously at the youth and asked. “Nine Death Silkworm?”


  This youth was Ding Ning. It was almost impossible for him to be here, but he appeared in the wind and snow like this.

  He was not coughing blood. The surrounding wind and snow did not palpably harm him, seemingly filling up some of the parched places in his body.

  Ding Ning’s face was slightly pale. Despite that, he was very calm, breathing smoothly, emanating an unprecedented sense of power.

  At this moment, he was sharper and stronger than when he fought Palace Attendant Rong. At this moment, he truly was a sword out of its scabbard.

  “Fake serious injury, and then come to kill me. This way no one will think that it’s you. Especially if I die in the hands of the Nine Death Silkworm, in the hands of that person’s heir, you will throw off the connection.”


  Before Ding Ning spoke, Liang Lian shook his head and said softly in admiration and mockery, “After this, no one will think you are the heir of that person. This is a beautiful plan of hitting many birds with one arrow. As expected of that person’s heir.”


  Ding Ning looked calmly at him. His tightly closed lips finally opened and said, “No one would have thought that a carriage driver would become today’s General Liang Lian by selling out his friends for glory.”


  Liang Lian said sarcastically, “Does a carriage driver always have to be a carriage driver?”


  Ding Ning shook his head and said, “No, but you used this way to become General Liang. So you should die.”


  “I really admire you.” Liang Lian looked up and said sincerely, “That person managed to find such a powerful heir …… If I die, who would think that you came to assassinate me? Who would think that you killed two great enemies in succession on the same day? But for you to finish this kind of plan, you must be able to kill me. I am a general who only lacks enough military merit to become a marquis.”


  Liang Lian laughed after a pause until the blue-black ice fell off his face. “I am a realm seven cultivator, and not a palace attendant.”


  Ding Ning shook his head, and looked at this sarcastic general and corrected sincerely. “You are a seriously injured cultivator. The coldness has reached a peak, and will fade from now. This is the best opportunity to attack. What are you waiting for?”


  Liang Lian’s smile faded. He looked at Ding Ning and the iced coffin-like box behind him. “I am curious what other tactics you have after using so many of them. Controlling Sword Essence. If you control Miss Gongsun’s sword essence, the wind and snow will dissipate. You will let the army outside come in?”


  When generals fought, they did not just fight with cultivation, but also psychologically. Yet this was useless against Ding Ning.

  Since Ye Celeng, Bai Shanshui, Zhangsun Qianxue, and even more people like them were willing to become pawns for his plan, then he could only carry out his plan. When Liang Lian mentally attacked him, he knew the other was about to attack, and managed to attack before he did.

  The coffin box on his back cracked and opened an inch. The Last Flower remnant sword flew out, and the shadows on the blade faded.

  Liang Lian suddenly looked back. In the wind and snow, a sword essence broke through the air behind him!

  He did not understand but his power instinctively sprayed out of his hand. A muffled sound, his body swayed.

  With a clatter, a black wave of water poured down, and then fell to the ground as countless beads of ice.

  He slowly pulled back his simple unpretentious longsword held behind him. Blood streamed out of the corner of his mouth, and then immediately froze on his face.

  “Controlling Sword Essence.”


  “This is Bai Shanshui’s sword essence,” Liang Lian looked at Ding Ning in the wind and snow ahead and said slowly.

  “You have a good sense of timing …… Bai Shanshui just used her sword so this sword essence is strong …… What else do you have?”


  He wanted to see what Ding Ning had left, but he would not be so stupid to stand and wait for him to use all his tactics one by one.

  His sword did not seem to move, but with a crack, the wind and snow seemed to crack in the corner. A terrifying presence formed overhead like a punishment from the heavens and smashed down violently.

  This was the power of realm seven.

  Ding Ning’s body gave off many popping sounds. Theoretically, he should not even be able to move right now.

  Yet at this moment, silkworms sounded inside him.

  Visible sparks of light surged out of his skin like tangible and packed silkworms, hissing sounded in the air.

  Ding Ning’s vital energy flowed out steadily. The metal box behind him gave a sharp scream, full of fear. Then the metal box opened several more feet.

  A new wave of wild wind and snow formed as the cold energy in the metal box exploded. The countless silkworms on Ding Ning’s body opened their mouths at the same time and threw out the wind and snow they had absorbed through cultivating with Ding Ning over the last decade.

  It was like his restraints had been taken off. This was true wantonness.

  Also wanton was Ding Ning’s sword essence. As the Last Flower remnant sword danced, the energies changed several dozen feet in front of him, becoming a sword essence Liang Lian could not even understand and felt he could never obtain.

  All of his pride and confidence disappeared. He started to understand his mistake.

  “You ……” He wanted to speak. Because of his great terror, his voice trembled so much he could not make a sound.

  Ding Ning’s blow had not finished.

  A string of explosions. The cold fiendish little swords in his body all flew out.

  These small swords flew out, but not the same place, instead forming different ruler-straight paths. Each path was a unique seal.

  The newly formed wind and snow came from these seals. Then all the power changed to become a sword light. One that Liang Lian had once seen before. If he were not seriously injured and could use all of his realm seven power, he should be able to fend off this sword light.

  Yet at this time, he could clearly sense that his strength was just a sliver less. Just one line separated life and death.

  This sword was called One Line Heaven.

  Liang Lian’s sword essence gushed out completely. His sword was still maintaining its advancing position but a bloody line already appeared on his forehead.

  A bloody line that was widening.

  Volume 3 148 - Mercury Like Fish

  “So you are not ……”


  Liang Lian looked at Ding Ning. A drop of blood beaded on his forehead and he fell backwards.

  As he fell down, blue-black ice formed again on the surface of his skin. But this time, the ice did not just stay on his skin but went deep into his flesh.

  By the time he hit the ground, he was already a blue-black ice statue. This general, who had fought countless times and climbed out of mountains of dead, finally died.

  He did not want to die. But he died before he left Changling.

  No one heard his unfinished last words nor did they know the secret contained in the words.

  Ding Ning covered his lips with his hand. He was holding a thick piece of cotton cloth in his hand. When the cotton cloth came into contact with his lips and nose, blood spurted out of his mouth.

  His breathing was irregular. Blood continued to come out of his mouth and nose, but were all caught by this cotton cloth. Blood froze this cotton cloth, and no drop of blood landed on the ground in front of him.

  His vision was slightly out of focus. He felt like knives were cutting his lungs each time he breathed, and these little knives were covered in needles that went deep into his chest bones.

  But he was very happy. He laughed as he vomited blood.

  “Bai Shanshui’s sword essence …… all of Zhangsun Qianxue’s power, and waiting for so many years to kill you now, could you not have died?”


  He looked with unusual contentment at Liang Lian’s corpse. Then he breathed deeply and started to run.

  He sprinted towards the edge of the snowstorm. There was a watering pond for horses there.

  The water there had completely disappeared, leaving behind a passage to the underground rivers.

  The carriage sprinted towards the Changling suburbs.

  Zhangsun Qianxue’s eyes were slightly closed as she leaned back against the cushioned seat. In that short moment, she had forced out all the power of her body. So right now, she was no different from any ordinary person.

  But her cultivation realm was still present. Her senses were still more powerful than most cultivators in Changling.

  Suddenly, she opened her eyes and looked up. Even though her gaze was obscured by the roof of the carriage, her beautiful face was filled with anger instantly.

  A streak of flowing flame appeared in the high sky. A pale white starfire was falling down from space.

  “This has nothing to do with you. Zheng Xiu’s blow is because of me, and not you,” The carriage driver turned and said softly to her.

  Then this small and short carriage driver flew off the carriage and flashed towards the top of a mountain at the side.

  The carriage continued to sprint on the path. Soon, a carriage driver flashed out of the woodlands and landed on the front.

  Zhangsun Qianxue’s anger did not fade from her face, but when she sensed the direction of the starfire, she completely understood why Ding Ning told her to not leave behind any vital energy at all.

  When she lost all presence, the empress returning to the palace could not sense her existence.

  “You understand her too well!”


  But the moment after she understood, her fury grew. Her fury appeared innocent on her face like she was a pure girl who did not know about the world.

  The small and short carriage driver reached the top of a nearby mountain.

  The mountain was not tall but had many trees.

  When the carriage driver started to reveal their presence at the peak, all of the trees started to turn red and then ignited.

  The carriage driver looked up at the sky.

  The pale starfire in the sky was visible to the eye as it fell down towards the mountain.

  All of the flames on the trees were like this carriage driver, giving off an unyielding and determined air.

  The entire mountain became a furnace, a burning furnace hard to describe.

  The flames left the burying trees.

  These trees burned, their trunks turned to black charcoal, and then quickly turned red before becoming white dust. However, all the flames were pulled away to gather at the top of the mountain, forming a sword of fire. Alongside the wild fighting spirit the carriage driver gave off, the sword of fire faced the pale white flames from the sky.

  Boom! The sky thundered again.

  Previously, the flames burning on the mountain and the narrow pale white starfire falling from the sky were too distant and small to Changling. But when the thunder sounded in the sky, everyone in Changling saw the two exploding flames in the sky above the suburbs.

  One was pale white, spreading upwards like a holy white lotus. The other was fire red, burning like a furnace of liquid metal.

  Many Changling cultivators had an unpleasant expression when they saw the distant red flames. They knew cultivators from only one place could produce such sword essence.

  On the mountain, the short and small carriage driver’s hair flew in the wind. The fire reflecting in the sky turned her hair red.

  The ground around her was in ashes, yet her eyes were full of pride. She felt like a phoenix reborn from the ashes.

  In Changling, the empress did not look up at the sound of thunder from her phoenix carriage. But the coldness in her eyes grew stronger like another layer of frost.

  After many years, she finally sensed true shocked anger again.

  Palace Attendant Rong had died.

  Xu Fenqin had died.

  In her perception, Liang Lian in the snowstorm should be dead as well.

  Thes people who had once worked for her all died within the span of a day. Zhao Si, one she had once defeated, managed to deflect one of her swords …… but this was not just all she was angered by.

  The eldest miss of the Gongsun Family, Bai Shanshui of Cloud Water Palace, and Zhao Sword Furnace …… she was shocked and angered that these people seemed to have been pinched together by a pair of invisible hands.

  She felt this somewhat familiar. She sensed that that person was still existing. She had been the one who controlled Changling like she was the mandate of heaven all these years. After making the decision back then, that person was an unrememberable memory. All of the sweetness had turned into humiliation after that night of submission when she made her decision.

  Now, Palace Attendant Rong was dead. That person was also dead. There was no one who knew about that night.

  But did that middle-aged tea master know?

  Who had pieced together the bone characters?

  Her body did not change. But the phoenix carriage started to tremble.

  High in the air, sparks of starfire started to float about disorderly.

  At the sound of thunder in the sky, Jing Liuli, who had been deep in thought outside the clinic, suddenly looked up.

  She saw the two balls of flame in the sky and her breathing stopped again in shock. She knew that something else important was happening in the distance. And in this instant, like an epiphany, she realized what was wrong.

  She had seen the changes in the black ice worm. That black ice worm would be able to give Ding Ning great assistance. Yet in the battle against Palace Attendant Rong, she had not seen him use the black ice worm.

  Based on her understanding of Ding Ning, he could not make any mistakes, and neglect anything he could use.

  Without any hesitation and before Ye Zhengnan could see the changes in her expression, she disappeared down the gates of the clinic.

  She entered the clinic, and passed through two courtyards at her fastest speed to reach the room with the strongest scent of medicine.

  As the person inside gave off a furious shout, her hand landed on the door to the room, and the door naturally opened.

  Seeing the scene inside, she suddenly stilled.

  The bed was covered in blood and Ding Ning was unconscious.

  One healer looked angrily at her with a burning gaze.

  Jing Liuli was silent for a moment, and then gave a minute nod of apology before closing the door.

  Volume 3 149 - Do Not Dare

  When all the burning trees on the mountain turned to ash, Zhao Si disappeared from the top of the mountain.

  The pale white starfire flying upwards disappeared without a trace. But the red flames that had burned on the trees were still rippling through the air and growing larger.

  The empress’ starfire came from the eternal and unchanging stars in the void yet they lost to Zhao Si’s fire made from trees in the mortal world.

  These trees had burned up their entire lives with their flame.

  In the Northern Tiger-Wolf Army camp, before the ice on all the enormous pillars of ice melted, some cultivators finally disregarded the damage the cold energies created and charged into the center.

  Then they saw General Lian fallen down as a statue of ice.

  Within the blue-black ice, the line of red on Liang Lian’s forehead was startling to see. In their perception, it still rippled with astounding sword essence.

  These military cultivators who had fought hundreds of battles were all agitated, and unable to speak in their anger.

  On the street around Ding Ning and Palace Attendant Rong’s battlefield, the crowds had dissipated and the surroundings were silent.

  Jing Liuli walked out of the gates under Ye Zhengnan and Xu Heshan’s confused gazes. Inexplicably, she felt even more admiration for Ding Ning, but her legs seemed to be heavy like they were made out of lead.

  The presences in the sky were in slight disorder. Because many experts had released their presences, even the sky was dimmed. There were no dark clouds, but there seemed to be clouds covering the sun.

  Droplets of rain fell on the ground in front of Jing Liuli. The rain still carried some of the nether coldness, like this was the melted ice and snow that had floated out of the Northern Tiger-Wolf Army camp.

  At this time, Jing Liuli suddenly raised her head.

  The crowds had dissipated, and a youth walked out of a silent alley.

  The youth wore bright purple robes. However, his purple robes felt illusory. His entire presence was the same, ethereal and empty like he was just a multi-coloured cloud.

  Standing on the stairs, Ye Zhengnan’s pupils suddenly contracted. He could clearly see the face of this youth.

  This youth had a clean face which looked young and immature. However, Ye Zhengnan felt the other was especially dangerous and terrifying, and his energies uncontrollably surged.

  In his mind, even the first time he saw Jing Liuli, he only felt mountainous pressure and awe, but not this feeling of danger all over his body.

  Who is this youth?

  His breathing began to stop.

  He and Jing Liuli were different. The moment she saw this youth, she knew who this was.

  In Changling, other than Ding Ning, only one person would cause her to feel like this.

  “An Baoshi?” Her brow furrowed slightly as she spoke when she saw this youth floating over like a cloud.

  Behind her, Xu Heshan was stunned.

  Just like how Jing Liuli’s appearance could cause Jing Liuli to tremble, when An Baoshi of Spirit Void Sword Sect appeared, this meant that something unusual was happening.

  The purple-robed youth smiled.

  This smile caused him to look more human like he fell from the cloud to the ground.

  But when a person from the heavens fell to the ground, he still did not look like he was in the mortal world. So while he looked tangible, he was even more strange.

  “I am An Baoshi.”


  He looked at Jing Liuli who did not conceal her hostility. He asked directly without any politeness, “Do you know why all these years when Changling ranked us together, why I never left Spirit Void Sword Sect to find you?”


  Jing Liuli looked coldly at him and said, “Why?”


  An Baoshi said, “Because I always felt you are inferior to me, and I do not need to prove it to others.”


  His tone was ordinary, his expression aloof and not proud at all. But he gave off the feeling of being extremely arrogant, so much that Xu Heshan, half a head taller, felt like he had to look up.

  However, Jing Liuli was not angry and looked at him. “And now?”


  An Baoshi glanced behind Jing Liuli. “Now, there is someone who can rank together with me so you are no longer my opponent.”


  Jing Liuli smiled and said, “So you mean since I do not qualify to be mentioned together with you, you came to notify me specially?”


  An Baoshi looked at her smiling but cold face and shook his head seriously.

  “I came out of Spirit Void Sword Sect to watch Ding Ning’s fight.” He said in an emotional tone, “Since Ding Ning dared to challenge Palace Attendant Rong, he had a possibility of winning. With his cultivation realm, even if there is just a possibility, then it is worthwhile in my opinion to come watch. But you surprised me. You have no sword in hand, but your sword essence is much stronger than before. It appears that you improved greatly these days in Changling, enough for me to test your sword.”


  Hearing these words, Ye Zhengnan and Xu Heshan involuntarily tensed. This was undoubtedly a challenge.

  Enough shocking things had happened today. Now, when everyone thought the curtain was down, a legendary person like An Baoshi appeared in front of them …… all of this was just as unreal as the dimmed sunlight from before.

  They also knew that Jing Liuli could not avoid this challenge.

  In a breath, Jing Liuli nodded and said, “All right.”


  There was a snapping sound.

  A small crack appeared in An Baoshi’s purple robes, yet his expression did not change.

  He was like a son of heaven, giving off the feeling of pride without having any proud expression. He nodded and said to Jing Liuli, “Please.”


  Jing Liuli narrowed her eyes slightly. Her accumulated sword essence was sent out. The wind remained calm in front of her.

  But any of the natural seal scripts from energy flowing in the air appeared like her sword essence. Her sword seemed to be everywhere in the world. Her sword seemed to exist within every seal script in the world, and any of these seal scripts could appear at any moment to fall towards An Baoshi.

  This was the true Great Ease sword essence.

  There was no sword but An Baoshi was surrounded by swords.

  This was undoubtedly Jing Liuli’s strongest attack, so strong Xu Heshan trembled all over. Only now did he know how strong Jing Liuli, known as a monster among the younger general, was.

  The world was full of swords.

  How could one blow this attack?

  But An Baoshi stood there motionlessly.

  He stood there but he seemed to be empty.

  Everything was empty.

  Everything was empty so when the sword landed, it hit empty space.

  Jing Liuli took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled. The swords in the world disappeared.

  “This is the Peerless Spirit Void?”


  She seemed to say to An Baoshi but also to herself.

  An Baoshi looked at her and nodded naturally.

  The two seemed to have never fought, but victory had been determined.

  Both of Jing Liuli’s sleeves had been cut at the shoulders to reveal her white arms.

  An Baoshi’s expression remained unchanged as he gave off his inhuman presence. He did not look at Jing Liuli as he passed by her and glanced at the courtyard behind her. Then he turned and left.

  The light in this area of the sky dimmed slightly more.

  Watching his departing back, Ye Zhengnan and Xu Heshan looked at the motionlessly standing Jing Liuli and felt slightly sad.

  They thought that Jing Liuli would feel very sad inside at this moment.

  Unexpectedly, when Jing Liuli turned around and sat back down on the stairs, nothing seemed to have happened.

  She did not have any sad feelings.

  Volume 3 150 - All Breakthroughs

  A bright moon reflected in the still waters of the well.

  In the Yan Shangdu, beside this well was Zhang Yi, resting and rubbing his swollen and aching right shoulder.

  For cultivators like him, carrying water was not a difficult task. But the paths in some parts of Celestial Seal Sect were very different from the paths in the rest of the world. Carrying water in through places was much more difficult than ordinary people carrying water on a mountain path.

  “Why are you not sad?”


  A familiar voice reached his ears. He knew it was Su Qin.

  He slowly turned around and was confused when he saw Su Qin walk towards him in the night.

  Su Qin looked coolly at him. He stood by the other side of the well and repeated, “Why are you not sad?”


  Zhang Yi was slightly surprised, but out of politeness, he still responded. “Why should I be sad?”


  “You had the best cultivation in White Goat Cave, and were favoured the most by the teachers. In the Min Mountain Sword Trials, you received an opportunity to study in Min Mountain Sword Sect. You count as outstanding in Changling. But here, you are the lowest of the low. Just this month, you were punished by carrying water seven times.”


  Su Qin said with slight disdain, “Of the people who joined at the same time as you, the worst has entered the Third Path Palace, but you have not even comprehended the seal essence of the first path palace. Do not say you are not sad.”


  Zhang Yi finally understood. However, his serene countenance remained unfazed. He was certain Su Qin could never understand him, even so, he was polite for he knew any amount of words were useless so he remained silent.

  Sometimes, the gentleness and silence of someone like him appeared to be contempt and resistance in the eyes of others.

  Su Qin looked at him and his brow slowly furrowed.

  “Look at this seal,” he said slowly to Zhang Yi, “this is one of the seals on Celestial Seal Sect’s thirty paths.”


  After saying this, his left hand moved slightly.

  Cracking sounds came from the wooden bucket next to Zhang Yi.

  Zhang Yi glanced at the water bucket and then at Su Qin’s left hand. He was shocked and paled slightly.

  The water bucket remained motionless, but multiple cracks had appeared on the surface with water slowly flowing out. Su Qin’s left hand was still twisted oddly. This was still a crippled hand which could never grip a sword again in this life but Zhang Yi could clearly sense the seal essence had come from his left hand.

  Looking at Zhang Yi’s pale face, Su Qin smiled in pleasure. “The stone of the mountain can attack jade. These twisted flesh and meridians could no longer use the sword, but can create different seal meanings. Can you understand the feeling of the hope at the end of the tunnel?”


  “Congratulations,” Zhang Yi said.

  He did not like Su Qin anymore, even if the other had once been his respected junior sect brother. But his congratulations was still sincere. He thought, if Su Qin benefited from the calamity and his crippled hand could let him use stronger seal essences, then his hate towards his little sect brother would lessen greatly. Alas, he was too kind and did not understand people like Su Qin enough.

  At those congratulatory words, Su Qin’s smile transformed into an icy sneer.

  “Now, Celestial Seal Sect only has this water bucket. When you carry it up the mountain, half of the water will leak. So you will have to carry double the water than before. Even if you do not stop starting now, you will have to work from midnight to noon. You will not be in a good mental state for tomorrow’s test. You will likely not pass …… and have to continue carrying water.”


  “You say you are not sad. But I do not believe you will not be sad if you continue to struggle with the water bucket and the mountain paths.”


  After speaking sarcastically, Su Qin left without looking back.

  Zhang Yi still could not understand Su Qin. But he did not go find a teacher to complain to. He felt that arguing to a Celestial Seal Sect teacher about something like carrying more water was meaningless. But his time would be tight. So he did not rest anymore and started to carry water.

  The clear well water leaked constantly through the cracks in the water bucket, dripping down and falling on the mossy mountain paths.

  Su Qin was correct. When the moon was high in the sky, he still had not finished carrying water. Both his shoulders were red and swollen high. He felt pain at the contact of his clothes, much less the carrying pole. His steps grew heavier. Heavy enough that they shook off some of the dried moss on the mountain path.

  The water from the bucket and his sweat moistened many parched places on this mountain path. He was still persisting. All along, his countenance was gentle and patient.

  Suddenly, his eyes filled with shock. He saw many strange silver lines.

  The silver light was weak, and came from the dozen of stone steps on the mountain path he had the most difficulty with. These faint silver lights came from the places where the dried moss had fallen off. The silver lines on each stone step form a profound seal in his eyes.

  He still could not understand the specific meanings of these seals. Because he could not understand, so he only saw the most obvious shapes of these seals. Looking at these shapes, some of his vital energy, suppressed by the strange power of these steps, seemed to flow inside his body in a circulation according to the shape of these seals.

  His vital energy started to flow slowly. Under the suppression of a power multiple times his own, his vital energy finally started to flow.

  If vital energy could flow, it could be used.The water he carried on his shoulders became weightless under the support of his vital energy.

  At this moment, Zhang Yi’s breathing stopped as he grew more shocked.

  The silver lines of light from the stone steps clearly formed a method of vital energy circulation. Working with the power of these steps, he could sense his vital energy flowing slowly but also grind over all places of his body, causing his body to change substantially. This vital energy method was much more powerful than the vital energy method from White Goat Cave that he cultivated.

  His steps unconsciously stopped.

  The moon had passed over the sky. The silver light started to disappear from the stone steps, it was if the seals never existed.

  Zhang Yi started to understand. He saw the faint silver light from those usually imperceptible marks because he had sweated enough, the water had leaked enough, and the moon had been bright enough.

  But why did these stone steps have such marks?

  Why would there be a method like this that teachers did not mention?

  Zhang Yi could not understand.

  Of course, he did not know that an old man, who he knew but did not know the identity of, was looking at him from a hut on the other side of the mountain path, his gaze comforted and emotional.

  Celestial Seal Sect had many powerful seals, but in reality, the nature of Celestial Seal Sect, the mountains and water, concealed the strongest true seals left behind by the generations of Celestial Seal Sect masters.

  Many people spent their entire lives searching for powerful attacks in those records and teachings, but never sensed even one true seal. Was it because those people had heads held high that always looked up, wanting to fly, not willing to look at the path, or another reason?

  Regardless, before the summer even finished, Zhang Yi had obtained one of the most important true seals of Celestial Seal Sect.

  This old man was very satisfied. At the same time, he was convinced his decision was correct.

  **

  After the moon passed over the sky, moonlight dimmed. In an alley of Shangdu, several dog barks sounded.

  This capital of the Yan Dynasty had experienced centuries. While it had changed, it had never been drastically modified like Changling had been in the Qin Dynasty. So the buildings were of different heights, the paths varied in width, and old and new buildings mixed together. The prosperity of centuries and new life caused this city to have a sense of artistry, but also made the black night more complicated.

  An out-of-towner took along a subordinate through this unfamiliar alley. He stepped into a puddle and dirtied his shoe.

  His subordinate behind him nimbly avoided all the puddles which could dirty his new shoes, and the shoes remained extremely clean.

  The dogs stopped barking. On both ends of this complicated alley, many figures had arrived.

  The out-of-towner seemed to have expected this and bowed. His voice was slightly tired and fragile “This one only asks to feel oneself. Leaders, please allow this.”


  Volume 3 151 - Death By A Thousand Cuts

  “Shangdu is disordered, and it is not easy for out-of-towners to make a living here.”


  A quiet voice sounded like a senior full of sympathy for a junior. But in the next breath, the voice suddenly turned harsh, and the words cutting like ice. “These seven streets and sixteen alleys are large, and it is easy to give up a small space. But who will give it up …… this is a difficult matter for us, and may cause a disaster.”


  The out-of-towner smiled faintly and said, “So after thinking about it, you decided to ally together and kill me. Then you will not have any difficulties.”


  “Interesting.” The harsh voice quickly grew quiet again.

  Then the shadows in the alley ahead separated, and an old man who appeared withered in the darkness came to the front, seated in a wheelchair.

  “We know you are a dragon who has crossed the river before. This retainer of yours should be realm seven. Otherwise, Old Qi and the others would not have died inexplicably without a sound.”


  The old man laughed quietly. “But the seven streets and sixteen alleys are so large. Wanting to intimidate us with one realm seven …… something like this is not very possible.”


  “If this is a discussion, you would not have blocked the path behind, and given a path of retreat.” The out-of-towner smiled and said, “I did not even see any patrols on the way here. You have such connections already taken care of. Then what is going to happen next is not interesting.”


  The old man lifted his head in slight surprise. He looked at the out-of-towner. “You are very smart. But why did you not think how there are no patrols at all in these streets without General Zhang’s intentions? Since you understand General Zhang’s intentions, then why did you not leave in the middle of the night and come here?”


  “Perhaps you have misunderstood General Zhang. If he did not want me to stay here, then he would not have given me a chance to come here.” The out-of-towner looked oddly at the old man and said, “Old Bi of Heaven Door. You have been on your seat so long you forgot how you got there in the past.”


  “You should change your thinking.”


  The out-of-towner paused and said regretfully, “Maybe you have forgotten, no matter how stable you are on your seat, it is the true powers in Shangdu who let you sit there. Your first priority is to satisfy them. I am able to appear in front of you tonight. Maybe the powers feel you have been on your seat for too long and do not know how to think anymore. Maybe they feel you are not good enough at management. This place needs a new housekeeper, or maybe they just want to see something novel?”


  The old man did not immediately speak. He was silent for a long while. Then he nodded slowly and said, “If the powers have this idea, then the only way to dispel such thoughts is to prove I can still sit in this seat, to prove that I am stronger than they have imagined.”


  The out-of-towner shook his head and said sincerely, “This is not the only solution. I hope that you can consider some gentler methods.”


  “I am already old.”


  The old man’s voice became quiet. “I am willing, but everyone in front and behind me is unwilling to let me give my seat to an out-of-towner like you. I need to prove my abilities to those powers, but you also have to prove your strength to my brothers.”


  The out-of-towner thought for a moment and opened his mouth to speak. But in this moment, he heard multiple piercing sounds.

  “The flying swords of the Yan capital are much worse than those of Changling.”


  The out-of-towner sighed. He looked at the old man in the darkness ahead and said with more seriousness, “Since you are already so old, then why are you so impatient, why do you not leave any room to spare when you act?”


  The old man on the wheelchair did not respond. To people like him, since he had made his decision, there was no need to say anything.

  Multiple flying swords flew towards the out-of-towner in the darkness. The retainer behind him pulled out his sword.

  Multiple flying swords could not avoid being thrown backwards in a breath.

  Gasps sounded.

  The quiet old man on the wheelchair abruptly lifted his head, extremely stunned.

  In his senses, the sword of this out-of-towner’s subordinate felt like an enormous hammer.

  Those flying swords had not just been knocked away but completely destroyed!

  He knew the subordinate was realm seven, yet the power the other showed in moving his hand confirmed this was no ordinary realm seven!

  “I hope you can change your decision,” the out-of-towner glanced at him and said seriously.

  A green seal fell down in front of him like a falling leaf, and then released a presence only realm sevens could possess. Green flames ignited from this seal.

  This seal was the true killing move.

  Those multiple flying swords had been fierce, but they had only drawn away the sword of the subordinate for an instant.

  To the utter shock of the old man and the many people blocking the alley in the darkness, a dark red sword appeared in the out-of-towner’s hand.

  The sword flashed, and the out-of-towner’s body shook violently. The green seal was flicked away by the sword and snapped in half. The green seal was very thin, but unimaginable flames surged out.

  All of the gathered energy sprayed out of the cut.

  Two astounding flows of green flame collided in the air, and pushed the two pieces of the seal hundreds of feet to different sides.

  The green and vivid flames illuminated the faces of everyone in the alley, including the old man on the wheelchair.

  The old man’s wheelchair shook violently. He looked at the two rivers of fire in the sky. Even his wrinkles glowed green. He yelled in disbelief like a child who had been bullied when fighting. “How can you also be realm seven!”


  At this moment, a sword light lit up behind the old man. It was dim when it first appeared, but in a flash, the light grew stunningly bright like a scorching metal rod.

  One of the people behind the old man gave a furious howl, turned and drew his sword. His sword was very fast and very strong.

  Those around him, including the old man he protected, believed he could stop this sword. But then, the burning sword suddenly changed direction and stabbed towards this retainer.

  The retainer was stunned, and sensed the presence of death. He felt he would die, he pulled his sword back.

  At a hiss, this retainer froze. He discovered this deathly sword essence fell towards him, but the blade itself did not change direction.

  The burning hot longsword stabbed into the old man from the back of the wheelchair. The sword tip came out of his chest, steaming with heat.

  This retainer screamed in madness and confusion. He did not know why he was not able to stop this sword.

  The old man was also very confused.He realized that the retainer’s shocking smash and the out-of-towner suddenly exposing his realm seven strength were all to conceal this last blow. But he could not understand how this out-of-towner, who was not realm seven just a short while ago in battle, was now in realm seven. He also did not understand how this sword, not extremely powerful, could pierce his body.

  “Apologies.” The out-of-towner bowed towards him from a distance, and apologized sincerely. “If you do not die, many people will.”


  Sensing that the people in the alley were so shocked they could not move, the out-of-towner’s retainer put down his large sword and said softly, “Wang Taixu, you surprise me.”


  “In reality, this is mostly due to something a person said to me in particular.”


  The out-of-towner knew everything had concluded. He put away his sword and stood with his hands behind his back. “Before I left Changling, he said to me, the key to a breakthrough was not talent, but the strongest of emotions.”


  The person behind him stilled slightly and seemed to realize something.

  The out-of-towner said softly, “I did not understand at the start. Later, when you accompanied me, and I felt your sword essence at close distance, I gradually started to understand as we moved away from Changling. Cultivators like you frequently can reach a high level because of your grievances for country and home…… your love and hate are more varied than ordinary cultivators. Your emotions are stronger than ordinary cultivators. the stronger the emotions …… the stronger your perception. People’s emotions are the strongest power in the world.”


  The person behind him thought seriously. He thought of the most outstanding and strongest cultivators from Changling and Zhao in those years. He thought there was almost no one who bowed down to everyone. They were all people with true emotions. He felt this was even more correct.

  Volume 3 152 - The True Peacock Green

  When the moon was highest in the sky and the night the darkest, it was the busiest time in Changling’s Fish Market.

  In a room with lit fragrance, a stalk of bamboo silently grew by itself and then disappeared. The woman in the red robes hugged her zither as she stood by the window. Her gaze was obstructed by the layers of dark awnings, but her thoughts were on the place where multiple battles had occurred today.

  Her expression was faintly sad as usual. She thought of the two women from the battle on the Wei River who had lost their countries. She thought of the sword attack Eldest Miss Gongsun had displayed today. Her emotional fluctuations grew stronger.

  Another stalk of black bamboo appeared out of thin air on the empty ground behind her. But unlike before, it did not disappear as she breathed. It suddenly flowered with deep red flowers.

  As the bamboo bloomed, her body also had mysterious changes inside. Her skin quickly turned pure black like the black bamboo before quickly disappearing until she looked the same as usual. But the blackness in her eyes was double its usual size, making her eyes seem even blacker and brighter.

  The black bamboo in the black shadows outside this room also started to tremble violently. The old servant who usually accompanied her knocked on the door and entered. He looked at her but was silent.

  He knew that she could have had her breakthrough long ago, yet she always did not have her breakthrough. This was a tacit agreement with the nobility of Changling, so Changling would give her a place to stay.

  “That day when Bai Shanshui fought Zhao Si on the Wei River, I had realizations.”


  The old servant of the Shang Family did not speak while she started. Her tone was extremely gentle and sad. “Both of them lost their countries and their homes. But when I think about it, I am the same. My family no longer exists. In this Changling, I am an orphaned ghost, and always an eyesore. Today, so many things have happened. How can I stay out of the matter even if I want to?”


  The old Shang Family servant said after a moment of silence, “Miss, you still remember the grievance of the family.”


  “Since I remember the family grievances, I will also remember the favours.”


  The red-robed woman said softly, “I have been stable in Changling for so many years. At least, I know, if that person had not returned in a hurry back then, there would be nothing left of the Shang Family. I am an orphaned woman. I have no hopes of getting revenge. The grievance has faded, but I remember the favours. Today, my mind is not at peace because of this Nine Death Silkworm.”


  She turned and looked at the old servant who had been hunched over all this time. she said, “Bai Shanshui, Zhao Si, and the Eldest Miss Gongsun …… What kind of people are they? If not for that Nine Death Silkworm, I do not believe they would have burned their vital energy like they did today. As long as the Nine Death Silkworm exists, this Changling cannot be at peace. We cannot stay in the Fish Market and scrape together survival. Whether or not we are one of them, Zheng Xiu will categorize us as one of them. To her and Yuanwu, we are just little fish who slipped the net back then.”


  The old Shang Family servant was silent for a long time. He sighed deeply and did not speak.

  Some realm seven grandmasters had died while other people silently had breakthroughs and reached realm seven. The winds and clouds changed, there were innumerable favours and grievances. This was the true Changling.

  Mo Shoucheng walked into the Northern Tiger-Wolf Army. Huang Zhenwei respectfully followed him.

  Some of the Divinity Bureau officials silently spread apart into the area of wind and snow where those enormous metal spears had fallen and where realm sixes could not enter.

  At the center of the camp, Liang Lian’s corpse had not been cleaned up. He was still laid out where he died. The ice on his body had melted in the hot summer. The ice had turned into water that permeated the soil beneath him.

  His body was shriveled, a deep black color spread through it. He did not look like a general who had just died in battle, but a dried corpse who had been dead for many years and then been dragged out of the soil.

  Mo Shoucheng stood silently for a long time in front of Liang Lian’s corpse.

  “He is someone who helped the Qin conquer lands,” he said. Then he summoned a large flag from the distance and covered Liang Lian’s corpse.

  “It’s the Nine Death Silkworm,” he turned and said to Huang Zhenwei, nodding.

  Huang Zhenwei’s eyes were filled with shock. He knew if the old man was so certain, this meant the Nine Death Silkworm was not an illusion and actually existed. It had grown to a stunning degree that it could kill even Liang Lian.

  Mo Shoucheng nodded again and said, “He was killed by One Line Heaven …… that’s one of that person’s strongest sword essences. It can cut a world in the face of any powerful force.”


  Huang Zhenwei could not speak and just listened.

  Mo Shoucheng said, “The one who killed Liang Lian is not yet realm seven. Able to produce such a sword essence when not yet realm seven …… that person comprehended such a sword essence only after he reached realm seven.”


  Huang Zhenwei was even more speechless. He could not believe it.

  “Perhaps that person had an heir many years ago, but they never revealed themselves. Perhaps that person had a student long ago. Even the empress did not know. He did not tell the empress.”


  Mo Shoucheng did not give Huang Zhenwei much time to think on his own like he usually did and continued. “The empress will go crazy.”


  Huang Zhenwei suddenly looked up. He could not consider all the meanings in the words. But the word ’empress’ caused him to sense that cold presence.

  “The Nine Hell King Sword and the Nine Death Silkworm have appeared at the same time. Bai Shanshui killed Xu Fenqin. Zhao Si lured the empress’ attack away. Nine Death Silkworm entered this place through the underground river. These are not isolated.”


  Mo Shoucheng looked directly at Huang Zhenwei and said slowly, “The only thing that can throw the empress’ mind into disorder is the Nine Death Silkworm. If she knows who the heir to the Nine Death Silkworm is, there would not be much chaos. But the heir is still unknown, and far stronger than she imagines …… I worry the most about her, I worry what she will do next.”


  Huang Zhenwei’s face started to pale. He thought of many events in Changling in the three years before Emperor Yuanwu’s ascension. He finally started to understand what his teacher was worried about.

  “The Holy One is realm eight, and harmonious in his governance. The Qin Dynasty has never been so strong. Even if this Nine Death Silkworm has reached such a degree, even if Bai Shanshui and the people of Zhao Sword Furnace have grown stronger, they are all too weak compared to the present Qin Dynasty.”


  Mo Shoucheng knew he understood but still continued. “After the Deer Mountain Conference, the threat from the other three dynasties has faded. The empress has grown more unscrupulous in her conduct. If she wants to be cruel, she will become crueler.”


  Huang Zhenwei’s breathing grew difficult. “Teacher, what then should I do now?”


  Mo Shoucheng looked at his beloved disciple with a hint of affection and compassion in his eyes and sighed softly. “Investigate, investigate who is the Nine Death Silkworm ……”


  After a pause, he turned to Liang Lian’s corpse covered by the flag and said, “Coming here to kill him, there must be an entry and exit, there will be traces. If we find out who is the person who inherited the Nine Death Silkworm, then the empress will not go mad.”


  Huang Zhenwei was puzzled.

  But he was one of the wisest people of Changling so he quickly grasped the old man’s undertone. “Teacher, you do not trust the Astrology Bureau and Divinity Bureau?”


  “In Changling, never trust too much in anyone.” Mo Shoucheng grimaced slightly and said, “Also, I do not have much time.”


  Huang Zhenwei looked at his suddenly dim and yellowed eyes. His heart immediately contracted and he shouted in shock. “Teacher ……”


  Mo Shoucheng waved his hand and said softly, “There is at most three months.”


  Hearing the words, Huang Zhenwei was haunted by great pain. He did not dare believe this was true. He did not dare to believe this old man who had guarded the city for so many years was near the time he would leave the city. But he knew this was true.

  “It is because I do not have enough time that everyone has to be fast,” Mo Shoucheng said softly and seriously. “Just like the remains of a candle, someone will do their best to use its last light to do some things.”


  Translator Ramblings: Sometimes, I just want to replace

  with

  Volume 3 153 - He Is First

  In this day and night, many astounding matters had happened in Changling.

  Ding Ning, newly in realm five, killed Palace Attendant Rong who had reached the peak of realm six. The empress, who was usually secluded in the palace, had left the palace, allowing many people to see her face.

  Then all the wells in Changling had boiled with crimson water. Supposedly, the rebel Bai Shanshui of Cloud Water Palace had returned to Changling again and killed a Qin grandmaster.

  Even more shocking news came later. The general of the Northern Tiger-Wolf Army, Liang Lian, was assassinated in the camp.

  For the ordinary people of Changling, this kind of matter was inconceivable. Yet for the people at the top of Changling, Liang Lian’s death meant that one rumor was true.

  That person’s Nine Death Silkworm had been inherited. The Nine Death Silkworm had started its revenge.

  Most cultivators in Changling were not as wise and sensible as Mo Shoucheng. Even though three years before Emperor Yuanwu’s ascension, the history books of Qin started to erase all of that person’s traces, but for a long time before that, that person had been a legend in the hearts of most people, and someone they worshipped fanatically.

  His sword was enough to defeat the heroes of the world. He won all battles. He possessed the most perfect woman in the world. He defeated three dynasties in succession. He made the Qin Dynasty into the strongest dynasty into the world. A person like this, due to a simple betrayal followed by a long bloody suppression, disappeared from Changling.

  Many people could not resist and silently accepted this reality. Yet many times, when they thought of that person’s name and dared to mention that person, that person was still the symbol of invincibility in their minds.

  Even though he died in battle in the end, how many realm seven swordsmen died at his hands at the time? That person was invincible.

  A feeling of invincibility would give people confidence.

  **

  The faint moonlight refracted off the clear crystals, turning into blurry lights that fell onto the lotus pond in front of the empress. A man dressed in cloth robes walked in on the path she faced until he walked to her side, and looked at the lotuses in the pond with her.

  In all of Changling, only one man could possess such an air. He was naturally Emperor Yuanwu.

  “Do not care about that Nine Death Silkworm.”


  “The danger is not the Nine Death Silkworm itself, but that it can drive people’s hearts.”


  “What are you preparing to do?”


  “There is something I wanted to do but never did. All the cultivators of all cultivation places of Qin should be recruited into the army as desired to fight for the country.”


  “How do you prepare to implement this?”


  “The Yuezhi has already submitted, the Wu remains. If the Donghu is conquered, we will have no more troubles when fighting the Yan and Qi.”


  The two conversed simply like a common husband and wife of many years discussing household affairs. Yet the pair both had an unquestioned and powerful presence in their tone, so if the contents of their conversation leaked, it was enough to create storms.

  Cultivators were above the world, and had some special privileges in the mortal realm. Most cultivation places did not have relations to court and possess exceptional status. So even though White Goat Cave merging into Green Vine Sword School caused many matters, and Ding Ning killed Palace Attendant Rong in the end, this all appeared to be a victory for White Goat Cave’s resistance for many people.

  There were also many cultivators from these cultivation places that would enter the military due to their sect, their fellow sect brothers and elders having positions in the Qin military. They would join the military, cultivate, and stay in the army, becoming commanders and making contributions.

  Most of the generals and officials in the Qin military and court came from such ways. When military reward and killing enemies were closely related, gradually most cultivators entered the cultivation places with hopes of achieving great merit and receiving lands and titles.

  For some cultivators of poor birth whose ancestors did not have military merit, they had even more urgent desires. So this was a process that had turned from habit to natural.

  Yet the strongest empress in the history of Qin was discussing how to forcibly change this natural process. Recruiting cultivators from cultivation places into the army to fight through the court orders was no different than the court taking over all cultivation places.

  If the cultivation places knew of this, they would be angry and panicked. Yet these cultivation places did not know, long ago before Ba Mountain Sword Field disappeared, the couple standing by the lotus pond had thoughts of applying this order to all Qin cultivation places except for Min Mountain Sword Sect and Spirit Void Sword Sect. Their thoughts had never rested over these many years.

  Also, other than Mo Shoucheng who had hidden worries, no one in Changling would think that the empress would even dare to start a war just to implement this decree!

  The emperor in cloth robes next to her did not even frown. He just thought and said in a calm tone, “Wait a bit?”


  The empress thought, and then nodded without expressing any objection.

  Emperor Yuanwu held her hand and stood quietly for a long time. Before leaving, he said peacefully, “Do not care about the past.”


  The empress said after a moment of silence, “I only care whether you will forever stand by my side.”


  Emperor Yuanwu smiled and said, “No need to doubt.”


  The empress smiled as well.

  When Emperor Yuanwu’s figure finally disappeared from her sight, so did her smile. Her perfect face shone with a porcelain-like light that would cause people to doubt that she even had a smile.

  If you did not care, why mention it? She thought mockingly as she looked at the swaying lotuses in the pond.

  In the black night, Ding Ning coughed violently and threw up blood again.

  Nine Hell King Sword and Nine Death Silkworm appeared at the same time. When he released the power that had been dormant for many years, his meridians endured unimaginable damage. If not for the Heaven Replenishing Divine Art, he would have died.

  As he struggled to breathe, the invisible little silkworms in his body started to appear at the most injured places in his body, gathering together, and replacing the broken meridians to forcibly continue the circulation of the Heaven Replenishing Divine Art.

  Liang Lian had died. Realm five had arrived.

  But he knew, when he reached realm five, he would be like a rich man who finished using most of his savings. From realm five to realm six, he would not have an easy time like before. He needed a lot of time. For him, the best way was to leave now, leave Changling and even the Qin.

  But before the Great Floating Water Prison was broken, he had to stay in Changling.

  The crux was, where would he find a powerful enough realm seven?

  **

  “I want to tell Shen Xuan some things.”


  In the deepest water cell of the Great Floating Water Prison, Lin Zhujiu looked up, and his hair caused a string of ripples.

  No one responded.

  Lin Zhujiu laughed mockingly and said, “I want to tell him the secret concerning the bones in the tea garden.”


  Still, no one responded. But a figure quickly appeared in front of him.

  “You are also one of Zheng Xiu’s confidants. Now the palace attendant is dead, Xu Fenqin is dead, Liang Lian is also dead …… Are you afraid?”


  Seeing Shen Xuan looked like a grey metal tower in the dark, Lin Zhujiu laughed.

  Shen Xuan did not answer but he could not help but take a deep breath. His emotions could not calm nor could he fathom.

  Lin Zhujiu had been imprisoned in the deepest cell for these years, and cut off completely from the outside world. The only person he was in contact was him. Even the water currents that entered this place had undergone special treatment, their vibration rate and energies changed. Yet in these years, Lin Zhujiu was still able to learn what had happened outside, and even knew what happened today.

  For an instant, he really believed Lin Zhujiu could read people’s minds. But he was one of the most cold-hearted people in Changling so his eyes did not change. His voice sounded. “You said you will tell me the secret of the bone words.”


  “Zheng Xiu likely needed to stabilize my adopted brother, and so was very gentle and entangling for a night, using many secret boudoir skills.”


  Lin Zhujiu laughed loudly.

  In the neighbouring cell, another weak laugh sounded.

  Shen Xuan’s expression changed, visible even in the darkness.

  Lin Zhujiu laughed even louder. “If I tell you I guessed it, what would you feel? I know the day of the bone words, my adopted brother was in Changling, and should have gone to meet her. Yuanwu should also know that my adopted brother was in Changling that night. If I guess like this, do you feel he would also guess? Do you think he will not care?”


  Translator Ramblings: It may seem strange for the emperor to not have the power to recruit his own soldiers but before centralization of power through the unification of China and even afterwards, aristocratic families (equivalent to cultivation sects in this story) held enormous power in the dynasty.

  There is a saying for “aristocratic families are like forged steel, emperors are like flowing water” to describe how these aristocratic families existed for centuries while emperors and even dynasties had much less longevity. There were even dynasties where aristocratic families controlled a majority of government positions and so emperors and their aristocratic subjects essentially shared governance. Here, in the Qin of this story, achieving titles and positions through military merit actually promotes some “common people” in what may be a more equitable way than the old way of “having connections” and also having one’s first loyalty to the sect rather than the state.

  Volume 3 154 - No Need For Pity

  All these years, Shen Xuan had wanted to extract the secrets of these people from Lin Zhujiu.

  Lin Zhujiu had been recognized as the strategic advisor of Ba Mountain Sword Field. He had set up many matters, even though that person’s death and the betrayal of many people caused the state of affair to fall into uncontrollable chaos.

  But everyone still believed he had control of some things, and preserved some of that person’s things. He himself was a treasure hoard.

  But when Lin Zhujiu told him these things, Shen Xuan felt colder all over, even colder than Lin Zhujiu who was in the dark waters.

  “The palace attendant who has followed Zheng Xiu for many years and never betrayed her is dead.

  “Liang Lian, who helped her kill many dissidents, is dead.

  “Xu Fenqin, who assassinated many people for her secretly, is dead.

  “You are also someone close to her. You feel you can escape such an ending?”


  Seeing Shen Xuan silent, Lin Zhujiu gave a small smile. “You want to know my secrets. But if I speak my secrets, are you sure you dare to hear them?”


  Shen Xuan slowly looked up at Lin Zhujiu in the center of the water and did not speak. Then, he turned and walked away.

  “Either die for secrets or stay here forever and never see the sun again like the criminals here.”


  Lin Zhujiu looked up at his back and said, “You want to leave here and take the place of some people outside. Not unless I also leave here.”


  Shen Xuan did not respond at all. He silently walked out of the innermost cell, and thought for a long time standing by a metal bridge. He knew that some of Lin Zhujiu’s words were an attack on the heart, but he also knew that some of Lin Zhujiu’s words were correct.

  “You should believe this. The Nine Death Silkworm has never been defeated. Wang Jingmeng was defeated because he believed in Zheng Xiu and Yuanwu.”


  “But now, the Nine Death Silkworm is still here. The targets are now Zheng Xiu and Yuanwu. You are sure that Zheng Xiu and Yuanwu will win in the end?”


  Lin Zhujiu’s voice sounded again.

  Lin Zhujiu’s voice had never been so loud as it passed through to his ears from the deepest cell.

  “My promise is more effective than Zheng Xiu and Yuanwu. Do you want to listen to my promise?”


  **

  Ye Zhengnan sat on the stairs of the medical clinic. A carriage appeared in his sight, his eyes suddenly became alert.

  Yet when this carriage stopped, and he sensed the dark and rotting presence coming off the person who walked out, his wariness turned into shock and reverence. He did not speak, just stood up and moved out of the way with his head bowed.

  This person could not be stopped. He could not stop the other.

  This person was the bureau chief of Divinity Bureau.

  Even in summer, Bureau Chief Chen came out of the humid carriage in thick robes. The robes were red, but they could not conceal his ashen complexion.

  The dark and rotten presence spread inside the clinic as he walked until it reached Ding Ning’s room.

  Sensing this presence, Ding Ning was in slight discomfort. He coughed, but still struggled up and grabbed a cushion to lean on, waiting for this bureau chief to arrive.

  Bureau Chief Chen ordered the two doctors guarding the door to open the door and then indicated for them to stay away.

  He slowly pushed open the door. When he took a few steps in and saw the youth on the bed with his unchanging expression, his eyebrows rose slightly. He believed the other knew his identity, but the youth still had a calm expression, so calm he could not see any emotions.

  So he did not waste words and said, “I come to see you for a routine inspection.”


  “Many things have happened in Changling, including you killing that palace attendant. So I must come to see you as a matter of routine.” After a slight pause, he looked at Ding Ning and continued. “I must guarantee that there are no problems with you. If I guess correctly, Wen Houling will come see you next.”


  Ding Ning nodded and said, “As Bureau Chief pleases.”


  Bureau Chief Chen nodded. The rotten odour in the air suddenly grew stronger, and some mildew spots appeared in shadowed corners. An extremely unpleasant presence came off of the man and fell on Ding Ning.

  He felt carefully. Dozens of breaths later, he nodded.

  The mildew in the dark corners of the room quickly dried up into a layer of grey-white dust.

  “This method is really wonderful. As expected of the number one in the world,” he said and turned, preparing to leave.

  Ding Ning looked oddly at him and said, “How are you sure it is me?”


  Bureau Chief Chen did not look back and said in a cool voice, “I understand Ye Celeng.”


  Ding Ning frowned slightly and said, “Why help me?”


  Bureau Chief Chen had already walked out of the room. He looked up at the sky and said, “I am only helping Ye Celeng.”


  “It is more than that.” Ding Ning shook his head and said, “Otherwise, with your cultivation … Bai Shanshui could not have escaped that day.”


  Bureau Chief Chen stilled. He knew that the other had learned his true cultivation from the presence he had just displayed. He shook his head and a mocking smile appeared on his lips. “That is still to help her and myself. Changling needs some powerful enemies. Otherwise, there is no meaning in our existence.”


  Ding Ning also smiled mockingly. “It appears that she and Yuanwu being too strong is displeasing to people.”


  “One mountain cannot hold many tigers.” Bureau Chief Chen continued to walk and said calmly, “The strongest emperors in history, those that open new worlds, will not have many people close to themselves by the end, only people who looked up and see their toes. This is a natural process. Even though that person is dead, the thoughts of destroying the six dynasties, creating one unified country and making a dynasty for ten thousand years have never stopped. When ambition is enough to kill their most beloved, to kill their friends, then the ambition cannot be stopped.”


  Ding Ning said after some silence, “People always hope to put their thoughts above everyone else’s thoughts.”


  Bureau Chief Chen did not speak as his figure disappeared from the courtyard.

  “The heavenly mandate is in Changling because Changling has many astounding experts … but Changling is the hardest to manage because there are too many smart experts …”


  Ding Ning thought of the words and laughed somewhat bitterly.

  Actually, what was needed the most now was to go with the flow. Yet some people always wanted to twist nature.

  In a small quiet courtyard, the tea stove was cooking wine. Boiled wine was the strongest.

  So Bai Shanshui looked at Ye Celeng who put down the winecup in front of the stove like she was looking at a lunatic.

  Ye Celeng’s face was exceptionally red, and a flush that usually did not appear, one that only appeared during her youth, came onto her face. So she looked like a lunatic.

  “This is wedding wine.”


  Ye Celeng was slightly drunk. She looked slightly blearily at Bai Shanshui and said, “He told you the Great Floating Water Prison still lacks a realm seven. We have all we need.”


  Bai Shanshui stilled.

  Then her face also flushed as well. She smiled, and reached out to a winecup. After drinking the heated strong wine, she felt a line of fire burn in her body. Her personality was bold to start with and she praised. “Strong as expected, so delicious.”


  Ye Celeng gave a dimpled smile and said, “This is how that person drank with them when he was in Changling.”


  Bai Shanshui stilled. “I have to admire that.”


  Ye Celeng laughed out loud.

  Bai Shanshui could not help her curiosity and asked, “Who is that realm seven?”


  Ye Celeng looked at her and said, “An orphan girl from Fish Market.”


  Bai Shanshui praised again. “Really wonderful.”