Chapter 261: Kill the Monkey to Warn the Chickens, Ancestor, Aid Me!

Within the Jiushan Sect.

The moment the Blood River Ancestor appeared, the sect's grand array emitted a blinding white light, clearly activating at full speed.

In the mountains, the Sect Master and Master Pang stood side by side.

"Brother!"

"Brother, the Ancestor and I are maintaining the array—can we hold this man for even a moment?... You go... find Zhang Shijie, protect her, don't delay, leave quickly."

The Sect Master's breath came fast and shallow; he flung the array disc in his hand, and it grew larger in midair until it resembled a frozen moon hanging high above, its lunar radiance enveloping the entire Jiushan Sect's river valley, blocking the miasma spreading from the Blood River.

The Blood River Ancestor had not yet moved, yet both men already felt suffocating pressure—

Master Pang's gaze darkened; he understood his brother's meaning:

Soul Transformation—no Nascent Soul can stand against it!

He nodded.

He turned and headed toward the Ninth Peak.

The instant he turned, a chilling stab of pain struck his back; Master Pang whirled around in terror, staring at the Blood River Ancestor.

The Blood River Ancestor had been holding two immortal swords, but the one in his right hand had vanished!

"Brother!"

Master Pang cried out, his voice filled with unbearable grief.

Before they had ever seen a Soul Transformation wield power, they had already overestimated its strength.

But that moment of mortal peril made him realize—

Before a Soul Transformation, even we Nascent Souls are no match for a single blow!

"What are you howling for?"

The Sect Master's voice came through.

Master Pang turned again—the Sect Master's forehead was drenched in cold sweat, clearly shaken.

"You... that flying sword?" Master Pang stammered, bewildered.

"How would I know? It seemed to have flown off somewhere... missed its mark?"

The Sect Master muttered under his breath.

"Blood River Ancestor! Are you mad?"

On a mountain peak a thousand li away, seeing a blood-colored flying sword hurtling toward him, Tongming Shiren cried out.

His body flashed with arcane light; a treasure mirror shot forth, firing a glacial-blue beam at the flying sword.

The arcane light clashed with the sword's miasma—explosions erupted one after another, and even the Sect Master and Master Pang in Jiushan could see the violent collision, dissolution, and annihilation of spiritual energy across the heavens.

Most astonishing of all, this was merely a clash between two magic treasures.

Yet across a thousand li of surrounding space, a heavy, oppressive stillness began to form.

Having barely stabilized the immortal sword, Tongming Shiren's body grew faint, as if on the verge of dissolving.

Fury surged across his face: "Blood River Ancestor! Are you trying to die with me?"

Clearly, blocking that sword had cost him dearly.

The greatest reason— he never expected this man's first strike would be aimed at him.

Just moments ago, he had pitied Jiushan Sect...

"Die with you?" The Blood River Ancestor laughed, his voice hoarse, tone laced with mockery. "I've come here in my true body. Dare you even think of dying with me?"

Tongming Shiren fell silent for a moment.

He had no reply.

Beside him, Qingyun Dasheng twitched an eyelid.

"You two fear the karmic entanglements of the Xuanwei Realm, afraid to enter it in your true bodies," the Blood River Ancestor's voice remained unshaken. "I'm already here—what's there to fear?"

With that, the flying sword spun in midair and stabbed again toward Tongming Shiren.

Tongming Shiren grew even more frustrated, his mirror continuously firing beams of light to entangle the immortal sword.

Yet his form grew increasingly transparent, as if he could barely sustain it.

"What do you intend?!"

He wanted to flee, but the flying sword was no slower—now he was trapped between retreat and advance.

Moreover, Qingyun Dasheng beside him seemed restless—this man wouldn't die for him, but he'd gladly take advantage of his weakness.

"If I kill you, the people of Jiushan Sect will know exactly what choice to make..."

The Sect Master and Master Pang, watching from within the sect, were utterly confused; hearing this, they were even more baffled.

Wait... you want us to choose? Choose what?

At least tell us first!

"Blood River Ancestor, you..." Tongming Shiren's voice was equally bewildered. "What does Jiushan Sect's choice have to do with me?!"

"I'm letting Jiushan Sect see—if they hand over Zhang Wuyi, they still have a chance to live. Otherwise... even you, a Soul Transformation, won't survive!"

"... ou've lost your mind, Soul Transformation!" Tongming Shiren's voice trembled with rage. "If you want Zhang Wuyi, attack Jiushan Sect!"

"Zhang Wuyi, knowing her sect is in peril, still returned—clearly a fierce, unyielding nature."

"What if I push her too far and she goes for a suicide strike?"

The Sect Master and Master Pang exchanged glances—what did that mean?

Kill Tongming Shiren, the monkey, to warn the chickens—us?

The Blood River Ancestor turned and smiled at them; his other immortal sword vanished too!

The next instant.

A scream echoed from the depths of Jiushan—the Jiushan Ancestor's voice—

"The array is broken!"

With that cry, the earth at the mountain's base trembled violently, as if an earthquake.

The Jiushan Sect's protective array flickered three times, then split open with a massive gap—through which lay the Blood River Ancestor's other immortal sword.

The Sect Master and Master Pang were chilled—this man's mind was strange, yes.

But one sword had shattered Jiushan's grand array.

Truly both mad and terrifyingly powerful...

"Hand over Zhang Wuyi, and I'll spare your lives."

The immortal sword spun and landed in the Blood River Ancestor's hand.

He held it lightly, speaking calmly.

The Sect Master and Master Pang exchanged a glance—they understood his meaning:

Jiushan Sect didn't matter.

They didn't matter.

This Blood River Ancestor didn't care about them at all.

But Zhang Shijie—he would have her at all costs!

Master Pang halted his steps, staring at the peak of the Ninth Peak.

Zhang Shijie's figure appeared before them.

Her expression was calm, gazing at the broken array, at Master Pang and the Sect Master, their faces twisted with complex emotion.

"You are Zhang Wuyi?"

The Blood River Ancestor looked at her, his eyes curious, even delighted.

As if he truly valued her immensely.

"Just a Nascent Soul at the early stage—why does the Holy Ancestor care so much for you..."

"And Zheng Fa..."

"He sent me personally..."

The Blood River Ancestor murmured softly.

His tone held not only confusion, but deep resentment.

"Zhang Shijie..."

But Zhang Shijie merely gave them a slight nod.

Her gaze turned to the mountain's base.

The array below was shattered; the Jiushan Ancestor's aura was extremely weak, clearly wounded by the immortal sword.

The Blood River Ancestor smiled, extended his hand, and blood-colored spiritual energy coalesced into a palm larger than Jiushan Mountain itself, reaching for Zhang Shijie.

The Sect Master and Master Pang exchanged a glance—no time to speak; one array disc spun, forming layers of talisman arrays.

A single spirit talisman shot forth.

Both tried to block the giant palm.

But the palm seemed to corrode all spiritual talismans and true methods, cutting straight through every barrier until it reached Zhang Shijie.

Only then did Zhang Shijie seem to react—she leapt into the air, hovering, her body covered in spiraling circuits of spiritual energy, as if linked to all nine mountains.

"Jiushan suffers calamity—please..." Her cold voice echoed through the mountains, "Ancestor, aid me!"