Chapter 59

The one who killed the Sixth Elder can be said to be Chen Yi He and his four companions, but if we want to be more precise, it was the Fifth Elder.

The Fifth Elder poured too much true qi into the Sixth Elder, overwhelming him until his body burst and he died.

However, the Fifth Elder also achieved her goal. She stepped out from behind the Sixth Elder, lightly touched his body, and the Sixth Elder collapsed straight down.

Chen Yi He, Dongfang Xing, Wu Rong, and the Little Palace Master lay on the ground, unable to rise for a moment. The impact of that instant was simply too great.

The Fifth Elder glared venomously at her four disciples, her eyes filled with blood-red. Now she could unleash a massacre.

The Little Palace Master decided to strike first; a silver needle shot from her body. Though she did not move at all, the needle still flew out. Even her companions did not notice.

The Fifth Elder touched her face with both hands, pinching the silver needle between her index and middle fingers; the needle was only a few centimeters from her face.

That silver needle was finer than a hair, so fine that its existence could not be seen unless it was pinched in the palm, where it became visible.

"In the blink of an eye, it can fire a deadly silver needle; the Five Absolutes Palace truly is fearsome—I almost got hit myself." The Fifth Elder shot the needle back!

It was even faster; the Little Palace Master could not dodge. The needle shot toward the red mark on her brow.

A white flash suddenly appeared! This time I saw clearly—it rose from the lake bottom!

……

Still, it was that same darkness.

"The Fifth and Sixth Elders have messed things up," the Second Elder said to the bronze mirror.

The Grand Elder's brows were tightly knit; obviously he was dissatisfied with the performance of the two elders, and because of the superhuman strength of the four disciples, he harbored deep doubts.

"Grand Elder, let me go! I'll also take care of that good-for-nothing Fifth Elder!" the irate Fourth Elder volunteered.

The Grand Elder still remained silent.

"Grand Elder!" the Fourth Elder pleaded again, "Are we supposed to wait for them to come out and broadcast our secrets to the world?" Actually, no one was guiding them; these four disciples would never leave the subterranean world in their lifetimes.

"Let us seal the subterranean world forever." The Grand Elder finally spoke.

"What about the Fifth Elder?"

……

On the Returning Geese Tower, a valiant general stood atop, holding a long spear, clad in silver armor; his tall, sturdy body seemed to merge with this ancient, simple tower.

In the sky, a line of geese had already flown south.

The spring breeze brushed the red tassel on the spear.

Though his expression was sorrowful and indignant, his gaze was resolute.

Three months ago, he came to Southern Frontier City to collect his son's corpse, raised an army of a hundred thousand outside the city, and demanded Chen Yi He's death to avenge his son—but Chen Yi He had hidden himself in the Thousandfold Gate.

Three days ago, as he was preparing to leave, he received a secret letter from Eunuch Zhang ordering him to lead troops to encircle and annihilate Southern Frontier City and the Thousandfold Gate.

This is something no one in thousands of years of dynastic history has dared to do; the court is essentially sending him and his troops to their deaths—but an imperial edict cannot be defied.

Moreover, breaking open the Thousandfold Gate would allow him to drag out that brat Chen Yi He and tear his body into ten thousand pieces! Only then could his grieving heart find a sliver of comfort.

Now his army already controls the entire Southern Frontier City and its populace. Yet the Thousandfold Gate shows no movement, an unnatural calm, as if the city's safety had nothing to do with it.

"General, when will we move?" a soldier downstairs asked.

The general gazed toward the Thousandfold Gate, the lush trees blocking his view, and said, "Wait."

The general understood that it was because Emperor Wenwen could not mobilize the Embroidered Uniform Guard nor summon the imperial ancestors that someone like him, a lowly soldier, was sent forth! His heart was devoted to serving the nation.

……

That white flash overturned the Fifth Elder. However, she quickly rose to her feet, but a faint sword mark appeared on her face, blood seeping from it.

"Old Seven, it really is you," the Fifth Elder said gloomily, "If it weren't for you secretly pushing from behind, those four would all be dead at the Sixth Elder's hands." Her expression was even colder than her words.

The Seventh Elder stood before Chen Yi He and his four companions, just like the Fifth Elder, clad in a black robe with his hands clasped behind his back.

"So it was you..." Chen Yi He then recalled the person who had saved them outside the city—that white flash came from the Seventh Elder!

"You have no right, a thousand times over, to oppose the Thousandfold Gate!" the Fifth Elder pointed at the Seventh Elder and rebuked.

"The Thousandfold Gate, with its thousand-layered conspiracies—such a worm, if left in the martial world, will bring harm for ten thousand years." Though the Seventh Elder's voice was soft, its weight was substantial; each word struck the hearts of those present.

"Do you think you can still walk out alive after doing this?" the Fifth Elder, wary of the Seventh Elder, had not yet moved; her disheveled white hair draped over her hunched back.

"I won't make things difficult for you; release them," the Seventh Elder said in an icy tone.

"Heh, if I let them go, will the Grand Elder let me go?"

"Then don't blame me for being ruthless." The Seventh Elder used his finger as a sword; a white flash appeared at his fingertip, then detached and stabbed toward the Fifth Elder.

The Fifth Elder leapt aside, dodging the white flash.

The white flash carved a sword mark on the ground—fine and long, with no visible end, deep and bottomless; faint dust rose from the mark, and scattered pebbles fell from it.

The Fifth Elder stared at the ground's sword mark, brows furrowed; she knew this mysterious Seventh Elder was not easy to deal with. If that sword struck her body, she would surely be split in two.

Chen Yi He, for the first time, personally saw where the white flash originated—though it was sword qi, it emanated from a person's fingertip, not an actual divine sword, yet its power was plainly evident.

With a finger, transform qi into a sword!

Though it seemed lightly done, it was stronger than the sword he had just exerted all his infantile strength upon.

The Fifth and Seventh Elders had worked together for nearly ten years, yet she did not know the Seventh Elder's origin. She only knew he was the youngest elder in the history of the Thousandfold Gate.

The Seventh Elder has always been the Thousandfold Gate's operative; when the Grand Elder issues an order, the Seventh Elder carries it out. If the Seventh Elder cannot decide, it goes to the Sixth Elder, then upward in succession. But since there is nothing the Seventh Elder cannot accomplish, naturally the other elders can leisurely drink tea within the Thousandfold Gate.

However, the Seventh Elder is very mysterious; even the other elders do not know why he was selected, aside from his own extraordinary strength.

Now, the Seventh Elder personally unveiled his own mysterious veil.

"Do you know the fate of betraying the Thousandfold Gate? Do you know that unknown existence?"

The Seventh Elder replied dismissively, "So what?" Chen Yi He and his four companions climbed up from the ground and stood behind him—this was what they had imagined an elder to be like!

"Since you overestimate yourself, today I will cleanse the Thousandfold Gate's doors for it!" The Fifth Elder let out her final shout, arms outstretched, true qi rolling forth! Gritting her teeth, her white hair flew wildly! The mist scattered by the Sixth Elder was now flowing into her body! She was no longer an elderly woman!

Leaping high, she threw wild punches! Each punch contained the force of ten thousand jun! She vowed to blast this group of youngsters into fragments!

The Seventh Elder met the punches with sword qi.

Explosive sounds continued unabated; far off, the lake waters surged up and down, occasionally sending sprays of dozens of zhang into the air.

The four disciples also did not completely rely on the Seventh Elder; each exerted all their abilities, defusing the Fifth Elder's bombardment.

In an instant, blade light and sword shadows illuminated this dark heaven and earth! Countless tombstones and earthen mounds were blown to pieces! This subterranean world, stirred by this group of living people, was left unable to rest for a moment!