Chapter 270: The Sword Immortal Leaves the City, Dawn Breaks Bright

At the other end.

Outside Qinghe City.

On the official road, the night wind blew gently; the bright moon beyond the horizon was obscured by clouds, so dark that five fingers could barely be seen. The wind tugged at Jiang Linxian's hair, making his sleeves flap loudly.

Before him stood a middle-aged man, one zhang tall, wreathed in dark shadows. Streams of black qi surged from his body—upon closer look, each was a twisted, agonized human face, male and female, old and young, as if emerging from the netherworld.

These were all the vengeful spirits bound by the Nine Souls Fa Wang.

The "nine" in Nine Souls is symbolic.

Nine is the ultimate number; the spirits the Nine Souls Fa Wang had absorbed far exceeded nine—they numbered in the thousands, the ten thousands.

The spectacle before him now suggested countless lives lost at his hands.

The Nine Souls Fa Wang stood silently, not rushing to act, observing the young disciple known as the Sword Immortal of Jiangdong with keen interest.

"You're quite impressive."

He spoke calmly.

The chaos within the city was meant to lure Jiang Linxian into captivity—he had planned to enter the city himself, but Jiang Linxian had appeared prematurely on the road, blocking his path.

Now that Jiang Linxian stood before him, entering the city no longer mattered.

This was their first meeting, yet the aura radiating from this man was far beyond that of a fifth-rank cultivator.

"Fourth rank?"

"You've indeed concealed your true strength. But do you truly believe a fourth-rank primordial cultivator can stop this earth immortal?"

The world had always believed Jiang Linxian was fifth rank.

A fifth-rank cultivator in his early forties was already terrifying.

But from the aura Jiang Linxian now revealed, he was clearly fourth rank—no wonder so many experts from the Ghost Ming Sect had vanished without a trace.

Facing a fourth-rank Jiang Linxian? One comes, one dies.

The Nine Souls Fa Wang slowly raised his right hand and spoke coldly:

"It ends here."

Whether fifth or fourth rank, to him they were identical—no difference at all.

Just as he prepared to strike—

Jiang Linxian formed a sword finger before his chest. Eight small swords shot from the sheaths behind him, circling midair in a half-circle, their blades humming with sharp, resonant tones, all pointing at eight vital points on the Nine Souls Fa Wang's body.

The Nine Souls Fa Wang's lips curled.

"All know Jiang Linxian wields seven forms, manifesting as seven swords. I underestimated you—you wield eight, not seven."

One man possessing eight forms.

Unparalleled in three thousand years!

Even the earth immortal Nine Souls Fa Wang could not help but silently marvel at Jiang Linxian's astonishing talent. Given time, he might yet forge ten swords, a hundred swords—by then, even he would be powerless to resist.

The more dazzling Jiang Linxian's performance tonight, the more firmly he resolved to kill him.

Had it not been for the Immortal Sovereign's command, he would have slain Jiang Linxian on the spot—otherwise, once Jiang Linxian matured, he would become a grave threat.

A cold smile spread across his face:

"I almost hate to kill you."

But soon, the Nine Souls Fa Wang's smile froze.

For—

Another small sword flew from behind Jiang Linxian, its tip aimed squarely at the Nine Souls Fa Wang's third eye.

Nine forms!

The Nine Souls Fa Wang's pupils contracted slightly—he finally showed a look of seriousness for the first time.

Nine is the ultimate number; beyond it, transformation occurs.

With the ninth small sword appearing, Jiang Linxian spoke his first words tonight:

"I have entered the Land Immortal realm."

In an instant—

The nine flying swords surged skyward, dragging behind them a nine-colored rainbow. Infinite sword intent poured down like a waterfall from the Milky Way, as if a great sun hung in the heavens, staining half the sky beyond Qinghe City with crimson light.

Stirring celestial phenomena!

The Nine Souls Fa Wang's shock was beyond measure.

This was precisely the power unique to earth immortals.

He even suspected Jiang Linxian had been possessed by some immortal—his breakthrough was too rapid, utterly irrational, making his own century of grueling cultivation laughably insignificant.

"Damn, damn, damn!"

The Nine Souls Fa Wang swept his sleeves, unleashing vast clouds of black mist.

Simultaneously, a weapon appeared in Jiang Linxian's hand—astonishingly, not a sword, but a blade of pure crimson red.

Immortal Saber!

The Nine Souls Fa Wang stared at Jiang Linxian in disbelief:

"No, impossible!"

A land immortal at forty?

Jiang Linxian did not answer. He merely walked forward, dragging the saber with a blank expression.

The saber's light flashed, illuminating half the heavens.

"This is—"

Zhou Ting stared as the demonic beasts retreated like a tide, stunned.

He looked up.

Toward the sudden, rapidly fading sun that had appeared out of the night beyond the city.

He drew in a sharp breath: "Did a land immortal just act?"

Shi Zhou and the other six also wore grave expressions—they were all elites of the Eight Great Sects, far beyond ordinary Jianshi. Only a land immortal could stir celestial phenomena.

"What exactly happened?"

A backwater town like Qinghe had a land immortal fighting?

It left them all utterly stunned.

Not just Shi Zhou—this was the question in every mind. All stared motionless at the dark void beyond the city.

They waited for the outcome.

A full quarter-hour passed. Then, a solemn bell rang from the city wall, followed by the rapid clatter of hooves.

"Safe!"

"Safe!"

Hearing the bell and the Anning Guard scouts, Shi Zhou and the others exhaled deeply—the crisis was over.

At this moment—

A faint line of dawn appeared on the horizon.

"Daybreak."

Even Shi Zhou and the others felt drained, as if barely surviving a catastrophe.

No demonic beasts remained on the streets. Anning Guard soldiers appeared, clearing the remaining beasts, tending to the wounded, especially the dead—after a great disaster came great plague; if mishandled, Qinghe would lose even more lives.

Even the entire city could perish.

Such events were distant memories for the people of Yu now—but they had not been unheard of.

Shi Zhou and the others exchanged glances.

Then, without speaking, they all sprinted toward the Anning Guard—their instincts told them answers lay there.

Outside the city, a graceful little hill offered a clear view of Qinghe.

Lady Jingluo stood silently, gazing at Qinghe for a long while.

"Jiang Linxian… has entered the Land Immortal realm."

Her beautiful phoenix eyes were filled with disbelief.

That was a Land Immortal!

Tonight, her plan had been nearly flawless—yet just as victory neared, Jiang Linxian emerged like a sword immortal, forcibly breaking into the Land Immortal realm and slaying the Nine Souls Fa Wang.

Before absolute power, all cunning schemes appeared laughable.

Had she not fled in time, she might now lie dead beneath Jiang Linxian's sword.

Lady Jingluo felt a faint chill of dread.

Behind her, the burly man rumbled: "My lord, what do we do next?"

Lady Jingluo pulled herself back to the present and spoke coolly:

"Let's go."

With that, not a trace of hesitation remained on her face. She turned and walked decisively into the deep mountains.

If she didn't leave now, was she to wait for that true sword immortal's flying blades?

'Yu has produced another sword immortal.'

Lady Jingluo felt a pang of envy.

No wonder Yu now stood at its zenith—how could such talent spring forth like spring bamboo after rain, one generation after another, without ever weakening?

'Sigh.'

Lady Jingluo let out a soft sigh.

In the north, such a colossal force makes Qi Shi's dream of restoring their state incredibly difficult.

Truly unfortunate.

Madame Ling Luo's eyes flickered, then suddenly changed direction.

The burly man behind her frowned: "Lord, this isn't the way back to Mangu City."

Madame Ling Luo smiled again:

"No, we're not going back."

Inside the Heaven and Earth Alliance: "They've retreated! The beast horde has retreated!"

Seeing the retreating beasts, members of the Heaven and Earth Alliance burst into tears of relief.

What a grueling night—so many didn't survive it.

Yet Huang Chui, Liang He, Liu Tong, and others showed little joy, for Li Rui had still not returned.

If Li Rui had died…

The pillar of the Heaven and Earth Alliance would have collapsed.

At that moment, an old man walked calmly into the Heaven and Earth Alliance.

"Big brother."

"Master."

Huang Chui and the others rushed forward; seeing Li Rui appear, they finally exhaled in relief.

"Master, you've finally returned."

Please… Your Excellency… collect_(!)

Liang He's expression was filled with emotion.

His calmness last night had been an act—he worried more about Li Rui's safety than anyone else.

Li Rui smiled slightly: "Don't worry, I'm fine."

Huang Chui studied Li Rui.

Though Li Rui looked disheveled, his body crisscrossed with terrifying, bone-deep wounds, such injuries meant little to a cultivator of his realm—just a matter of resting a month or two, nothing life-threatening.

Li Rui returned wounded—his victory was obvious.

Big brother won.

Huang Chui recalled the old man from last night and couldn't help asking: "Big brother, that man…"

Li Rui answered bluntly: "Dead."

Hearing those two words, Huang Chui's heart nearly stopped.

Dead.

A fifth-rank expert had died!

Last night, Li Rui had named the man—his own big brother had killed Yuan Gao, the Mountain-Moving Divine Ape, whose name struck terror across the martial world.

That meant big brother was now fifth-rank too.

At this thought, Huang Chui could no longer remain composed.

"Big brother… you…"

Li Rui nodded: "In the brink of life and death, I gained enlightenment and broke through."

Hearing this, Huang Chui sucked in a sharp breath; Liang He and Liu Tong stared in shock.

Fifth-rank.

That was the absolute peak of Qinghe!

Seeing the awe in their eyes, Li Rui felt a quiet stir—he was glad he hadn't told them he'd killed two fifth-rank minor masters last night.

"Big brother, Liang He, Xiao Liu, handle Alliance affairs—you don't need to be stingy. I'm heading to the Guard Battalion."

"Understood."

The three nodded vigorously.

After giving his orders, Li Rui turned and left, heading straight for the Guard Battalion.

"What's this?"

"White Brocade Snake?"

Wang Zhao and Yang Yong tensed, staring at Little White Dragon—they hadn't expected Li Rui to keep a snake in his secret chamber.

Little White Dragon paid them no mind.

It lazily coiled itself in several loops atop a pile of soft, dry straw.

Seeing no sign of aggression from Little White Dragon,

Wang Zhao and Yang Yong finally relaxed.

After a brief pause,

they grew anxious about the situation outside—Li Rui had said he was going to the Heaven and Earth Alliance to fetch Liang He, yet over an hour had passed with no sign of his return.

"Yang Shu, do you think…"

Wang Zhao suddenly felt a wave of unease.

Yang Yong: "Xiao Zhao, trust your master—he never acts recklessly."

"Mm."

Wang Zhao suppressed his unease and nodded.

In the secret chamber, there was no sun or moon—they had no sense of how long they'd waited.

Just as they were drifting into drowsiness—

Footsteps echoed through the dark tunnel; Wang Zhao and Yang Yong snapped alert, staring at the entrance.

Wang Zhao had already drawn his waist saber, fully focused.

But Little White Dragon let out a joyful hiss.

Then,

Li Rui crawled through the entrance, grinning at Wang Zhao and Yang Yong: "The crisis is over—safe now."

Hearing Li Rui's words, Wang Zhao and Yang Yong exchanged glances.

The feeling of survival nearly drained them; they collapsed onto the ground.

Li Rui led them out of the tunnel.

Back at the mansion.

A scene of utter ruin.

Clearly, the Peace Guard had suffered heavy blows—most of its forces had been deployed to the Wu Kingdom front, and Jiang Lin had left the city; they couldn't possibly hold back the tidal wave of beasts.

Li Rui gave Wang Zhao and Yang Yong a few instructions.

Then he stepped out of the mansion.

Outside the gate,

devastation stretched everywhere—campgrounds filled with wounded, both Peace Guard soldiers and injured townsfolk.

Li Rui quickly reached the Assistant Regional Commander's residence.

Far off, he saw Jiang Lin in the courtyard.

"Jiang Head."

Li Rui walked in.

Almost the instant he crossed the threshold, he felt Jiang Lin's piercing aura—so intense it nearly choked even a fifth-rank minor master.

In an instant,

Jiang Lin's terrifying pressure vanished.

"Old Brother Li."

"So you weren't the only one who left camp last night."

When he returned, he'd seen Guan Xinrong and Lu Jun—but not Li Rui.

Li Rui: "Yuan Gao and a Wu Kingdom man were in the city—I killed them both."

Hearing this,

Jiang Lin's eyebrows lifted slightly—killing two fifth-rank experts? No wonder he'd deemed Li Rui a kindred soul.

He nodded:

"Last night's chaos began with Madame Ling Luo—she's a illusionist who vanished from the martial world long ago. She deceived Zhong Zheng, causing the city gates to open and the beasts to swarm in."

Illusion Eyes!

Li Rui's heart jolted.

Among all strange eyes, this was among the highest rank—and because it could devour other strange eyes, every emergence brought bloodshed and chaos.

He now understood.

No wonder the Wisdom Eye gave no warning—it had been blinded by the Illusion Eye.

All things in heaven and earth are born from and restrained by each other; the Wisdom Eye was merely another strange eye, not a divine cheat—of course it had a counter. The Illusion Eye was one, and the ultimate predator of all strange eyes.

'Madame Ling Luo truly has a deep, hidden mind.'

Few knew of the Illusion Eye—publicly, she was just a wicked woman.

With such a strange eye, no wonder she stirred such a storm.

Li Rui silently marveled at the sheer number of monsters the world produced.

He asked again: "Jiang Head, what about outside the city last night?"

Jiang Lin smiled calmly: "It was the Nine Souls Dharma King—I've already slain him."

At these words.

Li Rui drew in a sharp breath.

The Nine Souls Dharma King—he was a terrestrial immortal, yet Jiang Lin had killed him. Though Li Rui had vaguely suspected as much, hearing it spoken aloud by Jiang Lin still shook him deeply.

Jiang Lin said to Li Rui:

"Let's go. You know Senior Xu—come with me and see for yourself."

Saying this,

he pushed open the door and turned the mechanism atop the wooden rack.

A hidden door slowly revealed itself.

(End of chapter)