Chapter 416: Heavenly Judgment Canyon — Even a Venerable Cannot Escape Death

"I observe that this young friend carries a sword aura sharp and chilling, so you must also be one who cultivates the sword. That Daoist friend over there has a flesh body like a dragon, so you must walk the path of strength. As for the Sword Dao, I doubt either of you is as accomplished as I am."

"This Juan Sect scroll of mine contains some of my insights on the Sword Dao from the Divine Demon era; it should be of some small use to your Sword Dao."

The words fell.

The scroll in Tianxie Sword Immortal's hand flew into Lord Tianhong's hand.

Lord Tianhong's face showed shock.

This hair-bound elder has seen through Laozu Sect's Dao?!

Even as the helmsman of a top-tier power, at this moment he was horrified, his expression shifting.

No one knew the strength and Dao of their own Laozu Sect better than Lord Tianhong. One had to know that, at the same level, if someone deliberately concealed their own Dao, it was very hard for others to detect it — unless the other party was not of the same level at all, but far stronger.

As if struck by lightning, Lord Tianhong was stunned on the spot for an instant.

The hair-bound elder before him was even stronger than Laozu Sect, and it was possible it was not only the hair-bound elder — that other immortal-aura-bristling elder he likewise could not see through was the same.

Horror, Solemn, suspicion…

How could Lord Tianhong remain calm? On a day like today, two elders of unfathomable strength had appeared. If they chose to strike against Tianhong Divine City, even with Laozu Sect present, Tianhong Divine City likely could not withstand it.

When the time came, the outstanding talents of the various great powers dying here would be a calamity of utter destruction for Tianhong Divine City.

Lord Tianhong's peripheral vision glanced at the scroll in his hand, as if he saw a divine sword soaring into the heavens, evolving a Sword Intent solemn as heaven and earth.

A supreme treasure of the Sword Dao.

Sword cultivators practicing the Sword Dao focus on Sword Intent. The Sword Intent contained within this scroll was far too powerful; if a sword cultivator contemplated it often, their Sword Intent would surely advance by leaps and bounds.

"Senior, this is far too precious."

Lord Tianhong became even more certain of the strength of the two elders before him. To casually give away such a supreme treasure, their realm absolutely could not be low.

His gaze fell upon the sword behind the hair-bound elder — the other party was also a sword cultivator, and moreover one whose strength surpassed Laozu Sect's.

In an instant, Lord Tianhong's mind rapidly filtered through the famous sword cultivators of the Nine Domains he knew of, yet not a single one matched the identity of the elder before him.

"Just a small gift, no need to mind it, young friend. I only saw that you too are a sword cultivator, and that your Sword Dao is cultivated quite well, so I thought to lend a hand."

Tianxie Sword Immortal said it casually, not caring at all about giving away the Sword Intent scroll.

Now his Sword Intent had long since surpassed its former level; that scroll was something he could produce at will — wholesale, at that.

"Many thanks, Senior."

Lord Tianhong cupped his hands in gratitude. Regardless, the hair-bound elder had given him such a treasure — a kindness to him.

"Senior, such a grand gift — this junior will engrave it in my heart. If Senior has any questions you need to ask, if I know the answers, I will tell you everything."

Moreover, he could sense that Jiuzhou Di Yi Xian and the others bore no ill intent. If this were an act, merely to lower his guard so they could harm him and Tianhong Divine City, he felt it was utterly impossible — with the strength of the two elders, they had no need for any of that.

So long as they were willing, they could simply strike and damage Tianhong Divine City; even if they could not destroy it, they could wound its foundations.

Then Tianxie Sword Immortal asked the questions he wanted to know.

"Do you know how to get to Heavenly Judgment Canyon?"

"Heavenly Judgment Canyon?" Lord Tianhong was taken aback, not expecting that this was the question Tianxie Sword Immortal would ask.

He had thought of the questions the other party might ask, yet never imagined the other party would ask such a simple one.

Heavenly Judgment Canyon — anyone in the Northwest Great Domain with a smattering of common cultivation knowledge mostly knew where it was, like basic middle-school knowledge.

But that was only true for people of the Northwest Great Domain; the other domains did not all understand it.

It seemed the senior was a reclusive sword cultivator from another domain. No wonder he could not recognize his identity — the Nine Domains were vast, truly vast; even Tianhong Divine City could not know everything.

"Senior, are you going to Heavenly Judgment Canyon?"

Lord Tianhong took an ancient scroll from his storage ring, handed it to Tianxie Sword Immortal and the others, and did not forget to offer a well-meaning reminder:

"Heavenly Judgment Canyon is a forbidden zone of the Northwest Great Domain. To this day, not a single person who has entered it has come out alive — Saints and Venerables are no exception. Nine thousand years ago, Venerable Hong Lao of the Northwest Domain entered it, and in the end never returned."

In this world, the Fifth Step of the Divine was a Saint; a Venerable was the Sixth Step of the Divine.

The scroll Tianxie Sword Immortal had given was a great help to Lord Tianhong, aiding him in taking another major step forward on the Sword Dao. For such a kindness, Lord Tianhong naturally would not wish to see his benefactor throw his life away for nothing.

"Two seniors, this scroll is the information on Heavenly Judgment Canyon that our Tianhong Divine City has gathered. It is marked with how to reach Heavenly Judgment Canyon, as well as some rumors and records of deeds concerning it. I hope it can be of help to you, seniors."

Jiuzhou Di Yi Xian gave a slight nod.

Then they were about to leave. Lord Tianhong was stunned, and instinctively looked toward Xiang Hong, who was leaving with them:

"Seniors, you can't really be going to Heavenly Judgment Canyon, can you? This young friend is going too?"

"Mm."

"This…"

Lord Tianhong was genuinely startled, his face twisting oddly.

Tianxie Sword Immortal and Jiuzhou Di Yi Xian going to Heavenly Judgment Canyon was understandable — after all, they relied on their own great strength. But Xiang Hong was so weak; going there was no different than giving himself away for free.

Was it that the two seniors had grown overconfident, arrogantly thinking they could protect Xiang Hong, looking down on Heavenly Judgment Canyon? Or were they playing with fire, bringing the whole family along to die together?

To tell the truth, Lord Tianhong leaned more toward the latter.

He had already laid out the horror of Heavenly Judgment Canyon plainly, yet Tianxie Sword Immortal remained unmoved.

"I know what I'm doing; no need for worry, young friend." Jiuzhou Di Yi Xian smiled, thinking Lord Tianhong was worried about them.

Hearing this, Lord Tianhong could only nod — though at least he knew they were not going there to kill themselves.

Before leaving, Lord Tianhong glanced at Xiang Hong: "Young friend, today I am holding a husband-selection gathering for my daughter. If you're interested, you may take part. My daughter is quite decent — her aptitude is not weak."

Xiang Hong did not react for a moment, his mouth slightly agape.

Huh?

This was absolutely the first time in his life someone had tried to sell him their daughter.

Tianxie Sword Immortal and Jiuzhou Di Yi Xian exchanged a glance and a smile. It seemed this Lord Tianhong had taken a fancy to Xiang Hong's talent — and the factor of that fancy likely included the two of them as well.

Lord Tianhong was no fool. The two seniors were powerful, and Xiang Hong was clearly their junior. If he won over Xiang Hong, it would be equivalent to gaining two more reserves on par with Laozu Sect's level — a tremendous gain.

Of course, he was not trying to sell his daughter. The key still depended on whether his daughter was willing to choose him; otherwise, he would not have let Xiang Hong merely take part in the husband-selection gathering — he would have simply made Xiang Hong his son-in-law on the spot.

Compared to any faction, the two seniors together carry far more weight.

"Thank you for your kindness, Senior, but I still want to marry a girl from the Initial Realm." Gao Xiang Hong declined politely, making no effort to conceal his identity as a person of the Initial Realm.

As a person of the Initial Realm, Gao Xiang Hong was proud of Chinese characters and had no intention of hiding it.

"The Initial Realm?"

Watching the Heaven-Wicked Sword Immortal and his group depart, Lord Tianhong, the City Lord, murmured a word to himself. He did not choose to bathe and change, nor did he choose to go receive the great figures of the various major factions at this moment. Instead, he turned and headed toward the residential courtyard of the City Lord's manor.

The other party was actually not a person of this world.

The Initial Realm? Could it possibly be related to that terrifying aura that shook the world some days ago?

Lord Tianhong, the City Lord, could not forget that not long ago, an earth-shattering event had occurred in this world, and two incomparably terrifying auras had appeared.

If Gao Xiang Hong knew what Lord Tianhong, the City Lord, was thinking, he would surely know exactly what this aura was—was it not the great battle between Apsu from Babylonian mythology and Sui Ren Shi from the mythology of the Hua Kingdom?

That single battle affected all the myriad worlds.

……