Chapter 556: Impossible! This is Impossible!

"What a coincidence."

Chen Mu thought to himself.

He hadn't found the Sword Soul, but he'd stumbled upon the Moon Shadow Flowing Sword.

Since he'd found it, Chen Mu had no objection to getting involved.

No matter how Jiuyou Sect had acquired this earth-grade weapon, it was time to return it to its rightful owner.

Three days? Chen Mu could wait.

Immediately.

Chen Mu found a crack in the rock wall, concealed his form, becoming one with the stone.

His Tiangong realm spiritual sense transformed into the finest threads, sensing the movements at the river bend from afar.

…

Three days, in this pitch-black depth underground, seemed stretched and frozen by the eternal, viscous sound of the "Yellow Spring Dark Flow."

Chen Mu, like a shadow fused with the rock wall, remained utterly motionless; only his spiritual sense, as fine as tentacles, constantly sensed every subtle change at the river bend.

The dark red, living-like corruption patterns on the "Moon Shadow Flowing Sword," after days and nights of scouring by the "Yellow Spring Dark Flow," had thinned to near transparency, leaving only a few stubborn strands clinging to key nodes on the blade, like dying venomous snakes making their final struggles.

The sword's own dark blue radiance and the moon's pure glow grew stronger by the moment, nearly illuminating the entire vapor-filled underground space.

The cold, aloof, piercing sword intent—carrying the aura of tearing through space—began to stir and rise like a beast freed from layer upon layer of chains, causing the surrounding space to tremble faintly and emit a fine hum.

Had it not been for the purple-robed elder's secret method controlling the dark river curtain to suppress and guide it, the sword qi would surely have erupted into the heavens, triggering greater anomalies.

The purple-robed elder seated on the platform looked paler than three days prior, beads of sweat forming on his brow—clearly, continuously controlling the "Yellow Spring Dark Flow" and suppressing the divine weapon's unrest drained him severely.

Yet his eyes' burning heat and anticipation grew even fiercer as the corruption steadily faded.

The two Earth Altar peak guardians were even more tense, fully focused on guarding all around, their magical artifacts glowing, ready to respond to any sudden emergency.

Finally, at a certain moment—

Chit!

The last sliver of dark red corruption, under the violent scouring of the black water curtain, melted like a red-hot iron plunged into ice water—producing a faint yet clear dissolving sound—before vanishing entirely as wisps of black smoke into the dark river's vapor.

Hum!

The Moon Shadow Flowing Sword suddenly erupted in unprecedented brilliance.

Its dark blue blade became as pure as the deepest night sky; the moonlight flowing within resembled an inverted Milky Way—exquisitely beautiful, yet brimming with unmatched sharpness and coldness.

"Success!"

The purple-robed elder's eyes flashed with brilliant light; his exhaustion vanished, replaced by wild joy and excitement.

He rose swiftly, his hands rapidly forming seals, preparing to retract the dark river curtain while activating his secret method to reclaim the divine weapon whose spiritual essence was about to awaken.

"Congratulations, Elder! The divine weapon has reappeared!"

The two guardians also bowed deeply in celebration, their vigilance instinctively slackening slightly in this moment of triumph.

Now—

Chen Mu, who had lain dormant for three full days, moved in the fleeting instant when the last corruption vanished, the Moon Shadow Flowing Sword blazed with light, the purple-robed elder's spirit surged, and the guardians' vigilance wavered.

He showed no warning, made no preparation, and did not even reveal his form.

His figure vanished from the shadow of the tunnel entrance as if erased by an eraser.

The next instant, like a phantom, he appeared out of thin air, less than three feet above the blazing Moon Shadow Flowing Sword!

As he materialized, Chen Mu's right hand shot out like lightning, fingers spread wide; his true energy coalesced into a dense, crystalline hand-shaped shadow that ignored the sword's innate cold sword aura and lingering spatial ripples, seizing the brilliantly glowing hilt.

"Who?!"

"How dare you!"

"Impudent!"

Only when Chen Mu's form slightly solidified midair after gripping the hilt did the purple-robed elder and the two guardians below, like cats stepped on, shriek in furious disbelief.

What had they seen?

A figure with obscure aura, blurred face, seemingly formed from shadows, had appeared out of nowhere above the divine weapon—and seized it?!

How is this possible?

This place was the deepest core of the "Mingyuan Secret Realm," protected by ancient prohibitions and natural barriers, and guarded by the "Yellow Spring Dark Flow" itself!

How had this person infiltrated?

How had he evaded their perception?

And how had he executed such an uncanny, mysterious teleportation technique at this critical moment?!

The purple-robed elder reacted fastest; after shock and rage came overwhelming murderous intent.

A cooked duck won't fly away!

With a roar, he unleashed his full mid-stage Tiangong realm power; his withered hand shot forward and gripped.

A massive, house-sized "Jiuyou Dark Claw," forged from pure yin-cold true energy, with grotesque bony fingers, tore through the air and slammed toward the hazy figure in midair.

Simultaneously, he urgently urged his spirit to trigger any residual restrictions from Yaoyuewu Sect within the Moon Shadow Flowing Sword—or to interfere with the divine weapon using his own secret method.

The two Earth Altar guardians instantly reacted, flanking left and right, coordinating with the elder's attack to unleash their strongest killing techniques.

A ghastly green ghost-fire sword aura and a silent, soul-corroding poison needle sealed off Chen Mu's left and right escape routes.

Yet Chen Mu appeared oblivious to the terrifying attacks behind him.

His "Star Seal" blazed with radiant light; a spinning vortex of starry sky appeared before him, emitting steady, profound spatial fluctuations.

Chen Mu focused his mind, and his form vanished into the vortex.

Along with it, the newly reignited, still trembling "Moon Shadow Flowing Sword," was swallowed by the vortex.

Boom—

The "Jiuyou Dark Claw," the ghost-fire sword aura, and the soul-corroding poison needle struck the exact spot where Chen Mu had been, the very instant he vanished.

Terrifying energy explosions churned the space into chaos; the black water curtain shattered, the dark river's waters reversed, and the rock walls collapsed.

Yet, apart from the lingering energy waves and splattered shards of stone, where was any trace of the figure or the divine weapon?

"No—"

The purple-robed elder's eyes bulged with rage as he let out a piercing, agonized roar, frantically sweeping his divine sense across the entire underground space, even at the cost of draining his own origin to activate the sect's granted detection artifact.

Yet the figure's and Moonshadow Flowing Light Sword's aura vanished as if erased from the mortal world, leaving not a single ripple in space or trace of residual energy.

It was as if everything that had just happened had been a collective hallucination of the three of them.

"Impossible… this can't be…"

The purple-robed elder's face turned deathly pale, his body trembling slightly, unable to accept that the sect's divine weapon—so close to being secured, so much effort invested, so near to success—had been snatched away at the final moment in such a bizarre, unimaginable fashion.

This was utter disgrace!