Chapter 321

For Pei Ye and the girl, this was like a nightmare that suddenly crashed into their field of vision.

A moment ago, the youth and the girl were still stretching their legs and talking and laughing. They had truly reached their absolute limit, thinking about returning to the familiar Bowang soon, seeing Miss Ming, and when everything on this trip was handed over, the Immortal Platform and Tianshan would definitely be able to push the case forward by a large step.

But things got out of control unexpectedly. The surrounding mist was cold, broken, silent, and bloody, all crashing into their five senses in an instant.

This is... Bowang. Pei Ye thought.

Inspector Sui said that the person who took things in the Triple Pavilion of the Immortal Building was the Swallow Sun Society. This was a correct judgment, but Crane Inspector Wu said that the one who took the mask at the stall was also the Swallow Sun Society, which was wrong.

There was no isolation of layers of cast iron and magic arrays at the stall... It was not very difficult to take a mask from behind a Fourth Life cultivator without anyone knowing. For example, 【The Other Shore Precious Raft】 could do it.

Pei Ye didn't know why Huan Si Lou wanted to poke the Xiangzhou matter to him. Perhaps it was a necessary sacrifice to lure away Sword Master Ming, perhaps they felt he couldn't dig that deep, perhaps there were other considerations and designs.

In short, this matter was poked out by Huan Si Lou actively... the nature of the matter was completely different.

Making such a sacrifice, they must have wanted to do something actively, and they must have been sure they could do it.

The ice cold in Pei Ye's spinal cord came from this.

Everything in front of him made his heart sink into an ice cellar. This broken bloody body rushed through the mist, the tilting power was almost like a dragon falling from the sky, and the rockery and courtyard walls it hit collapsed in an instant.

Mystic Gate.

It wasn't even a First Rank like Inspector Jing or Sect Leader Li. Pei Ye blocked in front of the girl with his sword, feeling the suffocating strong wind forcing his face, almost feeling like he had returned to the Xincang Mountain in August.

In the scene where Zhu Gaoyang fought against the three purple robes, it seemed to have such power.

No matter what the situation was now... he found it difficult to play any role in such a battle.

As his mood sank, he reached out and gripped the girl's hand behind him, but only felt a cold trembling.

Li Piaoqing was also stunned and tense as she looked at the tragic scene in front of her, but after a few glances, she found that she recognized this manor.

The one in the southeast corner of Qijiao, now here—the girl immediately thought of something, her face turned pale in an instant, and she looked around violently.

Then she froze in the sky.

Behind a layer of thin mist, under the rain curtain, were four bloody shadows fighting tragically. The old man's withered and familiar figure was reflected in her field of vision instantly, and the blood clothes that were half-dyed red gripped the girl's heart and lungs tightly.

In such a battle, he was like thin paper in a hurricane, appearing precarious at every moment.

Li Piaoqing understood this scene in an instant.

This was the manor the old man had told her he was monitoring. Now, the Huan Si Lou people had indeed stepped into this trap, but the enemy seemed to be outrageously strong.

But Li Piaoqing also completely didn't understand this scene.

—The old man had once told her with a smile that he was just looking at the wind and didn't need to take action.

Li Piaoqing didn't naively let go of her worry just like that. After all, this was a killing game of the Mystic Gate realm, but she thought that the old man might be discovered first, might be forced to fight in the chaos, might... accidents would always be many.

Just as the old man was always smiling and didn't want to make her worry, the girl also hid this panic deeply and didn't show it to the old man.

But that was indeed a nightmare that would make her wake up in the middle of the night.

The girl really didn't dare to think about everything after losing the old man... this was already her only relative.

So seeing the figure that was weak and thin in her mood, who would make her worry every time he went out, drifting in such a hurricane, the girl felt her brain go blank.

He was clearly not forced, clearly not entangled—he was a completely active, exhaustive charge—even she could see that the danger of this battle was far beyond his strength.

Li Piaoqing didn't know what kind of mentality to face such a sudden scene. Her whole person was like being fixed, her brain strings were completely tied by the crisscrossing knives and swords in the sky. She didn't even dare to think about the reason, fearing that if her thinking shifted, the old man would become a corpse that didn't look like anything.

She watched his charge with his life outside, watched his decisive sword, and when she saw the black robe slash at the old man's neck, the girl's eyes went blank, but when her gaze captured the fast and biting fight again, she saw the old man staggering and supporting his sword, standing under the wall.

She almost lost all her strength.

Not daring to stand stiffly anymore, forgetting to say any greeting to the youth, Li Piaoqing staggered and swept up, rushing toward the old man violently.

But she only jumped two steps, and the old man swept up again.

It was hard to say whether anger or fear filled her heart first. In the sky, the wind dragon pierced through a hundred zhang, the entire night sky danced with it, and the black robe's long knife was like cutting out another world. In such a battle, the old man like thin paper charged in without hesitation, his face as cold as another person.

The next moment, blood exploded from all the skin of his body, like a broken-winged arrow, and the old man's dark red body fell stiffly.

Li Piaoqing didn't have time to look at the situation on the other side at all, only this figure in her eyes. She ran toward him with all her might somewhat staggeringly.

————

On the other side.

The truly breathtaking sword that belonged to "Visiting the Que," this body now truly couldn't control mysterious Qi on its own, but it was still the best channel for everyone in the field to output mysterious Qi.

So "Cloud Locks Vermilion Building" handed everything to him.

Xiang Minggao also decisively burned everything he had.

"Giving the body of the unworthy and separating, letting the ambition roam in the clouds."

No words were needed. The two sides that had been killing each other abruptly just now were now tacitly understanding!

The play-master finally didn't expect this round. There were already too many things for him to consider in this battle tonight. Xiang Minggao rolled through the mist with a half-crippled body. The play-master turned his knife abruptly, and his gaze moved away from An Cang.

The strike of a Visiting the Que cultivator was immediately different from the two Masters just now. The play-master couldn't free up any gaps at all, and the magnificent sword wind had already forced his face.

The play-master retreated horizontally with his knife, but at the touch, the posture collapsed instantly. The exploding mysterious Qi was out of control in all directions. The play-master raised his hand to seal, like a plate of loose sand poured into a mold, and condensed into a formation in an instant.

The next moment, this formation shattered again. The black robe flicked his hand, and a black curtain suddenly spread in front of him. This magic weapon didn't know what it was made of, but the space in front of him seemed to be frozen in an instant. But it still only persisted for a moment. The next moment, the rainy night was broken like silk, and Xiang Minggao's broken body, bloody and holding a sword, jumped out from behind it, the sword Qi moving forward.

The black robe's mask showed a tight solemnity. Only then did he seek half a gap to wield his knife.

The knife light was like a curved moon. Before it was fully formed, it was crashed into by Xiang Minggao's sword. The black robe barely caught half a sword, and the remaining half poured out on him, exploding a desolate blood flower in the rainy night.

The Visiting the Que injured the Visiting the Que. Since entering the field, this was the first time the black robe had suffered a real serious injury.

The opportunity appeared in this instant.

Like blood wounds attracting flies, at this moment, everyone in the field noticed the collapse of the black robe's posture.

He would never waste the opportunity. After 【Pulling Silk Jade Tiger】, Wudong swept down first, and a thunder sword pierced straight into the black robe's heart.

Xiang Minggao had completely exhausted all his strength at this time, and fell powerlessly. Behind his falling figure, An Cang also jumped up with his sword.

Almost at the same time, the blood

And almost exhausted all the strength of this instant.

Wu Dong was still cushioning the sword for An Cang.

The next moment, the cold long sword suddenly pierced through the black-robed figure's left shoulder.

The Play-Master turned his head violently like a wounded tiger. This theatrical mask was stained with his own blood for the first time, appearing even more ghostly and evil. An Cang was three feet in front of him.

The white-clothed man who came riding the wind had a solemn expression, staring at the person in front of him without retreating. From the beginning of the match until now, he had brought him many injuries, both directly and indirectly.

In this instant, there were only the two of them. An Cang retracted his arm and drew his sword, but the Play-Master used his backhand to seize the blade first, so An Cang exerted his arm and twisted the sword violently.

Snow-shrieking sword Qi was suddenly generated within his body, enough to cut off half of the person's body.

But the next moment, this violent chaos was firmly gripped by the black-robed figure within the sword. Both bodies shook at the same time, taking this counter-injury.

But this exploding mystic Qi was once again utilized by the Play-Master.

Except for techniques like painting the void into an array, there were few means that could so quickly integrate completely dispersed mystic Qi. The Play-Master's hand gripping the sword turned, and the mystic Qi flowed along the sword body, dropping a mystic Qi lock between An Cang's hand and the sword hilt.

Then the Play-Master stabbed the sword into his own body violently. An Cang's body was pulled forward uncontrollably, almost face-to-face with the painted blood. The black-robed figure's fist rose like the waves of the vast sea, slamming mercilessly into An Cang's raised forearm.

Bones shattered and blood flew.

But amidst this tragic scene, An Cang's teeth were clenched like iron, and there was no panic on his face from having his body controlled.

Because approaching was also what he had in mind, and the game on the sword was not where his focus lay.

Even in such a seemingly infinitely real opportunity, he still only cast his gaze downward, placing it on that bead bag.

A gold-shining sword shape the length of a little finger was hooked out from his fingertips.

Tianshan magical artifact, 【Dragon-Fishing Gold Hairpin】.

A lethal artifact with similar functions to the 【Wind-Snow Order】 of the Pulse-Tree Realm, it was almost his trump card among trump cards. An Cang would never throw it lightly unless it was in such an opportunity.

There was no visible momentum, just like bait silently swimming into the throat of a long dragon, and then hooking it up entirely amidst the waves of a startled lake.

When the Play-Master realized the fluctuation of the mystic Qi, the hairpin tip had already touched the bead bag. At this distance and in this state, his full-force punch landed right on An Cang's forearm, and he was indeed too late to do anything else.

But with such a punch pressed in front of him, An Cang's gaze suddenly froze.

The thing held in this hand revealed a corner in front of his eyes for the first time.

Spherical, with a distinct boundary, half black iron, half polished amber... this is—the Soul-Snatching Bead!

An Cang's heart and lungs were almost gripped tight. If the Soul-Snatching Bead was here, then what was hanging at his waist?!

The gold hairpin had already touched the bead bag.

An Cang looked intently, but no damage occurred.

Invisible ripples spread out, and the sharp lethal force of the 【Dragon-Fishing Gold Hairpin】 was silently annihilated. This bag was a magical artifact!

And it was an extremely precious magical artifact. The lethal intent of the 【Dragon-Fishing Gold Hairpin】, designed specifically for the Mystic Gate, could even penetrate the swords of the East Sea Sword Furnace's C-lower grade when fully activated, yet it stopped dead in front of this bead bag.

And just as An Cang's astonishment had not yet faded, another strange feeling spread through his whole body, causing him to be stunned for a moment in such a situation.

He looked down in disbelief. At his waist, the symbol of a Tianshan disciple—the "Cloud-Gilded Jade-Holding" pendant—was slowly reflecting a simple symbol within the translucent white jade.

Two horizontal lines of equal length were placed together, with the top one broken in the middle.

Something indescribable gripped An Cang's heart and lungs tightly. He opened his mouth, feeling as if he were in a dream, and for a moment, he couldn't make any sound.

This was too ancient a legend.

Cloud-Gilded gold is produced only in the Tianshan mountain range, and in the whole world, only Tianshan casts sect tokens with Cloud-Gilded gold. After a disciple receives their sect token, they go to Qunyu Mountain to pick up a piece of jade. Cloud-Gilded gold and various types of jade have excellent compatibility, so they embed the jade into the hole of the token pendant. After three years, the jade and gold fuse.

This is Tianshan's unique "Jade-Dotting," which has been passed down for thousands of years.

In those ethereal myths, the master of the West Sea lives on Qunyu Mountain, and Tianshan is his immortal court. When the divine attendants above walk from the immortal kingdom into the human world, they all wear the clouds of the Heavenly Pillar as robes and the jade of Qunyu as pendants.

In countless ancient classics, Tianshan has always taken this as its origin, and to this day, it still regards wearing jade as its deepest identity recognition.

When he first started, the elders of his sect would tap his head and laugh, saying that when he went out, he should keep his pendant well, as he might rely on it to recognize the Immortal Lord of the Western Extremity. Later, when he became an elder himself, he often made such jokes with the younger generation when talking about the Cloud-Gilded pendant.

It is hard to say what position these legends hold in the hearts of Tianshan disciples. It is like clouds and mist, ethereal and untouchable. No one really dares to take it seriously, but deep down, it is also a bright and mysterious jade hook. Every time they touch it, they often let their thoughts fly beyond the heavens, staying in a daze for half an hour.

Later, An Cang took charge of his own affairs and indeed knew that Tianshan had been pursuing those ethereal things for hundreds of years, and he himself had become one of them, but... this was a road too long, with no end in sight.

They sought everything from ancient times, wandering the Western Border to find traces of Zhou Zhou Muwang's Western Tour... In fact, it was just to be able to catch a clue suspected to be 【Illuminating the Hidden】 like now. For An Cang, this was already a very rare progress.

However, now, it was as if he had been suddenly dragged to the heavens during his slow, down-to-earth pursuit!

What is 【Illuminating the Hidden】?! What is Zhou Zhou Muwang?! And what is the Immortal Treasury?!

This is clearly the ultimate goal of everything Tianshan has pursued for thousands of years, the highest purpose of Zhou Zhou Muwang's thirty-thousand-mile Western Tour, and the authority of the master of the West Sea to govern the Western Border in legend—the 【Western Court Heart】!

They had always guessed that Zhou Zhou Muwang might have placed it in the deepest part of the Immortal Treasury. Everyone in Tianshan would never have thought that what the Huan Si Lou was plotting in secret would actually be this!

The huge absurdity cast a layer of unreality over everything. An Cang's eyes were almost splitting in this instant—what the hell are they fighting for here?! Call Master Ye! Call the Sect Leader!

But his throat could indeed no longer make any sound.

In this instant, An Cang suddenly understood that his life was more important than anything else. Cutting off Tianshan's hand reaching toward Shaolong... this was the meaning of this person remaining here!

The flowing blood stained the painted colors. The two were so close that, behind the theatrical mask, An Cang saw these eyes at such close range for the first time.

Bright, calm, cruel.

He had never panicked because of his situation, nor could any cruel bloodlust be seen—this had always been the look of waiting for prey.

An Cang's eyes were blood-red, but he truly couldn't squeeze out even a hoarse sound. The Play-Master's wrist turned lightly, and a small dagger was coldly nailed into his forehead.

He waved his hand and pushed, and the man's corpse fell down. In such a desperate situation where they were forced to a dead end, no one had any room for maneuver.

But in the next moment, a flowing, moist light and shadow suddenly pierced through the clouds and mist!

As this battle entered its end, such fresh and majestic power appeared abruptly. The Play-Master indeed had no strength left. He barely held his blade horizontally, and the sword tip crashed into the blade body with a clang. The chaotic cloud-white flew like a blizzard, piercing through his abdomen in an instant.

The theatrical mask twisted hideously. Borrowing the sword stroke from Xiang Minggao, the continuous attacks were still rushing in!

(End of chapter)