Chapter 412: Winds and Rains from Eight Directions Converge on Jin Ling

The collapsing Copper Sparrow Tower slowly crashed into the Qin Huai River. The surging river water kicked up massive waves, pushing the awning boats moored at the banks far away and drawing bursts of startled cries from both shores.

Yu Liang's face was livid. He stood in the void above the ruins of the Copper Sparrow Tower, glaring ahead with furrowed brows, a trace of blood still lingering at the corner of his mouth.

True Person Zhu lay sprawled in a collapsed pit on the ground, his chest still pinned by that three-legged Jin Ding. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but the moment he did, a mouthful of blood sprayed out, and his aura withered in an instant.

True Person Gu stood to the side with a large bump on his forehead, clutching the Jade Dipper. While rubbing his temple, he stroked the Jade Dipper in his hands with a pained expression, carefully wiping away the bloodstains that had splattered onto one corner of it.

Only then did True Person Xiao tear his way out of the Ten Thousand Li Cloud Sky Map, having finally broken free. The most miserable one was True Person Zhou Yin; a deep sword mark had been left on his chest by Qian Chen's green bamboo rod. The sword Qi lingering in the wound was fierce, still slicing at his flesh and blood, and it had only slightly diminished after he used his own profound magic power to wear it down.

Just moments ago, when Qian Chen used the Eye Sword technique to test those beneath his seat, the True Persons of the aristocratic families on the platform had suddenly attacked, but they were forced back by Qian Chen with a backhanded sword strike. At the most critical moment, Qian Chen used the Five-Colored Divine Light to snatch away the three magic treasures present: the Qi-Gathering Hong Hong Sihai Dipper, the Mountain and River Image Ding, and the Ten Thousand Li Cloud Sky Map. In their haste, the group had not expected Qian Chen to dare to counterattack while facing so many True Persons striking at once...

Qian Chen had utilized the Ten Thousand Li Cloud Sky Map to gather the boundless Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi from a radius of ten thousand li, transforming it into wine and pouring it into the Mountain and River Image Ding.

Wine entered the bold gut, brewing into sword Qi.

Spitting out endless sword Qi from his mouth, he combined the power of the three magic treasures, transforming them into a single sword strike...

With that sword, he first transformed the endless Green Lotus sword Qi into an unparalleled sword momentum, forcing the various True Persons to retreat to defend. Then, he used the sword Qi to slice through the battlefield. In the blink of an eye, he struck True Person Xiao into the Ten Thousand Li Cloud Sky Map with one palm, while simultaneously using the Mountain and River Image Ding and the Earth-Element Divine Light to strike with a force of more than a billion jun, heavily wounding and suppressing True Person Zhu. Then, he kicked out the Qi-Gathering Hong Hong Sihai Dipper, hurling the remaining sword Qi within the dipper along with the magic treasure itself at True Person Gu, while simultaneously striking out with his sword to heavily wound True Person Zhou Yin.

Only then did he exchange several blows with Yu Liang and Xie Xuan, who had intervened in a panic, intending to quell the situation. The green bamboo, bolstered by the Five-Colored Divine Light, caused Yu Liang to suffer a minor loss.

Finally, when Xie An struck, Qian Chen still dared to use a sword strike with the coldness of fourteen continents to pierce through Xie An's Precious Dragon situation, his sword sweeping away the Xie family's Nine Melodies Tuning sword Qi. The exchange between the two resulted in the final sword strike that split the Copper Sparrow Tower in two.

At this moment, the dust had settled. On the Zhu Que Bridge, one person slowly turned his head to look at the various people amidst the ruins.

Qian Chen raised his hand and stuck the green bamboo rod beside him. There wasn't even a trace of the battle on his person. He looked at the crowd with composure and said indifferently, "I have roughly weighed the worth of you all. As for my swordsmanship, I imagine you have all experienced it... The earlier exchange of techniques was merely a matter between juniors. For you all to suddenly attack was truly a bit excessive. Fortunately, I intercepted in time, so you did not lose face."

Yu Liang's mouth twitched slightly. The trace of sword Qi that had pierced his heart was still churning and scattering the five Qis in his chest, preventing him from catching his breath, which kept him from speaking.

Once this sword Qi subsided, he said with a livid face, "Li Taibai's swordsmanship is indeed more than third rank, but to simultaneously possess the great divine ability of the Five-Colored Divine Light—that was the most surprising thing! However, at Xie Gong's evening banquet, is such rowdiness on your part not a bit excessive?"

"Oh?" Qian Chen laughed. "Was it not you all who were rowdy first?"

"Yu Liang, the strength of the aristocratic families is indeed not bad!" He turned his head to look at the green bamboo beside him: "You destroyed another one of my swords..."

As soon as he finished speaking, following the withdrawal of the Five-Colored Divine Light, the green bamboo exploded into bamboo filaments dancing across the sky. Qian Chen turned abruptly and left. Although Yu Liang and the others were furious, they did not dare to stop him. Only then did Xie Anshi suddenly speak: "Taibai has such poetic sentiment. Although this banquet destroyed the Copper Sparrow Tower, it gained a couplet of Taibai's remnant poetry, so it was not a loss..."

Two copper sparrows chirped and fluttered over to Xie An, their faces filled with terror as they pointed at Qian Chen and squawked wildly.

In that bird language, the general meaning was likely something like 'great demon' or 'great villain'.

Xie An patted them and laughed: "Twenty-one days from now, when exploring the Jin Ling secret realm, I still hope Taibai can come!"

A jade letter flew out from his hand. Qian Chen received it casually, glanced at the jade letter, and tucked it into his bosom: "I have understood Xie Gong's intent. I will certainly arrive in person when the time comes!"

Wang Longxiang stood at the head of the Zhu Que Bridge and exchanged a glance with Qian Chen, nodding slightly, but he was held back by his elder, Wang Dun, and could not accompany him as he left. The old servant behind him looked at Qian Chen with eyes full of terror, constantly staring at Qian Chen's empty hands. Before attending the banquet, Qian Chen had once pushed away the sword gifted by the Wang family, reasoning that 'with a sharp weapon in hand, the heart to kill arises on its own' and that 'it would destroy his ability to tolerate idiots.'

Now, he believed that reason completely. With just a single green bamboo rod, he had destroyed the Xie family's Copper Sparrow Tower and wounded four or five Yin Spirit Venerables.

If he had a sword in hand, seven or eight lives would surely have been lost here!

Wang Longxiang hesitated for a moment and whispered: "The emergence of the Jin Ling cave heaven is somewhat strange, Taibai, you..."

"Since I am already involved, why pretend as if nothing happened?" Qian Chen laughed: "Regardless of the origin of this matter, I shall cut it with a single sword... Longxiang, see you in twenty-one days!"

He activated the Wood-Element Divine Light, forcing a section of the bamboo root left behind after the green bamboo exploded to grow out. In an instant, a strange bamboo resembling a sword sprouted again, rapidly shooting up and growing. That green bamboo stood tall like a sword, piercing straight into the sky, with only two or three branches, swaying slightly with the evening breeze as if a long sword were being brandished. Qian Chen casually plucked a three-inch-long bamboo leaf, bolstered it with the Five-Colored Divine Light, transforming it into a three-inch-long sword light, and then merged his body with the sword, turning into light and departing...

Xie Anshi studied that sword bamboo for a long time, until Xie Xuan returned after settling the guests, and only then did he laugh: "Tell them not to destroy this bamboo. Build another tower around it!"

"This tower shall be named Flower Drunk Tower!"

…………

After this chaotic night passed, Qian Chen stood tall atop Zhong Shan, watching the sun on the horizon rise inch by inch.

"Xie Anshi is truly an old fox. He let me go to the Jin Ling cave heaven first—why?"

True Person Tao stood opposite him and laughed: "This external incarnation of yours is truly extraordinary. You caused such a huge commotion, yet you were not suspected by anyone?"

"And you even cultivated the Five-Colored Divine Light!"

"Originally, the emergence of the Jin Ling cave heaven this time should have been decades away. That it suddenly advanced this time, the ostensible reason is that you triggered the Jiankang Great Array last time, shaking the earth veins..." True Person Tao's face revealed a look of disdain: "A cave heaven is a world of its own; how could such a small commotion change the laws of its opening?"

Qian Chen raised his head slightly and asked: "Then what is the real reason?"

"Perhaps someone used thirty-six Formless Divine Demons and seventy-two Formed Divine Demons, using the Demon Sect's eight-nine technique of breaking seals, to forcibly break through a portion of the seals!" True Person Tao said calmly: "To make those old demons willing to pay such a huge price, we old ghosts who refuse to ascend have no choice but to pay close attention. Entering the cave heaven this time, although the Dao Sect has made arrangements, I am not at ease, so I want to entrust this to you..." ===== CHAPTER 413 =====