Chapter 339: War Soul

Once Jing Le's eyes were fine, Hua Changxi and the others prepared to explore the City Lord's Mansion of the largest cultivation city on the Central Continent.

"I will keep these plaque fragments for now. If you want to see them later, you can come find me."

Seeing Jing Le put away the plaque fragments, the others had no objections.

Jing Le specialized in runes, and the characters on the plaque were written by the Emperor himself, which was also a manifestation of rune rules. Only by letting him take them back to study could their maximum value be realized.

Tong Yao looked at everyone, mainly Hua Changxi: "Are we exploring together, or seeking our own opportunities separately?"

Hua Liulang had just advanced to the Nascent Soul stage and was the weakest; Hua Changxi was worried and definitely had to stay with him. Since that was the case, it wouldn't be good to leave the others behind, so she said: "How about we go together?"

Tong Yao, Jing Le, and Yan Zhenzhen had no objections, and Hua Liulang nodded repeatedly.

The Xuanyuan Mansion seemed to have no danger, but having experienced the heavy pressure of the restrictions and the severe damage from the handwriting, it was easy to have accidents when exploring alone. It was more advantageous for everyone to act together.

Hua Liulang: "Do you want the armor, weapons, and Xuanyuan Tokens on the plaza?" If not, they would all belong to him.

Yan Zhenzhen understood Hua Liulang's underlying meaning and immediately laughed: "Of course, whoever finds them gets to keep them." After saying this, she immediately rushed toward the nearest Xuanyuan Token.

Seeing this, Hua Liulang quickly followed.

Tong Yao smiled at Hua Changxi and Jing Le, and without another word, rushed toward other armor, weapons, and Xuanyuan Tokens.

Hua Changxi and Jing Le did not move.

The armor and weapons on the ground were almost all damaged and could not be used directly even if collected. It was better to leave them to Tong Yao and Hua Liulang so they could pick them up and re-refine them.

As for Yan Zhenzhen, she wasn't collecting armor or weapons, but rather Xuanyuan Tokens, wanting to use them to study the restrictions of the Xuanyuan Mansion. What she said just now was also to tease Hua Liulang.

After gathering for a while, Tong Yao didn't want to keep Hua Changxi and Jing Le waiting too long, and said to Hua Liulang and Yan Zhenzhen: "The plaza is too big. Let's go see other places first and come back to collect more later."

Hua Liulang and Yan Zhenzhen had already collected quite a few things and stopped. Subsequently, the five of them began to cross the plaza.

Hua Liulang: "The plaza is too big. Should we fly?"

Tong Yao: "A place as solemn and dignified as the City Lord's Mansion must have a flight ban!"

The area of the Xuanyuan Mansion exceeded the five people's imagination.

Yan Zhenzhen had studied ancient City Lord's Mansions: "The layout of most City Lord's Mansions is similar to the Imperial Palace. They all center on a north-south axis, with all important buildings distributed on the axis or arranged symmetrically on both sides."

"Based on the area of the plaza we crossed, the size of the City Lord's Mansion is at least a hundred times larger than the Imperial Palace."

After walking quickly for nearly two quarters of an hour, they reached the end of the plaza and arrived before a broken wall that looked like the 'Meridian Gate of the Imperial Palace'.

Passing through the broken wall, there was another empty plaza. This plaza was not very large, and at the end of the plaza was a group of dilapidated palaces.

There were too many palace buildings, and remains could be seen everywhere.

The further in they went, the more remains there were, and in some places, there was even the phenomenon of remains piled upon remains.

Perhaps it was because of the arrival of Hua Changxi and the other four that this Xuanyuan Mansion, which had pressed the pause button, came to life. The originally silent City Lord's Mansion suddenly had the sound of wind.

A light breeze came from nowhere, and once it blew, those remains turned into powder, drifting into the air and merging with the dust on the ground.

Watching this scene, Hua Changxi and the other four all felt a sense of sorrow. As these remains turned into powder, an era disappeared before their eyes.

Standing before the ruins of the palace complex, Yan Zhenzhen asked: "What now? Where do we go?"

Hua Changxi: "We are here for the Profound Yellow Qi. Let's find the Profound Yellow Tree first. As for the rest, we'll talk about it later."

Tong Yao and Jing Le agreed, and Hua Liulang naturally followed everyone.

Yan Zhenzhen: "Then let's keep walking inward along the central axis. The most heavily guarded place in the City Lord's Mansion is usually in the center, and the Profound Yellow Tree should be planted there."

The five of them no longer hesitated and continued to walk inside.

After walking for a while, Hua Changxi frowned: "Why do I feel like my body is getting heavier?"

Jing Le had the same feeling: "We are wearing Xuanyuan Tokens, so it shouldn't be the City Lord's Mansion's restrictions acting on our bodies." As he spoke, he looked toward the depths of the City Lord's Mansion with a serious expression, "Inside the Xuanyuan Mansion, there is another suppressive force."

Through his Rune Eyes, he could see more and more Profound Yellow Qi. They were heading in the right direction.

For the rest of the journey, Hua Changxi and the other four could barely walk.

There was no other reason; the further in they went, the more remains there were, and some huge skeletons that were clearly from the demon race appeared. The quantity was so large that it made the five of them feel scalp-numb; at the same time, that invisible suppressive force was also growing stronger.

After crossing the fourth group of broken palace ruins, the five of them saw a golden light emanating from the depths of the City Lord's Mansion.

Hua Liulang: "What light is that?"

Yan Zhenzhen: "Is it the light emitted by the Profound Yellow Tree?"

Jing Le directly denied it: "It is not the Profound Yellow Tree." There was absolutely no Profound Yellow Qi within that radiance.

Hua Changxi squinted at the golden-yellow light: "It seems to be... sword radiance!" From the light, she felt a murderous intent identical to that emitted by the Floating Light Sword.

"Sword radiance?!"

Tong Yao exclaimed in surprise, paused for a moment, and as if thinking of something, became incredibly excited: "I know what that is, it is the Xuanyuan Sword!"

"Xuanyuan Sword!"

Yan Zhenzhen and Jing Le widened their eyes at the same time.

Jing Le: "If it is the Xuanyuan Sword, then the suppression force acting upon us can be explained."

It must be the murderous force emanating from the Xuanyuan Sword that is suppressing them!

The five continued forward.

The suppression force in the air grew stronger and stronger. Hua Liulang had the lowest cultivation, his steps became increasingly heavy, and his breathing grew somewhat labored, but he still gritted his teeth and persisted.

After passing through the fifth group of palace ruins that looked like broken walls, the Xuanyuan Sword, emitting golden-yellow light, appeared in the sight of the five.

The Xuanyuan Sword hovered like a needle pinning the sea above a main hall that had only a few walls remaining. With it as the center, a mountain-like mass of giant skeletons was piled up all around.

At this moment, the five were still over a thousand meters away from the Xuanyuan Sword.

Jing Le's talisman eyes pierced through the sword radiance and saw the Profound Yellow Tree behind the Xuanyuan Sword: "The Profound Yellow Tree is right behind the Xuanyuan Sword."

Hua Changxi also 'saw' it. Her Truth-Seeing Eyes could penetrate the 'physical bodies' of all living things. She 'saw' the heavy Profound Yellow Fruits on the Profound Yellow Tree, each condensed from Profound Yellow Qi.

However, to obtain the Profound Yellow Fruits, one must first cross the Xuanyuan Sword.

But the Xuanyuan Sword was emitting a terrifying aura of suppression and slaughter...

Hua Changxi looked at Tong Yao and the other three: "The murderous aura emitted by the Xuanyuan Sword is not just for suppression. If we continue forward, we are very likely to be severely injured."

Tong Yao and the others nodded in agreement, their faces also filled with worry.

Seeing Hua Changxi looking at him with concern, Hua Liulang immediately smiled: "Jiuniang, don't worry. If I can't hold on, I will go look for other opportunities."

Not to mention anything else, just the armor and weapons covering the ground were a huge opportunity for him.

Seeing that Hua Liulang was not overly obsessed, Hua Changxi immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

As for Tong Yao and the other two, although their expressions were solemn, they were all determined to continue forward.

One reason was to obtain the Profound Yellow Fruits; the second was that the Xuanyuan Sword was a peerless divine weapon, with runes and array patterns carved on the blade, and all three wanted to observe and study it up close.

As for Hua Changxi, she had no interest in the Xuanyuan Sword; she just wanted to obtain the body-refining treasure behind it—the Profound Yellow Fruits.

The five withstood the suppression force of the Xuanyuan Sword and continued forward.

After walking less than a hundred meters, Hua Liulang reached his limit. Unable to breathe, he had to stop and retreat. After recovering slightly, he decisively went to look for opportunities elsewhere.

The other four continued.

Yan Zhenzhen advanced more than three hundred meters before bloodstains appeared on her body. However, unwilling to stop there, she took out an array disk to help her resist the Xuanyuan Sword's suppression and continued forward.

As for Tong Yao and Jing Le, their physiques were slightly stronger, so they only advanced a few dozen more meters before they also had to take out magic treasures to assist.

Relying on her cultivation and physical strength, Hua Changxi managed to persist and advance more than four hundred meters. After that, she could no longer persist by her own strength alone.

She did not have the deep foundation of Tong Yao and the other two, and she had no powerful magic treasures on her. All she could rely on was her divine ability.

"Boom~"

A fire lotus bloomed at Hua Changxi's feet, its seventy-two petals unfolding one after another, constructing a solid lotus domain space for her.

Back then, in Tang Gu, when the Great Sun Divine Flame battled the Zhu Que spirit shadow, causing the space to tear and cracks to spread, it was the lotus domain that prevented her from being swallowed by the spatial rifts.

The defensive capability of the lotus domain was extremely powerful.

Sure enough, with the addition of the fire lotus, Hua Changxi's pace became much lighter.

And Tong Yao and the other two behind her were dumbfounded.

Yan Zhenzhen was stunned: "Fire lotus..." Then, thinking of something, she was horrified. Could the Fire Lotus Fairy of Mount Wuzhi be related to... Changxi?

Tong Yao and Jing Le looked at each other, both very silent.

The fact that Changxi was the Fire Lotus Fairy could not be spread. One had to know that the news of the spiritual energy recovery becoming widely known started from that great battle at Mount Wuzhi.

If all parties knew that the battle of Mount Wuzhi, which damaged their chances of seizing the initiative, was caused by Changxi, she would incite public anger.

The three continued forward, preoccupied with their thoughts.

At the same time, Hua Changxi was five hundred meters away from the Xuanyuan Sword.

When she stepped into the circle with a radius of five hundred meters centered on the Xuanyuan Sword, the sword suspended in the air vibrated.

Immediately after, a huge golden-yellow sword radiance shot out and slashed straight toward Hua Changxi.

"Ah~"

The sudden turn of events not only shocked Hua Changxi, but even Tong Yao and the other two screamed.

Watching the sword radiance getting closer, fighting spirit surged in Hua Changxi's eyes. She did not retreat, but increased her spiritual energy output. In an instant, the fire lotus grew several times larger and collided fiercely with the sword radiance.

"Bang~"

The immense force of the collision swept across the surroundings. Under the impact, the mountain-like skeletons instantly turned into dust, and the scene was suddenly filled with flying dust.

The crowd's vision was no longer clear, becoming a hazy blur.

Amidst the dancing dust and mist, the golden-yellow sword radiance and the fiery-red fire lotus were even more dazzling.

The fire lotus was not shattered and steadily caught the Xuanyuan Sword's radiance.

Hua Changxi stood in the center of the fire lotus, struggling to control it. At this moment, her vision was blood-red.

Just after she took the heavy blow from the Xuanyuan Sword, her vision began to distort and warp.

She saw a large black hole appear in the sky, and invaders in black armor flew down like a tide, while the Xuanyuan Army in golden-yellow armor fought back passively.

As the two armies clashed, blood rained from the sky.

Facing invaders several times their number, the Xuanyuan Army was brave and fearless, fighting more fiercely as the battle went on.

Hua Changxi's ears were filled with the sounds of slaughter. In a trance, she was pulled into a battlefield filled with fighting spirit.

Although the Xuanyuan Army was struggling to defend, with corpses piling up like mountains on the battlefield, not one person retreated; even if they had to self-destruct, they chose to perish together with the invaders.

"Kill~"

"Kill~"

"Kill~"

'Placed on the battlefield', Hua Changxi was shocked by this heroic and fearless morale. Watching the Xuanyuan Army members who were ready to die, a strong fighting spirit spread and rose in her heart.

Upon feeling the attack exerted by the sword radiance on her body, this fighting spirit urged her to control the fire lotus to fight back against the sword radiance, stepping forward one by one.

At this moment, she was the Xuanyuan Army forced to fight, and the sword radiance was the invader!

Tong Yao and the other three were stunned by this scene, watching foolishly as Hua Changxi, wrapped in the fire lotus, continued to advance under the massive sword radiance.

On the blood-red battlefield, the more fiercely the Xuanyuan Army counterattacked, the more determined Hua Changxi's heart was in reality. Even as the fire lotus petals shattered one by one, it could not stop her pace.

"Such strong fighting spirit."

Even from several hundred meters away, Tong Yao and the other three felt the powerful fighting spirit emanating from Hua Changxi.

As Hua Changxi continuously approached, the Xuanyuan Sword began to tremble, the sword radiance became unstable, and the light slowly faded.

Hua Changxi, whose mind was completely immersed in the battlefield, summoned the Floating Light Sword when only a dozen petals of the fire lotus remained, and launched a sharp strike at the Xuanyuan Sword.

The white sword radiance, carrying the might of the Great Sun Divine Flame, split the golden sword radiance and landed heavily on the Xuanyuan Sword.

"Hum~"

The Xuanyuan Sword vibrated, and a distant, ethereal sword hum followed, as if something sleeping had been awakened.

The Xuanyuan Prefecture began to shake and vibrate. Amidst the shaking, a transparent barrier like water ripples appeared in the sky.

With a 'pop' sound, it seemed as if something had been torn open...

At the same time, all five Great Sacred Lands appeared to shake slightly.

Above the four Sacred Lands of Pill, Talisman, Artifact, and Array, clouds and mist surged, and divine trees flashed. At the tops of the divine trees, sword energy crisscrossed, and ancient bronze swords appeared and disappeared.

"Hum~"

The four swords vibrated simultaneously, as if responding to the sword hum of the Xuanyuan Sword.

Inside the forbidden areas of the five Great Sacred Lands, pairs of eyes suddenly opened.

"It is the sound of a sword hum!"

It is the Xuanyuan Sword summoning the four Demon-Slaying Swords to resonate!

In the Central Sacred Land, five cultivators in golden-yellow armor shot out and flew rapidly toward the direction of the Xuanyuan City Lord's Mansion.

Wei Zhenjie was a step slow and followed closely behind, his face showing obvious bewilderment and astonishment.

The five Great Sacred Lands had not yet awakened, yet the Xuanyuan Sword had appeared ahead of time!