Chapter 230: Heavenly Venerable

Heaven and Earth are heartless; ghosts and gods have no eyes.

All things are powerless; the masses are ignorant.

Life and death are inconstant; disaster and fortune have no fixed gate.

Heaven and Earth are dark and nether; I alone am supreme.

This is a congratulatory text used when a faction establishes its sect; it does not even hold Heaven, Earth, ghosts, or gods in its eyes. "I alone am supreme"—how arrogant and unbridled.

This faction is—Heavenly Venerable.

Heavenly Venerable is both the organization and the leader of this organization.

The scale of the Heavenly Venerable faction, the abundance of its wealth, and the breadth of its influence are no longer beneath the most mysterious and unpredictable Qinglong Society of years past. No one doubts that if Heavenly Venerable wishes, the entire Edo could be plunged into a bloodbath at any moment.

Even the Seven Great Sects, with the widest reputations and longest histories in the righteous path, only have the confidence to contend with Heavenly Venerable by uniting.

This is the headquarters of Heavenly Venerable.

The architecture is imposing, the guards are strict, with a post every three steps and a sentry every five; there is no telling how many experts are hidden in the shadows, and it is filled with all manner of mechanisms and secret passages. Even if the Seven Great Sects were to unite, it is not certain they could breach this place.

A person wearing a mask, their figure completely concealed by a long robe, walked hurriedly.

In the headquarters, there are not a few people like this.

Because those who can enter the headquarters are all famous figures in the Edo.

Except for Heavenly Venerable, it is almost impossible for them to know each other's identities. They could be great heroes walking the Edo, or they could be humble and lowly peddlers and pawns.

This is precisely the most terrifying thing about Heavenly Venerable.

Because you have no way of knowing if the person beside you has also defected to Heavenly Venerable.

The masked person arrived at the palace in the very center.

Here, not only are the guards the strictest, but the decorations are also the most luxurious; the entire palace seems to be cast from white jade, magnificent and beautiful. The two walls are carved with murals, and in those murals are Heavenly Maidens, Yezha, Asuras... vivid and lifelike, as if they were about to break out of the walls.

Where is this a palace? It is clearly a crystallization of art.

Yet, once someone walks in, no one dares to admire it; they only lower their heads, eyes never leaving their toes, not daring to step a single inch beyond the Thunder Pool. Because this is the traveling palace of Heavenly Venerable.

The Heavenly Venerable, who holds the power of life and death over countless people and makes others turn pale at the mere mention of the name, issues orders here that change the landscape of the Edo.

No matter who it is, as soon as they walk in, they feel a pressure as vast as a mountain.

As soon as this person walked in, they had already removed their mask and bowed respectfully toward the area heavily blocked by bead curtains, saying, "Greetings, Heavenly Venerable."

Heavenly Venerable can see anyone.

But no one can see Heavenly Venerable.

And this person who entered the palace was actually a woman, a very beautiful woman.

Her long hair was like clouds, her beautiful eyes like water, her cherry lips small, yet she carried a heroic and spirited air; as long as a normal man looked at her, he would develop a desire to conquer.

Although a wild horse is difficult to tame, the sense of satisfaction after taming it is something nothing else can replace.

"Hmm." Behind the bead curtains, Heavenly Venerable seemed to nod, the voice cold and dignified: "How did the matter I told you to do go?"

"Reporting to Heavenly Venerable, it has been handled properly. In less than half a month, the Seven Sects will be able to unite, and thirteen others have also joined Heavenly Venerable; this is the list." The woman had respectfully presented a list, but her head remained lowered.

Within the curtains, a hand had already reached out.

This hand was fair and flawless, slender as jade, without the slightest blemish.

No matter who it was, they could see that this was the hand of a beauty.

But there was only this woman in the palace, and this woman was still keeping her head bowed low, not daring to lift it at all.

That perfect hand beckoned.

Instantly, the sheet of paper with the list on it seemed to be supported by an invisible hand, flying toward the curtains, to be caught by that perfect, flawless hand and taken inside.

"Very good. I will use methods to make you sit in that position. The Seven Sects Alliance was originally intended to resist Heavenly Venerable, but in the end, their Alliance Leader is a person of Heavenly Venerable. I wonder what kind of expression those old fellows will have when they learn this news."

After a moment, Heavenly Venerable's voice sounded, yet it was still so indifferent, as if it were just a trivial matter. She changed the subject: "By the way, what movements does Yu Liancheng have?"

"I was just about to report to Heavenly Venerable," the woman said respectfully. "Yu Liancheng has already taken the Xie Family Divine Sword and Yan Shisan's sword from Shenjian Shanzhuang and left gracefully. Judging by his tracks, he should be going to find Xie Xiaofeng."

"I knew it," Heavenly Venerable seemed to be muttering to herself. "For swordsmen like them, an opponent worth drawing one's sword against is often more tempting than a peerless beauty."

Immediately, there was silence, a wordless silence.

The woman still kept her head lowered, not speaking.

"Who do you think would have the upper hand if Yu Liancheng and Xie Xiaofeng were to fight?" Heavenly Venerable asked suddenly.

The woman hesitated for a moment and said, "This subordinate does not know."

"Oh? Why don't you know?"

"Xie Xiaofeng's sword technique is natural and seamless, with no traces to follow; his attainment in sword technique has reached a realm of perfection."

The woman said, "As for Yu Liancheng... the Divine Sword from Beyond Heaven, a sword strike that separates from the heavens. How could ordinary people ever see such a sword? Although he carries a sword, until now, no one has been able to force him to draw it. Their martial arts are both too brilliant; this subordinate truly cannot guess who has the upper hand."

"Indeed, their martial arts are both very high," Heavenly Venerable sighed, then suddenly sneered: "But if I wanted to kill Xie Xiaofeng, I have at least fifteen ways. There are even three ways to make his life worse than death. It is only because, although his martial arts are high, he has too many weaknesses. He is, after all, not a God, but a human."

The woman already understood the implication of Heavenly Venerable's words.

Heavenly Venerable can deal with Xie Xiaofeng, but cannot deal with Yu Liancheng.

As for the reason, she also knew a little.

Yu Liancheng is not only highly skilled in martial arts and proficient in medicine and poison, but he also has no attachments.

A person without attachments is the hardest to deal with.

Heavenly Venerable asked again: "Have you found out the origin of Yu Liancheng?"

"Reporting to Heavenly Venerable, I have not," the woman replied respectfully. "This person seems to truly be a Person Beyond Heaven from the Heaven Beyond Heaven. His martial arts are also very eclectic; he is proficient in the unique skills of various sects such as Shaolin, Wudang, and Emei, and he also knows some unique skills that have been lost for a long time, and he has cultivated every type of martial art to a very profound level."

"Hmm, there is nothing else for you; you may go." Heavenly Venerable waved her hand.

The woman retreated.

"Heaven Beyond Heaven, Person Beyond Heaven, Divine Sword from Beyond Heaven, a sword strike that separates from the heavens." Behind the curtains, a gorgeous woman full of charm was leaning obliquely on a soft white jade couch, looking more like a seductive fairy from a celestial palace, a celestial maiden from the heavens.

"With this person's high martial arts, perhaps he truly has the ability to kill Xie Xiaofeng. How could I not go and see the state of Xie Xiaofeng's dying struggle? Hehe."

Her cherry lips curled slightly upward, soul-snatching and captivating, full of infinite charm.

From within her long gauze robe, she extended a pair of exquisite, petite, and flawless jade feet. The jade feet lowered, slipping into a pair of pearl-adorned embroidered shoes, and with a graceful rise, she drifted toward the other side of the palace.

……

PS: Only two chapters today, I will start paying back the owed chapters tomorrow. Happy New Year, requesting monthly votes.