Chapter 528: Leaving the Cave Still Requires an Invincible Foe!

Between the heavens and the clouds, one came riding a sword!

Through the painting scroll, the people of Shendu City saw it clearly—that streak of sword-light swept across, leaping hundred li after hundred li, and at a glance it seemed as though ten thousand li of snowy clouds had been split in two by a single sword!

The sword's bearing was majestic, its momentum vast.

Even through the painting scroll, it made every witness's heart tremble.

"This is.... …"

In Shendu City, Long Long Yingchan's heart jolted; he exchanged a glance with Fang Fang Sanyun and Daoist Feng Yuanqing, and all three had already discerned what made that sword-light in the scroll:

"The Long Rainbow Sword?"

"The Yilie Sword!"

In a certain guild hall in the city, Yan Yan Tianxiong's pupils contracted; he glanced at the Qian Yan Fa Master beside him, who at this moment was pressing a hand to his chest, for that divine sword was now lightly trembling of its own accord.

"In the future, someone killed the Qian Emperor and even took the Long Rainbow Sword…"

The Qian Yan Fa Master smiled instead of taking offense, seemingly unconcerned by the future projected from the Purple Qi scroll; he merely glanced at Yan Yan Tianxiong before vanishing from the guild hall.

"The future...... …"

Watching Wu Wu Yingxing and the others in the image, who had clearly aged considerably, a glint flashed in Yan Yan Tianxiong's eyes, and he too followed toward the imperial city.

"Boom!"

A thunderous roar of wind and thunder, solid as substance, descended from the sky and echoed far into the distance.

"Sword-flight, and the Long Rainbow Sword at that?"

On the Star-Gazing Terrace, Li Yuan squinted upward, and for a single instant he almost thought it was himself.

But as that sword-light drew near, he saw that the one riding the sword, though robed as a Daoist, was not himself.

Rather, it was a tall, handsome Daoist with white at his temples; borne within the sword-light, he streaked across the long sky and landed before Shendu City in the scroll.

Whooosh~

As wind and snow howled, the divine sword returned to its sheath; the Daoist surveyed his surroundings, and when his gaze fell upon the white mourning cloths on the heads of the Dayun officials, he could not help but sigh:

"I am late once again."

This Daoist's will was exceedingly overbearing; the emotion that leaked out in that single sigh made the Dayun officials before the city gate all the more sentimental, and many even wept on the spot.

"Who is this?"

On the Star-Gazing Terrace, the Qian Emperor looked toward Wu Wu Yingxing; the latter studied intently for a moment, then shook his head:

"Never seen him."

"The Long Rainbow Sword...

The Qian Emperor furrowed his brow, somewhat startled and doubtful in his heart; from this man's sword-bearing one could tell he must be a Grandmaster who had long since broken through the Tiangang and merged the Three Primordials.

Such a figure, and Wu Wu Yingxing knows nothing of him...

How many years into the future is this scene?

"The Long Rainbow Sword Master?"

Li Yuan, beside him, knit his brows tightly; as he knew it, the Long Rainbow Sword was currently in the hands of the Qian Yan Fa Master, and he had been planning to borrow Zhou Ying's power to seize it—could it be that he had failed in the future?

Turning the thought over in his mind, Li Yuan focused intently on observing, intending to search out something from the scroll.

Back at the city gate in the scroll, upon hearing that Daoist's long sigh, Wu Wu Yingxing, who looked rather aged, forced himself to bow with cupped fists:

"Daoist Qi, you are too kind."

This Dayun Imperial Preceptor, beard and hair all white, his aura steady and weighty, took the opportunity to ask: "Daoist Qi said 'once again'—does that mean…"

"Those who suffered the calamity were not only His Majesty the Qian Emperor."

That Daoist sighed: "The Long Rainbow Sword Master Shen Shen Qisheng, the Green Dragon Pavilion Master Tian Tian Shezi, the Dragon Tiger Dao Lord Long Long Xinglie, the Supreme Elder Long Xi Xiang, Nie Xianshan, the One Qi Mountain Manor True Person Feng Yuanqing, the Xinyi Sect Great Chan Master Master Dading, the Three Flavors Cave Master Brother Zhongli Wang Luan—

all fell to that one's poison, and perished within their own mountain gates!"

"What?!"

Inside the scroll and out, everyone who heard these words changed countenance dramatically.

Especially those whose names had been mentioned— their expressions were all the more remarkable.

"I'm dead?"

On the eaves of a wine-house, Tian Tian Shezi's eyes grew cold; the others present all frowned as well, and finally their gazes turned to the only one whose name had not been called—Long Long Yingchan.

Long Long Yingchan was frowning in thought; sensing their stares, he too felt helpless:

"Why are you all looking at this old man? This old man is twenty or thirty years your senior—by the time this scroll's vision plays out, I'm probably already dead of old age and sitting in meditation…"

"Is this the imperial court's aim?"

Daoist Feng Yuanqing, also named, was very calm; he stroked his chin in thought, but his gaze kept circling the Daoist surnamed Qi in the scroll.

Yet no matter how he thought, he could not recall such a person existing in the world.

How many years into the future is this?

"'All fell to that one's poison'—who is that person?"

Long Xi Xiang's brows were tightly knit; he had been watching the figure in the scroll closely, and could clearly see that when 'that person' was mentioned, both Wu Wu Yingxing and the Daoist surnamed Qi had wariness and fear in their eyes.

Two Grandmasters, and they did not even dare to speak that person's name…

"Old Long Head, Senior Brother Long, Old Daoist Nie are all dead?!"

On the Star-Gazing Terrace, Li Yuan was greatly shaken, and his gaze grew dangerous; he swept his eyes over those on the terrace, and the Dayun monarch and ministers all frowned, their expressions startled and doubtful.

In the end, several gazes fell upon Huang Huang Longzi and Wan Wan Zhuliu.

"The Spirit-Surveying Rite did not err."

Huang Huang Longzi was also frowning: "It's just that the past cannot be changed, and the future is not yet fixed; the future seen by the Spirit-Surveying Rite is not necessarily bound to occur."

"Wan Zhuliu..... …"

The Qian Emperor looked toward Wan Wan Zhuliu; the latter's expression was calm, though his hand pressed down upon the divine blade in his palm:

"This official only believes in the blade in his hand and the armor on his body! Whatever the truth of this painting, since I have seen it, it shall not come to pass!"

The Qian Emperor said nothing and looked up again.

In the painting, the aged Wu Wu Yingxing and the others were all shocked and horrified, asking for details.

The Daoist surnamed Qi steadied himself and said:

"My master divined that a great catastrophe would befall the world, and sent me down the mountain to rescue whomever I could. But 'that person' appears and disappears like a ghost—no matter how I pursued, I was always one step too late..."

At this, he reached into his robes and produced nine blood-red cards: "After that person killed nine seniors, he left behind nine challenge cards..."

"After the assassination of Your Majesty, that person also left one card."

Wu Wu Yingxing also produced a blood-red card. With a light flick, those outside the painting could all see the six great characters upon it.

"The second day of the second month—Tianyou Pass!"

Each character seemed soaked in blood, the will contained within so intense it was beyond comprehension. Even across the painting, high in the air, all who saw those six great characters felt a chill in their hearts.

In a daze, there came a sensation as if plunging into an icy abyss!

"Using the blood of ten Shizunda Sect grandmasters as the card—this person, this person..."

On the Star Observation Platform, Wu Wu Yingxing's expression shifted several times. He looked toward the Qian Emperor, whose face was frightfully grim, yet the Emperor was looking toward Huang Huang Longzi.

"I'm afraid it must be this person."

Huang Huang Longzi's heart was also quite Solemn, though he did not share the others' shock and suspicion.

Those capable of opening the Eight Directions Temple were few even across all of Tian Shi Yuan. For a heaven-defying prodigy of that caliber, accomplishing something so monumental was hardly surprising.

"Who is that person?"

Li Yuan's brows knit tightly, fury and alarm rising in his heart.

He cared nothing for the Qian Emperor's life or death, but Old Long Tou, Senior Brother Long, and Nie the Daoist had all perished at this person's hands—who could possess such means?

Qin Yun?

A visitor from beyond the heavens?

Or the Dragon Demon Daoist?

"Where did I go?"

Raising his head to stare at the painting, an ominous premonition rose in Li Yuan's heart.

According to what this Qi Daoist's painting implied, Senior Brother Long had already broken through to grandmaster. Unless he had died a violent death, he too must surely have become a grandmaster.

Then...

"Daoist Grandpa actually died?"

Li Yuan's face was very ugly. He had acted so cautiously—how could he still have died?

As for running, Daoist Grandpa Li had never even considered it. A moral exemplar who valued loyalty and righteousness as he did—how could he abandon his sect and flee alone?

"Absolutely impossible. I don't believe it!"

Li Yuan gritted his teeth and continued watching, his thoughts racing.

"Tianyou Pass—doesn't that seem to be the place where Great Yun's founding emperor Pang Pang Wenlong and Gao Gao Feiqing fought their final battle, drawing heavenly fire to burn the land? They say that even after a thousand years, not a blade of grass grows there..."

"This Long Rainbow Sword Master is surnamed Qi? Could it be that Qi Qi Benchu that the spirit turtle carrying the Piandian on its back has been searching for?"

"The second day of the second month..."

As Li Yuan's thoughts drifted, the scenes within the painting continued to unfold.

The Qi Daoist was invited into the imperial palace. A group of imperial clansmen crowded around a coffin, weeping and wailing. He glanced once, then was led into the Piandian.

"Senior Wu, where might the Town Martial King be?"

With this single question, he immediately drew the attention of everyone outside the painting—the Ducheng, the Great Yun court officials and ministers, and the common folk of Ducheng all looked up, rapt.

Having witnessed the Qian Emperor's death, what everyone most wanted to know was the whereabouts of this pillar of Great Yun.

"Fifty years ago, Brother Wan entered the Eight Directions Temple, and after that we lost all contact with him..."

Wu Wu Yingxing sighed.

And Ducheng immediately erupted in an uproar. Not only the Great Yun court officials, but even the ordinary citizens of Ducheng gleaned information from that single sentence.

The painting showed Ducheng fifty years from now!

"Your Majesty!"

On the Star Observation Platform, Wan Wan Zhuliu's expression changed and he dropped to one knee:

"This official is guilty!"

The Qian Emperor was silent for a moment, then reached out to help him up:

"Perhaps the Eight Directions Temple allows entry but not exit—what fault is that of yours? This sovereign trusts you!"

"Your Majesty!"

Paying no heed to this exchange between sovereign and minister, Li Yuan frowned. Wan Wan Zhuliu had indeed entered the Eight Directions Temple after all—he had failed to stop him.

But even so, with two hundred strands of seventh-tier Incense Power tucked against his chest, he had plenty of time to bide his strength. There was no reason to fight that man head-on...

"How did I die?"

Daoist Grandpa Li murmured within his heart. Every other matter had lost all weight in his mind. He stared fixedly at the scenes within the painting, searching for any trace of himself.

The scenes within the painting continued to unfold.

The Qi-surnamed Daoist explained his purpose—wishing to borrow Incense Power to hold a ritual and guide Wan Wan Zhuliu's return. After Wu Wu Yingxing and the ministers deliberated, they finally agreed.

Afterward, the light and shadow shifted, and the flow of time within suddenly accelerated, leaving Li Yuan—who was searching for any trace of himself—quite agitated.

And as the scenes within the painting unfolded, Ducheng grew ever more tumultuous, with endless discussions and clamor. The masters of the several great Daoist sects all wore grim expressions.

"Fifty years from now—no wonder. Even if I take a Life-Extending Pill, I cannot live beyond fifty more years..."

Staring at the painting in the sky, Long Long Yingchan's thoughts churned as he sorted through the information the painting revealed.

In the future, Long Long Xinglie would break through the Heavenly Gang, become the Lord of Dragon Tiger Dao, while he himself would pass away in meditation. Long Xi Xiang and Nie Xianshan would become Supreme Elders... Fifty years from now, the three of them would be assassinated.

He pondered, his brow gradually furrowing:

"Where is Li Yuan?!"

"Why am I not in it?"

As bewildered as Li Yuan was Qin Li Shixian.

She glanced at the very noisy tavern, found a secluded spot, looked up at the sky, and grew more and more astonished and confused the longer she looked.

"Who is that person?"

Qin Li Shixian's brows knit tightly, both startled and doubtful.

The one who assassinated the Qian Emperor was actually not herself—could it be the old man?

But...

Her thoughts turning, she scanned her surroundings, and after avoiding the crowds, took out a bronze mirror. As true qi poured into it, there was soon a response from the other end:

"Old man..."

In a secluded mountain forest, Chi He Lian sat cross-legged beneath an umbrella, his face ashen.

On a nearby reclining-ox rock, Qin Yun was sitting cross-legged. At a certain moment, as if sensing something, he drew a glowing bronze mirror from his robes. The moment he opened it, Qin Li Shixian's voice had already come through:

"Look!"

"Mm?"

Qin Yun's brow furrowed, only to see the scene in the bronze mirror invert, reflecting a massive city wreathed in purple qi.

"The Divine Capital?"

Qin Yun was taken aback.

"This purple qi scroll-painting comes from some sacrifice of the imperial court..."

Qin Li Shixian rapidly recounted what had just happened.

"Fifty years later, the Qian Emperor is assassinated, killing ten Grandmasters as a calling card... challenging the world under arms... Wan Wan Zhuliu entered the Eight Directions Temple, gone for fifty full years..."

Looking at the purple qi scroll-painting reflected in the mirror, Qin Yun could not help narrowing his eyes.

"Is that person you?"

From the other end of the mirror, Qin Li Shixian asked.

Qin Yun unconsciously stroked his beard: "Challenging the world under arms? Could it be to force that Wan Wan Zhuliu out?"

Hmm~

With a flick of his wrist and true qi poured in, the bronze mirror trembled, then rose into the air, and actually projected the scroll-painting above the Divine Capital right here.

"Mm?!"

Chi He Lian, meditating beneath the umbrella, looked up.

In the light and shadow was a stretch of scorched earth where not a blade of grass grew; the land and hills were all a dark, heavy black. As far as the eye could see, there was only a single mighty pass covered in the scars of war.

"Begin the sacrifice!"

A voice rang out from within the light and shadow.

A group of people trekked in, set up an altar on the scorched earth, and brought forth the blood and flesh of spirit beasts, along with the Yun Xiang Ding.

A Daoist whose temples had already gone white was chanting the sacrificial text atop the altar.

Meanwhile, in the wilderness, fierce winds howled as gray eagles swept across the sky. Accompanied by sharp, high cries, they had already landed before the mighty pass.

In that instant, whether it was Qin Yun and the others ten thousand li away, or the Divine Capital, the entire imperial city was in an uproar.

The scene within the purple qi scroll-painting shifted, and in the blink of an eye, it had reached the day of the challenge on the second day of the second month.

How the surnamed-Qi Daoist traveled the mountain ranges and contacted the masters of the world was only a fleeting glimpse—even Li Yuan did not get a clear look.

But at this moment, among the figures coming from all directions, he saw familiar faces!

"Jin Jin Shengwu? That old fellow is still alive?!"

"Yun Yun Haisheng? The Seven Fiends Sect actually produced a Grandmaster!"

"Sword-light formless, piercing through the body—is that Xie Wangsun? He broke through the Tiangang too..."

"Who is that old man with the umbrella? Hiss, he can actually refine the turtle form to such a degree—at a glance, he barely has a human shape left!"

In the scene, the mighty of the world gathered at Tianyou Pass!

"Jin Jin Shengwu, Senior Brother Douyue, that's Liaokong? Pei Pei Xingkong, Pei Nine, Shi Shi Qingyi, Yan Jiugong, Chu Hun Tian Zhu..."

Li Yuan saw many familiar faces.

Fifty years later, the current true-succession Dao sons of the Daoist sects were all already among the Grandmasters, but aside from Jin Jin Shengwu, none had broken through the Tiangang.

"Turtle Immortal!"

Li Yuan saw the spirit turtle of the side hall, holding its umbrella, standing and watching Tianyou Pass. He saw the radiance of the Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing, and saw Xie Wangsun, whose name he had only ever heard.

But still, he did not see himself.

"... Is Daoist really dead?"

Li Yuan fell into doubt, yet felt something was off. In such a clearly troublesome grand event, he simply could not possibly have been involved.

But having watched through this whole stretch, he truly had not found the slightest trace of himself.

He did not know whether he had hidden himself too well, or was dead...

Boom!

The scene within the painting shifted rapidly. Accompanied by a tremendous roar, the surnamed-Qi Daoist withdrew to a distance, and incense and prayers wove together like pillars shooting skyward, spreading toward the extreme distance.

Boom!

In less than a few instants, another tremendous roar.

Li Yuan's gaze sharpened. At the place where the incense guided, he saw a flash of familiar saber-light, its color like ink, its momentum like a dragon.

"A challenge? Just a gutter rat who only knows how to launch sneak attacks..."

Before the person arrived, the blade-light, already carrying the thunderous roar of wind and thunder filling the sky, slashed straight at the Tianyou Pass on the wasteland, as if intending to cleave that mighty pass, capable of holding over a hundred thousand soldiers, in two.

"Do you even deserve it!"

Boom!

With one slash, heaven and earth turned dark.

The world inside and outside the painting lost all sound; only a sea of blade-light shrouding heaven and earth could be seen, and within it, a ferocious Blade Dragon rising up!

"Supreme Grandmaster!"

In the Divine Capital City, Longhu Longhu Dandan and others felt their eyes stinging; the might of this single slash had reached an extremely terrifying degree.

However, this ferocious and terrifying slash, the moment it touched the Tianyou Pass, seemed like a mud ox entering the sea, vanishing in an instant.

"Crack!"

Under the gaze of countless people, the blade-light vanished; then, the void above the Tianyou Pass actually cracked inch by inch like a bronze mirror.

"That Tianyou Pass was formed from someone's Divine Realm!"

Qin Li Shixian, somewhere in the city, was startled; she had been too focused on Wan Wan Zhuliu's blade-light that she actually overlooked this point.

"Crack!"

Inside the painting, the Tianyou Pass, formed from the Divine Realm, trembled violently and cracked; then, an extremely high-pitched dragon roar resounded through the sky, spreading out from within the painting.

"Aaaah!"

As the tangible dragon roar echoed, in the Divine Capital City, all birds, beasts, and horses were struck as if by lightning, either wailing in sorrow or cowering on the ground, defecating and urinating in fear.

"This is..."

In the Divine Capital City, everyone was filled with dread.

After the Tianyou Pass shattered and vanished, what replaced it was a massive azure dragon, thick as a small mountain and tens or hundreds of zhang long!

Its body coiled like a snake, with only its dragon head raised high.

"What is this?!"

On the Star-Picking Platform, Li Yuan's body trembled; upon this azure dragon, he felt an extremely intense Dragon Pressure,

and, a faint sense of familiarity!

"This is..."

Turmoil arose again in the Divine Capital City; countless people were either shocked or awestruck, for the aura of the azure dragon was too terrifying.

Whoosh~

Inside the scroll, the powerful ones were speechless; only Wan Wan Zhuliu walked upon the void. He wore black turtle armor, held the Subduing Demon Dragon God Blade, and raised his eyes to gaze far at where the dragon head was,

as if sensing something, his eyes contracting violently as if stung:

"You actually..."

"Hum~"

The airflow blown away by the dragon roar rolled back in, making his Dao robe rustle loudly.

"Aaaah!"

The azure dragon lowered its head; only then did everyone see that between those jagged dragon horns, someone was clearly sitting cross-legged, wearing a Dao robe, with a hammer resting horizontally across their knees,

and now, amidst the eyes of shock, confusion, or horror from inside and outside the painting, slowly stood up.

He held the hammer, swept his gaze across all directions, and finally looked at Wan Wan Zhuliu:

"You indeed do not deserve this Daoist to invite you to battle..."

His voice rose together with the dragon roar; the moment he stepped forward and lifted the hammer, the scroll woven from purple qi shattered and exploded with a "Boom!",

leaving only that indifferent voice to explode in the air:

"Call that old ghost inside your body to come together!"

Boom!

In the void, light and shadow shattered, purple qi collapsed inch by inch; finally, amidst those gazes that were either dazed, speculative, or confused, it transformed into five large characters.

"The Temple Opener, Li Yuan!"

Author's Note

Continuing to type; this chapter couldn't be split, so it's a bit late...