First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 1811 - Murderous Intent

The outer perimeter of the Dragon Palace, the skies over the ruins of palaces and pavilions.

“Die!” Qing Xiao bellowed and swung his palm.

A perfectly round diagram of interwoven golden lightning rose into the air. It was fully a thousand feet across, and it descended with a bang.

Bang!!

A bright red figure failed to dodge in time. It was destroyed on the spot, scattering a rain of blood-red light.

Qing Xiao dodged further away. He recognized that blood-red rain of light for the strange Laws of Karma!

Before long, the countless bright red raindrops scattered and vanished.

Qing Xiao shot forward, blurring into a beam of light, and extracted a battered bell from the ruins.

“A treasure!” His eyes lit up.

The bell was only about the size of a palm, and it was forged out of rare and precious Phoenix Marrow Copper.

Phoenix Marrow Copper was one of the wonders of the Great Realm, a first-rate treasure even in the God Domain!

There was no doubt about it. This bell was an extraordinarily powerful Great Realm treasure!

Earlier, that blood-red figure had been hidden within the bell. If Qing Xiao hadn’t sensed it in time and checked the bell first, it might well have successfully ambushed him!

Hm? Qing Xiao’s brow furrowed. He’d just noticed that the bell’s interior was covered in dense, fly-head-sized characters. All of them were the strange, twisted secret glyphs of the Dragon Palace!

That must be the method for refining and using this treasure. If I can’t read them, I won’t be able to access the bell’s full power. Qing Xiao’s eyes flashed. No matter what, I have to capture that Li Xuanjun guy as quickly as possible. Otherwise, even if I acquire treasure, it’ll be hard to put it to use.

He could tell by now that the relics of the Dragon Palace, from their Daoist canons to their various treasures, almost all required knowledge of their secret glyphs to use!

After all, this was the Dragon Palace’s territory! Of course they’d transcribe their legacies and carve their treasures with their unique secret language!

Furthermore, if Qing Xiao wanted to explore some of the Dragon Palace’s forbidden zones, having someone proficient in its secret language would be inestimably useful.

All of this combined meant that Qing Xiao attached greater importance to Li Xuanjun than ever.

“Your Excellency, just what kind of monster was that red thing? It was simply too terrifying!”

An Immortal King shot over from afar.

“They’re neither human nor ghost. We call them wraiths,” Qing Xiao said casually. “They perished during a karmic tribulation, and karmic attachments invaded their souls. This negative karma binds them, leaving them longing for release but unable to truly die. Even their awareness is muddled.

“That wraith was most likely a Great Unity Stage expert in life. However, after becoming a wraith, it was at best comparable to a Great Martial Stage expert.”

The Immortal King gasped. Qing Xiao spoke casually, but the Immortal King was so startled that he broke out in cold sweats.

This was merely the outer periphery of the Dragon Palace, yet they’d already found a hidden wraith comparable to a Great Martial Stage expert. The Immortal King didn’t even dare imagine what terrifying perils lurked deeper in the ruins!

“Relax. The wraiths met their end due to a karmic tribulation. So long as you don't provoke them, you won’t run into any danger,” Qing Xiao said distractedly. “If I hadn’t tried to claim that bell, that battle would never have occurred.”

The Immortal King nodded.

“Have you done as I asked?” Qing Xiao put the bell away.

“Your Excellency, your subordinate has made contact with the others. All of them are headed our way.”

“But has anyone found Jing Cheng and Jing Hongyu?”

“Not yet. The others said they hadn’t encountered either of them.”

Qing Xiao frowned. If he didn’t capture the Giant Whales, they’d lack a guide, and they’d inevitably face numerous obstacles and difficulties.

The Immortal King continued, “But Her Excellency Qing Wu said that she’d used a secret art to leave a mark on Jing Hongyu. Once you’ve reconvened, you can capture him together.”

Qing Xiao sighed. “That’s all we can do. Right, is there any word of Li Xuanjun?”

“Not yet.” The Immortal King shook his head.

But it was then that Qing Xiao slipped a talisman from his sleeves. When he saw its contents, his spirits soared. “Jin Zhuliu picked up on Fan Zhui’s trail!”

Fan Zhui was Xi Ning’s subordinate. If they found him, they’d be one step closer to capturing Xi Ning, and Li Xuanjun, too!

Qing Xiao immediately reached a decision. “Send word to the others. We’re all going to reconvene with Jin Zhuliu!”

“Yes, sir!”

......

Meanwhile, Jing Cheng took out a bronze mirror and used a secret method to transmit a message to Jing Hongyu. “As per our original plan, you should head to the Spirit Sacrifice Platform first!”

“Remember, if you encounter anyone else, shatter the Dragon Palace Command Medallion immediately. Whatever you do, don’t hesitate!”

Jing Cheng then put the bronze mirror away and sank into thought.

Next, all I have to do is wait until Li Xuanjun crushes the jade slip I gave him. Then, our plan will be half complete!

The divine children haven’t just set their sights on me. They see Li Xuanjun as their prey, too. If all goes as I expect, Li Xuanjun will soon find himself in grave peril, and there’s no way Divine Daughter Xi Ning can save him!

The jade slip I gave him will, in his eyes, represent hope of salvation. If he wants to leave, he’ll have no choice but to crush it!

When that happens... A smile tugged at Jing Cheng’s lips. When that happens, how could he possibly refuse to work on our behalf?

Jing Cheng knew that although it seemed like everyone on this expedition was cooperating with the Giant Whales, all of them had their own ambitions. It was obvious to him that the divine children saw him and Jing Hongyu as prey.

After all, if they couldn’t control the Great Whales, there’d be no one to guide them through the ruins and help them avoid its dangers!

Li Xuanjun had become their common target, too. After all, he was the only one capable of reading the Dragon Palace’s secret language!

This wasn’t just important to the others. This was of the utmost importance to the Giant Whales, too!

Thus, Jing Cheng was certain that Li Xuanjun would crush the jade slip when he encountered danger.

It had been part of Jing Cheng’s plan all along!

......

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the periphery of the Dragon Palace, at the base of an enormous mountain someone had split in half...

“They say that the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind, but just who is the oriole? No one can say for certain. Tell the others where we are. All of them are to gather here,” said a man in a jade crown and dark robes. “Once we’ve gathered, we’ll remain at the ready and watch tigers fight from a safe distance.”

“Got it!” said a black-robed middle-aged man with a willowy beard.

“Also, tell our fellow Daoists from the Church of Supreme Oneness, the Church of Divine Flame, Qianyuan Sword House, and our other allied factions to disregard everything they encounter en route, be it fortune or disaster,” commanded the dark-robed man.

“Understood!” The black-robed middle-aged man nodded. When he faced the dark-robed man, he was extraordinarily awed and respectful.

The reason for this was simple. The dark-robed man was a Great Martial Stage expert of the Church of the Pure One, Yun Jiu!

......

The skies above a long-dried-up riverbed.

Xi Ning raised her hand into the air.

Kcch!

A beam of green light shot forth like a knife’s edge, slaying a baleful, ferocious wraith on the spot.

A rain of red light filled the air, then scattered, but Xi Ning didn’t even pause to look at it. She simply shot through the air and arrived in the dried-up riverbed.

A stalk of Black Dragonscale Grass grew here. It was about a foot long, and it looked like translucent jade. A dense, pure fragrance wafted from its stalk and leaves.”

This Black Dragonscale Grass has undergone metamorphosis at least nine times. It’s top quality, rare, and precious. It’s inestimably useful for establishing a Great Realm Divine Platform when breaking into the Great Realm.

Su Yi’s image floated into her sea of consciousness. This unparalleled elixir is perfectly suited for him.

She plucked the Black Dragonscale Glass, sealed it in a jade box, and was just about to leave when she sensed something and drew a golden communication talisman. It was currently flashing.

Xi Ning sensed it briefly, and her beautiful face frosted over.

Jin Zhuliu was chasing Fan Zhui!!

Xi Ning promptly sent a message back, telling Fan Zhui to head in her direction. She’d meet him halfway and reinforce him.

She then thought for a moment and sent another message to Su Yi. “Fellow Daoist, I’ll come looking for you once I’ve met up with Fan Zhui. Be careful.”

She didn’t tell him that Fan Zhui was in danger. For one thing, she didn’t think it necessary. For another, she didn’t want to implicate Su Yi.

She knew that if Jin Zhuliu was chasing Fan Zhui, his allies—Qing Xiao, Qin Jianshu, Gongyang Yu, and Qing Wu—would inevitably participate in the case too!

If Su Yi rushed to Fan Zhui’s aid, he’d almost certainly bump into Qing Xiao and the others, and that would be enormously dangerous.

But against all expectations, Xi Ning had barely gotten moving when she received a response from Su Yi.

“If I’m not mistaken, you’ve run into trouble. I’ll come find you immediately. Remember: on the road ahead, don’t treat me like an outsider. We’re all in the same boat, so we ought to advance and retreat together.

His words were calm and plain, but Xi Ning was nonetheless startled. How did he guess I ran into trouble?

But she quickly understood. It was because she’d urged him to be careful. The concern those words implied had alerted Su Yi to the fact that she’d run into trouble! n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

He’s actually quite perceptive, thought Xi Ning. For some inexplicable reason, she felt a bit moved.

She thought for a moment, then decided not to hide the situation any longer. She explained what had happened, as well as her analysis of the situation, and told Su Yi that she could handle it on her own, so he shouldn’t act recklessly.

Xi Ning received no further response from him.

But when she sensed the golden communication talisman, she discovered that Fan Zhui was no longer the only one on the move. Su Yi was headed toward Fan Zhui from another direction.

Why doesn’t he do as he’s told? Xi Ning sighed to herself, but she wasn’t at all upset. On the contrary, she felt inexplicably gratified.

Indeed, I didn’t misjudge him. He’s not the type to remain a bystander.