“What terrifying energy residue! Could it be that there’s a secret treasure appearing?”
“Let’s go, let’s go, let’s see, let’s see!”
The battle between the three great sacred lands’ real people caused a huge commotion.
All cultivators exploring in the large secret realm were startled. Seeking excitement is a common ailment among humans, and these veteran cultivators were no exception; some even had an even stronger curiosity.
“Lord Pavilion Head, what do you think? Should we go take a look?”
The Sword Pavilion elders all looked eagerly at Su Qinian.
“Look at what? What if it’s dangerous?” Su Qinian narrowed his eyes, his right hand hovering over the hilt of his sword as he solemnly said, “Why don’t we let these cultivators go first? If there’s something good…”
He only took out a black hood from his storage bag and gave the elders a meaningful glance.
“Now I understand. As expected of the Pavilion Head!”
“The foresight of the Pavilion Head!”
Several elders quickly pulled out their own hoods, their mouths curling into kind and friendly smiles.
These black hoods were different from the previous ones. Before, the Sword Pavilion was relatively poor and lacked resources, so Su Qinian and the elders couldn’t add any arrays to the black hoods.
But after the Ancestor distributed some resources to the disciples.
They all added a bunch of arrays to the black hoods—mainly for concealing their aura, blocking spiritual perception, and modifying their appearance. Now, with the black hoods on, unless someone was much stronger than them, they couldn’t recognize their identities.
In the martial arts world, such black hoods weren’t necessary.
But, they couldn’t be without them!
…
A group of cultivators flew swiftly in the direction of the residual energy from the battle.
The closer they got to the core area, the more alarmed they became. They saw that the entire battlefield was covered by a chilling sword intent.
Mountains sliced by sword qi were as smooth as mirrors, the cuts resembling glass-like surfaces.
The sky was divided into yin and yang colors, with clouds swirling.
Under this strange sky, plants, trees, birds, and beasts were all in a state of eerie stillness.
Upon closer inspection, one could see that both living and dead things were pierced by the sword intent.
Touching them lightly would cause them to turn to ashes and scatter everywhere.
“What happened here? Why is there such terrifying sword intent?!”
“I actually felt the path of reincarnation within this sword intent… Who could have comprehended such astonishing Dao?”
“Look, it’s Master Fenye and Yuyiao Real Person!”
The crowd arrived at the core area, and a cultivator pointed to the bottomless abyss that was a thousand zhang wide.
Yuyiao Real Person and Master Fenye were sitting cross-legged at the edge of the abyss, meditating.
In the abyss, the Bone Great Saint was barely alive, its blue demonic fire flickering in its eye sockets, still exuding overwhelming demonic aura.
Its body was pierced by two broken swords, and a cultivator recognized them as the Yin-Yang Chongxu Twin Swords, the spirit treasures of Zhang Yibai, the master of the True Martial Sacred Land.
At this moment, however, this legendary sword weapon had lost its luster.
It seemed the sword spirits had vanished?
“No wonder there was such a big commotion!” An elder gaped at the Bone Great Saint in the abyss, marveling, “So, it turns out that three real people suppressed a demonic saint!”
What does a demonic saint mean?
In the demon race, that means reaching the pinnacle as a super-demon, just one step away from becoming a demon immortal.
Moreover, demon cultivation is much harder than human cultivation, making their combat power stronger at the same level.
Just like how the Bone Great Saint required the combined efforts of three real people to suppress, it showed how strong its combat power was.
“It’s truly amazing. However, Master Fenye and Yuyiao Real Person seem injured… By the way, where is Master Zhang?”
Two elders from the True Martial Sacred Land were present.
Seeing the ravaged battlefield, they panicked upon not finding Zhang Yibai’s figure along with the Chongxu Twin Swords, frantically searching near the abyss, calling out names and using spiritual perception. They dared not disturb the two real people who were healing.
After a while, Master Fenye opened his eyes first, glanced at the two elders from the True Martial Sacred Land, and sighed deeply.
“Amitabha…”
His blood-stained robe fluttered in the wind as he stared at the surging demonic aura in the abyss, his voice choked with emotion, “Master Zhang, with his three thousand years of cultivation, forcefully comprehended the Dao of Reincarnation to suppress the rampaging Bone Great Saint, solely to protect the myriad lives in the Cangyun Realm. Even when his dao robe was completely torn, he still tightly held the severed Chongxu Twin Swords. We searched the entire secret realm but couldn’t find even half a piece of his blood-soaked garment…”
His withered fingers sank deep into the scorched earth, and the mountain wind swept up scattered talismans.
Master Fenye suddenly trembled violently, his turbid tears falling onto the corroded tin staff at his feet.
“We can’t find him… No matter how many times we tread through the eighteen layers of the underworld, it ultimately comes down to… we can’t find him…”
The faces of the two elders from the True Martial Sacred Land gradually paled, staring blankly at Master Fenye.
Another sob echoed in their ears, and turning around, they saw Yuyiao Real Person lowering her head, her shoulders slightly shaking.
“No, it’s impossible! The Holy Lord is the strongest sword cultivator in the Cangyun Realm, countless great demons have fallen to his hands. How could he be killed by a demonic saint?”
“Did you, did you do something? Did you make the Holy Lord face the demonic saint alone?”
Facing the doubts of the two elders from the True Martial Sacred Land.
Master Fenye and Yuyiao Real Person remained silent, only showing their severe injuries.
Yuyiao Real Person’s black hair had turned as white as frost, and Master Fenye’s half of his body was almost completely decayed.
Seeing the heavy injuries of the two real people, the two elders from the True Martial Sacred Land, despite their dissatisfaction, fell silent.
“Senior, don’t say anything that will sadden us.”
“Yes, the disappearance of Master Zhang is indeed heart-wrenching, but didn’t Yuyiao Real Person and Master Fenye also suffer greatly in this battle?”
Voices of discussion came from the surrounding cultivators.
“This is the first time I’ve seen Yuyiao Real Person shed tears for another cultivator. She must be truly heartbroken…”
“Isn’t that right? I heard that Master Zhang and Yuyiao Real Person have a close relationship. If not for pursuing the Dao and being unable to spare attention, the two might have already become dao partners!”
“Demons! Damned demons actually injured two real people from our three great sacred lands, and one is missing… Everyone, we should stand united against those demons!”
Yuyiao Real Person and Master Fenye remained silent amidst the surrounding discussions.
They actually had many heavenly treasures to recover their injuries, and even if their foundations were damaged, they could quickly return to a state where it wouldn’t be noticeable on the surface.
But they didn’t do that, nor did they leave the center of the battlefield.
Instead, they deliberately waited here, letting these cultivators come and watch, then naturally attributing Zhang Yibai’s death to the Bone Great Saint.
What could the elders from the True Martial Sacred Land suspect? They could only accept this reality.
Zhang Yibai was dead, leaving the True Martial Sacred Land leaderless, which naturally made them less of a threat.
What they feared was Guixu.
Guixu had nine supreme beings who were constantly secluding themselves to break through the Immortal Gate.
Some delayed the thunder tribulation, some were already struck by the thunder tribulation and became scattered immortals, and others were actively preparing for the impending thunder tribulation.
Among these nine supreme beings, one had a close relationship with Zhang Yibai.
Although supreme beings rarely appeared in the world,
they still needed to guard against the possibility.
At least until they also entered Guixu.
Zhang Yibai’s matter absolutely could not be exposed!
