Chapter 315: You Mustnât
âMaster, the aura of that Xuan Shui spiritual root cultivator just vanished!â
Immortal Yuyao, who had been sitting in the Phoenix Pavilion gleefully planning her ascension, immediately turned pale when she heard that.
âHow could it disappear? Quick, use the Heavenly Mirror and run the deduction again!â
âMaster, weâve already tried several times⦠but it really⦠really just disappearedâ¦â
Hearing that, how could Immortal Yuyao stay seated?
She instantly yanked open the curtain and stormed out, pointing at the disciples and elders gathered outside. She lashed out without holding back, âUseless fools! You canât even handle such a minor task properly! What does this Venerable One even keep you around for? Do I have to personally operate the Heavenly Mirror now?!â
Everyone lowered their heads, not daring to speak.
Immortal Yuyao took a deep breath, then walked up to the Heavenly Mirror and placed her hands on its surface. Her immense power in the Great Ascension Stage poured out in torrents. The mirror trembled under the terrifying pressure, its surface rippling like water and letting out creaking groans.
Thisâthis was what it meant to be a cultivator at the Great Ascension Stage!
All of them combined couldnât stir the Heavenly Mirror like this. But the Master alone made it shine brighter than ever, flooding the surroundings in a silvery glow.
After a while, Immortal Yuyao stopped channeling her power.
Her brows were furrowed, her face shifting from green to red. Her hands, hanging at her sides, trembled ever so slightly.
âMaster, what did you find? Did you locate that Xuan Shui spiritual root cultivator?â
An elder flatteringly added, âAs expected, only Master could handle this. How could we possibly match your might?â
âElder Hua Qing speaks the truth. Who in this world could ever escape Masterâs divine sight?â
âSilence!â Immortal Yuyao suddenly roared, silencing all the elders at once.
Just now, even after using the Heavenly Mirror, she hadnât seen a thing.
Not even at the Great Ascension Stage could she figure out where the Xuan Shui spiritual root cultivator had goneâ¦
This kind of uncertainty had never happened beforeâbut it wasnât the first time this year. The same thing had happened when she tried to deduce the Sword Pavilionâs and the Sword Pavilion Ancestorâs whereaboutsâthe heavens were obscured, everything cloaked in mist. It felt like if she could just part the fog, sheâd see it all⦠but she was always just a bit too short.
Only someone in the Third Tribulation of the Great Ascension Stage could probably see through it.
Still, she couldnât let that show.
She steadied herself and said calmly, âYou are all respected elders of the Yaochi Sacred Land. Is it proper to bicker and suck up like this? This Venerable One has already discovered the location of the Xuan Shui spiritual root cultivator. The target has been constantly on the moveâitâs not easy to capture them. From now on, I will personally oversee the Heavenly Mirror. Go do what you need to doâdisperse!â
The elders and disciples of Yaochi all suddenly had a moment of realization.
So thatâs how it was.
They had almost thought the Master failed to deduce the cultivatorâs location.
Turns out the target had just been moving the whole time.
So cunning!
Now that Immortal Yuyao was handling the Heavenly Mirror herself, they were more than happy to leave. One by one, they dispersed.
Only Immortal Yuyao remained, staring blankly at the silent Heavenly Mirror.
â¦
Meanwhile, in the Small Worldâ
âThis Venerable One and Master Mengchu hit it off right away. As they say, why wait for another day when today is perfect? With our fellow cultivators here as witnesses, why donât we swear brotherhood right now?â On Luoxia Peak, Chen Huaian clapped Zhang Mengchu on the shoulder, grinning ear to ear.
Zhang Mengchu was now the actual ruler of the True Martial Sacred Land.
If he could rope them in as alliesâmaybe even bring the entire True Martial Sacred Land into the Small World in the futureâ¦
Then his Sect Summoning Token could even summon cultivators from the True Martial Sacred Land!
Heâd already discovered that after refining the Lingxi Valley, the summoning token gained the ability to recruit disciples from there. The same happened with the Alchemy Sect after he refined it. If he could refine the True Martial Sacred Land too⦠the number of elders at the Void Fusion Stage there was definitely more than just Zhang Mengchu. Not to mention those in the Integration Stage.
At those levels, theyâd basically be walking nukes in the modern world.
He had to swear brotherhood!
Right here, right now!
Zhang Mengchu hadnât expected Chen Huaianâa scary old monster at the eighth stage of the Void Fusion Realmâto be so approachable and down-to-earth.
He himself had once been a wandering swordsman on the martial paths, after all.
He really did want to swear brotherhood with this Sword Saint, but⦠thinking of his own dangerous plan, he shook his head in the end.
âSword Saint Chen, I deeply appreciate your kindness. But this old Daoist is just a man walking toward death. No need to swear anything with a half-dead body.â
Chen Huaian raised a brow. âThis Venerable One sees your complexion is rosy, your foundation firm, and your life force thriving. How are you âwalking toward deathâ?â
Zhang Mengchu cupped his fists and said openly, âDidnât you wonder how I suddenly ended up with a Xuan Shui spiritual root?â He pulled out his severed sword and metal roots, showing them to Chen Huaian. âItâs because I destroyed my other two roots to obtain the Xuan Shui spiritual root. I tempered it using the Sword Intent of Profound Yin.â
Everyone gasped.
Chen Huaian twitched at the sight of the bloody spiritual roots.
He cut out his own spiritual roots?! That savage?
And he even dropped a whole realm.
The Void Fusion Stageâdropping a realm here might mean never recovering in this lifetime.
âWhat drove you to this?â Chen Huaian already had a bad feeling.
Was Zhang Mengchu planning to sacrifice himself to assassinate someone like Jing Ke did to the First Emperor?
âI plan to walk right into the trap. If I can take Immortal Yuyao down with me, it would be a worthy price for purging a scourge from the Cangyun Realm, and avenging True Martial Sacred Landâs blood feud with Yaochi Sacred Land. As for the Burning Purity Sect⦠thatâll have to wait.â
Zhang Mengchu sighed, laying his plan bare.
âIâve cultivated a secret techniqueâso long as I donât expose myself, no one will be able to see through my cultivationâ¦â
He paused here, glancing subconsciously at Chen Huaian.
âBut I still donât know how you saw through my identity. My plan, once foolproof, now feels a little shaky. In any case, I have two possible moves. First: approach Immortal Yuyao and detonate my soul during her most vulnerable moment. Second: kill the vessel she plans to possess.â
âSenior, you mustnât!â Before he could finish, Su Qinian, who had been behind Chen Huaian, suddenly spoke up.
Zhang Mengchu chuckled, clasping his hands behind his back and gazing at the setting sun. âThe True Martial Sacred Land has treated me with boundless kindness. My life is worthlessâit came with nothing and will leave with nothing. If my death can take that demoness Yuyao down, and bring peace to the Cangyun Realm, then why not?â
âThatâs not what I meant,â Su Qinian hesitated before murmuring, âWhat I mean is⦠the vessel Immortal Yuyao picked is my personal discipleâYue Qianchi⦠If you kill Yue Qianchi, that really wonât doâ¦â
Zhang Mengchuâs smile froze.
Oh.
So he wasnât worried about the self-detonation.
He just didnât want his precious disciple to die, huh?
Very well, Sword Pavilion Master.
Zhang would remember this.
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