“This person conceals his form. The great black robe upon him looks ordinary, yet it possesses a partial ability to obscure calculations. It must be a magical treasure of some sort.”
Looking at the blurred colorful smoke upon the table, Chen Wanxiu commented lightly.
“The successor of Hen Jiliao has suddenly appeared in Grief Valley Immortal City and makes no effort to conceal his aura. He must certainly have some scheme.”
“This humble one has a premonition that the waters of Grief Valley Immortal City will run very deep this time. It may well drag out some old monsters of many years.”
As a Wisdom Immortal who had walked far enough along the Wisdom Path, any intuition of Chen Wanxiu’s would never arise from empty air.
Hua Yanyun’s expression could not help but grow solemn. Chen Wanxiu’s words caused her to associate many things.
“Four thousand years after Hen Jiliao’s death—that is, nine thousand years ago—the thirteenth True Immortal of history appeared in the world, bearing the title ‘Wind Blossom Immortal Venerable.’”
“At that time the acting Immortal King of the Heavenly Court, the ‘Heavenly Origin Great Sage,’ personally stepped forward and invited the Wind Blossom Immortal Venerable several times, wishing him to become the seventh Human Race Immortal King. All ended in failure.”
“When this humble one was young, I once saw the Wind Blossom Immortal Venerable from afar. Even now the memory remains fresh…”
Hearing Chen Wanxiu digress farther and farther, Hua Yanyun hurriedly interrupted him.
“Stop! Just now we were still speaking of Hen Jiliao. How did you suddenly pull the Wind Blossom Immortal Venerable into it?”
His words cut short midway, Chen Wanxiu furrowed his brows in a manner almost imperceptible.
“Do not be anxious. Listen while I finish speaking.”
“Before his disappearance, the Wind Blossom Immortal Venerable left behind nine True Inheritances. Eight hundred years have passed, and three of those True Inheritances have already been inherited by others.”
“Having spoken to this point, has the Monarch thought of something?”
The moment Chen Wanxiu uttered these words, it was as though layers of heavy mist had been peeled away, pointing straight at the truth of the matter.
Hua Yanyun’s pupils contracted sharply to the size of needle tips.
Chen Wanxiu was truly worthy of being the South’s foremost Wisdom Immortal.
He could so quickly link together two matters that seemed completely unrelated.
“According to rumor, the fortunate one who inherited the third True Immortal inheritance cultivates the Blood Path. Could it be that…”
***
Inside the protective grand array of Grief Valley Immortal City, He Shu and her group all felt their hearts leap in fright.
For just now a mysterious black-robed figure had suddenly appeared in the sky above the immortal city.
From the aura he radiated, he was none other than the Blood Path Nascent Soul Mu Xinlian had sensed in the early morning!
At this moment the group finally understood.
The immortal city grand array had not been activated to guard against them.
The Blood Path Nascent Soul wore a wide, jet-black long robe that covered his entire form tightly.
Through the gaps of the mask one could faintly see that his pupils were not human eyes, but a pair of vertical pupils.
He stepped forward once, and his figure appeared a hundred paces away.
“Jie jie jie jie jie! Old thief of Grief Valley! Still not coming out to accept death at once!”
A hoarse, unpleasant voice rang out above everyone’s heads. Countless cultivators within the city raised their heads to look at the sky, yet discovered nothing at all.
“Hehehehe. Old thief of Grief Valley, you will not come out, is that it? Then do not blame this seat for being impolite.”
The moment the words fell, the Blood Path Nascent Soul raised one left hand high above his head, pressed the five fingers together, and chopped down fiercely.
Boom-rumble-rumble-rumble!
This strike looked unremarkable, yet it contained extremely terrifying might.
A blood blade nearly a hundred zhang in length appeared from thin air, as though possessing the posture of splitting heaven and earth!
The blood blade chopped upon the barrier of the immortal city grand array.
The azure barrier immediately revealed faint cracks.
Watching this strike that could compare to the peak of Nascent Soul from afar, He Shu and the others immediately wished to flee the spot.
Yet before they could even begin to move, the Blood Path Nascent Soul’s gaze fell upon them.
“Oh? So you are the subordinates sent out by that old thief of Grief Valley? Jie jie jie jie.”
The gaze landed upon He Shu. Alarm bells immediately rang loudly in her heart.
“Run!”
In the next second the five people scattered in four different directions and fled.
“So they were merely passing rogue cultivators? Heh. Boring.”
Retracting his gaze, the Blood Path Nascent Soul continued to roar at the Grief Valley City Lord.
“Old thief of Grief Valley! Your Thousand-Li Flourishing Landscape Chart is fated with this old man. Still not obediently rolling out and offering it up with both hands.”
“Old thief of Grief Valley, do not play mute before this seat. This seat gives you three breaths to come out. Otherwise, hmph, today this seat will blood-wash this city!”
“Three~”
“Two~”
“One!”
As the Blood Path Nascent Soul counted down to one, the Grief Valley City Lord finally could no longer sit still.
His figure appeared in the sky above the immortal city and faced the Blood Path Nascent Soul from afar across the city barrier.
“Hehe. Old thief of Grief Valley, I never expected you to be so cowardly, hiding inside a turtle shell and daring not come out.”
The Blood Path Nascent Soul spoke words of provocation toward the Grief Valley City Lord. What answered him was a soul-howl spell.
Under the Grief Valley City Lord’s control, the soul howl easily penetrated the immortal city barrier and shattered the second blood blade the Blood Path Nascent Soul had sent out.
The Grief Valley City Lord’s pressure at this moment was extremely great. He had already recognized the true identity of the Blood Path Nascent Soul.
“Hen Xiu! A full hundred years have passed. How are you still lingering like a vengeful ghost!”
The Grief Valley City Lord felt extremely aggrieved. More than a hundred years ago he and Hen Xiu had still been bosom friends, each the other’s confidant.
Yet during a joint exploration of an inheritance secret realm, the two had turned against each other over the struggle for a Void Refinement spiritual treasure, fought with full force, and their relationship had broken apart.
Their strengths were evenly matched, neither superior to the other, and they understood each other extremely well.
Thus that great battle had lasted a full three days and three nights.
In the end it was the Grief Valley City Lord who obtained the Void Refinement spiritual treasure.
Yet mindful of old feelings, he had not killed Hen Xiu and had instead allowed him to leave.
In the decades that followed, the Grief Valley City Lord often found sleep difficult through the night and could neither eat nor rest in peace.
In order to divert his attention he had chosen to join the official ranks of the Jade Water Immortal Kingdom, converting from rogue to orthodox, and taken station at Grief Valley Immortal City.
“Hehe. How could this seat ever forget? Old thief of Grief Valley, you are my bosom friend, after all~”
“Back then you spared my life. Today I will also spare yours. As long as you obediently hand over the Thousand-Li Flourishing Landscape Chart, this seat will leave at once.”
“This seat will tell you the truth. My original intent was not to kill you. But the chart concerns a ten-thousand-year great plan. For you to hold it is far too hot to handle.”
The words were spoken with delicacy, as though mindful of old feelings.
Yet neither Hen Xiu nor the Grief Valley City Lord held back in the slightest with their hands.
Every Nascent Soul spell carried thick killing intent.
Watching the two sides locked in battle from afar, He Shu poked a small head out from a corner of the wall.
Then Mu Xinlian, He Qingyuan, and Bai Liuli also poked their heads out.
The four squeezed together, the scene rather comical.
“You four… truly do not mind how big the spectacle grows.”
Shen Qingci hid behind the wall. Looking at the appearance of the four women, he supported his forehead and sighed.
“Should we not hurry and hide ourselves? What are we still doing staying here?”
In the air the battle situation was quite clear.
Although he held geographical advantage and could mobilize the immortal city grand array for assistance, the Grief Valley City Lord was clearly the weaker party.