Chapter 211 - 240: Luring, Mingfeng Saber, Sky-Shrouding Black Curtain, Sword Saint Ancestor
The moment Su Bai looked up at the sky,
the rising sun suddenly dimmed.
The surrounding light grew murky along with it.
Then, the entire sky above the Imperial City began to darken, bit by bit.
It was as if someone had draped a giant black curtain over the whole of the heavens.
This strange and frightening scene
made the many commoners walking on the streets stop in their tracks, pointing and murmuring at the sky above.
A deep worry was etched on every face.
Throughout history, such terrifying omens always heralded a bloody disaster.
"This is a terrible omen! The heavenly dog is eating the sun!"
A stooped, white-haired old man, on the verge of death, leaned on a half-rotted cane.
He pointed a trembling finger at the sky as he spoke.
As he spoke, his rather conspicuous silver-gray beard quivered slightly.
Terror filled his murky eyes.
Fear was written all over his aged face.
"Quick! Everyone, go home!"
A young soldier on patrol, spear in hand, noticed the strange phenomenon in the sky and immediately began shouting to disperse the crowd.
He didn’t know exactly what was happening, but as he watched the sun being slowly devoured,
he knew in his heart that this was definitely not a good sign.
Most of the commoners on the street were ordinary people without any Cultivation.
Faced with a potential crisis, they had no power to resist. They would be like fish on a chopping block, left to the mercy of others.
Therefore, his immediate duty was to evacuate the streets as quickly as possible.
Hearing the soldier’s words, the terrified people broke into small groups and quickly scattered.
No one was foolish enough to stick around and watch the commotion.
In the midst of the scattering, chaotic crowd,
Su Bai stood his ground, his gaze fixed on a certain point in the sky.
The next moment, he detected a subtle aura.
"The Mingfeng Saber..."
He was quite familiar with this particular aura.
It was from the same source as the Celestial Net Sword.
It was the Mingfeng Saber!
In a flash, Su Bai’s Divine Thoughts spread out at extreme speed.
He saw a middle-aged man in gray robes with a world-weary face, holding a crimson saber, standing deep within the clouds high above.
He stared expressionlessly in the direction of the Imperial City.
’Is he trying to lure me out?’
A glint flashed in Su Bai’s eyes.
In the next breath, his figure flickered and vanished from his spot.
His upright form stirred up waves of clouds.
He soared straight up in an instant.
Then, he slowly extended his hands.
A blinding golden brilliance shone between his knuckles.
He then made a tearing motion to both sides.
In an instant!
The gloomy darkness blanketing the Imperial City, like a black curtain,
was brutally torn apart by Su Bai!
The sun, radiating its gentle light, reappeared on the horizon.
Having done this, Su Bai unleashed his monstrous aura.
With the sun at his back,
he strode step by step in the direction of the gray-robed man.
He walked through the air.
"It’s good that you’ve delivered yourself to my doorstep."
Su Bai stared in that direction and said softly, "Saves me the trip."
He had originally planned to find an opportunity to go to the Outer Realm beyond Great Xia, track this person down, and obtain the Mingfeng Saber.
He wanted to see what world-shaking secret would be revealed once he had both the Mingfeng Saber and the Celestial Net Sword.
But now, his enemy seemed impatient, delivering himself right to him.
This saved him a lot of trouble.
...
「Meanwhile, somewhere outside Xia Imperial City.」
The gray-robed man holding the crimson saber was still reeling in shock from having his Divine Technique broken, a deep astonishment on his face.
’This man... he’s grown stronger again.’
His gaze fell ahead, and he instantly saw Su Bai walking on the sun’s rays, his aura as deep as an abyss.
He was slowly approaching from the far distance.
In the blink of an eye, a grave expression appeared on the gray-robed man’s face.
Without a second thought, he turned and fled.
But deep inside, he thought grimly,
’As expected. Using the Mingfeng Saber as bait, he was sure to follow.’
’The Lord of Heavenly Punishment? A talent worthy of Ascension to Immortality?’
’Heh...’
’This time, I’ll make sure it’s a one-way trip for you!’
Su Bai trod on the cascading silvery sunlight, pursuing the gray-robed man step by step.
He was in no hurry.
His immense Divine Thoughts unfurled,
spreading out like ripples in a pond.
With the current strength of his Divine Thoughts, Su Bai could cover almost the entire Great Xia Territory.
Any expert within the range of his Divine Thoughts,
was completely visible to him.
He paid little attention to those in the Dao Palace Realm or Dragon Mansion Realm.
He only cared about the Nine Tribulations Realm.
’Five... no, six.’
’There’s an extra one...’
Su Bai’s gaze shifted to a certain direction.
He paused his steps for a moment, thinking,
’That aura... it seems to carry a hint of Vast Sword Intent.’
But then, he stopped caring much about it.
’It’s just a matter of capturing one more or one less.’
Shaking off the thought,
Su Bai resumed his leisurely stroll, following behind the gray-robed man.
...
Deep within the clouds, two figures flew through the air.
Both were dressed in simple white robes and held Three-Foot-Long Swords.
The elder of the two, a white-browed old man, clearly held a much higher status. He stood in front, while a younger-looking middle-aged man followed closely behind.
The younger man wore a respectful expression, and his movements were somewhat reserved.
The two were in conversation.
For the most part, the old man asked the questions, and the middle-aged man answered.
"That’s more or less the situation."
"Right now, the Vice Sect Master is still locked up in a prison in the Great Xia Imperial City. We don’t know if he’s dead or alive."
"Ancestor, this junior previously went to the Great Xia Imperial City to visit Emperor Xia, but it was completely useless."
"As for... having this junior go to the prison myself to meet the Lord of Heavenly Punishment, I did not dare."
"After all, that Lord of Heavenly Punishment’s reputation is simply too fearsome."
"With no other choice, this junior could only seek your help, Ancestor."
The white-browed old man nodded slightly after listening. He then spoke slowly, "I was already aware of what happened to Zhengxin."
"Previously, in Great Yu Cang Province, I checked Zhengxin’s Soul Lamp."
"The Soul Lamp is not extinguished, which means Zhengxin’s life should not be in danger."
Upon hearing this, a look of joy appeared on the middle-aged man’s face. "It’s good that his life isn’t in danger!"
"With you taking action personally this time, Ancestor, we will surely be able to rescue the Vice Sect Master from the hands of that Lord of Heavenly Punishment."
The white-browed old man, however, snorted coldly. "Capturing the Vice Sect Master of my Celestial Net Sword Sect and throwing him in prison for no reason."
"Because of this, the Celestial Net Sword Sect’s reputation among the Orthodox Lineage has plummeted, and we have lost all face."
"Do you think this can be settled simply by handing him over?"
"Even if he’s a prodigious talent who can condense a ten-thousand-zhang Dharma Aspect, he is ultimately just a junior in the Dao Palace Realm!"
"On this trip, this old man will naturally have to teach him a good lesson."
He paused for a moment.
The white-browed old man then continued in a low voice,
"This old man wants to see for himself just what kind of grand character this person is!"
As he spoke, he exuded the majesty and aura of a peerless Sword Saint of his generation.
Beside him, the middle-aged man bowed his head slightly, the reverence on his face deepening.
Joy was evident in his expression.
Ever since the day the experts from both the Righteous Dao and the Evil Demon Dao were captured by the Lord of Heavenly Punishment,
the Righteous Sects near the Great Xia Territory had been living in constant fear.
They were afraid that in a moment of carelessness, the Lord of Heavenly Punishment would descend upon them and drag them away.
But now, their strongest cultivator, the Sword Saint Ancestor, had finally returned from Cangzhou.
They could finally stand tall again!
Just as he was thinking this, the white-browed old man beside him seemed to sense something.
He stopped, looked in a certain direction, and let out a soft "Huh?"
"It seems there are fellow Daoists of the Nine Tribulations Realm nearby..."
The white-browed old man focused his senses for a moment.
His expression changed dramatically!
"Five Nine Tribulations Realm cultivators!"
"So many!?"
His face became extremely grave.
"And they’re almost all from the Evil Demon Dao!"
"What are these people doing gathered here!?"
His expression shifted, his gaze profound.
The next moment, he raised an old, brown finger and used it like a brush!
He swiftly drew two large characters for "Conceal" in the empty air before him.
The characters shone with a golden light and quickly merged into their bodies.
Then, visibly,
their figures became exceptionally hazy, like wisps of mist.
They soon vanished from sight.
"Let’s go!"
"Let’s go have a look!"