Frosty Cold of the Fourteen States' Swords

Chapter 12: Sword of the Frosty Fourteen States

West Gate Street, the air thick with the scent of osmanthus blossoms.

But the immortal who had caused the street to burst into bloom with a single sword strike had now fallen into a raging inferno.

The Yinglai Inn, once a place of welcoming and seeing off guests from all directions, was now a memory.

Disciples of the Silver Flower Palace stood on the surrounding buildings or beneath the trees lining the long street, their gazes fixed on the inferno. They watched as soldiers gathered in the distance, keeping the perimeter outside the blaze.

A large portion of the Silver Flower Palace's experts had rushed here in recent days, and most were now assembled, determined to reclaim their ancestral artifact.

On a carriage at the corner, a woman in dark clothing watched the fire, her face etched with worry. "Vice Palace Master, with such a massive fire, will the Depraved Flower Immortal Scripture be..."

Hadn't they gathered here with so many people and at such great cost precisely because their lives were held in the palm of the Depraved Flower Immortal Scripture?

If this item were to burn, wouldn't they be left with no path but death?

This scripture could only be cultivated and mastered by successive Palace Masters; it was one of a kind.

Inside the carriage, the Silver Flower Palace's Vice Palace Master, Poison Child, let out a sinister chuckle. "The Depraved Flower Immortal Scripture is within the Mountain River Qiankun Fan. This treasured fan can cleave metal and shatter iron, impervious to water and fire."

"Let that Sword Immortal turn to ash; the Mountain River Qiankun Fan will not be harmed in the slightest."

Although he had rushed to Great Zhou this time for the Depraved Flower Immortal Scripture, a significant part of his motive was the position of Palace Master.

If the Sword Immortal died here, he would become the next Palace Master of the Silver Flower Palace and wield immense power in Northern Wei. The Silver Flower Palace was more than just a martial arts sect in Northern Wei.

The eyes of the woman in dark clothing reflected the soaring flames. Even gold would melt in such a blaze. It seemed Poison Child was destined to be the next Palace Master of the Silver Flower Palace.

Suddenly, the woman, with a hint of a seductive smile, flattered him, "This Sword Immortal is as good as dead. Palace Master, please don't forget about this servant when the time comes."

As she spoke, she even dropped the "Vice" from his title.

"Besides the Sword Immortal, who else in this city can stop us?" Poison Child was filled with smug satisfaction, as if the position of Silver Flower Palace Master was already within his grasp. He recalled how Young Master Silver Flower used to flaunt his power, and now it was finally his turn.

"Gagagagagaga!" A strange cackle erupted from within the inferno, instantly interrupting their conversation.

It even drew the astonished gazes of all the surrounding Silver Flower Palace disciples. How could anyone possibly survive such flames and explosions? Even an iron man would be blown to pieces.

Poison Child leaped from the carriage, his small eyes widening almost to the point of bursting. "The Sword Immortal isn't dead yet?"

"That was dozens of Yu Fire Thunders!" Poison Child's excited saliva sprayed out.

The intense flames were cleaved apart, and a figure on a donkey passed through.

The flames shot skyward, yet they couldn't even scorch a corner of the rider's clothes, as if he were the master of the flames, a deity of heaven and earth.

The divine donkey, carrying the Daoist, emerged from the fire. Its eyes glowed scarlet, like a peerless demon king appearing.

Gao Xian's expression was icy. His usual glib tongue and playful demeanor were gone.

The Silver Flower Palace members had intended a swift strike, but Gao Xian had also been waiting for these demons and monsters to gather.

He hadn't expected them to even plan on burning Gongzhou City to kill him.

Meanwhile, the General Donkey beneath him let out a wild laugh, as if it relished this scene the most.

"Hahahaha~"

The donkey knew what kind of face lay hidden beneath Gao Xian's carefree facade.

This was why the donkey had always called Kongchenzi "Great Immortal." It had never once believed this fellow was merely human. Who knew what terrifying existence lay beneath that human skin?

The usual Kongchenzi and the enraged him were two entirely different beings. Even he, the great donkey protector, dared not anger this fellow. These mortals truly courted death.

The donkey's demonic eyes swept across West Gate Street. Everyone present felt a deathly aura, as if they had fallen into hell, hanging over their heads.

But in the demon's eyes, there was only mockery.

"You truly have immense courage."

"Have you all... seen the Avici Hell?"

The donkey, standing on the inferno, planted itself on West Gate Street. Its terrifying aura forced everyone around to retreat.

But something even more terrifying was coming. Before thousands of onlookers, the donkey took a deep breath. The massive fire that illuminated the night sky, the continuously spreading flames, transformed into a fire dragon coiling upwards.

Then, the donkey directly swallowed the fire dragon that coiled across the heavens in a single gulp.

All the Silver Flower Palace disciples who had come to kill the Sword Immortal gasped in unison. "What... what kind of monster is this?"

The sounds of gongs, shouts, and clamor from nearby within the city abruptly ceased.

A large group of constables, rushing with water to put out the fire, saw the distant flames extinguish before the gate of the ward even opened. They were stunned, completely bewildered as to what had happened.

"Where's the fire?"

"Why is the fire gone?"

"Didn't they say there was a fire?"

On West Gate Street, the Silver Flower Palace disciples who had still held a sliver of defiance were now utterly terrified, their souls ready to flee.

"Run!"

"Run!"

"Poison Child, that old bastard, actually tried to kill a monster like this. I'm done with this."

Dozens of Northern Wei experts, radiating immense power and utterly disregarding Gongzhou City, were now fleeing like rats.

But it was too late.

"Sword, come!" Great Immortal Kongchenzi's voice was colder than a harsh winter, freezing the entire West Gate long street.

The Azure Dragon roared out of the inferno, its dragon cry piercing the street.

In an instant, the street was littered with corpses. Some people hadn't even seen a flicker of a sword before they died, while others only saw a flash of light before their heads were severed.

"Flying sword! Holy hell, it's actually a flying sword!" A swordsman standing on a rooftop clearly saw the horrific scene below. He leaped up, intending to flee into the distance, but halfway there, he was pierced by a sword light. His body fell to the street, his head landing like a stone on a nearby eave.

"Sword Immortal, this truly is an immortal." One man, cut in half at the waist, crawled for over ten meters on the ground before finally breathing his last.

"To die by an immortal's sword... I suppose I can't complain!" At the end of the long street, a man knelt on the ground, looking at the gaping wound through his chest with a wry smile.

"Go, go, go! Hurry!" The burly man urged his horse.

"Will... will that Daoist... won't he... won't he chase us?" The woman was so terrified she could barely speak.

Poison Child's carriage sped down the long street, but the further he ran, the closer he got to West Gate Street.

An invisible force pulled him and the burning wreckage from the street's head toward the scorched ruins.

The Daoist, holding the Azure Dragon Sword, approached step by step, riding his donkey.

"Clop! Clop! Clop! Clop!"

The sound of the donkey's hooves struck their heartstrings, amplifying their fear to the maximum.

A flash of sword light, and the head of the burly man driving the carriage flew off. He didn't utter a single word before dying.

The beautiful woman in the deep robes' face was filled with pleading. A sword pierced her heart, and her pupils instantly lost their luster.

The Daoist stopped before the carriage, his eyes devoid of emotion as he looked at Poison Child.

Poison Child's teeth chattered with fear. "The Elder... the Elder won't let you go."

"Silver Flower Palace won't let you go!"

His cries sounded like an old bellows, his voice cracking with the rhythm of death.

The donkey's blood-red eyes flashed with a hint of excitement, and a stream of crimson flames erupted, transforming into a fire dragon.

The scorching flames engulfed the vicious dwarf and the entire carriage.

Poison Child shrieked in agony, but his body was unable to move. He could only endure the torment of the flames consuming him.

This was the closest thing to hell on earth.

"Oh! There's another Elder!"

Gao Xian's gaze swept towards the outskirts of the city, as if the will of heaven and earth had traversed the sky and landed upon a desolate tomb outside the city.

A sword strike tore through the sky.

The entire Gongzhou City saw a cold light traverse several miles, leaving behind a resplendent, ultimate cloud of mist.

An old man, who had quietly arrived outside the city to lay a trap and await news, had just looked up when a vertical sword light split him in two.

His dying words were: "How... how is this possible?"

Like this Elder of the Silver Flower Palace, all the martial artists and experts within Gongzhou City gasped in unison upon witnessing this scene.

Zhongxing Du, leading his men, had just arrived at the North Gate when that sword passed through the sky above his head, completely shattering his last shred of pride.

Zhongxing Du stood on the street, his entire being seemingly collapsing. After a long while, he let out the same astonished cry as the Elder of the Silver Flower Palace: "How is this possible?"

Xu Bayuan, who had arrived at West Gate Street with Lu Canghai, faced this sword strike that tore through the sky. He suddenly sighed for having practiced the blade: "The art of the flying sword?"

"To take a head from a thousand miles away. A true immortal!"

Listening to the exclamations and explanations of the Sword Saint Xu Bayuan beside him, Lu Canghai, though his eyes hadn't seen it, understood the boundless profundity even more clearly through his sword heart's perception.

At this moment, Lu Canghai felt as though he had glimpsed the ultimate of swordsmanship and the highest realm of the sword.

"A hall full of flowers intoxicates three thousand guests; a single sword's frost chills fourteen prefectures."

"I didn't get to taste the wine that intoxicated three thousand guests."

"But the sword that chills fourteen prefectures, I, Lu Canghai, have witnessed it today."