"It should have been a modern system. That organization called the Immortal Alliance probably wanted every cultivator firmly in its grasp. They specifically sent Foundation Establishment cultivators to seek out lone Qi Refinement cultivators and bring them back for easier control. That way, the little girl's appearance would not arouse suspicion. The little girl came in to draw that Taoist surnamed Hai's attention. The instant Taoist Hai focused on her, those four great cultivators could seize the chance to move in and lay down a net of heaven and earth."
Wang Qi found it both laughable and exasperating as he replied in his mind, "What kind of undeserved calamity is this supposed to be? And didn't you say a few years ago that there wouldn't be any cultivators within ten li?"
"Taoist Hai is also a Mahayana grandmaster, and his strength exceeds even mine. It is only natural that I failed to notice him for a moment," Zhen Chanzi argued.
"Then what do we do?"
"That depends on what sort of outfit this Immortal Alliance is."
Wang Qi's eyes rolled as he looked at the girl. "Fairy sister, what sort of outfit is this Immortal Alliance of yours, exactly?"
Zhen Chanzi blew his beard and glared within Wang Qi's mind again. "Idiot! Who asks so directly?"
Even the red-clad girl could no longer remain composed before such a bluntly idiotic question. "What do you mean, 'what sort of outfit'?"
"Is the Immortal Alliance good or bad, righteous or evil? You have to give me a straight answer, don't you?"
"You need not worry about that. Once you arrive, you will naturally understand."
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
Four sword-drawing sounds rang out as one.
The four people from Sky Sword Palace all drew their swords.
Heisenberg, meanwhile, did nothing at all.
Although they held an overwhelming advantage in numbers, the four from Sky Sword Palace did not let down their guard in the slightest. Though Unforgiving Taoist had committed a grave error in his early years due to his rigid and pedantic nature, his cultivation was unquestionably genuine.
The first to strike was Gu Ci, the Whirling Lightning Sword. With one thrust of his sword, clouds of Sword Qi spread outward. The sword mist drifted like true floating clouds, dreamlike and illusory. Yet if one's spiritual sense touched that mist even slightly, that beauty would transform into a razor-sharp killing technique and deliver a heaven-shaking blow!
This was Piaomiao Palace's supreme art, the Undetermined Cloud Sword!
Madam Ma made a prompt decision and launched a fierce sword assault. That strange metal qi had long since fused into her mana. In ordinary times, it excelled at hanging the pot to aid the world, but if Madam Ma harbored killing intent, there was no need to construct a spell—the strange metal qi alone would claim her enemy's life.
Palace Lord Qian, however, fully unleashed the Sky Sword's might. His path was one of breaking skill with force. Though it lacked all manner of wondrous applications, its foundations were solid. Once the Sky Sword emerged, it could shatter all dharmas beneath heaven!
Bu Rong Dao Ren was half a beat slower, but he too raised the Sky Sword in his hand. He leaped into the air, Sword Light pointing directly at Unforgiving Taoist! His swordsmanship appeared plain and unadorned, yet in the midst of his assault, it changed more than ten times in succession, with not a single move repeated! Most strangely, the moves themselves were incompatible with one another, yet they coexisted in perfect harmony!
These four were all cultivators at the very pinnacle of the world. If these four joined hands, they could likely shave even a Celestial Immortal into a cucumber in a straw raincoat. Yet before such an assault, Unforgiving Taoist did not move at all, as though he had everything well in hand.
At the instant the killing tribulation descended upon him, Unforgiving Taoist finally moved!
Suddenly, Wang Qi let out a scream!
Wang Qi cried out so painfully that he frightened the girl instead. "Hey, hey! What's wrong with you?"
Wang Qi had no time to heed the girl. Instead, he roared at the ring, "Old man! What happened? Say something!"
"What is going on?" The girl was completely at a loss.
It turned out that Zhen Chanzi had suddenly shouted "Impossible!" in Wang Qi's mind just now, nearly shaking Wang Qi's soul apart! After that, Zhen Chanzi seemed to have fallen into a demonic stupor, repeating "Impossible" over and over. "How could this be... Impossible... That is strength at the Celestial Immortal level... Impossible..."
Wang Qi had nearly assumed that Zhen Chanzi's remnant soul had suffered some injury while observing those Mahayana cultivators. He could no longer be bothered to conceal him.
"That ring should contain the remnant soul of an ancient powerhouse. You know what happens when an Ancient Method Cultivator sees modern methods for the first time." Suddenly, another voice cut in.
A young male cultivator who looked around twenty-four or twenty-five appeared at some unknown time, riding a sword alongside the girl. When the girl saw him, she halted her Sword Light, shook Wang Qi in her hand, and said, "Mission accomplished."
Wang Qi hurriedly put on a fawning smile. "And how should I address this senior?"
The man did not put on airs. "Li Ziye of the Myriad Dharma Sect. This is Junior Sister Xiang Qi of Burning Gold Valley. The two of us are both Safety Officers of the Immortal Alliance. May I know how to address you, little brother?"
"This junior is called Wang Qi. Senior Li, what did you mean earlier by 'ancient methods' and 'modern methods'? This old man is always in my head... Aah!"
Before he could finish speaking, Zhen Chanzi shouted again. "What sort of movement technique is this? How could there... How could there dare to be such a movement technique!"
Zhen Chanzi's worldview had taken a blow. With his Dao heart unstable, the power of his soul actually began to dissipate! Wang Qi bore the brunt of it!
"Hmph."
Unforgiving Taoist snorted coldly.
At the final instant before the killing tribulation struck his body, he finally moved.
In but an instant, Heisenberg pushed his famous supreme art, the Unfathomable Movement Technique, to its utmost limit. Unforgiving Taoist did not move quickly, yet no one could simultaneously discern both his position and speed!
The workings of heaven were unfathomable indeed; its reputation was well deserved.
In but an instant, he slipped beyond the range of Madam Ma's and the Sky Sword Palace Lord's sword momentum. Burning Gold Valley cultivators did not excel in battle, so Madam Ma immediately retreated thirty zhang and stood guard to one side. Her Sword Intent blanketed the entire field, preventing Unforgiving Taoist's escape while she spread the strange metal qi with all her might. Yet the Sky Sword Palace Lord displayed an entirely different bearing. Qian Xueshen had originally been a disciple of the Liuyun Sect, and both his flight and sword control were peerless. Beneath the sweeping sword wind, the Sky Sword, unleashed at full force, carried power that even ordinary Celestial Immortals struggled to control as it made an eerie turn.
A technique created by the Sky Sword Palace's Vice Palace Lord: Qian's Sword Trajectory Art!
But it was still not enough.
Even with the eyesight of Five Masters' Extinction, it was still far from enough to lock onto Unforgiving Taoist.
Madam Ma and Palace Lord Qian both understood that their greatest role was to use their momentum to pressure Unforgiving Taoist, keeping him at a disadvantage throughout the contest while sealing off his retreat. As for heavily injuring this great cultivator of Piaomiao Palace, that depended on the other two Piaomiao cultivators.
Gu Ci wielded his sword and activated the Piaomiao Undetermined Cloud Sword against Unforgiving Taoist. The sword mist spun rapidly, its momentum astonishing. Relying on his movement technique, Unforgiving Taoist evaded the direct strike of the sword cloud, but he could not avoid glancing at it. The instant Haisenbao's gaze touched the sword cloud, a hidden transformation within the Undetermined Cloud Sword activated. The sword cloud immediately collapsed inward. In Unforgiving Taoist's eyes, there was only a single streak of lightning!
"A firefly's light, and you dare let it shine?"
Unforgiving Taoist sneered disdainfully and brought forth his life-bound artifact, the Great Matrix Diagram of Heaven! At first glance, the Great Matrix Diagram of Heaven was no more than a thin sheet of white paper. Yet the Great Matrix Formation within it was the fruit of countless Piaomiao wondrous arts returning to one. In the past, Unforgiving Taoist had run rampant with this treasure. Before Wave Heavenly Lord Xueding'e united Guanghua Hall's Bo Wen Xuan Qi with Piaomiao Palace's wondrous arts, no one had been able to break it!
The moment Gu Ci's Sword Light touched the Great Matrix Diagram of Heaven, it pierced into the painting, spreading through it and becoming part of the picture scroll. Gu Ci hurriedly withdrew his sword and retreated. But Unforgiving Taoist had no time to pursue, for at that moment, the sword momentum of Bu Rong Dao Ren, whom he feared most, had already sunk its teeth into him.
One sword, two swords, three swords... Sword Light that had returned to simplicity sealed off every route of action available to Haisenbao. Po Li and Haisenbao were fellow disciples after all, and each knew every one of the other's battle methods. Unforgiving Taoist did not dare be careless. He used the Great Matrix Diagram of Heaven to take in Bu Rong Dao Ren's Sword Light. He knew very well that this had to be settled swiftly, because every few moves, his senior brother's sword would rise by another energy level. Once the entire Unforgiving Electric Sword was completed, absolutely no one in the world could withstand it!
The Great Matrix Diagram of Heaven and Po Li's Sky Sword shone brilliantly as the two fellow disciples unexpectedly struck with full force at the same time!
Wang Qi's vision went black. When he recovered his senses, Xiang Qi had already handed him over to Li Ziye. Li Ziye supported him with his left hand while holding up the hand bearing his ring with his right. Brilliant light shone from his palm. Li Ziye smiled. "Senior, you are advanced in years. You should calm your mind and steady your qi."
"Hmph." Zhen Chanzi's voice actually carried a trace of resentment.
"What exactly happened... Hey, hey!"
Wait, something seemed wrong?
This posture... One man held another man in his arms, lifted the hand wearing a ring, and said something...
Wang Qi instantly reached a conclusion.
His heart and gall went cold. He hurriedly struggled free, staggered back several steps, and shouted, "Senior, you misunderstand! I'm not that kind of person!"
Li Ziye was baffled. "Ah? What do you mean, little brother? Did I do something wrong?"
Wang Qi decided that he absolutely would not touch Li Ziye. "Tell me what happened first."
Xiang Qi snorted coldly from the side. "That antique in your ring saw the most cutting-edge methods of the present age, lost his mind in fright, and let his soul power leak away. That is all."
Only then did Wang Qi discover that Li Ziye and Xiang Qi had both landed in a small forest far from the village. That enormous ball of light still hung in the sky, and the battle among the Mahayana cultivators had clearly not yet ended.
Li Ziye found it both laughable and exasperating. "Junior Sister Xiang, among Ancient Method Cultivators, there were also seniors who laid the foundations for modern methods. Do not be so rude."
"Tch. The Myriad Dharma Sect has the longest inheritance among modern methods, and even its founding patriarchs were Ancient Method Cultivators. Of course you would say that."
The more Wang Qi listened, the more confused he became. He could only look at the ring. Since Zhen Chanzi had already been exposed, Wang Qi no longer concealed his existence.
"The power contained within the dharma swords wielded by those cultivators actually surpasses the lightning tribulation a Mahayana cultivator faces during ascension!" Zhen Chanzi was clearly still shaken. "And that Taoist's technique of shifting, moving, and flying was so terrifying! I have never seen such methods. In my shock, I lost control of my mind, and my soul power spilled out. It merely rushed into your body."
"Wait, old man. So you mean that a few spells from those people over there scared you so badly that you became unable to take care of yourself inside my head?" Wang Qi cried out in alarm.
Even Zhen Chanzi's thousand years of cultivation could not endure those words. "Hmph! The paths followed by modern cultivators are bizarre and strange. I merely failed to take notice for a moment, began to doubt what I had once thought and believed, and suffered backlash from my Dao heart!"
"Then, old man, you tricked me." Wang Qi suddenly stopped smiling, his teeth grinding together. "Looking at it now, the Daluo Hundiantianjing I cultivated for four or five years is simply a trash technique!"
Zhen Chanzi was, after all, a Mahayana grandmaster, and his mood gradually calmed. "Ten thousand years ago, the Daluo Hundiantianjing truly was a peerless cultivation method. It is only that the development of these ten thousand years has been too strange, exceeding my understanding."
Wang Qi lowered his head, his entire body trembling.
Seeing this, Li Ziye could not bear it. "Little Brother Wang, you need not be too disappointed. Since you can cultivate mana, that means you possess the foundation to seek immortality. Every cultivator has meaning to the Immortal Alliance... Hm?"
Li Ziye made a puzzled sound, because he discovered that Wang Qi was simply holding back his laughter with all his strength.
"Pffft... Hahahaha... I originally thought this world was low-level, uninteresting, and boring... Who would have thought... Hahahahahahahaha!"
Before you continue