Xianyu Tu

A group of people arrived at the foot of Cloudflight Mountain.

There were not many of them—only five.

Each wore the same black long robe. From the style and cut of those robes, it was clear they came from the same place.

Their auras were deep and condensed; all of them were martial artists who had stepped into the Innate Realm.

Especially the person leading them. Her three thousand strands of black hair were tied into a high ponytail, and her cool, refined face was both valiant and handsome. Though she was clearly a woman, a faint air of slaughter lingered around her.

She glanced at the mountain path ahead, her slightly curved willow-leaf brows drawing together. "Someone is coming. Quite a few people—several hundred."

Then she turned her head toward a young man at her side, one with thick brows and bright eyes, and asked, "Fan Zhenyu, you are from Qingfeng County, and Cloudflight Mountain lies within Qingfeng County. Do you know what has happened?"

Fan Zhenyu clasped his hands and answered respectfully, "My lady, Qingfeng County should be launching a campaign against Flying Cloud Stronghold. However, according to the letter my father sent, Qingfeng County already campaigned against Flying Cloud Stronghold three months ago and returned without success. I do not know why they are attacking Flying Cloud Stronghold again after such a short interval."

"Qingfeng County? Lu Guangyi."

Yan Qing murmured softly, rapidly recalling the scant information she knew about Qingfeng County.

Qingfeng County was an utterly ordinary little county in Jing Prefecture, one that had never produced any particularly powerful figures. Most martial artists in Qingfeng County were even still at Foundation Establishment; not a single Meridian Condensation Realm martial artist had ever emerged.

However.

Yan Qing had once happened to hear someone mention Qingfeng County's magistrate, Lu Guangyi. He seemed to be no simple man.

From Fan Zhenyu, she had also learned of Lu Guangyi's situation. It was precisely because of this magistrate's appearance that he had gathered the strength of Qingfeng County's local gentry and gangs, then worked with the yamen to campaign against Flying Cloud Stronghold.

"Xianyu Tu is in Flying Cloud Stronghold. If Qingfeng County's people attack rashly, they will likely suffer grievous casualties. We must pick up the pace and deal with Xianyu Tu before those people arrive."

Yan Qing raised her head toward Flying Cloud Stronghold. A flash of light suddenly gleamed in her eyes. She clamped her legs around her horse, and its speed abruptly increased.

The fine steed, carrying traces of exotic beast blood in its veins, still maintained tremendous speed on the rugged mountain road.

Flying Cloud Stronghold.

Main hall.

The chief of the stronghold, Ma Zhuo, was not seated in the wolf-pelt chair reserved for the chief. Instead, he sat in the first seat on the lower left.

He glanced beyond the hall, his gaze stretching into the distance toward the front stronghold. Listening to the rumbling sounds drifting over from afar, he knew Qingfeng County's campaign army was attacking Flying Cloud Stronghold once again.

In the past.

He had not cared about such matters.

He had worked with Qingfeng County's magistrate, Lu Guangyi, many times. Under the pretense of attacking Flying Cloud Stronghold, the two sides transported goods and money that Flying Cloud Stronghold wanted. Each time, they put on a convincing show, suffered a certain number of casualties, and kept both Qingfeng County's commoners and Flying Cloud Stronghold's bandits satisfied.

As for those who died?

Neither of them cared.

But.

This time was different.

Ma Zhuo withdrew his gaze and looked toward the gaunt man seated in the wolf-pelt chair. An unusual gleam stirred in the depths of his eyes. "Master, Qingfeng County's people have made their move. The scale is not small this time—around a thousand people. There are eight Innate Warriors among them."

"Eight Innate Warriors?" The gaunt man spoke softly, looking rather displeased. "Not many, but better than nothing."

Ma Zhuo asked, "Master, if you use eight Innate Warriors to refine Human Elixirs, are you confident you can completely master the Little Netherworld Sword?"

At the mention of the Little Netherworld Sword, an imperceptible blaze flashed through Ma Zhuo's eyes.

Ten years ago, he had become Xianyu Tu's disciple. He had cultivated bitterly ever since, yet had always struggled to achieve anything on the martial path.

His talent was limited, and so were his resources.

Three years ago.

After Master Xianyu Tu had left for a time and suddenly returned, he taught Ma Zhuo the method of refining Human Elixirs. By consuming them, Ma Zhuo's martial talent improved to a certain extent, and the bottlenecks that had once restrained his cultivation gradually broke through.

By now, he had even entered Innate Perfection.

Of course.

Ma Zhuo had secretly revealed only the cultivation of Greater Xiantian to the outside world, making others believe that Greater Xiantian was what he had concealed, rather than Innate Perfection.

One year ago.

Xianyu Tu returned from outside once more, bringing back a peculiar stone stele. Inscribed upon it was a formidable sword art known as the Little Netherworld Sword.

Even with Xianyu Tu's capabilities, cultivating the Little Netherworld Sword was a task fraught with countless hardships. Only by using vast quantities of Human Elixirs had he achieved a slight measure of success with it.

Ma Zhuo had personally witnessed the Little Netherworld Sword's might, and thus craved this martial art intensely. Yet Xianyu Tu had hidden it well and refused to teach it to Ma Zhuo, leaving him unable to obtain its cultivation method.

"Completely master it?" Xianyu Tu shot Ma Zhuo a sidelong glance. "The Little Netherworld Sword is not a Meridian Condensation Realm martial art, but an even more profound one. If I can master merely one or two parts of it, that will be enough to sweep through the Innate Realm. As for completely mastering it, who knows how many years that would take? Unless you can refine more and better Human Elixirs."

Ma Zhuo's hand quietly clenched, and a bitter smile surfaced on his face. "The deaths and injuries in Qingfeng County have gradually increased. Even Lu Guangyi may not be able to keep them suppressed. It has likely already drawn the attention of those above. If we refine Human Elixirs on a large scale again at a time like this, it may truly attract Profound Nether Platform's attention."

"Profound Nether Platform?"

Xianyu Tu's hand abruptly froze as he lifted his teacup. His brows furrowed, and deep gravity filled his eyes.

That place was not to be provoked.

After pausing for a breath, Xianyu Tu smiled faintly and dangled a carrot before Ma Zhuo. "You only need to refine another hundred Human Elixirs for your master, and I will be able to completely grasp this move of the Little Netherworld Sword. When the time comes, it may not be impossible for me to teach it to you."

Ma Zhuo's pupils suddenly dilated. He forcibly suppressed the surging turmoil within him and swallowed hard. "Master, are your words true?"

"Of course." Xianyu Tu looked into the distance and slowly rose to his feet. "Before that, I shall let you witness the power of the Little Netherworld Sword once more."

Ma Zhuo immediately rose and followed close behind.

Inside the cave.

Zhao Zhi slowly turned his head, his gaze sweeping one by one across the Innate Warriors.

There were five Innate Warriors in total: Cao Yun, the yamen's chief constable; Li Muguang, Flying Cloud Stronghold's third chief; an Innate Warrior from the Su Family; one from the Tao Family; and another Innate Warrior of unknown origin whose aura was anything but ordinary.

Cao Yun was the strongest among them, a Greater Xiantian expert. Of the others, two had reached Innate Minor Achievement and two were at Initial Xiantian. It was quite a respectable lineup.

Cao Yun had originally been furious, with a measure of concern, when Flying Cloud Stronghold's chief, Ma Zhuo, failed to appear.

After all.

Zhao Zhi had single-handedly killed Iron Horse Manor's first manor lord, second manor lord, and chief steward. His strength was beyond question—at the very least, he was at Greater Xiantian, perhaps even higher.

Cao Yun and the other four alone might not necessarily be able to take Zhao Zhi down.

But now, seeing the black longbow in Li Muguang's hand radiating a dim, cold aura, he felt entirely differently.