Sword Control

Yet in that split second, several more soldiers fell backward with their heads thrown up.

"Form the formation!"

A lieutenant roared, but before the words had even left his mouth, his head flew into the air.

If the Divine Eagle Great Formation were complete, it could contend against a Grandmaster. With over a thousand Imperial Guards here, once the formation was raised, they could clash with a Profound Martial Ninth Layer expert.

The intruders clearly understood this. Thus, the first man they killed was Chen Chuanshan. As the Deputy Commander of Divine Eagle Guard, he was the heart of the Divine Eagle Great Formation here. Once he was killed, more than half of the formation was broken.

There was more than one intruder, and all of them were experts. These ordinary Imperial Guard soldiers were at most at the Profound Martial Middle Rank—how could they possibly be a match for them? In mere moments, the officers were killed one after another. The soldiers beneath them could only fight in scattered groups, and the Divine Eagle Formation could no longer link into one whole.

At that moment, two figures had already slipped into the underground palace. They easily evaded the incoming Armor-Piercing Crossbows as a Profound Martial Phenomenon emerged. A sea of blood seemed poised to drown the cavern. Amid wretched screams, the defensive formations were breached one after another.

In this world, personal might was concentrated in a single body. Once one reached the higher True Martial ranks, the gap between realms was no longer something numbers could make up for.

The experts guarding the cavern finally reacted and rushed toward the entrance to meet the enemy.

Several round Hidden Weapons shot toward them, their forceful wind like arrows.

Elder Guo of the Green Luan Gate took the lead inside the cavern. His sword flashed with cold light as he sought to knock down the Hidden Weapons.

But before his force could touch them, the Hidden Weapons exploded with a bang. Black mist rose up, while a palm force struck from behind, rolling up a fierce gale that blew the black mist into the cavern.

"Poison!" Elder Guo cried out.

The sect experts all struck out with their palms, trying to force the black mist back. Yet the black mist was like maggots clinging to bone, spreading over their bodies along with their True Qi.

"It's the Crimson Dragon Cult's Soul Devouring Gu! Use fire!"

"Let me!" An elder of the Profound Heaven Sect at the True Martial Eighth Layer leaped forward. A Profound Martial Phenomenon surfaced, transforming into a flock of Fire Birds that beat their wings and flew ahead.

Amid sizzling sounds, the black mist fell away in clumps, and the stench of burning spread through the air.

But at that moment, a cold gleam appeared behind him. A gaunt old man of the Crimson Dragon Cult, dressed in a black hooded robe, had somehow reached his back.

Sshk!

A Short Sword pierced through the Profound Heaven Sect elder's heart. He struck backward with his palm, but the gaunt old man let out a sinister chuckle. In the next instant, his figure vanished without a trace, and the attacks of the sect experts who had come to assist all landed on empty air.

"The Crimson Dragon Cult's Hibernating Dragon Secret Technique!" someone shouted.

Then came two screams. The young cultivators deeper inside were casually killed, and he smashed two Black Spheres the size of fingertips onto the ground. Black mist spread throughout the cavern!

At the center of the crowd, Li Changyan, merely at the True Martial Fourth Layer, remained calm. He slowly drew a long sword. On one side of its blade was engraved a soaring flood dragon, on the other a Phoenix spreading its wings, while the hilt bore the Mountains and Rivers Pattern.

As the sword slowly left its sheath, the cries of dragon and phoenix resounded through the cavern. Ten thousand rays of golden light shone forth, forcing the concealed Crimson Dragon Cult members to reveal themselves one after another.

"The Great Gan Dragon Phoenix Grandmaster Sword really is here!"

The gaunt old man gave a harsh laugh. Rather than alarmed, he was delighted.

On North Spring Mountain, Prince Qing saw the scene below and sensed the aura of the Guardian Sword bestowed upon him by the late emperor, the sword that had followed him through countless years of battle.

He slowly rose to his feet, his gaze fixed on a patch of shadow among the trees. "Since you're here, why not come out and have a chat?"

A man emerged from the shadows. His entire body was wrapped in a black hooded robe. The exposed portion of his face was deathly pale, his pupils vertical slits that gleamed green, making those who saw them tremble.

"As expected of the War God of Great Gan. Even now, you remain so calm and composed." His voice was hoarse, as though it had been scraped over rough stone, unbearably grating to the ear.

"Am I your target?"

"You should not have been up here alone, nor should you have handed over the Dragon Phoenix Grandmaster Sword. A War God of Great Gan, the current emperor's uncle, is far more enticing than a Demon Cave Seal that may or may not be broken."

"How do you know I don't have two Grandmaster Secret Artifacts? Perhaps you ought to worry about your men instead, Xiahou Ming." Prince Qing extended a hand, and Qin Hu behind him handed over the sword he had been holding.

The black-robed man's pupils contracted slightly.

Clang!

The sword left its sheath with an exceptionally loud sound that rang across all of North Spring Mountain.

The black-robed man suddenly sensed danger. A blood-colored saber tore through the sky, and a crimson dragon coiled upward before roaring as it descended.

Prince Qing abruptly straightened. Blazing flames ignited across his body, and a massive sword rose from within the fire. As he slashed out with his sword, the raging flames followed it, becoming Three Zhang of Sword Qi. The killing aura tempered through battlefield slaughter was so dense that ripples began to spread through the surrounding air.

Qin Hu stomped violently, and a long spear rose from the ground. Like a dragon emerging from an abyss, the spear shot straight at the black-robed man.

In an instant, the three clashed. Countless bursts of force erupted, reducing the surrounding trees and mountain rocks to powder.

Xiahou Ming of the Crimson Dragon Cult, at the peak of the Profound Martial Ninth Layer.

Prince Qing, at the Profound Martial Ninth Layer. Yet because of the countless injuries on his body, his vitality and blood had long begun to decline, and his cultivation had regressed.

Qin Hu, at the True Martial Eighth Layer. Yet his battlefield spear art had entered the realm of intent, and his coordination with Prince Qing was flawless. For a short time, Xiahou Ming could not take them down.

When Prince Qing's Sword Cry rang across North Spring Mountain, Gu Yuanqing was startled awake from his meditation. The Kunwu Sword rose into the air and streaked through the sky.

His gaze rested quietly upon the three men fighting below. Such a rare battle between experts would greatly benefit his path of cultivation.

Seeing that he could not quickly defeat Prince Qing, Xiahou Ming activated the secret technique within his body. His Secret Treasury shook, Gang Sha Qi entered his body, and his originally thin frame suddenly swelled by a third. Muscles knotted, veins bulged, and his strength increased by a third.

With one strike, Prince Qing was sent flying backward, his feet gouging two deep trenches into the ground.

Qin Hu's tiger's mouth split open. His long spear flew from his hand, the clothes around his arms shattered to pieces, and force penetrated straight into his organs. With a muffled groan, he spat out a mouthful of blood.

Xiahou Ming grinned savagely. "Die!"

He darted forward and raised his saber, about to bring it down upon Qin Hu's head. But he suddenly looked up to see a streak of sword light tearing through the sky toward him. Behind the sword trailed white cone-shaped mist—the sign of a sword breaking through the Sound Barrier.

In the blink of an eye, the sword was already before him. He raised his saber horizontally to block it, pressing his other hand against the blade.

Boom!

Xiahou Ming's body blasted backward, his feet sinking deep into the earth. His long saber bent backward as though it were about to break. With an angry roar, he shoved forward with all his strength.

The long sword shot backward more than ten zhang.

Gu Yuanqing frowned slightly. With a thought, the Kunwu Sword carved another arc through the air and stabbed forward again. As it drew close, sword light flickered, transforming into layer upon layer of sword shadows.

Xiahou Ming was both shocked and enraged. This sword traveled through the void, like the Sword Control Art of immortals from legend, remotely commanded from afar. Did such a person truly exist in this world?

Qin Hu hurriedly seized the chance to retrieve his long spear, then retreated several steps to Prince Qing's side.

"Prince, are you all right?"

"I won't die." Prince Qing's aura subsided. He coughed several times, and in that instant, more than half his vitality, energy, and spirit seemed to vanish. Exhaustion showed plainly on his face. He turned and looked around, seeking Gu Yuanqing's trace, but he could not find the slightest sign of him.

Even seeing such methods again, he was still incomparably astonished!