First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 2934 - Unprecedented, Celestial Arcs Seal the Heavens

Practically none of the cultivators scouring the ruins knew it, but a strange treasure known as the Moon Palace Mirror was watching them from deep within the sea of clouds overhead.

It was with the help of this treasure that Lian Yue had detected someone tailing Heavenly Monarch Xiu Hu.

When she heard that Lian Yue wanted to use the Moon Palace Mirror again, Granny Snake hurriedly stopped her. The old woman’s eyes filled with doting. “Using that treasure drains too much of your strength. Best not use it unless it’s truly critical.”

Lian Yue nodded, but her heart was full of lingering bewilderment.

She’d used the Moon Palace Mirror earlier to investigate the area around Elder Xiu Hu. While she was at it, she helped Granny Snake ask about the two big fish from the Heart-Tempering Sword House.

None of them had expected that an indistinct figure was tailing Elder Xiu Hu!

It was for this reason that Granny Snake arranged for Elders Qiong Ye and Shui Ni to go to his aid.

But there was one thing Lian Yue hadn’t told Granny Snake. When she used the Moon Palace Mirror to examine the blurry figure following Elder Xiu Hu, she felt a hint of a familiar presence, as if she’d seen whoever it was before.

She tried to recall where, but try as she might, she couldn’t. That was why she suggested using the Moon Palace Mirror to take another look.

But Granny Snake had refused, so she could only let it go.

“Young Mistress,” Granny Snake said suddenly, “According to the sect leader, in a hundred years at minimum, a thousand years at most, unprecedented changes will sweep across the Eternal Heavens Domain. When the time comes, all of its thirty-three continents, four seas, and five pure lands will feel the impact. The world’s balance of power will undergo an earth-shaking transformation.

“And they say that all of these changes originate on the Far Shore of Destiny!”

Lian Yue was stunned. “Why bring all that up now, Granny Snake?”

She’d heard talk of such things before, but she’d never taken it to heart.

Granny Snake said with a benevolent smile, “Failing to plan for the long term leads to trouble in the short term. I just want to urge you to prepare. Chaos and strife are an opportunity to ascend, a reshuffling of power. That’s why they say that troubled times give rise to heroes.

“If you wish to rise to prominence, you must prepare to seize this opportunity. Only then can you forge valiantly ahead!”

Lian Yue looked thoughtful.

If the balance of power were set in stone, it would make the world a stagnant pool.

But there was no way to break the long-established order without a period of upheaval and strife!

The Heavenly Sovereign factions had overseen worldly affairs for countless years, but what would happen when great changes befell the Eternal Heavens Domain?

Would the current Heavenly Sovereign factions fall off their pedestals?

If these changes were really as “unprecedented” as Granny Snake said, that might really happen!

“In truth, over the past few years, dark currents have started flowing beneath the surface of the Eternal Heavens Domain. All sorts of new variables have arisen,” said Granny Snake, a hint of worry on her brow. “In the eyes of the masses, all is prosperous and calm. They see an age of flourishing. However, we old-timers know that dark currents flow beneath that prosperous surface. We... can see the seeds of imminent disaster!”

Lian Yue’s heart quivered. “Granny, what do you mean?”

“The biggest of these variables is the arrival of experts from the Far Shore of Destiny!” said Granny Snake. “They’re like shadows, lurking in the darkness, but their authority and influence have quietly permeated the God Domain.

“For instance, a prominent member of the Lower Court of Three Purities Temple was involved in the destruction of the Heart-Tempering Sword House! That aside, they say that leads to the Key to Endless Tribulations have appeared beneath the surface of the River of Destiny. There are already people out hunting for it.

“The key can open the Abyss of Endless Tribulations. Most people think of it as the place where an Eternal Throne was lost during the Devastation, but few realize that it’s the true source of all of the disasters and tribulations of the River of Destiny! When the Abyss of Endless Tribulations is found, disasters will inevitably follow!

“That aside, Jiang Wuchen’s reincarnation, Su Yi, is a variable, too.” Granny Snake couldn’t help but frown. “You saw him in the Literati Continent. You naturally know how much upheaval he’s created in the Eternal Heavens Domain. If that harbinger of calamity isn’t killed, there’s no telling how many disasters he’ll create.”

Su Yi? A figure rose to the forefront of Lian Yue’s mind. Su Yi had left a deep impression on her. She’d met him while he was still under the guise of Li Muchen, and took note of him because he carried the Toad Palace Pearl.

“Granny, Fellow Daoist Su is no harbinger of calamity.” Lian Yue shook her head slightly. “It was the Malevolent Sword Venerate who arranged the battle in the Literati Continent, rallying several Heavenly Sovereign factions to target him. It’d be biased to label him a harbinger of calamity over that.”

Granny Snake solemnly corrected her. “Young Mistress, I must remind you that several of the Heavenly Sovereign factions view him as their common foe, including our Court of the Southern Heavens. As one of our disciples, it’s important that you know where you stand!”

Lian Yue’s brow furrowed, and she pursed her lips. She was calm and tranquil by nature, and she avoided worldly strife. She’d never concerned herself with enmities and external conflict, and she hated others forcing her to take sides.

She was herself, with her own likes and dislikes, views, and principles. Deep within her heart, she admired Su Yi. Her sect’s view of him had nothing to do with it.

But she could only bury these feelings deep within her heart.

“Young Mistress, the two big fish have taken the bait.” Granny Snake suddenly smiled.

Lian Yue was stunned. Those higher-ups from the Heart-Tempering Sword House are here?

......

Meanwhile, in the section of the ruins occupied by Sevendeaths Court, a fiery bird dove, then landed on a black-robed elder’s outstretched arm.

“Master, I’ve passed on your message to Heavenly Monarch Lu Yang of Limitless Palace!” the bird said respectfully.

The black-robed elder said, “Then let us act in accordance with our original plan. No need for idle chatter. Let’s capture them immediately!”

His Daoist title was Bi Hu, and he was an older-generation Heavenly Monarch of Sevendeaths Court.

“Understood!” The bird nodded its assent, then soared off.

Heavenly Monarch Bi Hu stroked his beard, smiled, and addressed his companions. “I’ve got to say, the cultivators of the Heart-Tempering Sword House sure are tough! We didn’t wait for them all this time in vain!”

Someone jeered, “Of all the world’s sword cultivators, those from the Heart-Tempering Sword House are the most fearless. That’s why all we had to do was wait for them to come to us. We didn’t make this trip in vain.”

The others couldn’t help but laugh along, all of them full of eagerness.

Everyone had their weaknesses. The famed fearlessness of the Heart-Tempering Sword House was both a strength and a weakness.

Meanwhile, the old man and the youth drew closer to the ruins. These were none other than Mountain Lord Wen Feng and Vice Mountain Lord Fei Qiu of Expanding Heavens Peak.

Wen Feng looked young, but he had greater strength and seniority.

The two of them were conversing through their divine sense. They could already see the ruins of the Heart-Tempering Sword House in the distance.

Both had complicated looks on their faces, and both were in low spirits.

In the past, their ancestral lands were a radiant place, the heart of their sect, a sacred ground to the world’s sword cultivators!

But now, they’d been laid to ruin. Everything had been reduced to rubble, and the place was crawling with treasure seekers, like flies swarming over a rotting corpse.

“I still don’t understand why the founder destroyed our sect!” said Wen Feng, his expression full of agony.

“I told you, didn’t I? He must have had his reasons. Besides, everyone he killed was either a spy or a traitor,” Fei Qiu said grimly. “Our ancestral grounds have been destroyed, but thanks to the founder’s arrangements, all of us escaped disaster.”

Wen Feng took a deep breath. “I understand all that. I insisted on coming here because I want to see if I can figure out what really led up to all this.”

Fei Qiu fell briefly silent, then gestured to the ruins. “Senior Apprentice Brother, aren’t you worried that there’s a trap waiting for us?”

Wen Feng said calmly, “I won’t lie to you. I came here all but certain that it’s a trap, and I’m prepared to die!”

Fei Qiu’s expression shifted, and he grimaced. “Why is this necessary?”

Wen Feng patted his sword case. “The sect cannot end here. A sword cultivator cannot keep his sword hidden in its sheath forever! Even if I die, I need to test my edge and learn just who is targeting us!”

He spoke with firm conviction. Fei Qiu’s hot blood stirred, and he smiled. “I’ll face this with you, Senior Apprentice Brother!”

Wen Feng patted Fei Qiu’s shoulders. “Let’s not be reckless. We’re planning for the worst because we want to leave this place alive. We have to proceed with the utmost caution.”

He’d only just said this when he suddenly looked up. He wasn’t sure when, but a fiery red, ferocious bird had appeared overhead. It tore through the sea of clouds, like a beam of flickering, misty radiance.

“That’s Sevendeath’s Court’s Fire Dragon Sparrow!” Wen Feng’s gaze was instantly solemn as he realized the severity of the issue. “Hurry up and run! I suspect they’ve found us!”

Before his voice had even finished echoing through the air, he led Fei Qiu away.

At least, he tried to. Before they’d gotten far, heaven and earth dimmed.

The landscape shifted around them, and heaven and earth overturned. Countless motes of ethereal starlight descended from the dome of heaven, while countless strange, contorted markings rose out of the earth, extending endlessly in all directions.

It was as if Wen Feng and Fei Qiu had found themselves in a strange, unfamiliar plane, separate from the outside world.

Both of them looked stricken. The Celestial Arc Sealing Formation!

This was one of Limitless Palace’s core formations. It could trap and kill all enemies beneath the Heavenly Sovereign level!

When they saw this, there was no way Wen Feng and Fei Qiu would fail to realize that they’d fallen into a meticulously prepared trap.

They’d been cautious, and they’d disguised their presences and their faces, but their enemies had obviously seen through them anyway.

They’d been intercepted before they could even reach the ruins of the Heart-Tempering Sword House!

There was no denying that this ambush had really caught them both off guard. Their hearts sank into the pits of their stomachs.

But they weren’t afraid.

“Care to join me in battle, Junior Apprentice Brother?” Wen Feng looked at Fei Qiu, the depths of his gaze burning with the will to fight.

Fei Qiu grinned. “I’ll accompany you to the bitter end!”

Dense sword intent surged around him, too, rumbling and booming.

The entire Celestial Arc Sealing Formation activated with a surging tide of formation light. Terrifying destructive power swept out in all directions.