Chapter 228: The Crescent Blade
"I'll kill you, I'll kill you all!" Despite the pain that wracked his yin body, Zhao Tianheng repeated the same mantra over and over again.
"Elder Ku, has he truly gone crazy?" one elder asked.
"Zhao Tianheng has become a demon. He's suffering from the backlash of the grudges of countless vengeful souls. Serves him right!" another elder exclaimed.
As the black ghosts devoured Zhao Tianheng's yin body, their own bodies would swell. When their bodies reached a breaking point, they would pop and vanish in a cloud of smoke, their vengeance exacted and spent.
Gradually, Zhao Tianheng's yin body was reduced to a fraction of its former glory, and the red crescent in the air had likewise been devoured. As more of the black ghosts vanished, however, the yin body regained a semblance of reason and retreated into Zhao Tianheng's physical body.
Zhao Tianheng opened his eyes blearily, but he was barely able to keep them open. His mental faculties had been greatly reduced.
"Zhao Tianheng, if you had been willing to accept sentencing, you would only have been stripped of your position and given appropriate punishment. However, you've committed wrong after wrong. There's no turning back now. The cardinal sin of the Taiqing Immortal Sect is indiscriminate slaughter of its own disciples," Elder Ku intoned.
"Only the sect master has the right to judge me. None of you can kill me!" Zhao Tianheng wheezed.
"Take him down," Elder Ku instructed.
"Understood!" A few elders charged forward and held Zhao Tianheng down.
"Yuanjiao, claim the Tianjue Blade. It used to belong to your father and is particularly precious. He has no right to it any longer," Ku Jiang continued.
"Yes, Master!" Zhao Yuanjiao retrieved Zhao Tianheng's blade and passed it to Ku Jiang.
"The Tianjue Blade? Ha! It's an old sword, nothing more. Zhao Tianjue bequeathed this blade to me on his deathbed, causing me to miss out on the opportunity to control the blackguards! He deserved to die!" Zhao Tianheng spat out, enraged even in weakness.
"I pity him for having as malicious a brother as you," Elder Ku replied chillingly.
Even detained, even with his power spent, Zhao Tianheng's eyes still seemed murderous.
"The blackguards are nothing in comparison to this treasure. The Tianjue Blade was the most valuable possession of his life. It was once known as the Crescent Blade, and was an artifact that Zhao Tianjure retrieved after countless struggles and incredible effort from a hidden realm. Do you even know anything about its worth?!" Ku Jiang shouted.
"The Crescent Blade? What in the world are you talking about...?" A tremor passed over Zhao Tianheng's body.
"The spiritual technique you cultivate, The Lacking Taiqing, was devised by the third grandmaster of the Taiqing Immortal Sect, and the Crescent Blade was his treasured sword. With this sword, your advancement in The Lacking Taiqing would have grown by leaps and bounds. In acknowledgement of your fraternity, Zhao Tianjue chose to leave this sword to you rather than to his beloved son, hoping that as his uncle, you would be willing to take care of him well after his father's death.You, however, ignored the treasure that was left in your possession and attempted to scheme against his son! A fool like you doesn't deserve this blade," Ku Jiang pronounced.
"Impossible. This is just an ordinary sword. You're lying to me!" Zhao Tianheng exclaimed.
"You must not have unsealed it. It can only be unsealed by one who cultivates the Taiqing Yin Body," Ku Jiang replied.
A flash of red light emerged from Ku Jiang's palm as he sent it sweeping down the blade's length.
With a whirr, the Crescent Blade suddenly released blinding red light. Crescent moons shot out of the blade, encompassing its surroundings. The sudden keenness of the blade unleashed tremendous pressure on the cultivators around it, as though it could slice them all apart in an instant.
Ku Jiang sheathed the blade, causing the red crescents to vanish. Everyone let out a breath of relief, as though they had just survived some monstrous foe.
"What an incredible sword! As expected of a treasure of the Taiqing sect."
"Even if these Immortal relics were pristine, none of them could compare to this treasure!"
"Zhao Tianheng is truly an idiot. He's had such an incredible weapon lying around without knowing anything about it!"
The elders shook their heads at Zhao Tianheng's behavior.
"Impossible!" Zhao Tianheng shouted in despair.
"Only those who cultivate The Lacking Taiqing can use the Crescent Blade to its full power. Yuanjiao, take the sword," Elder Ku commanded.
"Yes, Master!" Zhao Yuanjiao happily beheld the Crescent Blade.
Despite Zhao Tianheng's complete exhaustion, he showed no sign of remorse upon seeing Zhao Yuanjiao claim the sword. Rather, his eyes narrowed in malice.
"Zhao Tianheng, you're getting what you deserve now! For killing so many elders and attempting to kill even more, you'll surely be sentenced to death!" the elder restraining Zhao Tianheng taunted.
Zhao Tianheng snarled. "To death? We'll die together, then!"
"You don't even have the ability to control your body anymore. How do you intend to resist? For killing my junior brother, you'll suffer. I'll petition to administer the sentence myself!" the elder gritted out.
"Silence! Stop provoking him!" Xiao Nanfeng suddenly exclaimed.
Everyone felt an uneasy premonition. They raised their heads to see the fifty Immortal relics in the air shining with light.
"He has control over the altar. Even if he isn't in contact with it, he can still exercise some amount of rough control. He's chosen to destroy the formation and all the Immortal relics within!" one elder suddenly cried out.
The fifty Immortal relics exploded simultaneously in a fearsome explosion.
"We'll die together!" Zhao Tianheng roared.
"No!" all the elders shouted in despair.
The formation was devoured by fire. A tremendous explosion erupted by the entrance to the Crystal Hall, causing even the thick fog surrounding the area to be dispelled.
A large number of skeletal dragons within the fog were sent reeling as well. By the outskirts of the Crystal Hall, many cultivators from other sects who were still attacking the skeletal dragons en masse were likewise struck down by the shockwaves from the explosion.
The cultivators gasped as they looked toward the heart of the explosion. They saw a mushroom cloud of gigantic proportions filling the air. The strength of the explosion left them all jittery.
"Was that an Immortal who struck?"
"Has the Crystal Hall exploded?!"
The cultivators looked into the distance in shock.
After the explosion, however, the fog slowly reappeared around the Crystal Hall.
A huge crater formed right outside the hall, but the barrier protecting the hall was completely unharmed.
Countless elders slumped to the ground in pools of blood, the majority of whom had suffered grievous injuries from the kamikaze explosion. Although they had attempted to muster as complete a defense as they could, it was useless. Some of the weakest elders died on the spot; even those that survived were at death's door.
Ku Jiang was the only one who reacted in time, shielding Zhao Yuanjiao and Xiao Nanfeng. The three of them suffered far minor injuries in comparison; they spat out mouthfuls of blood, but that was it.
"Thank you, Master!" Zhao Yuanjiao and Xiao Nanfeng shuddered at the destruction that Zhao Tianheng had wrought.
Ku Jiang was silent for long moments. "Zhao Tianheng deserved to die."
Just then, killing intent descended on them all. Without the protective barrier of the formation, the skeletal dragons that had been kept away now headed toward the Taiqing cultivators with renewed vigor.
"There are too many skeletal dragons coming!" Zhao Yuanjiao shouted.
"Don't worry," Xiao Nanfeng replied.
He raised Long Jiu's token high into the air, forcing the fastest skeletal dragons to stop short in a gale.
"Senior Brother, gather the elders around me!" Xiao Nanfeng immediately instructed.
"Understood!" Zhao Yuanjiao replied.
"This is draconic strength. You have the token of a draconic elder?" Ku Jiang exclaimed.
"I obtained this by chance, Master, and it was why I dared to explore the draconic palace alone," Xiao Nanfeng explained.
Ku Jiang nodded and didn't press further.
By then, Zhao Yuanjiao had managed to gather all the elders together.
"Master, another eight elders have died, and the others are hanging only by a thread. Although I've performed emergency treatment, they won't be able to last much longer without any support from pills and the like. I've secured all their storage treasures as well." Zhao Yuanjiao frowned.
"These storage treasures are artifacts that the elders have left behind in death. Bring them to the sect and we'll figure out how to deal with them. As for the elders that are still alive, treat them immediately. We'll bring them back to the sect at once," Ku Jiang explained.
"Yes, Master!" Zhao Yuanjiao replied.
"Master, how do you intend to leave the draconic palace?" Xiao Nanfeng asked curiously.
The formation around the draconic palace is one of gigantic proportions. We simply have to retrieve a single Immortal relic from the palace to allow us to leave from whichever barrier lies around it. Fortunately, I've claimed a rather corroded Immortal relic for myself during my travels. Now, follow me!" Ku Jiang instructed.
"Master, please leave without me. I still have unfinished business in the draconic palace, and cannot leave for the time being.
"You're going to stay?" Ku Jiang confirmed.
"Please don't worry, Master. I have the ability to protect myself."
"Very well. Be careful," Ku Jiang warned.
"Yes, Master!" Xiao Nanfeng replied.
Ku Jiang and Zhao Nanfeng headed into the air with the elders in tow. They passed through layers of fog and quickly arrived at the formation surrounding the entirety of the territory around the draconic palace. Ku Jiang retrieved a corroded Immortal relic and activated it slightly. Thne, he touched the barrier with that blueprint in hand. The seawater stilled, wrapped all the cultivators within, and caused them to vanish instantly.
Only after Xiao Nanfeng sent everyone off did he inspect his surroundings. Unfortunately, there was nothing left behind. Even the altar had been destroyed entirely.
"What a powerful barrier there is around the Crystal Hall, to have survived intact even despite such an explosion..." Xiao Nanfeng murmured.
Madam Rouge's projection appeared once more. She looked toward the multicolored barrier gleaming before her. Her eyes lit up in red.
"What I want is right inside. Bring me in there, now!" Madam Rouge wrote.
Xiao Nanfeng could sense Madam Rouge's anxiety. He didn't hesitate. He walked up to the barrier and touched it. It seemed just like the one outside the Ancestral Dragon's Hall.
"I wonder if this will work?"
He retrieved a vat of dragon's blood, the interest that he had taken from Ao Zhou. He smeared the blood over the barrier, whereupon it began to sizzle and melt, just like hot iron against snow.
"It will!" Xiao Nanfeng's eyes lit up as he smeared more blood over the barrier.
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