Chapter 432: Going Home |
Tianbao Upper Sect, Main Peak.
Inside the Myriad Manifestations Return to Truth Hall, sandalwood incense still curled upward, the green smoke rising straight up. Deep within the hall, jade life tablets were quietly arrayed.
Disciple on duty Li Yi had completed his daily routine inspection and was preparing to leave.
Just at this moment!
"Crack... crack..."
An extremely faint shattering sound suddenly pierced through the hall's silence.
Li Yi's footsteps abruptly halted, his heart inexplicably jumping.
This sound came from the life tablet rack!
He whirled around, his gaze urgently sweeping across that forest of jade tablets, carefully examining the fluctuations of each life tablet.
He saw that a jade tablet that had originally been intact was now covered with spiderweb-like cracks!
On the jade tablet, the three ancient characters "Luo Zhixian" remained clear, but the spiritual light had completely dimmed.
"This... how is this possible?!"
Li Yi's face instantly turned paper white, a chill rising from the soles of his feet straight to the crown of his head, the blood in his entire body seeming to freeze in this moment.
Luo Zhixian!
The Peak Master of Myriad Techniques Peak, one of the six top experts of Heavenly Pivot Pavilion, a pillar supporting the heavens for the sect!
His spear Dao cultivation was the best in Yan Kingdom, his prestige so great it was barely below the sect master's!
Such an existence... his life tablet shattered?
Li Yi felt his scalp tingle, his entire body stiff. He stood frozen for several breaths before suddenly coming to his senses.
He dared not delay in the slightest. Trembling, he reached out his hand and carefully took down that jade tablet covered in cracks.
"Peak Master Luo has fallen?!"
Li Yi's voice carried shock and trembling.
He clutched that shattered life tablet tightly, turned around, and rushed out of the Myriad Manifestations Return to Truth Hall at the fastest speed, running wildly toward the depths of the great hall!
His footsteps echoed in the empty hall, sounding particularly jarring and alarming.
"Elder Yan! Elder Yan!"
Li Yi's voice carried a sobbing tone as he rushed to the long table and dropped to his knees with a "thud," raising the shattered life tablet high with both hands.
"Peak Master Luo... Peak Master Luo's life tablet... has shattered!"
Main Peak's rear hall, inside the quiet chamber.
Jiang Lishan sat cross-legged, his aura merging with heaven and earth.
In his hands he held a yellowed ancestral master's notebook, which contained records of successive sect masters' insights on cultivation and exploration of the Tianbao Tower.
These notebooks were among the sect's highest secrets, only accessible to the sect master.
Jiang Lishan was immersed in a passage discussing "Heaven-Connecting Spirit Treasure Origin Resonance," his brow slightly furrowed, seemingly comprehending some crucial point.
Just at this moment, Gong Nansong's urgent voice came from outside the door, interrupting Jiang Lishan's contemplation.
"Sect Master! Something terrible has happened!"
Jiang Lishan's brow furrowed.
As an elder of the Main Peak, Gong Nansong had always been steady. For him to lose his composure like this, it must be an earth-shattering matter.
He quickly closed the notebook, put it in his robe, and with a movement of his figure, appeared outside the quiet chamber.
"What matter causes such panic?" Jiang Lishan asked in a deep voice, his gaze falling on the pale-faced Gong Nansong.
Gong Nansong bowed and his voice trembled, "Sect Master, Elder Yan from the Myriad Manifestations Return to Truth Hall sent urgent news. Peak Master Luo's life tablet... has shattered!"
Jiang Lishan's pupils suddenly contracted!
"Is this truly so?"
His voice remained steady, but deep in his eyes, a ripple spread.
Luo Zhixian was dead?
How could this be possible!
What kind of person was Luo Zhixian?
His spear Dao had reached the transformation realm, his strength unfathomable. He had long stood at the peak of Grandmasters, only one step away from entering the mysterious realm above Grandmaster.
How could such an expert have his life tablet shatter and die with his Dao extinguished?
Could it be... that an existence transcending Grandmaster had secretly acted?
"Absolutely certain!" Gong Nansong said urgently, "Elder Yan personally transmitted the message, saying that life tablet is covered in cracks, its spiritual light completely scattered, almost completely shattered! Peak Master Luo has likely already fallen!"
Jiang Lishan was silent for a moment, the aura around his body suddenly becoming as heavy and deep as an abyss.
"Let's go to the Myriad Manifestations Return to Truth Hall."
He spoke no more words. His figure transformed into a golden light and swept out of the hall first.
Gong Nansong hurriedly followed.
Myriad Techniques Peak Master Luo Zhixian has died!
This news was like a thunderbolt from a clear sky, instantly exploding throughout all of Tianbao Upper Sect!
What happened in the Myriad Manifestations Return to Truth Hall simply couldn't be concealed.
In less than half an incense stick's time, it swept like a storm through the nine inner peaks and even the outer twenty-seven peaks!
Tianbao Upper Sect's Myriad Techniques Peak Master, the spear Dao Grandmaster publicly recognized by Yan Kingdom's jianghu!
Such a figure had actually fallen?
Countless disciples, stewards, and elders, upon first hearing this news, all had the same initial reaction of disbelief.
But soon, as more and more details spread, a heavy pall of gloom slowly enveloped all of Tianbao Upper Sect.
"Dong—Dong—Dong—"
From the Main Peak's bell tower, seven heavy and distant bell tolls slowly rang out, echoing among the mountain ranges, penetrating the cloud layers, spreading to every corner of Tianbao City.
Seven bell tolls!
Within the sect, only matters concerning the sect's fortune, such as a sect master's inauguration or a Grandmaster's fall, would trigger seven bell tolls!
The last seven tolls had been over a hundred years ago when Jiang Lishan assumed the position of sect master.
And today's seven tolls, what they signified, everyone understood clearly.
It definitely wasn't a new sect master's inauguration!
Within Tianbao City, various factions, millennium-old clans, lurking spies... all were shaken!
Countless gazes, filled with shock and uncertainty, turned toward the direction of Tianbao Upper Sect's mountain gate.
What exactly had happened?
To make Tianbao Upper Sect ring seven tolls?
Prison Peak, the sixth level of Blackwater Abyss Prison.
Hua Yunfeng's hunched body sat cross-legged on the ground, the aura around him faintly connected with this dark stone chamber.
His eyes were slightly closed.
However, at this moment, those seven heavy bell tolls penetrated layer upon layer of rock walls, distantly transmitting into this deepest level of Prison Peak.
Hua Yunfeng's sunken eyelids moved slightly.
He slowly opened his eyes. In those ancient well-like pupils, a trace of doubt flashed.
Seven tolls?
Aside from Jiang Lishan, no one in all of Tianbao Upper Sect understood the meaning of these seven bell tolls better than him.
Just as his thoughts turned, a voice transmission directly sounded in his sea of consciousness, "Benefactor Hua, a change has occurred in your esteemed sect... That Benefactor Luo has passed."
The transmission came from Qiku below.
The voice remained peaceful, yet carried a trace of sigh.
Hua Yunfeng's entire body suddenly trembled!
Senior Brother Luo... has passed?
He sat stunned in place, his withered body seeming to transform into a stone sculpture.
For a long while.
An indescribable chill surged from the deepest part of his heart, instantly spreading to all his limbs and bones.
Immediately following was overwhelming remorse, heart-rending pain!
"..."
An extremely suppressed roar, as if squeezed from the deepest part of his chest, rolled in Hua Yunfeng's throat.
His hunched body began to tremble slightly.
The next moment—
"Boom—!!!"
A vast, incomparably sharp and terrifying sword qi suddenly exploded from within Hua Yunfeng's hunched body, surging toward the sky!
The sword qi was gray-black in color, condensed like solid matter. It instantly pierced through the sixth level's rock ceiling, penetrated the fifth level's malevolent qi, tore through the fourth level's prison, and finally burst forth boldly from Prison Peak's summit, shooting straight into the nine heavens!
"Crack—!!!"
Above Prison Peak, the heavy cloud layer was forcibly torn apart by this sword qi!
The sea of clouds churned, parting to both sides, revealing a line of azure sky washed clean.
Sunlight fell through the gap, shining on Prison Peak, yet unable to dispel that fierce sword intent and mournful qi filling heaven and earth.
This sword qi was so strong, so magnificent, so pure that all swordsmen within the entire Tianbao Upper Sect range felt their hearts and spirits tremble, their long swords spontaneously humming!
On the Main Peak, Jiang Lishan, Han Guxi, Ke Tianzong, who had just arrived outside the Myriad Manifestations Return to Truth Hall, and Su Muyun, who had rushed over upon hearing the news, simultaneously looked up toward Prison Peak's direction.
The faces of all four Grandmasters showed extreme solemnity.
"Senior Brother Hua, he..."
Ke Tianzong murmured, a trace of complexity flashing through his eyes.
Han Guxi remained silent, only the hand in his sleeve clenching slightly.
He knew that this volcano that had been dormant for a hundred years... would inevitably erupt.
Hidden Peak, quiet courtyard.
Xu Min wore a plain white dress, sitting on a stone stool in the courtyard, her delicate hands holding a teapot, leisurely pouring tea.
The tea was clear and bright, its fragrance curling upward.
At her side stood an old man with his hands lowered, his features simple and ancient, his aura as heavy and condensed as a mountain.
This old man was precisely the "Brother Guo" from Han Guxi's words.
Those seven bell tolls from earlier had naturally also reached Hidden Peak.
Xu Min's tea-pouring motion paused slightly, then resumed as normal.
Guo Ming's expression was respectful. He raised his head toward Prison Peak's direction and slowly said, "This sword qi fills heaven and earth, condensed without dispersing. The sword intent's purity has reached the transformation realm. Hua Yunfeng... is truly formidable."
Xu Min lifted her teacup and took a light sip before speaking, "Hua Yunfeng is a person whose sword heart is clear and bright. He was originally a rare sword Dao prodigy in Tianbao Upper Sect. If not for that incident back then, which caused him to willingly draw boundaries as his prison and remain confined to Prison Peak, his fame would be even more resounding now."
She gently set down the teacup. "What he lacks compared to Xiao Jiuli has never been sword Dao cultivation."
"It's merely a 'Vast Sea Floating Light Sword.'"
Hearing this, Uncle Guo was silent for a moment before slowly saying, "Master's eyesight is penetrating. However, with Hua Yunfeng's sword qi now soaring to the sky, his mournful intent overwhelming, I fear... he is about to emerge from seclusion."
Xu Min set down her teacup, gazing toward the Main Peak's direction, not knowing what she was thinking.
Eighty li outside Crimson Sand Town.
Yellow sand stretched to the sky, the wind sounding like weeping.
Li Yujun led the Tianbao Upper Sect group, rapidly flying through the sandstorm that filled the sky.
Her Azure Water Sword hovered at her side, the sword body trembling slightly. Her divine sense spread like a net, anxiously searching for traces of Luo Zhixian and Chen Qing's auras.
Although Li Qingyu's earth-shaking "self-detonation" earlier had been seen through as a smokescreen, the dispersing aftershock was still terrifying, completely disrupting the already chaotic battlefield.
Li Yujun made a prompt decision, protecting Nan Zhuoran and the others as they first retreated to a relatively safe location. When the sandstorm subsided slightly, she immediately returned to search.
"Senior Brother..."
Li Yujun's heart was anxious, her speed increasing further.
She knew well that Luo Zhixian's final forced mobilization of True Origin to flee with Chen Qing must have exacted an enormous price. That scene of malevolent qi entering his body remained vivid in her mind.
Just at this moment, the edge of her divine sense suddenly trembled!
About five li ahead, in a relatively gentle sand dune area, an aura flickered faintly.
"Over there!"
Li Yujun's figure suddenly accelerated, rushing swiftly toward the direction she sensed.
Nan Zhuoran, Luo Ping, and others closely followed, each face grave.
In just over ten breaths, everyone passed over the last sand ridge.
The scene before their eyes caused everyone's figures to suddenly halt.
In the vast yellow sand, a solitary figure was walking forward step by step with difficulty.
It was Chen Qing.
On his back, secured simply with torn cloth from his robe, was a person.
It was Luo Zhixian.
At this moment, that old man leaned powerlessly against Chen Qing's shoulder, his gray robe tattered.
His eyes were tightly closed, his expression so peaceful as if he were merely sleeping, but there was no longer half a trace of life force on his body.
Chen Qing walked very slowly.
His footsteps sank deeply into the sand. The fierce wind rolled up sand grains that struck his face, yet he seemed unaware, only lowering his head, his gaze fixed on the sea of sand ahead that seemed to have no end.
The setting sun descended in the west, stretching his solitary shadow very long, very long, casting it on the undulating sand dunes.
Heaven and earth were desolate, with only the wind's mournful sound.
"Chen Qing!"
Li Yujun instantly landed in front of Chen Qing, her gaze urgently sweeping toward Luo Zhixian. "How is Senior Brother?"
Chen Qing stopped walking and slowly raised his head.
His face was covered in sand and dust, his eye sockets red, yet they were so dry there wasn't a single tear.
He looked at Li Yujun, his lips moving several times. "Master has passed."
Boom!
As if a thunderbolt had struck her heart, Li Yujun's entire body violently shook, her face turning deathly pale with a "whoosh."
"No... impossible!"
She cried out softly, rushing forward one step, her trembling hand reaching toward Luo Zhixian's neck.
Ice cold.
No pulse beating whatsoever.
She quickly pressed toward Luo Zhixian's heart, her divine sense desperately probing into his body. His qi sea was depleted, his meridians severed inch by inch. That martial Dao Golden Core was now dim and lightless, its surface even more tightly wrapped and eroded by a layer of dense, inky black malevolent qi that wouldn't disperse. All life force was extinguished.
"How could... how could this be?!"
Li Yujun shook her head repeatedly, her eyes full of disbelief. "No matter how powerful that malevolent qi, Senior Brother is a Grandmaster at perfection, with will like iron, divine sense manifested in form, his martial Dao Golden Core only one step away from condensing a primordial spirit... How could he not resist? How could...!"
She had personally witnessed Luo Zhixian's cultivation. When that Fourth Layer Spear Domain expanded, its magnificent heavenly might was enough to make Grandmasters of the same rank submit in their hearts.
Although earthly malevolent qi was certainly strange and domineering, with Luo Zhixian's cultivation already reaching the mysterious realm, how could he...
Chen Qing remained silent, only gently lifting the master on his back slightly higher, his movements careful and meticulous, as if afraid of disturbing his sleep.
Nan Zhuoran, Luo Ping, Zhang Baicheng, Huo Qiushui, and others had now also arrived nearby. Seeing this scene, all changed color, their faces showing deep grief and shock.
Peak Master Luo... had truly fallen?
That Luo Zhixian, who had suppressed Yan Kingdom with his spear and was hailed as a pillar supporting the heavens for Tianbao Upper Sect, had really fallen on this desolate desert?
Nan Zhuoran's heart surged with indescribable complex emotions.
No matter what, Luo Zhixian was from the Nine Heavens lineage.
Luo Ping sighed deeply, stepped forward, and said in a low voice, "Lineage Master Li, this place remains dangerous and uncertain. Although the Jinting and Ghost Witch Sect people have retreated, we cannot guarantee they won't return. The urgent matter is to first escort Peak Master Luo's... remains back to the sect."
Zhang Baicheng and Huo Qiushui also silently nodded, their expressions solemn.
Li Yujun bit her lower lip fiercely until she tasted blood in her mouth, then suddenly snapped back to awareness.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"Zhuoran," her voice was hoarse.
"Disciple is here," Nan Zhuoran bowed.
"Transmit a message to the sect, reporting... Senior Brother Luo's matter."
Li Yujun spoke each word with extreme difficulty. "Request the sect master make early preparations."
Hearing the order, Nan Zhuoran stood solemnly and said gravely, "Yes."
Before his words fell, the True Origin within his body had already been mobilized through the secret method.
A thought shot out like an arrow from a bowstring, penetrating through, reaching directly to the nearest node in the sect's intelligence network.
"Everyone return to the sect."
Li Yujun waved her sleeve, and several azure sword lights shot out, circling in the nearby sandy ground for a moment. Soon they found several Golden Feather Eagles that had hidden during the sandstorm.
These spirit birds were quite intelligent. Although frightened, sensing familiar auras, they were quickly soothed.
Everyone carefully placed Luo Zhixian's remains on the back of the sturdiest Golden Feather Eagle, padding and securing them with cloth.
Chen Qing insisted on riding with this eagle, staying by his master's side.
"Screech—!"
The Golden Feather Eagles spread their wings. Their massive wingspans beat the air currents, stirring up sand and dust. Carrying the Tianbao Upper Sect group, they rose with vibrating wings toward where Tianbao Upper Sect was located.
Chen Qing sat on the eagle's back, supporting his master's body, his gaze looking down at the vast desert rapidly receding beneath his feet.
The wind howled in his ears, yet couldn't blow away the coldness in his heart.
"Master, we're going home."
Chen Qing said softly.
For Luo Zhixian, who had drifted all his life and been solitary for half of it, these towering mountain ranges, this sect he had guarded for a hundred years, were his only place to return.