Chapter 169 – Eight Peaks Protective Array

Back in the Daxia Sword Sect, Li Guanqi left the sect graveyard and rushed straight to Heavenly Lightning Peak. He transformed into a streak of light, moving far faster than if he had flown on a sword.

When he reached Li Nanting’s courtyard, he saw that many disciples of Heavenly Lightning Peak had gathered there. The moment they caught sight of him, they stepped aside to let him pass.

Li Guanqi descended and walked through the yard. As he passed by his senior brothers and sisters, each of them patted his shoulder, and some even offered words of comfort.

“Junior Brother, don’t worry! Sui’an is in a much better condition now.”

“Yeah! Junior Brother, you’ve brought our sect to great heights!”

“That was nothing at all! Don’t worry about it. We’re here to support you.”

Several hands reached out to ruffle his hair.

A warm current rose in his chest. It felt like sunlight melting the chill of a snowy day.

By the time he entered the room, his hair was a mess.

Li Nanting could not suppress his smile when he saw Li Guanqi. “You’re still like a kid even at your age, brat.”

Li Guanqi grinned. “Master, I’m not even fifteen yet. Two months to go.”

Then, Li Guanqi followed Li Nanting to a bed in the backyard.

Yu Sui’an lay there, her small body covered in a layer of medicinal paste. Her breathing was deep and even, her limbs wrapped tightly in thick bandages.

They had used a wooden board to fix her limbs and secured her to the bed with rope, afraid she might injure herself further if she moved. Watching the young girl occasionally furrow her brow in her restless sleep, Li Guanqi found himself taking a few deep breaths.

Li Nanting transmitted, “Sui’an’s body is still too weak, and her cultivation is too shallow. We don’t dare give her more healing pills. All we can do is grind them into powder and apply them as a paste. It’s the gentlest method. That said, the cracks in her dantian will be difficult to treat. Thankfully, the chief elder said he’ll think of a way so this doesn’t affect her path to immortality.”

Li Guanqi squatted next to the bed and nodded without a word. It was unclear what he was thinking.

Suddenly, the sky above the sect trembled with a loud rumble. Everyone turned their heads to look toward the sky beyond the sect barrier.

Li Nanting’s face turned pale. He stepped into the courtyard and glanced at the sky, then barked, “Mount your swords! Attack!”

Shouts of assent erupted. One after another, disciples leaped into the air on their swords.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

Whoosh whoosh!

All at once, white-robed cultivators soared out from the sect’s eight main peaks and three thousand cultivation peaks. Some of them were still wounded from the previous fight, but as long as they could move, they flew.

Whoosh whoosh!

Lu Kangnian stood atop Heavenly Sword Peak, gazing at the sky with narrowed eyes.

Rumble!

The constant explosions almost merged into one loud rumble.

Streaks of light of many colors shot out of the spatial tears. In the blink of an eye, a dozen gigantic cloud boats appeared a thousand zhang from the Daxia Sword Sect.

The Purple Sun Pavilion had decided to invade the Daxia Sword Sect at night.

Everyone had anticipated this, but the scale of the assault still shook them to their core. Even before the cloud boats fully emerged, hundreds of flying figures had already filled the sky.

Shen Ye could not help but furrow his brow. He muttered, “That’s not right! Since when did the Purple Sun Pavilion have so many Golden Core Realm disciples?!”

Judging by the number of cultivators in the air, the Purple Sun Pavilion had nearly twice as many Golden Core Realm disciples as the Daxia Sword Sect.

Shen Ye hurriedly pulled out his jade slip to report to Lu Kangnian, then began investigating the situation.

“Old Shen, this is not something you want to get involved in,” Lu Kangnian said.

He set down his jade slip, eyes gleaming. Then, with a firm squeeze, he shattered the jade slip. He didn’t want to drag the Zhenyue Mountain Sect into the Daxia Sword Sect’s fight.

Looking at the constant stream of Daxia Sword Sect disciples taking off, he exhaled deeply and muttered, “Purple Sun Pavilion... do your worst! Let’s see whether you’re strong enough to make us submit!”

Buzz!

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

The peak elders arrived in a flash. They all stood silently behind Lu Kangnian.

Buzz!

Lu Kangnian roared, “Protective array! Now!”

Light pillars of various colors burst forth from the eight peaks, converging in the sky and forming a thick, radiant barrier that enclosed the entire sect.

The terrifying light pillars left many speechless. Even a Golden Core Realm cultivator could easily tear a large hole in the Daxia Sword Sect’s usual barrier. This was something else entirely.

Ye Shaozhen stood aside, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth as he complained to the Azure Dragon Island Sect’s sect master. The rough-featured sect master glared back at him with undisguised hatred, wondering if he should just punch Ye Shaozhen like Shen Ye had done.

Ye Shaozhen was also stunned by what he saw. “T-that’s... the Daxia Sword Sect’s protective array? That barrier is strong enough to block a late Nascent Soul Realm cultivator’s maximum attack for over six hours!”

No one responded. The leaders of the Myriad Immortal Sword Sect, Soaring Heavens Sect, and Azure Dragon Island Sect all kept quiet, each lost in their own thoughts.

The Myriad Immortal Sword Sect was the oldest sect among them, with a history spanning three thousand years. No one knew how long the Daxia Sword Sect had truly existed, or what secrets lay buried within its depths.

Lu Kangnian and Ling Daoyan stepped out of the barrier and stood above it mid-air.

The space in front of them twisted, and a middle-aged man emerged.

Han Tiange, wearing Daoist robes that shimmered with a flowing green light, held a sword that radiated a bright golden radiance. He gazed calmly at them and asked, “Lu Kangnian, have you made up your mind?”

Lu Kangnian smirked and burst into laughter. “Han Tiange, what’s the point of such words when we’ve come this far? Let’s just fight!

Hehe

, you made your disciples force breakthroughs despite the risks just to fight us. As expected of the Purple Sun Pavilion!”

A hundred zhang away, Han Tiange met Lu Kangnian’s mockery with a cold smile, neither confirming nor denying his words.

Whoosh! Clang!

Han Tiange unsheathed his sword and pointed it at Lu Kangnian. “In that case, there’s nothing left to say.”

He turned to look far away and announced coldly, “Those who are watching, you’d better stay far away! Unless you want trouble, stay clear!”

The onlookers a thousand zhang away turned pale. After a moment of silence, they began retreating even farther.

Ling Daoyan chuckled beside Lu Kangnian and took a deep swig from his wine gourd. The spicy liquor poured down his throat like a fiery dragon. His face flushed red, and he grinned. “Little brat, I’ll gladly play with you again. But this time, the stakes are higher. You may die. If you’re just relying on your fancy magical treasure robes and magical treasure sword, I’m afraid it still won’t be enough!”

Boom!

The moment Ling Daoyan stepped forward, his aura erupted.

The weather changed instantly as wind howled around them. Lightning flashed and thunder roared across the sky.