Chapter 569: Oh, Qinglin

A young scholarly cultivator in a long robe bowed to countless figures from afar. Further into the distance, a fierce battle between powerful beings shook the very fabric of space endlessly. It destroyed qi planets one after another and sent innumerable streams of light sweeping through space. After several hundred years, the great war in this region was finally coming to an end.

The sword-wielding war slave remembered that when he had first exited the Realm of Exiled Immortals, he had just become a True Immortal. At the time, he, his master, martial uncles, and martial aunts followed their forefather to cultivate, receiving their complete and unreserved guidance. The Shu Sword Sect's immortals from the previous generation and even earlier generations had also come with them.

The young scholarly cultivator was their forefather and the creator of the Shu Sword Sect's Daoist heritage. He was also a Star Deity of the Heavenly Court, one of Ziwei's great generals, and the man who reigned over the Wenqu Star of the Big Dipper. Without him, their sect wouldn't have had generation after generation of disciples. The war slave himself might have only lived a few confused decades as an ordinary mortal, too.

Nevertheless, at that moment, he bowed to his disciples and descendants. Not only did it confuse them, but they also found it unbearable.

Hence, the Shu Mountains' army of over a thousand immortals returned the bow together. Their forefather sighed immediately after.

The swordsman's memory of it was so unexpectedly clear that he felt somewhat surprised.

The forefather said,

"I should be sheltering the Shu Sword Sect right now, but the Heavenly Court has suffered calamity. To repay the emperor's grace, I have allowed my selfishness to get the best of me and bring you all to this battlefield. I truly feel ashamed!

"Still, I am an immortal and a deity of the Heavenly Court. I have also received the emperor's recognition and become the Wenqu Star. In this battle, together with one hundred thousand soldiers, I bear the heavy responsibility and resolve to eliminate enemy reinforcements, even if it means sacrificing myself!

"I'm certain that fewer than one in ten will survive this fight! Since none of you are in the Heavenly Court Immortal Record, those who are unwilling to fight today may retreat and later tend to the wounded. Whatever choice you make is entirely reasonable!"

Even now, the swordsman could still remember the pain and hesitation on the forefather's face. The only response they received from the Shu Mountains' immortals was a single sentence.

"We swear to follow you, even unto death."

Afterward, their army followed closely behind the forefather, who led them and a hundred thousand heavenly soldiers into a fierce offensive against the enemy's reinforcements.

The region turned into a sea of blood as soon as the battle started. The fabric of space shattered and reformed repeatedly.

There were combatants with great divine ability who casually hurled qi stars, blood-colored Asura with sabers piercing through their bodies, and seemingly endless flashing streams of light.

Dao Heart, purity, ethereality, immortal spirit... All these words used to describe immortals had nothing to do with this battle.

The two armies, composed of Golden Immortal Realm generals and lower-realm soldiers, clashed and slaughtered each other for a single thread of survival.

The memories repeated and gradually blurred. The swordsman recalled depleting his immortal power and running out of alchemical pills. At that moment, the flying swords that he had nurtured shattered one after another, transforming back into sword cores and returning into him.

The next thing he remembered, the distant space once again shook violently, and brilliant sword radiance illuminated the entire battlefield.

He didn't know how much time had passed. Within the fragments of memory were nothing but endless enemies. He would cut down one wave, only for another to charge forward in an infinite, inexhaustible tide.

The swordsman wished to kill more of their enemies, but he had run out of immortal power. In the end, he could no longer hold on. He fell out of the advancing formation and got trapped within layers of enemy encirclement.

By then, he was already at the end of his strength. Even without the enemy troubling themselves to strike him down, he wouldn't have lived much longer.

After an indefinite amount of time, he heard the emperor's soft sigh echo across the entire battlefield. He knew then that they had still won despite being outnumbered ten to one.

This was the Heavenly Court. This was his Shu Mountains!

"All divisions, keep advancing! Break out of the battlefield before the enemy completes their encirclement!"

Finally, the swordsman calmly closed his eyes and waited for his slow death, just as he was about to do now.

He truly felt no resentment. Throughout the entire battle, he had never been a key figure, merely a reasonably strong True Immortal.

He only had two regrets. First was never getting the chance to use the final technique of the Sword-Controlling Art, which their forefather had passed down to them. For a true sword cultivator, that perfect sword strike would have been the most beautiful end.

The swordsman recalled that he had felt this way since then.

His second regret concerned a white fox and a past event. He had sealed Xi Lian. By now, Santong had likely rescued her.

The swordsman remembered that after sealing Little Lian, he had secretly given Santong some instructions before following the unit of heavenly soldiers and generals back.

A weary sigh rose in his heart. His eyes were about to close, but he still wanted to watch the flying sword over yonder just a little longer.

Considering he has a flying sword, perhaps he's a disciple of the Shu Sword Sect? Why is he here?

The swordsman suddenly felt as though he had spent countless years muddled and confused, with no memories preserved.

Oh, Qinglin, hold on just a little longer—just until the battle is over. I have to ask that young disciple whether the Heavenly Court has reclaimed its throne, whether our sect's immortals are safe, and whether the forefather is unharmed. I would also like to ask him whether the Shu Mountains are flourishing and whether Xi Lian and Santong are still well.

He would never get tired of seeing the flying sword's flowing light, within which faintly remained the image of a young girl dancing lightly in a bamboo grove. Unfortunately, it was increasingly blurred and never quite real.

The sword cultivator in the distance seemed unable to withstand his opponent's attacks. He struggled in bitter defense, with layers of shadows surrounding them. Seeing the shadows made an inexplicable sense of disgust rise in the war slave's heart, accompanied by a deep sense of familiarity.

At that moment, intense pain surged from the back of his head, piercing and stimulating his spirit. On the brink of death, he regained clarity for a brief moment.

What is this?

With great effort, the war slave raised his hand and reached toward the back of his head, touching the ends of the three jade nails. Starlight-like memory fragments once again surged in his mind, making his eyes widen violently in shock. Within the surfacing memories were scenes of individuals rescuing him, trapping him in solid ice with other people, and driving three jade nails into him to completely seal his Primordial Spirit!

They had treated his severely injured Dao Body as a puppet!

How could this have happened? Have the Heavenly Court, the forefather, the emperor, and all of the Shu Sword Sect's immortals been defeated? If the Heavenly Court has been wiped out, then who's guarding Earth?! Little Lian wouldn't have a place to stand!

A drop of bloody tear flowed from the corner of the war slave's eye. He struggled to raise both hands to clutch the back of his head and almost exhausted his final strength to adhere his palms to the nails.

However, he realized that if he pulled them out, his Primordial Spirit would collapse shortly after, eradicating all his chances to survive. Though the nails controlled his Dao Body, they also protected his severely injured and dying Primordial Spirit.

If I collapse, then so be it! I don't care if my ethereal soul scatters and my corporeal soul disperses! As the sect master of Shu Sword Sect, there's no way I can endure this humiliation!

"

Argh!

" he roared in pain, but it didn't reverberate.

Because of his extremely weak immortal power, he didn't draw the attention of the three beings locked in fierce battle.

***

Wang Sheng and Lishang stood back-to-back and relied on each other. Nevertheless, they were in an extremely dire situation.

Tan Lang's attacks were like a violent storm. Although they could still repel his attacks, he was ultimately suppressing them.

After only a short while of intense combat, Lishang had already suffered several more wounds. Wang Sheng's Dual-Polarity Sword Intent could barely protect him, yet he still attempted to use the Sword-Controlling Art to relieve some of the pressure on her.

Unfortunately, the two had no chance to counterattack against a powerful fiend cultivator like Tan Lang, who specialized in tempering his physical abilities.

Escape? There was nowhere to escape. A grand array surrounded them. Even Wang Sheng, who was usually optimistic, could not help but feel a trace of despair.

Lishang could no longer strengthen herself using the divine ability that she had used earlier, and the realm gap between Wang Sheng and Tan Lang was far too great. Barely able to defend themselves, they continuously accumulated internal injuries.

Gritting his teeth, Wang Sheng transmitted, "We have to risk it."

Lishang simply replied with a slightly weak "

Mm.

"

Risk doing what, though?

The two fell silent as they focused on dealing with the claws that kept appearing around them.

Each time an attack slammed into the circular barrier before Wang Sheng, the Tai Chi diagram that appeared within the circle strained and teetered on the verge of tearing apart. Moreover, whenever Lishang was struck, the impact transmitted through her back caused him intense discomfort.

He then recalled Yao Xingzi's divination. Though he never believed in fate, he found it frighteningly accurate. They truly were in a great calamity, with only a 10% chance of survival!

Wang Sheng didn't know how Yao Xingzi could be so confident about him being able to help Lishang survive this death tribulation, though. Right now, he was struggling to protect even himself.

How exactly had their location been exposed?

If the problem was still within the Xinghai Sect, then it might as well change its name to the "Traitor Sect"!

Lishang transmitted, "Elder Pi, can you still use that devastating sword technique of yours?"

"Yes. What's your plan?"

"If we're going to risk it anyway, then we might as well use every last drop of our strength at the same time! I'll use a secret technique to restrain him. Once I have, use your sword technique to hit his head and vital point. We have to kill him in one blow!"

"Alright!"

Lishang's seemingly endless arsenal of secret techniques astonished Wang Sheng. However, their plan had a huge flaw: they could hardly block Tan Lang's frenzied attacks. She couldn't get a large enough opening to use her secret technique.

After she failed several times, Wang Sheng decisively stepped forward and deliberately created an opening in his Dual-Polarity Sword Intent.

Tan Lang immediately launched a fierce attack from the left. When Wang Sheng's sword heart sensed it, Wang Sheng endured it and forcefully shoved Lishang, knocking her aside.

With all his strength, he blocked the claws tearing down at him. Thinking his best defense right now would be a strong offense, Flying Haze and the Flying Clouds circling him simultaneously tried to cut through Tan Lang's face.

The two had already driven the elder into a ferocious state, however. Completely ignoring the three flying swords attacking him, he continued pummeling Wang Sheng, which was precisely what Wang Sheng had predicted a moment earlier.

Wang Sheng barely avoided a claw from hitting his vital points, casually unleashed several Heavenly Ziwei Sword Art techniques, and forcibly blocked Tan Lang's follow-up attacks with Flying Cloud. The impact still blasted him away, though.

At first glance, Wang Sheng looked truly battered. A chunk of his left shoulder had been torn off, and he was also missing a large piece of flesh from the side of his right thigh. In truth, though, his wounds wouldn't slow him down for as long as he could endure the intense pain. After all, he had successfully kept his vital points from being injured.

Tan Lang naturally couldn't let him go. He vanished, reappeared behind Wang Sheng, and swung a claw straight at his forehead!

Already prepared for this outcome, Wang Sheng forcibly released his immortal power and controlled Flying Cloud. He leaned backward and pressed Flying Cloud's tip against Tan Lang's palm.

This situation was exactly the same as when Wang Sheng had fought Tan Lang a few moments ago.

At that moment, Lishang shrieked from dozens of meters away, then raised her hands high as if praying for something. Golden light burst from her eyes. A golden beam bizarrely shone upon Tan Lang, who was charging toward Wang Sheng, and froze him in place!

Lishang had just used Heaven and Earth Confinement, a secret art of Nuwa's descendants!