Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
Seawater poured into the deep trench, filling the dint on the seabed. Huang Taichong and the Elders of the Ruan clan were plundering the remnants of the Blue-blooded People. On the other hand, He Qi was searching for any items that contained the breath of Gao Qianyuan of the Formless Sword Vermin lineage in preparation for future pursuit.
Old Master Ruan tucked his hands inside his sleeves again. Sorrow and indescribable conflict were evident in his eyes as he stared at the calm and composed Master of the Wang family. He relayed his voice to the latter telepathically, asking, “What did you tell him?”
Old Master Ruan had pondered much after discovering traces of the Blue-blooded People. Only then did he decide to seek help from the Wang family. He revealed every detail of how their family came to lose the Zither of Limbo. That was because only the Book of Luo could help him find the Blue-blooded People as soon as possible and recover the Zither of Limbo. Even if he had no shortage of auguring methods, it was impossible for him to solve this problem alone so efficiently. If this dragged on, the Blue-blooded People may very well flee the way their High Priest disappeared alongside the great tower into the vast starry sky. When that happened, pursuit would be difficult.
The Master of the Wang family finally agreed to help after Old Master Ruan paid the great price of injuring his family’s Vital Qi. The former confirmed that the Zither of Limbo was indeed in the hands of the Blue-blooded People through auguring. This convinced him of the steely determination of Old Master Ruan to go all out against the Blue-blooded People.
Even so, Old Master Ruan never expected to see the Blue-blooded People residing in the outside world of Green and Darkness, their emergence from the depths of the starry sky, and them triggering the great tower at a crucial point of the battle to escape without a trace. He himself had thought he could rely on luck and assumed the Zither of Limbo was inside this trench. Thus, he failed to enter the great tower, suppress the High Priest, and disappear along with the tower. He could only watch helplessly as Third Childe of the Ruan clan threw himself into danger.
With his wisdom and sight, it was not difficult for him to guess what the Master of the Wang family told his son, so much so that the latter did not even hesitate and threw himself straight to his burial ground.
Moreover, the Master of the Wang family obviously held back in the final moments of the battle. He did not demonstrate the true powers of the Book of Luo.
“This is the only chance to recover the Zither of Limbo.” The Master of the Wang family was firm in his conviction.
If the likes of Old Master Ruan entered the great tower and headed for that place, that certain someone might awaken in advance!
He was a few years shy of his fifties yet to this day, he had yet to achieve the Half-step to Dharmakaya realm. Death seemed to be set in stone for him, which was why he viewed life and death with such indifference.
Old Master Ruan was momentarily stunned. He looked as if he had suddenly aged many years. He then sang a verse from a song.
“Thou azure Heaven there! Thou art destroying our good men. Could he have been redeemed, we should have given a hundred lives for him!”
He sang the verse with a meaning that differed from the original. He wanted to give up a hundred lives all so Ruan Chengde could be revived.
“Given a hundred lives for him…” He Qi glanced over at the two old men. “The Ruan clan sure is mad and willful about their emotions. They spare their reputation no thought at all.”
With the end of the song, Old Master Ruan became calm again. He solemnly said,
“We shall return to Langya!”
Since the Third Childe did not have the ability to leave the Green and Darkness, the likeliest place for the Zither of Limbo to appear would be the vicinity of Langya.
The Master of the Wang family nodded gently in agreement. This boosted the confidence of Old Master Ruan even more.
…
“Zither of Limbo!”
Inside the Ruan family manor, simultaneous verbal and mental cries came from the Exterior experts. They could finally sense that familiar breath.
“Zither of Limbo!”
Quiet cries came from the concealed Exterior masters inside and outside the city of Langya as well. Some of them were Heterodox Demons hiding in the city—those with ulterior motives hoping to benefit from the battle between the Ruan clan and the Blue-blooded People, as well as a considerable number of masters ranked on the Black List.
Most of them did not know how the family lost their divine weapon but they were certain the breath coming from a distance belonged to the weapon.
The grandmaster holding down the fort, Ruan Bogao, abruptly rose to his feet and was about to trigger the family’s final trick—the mausoleum of the Immortal Venerable of Snow Mountain Sect, the final trick of the boundless Abyss Sea of Infinity of Jin Gang Temple!
Opportunities wait for no man. The fleeting moment passed. Just as he was about to move, he noticed a dark blue water radiance soaring into midair and charge straight for the Zither of Limbo.
“It’s the Blue-blooded People! He has nine fingers!” He saw red when he recognized the enemy.
There seemed to be something off with the Zither of Limbo as if it was resisting or wearing down something. If the Blue-blooded Person got his hands on the zither, he could escape far away with it without a trace.
There was no time to use the family’s final trick at all!
Making a lightning-fast decision, he sent the sound of zither rising into the air. Binding the radiance, it flew straight into the firmament.
The multi-colored phoenix flew in spirals, frightening the Vital Spirit of the nine-fingered blue-blooded man. His movement staggered as he watched the purple flames ignite half of the sky.
Nearly at the same time, the Exterior experts of the Ruan clan took over the grand formation and activated it to cover the entire manor. This was to prevent other people from taking advantage of the situation and attacking.
The activation of the city formation of Langya was slower as it was under the control of Six Fan School. Rays of light rushed out of the city, all of them surly and unreasoning as they tried to get their hands on the treasure.
The Ruan clan feared nothing. Even if a majority of their Peerless Master Pros and ordinary Exterior experts were stationed in “important estates in the city” and “locations of exotic minerals and produce” respectively, there were at least five Peerless Master Pros and more than a dozen ordinary Exterior experts at home. They were one of the most influential families, after all. They had more than enough masters to suppress these little pests.
The multi-colored phoenix flew toward the nine-fingered Blue-blooded man. While strumming his zither with both hands, Ruan Bogao was biting the tip of his tongue so hard that it bled.
Blood Essence burned and turned into a red mist, spreading toward the Zither of Limbo, in an attempt to give it a helping hand.
The experienced Ruan Bogao rarely participated in Jianghu in recent years. Even so, at this moment it was apparent to him that he was evenly-matched with this nine-fingered Blue-blooded man. Moreover, he was at a disadvantage because he was forced to divide his attention in order to resist the man’s water-manipulating ability. If he instantly reached for the Zither of Limbo, the man would most certainly try and stop him. Thus, he decided to focus on stopping the man instead. Using the Blood Essence as a guide, he helped the Zither of Limbo to wear down the unusual breath as quickly as possible.
Once the zither recovered its spiritual nature and might as a divine weapon, the nine-fingered man would have essentially no chance of success. None of those masters harboring ulterior motives would dare to make an appearance either.
As expected, a peculiar token appeared in the hand of the nine-fingered man. The token resembled a dirk yet was not a dirk. Its surface was carved with numerous strange insect-like patterns.
Sword Qi surged, cutting through the sea of fire. The nine-fingered man’s Vital Spirit recovered from the effects of the zither tune, allowing him to unleash his Dharma Form which was a large insect.
Then his body and Dharma Form shattered simultaneously to turn into droplet-like tiny blue Gu Poison Bugs. With the aid of the token, the countless bugs disappeared into the sea of Vital Qi.
Unlike the old man surnamed Gao, the nine-fingered man could only achieve a complete cohesion with the sea of Vital Qi and prevent others from discovering the bugs. He left behind some tracks, which Ruan Bogao’s sharp consciousness detected instantly.
“He can merge into the sea of Vital Qi and enter someone else’s body through engulfing and expelling Vital Qi?” Ruan Bogao’s eyes froze and his zither tune took a sharp turn. The firmament turned a different color and the sea of Vital Qi ripped apart. The Vital Qi that was rushing toward him were forced to undulate away from him.
“This isn’t a long-term countermeasure!” His absorption and exhalation of Vital Qi were already at its lowest. His zither tune continued to change, shaking the void around him and affecting both the enemy and his own people. He tried to directly influence the nine-fingered man’s Vital Spirit.
The specks of dark blue in the air became apparent. The nine-fingered man relied on the token to forcefully endure the zither tune. The Sword Vermin, hovering between manifestation and concealment, came attacking in an unimaginable manner.
For a moment, the two of them were deadlocked.
Suddenly, a decayed figure with a black robe draped over his shoulders made an appearance near the Zither of Limbo. He was brimming with the dust accumulated with the passage of time.
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He laughed hoarsely.
“One rests in his home and a treasure abruptly falls from the heavens.
“If one doesn’t accept the gift that the heavens have sent, one would suffer the consequences!”
The long-lost divine weapon was an extraordinary artifact capable of direct absorption. While speaking, the black-robed man extended his right hand. The hand exploded in size, turning into an immense palm that grasped at the zither.
“The Oracle of the Covenant!” Ruan Bogao’s consciousness trembled and he nearly failed to block the nine-fingered man’s attack. Neither did he manage to use his zither tune to affect his surroundings in time.
The black-robed man with decayed breath was none other than the Oracle of the Covenant of Luo Denomination, a peak Exterior expert who ranked fifth on the Black List and 26th on the Terrestrial Rankings.
It was his duty as the overseer of Luo Denomination’s affairs in River East to come here for a look when the Ruan clan was going all out this time. He did not expect to see the Zither of Limbo falling from the sky, and in a condition of deep sleep at that. Since it was an item that he could get, naturally he would not let it slip out of his hands.
With a strange smile, the Oracle of the Covenant stretched his immense palm toward the zither without any hesitation.
His fingers were inches away from the zither. Out of nowhere, an item appeared in front of his palm. It was a shabby alms bowl.
Clang!
The alms bowl emitted a crisp sound. A simple, honest-looking monk with a thieving glint in his eyes was hovering in midair as he saluted the Oracle with one hand. “Amitabha. I desperately need this item to win back what I’ve lost. I humbly request that you give it to me in the name of charity.”
“Friar Jiedu, I’ll give you another item to recoup your losses!” Though the Oracle was stronger than the monk, he did not want to get caught in a battle with the latter. He made a prompt decision to entice the monk with something else instead.
The monk looked conflicted. “How can I let greed blind me in front of so many staring eyes? I’d be better off obtaining the Zither of Limbo and trading a treasure for it with the Ruan clan.”
“So you’ll let greed blind you if no one is looking?” The Oracle had yet to meet such a shameless monk. He was so mad that he nearly spat blood. He unleashed his skill and the image of God appeared behind him. The two-headed and six-armed God was holding a White Lotus Book. The entire sky was filled with the drifting sounds of scripture to combat Friar Jiedu. The Zither of Limbo began to fly on a track that deviated from Langya.
Seeing the ferocious battles that the four grandmasters were locked in, the remaining masters began to make a move to snatch the zither.
This was their chance!
With only the Master of the Ruan clan staying behind to guard the grand formation, the other Peerless Master Pros flew out of Langya and charged straight into the sky.
The activation of the final trick of the Ruan clan required the ability of grandmasters.
Right at this moment, five Blue-blooded People materialized in midair. Behind their leader was a Dharma Form in the shape of a sword condensed out of countless fluttering bugs. The leader, emitting the breath of a Peerless Master Pro, arrogantly said,
“Those who are beneath the level of grandmaster, who among you dare to come near?”
The masters harboring ulterior motives instantly stopped in their tracks upon hearing these words.
“That’s right! The Blue-blooded People can manipulate water. Without the realm of a grandmaster and a skill that can restrain their ability, death is certain when faced with Blue-blooded People at the same level. This isn’t a numbers game. Moreover, there are currently two Blue-blooded People in the peak of the Exterior realm in the air. If we go forward to snatch the zither, wouldn’t it be the same as throwing our lives away?”
No matter how precious the treasure was, it was not worth their lives!
They exchanged looks and realized none of them possessed a skill, secret technique, or treasure to restrain the Blue-blooded People. Even if there were those ranked in the Black List among them, they were not grandmasters. They had no choice but to give up their dream of obtaining the zither and retreat. This even caused slight hesitation in the Peerless Master Pros of the Ruan clan. Without preparation, few could embrace the possibility of death with ease.
The leader of the Blue-blooded People laughed heartily.
“What a bunch of cowards!”
He turned around to retrieve the zither.
Over on the west hill of Langya, Wang Siyuan’s expression changed from a pale white to a withered yellow. He rose to his feet and unsheathed his sword.
What he had been waiting for was finally here!
“Young Master!” His servant girl was appalled and inconsolable.
Wang Siyuan smiled at her. “Don’t worry. I’m currently lacking water in my Five Elements.”
“What a bunch of cowards!” When these words entered the ears of the Peerless Master Pros of the Ruan clan, they saw red and their breathing turned haggard. They exchanged looks and saw in each other’s eyes the determination to succeed even at the cost of their lives.
Just as they were preparing to make their moves, they heard a crisp clanging sound as if a long saber was being unsheathed.
Chink!
Dragon’s Cry resounded in everyone’s ears as if something terrifying had broken free of its binds.
An incredibly splendid purple ripped the vast sky open and engulfed the Dharma Form of the leader of the Blue-blooded People.
Bang, bang, bang!
The explosive sounds of collision rang out incessantly. A Blue-blooded figure with translucent skin flew out from the rays of light. His body was worn-out as if it was a ball of water that had been jabbed countless times. It was a pathetic sight.
The long saber catapulted upward as the sound of thunder filled the entire sky. The saber then condensed into a sharp point.
Kaboom!
The saber fell. In the middle of the void somewhere, the strong and boundless sound of thunder covered half the sky domineeringly. It submerged the four remaining Blue-blooded Exterior experts.
Kaboom!
The sea of thunder disappeared, leaving only a single Blue-blooded master in the air. The Dharma Form behind him turned into a vortex and his body was withered and dried as if he was thoroughly dehydrated.
He despaired at the sight before him, unable to answer the questions in his mind.
“How is this possible?
“Impossible!
“How could water manipulation be ineffective against them?”
Nearby, the black-clothed Meng Qi stood proudly in the void with his saber in hand. With the corner of his mouth curved, he bared his white teeth as he said,
“You coward! Do you have still anyone else coming to your aid? I can take down 10 of them!”