Qingzhou, the wild woods on the north side of Pingfeng Mountain.
As night continuously poured into the sky, mountain mist gradually rose in the dense forest, like thin gauze drifting between the mountain peaks.
In a wild lake here, frog croaks began to sound continuously, appearing somewhat agitated.
Just then, a convoy escorting four carriages was traveling through the dense forest under the cover of night. The people on the carriages all seemed to be wearing black cloaks, looking incredibly mysterious.
And on the cliffside of the convoy's direction, the twenty-seven Disciples of Lingjian Mountain, who had been lying in ambush here, all perked up, their sleepiness completely gone.
Several days ago, a team of outside travelers in Qingzhou mysteriously disappeared.
Zhuo Wanqiu received a secret order from the Sect, rushed here, and after continuous investigation, finally found some clues pointing to this mountain forest.
Subsequently, Junior Brother Song Ziheng from the Outer Courtyard of the Sect hurried over and met with them. The group had been secretly lurking here for three days, and now they had finally found traces.
However, at this moment, Zhuo Wanqiu noticed Junior Brother Song Ziheng quietly drawing his long sword.
“Junior Brother, what are you doing?”
“This is a golden opportunity, of course, I'm going to stop them and find out where they took the missing Disciples.”
Song Ziheng was already condensing Saber Qi, his eyes gleaming with cold light.
Zhuo Wanqiu frowned tightly: “Anyone capable of abducting thirteen outside travelers must have Upper Five Realms experts. The Sect's secret order is for us to keep a close watch here and not to alert the enemy!”
“Just subdue one, and perhaps we can extract useful information.”
“I am in charge of this mission. Is Junior Brother refusing to obey orders?”
Song Ziheng looked at Zhuo Wanqiu upon hearing this, and after a long silence, he released his grip on the sword hilt.
However, as the carriage got closer to the cliff, and its Qi could gradually be perceived, he couldn't help but secretly condense Saber Qi again.
Because he discovered that the five people accompanying the carriage were merely of the Ninghua Upper Realm, one Realm lower than him, who was at Junior Third Realm Completion.
He turned to look at Zhuo Wanqiu, and his Saber Qi continued to condense.
This Senior Sister might not know that he was the most talented Disciple in the Outer Courtyard of Lingjian Mountain.
Since entering the mountain, he had passed through the Sage Sword Intent Forest, and now he had gathered three Mystic Light. The Upper Five Realms was within reach, and a spot in the Inner Courtyard was as good as taken.
But the Inner Courtyard was merely a threshold. What Song Ziheng truly desired was a position as a direct Disciple of the three great Peak Masters.
When he came to Qingzhou, he had inquired and heard that this operation was personally overseen by a great figure from the mountain. He needed an opportunity for the Peak Master to notice him.
Just five Ninghua Upper Realm…
Song Ziheng gripped his sword hilt tightly, and at the very last moment before the convoy passed, he suddenly shot out. His Saber Qi descended from the air, and a sword light as dazzling as lightning instantly tore through the night.
The sword's edge swept past, and a sword hum vibrated, a head flew horizontally through the air.
He succeeded!
Song Ziheng immediately flew back with his sword, but unexpectedly, four gleaming long sabers immediately came at him, moving incredibly fast.
His Spiritual Qi surged beneath his feet, and he narrowly dodged, then laughed loudly and charged forward with his sword.
Amidst the clashing of sabers and swords, Killing Intent scattered in all directions.
The four saber wielders moved very swiftly, their saber lights forming dense nets that pressed forward, Saber Qi bursting forth with the force of splitting mountains.
Song Ziheng's eyes widened in fury, his long sword met the four sabers, and sparks flew amidst the surging Saber Qi, with the clang of metal echoing endlessly.
But with this clash, the smile on Song Ziheng's lips gradually solidified.
The Lower Three Realms are called the foundational Realms. The improvement of a Realm is essentially the improvement of speed and strength.
But at this moment, these four Ninghua Upper Realm practitioners displayed unusual Qi, each saber strike carrying a tearing force, and the saber wind was like a fierce gale.
Song Ziheng frantically circulated Spiritual Qi into his sword, and a fierce light erupted from his hand as he met the attack again.
And at the moment sparks flew, his heart instantly trembled.
Because he discovered that as the four opponents swung their sabers, a strong Evil Qi began to dissipate everywhere, and the sabers that came with mountain-splitting force became heavier with each strike, eventually weighing a thousand jin, almost shattering his hand bones.
He would die…
If this continued, he would surely die.
Song Ziheng's expression began to show fear, becoming more timid with each passing moment of the fight.
One saber, two sabers, three sabers… eight sabers!
Seeing the sabers before him become as heavy as mountains, Song Ziheng knew he absolutely could not withstand the next strike.
So, in his panic, he suddenly gathered a fierce Saber Qi and unleashed it, then turned and swiftly ran towards the cliff where everyone was hiding.
Zhuo Wanqiu watched the scene before her, furious, but she couldn't spare a moment for blame. She immediately drew her sword and charged forward.
“Damn it!”
“All Disciples, follow me to rescue them!”
The twenty-seven Disciples immediately soared through the air, their descending swords like bursting cold light.
The four saber wielders were indeed strange; their Physical Body strength was not at all what was expected of the Ninghua Upper Realm.
But even so, with the numerical disadvantage, the saber wielders had no time to gather their strength. Amidst the clanging sounds of clashing sabers and swords, they were steadily pushed back by the Disciples of Lingjian Mountain.
Zhuo Wanqiu's anxious heart eased slightly, thinking that although they had not followed the Sect's order, the situation still seemed controllable.
But at this moment, she vaguely saw a dazzling golden light rising into the air, like a giant golden wheel suspended, even melting the surrounding night.
At this moment, the coachman sitting in the first carriage had floated into the air, with Spiritual Qi radiating from his entire body.
“There’s more?!”
“Senior Sister, it’s a Rongdao Realm expert…”
In the dark mountain forest, everyone looked up, their faces ashen with disbelief.
They never dreamed that such a small convoy would have a Rongdao Realm expert serving as a coachman.
A trap?
No, impossible.
No one else knew about their ambush here; if not for Song Changheng, they wouldn't have been exposed.
Besides, if a Rongdao Realm expert wanted to kill them, what need would there be for a trap?
The only possibility was that this Rongdao Realm expert was truly just a coachman. What kind of convoy was this?
Amidst these continuous thoughts, Zhuo Wanqiu's face was illuminated deathly pale by the golden light of the sun before her, and she felt a fierce wind assailing her face, Killing Intent dancing in the night.
With a loud boom, a roaring Fist Intent suddenly descended, and the five Disciples who bore the brunt of it had their long swords shattered and were sent flying horizontally.
The Rongdao Realm expert in the cloak then gathered another punch, as if holding thunder and fire, like a Heavenly God.
“Go, hurry!”
“Senior Sister…”
“Leave quickly and report to the Sect.”
Zhuo Wanqiu swung her sword, gritting her teeth to resist the pressure before her, then swept her sword away.
This was undoubtedly suicide, Zhuo Wanqiu understood, and the Disciples behind her also understood.
However, at this moment, an even more powerful pressure suddenly rose from the distant mountain forest, causing the Rongdao Realm expert's body to stiffen abruptly.
The next moment, winds roared between the distant mountains, withered trees bent, and a massive Sword Intent rose into the air under the moonlight.
With a clear sword hum, the airborne Sword Intent shot out, directly injuring the Rongdao Realm expert and carving a deep sword mark into the mountain wall, causing earth waves to surge.
Once the dust settled, everyone discovered that the Rongdao Realm expert had lost an arm but was still alive, gasping for breath.
The Disciples of Lingjian Mountain turned their heads in astonishment and saw a woman soaring through the air, surrounded by Spiritual Light, graceful as an immortal.
She achieved Perfection at ten, and entered the Upper Five Realms the following year. No one ever dared to praise her as cute, because her attacks were Lingjian Mountain's sharpest swords.
Among the direct Disciples of the Seven Great Immortal Sects, she was the only one who had already wielded a Dao Sacred Artifact before becoming a Sect Master.
Because everyone knew that she represented Lingjian Mountain's prosperity or decline for the next hundred years.
She came from Shengjing tonight, and her first sword strike directly severed a Rongdao Realm expert.
The twenty-two Lingjian Mountain Disciples, stunned in place, quickly realized her identity and immediately knelt on one knee, but their faces still showed fear.
Everyone knew that a great figure from the Inner Courtyard of Lingjian Mountain was coming, but no one expected it to be Master Jian herself, who usually resided in the Cloud Top Palace.
“Don’t kneel, go save them first.”
“Then check if those four are completely dead. If they are, kill them a few more times. If they’re not, lock them up.”
“Other Disciples, go see what’s in the carriages.”
Yan Shuyi walked through the dust and earth waves, glanced at the Rongdao Realm expert embedded in the mountain wall who hadn't died yet, and waved her hand, pulling him down.
His cloak had been shattered, revealing a still relatively young face.
Seeing this face, Zhuo Wanqiu's face turned even paler: “It’s Chen Qinghe…”
Yan Shuyi turned to look at her: “You know him?”
“Reporting to Master Jian, he is an Outer Courtyard Disciple of the Chen Clan. I saw him two days ago at Lingjian Mountain’s Sword Inquiry Assembly, but… he was only at Junior Third Realm Completion then.”
“Two years to break through from Profound to Rongdao?”
Yan Shuyi frowned, finding it somewhat hard to believe.
Because she was publicly recognized as the fastest in this era, but even so, it took her five years to break through from Profound to Rongdao.
Zhuo Wanqiu looked at Chen Qinghe and found him flailing and struggling, seemingly without fear: “Master Jian, he… seems to be acting strangely.”
“Lock him up, then notify the Chen Clan. Tomorrow, I will go to question the mountain.”
“Question the mountain…”
Zhuo Wanqiu held her breath, immediately bowed and affirmed, then arranged for Disciples to send the severely injured Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters back to the mountain. She then ordered Chen Qingqiu, who had become like a wild beast, to be locked up and arranged for him to be sent to the Chen Clan overnight, and then to inspect the carriages.
The carriages were loaded with various uncommon Spiritual Plants.
“Uncommon” refers to those that do not aid in the cultivation Realm advancement of cultivators and are not listed in the Seven Great Immortal Sects’ cultivation records.
Some of them even carried strong toxins, such as Flowing Spring Grass and Sacred Yin Flower.
These clues were not enough to locate the missing Disciples; the only lead still pointed to the Chen Clan.
Yan Shuyi ordered everyone to record all the herbs in the carriage, and then saw someone hurrying over, it was Song Ziheng, who had just retreated to protect the group.
“Outer Courtyard Disciple Song Ziheng greets Master Jian. This Disciple just killed someone.”
“Is that so? But I saw you retreat.”
“This Disciple… This Disciple followed Senior Sister Zhuo’s orders, wanting to quickly return to the Sect to report to Master Jian.”
Yan Shuyi entered the Upper Five Realms at ten years old, and had already forgotten how weak Junior Third Realm Completion originally was, so weak that she could kill them with a wave of her hand.
But that guy was also just a Junior Third Realm Completion, so how dared he pinch her cheek and even audaciously praise her as cute?
She really should let him see that sword strike just now, to scare him into calling her Senior Sister.
“Someone, take Song Changheng’s jade token.”
“Master Jian, wait. Master Jian might not know, but I am currently the most talented Disciple in the Outer Courtyard.”
“You?”
Yan Shuyi looked at him twice, her brow slightly furrowed: “Then wouldn’t our Lingjian Mountain be far inferior to Tianshu Academy?”
(Readership surged, bowing to everyone, so happy I wrote an extra thousand words… orz)