Volume 1, Chapter 23: Seeking Justice, Bringing Shame Upon Me

The disciples of the Lingshan Sect stared at Long Teng’s back with eyes full of worship, shock, fear, anger, and jealousy.

Within the entire Shadowless Sword Sect, only the Third Elder, Jian Ren, a peak eight-star Martial Venerable, possessed the greatest strength—or more accurately, he was the executive elder and the true Third Elder. Furthermore, the sect boasted over a dozen other Martial Venerables and a vast number of Martial Master disciples, making its strength formidable indeed.

"Fellow Daoist Long Teng, this place contains not only a space-time rift but also a space-time illusion. The vitality you sense is highly likely an illusion created by this space-time mirage. Therefore, we must not take the risk; we should seek another route," said Xue Xiaoyun.

At the end of his words, Cai Jing let out a strange, light chuckle, which caused Xue Ming to curse inwardly once more. It was clear that Cai Jing understood perfectly well that Xue Ming would not go to such great lengths merely for Feng Nanxian’s contract; if Xue Ming were truly that short-sighted, there would be no reason for Cai Jing to pay him a visit in person.

"To execute him with our ancestral supreme sword formation is already giving him too much credit," Ding Shen said, his eyes glinting with coldness and disdain.

"Old man Wang, you are courting death!" the short Taoist bellowed, raising his wooden sword to strike directly at the blood talisman in the center.

"Damn, Senior, I get it now. You let me find you on purpose, didn't you? You lured me here to be your laborer," Ji Mo suddenly realized.

This transformation was undoubtedly thanks to Chu Ling. By breaking through the spatial barrier between the Western Chu Heavenly Realm and the Primordial Ancient Realm, he allowed the profound energy of heaven and earth to flow continuously into the Western Chu Heavenly Realm, thereby causing a drastic change in its environment.

Everyone was stunned. Huang Chao was the first to speak: "There’s even someone disguised as the King of Hell! How ugly!" This drew a burst of mocking laughter, and they rushed impatiently toward where the fake King of Hell was seated.

However, in the distance, over a dozen figures were approaching rapidly. Upon seeing this scene, they immediately displayed expressions of frustration and fury.

Yet, on the walls of Xiling City, white flags had long since been raised. The Prefect of Xiling personally led the city’s populace to welcome them at the gates.

A-Si suddenly stopped in his tracks. Su Lingge, who was following closely behind with her head down, was caught off guard and bumped headlong into the man’s back. Su Lingge clutched her aching nose and looked up, but A-Si did not even turn around. He simply stood still and spoke a few words in a flat tone.

"What? Is slandering the several chief stewards of the Asura Hall not enough? Do you wish to slander this City Lord as well?" the City Lord of Feiyue gave a scornful laugh.

***

To think that I was not only unluckily dragged into this whirlpool, but the iron chains binding the monster snake also snapped.

The slender, half-meter-long box looked somewhat black, encased in spider flesh. From the parts occasionally exposed, Chen Ziyang judged that it must be cast from bronze, which explained why it was so heavy when lifted.

He actually managed to find one—it was Chen Ziyang's hometown. And so, after spending more than ten good years in Guangdong, the old Taoist came here. He had originally intended to see if this was truly the Land of the Fallen Dragon; if not, he could continue his search, as he still had several years before turning forty-nine.

"Perhaps these families lived here in seclusion. They might not want to have any more contact with the outside world, or perhaps there is some hidden reason," Yi Tian speculated.

"Hey, Li. You could open a winery at your place now!" Hummels joked when he saw Li Qingshan bringing another bottle of champagne into the locker room.

The five elemental divine beasts roared in unison. Five-colored light erupted from the body of the Water Qilin. Following the principle of the mutual restraint of the five elements, they used the divine beasts to suppress the Water Qilin’s five internal organs, locking them with the power of the five elements and making it difficult for him to unleash his spiritual energy.

The Governor of Batavia’s eyes lit up. Coyett had stayed in Taiwan for nearly ten years and was subsequently imprisoned on an island; he had plenty of time to ponder these questions.

Hu Hua huddled in the corner, not daring to make a sound. He had already pieced most of it together in his heart, and his expression as he looked at the doorway was very unsightly.

The eight-sided, thirteen-story structure before them, entirely covered in brown glazed bricks and resembling iron casting, was the Kaibao Temple Pagoda—better known to later generations as the Kaifeng Iron Pagoda.

The Heavenly Emperor turned his head and looked into the Dragon King’s eyes without leaving a trace, yet the words he spoke were coldly contradictory.

"Not bad... there are few left who can catch my sword with a single move." The old man’s tone suddenly changed, quite unlike his attitude toward Dongfang Shaoqing just moments before.

Because the matter of establishing the Crown Prince had always been something officials below fought to submit memorials for, fearing they would be left behind.

Tianxuan Manor was located in the suburbs of Jiangyang Prefecture. With its beautiful mountains, clear waters, and fragrant flowers, it served as the base for the Tianxuan Sound Sect in Jiangyang.

***

But he could not say for sure. He simply wanted to take care of Su Mei. Although he did not know how to care for others, when he heard her say she was cold, he wanted to take off his own clothes to wrap around her and shield her from the wind. When he heard her say she was in pain, the dark shadow wished that he were the one who was injured.

The sudden words brought Mo Beihan back to his senses. She looked toward the direction of the sound, and upon seeing the familiar figure and nickname, the slight twitching of her face vanished, replaced by excitement and thrill.

After Zhang Shili took office, he immediately promoted members of the local Zhang clan to lead the yamen runners and overhauled the entire yamen system.

The night passed without incident. Early the next morning, Iruka and Izumi left the inn. After clarifying the location, the two walked toward the Town Mayor’s office, as the client for this mission was the mayor himself.

Upon hearing this, Kisame looked annoyed and wrapped his bandage-covered sword, Samehada, before preparing to retreat with Itachi using the Body Flicker Technique. Kakashi and the others at the shore wanted to intercept them, but because they had been in such a hurry to take Izumi to a safe place, the distance had grown too great, and they were unable to stop their technique.

In the world of Feng Shui, when practitioners, tomb raiders, and geomancers speak of "observing qi to find tombs," the "qi" they refer to is this "absolution yin energy."

"A mouse! A mouse!" Ren Xiaoyan, ignoring everything else, raised her hands high and hopped right into my arms.

He knew this was the most distinctive feature of Renren. The platform would filter based on a user's registration information and then reveal circles of acquaintances who might have had social connections with the user.

Yan Fei just finished sheathing his sword. He knew that all his disguises had been torn away by Fan Yuncheng before him. Without any pretense, he felt a strange sense of calm, and he waited quietly for his elder brother’s reply.

Gu Zhida of the Bamboo Union Gang, Lewis of the Skull Gang, and Joseph of the Gongjin Society—each had been a boss for over a decade. None of them were pushovers; a few wrong words were all it took for the atmosphere to become instantly tense.