Firmament Sword

Xu Luo forced his way to the inn the Dubhe Sect had reserved. He had been somewhat hesitant, as he was a man who repaid his debts, whether of gratitude or of vengeance. Even though he was now locked in a bitter feud with the Dubhe Sect, Xu Luo had no desire to slaughter the innocent.

But when Xu Luo arrived, he found that every member of the Dubhe Sect in the inn was armed and ready to deploy. As he slipped in unnoticed, he even overheard their discussion.

They were awaiting orders from their Elders. At a single command, they would immediately descend upon the Xu Family and begin a massacre.

”Why haven’t the orders come yet? I’m getting impatient! The very thought of the smell of fresh blood makes my own blood boil!” a man said with a sinister laugh, his voice alone enough to send a chill down one’s spine.

”You murderous maniac. You’ve done plenty of this sort of thing over the years, haven’t you?”

”You’re one to talk. Aren’t you the same? That defiant little sect back in the day... didn’t you slaughter them all by yourself?” the man’s sinister laugh echoed again.

Xu Luo’s brow furrowed slightly.

”Hah. I just took a fancy to one of their female disciples. I never thought that little sect’s Sect Leader would be so ungrateful. What’s the use in keeping them around?” another man said with a cold, smug laugh. ”If a dog won’t obey, you put it down.”

”I hear the Xu Family is housing two beauties right now. One of them is a Royal Princess and a disciple of the Kaiyang Sect... Heh. Commoners may be no better than ants, but the taste of a princess... I bet it’s not half bad, eh?”

”You’d be better off setting your sights on the other one, Phoenix from the Merak Sect. The Kaiyang Sect... even our Sect Leader doesn’t want to start a conflict with them right now.”

”I bet you don’t know. That princess has already had a falling out with the Kaiyang Sect. They haven’t officially expelled her yet, but it’s a safe bet they’ve already abandoned her...”

”Oh, really? In that case... heheh, when we get to the Xu Family, the Royal Princess is yours, and that Saintess Phoenix from Merak... she’ll be mine!”

A wave of perverted laughter filled the room.

Xu Luo exhaled slowly. ’You’re asking for it,’ he thought. ’Don’t blame me for what comes next.’

With that thought, Xu Luo’s form flickered like a phantom, silently appearing in the room where the men were deep in their gleeful discussion.

The group of Dubhe Sect disciples in the room were completely bewildered by Xu Luo’s sudden appearance, frozen in shock. Against them, Xu Luo was a tiger among sheep. He didn’t even waste his breath on words, attacking directly as if the room were completely undefended.

At that moment, the disciples in the other rooms finally snapped to their senses. ’Something must have happened to the Elders!’ They hadn’t received their orders, but the God of Slaughter, Xu Luo, had come for them instead!

”Run! Xu Luo is here to kill us!”

”I fear the Elders have met with disaster! Hurry, get this message to the Sect Leader!”

”Don’t kill me... I’m with the Saintess!”

”For the Saintess’s sake...”

In an instant, the entire inn descended into chaos. Some tried to send word to the Sect Leader, others mounted a futile resistance, but most invoked the name of Saintess Lin Luoxue, hoping to sway Xu Luo and beg for mercy.

After everything that had happened, how could Xu Luo possibly show mercy?

Especially after they had just been lewdly fantasizing about Phoenix and Huangfu Shishi, plotting to unleash a slaughter on the Xu Family... Never mind that Lin Luoxue wasn’t here; even if she were standing right in front of him, Xu Luo would show these men absolutely no mercy.

Xu Luo was no murderous maniac, but how could he possibly spare a pack of degenerates who were about to slaughter his family and defile his women?

Their strength was nothing compared to Xu Luo’s. In a matter of moments, a river of blood flowed through the inn.

Of the dozens of men from the Dubhe Sect, not a single one escaped. All of them died at Xu Luo’s hand.

Not a single drop of blood stained Xu Luo’s clothes, but the killing intent radiating from him was practically tangible. At that moment, a single glance from him could have frightened a man of weak will to death.

Xu Luo was nearly overcome by it himself. He hurriedly activated the Shadow Shaking Heart Method to calm his murderous heart.

...

「Daxing Town, a small border town in the eastern Cangqiong Empire.」

It was once a quiet and peaceful town. For over 1,400 years since the founding of the Cangqiong Empire, the town had known nothing but peace. Though it was a border town, it faced the sea to the east, and most of its residents made a relatively prosperous living by fishing.

That tranquility was shattered several months ago, when a group of strangely dressed people appeared in the small town.

Though the town was remote, a few merchants still came every year to purchase valuable seafood and other goods. But the townspeople had never before seen people like this—people who arrived, booked the largest and only inn in town, and then did nothing, their comings and goings shrouded in mystery.

Though curious, the warm-hearted and kind townspeople didn’t think much of it at first.

After all, in over 1,400 years, the residents of this ancient town knew their surroundings by heart. No one believed anything extraordinary could possibly be found there.

But this belief held by the kindhearted townspeople was completely overturned with the arrival of a second group of outsiders.

For some unknown reason, these two groups engaged in a fierce battle just outside of town.

They flew through the air and burrowed through the earth, unleashing waves of Sword Qi...

When had the townspeople ever witnessed such a scene? Even the elder said to be the most worldly man in town was left trembling with fear, hiding in his home, not daring to come out.

A single punch shattered the peak of a small mountain. A single beam of Sword Qi carved a trench in the earth several meters deep and dozens of meters long...

These were simply a group of Immortals... no, a group of demons!

Because after the battle, the victors—the second group to arrive—immediately began to enslave the townspeople. They herded nearly every male over the age of ten to a desolate mountain about fifteen miles from town. That once-ignored place was now unrecognizable, riddled with countless pits.

The townsmen were forced into those pits to mine something called Spirit Stones.

Of course, some people resisted; kindness does not mean weakness. But in the face of such powerful figures, their resistance was pathetically fragile, like an egg striking a stone. It was swiftly and brutally crushed.

Afterward, the small town that had been peaceful for over fourteen hundred years was completely shrouded in a cloud of sorrow.

Countless teary-eyed children asked their mothers, ”Where did Papa go...”

Countless young wives with red, swollen eyes longed for their husbands’ return. Countless old women knelt trembling before idols, praying to the Divine Spirits to protect their sons and bring them home safely.

When Lin Luoxue arrived in the town, she was stunned by the sight. Fairy-like in her beauty, she felt utterly lost as she faced the gazes of the remaining townspeople—only women, children, and the elderly. Their eyes were filled with fear and a fiercely suppressed hatred.

”Why is this happening?” she couldn’t help but ask Nangong Yu Yan, who stood beside her.

”What else could it be? The Spirit Stone Vein is right there, but the Spirit Stones won’t just leap out on their own. Someone has to mine them, and how could high and mighty sect disciples be expected to perform such a menial task?” Nangong Yu Yan said, a mocking, sarcastic smile playing on her lips.

”But... even if they need miners, they can’t resort to this, can they?” Lin Luoxue exclaimed in shock. Looking at Nangong Yu Yan’s grim expression, she found it hard to accept that the sect she had always been so proud of could be responsible for something like this.

”This is nothing. Xiaoxue, you may have ventured into the mortal world for training, but that hardly counts. The Sect Leader was just doting on you, finding you something to do because he was afraid you’d get bored. The sects... they’ve always been like this!” Nangong Yu Yan said softly. ”They... have never seen commoners as their own kind.”

”Nangong... you’re going too far. No matter how you look at it, this is for the good of the sect.” A tall, handsome young man who looked to be in his twenties raised an eyebrow and said indifferently, ”Although the sect has conscripted these commoners, it won’t be for nothing. They’ll be compensated.”

”But this... this is coercion, not voluntary service!” Lin Luoxue still couldn’t accept it. In her mind, the sect had always been a bastion of justice. How could the Dubhe Sect, the leader of the Central Plains Star Continent Sect World, do such a thing?

”Coercion?” The handsome young man smiled faintly. ”My dear Luoxue, we and these commoners live in completely different worlds. Besides... for the good of the sect, some small sacrifices are inevitable.”

”Is this really... just a small sacrifice?” Lin Luoxue muttered to herself. She couldn’t forget the looks in the eyes of the old and infirm as she entered the town. There was none of the usual awe a beautiful woman might inspire; there was only fear, rage, and hatred. If this... was just a ’small sacrifice,’ then she truly had to wonder what kind of image the sect she’d always been so proud of projected in the hearts of the common people.

”Alright, don’t overthink it. A sense of justice... is the most worthless thing there is.” The handsome young man seemed quite fond of his ”little sister” Lin Luoxue and said with a faint smile, ”We’re here to guard this vein. The Sect Leader and the others are already there. We should head over as soon as possible.”

Nangong Yu Yan sighed softly to the side, saying nothing more. She knew all too well that in matters like these, forget her—even a Saintess with Lin Luoxue’s high status had absolutely no right to speak her mind.

The sect’s interests were paramount. Anyone who dared to challenge that would be utterly crushed. There was no other possibility.

”Oh, right. The situation in the Cangqiong Imperial Capital should be stable by now. With Elder Meng and his people there, taking down the Cangqiong Royal Family and eliminating the Xu Family shouldn’t be hard. It’s a shame, though. That young man, Xu Luo, is said to be quite exceptional...” The handsome young man changed the subject with a faint smile. ”I couldn’t attend the last sect assembly. I was hoping I’d get a chance to fight him someday, but now... heh heh...”

”What did you say?” Lin Luoxue’s body trembled slightly. She froze, staring at the handsome young man in utter disbelief. ”Say that again.”