System Possession, One Sword Shocks the Gods

104: Qinglan, an old friend, and the first signs of undercurrents.Several days had passed since he left Tianfeng Academy.

Ye Chen didn’t head directly to the distant Imperial Capital, Tianfeng City. Instead, he chose a circuitous route. On one hand, it was to hone his sword dao and familiarize himself with his power after the Breakthrough. On the other hand, he wanted to investigate the movements of the Dark Hall remnants around Liuyun City along the way.

The content of the Jade Slip gifted by Yun Canghai was as vast as the sea. As he traveled, he used his Divided Soul to study it, gaining a more macro understanding of this continent named ”Canglan” and finding more vague clues about legends of supreme powers like ”Chaos” and ”Guixu.”

This day, he passed through a medium-sized city named ”Qinglan.” Its scale was far inferior to Liuyun City, but it was quite prosperous because it produced a type of supplementary material for Artifact Refining called ”Qinglan Stone.” Cultivators frequently came and went inside and outside the city, their Auras mixed and varied.

Ye Chen restrained most of his Aura, revealing only the cultivation of Earth Fiend Realm First Level. He blended into the crowd entering the city, appearing unremarkable. He planned to rest here briefly, replenish some daily necessities, and listen for recent rumors.

However, not long after stepping through the city gate, a commotion and the sound of weapons clashing came from the east of the city, mixed with a few familiar, disgusting, and cold Auras.

”Lackeys of the Dark Hall?” Ye Chen’s brow furrowed slightly. With a movement of his body, he skimmed through the streets like a breeze, rushing toward the source of the commotion.

In a relatively remote market clearing in the east of the city, a siege was taking place.

The ones being besieged were three young men and women. Judging by their attire, they should be disciples of some Sect or Family. Leading them was a young girl in a goose-yellow dress, holding a slender willow longsword. Her sword technique was agile, and her cultivation was around Condensing Yuan Realm Peak. Beside her were two young men, one using a saber and the other a spear; their cultivation was slightly inferior, but both had the strength of the Condensation Origin Realm Late Stage.

The three stood back-to-back, forming a small battle formation, struggling to resist the attacks of five Black-Robed Figures surrounding them. These Black-Robed Figures had ruthless Moves and were shrouded in faint black Qi, which were the characteristics of outer Dark Hall Cultists. Among them were two at the Earth Fiend Realm First Level and three at the Condensing Yuan Realm Peak, their strength clearly surpassing the three young people by a notch.

Several guards wearing similar attire to the three young people already lay on the ground, clearly in dire straits.

”Young Miss Su, why resist so stubbornly? Just hand over ’that thing’ obediently, and perhaps you can keep your corpse intact!” A Black-Robed Figure at the Earth Fiend Realm laughed sinisterly, his ghost head saber slashing out sharp black saber qi, forcing the girl in yellow to retreat repeatedly, a bloodstain already appearing on her arm.

”In your dreams! Even if I die, I won’t let you Demonic Path monsters have your way!” The girl called Young Miss Su gritted her teeth, her eyes stubborn, but her brow was full of fatigue and despair. They were from the Su Family of Qinglan City. They were out on a Family mission this time, but unexpectedly, they were targeted by the Dark Hall on their way back, seemingly for an ancient object they had accidentally obtained.

”Obstinate! Kill them, and the item will naturally be ours!” Another Earth Fiend Realm Black-Robed Figure shouted coldly, intensifying the attack with his companions. Black Devilish Qi surged, and lethal attacks fell like a storm. The defense of the three young people was in imminent danger.

The young man using the spear made a mistake and was hit in the shoulder by a black light. The spear almost fell from his hand, and the battle formation instantly showed a flaw.

”An opportunity!” A fierce light flashed in the eyes of the two Earth Fiend Realm Black-Robed Figures. They simultaneously unleashed killing moves—a condensed black finger-light and a ribbon-like saber qi—aiming directly at the vital points of the injured young man and the yellow-clad girl! If this strike landed, the two would surely die!

A flash of despair and resentment crossed the yellow-clad girl’s eyes.

Just at this critical moment—

”Chiss!”

A faint sound of breaking air, almost negligible, rang out.

There was no earth-shaking Aura, no dazzling brilliance. Only a tiny, nearly transparent Chaos-colored Sword Qi, as if traversing the Void Realm, arrived later but struck first, accurately hitting the weak points of the black finger-light and saber qi.

In the next moment, those two lethal attacks were silently annihilated and dissipated like poked bubbles, without even exciting a ripple of energy.

”Who is it?!” The faces of the two Earth Fiend Realm Black-Robed Figures changed drastically, looking in horror toward the source of the Sword Qi.

At the entrance of the market, a youth in green with an ordinary face (Ye Chen had slightly disguised himself) appeared at some unknown time. He held no weapon, just standing there quietly, as if merging with the surrounding environment.

It was indeed Ye Chen who acted. He didn’t want to meddle in others’ business, but since it involved the Dark Hall, he couldn’t sit idly by. Moreover, he sensed a very faint Aura on the three young people that vaguely resonated with his chaos primordial fetus, which piqued his curiosity.

”Just someone passing by who can’t stand injustice,” Ye Chen spoke indifferently, his voice calm.

”Playing tricks! You dare interfere in the Dark Hall’s business? You’re looking for death!” An Earth Fiend Realm Black-Robed Figure roared. Although he was shocked that the opponent had easily broken their attack, seeing that Ye Chen’s Aura was only at the Earth Fiend Realm First Level and they had two people, malice instantly rose in his heart. He brandished his saber and lunged at Ye Chen.

The other person also acted simultaneously, the finger-light reappearing to block Ye Chen’s retreat.

Facing the pincer attack of the two, there wasn’t the slightest ripple in Ye Chen’s eyes. He didn’t even use the guixu sword, simply pointing his fingers like a sword and swiping forward casually.

A condensed Chaos Sword Aura appeared out of thin air. It seemed slow but was actually as fast as lightning. Wherever the Sword Aura passed, the lunging saber light and finger-light silently melted away like snow under the sun. The Sword Aura’s momentum didn’t decrease, lightly skimming over the bodies of the two Black-Robed Figures.

The forward-charging figures of the two Black-Robed Figures suddenly froze, their faces still holding expressions of ferocity and astonishment. In the next moment, their bodies slowly split apart from the middle. The cuts were as smooth as a mirror, but no blood flowed out, because their vitality and flesh had been completely annihilated by the nirvanic intent of the Return to Void contained within the moment they touched the Sword Aura.

Instant kill! Even though they were also at the Earth Fiend Realm First Level, in front of Ye Chen, they were like mere clay chickens and pottery dogs!

The remaining three Condensation Origin Realm Black-Robed Figures were scared out of their wits, their Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering, and they turned to flee.

Ye Chen didn’t even look. He flicked his fingers repeatedly, and three tiny Sword Qi shot through the air, accurately entering their hearts from behind. The three bodies went limp and collapsed to the ground, their Auras completely gone.

In the blink of an eye, five Dark Hall Cultists, including two in the Earth Fiend Realm, were all executed!

The market fell into a dead silence.

The three Su Family disciples who had survived the ordeal stared at this scene in a daze, as if they were dreaming. Especially the yellow-clad girl; her beautiful eyes were wide open as she looked at Ye Chen’s ordinary profile, a huge wave surging in her heart. Who was this person? His strength was actually so terrifying?

After Ye Chen finished off the Dark Hall members, his gaze turned to the three young people, finally landing on the yellow-clad girl—more specifically, on an inconspicuous jade pendant with ancient cracks at her waist. That faint sense of resonance originated precisely from this jade pendant.

”Tha... thank you, Senior, for saving our lives!” The young man using the saber was the first to react, hurriedly bowing in salute, his voice filled with awe. To be able to kill Earth Fiend Realm experts so easily, the other party was definitely a Senior expert.

The yellow-clad girl and the injured spear-wielding youth also hurriedly bowed and thanked him.

”No need for formalities,” Ye Chen waved his hand, his voice still indifferent. ”Are you members of the Su Family of Qinglan City?”

”Indeed,” Su Wanqing stabilized her mind and answered respectfully, ”Junior Su Wanqing thanks Senior for your rescue. May I ask Senior’s great name? The Su Family will surely offer a generous reward.”

”A name is but a label.” Ye Chen didn’t reveal his true name, his gaze sweeping over the jade pendant again. ”Why were you being pursued by the Dark Hall?”

Su Wanqing hesitated for a moment, but thinking that the other party had just saved her life and was unfathomably strong, she answered honestly, ”In reply to Senior, a few days ago, we accidentally obtained several ancient objects in an ancient Cultivator’s Immortal Cave outside the city. One of them seems to have attracted the greed of the Dark Hall. They pursued and attacked us all the way here...”

Ye Chen nodded. It seemed his intuition was correct. He pointed to the jade pendant at Su Wanqing’s waist: ”May I have a look at this item?”

Su Wanqing was stunned and instinctively covered the jade pendant. But seeing Ye Chen’s clear and calm eyes, which didn’t seem to hold any malice—and given his strength, if he wanted to take it by force, they would have no power to resist—she bit her lip and finally untied the jade pendant, offering it with both hands: ”Senior, please.”

Ye Chen took the jade pendant. It felt warm to the touch, and the sense of resonance became clearer. He sent his Divine Sense into it and found that the internal structure of the jade pendant was extremely complex and ancient, covered with fine, nearly eroded runes. In the center, there seemed to be a sliver of extremely faint, nearly dissipated Chaos Aura sealed within.

This wasn’t some powerful Magic Treasure; it was more like a key or a token. The Chaos Aura sealed inside, though faint, was of extremely high quality, even vaguely surpassing his current level of Chaos Origin.

”Where did you get this?” Ye Chen asked, having already made a decision. This item might be useful to the Dark Hall, but it could be even more valuable for his comprehension of the Dao of Chaos.

”It was found in the core stone chamber of that ancient Cultivator’s Immortal Cave, along with some other items,” Su Wanqing replied, asking cautiously, ”Senior, is there something special about this jade pendant?”

Ye Chen handed the jade pendant back to Su Wanqing and said thoughtfully, ”This item may be of significant importance; the Dark Hall will not give up easily. Your Su Family might be in trouble.”

Hearing this, the faces of Su Wanqing and the others turned pale. After the battle just now, they deeply understood the terror of the Dark Hall.

Ye Chen looked at them, and an idea formed in his mind. He was going to Tianfeng City and would happen to pass through the Su Family in Qinglan City. He might as well stop by. On one hand, he could learn about the origin of this jade pendant, and on the other hand, he could use it to investigate the Dark Hall’s activities in this area.

”I intend to go to Tianfeng City and will pass through Qinglan City. If you don’t mind, I can escort you for a while and... visit the Su Family.”

Su Wanqing and the others were first stunned, then overjoyed! With this mysterious expert escorting them, their safety would undoubtedly be greatly guaranteed!

”We don’t mind! Not at all! Thank you, Senior! The entire Su Family will certainly welcome you with open arms!” Su Wanqing said hurriedly, her beautiful eyes filled with gratitude and expectation.

Ye Chen nodded slightly.

The Su Family of Qinglan City, that mysterious Chaos jade pendant, and the greed of the Dark Hall... It seemed an invisible thread was leading him toward another unknown vortex.