Nine Dragons Saint Ancestor

”Qing... Qingshan...”

The bride, Yu, who was knocked back, finally steadied herself when she collided with a wall in the hall. She then slid down from it, but only managed to utter these two words before her head tilted to the side, silent forever.

Everyone could see the despair in Yu’s eyes, as in her final moments, she seemed to still be worried about Xu Qingshan’s safety. Many kindhearted people felt a pang of sympathy.

”Do you see? You can’t even protect your loved ones. Do you think you still have the qualifications to negotiate terms with the Emperor Palace?”

Liu Wenzong didn’t care at all about killing an innocent woman of lower rank. Instead, he pointed at Yu’s corpse and spoke in a deep voice, carrying an unmasked threat.

In fact, Liu Wenzong never even gave Hidden Blade Sect a chance to negotiate. He just used this method to showcase the Emperor Palace’s might. This is the fate of the disobedient.

”I... I’ll fight you to the death!”

Liu Wenzong’s words finally brought the deeply saddened Xu Qingshan back to reality, filled with hostility needing to be vented, feeling as if his lungs would burst. With a loud shout, he lunged towards Liu Wenzong.

Bang!

Just at that moment, Xu Qingshan suddenly felt his body tremble, and the next instant, he was sent flying towards the depths of the hall, completely out of control.

”Qingshan, for the future of Hidden Blade Sect, live well!”

While being knocked back, Xu Qingshan heard a familiar voice in his ear, it was his father, the Sect Leader of Hidden Blade Sect. Meanwhile, he noticed a familiar item in his hand.

It was a small black knife. Xu Qingshan had often seen it in his father’s hands before, but had never touched it himself. He knew it was the Sect Leader’s token of Hidden Blade Sect.

Listening to his father’s words, which sounded like a farewell, Xu Qingshan suddenly understood his father’s intentions. His personality, like his father’s, hated evildoers, not wanting to survive alone, hence he tried to stabilize his own body forcefully.

Yet, the strength in Xu Shitong’s palm contained a subtle force, preventing Xu Qingshan from moving even an inch, compelling him to be knocked back passively.

”Hmph, today none from Hidden Blade Sect in the main hall will survive!”

The speaker this time was Daoist Jade Sword, Sect Master of Jade Sword Sect. The two sects were always at odds, and today he finally found an opportunity to annihilate Hidden Blade Sect.

When Daoist Jade Sword saw Xu Shitong send Xu Qingshan towards the depths of the hall rather than the door, he wondered if his old rival had gone senile, believing this would let Xu Qingshan escape?

Bang!

Just when Daoist Jade Sword’s cold smile descended in his heart, Xu Qingshan’s back had already collided with a wall deep within the hall, making a loud noise.

Creak!

But in the next moment, a sudden change occurred. The hall wall, which initially seemed normal, flipped backward like a board when Xu Qingshan hit it, flipping him directly inside.

Boom!

Another instant later, that hall wall flipped again, appearing to rotate a full 360 degrees, then to everyone’s eyes, it returned to how it was before.

The only difference was the disappearance of Hidden Blade Sect’s prodigy Xu Qingshan. Witnessing this, many were dumbstruck, secretly praising Xu Shitong’s foresight.

Under the combined forces of the Emperor Palace and Jade Sword Sect, Hidden Blade Sect obviously had little room for resistance. In such circumstances, unless Xu Shitong compromised, it could truly end in total annihilation.

If Xu Shitong had surprisingly sent Xu Qingshan to the hall door, given the latter’s strength, he probably wouldn’t have escaped far before being captured, making it impossible to escape alive.

But now, looking at the hall wall restored to its usual state, everyone knew that with Xu Shitong’s preplanned tactic, Xu Qingshan, the top prodigy of Hidden Blade Sect, finally had a slim chance to survive, turning from the previously certain death.

”Damn it!”

Seeing this scene, Liu Wenzong’s face finally showed an extreme anger, and his furious shout caused Daoist Jade Sword on the side to tremble violently.

After all, Jade Sword Sect and Hidden Blade Sect had fought for years, and most of Hidden Blade Sect’s intelligence was shared by Daoist Jade Sword with Liu Wenzong. Yet, Daoist Jade Sword genuinely didn’t know about the secret passage on the hall wall.

Hence, this led to the current unforeseen event. Although letting a young prodigy escape wasn’t a big deal for Liu Wenzong, he pursued perfection in his actions, and Xu Qingshan’s escape undoubtedly marred that perfection.

”Hmph, I don’t believe this broken wall can be so sturdy!”

It seemed that he caught a glimpse of Liu Wenzong’s sullen gaze, and Daoist Jade Sword didn’t dare to be careless. He extended his right hand, and a white light shot out swiftly, appearing to be a tiny white jade sword.

”That’s the Jade Sword Sect’s sect treasure, the ’Three Treasures Jade Sword’!”

One of the family sect masters, sharp-eyed, recognized the jade glow at first glance, his eyes narrowed as he discreetly took a step back.

The Three Treasures Jade Sword of the Jade Sword Sect was famous in Ye City. Although it had the word ’jade’ in its name, it was unlike ordinary brittle jade, reputedly indestructible.

It seemed that Daoist Jade Sword intended to pierce through the wall of the hall using the Three Treasures Jade Sword. As long as he could find the mechanism, he might capture Xu Qingshan.

Ding!

The Three Treasures Jade Sword, known for being indestructible, stabbed into the wall of the hall. However, contrary to what everyone expected, the sword tip didn’t penetrate; instead, it emitted a crisp sound.

The white light flashed next, and the mighty wall repelled the Three Treasures Jade Sword, nearly piercing a nearby sect master with a transparent hole.

”Haha, Old Dog Jade Sword! This wall of mine from the Hidden Blade Sect is made of Black Gold Stone. To think you could pierce it with that broken sword, you must be dreaming!”

Witnessing this, even at the critical moment of the sect’s impending destruction, Xu Shitong couldn’t help but laugh heartily. It seemed that surpassing Jade Sword in this minor matter brought him great satisfaction.

”Hmph!”

Daoist Jade Sword only let out a cold snort at Xu Shitong’s mockery because he couldn’t refute it. From the control of the strike with the Three Treasures Jade Sword, he realized it was impossible to break the so-called Black Gold Stone.

”Bufeng, issue orders immediately, block all the exits of Ye City, and send out every member of my Jade Sword Sect to capture that boy Xu Qingshan!”

Without waiting for Liu Wenzong’s fury, Daoist Jade Sword turned his head and instructed his most talented disciple, Zhuo Bufeng.

”Yes, Master!”

Zhuo Bufeng seemed excited upon receiving the order. Previously, he was evenly matched with Xu Qingshan, often falling behind due to weaker physical strength.

Now, finally having the chance to completely suppress his rival, how could Zhuo Bufeng not be thrilled? He joyfully accepted the command, determined to make sure Xu Qingshan would never see another day.

”Qingshan, the future of the Hidden Blade Sect depends on you, and... Master...”

Watching Zhuo Bufeng’s silhouette leave the hall, Xu Shitong’s eyes glimmered with a hint of light, although the Hidden Blade Sect was doomed to a bloody fate today.

In such circumstances, no matter how strong Xu Shitong was, he couldn’t reverse the situation. Before long, the grand Hidden Blade Sect would cease to exist, leaving only the uncertain escape of the young genius Xu Qingshan.

In fact, what happened in Ye City’s Hidden Blade Sect was just one incident among many under the Nine-layered Dragon Cloud. Due to Emperor Canglong’s plans, many city Emperor Palaces were continually annexing family sects.

Perhaps, in Emperor Canglong’s mind, as Liu Wenzong suggested earlier, he aimed to resolve internal human conflicts and integrate forces for external confrontation.

However, there were countless family sects under the Nine-layered Dragon Cloud, and integrating them all was easier said than done. Sect pairs like Hidden Blade Sect and Jade Sword Sect, originally at odds, were even harder to unite.

Even if they were forcibly merged, many internal issues and conflicts would arise. Whether the plan could succeed might still need time to prove.

The event in Ye City quickly spread throughout the surrounding areas. The sudden downfall of the once-powerful Hidden Blade Sect sent many cultivators into sighs and lamentations.

With Hidden Blade Sect’s demise, Jade Sword Sect naturally became dominant, and for a while thereafter, it searched everywhere for the escaped Hidden Blade Sect genius Xu Qingshan, causing fear and unrest among the people.

Unfortunately, despite Jade Sword Sect’s long search, they still found no trace of Xu Qingshan, driving Daoist Jade Sword to furious madness and leaving the sect’s top talent, Zhuo Bufeng, exceedingly frustrated.

Pushed by the Emperor Palace and pressured by his master, Zhuo Bufeng led Jade Sword Sect’s elites on a chase, gradually heading towards Ye City’s Western Regions, eventually reaching Yongxiu City’s vicinity.

In truth, Yongxiu City wasn’t very far from Ye City; both cities claimed their own territory. As Ye City’s tyrant, when on another’s turf, Zhuo Bufeng was less brazen than before.

However, once Zhuo Bufeng set foot in Yongxiu City, he sensed something amiss with the city’s atmosphere. He knew it had an Emperor Palace, the only force he needed to be wary of.

Yet, through the street talks of cultivators, Zhuo Bufeng caught a shocking news: from Chief Fei Qingchen downward, everyone in Yongxiu City’s Emperor Palace has disappeared for two months.