Immortal Sword Master

Chapter 526: Chapter 521: I Am a Sinner, Demonic Qi

The man had a burly build and wore loose-fitting clothes. A thick beard circled his face—bristly and coiled like thatch, sharp like swords—giving the first impression of a battle-hardened War General.

But the most peculiar thing about him was that his two eye sockets were empty, as if his eyes had been gouged out. The sight was utterly terrifying.

However, the aura he exuded was terrifyingly sharp!

Just by standing there, he was like a peerless Treasure Blade, its edge impossible to conceal.

Though he could not see, his senses picked up on the powerful fluctuations erupting from the seabed.

”It seems something interesting is happening.”

The burly man’s voice was deep and resonant, like a Golden Bell. He took a single step.

With that one step, he appeared several hundred zhang away in the blink of an eye. A few more steps, and he was above the surface of the sea.

Above the sea, the old man in the straw raincoat and Lady Black Scorpion had just arrived. When they saw the burly man, their pupils contracted, and their expressions grew grim.

The burly man noticed them as well but paid them no mind. With his hands behind his back, he stepped into the seawater.

”One of the Ten Great Earth Martial Realms... A terrifying figure has arrived. We should do our best to avoid any conflict with him.”

Only after the burly man had entered did the old man in the straw raincoat and Lady Black Scorpion follow.

...

「Inside the Ancient Ruins.」

”That huge commotion just now must have attracted many powerful experts. I hope no one shows up who’s too difficult for even us to handle.”

Gu Huaying said worriedly. Although she was on the Hidden Dragon List, her Cultivation was the same as Ning Jiang’s—Earth Martial Realm Early Stage.

At her current level, she was far from being invincible among those in the Earth Martial Realm. There were still many experts from the older generation whose strength far surpassed hers.

”We’ll deal with whatever comes our way. You can’t avoid the inevitable, so there’s no need to worry,” Ning Jiang said calmly.

”Your composure truly is extraordinary.”

Gu Huaying said in praise. The fact that Ning Jiang had been able to face the Flood Dragon King’s killing intent directly was something she felt she couldn’t match.

The two continued deeper inside.

Before long, they arrived in a large hall.

The hall was empty, but both of their gazes simultaneously fell upon the floor.

”I am a sinner!”

Four blood-red words were written on the floor. An unknown number of ages had passed, yet the words remained vivid. Within them, one could faintly sense an aura of despair.

”This is King’s Blood!”

Ning Jiang said slowly.

Only King’s Blood could remain so vibrant after thousands of years.

”What on earth happened here?”

Gu Huaying’s fine brows furrowed. Without a doubt, something must have happened for this place to be in such a dilapidated state.

And it was this sort of unknown that often made one’s blood run cold.

SWISH...

Suddenly, a faint gust of wind sounded behind them. With their perception, such a sound naturally couldn’t escape their notice.

”Who’s there?”

Both turned around at the same time, just in time to see a black shadow flash by.

They immediately chased it out of the hall, but the black shadow was long gone.

”So fast.”

They exchanged a glance, a serious look appearing in their eyes. That black shadow couldn’t have been an illusion. The fact that they couldn’t track it even with their strength made them wary; a speed like that was something to be guarded against.

”Let’s go check out the other areas,” Ning Jiang said.

What had happened here didn’t scare them off. As geniuses on the Hidden Dragon List, their courage, in addition to their strength and aptitude, was far beyond that of ordinary people.

After leaving the hall, they entered a long corridor.

Both sides of the corridor were filled with layers of roiling mist. It was impossible to know what kind of unknown creatures might be lurking within. Ning Jiang tried to probe it with his Divine Sense, but the moment his Divine Sense entered the mist, it was disrupted and rendered useless.

”It seems this is the only way forward.”

Ning Jiang said. Compared to the mist on either side, the corridor before them was undoubtedly the safer, more reliable path.

But this corridor also looked extraordinary. Carved into the pillars on both sides were massive, bronze eyeballs.

”A place that looks safe might be hiding countless dangers. Let me test it.”

Gu Huaying waved her slender hand, and a shower of flowers floated forward. However, the path remained completely peaceful, with no incidents occurring.

”It seems to be fine,” Gu Huaying said.

”Not necessarily.”

Ning Jiang shook his head. Compared to a young girl like Gu Huaying, his experience was immeasurably greater. He understood all too well that many dangers could not be detected so easily.

He forced a drop of blood from his fingertip and flicked it forward.

The drop of blood flew forward, but before it could travel a zhang, rays of cyan light shot out from the bronze eyeballs, annihilating it into ash.

”Huh? This is...” Gu Huaying was also intelligent and understood immediately. ”Only things with life fluctuations will trigger these beams. That was close. It’s a good thing we didn’t rush in, or we would have suffered for it.”

”Now that we know how it works, this will be much easier. Let’s go,” Ning Jiang said.

”Okay.”

With Ning Jiang in the lead and Gu Huaying behind, they entered together.

As they stepped into the corridor, the bronze eyeballs seemed to activate, continuously firing rays of cyan light.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

But Ning Jiang strolled leisurely forward. The Thunder Dragon Sword in his hand swung out, seemingly slow yet actually fast, and each swing destroyed a cyan beam. It was as if he could completely predict the attacks.

’Such powerful perception.’

Gu Huaying was secretly astonished.

The beams moved incredibly fast, exceeding the reaction speed of the naked eye, yet Ning Jiang could clearly track every single attack and intercept them with ease.

She knew that if it were her, she would only be able to block a small fraction of them. Intercepting all of them would be impossible.

But with Ning Jiang clearing the path ahead, he blocked all the attacks, saving her a great deal of trouble.

The corridor was extremely long. It took about the time to drink a cup of tea before the two finally emerged.

”If it weren’t for you, getting through here would have been quite a hassle,” Gu Huaying said.

”It was nothing. We’re helping each other,” Ning Jiang said calmly, not taking any credit.

”We’ve delved deep into these Ancient Ruins. We need to be even more careful from now on. I wonder where Ao Lie and Ao Fengfeng are?”

Gu Huaying had to take Ao Lie and Ao Fengfeng seriously. After all, both were experts on the Hidden Dragon List.

After the corridor, they walked for some time. The deeper they went, the darker their surroundings became. Wisps of black gas drifted through the air, and upon contact, even the Spiritual Qi within their bodies felt suppressed.

”This is very strange. Circulating the Spiritual Qi in my body has become much more difficult than before,” Gu Huaying said in confusion. She had never encountered a situation like this.

”This is Demonic Qi!” Ning Jiang slowly voiced the four words.