Arc 15: Heavenly Secret Realm | Chapter 301: Interception

Arc 15: Heavenly Secret Realm | Chapter 301: Interception

The storage bag given by Xuan Ze contained very little—only a few hundred medium-grade spirit stones, a high-grade spirit sword, and a box of various plant seeds. It was still considered quite generous.

To Yun Lie at this time, the spirit sword was merely a luxury, of little practical use, but those plant seeds were much to Xu Ziqing’s liking—many of them were seeds of spirit herbs used for alchemy, making the gesture truly precious.

After they put away the storage bags, the two of them flew away from that place. Although there was no one to obstruct them, they still felt a prickle at their backs—

Without a doubt, it should be the two sword masters from the Wanjian Immortal Sect.

Yun Lie was not afraid, while Xu Ziqing felt a bit of sweat trickling down his back due to the oppressive atmosphere, but he quickly suppressed that feeling of fear and took a deep breath.

In front of so many eyes, what was there to fear?

However, once they stepped out of the Absolute Sword Heavenly Manor, Xu Ziqing became even more cautious.

The Heavenly Secret Realm was filled with countless treasures, and people’s hearts could become quite treacherous. There might be some tricks to avoid drawing attention, and if they were not careful, it would be a great injustice to fall into the hands of petty people.

However, they hadn’t traveled far when a black-gold long sword appeared beneath Yun Lie’s feet, its form ancient and rustic, with a sharp aura concealed deep within. He reached out and grabbed Xu Ziqing’s arm, allowing him to leap onto the sword’s body. Then, the black-gold long sword rose from the ground and sped away into the distance.

Seeing Yun Lie’s action, Xu Ziqing felt a twinge of doubt. His Shixiong always acted methodically; was he sensing something this time? At such moments, he deeply resented his lack of cultivation, which made it difficult to foresee the enemy’s moves.

The black-gold long sword moved extremely fast, covering hundreds of miles in the blink of an eye, its speed several times faster than before.

Xu Ziqing could hear the wind whistling past his ears, his body swaying slightly, but Yun Lie’s grip on his arm prevented him from falling despite the explosive force. However, after this brief flight, a powerful pressure emanated from ahead, remaining still as if it were waiting.

The black-gold long sword wanted to change direction, but even as it did, it could still sense that pressure, which seemed to be omnipresent.

It was like a net closing in, trying to seal them within and leaving them with no way to escape.

Xu Ziqing’s heart tightened; he knew that the incoming party was not friendly.

Yet, Yun Lie raised one hand and executed a spell, slapping it onto his shoulder.

In an instant, a dragon pattern emerged in that spot, appearing incredibly majestic and accompanied by a faint dragon’s roar, exuding overwhelming authority.

Xu Ziqing felt it looked familiar and, in the next moment, recognized it.

That was the dragon pattern of core disciples!

His Shixiong was activating it at this moment...

Before Xu Ziqing could think further, a figure suddenly appeared ahead!

It was an old man with white hair and beard, but his face was plump and rosy, exuding a friendly smile.

Yet beneath that seemingly friendly smile lay an unspeakable malice.

“Brat, leave your life to me!” he declared and then struck out with a palm—

In that moment, the fiery true essence seemed to transform into an endless sea of flames, as if the surrounding space was about to melt from the heat.

At the same time, at the center of the sea of flames was a massive hand, red-hot and scorching, crashing down with great force!

They had finally escaped.

The black-gold long sword did not stop; it continued to fly forward.

Outside, there were still many cultivators arriving intermittently, all hurrying toward the secret vault. Some might have been far away, some could not free themselves earlier, and others received the news a little late. In any case, everyone appeared hurried, and there were some with expressions of frustration, clearly worried that the opportunity would be lost and taken by others.

Naturally, they would not pay much attention to the two who suddenly emerged from the tomb.

As they traveled together, Xu Ziqing recalled the earlier events and spoke up, “Shixiong, that senior just now...”

That person appeared the moment his Shixiong cast the spell and activated the dragon pattern; if this were unrelated to the action, he found it hard to believe.

At this moment, the black-gold long sword slowed down, and Yun Lie released Xu Ziqing’s arm, saying, “The sect master’s divine soul.”

Xu Ziqing was taken aback: “...Sect master?” He had never seen the sect master before and did not know what they looked like, so he naturally could not recognize them now. He simply did not expect the sect master to be such an... indescribable person. However, upon further reflection, he found it unsurprising.

Cultivators had long lifespans, and their appearances often resembled those of youth; there was nothing strange about that. Even he himself had not changed much in appearance since establishing his foundation, always looking like a young man.

Xu Ziqing continued in confusion, “Did the sect master come here because of Shixiong...?” He patted his shoulder, “...because of this?”

Yun Lie nodded slightly and replied, “Those who possess dragon patterns carry a trace of the divine sense of a great being above the Nascent Soul stage.”

It turned out that the Wuling Immortal Sect was different from some sects that would extract a trace of the essence soul from important disciples to make a soul lamp.

This was because disciples who received such importance from the sect often had their own temperaments, were proud, and unwilling to be restrained. While the trace of the essence soul in the soul lamp could grant protection from the sect, it would inevitably subject them to control... If the essence soul fell into someone else’s hands, they could potentially use some secret technique to extract it and control the owner of the essence soul.

Such a risk was far too great; which extraordinary geniuses would willingly place their lives and fortunes in someone else’s hands?

Even to their own sect, which they owed a great deal to, it was not acceptable.

However, these disciples who became core disciples were the talents that the sect intended to cultivate vigorously. Although going out to travel and experience was a necessary part of their growth, they could not allow them to carelessly perish outside and waste the years of protection the sect had provided. Therefore, the dragon patterns contained a trace of the divine soul of a great being.

With the power of a great being, if anyone attempted to extract the divine soul, it would self-destruct immediately, ensuring the attacker’s demise.

At the same time, if a core disciple could use a specific spell to activate it, the divine sense would rapidly transform into a physical entity, striking with one-tenth of the original body’s strength. And even such power would be enough to settle matters for the disciple, as long as the adversaries were not ancient monsters of a similarly great level.

This was the reason why Yun Lie encountered an ambush and activated the dragon pattern.

This also explains why Yun Lie dared to return to the sect with his junior brother, even after offending the two sword masters.

He was indeed combative and willing to fight to the death with opponents to comprehend his own path between life and death.

But he was not a stubborn fool; fighting against an old man clearly would not benefit his path, and if he knew he was at a disadvantage yet still recklessly confronted him when there was another way out, that would not be bravery in battle but rather seeking his own death.

Upon hearing this, Xu Ziqing finally understood.

So that was it...

Translator: Lynn

Translations are not 100% correct. Please let me know if there are typos/mistakes in the chapter.

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