The clash between Ding Mian and Meng Tingfeng was not silent, and many immortals came to investigate. But when they arrived, all they saw was a destroyed mansion with no one present. Although they saw no one, they still recognized Elder Seven Star’s qi signature. There was also Alchemist’s Ding’s qi signature, but it was very faint and weak. They also detected a third qi signature, one that was so abundant that it suppressed Elder Seven Star’s qi.
They couldn’t make heads or tails of the information available. At least until the new grand elder of the Numinous Sword Sect, Ye Chen, gave his piece. He recognized the qi signature as the same one that appeared when the Wavefold Sect was destroyed.
This news sent an explosion through the Numinous Sword Sect. Although the high echelon curbed the rumors as much as possible, it still spread among the immortals. Even the mortal cultivators sensed the air of unease. There was another piece of information: Elder Seven Stars had reached the Extremity Immortal Realm, but not many were willing to believe it.
It was not just because Elder Seven Stars did not leak any news of his breakthrough, but more that they weren’t willing to believe it. If Elder Seven Stars could disappear because of the mysterious immortal, how powerful must that immortal be to sneak in and make a sword emperor disappear?
Meng Tingfeng’s disappearance also caused a headache to Monarch Solesword and the other decision makers. Before he could be happy about Ye Chen’s breakthrough, he was injured. Granted, it seemed that Ye Chen was injured thanks to the sacrifice of the Ripple Emperor, but he would rather the Ripple Emperor survive and Ye Chen uninjured.
And now, he just lost two crucial pieces. Although Alchemist Ding’s disappearance was a blow, it hardly hurt as much as the disappearance of a new sword emperor. With Ye Chen injured, the Numinous Sword Sect desperately needed someone to raise morale. Meng Tingfeng would have been perfect.
Monarch Solesword felt as if there were a pair of poisonous eyes staring at him in the dark. Whenever the Numinous Sword Sect prevailed or managed to catch a breath, that viper would strike for the shadows, invalidating all the good that had just happened.
Worse, he didn’t have any information about who the mysterious immortal was at all. It was as if he had appeared out of nowhere, but how could such a powerful immortal be unknown?
Questions were all Monarch Solesword received.
Questions and rumors.
Despite his best efforts, rumors of what happened inside the Numinous Sword Sect still spread. Monarch Solesword believed it was impossible for the information to become public knowledge without someone pushing it from the dark. The worst part was not just the new sword emperor’s disappearance, but an analytic report exposing the Numinous Sword Sect’s guardian formation.
Monarch Solesword had also obtained the report. It was frighteningly accurate. He couldn’t help but suspect that there was a traitor amongst the high echelon of the Numinous Sword Sect after reading the information. However, he knew it was impossible after calming down.
The analytic report did point out all the faults and possible weaknesses of the guardian formation, but it was from the viewpoint of someone that studied the formation without knowing the core information. Even then, it was frightening, but it only covered some of the invisible and visible formations that guarded the Numinous Sword Sect.
It was impossible for the Numinous Sword Sect to fall with this information. At least, before the disappearance of the four Immortal Exterminating Swords and sword emperors. With this information, Monarch Solesword couldn’t guarantee that the two alliances wouldn’t become tempted and launch a siege.
No, he was escaping from reality. The two alliances would definitely attack. If he was in the same situation, he would do the same. The only question was the time of the attack.
It took much longer than Monarch Solesword expected. Seven years, to be exact. During these seven years, the Void Moon Sect did not take any action, but the Three Island Alliance made many moves. Mostly to test the veracity of the report on the Numinous Sword Sect’s guardian formation. Without a doubt, it was true. It was impossible to make major changes to the formation in the current times, but small adjustments were possible, but even then, a new analytic report on the formation would come out soon.
It gave Monarch Solesword an eerie feeling. It was as if there was an invisible enemy by his side, constantly monitoring him, but even if he knew about it, he was helpless to do anything about it.
And now, Monarch Solesword stood atop Qingping Peak with his hands behind his back, staring at the immortal boats and fortresses floating outside the perimeter of the Numinous Sword Sect. He wasn’t alone as the other five monarchs that led the Numinous Sword Sect stood behind him. Originally there were seven, but war had taken their life.
“How’s Grand Elder Ye’s injuries?”
“After using a considerable amount of resources, he said about eighty percent of his total combat potential.”
Rather than saying he appeared, it would be more accurate to say he had always been waiting within. Even for him, it would be impossible to sneak into the Numinous Sword Sect once the inner guardian formation materialized.
Ding Mian’s figure walked past the two true immortals guarding the entrance. Although they were guarding the entrance to the forbidden zone, it was obvious that their hearts were on the battle occurring right outside. Not that they could sense Ding Mian even if they were exerting one hundred and ten percent effort. The true guardian of the forbidden zone was the formation.
As he walked deeper, Ding Mian expected an alert or formation to suddenly spring on him, but no matter how he waited, it didn’t happen. Confused, Ding Mian continued to tread deeper. When he saw the core area, he stopped, a befuddled expression under his mask.
“What is this?”
He stood in front of the void. No, calling it void would not be correct. The darkness did not lead him to the Vast Void. At the center and core of the Numinous Sword Sect was a black hole. Chunks of ground floated near the edge. It was as if a giant tree had been plucked from the ground, leaving only a hole.
Ding Mian recalled the rumor that he heard before, that the Numinous Sword Sect had an Allheaven Jianmu Tree. Now, the rumor seemed true, but just like the four Immortal Exterminating Swords, it vanished mysteriously for no reason.
He didn’t give up and inspected the void, but came up empty. Just like he had left no clues to the destruction of the Wavefold Sect, the missing secret of the Numinous Sword Sect gave him nothing to glean. After a while he left, helplessly. There was nothing to gain.
A gleam entered his eyes. In that case, he should raid the scripture repository of the Numinous Sword Sect before leaving. As a man of action, he did just that.
Unlike when he trespassed into the core area, the formation forced him out of his stealth the moment he touched the core area of the scripture repository.
“Alchemist Ding?!” an immortal guarding the scripture repository shouted.
Before he could say anything, Ding Mian had already appeared in front of him. A hand pressed onto his chest, and before he could react, the light in his eyes disappeared. “Sorry, I have to erase as many traces of my appearance as possible.”
After saying those words, Ding Mian continued forcing his way in. Wherever he passed, he would wave his hand, and the techniques stored would disappear. He only stopped when he reached the final level. “As expected, the true core secrets aren’t here. There’s no choice. I should go now.”
It would be a lie to say that he didn’t want to see the end of the battle between the Numinous Sword Sect and the two alliances, but the risk was simply too great. If the Numinous Sword Sect in the prime timeline could still receive information, it would rattle the snake and raise their guard.
He raised his palm and a miniature sun orbited by eight planets appeared. “Jeez, this feeling isn’t good. Is this how Longzi felt?”
Ding Mian’s body vanished. The moment he disappeared, the miniature sun expanded. Each miniature planet it swallowed, the rate of expansion increased exponentially until it engulfed the entire scripture repository, and then some.
This disturbance caused panic among the sword immortals. They, who had the upper hand, faltered. Monarch Solesword had no choice but to weaken the offense in order to dispatch sword immortals to quell the chaos within the sect.
However, this had nothing to do with Ding Mian, who appeared in the Vast Void. His figure could not be seen as he made his way to the Huang Realm, but when he arrived, all he saw was broken landmasses. Many of them he recognized as part of the Huang Realm.
Ding Mian was speechless. “Did the Immortal Court Spirit take action and destroy the Huang Realm again?”
He took off his mask, revealing a pair of bedeviling phoenix eyes. With a shake of his head, he disappeared from the timeline and traveled through the Six Paths of Samsara.