95: Chapter 95 Waiting for the Right Opportunity

Eastern Region, Tianshui City.

Half of the ruins of the Haiyue Inn had been cleared.

Ye Yuan sat under a constructed shed, holding a transmission Jade Slip in his hand.

Chu Kuangren's voice came from the Jade Slip.

"Young Lord, fighting has broken out over at the Guixu. The old fogies from Changsheng Pavilion and Yanyu Pavilion joined forces and broke the Dragon Clan's outer defensive Formation. The Dragon Clan's Grand Elder has fallen in battle. However..."

Chu Kuangren's voice paused, carrying a tremor.

"The Dragon Emperor has awakened. With just one move, he flattened a Saint King from Changsheng Pavilion into meat paste. Now the seawater is backflowing, and the Yao Beasts of the entire Endless Sea have gone mad."

Ye Yuan crushed the Jade Slip.

He stood up and looked toward the direction of the Guixu.

Half of the Eastern Region's sky was clear, while the other half was shrouded in thick black clouds. Thunder shuttled through the black clouds; even from ten thousand miles away, one could feel that suffocating sense of oppression.

Peak Quasi-Emperor, even touching the threshold of a Great Emperor.

The Dragon Emperor's strength was even greater than expected.

Nie Xiao stood behind Ye Yuan holding his broken saber, his Saber Intent erupting. His intuition as a Half-Saint told him that there was danger in that direction that could shatter him to pieces, but there was also an opportunity for a Breakthrough.

"Young Lord, are we going?" Nie Xiao asked.

"We are," Ye Yuan adjusted his cuffs, "but not right now. Let them wear each other out first. The Dragon Emperor has just awakened, and his Physical Body hasn't fully reshaped yet. We'll wait until those old things from the Three Hidden Pavilions push him to the brink before we make our move. Let the people from the Penglai Sword Sect stay at the front as cannon fodder; it doesn't matter even if they all die."

Ye Yuan walked out of the shed.

The streets of Tianshui City were empty.

The Loose Cultivators had long since fled. Those who remained were all death-defying outlaws waiting to go to the Guixu to scavenge for leftovers.

"That old beggar Li Xiaoyao hasn't shown his Face yet. Lingxu Pavilion has always been protective of its own; why are they so quiet this time?" Ye Yuan looked at the gloomy sky, "This muddy water is getting more and more interesting."

Central Region, Baicao Valley.

Deep within the Hundred Thousand Mountains.

The Baicao Valley's protective Sect Formation was fully active.

A green light barrier shrouded the entire valley.

Su Qianxue stood by the herb fields, looking at the withered Spirit Medicine with her brows tightly furrowed.

The great era had begun, and Spiritual Qi was recovering. Logically, the Spirit Medicine should be growing more lushly. However, an abnormality had appeared in Baicao Valley's underground Spiritual Vein. A surge of extreme cold Qi welled up from underground, freezing a large area of precious medicinal ingredients to death.

Mu Qingteng sat in a wheelchair, pushed forward by two Disciples.

"Valley Master," Mu Qingteng coughed twice, "the cold Qi from the earth vein is getting heavier; the Taiyi Divine Needle can no longer suppress it. If this continues, Baicao Valley's Foundation will be destroyed."

Su Qianxue crouched down and pinched a bit of soil that had been frozen into ice shards.

The cold Qi drilled into her Meridians along her fingertips.

She circulated her Soul Transformation Stage spiritual power and forced the cold Qi out.

Danqingzi spoke from within the ring: "Girl, this cold Qi is not simple. That is Ancient Ice Soul. Something is hidden beneath Baicao Valley."

Su Qianxue stood up.

"Elder Mu, organize the Disciples to harvest all the Spirit Medicine that can still be used and put them into the storehouse. Seal off the herb fields," Su Qianxue ordered.

As soon as she finished speaking, the protective Sect Formation gave a violent shake.

The alarm bells rang continuously.

A mountain-guarding Disciple came running over, stumbling.

"Valley Master! Several flying boats have arrived outside! They are flying the banner of the Wan Jian Holy Land, saying they want to borrow our Baicao Valley's Spiritual Vein!"

Su Qianxue's expression turned cold.

Wan Jian Holy Land.

Previously outside Brahma City, the Wan Jian Holy Land's Grand Elder Zhao Tiangang had led people to surround them, only to be shaken back by the high monks of the Great Leiyin Temple. Later, they were schemed against by Gu Sheng in the Sword Burial Abyss, suffering heavy losses. Now that the great era had begun, they were trying to use Baicao Valley as a target to replenish their resources.

"Open the Formation," Su Qianxue drew her side sword, "Baicao Valley will not lend it."

She turned and walked toward the valley entrance. Her Soul Transformation Stage cultivation was released without reservation. The Luck of the Destined Daughter was revealed unmistakably at this moment, even forcing the surrounding extreme cold Qi back by three feet.

Heavenly Saint City, Star-Plucking Tower.

Gu Sheng had just returned from the Great Xia Imperial Palace.

System notification sounds rang out one after another.

[Ding! Destined Daughter Su Qianxue is facing a crisis; Baicao Valley is being besieged by the Wan Jian Holy Land.]

[Ding! Side quest triggered: Suppress the Wan Jian Holy Land and stabilize Great Xia's rear. Reward: 200,000 destiny points.]

Gu Sheng stopped his footsteps.

Wan Jian Holy Land?

Did those Sword Cultivators have water in their brains? Instead of seizing the territory of the Taichu Holy Land, they ran to the Hundred Thousand Mountains to gnaw on a hard bone like Baicao Valley. That old scoundrel Zhao Tiangang really doesn't learn his lesson.

"Xuan Kong," Gu Sheng called out.

Xuan Kong walked out from the shadows.

"Take a trip to the Hundred Thousand Mountains," Gu Sheng instructed, "Wan Jian Holy Land is besieging Baicao Valley. Take Luo Qingxue with you and suppress the situation for me. Baicao Valley is now Great Xia's imperial pharmacy; whoever touches it dies."

Xuan Kong took the order and departed.

Gu Sheng walked to the window, looking at the surging sea of Spiritual Qi clouds outside Heavenly Saint City.

Hundred Thousand Mountains, Baicao Valley.

The green light barrier of the protective Sect Formation was vibrating violently. Ripples spread out from the point of impact, and the light grew dim.

In the air outside the valley, three massive bronze sword-boats were suspended. The surfaces of the sword-boats were covered in complex Formation runes, every one of them spitting out sharp sword glows.

Wan Jian Holy Land's Grand Elder Zhao Tiangang stood at the bow of the foremost ship. His Face was ashen, and his eyes were bloodshot. Recently, the Wan Jian Holy Land had been plagued by bad Luck. Outside Brahma City, their Face was lost to the high monks of the Great Leiyin Temple; in the Sword Burial Abyss, they lost a large number of elites; and after finally setting their sights on the old site of the Taichu Holy Land, they were beaten to it by those lunatics from the Sword Burial Abyss.

The Sect's Foundation had been greatly consumed, and they urgently needed resources to fill the gap. He was determined to take this choice piece of meat that was Baicao Valley today.

"Valley Master Su," Zhao Tiangang's voice, laced with true essence, spread throughout the entire valley, "Hand over the control of Baicao Valley's earth vein, and this old man guarantees that the Wan Jian Holy Land will not harm a single blade of grass or tree in the valley. The great era has opened; a little girl like you who has just entered Soul Transformation cannot hold onto this family business."

Su Qianxue stood in front of the herb fields. The long sword in her hand pointed diagonally at the ground, and Soul Transformation Stage spiritual power surged in her Meridians, resisting the pressure falling from above.

"Elder Zhao must be joking," Su Qianxue looked up, "Baicao Valley's Foundation has been passed down for a thousand years. If I hand it over in my hands, I would have no Face to see the Ancestral Masters of past generations after death. If the Wan Jian Holy Land wants the earth vein, come and take it yourselves."

Danqingzi's anxious voice came from the ring: "Girl, don't be stubborn. Zhao Tiangang is at the Late Stage of the Creation Realm, and there are two Half-Saint level Grand Elders hidden on the sword-boats. You won't even be able to take one move in a head-on clash. Retreat to the inner valley and use the Ancient Ice Soul Formation to stall for time."

Su Qianxue did not retreat.

She was the head of the imperial pharmacy personally appointed by the Empress of Great Xia, and the Valley Master personally supported by Pavilion Master Gu of the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion. If she retreated now, she would be losing the Face of Great Xia and the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion.

"Stubborn and incorrigible," Zhao Tiangang lost his patience and waved his hand, "Break the Formation!"

The three sword-boats simultaneously emitted a dull hum. Tens of thousands of Flying Swords shot out from the Formation runes, converging into a steel torrent that headed straight for the eye of the protective Sect Formation.

The roar was deafening.

The green light barrier distorted violently under the impact of the sword flow, and fine cracks appeared on its surface.

The Disciples of Baicao Valley turned pale, desperately injecting spiritual power into the Formation, but it was merely a drop in the ocean.

The Formation was about to shatter.

A very light zither sound suddenly came from the void.

Zheng—

The sound of the zither entered the ears; it had no earth-shaking momentum, yet it carried a chill that pierced straight through the Divine Soul.

The sword flow dancing across the sky stagnated for a moment in mid-air. Immediately after, starting from the foremost Flying Swords, a layer of white ice crystals rapidly spread. In less than half a breath, over ten thousand Flying Swords were all frozen into lumps of ice, crashing onto the open ground outside the valley with a series of clatters.

Zhao Tiangang's pupils shrank, and he abruptly turned his head to look to the side.

A small purple-gold flying boat broke through the clouds, silently suspending itself above the sword-boats.

Luo Qingxue, in a white dress, sat at the bow holding the nine nether soul-suppressing zither. Her fingers were pressed on the zither strings, and her fingertips were wreathed in the cold Lunar Origin.

Xuan Kong walked out of the cabin, his white clothes fluttering in the wind. He didn't waste words, stepping directly out of the flying boat and appearing right above the three sword-boats.

His Creation Realm Peak Protective Aura was released without reservation.

The air was squeezed into ear-piercing explosive bangs. A massive, visible handprint of Protective Aura descended from the sky, slamming directly onto the middle sword-boat.

The sword-boat's defensive Formation didn't even last for a breath before instantly shattering. The entire ship was slammed downwards by dozens of zhang, the hull making the sound of breaking under an unbearable load.

Zhao Tiangang was shaken by this immense force until his blood and Qi surged, and he retreated three steps before stabilizing his stance.

"Heavenly Secrets Pavilion!" Zhao Tiangang gritted his teeth, recognizing Xuan Kong and Luo Qingxue. He had a vivid memory of the scene in the Great Xia Imperial City where Xuan Kong heavily injured the Elder of the Taichu Holy Land.