by <unknown>
Therefore, the Purple Pole Sword Sect announced the Dragon Spring Meeting ahead of schedule as a counterattack. They were demonstrating the marvelous weapons and the primeval treasures that the sect had accumulated for hundreds of years to the world.
Was it really a 'production release meeting' or an 'annual special sale'?
It was a blatant demonstration of power, almost like someone half-naked shouting, "Come on. The Purple Pole Sword Sect has so many disciples and so many extraordinary weapons. Whoever intends to steal my orders or break into my headquarters is welcome to try, as long as you are prepared to be killed!"
However, the other major sects in the Great Qian Dynasty were obviously determined to chop something, preferably a piece of meat, off the Purple Pole Sword Sect.
Even 'Iron Saint' Qi Zhongdao, the grand leader of the largest sect in the world who was acknowledged as the leader of all Cultivators, had been invited to have a summit confrontation with 'Sword Maniac' Yan Liren.
The meaning was obvious, too. 'I might as well have a try!'
This is very exciting! Li Yao could not help but feel his mouth was dry in his excitement.
The competitions in the Dragon Spring Meeting would decide the fate of the Purple Pole Sword Sect, the largest sword sect of the Great Qian Dynasty, and even alter the general picture of the Ancient Sages Sector.
'Iron Saint' Qi Zhongdao and 'Sword Maniac' Yan Liren would certainly try their best. It was not going to be a restrained exchange of skills.
I'm told that, except for the two Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators who went missing mysteriously a hundred years ago, Qi Zhongdao and Yan Liren are basically the representatives of the top combat ability of the Ancient Sages Sector. By observing the fight of the two unparalleled experts, I will be able to evaluate the average level of the top warriors of the Ancient Sages Sector!
Also, the Heaven Flipping Seal, Qi Zhongdao's core magical equipment, and the marvelous sword that Yan Liren has recently polished are both claimed to be 'primeval treasures'. Does their 'primeval' mean the same as the 'primeval' in the outside world? I'm going to observe it more carefully!
Also, all the big shots in the Great Qian Dynasty must've joined the Dragon Spring Meeting. This is the best opportunity for Master Spiritual Vulture to announce his grand entrance!
Now is better than later. Let's go to the Dragon Spring Meeting now!
[ol][li data-annotation-id="15b3805a-384a-40ff-bbf2-83cee0a3507d"]Zhongdao means 'neutral'.[/ol]
Chapter 1384: Tension Below the Hundred Blade Mountain! |
The Purple Glow Peak of the Hundred Blade Mountain in the Middle Sun State was where the Purple Pole Sword Sect was headquartered.
Li Yao and Ling Lanyin had been rushing on their swords day and night after learning the news that the Dragon Spring Meeting was to be held in advance. They reached the place after a crazy journey of more than ten thousand kilometers without rest. But still, they were three days late, and the Dragon Spring Meeting had already begun!
What a magnificent mountain that takes the sky and the earth as a furnace!
Li Yao secretly admired the Hundred Blade Mountain, which span hundreds of kilometers.
As the name 'Hundred Blade' suggested, the mountain was steep and had quite a lot of abrupt peaks that stabbed into the sky like swords, spears, sabers, and other blades.
On the precipitous peaks that rose up to the sky almost vertically, countless pavilions had been established wherever there was a gap. They were as magnificent as palaces. Their main colors, green and black, gave a strong sense of solemnity.
Amid the hundreds of peaks, dozens of waterfalls were rushing down like raging dragons made of jade in roaring sounds. Emitting colorful brilliance, the water streams congregated into various forms. The view was quite splendid.
The jade dragons were mixed with tremendous minerals, which made them out-and-out 'heaven metal waterfalls'. The minerals were also the reason that they were variously colored. Although they were too lethal for people to drink directly, they were the best ingredients to forge swords or to conduct refining.
Li Yao looked up far ahead. Deep inside the Hundred Blade Mountain, brilliant fire was soaring up, pushing the smoke upward into a cloud that covered the mountain.
It looked like both an ocean in the sky and an upside-down furnace that had enshrouded the entire world.
From the depths of the clouds, clangs were vaguely echoing, indicating that it was an ancient refining ground whose scale was unfathomable!
This is rather splendid. It is almost as good as the headquarters of the 'Hundred Smelting Clan!
Li Yao and Ling Lanyin put away their swords and landed.
The Great Qian Dynasty boasted a vast territory. The thousands of sects were far away from each other.
Therefore, although it was the third day of the Dragon Spring Meeting, the Cultivators from many sects were still arriving.
Li Yao and Ling Lanyin had kept a low profile on their way. They did not reveal the magnificent auras of the Core Formation Stage and the Nascent Soul Stage, wear the attire and badge of the Purple Pole Sword Sect, or hold the banner of the Purple Pole Sword Sect.
Therefore, many Cultivators coming with them did not even know who they were.
Most of the participants of the Dragon Spring Meeting did not come to purchase flying swords. Instead, they were gloating and planning to gain something for themselves now that the great power named 'Purple Pole Sword Sect' was falling.
"Hehe. How domineering was the Purple Pole Sword Sect when they conspired with the great eunuch Wang Xi years ago? Their days are finally over!"
"It's hilarious that they are convening the 'Dragon Spring Meeting' in advance to show their power. Are they planning to desperately struggle?"
"But they couldn't have seen it coming that even 'Iron Saint' Qi Zhongdao couldn't bear their crimes any longer and would arrive with the many experts of the six major sects of the Great Qian Dynasty. They are going to suppress the Purple Pole Sword Sect thunderously!
"Although the Purple Pole Sword Sect has seven Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators, more than thirty Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators have come to threaten the Hundred Blade Mountain under the call of 'Iron Saint' Qi Zhongdao. How are they going to win the fight?"
"I'm told that 'Sword Maniac' Yan Liren of the Purple Pole Sword Sect has recently finished polishing a primeval sword, and he is going to challenge Iron Saint Qi Zhongdao's Heaven Flipping Seal with the sword."
"Yan Liren is doubtlessly the best sword Cultivator in the world, but Qi Zhongdao's Heaven Flipping Seal is a primeval treasure that is unparalleled in the entire Ancient Sages Sector. Too many super experts in the Nascent Soul Stage have been knocked down by the Heaven Flipping Seal and unable to move at all the moment it was released! Yan Liren must be crazy to hope to reverse the situation with himself and his sword!
"Yes. Fellow Cultivator Li, Fellow Cultivator Wang, the twelve sects in the South Desert have always been in neat cooperation. We must work together again this time! After Iron Saint Qi Zhongdao suppresses Yan Liren, we can only expect to gain something from the gaps between the fingers of those eminent sects by working together!"
The participants who joined the Dragon Spring Meeting on the third day came mostly from small sects from far-flung areas.
Those Cultivators from the harsh lands naturally did not show much courtesy, nor did they bother to pretend that they had. They gathered and whispered to each other, while they eyed the hills and lakes inside the Purple Pole Sword Sect maliciously.
The five thousand empyreal swordsmen and the hundreds of thousands of disciples of the Purple Pole Sword Sect had long been sent to every corner of the territory.
Compared to the guests whose ill intentions were obvious, the disciples of the Purple Pole Sword Sect not only boasted determination that suggested that they would not hesitate to die together with the enemy but also were well trained and highly obedient. They seemed to be even more organized than the Ling family's
Black Tiger Iron Guards!
What tough swordsmen!
The splendid scenery inside the Purple Pole Sword Sect was already a great eye-opener for Li Yao. But the valiance, calmness, and resolution of the disciples of the sect was a hundred times more impressive than the scenery.
The main business of the Purple Pole Sword Sect was forging and refining, which necessitated minerals.
The Hundred Blade Mountain where the Purple Pole Sword Sect was headquartered was a natural paradise with the most abundant metal resources in the entire Ancient Sages Sector.
The Purple Pole Sword Sect also raised a large, experienced, and skillful team of miners.
Miners were one of the few technology-intensive professions in the age of ancient Cultivators. Not only was the job highly dangerous and arduous, it also required certain knowledge and excellent discipline.
Also, when miners worked inside the caves that were full of spiritual energy radiation for a long time, the spiritual energy slowly nurtured their body, which was of great help to strengthen their soul power and physical build.
Therefore, compared to the peasants who generally made a living on the farmland, not only were miners greater backups for Cultivators, they would also easily make a magnificent army because of their fearlessness and their obedience after they became Cultivators!
The disciples at the edge of the Purple Pole Sword Sect who were greeting the guests around were exactly so.
They were just external disciples and did not receive the honorable title 'empyreal swordsman' yet. But their full armor, their crossed swords on their back, and the great saber dangling from their waist added to their brutality, declaring that they were not afraid to start a fight anytime, anywhere.
That was exactly the first impression that the Purple Pole Sword Sect intended to leave on the major sects of the world.
Despite her high Cultivation, Ling Lanyin was still very young and had been too focused on her sword arts. She really did not know much about the conflicts among Cultivators.
Hearing that 'Iron Saint' Qi Zhongdao, the leader of all Cultivators, was also going to deal with the Purple Pole Sword Sect, the girl's heart was already in a mess.
Now, she was witnessing the tension on the Hundred Blade Mountain. All the disciples were ready for a desperate struggle.
The insignificant sects from the far-flung areas were not respecting the renowned 'best sword sect of the world' anymore!
The fall of her sect seemed to be happening soon!
Right then, two ear-splitting noises echoed on the top of two mountains that were as steep as the edge of a sword. The soundwaves spread out like surging tides, leaving a hole more than ten square kilometers in the mist on the top of the mountains.
Thunderous cheers erupted!
Very soon, a piece of shocking news came over.
Master Heavenly Dome, an elder of the Purple Pole Sword Sect at the middle level of the Nascent Soul Stage, had a fight with Zhuge Xuan, the leader of the Thunderstorm Valley, which was one of the six major sects, with a newly produced Nine Turns Fish Intestine Sword but failed!
Master Heavenly Dome was injured, and the Fish Intestine Sword was broken!
After the news came over, all the disciples of the Purple Pole Sword Sect gritted their teeth, their eyes bloodshot.
The Cultivators from the middle-sized and small-sized sects who intended to fish in troubled waters, however, were rejoicing in delight!
Ling Lanyin shook so hard that she almost fell off from the flying sword which was yet to come to a stop. Her face was one brimming with desperation.
Li Yao, however, chuckled and did not think it was a big deal.
"Se—senior, with the situation in our sect right now, you—"
Ling Lanyin looked at Li Yao, ill at ease.
At this moment, the mysterious old monster was her last hope. She was fearing that Li Yao would immediately change sides and take advantage of the hopeless situation of the Purple Pole Sword Sect after everything that he had seen!
"Kid, no worries. After observing the terrain and the demeanor of the Purple Pole Sword Sect, you are not at a dead end yet!" Li Yao laughed aloud. "The Iron Saint Qi Zhongdao, the thirty Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators, and the hundred incoming sects are just bluffs."
"What?" Dumbfounded, Ling Lanyin stammered. "Thirty Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators and almost a hundred sects have arrived. Still more sects are coveting and intending to take advantage of our misfortune. Are they all bluffs?"
"It is exactly because too many sects have arrived that they are bluffs," Li Yao said casually. "If they were truly determined to destroy the Purple Pole Sword Sect, the six major sects would have come without a sound, lead by their elites. Why would they ask so many insignificant sects who are utterly useless except for giving cheers and applause to join them?
"The more sects there are, the more disorganized they will be. What about thirty Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators? Are they really a gapless group?
"Today, for the major sects, it is an issue of getting more benefits or fewer benefits. It's just business. But for the Purple Pole Sword Sect, this is a matter of life and death!
"Therefore, everybody in your sect, from the Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators to the unofficial, external disciples, will certainly try your best, putting your lives on the line.
"You can easily tell it from the countenance of the swordsmen in your sect. Hearing that your elder in the Nascent Soul Stage has failed, they are merely gritting their teeth hard but show no hesitation or oscillation. It is doubtlessly a gesture that they are going to have a desperate last try!
"As the saying goes, 'a mourning army is a winning army'. You are now a mourning army!
"The best sword sect in the world, with six Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators, five thousand empyreal swordsmen, a hundred thousand elite swordsmen, and even more external disciples and miners who are adept at martial arts! All the sects here may be able to destroy you if they truly mean to, but can they eliminate every one of you?
"If they can't, and the super experts such as 'Sword Maniac' Yan Liren lead some of the empyreal swordsmen to escape, they will see an army of rebels that is ten times more dreadful than the White Lotus Cult and the Heaven Battering Army. Who can bear such dire consequences?"
Chapter 1385: Greetings, Elder! |
"Moreover…" Li Yao sneered. His hands in his back, he continued unhurriedly, "How much are they going to pay if they really make up their mind to demolish the Purple Pole Sword Sect? The wrath of a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator is never to be underestimated. You have six Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators right now. If I were your leader, I would gather the six Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators and attack one of the sects, say, the Grand Mystery Sect that 'Iron Saint' Qi Zhongdao belongs to!
"As the saying goes, 'tall trees catch much wind'. As the largest sect in the world, does the Grand Mystery Sect not have any enemies or any rivals that covet its position? So, the Purple Pole Sword Sect would concentrate all their strength on it and drag it to hell together!
"The Purple Pole Sword Sect dares to die, but does the Grand Mystery Sect dare to?
"The Grand Mystery Sect dares not. None of the so-called 'six major sects' dare, not to mention the insignificant smaller sects! A hundred sects have indeed arrived aggressively on the surface, but they have their own interests, plans, and concerns. What are they if not an unruly mob?
"Lastly, although so many sects are standing against you, are there not any sects that are standing on your side in secret? The Purple Pole Sword Sect obviously cannot be the only 'eunuch's conspirator'. The other 'eunuch's conspirators' must've already gathered in the Hundred Blade Mountain, too!
"The Purple Pole Sword Sect will be their example. What you suffer will happen to them later. Do you think that they will watch the giant tree named Purple Pole Sword Sect fall without doing anything?
"When the time of life and death comes, rest assured, those 'eunuch's conspirators' will certainly jump out an
d fight on your side!
"Even I, a barbarian from nowhere, know all the above. Can Qi Zhongdao, the well-respected leader of all Cultivators, and the leaders of the other major sects not think of that? It will be a great joke!"
Ling Lanyin was dumbfounded at what he said. She looked at Li Yao in disbelief, admiration, and reverence.
She knew every word that Li Yao had said, but the connotation after the words were connected was fresh for her. It was like a gate was opened in front of her, introducing her to a brand-new world!
Noticing the girl's apparent shock, Li Yao secretly sighed in his heart.
He discovered that abundant spiritual energy was not necessarily a good thing.
Because of the abundant spiritual, training was simple here. So, the population of Cultivators in the Ancient Sages Sector was very large. Their speed in upgrading their Cultivation was quite high, too.
But it was exactly because of the ease of training that they overlooked the whetting of their will and belief. As a result, a lot of them, just like Ling Lanyin, were simple-minded, weak-willed, and did not have a firm belief despite their immense strength.
At the same level, the Cultivators from the Ancient Sages Sector were certainly no match for those from the federation. It was not about the technological gap but about the gap in will and belief!
At the very least, the experts at the peak of the Core Formation Stage in the federation were all determined, extraordinary people who were pillars of their field. They certainly would not ask stupid questions like that.
Ling Lanyin simply felt that the old monster was growing more and more mysterious. She did not dare to look down on him at all now but asked respectfully, "If I may ask senior, with what you said in mind, why are the parties in such tension right now?"
"This is negotiation." Li Yao snorted. "The Purple Pole Sword Sect swallowed too much in the past few years with your personal connection with Wang Xi. You enraged everyone. Now that the new emperor has claimed the throne and Wang Xi has fallen, you must surrender some of your benefits!
