Cang Lu's Betrayal!

Yet the instant Li Guanqi departed the mountain summit, a figure upon Tianlei Peak's Spirit Ascension Platform slowly opened his eyes!! The jade slip in his hand flickered faintly. "The message has been sent." The corners of Cang Lu's mouth curled slightly as he rose and stretched lazily. Across his half-closed eyes, a sharp gleam and a flicker of killing intent abruptly flashed. With his curled lips and eyes showing the whites, he looked exceedingly sinister and demonic. "Putting on this act is truly exhausting." "Li Guanqi... is it really you?" "What's in that sword casket... heheh." Walking out of the cultivation chamber, Cang Lu let his arms hang loosely, smiling gently as he strolled toward the courtyard at the mountain summit. Along the way, quite a few disciples bowed respectfully upon seeing him. "Greetings, Senior Brother Cang." "Is Senior Brother Cang going to discuss the Dao with Elder Li again?" "Senior Brother Cang is amazing. His aura feels much stronger again!" Cang Lu merely smiled and nodded in response. Before long, Cang Lu arrived before the gates of Li Nanting's courtyard. Knock, knock, knock. A crisp voice called out: "Who is it?" Sitting on the threshold, the old man chuckled. "It's Cang Lu." Yu Sui'an curled her lips. She didn't particularly like Cang Lu, but she still leaped up and bounded to the main gate. Creak— "You're here again." "Haha, yes. I just finished meditating and had some new insights, so I wanted to chat with Elder Li." Li Nanting tapped his pipe. "You're already in the Nascent Soul realm. What could you possibly discuss with an old Core Formation cultivator like me?" With his head lowered, the old man's eyelids twitched faintly. With an unintended slip of force, the pipe in his hand actually snapped! Snap! Cold sweat trickled down Li Nanting's forehead. Standing at the doorway, Cang Lu smiled faintly and stepped across the threshold into the courtyard. Yu Sui'an realized something was amiss as well. Golden light flashed beneath her feet, and she instantly leaped back more than ten zhang! She spread her arms before the old man, and in her right hand, an ancient sword at the spirit treasure rank abruptly appeared!!! It was none other than one of the Seven Swords of Tianjin Peak!! "What are you trying to do?!" A jade slip suddenly appeared in Li Nanting's hand. His withered fingers squeezed hard, shattering it in an instant. Yet no ripples from the jade slip propagated outward. The old man's expression changed slightly, his eyes narrowing as he glared at the youth at the gate. By now, the youth had already produced a dark-brown ancient zither and sat cross-legged on the threshold. A demonic smirk played upon Cang Lu's face. He said softly, "Don't bother. The space here has already been sealed by me. No message can get out." Clang!! Li Nanting surged to his feet, sword in hand, stepping in front of Yu Sui'an. His slightly cloudy eyes locked onto Cang Lu. In a chilling voice, he demanded, "You are not a Nascent Soul cultivator. Who on earth are you? And what is your goal?" Cang Lu smiled faintly. "Naturally." "How could I be a mere Nascent Soul? I am at the Soul Formation realm." As he spoke, his slender fingers lightly brushed the zither strings! Zheng—!!! The zither sounded with murderous intensity. A terrifying sonic wave ripped through the void, arriving in the blink of an eye!! Swoosh! "Watch out!!!" Li Nanting's white robe billowed without wind. As his primal energy surged frantically, his strength peaked in an instant! With a wave of his hand, a streak of thunderous sword light slashed forward!! At the same time, his left hand caught Yu Sui'an's collar and flung her backward. Boom!! Crack!! Thud!!! The seemingly fearsome thunder sword light was utterly frail before the sonic wave. Black spatial fissures fanned outward, expanding relentlessly, shattering the sword beam with unstoppable force!! Li Nanting whipped his sword back to block in front of him. The blade shattered into countless fragments that embedded into the old man's chest, while several primal energy barriers before him ruptured in succession. The force slammed into the old man's chest, the razor-sharp assault cleaving through flesh and bone. The old man was thrown dozens of zhang, while the razor-sharp sonic wave sliced right through the courtyard's pavilions like a blade, bisecting them!! Li Nanting crashed to the ground vomiting blood, his eyes wide with horror!!! Flipping his hand, he whipped out another jade slip and crushed it violently!! Boom!!! An unimaginably terrifying sword beam erupted from the earth, instantly grinding the incoming sonic attack to pieces. Blood gushed from the wound on his chest; that attack had stopped a mere finger's breadth from his heart!! If this wasn't a coincidence, it could only mean that his opponent's control over his power far exceeded anything he could imagine! Yu Sui'an darted to the old man's side, her eyes reddening at once. "Grandpa Li!! Wuwu! Grandpa Li, are you all right?!" By the distant gateway, Cang Lu curled his lip in boredom and sneered: "How boring... I merely plucked a single string, and that's all it takes." He kicked the bottom of the zither, sending it spinning several times in midair before snatching it into his grasp. Slapping the zither onto his back, he saw the old man's look and couldn't help but chuckle. "Heh, no need to look. This barrier incorporates an illusion array. Outside, they can't hear a sound, nor can they see anything." "Not that it really matters. I'll have to fight them in a moment anyway." At those words, Li Nanting's pupils contracted violently. Cang Lu showed not the slightest hint of panic or rush. From his brazen, fearless demeanor, he didn't appear to fear Lu Kangnian and the others in the least. "Cough, cough!! Who on earth are you?!" "What is your objective?" Even now, the old man could not understand how Cang Lu had suddenly become a Soul Formation Realm powerhouse!! One had to know that when he first arrived at the Great Xia Sword Sect, he was merely at Core Formation. When he broke through to Nascent Soul, many people had been present, and none of them noticed anything amiss! What was more, Li Guanqi had even verified that Cang Lu had not been possessed! Which meant... Cang Lu was at the Soul Formation realm from the very beginning!! And through unknown means, he had deceived everyone!! Watching the old man's eyes flicker, Cang Lu chuckled softly. "Hmm... objective..." "How should I put it?" "I had nothing better to do, so I did it on a whim." "I just wanted to confirm a few things, that's all." As soon as the words left his mouth, a glint of cold light flashed in Cang Lu's eyes. Raising his hand, a terrifying force slammed straight toward the old man's dantian!! Yu Sui'an pulled free from the old man's grip and flashed in front of Li Nanting. Li Nanting was horrified. "Sui'an!!" The little girl's gaze turned resolute. Tremendous primal energy gathered within her, and the sword in her hand let out a clear chime! Clang!!! A profound sword form slashed out abruptly! Yu Sui'an's eyes were resolute. Even facing sky-filling pressure, she did not retreat half a step. Cang Lu sneered, thrusting out a finger to fire a terrifying beam of light. Yet the instant the sword light shattered— The winds and clouds in heaven and earth abruptly churned!! Tens of thousands of li away, Li Guanqi's face changed drastically!!! "Jiuxiao!!! Return to the sect at once!!!" The jade slip hanging around Yu Sui'an's neck detonated with a bang! An unimaginably terrifying thunder sword light burst forth. Shimmering with crimson light and laced with thunder and flame, the frightening thunder sword light roared as it slashed forward!! Only ten zhang from Yu Sui'an, Cang Lu's pupils constricted. His expression turned stern as he swung the ancient zither from his back!! The six fingers on his right hand flicked across the strings in rapid succession, unleashing nine terrifying sonic attacks at once!!! At the same time, a cold glint flashed in Cang Lu's eyes. His left hand, concealed within his robe, jabbed violently toward the fallen Li Nanting!! Pfft!!!! A potent force slammed violently into Li Nanting's already fracture-covered golden core!! Crack!!! The old man's face turned deathly pale. He spat out a mouthful of blood and slumped to the ground, his eyes glazed and numb! Boom!!!!! A frightful explosion rang out, sending boulders tumbling down from Tianlei Peak's summit. Li Nanting's courtyard turned to ash in an instant, and a chasm a full three hundred zhang long appeared across the earth. The barrier shattered, and a somewhat disheveled figure surged out from the explosion. Turning his head, he saw the cyan barrier rising over the Great Xia Sword Sect as sonic booms rang out incessantly. Lu Kangnian tore through the void and arrived, brandishing an ancient treasure longsword as he slashed three times in succession!!! Sweeping out with his divine sense, his expression contorted into fury as he bellowed: "Cang Lu has betrayed the sect!!! Kill without mercy!!!"