During the single day of stalemate, the evil faction had launched fierce assaults against the Sword Pavilion, employing poisonous fumes and venomous insects, but none had achieved any notable result.
Jiang Ju was a Fire Lord, a natural counter to gu insects.
Cai Longshen was a Plague God; diseases were in no way inferior to a Witch Doctor's gu poisons, and they were far more difficult to guard against—not even masks could keep them out.
Add to that the red-haired Fire Demon being the son of an alliance leader, possessing astounding combat strength and bolstered by the Sword Pavilion, the free faction—despite holding every advantage—had to admit the opposition was a tough nut to crack.
At such a juncture, the utility of a Dream Master became readily apparent.
Yi Chuanmei glanced toward the distant Sword Pavilion and inquired, "You said just now that Cai Longshen gained control of the Sword Pavilion. I haven't fully grasped the circumstances of this instance yet. What happened with the extermination of Divine Sword Manor? What sort of faction hired the escort agencies? And what's the background of the demon in the main quest?"
Snake Woman offered a sweet, alluring smile. "Greed Divine General was the first to arrive at Divine Sword Manor. In the manor's ancestral shrine, he discovered a letter written in blood that detailed the manor's downfall."
She turned to Greed Divine General and covered her mouth with a light chuckle. "Divine General, why not show it to her? This woman is on guard against us, you know."
Greed Divine General drew a scroll of Xuan paper from his inventory and gave it a gentle toss.
Riding the breeze, the scroll drifted at an unhurried pace toward the roof ridge, where Yi Chuanmei reached out and caught it.
She unrolled the paper and read with rapt attention.
The blood-written text was brushed in standard script, authored by Murong Wenxing, the manor lord of Divine Sword Manor.
The founder of Divine Sword Manor had been Murong Fu, a grand hero of a generation. Hailing from the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, he had risen from humble grassroots beginnings, blessed with profound destiny. He had mastered the secret arts of the five elements and dominated Jiangnan with his swordsmanship alone.
After the Song Dynasty was established and the realm found peace, Murong Fu returned to his hometown and founded Divine Sword Manor.
Before drawing his final breath, Murong Fu instructed his descendants that Divine Sword Manor was to secure its standing in the pugilistic world solely through swordsmanship; future generations were forbidden from practicing the secret arts of the five elements. With that, he carried those secret techniques into his grave.
By the time of Murong Wenxing's generation, Divine Sword Manor had stood strong in the pugilistic world for two centuries. Though it could not rival those exalted immortal sects that soared high and aloof, it enjoyed immense renown throughout Jiangnan.
Murong Wenxing had a son named Murong Long, endowed with extraordinary aptitude and soaring ambitions. As a young man, he ventured out into the martial world, suffered setbacks at the hands of cultivators from an immortal sect, and returned home to cultivate in seclusion.
At first, Murong Wenxing thought little of it. As the saying went, whoever roams the jianghu must expect a few cuts. Once you take a blade, you learn that the jianghu isn't about fighting and killing, but about human nature and worldly wisdom—and that was fine.
Little did he anticipate that Murong Long's obsession would fester into demonic possession. Bent on mastering peerless divine arts to take revenge on the immortal sect, he soon realized that ordinary martial artists could never contend with immortal cultivators.
And so, in secret, he dug open the tomb of their progenitor, Murong Fu, stole the secret arts of the five elements, and cultivated bitterly for six years. Ultimately, he fell into cultivation deviation and unleashed a bloody slaughter upon the manor.
Leading the clan's experts and disciples, Murong Wenxing suppressed the maddened Murong Long, but the manor's masters were nearly wiped out in the process.
Murong Wenxing understood all too well that such a catastrophe would inevitably draw the greed of enemies and ill-intentioned schemers. The handful of surviving clansmen would never be able to safeguard Murong Long's remains and the five elements secret arts.
To prevent chaos from engulfing the martial world, he incinerated Murong Long's physical body, extracted the five element spirits and his soul, sealed them separately, and entrusted them to the surviving kinsmen to carry away.
At the same time, he disbanded the manor's disciples and penned letters to his friends in the jianghu, declaring that he would lead the Murong clan into seclusion, moving the entire family away from the manor.
With all arrangements settled, Murong Wenxing passed away in silence within the ancestral shrine.
Before dying, he had written this confession in blood.
It was a letter of penitence, begging forgiveness from their ancestor.
"No wonder it's called 'Chaos of the Five Elements.' Perhaps this instance holds the secrets of the five orthodox professions. Now it's getting interesting," Yi Chuanmei remarked, her curiosity piqued.
As an experienced spirit walker, she knew that instances were rooted in history. The events that had transpired at Divine Sword Manor must have actually occurred in history.
The mysterious figures who commissioned the five escort agencies were likely the ones who had coveted the five elements secret arts back then. In the instance, however, they seemed to lack significant screen time, acting merely as background flavor.
Snake Woman slithered across the roof, her long, powerful serpentine tail rustling the roof tiles. "The blood letter mentioned a crucial detail. Murong Fu possessed profound fortune and managed to learn the five elements secret arts. If he could master them, why did Murong Long succumb to cultivation deviation?"
"Carrying the secret arts into the grave is another point of suspicion. Murong Fu seemed to anticipate that his descendants wouldn't be able to cultivate them successfully," the bee-woman Xiao Yuan added.
"The secret arts of the five elements... tsk-tsk, truly mouthwatering." Greed Divine General licked his lips, an intense look of avarice gleaming in his eyes.
Then he touched his ponytail with a tinge of regret.
"A pity I'm a Bewitching Demon..."
Snake Woman flicked her tongue with a hiss, offering an alluring, demonic smile. "Perhaps this is a hidden quest. Once we eliminate those orthodox young masters, we can go explore Murong Fu's tomb."
As the conversation unfolded, Yi Chuanmei gradually pieced together the instance's narrative thread and the core of the confrontation between the two factions.
The free faction's quest was to release the demon and wipe out all orthodox spirit walkers.
—Once the ominous entity within a coffin returned to the manor, it would vanish into Murong Fu's tomb palace.
Meanwhile, the orthodox faction had to escort portions of the demon's soul and power to Divine Sword Manor, thereby securing control over a grand array and using its might to slay the free professions.
At present, the only orthodox walker to have completed a side quest was Cai Longshen of Far Ocean Escort Agency.
Inside the Sword Pavilion, Fire Prince Jiang Ju slammed a fist against the doorframe, cursing under his breath, "Damn it, it's Yi Chuanmei. Looks like the people from Yellow Banner Escort Agency failed. Our chances are looking grim."
Cai Longshen's expression was grim. "Yi Chuanmei didn't complete her side quest. If she had, we'd already be dead."
When he first reached Divine Sword Manor, the evil faction's experts were already lying in ambush. Greed Divine General was formidable and terrifying, and with Snake Woman and the others backing him, Cai Longshen had no choice but to abandon his coffin, fighting a running retreat alongside Jiang Ju until they ducked into the Sword Pavilion.
In other words, the evil faction was merely one coffin away from fulfilling the main quest.
If the portion of the ominous entity escorted by Yellow Banner Escort Agency had already broken free of its seal, the demon would have revived by now.
Jiang Ju furrowed his brows in thought for a few seconds before declaring, "We must protect the coffin from Yellow Banner Escort Agency, or we're definitely finished. To repel Yi Chuanmei and keep the coffin safe, they must have an expert on their side. Among the Level 6 peaks in Central Court, there can't be more than ten who possess that kind of strength."
"What happened over at Yellow Banner Escort Agency? I'm quite curious what sort of fluke occurred." Snake Woman slithered her body, circling Yi Chuanmei as she flicked her tongue with a hiss. "Can you tell us now?"
The evil profession members all turned their gazes upon Yi Chuanmei.
"The Yellow Banner Escort Agency team had two orthodox members, both from the authorities. You won't find their names unfamiliar: one is Huang Taiji, and the other is Yuanshi Tianzun," Yi Chuanmei said.
Hearing Huang Taiji's name, the evil professions gave a click of the tongue. While they considered him troublesome, they weren't overly shocked. After all, the number of individuals capable of matching into this instance was limited, even within the official ranks.
Yet the four syllables of "Yuanshi Tianzun" caught every big shot present completely off guard.
Xiao Yuan experienced the greatest emotional tremor. Her eerie, coldly beautiful face froze slightly, stunned in place.
"Yuanshi Tianzun?!" Snake Woman widened her lovely eyes in disbelief, her voice dripping with shock. "The last time I heard about that kid was the killing trial. It's only been two months, and he's already advanced to Level 6??"
The others wore expressions as if they had seen a ghost.
Granted, because the disparity in spirit walker numbers between the orthodox and evil factions was so vast, in multiplayer realms, peak Level 6 figures like them were often matched as bosses against early Level 6 or even Level 5 orthodox walkers.
Two, or even a single individual, pitted against six orthodox walkers.
However, matching against a Level 4 walker was unprecedented.
Excluding artifacts and external factors, six Level 5 orthodox walkers joining forces could barely hold their own against one peak Level 6 evil profession. A Level 4 Saint facing a Level 6 evil profession was nothing short of a slaughter, no matter how many came.
Yi Chuanmei shook her head slightly. "Yuanshi Tianzun is Level 4, but he's no ordinary Level 4 Saint. I suspect he possesses Dominator-grade artifacts or materials. Plus, he's cleared S-rank instances time and again, so his hidden rating must be frighteningly high. The Spirit Realm probably counted him as Level 5 and matched him in, just like these two."
She cast a glance toward the bee-woman and the tattooed burly man.
Only then did the group reluctantly accept the explanation.
The light in Greed Divine General's eyes blazed fiercely, and he exclaimed in excitement, "Dominator-grade materials and artifacts? Those are definitely mine, definitely mine! Well, keep talking..."
Yi Chuanmei proceeded to summarize the clash at the mortuary concisely. "When I noticed something was amiss and approached Yuanshi Tianzun to check on him, he was already dead. But the ominous entity inside the coffin—well, its water-attributed spiritual power seemed to integrate into his corpse, losing its ferocity..."
"Yuanshi Tianzun actually died? Hehe, back then the three major organizations and Dark Night Rose exhausted so much effort plotting to eliminate him in the killing trial, only to return empty-handed," Snake Woman said with a radiant smile. "Who would have thought he'd die right here."
The tattooed burly man sneered, "Like I said, there was never any need to get so anxious back then. A genius in the Transcendent stage doesn't amount to a real genius. See? Once they reach the Saint stage, they die just like anyone else."
Greed Divine General nodded slightly. "From the looks of it, it's precisely because the water-attributed spiritual power merged into his corpse that you failed to complete your quest. No matter. Huang Taiji will have to come to the manor eventually. When the time comes, we'll just seize Yuanshi Tianzun's corpse.
"Heh, if Yuanshi Tianzun truly perished here, once we leave the Spirit Realm, there'll be quite a show to watch. A good thing—a magnificent thing!"
Everyone was celebrating Yuanshi Tianzun's death, save for Xiao Yuan, who remained completely frozen.
She stood dazed atop the roof ridge, stiff as an expressionless statue.
"I think I heard them say Yuanshi Tianzun is dead." Fire Prince Jiang Ju frowned. "If Jingwei finds out, she'll probably cry for three days straight. She was so fond of Yuanshi Tianzun; last time, she even tried to steal the old man's Dominator artifact to give to him, but I caught her in the act...
"That bitch Yi Chuanmei actually killed Yuanshi Tianzun. Fu Qingyang is going to lose his mind, and headquarters will go crazy too."
"Headquarters won't go crazy. A dead genius has no value whatsoever. A mere Level 4—if he's dead, then he's dead. But being able to seal that ominous creature means his death wasn't entirely in vain," Cai Longshen remarked impassively. "By comparison, having Huang Taiji in this instance reassures me far more. We need someone who can tank the hits."
The Fire Prince ran a hand through his red hair and bared his teeth. "Just wait till Huang Taiji gets here. Watch me turn the tables and slaughter them!"
He had long yearned to charge out and have a proper, all-out brawl. A Fire Lord's pride gave him the will to fight tooth and nail without caring about life or death.
His strength, however, did not permit it.
"Hm?" Yi Chuanmei suddenly turned her head to look at the motionless bee-woman, remarking with a smile, "Your emotional fluctuations tell me that you seem to be in immense pain, immense fury, immense despair... What is your connection to Yuanshi Tianzun?"
The gathered evil profession members turned their eyes toward the bee-woman.
A crimson hue surged within Xiao Yuan's obsidian-like eyes, and the two antennae on her forehead trembled violently.
"You killed Yuanshi Tianzun..." She pressed a hand to her head as though trying to push something back down, yet the quivering of her antennae only grew more frantic.
She desperately wanted to remain rational, to wait for an opportunity to take revenge. That was the correct course of action. But she simply could not control her emotions.
The moment she heard the news of Yuanshi Tianzun's death, her emotional grip completely shattered.
Pain? Despair? Grief? Rage? She could no longer distinguish which one it was, or perhaps it was all of them at once.
The inner serenity she had cultivated through years of training under Master Wuhen dissolved into thin air.
Once again, she recalled that heart-wrenching, tearing hatred from all those years ago.
Yi Chuanmei scrutinized the bizarrely alluring bee-woman, smiling as she countered, "Is there a problem?"
The words had barely left her mouth when her vision blurred. From several meters away, the bee-woman pounced right in front of her.
The buzzing hum of fluttering gossamer wings and the howling wind stirred by high-speed motion reached everyone's ears only a second later, lifting the bangs from Yi Chuanmei's forehead.
The development occurred so abruptly, and the bee-woman's speed was so far beyond expectation, that not a single person had time to react.
Fortunately, Yi Chuanmei was a Dream Master. Having already sensed the abnormality in the bee-woman's emotions, she didn't hesitate for an instant; deep, swirling vortexes manifested within her eyes.
Just as the stinger at the tip of Xiao Yuan's abdomen thrust forward, her pupils lost focus, plunging her into a dream.
*Bam!*
Carried by momentum, the two collided violently, tumbling off the roof together.
Yi Chuanmei's sternum snapped in an instant.
The ferocious impact jolted Xiao Yuan awake, tearing her free of the dreamscape. With a sharp hum, her gossamer wings vibrated, arresting her descent, and she lunged at Yi Chuanmei once more.
The latter parted her red lips and unleashed a shrill shriek.
Mental Strike!
To everyone's disbelief, the bee-woman—evidently only Level 5—endured the high-level spiritual attack head-on. Blood leaked from all seven orifices, yet her murderous resolve remained unshakable.
The venomous stinger at her rear stabbed viciously toward Yi Chuanmei.
*Thwack!*
The sharp, pitch-black stinger pierced straight through a palm.
Without anyone noticing, a tall, burly silhouette had stepped beside Yi Chuanmei, his outstretched hand perfectly intercepting the stinger.
"Hiss..." Greed Divine General drew in a sharp breath of cold air. Watching his palm turn rapidly black and seep dark blood, his facial muscles twitched violently. "This is the most painful poison I've ever encountered in the Saint stage!"
Gripping the stinger with his blackened hand, he took a forward stride, tightened his uninjured right fist, and hammered a punch straight into the bee-woman's abdomen.
*Boom!*
A shockwave blasted outward. Like an artillery shell, the bee-woman was sent hurtling backward into the sky, the stinger at the base of her abdomen tearing free from her body in a spray of blood-like fluid.
After somersaulting several times midair, the bee-woman steadied herself and rapidly ascended. She circled high above the manor, both wary of Greed Divine General and unwilling to depart.
After a long while, she let out a furious, grief-stricken shriek of helplessness before rocketing away from the manor at top speed.
Over in the Sword Pavilion, Fire Prince Jiang Ju took advantage of the evil faction's internal strife. Though bewildered by the sudden clash, he was not about to let such a golden opportunity slip by. Donning a Night Roamer cloak, he entered stealth and quietly slipped out of the Sword Pavilion.
***
Outside the manor, Huang Taiji, whose temples were frosted with white, strode through the lush greenery with an earthen coffin hoisted onto his shoulder.
Brilliant sunlight illuminated his solemn face. His steps were exceedingly steady, every stride brimming with unshakeable resolve, resembling a Mountain-Moving Giant Spirit from ancient myth.
Commandery Princess Yinyao led Blood Rose along behind him. A colorful, scaly venomous snake remained clamped onto Blood Rose's calf.
Commandery Princess Yinyao was in no mood to deal with it either.
Raising her mini-megaphone, the princess declared, "Your physiognomy is steeped in impending bloodshed. The situation at Divine Sword Manor bodes ill."
She sounded rather irritable.
Huang Taiji let out a grave "Mm" and consoled her, "Don't fret."
He was perpetually solemn and composed. Like other Earth Monsters, he was a man of few words who quietly attended to his duties—the sort who couldn't be beaten into uttering a squeak.
"I'm not fretting!!" Commandery Princess Yinyao raised the megaphone a few inches higher, grinding her silver teeth. "If Yuanshi Tianzun dies here, I'm going to summon my revered master and slaughter every single person in the evil faction!"
Huang Taiji asked, "Your master?"
As if recalling something, Commandery Princess Yinyao quietly lowered her megaphone. "Except I don't have the ritual to summon Master, and Yuanshi Tianzun is dead."
If she were capable of facial expressions, she would undoubtedly look dejected.
Just then, the high-frequency buzzing of flapping wings drifted down from the sky. Above in the azure expanse, a dark shadow plunged in a steep dive, touching down not far ahead. The beating of its gossamer wings stirred a gust that flattened the grass, kicking up clouds of dust and debris.
It was a stunning, yellow-and-black bee-woman. The tip of her abdomen dripped with "blood," and her chest and stomach were caved in, bearing injuries that were far from light.
Yet she seemed entirely oblivious to her wounds, her obsidian-like eyes staring blankly at the earthen coffin upon Huang Taiji's shoulder.
*A Spirit Medium...* Huang Taiji silently set down the earthen coffin and produced a single-handed, narrow-bladed saber from his inventory.
"She's injured. I'll take the lead, and you handle the ambush. Let's aim to kill her within ten moves," Huang Taiji said in a deep voice.
Commandery Princess Yinyao immediately held her mini-megaphone high. "She isn't an enemy."
Hearing this, Huang Taiji knit his brows, casting a questioning look in her direction.
Chapter 477