Whose Life Do You Intend to Leave Behind Here?

"Who is that?" Yan Tianzhi noticed the woman who had appeared beside Lu Yang. He had been watching the battle high in the sky and hadn't paid attention to Lu Yang's situation. How had someone suddenly popped up in the blink of an eye? Lan Ting and Bai Ming reacted similarly to Yan Tianzhi, having completely failed to notice Lu Yang using Imitation Fist just now to summon his Eldest Senior Sister. "Acting Sect Master?" When Lan Ting had accompanied her master to a meeting at the Dao Seeking Sect, she had seen Eldest Senior Sister, and had even had a red thread tied to her by Eldest Senior Sister trying to arrange a marriage between her and Lu Yang. Afterward, her master had told her that Yun Zhi was the Acting Sect Master of the Dao Seeking Sect, and her cultivation was unfathomably profound. Bai Ming, on the other hand, had seen Yun Zhi during an exchange between the Five Elements Sect and the Dao Seeking Sect. He had heard from his master that the Dao Seeking Sect's Eldest Senior Sister was the undisputed foremost figure of her generation across the immortal sects, someone not to be crossed. Yan Tianzhi didn't recognize Eldest Senior Sister. He had heard that the Dao Seeking Sect had changed sect masters, but he didn't know who had taken up the position. Meng Jingzhou smiled confidently. In an instant, he felt that the red-robed Tribulation Transcendence cultivator who had suddenly appeared was nothing to worry about anymore. He even felt that if he went up to fight in the sky himself, it wouldn't be much of a problem. "This is our Eldest Senior Sister, the Acting Sect Master of the Dao Seeking Sect, Yun Zhi," Meng Jingzhou introduced solemnly. "With her here, this place is absolutely safe!" Lan Ting and the others couldn't quite understand. As the Acting Sect Master of the Dao Seeking Sect, her cultivation was likely comparable to Daoist Buyu's at most, or if one dared to guess higher, at the Tribulation Transcendence stage. If the Dao Seeking Sect's Eldest Senior Sister clashed with the Tribulation Transcendence cultivator in the sky, the shockwaves alone could overturn mountains and seas, destroying heaven and earth. How could this place be considered safe? Yun Zhi had no intention of paying attention to the crowd. She quietly watched the battle high in the sky, expressionless, giving no clue as to what she was thinking. Lan Ting suddenly realized that Xia Qun, who had been chattering incessantly, had fallen silent, his body trembling uncontrollably. "Lord Xia, are you alright?" *Gulp.* Xia Qun swallowed hard with great effort and forced a smile. "I—I'm fine. Look how happy I am! The Lord Governor is saved." Yun Zhi turned her head toward Xia Qun. "You recognize me?" Faced with Yun Zhi's question, Xia Qun didn't dare not answer: "When Old Ancestor left the ancestral grounds to personally welcome Senior, I happened to be by his side." Xia Qun couldn't help but be terrified. What kind of figure was his family's Old Ancestor? Throughout the ages, few could stand as his equal. He had never even heard of the Old Ancestor leaving the ancestral grounds. Who could have imagined that on the day he prepared to pay respects to the Old Ancestor, he witnessed the Old Ancestor leaving the ancestral grounds to personally welcome this unreally beautiful senior from the Dao Seeking Sect? One could easily imagine the standing of this Dao Seeking Sect senior. Yun Zhi nodded. "You and I are of similar age. There is no need to address me as 'Senior.' You may simply call me Fellow Daoist Yun Zhi." Xia Qun nodded in assent, yet he dared not actually call her that. If the Old Ancestor ever found out about this, he feared he wouldn't make it out of the Imperial City alive. Hearing this, Lu Yang was taken aback. Reaching the early Body Integration stage at an age similar to Eldest Senior Sister's—didn't that mean Lord Xia's cultivation talent was comparable to Senior Brother Dai Bufan's? Seeing Xia Qun's reaction and considering his talent, Meng Jingzhou felt a flicker of doubt. "What did you think of?" Lu Yang inquired via voice transmission. "Do you know the imperial family's surname?" "I remember it's Jiang?" "Right, it's Jiang. But when members of the imperial family go out and need to conceal their identities, they usually change their surname to 'Xia.'" "You mean Lord Xia is a member of the imperial family?" "It's possible." ... In the sky, the red-robed figure let out a chilling laugh as he rescued the two ancient cultivators, feeding them medicinal pills to restore their strength. "My Lord." Seeing the red-robed figure, the two ancient cultivators reined in their arrogance, not daring to show the slightest slack. "You two did well. It was well worth hiding you in this secret realm, giving me the opportunity to witness the legendary national destiny and the phantom of the Taishang Sword." With the red-robed figure's cultivation, he could discern many things just from that phantom. The national destiny and the Taishang Sword would inevitably become difficult obstacles to the rise of their Great Yu Dynasty. Had the red-robed figure attacked in person, the provincial governor would only have used the national destiny to evacuate the cultivators below, rather than wielding it in battle. The governor's heart skipped a beat. The national destiny was of fundamental importance. If the ancient cultivators figured out how it was utilized, they would devise counter-methods. When that happened, the invincible national destiny would be hindered at every turn, its power drastically diminished. As for this Taishang Sword, he actually didn't know what it truly was either, but for a Tribulation Transcendence cultivator to place such importance on it, it had to be of momentous significance. "I cannot let you live!" Having reached this point, Vice Sect Master Mi and the others were no longer of any help; the only thing the governor could rely on was the great seal in his hand. Once again, he mobilized the national destiny. The vast power converged into the Taishang Sword once more, its sword qi surging violently. Its brilliant radiance was even more dazzling than sunlight, like the very splitting of heaven and earth. The red-robed figure sneered, finding the governor's effort futile. He was able to temporarily etherealize his body, rendering all attacks unable to land upon him. While his combat power was not particularly formidable among peers of his cultivation realm, none could harm him. The phantom of the Taishang Sword slashed down. A wound tore open across the red-robed figure's chest, flesh splitting apart to reveal grim white bones. "What?!" The red-robed figure was shocked. His etherealization was part of the rules and had never failed. Yet in his carelessness, he had actually been wounded by the phantom of the Taishang Sword, severely depleting his vitality. "No wonder the Imperial Preceptor repeatedly warned me to be careful of the Taishang Sword's projection. So that's how it is—the Taishang Sword possesses the ability to make rules temporarily cease to exist!" *Crack.* A crisp sound rang out. The red-robed figure discovered that the jade pendant hanging behind his neck had shattered. This was a life-substituting supreme treasure, which meant that the Taishang Sword phantom had already killed him once just now! Incensed to the point of laughter, the red-robed figure snarled, "It is not yet time to completely tear off the mask with Great Xia, so I had intended to spare your life. But since you court death yourself and actually injured my body, then you and the cultivators below shall be buried here together!" As the red-robed figure's words fell, casting aside any playful intent, an indescribable deathly stillness permeated the air, making even breathing feel arduous. Alluring, demonic blossoms bloomed by his feet, carpeting the entire sky in an instant. He clenched his fist tightly; the flowers withered, and a speck of light flew out from the withered buds, condensing into a long whip in his hand. *Smack!* He gave the whip a flick, and space shattered along with it. The governor's expression changed drastically. This was a supreme treasure capable of shattering space; even if he could endure it, the cultivators below would definitely never survive such a strike. The two ancient cultivators closest to the red-robed figure trembled with fear. They knew all too well how terrifying this lord was when enraged. In the era of Great Yu, the slaughter of several entire cities of people had been required to quell his fury—hence his title, the "Red-Robed Calamity"! "Every last one of you will leave your lives behind here!" The red-robed figure roared. Clad in thunder, the long whip caused the entire space to tremble, on the verge of collapse. The cultivators below could not help but feel despair, their hearts gripped by terror and dread. The destructive power surpassed anything they had ever imagined. The red-robed figure laughed wildly and lashed out forcefully with the whip. "Huh?" He raised his arm to crack the whip, only to find that his arm would not swing down no matter what. "No, not just my arm!" To his horror, he found that his entire body was immobilized. "Spatial Confinement!" He was a master of the whip, and his whip was a supreme treasure capable of tearing space apart. How could he possibly be immobilized by Spatial Confinement?! When did this happen?! A slender, beautiful figure appeared before him, cold as frost. She spoke slowly, not a flicker of emotion in her cool, beautiful eyes: "Whose life do you intend to leave behind here?"