"Who goes there!" the Sword Tower Supreme bellowed, looking up at that immortal silhouette as if facing a mortal foe.
The aura radiating wantonly from the figure was far stronger than even her own state prior to undergoing the Immortal Ascension Tribulation!
An immortal—it was definitely an immortal!
Liu Ningxuan stared at the arrogant silhouette as all kinds of unpleasant memories flooded his mind. Through clenched teeth, he slowly ground out three words:
"Immortal Ying Tian..."
He had heard clearly just now that Immortal Ying Tian intended to use them to forge an immortal sword. If the Chengying Sword was refined, would he even survive?
That served him right for running his mouth earlier, saying Immortal Ying Tian had probably met with an accident.
Happy now? The man just showed up in the flesh.
"What? He's Immortal Ying Tian, one of the legendary Four Ancient Celestials?!"
Liu Ningxuan's voice hadn't been loud, but after Immortal Ying Tian appeared, the entire venue had fallen into dead silence. Everyone heard Liu Ningxuan's words with pristine clarity and turned pale with fright.
They could clearly sense the malice emanating from Immortal Ying Tian.
He had not come with good intentions!
The Four Ancient Celestials were the most ancient of immortals. Because of the vast gulf of eras separating them from the present, many legends had been cloaked in layers of myth, making the Four Ancient Celestials seem all the more terrifying.
"Fairy, is that Immortal Ying Tian?" Lu Yang's brow furrowed darkly. He felt this figure's demeanor was vastly different from the Immortal Ying Tian he had seen in the heavenly tribulation.
The Immortal Fairy remained silent, lost in thought.
Knowing that matters had spiraled entirely out of control, Lu Yang urgently attempted to summon Eldest Senior Sister, but it ended in failure.
After Immortal Ying Tian appeared, he had tossed out a broken bowl that covered the Sword Tower. Lu Yang suspected this broken bowl severed all connection with the outside world, preventing him from contacting Eldest Senior Sister.
"Fairy, what is this bowl?"
The Immortal Fairy frowned, discerning the bowl's origins. "It looks like a Qiankun Shroud crafted by Ying Tian, but it feels rougher than the one I remember, as if he refined a new one. No one can escape this place, nor can messages be sent out. It can temporarily deceive the detection of the national destiny, creating the illusion to the outside world that everything here is normal—likely because he's worried those two from the Jiang and Meng families might detect him."
The Immortal Fairy also felt that something was off about Immortal Ying Tian, so she refrained from rashly revealing herself to meet him.
Looking as though she had made up her mind, she said earnestly, "Don't worry, Little Yangzi. With this fairy here, nothing will happen to you."
Hearing Liu Ningxuan call out his title, Immortal Ying Tian showed a hint of surprise. "Oh? Interesting. To think a mere sword spirit recognizes this seat."
Doubt flashed through Lu Yang's mind. *Immortal Ying Tian doesn't recognize Liu Ningxuan?*
Hearing this, Lu Yang quickly asked, "Fairy, didn't Immortal Ying Tian and Liu Ningxuan ever meet back in ancient times?"
The Immortal Fairy was equally puzzled. She wanted to use her immortal sense to examine Immortal Ying Tian closely, yet feared being discovered and bringing danger upon Lu Yang. "Of course they met. They clashed with each other many times."
Lu Yang was perplexed. "So is Immortal Ying Tian amnesiac, or rather, is that not Immortal Ying Tian at all, but some entity possessing his body...?"
This Immortal Ying Tian who had suddenly popped up was definitely bizarre, exuding strangeness at every turn.
Aside from that, Lu Yang harbored another doubt.
In the three hundred thousand years since the Great Qian Dynasty, had Immortal Ying Tian never appeared until now for the very first time?
If so, that was far too coincidental.
If not, then whenever Immortal Ying Tian had appeared in the past, why had no news ever leaked out...?
Cold sweat beaded on Lu Yang's forehead. He hoped this was Immortal Ying Tian's first time appearing—otherwise, things were utterly grim.
Immortal Ying Tian seemed completely oblivious to the wariness of Liu Ningxuan and the Sword Tower Supreme. He said nonchalantly, "Are you going to hand over those two swords willingly, or do you want this seat to take them?"
"In your dreams!"
"Wishful thinking!"
Neither Liu Ningxuan nor the Sword Tower Supreme could possibly surrender the Chengying Sword and the Hanguang Sword. The former was the foundation of Liu Ningxuan's existence, while the latter concerned Ming Tai's life.
Seeing that they still intended to resist, Immortal Ying Tian took no offense; instead, he laughed heartily.
However, this laughter did not dispel the gloomy, sinister atmosphere; rather, it made the area seem all the more eerie.
"That's it, exactly like that! Resistance is what makes it fun."
Immortal Ying Tian glanced over the sword cultivators down below, growing even more pleased. "It seems this seat's luck isn't bad today. Originally, I sensed two usable swords here to forge an immortal sword, yet to think there would be so many sword cultivators as well.
"It works out nicely: I can refine you all into a single unified soul, and perhaps you might just barely serve as the sword spirit for this seat's immortal sword!"
The immortal sword Immortal Ying Tian spoke of was not an immortal treasure like the Chengying Sword, but an immortal artifact of the same caliber as the Green Blade Sword—a true, authentic immortal sword!
Otherwise, he wouldn't be using two immortal-treasure-grade swords as raw materials!
The hearts of everyone below turned to cold ash. Immortal Ying Tian actually intended to refine them all! How could any of them survive?
Many tried with all their might to flee outside, but to no avail. How could a treasure like the Qiankun Shroud be broken by cultivators of their paltry cultivation?
Lu Yang's heart sank. His greatest fear had come to pass. Immortal Ying Tian intended to eliminate all witnesses, which explained why there had been zero intelligence on him from antiquity to the present day.
Wherever he appeared, it was reduced to a land of the dead!
Especially during the eras of Great Qian and Great Yu, when cultivators thought nothing of obliterating whole cities; if Immortal Ying Tian intervened a few times in the chaos, no one could possibly tell it was his doing!
In the Great Xia era, perhaps Immortal Ying Tian had restrained himself somewhat. Lu Yang suspected that certain unsolved sect-extermination cases hadn't been the work of demonic cults at all, but were perpetrated by Immortal Ying Tian!
And places like the East Sea and the Demon Domain had been fractured and disorganized for three hundred thousand years; even if an entire clan were wiped out, no one would conduct an in-depth investigation!
"Extinction Sword Domain!"
"Soul Sword Domain!"
"One Sword of Heaven and Earth!"
"Canglan Sword Art!"
The two peaks of the Sword Dao struck in unison against the foe, unleashing lethal finishers right from the start!
That was an immortal; if they held back anything now, they wouldn't even have a corpse left to bury!
"Falling Cloud Palm!"
Yun Mengmeng steeled herself and attacked as well.
Granny was right after all. The outside world really was far too dangerous. This bit of strength of hers was completely negligible in front of a true powerhouse.
Facing the combined offensive of all three, Immortal Ying Tian neither dodged nor parried. He simply stood there, allowing the attacks to crash upon his body. Instantly, clouds of dust and smoke billowed up into the sky, obscuring everything.
Seeing the three who had just been fighting to the death join forces with such magnificent might, the people below felt a spark of hope rise in their hearts.
Yet when the dust and smoke dispersed, Immortal Ying Tian was entirely unscathed!
"An immortal treasure artifact spirit, a half-immortal remnant soul, and an early Tribulation Transcendence cultivator—you three really think you can harm this seat?"
The Sword Tower Supreme gritted her teeth. Only if she were in her peak condition would she have even a sliver of a chance to fight Immortal Ying Tian to the bitter end. But now, as a mere remnant soul, harming Immortal Ying Tian was truly an extravagant delusion.
"Again!"
The three joined forces once more, hoping to carve out a slim hope of survival.
Unexpectedly, Liu Ningxuan's One Sword of Heaven and Earth did not slash toward Immortal Ying Tian at all—it struck straight at the Qiankun Shroud!
*Dong—*
Like a stone dropping into a tranquil lake, ripples spread across the Qiankun Shroud, absorbing Liu Ningxuan's sword strike completely.
"Trying to run?"
Immortal Ying Tian strode forward. Space contracted beneath his feet, and with a single step he closed in on Liu Ningxuan. Extending a massive hand, he grabbed the Chengying Sword like snatching a chick.
"This seat happens to lack memories of ancient times. Let me see what you remember."
Immortal Ying Tian placed his hand over Liu Ningxuan's head. Accompanied by a miserable shriek from Liu Ningxuan, his eyes rolled back and he lost consciousness, helpless as Immortal Ying Tian searched his soul.
By the time Liu Ningxuan woke again, he would be driven mad and witless, no longer his former self.
Having obtained Liu Ningxuan's memories, Immortal Ying Tian suddenly had an epiphany: "So you were Liu Ningxuan, the number one sword cultivator of ancient times. You were even arch-rivals with this body, and ended up escaping through the unity of sword and man.
"But what of it? Haven't you fallen into this seat's hands all the same?"
Chapter 995