Chapter Sixty-Eight: The Ancient Sword of Mount Ling
The smell of blood grew stronger, accompanied by the sound of flowing water.
This wasn't the first time Ye Chi had witnessed a scene of bloodshed, but he still couldn't help but feel a jolt in his heart—because the dead had all appeared vividly before his eyes before. Seeing those figures, some familiar and some unfamiliar, lying lifeless on the ground was more unforgettable than seeing a mass grave with one's own eyes, and it was also harder to suppress the urge to vomit.
Too many people have died.
Tantai Wushuang stood blankly behind the bushes. The grass beneath his feet was stained with blood. Torn clothes hung from the trees, and the bodies below were so mangled that they were unrecognizable. The clear lake water had turned into bloody water, the fish inside were belly up, and severed limbs sank to the bottom. Ye Chi could not bear to look at it after just one glance.
He closed his eyes, forcing himself not to think too much. He glanced around, then squatted down in front of a relatively intact corpse, raising his hand to probe the bloody wound. Sure enough, there was a fluctuation of spiritual energy, faintly discernible, along with another strangely familiar aura surging within. Ye Chi's heart trembled, and almost reflexively, he stood up to dodge. The next second, a dark purple sword light struck, hitting him squarely where he had just been standing. The corpse was also shattered, blood spreading and carrying a putrid stench.
Ye Chi turned his head and saw a figure in a black robe hovering in mid-air. Tantai Wushuang's voice came from the other side, "Brother Ye, behind you!!!"
Ye Chi quickly regained his senses. Another demonic cultivator with similar attire was lurking in the forest. If it weren't for Tantai Wushuang's warning, he might have fallen into the trap. He hurriedly dodged, and Tantai Wushuang moved closer to his side. Just then, countless men in black emerged from the shadows and surrounded them.
Were we ambushed?
Ye Chi looked around; every possible escape route was blocked. He didn't dare claim his cultivation was exceptional, but even with Tantai Wushuang's help, they might not be able to handle so many demonic cultivators. The situation was clearly not optimistic. He frowned, and without hesitation, ignited the talisman in his palm. In the next instant, he gripped Tantai Wushuang's wrist tightly. As the talisman burned out, a familiar, cool spiritual energy flowed through his body. He said, "I'll count to three, two, one, then run with me."
Tantai Wushuang was no ordinary person either. Although he was also flustered, he chose to trust Ye Chi without hesitation after hearing his confident words.
"three,"
Ye Chi's narrowed eyes resembled those of a ferocious beast poised to pounce, his entire body tense to the extreme.
"two……"
"one!"
The moment he uttered the word "one," he transferred all his spiritual energy to his feet, unleashing unprecedented power with a single step. The scenery around him flashed by in an instant. The demonic cultivators, however, seemed to have anticipated this, quickly following. Ye Chi pulled back a spatial teleportation technique; their black figures, accompanied by dense demonic energy, were relentlessly persistent. "It's over," he thought through gritted teeth. He only had this one talisman in his pouch for storing spiritual energy, and with his overuse, the remaining energy within it was almost depleted.
But Ye Chi never believed in fate. Seeing this, he gritted his teeth and began to circulate his spiritual power, attempting to use his speed to shake off the relentlessly pursuing demonic cultivator.
If he were alone, he might have been able to escape, but he's brought Tantai Wushuang with him now...
Although this young man wasn't as unskilled in martial arts as the other disciples of Qing Shen Pavilion, his handling of such a crisis was clearly less adept than theirs. His face was pale, and he was practically being led around by Ye Chi. However, his eyesight wasn't bad; amidst the rapidly passing scenery, he spotted a glimmer of hope: "Brother Ye, there's a cave ahead, well-hidden enough to hide in!"
Ye Chi saw it too. Not far in front of them, layers of vegetation covered most of the cave entrance. Ye Chi turned around to assess the distance between himself and the demonic cultivators. After confirming it was feasible, he didn't hesitate to pull Tantai Wushuang around. The two moved so fast that they left only afterimages in the air. The demonic cultivators obviously didn't react in time and didn't realize that they had already hidden in the nearby cave, narrowly missing them.
Ye Chi dared not make a sound, leaning against the stone wall and listening intently until there was no sound outside, at which point his tense heart finally relaxed a little.
Tantai Wushuang's face was deathly pale. Anyone who didn't know better would have thought he was the one leading the race. He sat panting in a corner, his black hair disheveled, his bangs soaked with sweat in clumps. His lips were completely colorless. After a long while, he finally said, on the verge of tears, "Are those demonic cultivators...?"
"Mmm," Ye Chi replied, his breath unsteady.
Tantai Wushuang was on the verge of collapse: "Shouldn't all demonic cultivators be in the Demon Realm? Why are they here? And in the hunting grounds..."
Ye Chi sighed and closed his eyes wearily. Tantai Wushuang asked him, but where else could he ask? He wiped the sweat from his forehead, the talisman, mostly burned to ashes, still clutched in his palm. He came to his senses, but instead of throwing it away, he gripped it even tighter. His wildly beating heart instantly calmed down, as if... the person who made the talisman was right beside him.
"I don't know either," he said casually. "But what is certain is that those disciples were killed by the demonic cultivators."
"Are they really that strong..." Tantai Wushuang and his group were filled with worry, glancing sideways at the cave entrance, fearing that the demonic cultivators might return at any moment. They quickly looked away, still shaken. "How did they manage to sneak in..."
The hunting grounds are closed year-round, only opening during the Lingshan Sword Tournament. This means they must have blended in with the disciples to move about freely in the hunting grounds. Thinking of this, Tantai Wushuang's heart, which had just settled, tightened again: "What about the tournament venue..."
It would have been better if he hadn't mentioned it, because the mere mention of it made Ye Chi a little irritated. He had just tried to communicate with Ya Feiyu telepathically for the second time, but this time, unlike the first time when he could communicate but received no response, he couldn't even get through. It was as if some invisible barrier had appeared out of nowhere between him and Ya Feiyu, and this hateful barrier separated the two of them.
"Ya Feiyu... I hope nothing bad will happen."
Ye Chi's reason told him: Who was Ya Feiyu? Even if his current strength wasn't as formidable as in his previous life, he wasn't someone anyone could easily defeat. But... what if there were also demonic cultivators infiltrated into the venue...?
He lowered his head, then suddenly slammed his fist on the ground in anger, smashing a stone to pieces. Tantai Wushuang looked up at him with concern and asked, "Are you worried about Immortal Venerable Tianxue?"
Ye Chi was unsure what he was feeling; he couldn't quite put his finger on it, but it was definitely awkward. He pursed his lips, and finally let out a heavy sigh: "Yes."
“Immortal Venerable Tianxue is very strong; not just anyone can easily manipulate him.” Tantai Wushuang’s brows relaxed slightly as she said, “He should realize something is wrong soon…”
"But when I tried to send him a telepathic message, he didn't reply," Ye Chi said dejectedly.
Tantai Wushuang's complexion, which had barely improved, seemed to darken again because of these words. He lowered his head and looked dejected.
"Given our current situation... we can only wait for rescue."
That made sense. Ye Chi's worries eased somewhat. Worrying was useless now; he and Tantai Wushuang couldn't go out carelessly. If those demonic cultivators hadn't gone far, they could easily encounter danger if they rashly left the cave. With nothing to worry about, he suddenly felt a sense of lightness. He leaned against the stone wall, lowered his eyes, and spoke slowly, almost as if muttering to himself, "What...what could be the purpose of those demonic cultivators?"
“Purpose…” Tantai Wushuang listened, savoring the two words repeatedly. Suddenly, he seemed to remember something. “I remember there is a little-known legend in this snow mountain.”
Ye Chi immediately perked up: "What?"
Tantai Wushuang frowned slightly, seemingly lost in deep thought. After a long while, she slowly said, "I don't remember very clearly either. It was my father who told me..."
"This snow mountain was once a place where a cultivator secluded himself for cultivation many years ago. After he passed away, the resulting fluctuations in spiritual energy changed the weather here, which is why this snow scene lasts all year round."
"Also left behind along with the snow scene was a seemingly ordinary iron sword."
"An iron sword?" Ye Chi raised an eyebrow.
"This iron sword was forged by the Heavenly Emperor, but it lost its original luster during the war between gods and demons, and somehow ended up in the hands of this cultivator," said Tantai Wushuang. "This sword is now... buried somewhere deep in the mountains, but I don't know exactly where..."
"Wait a minute." Ye Chi raised his hand to interrupt, "The name of this sword... isn't it called the Ancient Sword of Ling Mountain?"
After a moment's thought, Tantai Wushuang finally gave Ye Chi a positive answer: "It should be."
If these demonic cultivators were after the Ancient Sword of Mount Ling, then their presence here would become clear. Ye Chi pondered this, but something seemed amiss—why were these demonic cultivators repeatedly appearing at the location of the Four Great Treasures of the World?
The first time was during the trip to the Sea Palace, where those demonic cultivators, in order to obtain the Heavenly Feather, resorted to any means to harm the mortals of the Sea Palace, and even nearly destroyed the entire kingdom. The second time was when they appeared in the snow mountain where the Spirit Mountain Ancient Sword was located.
Their purpose was almost obvious; in fact, they never concealed their ambition—to seize the four most precious treasures in the world.
In the original book, the Four Treasures of the World were always legendary items. No one knew what benefits would come from successfully collecting them. However, the demonic cultivators seemed to be obsessed with them, desperately trying to seize the Four Treasures, as if they already knew the wonders of these treasures.
No matter what they intend to do with this treasure, we cannot allow any of it to fall into the hands of demonic cultivators.
Ye Chi pursed his lips, lowered his head, and his eyes were filled with countless thoughts.
Just then, the previously silent transmission of sound stirred, like pebbles falling on the water's surface.
"Ye Chi".
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