Embers of Sword

Chapter 511: Mountains of Corpses and Seas of Blood

The void array roared!

This time, it wasn't a matter of the four directions shifting... An invisible suction force surged from the top of the sky.

Xie Xuanyi held his breath.

"Boom!"

He stepped forward and threw a punch, but the moment the punch landed, the world turned upside down, and the entire Bai Ze Secret Tomb began to tilt. The paper figure in black, holding his sword, tried to block the punch, but with a muffled groan, he was smashed and sent flying backward, spitting blood, like a kite with a broken string.

If it weren't for this suddenly activated void array...

So after this punch.

Then came a continuous barrage of hundreds and thousands of punches...

At this moment, Xie Xuanyi had to use the Thousand-Pound Drop technique to stabilize his body and prevent himself from flying into the sky.

As for the side that avoids war.

After retreating dozens of feet, the black-clad paper figure revealed his intentions. He did not let his strength wane, but instead used the momentum to leap upwards, stepping on the rocks on both sides. Then, he pointed his sword to the sky and tore through the void with his sword energy! He raised his arms, covered his face, and crashed into the "void torrent"!
The physical body traverses the void...

This is a divine ability that is usually only used by those at the Yang God Realm, and only a very few at the peak of the Yin God Realm with perfected physical bodies can accomplish this feat.

Even Xie Xuanyi now wouldn't dare to try it lightly.

If one's strength is insufficient, this terrifying void energy will directly tear the physical body apart.

"crazy?!"

Xie Xuanyi watched this scene with a gloomy expression.

He initially intended to continue the pursuit, but after seeing the paper figure in black deliberately crash into the void torrent, he abandoned the idea.

This guy is completely reckless.

With his physique clad in black, crashing into the void torrent would most likely be suicide.

The rumbling sound of the void trembling continued.

Xie Xuanyi took a deep breath.

He rode the sword light and swept into the secret palace... As the heavens and earth were turned upside down, the secret palace once again detached from the ground.

Xie Xuanyi withdrew the [Sinking Illness], concealed his aura, and casually drew a long sword, planting it into the ground to stabilize himself.

He frowned as he looked at the surging blood energy in the secret hall.

What a brutal battle.

Yinshan and the Jiangning Prince's Mansion fought a bloody battle, and both sides suffered heavy losses.

The entire hall was shrouded in blood mist; the scene could not be described as a mountain of corpses and a sea of ​​blood.

"Yinshan, Tiankui Sect, Hehuan Sect..."

Xie Xuanyi spoke softly.

The three major evil sects dispatched their chief disciples to enter the secret tomb.

Yinshan's strength was severely weakened.

The situation regarding the other two major categories is currently unknown.

He sat down cross-legged and gazed into the distance.

The secret palace he was in, under the intervention of the grand formation, seemed to have transformed into a large ship, or rather, a raft, sailing through the void with a booming sound. This time, the transformation of the grand formation took an extremely long time; dozens of breaths passed, and Xie Xuanyi still couldn't detect the aura of "living people." However, through the gaps in the void, he did sense a rich aura of blood—fresh human blood. The cultivators of Da Chu and the Evil Sect had already clashed. Jiang Ning had gained the upper hand in the battle against Yin Shan, but other holy lands might not possess such strength.

"The black-clad figure from the Paper Doll Path... even if he doesn't die, he'll be severely injured."

Xie Xuanyi took a deep breath, calming his mind.

He began to ponder quietly.

Lu Yuzhen never does anything in vain.

The Paper Doll Sect's plan is quite grand. There must be a reason why they sent this black-clad figure, who looks exactly like them, into the secret tomb along with the Yinshan disciples.

Framing someone is probably only one aspect.

My heart was completely still.

Xie Xuanyi looked up at the enormous secret hall shrouded in gloom. He had gouged out the "sun" above it with his sword energy. He took out his bone armor and silently examined the demonic script on it. Earlier, he had traveled with True Person Baihe, so he hadn't been able to thoroughly examine the unexpected loot. Now, however, he carefully scanned it with his divine sense. The demonic script seemed quite familiar; similar phrases appeared in the Demon Clan section of the Lotus Peak Daoist Canon.

Then he took out the Diamond Fruit.

This is the treasure that Renzuka threw out.

"This treasure is extremely valuable."

"But given Bai Ze's status... it seems cheap to put this treasure in the secret tomb as a burial item."

Xie Xuanyi took a small bite.

The Daoist aura of the Vajra Fruit instantly bloomed between his lips and teeth. He had fought against the White Crane Immortal, the King of Jiangning, and the Paper Doll Dao Black Robe in succession. Although he had gained the upper hand in all of them, his muscles and bones were inevitably damaged. At this moment, golden auras swirled in the void, and Xie Xuanyi could feel that his "Dao of Life Realm" was being replenished.

This Vajra Fruit is a perfect match for the Dao of Life.

He chewed as he pondered.

"The collapsed pillars and the walls of the main hall are all carved with angry red lions."

"The Lotus Peak Daoist Canon records that the Great Sage Bai Ze had four disciples..."

"One of them is the Great Venerable of the Demon Kingdom, 'Red Mane'. His true form is the Angry-Eyed Red Mane Lion."

Xie Xuanyi walked around the main hall.

Beneath the collapsed dome, the blood had dried, indicating that a fierce battle had broken out in this secret hall in Yinshan earlier.

However, Master Baihe's methods were quite remarkable.

These armored puppets guarding the main hall were crushed by the [Ten Thousand Souls Formation]... Xie Xuanyi crouched down to examine them; these armored puppets possessed physiques approaching the Yin God Realm!

There are twelve in total!

If a high-level Yin God Venerable who is not good at group attacks were to encounter this, he would probably end up in a sorry state.

"If... each secret palace corresponds to one of the disciples under the command of the Great Sage Bai Ze..."

"Then there are at least four secret palaces within this secret tomb."

Xie Xuanyi muttered to himself.

This should be the outermost layer of the secret tomb.

If the conjecture is true, then one of the remaining three secret palaces can be confirmed.

Ye Zu, Zhou, Jiang family.

He had encountered these people when the Void Array changed last time.

Besides these, there are two more secret temples remaining.

“The ‘void’ formation in the Bai Ze Secret Tomb is not something that can be changed at will.”

Xie Xuanyi observed again and basically confirmed a pattern: "Last time the void changed, I encountered Ancestor Ye... This time the secret palace was just sailing, and we didn't meet."

"Chi chi chi——"

A faint burning sound could be heard in the air.

Xie Xuanyi narrowed his eyes.

He watched as the bloodstains beneath him evaporated and rose like smoke as he traveled through the void.

This Bai Ze Secret Mausoleum is like a hell.

The moment I stepped into the secret mausoleum.

All practitioners must have their vital energy drained.

And now... this secret tomb is even drawing blood from cultivators.

During the raid on the secret palace.

The stench of blood gradually faded, not because it evaporated, but because it transformed into a long red thread. Xie Xuanyi looked back, and this scarlet thread swayed in the torrent of void, like a thin rope.

A bold conjecture came to his mind.

"His!"

next moment.

Xie Xuanyi brought his two fingers together and shot out sword energy, forcibly tearing a crack in the skin.

Blood and qi permeated the air.

The scalding, surging golden blood and qi overflowed in the air, and in an instant, it was pulled away by the enormous suction force, turning into strands of fiber that intertwined with the slender, swaying "red rope".

“This secret tomb… is truly ‘drinking blood’.”

Xie Xuanyi's guess was confirmed.

The activation of the void array in this secret palace is probably not random!

The last time, it was likely that all four secret palaces simultaneously took the treasures. And this time…

That is the outermost perimeter of Bai Ze's secret tomb... enough people have already died.

think carefully.

Everything that happened in the secret tomb left behind by the Great Sage Bai Ze followed a certain "rule." The Abyss opened to replenish vital energy, and entering the secret tomb required replenishing one's blood... This secret tomb looked eerie and sinister, but if the Great Sage Bai Ze truly intended to kill all those who entered, why would he need to place treasures in the four secret halls?
……

……

"This is 'Azure Sky Cleansing Dew'. If you swallow a drop and refine it, it can restore your soul injuries."

"This is the 'Phoenix Blood Crimson Lotus Heart'..."

Qin Baihuang squatted on the ground, took out treasures from his Qiankun bag, and handed them out one by one.

The secret palace they were in was currently traveling through the void.

Thunder rumbled outside.

Inside the main hall, however, was a scene of utter devastation.

The previous battle with the Heavenly Puppet Sect was extremely brutal. After Plague Daoist and Qin Qianlian left, they never returned... Qian San was fighting against the woman playing the zither. Because Suspended Cone Mountain had been severely injured by the armored puppets, he could only barely maintain a defensive posture. The woman playing the zither had an extremely strange technique. She played the zither from a distance, and the entire hall was enveloped in the sound of the zither. Countless cultivators were driven into demonic possession and began to fight each other.

Fortunately, the fight didn't last long.

The first major formation shift was activated, effectively separating the woman playing the zither from the others.

The disciples of the Heavenly Puppet Sect who entered the secret hall had their retreat cut off by the void array... Without the interference of that strange zither music, Qian San, Venerable Bao Cheng, and the other enshrined figures of Suspended Cone Mountain immediately gained the upper hand, and those Suspended Cone Mountain cultivators who had fallen into demonic possession also regained their sanity, thus ending this tragic battle.

"Forty-three."

Qin Baihuang walked around the secret hall and returned to Qian San, his expression somewhat gloomy.

When the Suspended Cone Mountain entered the southern border region.

There are several hundred cultivators!

now……

Only the disciples of Changshengzhai and the aristocratic families of Beijun, as well as a very small number of elite rogue cultivators, remain.

Nearly 90% of the cultivators.

They all died here.

After the fierce battle ended and a period of rest, the second transformation of the void array began... The secret palace detached from the land and floated across the sky like a bamboo raft. Everyone could only stay inside the secret palace and quietly wait for the end of the "voyage". The only good news in this battle was that the treasures in the secret palace were protected. There were twelve treasures in total, and the woman who played the zither only managed to snatch five of them.

Seven items were secured on the side of Xuanzhui Mountain.

Qin Qianlian took two items.

Qian San and Venerable Bao Cheng refined one item... leaving three, two of which could heal injuries. Qin Baihuang used them directly; these top-tier treasures could at least restore some of the strength of the survivors of Suspended Cone Mountain.

This is only the first level of the secret tomb.

What will it be like to step onto the second floor?

The entire hall was now shrouded in a bloody aura.

Dark clouds swayed, creating a desolate scene.

Qin Baihuang looked at this scene with a complicated expression, and a feeling of regret suddenly arose in his heart.

In a sense, Xuanzhui Mountain should have stayed away from this conflict... If it weren't for its insistence on engaging in this "battle of egos," could these people have avoided this calamity?

Most of the cultivators here should not set foot in the Southern Frontier.

They are not on the list of those at Renshou Palace.

It's because of myself...

They came here because of me.

They lost their lives because of them.

"...Don't overthink it."

Seeing Qin Baihuang's expression, Qian San couldn't help but reach out and pat the head of the Weapon Refining Department on the shoulder.

"Life and death are destiny, wealth is in heaven."

Qian San said in a low voice, "Isn't this the life of a cultivator all about living for these things? It wasn't your fault that you stepped into the Bai Ze Secret Tomb... Instead of blaming yourself and feeling guilty because of the deaths of these people, you should think carefully about what to do next."

Qin Baihuang took a deep breath.

He bit his lip, letting the taste of blood fill his throat.

The sea regained a brief period of clarity.

"Chief Qin..."

Just then, Su Hong, a young Taoist priest from Changshengzhai, walked over, carrying a whisk and looking pale.

The young Taoist priest clutched the communication token of the Longevity Sect tightly in his hand, his voice trembling: "There's still no news from my martial uncle... Could something have happened to him?"

"Do not worry……"

Qin Baihuang shook his head and said softly, "Plague Master is no match for him."

The duel between Qin Qianlian and the Plague Taoist.

He wasn't worried.

The Qin family is a family with a strong martial arts tradition. Ironically, the two remaining "fruits" are not interested in martial arts cultivation. However, the bloodline of the number one family in Da Chu is extremely noble. Although it cannot compare with the imperial bloodline, there is still some unusual soul link or connection.

When Qin Qianlian was young, before she began her cultivation, she fell into a lake while playing alone.

Qin Baihuang, who was a few years older at the time, sensed something from hundreds of feet away, jumped into the lake, and pulled him out.

This kind of intuitive connection...

Regardless of space or distance.

Qin Baihuang had a premonition that Qin Wanyang had died during the "Northern Hunt".

That night, he had a dull ache in his chest and couldn't fall asleep no matter what he did.

But now, this lake of the heart is unusually calm.

This is enough to show that Qin Qianlian is unharmed, and even if he is no match for the Plague Master, he is at least not in real danger of death.

"Your Excellency, where is this secret palace to sail to?"

The young Taoist priest spoke again nervously.

This is a good question.

"This secret tomb... seems to be using 'blood' as a catalyst."

Qin Baihuang looked at the trail of blood swaying behind the secret hall and murmured softly, "If I'm not mistaken, the treasures on the outermost edge of this secret tomb have been completely looted. The activation of the great formation is a reminder to those entering the tomb that it's time to step into the next level."

"So, we'll encounter other secret temples next?"

This statement came out.

Everyone became nervous.

The last time the void trembled.

The secret temple where the Hanging Cone Mountain is located did not encounter any mishaps.

"Everyone, hurry up and refine the medicine..."

Qin Baihuang took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "When we meet again, we are very likely to encounter a powerful evil sect."

Aside from the Heavenly Puppet Sect led by the Plague Daoist... there's also the Joyful Union Sect and Yinshan!
They're all tough nuts to crack!

As soon as he finished speaking, the tremors in the secret palace suddenly stopped, the thunder subsided, and the surrounding gloom dissipated somewhat.

"Stopped?"

Qin Baihuang frowned.

The moment the secret palace landed, a thick stench of blood filled the air.

The cultivators of Suspended Cone Mountain drew their swords, trying to illuminate the distance with their sword energy and fire... Several hundred feet away, a square secret hall slowly approached, with a high dome and collapsed pillars. The thick blood energy came from the distant hall.

What kind of fierce battle was this?

Look from afar.

The secret hall was a mountain of corpses and a sea of ​​blood, with hundreds, nearly a thousand, of bodies lying there. At the entrance of the hall, a broken soul banner was stuck across the ground.

The wind made the banner flutter loudly.

Upon closer inspection... one will discover that, amidst the mountains of corpses and seas of blood, sits a solitary figure in black robes.

Everyone in the secret hall is dead.

He was the only one still alive.

(End of this chapter)