Daqin Zhentiansi

Chapter 579 Zhang Yuan's Profound Understanding
The morning mist at Bailuzhou Island had not yet dissipated, and the bluish-gray river wind, carrying the scent of scorched earth, swept over us.

As Zhang Yuan stepped over the shattered sect boundary marker, the aura beneath his feet transformed into ice lotuses, lifting the broken porcelain pieces three inches off the ground. The blue-and-white porcelain shards stained with black blood resembled insects suspended in amber.

Zheng Qingyun, the martial arts instructor who was following behind Zhang Yuan, couldn't help but twitch his lips and lower his head slightly when he saw this scene.

A terrestrial immortal, roaming freely in heaven and earth.

Although Marquis Qingyang has not yet entered the Free and Unfettered Realm, he can already step into the void, with lotus flowers blooming with each step.

Zhang Yuan walked slowly forward with his hands behind his back and one hand on the Autumn Cold Blade at his waist, while Yin Jiuyou and Zheng Qingyun followed quickly behind him.

"Reporting to Your Excellency, this sword mark should be the 'Heavenly River Reversal' from the Seven Profound Sword Pavilion." Zheng Qingyun, his crimson martial robe sweeping across the broken wall, hovered his fingertip three inches above the mottled sword mark: "The sword's momentum originated from the Xun position but concealed a transformation of Li Fire. The attacker was at the mid-stage of the Innate Realm, but..."

He suddenly kicked away half a piece of charred wood, revealing a crescent-shaped indentation about an inch deep at the base of the wall: "This move, 'Crow Returns to the Forest,' was supposed to strike directly at the Qi Sea, but it was deflected by three inches by the Xueyun Sect disciple using an iron ruler."

The dried bloodstains winding along the jade steps ended at the seventh step. Zheng Qingyun crouched down, his palm pressing down: "The fatal wound is here—"

Before he could finish speaking, Yin Jiuyou raised his hand and pointed, and the cyan divine soul power transformed into an illusory light and shadow that fell down, actually outlining a reclining corpse in the void.

"The deceased was an inner disciple of the Snow Cloud Sect. He was stabbed three times, with the last sword piercing his left rib and severing his heart meridian, causing his death." Zheng Qingyun traced the lines with his fingertips. "But what's strange is that... the force and angle of this sword strike do not match the 'Crow Returns to the Forest' technique of the Seven Profound Sword Pavilion."

He looked up, his eyes sharp: "The one who drew the sword used the Snow Cloud Sect's own 'Flying Snow Startling Swan Sword'!"

"There is a traitor within the Snow Cloud Sect."

There are many experts in the Martial Guard.

Zheng Qingyun's ability to accompany Zhang Yuan to the Eastern Border must be due to his exceptional qualities.

Zheng Qingyun, a mere Vajra Grandmaster, possessed a thorough understanding of the martial arts techniques of the Eastern Realm, especially his profound swordsmanship. This was the reason why he was able to accompany Marquis Qingyang into the Eastern Realm.

At this moment, Zheng Qingyun followed behind Zhang Yuan, quickly explaining the signs of fighting that could be seen everywhere among the broken walls and ruins.

Just then, the azure light from Yin Jiuyou's palm swept across the stone steps, and thirty-seven illusory figures fell out from the void rift.

The Snow Cloud Sect elder, with his cloud-sleeved robes piercing through the clouds, was using an iron ruler to block the sword's edge when a short blade struck from behind pierced his throat.

The method of summoning the soul.

Although these remnant souls have dissipated, Yin Jiuyou still has a way to find traces in the remaining divine soul aura and recreate the original scene.

As the head of the Underworld, his methods are naturally extraordinary.

The scattered soul shadows suddenly solidified when Zheng Qingyun's fingertips touched the bloodstains, and the disciple's remnant soul, which fell backward, happened to overlap with the broken edge of the steps.

“My lord, please take a look,” Zheng Qingyun picked up a charred fragment of an iron ruler and ran his fingertips along the dark patterns on it. “This iron ruler is a standard weapon of the Xueyun Sect’s Enforcement Hall, but there are traces of ‘Crimson Flame Sand’ burning at the broken edge—Crimson Flame Sand is a unique secret medicine of the Qi Kingdom’s Chixiao Tower!”

He flicked his sleeve to clear away the rubble, revealing a broken chain: "The Soul-Locking Chain! The unique weapon of the Xueyun Sect's Enforcement Elder, yet it's wrapped around the corpses of Xueyun Sect disciples. It seems that not only were there external enemies attacking that day, but there was also internal treachery."

A sudden burst of azure light shone from Yin Jiuyou's palm, and a masked figure appeared in the void, wielding a sword and slashing at his fellow disciple.

The sword move clearly started with the Snow Cloud Sect's "Snow Falls Without a Trace," but it turned into the Seven Profound Sword Pavilion's "Heavenly River Reverses" halfway through.

"What a traitor!" Zheng Qingyun sneered. "This traitor must have been lying low for at least ten years to have managed to fuse the sword techniques of the two schools into this!"

As Zheng Qingyun stood up, the azure light from Yin Jiuyou's palm enveloped the entire training ground.

Seven hundred soul shadows fought in the morning mist, the sparks from their clashing swords condensing into a spectacular inverted Milky Way, which was torn into smoke by some force when it touched the plaque of the main hall.

Yin Jiuyou frowned and muttered, "The demonic method of binding souls..."

Zhang Yuan remained calm, simply nodding slightly before walking straight ahead.

For him, the mere Snow Cloud Sect was nothing.

He simply wanted to find a way to break through the deeply entrenched power structure of Donghan County.

When Zhang Yuan shattered the tenth ice lotus and stood before the main hall, ice-blue cracks suddenly appeared on the blue bricks beneath his feet. The charred beams and pillars, like broken dragon bones, were stuck diagonally into the ground, and half of the cloud-patterned plaque hung upside down under the broken eaves. The four gilded characters "Snow Falls on a Thousand Mountains" were licked by the flames into the shape of a charred centipede.

A blue light emanated from Yin Jiuyou's palm, spreading across the ashes, and suddenly condensed into a vortex in the northwest corner: "My lord, please look—"

Dozens of phantom images appeared before the broken statue of the patriarch. The Snow Cloud Sect elder, with his wide sleeves adorned with cloud patterns, was using the "Avalanche Style" to block the seven sword lights when suddenly a black iron ruler emerged from the side, its tip concealing a poisoned needle that pierced his throat.

"The 'Thousand Mountains Snow Palm' of Gu Mingshan, the Third Elder of the Snow Cloud Sect." Zheng Qingyun pointed his fingertip at a sword mark in the void, "But the attacker's 'Crossing Crane in the Cold Pool' is clearly a unique hidden weapon technique of the Qi Kingdom's Hanjiang School!"

He crushed half a roof tile with his foot, revealing shattered ice crystals about an inch deep beneath the paving stones: "This 'Ice Soul Finger Mark' is something only the direct disciple of the Snow Cloud Sect can do."

Before he finished speaking, Yin Jiuyou's palm suddenly emitted a burst of green smoke from his divine soul power.

The soul shadows that were about to be pieced together let out a shrill roar, and actually condensed into a twisted ghost face in the void, with fangs aimed straight at Yin Jiuyou's brow!
"Humph."

Zhang Yuan let out a low groan, and the moment the Autumn Cold Blade sheath in his hand struck the charred beam, a pale golden divine light exploded like a venomous snake spitting its tongue.

The ice lotus beneath his feet suddenly bloomed with twelve layers of frost patterns, and the pressure of the Cave Profound Realm directly crushed the Ghost Face into dust.

Half of a blood-red demonic rune was clearly visible among the debris!
“I almost fell for the Demonic cultivator’s ‘Soul Cleansing Curse.’” A cold glint flashed in Yin Jiuyou’s eyes, and the Styx River pattern embroidered on his black sleeves glowed slightly. “At least it was a Cave Profound cultivator who made the move, using a remnant soul as a lure, setting up a plan long in advance.”

"The work of the Blood Demon Sect of Wei Kingdom." Zhang Yuan flicked his finger, sending the demonic runes flying, watching them burn into wisps of smoke in the sunlight. "They're certainly willing to invest."

This magical rune is equivalent to a Taoist talisman, worth a fortune.

Those demonic cultivators from the Eastern Wei Dynasty had anticipated the arrival of a cultivator skilled in the Dao of the Divine Soul in the Great Qin Dynasty, and deliberately left this contingency plan.

"My lord, this remnant soul has been cleansed, and I can no longer..." Yin Jiuyou's face showed a look of shame.

He is the head of the Underworld Bureau, and his cultivation has reached the Grandmaster level, yet he only uses such methods, which is truly shameful.

However, he had only just entered the Grandmaster realm, and he had not truly grasped the cultivation and power of the Grandmaster realm.

Zhang Yuan narrowed his eyes, and a faint aura of malevolent energy surged around him.

"Step aside."

Zhang Yuan's voice was very soft, but the shattered tiles floating within a radius of ten feet suddenly froze.

When he raised his right hand, Yin Jiuyou's pupils contracted violently.

The bloodlust that had long since dissipated in the main hall transformed into a red spider lily in the Marquis's palm. As the withered petals fell to the ground, a thunderous roar echoed from the depths of the earth as chains snapped.

The power of soul!

When Zhang Yuan's divine soul power vibrated, Zheng Qingyun and the others who were following closely behind felt a chill run down their spines.

What kind of power is this?

“Tongyou…” Zheng Qingyun lowered his head, not daring to look at Zhang Yuan in front of him.

The second realm of the Grandmaster: Penetrating the Mysterious.

Currently, the strongest Grandmaster known in Yongtian Continent is at the Tongyou Realm.

"boom!"

The divine soul of the Tongyou Realm was crushed as if the sky were collapsing, and Zheng Qingyun staggered back seven steps.

The Soul-Stabilizing Jade inlaid on Yin Jiuyou's hood cracked with a "crack," revealing the Yellow Springs patterns visible only to the Netherworld on the blue bricks beneath Zhang Yuan's feet.

The scattered soul light, emanating from every scorched leaf and every grain of blood sand, gathered into the phantom of an old man with white hair on the ruins of the main hall.

“Gu Changfeng, the seventeenth sect master of Xueyun Sect…” Zheng Qingyun stared wide-eyed and murmured.

(End of this chapter)