Immortality begins with Swallowing the Stars.

Chapter 101 Just who exactly is the Hidden Sword Pavilion?

In the vast wilderness of the Duanmu Continent, in the Eastern Hua Domain.

Hundreds of war beasts escorted several carriages as they sped across the wilderness.

In one of the carriages, Liang Jiusheng, Elder Mei, and Teng Qingshan stared grimly at the papers in their hands.

Elder Mei sighed, "It's truly a case of heaven not protecting us. We thought we were the only ones who had discovered that Fire-Liu Iron Mine."

Wan Jianlou and Teng Qingshan originally planned to use this extremely precious fire-gilded iron to exchange for a large number of swords and the "Thirty-Six Styles of Mountain Opening" stone carvings from various forces on the continent.

In addition, they secretly used the spirits of the two cauldrons from the North Sea brought from Kyushu to cultivate peak-level martial artists, supplementing them with armor made of fire-gilded iron.

Once the Azure Phoenix becomes a Void Realm Beast, it can use this power to unify the continent.

Unexpectedly, after recruiting hundreds of martial artists and setting off, they learned that the news of the Fire-Liu Iron Mine in Flame Ridge had spread throughout the world.

In this way, other forces on the mainland will inevitably arrive soon. Even if Wanjianlou gets there first, it can only dig a little more before the other forces arrive.

They might not even be able to keep it, and they will definitely clash with other forces.

The force they brought this time numbered only a few hundred, most of whom were newly recruited low-level martial artists.

Fewer than a hundred of his trusted men had consumed the spirit of the North Sea.

The main reason is that Wan Jian Lou has only been in Duanmu Continent for a short time and its foundation is too shallow.

Although Liang Jiusheng possesses two cauldrons of North Sea spirit, enough to create 20,000 peak acquired martial artists.

That's the theory, but in reality, the spirit of the North Sea certainly can't be easily scattered.

Even the Guiyuan Sect, which is still in Kyushu, needs to spend time managing, selecting, and cultivating loyal disciples, and then feeding the spirit of the North Sea. An army of tens of thousands of peak acquired martial artists cannot be built overnight.

Once the news of the Spirit of the North Sea leaks out, Liang Jiusheng and the others will become the target of everyone's anger across the entire Duanmu Continent.

A treasure that can cultivate a peak-level martial artist from a single drop—who wouldn't go crazy for it?

Tens of thousands of peak acquired martial artists are indeed beyond the reach of an innate martial saint.

However, the Void Realm War Gods of the Tianfeng Family and the Xuri Trading Company are not to be underestimated.

For a Void Realm War God who wields the power of heaven and earth and possesses inexhaustible true essence, let alone 20,000 acquired martial artists, even 100,000 could be killed as long as there is enough time!

Currently, these nearly one hundred trusted followers who have consumed the Spirit of the North Sea were carefully selected by Wan Jianlou from among the slaves they purchased.

With the addition of hundreds of recruited low-level martial artists, the speed of mining the Fire-Liu Iron ore vein is not slow.

"Dig as much as you can! As for other forces, we'll deal with them as they come," Liang Jiusheng said calmly.

Half a day later, the Wan Jian Lou forces finally arrived at the Huo Liu Tie Canyon near Niu Tou Mountain in Flame Ridge and set up camp.

After promising high returns, hundreds of recruited low-level martial artists, led by nearly a hundred trusted subordinates, began mining the Fire Iron Ore Vein.

Nearly a hundred peak-level martial artists were enough to keep an eye on the other lower-level martial artists and make them obediently mine.

Bang!Bang!Bang!

The sound of metal clashing could be heard from time to time, clearly due to the mining process hitting the molten iron.

Fire-refined iron is hidden in large layers of rock. Simply break them apart to obtain pure fire-refined iron; no smelting or refining is required.

A white-haired war beast galloped from afar.

A smiling girl in a red dress led a chubby boy into the tent.

Behind him followed a limp man with a tense expression, wearing a tattered cotton-padded jacket and with disheveled hair.

"Xiaoying, who is this child?" Elder Mei asked, frowning.

"Hehe, I've found a disciple for our Ten Thousand Swords Pavilion!" Mei Xiaoying said innocently, but only the chubby boy beside her knew just how terrifying this girl was.

Through Mei Xiaoying's account, Elder Mei and the others learned that the boy's name was Yang Dong.

The lame man behind him was Yang Dong's father, named Yang Wang.

The father and son were being chased and fled all the way to Flame Ridge, where they encountered Mei Xiaoying, who was patrolling the Fire-Liu-Tie Canyon.

Mei Xiaoying was extremely amazed by the swordsmanship that Yang Dong displayed in his desperate struggle.

They then drove back the men who were chasing the father and son, rescued them, and brought them to their camp.

"This kid actually hid his sword inside a bamboo pole. Although he only knows three moves—draw the sword, thrust, and thrust again—his speed is extremely fast, and his attacks are incredibly unpredictable. He's definitely a prodigy suited for swordsmanship!"

"Oh? How many moves will you show me?" Liang Jiusheng said gently.

Although Yang Dong did not know who these people were, he vaguely realized that this moment might be a turning point in his fate.

The chubby boy used his left hand to support himself on the ground with a bamboo pole, and with a lightning-fast flick of his right hand, he pulled out the strange rapier and thrust it out at an odd angle.

"laugh--"

The air seemed to have been punctured.

Finally, the sword tip stopped between Liang Jiusheng's two fingers.

Yang Dong and Yang Wang behind him both looked at the unassuming old man in front of them with some surprise.

Yang Wang, who was limping, had a glint in his eyes. Even a peak-level expert would have to temporarily avoid his son's sword thrust, yet this old man was able to catch the extremely fast sword with just two fingers.

"A pure heart! Taking heaven and earth as teachers..." Liang Jiusheng looked at the chubby boy in front of him with a complex expression: "He is a true seed of swordsmanship!"

Mei Xiaoying exclaimed happily, "Quickly, become my apprentice, little fatty!"

"Hehe, I won't be your master," Liang Jiusheng said, shaking his head slightly.

"Huh? Master, didn't you say he was a true seed of swordsmanship?"

"It is precisely because he is a true seed of swordsmanship that he deserves the best teacher!" Liang Jiusheng solemnly said, "The sect leader has not yet accepted any disciples. When the sect leader arrives, if he is willing to accept you as a disciple, it will be an immense blessing for you. If he is not willing to accept you as a disciple, then I will take you under my wing. How about that?"

Mei Xiaoying said eagerly, "Little Fatty, quickly agree! Countless people in the world would envy someone who can become the Sword Master's disciple."

Who is the Sword Master? I've never heard of him before.

Yang Dong agreed, somewhat bewildered.

"My benefactors!" Yang Wang kowtowed with gratitude, then stood up and said with remorse, "Although I do not know which family you benefactors belong to, I dare not implicate you."

After saying that, he revealed the entire route taken by the people who were chasing the father and son.

In short, it was a feud involving the theft of his wife and the extermination of his entire family.

Liang Jiusheng and Elder Mei didn't care about this kind of story, but the fact that the father and son had an enemy surprised everyone.

"The Helian family..." Elder Mei frowned slightly.

The Helian family is the Tianfeng family, one of the two giants of the Duanmu Continent, a super power with a Void Realm War God in charge.

"...I fled from the Northern Cold Region with Dong'er to the Southern Mountain Region, where we lived in seclusion under assumed names for many years. However, the Helian family, who had never left the Northern Cold Region, suddenly changed their behavior and sent a large number of people to the Southern Mountain Region. Among them, some recognized me and sent people to hunt down my son and me..."

Yang Wang hesitated, though he could tell from the girl's actions and the internal energy martial artists guarding the camp that these people were quite powerful and might be from a prominent family or force that ruled a city. But how could they compare to the Helian family?

Liang Jiusheng gently shook his head, his expression warm: "As long as you join my Ten Thousand... Hidden Sword Pavilion, you will be a member of my Sword Pavilion, and we will naturally protect you. You don't need to worry."

Apart from the Heavenly Wind War God, the rest of the Heavenly Wind family members were not in Liang Jiusheng's eyes, including that so-called number one expert in the Northern Cold Region, the Iron Sword Martial Saint.

"Hidden Sword Pavilion?"

Yang Wang was shocked, finally realizing who the forces that had saved him and wanted to take his son as their disciple were.

He knew, of course, that the Hidden Sword Pavilion was a newly emerging force in Nanshan City, dedicated to collecting swords from all over the world, and possessed great wealth and power.

However, the extent of their military strength remains unclear, making them quite mysterious.

"There should be a Martial Saint in this Hidden Sword Pavilion, could it be the Sword Master?" Yang Wang's heart skipped a beat: "It would be a good thing if my son could become a disciple of a Martial Saint, but what if the Helian family pursues the matter... Alas, I don't know if this Hidden Sword Pavilion can withstand it."

Just as Yang Wang was feeling both worried and excited, a figure burst into the tent.

The figure entering the tent was none other than Teng Qingshan.

"Senior Liang, Senior Mei, other armies are arriving! Judging from the flags, they seem to belong to the Yan, Xiahou, and Duan families of Donghua Domain!"

Flame Ridge is located in the Eastern Hua Domain, so it's normal that the forces from the Eastern Hua Domain arrived first.

Only Yang Wang was startled: "What on earth is going on here? How come even powerful families like the Duan and Yan families from the Donghua Region have come?"

Liang Jiusheng said calmly, "These local bullies will definitely try to drive us away as soon as they arrive. It seems we have to have a showdown first before we can hold our ground and continue digging."

……

At Niutou Mountain, the dusty and weary armies of the Yan, Xiahou, and Duan families joined forces into one battalion.

The three families' innate experts looked at the mountain range in front of them with excitement.

Yan Baishou, the head of the Yan family, said solemnly, "Our three families have formed an alliance to jointly fight against the Fu family, the Tantai family, and other families from the three regions. With our strength, we can withstand even the 'Thunder Blade Martial Saint'."

"I'm afraid the Mu family and the Helian family will send those two..." the Duan family elder said solemnly.

These words immediately sombered the atmosphere.

The two Void Realm War Gods have formed a terrifying balance and will not easily make a move.

However, the Mu family of the Xuri Trading Company and the Helian family of the Tianfeng family each possess the number one and number two supreme martial saints on the Duanmu Continent, invincible among innate martial saints.

"Didn't they have an agreement that they can't directly compete for mineral veins outside of the Western Tang Region and the Northern Han Region?" Yan Baishou asked in a low voice.

Xiahou An, the head of the Xiahou family, sneered: "Before coming here, I specially sent a message by flying eagle to test the Tianfeng family, but the Tianfeng family did not reply, nor did they say that they would send the 'Iron Sword Martial Saint' to support us. Hehe, it seems that they are very likely to personally intervene."

"This kind of agreement is just for show. So what if the Tianfeng family, who previously held firm in the Northern Cold Region, recently sent a large number of troops out of the region and are causing trouble everywhere?"

Yan Baishou shook his head and said, "Let's wait until those two families arrive. First, clear the area, and our three armies should dig quickly. We can still gain a lot before they arrive."

Xiahou An glanced at the Hidden Sword Pavilion troops encamped not far away and sneered, "Which force is that...? The banner says Hidden Sword Pavilion? Heh, I seem to remember, isn't that a force from the Southern Mountain Region? They've arrived quickly, drive them away!"

After saying this, he ordered a force of over a thousand men, armed with weapons, to march toward the Hidden Sword Pavilion's camp.

Most of the ordinary armies of the major families on the Duanmu Continent do not even have internal energy. Only low-ranking officers have internal energy, but even thousands or tens of thousands of them can make a martial saint like Lei Dao Wu Sheng, who is a congenital golden core martial saint, feel wary.

"Why are there a few teenagers here?"

The aggressive advance of the armies of the three major families in the Donghua Domain caused panic among the hundreds of newly recruited low-level martial artists who had been hastily assembled from mining operations in the mountains.

Even if all of them combined are no less powerful than this army of over a thousand, the deterrent power of the three major families in Donghua Domain still surpasses that of this army of a thousand.

"Sigh, I knew I couldn't rely on these people!"

Mei Xiaoying and the Wei brothers leisurely approached the front of the battle formation, each carrying a sword.

Then, like three dragons, they charged into the army formation, their swords flashing and their killing intent soaring to the sky!

"Martial Saint!"

The nine innate martial saints from the Yan, Duan, and Xiahou families stared in astonishment at the battle unfolding not far away.

"This sword energy... Ghost-faced Martial Saints! It's those three Ghost-faced Martial Saints!" Xiahou An exclaimed, his eyes wide with disbelief.

Recently, the Assassin Hall of the Rising Sun Trading Company has gained three Martial Saint-level assassins. Although they have not made many moves, they have attracted the attention of major forces in the four regions of the continent.

In particular, the Dong family, one of the seven great families of Donghua Domain, saw its patriarch and the eldest elder, both innate martial saints, openly killed by the Ghost-Faced Assassin, and the family never recovered.

Many families began to feel insecure.

"Those three masked martial saints are actually from the Hidden Sword Pavilion? Or did they hire them? Where did such a force come from..." The expressions of the three high-ranking members all changed drastically.

A force with three Martial Saints in charge is already a top force on the continent.

Yang Wang and his son Yang Dong were even more surprised.

The girl who saved them, who looked only fifteen or sixteen years old, was actually a Primordial Martial Saint?!

There is such a young innate martial saint in the world!

These three young men and women are innate martial saints, so what about Elder Mei and Elder Liang, who seem to have even higher status in the Hidden Sword Pavilion?

What about that sword master who was revered by everyone?

The mysterious and unpredictable Hidden Sword Pavilion... what kind of force is it exactly?

(End of this chapter)