The seawater surged backward, pouring into the deep trenches, filling the previous voids. Huang Taichong and the elder from the Ruan family scavenged the remaining resources of the Blue-Blooded, while He Qi searched for any object containing the lingering aura of Gao Qianyuan from the Wu Xiang Sword Cursed lineage, preparing for future pursuits.
Old Master Ruan re-folded his hands into his sleeves, his eyes filled with sorrow and complex emotions. He gazed at the composed head of the Wang family and transmitted his voice: “What did you say to him?”
After discovering traces of the Blue-Blooded and after much struggle and deliberation, Old Master Ruan finally decided to seek help from the Wang family, revealing the loss of the Du Ren Qin. Only by mobilizing the power of the Luo Shu could they lock onto the exact location of the Blue-Blooded and recover the Du Ren Qin in the shortest time. If they continued to act secretly, even with divination techniques, success would not be so precise or swift. Delaying further might allow the Blue-Blooded to escape into the boundless starry sky, like the High Priest who used the great tower, making them impossible to track.
After paying a heavy price that gravely weakened the Ruan family, the head of the Wang family finally agreed and performed divination, confirming that the Du Ren Qin was indeed in the hands of the Blue-Blooded and nowhere else. This solidified Old Master Ruan’s determination to take drastic action.
Yet he never expected the Blue-Blooded would come from beyond the Qing Ming realm, from the depths of the stars. At a critical moment, they activated the great tower and fled. He had foolishly hoped the Du Ren Qin was in this trench and failed to enter the tower in time to suppress the High Priest, watching helplessly as Ruan San Ye risked his life.
Now, reflecting on it, with his wisdom honed by years, he could easily guess what the head of the Wang family had whispered to his nephew, prompting him to enter the deadly situation without hesitation or hope.
Moreover, the head of the Wang family had clearly held back, not fully unleashing the power of the Luo Shu.
“This is our only chance to recover the Du Ren Qin,” the Wang family head said calmly and firmly.
If Old Master Ruan and others had entered the tower and gone there, perhaps the one inside would awaken prematurely!
In a few years, he would turn fifty, yet he hadn’t even attained half a step toward the Dharma Body. Death appeared unavoidable, so he had long resigned himself to the cycle of life and death.
Old Master Ruan was momentarily stunned, as if aging ten years in an instant, and sighed with a sense of loss:
“Heavenly fate! My good man is gone! If only I could sacrifice myself a hundred times to bring him back!”
His version of the ancient phrase “a hundred sacrifices” meant he would die a hundred times to save Ruan Chengde.
“A hundred sacrifices…” He Qi glanced over, thinking to himself that the Ruan family was indeed full of reckless heroes who expressed their emotions freely, indifferent to appearances.
After finishing his lament, Old Master Ruan’s expression returned to normal, and he ordered solemnly: “Return to Langya!”
Sanlang lacked the ability to enter Qing Ming. If relying on the Du Ren Qin, the most likely place he would appear would be near Langya.
The head of the Wang family nodded slightly, showing no objection, which further strengthened Old Master Ruan’s confidence.
…
“Du Ren Qin!”
Within the Ruan mansion, one after another of the Out-of-Sight cultivators either gasped aloud or silently recognized the familiar aura.
“Du Ren Qin!”
Around the city of Langya, hidden Out-of-Sight cultivators whispered in low voices. Some were left-wing heretics hiding in plain sight, others were schemers intending to profit from the conflict between the Ruan family and the Blue-Blooded, including many from the Black List.
Most of them were unaware of the stolen Divine Treasure, but at this moment, the aura from a hundred miles away was unmistakable!
Ruan Bogao, the guardian left behind by the Ruan family, suddenly stood up, prepared to employ the family’s final trump card—the ultimate method concealed within the Snow Mountain Sect’s Immortal Patriarch’s tomb and the boundless abyss of the Vajra Temple.
But opportunity waits for no one, and it slipped away in an instant. As he moved, he noticed a deep blue water light rising into the sky, rushing straight toward the Du Ren Qin.
“Blue-Blooded! Nine-Finger!” His eyes turned red as he recognized the enemy.
The Du Ren Qin seemed to be in an unusual state, resisting and eroding something. If Nine-Fingered Blue-Blooded succeeded, he could escape immediately.
There was no time to use the last resort!
In a flash, he made his decision. The sound of the qin rose melodiously, his body wrapped in radiant light, soaring into the heavens.
A five-colored phoenix circled through the air, its nine-fingered Blue-Blooded Primordial Spirit momentarily stunned. Looking up, he saw purple-red flames consuming half the sky.
At the same time, Ruan family’s Out-of-Sight cultivators immediately took over the formation, fully activating it to protect the entire Ruan mansion from opportunistic attacks.
The city’s formation was under the control of the Six Ministries. As Nie Zhi hesitated slightly, beams of light shot out from the city, all emanating from powerful beings intent on seizing the treasure!
The Ruan family was not afraid. Even though a large portion of their top experts and ordinary Out-of-Sight cultivators were guarding important cities, industries, and treasure-producing locations, as a top-tier force, they still had at least five Supreme Experts and over a dozen ordinary Out-of-Sight cultivators at home, sufficient to suppress any threats!
In the sky, the five-colored phoenix flew toward Nine-Fingered Blue-Blooded. While playing the qin, Ruan Bogao bit his tongue, spitting out his essence blood.
The essence blood burned, transforming into red mist spreading toward the Du Ren Qin, attempting to assist it.
Ruan Bogao, who had entered the martial world at a young age and experienced many trials, clearly knew that his strength was roughly equal to Nine-Fingered Blue-Blooded’s. However, he also had to focus on resisting the water-controlling ability, slightly placing him at a disadvantage. If he directly tried to seize the Du Ren Qin, he would certainly be blocked. Thus, he focused on stopping Nine-Fingered Blue-Blooded while using his essence blood to help the Du Ren Qin eliminate foreign aura.
Once the Du Ren Qin recovered, with its divine spirit and power, how could Nine-Fingered Blue-Blooded possibly win? Who else would dare to challenge it?
Sure enough, Nine-Fingered Blue-Blooded held a strange token resembling a short sword, covered in countless bizarre worm-like patterns.
The sword energy erupted, slicing through the sea of flames. He broke free from the suppression of the qin, unleashing his colossal insect Dharma Form.
Then, his body and Dharma Form simultaneously disintegrated into countless tiny, droplet-like blue Gu insects, vanishing into the Primordial Qi Ocean with the aid of the token.
Unlike the old man surnamed Gao, he had not completely merged with the Qi Ocean, leaving traces that Ruan Bogao’s keen perception could detect.
Could he truly transform into primordial qi, infiltrating others’ bodies through breath? Ruan Bogao narrowed his eyes. The qin’s melody shifted abruptly, altering the heavens and parting the sea. The ocean of primordial qi around him surged outward, preventing its approach.
“This isn’t sustainable!” He minimized his absorption of the primordial energy of heaven and earth, altering the qin’s melody once more, indiscriminately shaking the nearby void in an attempt to directly affect Nine-Fingered Blue-Blooded’s primordial spirit.
Deep blue dots emerged in the sky, drifting aimlessly. Nine-Fingered Blue-Blooded relied on the token to resist with all his might, his sword techniques striking in unimaginable and unpredictable ways.
For a while, the two were locked in a stalemate.
Suddenly, a decaying figure cloaked in strange black robes emerged near the Du Ren Qin, filled with the dust of time.
He rasped with a laugh: “Sitting at home, treasures fall from the sky.”
“Fate grants, but if not taken, calamity follows!”
Even a fallen Divine Treasure was no ordinary object, capable of direct capture. As he spoke, the black-robed figure extended his right hand, growing larger, transforming into a giant palm reaching out.
“Fengdian Divine Envoy!” Ruan Bogao’s mind trembled, nearly failing to hold off Nine-Fingered Blue-Blooded’s attack, unable to spare a hand to use the qin sound for area-wide influence.
This decay-filled black-robed figure was indeed Fengdian Divine Envoy, the leader of the Luo Cult’s Divine Envoys, ranked fifth on the Black List and twenty-sixth on the Earth List, a peak Out-of-Sight expert!
He was originally responsible for Luo Cult affairs in the Jiangdong region. With the Ruan family’s grand actions, how could he not come to investigate? Unexpectedly, he encountered the Du Ren Qin descending from the sky, seemingly in a dormant state—an opportunity worth seizing!
Fengdian Divine Envoy cackled, his giant palm showing no sign of slowing.
Just as it was about to touch the Du Ren Qin, something appeared before his palm—a tattered begging bowl.
Dang!
The bowl emitted a crisp sound. A monk with a simple expression and mischievous eyes floated midair, raising one hand in salute: “Amitabha, this humble monk urgently needs this treasure to recover my losses. Please, noble benefactor, grant it to me.”
“Gambling Monk, take other treasures to recover your losses!” Fengdian Divine Envoy, stronger than the Gambling Monk, had no desire to be entangled and immediately tempted him with other treasures.
The Gambling Monk hesitated: “Before so many witnesses, how can this humble monk appear greedy? I’ll just take the Du Ren Qin and exchange it with the Ruan family for treasures.”
If not for the witnesses, you’d be greedy? Fengdian Divine Envoy had never seen such a shameless monk, nearly furious enough to spit blood. He unleashed his technique, revealing a divine figure behind him holding a white lotus scripture, with two heads and six arms. The air filled with falling sutra sounds as he clashed with the Gambling Monk, causing the Du Ren Qin’s flight path to deviate from Langya.
Seeing the four Patriarchs locked in fierce battle, unable to intervene, other experts grew restless, eager to seize the treasure.
This was the opportunity!
The Ruan family had only left the family head to guard the formation while the other Supreme Experts flew out of Langya, rushing into the sky.
The Ruan family’s last resort could only be activated by a Patriarch!
At this moment, five figures with noble bloodlines appeared in the sky. The leader manifested a sword-shaped Dharma Form composed of countless flying insects behind him, radiating the presence of a Supreme Expert. With arrogance and coldness, he declared: “Who beneath the Patriarch level dares to challenge us?”
At his words, the experts with ulterior motives immediately halted.
Indeed! The Blue-Blooded had the ability to control water with precision. Without the realm of a Patriarch and techniques to counteract, facing a Blue-Blooded of the same level would mean slaughter, no matter how many were present. Now, with two Supreme Blue-Blooded in the sky, rushing to seize the treasure would be suicide!
Though treasures were valuable, their lives were more precious!
They exchanged glances, realizing none possessed techniques, secret arts, or treasures capable of countering the Blue-Blooded. Even among the Black List members, none were Patriarchs. Thus, they all considered retreating, including the Ruan family’s several Supreme Experts, who hesitated slightly without preparation.
The leading Blue-Blooded laughed heartily:
“A bunch of cowards!”
He turned to retrieve the Du Ren Qin.
In the western mountains of Langya, Wang Siyuan’s face changed, from pale to sallow, then stood up and drew his sword.
Finally, the moment had come!
“Master!” His maid was horrified.
Wang Siyuan smiled: “Don’t worry, I am now missing water in the Five Elements.”
“A bunch of cowards!” The mocking words reached their ears. Several Supreme Experts from the Ruan family turned red-eyed, their breaths heavy. They exchanged glances, each seeing the determination to die in their eyes.
As they prepared to act, suddenly a crisp metallic clang echoed, like a long sword sheathed.
Zheng!
It sounded like a dragon’s roar in everyone’s ears, as if something terrifying had broken free!
A dazzling streak of violet rent the heavens, engulfing the foremost Supreme Azure-Blooded along with his Dharma Aspect.
Pengpengpeng!
Continuous collision and explosion sounds erupted. A transparent-skinned, blue-blooded figure flew backward from the light, his body riddled with countless holes like a punctured water balloon, looking pitiful.
The long sword shot upward, lightning filling the sky, converging at the blade’s tip.
Honglong!
The long sword swept down, cutting through empty air. An endless sea of yang and masculine lightning, domineering and arrogant, blotted out half the sky, swallowing the remaining four Blue-Blooded Out-of-Sight cultivators.
Honglong!
The lightning ocean disappeared, leaving only one Blue-Blooded expert in the sky. His Dharma Form behind him transformed into a whirlpool, his body withered, as if all moisture had been drained from him.
He gazed despairingly at the figure before him, countless questions swirling in his mind.
How could this be!
How could this be!
How could his water-controlling ability have no effect on this person!
Not far away, Meng Qi, clad in black and gripping a longsword, stood proudly in the void, the corners of his mouth curling into a grin that revealed his white teeth.
“Coward, need more help? I can take on ten of you!”
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