The sudden turn of events prompted sighs of relief from the crowd.
“That’s the aura of the Sword of Chaos…. It’s found its wielder,” Lu Yun muttered at the sight of dissipating energy before losing consciousness. He’d completely exhausted himself in a prolonged fight against four opponents. He wouldn’t have been their match, if it weren’t for the help from the Dao Flower.
Although Lu Yun had disrupted monsters’ great dao, the dao weapons in their hands remained extremely dangerous. Any moment of carelessness would end in his death, so he’d pushed himself to the limit with every strike. Even with his inner energy exhausted, he’d persisted, finally overcoming the monsters and three of the bloodstained paths.
Up in the air, the Dao Flower had finished blooming. Immortal melodies descended and reached every world. Now restored, the void realm bridged the gap in the severed path of cultivation, settling back in perfectly. The pristine path gradually faded into the world, along with the fully-bloomed Dao Flower.
Radiating white brilliance, Qing Han, Wu Tulong, Zi Chen, and Mo Qitian sat cross-legged in the air and entered a strange trance. Violetgrave, the Sugato Sword, and four black axes lay quiet on the ground.
Although most cultivators were staring at the disappearing Dao Flower and path of cultivation, many were also drawn to the six great weapons. The black axes seemed archaic, but they belonged to the hairy monsters. Many had seen what they were capable of in the great struggle that had ended only moments prior. Lu Yun had gone from not being the monsters’ match to overpowering them after picking up one of the axes, so there must be some powerful heritage in it.
Violetgrave might be a ninth-rank treasure, but it could rival the black axes. That was proof enough that the sword couldn’t be a regular treasure. As for the Sugato Sword, known as the greatest man-made treasure in the world, it could cut through even connate-grade treasures.
At this moment, all of them laid still on the ground and Lu Yun was completely insesenate.
Swoosh!
An immortal bound to Lu Yun’s side and grabbed at the Sugato Sword. A sudden hum was his only warning before he was thrown back, and a faint, crimson figure slowly emerged in midair.
“It’s Aoxue!” Immortals who were going to make a dash for the treasures grimaced.
Aoxue had earned her fame and shaken the world by blockading the Qing paradise entrance for a month and defeating all august immortals of the clan. However, no one connected her to the dragon princess from ten thousand years ago. With her blood dragon constitution concealed by the Tome of Life and Death, she seemed perfectly human. Her presence alone was enough to deter the immortals.
In Dusk Province, high-level immortals had to keep their cultivation sealed, so they didn’t have the confidence to face Aoxue in such a state.
“How dare you get in my way, Aoxue?!” Bouncing back to his feet, the person Aoxue had sent flying was only an empyrean immortal. Aureate sparkles around him suggested that some treasure had protected him from any real damage and also indicated his impressive background. Ordinary treasures wouldn’t have offered so much defense against one of the dragon princess’ blows.
Aoxue frostily stood guard by Lu Yun’s side without a word. Lu Yun had used up all their healing and qi replenishing pills, so he’d have to rely on himself to recover.
“How shameless can someone be!” loudly cursed a hotheaded immortal. “Lu Yun has just fought off otherworldly monsters and shattered those strange, bloodstained paths for the good of all. Now that he’s unconscious from the severity of his injuries, someone wants to steal his treasures?!”
“Hmph!” the empyrean immortal huffed. “It’s my transgression for trying to take his treasures. I apologize!” But a sneer tugged at his lips next. “Those four axes, however, are unclaimed. Therefore, it’s none of your business if I take them, is it, Aoxue?”
He strode toward one of the axes as he spoke.
“They dropped after Lu Yun killed—” Criticism abruptly cut off when a thick light barrier exploded into place around the empyrean immortal’s body.
“That’s the ninth-rank Cauldron of Invincible Constitution! He’s from the Jiangchen Clan of the Enlightened Major!” Numerous immortals froze when they recognized the treasure. Those who wanted to protect Lu Yun and those who wanted the axes for themselves changed their minds.
One of the top clans in the world of immortals, the Jiangchen Clan was known for their overbearing style and vengeful nature. Anyone who dared offend one of their own would face retaliation from the entire clan, no matter who it was!
The Cauldron of Invincible Constitution was an ancient treasure that the clan had unearthed from an ancient tomb. It was said that an ancient combat art heritage was stored in the treasure, and some immortals in the clan had become invincible after learning it.
The smirking empyrean immortal obviously hailed from the Jiangchen Clan, since he wielded the cauldron. The clan might not be a match for the Qing and Feng Clans, but their insanely vengeful nature made many major factions unwilling to get on their bad side.
Most in the world of immortals believed that feuds between youths should stay between youths. The Qing Clan had followed that unspoken rule when Aoxue blocked their entrance and had only sent out august immortals to fight her. If the same had happened to the Jiangchen Clan, their dao immortal wouldn’t have hesitated to smash her.
Such was the way of this clan.
“These four axes belong to the Jiangchen Clan now.” With a prideful smile, the empyrean immortal reached out for the axes.
Bam!
Blinding, dark crimson light flashed through the air and hurtled him back. A tall, slender, and aloof girl strode in from a distance.
“Who is it?!” yelled the empyrean immortal. The treasure keeping him protected manifested threateningly over his head.
“What a coincidence, I want the axes too.” The girl looked about eighteen and was clad in a black dress that accentuated her curves and tall, lithe figure. Crimson hair cascaded down her shoulders and her scarlet lips quirked slightly upward, bestowing upon her a devilish appeal. She bent down to pick up an axe and stood by Lu Yun’s side.
“How dare you!” The empyrean immortal struggled to his feet, face dark as coal, but didn’t dare make a move. The stunning girl was obviously another follower of Lu Yun’s, and was no less powerful than Aoxue.
It was Huangqing; she’d come after disguising her true form as a blood phoenix.
“You didn’t do anything when the long-haired monsters were around, but now you have the audacity to fight for the treasures?” Faint blue rippled through the air to admit a blue-haired girl treading an illusory water surface. She too picked up an axe.
It was Xuanxi. She manifested a talisman with light rippling over its surface and attached it to Lu Yun, which gathered water energy from all over the world to heal him. Then Yuying and Feinie each appeared and picked up an axe, standing guard by Lu Yun’s side.
The empyrean immortal’s eyes blazed with fury, while onlookers watched with appreciative glints in their eyes. All five of Lu Yun’s envoys were stunning enough to topple a country, their beauty rare even among the many fairies in the world of immortals. The man was damn lucky to have such beautiful guardians!
“He’s been labeled a traitor in Nephrite Major. If I kill him now....” The Jiangchen empyrean immortal licked his lips. “Men, capture Lu Yun and his five maids!”