Ancient Godly Monarch - Chapter 766

Chapter 766: Nine Immortality Bells

 

Qin Wentian glanced at that immortal, yet he only discovered that the immortal was currently staring at the two young ladies at the table beside him. It was clear that these two young ladies had the relationship of a mistress and a servant and they were currently both flipping the pages of a book.

“The target listed on this first page of the book is none other than Qin Wentian, the killer of Jiang Kuang. The reward for his capture is exceedingly high, and right now, this bounty book has already been disseminated to all cities of the Jiangling Country, Qin Wentian would be captured sooner or later.” That female mistress spoke in a low voice, causing Qin Wentian to start when he heard her words. After which, his perception extended over as he instantly saw that an image of himself on the first page of the book, his features were exceedingly accurate.

This book was disseminated by the Cloud Tower of the Cloud Prefecture, and was able to circulate around every city in the Jiangling Country in the shortest amount of time. And right now, the character depicted on the first page of this book was precisely none other than Qin Wentian!

“Miss, why are you interested in this?” The female servant asked.

“I heard about this matter from my clan. Back then, Jiang Kuang refused to release his sister and only then did he seek to kill Jiang Kuang. Also, under the presence of so many experts from the Jiang Clan, he risked his life only simply to save his sister. He shouldn’t be inside the bounty book.”

The female servant then hurriedly shushed her mistress as she whispered, “Miss, this is something the Jiangling King personally ordered. Also, there are many people from the other major powers here in the Driftsnow City, we shouldn’t speak wildly.”

That immortal-foundation expert stepped forth when he heard that, he turned to the young girl, “Miss, the matters the king decided on truly shouldn’t be discussed so casually out in public.”

The young woman started before nodding her head lightly.

“Miss, let’s go.” That immortal expert spoke again as he brought the female servant and the young miss with him, departing from the inn.

Qin Wentian naturally heard the words spoken. To think that there would be someone on his side. In addition, according to her tone, that young miss should be someone from the King Manor. It’s only that the Jiangling King can’t afford to antagonize the Jiang Clan, hence, her servant and her immortal-foundation bodyguard persuaded her not to speak so recklessly out in public.

This young lady might very well be a miss from the Jiangling King’s manor, yet the person who issued this order was none other than the Jiangling King himself.

Slowly sipping a mouthful of tea, Qin Wentian smiled at a person sitting beside him. “Brother, where did the bounty book originate from?”

Beside him was a middle-aged man clad in blue that exuded an elegant aura. Upon hearing Qin Wentian’s question he couldn’t help but to laugh, “Naturally, it’s issued from the Cloud Tower.”

“Cloud Tower?” Qin Wentian recalled this term from the conversation that young lady had earlier.

“Don’t tell me you don’t even know about the Cloud Towers?” The blue-robed middle aged man bewilderedly glanced at Qin Wentian. After which he laughed and continued, ” In every city of the Cloud Prefecture, there would be a Cloud Tower that’s established and operated by the sacred ground of the Cloud Prefecture, the Cloud Tower Sage Sect. Through the Cloud Towers, the commands of the Cloud Tower Sage sacred ground could be swiftly circulated throughout the Cloud Prefecture. At the same time, the eighty-one countries of the Cloud Prefecture would have disciples of the Cloud Tower Sage Sect garrisoned there. They all have very close relationships with the king of the country they reside in, and if there are any orders to be passed down, the most effective way of broadcasting was through usage of the Cloud Towers.

“The warrant for arrests were all issued by the Cloud Towers. And for those wanted criminals, there would be very few places for them to hide in if they were wanted by the Cloud Towers.” The middle-aged man explained. Qin Wentian nodded his head. In this case, the Cloud Tower Sage Sect should also be a top-tier supreme power in the Cloud Prefecture or they wouldn’t have the rights to speak.

Most probably, this sect had something to do with the Eastern Sage Immortal Emperor as well.

“Many thanks for the info.” Qin Wentian laughed and clasped his hands.

“Small matter, almost anyone in the Driftsnow City would know of this as well.” The middle-aged man casually waved his hand and continued enjoying his tea.

Qin Wentian stayed for some time longer in the inn before soaring up into the air, and flying away.

Increasing his speed, Qin Wentian’s silhouette flickered as he whistled through the airspace of the Driftsnow City. This place was truly full of crouching tigers and hidden dragons, he encountered many experts and he has already seen several hundred immortals just in such a short period of time. These people all had resplendent coronas of immortal light and were easily recognizable as immortal-foundation experts.

After a long time, Qin Wentian finally appeared at a lively public square where many gathered. They were all walking around and surveying a gigantic ancient bell that shone with dazzling light.

This ancient bell was 3,333 meters tall and exuded a terrifying aura. Chimes from the bell could be heard in the surroundings as resplendent light radiated from it, illuminating this space. When the light shone onto the ground, complex-looking runic inscriptions containing a marvelous energy within, exuding a deep profoundness could be seen within.

“Is this bell a divine weapon?” Qin Wentian’s heart trembled a little, feeling somewhat shocked. This was the first time he saw such a gigantic divine weapon, it was even larger than the demon sword, and even had a trace of magnificence to it.

As for the figures of experts that constantly walked around the ancient bell, they were trying to reach an understanding with the bell. They wanted to use those marvelous runic inscriptions to communicate with the ancient bell, but right now, it seemed that nobody had succeeded.

Not far away, many figures radiating immortal light stood in the air, staring down at this scene. Among them were actually experts of the Jiang Clan, and of the War Immortal Palace. Naturally, there were also immortals from the major powers of the Driftsnow City, as well as the other powers of the Jiangling Country. It seemed that they were all extremely interested in this ancient-looking bell.

“This ancient bell is extremely unique, if one wanted to form an innate connection with it, they had to connect the runic inscriptions all together to activate it.” Qin Wentian mused silently. After which, he stepped out and stopped at a random spot underneath the ancient bell. He lifted his head and surveyed the ancient bell, only feeling a sense of profoundness that was far beyond him.

Qin Wentian had studied and contemplated on the subject of runes during his time in the Heavenly Talisman Realm through the treasure tome. His understanding towards inscriptions greatly improved during his stay in the Heavenly Talisman Realm. Now, his attainments were even more extraordinary than before. Only to see at this moment, someone beside Qin Wentian turned to regard him upon noting his arrival. Yet, a look of contempt flashed in his eyes as he stated, “You understand runic inscriptions?”

Qin Wentian stared at the other party, this young man who spoke had an extraordinary demeanor and his long hair draped around his shoulders. Both his eyes sparkled with a faint golden luster and contained a sharpness within, as though possessing a tremendous penetrative power. When he stared at Qin Wentian, a mounting pressure could be felt gushing from his eyes.

“A little bit I guess.” Qin Wentian replied.

However, the lips of the young man curled in an unpleasant smile of disdain as though he was mocking Qin Wentian for overly boasting.

“The Dao of Runic Inscriptions is a true great dao, containing the truths and logic of the heavens and earth. If I’m not wrong, your cultivation base is merely at the third level of Celestial Phenomenon yet you actually dared to say that you know a little bit about runic inscriptions?” That young man calmly spoke. He was from the Purple Flame Sect, a major power in the Jiangling Country. The Purple Flame Sect was proficient in fire, as well as weapon forging. Their disciples all had very high attainments in this field.

“He’s not the only braggart around here. Within the crowd, how many people didn’t know anything about runic inscriptions? Yet there are still so many who dared speak frankly with assurance.” A young woman around twenty-five to twenty-six years of age appeared beside the young man. Her eyelashes were long and she had a mean look on her face. Her mouth was extremely sharp, and although she could be considered not bad looking, her voice made many felt discomfort.

“Haha, you guys should be from the Purple Flame Sect right? The nine gigantic ancient bells here in the Driftsnow City all contained a marvelous might within but the number of experts who can cause them to ring remains a pathetic few. The fame of your Purple Flame Sect spreads far and wide, and there are many with high attainments in weapon forging. Today, I truly want to see how many of you can cause this particular bell to resonate and ring out.” Some experts from the Nine Coldpeak Sect laughed uproariously.

Two experts from the Purple Flame Sect glanced at them and spoke, “Disciples from the Nine Coldpeak Sect of the Driftsnow City? You guys recently relocated to the Driftsnow City in the past few years and should be very familiar with the ancient bells right. Can any of you cause them to ring?”

“There’s a spirit in the ancient bells, and the transformations contained within it are multifarious, continuing on unceasingly. There are no rules to it, and even if you are more familiar, the ending would be the same. What matters most is still one’s attainment in divine inscriptions.” A disciple from the Nine Coldpeak Sect emotionlessly spoke.

“I’ve long wanted to take a look at the Nine Immortality Bells. I shall take the opportunity today to carefully study this.” At this moment, a group of figures descended from the skies as they headed towards the side of this ancient bell. It was actually a bunch of experts from the Jiang Clan.

“Nine Immortality Bells, don’t question the immortals.” A voice drifted over. From the surroundings, another row of experts stood beside those from the Jiang Clan. They were none other than experts from the Jiangling King Manor. One among them then continued, “I’m sure all of you must have already heard of the legends regarding the Nine Immortality Bells. Now that the immortal spirit has manifested, it’s truly an opportunity hard to come by in a thousand years.”

Chapter 767: Communication with the Nine Immortality Bell

 

The Driftsnow City had always been a very mysterious city. It’s strength originated from ancient times.

Once, the Driftsnow City was something constructed by a supreme existence. He managed to weaponize an entire city or more accurately, the city itself was a superbly strong divine weapon, containing inconceivable might.

There were even rumors saying that there was an immortal weapon spirit within the Driftsnow City.

After the Driftsnow City’s master died, the Driftsnow City gradually faded back into silence. Until many years later where the immortalized weapon spirit would occasionally manifest. Usually, things were quiet but when the weapon spirit truly did manifest, it would be the period of time where the weapon spirit was looking for a master.

The Nine Immortal Bells were a protective measure of the Driftsnow City. They had been here since this city was constructed and had ancient history. Every time the weapon spirit manifest itself, it would use the nine bells to herald its awakening.

The Nine Immortality Bells were nine sets of divine weapons. There were also people who claim that it was a complete weapon only split into nine portions. This became a test of the Driftsnow City, for those who could communicate with the Nine Immortality Bells, they stood a chance to gain knowledge of the Driftsnow City’s secret.

Hence, every time the weapon spirit manifested, experts from the Cloud Prefecture would all head over. This was especially true in the case of those powerful weaponsmiths and divine inscriptionists. According to legend, only those who had talent in weapon forging had a chance to communicate with the Nine Immortality Bells, gaining their recognition.

But through these countless years, there had been none who uncovered the secret of the Driftsnow City before. But even so, the people of the Cloud Prefecture never gave up, they tried continuously and through every attempt, there would occasionally be people that received an epiphany from the Nine Immortal Bells and eventually became a divine weaponsmith grandmaster of their generation.

The Nine Immortality Bells, don’t question immortals.

The Nine Immortality Bells wouldn’t form any resonance with immortal-foundation ranked experts or above, it would only react to those below the immortal level.

But in ancient times, there were still some descriptions regarding the bells.

The Nine Immortality Bells would show the path to immortality, allowing one to become an immortal through a single step.

Nobody knew what this sentence meant exactly. Since nobody had ever uncovered the secret of the Driftsnow City before, there would naturally be no one who knew what this sentence meant. But even so throughout the generations, there were no lack of people trying.

More and more experts gathered here. Other than experts from the Jiang Clan, Purple Flame Sect, Nine Coldpeak Sect and the other major powers of the Jiangling Country, there were even major powers from the Cloud Prefecture. With regards to the citizens of the Driftsnow City, they naturally paid even more attention to the bells. Countless people gathered outside this location and their sights never left the Nine Immortality Bell.

It was rumored that every time the weapon spirit manifested itself, there would always be geniuses who could communicate with it and obtain an extremely deep epiphany, achieving a transformation from the insight gained. One could only wonder, would there be any dazzling characters that would rise up from the manifestation from the weapon spirit this time around?

“That person is Jiang Yan of the Jiang Clan, a genius weaponsmith from the younger generations and in addition to that, his combat prowess is also extremely high. He’s only fifty plus years of age and already has a cultivation base at the eighth level of Celestial Phenomenon. He can be considered one of the elites among the younger generation of the Jiang Clan.” The spectators stated.

The first batch of experts the Jiang Clan sent out with Jiang Kuang back then was truly pitiful. Jiang Kuang was a genius weaponsmith as well, but he was regretfully assaulted when attending a banquet at the Worryfree City. Right now, it was unknown whether he was alive or dead.

“This Jiang Yan is so awesome, he just arrived here and his surroundings already started to glow with runic light. He has already formed an innate connection with several runic inscriptions and in order to resonate the Nine Immortality Bell, one must do this first before they could communicate with it.” The spectators glanced over to Jiang Yan as their gazes flickered.

Other than Jiang Yan, disciples from the Nine Coldpeak Sect and Purple Flame Sect also attempted. This included the mean-looking woman as well as the young man from the Purple Flame Sect who ridiculed Qin Wentian.

Qin Wentian didn’t bother about the contempt people had for him. He stood underneath the ancient bell, immersing himself in its light, spending the time in quiet contemplation.

Each and every runic inscription to him wasn’t something tough to comprehend. What was difficult was that he had to use these runes to communicate with the Nine Immortality Bell. If it was just simply understanding the runic inscriptions, it would be impossible to succeed.

“Runic inscriptions are the root of all energy, triggering the laws of heaven and earth. As long as I can find the laws of these runes, I would be able to communicate and connect to the Nine Immortal Bell.” Qin Wentian silently mused, as he walked to the side of the ancient bell and sat down while closing his eyes, contemplating it quietly.

This sit of his lasted for several days.

The Nine Immortality Bells had been in the Driftsnow City for an unknown amount of years, yet no one has ever managed to uncover their secrets. Not even the secrets contained within a single bell.

Through these few days, the number of experts here got increasingly greater as more and more geniuses attempted to communicate with the ancient bell. In front of the towering ancient bell, even if there are a million people before it, it still wouldn’t seem like there were too many.

Back then the young miss which Qin Wentian saw before in the tea inn had also arrived. She stood at the side and watched on. Her beautiful eyes flickered and would occasionally land on a young man who was older than her.

“The crown prince’s attainments in divine inscriptions are exceedingly high, there should be quite a high chance for him to be able to communicate with the Nine Immortality Bell.” A few immortal-foundation experts stood at the side and spoke as they too, glanced at the young man.

So it turned out that this young man was none other than the crown prince of the Jiangling King Manor, Pei Xiao.

And as for that young woman, she was a lady of noble blood of the Jiangling King Manor. Her name was Pei Yu and both of them were cousins with Pei Xiao being the older one.

“I guess so, we just don’t know to what extent he would be able to form an innate connection with the bell.” Pei Yu spoke in a low voice.

Suddenly, at this moment, boundless runic inscriptions suddenly converged and formed into a river of runic light, rushing against the gigantic ancient bell. A moment later, a light chime could be heard from the Nine Immortality Bell, the reaction wasn’t that great.

“It’s Jiang Yan. As expected of someone from the Jiang Clan, he could make the Nine Immortality Bell resonate albeit softly despite using so little time. But since he could make it resonate, this means that he has a chance to communicate with and form an innate connection with the Nine Immortality Bell.”

“Directly attacking it?” Qin Wentian mumbled. With an intention of his will, several runic inscriptions lit up. Although they didn’t transform into any shape, this stream of light was in peristalsis, squirming around with tyrannical power. But as this wave neared the ancient bell, everything stopped. With yet another intention, everything dissipated into nothingness.

“If it’s truly through direct attack, I can easily manifest many kinds of forces to attack the ancient bell. But if it really is through merely attacking, there should be no way to truly form an innate connection and communicate with it. Or could it be that one must first make the bell chime first before finding a trace of insight within?” Qin Wentian silently mused. He continued closing his eyes as the light radiating from the bell fell over him. He knew that these runes were a part of the Nine Immortality Bell as well.

“There should be a certain kind of trigger rune that would allow both human and weapon to resonate at the same frequency.” Qin Wentian mumbled. He understood that runes were the trigger to activate law energy.

What he needed to do is to search for these exact kind of runes.

However, it wasn’t going to be so simple.

In the next few days, numerous experts continued to arrive. Although they failed in their attempt, they didn’t choose to leave but stuck around and retry instead. Right now, they could at most sense the existence of the weapon spirit a little, shimmering in and out of their perception and was extremely blurry.

“The crown prince has done it. Even though he didn’t fully connect with the ancient bell, as long as he can cause the bell to chime, the immortal weapon spirit would have taken note of him. As long as the crown prince can forge a supremely strong divine weapon, there’s still a chance for him to gain the favor of the Nine Immortality Bell.” Many experts from the King Manor arrived, they were all congregated together as they analyzed the situation.

At this moment, a surge of tyrannical force frenziedly squirmed, transforming into a tide that seemed akin to severe floods and fierce beasts, slamming into the ancient bell causing rumbling sounds to rang out unceasingly, with a hint of majesticness within.

“Awesome, as expected of a genius of the Jiang Clan.” An expert from the King Manor praised, glancing over to the experts from the Jiang Clan. Jiang Yan was truly powerful and he’s far ahead compared to any others who attempted. If there would be one to communicate with the Nine Immortality Bell, it would definitely be none other than Jiang Yan.

“BOOM!” Another continuous chime echoed out, but the rumbling was of a much lesser degree compared to Jiang Yan. But even so, it was sufficient to make the young man from the Purple Flame Sect who sneered at Qin Wentian to have a satisfied expression on his face. He could sense there were a formless pair of eyes staring at him. It must definitely be the immortal spirit of the Nine Immortality Bell.

“I still need to work harder.” This person clenched his fists tight, feeling somewhat agitated as he continued attempting. His gaze casually glanced towards Qin Wentian who sat nearby him. This fellow was truly too carefree and had nothing to do. Right from the beginning, him being here was just a waste of time.

“BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!” Just at this moment, an incomparably loud chime reverberated through the space, causing many to be shocked. Echoes of the soundwaves rumbled, drifting into the ears of those present, trembling their hearts.

There were a total of nine Immortality Bells, and in this location, the ancient bell here was only one of the nine. For the other eight places, there were naturally other experts attempting to communicate with the immortality bells as well.

“BOOM, BOOM!” The resonance of the bell’s chime continued echoing throughout the skies. After a moment, a human voice rang out in unison with the bell chimes with a laugh, “HAHAHA, Jiang Yan seems like you are inferior. After such a long time, I still haven’t heard anything from your side.”

This voice reverberated in the air, filled with provocation. Jiang Yan inclined his head as sharpness flashed in his eyes.

“Who is that person? To think that he actually dared to provoke the genius of the Jiang Clan, Jiang Yan?” A bewildered expression appeared on the faces of some people.

“Cheron.” Jiang Yan’s eyes flickered as he mumbled, his words causing the hearts of many to tremble, especially for those from the King Manor. Cheron was a young man who was from an exceedingly wealthy background. In the world of weaponsmithing, he can be considered a legend among the younger generation, and he too hailed from a sacred ground of the Cloud Prefecture, from the Wondergate Immortal Manor.

This power has nurtured many outstanding divine inscriptionists grandmasters. Step by step they were slowly corroding the Jiang Clan’s position, status, and influence!

Chapter 768: Expulsion

 

For the Wondergate Immortal Manor, there were countless geniuses within. There were more geniuses willing to join them compared to joining the Jiang Clan.

After all the Jiang Clan could be considered a family-type power. All of the best resources, as well as the top arts and techniques would only be inherited by those with the Jiang bloodline. The Wondergate Immortal Manor was different, as long as you joined them and have sufficient talent, you would be able to get top-graded resources and receive the best nurturing available.

Hence, the Wondergate Immortal Manor rose up very quickly. The sacred ground that was the Jiang Clan no longer had the influence it had before. These two powers fought in the light and shadows, especially for those of the younger generations. They would like to contend with and provoke each other if they encountered one another.

Naturally, not only the Wondergate Immortal Manor and the Jiang Clan, the supreme powers of the Cloud Prefecture would usually have conflicts with each other. In this world that was strength-oriented, this was a very ordinary thing. Only through the baptism of countless conflicts would a power be able to grow stronger and stronger.

Jiang Yan’s expression turned exceedingly unsightly upon hearing the provocation from Cheron. After all, Cheron did indeed succeed in making the ancient bell chime louder and achieved a wisp of connection through the booming reverberation, that resembled a great dao of heaven and earth.

His countenance turned solemn as he spoke with a heavy voice, “Cheron, you best not count your chickens before they hatch. We still don’t know who would be the one to communicate with the Nine Immortality Bell at the end.”

This voice echoed through the air, rumbling the space, causing those present in a radius of few hundred miles to clearly hear the words. This made the hearts of people tremble, was Jiang Yan from Jiang Clan and Cheron from the Wondergate Immortal Manor going to clash right from the start?

“Haha! Jiang Yan, stop lying to yourself. If I’m unable to communicate with the Nine Immortality Bell, causing its weapon spirit to manifest totally, ascending to immortality with a single step, there is no way you, Jiang Yan, would be able to. You are already one step behind me but the distance of this step is something you will never be able to breach.” Cheron’s voice rang out once more, shaking the heavens and earth, drifting even further.

Jiang Yan was fuming, he icily replied, “Arrogant prick. It’s said that in this communication with the Nine Immortality Bell, one’s weaponsmithing dao will also be considered before the weapon spirit would recognize you. I truly want to see how you would compete with me in this aspect.”

“Stop your incessant bragging. First do the same as me and let the bell chimes reverberate through the eight directions before talking about competing with weapon smithing. If not, the weapon spirit wouldn’t even know who the hell you are.” Cheron laughed uproariously. As the sound of his voice dissipated, Jiang Yan’s expression grew more and more unsightly.

“The two of you are dragons among humankind, the chosen of your generation. It’s only expected that the wind and clouds would change when you clash and it would be an exceedingly magnificent sight to behold.” At this moment, a few other figures appeared in the air. Many turned their gaze over, only to see a middle-aged man standing in the lead as he spoke with a smile, “A few days later, I, Pei Tianyuan, King of the Jiangling Country shall play host and prepare a banquet to welcome the geniuses here in the Driftsnow City, how about it?”

“I, Ji Kong, shall join my King as well. We hereby issue an invitation to all geniuses present.” Somebody beside Pei Tianyuan laughed, causing many people in the Driftsnow City to shiver. Was that middle-aged man the king of their Jiangling Country? But it should be expected that he would arrive, the manifestation of the weapon spirit of the Nine Immortality Bells was a great event that would attract the arrival of many geniuses throughout the Cloud Prefecture. Although Pei Tianyuan was the King of Jiangling Country, in the perspective of the entire Cloud Prefecture, he had no way to compare to the background of these talented geniuses. Hence, he naturally wanted to use this chance to better their relations.

However, there was no need for Pei Tianyuan to go all out to flatter them. After all, as one of the eighty-one kings of the Cloud Prefecture, he himself naturally had some background of his own and was most definitely a subordinate under someone from the Eastern Sage Immortal Emperor’s Sect.

As for Ji Kong, he is also an extraordinary character. He’s from the Cloud Tower Sage Sect, which was also a sacred ground in the Cloud Prefecture. He is responsible for all the Cloud Towers in the cities inside the Jiangling Country.

“Since this is an invitation by the two of you, I Jiang, shall naturally attend the banquet.” Jiang Yan spoke. Before this, Pei Tianyuan and Ji Kong of the Cloud Tower had aided him to circulate the orders of arrest for Qin Wentian. It can also be considered that the Jiang Clan owes them a favor. In addition, these two characters also had important backgrounds hence, he naturally wouldn’t reject.

“The invitation from the Jiangling King and Ji Tower Master, how can I not go?” Cheron from the Wondergate similarly agreed.

“For those present who wish to attend, you may feel free to drop by. The time shall be seven days from now, and the location will be at the Driftsnow Inn.” Jiangling King Pei Tianyuan smiled, as many present immediately agreed. However, for those people with weaker talents or had no backgrounds, they didn’t say anything. They understood that Pei Tianyuan was being polite with his words, but one must always know one’s worth. Talent and background, at the very least you had to be outstanding in one aspect. If not, what qualifications do you have to sit with the rest?

If you didn’t have either, you would only invite disdain and mockery because you are not someone of the same tier as the others.

“Thank you for the warm response.” Upon hearing many saying that they would go, Pei Tianyuan smiled and nodded. He then turned his gaze below, staring at Pei Xiao.

“Pei Xiao.” Pei Tianyuan called out.

“My king?” Pei Tianyuan respectfully replied.

“Learn well from these geniuses.” Pei Tianyuan stated, causing Pei Xiao to nod his head. “Pei Xiao understands.”

“Mhm.” Pei Tianyuan then shifted his glance onto the Pei Yu. “Don’t keep roaming the streets outside, return home earlier.”

“Yes.” Pei Yu bowed, she and Pei Xiao were juniors of Pei Tianyuan. As the Jiangling King, Pei Tianyuan was the master of the King Manor and had an extraordinary status. Although Pei Yu didn’t agree with some of Pei Tianyuan’s methods, she could only accept them. Hence, when she questioned the decision about Qin Wentian’s arrest, the immortal-foundation guard immediately stopped her from saying more. After all to those of the Pei Clan, Pei Tianyuan was a high up and mighty existence whose actions must never be questioned.

Pei Tianyuan nodded as his and Ji Kong’s silhouette flickered, instantly disappearing from this location. Qin Wentian couldn’t even see how they left, it can only be said that the level of power the Jiangling King Pei Tianyuan was at was something he still couldn’t imagine. In that case, the Jiangling King must definitely be an immortal-foundation expert.

After Pei Tianyuan departed, many people continued immersing themselves in the light radiated by the ancient bell as they attempted to communicate with the Nine Immortality Bell.

Regardless of those participating or spectating, the number of people grew more and more. As the news regarding the Driftsnow City circulated out, it’s only natural that more people would head over. Right now, experts were as common as clouds, and in the vast area around the Nine Immortality Bell, there was actually already insufficient space because of too many people. The participants could only squeeze and make do.

“So many people attempting, but they are all just wasting time.” A woman below the ancient bell had a face that seemed to be made from ice and snow. Her skin was fair white and she radiated coldness. Just simply glancing at those in her surroundings made them involuntarily take a few steps back.

“Most of them are here are only because they wish to try their luck. We can leave out them making the ancient bell resonate, in fact, a majority of them probably can’t even engrave a low-level divine inscription.” A young man at the side laughed. These people were from external areas and weren’t from the Jiangling Country. They came from a major power in the Cloud Prefecture, the Seven Sword Sect.

The disciples of this sect were all proficient in swordplay. In fact, the majority of them had sword-type astral souls and tremendous combat strength. This woman who was talking, as well as the young man beside her all had ancient-looking swords strapped behind their back. An intricate pattern of seven swords could be seen on their sword shaft, and for those with wide perspectives, they would instantly know the background of these two when they saw the emblem.

The disciples of the Purple Flame Sect were naturally people who knew their stuff. The young man that mocked Qin Wentian stepped out and politely spoke, “You two must be disciples of the Seven Sword Sect, right?”

“Who are you?” The woman indifferently glanced at him.

“My name is Xuan Zhu from the Purple Flame Sect, being able to see chosen of the Seven Sword Sect with my own eyes is truly a matter of great honor.” That young man respectfully replied. One of his junior apprentice sisters also walked out. She was incomparably arrogant just some time ago and was now exceedingly courteous as she added, “Seems like many elites have arrived at the Driftsnow City, even the awe-inspiring Seven Sword Sect has arrived as well.”

The demeanor of the proud and lofty woman from the Seven Sword Sect was still as cold as ice. “The Purple Flame Sect should be a weapon smithing power right? Right now this place is so noisy and there are so many people. Can you guys feel at ease in your hearts when you attempt communication?”

“Truly the number of people here would affect us somewhat. But sadly, some people love to overestimate themselves, coming here to act mysterious when they have nothing better to do. When I encountered him, he was already sitting there and now that a few days have passed, he’s still wasting space over there, pretending to be awesome as though he can really connect with the Nine Immortality Bell. How ridiculous.”

Xuan Zhu pointed to Qin Wentian as he spoke. Qin Wentian had been quietly sitting there from the start, deep in a state of self-immersion, trying to seek the law energy needed to trigger the bell. However, in the eyes of others, he was merely acting mysterious.

“Why don’t you drive him away then?” That woman stated, her words causing Xuan Zhu to stiffen. After that, he glanced at the other experts of the Seven Sword Sect that were simultaneously releasing a boundless sword might, he turned to those in the surroundings and coldly spoke, “Those who are useless get the hell away now or don’t blame me for not showing mercy.”

As the sound of his voice faded, the sword might generated swept across the surroundings, intimidating many. Staring at these people ordering them to leave, someone mumbled in a low voice, “They are from the Seven Sword Sect.”

“Seven Sword Sect, it’s a major power in the Cloud Prefecture.”

Many started leaving the area amidst whispering to each other, feeling depressed and helpless in their hearts. But this was reality, strength was everything. They had no choice but to accept being driven away in the face of the Seven Sword Sect’s strength.

The people from the Seven Sword Sect were exceedingly arrogant. Streams of sword qi whistled near the heads of people, whistling dangerously.

“Why are you guys standing around stunned? Do you all want to be expelled from here as well?” That cold arrogant woman glanced at Xuan Zhu of the Purple Flame Sect. Xuan Zhu started and came to attention and roared, “Those with no ability to communicate with the bell best get lost from here immediately.”

After speaking, he turned his gaze to the crowd and soon noticed a familiar figure. A cold light flashed in his eyes when he realized it was Qin Wentian. Stepping forward, a violent qi gushed forth from him as an unpleasant smile adorned his face.

Right now, Qin Wentian was at the crucial moment, he had already faintly discovered that elusive law energy, and the myriad of formless runes are also now actually flowing around him in a seamless manner. If a super strong expert was here, they would discover that the runic glow from the inscriptions were moving in accordance to a unique rhythm, and is currently hovering above the Nine Immortality Bell.

Chapter 769: Bell’s Reverberation

 

Qin Wentian didn’t panic, even when Xuan Zhu exuded a heavy pressure as he walked over to him. It seemed like Qin Wentian didn’t notice at all.

In his current perception, he only saw the boundless runic inscriptions joining together, forming a complete entity that was hovering above the Nine Immortality Bell. A terrifying rumbling sound rang deep within his soul, causing his body to violently shudder. At that moment, his perception entered deep within the bell as a blurry scene showed before his eyes. He could also faintly see a pair of eyes that was currently looking at him.

At the same time, Qin Wentian also felt a strange burst of energy. He felt like if he wanted to know, it would be effortless for him to ring the bell. He only need to think about it to do so.

However, from the perspective of Xuan Zhu, Qin Wentian was shuddering clearly because of the pressure he was exuding.

At this moment, the number of people at this location dwindled one after another, several were expelled from this area by those of the Seven Sword Sect. However, truly powerful characters didn’t give a damn about them and continued remaining behind. The people of the Seven Sword Sect naturally also considered the identities of the people remaining and didn’t choose to tangle with them.

Upon seeing Qin Wentian still quietly sitting there, a cold killing intent flickered in the eyes of Xuan Zhu.

“Not knowing what is death.” Xuan Zhu coldly spoke.

“Those of the Seven Sword Sect also came here to join in the fun?” At this moment, a voice rang out, accompanied by the chiming of a bell. It was none other than Cheron who spoke, and it seemed as though nothing happening here could escape his attention.

“Cheron.” The coldly arrogant woman from the Seven Sword Sect inclined her head and stared up at the air. Her expression finally changed, growing heavy. Evidently, Cheron was someone she had no way to ignore and even had to show respect to him.

Jiang Yan was a genius of the Jiang Clan, but when Cheron and Jiang Yan attempted to communicate with the Nine Immortality Bells, Cheron possessed an advantage and had accomplished that before Jiang Yan. One could see how extraordinary he was from this. In the younger generations throughout the Cloud Prefecture, Cheron was someone known by many.

Cheron’s voice was seemingly cold. Xuan Zhu halted for a moment before continuing his way towards Qin Wentian. A tyrannical aura gushed forth from him as he icily stated, “Since you refused to scram, don’t blame me for this then.”

As he spoke, his palms blasted out towards Qin Wentian. In their surroundings sword qi whistled relentlessly, the experts from the Seven Sword Sect were still driving people away.

At this moment, Qin Wentian furrowed his brows, as an expression of unhappiness flashed on his features.

Abruptly, his eyes opened. And at this instant when Xuan Zhu stared at Qin Wentian’s eyes, his mind trembled violently along with the booming reverberations that originated from the towering ancient bell.

“BOOM, BOOM!” The terrifying booming sounds continued. It was the purest chimes, ringing out unceasingly as though the Nine Immortality Bell was truly about to be awaken.

At this moment, in the vast surroundings, the hearts of the experts present couldn’t help but to tremble fiercely. Even their minds were shaking, this booming reverberation seemed to have the might to shake even their souls, directly echoing out within.

Even immortal experts from afar revealed expressions of sharpness as their hearts shivered. Was this the manifestation of the weapon spirit?

“Chi…” Xuan Zhu was jolted with the most impact. He coughed out a mouthful of blood as his internal organs violently trembled. That booming noise traveled and penetrated through his entire body, piercing through his soul. Right now, he only felt as though his mind was about to explode. He slumped onto the ground as his body convulsed, with traces of white froth and blood bubbling out of his mouth. Very swiftly, the entire ground near him was dyed red.

The sounding of the bell chimes finally stopped. Qin Wentian’s eyes regained his usual calmness, appearing as ordinary as ever. He casually stood up, he didn’t even glance at Xuan Zhu but shifted his gaze onto the Nine Immortality Bell instead. At this moment, a marvelous gleam could be seen within.

What secret did the ancient bell contain within it exactly?

“Xuan Zhu.” At this moment, the female from the Purple Flame Sect screamed when she noted his condition. She hurried to Xuan Zhu’s side, only to see that right now Xuan Zhu’s body was still convulsing.

“Xuan Zhu how are you?” The expression of the female paled, as though she didn’t dare to believe this scene. When that reverberation of the bell sounded out earlier, although she too was jolted by the impact, her condition was at the very least a thousand times better compared to Xuan Zhu.

Her gaze swiftly roamed the crowd, and to her surprise, she discovered that only Xuan Zhu was inflicted with such heavy injuries. The other participants all had solemn-looking expressions on their faces. Staring at the ancient bell, looks of bewilderment could be seen in their eyes even for Jiang Yan, the experts of the Seven Sword Sect and Pei Xiao of the King Manor. They were oblivious on the reason why the ancient bell reverberated at that moment.

“Damn.” When the hands of that female came in contact with Xuan Zhu’s body, her expression turned ashen. She discovered that Xuan Zhu’s heart had actually ruptured and indeed, a second later, Xuan Zhu stopped convulsing as all hints of life disappeared. His eyes were still wide opened as though he died grudgingly with no idea why.

Even now he had no idea how he died. The last question in his mind was did he die due to that look by Qin Wentian, or because of the impactful reverberations by the Nine Immortality Bell.

“It’s impossible for the Nine Immortality Bell to resound out by itself.”

A voice cut apart the silence, causing the attention of everyone present to be drawn over to the speaker. The person who spoke was none other than Jiang Yan.

“You mean there was someone who had communicated and triggered the Nine Immortality Bell?” That coldly arrogant woman from the Seven Sword Sect spoke. Her gaze was as sharp as swords and her heart pounded rapidly. The members of the Seven Sword Sect naturally had heard of the rumors regarding the Nine Immortality Bells. If someone really managed to make the ancient bell chime as loudly as before, it would certainly mean that that person had formed a strand of connection with the weapon spirit and had a chance to uncover the secrets within.

“Yeah. Since the bell sounded out, it means that the person who accomplished this must definitely be among us.” Jiang Yan nodded, his eyes raking through the crowd sharply. But even so he had no idea what sort of character could actually achieve this to such an extent.

He, was the chosen of the Jiang Clan, Jiang Yan. This achievement which he was unable to accomplish, who else could do so?

Other than him, there was no one else here more famous. The experts of the Seven Sword Sect were powerful but in terms of attainments in the field of divine inscriptions, they were a far cry from him.

Hence, when his gaze roamed the crowd, he still had no idea who was the one that had done so. Also, when the Nine Immortality Bell sounded out earlier, it did so with no prior signs at all.

“Which genius was it who had accomplished that, will you be willing to step out?” Jiang Yan stated. However, nobody did so. He still had no idea who was the one at all.

“Jiang Yan, maybe it was just an accident? Who knows, maybe it was the bell awakening of its own accord. In any case, how could anyone here accomplish this earlier than you?” Pei Xiao’s voice was filled with the tone of flattery. Jiang Yan didn’t reply, a look of contemplation could be seen in his eyes instead.

Could it be that it was really the Nine Immortality Bell awakening?

In truth, he felt that with his current attainments, even if he had more time it would still be impossible for him to achieve such a complete reverberation.

He couldn’t accomplish this, neither could Cheron of the Wondergate Immortal Manor. So how could the others present do this?

Did he speculate wrongly? Was that done by the weapon spirit within the Nine Immortality Bell?

At this moment, whistling sounds rang out as a silhouette appeared in the air beside the ancient bell. This person was extremely young and had a carefree demeanor. His gaze turned sharp as he surveyed the people below.

“Cheron!”

Jiang Yan shouted, causing everyone present to instantly understand that this new arrival was none other than the genius of the Wondergate Immortal Manor, Cheron. The person who caused the Nine Immortality Bell to resonate in the other location earlier was none other than this young man.

“To think that Cheron would be so handsome.” A female servant of Pei Yu spoke in a low voice as amazement flickered in her eyes. She initially thought that Cheron would be a middle aged uncle instead of this dashing young man before her.

However, at this moment, Cheron had no time to care about what others thought about him. Earlier when the ancient bell resonated, it wasn’t merely in this location. A trigger effect caused the ancient bells in the other eight locations to reverberate and resound out as well. Cheron himself had already formed a strand of connection with a single ancient bell and because of that, in that instant earlier when all nine bells were ringing, it seemed that he saw a pair of lofty eyes containing a startling magnificence in them.

He was different from Jiang Yan. Cheron was sure that there was actually someone who had successfully communicated with the Nine Immortality Bells and the person was now present within the crowd.

In the air, other experts arrived one after another, including those from the major powers. They were all attracted by the loud resonance and the impact of those reverberations was definitely something no ordinary person could achieve.

Qin Wentian inclined his head, staring at the newly arrived figures and at this moment, his eyes met that of Cheron’s.

As for Cheron, the instant his gaze landed on Qin Wentian, he didn’t shift it away but focus on him more intently instead. It felt as though he was trying to see through Qin Wentian.

Qin Wentian currently retracted all his aura, appearing to be someone ordinary. However, Cheron could feel a sense of familiarity regarding his eyes. He felt as though the burst of magnificence from that lofty pair of eyes he saw earlier originated from this man.

“Is he the one?” Cheron had no way to ascertain his guess. He finally shifted his eyes away when he saw Qin Wentian lower his head. Qin Wentian’s behavior was as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened and this made Cheron confused in his heart as his thoughts were filled with puzzlement

However, right now, he noticed that there was a corpse lying on the ground not far away from Qin Wentian. An instant later, sharpness flashed through his eyes.

Chapter 770: Driftsnow Inn

 

Although Cheron’s eyes flashed sharply, he didn’t say anything. He glanced at the woman standing beside the corpse, only to see her currently staring at Qin Wentian with hatred. Momentarily, conjectures appeared in his mind.

“Did you do anything to Xuan Zhu?” That woman stared at Qin Wentian as she coldly asked. If it was only the bell’s reverberation, it was most definitely impossible to jolt Xuan Zhu to death. Everyone here was under the impactful vibration of the bell chimes, and although their inner organs were shocked slightly, it wasn’t to the extent that their hearts would rupture.

Qin Wentian’s gaze slowly shifted over staring at the woman. His eyes flashed with a cold gleam of light, “You guys are unbridled without the slightest scruple, wanting to expel people from this place. In fact, this man even wanted to attack me but was jolted to death by the sudden sounding out of the ancient bell. What has this got to do with me?”

That woman bit her lips, but she didn’t know how to reply. Earlier, it was true that Xuan Zhu wanted to deal with Qin Wentian but was struck dead with the sudden reverberation of the bell chimes. Qin Wentian didn’t move from his original spot at all and his aura didn’t even fluctuate.

“A bunch of people wasting space here, of course we must expel them.” At this moment, the coldly arrogant female from the Seven Sword Sect interjected, sweeping her gaze towards Qin Wentian. The expulsion order earlier was given by her and now this young man actually dared to question it in front of everyone. How audacious.

“We are wasting space?” Qin Wentian’s lips curled into a smile of contempt. “From your words, those who don’t know might still think that you are able to cause the ancient bell to resonate. How laughable.”

After he spoke, Qin Wentian no longer looked at the coldly arrogant woman from the Seven Sword Sect. But as the sound of his voice faded, that woman stomped forth in anger as sword qi birthed, transforming into a terrifying tidal wave that gushed out in an extremely terrifying manner. She wanted nothing more to tear Qin Wentian into a million pieces. Qin Wentian naturally could feel how powerful the sword qi was. The cultivation base of this woman was at the seventh level of Celestial Phenomenon and could be considered an extremely powerful character.

“Nion.” At this moment, Cheron in the air spoke. His eyes were fixed on the coldly arrogant woman from the Seven Sword Sect. Evidently, he knew of her existence. This Nion was quite a famous character in the Seven Sword Sect. They were both chosen of the younger generation in the Cloud Prefecture, hence they knew of each other.

Nion inclined her head, staring at Cheron.

“What he said is right. Why are you sword cultivators here making trouble and even saying that these people are a waste of space? Or could it be you can really cause the Nine Immortality Bell to resonate?” Cheron spoke with a faint smile, his eyes shone with a faint golden luster, giving off a sharp sensation.

“I have no need for you to interfere in my matters.” Nion replied in a low voice, but her tone was no longer as cold nor as arrogant when she spoke to Qin Wentian. Although there were still hints of ice within, it was clear that her demeanor softened because she was now talking to someone on a higher level.

An immortal-king expert naturally would be a supreme existence to immortal-foundation experts. But in front of immortal emperors, could the aura from an immortal king be the slightest bit imposing? No, he wouldn’t dare to. He would only show respect. Hence, people always have different attitudes when facing different people.

“True, this has nothing to do with me. But this place is ultimately the Driftsnow City and not the Seven Sword Sect. Since everyone came here from all over the Cloud Prefecture to attempt communication with the Nine Immortality Bells, who are you to say that they wouldn’t be able to succeed? You yourself aren’t able to do so, so what qualifications do you have to expel others?” Cheron’s voice grew stronger and stronger, his gaze becoming more intense, exuding a loftiness along with an imposing manner.

Under the pressure of this aura, the coldness radiated from Nion weakened by several degrees, she had no way to clash head-on with Cheron and could only snort coldly without saying anything more.

Cheron descended to the ground. Qin Wentian glanced at him, noting that Cheron was also looking right at him. A smile appeared on his face as he spoke, “Thank you.”

“There’s no need for any thanks.” Cheron’s eyes flickered with a smile as he continued, “Cheron from the Wondergate Immortal Manor. Where are you from, brother.”

“Tianwen.” Qin Wentian replied. This place was one of the three main cities of the Jiangling Country, and with the order of arrest circulating around, he would definitely be in danger if he revealed his real name. Hence, right now he can only continue using this name.

“Tianwen.” Cheron repeated, appearing like he was committing this name to memory, attaching importance to it. After which, he continued asking, “Brother Tianwen, which sect do you belong to?”

“My cultivation is too weak, I’m ashamed to reveal the name of my sect in case I humiliate my master.” Qin Wentian replied.

“Understood.” Cheron didn’t seem to mind. But the word ‘understood’ from his mouth, might mean something else instead.

“Cheron, you seem to have so much time to waste.” At this moment, a voice rang out, the person who spoke was none other than Jiang Yan from the Jiang Clan. This Cheron actually flew all the way over to chat with an unknown character.

“Haha, who made it so that my communication with the ancient bell is much more successful than you and I have already garnered the attention of the weapon spirit. Naturally, I would be free to do what I want. But on the other hand, you of the Jiang Clan seemed to be more and more inferior every time we meet.” Cheron laughed straightforwardly, causing Jiang Yan’s expression to turn cold. He coldly snorted and continued, “We shall see who will have the last laugh.”

After speaking, he no longer bothered about Cheron, he continued closing his eyes and reattempt to form an innate connection with the ancient bell.

“I also want to see for myself how special this particular ancient bell is.” Cheron sat beside Qin Wentian and similarly closed his eyes as he contemplated the runic inscriptions of this Nine Immortality Bell. Nion’s eyes flashed with an unkind light, but she walked away after a single glance at Qin Wentian. As for the other experts, they all went to do their own things.

Seems like it was truly an accident, the Nine Immortality Bell of this location must have resonated due to a special reason.

Qin Wentian could faintly sense that Cheron had discovered something. But Cheron was truly a carefree person, he didn’t press on or mention anything that would harm him and merely sat quietly beside him to contemplate the ancient bell.

After that, Qin Wentian too, closed his eyes. His perception extended outwards, sensing that connection that was formed earlier between him and the Nine Immortality Bell. With but a thought, his perception entered within the bell.

This towering immortal bell was like a mirror. Through the screen, Qin Wentian could faintly see a blurry scene. In front of him was a majestic and ancient city but this city had no life within it. Everything here was components of a divine weapon.

This vast ancient city before him seemed to have been created by a divine weaponsmith, containing marvelous secrets within.

And although the scene was very blurry, the blurriness couldn’t mar the beauty of the ancient city.

“Is this the Driftsnow City?” Qin Wentian silently mused. There were many legends surrounding the Driftsnow City, and the more popular ones were all focused on the Nine Immortality Bells. But with the passing of time, what people pursued were only the secrets within the bells, they wanted to grow stronger and sought the path of ascending to immortality with a single step. As for the background stories and what not, everything had disappeared into river of time, becoming long forgotten in history.

“The scene shown within this Nine Immortality Bell. In that case, does it mean that I have to connect with all nine bells before I can unravel the secrets?” Qin Wentian speculated.

Unknowingly, several days passed. The banquet organized by the Jiangling King was today, and many genius characters formed into small groups of three to five as they set off together towards the Driftsnow Inn.

Cheron opened his eyes and halted his contemplation. He glanced at Qin Wentian beside him and called out lightly, “Brother Tianwen.”

Qin Wentian also opened his eyes, as he turned towards Cheron.

“Today is the day of the banquet organized by the Jiangling King, how about brother Tianwen accompanying me as we head over together?” Cheron invited.

“It’s fine.” Qin Wentian shook his head. The Jiangling King was the one that issued an order of arrest for him. Why would Qin Wentian attend his banquet for no reason?

“We have nothing much to do here anyway and might as well go there to see the geniuses of the Jiangling Country. In addition, there would be experts from major powers all over the Cloud Prefecture here at the Driftsnow City. An example would be my Wondergate Immortal Manor or the Jiang Clan, these two can be considered a major power right at the very peak of the Cloud Prefecture. How about going with me to take a look and who knows you might even be able to get acquainted with some friends, I wouldn’t mind doing the introductions for you.” Cheron persuaded, exuding enthusiasm.

Qin Wentian’s countenance flickered as he stared at Cheron.

“Brother Tianwen, the legend of the Nine Immortality Bells has been going on for so long and through so many years, no one has ever unraveled the secrets before. Although I, Cheron, am quite extraordinary, I can sense that it’s too difficult for me to unravel the secrets within. However, I hope that I would be able to witness someone who can unravel the secret in my lifetime.” Cheron stared back at Qin Wentian with a smile on his face. He then transmitted his voice silently, “If the person who could unravel the secret behind the legend is my friend, that would naturally be an honor to me. Hahaha.”

How could Qin Wentian fail to understand Cheron’s words? Cheron should have already discovered that Qin Wentian was the reason behind the resonance of the Nine Immortality Bell several days earlier. His only purpose was wanting to establish a friendship with Qin Wentian.

“Fine, if that’s the case, lets us go and take a look then.” Qin Wentian smiled as he stood up. Upon seeing this scene, Cheron laughed as well. “Let’s go, the Driftsnow Inn can be considered quite a magnificent place in the Driftsnow City. Just viewing the beauty of its architecture would be something that bring joy to one’s heart.”

The two of them headed out as they spoke, moving in the direction of the Driftsnow Inn.

The Driftsnow Inn wasn’t simply just an inn but was a stretch of pavilions laid out in an area. White snow drifted about in the surroundings, adorning the pavilions with the brilliance of a silvery reflected light.

In fact, the stretch of pavilions were merely the stairway for the Driftsnow Inn. As one ascended upwards, they could also see plum blossoms drifting in the wind, with rows of ancient trees on the roofs of the pavilions.

On the stairway, several experts slowly walked up, smiling as they leisurely chatted, enjoying the beauty of the scenery.

Cheron and Qin Wentian also ascended up the stairs, and upon staring at this scenery, Qin Wentian couldn’t help but sigh in admiration. “The scenery here is even more beautiful by countless times compared to any painting I have ever seen.”

“Indeed, the Driftsnow Inn is built upon a snowy mountain range. There would usually be many people who cultivated ice and snow-type related arts coming here to cultivate. The scenery here could even cause one to forget the passing of time.” Cheron explained as he nodded in agreement.

“I heard that the love story between the master of the Driftsnow City and Immortal Jade started at this place.” In front of Qin Wentian, a gentle voice drifted out, filled with yearning.

“Yeah. This place is truly beautiful. Miss, in the future how good would it be if we can stay here often?”

“Seems like the maidens are even more in love with the scenery compared to us.” Cheron laughed when he saw this scene. The two maidens ahead turned, Qin Wentian nodded to that little miss when he discovered that she was none other than Pei Yu, the young miss from the Jiangling King Manor who had spoken up for him before.

Chapter 771: A Poignant Legend

 

Pei Yu turned and smiled sweetly to Cheron and Qin Wentian before continuing in a light voice, “We naturally love beautiful things, and I’ve long heard of the famous Cheron from Wondergate Immortal Manor but didn’t expect you would be such a carefree character.”

As she spoke, Pei Yu looked to Qin Wentian, “Ah, we seemed to have met before in the tea inn.”

“Mhm.” Qin Wentian nodded. At the same time, Cheron replied, “The snow is beautiful, but the maiden before us is beautiful as well. Might I inquired mi`lady’s name?”

“Pei Yu.” That young woman replied.

“Oh, you are from the Jiangling King Manor?” Cheron asked. With the surname ‘Pei,’ the first thing that came to his mind was the King Manor of the Jiangling Country. After all, the Driftsnow City itself was one of the main cities that belongs to the Jiangling Country and the banquet today was also organized by the Jiangling King, Pei Tianyuan himself.

“Mhm.” Pei Yu replied. Qin Wentian already knew of this, hence he didn’t find find it strange.

“This is brother Tianwen, we were just acquainted not too long ago.” Cheron introduced Qin Wentian only to see Qin Wentian was currently staring at Pei Yu as he asked in curiosity. “Earlier, Miss Pei was talking about the master of Driftsnow City and a female named Immortal Jade? Who were they?”

“This is one of the most ancient legends of the Driftsnow City, let’s talk while we move.” Pei Yu noticed that there were still many experts coming up and it wouldn’t be too good to block the space as they chat. Cheron and Qin Wentian stepped forth as the four of them walked shoulder by shoulder. Pei Yu then continued, “This legend has already been mostly forgotten by people because everyone is only interested in the secret within the Nine Immortality Bells. I only knew a little about this because I once browsed through an ancient scroll in my manor by chance.”

“It was rumored that very long ago, there was no Driftsnow City and only had the Driftsnow Inn. That place was the place where the Driftsnow Master and Immortal Jade fell in love. The two of them had an affinity with each other and shared the same interest, they were both supreme graded divine weaponsmiths and had mad passion towards the craft of weapon forging, unceasingly seeking a higher peak. Back then, Immortal Jade allowed the Driftsnow Master to pursue her simply because he defeated her in terms of attainments in weaponsmithing which led to them eventually becoming a couple.”

Pei Yu’s voice was very gentle and melodious to the ears. This kind of voice seemed best suited to be the one talking about ancient legends.

“After the two of them were in love, they became interdependent on one another and constantly sparred in weapon forging to exchange pointers. Immortal Jade always wanted to defeat the Driftsnow Master, but she had never once succeeded. There was one time where Immortal Jade asked the Driftsnow Master whether he would be willing to forge the perfect divine weapon at the expense of sacrificing his own life. The Driftsnow Master shook his head, he told Immortal Jade that it was fine if he had to sacrifice his life, but the purpose for him doing so would be for none other than her. But sadly, this romantic response didn’t make Immortal Jade happy because she discovered in her heart that weaponsmithing was already placed on a level higher compared to her own life. Naturally, the importance of weaponsmithing in her heart was also on a level higher compared to the Driftsnow Master.”

“Immortal Jade felt unease in her heart. And one day she told the Driftsnow Master that she wished to forge an unprecedented concept of a divine weapon that no one had ever seen before since the dawn of time. She wanted to forge an entire city that was a divine weapon. However, the Driftsnow Master felt that it would be too troublesome. In spite of that, Immortal Jade told him that this city would only have the two of them within and would be their home. As a result, the Driftsnow Master wandered the vast immortal realms, collecting inconceivable treasures and materials to be used for the forging. This trip of his lasted over tens of thousands of years.”

“The Driftsnow Master and Immortal Jade started the creation process, wanting to create something that was unprecedented since the dawn of time. The two of them used up the treasures and rare materials garnered over tens of thousands of years in a refinement and forging process, which lasted over a thousand years, eventually succeeding as the formed product took the shape of a city. Just when they were rejoicing, a super strong expert went up to their door and demanded to trade for the newly created city. The two of them naturally refused which led to a great battle between them. Although they eventually defeated that expert, they were riddled with injuries from the aftermath. But what was most unacceptable to Immortal Jade was that even after they completed the forging of the divine weapon city, they were still unable to unleash its power according to their heart’s desire, reacting instantaneously in the heat of battle.”

Immortal Jade was at the verge of breaking down, her body riddled with injuries from the battle and her mind weighed down by the imperfect creation. She asked the Driftsnow Master once more whether he would be willing to sacrifice his life to create a truly perfect unprecedented immortal-ranked divine weapon. His answer was still the same as before, he only wanted to spend the rest of his life together with her. From that moment onwards, Immortal Jade no longer bothered about the Driftsnow Master, wanting him to leave this city which they forged together. The Driftsnow Master could only sigh and acquiesce to her wishes and left for a period of time. He only returned after she changed her mind, but nobody knew that this return of his would mark the last return, it was such a cruel goodbye. When the Driftsnow Master went back, he only saw an ice-cold corpse lying on the ground as well as a letter left to him by Immortal Jade. ‘If you truly love me, why are you unwilling to sacrifice yourself to complete this, creating a perfect city and joining me here for ever?’”

“Immortal Jade, just like what she wrote in the letter. She had sacrificed her very life to seek the acme of weapon forging but she still failed at the very end. Before she died, it seemed that she was still filled with unhappiness regarding the Driftsnow City. Because she achieved a level where she viewed weaponsmithing on a higher level than her own life. Nevertheless, the Driftsnow Master failed to do so.”

“After seeing her final letter, the Driftsnow Master’s hair turned white in the span of a single night. He sat there beside her corpse in the city of their creation unmoving for three years.”

“Three years later, he stood up and buried Immortal Jade, while eventually sacrificing his life to complete the creation process, perfecting the imperfections. Such were the depths of his affection.”

“The Driftsnow Master used his own flesh and blood and infused them into the Driftsnow City. As for his soul, he infused it into the Nine Immortality Bells. The city you see now was constructed by his very flesh. Whenever he missed Immortal Jade, the nine bells would chime as an indication. He wanted the Driftsnow City to be drifting with snow at every moment forever. Each and every snowflake would be his tears for their love.”

“The Driftsnow Master accomplished the final wish of Immortal Jade, using his life essence to forge an unprecedented immortal-ranked divine weapon in the form of a city. However, this wasn’t because he viewed the acme of weaponsmithing as something higher than his life, but rather, it was merely to fulfil the promise he made before to Immortal Jade so many years ago. Only because of her would he be willing to give up his life, using his very essence to forge this city / divine weapon. His purpose was not to create a weapon of mass destruction, but rather, because this was completed with his life essence and soul, he could remain here forever within the Driftsnow City, accompanying the corpse of Immortal Jade.”

Pei Yu’s voice drifted like the drifting snowflakes, completing this story. Cheron and Qin Wentian were both in a daze upon hearing this. What a poignant legendary love story.

Using his flesh and blood, integrating them within the city to protect the corpse of his lover.

Using his soul, infusing it into the Nine Immortality Bells so that whenever he missed Immortal Jade, the bell chimes would fill the air.

Every single snowflake falling from the skies were none other than his tears.

“Is this legend real?” Cheron sighed deeply. Their movement speed was very slow, as they were still deeply immersed in this poignant tale of love.

“I have no idea as well. Right now, the citizens of this city only care about the secret within the Nine Immortality Bells. How would they still remember the story between the Driftsnow Master and Immortal Jade?” Pei Yu forced a laugh, but hints of hurt could be seen within her eyes. She only knew this story after browsing through many ancient scrolls. Hence, after learning of the beautiful tale, she fell in love with the Driftsnow City and personally came here to see for herself the place where the Driftsnow Master and Immortal Jade fell in love, as well as the joint product of their creation.

“I think, it should be real.” Qin Wentian murmured, sinking into contemplation. When he caused the Nine Immortality Bell to resound out, he recalled seeing a blurry scene of a person smithing a city. It felt like he saw the figure in the scene stretching his hands out, allowing the snowflakes to fall upon it as he soaked himself in the loneliness of the atmosphere.

If the legend Pei Yu told them was real, that lonely outstretched hand should be the hand of the Driftsnow Master.

“Do you believe it too? I also think that the tale is real.” Pei Yu smiled sweetly as she glanced at Qin Wentian. “The vicissitudes of time, there’s nothing that lasts forever. Now the bells are chiming once more, I wonder if it is because the Driftsnow Master missed Immortal Jade. I really hope that there would be someone who could unravel the secret behind the Driftsnow City and could let me know for sure if this poignant legend is real.”

“Even if the tale is real, there would be some deviation. The city they forged together back then might not be the same Driftsnow City as it is today. Maybe, the city today was much larger than the one they forged together before.” Cheron laughed. He was also a weaponsmith, and had an intense obsession to seek the peak. Deep in his heart, he truly admired Immortal Jade for being able to give her life up for the sake of weaponsmithing.

Naturally, he admired the Driftsnow Master even more. He didn’t throw his life away because of weaponsmithing, the reason why he did so was because of the love he had for one woman, Immortal Jade.

“Maybe.” Pei Yu whispered. As they were speaking, they arrived at the top of the Driftsnow Inn, past all the stairways. In front of them was a beautiful tower made of ice, and in the vast area around here, a banquet of delicacies were prepared. Many had already arrived.

Now that they stood at such a high vantage point, if one looked further, they could still see man-made icy mountains dotting the landscape, so finely constructed that they seemed the work of Gods. It was too beautiful.

“This is the place that was rumored to be the residence of the Driftsnow Master and Immortal Jade and has never changed since that time. But now, this tower has already become the palace of the current Driftsnow City’s city lord.” Pei Yu introduced.

It’s only natural for the place of the banquet to be set at the residence of the Driftsnow city lord since it was organized by the Jiangling Country. After all, the Driftsnow city lord was the subordinate of the Jiangling King.

When Cheron appeared, many gazes riveted on him. After all, among those who came to the Driftsnow City, Cheron could be considered one of the more famous ones. A chosen of the Wondergate Immortal Manor, his status among these people was absolutely at the top.

After surveying Cheron, the gazes of the people involuntarily turned to those by his side. Qin Wentian, Pei Yu, and Pei Yu’s female servant.

When he saw Pei Yu, Pei Tianyuan’s eyes flickered with a gentle smile as he spoke, “Pei Yu, why are you here together with Cheron?”

“We met coincidentally on the road here, and are now already acquainted.” Pei Yu bowed as she replied. Cheron also smiled, “Your Majesty, me and lady Pei Yu are friends. She must be someone from your clan right? She’s very exquisite and outstanding.”

“Haha, many thanks for noble nephew’s praise. Quickly please be seated, since you and Pei Yu are friends, just sit together then.” Pei Tianyuan laughed. Since Pei Yu and Cheron’s relationship seemed to be pretty good. What sort of character was Pei Tianyuan? He naturally wanted to make use of this, and it would be best if their relationship grew even closer so he would be able to have a connection to the Wondergate Immortal Manor through Cheron.

Chapter 772: Crossing Verbal Swords

 

Pei Tianyuan pointed to a location not far away from him as he hinted with his eyes to Cheron and Pei Yu. However, there were only two seats available at that location, yet their group totaled four people. Even disregarding Pei Yu’s female servant, Cheron, Pei Yu and Qin Wentian still required three seats.

Cheron glanced at him before shaking his head, “I think it’s still better for us to find some other seats.”

“Mhm, over there.” Pei Yu pointed to a location at the center, to which Pei Tianyuan immediately rejected, “How can this do? I still wanted to have a nice chat with noble nephew Cheron. Since the number of seats are limited, Pei Xiao, give your seat up then.”

Pei Xiao originally was sitting next to the two seats Pei Tianyuan wanted Cheron and Pei Yu to take. He could tell that Cheron refused to take that seat was because he had one more friend in his group, hence Pei Tianyuan told Pei Xiao to give his seat up.

Pei Xiao’s eyebrows twitched, glancing over to Pei Yu and Qin Wentian as unhappiness flashed within his eyes. But since the king had already commanded, how could he reject it? He could only nod his head, and stood up awkwardly. At this moment, someone opposite called out, “Pei Xiao, just sit here with me then.”

Pei Xiao glanced at the one who spoke as a smile flickered in his eyes. “In that case, I will have to accept and thank Brother Jiang Yan.”

“Haha it’s fine as well, noble nephew Cheron, come and be seated then.” Pei Tianyuan laughed. Cheron naturally wouldn’t continue rejecting, and hence the three of them walked towards the seating area.

Right across from them were Jiang Yan and Pei Xiao, there was also Nion from the Seven Sword Sect. Other than these people, many geniuses of the other major powers in the Cloud Prefecture were present as well, all of them exuding an extraordinary aura.

“Come let me introduce a few old fellows to you guys. I am Pei Tianyuan and I’m sure everyone present knows who I am. On my left is Ji Kong, a disciple of the Cloud Tower Sage Sect, the tower lord of the Cloud Towers in Jiangling Country. Lastly, the person on my right is the city lord of Driftsnow City, Sikong Yangxue.” Pei Tianyuan introduced and smiled to everyone. “I’m sure that all you heroes of the younger generation already know of each other, hence I won’t be wasting time to introduce each of you.”

Qin Wentian glanced at Sikong Yangxue. The current city lord of the Driftsnow City was evidently a far cry away when compared to the Driftsnow Master of the ancient era.

“This Driftsnow City is a city from ancient times. There’s also many ancient legends about the Driftsnow Inn and the most famous one is that this place was the place where the Driftsnow Master and Immortal Jade fell in love. If time could be reversed and we could see the Driftsnow Master playing his zither while Immortal Jade danced among the snow, how beautiful would that be?” Pei Tianyuan seemed to be an extremely good conversationalist. As the king of the Jiangling Country, he too had heard of this rumor.

“I’ve also heard of the love story between the Driftsnow Master and Immortal Jade, but I doubt the veracity of this. Firstly, where is the weaponized city now? Also, we pursue the martial path because we wish to be supreme, reaching for the very peak. It’s the same for the dao of weaponsmithing. Living, by itself, is the capital of everything. And Immortal Jade wanting to give her life up to forge a weapon? How light was her desire to reach the peak? Also, how foolish was that? And given how magnificent the Driftsnow Master was, how could he give up himself for the sake of a mere woman, sacrificing his life essence and soul to guard her corpse?

A person opened his mouth and commented. Pei Tianyuan turned his gaze onto the one who spoke. This person had fair skin and was quite handsome. He exuded a sense of casual elegance and his brows were angled like swords. His eyes seemed intelligent and politically astute, one could tell that from the depth of his eyes that he had many secrets hidden within his mind.

This person was none other than Shu Luyao, a disciple of the Myriad Sage Academy of Classical Learning from the Cloud Prefecture.

“As expected of a sacred ground, the Myriad Sage Academy knows everything regarding the Cloud Prefecture. The legend of the love story between the Driftsnow Master and Immortal Jade has already faded into obscurity, even in the Jiangling Country, not many people have heard of this. I only knew because of ancient records kept in my manor, to think that noble nephew Shu would also know of this story. I’m impressed.” Pei Tianyuan smiled and nodded to Shu Luyao, he didn’t express his views on Shu Luyao’s opinion.

“The more I know, the more cause I have to suspect that this is false. This legend must be fabricated to cheat those ignorant fools. In the story, the Driftsnow Master and Immortal Jade were idiots.” Shu Luyao’s tone grew sharper, showing no respect to this ancient legend at all.

Naturally, a legend was still a legend. Nobody casted any doubts despite Shu Luyao’s arrogant words. Even Pei Tianyuan was merely smiling.

Only Pei Yu had her brows furrowed. She unhappily commented, “In this vast world, the personalities of everyone is different. You are a heartless person but how can you use your viewpoint to gauge others and deem their acts as foolish? I’ve always heard that the Myriad Sage Academy of Classical Learning has produced many learned experts whose names would shake the Cloud Prefecture, knowing everything there is to know underneath the heavens. People from such a prestigious academy naturally should have more grace and can contain a multitude of things in their chest, epitome of the adage all rivers eventually formed a sea. But sadly, without even making sure of facts, you instantly termed the Driftsnow Master and Immortal Jade as foolish people. Don’t you feel that you are too presumptuous?”

Pei Yu was a woman of emotions, she had always firmly believed in this legend. If Shu Luyao merely doubted the veracity of it, she wouldn’t be angered but what Shu Luyao did was to completely humiliate this entire story by brushing it off as nonsense and even criticized the characters within as idiots. She couldn’t help but feel a burst of anger in her heart, hence the words she had spoken now were also exceptionally sharp.

Shu Luyao’s gaze intensified when he heard that, it seemed as though sharp swords could even shoot out of his eyes right now.

“You say I’m presumptuous?” Shu Luyao’s eyes exuded a heavy pressure pressing down on Pei Yu. His aura was extremely domineering.

“Has she said it wrongly? Using your own personality to gauge others, thinking everyone in the world would have the same preference as you. If this is not presumptuous, what is?” Upon seeing this scene, the expression of Cheron who was by the side of Pei Yu, turned cold as he emotionlessly spoke. A moment later, Shu Luyao’s gaze turned to Cheron as he coldly laughed, changing the topic. “Seems like the relationship between you both isn’t bad.”

After that, he didn’t continue speaking but those eyes of his filled with mockery clearly contained a different meaning within. This made Pei Yu even more enraged but at this moment she only heard Cheron calmly replying, “The major powers under the heavens are all the same. Although the Myarid Sage Academy had produced many outstanding geniuses before, it wasn’t guaranteed that they wouldn’t produce scum.”

“Cheron, your words are too overbearing. Brother Shu had never offended you before yet you humiliated him in front of everyone.” Jiang Yan immediately latched on and replied. “Brother Shu is a heaven chosen from the Myriad Sage Academy, yet you used the word ‘scum’ to describe him? You are simply too arrogant.”

As the sound of his voice faded, many people had an expression of interests on their faces. Seems like Jiang Yan wanted chaos to erupt and intentionally magnified the conflict, wanting Cheron and Shu Luyao to be in opposition with each other.

“I have always been filled with admiration towards the Myriad Sage Academy. Cheron, you have really crossed the line.” Nion continued, adding oil to the fire. As expected, after they spoke, it was impossible for Shu Luyao to ignore this even if he wanted to. Right now, the gazes of everyone was on him.

“Cheron’s arrogance is only for this moment. Seems like after he managed to resonate a bell, he has already forgotten his manners and start provoking people left and right. Hahaha!” A person laughed. This was also a disciple from a major power, the Battle Heavens Immortal Manor of the Cloud Prefecture. The disciples of this power all had extraordinary combat prowess and they had branches everywhere throughout the Cloud Prefecture. Even in the Jiangling Country, they had a power here with affiliations to them. That power was none other than the War Immortal Sect.

“This Zurius of the Battle Heavens Immortal Manor also seems to be a troublemaker.” Everyone silently mused. Zurius didn’t have any intention to provoke Cheron, he only felt that the situation now was amusing, hence he chose to say what he said.

Shu Luyao’s expression turned heavy, he didn’t know where to put his face in front of so many.

“Scum? At the very least, I don’t sleep around with women here in the Jiangling Country. Since she’s someone from the King Manor, I will definitely give face to the Jiangling King close an eye despite what she says. Are you trying to say something given how hurried you jumped to her rescue?” His gaze turned to Cheron as well as Pei Yu, glinting with an evil gleam of light.

Pei Tianyuan watched on quietly, even when Pei Yu was mixed in with this, he didn’t interfere. Pei Yu’s talent in the King Manor can be considered very ordinary and her status was nothing special. Now that she became the fuse for conflict between two geniuses, it might not necessarily be a bad thing. Although Shu Luyao’s words hinted at her sleeping with Cheron, if Cheron stood up to her defense and their relationship grew closer, it would all be worth it.

“Terming you as a scum is already elevating your status.” Cheron mocked. “I, with Brother Tianwen and Pei Yu just got acquainted with each other not too long ago. Our interests are the same hence we became good friends, but the words from your mouth totally twisted facts. How truly ill-bred you are.”

“Threesome? What a taste.” Nion coldly spoke when she heard that. Momentarily, the gazes of others landed on her as smiles flickered in their eyes. How interesting, this Nion appeared cold and arrogant yet her words were so sinister and vicious. Naturally, Nion’s behavior was like this because of how domineering Cheron was before this. Evidently, she hadn’t swallowed her anger from the past incident.

Pei Yu’s body trembled, her countenance turning pale as her dainty hands clenched tightly into fists. A young lady being humiliated like this was an extremely serious business. This was especially so given the setting today. Nion’s words were like sharp arrows, penetrating the hearts of those present.

Qin Wentian felt a sense of rage when he saw Pei Yu’s expression changing and her involuntarily trembling body. These people were truly too over the top, they actually used such an innocent young lady as an example, hurling disgusting words, painting an untrue picture.

Lifting his head, he glanced at Nion. This woman from the Seven Sword Sect was none other than the person who wanted to drive him away from the ancient bell earlier. Evidently, she was an opinionated and selfish woman who has nothing but herself in her eyes.

“To think that the person saying such words would actually be a woman. How inconceivable… Or could it be that you are the one who has done something as shameless as this before, hence this is why you are bringing the term up now today?” Qin Wentian emotionlessly spoke, his eyes fixed onto Nion.

As the sound of his voice faded, Nion’s expression instantly turned glacial. Her sword-like gaze swept over to Qin Wentian as she coldly replied, “Impudent, who the hell you think you are? Stop talking nonsense or else do you believe that I will kill you right here and now?”

The gazes of several people present landed on Qin Wentian. Jiang Yan also icily commented, “Who the hell is this fellow? Do you even have the qualifications to speak before us?”

“How interesting, maybe it’s because he is sitting together with Cheron and he’s forgotten who he is.” Shu Luyao glanced to the left and right and asked, “Do you guys know this man?”

The people all shook their heads as mockery flashed in their gazes. Cheron was someone with status and position but this man was different. He actually dared to humiliate Nion in front of everyone here? They might feel trepidation going up against Cheron but when encountering someone like Qin Wentian who had no status or background, how could they not harshly attack?

Chapter 773: Liven Things Up

 

“Cheron called him Tianwen. But I’ve never heard this name before.”

“His cultivation base is already seen through by me, at the third level of Celestial Phenomenon. It’s not too shabby, at the very least among us, he can’t be considered an existence at the absolute bottom.”

“This person earlier sat down at the area of the ancient bell doing nothing pretending to be mysterious and wasting time and space. Even I feel impressed for his persistence in acting.”

“Haha, I’m somewhat curious. Cheron this brother Tianwen of yours, where is he from?” Zurius glanced at Cheron as he asked. “I would understand if you allow a woman to sit beside you but he is a male. If he doesn’t have any background or status, what qualifications does he have to sit here? He even had the gall to cause the Jiangling King to command Pei Xiao to give up his seat?”

“Why must I tell you?” Cheron’s gaze turned cold. “A bunch of presumptuous fellows. In the future you might all have a chance to know him.”

Who was Qin Wentian? He himself was filled with anticipation. If Qin Wentian could completely form an innate connection with all nine bells, these people would instantly know who he was. They wouldn’t dare to act like this, using him as a target for humiliation, heaping their vile words on him.

“In the future? I don’t have any interest.” Zurius emotionlessly spoke. Nion’s icy gaze pierced towards QIn Wentian, “In the future? He dared to speak words to humiliate me. If he doesn’t kneel to apologize, I’m afraid he wouldn’t be able to live until the ‘future.’”

Pei Yu’s countenance turned unsightly as she coldly replied, “Aren’t you the one who first used words to humiliate us? How should we count that into the debt? Today is the Jiangling King’s banquet and your behaviour is completely unreasonable.”

“Oh? It’s fine, I can apologize to you. But the prerequisite is that you must defeat me.” Nion laughed coldly, “As for today, although it’s the Jiangling King’s Banquet, I, a disciple of the Seven Sword Sect have no way to stand for this humiliation. It’s fine if he doesn’t kneel before me to apologize. I will directly challenged him, and I’m sure the Jiangling King wouldn’t interfere in this right?”

“Everyone please calm your anger.” The Jiangling King Pei Tianyuan smiled when he heard the words. “Everyone here is a guest today, why is there a need to push things so far?”

After he spoke, his gaze turned to Qin Wentian, “This young man should be an elite from a major power, right? Why not introduce yourself to us so the conflict could be better settled as everyone takes a step back.”

“My cultivation is too weak, I don’t dare to report the name of my sect.” Qin Wentian indifferently replied.

Pei Tianyuan’s countenance flickered before he smiled, “Or could it be that you are from some powerful clan?”

“Sorry.” Qin Wentian nodded to the Jiangling King but didn’t say anything more. Pei Tianyuan also didn’t continue to question, but he only heard Zurius from the Battle Heavens Immortal Manor laughing, “It must be because your sect is too weak or you don’t even have one right? As a man, why must you try to hide things? Wouldn’t your actions make people look down on you?”

“No comment.” Qin Wentian’s tone grew colder. These disciples from the major powers of the Cloud Prefecture were all rude and arrogant. Naturally, maybe it was only because they were facing him. Or maybe, they were flaunting their status and self proclaiming themselves as extraordinary.

“King, you have seen it yourself.” Nion spoke again. Pei Tianyuan laughed, “Since little brother is unwilling to dissolve conflict, I’m sure you would be able to handle any retaliation. In that case, I won’t interfere any longer. The grudges between all of you shall be handled by you yourselves. I don’t have any qualifications to meddle in it.”

Nion’s cold countenance flashed with a smile when she heard that. Her gaze became as sharp as swords as she glanced towards Qin Wentian. “If you beg me now, I can still consider giving you a chance to live.”

Qin Wentian dispassionately glanced at Nion and couldn’t be bothered with her. Cheron coldly laughed, “Why don’t you challenge me, but instead choose my brother Tianwen?”

Nion’s eyes flashed with a cold light, staring at Cheron. Someone at the side commented, “Nion, no matter what you are still a disciple from the Seven Sword Sect and has an extraordinary cultivation base. If you want to challenge someone, Cheron seems the obvious choice. What do you mean by challenging a third-level ascendant? Are you not afraid of throwing the face and prestige of your Seven Sword Sect?”

“What’s laughable is that she still thinks highly of herself.” Cheron laughed. The lines on his face were all filled with mockery. After which, he turned to the person who spoke and transmitted his voice to Qin Wentian, “Ghost Saber, Mu Yan. One of my good friends.”

“Mu Yan, this is brother Tianwen.” Cheron introduced.

Mu Yan was clad in a simple white robe and sat in an inconspicuous spot. His entire being seemed to fade in the background and in the beginning, no one had even noticed his existence. Evidently, not many people knew of him.

However when the sound of Cheron’s voice faded, many people gasped as they turned their attention onto the person who spoke earlier. They only saw Ghost Saber Mu Yan currently had a frivolous smile on his face as a playful intent flashed in his eyes. His mouth curled into an arc, giving off a sense of cockiness.

Ghost Saber Mu Yan wasn’t a disciple from a supreme major power in the Cloud Prefecture, but his existence was one where he couldn’t be ignored by the others.

Mu Yan’s master was a true grandmaster in the art of using the saber with the name of Ghost. His power was exceedingly terrifying and was someone that even the great powers of the Cloud Prefecture feared. His master had a special characteristic – it was fine if the saber didn’t leave the sheathe but the moment it saw light, blood would definitely flow, be it his opponents, or from himself.

Hence, Mu Yan’s master had the name of the Saberlord of Death. The Saberlord only had a single disciple and it was none other than Ghost Saber Mu Yan. Mu Yan had fully inherited this special characteristic of his master. Either he didn’t draw his blade, or if he does, blood would definitely flow. Hence among the younger generations, Ghost Saber Mu Yan was an existence not many dared to antagonize. Because, if he drew his saber, there would be no point of return.

“To think that even Ghost Saber Mu Yan has shown up.” The gazes of people flashed sharply and felt quite surprised by his presence. This young fellow didn’t report his name and not many had seen him before. Hence, he was inconspicuous when sitting among the crowd. They only knew him by reputation and it was said that Ghost Saber Mu Yan and Cheron had a very good relationship. He had sought Cheron’s help to forge many sabers for him before and these were all hidden around his body.

Mu Yan and Qin Wentian exchanged gazes and smiled, each nodding to the other.

“Ghost Saber Mu Yan, I’ve long heard of you. It’s said that your saber speed is very fast, so fast to the extent that even after severing the head of your target, he wouldn’t even know that he is dead.” Shu Luyao stared at the Ghost Saber, his eyes flashing with coldness. This Ghost Saber Mu Yan interjected in the middle and mocked Nion. It was obvious he was not on their side.

Although Ghost Saber Mu Yan’s reputation was very great, he was a disciple of the famed Myriad Sage Academy. How can he show weakness when it comes to exhibiting imposingness?

“It’s still alright. Do you want to see it?” Mu Yan suddenly inclined his head, and stared straight at Shu Luyao as a teasing smile appeared on his face. Shu Luyao trembled slightly involuntarily. His fist clenched and shook with anger, this Mu Yan was provoking him.

“There would be an opportunity in the future. However, this matter now has nothing to do with you. Some people who have no eyes said the wrong words, so we will teach him a lesson first, teaching him how to conduct himself before his superiors.” Shu Luyao eventually also dodged Mu Yan’s direct challenge, directing the spear head back to Qin Wentian.

“Seems like you are no different compared to those from the Seven Sword Sect. You are tarnishing your academy’s prestige.” Mu Yan laughed in a mocking manner.

“We naturally have to teach a lesson to people who say the wrong things. As for you and I, it’s normal for us to have some conflict. But for him, what qualifications does he have to shoot his mouth off?” Jiang Yan impolitely pointed his finger at Qin Wentian.

“I agree with this fully. We should discipline him first and only after that, settle the matter between the two of you.” Zurius from the Battle Heavens Immortal Manor adopted an attitude of watching a show, as he fanned the flames further.

Qin Wentian swept his gaze over these people. No matter how good his temper was, when facing continuous contempt from these people, even a monk would feel the flames of fury in his heart.

He glanced at them and spoke, “Myriad Sage Academy, Seven Sword Sect, Battle Heavens Immortal Manor, Jiang Clan. Are all these very powerful?”

As the sound of his voice faded, the eyes of everyone were on Qin Wentian, as disdain flickered in their eyes.

These powers he mentioned were all supreme major powers of the Cloud Prefecture, they are naturally extremely strong.

“Are you talking crap?” Jiang Yan sneered.

“Relying on a powerful background to bully the weak, at the very least this aspect of them seems to be pretty strong. None of you dare to challenge Cheron or Mu Yan but kept your spears aimed at me. This has truly broadened my horizons. Oh by the way, didn’t one of your Jiang Clan die earlier precisely because he tried to bully someone that appeared weak? But eventually, the Jiang Clan’s face was smacked and Jiang Kuang was even killed, which led to the orders of arrest published by the Cloud Towers. Or did you all think that just simply because nobody publicized the reason behind this, you would succeed in hiding this fact from the people in the Cloud Prefecture? Don’t you know that now the name of the Jiang Clan is the butt of jokes? To think that you are still acting so tyrannical here, how ridiculous.”

Qin Wentian’s sarcastic words were like putting salt on the Jiang Clan’s wound. Jiang Yan’s expression turned ashen instantly, becoming extremely unsightly to behold.

“Are you courting death?” Jiang Yan icily stated.

“Are you embarrassed to the point of it turning into anger?” Qin Wentian mocked. He pointed his hands to the people opposite him. “All of you believe that you are extraordinary, and used words to humiliate me, treating me like an ant-like existence before you. How tall and lofty the whole lot of you are? After being humiliated, I don’t even have the qualifications to respond?”

At the same time as he spoke, Qin Wentian’s eyes turned as sharp as swords as it raked through the crowd, staring at those who targeted him earlier. “But, you guys are right. My cultivation base isn’t high, I’m only at the third level of Celestial Phenomenon and I don’t hail from any major powers in the Cloud Prefecture. But so what of it? Are you all truly very strong? Are there not members of your sect that have the same cultivation bases as me? How about calling them out to fight me? Do you believe that I alone am enough to handle all third-level ascendants presently combined from all the major powers?”

The crowd all had bewildered expressions on their faces as they stared at Qin Wentian. It’s fine if he didn’t speak but once he opened his mouth, he made everyone present flabbergasted. Has this guy gone crazy? With so many disciples from these major powers, even if they were at the same realm as him, how can he handle so many alone? He actually dared to say such words?

“How short-sighted, do you really believe that you are infallible?” Jiang Yan’s expression turned heavy.

“This man said he wanted to smack all our faces alone. What do all of you think?” Nion from the Seven Sword Sect coldly spoke.

“How interesting, to think that we can even hear such a joke at the Jiangling King’s banquet.” Shu Luyao from the Myriad Sage Academy stared at Qin Wentian as he sarcastically commented.

Zurius from the Battle Heavens Immortal Manor had a look of contempt on his face. He glanced at several people behind him who were all members of the Battle Heavens Immortal Manor as he smiled, “There should be no pressure killing him right?”

“No problem at all.” The ones behind him lightly nodded their heads. After that, Zurius turned to Pei Tianyuan and laughed, “My King, since this man is so confident, how about we arrange a combat match to liven things up at the banquet today?”

Chapter 774: Retaliation

 

Pei Tianyuan stared at Zurius as he nodded with a smile. “Since everyone feels like this, I naturally wouldn’t reject it. The scenery atop the Driftsnow Inn is so beautiful, if there can be a combat match to liven things up, it would all be the best.”

“My King, if blood flows during the banquet, please forgive us in advance.” Zurius spoke. Pei Tianyuan casually waved his hands, “In true combat, how can one merely stop at the level of sparring? It’s only natural to fight for real. As long as all of you are agreeable, even if there’s an incident of death, there’s no need to seek my opinion. Today, I’m merely a spectator and the hosts of this event are all of you, the heroes of the younger generation.”

“The Jiangling King is truly a straightforward man. Thank you for agreeing.” Zurius smiled. Instantly, an icy look flickered in his eyes as he radiated a cold intent. He stared at Qin Wentian and spoke, “Your words of arrogance stank of ignorance but I won’t bully you. The War Immortal Palace is a power subordinate to my Battle Heavens Immortal Manor. Behind me there are three third-level ascendants from there and they are sufficient to make you understand the error of your words.”

“There’s no need to let him understand anything. Kill him directly. His words are like barbs, extremely thorny and making people unhappy.” Nion’s coldly arrogant beautiful eyes flickered with killing intent. It was one thing when she was sarcastically spoken to by Cheron but to think that an unknown stranger with no background even dared to use her own words against her? How could her rage not be towering? She wanted nothing more than to kill Qin Wentian.

“If he is crippled, we can still give him a path of survival. At the very least he would know how to conduct himself in front of his superiors in the future.” Shu Luyao’s eyes were like frost as well.

“That’s not a bad idea.” Jiang Yan’s fingers drummed the table before him, his eyes filled with a heavy disdain. The gaze which he looked at Qin Wentian with, was akin to him looking at a dead man.

“Do you all want me dead so badly?” A gleam of sharpness glimmered within Qin Wentian’s eyes.

Cheron who was beside Qin Wentian was still as calm as ever. He believed that for the person capable of causing the Nine Immortality Bells to resonate, this shouldn’t be any problem at all. In addition, no one knew that Qin Wentian was the one who accomplished that, it was evident that this new friend of his wasn’t a high profile character. Since he dared to say such a thing today, he would definitely be able to do it. Hence, Cheron merely lifted his wine cup as an expression of enjoying a show appeared on his face.

Mu Yan also quietly sat there. Ghost Sabre Mu Yan was always exceptionally interested in combat. He believed that since this man was a friend of Cheron, he definitely had extraordinary aspects to him.

And at this moment, the three third-level ascendants from the War Immortal Palace already stood in the airspace above the banquet. Actually, the space here was a little too small for a battle, but if things were controlled well, there shouldn’t be any issue. In addition, the spectators here today were all very strong. The shockwaves from the battle wouldn’t be able to affect them.

“Scram the fuck out.” One among the three stared at Qin Wentian as he icily spoke. A surge of intense killing intent gushed forth from him as the atmosphere was suddenly filled with a smell that reeked of blood.

Qin Wentian continued sitting there, lifting his wine cup and quietly sipping his wine. He inclined his head and stared at the three opponents, “I didn’t come here to playact as a monkey in a circus. I don’t fight for other’s amusement. That would be a humiliation to my martial path.”

“Pfft.” A harsh-sounding sneering laughter echoed, Nion’s eyes was filled with mockery as she replied, “Earlier didn’t you talk in such a domineering manner? Now you are actually trying to use such a reason to dodge the battle. A character such as you attending the same banquet as me is truly nothing but a humiliation to me.”

After she spoke, the laughter of many sounded out. This young man’s words were a little ridiculous.

However, as their uproarious laughter resounded, Qin Wentian’s gaze swept to them as a cold light erupted from his eyes. He lifted his palms, and instantly, astral light flashed. Resplendent terrifying runic glows covered his hands, radiating dazzlingly.

“RUMBLE!” A huge explosive sound thundered as Qin Wentian blast forth his palm, aiming for the three third-level ascendants. This palm imprint streaked through the air akin to a shooting star, possessing the power to seize the stars and pluck down the moon, moving with the speed of lightning, containing within it a stifling destructive energy.

The expressions of the three drastically changed, they only felt as though a constellation was smashing right towards them. Summoning the entirety of their strength, they lifted their palms to defend. However, rumbling sounds echoed and in just an instant, the bodies of the three shattered from the impact. The astral light from the palm imprint still shone but underneath the brilliant starry light, only motes of dust could be seen. The three third-level ascendants were crushed so forcefully that not even a part of their bodies remained.

The uproarious laughter earlier instantly ceased. Qin Wentian’s left hand which was holding on to the wine cup slowly dropped down, the light sound of the cup coming in contact with the table resounded extremely clear in the silence. The sneering smile in Nion’s eyes also stiffened. Qin Wentian didn’t dare to battle?

Even before the sound of her laughter faded, Qin Wentian directly replied to her with a single strike. This was akin to slapping her face and there was nothing that would be louder than this reply.

Not only for Nion. Those who laughed earlier all felt their faces being harshly slapped. Their faces all turned sullen, they had no way to accept what was happening.

“Is this the so-called pride of your Battle Heavens Immortal Manor? Truly ludicrous.” Qin Wentian calmly spoke. The volume of his voice wasn’t loud yet his words were like another slap to the faces of those who laughed earlier.

Earlier when Zurius spoke with the Jiangling King, it was clear that he had already treated Qin Wentian like prey to be hunted, and could be effortlessly killed off. Qin Wentian’s fate was to be a clown for those present at this banquet, dancing in their palms.

However in the blink of an eye, Qin Wentian used the most domineering method to tell them that he didn’t even need to stand up to kill these members from the major powers. It was sufficient for him to sit there and even leisurely drinking his wine. He couldn’t be bothered to act as a clown, entering combat for their amusement. His martial path wasn’t something that can be used to liven things up, but rather, it was used to smack the faces of people like them.

Zurius suppressed his anger, he was so startled that he didn’t say anything and had no idea how to reply to Qin Wentian’s arrogant words. The truth was in front of everyone’s eyes, how could he refute this? The experts from the War Immortal Palace, a subordinate power under his Battle Heavens Immortal Manor, wasn’t even able to stand up to a single strike and was directly killed off like stomping on insects.

“A bunch of presumptuous people thinking they are high and mighty, speaking words to elevate each other’s status but how many among you are truly extraordinary? Nothing but a bunch of idiots.” Qin Wentian continued. Right now, his gaze turned to the Jiangling King, Pei Tianyuan as he spoke, “My King, since this junior is so unwelcomed here, I will leave to avoid spoiling the mood.”

After he spoke, Qin Wentian stood up and turned, walking away. This King of the Jiangling Country was extremely polite and favored the disciples of the major powers. But he, Qin Wentian, was clearly different. Also, he had no wish to remain in such a setting. It wasn’t suited for him.

Although the scenery here is beautiful and there was still the poignant tale of the Driftsnow Master and Immortal Jade, the people in the acting roles have all changed.

“You want to leave just like this after killing my men?”

At this moment, a glacial voice filled the air. Qin Wentian started, his steps slowed as he turned to face Zurius. A frown painted his face as his eyes flashed with sarcasm, “It’s fine if people from the Battle Heavens Immortal Manor are useless. But who would have thought that you would be shameless to this extent. I have truly broadened my horizons.”

“My horizons are broadened as well.” Ghost Saber Mu Yan laughed.

“Zurius, earlier you told your subordinates to kill him, this is something everyone present could be the witness of. Now that the strength of your subordinates are inferior and they were killed by him instead, you actually had the gall to speak such words? You have truly shamed the Battle Heavens Immortal Manor.” Cheron also mockingly commented, filled with disdain for Zurius’ character.

“I don’t care about that. I only know that since you killed the members of my Battle Heavens Immortal Manor, you must leave your life behind.” Zurius’ voice was filled with dominance as a terrifying battle intent radiated from him. The people from the War Immortal Palace standing behind him all released their powerful auras as though they wanted to kill Qin Wentian right here and now.

If they allowed Qin Wentian to leave here today, the name of the Battle Heavens Immortal Manor would surely be humiliated.

Since he killed their members, he had to leave his life here. Only then, would people remember how domineering their Battle Heavens Immortal Manor was and not how they ignored the rules. In any case in the world of cultivators, rules were superfluous. Everything was dependant on strength, whoever was the strongest, would be the one who made the rules.

“The filthy words you spoke to me, do you think you can leave just like this?” Right now, Nion also spoke up. The other experts from the Seven Sword Sect respectively stood up as sword intent gushed from their bodies, permeating the air, causing everyone present to feel a sense of pressure boring down on them.

“You guys are truly shameless.” Pei Yu swept her gaze over as she sarcastically commented.

“Pei Yu, you have no rights to talk here. Come here now.” Only to hear that at this moment, Pei Xiao who sat beside Jiang Yan started berating Pei Yu. A moment later, Pei Yu turned her gaze onto Pei Xiao, her eyes filled with an unyielding stubbornness.

“Pei Yu, this is none of your business. Come over to my side.” At this moment, even the Jiangling King Pei Tianyuan had to speak up. His tone contained a majesticness within, evidently, he wasn’t willing to let Pei Yu participate in this explosive situation.

Pei Yu looked at Pei Tianyuan, but the stubborn light in her eyes was as before. She actually shook her head, which caused Pei Tianyuan’s countenance to turn cold. “Impudent.”

As the sound of his voice faded, the temperature in the atmosphere dropped a few degrees. Pei Yu stared at Pei Tianyuan as she spoke, “My King, you should really do something about this unfairness.”

The eyes which Pei Tianyuan regarded Pei Yu with was no longer as friendly as before. He was extremely disappointed with her. Beside Pei Tianyuan, someone spoke, “Miss Pei Yu, you must understand a logic. People belonging to the same tier would often have conflicts, but as long as no deaths are involved, everything can be settled. Having an opponent is also something that can make one improve faster. But when facing people of a different tier, there are some things that’s not possible.”

The person who spoke was none other than Han Dongjiang, a disciple from the Ninepeak Immortal Court, one of the supreme major powers of the Cloud Prefecture.

Although his words were unpleasant to hear, it was nothing but the truth. For example, if the persons in conflict were Cheron and Jiang Yan, although they are enemies, they are also a constant source of motivation for each other to improve. They wouldn’t go all out to kill each other. But Qin Wentian was different. Everyone believed that he is of a different tier compared to Jiang Yan and the others, he had no qualifications to become their opponent yet he was still so brazen and arrogant. In that case, what awaits him would merely be doomsday. Even if Cheron wished to protect him, it would be extremely difficult to do so. These people wouldn’t forgive Qin Wentian so easily.

As for the Jiangling King Pei Tianyuan, he naturally couldn’t be bothered to deal with this matter. If someone wanted to deal with Cheron during this banquet which he organized, he would certainly step out to aid Cheron. But since the target was Qin Wentian, he couldn’t be bothered to waste his time!