Peach blossom petals, crimson as blood, surged in their thousands, hurtling with frantic speed into Linglong Immortal’s twin pupils, resembling a dense swarm of blades descending.
“How arrogant. Take this strike of mine.”
Xiang Chunan gripped a metallic demonic crown, urging forth the supreme power within it. At once, countless supreme inscriptions manifested upon the crown, erupting with a divine and demonic aura akin to raging storm waves.
“Boom.”
The metallic demonic crown collided with the peach petal dragon, shattering its foremost petals into fragments.
At the same time, Feng Yan’s six arms each clutched a relic of the gods. His feet trod upon chaotic mists as he charged towards the peach petal dragon. The six arms swung with majestic force, unleashing one peerless combat art after another.
Here, sword light transformed into a cascading waterfall. There, a battle halberd danced like a soaring phoenix. Elsewhere, a treasure mirror released beams of divine radiance.
“Swish!”
The peach petal dragon coalesced anew into a mass of black shadow. With a single wave of its hand, it carved a long gash. The gash became an ancient shamanic divine river that cascaded upon Feng Yan, shattering two of the godly relics in his grasp into fragments.
Feng Yan flew backwards, a long bloodied gash appearing across his chest, deep to the bone, with ancient shamanic power corroding his flesh, inflicting unbearable agony.
“To think it is so terrifying…”
Feng Yan spat a mouthful of black blood from his lips, his mental state plummeting.
Meanwhile, the metallic demonic crown struck by Xiang Chunan had been swept into the ancient shamanic divine river, as if to be forcibly seized. Xiang Chunan’s face flushed red, stars leaping within his realm form. He exerted his utmost to contend with the foe, wresting back control of the metallic demonic crown.
Ao Xukong, Linglong Immortal, and the remaining powerhouses of the Heavenly Dragon Realm all unleashed sacred arts, assailing Peach Blossom.
Yet their assaults could not lock upon Peach Blossom. All were evaded by Peach Blossom with incomparable speed. This left the assembly in shock beyond measure. Such combat prowess resembled the advent of a divinity.
“Lend me aid. Activate the talisman’s full power.” Linglong Immortal’s gaze turned icy as she fixed upon Ao Xukong.
Ao Xukong exhaled golden draconic qi from his mouth, surging towards the talisman.
Linglong Immortal pressed her palms together, the talisman nestled between them. Rings of divine light emanated forth, the light rippling like celestial river waves, quaking the void.
In this moment, Linglong Immortal appeared utterly sanctified, golden light radiating from her form, her lithe body like a jade carving, her vital energy surging to pierce the nine heavens.
“Pfft!”
Two peach blossoms, each the size of a palm, flew separately towards Ao Xukong and Linglong Immortal. In the next instant, blood splashed from both their bodies. All their protective treasures were pierced through, unable to halt the peaches for even a moment.
Ao Xukong’s sacred armour shattered, a bowl-sized blood cavity appearing in his chest. He knelt upon the ground.
Linglong Immortal cried out in anguish. Her right arm was severed, and the talisman clutched in her right hand flew aloft alongside the snow-white limb.
Peach Blossom transformed into a streak of black light, soaring upwards to seize the talisman.
“Stop him.”
From the ground, the Great Saints of the Heavenly Dragon Realm, Xiang Chunan, and Feng Yan all roared in unison, giving hot pursuit.
Should Peach Blossom claim the talisman, it would be like adding wings to a tiger. Who then could stand against him?
As the black shadow and talisman drew mere inches apart, suddenly, an upright and refined figure appeared above the talisman, slashing down with his sword.
This sword stroke, its light brilliant and dazzling, was stunning beyond compare, like a star plummeting across the firmament.
The sword intent locked upon the black shadow, harmonising with the rules of heaven and earth, resonating with the grand dao of nature.
Even with the black shadow’s freakish speed, evasion proved impossible. A soft sound of surprise escaped its form.
“Swish!”
The verdant sword light cleaved into the black shadow, bisecting it.
The black shadow dispersed.
A foot-long peach blossom branch fell from mid-air.
The branch was snapped in twain at its centre.
All murderous intent vanished utterly. Zhang Ruchen, holding Linglong Immortal’s right arm, descended to the ground and walked to her side, reattaching the limb for her.
Linglong Immortal lay upon the ground, her face pallid, too feeble to rise. Her rippling eyes fixed tightly upon Zhang Ruchen. Biting her lips, she said, “Thank you.”
Xiang Chunan urged all the supreme inscriptions within the metallic demonic crown to full activation. It hovered above the assembly, forming a canopy of supreme power to shield all the cultivators. His eyes scanned the four directions gravely, maintaining vigilant watch.
Feng Yan wiped the bloodstain from his lips. Drenched in gore from head to toe, he walked to the severed peach blossom branch, picked it up, and his expression shifted repeatedly. With utmost difficulty, he said, “This is not Peach Blossom’s true body. Merely a false form condensed from a branch of the peach tree. Within the false form lurks a battle soul. However, Brother Shu’s peerless sword stroke just now has extinguished the soul.”
The surviving cultivators of the Heavenly Dragon Realm were all gripped by profound dread. Trembling, one said, “Peach Blossom is but an assassin. Why is he so formidable? Even a mere false form wields such might. Had Sir Shu not been here, we would likely have been annihilated entirely.”
“If Peach Blossom’s true body had come, who under heaven could withstand him?”
“Fortunately, Sir Shu was present. Otherwise, we might not have detected Peach Blossom at all and perished unknowing.”
…
The gazes all present turned upon Zhang Ruchen brimmed with respect and admiration.
Moments ago, beneath Peach Blossom’s threat, the assembly united could muster no counter. Only Shu Qianchi alone upheld the field, felling the false form beneath his sword.
Such strength, such cultivation, truly peerless and unmatched. How could it fail to inspire awe?
“Peach Blossom’s true body must be nearby.”
Zhang Ruchen’s words caused the breaths the assembly had only just caught to hitch anew, plunging them into tension once more.
Zhang Ruchen sensed the four directions with his Wuji Sacred Intent, seeking the true body’s position. He shook his head gently and said, “He has already withdrawn.”
“Boom.”
A plume of divine mist approached from afar and descended into Qing Li Garden.
The mist coalesced into a figure clad in black armour, towering in stature.
He stood like a majestic divine mountain, his aura profound and vigorous, his tiger eyes sweeping the quarters with disdain.
The assembly bowed in deference one after another, proclaiming in unison, “We pay respects to the Divine General.”
This was none other than one of the false gods of the Red Dust Peerless Tower, the Enigmatic Case Divine General.
The Enigmatic Case Divine General glanced at the strewn peach blossoms and the husks of Great Saints littering the ground. Fury blazed in his eyes, his divine might quaking the four directions. He said, “Peach Blossom again. Alas, this god arrived a step too late.”
Ao Xukong’s wounds ran deep. Propping his ruined body, he said with chill in his gaze, “The Red Dust Peerless Tower claims omniscience of worldly affairs. Can it truly not unearth a single assassin upon its own turf?”
The Enigmatic Case Divine General replied, “Peach Blossom’s stealth arts are far too formidable. Moreover, he strikes and flees in a single instant. To capture him proves exceedingly difficult.”
“Could we entreat the Tower Lord to act?” Ao Xukong asked.
The Enigmatic Case Divine General’s expression soured. “What stature does the Tower Lord hold? Countless grave matters await his sole judgement. How could he expend effort on such trifles? Rest assured, Third Prince. This god shall handle the matter in full. Should Peach Blossom reappear and disturb the Red Dust Archipelago, this god shall assuredly slay him.”
With those words, the Enigmatic Case Divine General dissolved into divine mist and departed skyward.
Ao Xukong gazed at the sacred corpses strewn upon the ground. His teeth ground together, and he smashed a fierce fist against the wall, causing all the divine patterns within to manifest. Yet the rage in his heart found no true vent.
An elder Supreme Realm Great Saint of the Heavenly Dragon Realm said, “Third Prince, shall we send word back to the Heavenly Dragon Realm and have the Five Dragon God Emperor dispatch false gods of the dragon race?”
“Far water quenches no near thirst. By the time the dragon race’s false gods arrive, we shall all have perished by Peach Blossom’s hand,” Ao Xukong replied.
Another Great Saint of the dragon race said, “If the Second Prince acts, could he slay Peach Blossom?”
Ao Xukong’s gaze grew grave. “What worries me most now is precisely Second Brother. Tonight, he duels Chu Jian at Divine Moon Beach. Should Peach Blossom strike to assassinate him, the consequences bear no contemplation.”
Evidently, Ao Xukong did not believe Ao Yi possessed the capacity to withstand Peach Blossom’s assassination.
That brush with death had etched no small psychological scar upon Ao Xukong’s heart. Save for divinities, he had never beheld so dread a figure.
Yet divinities would not strike against him. Peach Blossom would.
Feng Yan said, “Third Prince need not worry so. Peach Blossom may not assassinate Second Prince, nor does he require to. His appearance here, and the slaying of so many Heavenly Dragon Realm Great Saints, in truth served more to force the Heavenly Dragon Realm’s withdrawal, a warning against meddling in the Book Realm’s affairs.”
Ao Xukong snorted coldly. “Cultivators of the Heavenly Dragon race, even in death, fear nothing. From this moment, Peach Blossom is the foe of our dragon race in the Heavenly Dragon Realm.”
Linglong Immortal gazed at Shu Qianchi, who stood in silent contemplation. A peculiar gleam flashed in her beautiful eyes. She asked, “What weighs upon Sir Shu’s mind?”
All turned their gazes towards him.
This Sir Shu proved far too enigmatic, his cultivation unfathomably profound.
That sword stroke just now had left a deep imprint upon Linglong Immortal’s heart. It bore no resemblance to a technique a saint realm cultivator could unleash, like an immortal descending from the heavens, a sword god gracing the mortal plane, peerless and singular.
Though he claimed provenance from the Kunlun Realm, to date, none had verified the matter.
Zhang Ruchen’s gaze remained profound. He said, “I may already know who Peach Blossom is.”
“Who?” Xiang Chunan asked.
Zhang Ruchen replied, “Merely a conjecture. Nothing conclusive, unless I clash with his true body, forcing him to unleash his genuine power. Only then might I confirm it.”
Linglong Immortal said, “Sir Shu means that Peach Blossom is no mere assassin. He harbours a second identity, that of a renowned great figure known throughout the world?”
Zhang Ruchen offered no answer to the question, lost still in thought.
Feng Yan said, “Indubitably, Peach Blossom shares deep ties with the Heavenly Realm factions. His assassinations all aid their schemes. Does Third Prince still believe Peach Blossom will refrain from acting?”
Ao Xukong revealed an apologetic expression, bowed to the assembly, and said, “I underestimated the foe. My apologies.”
Linglong Immortal said, “The most pressing matter now is to discern the true aim of the Heavenly Realm factions. Is it truly so simple as avenging Gongyang Mu? Or do they seek to aid the Confucian Realm in annexing the Book Realm?”
Zhang Ruchen said, “Their paramount target is me.”
The assembly registered surprise, some failing to grasp why Shu Qianchi, an outsider, had become the foe’s chief quarry.
Feng Yan pieced it together and revealed a look of realisation. “Brother Shu, as a paramount figure of the Kunlun Realm, is indeed the Heavenly Realm factions’ most desired adversary to eradicate.”
“Not only that.”
Zhang Ruchen gazed towards the long sky and said, “I exposed a flaw. This flaw piqued their keen interest in me. One, to eliminate me. Two, to uncover my identity. The false form’s appearance served to probe me.”
“What flaw?” Xiang Chunan asked.
