“Clang!”
Ye Qiu’s sword pierced the white light barrier. Just as he had anticipated, the Great Sage Array was indestructible. It was not breached by the Xuanyuan Sword.
“You little brat, did you skip breakfast? You need to put more force into it,” the Real Changmei said.
Ye Qiu took a deep breath. Then he frantically circulated the Nine Revolutions Divine Dragon Technique, elevating his combat power to its utmost limit. He followed up with another sword strike.
“Boom!”
The Great Sage Array remained utterly unscathed. Instead, Ye Qiu was flung back several hundred metres. He crashed heavily to the ground. The pain made him feel as if his entire body was about to fall apart.
“You old bastard, I curse your entire family!”
Ye Qiu cursed in fury.
“You little brat, you must believe in yourself. You can definitely do it,” the Real Changmei said. “Try again.”
“Try my arse,” Ye Qiu said with his mouth, though he still quickly scrambled up from the ground.
At this moment, there was no better way. He could only try to break through the Great Sage Array and find a glimmer of hope for Fairy Baihua.
Ye Qiu walked up to the Sage Array patterns. His brows furrowed tightly as he pondered how to break the grand array.
“The Four Cauldrons of Qiankun cannot shake it. The Xuanyuan Sword cannot pierce it. What now?”
Ye Qiu thought to himself. If the Xuanyuan Sword had a sword spirit, could that break the array?
After a moment.
Ye Qiu decided to use the Xuanyuan Sword after all. Among his weapons, only the Xuanyuan Sword was the sharpest.
“Shing!”
Ye Qiu thrust his sword out once more.
This strike did not carry much power. Ye Qiu mainly wanted to probe for a weak spot in the array.
Who would have thought that as soon as the sword tip touched the light barrier, Ye Qiu suddenly noticed a brilliant white light appearing at the tip of the Xuanyuan Sword. It was accompanied by an immensely vast force.
Ye Qiu clearly felt that in that instant, the Xuanyuan Sword seemed to have become thousands or even tens of thousands of times sharper.
What was going on?
Before Ye Qiu could figure it out, a several-metre-long crack appeared on the light barrier.
“The Great Sage Array is broken. Hurry inside!”
The Real Changmei urgently reminded Green萝. Green萝, holding Fairy Baihua, swiftly rushed into the crack.
The Real Changmei followed closely behind. As he charged into the crack, he saw Ye Qiu standing motionless on the spot. He reminded him, “You little brat, don’t just stand there like an idiot. Hurry inside. If you’re late, it will be too late.”
Ye Qiu snapped back to his senses and stepped into the crack in one stride.
As soon as he entered the Great Sage Array, the crack sealed shut.
“You little brat, well done.” The Real Changmei gave Ye Qiu a thumbs up.
Ye Qiu turned back to look at the Great Sage Array. His heart was filled with doubts.
Earlier, he had used the Nine Revolutions Divine Dragon Technique to raise his power to the extreme, yet he could not break the Great Sage Array. Why had a tentative strike just now pierced it?
Moreover, what was the white light that had suddenly appeared at the sword tip?
Ye Qiu had possessed the Xuanyuan Sword for quite some time. He knew very well that the sword’s glow had always been golden. It had never produced a white light.
Furthermore, from that white light, Ye Qiu had sensed not only an immensely vast power but also a strong sense of righteous qi.
It was the enhancement from this white light that had boosted the Xuanyuan Sword’s might.
“Could it be that the Xuanyuan Sword harbours some secret I have yet to comprehend?”
Seeing that Ye Qiu was silent, the Real Changmei asked, “You little brat, what are you thinking about?”
Ye Qiu did not conceal anything. He voiced his doubts and said, “I am wondering why that strike, which did not carry much power, could pierce the Great Sage Array.”
The Real Changmei said, “What is there to doubt about this? The Xuanyuan Sword is the foremost divine sword of antiquity, incomparably sharp. How could a mere Great Sage Array possibly withstand it?”
“Besides, your destiny is profound. You naturally receive aid from the heavens.”
Could it truly be that the heavens are helping me?
Ye Qiu looked up at the firmament. Strangely enough, although he was now inside the Great Sage Array, the white light barrier was transparent. He could clearly see the scene outside the barrier.
Yet earlier, when he had been outside, he could not see the situation inside the array.
“With the Xuanyuan Sword in my hands, whatever secrets it holds, I will comprehend them sooner or later.”
Thinking of this, Ye Qiu sheathed the Xuanyuan Sword. Then he looked ahead.
As far as the eye could see, it was all ice and snow, just like outside. It stretched endlessly into the distance, vast and boundless.
In addition, Ye Qiu clearly noticed that the chill inside the array was even denser. It was countless times colder than outside.
Green萝, holding Fairy Baihua, stood to one side, shivering uncontrollably.
A layer of frost had formed on their beautiful hair.
“You old thing, is this the glimmer of hope you spoke of?” Ye Qiu suddenly felt a bit regretful. He should not have listened to the Real Changmei.
He had thought that once inside the array, the scene would be entirely different. Who knew that the environment here was even harsher than outside.
“You little brat, believe in this poor Daoist. There is definitely a chance for survival here. Let us go ahead and see.”
With that, the Real Changmei flew forward.
“Give her to me!” Ye Qiu walked up to Green萝 and took Fairy Baihua from her. He glanced at her. A layer of frost flowers had formed on Fairy Baihua’s eyelashes. Her originally pale face had frozen to a purple-red.
Ye Qiu hurriedly channelled his true qi to Fairy Baihua to ward off the cold. Then he said, “Let us go.”
At once, the group dashed forward.
…
After Ye Qiu and the others left, a short while later, a figure suddenly appeared outside the grand array.
He wore a grey Confucian robe and had a gaunt build. His face was masked, revealing only his two eyes. Long white hair draped over his shoulders.
His two eyes gazed at the Sage Array patterns, as if stars flowed and the sun and moon cycled, profoundly deep.
“This youth possesses the Cauldron of Qiankun and the Xuanyuan Sword. Clearly, he is a person with great destiny. Following him may not be a bad thing for you.”
Suddenly, the masked man turned his head. His gaze seemed to pierce through space and time, looking towards a place tens of thousands of li away.
“People from the Yin Yang Sect?”
The masked man stood in place and waited for a moment. In the void, a Wind-riding Boat appeared.
It was precisely Granny Yin Hua, Jiang Shan, and Steward Li.
“City Lord, there is someone below,” Steward Li reminded.
Jiang Shan snorted. He thought to himself, my eyes are not blind. How could I miss such a large person?
Granny Yin Hua stood at the bow of the boat. She glanced at the Great Sage Array, then her gaze fell upon the masked man. She took out Ye Qiu’s portrait and asked arrogantly, “This old woman asks you, have you seen the person in this portrait?”
“I have,” the masked man answered flatly.
That boy has indeed come to the ice fields!
Granny Yin Hua was delighted in her heart. She asked, “Where are they?”
“What do you want with them?” the masked man countered.
Granny Yin Hua said, “This person is a fugitive wanted by our Yin Yang Sect. Since you know his whereabouts, tell me quickly. Otherwise…”
“Otherwise, what will you do?” the masked man interrupted Granny Yin Hua’s words.
Granny Yin Hua’s eyes suddenly sharpened. She said, “If you dare not speak, this old woman will grind your bones to dust and scatter your ashes. I advise you to think carefully. Our Yin Yang Sect is not something just anyone can afford to offend.”
“Yin Yang Sect… heh, is that supposed to be impressive?”
The masked man sneered coldly. He extended his right hand and gently swept it.
In an instant, the Wind-riding Boat vanished without a trace.
Granny Yin Hua, Jiang Shan, and Steward Li died silently like this. Not even a speck of ash remained.
“Even the Supreme Heavenly Venerable of Wuji would not dare speak to me in such a tone. You, a mere Nascent Soul cultivator, truly do not know the meaning of death.”
As the masked man’s words fell, he tore his hands through the air from afar. At once, a pitch-black rift appeared in the void.
The masked man stepped into the void rift and vanished in an instant.
