A colossal bolt of lightning, tens of thousands of feet long, plunged from the heavens, heading straight for the golden coffin suspended in the void. Just as it seemed the thunder would strike, something unexpected happened.
Hum!
Abruptly, the golden coffin erupted with dazzling golden light. Like a supreme divine artefact, it soared upward and crashed headlong into the lightning.
In the next second, an even more astonishing sight unfolded before everyone.
The enormous bolt of heavenly lightning appeared to suffer a tremendous fright. It swiftly retreated along its original path, shrinking back into the clouds and vanishing without a trace.
“What? The golden coffin scared the heavenly lightning away?”
Everyone was stunned.
Ye Qiu’s gaze grew profound.
Seeing this scene, he could not help but recall the moment when he had used his Qiankun Cauldron to drive off a heavenly tribulation. The similarity was striking.
“Could Xi’er’s guess be correct? Is that coffin truly a divine artefact?”
Ye Qiu wondered silently.
At that instant, winds rose and clouds churned. A vast expanse of black clouds appeared in the nine heavens, instantly plunging the world into darkness. Sand and stones were whipped into the air, as though the apocalypse had arrived.
An overwhelming aura of oppression blanketed everything. Everyone felt their breathing halt, gripped by deep unease.
“I have a premonition that something momentous is about to happen,” Mo Tianji said gravely.
Lin Da’niao added, “I feel it too.”
Master Longbrow’s primordial spirit spoke up. “Little brat, take me away quickly. This poor Daoist has only a primordial spirit left. I can’t endure any more tossing about.”
The little white fox wore a look of disdain. “Why panic? It’s merely a heavenly phenomenon. Look how frightened you all are.”
Ye Qiu was about to speak when suddenly the Xuanyuan Sword hidden in his left eye trembled lightly.
This was a warning of approaching danger.
“Everyone retreat at once! Do not linger here!”
Shouting loudly, Ye Qiu grabbed Master Longbrow’s primordial spirit with one hand and Yun Xi’s hand with the other, then swiftly withdrew.
Mo Tianji seized Lin Da’niao by the shoulder and followed closely behind.
Upon hearing Ye Qiu’s voice, the Qingyun Sword Sect disciples did not hesitate. They immediately activated their flying treasures and shot away, covering ten thousand metres in an instant.
Once everyone had stopped,
Ye Qiu warned them again. “Great danger is coming. Stay fully alert. If anything feels wrong, flee immediately without hesitation. Your lives come first.”
Yun Xi turned and instructed the Qingyun disciples, “You all heard what Changsheng said?”
“If the situation turns bad, use your flying treasures and leave the mountain at once.”
“Remember: not a single word about Changsheng is to be spoken. Anyone who reveals anything about him will be killed without mercy.”
“Do you understand?”
The disciples answered in unison, “Understood!”
They knew full well that Ye Qiu had slain geniuses from several major powers. If news of this spread, it would shake the entire cultivation world. Without doubt, those powers would hunt Ye Qiu relentlessly.
And since Ye Qiu’s relationship with their Saintess was extraordinary, Qingyun Sword Sect would also be dragged into endless trouble.
Moreover, these were turbulent times. Several major powers had already formed an alliance and repeatedly provoked Qingyun Sword Sect, eager to start a war. Yet Sect Leader Yun Shan had continued to endure patiently.
The disciples understood that the sect leader’s forbearance was to buy time until the Grand Elder emerged from seclusion.
Once the Grand Elder broke through to that realm, even if every major power attacked together, Qingyun Sword Sect would have nothing to fear.
Therefore, no matter what, not half a word about Ye Qiu could leak out. Otherwise, those powers might use it as an excuse to launch a premature assault on the sect.
After giving her orders, Yun Xi turned to Ye Qiu and asked softly, “Changsheng, what have you sensed?”
“I feel an immense danger approaching,” Ye Qiu replied, then reminded everyone once more, “Be ready to withdraw at any moment.”
The moment his words ended,
Rumble…
Endless muffled thunder rolled from the nine heavens. The black clouds churned violently. A heart-stopping aura filled the air. Anyone could see that a storm was about to break.
The golden coffin remained strangely still, motionless in the void.
Time slipped silently by.
One minute.
Two minutes.
Three minutes…
BOOM!
A thunderous explosion rang out. The thick black clouds were suddenly torn open. A single bolt of purple lightning shot forth.
Immediately after,
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Thunder detonated incessantly across the vault of heaven. Eight more purple lightning bolts appeared, joining the first to form a total of nine.
These nine purple bolts were colossal, each as thick as a mountain peak. They plunged down from nine different directions, then swiftly transformed into nine divine dragons.
Each dragon stretched hundreds of thousands of feet long. Their heads were majestic, their whiskers danced, and their enormous bodies were covered in gleaming purple scales, radiating power and sanctity.
“ROAR—”
The nine divine dragons opened their cavernous maws and roared together. The sound shook mountains and rivers, resounding through heaven and earth.
Everyone who heard the dragon cry suffered ruptured eardrums and blood streaming from their ears.
The nine dragons lunged towards the golden coffin. Yet the coffin remained perfectly still, as though oblivious to the danger.
At that moment, every onlooker’s heart leapt into their throat.
“Though the golden coffin is extraordinary, those nine thunder-dragons are even more terrifying.”
“If the golden coffin is destroyed, the supreme opportunity will be lost to us forever.”
“What a pity!”
Master Longbrow sighed.
Moments later,
The nine divine dragons reached the space directly above the golden coffin. Simultaneously, each extended a claw. Nine enormous dragon claws seized the coffin.
Their colossal bodies, like gigantic chains, wrapped tightly around it at the same instant.
In the next heartbeat, all nine dragons reared their heads and soared upward, dragging the golden coffin into the sky.
Nine dragons pulling a coffin!
It was a breathtaking, soul-shaking spectacle.
No matter how many years passed, this image would remain forever etched in everyone’s minds, impossible to erase.
The onlookers stood utterly transfixed.
Lin Da’niao finally recovered his senses and cried, “Big brother, what are those nine divine dragons trying to do? Do they want the supreme opportunity too?”
Mo Tianji answered, “Those nine dragons represent the will of the Heavenly Dao. It seems the Heavenly Dao does not wish anyone to claim that coffin.”
Lin Da’niao cursed angrily, “Damn it all! The Heavenly Dao is already supreme. How shameless of it to snatch opportunities from us mortals…”
“Watch your words!” Mo Tianji warned sternly. “Do not speak recklessly of the Heavenly Dao, or you will invite calamity.”
Lin Da’niao immediately shut his mouth.
In the blink of an eye, the golden coffin was hauled by the nine dragons into the roiling black clouds and disappeared from sight.
“No way! The supreme opportunity was just taken by the Heavenly Dao?” Lin Da’niao said, unwilling to accept it.
Ye Qiu remained silent, staring fixedly at the churning black clouds. His intuition told him the golden coffin would never submit so easily.
And sure enough,
Suddenly, the golden coffin reappeared within the dense black clouds. Blazing light poured forth, illuminating heaven and earth like a fierce sun.
