"Who goes there!" Jiang Xuesong roared, rising to his feet in a single motion.
The figure strode in, covering the distance to Jiang Xuesong in just two or three steps. In that brief moment, Jiang Xuesong felt as though a colossal dragon was bearing down on him. He involuntarily retreated two steps, collapsing back into his chair. His sword heart — refined over fifteen hundred years of cultivation — emitted a faint crack, and a hairline fracture appeared within it.
He had been afraid? Only then did Jiang Xuesong come to his senses, realizing what had just happened to him. A look of profound shock surfaced on his face.
His life had been turbulent, and he had faced more powerful enemies than he could count. But at no point, against any foe, had he ever flinched or retreated. No matter how many tricks an opponent employed, no matter how overwhelming their cultivation, he broke through with a single sword strike — even if it meant being ground to dust. It was precisely this thread of iron resolve that had tempered his flawless sword heart.
Yet in that one instant, he had felt fear for the first time in his life, and it had blemished his perfect sword heart.
Yang Kai loomed over him, practically nose to nose, and flashed a grin. "Your memory is truly impressive, Alliance Head. You were just talking about me a moment ago — how did you forget so quickly?"
"You are..." Jiang Xuesong's pupils trembled as an absurd thought surfaced in his mind. He declared with grim certainty, "That's impossible!"
"Nothing is impossible!" Yang Kai spun around and perched on the edge of the desk, then turned his gaze toward Elder Ying. "You're from the Yellow Springs Sect?"
That casual demeanor made it seem as though he had not ventured into the dragon's lair at all, but merely dropped by a neighbor's house. Despite Elder Ying's vast experience, even he could not help but feel a sense of the absurd.
"Let me ask you something!" Yang Kai fixed Elder Ying with a stare. "Are you the Sect Master of the Yellow Springs Sect?"
"No!" Elder Ying shook his head.
Yang Kai stroked his chin, looking disappointed. "Pity. Wrong place, then."
A surge of sword intent suddenly erupted. A dazzling flash of sword light blazed forth, illuminating the entire hall. All things in heaven and earth seemed to lose their color in that instant, leaving only the brilliance of that single sword.
Jiang Xuesong had struck without warning.
As a swordsman, he should never have launched a sneak attack from behind. In all his past battles, he had never resorted to such a thing — every foe he had defeated was beaten in the open and fair. But Yang Kai's earlier pressure had made him falter, tainting his sword heart. Consumed by shame and fury, he could no longer care about such scruples.
Before the sword energy even reached its target, Elder Ying raised his hand and a massive Blood Sea Banner — its surface churning with crimson — materialized in his palm. It was unmistakably one of the two most common Artifacts of the Yellow Springs Sect. However, the Blood Sea Banner in Elder Ying's possession was clearly far more powerful than any Yang Kai had previously encountered. The aura it radiated had reached the absolute peak of Void King-grade Artifacts. Were it not for this world's restrictions, only a bit more refinement would elevate it to a Dao Source-grade Artifact.
He swept the Blood Sea Banner, and a roaring tide of blood surged forth from within, coalescing into a vast sea of crimson that crashed down toward Yang Kai from above.
At the same moment, that peerless sword intent slashed into Yang Kai. A wave of melancholy washed through Jiang Xuesong's heart. He did not know the young man's true level of cultivation, but anyone struck by a swordsman's technique at a range of three feet — with Elder Ying's cooperation no less — surely had no hope of survival. The two of them had always been outwardly cordial but inwardly at odds, yet in this moment they moved in perfect concert, their coordination nothing short of seamless.
The sword light fell, and Jiang Xuesong's expression changed wildly. Elder Ying, too, had clearly sensed something, his body jerking violently.
Their eyes met, and both saw the shock reflected in the other's gaze. Without a shred of hesitation, they transformed into two streaks of light and shot out of the hall, vanishing in the blink of an eye.
From within the rolling sea of blood, a fist punched outward. The blood sea shattered. The sword light dissipated into nothing.
Yang Kai stepped forward and appeared outside the hall. He did not pursue. Instead, he leaned against one of the hall's pillars, watching with cool amusement.
Jiang Xuesong and Elder Ying burst from the hall and took in the scene before them. They froze on the spot.
Their so-called impregnable Abandoned Nest had, at some unknown time, acquired over a dozen pitch-black warships. A tremendous formation encircled the entire Nest, and figure after figure descended from the warships, leaping onto the meteorites of varying sizes and beginning to hunt down the Nest's martial artists.
When had this happened!
The Abandoned Nest was naturally fortified — easy to defend and difficult to attack — protected by a grand natural formation and the terrifying Star Field Storms. Only those who knew the storms' patterns could find a safe passage in and out. Although the Yellow Springs Sect possessed considerable strength, Elder Ying knew that if he were leading an assault on the Nest, the cost would have been steep. The only reason he had been able to enter so easily was that Jiang Xuesong had made contact with him over a decade ago.
And yet, in this very moment, this seemingly secure place had been breached without anyone noticing. It was nothing short of a nightmare.
Powerful auras surged from every direction, telling Elder Ying and Jiang Xuesong a cruel truth — their chances of making it out alive today were slim.
A small figure suddenly flew toward them. Jiang Xuesong's eyes narrowed as he made it out — a little girl of seven or eight years old.
Elder Ying had spotted her too. A sinister look crossed his face, and with a flick of the Blood Sea Banner, he swept the girl up into its folds.
Jiang Xuesong's body shot backward, rapidly putting distance between himself and Elder Ying.
"What are you doing!" Elder Ying glared at him, furious. "Quick — join forces with me and get out of here!"