Chapter Seventy-Two: Chu Yanran

The might of the Heaven-Sundering Sword, brimming with awe-inspiring dominance, seemed as if it would shatter the very heavens and devastate the earth. The disciples of the Xuan Zhen Monastery, having leaped into the air, were utterly powerless before the overwhelming force of this supreme sword aura; one after another, they met a tragic end beneath the blinding radiance of the sword’s brilliance.

Only Daoist Qingxu and a handful of the monastery’s most accomplished elders managed to survive, relying on their protective spells to barely preserve their lives. Yet even so, these elders coughed up mouthfuls of blood, their meridians gravely wounded by the tyrannical sword energy.

The sudden and relentless turn of events caused all within the great hall to turn pale with alarm. No one could discern the true identity of the martial arts master who had so ruthlessly slaughtered the Xuan Zhen disciples.

Qi Fei’s heart tightened as he recalled the expert of supreme martial attainment at the peak of the innate realm, whom Zhuo Jiner had once mentioned. Could this very person be Chu Yanran, the formidable martial artist concealed within the Seven Absolutes Sect?

Daoist Cangsong, witnessing the calamity that had befallen his disciples, roared in furious rage, “Who dares harm the disciples of the Xuan Zhen Monastery?”

All eyes rose, and there atop the shattered dome of the great hall stood a woman clad in white, wielding a silver longsword.

Her icy expression was unflinching; her exquisite features, delicate and ethereal as jade, were untouched by worldly dust. Her silk robes fluttered though there was no wind, and an aura of cold, ruthless slaughter radiated from her entire being, as if she were a celestial maiden untouched by mortal existence.

Qi Fei gazed at the woman on the dome, certain she could only be Chu Yanran, the sister of the Marquis of Martial Valor whom Zhuo Jiner had sought to kill. Yet she appeared no older than Zhuo Jiner; could it be that she possessed some secret to youth eternal?

“Aunt!” Chu Qingyun was utterly astonished to find that the newcomer was none other than his own aunt, Chu Yanran, who had reached the pinnacle of martial cultivation.

Daoist Cangsong’s heart gave a violent jolt at this revelation. The woman who had slaughtered his disciples was not only a martial expert of the Marquis’s household, but in fact the long-reclusive eldest daughter of the Chu family, as rumor had it.

Chu Yanran gave Chu Qingyun a subtle nod, then descended gracefully from above, coming to stand before Daoist Cangsong.

He fixed his gaze upon her, hatred thick in his voice. “The Xuan Zhen Monastery has ever served the Marquis with unwavering loyalty. Why do you seek to exterminate us today?”

Chu Yanran lifted her eyes, a cold brilliance flashing within them like twin blades, chilling all who met her gaze. “I am here at Qingyang Peak merely to assist Sect Master Sima. The grudges between you and the Marquis are of no concern to me. Since your disciples have cultivated demonic arts, it is only just that all seek to destroy them.”

Daoist Cangsong’s fury was not abated. “Since you have slain my disciples today, even if you are the Marquis’s sister, the Xuan Zhen Monastery will never rest until justice is done.”

Chu Yanran let out a faint, chilly laugh. “You are Daoist Cangsong, the head of Xuan Zhen Monastery?”

“I am,” he replied. The force of her earlier sword strike had shaken the world itself; Daoist Cangsong surmised that Chu Yanran’s martial attainment likely surpassed even that of Sima Yan, and so he dared not be careless.

Chu Yanran’s jade-like countenance remained utterly calm. “Daoist Cangsong, please.”

A great upheaval had erupted atop Qingyang Peak. The Xuan Zhen Monastery now faced a calamity from which few could hope to escape. Compelled by necessity, Daoist Cangsong gritted his teeth. “Very well. If I survive today, the Xuan Zhen Monastery will one day demand an explanation from the Marquis.”

The gathered martial experts of the righteous sects were filled with secret awe, having discerned the extraordinary nature of the Marquis’s sister. As two supreme masters prepared to duel, all hurriedly retreated, fearful of being caught in the crossfire.

To witness a duel between a peak innate martial artist and a Daoist of the Transformation Realm was a rare occasion. Qi Fei’s heart surged with anticipation. Paying no heed to his own wounds, he gathered his innate energy to his eyes, ready to witness this life-and-death struggle from the sidelines.

Daoist Cangsong, wielding the true form of Daoist transformation, conjured a crimson sword of energy with a gesture. With the transformation divine power, he swept forth a storm of sword light, slashing rapidly toward Chu Yanran.

She did not move an inch, her eyes gleaming. The innate protective energy around her surged violently, dispersing Daoist Cangsong’s fierce blow with ease.

Daoist Cangsong knew well that against one at the peak of innate martial arts, not even the profound Daoist arts could win the battle in a single move.

He circulated his internal Daoist energy, causing his transformed body to blaze with light. The crimson sword light became a flowing stream, trapping Chu Yanran within the mysterious confines of the Daoist prohibition.

This formation, conjured by his own soul leaving the body, was far more formidable than the one Cheng Feng had summoned before; within the void, streams of crimson light twisted into dragon-shaped energies that coiled incessantly about Chu Yanran.

She remained composed, yet did not underestimate the Daoist’s divine arts. She realized that, having trapped her within this array but not yet unleashed its full might, Daoist Cangsong awaited her attempt to break free so that he could launch a deadly counter.

Seeing Chu Yanran confined, Chu Qingyun grew frantic. He shouted to the household’s masters, “Hurry, go rescue my aunt!”

“Have no fear, Qingyun,” said a Chu family elder, raising his hand to restrain the Marquis’s men. “From what I observe, Yanran’s martial attainment has broken through once more. Daoist Cangsong cannot contain her.”

Relieved, Chu Qingyun’s eyes flashed with cold resolve. “In that case, seize these injured Xuan Zhen traitors. When my aunt captures Daoist Cangsong, we shall take them all back to the estate for my father to judge.”

Daoist Cangsong, fighting with all his might against an opponent whose strength perhaps surpassed even Sima Yan’s, remained ever alert to the happenings within the hall. Seeing the Marquis’s men begin to seize the remaining Xuan Zhen disciples, his anger knew no bounds; Chu Qingyun was pushing things too far.

Sima Yan, meanwhile, was filled with confidence. For today’s outcome, the Seven Absolutes Sect had staked everything.

By chance, Sima Yan had met Zhuo Jiner, an expert of the Yin-Yang Dao, upon the slopes of Mount Cangyun. Pressed to desperation by the Xuan Zhen Monastery, Sima Yan had no choice but to ally himself with the master of dark arts. He then arranged for his disciples serving at the border to provoke the foreign tribes and draw away the Xuan Zhen’s greatest backer, the Marquis of Martial Valor. Finally, thanks to Zhuo Jiner’s Yin-Yang Daoist magic, the spiritual veins of Wangyue Peak were thrown into upheaval, thus attracting the aid of Chu Yanran, master at the apex of innate martial arts. All this had led to today’s favorable turn of events.

Sima Yan gazed at Daoist Cangsong, now at the end of his rope, and could not help but sneer inwardly. The Xuan Zhen Monastery, having once tried to monopolize Qingyang Peak and forced the Seven Absolutes Sect to fight for survival, could never have imagined such a disastrous reversal.

Within the array of crimson, dragon-shaped energies, Chu Yanran at last drew her sword.

Qi Fei saw her raise her hand, a fleeting afterimage flickering by. In the blink of an eye, her silver sword burst forth with a dazzling radiance, striking fiercely at the prohibition conjured by Daoist Cangsong.

The sword aura she unleashed seemed unremarkable at first, but in the next instant, Qi Fei broke out in cold sweat at the display of her supernatural skill.

Like lightning, the sword energy surged, layers of brilliance building upon one another, its force growing ever stronger, as if a tempestuous wave were breaking upon the shore. It instantly tore through the crimson dragon energies of the Daoist prohibition.

Daoist Cangsong hastily invoked the array’s power, condensing the crimson energies into a monstrous dragon that roared forth a torrent of scarlet flame.

Chu Yanran’s form shimmered with cold light; her sword flared, slicing through the dragon’s fiery wrath.

With a single step, she shattered the stone beneath her feet, innate martial energy surging along the flying shards to crash into Daoist Cangsong’s transformed body.

He reacted swiftly, sending his transformed body soaring into the air to evade her onslaught.

At that moment, a killing intent flashed in Chu Yanran’s eyes. She unleashed her innate martial energy, sword lights shooting skyward. In a heartbeat, the monstrous dragon conjured by Daoist Cangsong’s power was riven with a thousand wounds by her supreme sword aura.

His soul wounded, Daoist Cangsong issued a heartrending scream.

Seeing his divine art broken, hatred surged within him. Surrounded by a storm of sword energy, he had no choice but to resort to a desperate, self-destructive counterattack.