The black box in front of Jiang Aijian began to rattle violently.
Yang Liansheng, who had lost his lower body, looked at Jiang Aijian with a frown. He said, slightly surprised, “You just entered the Thousand Realms Whirling stage, but you can already control a sacred relic?”
There were two kinds of sacred relics: ones with different grades and ones without. An example of a sacred relic with a grade was the Pillar of Impermanence. It had powerful auxiliary functions and could also be used as a weapon. An example of the second kind without a grade, which was an object with only auxiliary functions, was the Green Cicada Jade.
No matter what kind of sacred relic, in order to unleash its full power, one would have to be in the Thousand Realms Whirling stage at least. The higher one’s cultivation base, the more power one could be able to unleash.
The Sword Box belonged to the first type of sacred relic. It had auxiliary functions and could also be used as a weapon.
While Jiang Aijian prepared to unleash his attack, Yang Liansheng tugged on the red energy threads while Si Wuya tried his best to resist. They continued with their tug-of-war before reaching a stalemate.
With this, a twisted expression appeared on Yang Liansheng’s face, causing a piece of burnt flesh to fall off his face. After a moment, he laughed ominously. His laughter reverberated in the underground palace as he said, “Ignorant fools! All of you will die today. Don’t bother wasting your energy.”
Buzz!
The Sword Box began to rattle more and more violently.
At the same time, Jiang Aijian spat out a mouthful of blood. His vitality energy roiled against his Dantian’s sea of Qi that was unable to withstand the powerful pressure.
Huang Shijie roared, “Stop! I order you to stop this instant!”
Not only did Jiang Aijian did not stop, but he even rolled his eyes at Huang Shijie as he said, “Master, since you have so much energy left to shout at me, why don’t you lend me a hand?”
Jiang Aijian looked at Si Wuya and wondered inwardly, ‘We both have masters, but why are our masters so different? His master protects him while I not only have to protect my master, but I have to let him nag me as well. This is so exhausting.’
“You bast*rd!” Huang Shijie was frustrated. He roared and stomped his feet, struggling. How could he have the strength to help his disciple now? He had suffered two attacks from Yang Liansheng; it was good enough that he could still speak.
Li Jinyi looked at Jiang Aijian with a complex expression as she said, “Eldest Senior Brother, if you continue this, your cultivation base…”
Blood trickled out of the corner of Jiang Aijian’s mouth as he said, “It’s just a small matter. Just watch how I deal with him…”
Jiang Aijian joined his palms together.
Clack!
The black Sword Box burst forth with a golden light before swords flew out one after another, forming a long dragon. All the swords were wrapped in energy swords; they looked incredibly dazzling. They flew up, occupying the air in the underground palace.
Si Wuya looked at the Sword Box in surprise before he said, “I was wondering why you like to collect swords so much. So it’s all because of this box? Not bad. You kept this secret quite well.”
“You flatter me,” Jiang Aijian said with a grin. Then, he held his breath and focused his mind, controlling all the swords he had collected over the course of his life.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
The swords glinted with a strange light due to the Sword Box’s effect as they flew toward Yang Liansheng.
Hundreds and thousands of swords slashed at Yang Liansheng’s body one after another.
Yang Liansheng roared, “Get lost!”
Hundreds of energy swords were repelled, but the remaining ones attacked Yang Liansheng in a frenzy.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Jiang Aijian and Yang Liansheng battled it out until Yang Liansheng, who only had his upper body left, was riddled with bloody holes.
Yang Liansheng could no longer deal with Jiang Aijian since he had to restrain Si Wuya as well. He knew this could not go on so he shouted, “I’ll take your life first!”
With that, the red energy threads vanished, and Si Wuya was freed.
Yang Liansheng broke through the sword formation and pounced on Jiang Aijian.
“Jiang Aijian!” Si Wuya swooped down to save Jiang Aijian.
Bang!
Yang Liansheng forcefully withstand the swords’ attacks and rushed up to Jiang Aijian. He managed to land a hit on Jiang Aijian’s shoulder.
Jiang Aijian flipped back in the air and spat out a mouthful of blood.
At the same time, the thrumming noise from the Sword Box came to an abrupt stop, and all the swords in the air fell to the ground at once.
Just when Yang Liansheng pounced at Jiang Aijian again, Si Wuya arrived. He held his astrolabe in front of himself and unleashed the power of his Birth Chart.
Bang! Bang!
Two beams of light hit Yang Liansheng, breaking one of his arms. Alas, he did not seem to feel pain at this moment. He waved his other hand, sending a palm seal out at the astrolabe.
Bang!
The astrolabe caved in. It flew back and hit Si Wuya before it continued flying out until it hit the bloody wall of the underground palace.
When Yang Liansheng landed on the ground, he smacked his hand on the ground. Like before, the red energy threads wove an inescapable net again, entangling Si Wuya.
Si Wuya could not move.
At this moment, Yang Liansheng, who had the upper hand now, panted as Primal Qi leaked out. He knew if he did not kill Si Wuya now, he would no longer have a chance to do so later. He wrapped the red threads around his broken arm before he tugged them.
“Argh!” The red energy threads that bound Si Wuya immediately cut into his flesh, drawing blood.
Li Jinyi shook her head repeatedly. This desperate situation had caused her faith to collapse. She had never been like this before when killing her enemies on the battlefield. Finally, she clenched her teeth and slapped her Dantian’s sea of Qi, causing it to burn.
“Senior brother!” Then, Li Jinyi flew toward Jiang Aijian, transferring her Primal Qi to Jiang Aijian.
Jiang Aijian looked at her with widened eyes. “What are you doing?!”
“Senior brother, we can only depend on you now,” Li Jinyi said with a small smile as she sat limply on the ground.
Jiang Aijian was stunned. When he recovered his senses, he lowered his head to look at her and said, “You’re crazy.”
“Compared to you, I’m not crazy,” Li Jinyi said as she looked at Yang Liansheng.
Jiang Aijian nodded and dismissed all the complex and distracting thoughts in his mind. Then, he looked up at Si Wuya and said, “You have to give me the swords you promised me!”
Then, Jiang Aijian charged out and pushed his hand out.
At this moment, Yang Liansheng no longer had any means to attack. His Dantian’s sea of Qi had long been burned beyond recognition. It was difficult for him to even manifest his astrolabe or launch energy seals. He had to rely on his foundation to hold on now. When he saw Jiang Aijian rushing over, he said in a deep voice, “Very well. Once something is started, one should do whatever it takes to see it through.”
Then, Yang Liansheng suddenly severed his broken arm.
Bang!
The broken arm wrapped in red threads shot at Jiang Aijian before it pierced the stone wall.
Then, Yang Liansheng turned to face Jiang Aijian.
Crack!
Jiang Aijian’s eyes widened as he looked at the charred and ferocious Yang Liansheng in a daze. ‘His hand…’
Thud!
Then, Jiang Aijian fell to the ground.
“Senior brother!”
“Liu Chen!” Si Wuya’s heart trembled, and his eyes were red.
Jiang Aijian grunted slightly when he fell to the ground. His expression was a little unsightly, but he did not feel much pain, surprisingly. His body seemed frozen and numb, and he felt his consciousness slowly seeping away.
Yang Liansheng looked at Jiang Aijian and said, “To be able to fight with me for so many rounds, you can die in peace…”
Jiang Aijian spat out a large mouthful of blood. He groaned as his chest rose and fell heavily. He looked at the shocked expressions on Huang Shijie and Li Jinyi’s faces and the treasured swords he had loved and cherished lying on the ground and hanging on the wall. Then, he looked at the moonlight streaming into the underground palace through the cracks. He saw smiling faces in the air, and he saw his grandmother lying on the sickbed with a kind smile on her face.
He suddenly shook his head with all his might before he said, “I… I’m fine.”
He struggled for a moment before he managed to rise to his feet. Then, he used his left hand to wipe the blood off the corner of his mouth.
Yang Liansheng’s eyes widened as he looked at the young man in front of him. He had faced many enemies who were much stronger than him, but this was the first time he had met someone with such tenacious willpower. There was clearly a huge gap between their strengths, and he had clearly struck at the other party’s vital points, seriously injuring the other party. The other party was clearly an ant that could be easily crushed to death, so why was the other party still standing?
Yang Liansheng retreated! His instinct told him to retreat! He used one hand to crawl toward the direction of the severed arm. He planned to use the last of his strength on the red threads.
At this time, Jiang Aijian raised his hand, summoning his avatar. A pitifully weak Thousand Realms Whirling avatar shrouded his broken body.
Huang Shijie closed his eyes while Li Jinyi turned her head away.
Upon seeing the duo’s ugly expressions, he said with a smile, “Can you not be such downers? Look at me. Aren’t I smiling until the very end?”
“Senior brother…” Li Jinyi was at a loss for words.
Jiang Aijian forced a smile on his face and said, “Watch carefully.”
Then, Jiang Aijian pushed his hand down.
The Sword Box burst forth with a dazzlingly bright light. It spun and expanded until it looked like a coffin.
With that, the swords that Jiang Aijian had collected and the swords in the underground palace began to spin as well.
The Sword Box flew out swiftly, bringing the swords with it and slashing the red threads.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
When the red threads broke, the swords fell in unison.
With that, Si Wuya was freed.
Jiang Aijian laughed self-deprecatingly before he said, “I’m useless. It all depends on you now.”
Jiang Aijian staggered backward. When he felt the blood rushing up his throat again, he forcefully swallowed them down.
At the same time, the Sword Box fell in front of Jiang Aijian.
Yang Liansheng was enraged. He knew he had lost a great opportunity. He gritted his teeth as anger and unwillingness surged in his heart. He channeled all his energy into his severed arm before he threw it at Jiang Aijian. “Damn it!”
Swoosh!
Jiang Aijian no longer had any strength left at this moment. He did not dodge and only smiled at Yang Liansheng as he said, “I love to see how exasperated and helpless you are…”
Bang!
The severed arm hit Jiang Aijian’s chest and fell to the ground.
At this moment, Si Wuya swooped down. He spread his wings that shone with a dazzling golden light. He punched Yang Liansheng and sent him flying back.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
When Yang Liansheng landed on the ground, Si Wuya’s fist smashed Yang Liansheng over and over again. He did not stop at all, and he had lost track of the number of times he had punched Yang Liansheng into a pit.
The sound of fist hitting flesh rang in the underground palace for a long time before it finally came to a stop.
When Si Wuya regained his senses, he hurriedly flew to Jiang Aijian.
Huang Shijie and Li Jinyi no longer had any strength left to move. They could only look at Jiang Aijian helplessly with eyes tinged with sorrow.
Si Wuya helped the unconscious Jiang Aijian sit up and lean against the wall. He used his energy and tried his best to heal Jiang Aijian. When he took off Jiang Aijian’s top, he saw Yang Liansheng’s arm had left a huge gaping hole on Jiang Aijian’s body. Obviously, Jiang Aijian’s internal organs had been badly damaged.
Si Wuya’s mind went blank. He shouted, “Jiang Aijian!”
He used whatever technique that came to mind and treated Jiang Aijian with all his might. He had almost squeezed out all the vitality energy in his Dantian’s sea of Qi as he channeled it into Jiang Aijian’s Eight Extraordinary Meridians in a frenzy.
Jiang Aijian grunted and opened his eyes at this moment. He inhaled deeply.
Si Wuya fell back and sat limply on the ground. He looked at Jiang Aijian silently and expressionlessly.
After Jiang Aijian regained consciousness, he tried his best to tilt his head before he saw Li Jinyi. He saw Huang Shijie as well. Si Wuya was also here. They were all here. Even his beloved swords were all here.
After the battle, the underground palace was very quiet.
The stars continued to twinkle in the night sky.
If the future was as peaceful as it was now, how good would it be?
The four of them did not move at all. They lay where they were, resting.
After an unknown amount of time had passed, Si Wuya broke the silence first. He asked, “Aren’t you afraid of death?”
“Of course! I’ve always been afraid of death…” Jiang Aijian replied in a slow voice.
“Then, why did you insist on fighting to that extent?” Si Wuya was puzzled.
Jiang Aijian did not directly answer Si Wuya’s question. Instead, he said casually, “More than 1,000 people die in a sea of fire in Jinghe Palace. In fact, they could’ve lived…”
“Do you regret it?” Si Wuya asked.
“Regret my as*!” Jiang Aijian laughed. “If I were my courageous, then perhaps, I’d be the one who died, not them.”
Si Wuya shook his head. “You regret it.”
“You’re… speaking nonsense,” Jiang Aijian said. His voice was as soft as a buzzing mosquito.
Si Wuya leaned against the wall next to Jiang Aijian and sighed before he said, “You can see the starry sky from here. People say that every time someone dies, a star would dim and fall. Look at how the stars are twinkling so brightly for you. You’re really lucky.”
Jiang Aijian remained silent.
Si Wuya continued to say, “Do you know how annoying you are? You’re so cowardly; you’re not like a man at all. You’ll have to face the past eventually. Remember that the past is the past.”
Time would never stop flowing, and some things could never be forgotten.
Jiang Aijian laughed at himself for feeling melancholic like a young man.
When Si Wuya saw Jiang Aijian was still silent, he looked outside the underground palace and said, “I’ll bring you back to Great Yan’s Imperial palace. I’ll bring you back to see your grandmother. What do you think?” Then, he inhaled deeply before he said, “Hey, big man, why are you dawdling? If you want to go, can you go quickly?”
There was silence for two seconds before an extremely weak voice sounded by Si Wuya’s arms.
“Alright.”
Then, the hand slid down to the ground.
The stars continued to twinkle as though telling them it was over.
Li Jinyi could suppress her grief and began to sob softly.
…
At dawn.
Voices rang from the underground palace.
About five or six cultivators walked in one after another.
The leader of the group had graying hair at his temples. He surveyed his surroundings and saw something that resembled meat paste in a deep pit, the pieces of remains from the Halcyon Bird, the fallen skeleton, and the missing stone statue.
“Did you unseal Ling Guang? Did you kill the Halcyon Bird and Yang Liansheng?” the leader asked sternly. He could barely suppress his anger that was about to erupt as he looked at the people in the underground palace.
Si Wuya shook his head. Another danger had come so quickly. Perhaps, it was his fate, and his time was up. In the end, he raised his head. His expression was cold, and his eyes gleamed with determination. He said, “Yes.”
“Very good! Bring them away!” the leader said.
As soon as the leader’s voice fell, another voice rang from outside the underground palace.
“Who dares to hurt my disciple? Who dares to hurt my friends?”
