Chapter 267: Four-way Slaughter

The Fish King let out a cry, thinking to itself that this little girl was quite perceptive to notice its unusualness so quickly.

However, Ning Xiaoling continued, "Listening Truth, I knew you were an ambitious cat. When I first saw you catching fish, I felt you had extraordinary talent and were a trainable cat."

The Fish King fell silent for a moment.

Ning Xiaoling looked at its suddenly downcast cat face, assuming it had lost its fighting spirit. She comforted it, "You're now a formal disciple of the Ancient Spirit Sect. Our sect disciples may have physical flaws, but never in spirit. You must always have fighting spirit, understand?"

Listening to her earnest advice, the Fish King's mood worsened.

Ning Xiaoling said, "In the coming days, I will train you in many things, including cultivation, fighting, delivering messages, tracking, capturing people… You must be able to endure hardship, understand?"

"Meow!" the Fish King thought. *Do I need to learn these things? It's more like I should be teaching you.*

"What secrets are you two whispering about?" Yu Jin walked over with a bowl of dried fish, placing it in front of the Fish King. She reached out to smooth its fur and hung the wooden plaque given by Mr. Shuoling around its neck. The number twelve was inscribed on the plaque.

It was now considered the twelfth disciple of this lineage.

Ning Xiaoling said, "I'm just briefing it on some sect rules."

Yu Jin worriedly asked, "This cat looks so silly, can it even understand?"

"Grrr!" The Fish King roared in anger.

Yu Jin set down the bowl, sat sideways on the wooden chair, and gently pressed the cat's head into the bowl filled with dried fish. The Fish King was forced to crunch and chew.

Yu Jin asked curiously, "Oh, by the way, how did Master agree to us keeping a cat?"

Ning Xiaoling looked puzzled. "You don't know yet?"

"Know what?" Yu Jin grew more confused.

As they spoke, it became lively outside.

Yu Jin poked her head out the wooden hall window and saw many disciples walking towards them.

Yu Jin was startled.

The Spirit Mastery lineage had always been in decline, usually deserted except for its own disciples. How could other sect disciples come to visit?

And with their aggressive demeanor, it didn't look like a friendly visit at all. It seemed like they were here for a group fight.

"Xiaoling!" Yu Jin quickly closed the window and anxiously turned to the girl beside her. "Xiaoling, did you offend anyone during the Spirit Valley Grand Competition?"

Ning Xiaoling nodded. "I certainly offended quite a few."

Yu Jin frantically said, "What do we do? They seem to have come for you. I told you before, it's okay to have a lower ranking, your safety is most important. Why don't you ever listen?"

Ning Xiaoling, however, was calm. She asked, "Who all came?"

Yu Jin replied, "How would I know? Don't you know who you offended? Xiaoling, why don't you hold them off for a bit while I go find Mr. Shuoling for help?"

Just as she spoke, a knock sounded at the door.

Yu Jin, a little scared, went to open the door. Looking at the men and women outside, she said, "Who are you all? I am the eldest young lady of the Yu family from Clothing Street, and Junior Sister Xiaoling is under my protection."

They quickly replied, "Senior Sister Yu, you've misunderstood. We are here to congratulate Senior Sister Ning."

"Senior Sister Ning? You're over twenty-five, aren't you? Calling Xiaoling 'Senior Sister'? Why are you pretending to be so young?" Yu Jin scoffed.

They exchanged glances. "Among the ten lineages, who doesn't know Senior Sister Ning now? She has bestowed great kindness upon us all, and we naturally show her respect. Since the sect forbids giving money, we immediately rushed to Clothing Street to commission many banners to express our gratitude."

Banners unfurled one after another, a vibrant display of red.

It took Ning Xiaoling half an hour to finally persuade them all to leave.

She felt a little troubled. She was now a big celebrity in the sect, and she imagined there would be a steady stream of people secretly coming to admire her in the future.

Yu Jin finally learned about her victory. After a moment of stunned disbelief, she jumped up, nearly pulling out the fur on the back of the Fish King's neck.

The Fish King glowered at the clumsy young girl. It had seen many grand things, so it wasn't surprised. There was only a hint of approval in its demonic eyes.

Ning Xiaoling looked at the banners covering the wall. Among banners like "Lord of the Underworld," "Strongest Senior Sister of Ancient Spirit Sect," and "Tyrannical Ling Dominates the World," there were also a few just for show, such as "Skilled Healer" and "Heaven Ling Ling, Earth Ling Ling."

Ning Xiaoling casually picked out a few visually pleasing ones that she planned to show her senior brother later. The rest she gave to Yu Jin.

She knew that she had just entered the Purple Court realm and her foundation was unstable, so she needed to cultivate diligently. She couldn't let their praise ruin her.

Inside the wooden hall, Yu Jin, clutching the banners, happily asked various questions. The Fish King dozed on the table. Ning Xiaoling propped her chin in her hand, silently planning her future path of cultivation. Light streamed in from the window, casting bright, square patterns on the floor, following the outline of the wooden frame.

Time passed quietly, and night gradually fell.

She had originally thought that after the Spirit Valley Grand Competition, her cultivation path would continue to be so peaceful.

However, Ning Xiaoling did not expect that the hidden threads behind the White Snake Divine Valley incident would soon reveal their daunting presence, abruptly shattering this brief tranquility.

In the snowy night, Mr. Chu slowly walked across the snow-covered ice.

Tomorrow was the last day of the Dragon Mother's Grand Banquet, but he had already received his satisfactory answer, so he decided to leave early.

The Dragon Mother had finally chosen to speak of their problem.

The stars of the Rainbow Affinity Immortal Palace did not dim with the Dragon Mother's words, which meant she was speaking the truth.

If it was the truth, then this young couple were also the people the Tower Lord said must be killed.

He was one of the Thorn Cutters of Luoshu Tower. Before the revival of the gods, they had to eliminate any variables that might alter the outcome.

In the past six months, five highly talented cultivators with profound Dao techniques had died, simply because their destinies might interfere with Luoshu Tower's plans.

Soon, the blood of this Daoist couple would also stain the icy sea.

As for the Dragon Mother... from the moment she imprisoned herself in the Rainbow Affinity Immortal Palace, her fate was sealed. What surprised him was that a century of suppression had not truly driven her mad.

He passed through the tall halls and gates of the Rainbow Affinity Immortal Palace.

In the cold wind, a red-headed snow eagle soared through the air.

Mr. Chu extended his hand, and the snow eagle landed on his palm.

There was no letter on the eagle's leg; the message was etched into its sharp eyes.

He stared into the eagle's pupils for a moment.

The snow eagle flew back into the sky.

Mr. Chu pondered the information he had seen in the eagle's eyes and felt a hint of unease.

"The Eighth Tower Lord is going to act personally? What is the background of that woman?"

Luoshu Tower had ten floors in total. The Tower Lord was hidden on the ninth floor, and the tenth floor was a forbidden area where the true history was hidden.

Within the nine floors, each floor enshrined an ancient sword—the personal sword of each Tower Lord, and also one of the ten historical milestones marked by the ancient tower's millennia-long existence. The hierarchy of strength was arranged from top to bottom.

The swords were both scales and the rulers that marked those scales.

The Eighth Tower Lord was an immortal who had already stepped into the Fifth Dao realm many years ago. His cultivation was unfathomable. Even Sword Saint had once given him the exceptionally high praise, "When his sword is drawn, the world will crumble."

He was second only to the Tower Lord in Luoshu Tower.

Who else in Middle Earth, besides the leaders of the Divine Sects, was worth him personally killing?

That woman...

Luoshu Tower first tracked her whereabouts two months ago.

It was a barren plain near the Thunder Nation, where seekers used immortal artifacts to detect a faint, residual flow of authority.

The seeker initially paid it no mind, but after he transmitted this power fluctuation back to Luoshu Tower, the entire tower was shaken.

It was a new kind of fluctuation, one that even filled a blank in Luoshu Tower's history.

Initially, they thought it was an envoy from the Divine Kingdom walking among mortals.

But the mysterious person's footprints appeared in more and more places.

Finally, Luoshu Tower located her a month ago.

She was a woman cloaked in black, with silver hair, her face hidden by a fox mask.

A hunting plan was quickly devised.

The Tower Lord was preoccupied with a major undertaking and could not spare himself. After deliberation, the other high-ranking figures activated the Immortal Suppression Sword.

The designated strike point for the Immortal Suppression Sword was a vast, open plain.

They set traps on the plain. According to the original plan, the woman, who had only been seen briefly from a thousand miles away, was to be lured step by step into the prepared traps. Eight Sword Bearers from Luoshu Tower lay hidden in surrounding villages, blocking all her escape routes if she was severely injured. Four elders invited from the Ancient Spirit Sect lay in wait across the fields, ready to absorb her divine soul once her body was shattered.

Under the Immortal Suppression Sword, even cultivators at the Fifth Dao realm had died in resentment, their divine souls still imprisoned within the ancient tower.

To Luoshu Tower, everyone in Middle Earth, except for the Sword Pavilion, the other three towers, and the leaders of the eight sects, were ants that could be crushed with ease.

It was a vast but silent hunt.

Everything proceeded according to Luoshu Tower's plan. The mysterious woman with silver hair and black robes was lured into the plain.

The Sword Bearers came from all eight directions, forming a chain with their lives, trapping her in the center for a moment.

The Immortal Suppression Sword, like a fiery arrow, shot out from the ancient tower, accurately heading towards its target a thousand miles away.

The arrowhead rotated, piercing through the air, its fletching burning with crimson flames.

Beside it, there was a series of small flying swords.

These flying swords were meant to stabilize its flight path and, upon impact, to create a broader and more powerful spiritual energy explosion.

The Immortal Suppression Sword streaked across the sky.

Flames surged into the heavens on the plain.

The woman was engulfed in the center of the explosion.

Everything went more smoothly than expected. They even thought for a moment that they had overestimated her strength and shouldn't have wasted an Immortal Suppression Sword.

The crafting of an Immortal Suppression Sword was far more difficult and complex than ordinary blades.

Moreover, each one could only be used once.

After the first violent explosion, the four elders from the Ancient Spirit Sect spread their spiritual nets and tightened them inwards, preventing her divine soul from escaping like a cicada shedding its shell.

But the outcome still defied their expectations.

Not only did the mysterious woman escape, but she also killed all eight Sword Bearers and took away the remains of the Immortal Suppression Sword after the explosion.

This was Luoshu Tower's biggest failure in its thousand years of existence.

No one knew how she had done it.

After that, she vanished as if a stone dropped into the sea, never to reappear.

The plan, meticulously crafted over many years, was finally approaching its conclusion. How could they tolerate such a variable, a monster, suddenly appearing in Middle Earth?

Finally, when Luoshu Tower recently tracked her whereabouts again, to prevent any unforeseen circumstances, the Eighth Tower Lord personally left the tower with his sword.

Meanwhile, another assassination attempt by Luoshu Tower also encountered unforeseen difficulties.

That setback was equally unexpected.

In an unknown snowy alley, the Sword Spirit tore off the bloody cloth wrapped around his arm and bound the Silver Sword to his hand.

He leaned against the wall, his short white hair level with his neck.

The Sword Spirit's youthful face was incredibly pale. His black attire was soaked with blood, clinging to his skin, and a horrific, tearing wound stretched from his sleeve.

He panted slightly, trying his best to conceal his aura.

But the assassin, clad in black with a cinnabar tattoo on the back of his neck, was like a bloodhound tracking a scent, impossible to shake off.

The Sword Spirit knew they were from the Killing Royal Court.

He didn't know how he had been targeted, but the assassination came very suddenly, and the chase had stretched on for a long time.

This pursuit, which began without warning, was now on its seventh day.

Dragging his severely wounded body, he slipped into the alley's secret passage and used interwoven straw to create a simple formation to conceal his presence.

He pressed his ear against the wall, carefully observing the movements around him.

In the past, when he resided within Ning Changjiu's body, Ning Changjiu had faced near-death situations many times, seemingly about to drag him down with him. He had always hated that feeling of powerlessness, wishing he could take over the body and personally carve a path to survival from despair.

Now he had his own independent existence, and the same deadly predicament Ning Changjiu had faced now confronted him.

Yet, he felt a profound sense of powerlessness.

He gripped the Silver Sword tightly, clearing his mind. His ear pressed against the wall, and his spiritual sense spread along the wall, searching for any fatal clues.

A faint vibration came from the roof tiles.

The sound was as light as a sparrow landing on a tile.

But the Sword Spirit knew it was the assassin from the Royal Court.

This assassin was already in the Purple Court realm.

And while he was a natural sword body, comprehending the most profound killer moves, as a living being, the path of cultivation still required gradual progress.

He was at the peak of the Longevity realm, yet to knock on the door of the Purple Court.

In the night, the falling snow interfered with spiritual perception.

The assassin's footsteps were lighter than the snowflakes.

The Sword Spirit held his breath, slowly sinking until he was completely buried in the snow.

He closed his eyes, his mind clear, as if he were merely a sword lost in the snow.

The "sparrow's" footsteps moved away from him.

Then gradually drew closer again.

The assassin was circling the street, using his experience and cultivation level to search for every clue.

Round after round.

He paused on the same rooftop three times.

This meant he had already searched this street three times.

With each round, the assassin's position grew closer to him.

The snow fell heavier.

The assassin stopped at the alley entrance, his gaze sweeping inside.

He stepped onto the snowy path of the narrow street.

He and the Sword Spirit drew closer and closer.

The Sword Spirit's spiritual sense was a dark void, with the assassin as the sole point of light.

The characteristics of the Heaven's Mandate Sword Scripture activated. At this moment, even if a thousand troops marched over him, his eyes would only see this one enemy.

The assassin passed by him.

The Silver Sword pierced through the snow and lunged out.

It was the purest form of sword, and even though the assassin was already in the early Purple Court realm, he failed to react.

The sword pierced his chest, but the assassin also made an adjustment. Although the sword penetrated his body, it veered away from his heart, failing to strike a vital point.

At that moment, the Sword Spirit also knew he had been tricked.

He clearly felt a bone-chilling killing intent flare behind him.

The earthen wall cracked, and a blade stabbed from behind.

There was more than one assassin on this street!

He had guessed his position long ago and was lying in wait.

The sword plunged into his weary body.

The Sword Spirit let out a pained groan, his vision blurred, and the hand clutching the Silver Sword fell limp. He knelt in the snow.

Vaguely, he saw the man in front of him withdraw his blade and make a gesture to decapitate him.

Yet, the beheading sword did not fall.

At the end of the long street, another person suddenly appeared. It was an unfamiliar woman of extraordinary grace.

The two assassins were equally shocked. Without hesitation, they drew their swords and attacked her.

Their swords were easily snapped by her fingers, and their heads were pierced and severed by the returning broken swords. Their immense Purple Court realm cultivation proved utterly useless.

The woman walked up to him, extended her hand, and pulled him up.

"Your performance was acceptable. Without the sword from behind, you could have killed someone across realms," the woman said calmly.

The Sword Spirit's head was dizzy. His short hair was covered in cold snow, and the snow, melted by his spiritual energy, seeped into his scalp. The bone-chilling cold brought a sliver of clarity.

"You... who are you?" the Sword Spirit's voice was weak.

The woman took off her thick outer cloak and draped it over him. As she led him deeper into the snowy night, she slowly spoke, "From today onwards, you are the fourteenth disciple of the Sword Pavilion. I will be responsible for your cultivation from now on. You can call me... Second Senior Sister."

The fierce blizzard continued for several nights without stopping.

The grand Dragon Mother's Banquet had drawn to a close. At its conclusion, the legendary Dragon Mother had, for the first time in history, personally cast a projection of herself.

Her beauty was pure, elegant, and alluringly enchanting. Even the finest courtesan in the Sea Kingdom seemed like an ugly duckling standing before her.

As expected, from that day forward, portraits of the Dragon Mother would begin to circulate throughout the Sea Kingdom.

"She seemed too eager to show herself," Ning Changjiu said after leaving the Rainbow Affinity Immortal Palace.

Lu Jiajia asked, puzzled, "What do you mean?"

Ning Changjiu replied, "From what I gathered, in past Dragon Mother's Banquets, the Dragon Mother would never summon the top contender to answer questions, nor would she appear in front of everyone. But this year was somewhat unusual."

Lu Jiajia said, "For a woman as beautiful as her, living in an immortal palace all day would naturally be lonely. This might not be an unusual act."

"Perhaps I was overthinking it," Ning Changjiu said.

He nodded slightly. He felt there was something off about the Dragon Mother, but he couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was.

The Rainbow Affinity Immortal Palace bordered the coast.

The Sea of Fortune remained unfrozen in the severe cold, vast and boundless, with waves still crashing.

Qiu Yue wore a snow-sheltering bamboo hat and curiously gazed at the sea. She asked, "Are we going to visit Aunt Xiaoling next?"

Ning Changjiu said, "The Heaven's Reversal Sect has opened the Immortal Slayer Tower, blocking the main path to the Ancient Spirit Sect. Our current cultivation levels are not suitable for a forced breakthrough."

Lu Jiajia nodded. "But if we take a detour, it will likely add another month to our journey."

The Heaven's Reversal Sect had sealed off the path through the cliffs, guarding three iron chain suspension bridges and prohibiting anyone from passing. Similarly, a dozen trade routes were also completely blocked. Many wealthy merchants and magnates in the Sea Kingdom found their large sums of gold and silver bribes futile.

This incident was directly related to the issue with the Sea Moon Pavilion at that time. However, in their eyes, that matter was insignificant and didn't warrant such a hostile standoff with the Sea Kingdom.

Ning Changjiu understood that the matters involved were far from simple. The Sea Moon Pavilion incident was likely just an excuse. The Heaven's Reversal Sect's audacity probably stemmed from instructions from Luoshu Tower.

But what could they be plotting by isolating the Sea Kingdom from the world?

They temporarily found an inn to stay in and began searching for new routes.

Ning Changjiu made a few marks on the topographical map, then looked out at the sea from the window and suddenly said, "The Dragon Mother might be in danger."

Lu Jiajia, who was sitting cross-legged, calming her mind, slowly opened her eyes. She recalled the Rainbow Affinity Immortal Palace where the Dragon Mother resided and asked, puzzled, "The Dragon Mother herself is already half a step into the Fifth Dao realm. When she presides over the Immortal Palace, her cultivation and strength are no different from a Fifth Dao cultivator. Who in the Sea Kingdom could threaten her?"

Ning Changjiu sighed. "Precisely because of that, the situation is terrifying."

Lu Jiajia suddenly smiled. She moved her hands in a series of gestures on her lap, adjusting her spiritual energy, and said, "In any case, these are grudges among the powerful figures of Middle Earth. They have little to do with us, who come from the remote Southern Province."

Ning Changjiu hummed in agreement and smiled. "Regardless, we should still be prepared."

Qiu Yue sat nearby, eating pastries, listening distractedly to their conversation.

Once they had finished talking, Qiu Yue finally asked, "Where are we going next? Have you decided?"

Ning Changjiu glanced at her, then handed her the topographical map. "You choose."

Qiu Yue looked troubled. "How could I possibly understand this?"

Ning Changjiu said, "There are many lines on it. Starting from this point, draw a line, bypass these two places, and finally connect it here."

"Can I draw it any way I want?" Qiu Yue asked.

Ning Changjiu nodded.

Qiu Yue took the pen, chewed on the end for a moment, and then drew a crooked line.

Ning Changjiu handed it to Lu Jiajia.

Lu Jiajia glanced at it, her expression slightly unusual.

The route Qiu Yue had drawn was largely similar to the one they had secretly discussed the previous night.

Two days later, as the heavy snow finally subsided, Ning Changjiu and Lu Jiajia set off.

They did not choose the path Qiu Yue had picked.

But soon after, an inexplicable ambush still arrived.