Chapter 376: Lonely City Stands to Witness Life and Death

In the center of the Bone Tower Ruins, the Bone Tower stood tall like a giant tree.

As the Sword Sage and Ji Xuan passed the Bone Tower one after another, Ning Changjiu and Siming, enveloped by the authority of time, were already speeding towards Lone Cloud City.

The deeper they went, the more Ning Changjiu felt how long this siege had been planned.

Here, almost every thousand miles, a shovel was plunged into the ground, forming a vast net much larger than Lone Cloud City. No matter where they chose to flee, or to what remote direction, they would be detected by this massive shovel-constructed net.

Siming held Ning Changjiu's hand and flew at high speed through the air. The oncoming air was like a current, parting around them as they moved.

Before long, behind them, the night clouds were cleaved by sword energy, and the Sword Sage, clad in an ancient robe, had already ridden his sword, traversing a thousand miles in an instant.

Siming unleashed her full spiritual power. She glanced at Ning Changjiu and asked, "What's the situation in Lone Cloud City now? Can you see clearly from this distance?"

"I can see clearly," Ning Changjiu replied, "but I can't distinguish who's who..."

"What good are you then?" Siming snapped, exasperated by his uselessness.

"Should we try to break through where there are fewer people?" Ning Changjiu suggested.

"Foolish!" Siming retorted angrily. "Fewer people means elites; more people might be a rabble, which would be easier to breach."

"What do you suggest then?" Ning Changjiu inquired.

Siming thought for a moment and said, "Let's find the city gate and just pretend to be a married couple to blend in."

"Our love is stronger than gold," Ning Changjiu said. "Why would we need to pretend to be a married couple?"

Siming was momentarily stunned, then grew even more annoyed, her icy gaze fixed on him. "Are you sick? At a time like this, you're still thinking about sweet nothings? Do you really take me for a little girl?"

Ning Changjiu said seriously, "If we survive this, won't you be touched when you think back on these words later?"

"?" Siming heard this and was enraged by embarrassment. "You actually dare to say that?"

Ning Changjiu stopped speaking nonsense. He held his breath and focused, using his Lunar Eye to survey from above, then said, "Lone Cloud City has many unusual towers."

"What kind of towers?" Siming asked.

"Like Immortal-Slaying Towers..." Ning Changjiu replied.

Towers that slay with flying swords.

Siming said, puzzled, "Immortal-Slaying Towers can at most kill a peak Purple Court cultivator. What are you afraid of?"

"There are quite a lot of these towers," Ning Changjiu said.

Siming said coldly, "Anyway, you handle it yourself. You break through the towers, I'll intercept the Sword Sage. If you can't manage, don't expect me to fly in and take a sword for you."

Ning Changjiu nodded and said, "Okay, be careful. Don't overexert yourself."

"You should save that advice for yourself," Siming snorted, stopping abruptly. With one hand, she held Ning Changjiu, using the momentum to hurl him towards Lone Cloud City. With the other, she gripped Yu Lei, her feet treading the void, leaping up to intercept the figure approaching like lightning.

Outside Lone Cloud City, the clashing sword light exploded again. It was like the thunder of Jingzhe, and after its roar, the majestic city in the clouds also stirred to life.

"It has begun. Are the Immortal-Slaying Flying Swords in position?"

"Yes, everything is ready, but a single flying sword is extremely expensive..."

"This is a direct order from Lord Sword Sage; the Sword Pavilion will certainly not mistreat any of you."

"Of course, I trust Lord Sword Sage. It just feels like these flying swords are a bit overkill, perhaps?"

"We aim for absolute certainty."

Similar conversations were ongoing within Lone Cloud City.

From the moment the sword light exploded outside the city, the Immortal-Slaying Swords became like arrows in a crossbow, taut and ready to fire.

As soon as Ning Changjiu's presence was detected by Lone Cloud City's grand formation, the ten Immortal-Slaying Towers would simultaneously launch their swords, creating a scene as beautiful as meteors streaking across the night sky.

However, most of these ten Immortal-Slaying Towers were temporary constructs, and the hunters didn't expect them to exert much power, only to temporarily halt him.

But Ning Changjiu's figure did not appear outside the city as expected.

In the central Immortal-Slaying Tower, a white-robed Taoist priest emerged, a sword on his back. His clothes were ordinary, but the sword he carried shimmered with dazzling colors.

He was a Vice Sect Master of one of the Eight Divine Sects. He had cultivated qi in seclusion for many years, but only managed to nourish a single sword, while his physical body continued to age and decay.

For this hunt, all major sects had sent representatives, who were all promised great rewards.

What he sought was the Sword Pavilion's cultivation method for the Post-Heaven Sword Body, which would allow his physical body to become as immortal as a sword.

The white-robed Taoist priest quietly awaited the arrival.

He did not wait for Ning Changjiu; instead, he encountered an unexpected turn of events.

The Immortal-Slaying Tower on the far right suddenly exploded, turning into fragments soaring skyward amidst a fierce blaze.

"What's happening?" the white-robed Taoist priest exclaimed in shock.

His first thought was a thousand-mile flying sword technique, but his spiritual consciousness couldn't detect any trace of a cultivator outside the city. Ning Changjiu was rumored to be just a disciple of the Ancient Spirit Sect; how could his spiritual consciousness see further than his?

Before he could react, the second Immortal-Slaying Tower also exploded.

The night sky of Lone Cloud City was illuminated by this.

On the city wall, a white-robed young man and a large man in a green shirt watched the sudden fireworks light up the city below, gently setting down their cups.

"Were these also part of the plan?" The large man in the green shirt was indeed the Nine-Spirit Primordial Sage.

With Baizang absent from the Silver Snow Palace, he seized the opportunity to leave Myriad Demon City and travel with Baize to this place, awaiting Ke Wenzhou's arrival.

Baize said, "The Sword Pavilion is your mortal enemy, and an unbearable thorn in the eye. Master has wanted to remove this thorn for a long time."

The Nine-Spirit Primordial Sage had originally wanted to ask why his Master didn't personally eliminate this evildoer. But he immediately realized that the Moon God, who resided in the Heavenly Palace, might be in a similar situation to the Lord of the Divine Kingdom – unable to truly act. If it were just a projection, it indeed couldn't do anything against the current Ke Wenzhou.

The Nine-Spirit Primordial Sage asked in a deep voice, "What are our chances of killing Ke Wenzhou on this trip?"

Baize said, "For someone like the Sword Sage, only after he is killed can we make a definitive judgment. There is no such thing as a 'chance of victory'."

The Nine-Spirit Primordial Sage sighed, recalling events from five hundred years ago. He said coldly, "When the Sage took him as a disciple, he truly poured out all his teachings. At the beginning of the Divine War, the Golden-Winged Great Peng even carried him to travel through this world. Who would have thought that now, one has become a remnant soul, and the other a traitor."

Baize thought for a moment and smiled calmly, "The dead are gone. After today, I hope all matters can be settled."

The Nine-Spirit Primordial Sage nodded. His burly figure rose from the city wall, revealing green mane and eight spectral flames.

Less than a month ago, he, Ning Changjiu, Siming, and Baize were all mortal enemies. Yet now, due to a common foe, they had temporarily become allies. Truly, fate is unpredictable.

The Nine-Spirit Primordial Sage revealed his true form.

On the city wall, many cultivators who had been on high alert were greatly alarmed. They hastily summoned their flying swords and aimed them at him.

Lone Cloud City was already a mix of good and bad; they had considered the possibility of traitors mingling among them, but never imagined a great demon would brazenly appear on the city wall!

The Nine-Spirit Primordial Sage watched the dozens of flying swords thrusting towards him. He clenched his fist, shook his sleeve, his body slightly bowed. Opening his lion's maw, he actually swallowed these flying swords directly, chewing them to pieces with a crunching sound.

He shook both arms, unleashing two massive lion-shaped fist energies that swept across the city wall like a raging quicksand river.

On the city wall, many cultivators of considerable cultivation were sent flying backward, spitting blood.

Since breaking his century-long vow, the Nine-Spirit Primordial Sage no longer pretended to be a stone lion, revealing his fierce nature.

He stomped his foot hard, his nine heads roaring in unison, revealing his mighty true form, instantly causing countless cracks to appear in the city wall.

Even though his severe injuries hadn't fully healed, he was still a great demon at the peak of the Fifth Path, the strongest demon in the current era. How could a disorganized rabble in Lone Cloud City withstand his power?

Baize glanced at the sword intent glowing in the distance and said, "You go and intercept Ke Wenzhou first. I will go and bring younger brother into the city. I'll be there shortly."

"Mm." The Nine-Spirit Primordial Sage responded with a deep voice. Without further ado, his body burst through the city wall and soared into the sky.

Outside the city, in the vast, windswept sky, Siming's figure moved rapidly.

At speeds impossible for the naked eye to track, two figures constantly collided and separated, unleashing earth-shattering metallic clangs and cross-shaped sparks that streaked across the sky.

As the Sword Sage had said, Siming had less than a ten percent chance of victory against him at this moment.

This world perfectly aligned with the Sword Sage, but it was antithetical to Siming. One was blessed by heaven, while the other was rejected by it. This seemingly subtle difference often created a fatal disparity between those of similar cultivation levels.

Heaven and earth resonated, and cross-shaped flames tore through the night. After the firelight vanished, large swathes of collapsed void remained.

With the first sword strike, Siming was still evenly matched with him.

The second sword, the third sword...

Her figure was constantly forced back, retreating hundreds of miles, then thousands. Even Yu Lei in her hand was warped by the impact, resembling a twisted, burnt iron rod.

She gritted her teeth, resisting with all her might.

Siming knew she was far from exhausted and still had strength to resist, so she wasn't worried that the Sword Sage would keep attacking her. Moreover, a figure in red was rushing at full speed from afar.

But her greatest fear still came true.

The Sword Sage's engagement with her wasn't to defeat her, but to disrupt her defenses and seize the opportunity to strike a sword directly at Ning Changjiu.

His target was only Ning Changjiu.

Ning Changjiu was still outside the city at this moment.

He knew the city's defenses were tight, so he didn't rashly enter. He pulled out the shovels from the ground, using them as flying swords. Through his Lunar Eye, he pinpointed the locations of the Immortal-Slaying Towers, launching surprise precision strikes to destroy these obvious dangers, thereby creating chaos and setting the stage for breaching the city.

Two Immortal-Slaying Towers were successively destroyed. Ning Changjiu, having just gathered his spiritual power to ride his sword forward in one go, suddenly saw the massive figure of the Nine-Spirit Primordial Sage appear atop the city wall.

He instinctively flinched, but immediately breathed a sigh of relief, realizing that the Sage's target was definitely not him.

The Nine-Spirit Primordial Sage had already left the city, and he himself was almost simultaneously breaking into the city.

Without the fully formed Immortal-Slaying Tower sword array, Lone Cloud City would at most have only two cultivators at the early Fifth Path realm. Ning Changjiu was confident that if he was determined to escape, they wouldn't be able to stop him.

But at that very moment, the hairs on his spine were illuminated by a cold light, and a chill permeated the air.

The void behind him cracked open. The Sword Sage's sword, having locked onto him, cleaved down from the air, crossing layers of emptiness. Its stunning arc outpaced his escape speed, enveloping him.

Ning Changjiu's nerves were taut. He focused all his attention on this sword strike, attempting to forcefully drag it past him using "Water Moon in the Mirror."

But soon, something blocked the path, and a sharp, grating sound rang out above his head.

It was a large iron umbrella.

The one holding the umbrella was the Nine-Spirit Primordial Sage.

The Nine-Spirit Primordial Sage revealed his true form; his body was as vast as a mountain. The iron umbrella in his hand also expanded dramatically, unfurling like a massive black iron curtain.

The Sword Sage's sword struck the umbrella surface, making its ribs tremble, but it was blocked from getting through.

"Little junior brother, don't just stand there, go!"

A gentle voice sounded in Ning Changjiu's ear.

Baize grabbed Ning Changjiu's wrist, and his figure flashed, instantly appearing outside the city gate moments later.

"Leave the Sword Sage to us. Junior brother, you don't need to worry too much," Baize said.

Ning Changjiu said with shame, "I've already entered the Fifth Path, yet I still need everyone to look after me for everything. I truly feel guilty."

Baize smiled faintly and said, "Junior brother, you were the bait to lure out the Sword Sage; you've fulfilled your duty. You don't need to worry about the rest. Just focus on your cultivation. Master once said..."

"Said what?" Ning Changjiu asked.

Baize said, "Master said that one day, you will use an unparalleled arrow to kill an unparalleled path. We are all waiting for that day."

Ning Changjiu took a deep breath and nodded firmly.

He knew time was short and had no desire to delve further into anything. He quickly bid farewell to his Sixth Senior Brother and ventured alone into Lone Cloud City, nestled amidst ten thousand perilous ravines.

Baize then disappeared outside the city.

Behind the shattered city walls, a large fire had already spread.

Outside Lone Cloud City, deities seemed to have gathered.

The Nine-Spirit Primordial Sage, wielding the sacred iron umbrella, his body like an iron ox, charged wildly, actually forcing the relentless Sword Sage back a hundred zhang.

The Sword Sage wanted to retreat, but Siming's sword had already cut through the air and descended, blocking his escape route.

The Sword Sage parried with a horizontal sword, bouncing off Siming, and his figure was thrown high, flying towards the sky.

In the sky, a slender longsword suddenly plunged down. Where the longsword landed, the vast clouds began to collapse, their thickness vanishing, transforming into a long river-like ancient scroll that blocked the space above. Ji Xuan had also arrived in pursuit.

The Nine-Spirit Primordial Sage, Siming, and Ji Xuan had already formed a pincer attack against the Sword Sage. Moments later, Baize also returned, revealing his Nine-Tailed White Lion Dharma Appearance.

The situation instantly reversed, as the four surrounded the Sword Sage, leaving no escape route.

A Divine Official, two of the Six Primordial Gods, and two supreme demons.

Among these four, though most had long since lost their former glory, how could even someone as powerful as the Sword Sage break through a killing formation created by their combined efforts?

The encirclement set up by the four disciples of the Sword Pavilion at Tianhu Peak seemed like child's play compared to these four.

The Sword Sage looked at them, his face still as calm as an ancient well.

"So, everyone has finally arrived?"

The Sword Sage spoke calmly. In this peak gathering of the human world, the Sword Sage showed no awareness of being in a death trap. Holding his ancient sword, his expression was indifferent yet contemplative. "You set a trap to hunt me, but don't you know that I merely went along with the current, to kill you all at once?"

"After all these years, you're still so delusional," the Nine-Spirit Primordial Sage said, holding the ancient umbrella, his voice authoritative. "We haven't seen the Legendary Three Realms for five hundred years. Since it's come to this, why hide your secrets? Show us your trump card."

The Sword Sage did not reply, only asked, "Is the Golden-Winged Great Peng doing well?"

The Nine-Spirit Primordial Sage sneered, "Mourning a fallen comrade? Who are you trying to impress? The Golden-Winged Great Peng's death was my doing. If you want to maintain that pretense from five hundred years ago, you can draw your sword and kill me today to avenge him."

The Sword Sage sighed deeply, the last trace of emotion vanishing from his eyes.

He tightened his grip on the sword in his hand, then suddenly twisted it. This twist, as if triggering a switch, caused a thunderous roar to erupt from within his flesh and blood body.

Siming narrowed her eyes, a premonition of ill omen forming within her.

At her level, it was widely known that the Legendary Three Realms did not bring a significant power increase over the Fifth Path. What it enhanced was the ethereal Dao realm, which served as a stepping stone to the Immortal Court, a guide to great freedom.

The more fundamental reason was that every cultivator was a vessel. For the Long Life, Purple Court, and Fifth Path realms, each breakthrough expanded the vessel-like body far beyond its previous capacity, allowing it to contain more spiritual energy and release spiritual power exponentially in a short time.

However, there was no such huge gap between the Fifth Path and the Legendary Three Realms.

Yet, this enormous gap wasn't entirely nonexistent. During the Primordial Divine War, the first ancient immortals who ascended amidst the chaos were incredibly powerful; their legendary realm then was incomparable to today's. But why this change occurred between the two has remained unexplained for thousands of years.

Similarly, no one knew whether the legendary realm the Sword Sage intended to reach was the modern interpretation of "legendary," or the legendary level of ancient True Immortals, or even stronger!

They would not stand by and watch the Sword Sage break through.

The moment the Sword Sage twisted his sword, the four figures simultaneously lunged forward.

An epoch-making battle erupted in an instant.

The infinite expanse between heaven and earth was their battlefield.

Sword energy shot out, space collapsed, planes fell, and the combined roars of swords and lions erupted in a brilliant five-colored sword fire.

Thousands of miles outside Lone Cloud City, a furious gale, brimming with sword energy, suddenly arose. It was like a raised hand, reaching up to the Void Sea and down to the surface, tearing apart the world like cotton.

Inside Lone Cloud City.

The white-robed Taoist priest, with the colorful sword on his back, watched the terrifying scene in the distance.

Not to mention ordinary cultivators, even grand cultivators of the Purple Court realm had retreated back into the city. Only he remained on the Immortal-Slaying Tower, quietly awaiting his target.

He had entered the Fifth Path realm many years ago but had always remained in its early stages.

Watching the divine battle from afar today, his once stagnant Dao heart experienced countless enlightenments, insights he would never have gained even after a thousand years of seclusion.

The white-robed Taoist priest was excited. He knew that regardless of success or failure, today would be his opportunity to break through his Dao.

He stood on the tower rooftop, where strong winds lashed at him, gazing rapturously into the distance.

"My lord."

In the sound of the wind, a man's voice suddenly spoke: "This is the formation pillar for the Immortal-Slaying Tower. It was lost during the earlier chaos, but it has been recovered now."

"Mm," the white-robed Taoist priest replied casually. "Put it down."

After speaking, he suddenly realized something was amiss.

"Wasn't the formation pillar for the Immortal-Slaying Tower always in my hand? When did I lose it?"

"Who are you?!" the white-robed Taoist priest roared, turning abruptly.

A sword was already thrust before his eyes.

It was the inescapable killing strike from the Heavenly Oracle Sword Scripture.

The sword pierced his throat.

Life force rapidly dissipated from the white-robed Taoist priest's face.

Ning Changjiu gripped the sword and swept it horizontally.

The white-robed Taoist priest's head rolled to the ground. Upon closer inspection, it was just a mask.

The white robe was also empty, and a gray shadow scurried out like a weasel, frantically fleeing down the Immortal-Slaying Tower.

"Fifth Path cultivators are indeed hard to kill..." Ning Changjiu sighed, suppressing the backlash from his failed killing strike, and did not pursue.

Although the white-robed Taoist priest had abandoned his physical body and escaped like a cicada shedding its skin by relying on his divine ability, he was too weak to return and posed no further threat to Ning Changjiu.

He grabbed the colorful sword.

All along the way, he had been vexed by the lack of a suitable sword.

He grasped the sword, summoned the Golden Crow, and forged the sword with golden fire, erasing the traces of its original owner and claiming it for himself.

Ning Changjiu exhaled and looked at the divine battle raging ahead and the waves of aftershocks.

Although he knew that killing the Sword Sage was of immense importance, he did not wish Siming to endanger herself.

Ning Changjiu also didn't dwell on these thoughts or complaints.

He immediately wielded this colorful sword and destroyed all the surrounding Immortal-Slaying Towers, including the one he was on.

Then, he leaped into the city and sat cross-legged in a deserted corner, observing the battle with his Lunar Eye while simultaneously restoring his own strength and that of the divine bow, not slackening for a moment.

Even with such authority, Ning Changjiu still couldn't truly discern the specifics of the divine battle.

But he could sense that, facing the siege of four peerless masters, the Sword Sage was clearly at an absolute disadvantage.

In the sea of spiritual energy gathered by the divine battle, five figures churned up world-destroying turbulence. In the Bone Tower Ruins below, massive rocks were constantly ripped up by unseen mighty forces, hurled into the fray, and ground into dust.

The earth was caving in, the sky sinking; the entire world seemed to have become a guillotine.

The Sword Sage, assailed from all sides, sustained eighteen wounds of varying depths in the brief exchange.

Siming had originally thought that, now that he was subservient to the Heavenly Dao, his achieved legendary realm should surpass that of the ancient immortals. Who would have thought that, despite all his bluster, the realm he displayed was only slightly higher than the peak of the Fifth Path?

If this continued, within half an incense stick's time, their combined strength would be enough to nullify all of the Sword Sage's techniques and kill him in the Bone Tower Ruins.

Their swords struck him like slow, agonizing cuts, but no matter how severe his injuries, the Sword Sage's face, as rigid as an old scholar's, remained unchanged.

This calm was not the calm of facing death unflinchingly, but rather the calm of having victory assured, leaving the four present puzzled.

Ning Changjiu, observing from afar, was also calm.

This calm was, surprisingly, identical to the calm on the Sword Sage's face.

The storm outside the city stirred up perennial thunder.

In Ning Changjiu's mind, the scene from that day on the Quicksand River, with its swirling mist and pervasive killing intent, constantly echoed.

At a certain moment, Ning Changjiu suddenly opened his eyes.

"Lord Sword Sage, stop hiding," Ning Changjiu suddenly spoke, proclaiming loudly, "Do you need your peak sword strike to kill a junior like me? Aren't you overestimating me a little?"

In the dim alley, an old man let out a surprised "Hmm?"

As the sound faded, an old man indeed appeared before Ning Changjiu.

He wore an ancient robe, held an old sword, and was in the posture of drawing his blade.

It was none other than Ke Wenzhou, the Sword Sage.

The Sword Sage was clearly engaged in a fierce battle with the four outside the city, so why did he suddenly appear here?

Ning Changjiu had already guessed the answer — a body double.

When the Golden-Winged Great Peng was swallowed by the Nine-Spirit Primordial Sage, it relied on a body double to escape death. That scene remained fresh in his memory.

It was not surprising that the Sword Sage and the Golden-Winged Great Peng, being from the same lineage, had learned this technique.

When Ning Changjiu realized that the Sword Sage outside the city, even after breaking through his realm, hadn't become remarkably stronger, he grasped onto this previously vague conjecture.

Furthermore, Ning Changjiu had been the Sword Sage's target from the very beginning.

Even if mortal enemies were abundant and tens of thousands blocked his path, the one he intended to kill was only Ning Changjiu himself.

The Sword Sage's body double had been waiting for him in the city for a long time.

It was only waiting for the main body to be locked in a desperate fight with the others, and for them to be too distracted to notice, before striking with its sword.

But even though Ning Changjiu had guessed this, he had no other option. The enemy was hidden, while he was exposed, so he could only sit still, gather his qi, and wait for the Sword Sage to make his move.

The Sword Sage arrived.

"You are more intelligent than I imagined," the Sword Sage complimented him, then raised his sword decisively and said, "This sword slays wisdom."

Ning Changjiu, of course, would not simply wait for death. He too had waited for a long time.

How pathetic it had been to be chased by the Sword Sage all this way, but now that he was right before him, Ning Changjiu felt not the slightest fear. Instead, a blood-red rage ignited within him—if he couldn't even destroy a body double, how could he fulfill his Master's wish of slaying an unparalleled path with an unparalleled arrow?

As the Sword Sage's sword descended, Ning Changjiu gripped the colorful sword, his figure suddenly moved, and he actively went to meet it.

In the narrow alley, golden flames blazed across the sky.