Chapter 347: Purple Profound's Letter

As the voice echoed throughout the city, countless humans within it quickly looked up at the sky.

High in the sky, a figure emerged from the clouds at the end of the Grand Primordium Departing Nether Pillar.

It was a middle-aged man, dressed in a majestic official robe, wearing a blue sky and silver-inlaid hat. His hands were covered in purple scale-patterned gloves, and on his back was a greatsword wrapped in black cloth, revealing only its hilt.

As he stepped forth, three enormous, swirling abysses materialized behind him.

Each of these three abysses appeared as a celestial phenomenon, shocking all directions. Within them, a hidden treasury seemed to reside.

Faintly, piercing shrieks and roars emanated from these three hidden treasuries, as if powerful, fierce beasts were suppressed within, emitting waves of terrifying fluctuations.

As heaven and earth changed color and winds swirled back, the man raised his right hand and struck a punch towards the distant sky.

With his strike, the three hidden treasuries behind him erupted, spewing forth a sky full of radiant light that formed countless flying swords. These swords densely spread across the heavens and earth, creating a torrential wave.

Each sword within this torrent emitted a breathtaking power, seemingly capable of tearing apart the sky and shattering the void. All of them charged forward, rushing towards the distance.

Simultaneously, a furious roar echoed from the distant sky, and a blurry figure materialized on the horizon. It seemed to have been concealed before, but now, under the fluctuation of energy, it could no longer hide and revealed its true form.

It was an extremely hideous fierce beast.

More precisely, it resembled a colossal maggot. Its body, measuring a thousand zhang, was composed of layers of flesh, covered in mucus, and exuded a foul, fishy stench.

Its head also had two tentacles.

Each tentacle bore a head, one male and one female, both with green skin and crimson eyes. Their roars were emitted simultaneously.

Its tail was raised, and strikingly, there was another head on it.

This was the head of an old man, whose expression changed as he rapidly exhaled a cloud of black mist.

The mist spread, enveloping its body and accelerating its retreat.

Yet, it was a moment too late. Countless flying swords whistled closer, piercing through the hideous beast.

No matter how it tried to block them, it was futile. In an instant, its body disintegrated under the swords' onslaught, tearing into pieces with a tragic end.

Only the three heads, shrouded in black mist, rapidly fled into the distance.

But this was clearly a delusion. The moment the beast's body collapsed, the Sword Bearer in official robes stepped forward. His speed was instantaneous, and as he raised his right hand, countless flying swords converged, directly forming a longsword shimmering with azure light in his grasp.

With one strike, the female head shattered.

The second strike, the male head exploded.

The third sword was flung by the official-robed Sword Bearer, instantly transforming into a large azure flood dragon. With a roar, it swallowed the last head, that of the old man, into its mouth.

After completing these actions, heaven and earth fell silent, and all the cultivators on the ground were utterly shaken.

"Recently, our Sword Bearer Court was commanded to suppress the Three Spirits Mountain and apprehend the Nether Essences, which is why some demons and monsters have been active, frequently coming here to probe."

The middle-aged man in official robes spoke calmly from mid-air.

"Therefore, I will reiterate the rules of my Sword Bearer Court: this area is a forbidden zone for non-humans; no non-human may tread here!"

The middle-aged man in official robes made a hand seal with his right hand, pointing towards the Grand Primordium Departing Nether Pillar. Instantly, the pillar vibrated, and a monstrous surge of battle intent, no longer suppressed, erupted from within with a resounding roar.

Bearing an annihilating killing intent and overbearing fierceness, it spread outwards with a rumbling sound in all directions.

The sky within a ten-thousand-mile radius surged with violent fluctuations, sweeping away everything in its path. The earth was affected similarly. This battle intent, imbued with divine consciousness, rapidly swept over all cultivators.

It seemed to be discerning, shaking all cultivators observing the area. At the same time, booming sounds echoed between the city and the heavens. Within the city, hundreds of people suddenly exploded, instantly dying.

In seven or eight locations in the sky, similar events occurred, accompanied by piercing screams.

After all was done, heaven and earth cleared.

Having finished these actions, the middle-aged man in official robes turned his back and walked towards the sky, stepping into the clouds and vanishing without a trace.

The ground fell silent. Only after a long while did gasps and exclamations emerge. Xu Qing also took a deep breath, as did the captain beside him.

The divine consciousness had just swept over them. Even knowing they were human and thus safe, Xu Qing's heart still pounded under its presence. What shocked him more was the domineering power of the Sword Bearer Court.

The middle-aged man in official robes was clearly a Spirit Treasury Realm cultivator, not a Return to Void. Yet, the moment he stepped out and attacked, the leading ancestors from various sects who had arrived in the city seemed to be suppressed by his aura.

It wasn't the man's cultivation that overwhelmed the sect ancestors, but his identity.

The orthodox human faction, one of the Five Departments of the Upper Profound, the Sword Bearer Court!

It was another stick of incense's time before the cultivators in the city recovered. Most of their eyes now gleamed with intense light, and many instinctively looked towards the end of the Grand Primordium Departing Nether Pillar.

That was the headquarters of the Sword Bearer Court in Yinghuang Prefecture.

The Sword Bearer Court's display of power had instilled a strong sense of longing for it in most of the disciples from various sects, especially the captain, who even began to fantasize about himself becoming a Sword Bearer.

Although Xu Qing was also tempted by the idea of becoming a Sword Bearer, he paid more attention to the recent vibration of the Grand Primordium Departing Nether Pillar.

The moment the pillar vibrated earlier, Xu Qing clearly felt the Ghost Emperor Mountain in his sea of consciousness tremble as well. At the same time, dozens of runes surprisingly emerged from the Ghost Emperor Mountain.

These runes exuded a strong battle intent, making Xu Qing thoughtful after perceiving them.

*Is this the 'Battle Spirit Mark' the captain mentioned? It certainly seems easy to acquire...* Xu Qing pondered, though he wasn't entirely sure if these runes were indeed the spirit marks the captain spoke of.

However, he felt that this item could be retrieved.

So he raised his hand, and with a thought, one of the dozens of talismans vanished from his sea of consciousness and appeared in his palm.

The talisman glowed, emitting an even stronger battle intent. Xu Qing felt that this talisman could be used as a spell, possessing a certain destructive power.

"Senior Brother, is this what you called the Battle Spirit...?" Xu Qing turned to look at the captain, his question unfinished as the captain, still fantasizing about becoming a Sword Bearer, suddenly stared.

"Battle Spirit Mark? When did you comprehend this? It's really... quite simple, isn't it? Very good, very good, it can earn extra points." The captain paused, then quickly recovered, feigning nonchalance.

"They appeared in my sea of consciousness just now when the Grand Primordium Departing Nether Pillar vibrated." Xu Qing nodded, feeling a sense of unease. The captain's reaction made him suspect something was amiss.

And usually, when he felt something was off, it truly was.

The captain coughed, suppressing the bitterness in his heart, and laughed heartily.

"Little Ah Qing, your comprehension is good, but still a bit short compared to mine. Actually, I also successfully comprehended this thing, just now! So remember, don't get arrogant. One isn't much. I comprehended five; did I say anything? Because you need to comprehend nine to get extra points!"

Xu Qing felt the dozens of Battle Spirit Marks in his sea of consciousness and remained silent, guessing that the difficulty of comprehending these spirit marks was probably not what the captain had previously described.

"Alright, you keep comprehending. I'm going to find the ancestor." The captain said, about to leave, planning to find a place to comprehend some for himself. Xu Qing's easy success in comprehending one put a lot of pressure on him. Especially, he recalled saying earlier that this comprehension was simple; if he didn't succeed quickly now, he would be shooting himself in the foot.

Seeing the captain leave, Xu Qing also decided to study these spirit marks and headed towards his residence.

However, just a few steps into their respective walks, the captain suddenly froze. He recalled Xu Qing's earlier words and noticed two specific characters within them. This made his eyes widen, and he abruptly turned his head.

"Wait, Xu Qing, you said 'them' earlier?"

Xu Qing's steps faltered.

"How many... did you comprehend?" the captain asked cautiously.

Xu Qing glanced at the captain, then with a wave of his hand, over thirty spirit marks flew out, rapidly circling in his palm, continuously emitting waves of battle intent.

The captain was utterly dumbfounded.

"All these appeared just now?"

"Yes, Captain, you're right, it is very simple." Xu Qing blinked.

The captain didn't want to speak anymore; he felt utterly exhausted.

He silently retracted his gaze and swiftly departed without looking back, his resolve firm. He intended to go to the Grand Primordium Departing Nether Pillar and begin comprehending immediately. He wouldn't stop until he had comprehended forty.

"Forty isn't enough, I need to comprehend sixty!"

Watching the captain's receding figure, Xu Qing felt pleased and turned towards his residence.

Upon arrival, he set up some arrangements around him, then sat cross-legged to study the spirit marks.

He knew why so many spirit marks had appeared for him all at once: it was directly related to the Ghost Emperor Mountain, as they were, to some extent, of the same origin.

Thus, as Xu Qing delved into his study, time passed, and three days quickly went by.

On the night of the third day, Huang Yikun arrived.

He was clearly reluctant. After arriving, he handed Xu Qing a jade slip, tossed out a single sentence, and then quickly fled.

"The ancestor told me to give this to you!"

Huang Yikun's ancestor was, naturally, Immortal Zixuan.

Xu Qing hesitantly picked up the jade slip. After a moment of silence, his divine sense merged with it, and immediately, Immortal Zixuan's alluring voice, tinged with laziness, emerged in his mind.

"Little friend, do you miss me?" Xu Qing remained silent.

"I really liked the gift you gave me before you left."

Xu Qing looked up, gazing in the direction of the Grand Primordium Departing Nether Pillar. He thought the captain must have gone there.

"I also saw the letter you sent me. You know, you don't usually seem like it, but your words in letters are so bold... Didn't you say you wanted to be strong, didn't want to hear gossip, and that it wasn't good for us to meet too much within the sect, so you hoped we could correspond by letter and wanted me to reply? I had Huang Yikun deliver it to you."

Xu Qing's eyes widened abruptly.

"Also, seeing how much you pleaded for Chen Erniu in your letter, even promising me so many things, I'll let the matter with Chen Erniu go for now; I won't bother with him. But don't forget the things you promised me, okay?"

Xu Qing's breathing quickened.

"This time, I'll listen to you and won't go to the Grand Primordium Departing Nether Pillar. In that case, please take care of the people from Xuanyou Sect for me."

"Then hurry back... As for how you asked me to address you in your letter, little friend, you're quite clever, but that's not possible yet. We'll see based on your future performance."

Veins bulged on Xu Qing's forehead. After a long silence and calming his emotions, he took out a bamboo slip, found the captain's name on it, and fiercely scratched out the question mark next to it.