Chapter 2000: In Full Swing Seven Sword Immortals; Xiao Lang's Fright in the Dark Alley

"You are...?"

Cao Er-zhu warily eyed the scholarly man with the fair complexion, feeling a faint sense of familiarity.

"Tower Master?"

"Are you that Tower Master?"

The Ancient and Modern Forget-Worry Tower had appeared suddenly, and this man had also appeared suddenly.

It took Er-zhu a long time to remember that when Dao Qiong-cang was using his body, their family of three had entered the tower and met this person.

"Are you here for Elder Shou?"

Cao Er-zhu knew that he and this person were strangers, so it was highly probable that he was here because of Elder Shou.

But looking to the side...

Ever since the tree-gate disappeared and Dao Qiong-cang departed, Elder Shou had immediately activated this profound Yi Dao formation diagram, sat down cross-legged, and entered a state of enlightenment without a word.

Cao Er-zhu felt that Elder Shou probably wouldn't wake up anytime soon.

"The last time I looked for Elder Shou, he was also cultivating."

"He probably can't be disturbed while cultivating, and it should take a long time. You're probably here to say goodbye before you leave, right?"

Cao Er-zhu felt like he was speaking on behalf of Elder Shou.

But just speaking wasn't enough; he didn't have the Celestial Core to open the tree-gate and let this person leave, so he could only suggest:

"Why don't we both sit down and wait for Elder Shou to wake up?"

"Or you could commit suicide?"

Uh, that didn't sound very polite...

Er-zhu scratched his head, embarrassed, and then saw the fair-faced scholar slowly shake his head.

He quickly waved his hand, bidding farewell.

Before long, the Ancient and Modern Forget-Worry Tower faded in front of him, and the Tower Master's figure also vanished.

"Huh?"

Er-zhu frowned, trying hard to recall.

This Tower Master seemed to have said a lot to him, yet also not a single word; he couldn't remember what he had just said...

"Forget it."

If he couldn't remember, he wouldn't bother.

Er-zhu glanced at the diligently cultivating Elder Shou, moved a little distance away, and also sat down cross-legged.

What was Elder Shou cultivating so urgently?

As the profound Thunder-element formation diagram slowly unfolded, filled with such doubts, Er-zhu closed his eyes and quickly entered a state of enlightenment.

Southern Domain, Feng-jia City.

The streets were bustling with people, packed to the brim.

Various "Ancient Sword Cultivators" wearing straw hats or veiled hats, dressed in sword robes or long robes, walking with their heads held high, swaggering freely, had gathered in the city.

Every passerby either carried two swords on their back, had three swords at their waist, held a long sword upside down, or carried a sword diagonally...

No sword, no passage.

It was as if this wasn't Feng-jia City, but Can-yue Immortal City.

The streets on both sides were no longer in their usual state for Feng-jia City; they were now filled with various small stalls, selling all sorts of treasures that Ancient Sword Cultivators wouldn't normally bother with.

And from day to night, the incessant shouts had been ringing on both sides of Feng-jia City's streets for almost a month:

"Come one, come all, check it out! Freshly released predictions for the Seven Sword Immortals list! 90% accuracy, personally predicted by the true Ancient Sword Cultivator Elder Tang! Only ten thousand Spirit Crystals!"

"Gu Qing-yi has left his seclusion in the Eastern Domain and can land in the Southern Domain today! A ticket to watch him at Du-guan-kou is only six thousand Spirit Crystals! Gu Qing-yi is 90% likely to land via the Du-guan-kou teleportation array! Don't you want to witness the demeanor of a future Sword Immortal? Senior, how about a ticket?"

"Don't miss out, don't miss out! The renowned sword 'Zhe-que,' rumored to have appeared on the ancient Auntie-Mark Stele, is given away for free to those with affinity! For those without, affinity can be forcefully obtained! Ten thousand Spirit Crystals to buy affinity! Ancient Sword Cultivator, would you like to take a look?"

"Shocking news! The new generation of Seven Sword Immortals doesn't need to wait until tomorrow; they can be released today! Elder Shou is actually ranked second! He is actually the first! Who is he? For only thirty thousand Spirit Crystals, Hua-zhuo Pavilion will reveal the secret!"

Xiao Wan-feng, carrying a large sword-chest on his back, squeezed through the surging crowd on the street.

His breakfast meat bun had turned into a meat patty after passing through the busiest street leading to the First Observation Platform, and the juice had been absorbed by someone's clothes.

He opened his mouth, hesitantly looking at the meat patty in his hand, and finally decided to gulp down his breakfast.

"Burp!"

There was only one day left until the Seven Sword Immortals list was announced.

These days, the Southern Domain was exceptionally lively, especially Feng-jia City.

All sorts of strange characters had emerged.

In the past, he had never seen so many Ancient Sword Cultivators outside of Can-yue Immortal City and Burial Sword Mound; now, they were everywhere in the Southern Domain.

They would open their mouths with "Ba-zun-an has said," and close them with "Mei Si-ren has said so."

Little did they know that in the mouths of true Ancient Sword Cultivators, they only spoke of "Eighth Sword Immortal" and "Mr. Si-ren."

"They can't even pretend properly..."

Xiao Wan-feng muttered, looking towards the First Observation Platform from a distance. By now, ordinary mortals could no longer squeeze their way inside.

On the day before Feng Family's announcement, the inner and outer cities were even more bustling.

The First Observation Platform was now mostly occupied by various troublemakers, the kings and disciples of mischief, as the Southern Domain had no shortage of "Ancient Sword Cultivators" who had committed crimes and mastered disguise.

At this moment, what was being shown on the stage was the battle of the Sword Immortals.

It wasn't a live broadcast, but a replay of the most anticipated battle from six days ago.

Lai, against Bei-bei, the location being the Central Domain.

Bei-bei, of course, was the Northern Sword Immortal, a defeated opponent of Elder Shou, the First Sword Immortal, at Jade Capital City in the past.

Who was Lai?

Sword Immortal Lai, also known as Ah-lai.

The "Lai" from "Hua-lai Bei-tian Welcoming Elder Shou"!

Before the initial list of Seven Sword Immortals was released, and even six days ago, not many people knew who Ah-lai was.

Now, he was known to all.

"Phantom Sword Art, Hua-lai..."

Sword Immortal Lai on the stage was dressed in a emerald green long robe, adorned with large red flowers, and a golden daisy tucked behind his ear, his appearance very eye-catching.

It was hard to imagine that there were such aesthetics and styles among Ancient Sword Cultivators.

Xiao Wan-feng refrained from commenting on the red and green color scheme of the clothing, focusing instead on Sword Immortal Lai's exquisite Phantom Sword Art.

It was too standard!

So standard that he couldn't find any flaws!

Even though he hadn't personally witnessed the Eighth Sword Immortal use Phantom Sword Art, Xiao Wan-feng felt that a textbook-perfect Phantom Sword Art would probably be no better than this.

And Bei-bei, with her Myriad Sword Art, even wielding the Imperial Sword Du-zun, Ah-lai used skillful deflection, never choosing to confront head-on.

Even with Imperial Sword Tian-jie activated, it only sliced through a phantom in Ah-lai's second world.

"Indeed, this generation of Sword Immortals all possess the second realm."

Xiao Wan-feng quickly withdrew his gaze, his face filled with solemnity and awe. Although he hadn't seen the ending, he already had an evaluation in his mind:

"Bei-bei, lost again..."

Yes, Bei-bei lost.

This wasn't her first loss.

After the debut of the Seven Sword Immortals, Bei-bei's first battle was lost to Xu Shao... no, now it should be said, under Elder Shou's sword.

Her second battle was leading the White-clothed to Can-yue Immortal City in the Eastern Domain to fight Xiao Kong-dong.

It's worth noting that Can-yue Immortal City is still reportedly at war, engaged in a massive slaughter with the people of the Sacred Divine Hall.

The reason was that on Void Island, Eldest Senior Brother exposed his cooperation with the Sacred Slaves, in short, it was still because of Elder Shou.

Can-yue Immortal City was dragged down by being too close to Elder Shou.

And during the time Elder Shou was absent, the Sacred Divine Hall freed up its hands to settle scores in the Eastern Domain.

Since the Seven Sword Immortals were in full swing, Bei-bei was dispatched to lead a group of White-clothed to Can-yue Immortal City, and was later personally brought back by Eldest Senior Brother.

"I heard she even had an arm chopped off."

"Even Imperial Sword Du-zun was confiscated; it was only later that the Imperial Sword itself ran back, how pathetic."

"I don't know if it's true, she looks perfectly fine now, but alchemists have body-restoring pills, so it's not surprising..."

Xiao Wan-feng felt a little emotional, his thoughts drifting to that Sword Dao Eldest Senior Brother.

Like Elder Shou, Senior Brother Xiao seemed to have rarely participated in the Seven Sword Immortals' challenges, yet also seemed to have missed none.

In short, for those who challenged him in Can-yue Immortal City, he would take time out of his busy schedule, while defending the city, to respond to the challenges, and his opponents would either die or be crippled.

He was in the Eastern Domain, a killing spree.

"Boom!"

While he was pondering, the battle on the stage reached a conclusion.

Sword Immortal Bei-bei was no match for Sword Immortal Lai, and was pierced through the throat by a single sword.

The small, slightly chubby Bei-bei spewed blood and glared, unwilling to accept it.

But all that remained was unwillingness.

She should still be alive, after all, not everyone was the Eighth Sword Immortal or Senior Brother Xiao, who would simply kill out of annoyance.

But the scene was too bloody, and the post-battle dialogue wasn't shown either; the second match quickly began.

Bei-bei against Gu Qing-er.

Bei-bei lost.

"Bei-bei is so miserable..."

Xiao Wan-feng found it hard to watch.

He had seen this match; it was Bei-bei's third loss, but she lost gracefully.

Both sides fought fiercely for half a day. Bei-bei, with Imperial Sword Tian-jie and Grand Crimson God's Wrath, couldn't withstand Gu Qing-er's Peerless Enchantress Tian-jie combined with a Nine Sword Art variant, unleashing a "Limitless Extreme Sword"!

A graceful loss was still a loss.

Not a shred of dignity remained.

With the Sword Formation · Limitless Infinite Numbers · Return to One Extreme Sword, combined with sword-sense and a Tian-jie variant sword move, as soon as it was unleashed...

Bei-bei was chopped into minced meat by countless Return to One Extreme Swords, and the Transmission Mirror was also shattered, along with the broadcast screen.

This was the first time the world had witnessed the true strength of a Burial Sword Mound inheritor, seeing how terrifying the combination of the Nine Sword Art sword formation and stacked damage could be; it truly lived up to its reputation.

After this battle, the unexpected thing wasn't that the term "Bei-bei trash" topped the continent's hot search.

Instead, it was the previous White-clothed Rule Dominator, Gou Wu-yue, who inexplicably became popular. Everyone realized that Sword Immortal Wu-yue was actually strong?

Upon closer examination, Gou Wu-yue had been in office for thirty years and had only lost to the Eighth Sword Immortal in the battle of Eight Palaces.

Other than that, his worst record was a draw.

"But losing to the Eighth Sword Immortal, can that be called a loss?"

"Who wouldn't lose to him? Moreover, Gou Wu-yue had even worn a sleeveless top before losing, so why was his arm still severed?"

While countless people felt indignant, Gu Qing-er didn't become popular; instead, his master, Wen Ting, did.

Sword Immortal Wen Ting, what an unfamiliar phrase...

No matter how people thought about it, they couldn't clearly remember who this person was, or even what sword art he mainly cultivated.

But how could he be weak if he could teach such a powerful disciple, and was even rumored to be on par with the Eighth Sword Immortal?

And if Gu Qing-er was like this, what about Gu Qing-yi, Gu Qing-san, and Gu Qing-si?

"I heard Gu Qing-yi has finished his seclusion and will arrive in the Southern Domain today to challenge Ah-lai. I wonder where they'll fight?"

Xiao Wan-feng's sources of information were limited, and he didn't even know if this intelligence was true or false, but he was somewhat looking forward to it.

Inside and outside the venue, it was very noisy.

Xiao Wan-feng leaned against his sword-chest, waiting quietly by the stone wall at the alley entrance outside the platform, unmoved.

He wasn't primarily here to watch the replay today, but to watch a small live broadcast on a side platform.

This match wasn't big enough for the main First Observation Platform; only a small Transmission Mirror was following it.

Therefore, not many people would be watching.

But inside, there was a sword cultivator whom Xiao Wan-feng had been following for half a month, yet who rarely made a move, and who had recently been climbing the ranks.

"Xiao Qi-xiu..."

A very unfamiliar name.

He didn't seem to have been active in the Ancient Sword Cultivator circle before, and was unknown.

What caught Xiao Wan-feng's attention wasn't the depth of his Ancient Sword Art attainment, but his very "unconventional" style.

From his various moves, it could be seen that he had some foundation in Ancient Sword Art, but he was trying his best to differentiate himself from Ancient Sword Art.

No, not differentiate, but to innovate!

His methods were very new!

Among the thousands of identical Nine Great Sword Arts, Eighteen Sword Streams, and Three Thousand Sword Daos, there were two individuals whose sword movements carried an unconventional flair.

Of course, this was Xiao Wan-feng's own opinion, and he couldn't guarantee he was right.

Those two were one named Xiao Qi-xiu, and the other Feng Xiao-se.

"Feng Xiao-se, what a pity, I hope he's still alive..."

As soon as Xiao Wan-feng thought of Feng Xiao-se, he sighed regretfully.

This was also an Ancient Sword Cultivator he highly favored, who might become a Spirit Sword Cultivator.

He always made shallow moves, but he improved with each battle, showing that he was honing himself, trying not to take too big a step.

But for some reason, the previous generation's Sword Immortal Wu-yue suddenly appeared in the Southern Domain, found the headquarters of Xu-yue Gray Palace, and fought his way in.

The two of them started killing!

The outcome was naturally predictable.

No matter how weakened the older generation of Sword Immortals were, they wouldn't be easily challenged by the new generation; there was a difference of over thirty years.

Moreover, Sword Immortal Wu-yue had a Seven Sword Immortal on his left shoulder and a Ten Revered Seat on his right, his foundation was evident.

Even if he let you use one hand, he wouldn't be far off!

"It's just a pity that the Transmission Mirror wasn't inserted into Xu-yue Gray Palace..."

As he was pondering, someone tapped him on the shoulder.

Xiao Wan-feng instinctively flinched, quickly turned around, bowed, lowered his head, and very familiarly called out:

"This junior greets senior!"

The middle-aged man, about thirty years old, was not carrying a sword and wore a star-patterned sorcerer's robe; he must be from the Heavenly Secret Divine Sect.

His intention was unclear, but there was no malevolence in his eyes, and his face was peaceful, so he probably wasn't here to cause trouble. His gaze was fixed on...

Oh no!

He's eyeing the sword-chest!

With just a quick glance, the experienced Xiao Wan-feng generally understood the other party's background, but could only secretly lament.

He didn't want to carry the sword-chest either.

But in today's Feng-jia City, if you didn't carry a sword, you couldn't move an inch.

Half a month ago, Xiao Wan-feng was surrounded by several "Ancient Sword Cultivators" with dragon tattoos over their shoulders and wearing kasayas, who questioned him, "Why aren't you carrying a sword?"

He didn't even need to answer; after beating him, those few people plundered all the Spirit Crystals he had earned at Heavenly First Tower, leaving him, Xiao Wan-feng, to eat only one meat patty a day.

Sometimes, when the crowd was too dense, he couldn't even get a meat patty.

"Does what's in your sword-chest sell?"

The middle-aged man in the star-patterned sorcerer's robe pointed at the large item he was protecting on his back and chuckled, his expression very friendly.

"It's an family heirloom, not for sale."

Xiao Wan-feng shook his head with distress: "I should actually go and get a new sword-chest. This old wooden one always makes people misunderstand that I'm carrying an antique, but the truth is I don't even have money to buy wood."

The middle-aged man grandly pulled a golden ring from his finger:

"Here, take it."

Xiao Wan-feng backed away in fear, protecting his sword-chest: "Senior, I'm a mortal, I can't open a space ring. Wearing this thing on me would even lead to my death."

The middle-aged man smiled: "It's a gold ring."

Xiao Wan-feng became even more flustered: "Even worse, I don't even dare to wear a copper ring. I get robbed often."

The middle-aged man fell silent.

Xiao Wan-feng couldn't fathom his intentions and quickly rummaged through his embrace, pulling out a red certificate after two attempts:

"I have a 'Mortal Certificate,' protected by Feng-jia City. You cannot act recklessly!"

Mortal Certificate...

What a laughable thing.

Before being robbed, Xiao Wan-feng thought so too.

After that incident, he changed his even more ridiculous Eastern Domain way of thinking, washed dishes for three days, and pulled strings to get this certificate.

With this certificate, he subsequently averted thirty-seven disasters!

Mortal Certificate, a must-have for Southern Domain mortals!

Extremely useful!

"The sword-chest doesn't have to be sold, but what's inside, you must sell it to me. I'll buy it at a high price." The man said.

"Uh..."

Xiao Wan-feng didn't speak, only turned out his pockets.

What could a mortal without a space ring possibly hide?

"Really nothing?"

The man in the star-patterned sorcerer's robe was puzzled, scratched his head, and then vaguely turned and left.

He actually didn't know why he suddenly approached, suddenly became interested in that sword-chest, and suddenly felt that there was something inside.

Perhaps it was just a sudden surge of interest!

Xiao Wan-feng breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the man leave, not even waiting for Xiao Qi-xiu's battle.

It was not a good day to be out.

He quickly slipped away like a loach, twisting and turning, and disappeared into the alley.

"Kid, you're finished."

A mocking voice appeared in his mind. Xiao Wan-feng stopped in his tracks and let out a long sigh.

Don't mess with me...

Looking around, the alley was dark and secluded, the junction of the walls and the path covered in black-green moss from perennial lack of sunlight.

Just as footsteps sounded from around the bend at the end, a person appeared; it was the middle-aged man in the star-patterned long robe from earlier.

"Senior, I am truly a mortal, I have no wealth."

Xiao Wan-feng retreated step by step, while retreating, he held up his Mortal Certificate, ready to activate the formation on it with his blood to summon the Feng-jia City guards for reinforcement.

The middle-aged man had not actually chased him; he had merely appeared in the shadows at the corner, and then simply tilted his head, staring at the retreating youth with an unsettling gaze.

Suddenly, he knelt on one knee, sharply raised his head, and lifted both hands high:

"Great God Descent Art!"

Xiao Wan-feng's pupils contracted.

In his trembling eyes, a disintegrating body quickly appeared, along with a figure emerging from the chest and head, combing his hair with a comb.

The Southern Domain was evil, but not this evil.

Could this truly be an evil art that the Feng-jia City guards could handle?

"Damn it!"

Xiao Wan-feng turned and ran.

(End of this chapter)