17: My Yu King Sword is gone??

"Still not showing yourself?"

Venerable Yuan Hao narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze fixed intently on the summit of Purple Gold Mountain.

That fellow Venerable Zhi Jin had actually taken advantage of the gap during the Kang Country Dharma Assembly to secretly enter seclusion, attempting to break through to the Dao Foundation Stage.

No wonder he wasn't seen in Kang Country; only his eldest Disciple, Ding Qing, and an Elder had appeared.

Given the current Dharma-Ending environment and the resources available in the Yu Kingdom, although he didn't believe Venerable Zhi Jin would succeed, what if... just what if?

If he actually succeeded, the Hunyuan Sect would be finished.

Therefore, the moment he received the news, he immediately returned from Kang Country for the sole purpose of uprooting the State Preceptors Mansion.

Fortunately, he wasn't too late!

And there was no 'what if'.

As he expected, Venerable Zhi Jin really had not succeeded!

"I'll see how much longer you can hide!!"

Venerable Yuan Hao let out a cold snort, and his Aura surged instantly!

He no longer hesitated and directly summoned a small, mysterious black bell covered in dense golden spiritual runes from his Storage Pouch.

Only Cultivators at the Dao Foundation or above could refine a Magical Artifact into their bodies; those at the Qi Refinement Stage could only carry them or place them in a Storage Pouch.

The small bell in his hand at this moment was called the [demon-quelling golden bell].

It was a Second-Rank Low Grade Magical Artifact, one of the trump cards passed down through the Hunyuan Sect for many years.

Venerable Yuan Hao suddenly struck, his vigorous Dharmic power pouring into the golden bell like an opening floodgate.

"Weng——————!!!"

The demon-quelling golden bell emitted a hum that shook the clouds, instantly transforming into a giant black bell over sixteen or seventeen zhang in diameter!

Golden spiritual runes flowed endlessly on the bell's body, emitting ten thousand rays of golden light. A majestic and vast pressure that seemed to suppress heaven and earth spread out!

Only now did it show an Aura that truly surpassed a Qi Refinement Stage Cultivator.

"Fall!"

Venerable Yuan Hao pointed his fingers like a sword, gesturing downward!

The massive bell, like a hammer of divine punishment, crashed violently toward the very top of the Mountain Protecting Grand Formation!

Even before the bell arrived, the terrifying wind pressure had already bent all the trees on the mountainside below, and even uprooted some!

Debris flew everywhere, as if the end of the world had arrived!

"Dong!!!"

Accompanied by a world-shaking explosion, rolling sound waves formed circles of physical sonic booms, carrying visible white airwaves that spread in all directions like a tsunami!

In an instant, the light barrier of the Mountain Protecting Grand Formation was like fragile glass; starting from the point of impact, it became covered in a web of dense cracks that spread rapidly.

"Crackle!!"

The Formation's light barrier completely shattered, turning into floating specks of light that dissipated into the world.

As a Magical Artifact used by Dao Foundation Cultivators, the power of the demon-quelling golden bell went without saying.

Even if Venerable Yuan Hao only activated ten or twenty percent of its power, it was enough to instantly destroy this First-Rank Formation that was already at its limit.

“Pfft—!”

Elder Li spat out a large mouthful of blood toward the sky.

As the core presiding over the Formation, he bore the vast majority of the backlash. He was sent flying back like a kite with its string cut, his Aura instantly withering to the extreme.

And the Disciples maintaining the Formation met an equally wretched end.

A few with the weakest cultivation even had their Meridians snapped and their Dharmic power fall into chaos under the terrifying counter-shock, dying on the spot as blood leaked from their seven orifices!

The moment the Formation shattered, dozens of figures outside erupted in world-shaking cheers.

Venerable Yuan Hao expressionlessly recalled the demon-quelling golden bell and gave a cold command, his voice like ice: "Kill! Leave not even a chicken or dog alive!!"

"Kill—!"

Dozens of Hunyuan Sect Disciples, fierce as wolves and tigers, swarmed down from the sky like an opened floodgate, charging toward the panicked State Preceptors Mansion Disciples who had lost their Formation's protection.

The slaughter began instantly!

Screams of agony and pleas for mercy intertwined with the dull thuds of clashing Magical Artifacts and the roar of exploding Spells.

Blood stained the mountain paths, and severed limbs flew everywhere. The former immortal paradise of Purple Gold Mountain was transformed into a living hell in an instant.

Elder Li struggled to crawl up, but his heavily injured body made even moving a challenge.

Watching his Disciples being ruthlessly slaughtered, his eyes nearly split with rage as he let out a desperate roar: "Stop! You animals!"

Venerable Feng Xi appeared before him like a ghost, a cruel smile on his face: "Old man, I'll send you down now to join your Junior Brother Wang!"

A sinister, greenish-black wind blade condensed, aimed straight for Elder Li's throat.

At this critical moment, a scorching, explosive, and terrifying Aura suddenly soared into the sky from the direction of the summit's Immortal Cave!

"Boom—!!!"

A crimson stream of light, like a volcanic eruption, instantly tore through the sky, smashing the wind blade to pieces and pushing Venerable Feng Xi back a hundred zhang in the process.

"Finally willing to come out."

A cold smile appeared at the corner of Venerable Yuan Hao's mouth.

Down on the ground below.

As the red light faded, it revealed a middle-aged Taoist wearing purple-gold Taoist robes, with a majestic countenance and eyes filled with heaven-shaking fury.

His hair was disheveled, his Taoist robes were somewhat messy, and a trace of blood hung from the corner of his mouth.

He had clearly suffered a backlash from having his seclusion forcibly interrupted.

But those eyes were like two clusters of burning flames, staring fixedly at Venerable Yuan Hao on the flying boat!

This person was the current State Preceptor—Venerable Zhi Jin!

"Yuan— Hao—!!!"

Venerable Zhi Jin roared sharply, his voice like ice from the Nine Serenity, every word containing bone-deep hatred. "You dare destroy my sect, slaughter my Disciples, and obstruct my path to the Dao!"

"Today, I shall fight you to the death!!"

Hearing this, Venerable Yuan Hao seemed to have heard some kind of joke, and his face was immediately filled with cold sneers: "Obstruct your path to the Dao?"

"You speak as if you would have succeeded in your Breakthrough if I weren't here. In this ten-thousand-mile radius, no Dao Foundation Cultivator has appeared for two hundred years. Why do you still have such delusions?"

"Talk after you've survived today; don't make me laugh!"

Hearing these words, Venerable Zhi Jin's face instantly turned flushed red.

His seclusion interrupted, his sect destroyed, his Disciples slaughtered—all of this had burned his sanity to nothing!

"You truly deserve to die!"

As he spoke, he prepared to take out the State Preceptors Mansion's sect-protecting treasure from his Storage Pouch—the [yu king sword].

This was a Second-Rank Magical Artifact left behind by the first-generation State Preceptor, the Dao Foundation Great Cultivator Yu Lie. Its power was peerless, and it was the State Preceptors Mansion's final trump card.

It was also Venerable Zhi Jin's only hope at this moment.

However, in the next moment, his entire body froze!

His pupils dilated instantly, filled with disbelief.

Inside the Storage Pouch, the longsword that should have been lying there quietly had disappeared... The sect-protecting treasure, held by generations of State Preceptors, had always been kept in the Storage Pouch he never let leave his side!

How could it be gone?!

It was clearly fine before he entered seclusion. He was certain that no one had entered during these three years of seclusion, and even his food consisted of Fasting Pills he had prepared in advance.

"Who is it?! Who on earth stole the yu king sword?!!"

Venerable Zhi Jin was furious to the point of madness, his eyes scanning the surroundings frantically, but he found nothing.

He was going crazy.

"Ah—!!!"

Accompanied by a beast-like roar, his eyes turned completely crimson. Then, he suddenly drew a longsword he wore at his side—the "burning flame sword."

Although it was also a First-Rank High Grade Magical Artifact passed down from two hundred years ago and its power was quite impressive, compared to the yu king sword, it was like the difference between clouds and mud!

"Old thief Yuan Hao! Die for me!"

Prairie Fire Sword Art—Burning the Heavens and Boiling the Seas!

Venerable Zhi Jin struck out in rage, a move of pure desperation!

The burning flame sword swung out, and as the Sword Qi crisscrossed, it actually transformed into a sky-covering sea of crimson fire. The high temperature scorched the air, sending up rolling heatwaves.