71: Sword pressing down on Nascent Soul

Qingyun Immortal Sect, Mountain Gate.

Two Qi Refinement Stage Disciples, responsible for guarding the mountain, were yawning idly, chatting about the astonishing phenomenon that had occurred earlier in the day from the direction of Ninghai City.

“Senior Brother, what do you think is the background of the Ninghai Chen Family’s Patriarch? His Golden Core formation caused a bigger stir than when Sect Master formed her Nascent Soul!”

“Who knows, but I heard that Ancestor Potian and quite a few Grand Elders suffered a setback at his hands a few days ago. This grudge is definitely set.”

Just then, one of the Disciples suddenly felt a pang in his heart.

As if he had been targeted by some ferocious beast.

He instinctively looked up.

He saw a black stream of light in the distant sky, shooting towards the Mountain Gate at an incredible speed!

Behind that stream of light, a long tail flame, seemingly condensed from blood and Killing Intent, trailed behind.

Even from hundreds of miles away, that terrifying might, which made one’s Divine Soul tremble, already assaulted their Faces!

“Enemy… enemy attack!”

The Disciple was so scared his Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering, almost dropping the warning jade talisman in his hand.

He scrambled and rushed towards the interior of the Sect.

“Quick! Quick, ring the alarm bell!!”

Clang—! Clang—! Clang—!

The urgent, sharp clang of the alarm bell instantly echoed through the Qingyun Immortal Sect’s myriad mountains.

For a time, countless Cultivators in seclusion were startled awake.

Streaks of light shot up from various Immortal Caves and peaks.

“What’s going on? Who dares to trespass into my Qingyun Immortal Sect!”

“What strong Killing Intent! Is a Demonic Path Great Power attacking?”

The Sect’s mountain-protecting grand array, the “Nine-Bend Flowing Cloud Array,” instantly activated.

Layers of swirling clouds and mist transformed into a colossal light barrier, enveloping the entire Mountain Gate.

Countless Disciples and deacons stood ready, the atmosphere tense to the extreme.

Everyone thought a great battle was imminent.

However, to everyone’s surprise, the black iron flying boat, radiating supreme malevolence, stopped steadily less than a hundred zhang from the mountain-protecting grand array.

Upon the flying boat, a tall figure stood with his hands behind his back, none other than Chen Xu.

He did not look at the Azure Cloud Sect Disciples, who were on high alert, but instead directly piloted the flying boat, bypassing the Mountain Gate, and flew straight towards the heart of the Sect.

That was the vital area of the Qingyun Immortal Sect — the Scripture Pavilion.

This action left everyone stunned.

Just as everyone was filled with doubt and uncertainty, Chen Xu’s calm voice, amplified by spiritual power, clearly reached the ears of every person in the Qingyun Immortal Sect.

“I, Chen Xu, in the name of a Grand Elder protecting the Sect, have come to consult the Sect’s ancient texts. I ask Fellow Daoist to open the door.”

For a moment, Chen Xu’s voice echoed among the mountains.

The entire Qingyun Immortal Sect instantly fell into a profound silence.

All the Disciples and Elders who heard this sentence were completely dumbfounded.

Consult ancient texts?

Is this consulting?

With such overwhelming Killing Intent, driving a flying boat right to the entrance, it was clearly an attempt to forcefully seize them!

Immediately, countless Divine Senses and gazes converged on the Scripture Pavilion.

Those Elders who had just flown out.

They couldn't even bother to question him, and rushed towards the Scripture Pavilion.

They were both afraid that Chen Xu would suddenly attack and couldn't suppress their curiosity.

They wanted to see what this malevolent figure was truly up to.

In front of the Scripture Pavilion, Chen Xu descended from the flying boat, stood with his hands behind his back, and waited quietly.

He did not release any pressure.

But that invisible Aura, which had just slain a Late Nascent Soul Stage powerhouse, pressed down on the hearts of every arriving Azure Cloud Sect Cultivator like an unseen mountain.

Some Disciples with lower cultivation even found it difficult to breathe.

The circulation of spiritual power within their bodies was greatly sluggish.

This was his might!

No need to act, just standing there, no one dared to approach, no one dared to look him in the eye.

Time passed, minute by minute.

The heavy, ancient door of the Scripture Pavilion remained tightly shut, without any response.

The surrounding atmosphere grew increasingly oppressive.

Finally, under everyone’s gaze, the door creaked open slowly inwards.

Everyone’s hearts tightened, thinking it was the Elder guarding the pavilion emerging.

However, the one who walked out from behind the door was not the reclusive, eccentric guardian of the pavilion.

Instead, it was an old man in a gray robe, his Face ashen, his eyes so gloomy they seemed to drip water.

It was none other than Ancestor Potian, the leader of the conservative faction of the Qingyun Immortal Sect.

Behind him, seven or eight Elders, whose Auras were equally powerful, followed.

Each of them glared angrily at Chen Xu.

Clearly, they were all on his side.

As soon as Ancestor Potian stepped out, he fixed his gaze on Chen Xu.

He blocked the entrance of the Scripture Pavilion, forming a human wall: “The Scripture Pavilion is a vital area of the Sect; what it contains is the Foundation and Legacy of my Qingyun Immortal Sect’s ten-thousand-year establishment!”

“The ancestral Law states that core ancient texts shall not be passed on! Let alone you, a Grand Elder, even if the Sect Master were to come personally, he would have no right to break this precedent!”

Ancestor Potian’s voice was loud, imbued with the magical power of a Nascent Soul Cultivator, and clearly spread across the plaza in front of the Scripture Pavilion.

It also reached the ears of every Azure Cloud Sect Cultivator who had rushed over upon hearing the news.

His hair bristled, and his Face displayed a righteous sternness in upholding the Sect’s iron rules, as if he represented not an individual, but the ten-thousand-year Dao and dignity of the entire Qingyun Immortal Sect.

“Elder Chen, I respect you as a Grand Elder appointed by the Sect, and I acknowledge your strength.”

“But one thing is one thing! The core area of the Scripture Pavilion holds the Foundation and Legacy of my Qingyun Immortal Sect’s ten-thousand-year establishment, the crystallization of the efforts of generations of Ancestral Masters!”

He paused, his voice rising a few octaves, his gaze fixed on Chen Xu.

“If you wish to consult the ordinary ancient texts in the outer area, no one will stop you, but the core Legacy, unless you perform an unparalleled meritorious deed for my Qingyun Immortal Sect and gain the approval of all Grand Elders, it is absolutely impossible!”

An Elder behind him immediately echoed: “Senior Brother Potian is absolutely right! Elder Chen, though your talent is exceptional, you are ultimately an outsider.”

“How can the Legacy of my Qingyun Immortal Sect be easily shown to outsiders? Please, Elder Chen, respect yourself and do not make things difficult for us!”

“Exactly! Rules are rules!”

“Elder Chen came with such Killing Intent, and now he wants to force his way into the Scripture Pavilion. This is too disrespectful to my Qingyun Immortal Sect!”

For a time, this group of conservative Elders chattered away.

Their words were filled with rejection and hostility towards Chen Xu, the “outsider.”

They placed themselves on the moral high ground of rules and righteousness.

Attempting to pressure Chen Xu with the greater good of the Sect.

The tens of thousands of Disciples and deacons who had rushed over also discussed animatedly.

“Ancestor Potian makes sense; the core Legacy truly cannot be leaked.”

“But Elder Chen is a Grand Elder after all, and his strength is unfathomable. Is it really wise to reject him like this and make him lose Face?”

“Hmph, what Grand Elder? It’s just a title given by the Sect Master to win him over. Look at his posture today; where is there any respect for the Sect? He’s clearly here to forcefully seize it!”

Various voices mixed together, and the atmosphere grew increasingly tense.

Everyone’s gaze focused on Chen Xu.

They wanted to see how he would respond.

However, Chen Xu’s reaction was beyond everyone’s expectations.

Facing Ancestor Potian’s righteous rebuke.

Facing the support of those few Elders.

Facing the tens of thousands of complex gazes around him, he couldn’t even be bothered to say a single superfluous word.

Time.

What he lacked most now was time.

The Blood Fiend Sect’s butcher knife could fall at any moment, and the lives of hundreds of thousands of beings in Ninghai City hung by a thread.

He had no time, nor the mood, to play power games and verbal sparring with these old fogeys, who were like frogs in a well.

Logic is for those who are willing to listen.

For these stubborn old relics, who only wanted to maintain their pathetic authority, there was only one most effective way to communicate.

That is, to make them feel fear.

Chen Xu slowly raised his right hand.

Without warning.

With a soft hum, the myriad ages azure cloud sword appeared out of thin air in his palm.

The sword body glowed with a flowing azure light, ancient and unadorned.

But with its appearance, the surrounding air seemed to sharpen by three points.

This action was his answer.

Seeing Chen Xu directly draw his sword, Ancestor Potian was first stunned, then flew into a rage!

He had thought that by bringing up ancestral rules and the greater good of the Sect, Chen Xu, no matter how arrogant, would have to weigh his options, and at least offer a few words of explanation.

At that time, he would slowly contend with him, dragging out the matter to make him retreat in the Face of difficulty.

But he hadn't expected him to still be so arrogant!

Without a word, he drew his sword directly!

What was he going to do?

Did he dare to attack him, a Nascent Soul Ancestor, within the Qingyun Immortal Sect’s Mountain Gate, under the gaze of tens of thousands of Disciples?!

“Good! Good! Good!”

Ancestor Potian laughed in extreme anger, his gaunt body trembling with rage: “Arrogant brat! Do you truly think that just because you are a Grand Elder, you can disregard everything and ignore the ten-thousand-year prestige of my Azure Cloud Sect?!”

The moment his voice fell, he no longer suppressed his Aura.

Boom!

A terrifying pressure belonging to the Early Nascent Soul Stage erupted from his body!

Vast spiritual power transformed into visible Qi waves, sweeping out in all directions with him as the center.

Disciples with lower cultivation nearby, struck by this Aura, felt their chests tighten, their blood and Qi churn, and they retreated repeatedly, their Faces filled with horror.

The few Elders behind Ancestor Potian also simultaneously activated their magical power, merging their Auras with his.

These Auras formed an even vaster and heavier pressure, bearing down on Chen Xu.

However, facing the combined pressure of these Nascent Soul Cultivators.

Chen Xu’s expression was very calm.

He looked at the group of people calmly, his eyes devoid of ripples.

He slowly raised the myriad ages azure cloud sword in his hand, its tip pointing diagonally at the ground.

And at this very moment, a barely perceptible trace of purple-gold light quietly flowed over the sword tip.

The light was not dazzling, yet it seemed to contain some supreme Law from the dawn of creation.

With its appearance, the inherent Aura of the myriad ages azure cloud sword in Chen Xu’s hand underwent a world-shaking qualitative change.

If before it was a peerless divine weapon.

Then at this moment, it was a scepter that wielded the Laws of Heaven and Earth!

An indescribable sword pressure, from that tiny sword tip, instantly condensed into form.

This sword pressure was formless and intangible, yet it seemed as heavy as the myriad ages azure cloud, carrying an unquestionable, irresistible will, bearing down on Ancestor Potian and the others in front!

There was no earth-shattering roar, nor brilliant flashes of colliding spiritual power.

The moment Chen Xu’s sword pressure met the combined pressure of Ancestor Potian and the others.

A scene that tens of thousands of Cultivators present would never forget appeared.

Ancestor Potian’s proud Nascent Soul Aura, in front of that seemingly unremarkable sword pressure, was instantly melted and evaporated!

“Thud!”

A dull thud, exceptionally harsh on the plaza.

Under the gaze of tens of thousands of eyes, mixed with shock and bewilderment.

Ancestor Potian, the revered figure of the Qingyun Immortal Sect, was struck as if by lightning, his legs giving way.

His knees hit the ground heavily.

He actually knelt straight down in front of everyone!

The few Elders behind him suffered an even more tragic fate.

Their cultivation was already inferior to Ancestor Potian’s, and under that sword pressure, they didn’t even have the qualification to kneel.

Each of them groaned, as if struck by a heavy hammer, simultaneously spitting out a mouthful of fresh blood and flying backward!

“Ugh ah ah ah!”

Ancestor Potian’s eyes were bloodshot; humiliation and shock made him incredibly furious!

He wanted to stand up!

He, a dignified Nascent Soul Ancestor, the respected figure of a faction.

How could he kneel before a junior in front of tens of thousands of Disciples!

He frantically urged the Nascent Soul within his body, his magical power erupting like a volcano, and all the bones in his body creaked!

Veins bulged on his forehead and neck.

However, it was useless.

That sword pressure was like a real Mount Tai.

Firmly suppressing him in place.

No matter how he struggled or roared, he could not shake that power in the slightest.

His knees seemed to be nailed to the ground.

He couldn’t even lift them an inch.

What kind of power is this?!

This is definitely not power that a Golden Core Stage Cultivator can possess!

Even a Late Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator, or even those legendary Spirit Transformation Great Powers, couldn’t suppress him to such an extent with just a single sword pressure!

This simply defied common sense!

This completely overturned his thousand years of cultivation knowledge!

The entire scene was dead silent!

Tens of thousands of Azure Cloud Sect Disciples and deacons were all as if frozen in place.

Staring blankly at the incredible scene before them.

Their minds were completely blank.

Ancestor Potian!

He actually... knelt?

Just by being pointed at with a sword tip by that young man, he was pressured into kneeling on the ground, unable to move?

What a terrifying disparity in strength!

Everyone who had previously harbored dissatisfaction towards Chen Xu was now scared into silence, chilled to the bone.

Just as the oppressive atmosphere was almost suffocating.

A helpless female voice clearly echoed in everyone’s ears.

“Enough.”

Everyone’s hearts tightened, and they all looked up.

They saw in the sky, the clouds and mist dispersed, and a beautiful figure slowly emerged.

She wore a Sect Master’s robe with cloud patterns, her figure graceful, her Face peerless.

It was none other than the Sect Master of the Qingyun Immortal Sect, Murong Zhuyun.

The moment her figure appeared, it attracted everyone’s gaze.

As if all the brilliance in heaven and earth converged upon her alone.

However, this Sect Master, who was usually incomparably majestic, had no trace of anger on her Face at this moment.

Her gaze first complexly swept over the young man standing with his sword in the center of the plaza.

Then, it finally landed on Ancestor Potian, who was still struggling bitterly and utterly humiliated on the ground.

She looked at him and sighed deeply.

That sigh was filled with weariness and disappointment.

“Junior Martial Uncle Potian, why must you be like this?”

“Have you forgotten the words I spoke to you?”

“Must you make the situation so ugly at this time?”