780: Chapter 781: The Hiding is Outrageous!

Ling Guzhou knelt on one knee, his thin white robes covered in dust and striking golden blood, while the gruesome wound on his left shoulder continued to seep.

He did not stand up, nor did he attempt to suppress the churning, disordered Qi within him; he simply hung his head, his fingers tightly clutching the solitary sword in his hand.

In his mind, that gentle and upright green-misted stream of light from moments ago replayed repeatedly, refusing to fade.

That sword light, which had seemed soft and devoid of any murderous aura, had effortlessly crushed the Solitary Sword Dao he had spent half his life tempering.

It crushed his proud finishing move, Solitary Swan Burying the World, and even more so, it crushed the deep-rooted perceptions he had held for so long.

"Aloofness is a prison, obsession is a cage..."

Li Xuanfeng's faint words from before were like a gentle yet inescapable shackle, tightly entwined in the depths of his Divine Soul, echoing and striking repeatedly.

Ling Guzhou slightly raised his eyes, his crimson and bloodshot gaze looking far up into the Void Realm at that tall, green-robed figure.

That man's clothes were not stained by a single speck of dust, his expression was calm and indifferent; standing upon the chaotic battlefield, he seemed to transcend this filthy slaughter, his entire being radiating an upright and bright Noble Qi.

It was such a person who had shattered his solitude with a single sword and exposed his obsession with a single word.

Deep in his heart, a minutely subtle trace of confusion quietly began to grow.

Could it be... that I am truly wrong?

Could the Solitary Sword Dao I have spent my life defending have been a cage of self-imprisonment from the very beginning?

This question raced frantically through his mind, tearing at his Dao Heart, causing a tiny crack to appear for the first time in his previously unshakeable belief in his Sword Dao.

He had always been cold and aloof, detached from human emotions, taking the sword as his friend and slaughter to prove his Dao; his only pursuit in this life was the supremacy of his Sword Dao.

But today, Li Xuanfeng's Noble Sword had caused him more fear than any murderous blade in the world.

On the rocky ground, the white-robed swordsman's body trembled slightly, not from the pain of his injuries, but from the violent upheaval deep within his Dao Heart.

After a moment of silence, Ling Guzhou's downcast eyes suddenly sharpened, and his scattered gaze refocused.

The confusion in his eyes was forcibly suppressed, replaced by extreme stubbornness and cold determination.

His knuckles turned white from the force of his grip on the sword, his nails nearly digging into the flesh of his palm.

"No..."

His thin lips trembled slightly, his hoarse, low murmur as faint as a mosquito's hum, yet carrying an unshakeable stubbornness.

"I am not wrong."

"My Dao is also not wrong."

The world's Sword Daos follow different paths and do not converge; Li Xuanfeng's noble uprightness is his Dao, and solitary slaughter is mine.

Why must they blend? Why must they be judged?

It is merely a difference in strength, not a matter of higher or lower righteousness.

My defeat today is because the tempering of my Sword Dao has not reached Perfection, not because the path of solitude is inferior!

With his mind set, his Dao Heart reconsolidated.

The trace of wavering confusion from before was forcibly pushed into the deepest depths of his heart, buried and sealed away.

He was unwilling to negate his thousands of years of Sword Dao cultivation, unwilling to overturn the obsession he had defended for half his life.

This path was his own choice; even if he walked it in lonely isolation, even if he were covered in wounds, he would press forward to the very end.

Ling Guzhou slowly used his sword to prop himself up, his thin white robes snapping in the chaotic wind.

He did not look up at Li Xuanfeng again, showing no trace of resentment or hatred, nor any humble admission of defeat.

He simply returned his solitary sword to its scabbard, his movements slow yet steady, each action meticulous, preserving a Sword Cultivator's final dignity and pride.

His figure flickered, turning into a cold, pale sword light that shot straight toward a remote, uninhabited area of the Ancient God Burial Plain.

In this battle, he had lost.

But his Sword Dao had never surrendered.

Li Xuanfeng stood quietly, gazing calmly at Ling Guzhou's departing yet still arrogant back; he did not pursue, did not mock, and showed not a hint of triumph.

He merely nodded slightly.

A faint look of approval flashed in his eyes.

Ling Guzhou, though defeated, had not lost the character of a swordsman.

Li Xuanfeng withdrew his gaze and looked into the distance, still feeling somewhat worried after all; he didn't say much, only nodding slightly to the group: "I shall take my leave first."

Li Xuanfeng spoke in a low voice, and as his words fell, his green robes fluttered as he transformed into a green stream of light, rushing into the distance.

To the side, Shi Jingxian casually shook his blood-stained, numb arm, his entire frame aching slightly.

The wounds where his flesh had split had not yet healed, but his eyes were frighteningly bright, filled with the burning Battle Intent that followed a fierce fight.

"Haha! Refreshing! That was satisfying!"

He shouldered his blood-stained spiked club and grinned at Xiao Ruobai: "Junior Brother Xiao, the tough bones on this side have been chewed through for now, I'm leaving too!"

After saying that, he didn't even wait for a response, his figure suddenly leaping into the air and boldly crashing into a nearby battle where intense Divine Ability lights were erupting.

Xiao Ruobai's expression was steady as he turned to Fang Hanyu beside him and gave a low instruction:

"Hanyu, follow them secretly to observe, keep an eye on the situation, and send word at any time."

Fang Hanyu didn't say much, only cupping his hands in response: "Understood."

As his voice fell, his figure silently blurred, following the direction in which Li Xuanfeng and Shi Jingxian had departed, trailing them quietly.

Beside Xiao Ruobai, the quietly standing Ji Qingyi had also slipped away at some unknown point.

Not far away, Wang Zhan stared at the receding backs of Li Xuanfeng and Shi Jingxian, his brow slightly furrowed.

For some reason, looking at Li Xuanfeng's green-robed back and Shi Jingxian's ruggedness, a sense of familiarity welled up in his heart.

Suddenly, a memory surfaced from the depths of his mind—it was in the Xuanhuang World, at the Dao Zang Academy.

Seven Prodigies had appeared out of nowhere, shining brilliantly, and then suddenly departed.

Their origins were mysterious, their temperaments indifferent; they did not snatch Opportunities nor fight with others, appearing abruptly and leaving decisively.

At the time, no one knew their identities or where they came from, but thinking back now, Wang Zhan's heart suddenly constricted.

The Green Robe Guest, Li Xuanfeng.

Both figures wore green robes, both shared the same source of temperament, and both were unfathomable with unknown origins.

So that was it; the seven people who climbed the Heavenly Ladder back then were actually in league with Battle Asura and the others!

Which means, besides Li Xuanfeng and Shi Jingxian who just appeared, there are more?

He instinctively looked toward the direction where Fang Hanyu had quietly departed, then thought back to Xiao Ruobai's words.

Could it be that even Shen Jinghong and Lin Mochen are also among them?

They really have hidden themselves to a hair-raising degree...

Meanwhile, in a desolate forest within the Ancient God Burial Plain.

Shen Jinghong and Lin Mochen were collecting the treasures from a lone Prodigy before gently "sending" them out of the Secret Realm space.

Raising her eyes to the Sky Rankings, the moment she saw the glaring rankings, Shen Jinghong's brow twitched.

"Oops, I got a bit too into the looting; it seems we're a bit too eye-catching this time."

Just as her voice fell, both of their expressions suddenly changed simultaneously.

Buzz—

On the distant horizon, several terrifying auras as majestic as overturning mountains pierced through layers of clouds, crushing down overbearingly.

Vast Dragon Might, Glazed Divine Light, Mysterious Yin Cold Qi...

Several distinctly different yet equally powerful Immortal Sovereign pressures tightly locked onto this forest!

Lin Mochen's gaze sharpened, his voice low and tinged with urgency: "Not good, they've caught up."

Shen Jinghong's mouth twitched as she instinctively turned to look at the sky, her tone explosive yet helpless: "Damn it, are they dogs?! Their noses are so sharp!"

Without the slightest hesitation, spiritual light exploded beneath their feet as their figures instantly shot out.

There should be one more chapter, I'll try to post it before seven o'clock.