283: Chapter 283 Sword Falls from the Nine Heavens and the Heavenly Punishment Guard

In the private room on the top floor of the Daoyun Tea House, a gentle breeze blew in through the open crystal window, scattering that small pinch of gray powder into the cracks of the floor.

Zhou Wannian sat upright on the rosewood chair, drinking the last sip of Yunhai Enlightenment Tea in his cup.

The tea flowed down his throat, transforming into a trace of gentle Law power that merged into his Qi Sea; although it had little effect on him now, the elegant aftertaste still made him feel very comfortable.

He slowly set down the teacup, which was as delicate as suet jade, creating a crisp clinking sound.

Just then, a series of hurried and panicked footsteps came from the stairs leading to the top floor.

The manager of the Daoyun Tea House, a round-bodied elderly man in brocade robes with Middle Stage Taiyi cultivation, rushed up, sweating profusely, with the pale-faced waitress.

The sudden burst of Daluo Sword Qi on the top floor, followed by the eerily vanishing energy fluctuations, had filled this knowledgeable manager with unprecedented terror.

When the manager rushed to the top floor and saw the scene before him, his already somewhat round face twitched violently with fear.

The large top floor was empty; there were no traces of a fight, no broken tables or chairs.

That arrogant and domineering Young Lord of the Nine Heavens Sword Sect, Gu Chen, along with the two inseparable Late Stage Taiyi guards by his side, seemed to have evaporated into thin air, leaving not even a trace of their presence.

Only the young man wearing an ordinary Green Robe remained, sitting steadily by the window with a calm expression.

The manager swallowed a mouthful of dry saliva, his gaze inadvertently sweeping over the small amount of gray powder remaining on the floor by Zhou Wannian's feet, and a chilling guess flashed through his mind.

Having lived for tens of thousands of years, he naturally knew what that powder was.

It was the ashes of tribulation left behind after a Cultivator was instantly obliterated by some supreme Law, with both their Physical Body and Divine Soul disintegrating simultaneously.

The manager's legs went weak, and he nearly collapsed to the ground.

He forced himself to steady his mind, hurried to a spot a few zhang away from Zhou Wannian's table, and bowed deeply, not even daring to raise his head.

The manager's voice trembled as he said with immense awe, "Sen... Senior. This... Young Lord Gu Chen, he..."

Zhou Wannian's expression was indifferent; he did not explain anything.

He casually tossed another piece of top-grade immortal yuan stone that emitted a brilliant radiance onto the table.

Zhou Wannian said in a casual tone, "The tea is not bad. This immortal yuan stone is for the cleaning fee. Although the scenery of this Juntian Immortal Domain is good, there are just a few too many flies."

The manager looked at the priceless top-grade immortal yuan stone on the table but felt it was a scorching hot iron.

How could he dare to accept it? He only felt a chill shoot straight from the soles of his feet to his crown.

The manager broke out in a cold sweat and stammered, "Senior is too kind to this Junior. Senior has already paid for the tea; I dare not accept more. It's just... that Gu Chen is the only son of Gu Jianqiu, the Sect Master of the Nine Heavens Sword Sect. Gu Jianqiu has a violent temper and his cultivation has reached the Early Luo Stage. If Senior killed his son, he will surely exhaust the entire Sect's power to seek revenge. Senior should leave this Yingxian City as soon as possible to avoid the limelight."

The manager said this out of some goodwill, and also to avoid the Daoyun Tea House being caught in the crossfire of the upcoming Daluo battle and being reduced to ashes.

Zhou Wannian stood up and casually brushed off his Green Robe.

He glanced at the terrified manager, his deep eyes showing not a ripple of emotion.

Zhou Wannian said in a calm tone, "Avoid the limelight? I have never liked to retrace my steps. If he wants to come and die, I will fulfill his wish. You can continue your business with peace of mind; this tea house will not collapse."

After saying this, he ignored the manager's sorrowful expression and walked steadily down the stairs.

His back was calm and unhurried, as if he had just crushed an insignificant ant, rather than provoking a super Sect with a Daluo Dao Ancestor.

Walking out of the Daoyun Tea House, the streets of Yingxian City were still bustling and lively.

The immortal birds and Auspicious Beast in the air let out crisp cries, and the air was filled with dense Spiritual Qi.

Zhou Wannian walked with his hands behind his back on the wide bluestone street.

His pace was neither fast nor slow, his gaze casually scanning the stalls on both sides of the street selling ancient Jade Slips and strange Ore.

A golden light poked half its head out from his sleeve; it was the Gold-Devouring Immortal, Golden Boy.

Its mung bean-sized eyes rolled around, seemingly curious about the dense Law Aura of this Juntian Immortal Domain, and its small mouth occasionally made faint chewing sounds.

Zhou Wannian stretched out a finger and tapped Golden Boy on the head.

Zhou Wannian said gently, "Behave yourself. Most of the Magic Treasures in this city are just for show; they don't have the high-grade refined gold you like to eat. If someone delivers themselves to our doorstep later, I'll reward you with those scraps to snack on."

Golden Boy nodded humanely and obediently retreated into the sleeve.

Just as Zhou Wannian was strolling along the long street, a heaven-shaking transformation erupted on a sword Peak that pierced the clouds tens of millions of miles outside Yingxian City.

Inside the Ancestral Master ancestral hall of the Nine Heavens Sword Sect, a life-bound sword tablet enshrined at the highest point suddenly let out a shrill sword cry, and then shattered into countless crystalline powders without warning.

Immediately after, a closed stone door deep in the ancestral hall exploded.

A violent Early Luo Stage Sword Intent, filled with endless Killing Intent and sorrow, erupted like a volcanic eruption, directly breaking through the layers of clouds above the sword Peak.

The originally peaceful Spiritual Qi in the sky was instantly torn apart by this Sword Intent, turning into sharp air currents raging across the sky.

A middle-aged man wearing a black and white Taoist robe, with a face as cold as ten-thousand-year ice, stepped out from the sky full of dust.

This person was none other than the Sect Master of the Nine Heavens Sword Sect, the Daluo Sword Immortal who was famous in the outer regions of the Juntian Immortal Domain, Gu Jianqiu.

Gu Jianqiu's eyes were blood-red, and his entire body radiated a suffocating Evil Qi.

He not only perceived that his only son Gu Chen's life-bound sword tablet had shattered, but also sensed that the Daluo Sword Qi Clone he had left on Gu Chen had been instantly obliterated by someone using an unbelievable method.

That Clone was connected to his Origin, and its destruction caused his Divine Soul to suffer a slight shock, with a trickle of bright red blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.

Gu Jianqiu let out a wild roar to the sky like an injured beast.

Gu Jianqiu roared hoarsely, "Who is it? Who is it! Daring to kill my son, Gu Jianqiu's son, in Yingxian City and destroy my Sword Qi Clone. This Seat will skin you and pull out your bones, suppress your Divine Soul under the Ten Thousand Sword Abyss, and make you suffer the pain of ten thousand swords piercing your heart for eternity."

Following his roar, bells rang out loudly within the Nine Heavens Sword Sect.

The long and murderous bell tolls echoed through the sky; this was the Nine Heavens Killing Bell that only rang when the Nine Heavens Sword Sect encountered an enemy of Sect-exterminating level.

In less than half an incense stick of time, tens of thousands of Sword Cultivators soared into the sky from every corner of the sword Peak.

The lowest cultivation among these Sword Cultivators was the True Immortal Realm, and there were even hundreds of Elders at the Taiyi Golden Immortal level.

They stepped on Flying Swords, gathering behind Gu Jianqiu, forming a terrifying sea of swords that obscured the sky and sun.

A pitch-black Daluo Immortal Sword, radiating intense Destruction Law, appeared out of thin air in Gu Jianqiu's hand.

He pointed it towards the direction of Yingxian City from afar.

Gu Jianqiu coldly issued the order, "All Elders and Disciples, listen to my command. Seal off the Void Realm around Yingxian City. Do not let a single fly escape. Follow this Seat to kill."

Boom.

Tens of thousands of sword lights erupted simultaneously, like a Heaven-Defying meteor shower, carrying an unstoppable momentum, surging towards Yingxian City.

Wherever the sword light passed, the Void Realm was cut into countless fine black cracks that could not heal for a long time.

Inside Yingxian City, the originally bustling and noisy streets suddenly fell into an eerie silence.

The sky turned dark.

The originally clear and cloudless dome was suddenly shrouded by a pitch-black sword cloud.

That overwhelming Daluo Killing Intent, which made Divine Souls tremble, pressed heavily on the hearts of every Cultivator in the city like an invisible giant mountain.

The defensive Formation in the city automatically activated upon sensing this hostility, and a translucent golden light screen enveloped the entire divine city.

But that black sword cloud did not pause at all and crashed straight into the city-protecting light screen.

Accompanied by a deafening roar, the city-protecting Formation, which claimed to be able to withstand attacks from the Peak of Taiyi, lasted only three breaths in the face of Gu Jianqiu's violent Daluo Sword Intent before shattering like fragile glass.

A sky full of sword rain hovered above Yingxian City, with sharp Sword Qi pointing directly at the terrified Loose Cultivators and merchants below.

The City Lord of Yingxian City, an old man with cultivation at the Peak of Late Stage Taiyi, flew into the high sky, sweating profusely.

He looked at Gu Jianqiu, who was like a god of slaughter descending, and bowed with a trembling voice.

The Yingxian City Lord said in terror, "Sect Master Gu, please calm your anger. I do not know how Yingxian City has offended the Nine Heavens Sword Sect, causing the Sect Master to mobilize such a force and break our city-protecting Formation. If there is a misunderstanding, please investigate, Sect Master."

Gu Jianqiu looked down at the City Lord from above, his blood-red eyes filled with disdain and tyranny.

Gu Jianqiu said in a chilling tone, "Get lost. My only son was killed in your city, and not even his Divine Soul was left behind. If I cannot find the murderer today, I will blood-wash this Yingxian City and make all of you be buried with my son."

As soon as these words came out, the whole city was in an uproar.

Countless Cultivators were scared pale, fleeing in all directions, looking for sturdy bunkers to hide.

Once a Daluo Dao Ancestor went mad, it was a truly world-destroying disaster; these ordinary Cultivators couldn't even be considered cannon fodder.

Gu Jianqiu ignored the panic of the ants below.

He closed his eyes, his hands quickly forming seals, and the Daluo Law in his body operated crazily.

He was performing a forbidden secret technique called "Bloodline Retracing," trying to lock onto the murderer's location through the trace of Bloodline Aura that Gu Chen left in the world.

After just a few breaths, Gu Jianqiu suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze like two materialized lightning bolts, instantly piercing through the layers of streets, locking firmly onto a Green Robe figure standing with hands behind his back at the end of the long street.

The young man stood in the middle of the empty street, the surrounding shops already closed their doors tight.

Under the terrifying sword rain hovering in the sky, his Green Robe looked so thin, but the expression on his face was so calm and indifferent, as if everything in the sky had nothing to do with him.

Gu Jianqiu flashed, instantly teleporting to the sky above the long street, less than a hundred zhang away from Zhou Wannian.

The pitch-black Immortal Sword in his hand pointed at Zhou Wannian, the sword tip spitting out black Sword Qi that tore through the Void Realm.

Gu Jianqiu gritted his teeth and asked sternly, "It was you, this nameless rat, who killed my son Gu Chen."

Zhou Wannian slowly raised his head, his gaze calm as he looked at the ferocious Gu Jianqiu in mid-air.

He did not release any Daluo Realm pressure to resist the other's Aura, standing there loosely, like an ordinary scholar without any cultivation.

Zhou Wannian answered in a relaxed tone, without a trace of worldly disturbance.

Zhou Wannian said calmly: "Your son was shouting in the teahouse, far too noisy, disturbing my pleasure in drinking tea. I just happened to send him away. Since you are here to seek revenge, you might as well stay behind, so as to avoid trouble in the future."

This understated tone, as if he were talking about crushing a mosquito, made the tens of thousands of Nine Heavens Sword Sect Sword Cultivators in the high sky gasp.

They could not imagine that in this Jun Tian Immortal Domain, someone would dare to speak to a Sword Cultivator at the Early Luo Stage with such an attitude. This was not arrogance; this was simply madness.

Gu Jianqiu laughed out of extreme anger, his laughter filled with cruel Killing Intent. He stopped wasting words, for any language seemed pale and weak in the face of the hatred for his son's death.

Gu Jianqiu shouted: "Prepare to die. Nine Heavens Annihilation Sword Formation. Rise."

With his loud roar, the tens of thousands of Sword Cultivators floating in the sky simultaneously channeled the Sword Qi within their bodies. Tens of thousands of Flying Swords intertwined in mid-air, transforming into a black sword dragon ten thousand zhang long, condensed from pure destructive Sword Qi.

This sword dragon exuded a terrifying pressure capable of destroying the world, and wherever it passed, the sturdy Void Realm of Yingxian City was torn into countless huge spatial rifts like tattered cloth. That was the perfect Fusion of the Daluo Realm Law and the power of tens of thousands of Sword Cultivators; even a powerhouse at the Early Luo Stage would absolutely not dare to meet this strike head-on, and could only temporarily avoid its edge.

The black sword dragon opened its mouth made of endless Sword Qi, and with a deafening roar, it viciously devoured Zhou Wannian below.

Facing this absolute killing blow that seemed capable of splitting the entire city in two.

Zhou Wannian still did not summon his half-step Xuantian Treasure, the void-splitting ruler.

He did not even raise his hand.

He just stood quietly in place, and a faint golden light suddenly flashed in his deep eyes. That was the sign of one hundred and eight time dao patternss surging within his Qi Sea.

Great Five Elements Illusory World Art, Time Law, Great Perfection.

Space Law, Great Perfection.

Zhou Wannian raised his chin slightly, looking at the huge sword dragon roaring down, his lips parted slightly.

Zhou Wannian spat out two words in a steady tone: "Fix. Disperse."

Hum.

The time and space of the entire Yingxian City seemed to fall into absolute stillness at this moment.

That ten-thousand-zhang sword dragon, exuding the might of a Daluo and less than ten zhang above Zhou Wannian's head, stopped abruptly in mid-air. The destructive Sword Qi that had been flowing crazily on the surface of the sword dragon was like a flying insect frozen in amber, completely losing its violent kinetic energy.

Immediately following, an indescribable fluctuation of supreme Law rippled gently upwards, centered on Zhou Wannian.

There was no violent explosion, nor any blinding strong light.

The black sword dragon, which had gathered the power of tens of thousands of Nine Heavens Sword Sect Sword Cultivators, weathered away as if it had experienced a thousand-fold acceleration the moment it touched that Law fluctuation.

From the head of the sword to the tail.

The indestructible Sword Qi dragon body, amidst a teeth-aching sound of subtle shattering, turned into fine light spots dancing all over the sky. The Flying Swords themselves, crafted from high-grade spiritual materials, were directly ground into the most primitive metal powder by the power of spatial disintegration, falling down in a scatter.

Less than half a breath of time.

The Nine Heavens Annihilation Sword Formation, capable of destroying the world, was completely wiped out at the thought of Zhou Wannian, who did not even need to make a move.

In mid-air.

Gu Jianqiu's ferocious face was now completely occupied by horror and disbelief. His body was trembling violently, and the feeling of trembling from the depths of his Divine Soul made even the hand holding his sword weak.

How could this be?

That was a combined attack of a Daluo-level sword Formation, yet it was casually resolved by someone with two words. The other party's control over the Time Law and Space Law had reached a terrifying dimension he simply could not understand. This was absolutely not something a normal Early Luo Stage could do.

It was not just Gu Jianqiu; those tens of thousands of Nine Heavens Sword Sect Disciples floating in the air all suffered the terrifying backlash of the sword Formation being broken.

Tens of thousands of shrill screams sounded at the same time.

The Sword Cultivators in the sky were like leaves swept away by a violent wind, all spitting out large mouthfuls of blood, their Qi Sea and Meridians torn apart by the instantly backlashing sword yuan. They fell from the sky like dumplings, crashing into the ruins of Yingxian City, wailing everywhere, their cultivation completely destroyed.

Zhou Wannian withdrew his gaze and looked at the lonely Gu Jianqiu in mid-air.

Zhou Wannian commented in an easygoing tone: "Sword cultivation emphasizes purity of heart and moving forward without hesitation. Your Sword Intent is mixed with too much baleful Qi and worldly arrogance; it is too chaotic. This kind of sword is not worthy of being called a Daluo sword."

He slowly raised his right hand, his wide Green Robe sleeves gently fluttering in the wind.

Five Elements Origin, Great Perfection disintegration.

Zhou Wannian casually flicked his sleeve towards the direction where Gu Jianqiu was.

A five-colored ripple, invisible to the naked eye, ignored the distance of space and crossed Gu Jianqiu's body directly.

Gu Jianqiu instinctively wanted to channel his escape light to flee and use life-saving secret techniques. But that supreme Five Elements disintegration force instantly sealed all his Law operations.

He looked down in horror, seeing his hands and body turning into ashes at a speed visible to the naked eye. No blood flowed out, and there was no pain. It was the basic Five Elements elements that constituted his body and Divine Soul being forcibly stripped away and scattered.

Gu Jianqiu opened his mouth in despair, wanting to say something.

But he could not even make a single syllable before his entire person completely turned into a mass of gray ashes in mid-air, and with the dissipation of that ripple, it completely drifted away with the wind.

A dignified Sect Master of the Sword Sect at the Early Luo Stage was thus reduced to nothingness on the long street by a casual flick of a sleeve. Even the chance for Reincarnation was completely wiped out.

The surviving Cultivators in Yingxian City, hiding in the dark watching this scene, all had their brains stuck in a dead state. They could not use language to describe the shock in their hearts. That green-robed youth who looked like he had no cultivation was simply a Lord of Laws walking in the human world; with a wave of his hand, he could easily wipe out all powerful existences in this world.

Instant kill.

No matter how many people the other side brought, no matter how grand their Formation was.

In the face of Zhou Wannian's absolutely relaxed crushing, the ending always had only these two crisp words.

Zhou Wannian withdrew his right hand and casually dusted his sleeves, as if he had just brushed a fallen leaf off his shoulder.

He did not go to check on the Sword Sect Disciples wailing on the street, nor did he go to collect the storage Magic Treasures scattered after Gu Jianqiu's fall. He prepared to continue his journey and find a place to inquire about the distribution of the Central Immortal Domain.

However, just as he turned around.

Zhou Wannian's footsteps paused slightly, and a faint glimmer of light flashed in his deep eyes, which was rare.

He looked up at the sky above Yingxian City that had already been torn by the sword clouds.

In the sky, an eerie dark purple halo appeared at some point. There was no fluctuation of immortal spiritual energy in this halo, nor violent Killing Intent, but it revealed a cold, rigid "Heavenly Dao" Aura representing the absolute will of the Heavenly Court.

Immediately following.

Three mysterious figures shrouded in purple lightning cloaks emerged from the Void Realm without warning. They had no faces, wearing cold masks engraved with intricate lightning patterns. Their cultivation levels were all at the Peak of the Early Luo Stage, and the three people's Auras were connected, faintly forming a perfect combined attack Formation.

In the hand of the black-robed person in the middle, he held a dark golden compass exuding an ancient and vicissitudinous Aura. The needle of the compass seemed to be attracted by a magnet, firmly pointing at Zhou Wannian below.

As soon as these three figures appeared, the already thin air in Yingxian City seemed to be sucked dry in an instant. A terrifying pressure a hundred times more violent than Gu Jianqiu's before suppressed everyone's heart indiscriminately.

The Heavenly Court's highest Law enforcement agency.

Heavenly Punishment Dark Guards.

What they held in their hands was the Innate Spirit Treasure that could lock onto heavenly secrets and seal time and space — the Sky-Locking Compass.

The Heavenly Punishment Dark Guard in the middle looked down at Zhou Wannian from above, and a mechanical voice without any emotional color came from under the cold mask.

The Heavenly Punishment Dark Guard sentenced coldly: "Target identity confirmed. Zhou Wannian. Violated Heavenly Court Laws, executed Ziwei Star Lord. The Thunder Punishment Dao Ancestor issued a Heavenly Dao wanted order. Time and space have been sealed, the target has nowhere to escape. Execute on the spot, detain the Divine Soul."

As his mechanical words fell, the Sky-Locking Compass in his hand erupted with a dazzling circle of dark golden light.

This light instantly enveloped the void within a radius of one hundred thousand li.

At this moment, the Space Law in this area was completely frozen, and the flow of time was forcibly unified. Any teleportation Spell, boundary-breaking Talisman, or even the power of Space Origin would lose its effect under the suppression of this Innate Spirit Treasure.

This was the absolute killing trap set by the Heavenly Court to deal with those extremely troublesome powerhouse at the Daluo Realm. They did not give Zhou Wannian any chance to escape or perform strange movement techniques, preparing to use the combined force of three Peak Early Luo Stage dark guards to strangle him head-on.

Facing this peerless killing trap descending from the sky, facing the Heavenly Punishment Dark Guards representing the supreme authority of the Heavenly Court.

Zhou Wannian did not show any panic.

He did not even make a move to try to break the seal of the Sky-Locking Compass. He just stood quietly on the long street shrouded in dark golden light, looking up at the three Heavenly Punishment Dark Guards high above.

The corners of his mouth curled into an extremely faint, mocking arc.

Zhou Wannian's tone was steady, that sense of relaxation seeping from his bones was displayed vividly at this moment.

Zhou Wannian said calmly: "The Heavenly Court's dogs have a keen sense of smell. It's just a pity that their brains aren't very good. Sealing time and space? I never intended to leave. Since you traveled so far to throw your lives away, I must fulfill the duties of a host."

He did not summon any Magic Treasure.

He just slowly raised his right hand, fingers closed, palm facing up, making an extremely casual invitation gesture.

Zhou Wannian said in an easygoing tone: "Come. Let me see how much stronger the Heavenly Court's dark guards are than those trash just now."