427: Chapter 427 Heavenly Sword True Monarch, why is he here?

Blood-colored Spiritual Qi rose, condensed, and surged, as if lightning were brewing within. Wisps of silver-white spatial rifts appeared and vanished intermittently, like a celestial curtain hanging over the world.

The terrifying vital energy accumulated within the Myriad Spirits Grand Array for over a decade gushed out incessantly, pushing the Spiritual Qi to an incredibly exaggerated level.

A giant black Peach Blossom tree grew in the ocean of blood-colored Spiritual Qi. It had no leaves, only a pitch-black trunk that looked withered. There was no Aura of life, only a Concept of chilling slaughter.

Suddenly! A crimson light glowed at the top of the tree as a vibrant Peach Blossom bloomed, subsequently transforming into a woman of peerless beauty.

Dressed in a crimson gown, the woman appeared somewhat blurred, possessing an illusory quality of light and shadow.

The Peach Blossom Demon Lord sat cross-legged with her eyes closed. Her Aura steadily climbed, soon promoting from the Late Nascent Soul Stage to the Peak of the Nascent Soul Stage before coming to a sudden halt, as if blocked by an invisible barrier.

Although the Peach Blossom Demon Lord's Aura stopped climbing, the concentration of blood-colored Spiritual Qi in the Peach Blossom Sect did not stop rising. The massive amount of vital energy accumulated by the Myriad Spirits Grand Array surged continuously toward the Peach Blossom Demon Lord's true form.

Everything seemed to be proceeding according to the original plan. The Peach Blossom Demon Lord was using the Myriad Spirits Grand Array to forcibly impact the Soul Transformation Bottleneck; this was only the beginning.

In the high sky three thousand miles away from the Peach Blossom Sect, a thousand-zhang tall tower floated in mid-air. Dense black army fiends settled at its base, while thousands of runes gathered into chains hanging upside down from its Peak.

Zhengqi Tower!

A speck of pink light flashed, and Liu Xuan appeared opposite this palace. For such a major event, Liu Xuan naturally wanted to watch the spectacle, and this Zhengqi Tower was the safest observation deck.

"Who goes there?"

As soon as Liu Xuan appeared, a squad of Cultivators immediately surrounded him, along with a diverse group of Yao Beasts.

"I am True Lord Haoran's son-in-law, Liu Xuan. Report my arrival immediately!" Liu Xuan said unhurriedly.

The guard Cultivators looked at each other in dismay. Liu Xuan had only visited Zhengqi Tower once, and none of these people had seen him before.

However, Liu Xuan's name was widely known, and many knew that True Lord Haoran did indeed have a son-in-law named Liu Xuan.

This person had an extraordinary bearing and clearly wasn't an ordinary man. Naturally, no one dared to offend him, and they quickly followed Liu Xuan's instructions to send someone to report.

*Buzz!*

Before the reporting Cultivator could return, a large black bear flew down from the top of the tower, landed in front of Liu Xuan, and said in a gruff voice:

"The Academy Head requests your presence. Follow me!"

Liu Xuan nodded and followed the Big Black Bear upward, reaching the top of the tower without any hindrance.

True Lord Haoran stood at the edge of the tower with his hands behind his back. His pale green scholar's robes fluttered without any wind, exuding the Aura of a master.

Beside him was a black-faced burly man. This person had a tall, fierce appearance, but his expression was calm and gentle. Upon closer inspection, he actually gave off a kind and benevolent feeling.

"Greetings, Father-in-law!"

Liu Xuan landed beside True Lord Haoran and bowed deeply in respect. To the black-faced burly man, he only performed a cupped-hand salute. As for the Golden Core True Persons standing behind them, whether he knew them or not, he just gave a casual nod.

"What are you doing here at a time like this, you brat?!"

An Haoran got inexplicably annoyed every time he saw Liu Xuan, but he couldn't lose his composure in front of his many Disciples. Thus, he cast a spell to seal off the surroundings so that only the black-faced burly man, Yue Chen, could hear.

"Nothing much, I just wanted to watch the spectacle," Liu Xuan replied casually.

"Watch the spectacle?"

"This is a war; people will die!"

True Lord Haoran cast a faint glance over. Liu Xuan's heart jolted; he truly felt a faint, almost imperceptible killing intent.

"With Father-in-law here, this Junior is not afraid!" Liu Xuan felt a bit panicked inside, but his face remained perfectly calm.

If True Lord Haoran really wanted to kill him, there was no need to wait until now. He was likely just trying to scare him; Liu Xuan understood this very well.

"Father-in-law!" Liu Xuan looked toward the sea of blood rising from the direction of the Peach Blossom Sect and changed the subject. "The Peach Blossom Demon Lord is making such a huge commotion; she wouldn't really become a Soul Transformation Demon Saint, would she?"

"If she succeeds, what will we do? Can we still win?"

True Lord Haoran withdrew his Aura, his sword-like brows furrowing slightly. "If she really succeeds in her Breakthrough and promotes to a Demon Saint, then why the hell would we still fight? Just pack up and run."

"By the way!" True Lord Haoran looked at Liu Xuan with a strange expression. "Don't you have a thing with the Peach Blossom Demon Lord? If she succeeds in her Breakthrough, I'm afraid even I wouldn't dare to offend you."

"Heh!" Liu Xuan gave a bitter laugh. "Father-in-law, you misunderstand. I'm not close to the Peach Blossom Demon Lord. We are the family here. You will always be my Elder; how could there be any talk of offending or not!"

"Heh!" True Lord Haoran let out a cold laugh. "You're not close to the Peach Blossom Demon Lord?"

"You brat just came from the Peach Blossom Sect, didn't you? Do you really think I don't know?!"

True Lord Haoran was so angry he laughed. In all his years, this was the first time he had seen a young man as bold as Liu Xuan.

To dare to jump back and forth between two Nascent Soul powers with a mere Golden Core cultivation, and during wartime at that, was simply a suicidal act.

Yet, while one might call him bold, the brat was also extremely cautious and low-profile. Usually, he was deathly afraid of trouble, and not many people knew his true cultivation level.

"Father-in-law, you've misunderstood again. I was forced. The Peach Blossom Demon Lord compelled me to go; this Junior really had no choice but to comply."

True Lord Haoran actually believed Liu Xuan's excuse. In his inherent perception, regardless of the nature of the relationship between Liu Xuan and the Peach Blossom Demon Lord, the latter was absolutely the dominant one. It was normal for Liu Xuan to be forced.

Seeing that True Lord Haoran remained silent, Liu Xuan said no more and instead stared quietly into the distance.

Looking past the central Peach Blossom Sect, Liu Xuan glanced at four other places with majestic Auras. Those were the palaces of the other four True Monarch Elders of the Southern Courtyard of the Beast Taming Sect.

The positions of the five palaces were not in a full circle but rather a semi-circle. To the south, facing the Demon Court, there was no Nascent Soul True Lord standing guard, only the army fiends extending toward it.

The nearest palace to the left of Zhengqi Tower was the Heavenly Wing Boat, the vessel of the South Courtyard's Grand Elder Ye Gu. It was a Tier 4 Spirit Treasure Flying Boat, of nearly the same grade as Zhengqi Tower.

Ye Gu, known as True Monarch Jimie, had mastered a trace of the Dao Rhyme of the Wind of Extinction. His pure combat power was not in the least inferior to that of True Lord Haoran.

True Lord Haoran was able to secure his position as the South Courtyard's Academy Head not because of his combat power, but due to his background with the Gentlemans Academy and his status as a Tier 4 Talisman Great Master.

Further to the left was another floating tower called the Water Cloud Tower, the vessel of the Second Elder Su He. It was of the Tier 4 Low Grade, one rank lower than Zhengqi Tower.

Su He, known as True Lord Shuiyun, had mastered a trace of the Dao Rhyme of the Tianyi True Water. His combat power was also impressive, and he was skilled at cooperating with others against enemies.

To the right of Zhengqi Tower were the Fourth Elder Chen Beiming and the Third Elder Jiang Nishang.

Chen Beiming was considered a Disciple of True Lord Haoran and was a supporter of the Academy Head's faction. Jiang Nishang rarely took sides and was considered neutral.

While Liu Xuan was lost in thought, a streak of sword light flashed across the dim sky, subsequently transforming into a lean, middle-aged man who appeared in front of Zhengqi Tower.

"I am Gu Linyuan. Greetings, Fellow Daoist Haoran!"

Gu Linyuan! Liu Xuan's heart stirred. Wasn't this the real name of the Heavenly Sword True Monarch? Why was he here too?