77: Shadows on the Way Home

Ye Chen did not stop for a moment, pushing his speed to the limit as he raced like lightning toward the direction of the Secret Realm's entrance in his memory. Behind him in the basin, the energy storm triggered by the Myriad Sword Demon Puppet's self-destruction was like the apocalypse, the roar incessant. The violent, chaotic Nirvana Sword Intent turbulence even pursued him for a long distance, but he narrowly avoided it all using his Grand Void Roaming Dragon Steps and the guixu sword.

He didn't feel much relief; instead, his heart grew heavier. The Seventy-Two Earth Fiend Envoys of the Dark Hall... this title meant that the Dark Hall's organizational structure was far more rigorous and vast than imagined. If a single envoy could control a puppet nearing the Earth Fiend Realm, how terrifying must those above be? And then there was that hidden "Mobile Vessel" which had yet to reveal itself, hanging over his head like a Damocles' sword.

I must get the news out as quickly as possible!

As he sped along, he silently circulated his Cultivation Technique, consolidating his newly attained Kaiyuan Realm Seventh Level cultivation while digesting the vast insights brought by the Nirvana Sword Venerable's Legacy. Holding the guixu sword, he could feel his connection with this Secret Realm grow slightly tighter; the suppression from those chaotic Sword Intent fields weakened significantly, and he could even faintly draw upon a sliver of them to boost his own speed.

The return journey was much smoother than his arrival. Perhaps due to the upheaval in the core area, the Sword Intent aggregates in the outer regions had been affected, becoming sparse or even dissipating. Occasionally encountering one or two, Ye Chen would casually annihilate them with a single sword strike, turning them into pure energy to nourish the guixu sword.

Several hours later, the familiar flattened mountain peak platform came into view. In the center of the platform, the teleportation Formation composed of countless sword-shaped runes was still operating quietly, emitting a faint light.

However, just as Ye Chen was about to step onto the platform, his heart suddenly leaped—an extremely subtle sense of crisis abruptly descended!

Without a second thought, he forcibly halted his forward momentum and lunged several yards to the side!

"Ssh!"

A nearly transparent, light-distorting thread grazed his neck like a venomous snake, silently slicing a boulder behind his previous position into two! The cross-section was as smooth as a mirror!

An ambush! Someone was still guarding the exit!

Ye Chen's eyes were icy. The guixu sword was instantly held horizontally in front of him, and his Divine Sense spread out like a tide, scanning the surroundings.

"Not a bad reaction."

A flat, emotionless voice sounded. At the edge of the platform, the shadow of a boulder wriggled like a living thing, and a figure slowly emerged.

The person was also dressed in black robes, but the style was completely different from the previous Blood Blade Assassins and Earth Fiend Envoys—it was simpler, without any markings. His face was covered by a pure white mask that had no holes, except for an extremely fine, eerie rune at the brow that seemed to be made of shadow.

He stood there with his aura completely restrained, as if merging with the surrounding shadows. Had it not been for the naked eye, his presence would be almost undetectable. But Ye Chen's Spiritual Perception was screaming a warning: this person was extremely dangerous! His strength was likely even greater than that previous Earth Fiend Envoy!

"The people of the Dark Hall truly are persistent," Ye Chen spoke coldly, his internal Qi quietly circulating to its peak as the Chaos luster on the guixu sword shimmered slightly.

The white-masked man didn't answer. He merely let his emotionless "gaze" pass through the mask and rest on the guixu sword in Ye Chen's hand for several breaths.

"Hand over the 'Guixu' and you may leave on your own."

Ye Chen was shaken. The opponent actually knew the name of the guixu sword?! He had only just named it, and besides himself, only... that's it! It was the phantom that had been peeking outside the Sword Tomb and then vanished! The news had already been sent out! The Dark Hall was determined to obtain the Nirvana Sword Venerable's Legacy—or rather, the guixu sword!

"You want it? Come and take it yourself." Ye Chen repeated the words he had said to the Blood Blade Assassins, but his mindset was already different. Facing this unfathomable white-masked man, he didn't dare to be the least bit careless.

The white-masked man spoke no more. He slowly raised his right hand, fingers spread, and made a grasping motion toward Ye Chen.

There was no fluctuation of Qi, nor any world-shaking momentum.

Yet Ye Chen felt the space around him instantly become viscous and solidified! It was as if he had fallen into invisible amber; even moving a finger became extremely difficult! More terrifyingly, he felt his own Nirvana Sword Intent being suppressed and bound by this invisible force, its circulation becoming sluggish!

A Domain! And it was a Shadow Domain far more complete and terrifying than Elder Blood Dove's half-baked Blood Prison Domain!

This person was definitely an Earth Fiend Realm powerhouse! And he was by no means a simple newcomer to the Earth Fiend Realm!

Ye Chen was horrified. He pushed his Nirvana Sword Intent to the limit, the guixu sword letting out an unwilling hum as its dark Chaos light surged, attempting to tear through this invisible restraint.

"Futile," the white-masked man commented flatly, his clenched fingers tightening slightly.

"Crack..." The space around Ye Chen groaned under the unbearable weight, and the invisible pressure spiked. His bones were creaking, his protective Sword Intent compressed until it could only flow close to his body, and blood once again seeped from the corner of his mouth.

The gap was too large! Even though he had broken through to the Kaiyuan Realm Seventh Level and obtained the guixu sword, facing a true Earth Fiend Realm powerhouse—especially one who had mastered a complete Domain—he was still like an infant facing a grown man!

Should he use the final two sword containment pendant Sword Qis? But the opponent was clearly prepared, and this Domain was eerie; could he land a hit? If not, he would lose his last trump card!

Just as Ye Chen's mind was racing to find a way out, the white-masked man seemed to lose patience. His other hand formed a sword gesture with two fingers, pointing toward Ye Chen from a distance.

A thread-thin Shadow Sword, pitch-black as ink and seemingly able to swallow all light, silently pierced through the Domain and struck directly toward Ye Chen's brow! This strike was faster than thought, incredibly ruthless, and aimed straight for the Divine Soul!

Nowhere to hide! Nothing to block it!

The shadow of death instantly enveloped Ye Chen!

At the critical moment—

"Hmph! You monsters of the Dark Hall dare to run wild in my Tianfeng Academy's Secret Realm!"

A cold, angry shout, like a clap of thunder from the Nine Heavens, suddenly exploded over the platform!

Along with the shout, a brilliant, sun-like, and pure glass-like Noble Sword Astral Qi appeared out of nowhere. Arriving later but striking first, it accurately slashed into that Shadow Sword!

"Ssh—!"

The Shadow Sword dissolved and disintegrated instantly as if it had met its nemesis! The Noble Sword Astral Qi continued unabated, like the dawn tearing through the night, fiercely slashing toward the white-masked man!

The white-masked man's always calm aura finally showed a ripple. He abruptly withdrew the Domain suppressing Ye Chen, his hands moving rapidly in front of him as a deep Shadow Curtain instantly formed to block him!

"Boom!!"

The Noble Sword Astral Qi struck the Shadow Curtain, erupting in an earth-shattering roar! A terrifying energy shockwave spread in all directions like a tsunami, grinding the rocks at the edge of the platform into powder!

The white-masked man's body shook violently as he slid back more than ten yards. A fine crack actually appeared on that pure white mask! He raised his head and looked in the direction the sword astral qi had come from, his emotionless voice finally carrying a hint of gravity:

"Yun Canghai!"

Above the platform, at some unknown point, Tianfeng Academy's Principal Yun Canghai stood with his hands behind his back, his robes fluttering. His body emitted a terrifying aura like a vast sea of stars, his gaze like lightning as he coldly locked onto the white-masked man.

"Faceless of the Dark Hall, you have quite the nerve!" Yun Canghai's voice was cold, containing endless fury.

Ye Chen felt his whole body lighten as that terrifying pressure instantly vanished. He gasped for breath, looking at the figure in the sky who stood like a pillar of stability, finally letting out a sigh of relief.

The Principal is finally here!

"Go."

The white-masked man known as "Faceless" didn't hesitate for a moment. He gave a deep look at Ye Chen and the guixu sword in his hand, his body suddenly turning into countless shadows that receded like a tide, instantly vanishing from the platform as if he had never appeared.

Yun Canghai did not pursue. He merely gave a cold snort, his gaze sweeping over the mess on the platform before finally landing on Ye Chen. His eyes were complex, carrying a hint of gratification and even deeper solemnity.

"Child, are you alright?" He took a step and was already in front of Ye Chen.

"This Disciple is fine. Thank you, Principal, for your timely rescue." Ye Chen bowed in respect.

Yun Canghai nodded, his gaze falling on the guixu sword as he sighed. "As expected... the 'Moment of Nirvana' has come to pass. This is no place to linger. Follow me out first and explain everything that happened in the Secret Realm in detail."

With a wave of his sleeve, a gentle spiritual force wrapped around Ye Chen, while simultaneously activating the teleportation Formation below.

Amidst the flashing light, the two figures disappeared from the Secret Realm.

Not long after they left, the shadows at the edge of the platform wriggled again. The figure of "Faceless" slowly emerged, looking at the empty platform. Beneath the pure white mask, the corners of his mouth seemed to curl into a cold arc.

"Guixu has appeared... the plan can be accelerated..."