146: Chapter 146 The Drunken Sword Immortal Arrives, and Little Jade Capital is Incredibly Attentive

"Whoosh!"

After losing the constraints of the Formation, the ancient Jade Slips and yellowed parchment scrolls dancing across the sky floated silently in mid-air like glowing snowflakes.

The State Preceptor of Yankang stood behind Ye Xiu, his muscles tensed to the limit.

He stared fixedly at the main Peaks deep within Little Jade Capital that were shrouded in Immortal Qi all year round, cold sweat even seeping from his palms.

As one of the top combatants of the Yankang Kingdom, the State Preceptor knew Little Jade Capital's foundation all too well.

Ancient monsters left behind from who knows how many eras slept here; they claimed to be the orthodox Heavenly Dao and valued their Face more than their lives.

Now, not only had Ye Xiu barged in, but he had also sliced through their most sacred Cangtian Pavilion with a single sword strike. This was no different from trampling Little Jade Capital's ancestral tablets into the dirt!

"Cult Leader Ye, be careful."

The State Preceptor lowered his voice, his fingertips already clutching several peerless life-saving Talismans.

"I sense several extremely ancient, terrifying Auras—some even having half a foot stepped out of the Divine Bridge Realm—that are awakening..."

Before he could finish speaking.

"Swish! Swish! Swish!"

Four pillars of light, like rainbows piercing the sun, erupted from the four main Peaks of Little Jade Capital and instantly landed on the ruined white jade plaza.

As the light faded, it revealed four old men wearing ancient Daoist robes, their hair and beards white, emanating a decaying yet terrifying Aura.

Above their heads, faint, broken phantoms of the Divine Bridge appeared—a terrifying phenomenon caused by True Essence so dense it could not be suppressed and was about to overflow.

The four Grand Elders of Little Jade Capital! "Living fossils" who had lived for thousands of years!

"Grand Elders! You have finally emerged from seclusion!"

Those Mountain Guardian Elders, who had just been severely injured and vomiting blood from Ye Xiu's Sword Qi, now looked as if they had seen their saviors.

They scrambled over, pointing at Ye Xiu and wailing miserably:

"This Devil Head destroyed our mountain gate and shattered our Cangtian Pavilion! He is simply insulting his masters and destroying his ancestors; his crimes are unforgivable! We implore the Grand Elders to take action, grind him into dust, and uphold the Divine Might of our Little Jade Capital!"

The State Preceptor took a deep breath, preparing to risk his life to block the first wave of attacks for Ye Xiu.

However, the scene that followed shocked the State Preceptor of Yankang—who usually remained calm even if Mount Tai collapsed before him—so much that his jaw almost hit the floor.

The four aggressive Grand Elders did not even glance at the disciples coughing up blood on the ground.

The purple-robed old man in the lead backhanded the most vocal Mountain Guardian Elder with a "slap," sending him flying hundreds of zhang away.

He crashed directly into a rockery, his life or death unknown.

"A bunch of dog-eyed degenerates! Is that how you speak to a distinguished guest?!"

The purple-robed old man roared angrily.

Then, to the State Preceptor's ghost-seeing-like gaze, that wrinkled old Face, which had been as cold as frost, instantly bloomed like an old chrysanthemum.

It blossomed into an extremely fawning, even servile, brilliant smile.

The four Grand Elders, who were like gods in the eyes of the world, actually lifted the hems of their Daoist robes in unison, bowed deeply at a ninety-degree angle, and paid their respects to the white-clad youth holding the wine gourd!

"Little Jade Capital Grand Elder Taixu, along with my three Junior Brothers... welcome Cult Leader Ye! Your single sword strike to break the pavilion was truly of peerless Divine Might and god-like sword technique; it has truly opened our eyes and we admire you immensely!"

What?

The wind blew through the ruins, kicking up a few fragments of Jade Slips.

The State Preceptor of Yankang's hand remained frozen in mid-air, clutching the Talisman, unsure whether to advance or retreat.

He looked at these four bowing and scraping ancient monsters in astonishment, wondering if the world had gone mad.

Someone dismantled your most sacred library, and instead of fighting to the death, you're praising them for their excellent demolition and sword skills?

Could the people of Little Jade Capital have developed Stockholm Syndrome after being struck by that "Ten Thousand Swords Returning to Ancestor"?

Even Ye Xiu himself raised an eyebrow slightly.

He had already secretly mobilized his True Essence of the Sendai Realm, prepared to have a good, bloody slaughter.

Yet he had not expected these old monsters to play this "welcoming with a smile" act.

"Interesting."

Ye Xiu hung the purple-red wine gourd back on his waist, folded his arms across his chest, and examined the four old men before him with his heterochromatic gold and silver eyes, a hint of mockery in his gaze:

"I, this Sect Leader, smashed your place and stripped away your Face. You old things, instead of drawing your swords to avenge your disciples, are here bowing to me?"

"Is this Little Jade Capital just a tortoise shell that teaches people how to be cowards?"

These words were venomous to the extreme, practically pointing at their noses and calling them spineless.

But the four Grand Elders were not only not angry, they became even more attentive.

Grand Elder Taixu quickly straightened up, waved his hand to release a gentle surge of True Essence, and sycophantically cleared a clean, round jade table from the ruins.

He then personally took out a set of extremely precious "Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Jade Cups" from his storage ring.

He poured the "Qionghua Liquid," a top-grade Immortal brew that Little Jade Capital had treasured for three thousand years.

"Cult Leader, please calm your anger, please sit! That sword strike of yours earlier must have consumed a lot of your energy; drink some of our Little Jade Capital's local specialty to moisten your throat."

Grand Elder Taixu smiled apologetically while heaving a bitter sigh:

"Cult Leader is right. In front of you, we are indeed just a bunch of cowards hiding in a shell waiting to die. Not just us, but all the experts in the world who claim to be righteous sects are actually just a bunch of pathetic wretches."

Watching the old man, who had one foot in the grave yet was full of unwillingness.

Ye Xiu sat down brazenly at the jade table and downed the cup of "Qionghua Liquid" in one gulp.

"The wine is not bad, barely drinkable. Speak, what kind of medicine are you old foxes selling in your gourds? If you show courtesy for no reason, you are either a traitor or a thief." Ye Xiu wiped his mouth and sneered.

Grand Elder Taixu exchanged a glance with the other three Elders, and with a "thump."

The four ancient monsters who had lived for thousands of years actually knelt before Ye Xiu in front of the State Preceptor of Yankang!

"We... implore the Cult Leader to impart the Dao! Save our old lives!"

The State Preceptor was completely stunned by this scene; he could not help but step forward and say in a deep voice:

"Four Seniors, what are you doing? You are all powerful experts at the Peak of the Divine Bridge Realm, only half a step away from Ascension; why do you need to beg the Cult Leader for help?"

"Half a step away? Hahaha... what a good 'half a step away'!"

Grand Elder Taixu laughed miserably, his eyes full of desolation and despair:

"State Preceptor, you are also a peerless genius, but you have not Cultivated to this Realm yet, so you do not understand! In this world, there is no such thing as 'Ascension'! This Divine Bridge Realm... it is broken!"

As soon as these words were spoken, it was like a thunderclap on flat ground.

The State Preceptor of Yankang trembled all over, as if struck by lightning: "The Divine Bridge... is broken?!"

"Correct!"

Another Grand Elder said through gritted teeth, "We sat withered in this Little Jade Capital for thousands of years, flipping through countless ancient scrolls, and finally Cultivated to the Peak of the Divine Bridge Realm. We thought that as long as we crossed the Divine Bridge, we could enter the legendary Heavenly Palace and join the ranks of the Immortals."

"However, when our Primordial Spirits actually stepped onto that bridge, we discovered that at the end of the Divine Bridge, there was no Heavenly Palace, but a bottomless cliff!"

Grand Elder Taixu pointed at the sky, his eyes full of fear and anger:

"Someone... no, those so-called 'Gods' in the sky! It was they who forcibly severed the Divine Bridge of the Cultivators in the Lower Realm! They sealed off our path to the Heavenly Palace!"

"They turned this world into a giant pigsty! No matter how hard we Cultivators try, as long as we cannot reach the True God Realm, we cannot escape the fate of having our Lifespan exhausted and turning into a handful of dirt! And those false gods, high above, suck up our faith and Luck, trampling us under their feet for generations!"

Grand Elder Taixu said this with tears streaming down his Face, and he suddenly looked up.

Staring fixedly at Ye Xiu with a gaze of extreme fanaticism, as if he had seen the only redemption in the darkness.

"We thought there was no path to Immortality left in this world. Until... until you arrived today, Cult Leader!"

"Cult Leader, that sword strike of yours earlier did not use the Law of the Divine Bridge at all! Within your body, there is none of that decaying Aura imprisoned by the Heavenly Dao! You are Cultivating a supreme Dao that we have never heard of, but one that can truly reach the heavens!"

"Therefore, as long as we can receive your guidance, Cult Leader, let alone destroying one Cangtian Pavilion. Even if you, Cult Leader, want to dismantle the entire Little Jade Capital, we will have absolutely no complaints!"