79: Rested enough, let's start the killing!

The back mountain of Chess Sword Pavilion was exceptionally vast, spanning seven thousand li.

After refining the heaven and earth root, Shen Lian, currently gently fanning himself with a Folding Fan, stood before an ice pond. Gazing at the chilling mist rising from the lake, he pondered his next move.

"That bitch Nangong Li isn't in Chess Sword Pavilion right now, so I'll have to ask others about the whereabouts of the crouching dragon marrow."

"Given that white-eyed wolf's personality, such a secret item would likely only be told to close acquaintances. So, I'll find all the Inner Sect Disciples associated with Nangong Li and interrogate them one by one."

Just then, the previously calm ice pond suddenly stirred.

"Hm?"

Shen Lian mused, closing his Folding Fan and staring at the ice pond.

Boom—

Suddenly, a roaring explosion erupted from the lake surface.

Immediately after, Sword Wind spread in all directions, dispersing the icy mist covering the lake.

Swoosh swoosh swoosh swoosh—

Countless Sword Qi rose against the wind, forming a vortex. A shirtless figure shot up from the lake, traversing the hollow center of the Sword Qi vortex, and in a blink, stood in the Void Realm.

"I have finally entered the Void Refining Realm."

The moment he stepped into the Void Realm, a chilling light emanated from the man's body.

In the blink of an eye, his previously bare upper body was replaced by a snow-colored sleeve robe.

After letting out a long howl facing upwards, his gaze suddenly shifted, looking at the man below him, who stood with his hands behind his back, clad in a black and white scholar's robe.

"Who are you? Why are you in Ice Wave Pond!"

As the man questioned him sternly, he formed a sword-finger gesture.

A seven-foot green blade instantly condensed in the Void Realm, shooting straight towards Shen Lian.

"Presumptuous!"

Shen Lian let out a deep shout, and the moment the sound wave spread, the incoming Sword Qi was instantly shattered.

At the same time, the aftershock of the sound wave swept across, heading straight for the man.

"What? This..."

Boom—

The man was greatly alarmed, just about to circulate his Qi to resist the sound wave.

But the next moment, the sound wave's powerful and pure Yang energy directly penetrated the man's body, shattering his surrounding aura into fragments.

"You..."

He wanted to say something to Shen Lian in disbelief.

But after only speaking one word, he felt the meridians and dantian sea within his body begin to uncontrollably swell.

"This is..."

The drastic changes in his body immediately caused him unbearable pain, with blood flowing from his seven orifices.

"Ah~~"

Boom—

A tragic scream was followed by a light explosion.

The man's body instantly turned into dust and scattered, with only scattered rags drifting down from the sky onto the lake surface.

His Divine Soul had already been Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering by the sound wave the moment his body exploded, leaving no chance of resurrection.

Shen Lian slowly unfolded his Folding Fan, his expression still without the slightest change.

"trash!"

Leaving behind a single sentence, Shen Lian turned and departed.

At the exact same time, Nangong Li, who was rushing back to the Southern Domain from the Spirit Realm, suddenly felt a tremor in her heart, and a strong sense of unease arose deep within her Divine Sense.

"This feeling... could it be that something has happened to the Sect?"

Thinking of this, she quickly used her Divine Sense to check deep within her consciousness.

The result instantly made her face twist and turn pale.

"How did Hidden Edge's Soul Life Tablet shatter?! Wasn't he in seclusion?"

"Who did this! How dare they kill my Disciple, Nangong Li's Disciple!"

Her pupils constricted. Feeling her dignity provoked, she immediately roared in anger and quickened her pace back to the Sect.

On the other side, in the main hall of Chess Sword Pavilion, Vice Sect Master Lord Youyang also received the news of Chu Cangfeng's Soul Life Tablet shattering, and was similarly too shocked to speak.

"Quickly send people to investigate, and make sure to find out exactly what happened!"

One Personal Disciple of the Sect Master, White Sword Life, had already died. Now, Chu Cangfeng, on whom great hopes were placed, had also died?

Heaven knows what kind of furious rage Nangong Li would display upon hearing this news.

Meanwhile, Shen Lian, the perpetrator, was still wandering around the back mountain of Chess Sword Pavilion, wanting to use his Eye of the Great Dao to search for any other Spirit Medicine that could help his cultivation.

Unfortunately, after scanning back and forth three times and not detecting any Spirit Medicine beneficial to his cultivation, he directly decided to head to the main entrance to search for the crouching dragon marrow.

"Stop, who are you!"

Just as Shen Lian was about to move, a powerful voice came from behind him.

"Hm?"

Shen Lian turned to look.

He saw a ball of light and shadow slowly approaching in the Void Realm, surrounded by swirling Sword Qi.

"Fellow Daoist, who are you, and why are you in the back mountain of my Chess Sword Pavilion?"

Shen Lian's eyes turned cold, and with a single finger, he pointed: "Who allowed you to speak to me with such an attitude? Get down here!"

With a cold shout, a flash of spiritual light flickered on Shen Lian's fingertip, instantly shattering the illusory spiritual light.

"Pfft~"

A mouthful of fresh blood fell from mid-air, and simultaneously, the figure of an old man descended.

The old man wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and looked at Shen Lian with eyes full of apprehension: "Fellow Daoist, who exactly are you? Why are you here?"

As he spoke, he reached his left hand behind his waist and clutched a Fixed Image Stone.

With Shen Lian's single finger, he knew that his opponent's cultivation Foundation was far above his own, so he marked the coordinates of this place to summon other fellow Disciples for aid.

However, his actions were instantly seen through by Shen Lian.

"Do you want to call trash to save you? Just answer one question, and I'll give you a chance."

The old man was startled and asked, "What does Fellow Daoist wish to ask?"

Shen Lian unfolded his Folding Fan: "Have you seen the crouching dragon marrow?"

The old man shook his head: "Apologies, I have not heard of it."

"Then you can die."

"What..."

Boom—

The old man still wanted to say something, but Shen Lian directly raised his hand and unleashed a palm strike, instantly causing the old man to be Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering, his body turning into ashes scattered between heaven and earth.

Looking at the Fixed Image Stone on the ground, Shen Lian merely snorted coldly, then turned and left without looking back.

At this moment, in the main hall of the Sect.

"Vice Sect Master, this is bad, Elder Xuanyuan's Soul Life Tablet has also shattered."

"What did you say!"

Upon hearing this, Lord Youyang immediately checked with his Divine Sense.

Indeed, one of the eight Grand Elders' Soul Life Tablets of Chess Sword Pavilion had shattered; it was Xuanyuan Hai's Soul Life Tablet.

"Damn it, who did this!"

Xuanyuan Hai's cultivation was at Tribulation Crossing Sixth Stage, and now he had died less than an incense stick's time after Chu Cangfeng's death?

This indicated that the opponent's cultivation was at least Tribulation Crossing Seventh Stage.

Perhaps even a Primordial Chaos Realm Cultivator.

After a brief shock, Lord Youyang immediately felt that the matter was not so simple and decisively made the most correct deployment.

"Ring the ancient bell of the mountain gate. All Disciples outside, no matter what they are doing, must return to the Sect to guard within three strikes of the bell."

"Notify all Elders to be ready to activate the Sect Protecting Array at any time."

"Yes!"

As the ancient bell rang out, emitting a heaven-shaking roar, all Disciples of Chess Sword Pavilion, both Inner and Outer, including Utility Disciples, reacted as if facing a great enemy, moving inward towards the mountain gate.

This was the first time in nearly a thousand years that Chess Sword Pavilion had rung the ancient bell for defense against enemies.

Shen Lian, who was about to head to the mountain gate of Chess Sword Pavilion, also stopped when he heard the bell of Chess Sword Pavilion ring.

"You think this can stop me? What a joke!"

His eyes held contempt and disdain. He closed his Folding Fan, the fan ribs constantly tapping his palm, displaying an indifferent attitude.

"This is the enemy-alerting bell of Chess Sword Pavilion. A powerful enemy is invading, I must rush back."

On the other side, Lu Qingyi, who had not yet had time to digest the immense Sword Intent forcibly instilled into her by Chen Wuji, rushed towards the mountain gate despite everything after hearing the ancient bell.

Chen Wuji, in the distance, did not stop her, but a hint of schadenfreude was barely concealed in his eyes as he looked in the direction of Chess Sword Pavilion's mountain gate.

"Hehehe, the ancient bell for defense has rung? Chess Sword Pavilion will have its day too..."