“Ahhhh!!! I don’t care anymore, I don’t care whether what they say is true or false!! I’ll just kill my way out!”
In the room, a disciple seemed to have reached the limit of his mental endurance. He brandished his long sword and prepared to charge into the mist: “Rather than suffering the humiliation of these evil beings here, I’d rather fight them head-on!”
“No, you can’t, Senior Brother!!”
At that moment, a female disciple’s voice rang out among the crowd: “Those monsters want us to leave the main hall! We must not fall into their trap!”
This female disciple was named Moye, responsible for organizing the bamboo slips and scrolls of the sect. She was also the most talented disciple appointed by Master Ou among her peers. Initially, Xu Xuan was not very convinced, after all, he was a transmigrator. However, when he witnessed her expanding the range of her flying sword to thirty steps around her two years ago, he accepted his fate—he could only manage fifteen steps at that point.
In fact, what Xu Xuan regretted the most after traveling here was that he had been a poor student in his past life, not mastering math, physics, or chemistry. Otherwise, he would have surely sparked an industrial revolution in this world resembling the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States. However, after arriving, he found that inventing was far from as simple as depicted in novels. He was busy practicing martial arts and enjoying life every day, so he gave up on that idea.
As for his relationship with Senior Sister Moye, they were merely acquaintances; after all, he was just an average disciple. She was beautiful, with long black hair styled in a bun, held up by a fine iron sword as a hairpin. Her skin was not very fair due to long hours spent forging swords, but she looked incredibly healthy and vibrant. She also exuded a rare scholarly aura, which perfectly contrasted yet harmonized with her looks and temperament.
Naturally, Xu Xuan had always kept a respectful distance from this goddess-like figure in their sect. After all, in the novels he read in his past life, protagonists who got involved with such beauties often attracted the jealousy of other disciples, leading to all sorts of troubles.
However, this time, with Master Ou absent, Senior Sister Moye had become a pillar of support for the disciples present. Upon hearing her words, the disciple who wanted to charge out calmed down.
At that moment, the main hall shook violently once again. Several tiles and stones fell from the ceiling. Fortunately, no one was injured inside the hall, as all were Qi Practitioners.
As the tiles fell, everyone once again saw the enormous Blood Moon overhead and the giant shadow that crushed the entire mountain beneath it. Xu Xuan noticed that although the shadow was humanoid, it lacked a head; instead, two eerie shadows resembling hands extended from its neck. Due to the mist, Xu Xuan could only see a massive silhouette.
However, when Xu Xuan looked at the shadows of the two hands on the giant’s neck, it felt as if something up there was watching him. An indescribable fear surfaced in the hearts of every Sword Hall disciple, and Xu Xuan was overwhelmed with an impulse to rush out of the main hall.
In fact, not just Xu Xuan—many in the hall felt the urge to flee. Two disciples, unable to withstand the pressure, charged straight into the mist outside. Once they entered the mist, their figures quietly vanished, but Xu Xuan noticed that at the last moment, their heads had separated from their bodies…
“Everyone, don’t go out! The only thing protecting us is this main hall!”
Just as more people considered fleeing the main hall, Moye stood with her sword at the entrance, blocking the escape route of the other would-be escapees. At that moment, the others in the hall finally began to recover from their fear.
Xu Xuan also took a deep breath to calm himself; today was undoubtedly the most thrilling day of his many years alive.
“Senior Sister, what on earth is that thing?” After taking a few deep breaths, everyone regained composure and warily looked around, one disciple finally asked, “Among us, you’re probably the only one who knows.”
“That’s a celestial being.” Moye responded with a name that nearly made Xu Xuan choke.
“You mean that thing is a celestial?” Xu Xuan couldn’t help but ask.
“Have you never learned how to write the character for ‘celestial’?” Moye retorted.
“Human mountains (仙)…” Xu Xuan replied.
“Exactly, a human is taller than a mountain, that is a celestial!! The ancient texts say so. These divine beings cannot be looked at directly,” Moye said, beads of cold sweat forming on her forehead. “We have a serious problem this time.”
For a moment, everyone present fell into silence. As for Xu Xuan, he was in a state of shattered worldview. He had always thought the Qi Practitioners in this world were similar to those in cultivation tales, but never did he expect a celestial to be like this. Moreover, it was continuously attacking their mountain gate.
“We’re done for, we’re done for! We’re certain to die!! That’s a celestial!! A celestial taller than a mountain!!” At this moment, a disciple shouted in a trembling voice: “If it wants to kill us, just one slap and we’re all done, all done!!”
“Calm down! Junior Brother!!” A few senior brothers stepped forward in an attempt to soothe the disciple who was panicking from fear, but the next moment, all of them were pierced through the heart by an arm.
“Hahahaha! Oh, hahahaha! We’re all going to die! All going to die, no, you all will die! I won’t die!! I won’t die!!” The crazed disciple said while throwing his long sword aside. It was then that everyone noticed five or six arms emerging from his back, each having at least three joints, looking quite bizarre; those arms had pierced the hearts of several earlier senior brothers.
“He’s turned into a monster!!” Someone shouted, and dozens of sword lights shot out from all directions. In front of Xu Xuan, numerous senior brothers attacked simultaneously. The swarm of sword lights instantly sliced the mutated disciple into several pieces.
However, while slaying this monster, everyone present quickly found a place in the hall to stand alone, casting wary glances at the other senior brothers around them…
After all, those present were not foolish. Since one junior brother could turn into a monster, it meant others might transform as well. They didn’t want to be ambushed by their mutated peers.
Once again, the atmosphere in the entire hall grew heavy. Even Moye, who initially stood at the center, fell silent and found a spot in the hall where she could see the other disciples. Coincidentally, she positioned herself not far from Xu Xuan.
It was unclear how long the suffocating silence lasted, but at that moment, a disciple looked up at the sky and then panickedly squatted down behind a pillar. As the others witnessed this, they instinctively turned their gazes skyward. This time, they saw a gigantic palm descending from the far-off sky toward them. The closer it got, the larger it appeared. As it loomed over them, all the Sword Hall disciples fell into dread, almost instinctively seeking refuge against the walls and pillars of the main hall. Moye moved in the same manner.
However, when Moye glanced at Xu Xuan, she couldn’t help but be taken aback.
For this time, unlike before, Xu Xuan stood straight, gripping a broken sword, his eyes fixed on the impending giant hand that loomed like a mountain. He seemed to be murmuring something.
‘What a magnificent sight.’ Xu Xuan thought to himself, enraptured by the scene. Indeed, he was captivated and couldn’t help but express his awe at such grandeur. He had seen scenes like this in games and movies in his previous life, but no portrayal could achieve the immersive thrill and splendor of actually being there.
Having been a loafing fish for over a decade, Xu Xuan gazed at the sight and, despite knowing the danger, felt an inexplicable disinterest in fleeing. Instead, he wanted to take in this cataclysmic spectacle in its entirety. Immersed in this vision, he momentarily forgot about danger and death.
Looking at Xu Xuan standing there, Moye recalled a conversation she once had with Master Ou:
“Master, Junior Brother Xu Xuan seems a bit too lazy; should we advise him?”
“No need, after all, this kid is wasting his talent in the Sword Hall.”
With this in mind, Moye suddenly wanted to pull Xu Xuan back. However, just as she was about to move, a beam of red light shot toward the giant palm in the sky. The palm recoiled as if it had pricked itself on a steel needle, retreating. Just then, accompanied by the collision of the red light and the hand, a figure plummeted from the sky.
“Master!!!” Upon seeing who was falling, Moye rushed forward first. Other disciples soon gathered around as well.
When Xu Xuan saw Master Ou, he gasped in shock. He saw that half of Master Ou’s body looked like charred coal burning to ashes, rapidly disintegrating, and one of his arms had already vanished.
“Disciples, follow the sword lights and run, don’t look back, don’t respond to anyone! Until you leave this Mist Realm!” Almost as if returning to the light, Master Ou, despite having lost half his body, suddenly got up and addressed the crowd.
It was at that moment that everyone noticed the eight protective swords of the Sword Hall floating at the main hall’s entrance, and then, accompanied by a beam of red light, the ninth sword, named Chiyou, descended as well.
“Master, I’ll carry you!!” Seeing this, Moye attempted to hoist Master Ou onto her back, but he pushed her away.
“No time! You all run! Go find your Senior Brother Jiang! Rebuild the Sword Hall!” After saying this, Master Ou waved his hand, and all the disciples were swept away by a powerful force toward the main hall’s exit. When they landed, they saw nine beams of sword light flying into the distance of the Mist Realm. Meanwhile, the main door of the hall closed on its own.
Faced with this sudden change, the Sword Hall disciples wasted no time; they all turned around and chased after the distant sword lights.
