Chapter 4 – An Immortal Stakes It All on One Sword

Chapter 4 – An Immortal Stakes It All on One Sword

The two cultivators high above were caught completely off guard, struck dead-on.

There was no gory spectacle of flesh and blood. Ripples simply radiated outward around them, as some invisible force blocked the tide of bullets entirely.

“Hm? What kind of magical artifact is this?” Faced with the sudden assault of over a thousand mortals, the two cultivators remained utterly composed. Kou Hong extended his right hand and pulled a soldier up into the sky. After snatching the weapon from the soldier’s hands to examine it closely, he casually tossed the man aside.

“Interesting. Using an intricate mechanical structure in place of a formation array, and the explosive force of mundane materials in place of spiritual energy—it can actually unleash power equivalent to early Qi Refining…” Kou Hong understood the weapon’s principles with a single glance.

He shook his head. “I never imagined that after several thousand years, mortals exiled to an immortal-barren land could develop such ingenious devices. A pity—they only function in this land where the Dao is incomplete. Beyond the immortal-barren land, they’d be nothing but a heap of useless scrap metal.” With that, the gun in his hand vanished—he had casually stored it away.

“Mere mortals dare raise their hands against cultivators? I had felt a twinge of guilt earlier, but now it seems you’ve brought death upon yourselves!”

Kou Hong looked down from on high at the countless mortal soldiers hidden in the darkness, his eyes filled with nothing but contempt.

His right hand traced rapid patterns through the empty air before him, leaving behind arcane trails.

Countless sparks suddenly appeared from the darkness, swelling in an instant like a prairie fire into enormous balls of flame.

“Dao Art: Fire Dragon’s Cry!”

As Kou Hong bellowed coldly, streaks of crimson flame extended outward from each massive fireball, burning and spreading in unison. In mere moments, the crimson fire connected all the fireballs together like flesh and sinew.

A colossal dragon with a fearsome visage, composed entirely of crimson flame, materialized and coiled above Xuanjing.

The fire dragon raised its head and let out a resounding roar, gathered its body, then hurtled downward.

“Boom!”

Violent explosions rang out ceaselessly.

The buildings of Xuanjing crumbled like flimsy toys, offering not the slightest resistance before being easily destroyed.

The crimson flames seemed to possess a will of their own. Upon touching the ground, they devoured and burned everything they could reach.

In the blink of an eye, Xuanjing had been transformed into a blazing inferno—a living hell on earth!

Yet Kou Hong, the one who had wrought all this destruction, furrowed his brow, his expression shifting between shock and suspicion.

Because he realized that although Xuanjing looked devastated below, the vast majority of soldiers had actually survived his attack!

He had unleashed Fire Dragon’s Cry at full power, driven by rage.

The might of a cultivator at the grand completion of Foundation Establishment was something mortals simply could not withstand!

Even if those soldiers were well-trained enough to don protective gear and take cover behind building corners the instant they saw him casting—their casualties should have been far, far greater than this!

How was this possible!?

Kou Hong was stunned and bewildered. Then, in an instant, he seemed to realize something. He beckoned with his hand, pulling toward him the tiny metal objects that had rained down upon him from every direction—objects his protective spiritual energy had easily deflected, leaving them scattered all over the ground.

“These are…” Kou Hong’s expression changed drastically. He scanned his surroundings with sudden wariness, the contempt in his eyes instantly replaced by dread.

“These projectiles have been soaked in mortal blood—it’s Mortal Taint…” Daoxuanzi’s voice carried over as well, his expression grim.

“We were ambushed the moment we arrived, and they’ve deployed Mortal Taint. This was clearly premeditated. Could there be a cultivator directing these mortals from behind the scenes?” The two exchanged a glance, several thoughts flashing through their minds simultaneously. “Regardless, this place is dangerous. We shouldn’t linger.”

Though Daoxuanzi and Kou Hong were willing to draw swords against each other over a Core Formation technique, that was a matter between the two of them alone.

Now that the situation had taken an unexpected turn, facing a mere few thousand mortals, these two cultivators with a century of mutual understanding instinctively and simultaneously chose the same course of action—retreat first and foremost.

Perhaps detecting the pair’s intentions, the gunfire that had ceased during the Fire Dragon’s Cry erupted once more!

This only deepened Daoxuanzi and Kou Hong’s suspicions.

These mortals clearly had an agenda!

“Go!” Just as the two were about to flee, a voice rose from below.

“Daoxuanzi! Kou Hong! If the two of you flee today, then by tomorrow, news that you obtained a Core Formation technique will have spread across the entire cultivation world!”

The voice echoed from every direction throughout Xuanjing, reverberating endlessly through the night.

The voice was somewhat aged, but its tone was utterly resolute and merciless.

Kou Hong and Daoxuanzi stopped dead in their tracks, their faces filled with horror and disbelief.

“How is this possible? The matter of obtaining the Core Formation technique was known only to the two of us—how could word have leaked?” In an instant, both were plunged into deep shock and dread.

The two of them venturing together to explore the cave dwelling, Kou Hong seizing the technique and fleeing, Daoxuanzi pursuing relentlessly, Kou Hong taking a desperate gamble and plunging into this immortal-barren land seeking a sliver of hope…

Every person and event they had encountered during that time flashed through their minds one by one.

Who was it!?

And while their minds reeled, barely able to maintain composure, dozens of artillery shells streaked out of the darkness from every unexpected angle, trailing long tails of flame as they hurtled toward the pair.

“You’re courting death!” Kou Hong recovered from his shock, only to become even more enraged.

“Dao Art: Ember Burst!”

An enormous ring of fire began to materialize in the empty air.

“No—Kou Hong, dodge!” At that moment, Daoxuanzi’s voice rang out with urgent alarm.

“Hm?” Kou Hong hesitated. He swept out with his spiritual sense, and his face turned pale with horror.

He tried to dodge, but it was already too late.

Dozens of shells detonated around them.

There was no deafening explosion—only clouds of dark red liquid bursting around them, forming a small-scale rain of blood that drenched both cultivators from head to toe!

“Aaaaah…”

Blood-curdling screams pierced the heavens.

At the same time, the aura radiating from the two—that presence which made mortals tremble—plummeted at terrifying speed.

They held on for only moments before they could endure no longer, plummeting from the sky.

Over a thousand soldiers surrounded them at gunpoint, forming an airtight perimeter.

But the current state of these two “immortals” sent chills down the spines of even these specially trained soldiers—men who had been prepared to lay down their very lives.

Daoxuanzi and Kou Hong had both appeared to be young men in their twenties or thirties. But after being drenched in the rain of blood, their hair had turned snow-white in an instant. Within just a few breaths, they had aged beyond recognition, their faces covered in dense networks of wrinkles—a ghastly sight.

The two hunched over, collapsed on the ground. Kou Hong was on his last breath, clearly near the end. Daoxuanzi, whose cultivation had been somewhat deeper, appeared in slightly better condition, but he too was merely clinging to life.

The once lofty and exalted immortal masters had been reduced to this!

Not only were the soldiers on the scene shaken—even Li Fan, hiding in the rear and directing operations from the shadows, felt an inexplicable chill run through him when he heard the reports from his subordinates.

“Immortal Masters, our Grand Preceptor has decreed: if you surrender without resistance, your lives will be spared!” A soldier called out to the pair from a safe distance.

“Surrender without resistance…” The gravely wounded Daoxuanzi looked at his companion beside him—eyes brimming with defiance, wanting to speak yet no longer able to form words—and let out a cold laugh.

Seeing Daoxuanzi’s movements, Kou Hong already guessed what he intended to do.

He shook his head ever so slightly, then summoned his very last shred of strength to push the storage ring from his finger toward Daoxuanzi.

“Go…” Kou Hong barely parted his lips, and then his head drooped. He was gone.

High above, a celestial phenomenon erupted!

A crimson coiling dragon appeared in the sky. It seemed to be in tremendous agony, thrashing and roaring, trying to break free from something.

But it was all in vain.

It grew thinner and thinner, until in moments only a layer of skin and flesh remained.

Shortly after, the entire coiling dragon was consumed completely—not even bone remained.

Only then could people see clearly: an unremarkable, tea-colored branch had taken root and sprouted from within the dragon’s body, devouring it utterly!

Though merely common wood, it could devour a dragon!

This magnificent spectacle illuminated the sky for thousands of li in every direction, like brilliant fireworks.

Every living being that witnessed this scene—whether human or otherwise—found these words rising naturally in their minds:

“Foundation Establishment cultivator Kou Hong practiced cultivation for two hundred and five years, achieving his Dao Foundation through the rare treasure 【Coiling Dragon Branch】. In an immortal-barren land, he was besieged by thousands of mortals and was inadvertently struck by Mortal Taint.”

“His cultivation was lost in an instant, his remaining lifespan nearly spent.”

“Now he perishes, body and dao extinguished together, returning his Dao to the heavens!”

Grief for one of their kind, a sense of shared sorrow, an inability to remain unmoved…

Every living being around Xuanjing, bathed in the glow of this celestial phenomenon, was seized by such emotions, unable to break free.

The resplendent spectacle lasted for nearly half a shichen before gradually fading.

The soldiers finally regained their senses and turned their silent gazes upon the other cultivator—now ancient and decrepit—still in their midst.

“Immortal Master Daoxuanzi, our Grand Preceptor has no desire to fight either of you to the death. If you cease your resistance, the Grand Preceptor guarantees your safety…” The soldiers continued their appeals as Li Fan had instructed.

Li Fan, hidden in the shadows, sighed inwardly. He knew that this lifetime’s attempt to capture an immortal had failed.

He had never imagined that the Mortal Taint would be so devastatingly lethal to cultivators.

As expected, Daoxuanzi paid the calls to surrender no heed whatsoever.

He raised his head to gaze at the sky where the phenomenon had already dispersed, his eyes full of nostalgic longing.

“The Coiling Dragon Branch, huh…”

After a long while, he lowered his gaze and struggled to straighten his hunched body.

Scanning his surroundings, Daoxuanzi tried to locate the mastermind pulling the strings from behind the scenes.

“I don’t know who you are,” he said, addressing Li Fan. “Nor do I know what your true purpose is.”

“Perhaps it’s for the Core Formation technique, or perhaps for something else entirely.” Daoxuanzi glanced at the storage ring now on his own hand, his voice calm. “My brother and I fell into your trap today—our lives lost, our Dao extinguished. By rights, there is nothing to say.”

“But I refuse to accept this,” Daoxuanzi said coldly.

“To have followed us all this time, to know our every move without being detected—your cultivation must be considerable.”

“A person of such ability, too cowardly to face us directly—that much I could overlook. But to skulk in the shadows all along, hiding behind mortals, even stooping to use the Mortal Taint—that vile substance despised by every cultivator…”

Daoxuanzi drew a deep breath.

“My brother Kou Hong died at the hands of someone like you. For his sake, I find it unworthy.”

Daoxuanzi rose slowly into the air, once again looking down from above at the crowd that had instantly gone on high alert. His face showed neither sorrow nor joy.

“You have already witnessed my brother’s Foundation treasure. Now, I’d like to invite you all to see mine.”

“With a marvel of heaven and earth, I built my Dao Foundation.” Daoxuanzi intoned in a clear, ringing voice.

“My Dao Foundation is named: Daoxuan.”

An enormous, broken iron sword appeared in the sky above Xuanjing.

Every living being beneath the shadow of the colossal blade felt their thoughts grow sluggish and slow, as if their minds had become rusted machines.

“I have one sword—please, behold!”

In an instant, the world between heaven and earth blazed with light. Every person within Xuanjing felt as though they had been frozen in absolute stillness.

Then, like cracks spreading across glass, the entirety of Xuanjing shattered to pieces in a single moment!

“Return to Truth.”

As his charging progress plummeted and consciousness slipped away, Li Fan silently invoked those words in his mind.