Chapter 259: The Swordsman Beneath the Moon

For ancient cultivators in the Void Fusion Realm,

setting up a formation that could trap all mortals and rogue cultivators within a city and cut off all outside connection—

was as simple as a flick of the wrist.

As the grand array activated, the mortals on the streets remained clueless.

But the rogue cultivators—more attuned to danger—had already gone pale.

“D

mn, this is a kill-and-trap array!”

“What are those two old monsters from Yaochi trying to do?! I can understand setting a trap to catch someone, but why activate the kill portion too? There’s no way that fugitive is Void Fusion Realm, right?”

“F

**! Why’d my dumb *ss come here today?!”

Rogues treasured their lives the most.

They'd spent years crawling through the Cangyun Realm, eyes wide open, ears always alert—just to survive.

Now, sensing something was wrong, some began edging toward the edge of the array.

One cultivator even burrowed underground using Earth Escape.

Yuling and Yuquan noticed the reactions below but weren’t worried.

Once the kill array was activated, it became a net from heaven and earth.

Not even a fly would escape.

“Dan Bai, I know you're in the city,” Yuling Real Person said coldly.

“I’ll give you three breaths to step out from the crowd—

Otherwise, I’ll start by killing these folks in the front.”

She pointed toward the unconscious mortals still lying on the street—

stunned by the earlier sonic blast.

From the ground, countless vines burst forth and wrapped around them.

A twitch of her finger, and they’d be torn into pieces.

The entire city went silent.

Not out of fear—

but because the oppressive pressure of a Void Fusion Realm cultivator had gripped every throat.

Even breathing took conscious effort.

“One breath...” Yuling’s voice was colder than ice.

Rogue cultivators looked at each other in terror.

They couldn’t believe this—Yaochi Real Persons were really going to kill innocent people?!

But the threat was clearly no joke.

Someone clutched a magical artifact—then let go.

Yuling’s name was infamous.

Even if ten thousand joined forces, it would be like moths flying into flame.

A few brave ones started forming a defensive array in secret—

but were immediately pulled back by companions.

“You trying to get us all killed?!”

Within the crowd, Dan Bai raised her head.

She looked toward the Yaochi Real Persons sitting high above the clouds, her eyes burning with hatred.

So this was Yaochi Holy Land.

This was the righteous sect all cultivators dreamed of.

Now threatening to massacre an entire city of innocents just to catch her.

“Two breaths...”

Yuling’s finger curled slightly.

The vines tightened.

The unconscious began to awaken—

screaming in agony.

A child’s cry pierced the sky.

His mother struggled to shield him, only to be ripped away by the vines.

She couldn’t wait any longer.

Dan Bai couldn’t stand by and watch an entire city die because of her.

With the array in place, there was no escape.

She stood up, pushed through the crowd, removed the fake mustache from her lip, and loosened her topknot.

Her black hair unfurled in the wind.

Her cold eyes locked onto Yuling.

“Yaochi scum. I’m right here!”

Her voice wasn’t loud, but it rang through the entire city.

“That’s the one on the wanted poster?”

“She’s even prettier in person… You know, Yaochi’s starting to look like the real villain here.”

“Eh, careful now. Maybe those Real Persons are just using tough tactics. Don’t let that cute face fool you—she could be a cold-blooded killer.”

Amidst the murmurs, Dan Bai stepped forward, one step at a time—

until she stood at the very front of the crowd.

“Slaughtering mortals—this is what Yaochi Holy Land stands for?

If you want to capture me, then why drag innocent lives into it?”

“You little wretch, you finally showed yourself!”

Yuling’s eyes gleamed with a twisted joy, lips curling into a cold sneer.

“If you hadn’t hidden in Jiangchi City, would I have even considered a kill array?

You knew we were coming—so you should’ve surrendered earlier, instead of forcing me to drag you out!”

Dan Bai knew there was no point arguing.

Looking at how everyone around her stared, she understood—

right now, she had no allies.

She was completely alone.

“I’m out now. Can you let them go?” she asked softly.

“Let them go? What about Yaochi Holy Land’s reputation?”

Yuling’s tone didn’t change.

She clenched her fist.

The vines tightened further.

Yuquan began chanting—

more vines sprouted across the entire city.

Even the rogue who had burrowed underground was dragged out, tightly bound.

“They’re insane! They’ve caught the fugitive—why are they still trying to kill us?”

The rogue cultivators snapped awake,

their terror turning into anger and panic.

“So this is the so-called ‘Yaochi Holy Land’?

What difference is there between you and demon cultivators?!”

“You’d wipe out a city to catch one person?! Righteous my a**!”

“Please, Real Person! Spare me!”

A middle-aged cultivator in sect robes dropped to his knees, kowtowing desperately.

“I’ll give you everything I have—just let me live!

I swear I won’t breathe a word about this.

You can even wipe my memory!

Even if it hurts my soul or damages my foundation—I don’t care!”

“Too troublesome,” Yuling chuckled.

“It’s easier to kill them all.”

Slaughtering Jiangchi City was the most efficient solution.

Later, they could fake a few traces and blame it on the demon sects.

In fact, they might not need to fake anything—

Zhenwu Holy Land was already falling apart.

Soon, the Cangyun Realm would belong solely to Yaochi and Fanjing.

Dan Bai’s face darkened.

She hadn’t thought Yaochi would sink

this

low.

Even now that she’d surrendered,

they were still planning to slaughter the entire city.

If that’s the case... then she might as well fight to the death!

Dying here would be better than being captured.

...Sorry, Mom.

She had failed.

She still wasn’t strong enough to save her mother.

Just then—

A cold, clear voice rang out from the edge of the city.

“Yaochi Holy Land?

Heh…

how

impressive.”

In the moonlight, the tall weeds at the city’s edge swayed violently in the wind—

their silvery tips sparkling like shattered moon dust.

A man in black stood amidst the grass, sword in his arms.

His figure flickered in and out of sight—

like a brushstroke of dried ink smudged by time.

Only Yuling and Yuquan, standing high in the sky, could clearly see the sword cultivator’s silhouette.

Dan Bai looked back—

but from her view beyond the towering city gate,

she could only see a blurred figure.

Wind swept past her face.

She blinked instinctively—

and in that instant,

the figure had already appeared at the city gate.

Sword in his right hand,

he walked slowly, cloak billowing behind him in the wind.

Step by step,

he passed through the streets,

through the crowd,

until he stood beside Dan Bai.

And then, with one final step—

he moved in front of her.

His hair flowed like ink.

His black sword sheath reflected the moonlight.

The sword tassel swayed in the wind, red like burning flame.

The hand gripping the sword was long-fingered and powerful,

fitting the hilt as though the blade had grown from his flesh.

“Who are you?”

Yuling and Yuquan couldn’t sense this mysterious swordsman’s cultivation level.

And that very

lack

of clarity… made him all the more terrifying.

“I am—”

Chen Huaian looked up,

the gleam in his eyes as cold as fresh snow on a blade.

Seven words sliced through the air,

shattering the pressure that had suffocated the city.

“Sword Pavilion Patriarch—Chen. Huaian. Himself!”

…