Chapter 348: Illegitimate Child?

Chapter 348: Illegitimate Child?

“The demon women of Yaoshi Holy Land have backed off…”

“Wait—who’s that? Judging by the outfit… Elder Li?!”

Very quickly, someone noticed the figure who’d just been knocked flying.

After all, Elder Li Ziping was a senior of Zhenwu Holy Land and quite recognizable.

“Stop! That’s Elder Li! We hit the wrong guy! Elder Li came back to help us!”

“But… the sword array can’t be stopped anymore…”

The disciples within the formation looked like they were about to cry.

Their spiritual energy had been completely drained by the array.

At this point, even moving a finger was a struggle.

There was no one present capable of halting a fully activated sword array.

The array was designed to be powered only by Zhang Yibai, who was in the Mahayana Stage.

It certainly couldn’t be canceled by a few mere Void Fusion cultivators.

And it had already cost one Void Fusion elder’s life to activate it—

No one had considered stopping it.

Just like no one could’ve expected Li Ziping to suddenly appear inside the array’s strike zone.

Li Ziping hadn’t expected it either.

He’d never taken precautions when returning to his own sect.

So when the flying swords started falling, he hadn’t even reacted in time—no defense, no countermeasure.

He was immediately blown away by one of the strikes.

But Chen Huaian, who was already mentally prepared, reacted very differently.

Sword Form Five – A Single Man Guards the Pass was too aggressive—

It was a head-on clash type of move.

Although it could also deflect attacks, it wasn’t appropriate here.

The array was being controlled by Zhenwu’s own disciples.

If he deflected the entire barrage of swords back at them…

Even with his “hometown bias,” he had no doubt that Zhang Yibai inside Blackscale Sword would be so furious he might literally die again.

“Good thing I learned Liyuan in advance.”

Chen Huaian pushed both arms forward.

In an instant, the sound of crashing waves erupted.

Ripples of water spread out in every direction.

Iron walls could block a thousand soldiers—

But water, though soft, could shield an entire city.

The falling swords, which had been accelerating like meteors, suddenly slowed the moment they touched the water ripples.

With the swaying of the waves, the swords gradually came to a stop in front of Chen Huaian.

Not a single one pierced through the barrier of Liyuan.

The sight left every disciple of Zhenwu dumbstruck.

The mysterious sword cultivator who’d emerged from the spatial rift was now encased in a giant iron orb of frozen swords.

Through the gaps between the blades, they could faintly see the small but imposing figure within.

“It’s Liyuan! If Liyuan does not break, a hundred rivers become the sea!”

One disciple’s eyes filled with tears.

His lips trembled as he murmured,

“It’s the Grandmaster… the Grandmaster is back!”

All Zhenwu disciples had learned Liyuan.

But their versions could only extend three zhang at most—some could barely maintain three feet.

This Liyuan?

More than a thousand zhang wide—

Its invisible waves completely enveloped the front gates of Zhenwu Holy Land.

No Void Fusion elder at Zhenwu had ever managed such a feat.

If this wasn’t the Grandmaster—who else could it be?

When the protective sword array finally exhausted its energy,

A literal mountain of swords stood before Chen Huaian.

He raised both hands and pulled upward with force, shouting:

“Break!”

Tens of thousands of flying swords shot skyward.

The gentle power of Liyuan dissipated, and the swords fell again like drifting flower petals, embedding themselves quietly into the ground.

Chen Huaian landed at the front gates of Zhenwu Holy Land.

All around him, countless swords were buried blade-first in the earth.

He stood among them, clad in dark robes—

Like a sword himself, the sharpest of all.

Li Ziping yanked out the dozen or so swords stuck in his body.

He got to his feet, adjusted his robes with exaggerated seriousness, and put on a straight face.

“Patriarch! That was just a little accident. What you just saw was our Zhenwu Holy Land’s protective grand array.

Impressive, wasn’t it?”

He sidled up to Chen Huaian with a wide grin, trying to sound casual:

“If you’d consider joining Zhenwu Holy Land, you could activate that array any time you want! Use it however you like!”

Chen Huaian stared at him wordlessly.

…A protective formation was for “play”?

Was Li Ziping really trying to market it like a toy?

He pointed at the dense field of flying swords around them, sighing with grief:

“What amazing formation?

All I saw was endless despair across the Cangyun Realm.”

“Look at these swords.

So many were forged by hardworking cultivators—and your big fancy formation just stole them all.

Don’t tell me Zhenwu’s not short on weapons because you just fire up this thing for fun?”

“Uh…”

Li Ziping was speechless.

He’d never thought about that before.

The protective array had only been activated three times.

The first time—during a beast tide.

It was also Zhang Yibai’s legendary battle.

The second—when the array was upgraded. Obviously, they had to test it, right?

The third time—was today.

He wanted to argue back—

But the more he thought about it…

The more he realized—Chen Huaian had a point.

Zhenwu had never worried about flying swords.

The back mountain behind the Sect Master’s hall was packed with unnamed swords—no one cared where they came from.

When a disciple’s natal sword broke, they just went up the hill and picked a new one.

Want to upgrade a sword?

Go grab a few more from the hill—plenty to spare.

Endless supply.

“Elder Li, who is this?”

Another Zhenwu elder stepped forward.

Seeing that the mysterious sword cultivator wasn’t Zhang Yibai, their excitement faded.

But they were still curious—how could this stranger wield Liyuan with such mastery?

Could it be… someone Zhang Zhenren trained secretly?

Or… an illegitimate child?!

Tsk. Hard to say.

“This is the Sword Pavilion Ancestor.”

Li Ziping cleared his throat and introduced carefully:

“I didn’t find Elder Zhang.

But I did recover the Patriarch’s Sword Soul.

As for the Sword Pavilion Ancestor here…”

He paused for a long time, then forced out:

“Let’s just say… he’s an old friend of our Patriarch, here to help.”

He nearly let it slip—

Almost said this was the man here to take over Zhenwu Holy Land.

That would’ve set off the stubborn old bulls in the sect.

He knew their temperaments all too well.

For them, Zhang Yibai was heaven, and Zhenwu was earth.

Anyone who tried to change that?

Better be ready to shatter the heavens.

If they were ever going to accept it—

Zhang Yibai backing the Sword Pavilion Ancestor wouldn’t be enough.

They’d need to see him beautifully handle today’s crisis.

While they were talking,

A whooshing sound echoed from beyond Zhenwu’s borders.

Seven powerful Void Fusion auras descended like thunder.

Outside the mountain gate, multicolored clouds appeared.

Birds, bees, and butterflies swarmed together.

Under the influence of Longevity Arts, all nearby plants began growing wildly.

Seven Void Fusion cultivators from Yaoshi Holy Land arrived, each standing on their own flying artifact.

They loomed above Zhenwu Holy Land, their pressure suffocating.

At the front stood Real Person Qingzhu, clad in green.

Her cold gaze swept over the crowd at Zhenwu’s gate.

Her red lips parted:

“Zhenwu’s protective array is depleted.

If you have any tricks left, use them now—

Or else, you won’t get the chance.”

…

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