Chapter 935: I heard you’re here to demand an explanation from me?

“Only three early Nascent Soul cultivators?”

At the City Lord’s Mansion, Hong Lian looked up at the three Nascent Soul cultivators above the city through the grand array and frowned.

She wasn’t surprised by a Nascent Soul challenge. She had expected it.

Ever since the Liang-Yue War ended and Yangming True Lord’s name shook the Southern Desolation and the Northern Region, she’d sensed a crisis brewing.

The reason was simple.

A Core Formation cultivator soaring to Nascent Soul in just a few decades would inevitably draw fear and coveting from other powers.

Back in the Mirage Domain of Vast Sands, Qingluan True Lord had taken the core chance of the secret realm and was besieged by many Nascent Soul cultivators.

Yangming True Lord, still only at Core Formation then, got pulled in and stood with Qingluan True Lord.

Now that they heard about Yangming True Lord’s condition, those cultivators were bound to make a move.

Either make amends and dissolve the grudge,

or flee far away and seek shelter under another power,

or form alliances to resist him, even target Yangming True Lord directly.

From the stream of visitors to the Immortal City of Damengze over the years, Hong Lian had seen it coming. Many came to probe her husband’s stance, temperament, and character.

So when receiving some of them, she deliberately hinted that her husband was inconvenient to receive guests.

She even let the city push the rumor that Yangming True Lord was badly injured and in poor shape.

She wanted to see which clowns would jump out in the dark.

Then use a public execution to scare the monkeys and cull a few hidden enemies.

She just hadn’t expected only three Nascent Soul cultivators to show up.

And judging by their aura, all three were only at early Nascent Soul.

“Back then in the Mirage Domain, five Nascent Soul cultivators dared face my husband and Qingluan True Lord head-on.”

“True Lord Zicang died, but four others lived. Yet now only two of those four have come.”

In the years she’d overseen Jiang Kingdom on behalf of the Immortal City of Damengze and Yangming True Lord, she’d spent plenty of time studying the powers across the Southern Desolation and the Northern Region.

She also had a fair grasp of the Northern Region’s Nascent Soul True Lords.

“There are still Nascent Soul cultivators watching from the shadows.” Hong Lian was certain.

A wounded tiger was still a tiger.

Even if Yangming True Lord was seriously hurt and not in top form, three early Nascent Soul cultivators couldn’t bully him.

Especially since news of his injury hadn’t been confirmed.

“Qian Zhuyan, Golden Roc.”

Hong Lian stopped mulling it over and called out to Qian Zhuyan in the puppet hall and the Golden Roc in the rear hall.

Then she crushed two jade talismans, took a formation plate in hand, stepped out of the mansion, and glared at the three Nascent Soul cultivators outside the city. “You are bold indeed.”

“Back in the Mirage Domain, your Zicang Mountain joined others in trying to kill my husband. That debt hasn’t been settled. And you dare come to our door to demand an explanation?”

She wore a red dress embroidered with gold and silver thread, its wide skirts trailing behind. A peach-blossom beaded coronet crowned her head, her black hair flying. Her whole bearing was ethereal and regal.

She was only at Core Formation.

Yet facing three Nascent Soul True Lords, she showed no fear at all, her tempered edge and restrained dominance shining through.

As she spoke, a golden roc like poured gold appeared above the City Lord’s Mansion, its cold sharp eyes locked on the three outside the city.

“That’s Yangming True Lord’s Dao companion, Li Muwan!”

“So the City Lord’s Wife really is a Nascent Soul True Lord!”

“She’s fierce. Facing three Nascent Soul cultivators without a hint of fear.”

“That golden roc is Yangming True Lord’s spirit pet, True Lord Golden Roc!”

“Why hasn’t the City Lord appeared? Is the rumor true that he’s badly hurt and not in good shape?”

Seeing Hong Lian and the Golden-Winged Roc, the city’s cultivators burst into exclamations and buzzed with discussion.

As Yangming True Lord’s renown spread, many also learned of his spirit pet, True Lord Golden Roc.

As for the City Lord’s Wife, she was usually elusive and mysterious. Few knew her well.

But as his fame soared, most assumed she was a Nascent Soul True Lord too.

The Zicang Mountain Nascent Soul cultivator felt his heart clench under the Golden-Winged Roc’s gaze, a chill creeping over him.

Yet when he looked at Hong Lian, he was surprised.

She didn’t seem to be a Nascent Soul cultivator at all but a Core Formation one.

Still, with her unmatched poise and crushing presence, True Lord Qingcang instinctively felt she was hiding her realm.

He steeled himself and said coldly, “Settle accounts with us? Only if you have the ability!”

“If that brat Yangming hadn’t faked his death and hidden his name back then, we’d have wiped him out long ago. He wouldn’t be strutting around now!”

“Yangming brat, get out here!”

True Lord Qingcang feared Yangming True Lord and the Golden-Winged Roc.

But he couldn’t show weakness.

He’d already been pushed to the front. If he cowered now, he’d only make a fool of himself.

Sure enough.

The moment he spoke, many in the Immortal City of Damengze were aghast.

Who were these three to show no respect for their City Lord and call him a brat?

In the City Lord’s Mansion, soul-fire flickered in Qian Zhuyan’s eye sockets, cold and merciless. She wanted nothing more than to rush out and kill.

But in the prior battle her puppet body had been damaged, the puppets that formed the battle array were cracked as well, and her battle strength had plummeted. It wasn’t the time to act.

“Vermin like you aren’t worthy of my husband’s presence!”

Hong Lian worked the formation plate, pouring power into the city’s grand array. Her aura braided with the array’s, her palace attire snapping in the wind as her presence spread over the city.

At once the Golden-Winged Roc reared and screeched to the sky, wings flaring as it dived at the three True Lords.

For a beast used to playing at the highest table, facing three Nascent Soul cultivators was no pressure.

“Such nerve!”

Seeing Hong Lian and the Golden-Winged Roc strike first, the trio was shocked and angered.

Shocked that Hong Lian truly was only at Core Formation, not Nascent Soul.

Angered that a mere Core Formation junior dared scold them to their faces.

“The City Lord’s Wife isn’t at Nascent Soul?”

Some cultivators in the city sensed Hong Lian merging with the array and were stunned.

Though her aura far surpassed a typical Core Formation grand cultivator when fused with the array,

Core Formation and Nascent Soul magical energy were fundamentally different, and they could feel it.

For a moment, many were shaken and uncertain.

Back in the Mirage Domain, Yangming True Lord had slain Nascent Soul while at Core Formation.

Was the City Lord’s Wife about to do the same, fending off Nascent Soul while still at Core Formation?

“You two, act now!”

True Lord Qingcang barked, steady and decisive.

Just as Hong Lian had guessed, the three of them weren’t alone.

If Yangming True Lord happened to be fine, walking in like this would be suicide.

As his shout fell, two figures stepped out of the void at his side.

They were the other two who had joined True Lord Zicang in besieging Qingluan True Lord in the Mirage Domain.

They had not only moved against Qingluan True Lord and Yangming back then,

they had later sent people to track them and hunt Qingluan True Lord.

With that, there was no resolving this grudge.

Unless they abandoned their foundations and fled to other regions to seek shelter, they’d be in mortal danger when Qingluan and Yangming came to settle accounts.

So at Luo Fuzi’s invitation, they came to the Immortal City of Damengze.

“Two more Nascent Soul True Lords!”

The city’s cultivators went pale at the sight.

Five Nascent Soul cultivators together were a terrifying force anywhere, enough to roil the cultivation world.

Yangming True Lord’s fame in the Southern Desolation and the Northern Region came from slaying six Nascent Soul True Lords.

Among those six were True Lord Incinerating Wither, True Lord Youyue, and True Lord Huangquan, all newly advanced.

These five likely weren’t much weaker than the six Yangming had killed.

A thunderous boom rolled out.

All five struck at once, power flooding the heavens and crushing the void.

Even after digesting the Huangquan flood dragon’s remnant soul and taking his bloodline a step further, the Golden-Winged Roc couldn’t match them head-on.

“A mere Core Formation junior thinks she can borrow an array to stand against Nascent Soul?”

True Lord Qingcang had already summoned his life-bound treasure. Its aura surged. He’d been building up power for a while.

Facing the onrushing tide, Hong Lian formed seals. Endless flames poured off her as pillars of light rose from the city’s grand array.

Just then a ringing sword light slashed out from the mansion, peerlessly sharp and unstoppable. It was the Nine-Leaf Sword Grass.

Yet it didn’t strike from afar.

It transformed into the form of the Nine Calamity Sword and flew straight at True Lord Qingcang.

Sparks screeched.

A cascade of sword light tore through and shattered True Lord Qingcang’s attack.

“That’s Yangming True Lord’s sword!”

True Lord Qingcang and True Lord Yin Lei recognized the Nine Calamity Sword.

Seeing it unleash such terrifying sword light with no one wielding it, they were shocked, shaken, and greedy.

They immediately switched to defense, watching the city for any sign that Yangming True Lord was lurking within.

But when the Nine Calamity Sword fell into Hong Lian’s hand and she slashed out arcs of razor light, their hearts lifted.

They realized Yangming True Lord wasn’t here.

Or rather, that his condition was worse than they’d thought.

If not, why would he still not appear at this point,

leaving his spirit pet and Core Formation wife to wield his sword?

“Everyone, the longer we wait the worse it gets. Finish this quickly!”

The five surged forward in unison. They wanted a quick battle to break the city’s array, seize the Golden-Winged Roc and Hong Lian, then deal with Yangming True Lord.

Hong Lian couldn’t wield the Nine Calamity Sword as monstrously as Lu Changsheng could, but fused with the array she could force out enough of its power not to drag them down.

Booms thundered.

The clash exploded as divine lights tore into each other, shaking heaven and earth.

The shockwaves rolled for hundreds of miles, boiling the sea around the city and blasting it skyward.

The Immortal City of Damengze shook under the backlash. The array’s light flickered as its warding fluctuated, and only the stationed cultivators kept it stable.

“Why hasn’t the City Lord appeared? Is he really badly hurt like the rumors say?”

“Is Yangming True Lord not in the city? But his spirit pet and sword are here…”

Most couldn’t follow a Nascent Soul battle. They trembled under the pressure, faces pale.

But seeing their City Lord still absent, they couldn’t help but worry.

If the city fell and the array failed, this Nascent Soul might would wipe most of them out with ease.

“Why hasn’t Yangming True Lord shown himself?”

Bai Zhaozhao frowned up at the battle above the city.

Earlier she’d suspected he wasn’t in seclusion here in the Immortal City of Damengze.

After all, the city rested on a third-rank spirit vein, far too meager to supply his cultivation.

But seeing the Golden-Winged Roc and the Nine Calamity Sword left her puzzled.

Maybe the rumors were true. If Yangming was grievously injured and in terrible shape, he might not be able to act.

Otherwise why hand his sword to someone else?

“If he can’t move, this city is in danger.”

Her delicate face stayed cool, a pale gold light flowing in her pupils.

On the surface the two sides were even.

But the City Lord’s Wife was only at Core Formation.

Over time she might not sustain the sword.

Staring at the sky, Bai Zhaozhao wondered if she should help again.

By Tianyan Sect rules, she shouldn’t interfere too much in other powers’ disputes.

But through the Golden-Winged Roc she’d learned the White Snake bloodline she met in the Myriad Beasts Mountain Range was likely Yangming’s child.

So she had a good impression of the man she’d never met and was willing to help to show goodwill.

Just then she noticed the calamity aura around the city wasn’t rising or spreading. That meant there’d be no major crisis.

“Hm?”

She tapped her brow. A pure silver horn manifested and she seemed to link with heaven and earth.

In a flash she saw a few things.

The Immortal City of Damengze had a hidden hand left.

And watching Hong Lian swing the Nine Calamity Sword filled her with a strange feeling.

When no one held it moments ago, the sword had already slashed with Nascent Soul might.

Yet in the City Lord’s Wife’s hand its power hadn’t increased at all.

“Yangming True Lord is in the city, watching from the shadows!”

A moment later a guess formed in her heart.

She figured Yangming was baiting the fish.

Otherwise none of this added up.

At that moment in the mansion, Lu Changsheng sat cross-legged, refining Ten-Thousand Year Spirit Milk in his Qi Sea Dantian.

Through the Misty Dust Banner and a sub-banner merged into the city’s spirit vein, he could travel between two places quickly.

But Penglai Island and the Immortal City of Damengze were far apart. The cost was steep.

Burning spirit stones to drive the Misty Dust Banner also took a huge toll on him.

“Five Nascent Soul cultivators are enough to make up for the spirit stones I burned.”

After recovering a bit of power, he looked out at the five fighting Hong Lian and the Golden-Winged Roc. His eyes were calm.

Then he sent a message talisman to True Lord Xuanjian at the Cloud Dream Inn: “Friend Xuanjian, just guard the field for me.”

Hong Lian had long foreseen this and knew enemies might come. There was no way she’d rely on only the Golden-Winged Roc and one sword.

These years she’d handled Jiang Kingdom’s affairs for Lu Changsheng, so she’d sent word early to their ally, True Lord Xuanjian.

She hoped he would sit in the city for a while in case her message to Lu couldn’t bring him back in time.

Having seen Lu Changsheng’s strength, True Lord Xuanjian was happy to do him a favor and stand guard.

But since Lu returned in time, there was no need for Xuanjian to act much.

Booms rolled again.

As the five fought Hong Lian and the Golden-Winged Roc above the city, they suddenly felt a jolt. A vast hand of clear Yin and Yang lines formed in the sky.

“Not good. That’s Yangming True Lord’s divine ability!”

“Careful!”

The next instant a man in a black robe and cloak stepped out of the Great Void. Handsome and scholarly, he looked down at them with calm eyes. “I heard you’re here to demand an explanation from me?”

Before they could answer, Lu Changsheng looked at Hong Lian and called softly, “Sword, come.”

The Nine Calamity Sword in her hand rang. A tide of sword light burst forth as nine-leaf sword grass bloomed in the air, then the blade fell into Lu Changsheng’s hand.

In that moment the sword’s true power erupted.

Endless sword qi ripped the sky and earth and swallowed the whole field.

In a blink, True Lord Qingcang, True Lord Yin Lei, and the other three went stiff with terror.