Chapter 427: Too Many Debts to Worry About

Within the Wentian Sword Palace, there lay a forbidden place whose very name struck terror into the hearts of all under heaven, known as the Sword Tomb.

Yet the world only knew the sinister reputation of this sepulcher; almost none knew precisely what it was within the Sword Tomb that made the world blanch with fear.

Only the truly great factions possessed any inkling of the secrets hidden inside.

Inside the Wentian Sword Palace, the palace paths meandered and twisted like a labyrinth, and at the innermost tier of the Sword Tomb Mountain, the path wound downward as the light grew progressively darker.

The profound depths of the earth were akin to an abyss; the deeper one ventured, the more one could feel a heavy darkness sweeping forward, an ominous aura that seemed capable of swallowing a person whole.

After an indiscernible passage of time, the stone steps finally began to level out, suggesting they had at last reached the subterranean floor.

Deep beneath the earth there was no light, as if they harbored dread toward something, not daring to ignite even the slightest glimmer of fire.

It was as though they feared disturbing something.

Only when a faint spiritual awareness swept across could one barely discern that the surrounding walls were carved with crisscrossing scores—marks that resembled characters yet belonged to no recognizable script in the present world.

Before them stood burial chambers, rising one after another like small hillocks.

In this vast subterranean expanse, there were one hundred and eight tombs in total.

However, most of these burial chambers appeared to have been destroyed, leaving only a dozen or so intact.

In the darkness, the faint, crisp clanking of colliding chains could seemingly be heard.

Kneeling before these chambers were many individuals, young and old, bound in shackles and clad in ragged clothes.

...

"I heard... that the Immortal-Slaying Sword Array of the Wentian Sword Palace once executed an immortal. Is that true?" Li Lanruo asked in confusion just as Fang Qi turned to leave.

To the cultivators of the present era, let alone slaying an immortal, even true immortals had long since become legends of the remotest antiquity; thus, most people merely listened to the events of those distant ages as folklore.

"The legend does indeed exist..." Elder Li Wuya beside her remarked. "It is said that the Nangong family had an ancestor named something like Earth Twenty-Eight, who was the primary controller of the array back then. It is rumored that the Wentian Sword Palace also paid a staggering price in that battle..."

"The era is far too distant, so it is hard to say how much of it can be believed. Moreover, that is all the glory of the ancestors; even if it were true, now that it has been passed down to the descendants, I fear it is already a far cry from what it once was..."

...

From within the ruined and dilapidated tombs, a few faint slivers of an arcane glow subtly manifested. As that strange light brightened by a fraction, the eyes of the shackled captives also brightened in tandem; peering inward by the dim light, what was interred within the tombs did not seem to be human.

Among these dozen or so tombs, only a few had epitaphs whose inscriptions could be barely distinguished. As spiritual awareness swept over them, they read in sequence: Earth Thirty-Seven, Earth Twenty-Eight, Heaven Sixteen...

...

Wentian Sword Palace.

Inside the great hall, a square-faced middle-aged man of solemn and majestic bearing listened with an expression of indifference to the report of a Nangong family cultivator standing below the dais.

"Where is the perpetrator? Have you found out who it is?"

"Regarding the one who struck, the Second Elder has already employed the spiritual light retrogression method but still failed to find them. However, the person attacked by Nangong Jiuwen has been identified. By following this thread, we will surely find the true culprit! Only..."

"Only what?" the middle-aged man inquired coldly.

"Only, your subordinate believes that if the one who struck belongs to one of the other great aristocratic families, it might be rather difficult to handle..."

"It matters not who they are," the middle-aged man said in a chilling voice. "Never mind the other great families, even if it involves the Haotian Academy, they must hand the true culprit over to me. The other families may be difficult to provoke, but by slaughtering a hundred members of my Nangong family, does that mean our Nangong family is easily provoked?"

In an affair like this, where the Nangong family had lost a hundred men, whichever faction dared to step forward now, he would dare to march right to their doorstep to demand accountability.

He waved his hand: "Go, send word to Zhuo'er. I shall dispatch two sword slaves to his side this very day. Let us see what manner of sacred entity this person truly is!"

"If the true culprit can be found, all the better; if not, bring back those individuals seen in the spiritual light retrogression method as well."

"Understood!"

"Furthermore, reclaim the Mystic Mechanism Jade as quickly as possible before word leaks out."

"Understood!"

His eyes narrowed slightly: "If this is your trump card, this old man will make you realize just how laughable this trump card is!"

...

Owner Fang was clearly entirely oblivious to certain matters. As a dutiful proprietor, his most critical task at present was to purchase a shop and get the new branch up and running, while incidentally pondering whether little Xiaoyue would be bullied upon entering an academy in a place like this; everything else was completely none of his concern.

"Hoh... this can probably be considered a major city, right?" Owner Fang, having stepped out of the Taiwang Pavilion, looked left and right before muttering to himself.

It was not just large, but sufficiently prosperous.

Glancing around, the surrounding shops for spiritual artifacts, demonic beasts, and spirit elixirs could be said to have everything one could desire. Outside the Taiwang Pavilion, it was currently the most bustling season.

Yet, bustling as it was, it was glaringly obvious that there were no vacant shops left in this area for Owner Fang to purchase.

Fang Qi had no choice but to go look in other districts. After a large circle, he returned, seemingly having failed to find a single shop up for sale or transfer.

Just as he was preparing to head back to the Taiwang Pavilion, he spotted a white-haired little old man sitting in a completely trashed shop, weeping bitterly.

A crowd of onlookers had gathered around, none of them knowing what had transpired.

"What's going on here?"

"It's said that this old man lacked eyes and offended the people of the Nangong family..."

"What 'people of the Nangong family'...? They're just a few of the Nangong family's dogs..."

"Hush... watch your words."

"They say this old man toiled for most of his life just to finally manage to open a shop in Yuanyang City. Given the current situation, he certainly can't keep it open... Forget the Nangong family, even those fellows looking to curry favor with them are enough to make him suffer."

"What else can be done? Their power is immense, so they simply do as they please..."

Owner Fang: "...Why are these people everywhere I go?"

"If you ask me, he should just sell the shop, pat his clothes, and leave, saving himself from enduring this foul luck!"

"Sell the shop?" someone nearby sneered. "Would you dare to buy it? Do you dare to meddle in the Nangong family's business?"

Hardly had the words fallen when a figure stepped forward: "Old gentleman, is this shop of yours for sale?"

"..." The cultivator who had just been mocking from the side instantly froze, staring blankly at the young man before him. "Is this guy an idiot?!"

"Where did this kid come from...?"

The old man stared at Fang Qi in disbelief: "Young man, you... you truly want to buy it?!"

He pointed to their surroundings: "What... what they said, did you not hear it?"

Owner Fang shrugged his shoulders: "My Defying Heavenly Online Gaming Guild has never feared anyone."

Having already killed over a hundred of them anyway, to Owner Fang, it was entirely a matter of a debt too large to cause any extra worry.

Everyone: "..."

"Thank you! Thank you so very much!" The old man thanked him repeatedly. "Please... please step inside!"