Chapter 151: Master and Servant Swapping Places? Heaven and Earth Have No Self!

Chapter 151: Master and Servant Reversed? Heaven and Earth Without Me!

Zhao Changhe, who had been making precise analyses like Conan earlier, was now completely dumbfounded, staring blankly as Sisi pulled out a small compass-like device and began muttering incantations while surveying the surroundings.

Such a compact, pocket-watch-sized compass was hard to come by; he suspected she had stolen it from the Thief Saint Ye Wuzong...

Zhao Changhe knew absolutely nothing about tomb raiding or geomancy, and could only regret having read too much Lu Xiaofeng instead of *The Ghouls*.

He couldn't even imitate Lu Xiaofeng properly—that man had superb lightness skills and fingers far more nimble than Kato Ken's, while Zhao himself was like a heavy tank, having to entrust investigations to a thief, with fingers useless even if he had them.

How embarrassing.

He could only follow Sisi cautiously as she circled around: "What are you surveying?"

Sisi continued her measurements as she replied, "What means could they have to channel the baleful energy toward the Sword Pool? If they had such means, they would have controlled this place long ago... I can conclude that their plan must be to trigger an eruption from the main tomb's guardian, utterly destroying everything around, only then could they break through the space and cause the Tiger Hill above to shake and the Sword Pool to collapse. As for the old man triggering this change, he'll die anyway—he only has a month left to live."

"So I was right to watch the ants... Are you measuring the location of the main tomb?"

"Of course, what else? Did you think I was measuring the size of your Dragon Sparrow?"

"..."

She seemed fixated on that phrase...

Sisi suddenly put away the compass and darted outward: "I've got a general idea—hurry!"

Zhao Changhe followed, puzzled: "Why are you more anxious than me now?"

"If we fail to stop it and the tomb collapses, we'll die for sure—of course I'm anxious!" Sisi fumed. "I was perfectly fine as a little maid, and now I've been dragged into a death trap by a lunatic master! Zhao Changhe, I'm telling you, if I die here, I'll become a ghost and bite you to death down below!"

"It would be better if you moved the word 'below' to the end of the sentence."

Sisi: "?"

"Swish, swish, swish!" Sword qi roared from all directions again, even more ferocious than before.

"That old man must be near the main tomb—hurry!" Sisi had no time to bicker; she unleashed her true skill and sped forward.

To Zhao Changhe's eyes, it was like a celestial maiden dancing, gliding over rippling waves—a thousand blades and ten thousand swords grazed past her, yet none touched even a sliver of her skin.

Graceful and swift, in the blink of an eye, her skirt fluttering, she had already reached the opposite side of the passage.

Worst of all, her dance-like lightness technique stirred desire in the onlooker; though she used no illusion, her body itself seemed illusory.

It was the Thief Saint's lightness skill combined with the Maitreya Sect's Heavenly Maiden Scattering Flowers—she too was a genius, having successfully fused the various techniques she had stolen into her own understanding, with deadly hidden daggers lurking within the allure.

"Come on!" Sisi spun around at the end of the passage, glaring angrily.

Zhao Changhe gripped his blade and charged forward, hacking his way through.

His mindset hadn't yet shifted from the master-servant dynamic; he felt that the master's dignity had been trampled into the mud. The maid was elegant and agile, while the master was like a mangy dog.

Mangy and struggling. This was the tomb of an ancient Sword Emperor—though not yet the core, these peripheral sword qi were likely just "miscellaneous soldiers," yet they already posed great restrictions and obstacles to an old man near the Human Roll, forcing him to conserve strength and stay alert.

Sisi's exquisite movement technique was perfectly suited to this environment, but Zhao Changhe, despite his higher combat power, found it a trial—a man wielding a broad blade truly struggled against the sword qi assaulting from all sides.

"And you call yourself the master." Seeing Zhao Changhe stagger halfway, his clothes tattered and torn, Sisi finally dropped the pretense and sneered, "At this rate, I doubt you'll even make it to the destination."

Zhao Changhe bared his teeth: "Rebelling, are you?"

Sisi snorted coldly: "The key now is to get there fast! Not to argue whether you're the master or not!"

"That's simple." Zhao Changhe suddenly smiled. "I can be faster than you—believe it or not?"

Sisi was stunned for a moment, then saw Zhao Changhe abandon his guard on non-vital areas, letting the sword qi cut into his body, only protecting his vital spots. His speed instantly multiplied, charging like a wild bull straight to her side.

Sisi was dumbfounded: "You... don't you feel pain?"

"I was worried the baleful energy would cloud my mind, so I didn't want to be scratched by this baleful sword qi. But after a taste, it's not so bad—I can handle it, so I might as well let loose." Now it was Zhao Changhe's turn to show off. "Which way now? Lead the way!"

"..." Sisi turned and led the way, flying forward, saying, "If this truly is the tomb of the ancient Sword Emperor, the sword qi here should be for protection, not tainted with baleful energy. The reason it's tainted—if it's just because the Lu family killed too many people, that's a minor matter. What I'm really worried about is..."

"What?"

"That the Sword Emperor didn't die, that chaos is reborn, and thoughts of revenge are spreading, causing the baleful energy in the tomb to rise, and also causing the recent leakage of sword qi beyond the space. This is the most likely scenario, and the most dangerous. If the Sword Emperor truly awakens with baleful intent, not just Suzhou, but the entire divine land could sink."

The terrifying implications made Zhao Changhe's scalp tingle; even the pain of the sword qi cutting his body faded: "This..."

He had already felt the disconnect between the power of the previous era and the present. If a being who could be called an "Emperor" in that era awakened with baleful intent, it could indeed cause the divine land to sink—no one could resist, not even Xia Longyuan, most likely.

Sisi thought for a moment, then said, "Maybe it's not that exaggerated... According to common sense, even the miscellaneous guards at the tomb's periphery should be beyond our current ability to handle. But these sword qi aren't that strong, which shows that after countless years, the power here has weakened too much. So even if the Sword Emperor truly awakens, he might not possess his former strength."

Zhao Changhe nodded. The evidence of the sword qi's strength made this more plausible. If that were the case, the top experts on the Heaven Roll might still be able to contend with the Sword Emperor. Since the sky would fall and the tall ones would hold it up, those of them still lurking in the pond like hidden dragons didn't need to think that far ahead. For now, stopping the Lu family from doing something stupid was the priority.

Speaking of which, Sisi seemed to know a lot about the previous era? And she could tell at a glance that the Lu family elder was dying.

Could she have gained such knowledge in half a year lurking in the Thief Sect? Ji Chengkong was a direct descendant of the Thief Sect—did he have this knowledge?

She knew about the previous era but was completely ignorant of the current emperor's founding blade, the Dragon Sparrow... What exactly was her background?

As he was pondering, a violent explosion sounded ahead. Sisi's expression changed drastically: "These fools have no real plan at all—they're just trying to provoke the Sword Emperor's main tomb, hoping the baleful energy will rage and break through the space above! Doesn't this idiot realize that provoking the Sword Emperor might cause him to awaken early? They'll all be buried alive! Did they really think it would only affect the Tang family's Sword Pool?"

Zhao Changhe didn't bother to reply. He had been cut all over by the sword qi during his rush here and had no energy for words.

He overtook Sisi and rounded the corner ahead, immediately spotting a massive stone gate. The Lu family elder was frantically pounding on it, laughing wildly: "Rage! Surge! Break through this damned space! Let me see this baleful energy that has tormented our Lu family—let it torment the Tang family instead!"

Such narrow-mindedness...

Zhao Changhe had no time to sneer. He directly executed *All Gods and Buddhas Scatter*, leaping several spans through the air and slashing straight at the old man's head.

He could see that the baleful energy nearby was growing denser and more frenzied, beginning to coalesce. The surrounding sword qi was no longer formless; it had become a bloody, murderous aura. Before the main tomb gate, it was like a crimson hell, with a bloody tornado trying to surge upward.

On top of that, the entire space felt like an earthquake, making Zhao Changhe's heart pound—he felt as if the terrifying ancient Sword Emperor inside the heavy gate was rising.

This strike used almost all his strength. The wounds all over his body burst open, blood spraying out, turning him into a blood-soaked figure that eerily matched the crimson hellscape.

"Do you think that because I've expended some energy here, I can't handle a couple of brats at the fourth or fifth Xuan Pass?" The old man laughed maniacally, then suddenly thrust his sword at Zhao Changhe's Tanzhong acupoint.

This was the most obvious flaw in *All Gods and Buddhas Scatter*. Zhao Changhe's acupoint-shifting technique couldn't be used in this situation. His only option was to pull back his blade and deflect the thrust, but that would completely break the move—and the worst problem was, with the power of the fifth Xuan Pass, could he really deflect a strike from the ninth? With such a gap, exposing a flaw was simply suicide!

Zhao Changhe did indeed pull back his blade and swept it down, striking the side of the sword.

To the old man's shock, his sword was actually deflected. He even felt that Zhao Changhe's strength surpassed his own!

Startled, he retreated a step to regroup, only to be even more shocked to find that Zhao Changhe's eyes had turned completely blood-red, his face twisted with madness—just like his great-grandson who had pretended to go berserk with bloodlust.

At this moment, Zhao Changhe no longer recognized him, nor himself.

*Heaven and Earth Without Me!*

The forbidden technique he had only used once since learning the Blood Fiend Blade Art.

Having absorbed so much baleful sword qi along the way, the baleful energy in Zhao Changhe's blood had exceeded the limit. Even if he hadn't actively used this technique, he would soon lose his mind and go berserk. By actively gathering the baleful energy and using it, he not only retained some control but also, due to absorbing too much baleful qi, made the technique more powerful than usual.

Sisi, who had been planning to assist, swallowed her saliva and quietly stepped back.

This guy's combat instincts and will were truly terrifying. During the whole ordeal of being sliced and diced along the way, he had already prepared to absorb the baleful energy and unleash his berserk state upon arrival...

Sisi had just felt she was standing tall, but now she felt like kneeling again...