Chapter 470: The Kite Is Unsettled

Chapter 470: The Kite Without a Tether

Yue Hongling had long since learned from the captives where the so-called sword formation cave was, and she had been lurking outside for some time.

Shi Wuding and several Wordless Sword Slaves were inside. Yue Hongling dared not even peek in, fearing discovery, and carefully concealed herself, waiting for the right moment.

She knew that once Zhao Changhe engaged in battle, Shi Wuding would inevitably react. Whether that would lure Shi Wuding out depended entirely on how Zhao Changhe performed...

Yue Hongling had full confidence in this.

No one understood Zhao Changhe’s progress over these days better than she did. When Zhao Changhe wielded the Dragon Sparrow again, even she would have to exert great effort to defeat him, and there was a high chance she would end up injured. This was without considering the power of the divine weapon; she dared not test it.

Without Shi Wuding present, ordinary people could not hinder Zhao Changhe in the slightest.

Sure enough, not long after, Shi Wuding’s voice came from the cave, as if speaking to himself: “Zhao Changhe?”

After a pause, there was a hint of surprise: “So strong... This man is not much weaker than Wang Daozhong. No wonder he is the strongest Hidden Dragon Number One in history, with such terrifying speed of progress...”

From this, it was clear that Shi Wuding could fully receive the battle information from that side, even if he didn’t know the details, he at least knew the situation.

But even Shi Wuding could not recognize that it was Si Laoye and Wang Daozhong.

Zhao Changhe’s mastery of skills was too vast. Once he reached the day when he could simplify complexity and return to basics, it might pave his way to the Heavenly Ranking. Of course, this would be a very long process, not easily achieved.

“Do not take it head-on!” Inside, Shi Wuding blurted out in shock, and then a sword light burst out of the cave: “Hold the formation steady; I will return shortly!”

This was the moment!

As soon as Shi Wuding left, Yue Hongling immediately slipped inside.

Changhe had done his part perfectly; now it was up to her to ensure Shi Wuding could not focus all his strength on Changhe, or else Changhe would not be able to handle it.

Peering into the cave from the dark backlit entrance, she saw only four people inside, all in white robes as pure as snow, solemnly surrounding a bone sword suspended in midair, forming a peculiar formation... Yue Hongling recognized a familiar face among them.

It was Yingshuang, who had just returned after being defeated by Han Wubing... but she couldn’t tell which one he was.

Upon closer inspection, the formation was not so peculiar; it was actually a very conventional Big Dipper Seven-Star Formation. Because three non-adjacent positions were missing, it didn’t look obvious at first glance, but a careful look made it clear.

The Big Dipper Seven-Star Formation was very useful, especially for swordsmen who favored it, embodying the meaning of death and fierce killing.

Here, four people, plus Shi Wuding and Lan Wujiang, made six... only one short of Han Wubing to complete the set.

With the ancient sword at the center, the general significance could be discerned...

There was a hidden secret realm here with no visible entrance, and this bone sword was strongly connected to it.

Thus, this was a space-breaking formation... using the method of the Big Dipper Seven Stars, mobilizing the killing intent of Heaven, Earth, and Man, and using the item strongly related to the secret realm to connect internally, forcibly tearing the void to link the two worlds.

Yue Hongling could almost see that the sword qi of the sword slaves forming the formation constituted the core of the formation. The sword qi and sword intent from the daily practice of the Sword Hut disciples were being gradually absorbed by this formation. The harsh steepness of the snowy peak, the drifting snow and frost above, all converged into the formation’s eye, creating an extremely cold and murderous sword intent, terrifyingly powerful.

This was the reason for the May snowfall due to the cold weather... This bone sword possessed incredibly fearsome energy, perhaps even more terrifying than the Dragon Sparrow.

Yue Hongling had heard of the incident at Gusu back then... It was somewhat similar to the concept of the Sword Emperor’s tomb, where the Sword Emperor’s terrifying baleful sword forcibly broke through space to reach Tiger Hill, but this time it was going in the opposite direction.

Then the consequences would be very similar—what had Zhao Changhe and Sisi worked so hard to prevent in the Sword Emperor’s tomb? First, the Sword Emperor’s revival, and second, the collapse of the secret realm leading to landslides and earth-shattering destruction, potentially turning all of Gusu into ruins.

If Shi Wuding used this unstable method to forcibly break through space, and the secret realm was forcibly squeezed out of the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain’s body, what would be the result?

The snow mountain would collapse, the sky would fall and the earth would crack. Not only would the snow mountain’s coverage be destroyed in an instant, but the entire Miao territory might suffer a massive earthquake, and countless people would die!

How dare Shi Wuding do this! Didn’t he care about his own life? Even if he could escape into the secret realm in time and survive, wouldn’t all the Sword Hut disciples be doomed?

This was the grand scheme behind his relocation and cooperation with the Black Miao. In the early stages, the Black Miao helped him find enough sword slaves of sufficient strength like Lan Wujiang for the formation and located the general position of the secret realm in the snow mountain. After that, he might not have needed to continue cooperating with the Black Miao. Even if there was some core method of the sword slaves, it was likely in this secret realm!

At that moment, the four sword slaves were all on high alert. Yue Hongling could not wait any longer for an opportunity; if she delayed, Zhao Changhe would be killed by Shi Wuding over there...

Her figure suddenly moved, and a thread of sword light silently stabbed toward the nearest white-robed sword slave.

“Clang!” An invisible sword qi barrier flowed around the formation, blocking Yue Hongling’s sneak attack completely.

Not only that, but sword qi also swirled behind her, forming a wandering sword net on the periphery, preventing her escape.

The four sword slaves simultaneously opened their eyes and turned around. Four long swords arrived almost simultaneously at Yue Hongling’s vital points: “You’re asking for death!”

Not only was Yingshuang on the Human Ranking, but the others were not far behind, at least at Lan Wujiang’s level, with the formation’s enhancement.

Yue Hongling’s battle here would be even harder than Zhao Changhe’s.

But her face showed no hesitation. Her sword light was like a flowing stream, clashing with the four swords almost simultaneously. She shifted her steps slightly and attacked again.

If the Sword Hut’s swords were like frost, then Yue Hongling’s sword was like a startled swan, very beautiful.

Someone exclaimed: “The Sunset Mountain Villa’s Startled Swan Sword Technique... Such a low-level technique, such an ordinary long sword, yet you can wield it like this—impressive... You are Yue Hongling!”

Yue Hongling remained silent. In the span of a few words, her long sword had already parried more than ten moves from the opponent.

“Yue Hongling here, isn’t that good?” Another sword slave sighed: “Even if Han Wubing is not here, this makes the seventh person.”

“Exactly!” Another sword slave seemed almost jubilant: “If we can’t kill Zhao Changhe, capturing Yue Hongling is also fine...”

Yue Hongling couldn’t help but glance at him—so it’s you, Yingshuang...

Though she seemed to be skirmishing with them, her peripheral vision was constantly studying the sword qi-woven formation. As she watched, a glimmer of understanding dawned in her eyes.

Wherever energy flows, there must be transitions and connections, especially in the form of sword qi, which follows the path of sword intent.

At first, she couldn’t find the entry point because she was analyzing it according to the Sword Hut’s sword intent. But after a few exchanges, she saw that the formation’s meaning was very classical... It had a rough, pioneering feel from ancient times, different from the Sword Hut. Yet it wasn’t hard to discern the pattern, because Yue Hongling had absorbed too much ancient sword intent from Zhao Changhe; many things were common, similar in essence.

She slowly fought while retreating, luring the four sword slaves away from the formation’s center, until her back was nearly against the sword qi barrier behind.

“You can’t escape...” Yingshuang said: “Zhao Changhe must have suffered a bit, damn it...”

Suddenly, a earth-shattering roar came from afar, the sky darkened, and the stars and moon lost their light.

The four sword slaves opened their eyes in shock: “Is Zhao Changhe really that strong?”

Now!

“Clang!” Yue Hongling parried another sword slave’s blade, then her sword light suddenly surged, shooting straight at Yingshuang’s face.

“The Sunset Divine Sword, I was already guarding against that move...” Yingshuang confidently sidestepped and swung his sword at Yue Hongling’s waist, only to find that she had charged straight through the space he had vacated...

It was all a feint!

The moment Yingshuang moved aside, that sword strike, like the sunset piercing a great river, shot directly toward the formation’s core. The formation’s sword qi that had previously blocked her now failed to have any effect, and the sword light pierced straight through.

“Not good!” Several sword slaves cried out in unison, rushing toward the formation’s center.

But how could they be in time?

The fierce sword light plunged straight in, viciously striking the bone sword.

The bone sword shook violently, and with a “clatter,” it shifted from its original position.

The great formation’s energy flow suddenly stopped, and even the chill in the air diminished significantly. The surrounding sword qi faded almost to nothing. Yue Hongling took another step forward, trying to seize the bone sword.

In the minds of the sword slaves, Shi Wuding’s furious voice rang out: “Who is attacking the formation!”

Outside the mountain, sword qi howled. Shi Wuding abandoned Zhao Changhe entirely and rushed back like a madman.

In Zhao Changhe’s hand, the Dragon Sparrow’s voice came through in complaint: “Are you sure his name doesn’t mean ‘wandering without a tether’? Whether it’s his subordinate Yingshuang or himself.”

Zhao Changhe had no time to entertain its complaints; he flew into the mountains in pursuit.