Chapter 620: Vermilion Bird Turning Traitor

Chapter 620: The Defection of the Vermilion Bird

If Xia Longyuan suffered the backlash of the mountain and river’s essence, then at this moment, the heads of the several great clans were likewise enduring the backlash of their own sword spirits, its intensity no less than his.

Earlier, when their intentions clashed and they could not resonate, the sword spirits ignored them, and that was that. After all, their conduct had not been too extreme, and the sword spirits themselves were weak; aside from non-cooperation, they could do little else.

When replenished with the soul force of the sea clans, the sword spirits awakened. Since it was not their own soul force, their power was barely restored, but their minds remained muddled—much like when Cui Yuanyang had once communicated with the Lianshan Sword, and that sword’s behavior was little different from a dullard, for its intellect was not yet whole. Since the goal was to slay the tyrant, the muddled sword spirits were easily swayed by hatred; after all, it was this tyrant who had once plundered half their soul force, making him an enemy—who else to strike but him?

Then their own soul force returned, and the sword spirits expelled the sea clan portion, becoming fully intact in intellect.

Their private grudges lightened considerably, and with full intellect, the sword spirits now thoroughly understood their situation.

The ruler was a tyrant, the ministers were rebels—with such a land, why preserve it?

In the hands of these “masters,” especially the one who had opened the passes to let in the barbarians, the sword spirits felt utter humiliation; their discontent with the tyrant could not match their fury and shame toward their own masters.

We are sword spirits meant to guard the mountains and rivers—when did we become tools for your selfish ends?

“Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!” Sword aura filled the space, raging wildly, encompassing both Xia Longyuan and the several clan heads within the assault of the sword formation.

Everyone had assumed that Xia Longyuan had plundered the sword spirits’ soul force to use it—perhaps to forge the sky of this secret realm, fitting for the mountain and river sword aura, and had likely already expended it there… No one imagined that this fellow had never used it, keeping it all along…

He had never intended to use it; he merely wanted to sever the clans’ heritage at its root—a basic maneuver from his early days as an emperor with a vision for governing the realm, aimed at weakening the great clans…

“Back then, my cultivation was mediocre, and I dared not trigger a backlash too directly, so I took half first to put the sword spirits to sleep—perhaps that was the most cautious thing I ever did.” Xia Longyuan ignored the torrent of sword aura hurtling toward him and sighed. “Later, when my cultivation grew and enemies multiplied, I set it aside and never continued. And now you strike first… Fine, it’s as it should be.”

The several clan heads also faced the torrent of sword aura, their expressions grim. “It treats all alike—rebelling against us, yet also against you. It hasn’t switched sides. What are you so smug about?”

“The sword spirits may still be bound to me, but isn’t the balance of power now far clearer?” Xia Longyuan laughed heartily and suddenly punched out.

“Boom!” Wang Daoning struck out with a palm, meeting it head-on.

Both staggered. Xia Longyuan swept his hand back, deflecting the sword aura around him. Wang Daoning did the same, but he was clearly a bit more flustered.

In raw strength, Xia Longyuan, weakened countless times, was still slightly stronger than Wang Daoning.

But only slightly… As he admitted, this was truly his weakest moment; his cultivation foundation had completely collapsed, and only his deep reserves kept his combat power intact.

If someone else joined the pincer attack now, he would be in dire straits.

But at this moment, Ying Wu and Zhuque stood frowning to the side, their expressions shifting uncertainly. Meanwhile, Li Shengtong stared at Li Gongsi, who was dodging the sword formation, his fists clenched tightly, looking as if he might turn traitor.

—In Tang Wanzhuang’s intelligence, Li Shengtong had originally advanced on Hanzhong but retreated. Tang Wanzhuang, lacking details, had been baffled and speculated endlessly. In truth, there was no other reason: he knew the barbarians were plundering Chang’an and felt it wrong to attack at that moment, as if coordinating with them, so he decisively withdrew.

And now, it turned out you brought the barbarians in yourself!

Cooperating with such a man, even if they slew the dragon, there would be no martial honor; word might spread and the jianghu would laugh at them!

But with his true target, Xia Longyuan, before him, could he turn his blade on his ally mid-battle? It was hard to throw that punch.

The iron-pumping man was numb, filled only with a rage that this wretched world should all go to hell.

Ying Wu was not as troubled, but he too found the scene… distasteful and meaningless.

In his vision of dragon-slaying, heroes rose and fought with their lives, and even tearing off a piece of its flesh was a feat. He had his reasons, or even needed none—he simply disliked the man and wanted to kill him, simply wanted to challenge the world’s strongest. Win or lose, life or death, it would have meaning in the jianghu.

Ying Wu even knew of someone lurking, waiting to steal a personal item from Xia Longyuan, even if he would be crushed to death the next moment… That would be worth a lifetime’s pursuit, enough to die smiling. Jianghu folk should be like that—no need for tedious reasons. Who told you to be the world’s best?

It didn’t matter who the allies were; they could have different stances and still cooperate on this matter, then fight each other afterward without issue.

But this scene… What was this? Was it like meddling in the political alignment between emperor and clans? How absurd was that?

Zhuque’s chest heaved as she stared fixedly at Xia Longyuan. Unlike Ying Wu, a pure grassroots martial artist, she loathed Xia Longyuan from both her sect’s sisterhood and family emotions, and her doctrine could not tolerate an emperor outside the faith. She had been the most eager for this battle. In theory, she still was—what did the emperor and clans matter to her? As long as she could kill him…

But the words “colluding with barbarians” still stayed her hand.

She was not only Zhuque of the Four Symbols Sect but also Huangfu Qing. A daughter of the Huangfu family, a sister to brothers. Her foolish father had spent his life fighting barbarians; four of her brothers had died on the battlefield. And now she was to aid those who colluded with barbarians?

How could she strike?

Wang Daoning wanted to strangle Li Gongsi to death. He could guess many attitudes; if not for the blatant evidence of collusion with barbarians, the atmosphere wouldn’t be so strange. Fighting was one thing, all internal affairs—but once foreign wolves were invited in, everything changed! He himself dared not do it!

The thoughts of all were but a moment; in truth, several exchanges had already occurred. With the Imperial Realm at the forefront, Li Gongsi and Yang Jingxiu, while fending off their own divine swords’ berserk sword formation, also tried every means to aid Wang Daoning. Because the sword formation attacked indiscriminately, including Xia Longyuan, they managed to hold on for a short while.

But clearly not for long… The sword formation attacked all equally, but the difficulty of dealing with it varied. Xia Longyuan needed only three-tenths of his focus, while Li Gongsi and Yang Jingxiu had to use at least eight-tenths of their strength—was that the same?

“Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!” After a few exchanges, Yang Jingxiu parried a blow from Xia Longyuan, his qi and blood churning wildly, nearly vomiting blood. Then he could no longer withstand his own sword formation and was slashed several times, blood streaming.

Just as it seemed the three allies would be broken on the spot, Wang Daoning suddenly exhaled. “It seems you truly have no other power left. Otherwise, with such an opportunity, you wouldn’t hold back…”

Xia Longyuan frowned.

He indeed had no other power. This backlash from the mountains and rivers had truly shaken his foundation, and its impact was greater than expected—there was nothing to say.

“Boom!” Wang Daoning thrust a palm with all his might to block Xia Longyuan, while a faint, almost imperceptible sword light silently emerged amid the chaotic sword aura, heading straight for Xia Longyuan’s back!

The sixth on the Heavenly Ranking, Xuexiao!

This was Wang Daoning’s hidden card—not entirely, for Xuexiao would not obey his orders; it would only strike to kill when certain that Xia Longyuan had no more trump cards.

And it caught Xia Longyuan off guard. He had been wary of this fellow earlier, but after so long with no movement, it struck only now—such a patient ambusher, truly able to endure!

Xia Longyuan had to abandon his finishing blow on Yang Jingxiu, twisting his body backward and slapping at the side of the Xuexiao sword.

Wang Daoning’s fists and palms followed like a shadow, hammering at Xia Longyuan’s flank—truly caught between two foes!

But at that moment, a great alarm rose in his heart. The faint golden arrow light he had tasted before shot straight for his temple again!

Zhao Changhe!

He had been lurking for a while, seeing that Xia Longyuan seemed not to need immediate rescue, so he was in no hurry. He too waited to see if Wang Daoning had any hidden moves, and now struck decisively!

At the same time, he shouted, “Venerable Zhuque! Wang Daoning is assassinating Wan Tianxiong, who is at death’s door! Will you still cooperate with your enemy?”

Her husband’s words gave the wavering Huangfu Qing the perfect excuse. Her blazing claws flashed as she grabbed at Wang Daoning’s throat: “How dare you, you villain!”

Wang Daoning nearly spat blood.

When people joked about Zhuque’s affair, who would have thought that in this critical battle, Zhao Changhe’s arrival would bring not just him but also the bonus of Zhuque’s defection!

Everything was in chaos!