Chapter 839: Turmoil of the White Tiger

Chapter 839: The White Tiger Rebellion

The appearance of Ye Jiuyou caused a shift in the expressions of both Xuexiao and Han Wubing.

They were still swordsmen striving to break through to the third level of the Imperial Realm, while Ye Jiuyou was not only at that level but at least in its later stages. Wherever she appeared, she dominated the entire scene, enough to press infinite weight upon anyone’s heart.

Xuexiao took a deep breath and said in a low voice, “I only recently located the White Tiger and had no time to report back to you, Sovereign…”

Ye Jiuyou smiled sweetly. “Mm-hmm. You did well. Go ahead, bring out the White Tiger.”

Xuexiao could only reply, “Your subordinate lacks the strength.”

Ye Jiuyou’s smile faded slightly, and she said coolly, “At this point, there’s no point in playing pretend. Annihilation, these are not things you could or would dare to do on your own. Speak, who is behind you—Ye Wuming or the Sword Emperor?”

Xuexiao fell silent, then after a long moment countered, “Have you been watching me in secret all along?”

Ye Jiuyou said, “I’ve been watching Poxun all along. You were just incidental… Sometimes watching a monkey show is amusing. But neither you nor Poxun ever came to see the White Tiger, so I never saw what I wanted. I never expected that after absorbing Poxun, you’d come at the first opportunity—a pleasant surprise… Is Zhao Changhe waiting for this moment? He certainly dares to gamble.”

How did Zhao Changhe get dragged into this again…

Xuexiao fell silent once more, quickly piecing together that Poxun must have been deliberately released by Zhao Changhe. He had long suspected a connection between the White Tiger, Xuexiao, and Poxun, and was fishing.

But whether it was fishing or not, this step was one he had to take. Xuexiao didn’t dwell on it, simply asking, “Did you know from the last epoch that I was deceiving you?”

Ye Jiuyou said flatly, “I didn’t know then… because I never imagined you would dare. What strength did you have then, to think you could shake a mighty tree? Let alone now that I know—even if I were completely ignorant, what use would your scheming have been against me? How ridiculous.”

Xuexiao gave a faint smile. “Actually, it wasn’t entirely useless… In fact, some effects turned out better than I expected.”

Ye Jiuyou said, “The Soul-Capture Mirror? It does me no harm at all—just a toy I play with. Don’t you understand?”

Xuexiao laughed. “No harm? You’ve clearly begun your own self-destruction. That awareness has been with you since the last epoch, though you never fully realized it then. Now, aren’t you acting more resolutely and more madly?”

The eavesdroppers exchanged bewildered glances, unable to follow, and even Han Wubing looked up at Ye Jiuyou.

Ye Jiuyou was sneering but offered no rebuttal.

Xuexiao continued, “You never wanted to be a predetermined spokesperson. You never wanted to be born destined to do this or that. You always went to compete with Ye Wuming. Yet what does Ye Wuming’s position have to do with you? Who ever thought that what you represent isn’t about vying for the throne? It’s just that your struggle with her was also accompanied by slaughter and destruction, so others couldn’t see the difference… But those of us who have been by your side for so long see it clearly. It’s different.”

He paused, then went on, “The laws of Yin Kui and myself are your subordinate branches, essentially the same concept as the Four Symbols to the Night Emperor. But the Four Symbols are so strong, while we are what? Utterly mismatched. I once thought you were plundering our power, but now I understand—no. It’s that you never valued these laws of ours. Deep down, you never considered them your core, so naturally we could never attain the status of the Four Symbols to the Night Emperor. In this life, I played my role and was absorbed by Xuexiao, Yin Kui died at Zhao Changhe’s hands, and you didn’t even react. Others think it’s coldness, but we know it’s not… It’s that you never wanted us.”

Ye Jiuyou finally laughed. “I wanted you as tools… but you were too useless. Who wants useless things?”

Xuexiao sighed. “Poxun understood it all. He said we were just rotten flesh you wanted to cut away, but you yourself couldn’t see it. At first, it was just subconscious. Now, through the Soul-Capture Mirror, you’ve seen it and are actively doing it. Why keep being stubborn?”

The eavesdroppers finally gained some insight… They had thought Xuexiao’s sudden surge in cultivation after absorbing Poxun’s will was unreasonable, since Poxun was so weak at the time and had no energy to speak of. Now it seemed that Jiuyou had actually split the law of darkness and given it all to Annihilation. Xuexiao had been hiding it for fear Ye Jiuyou would notice, but now, having broken through his own predetermined barriers through Poxun’s will, he had truly become a figure on the same level as the ancient Four Symbols, and no longer concealed it.

Ye Jiuyou smiled sweetly. “So what if it is?”

“Have you never considered that you’ve cut off your own hands and feet?” Xuexiao sneered. “Don’t think your strength hasn’t changed on the surface. But your temperament has begun to shift. You no longer align with the original laws, and you can’t wield them as effortlessly. At the very least, darkness no longer fully belongs to you, and you can’t suppress me… On the surface, your cultivation remains the same, but in truth, you’re an empty shell—a target for those who can challenge above their level. And you don’t even realize it.”

It sounded serious, but Ye Jiuyou giggled. “And you think you’re my hands and feet? Are you worthy?”

“Worthy or not, we’ll find out soon enough.” The fear that had marked Xuexiao’s eyes when he first saw Ye Jiuyou began to fade, replaced by a rising killing intent.

At the same time, he secretly sent a telepathic message to Han Wubing: “Whatever your considerations, attacking Ye Jiuyou should pose no moral obstacle… If you don’t cooperate with me now, you’ll die for sure. You know what to do.”

“Clang!” A flash of sword light, and Xuexiao’s blade suddenly pointed at Ye Jiuyou’s face.

This might be his first time facing an enemy head-on, and his opponent was his former master, who had crushed him by an entire major realm.

Zhao Changhe had said he lacked the courage for direct confrontation, but that wasn’t necessarily true… It was merely lying low, sheathing his claws, waiting for the moment to bare them.

“Ding!” Ye Jiuyou extended a single finger and lightly caught the sword tip.

Then, a burst of sword light erupted from her side.

If Xuexiao’s sword was a sudden flash of lightning, the other was a storm of thunderous rain—a torrent of sword qi roaring like a tiger raising its head and baring its fangs.

Han Wubing… the King of a Hundred Weapons, the Sword of the White Tiger.

Xia Chichi and Yue Hongling both gasped sharply.

Setting aside cultivation, his White Tiger intent was far more standard than theirs—far more.

Ye Jiuyou seemed prepared. She extended her other hand and caught that sword tip with two fingers as well.

From this display alone, there was no sign of being challenged beyond her level; she handled it as easily as swatting a child. But the eavesdroppers had sharp eyes, and in an instant, they saw that what Xuexiao said was not without merit.

Annihilation and Ye Jiuyou shared overlapping laws. Under the suppression of a superior law, theoretically, Xuexiao’s sword shouldn’t even have been able to strike—he couldn’t even get close and would have knelt immediately. Yet the sword had truly closed in, and she had to use her hand to parry. That was a very clear signal.

Moreover, Ye Jiuyou’s death qi was no joke. When Zhao Changhe had first learned he would face Ye Jiuyou, Ye Wuming had made him spend a whole night on a graveyard mountain to comprehend death qi. That power meant little to innate demons like Annihilation, but for humans like Zhao Changhe and Han Wubing, it was a bug. Without proper defense, a single touch could kill a human instantly.

Yet when the sword tips were caught, there was no sense of Han Wubing being entangled by death qi; it was easily scattered by his sword qi—Ye Jiuyou’s control over these laws had indeed weakened significantly.

As these thoughts flashed through the minds of the onlookers, a supremely fierce killing intent suddenly erupted from the horizon.

The shadow of an ancient, heavy long sword swept across, as if it had cleaved the boundary between heaven and earth.

If Zhao Changhe were here, he would have seen that one horizontal and one vertical stroke from within the Heavenly Book—sword dao reduced to its simplest, most primal form.

The third-ranked demon god, the Sword Emperor!

He was one rank higher than the ethereal Miao Miao, and one rank lower than Ye Jiuyou.

Now, with Ye Jiuyou caught between Xuexiao and Han Wubing, and her laws seemingly weakened, could she withstand this sword that split heaven and earth when the Sword Emperor suddenly descended?

But Ye Jiuyou pushed both hands forward, shoving Xuexiao and Han Wubing back several zhang, while laughing softly, “I knew you were there…”

“Ding!” Her delicate hand slapped backward, colliding with the enormous sword shadow.

The snowy mountain suddenly collapsed. There was no explosion, no turbulence—just a single strike that made it vanish into nothingness.

At the same time, Xuexiao and Han Wubing, having been pushed back, lunged forward again with their swords, aiming straight for the back of Ye Jiuyou’s head.

Ye Jiuyou ignored them. With a wave of her hands, the ancient sword shadow spun and transformed into the figure of an old man in white robes.

The Sword Emperor.

And on the path of Xuexiao and Han Wubing’s advance, a man in a dragon robe suddenly appeared—gaunt, corpse-like.

Startled, the two pulled back their swords. Xuexiao cried out, “Azure Dragon!”

The faces of the eavesdroppers turned grim.

The corpse of the ancient Azure Dragon… Their Four Symbols Sect had properly buried it in the capital’s main altar, never imagining it had long become Ye Jiuyou’s corpse puppet. Who would have thought of that before? Not even Zhao Changhe…

If, while everyone was away from the capital, this corpse puppet had suddenly erupted there, the chaos and destruction it would have caused were no joke—and it would have taken no time at all, just a few blinks.

Yet Ye Jiuyou hadn’t done that. Instead, she had summoned the Azure Dragon corpse puppet directly to Kunlun. What was she thinking?

On the other hand, it seemed Ye Jiuyou no longer had the confidence to face the Sword Emperor, Xuexiao, and Han Wubing alone. She was also summoning reinforcements… which confirmed what Xuexiao had said earlier—she seemed to have truly grown weaker.

The atmosphere grew tense. The Sword Emperor’s gaze passed over Ye Jiuyou, glanced at the Azure Dragon corpse puppet behind her, and said slowly, “Was the Ninth Nether Sovereign planning to do the same to my corpse?”

“Indeed.” Ye Jiuyou smiled charmingly, without concealment. “In my eyes, death is never death—it is eternal life… But there are few lucky ones worthy of being chosen. You, Sword Emperor, are undoubtedly one of the most qualified.”

The Sword Emperor chuckled but did not reply.

Ye Jiuyou said, “Are you joining forces with others to kill me as revenge for that? You don’t seem like such a petty person, Sword Emperor…”

The Sword Emperor laughed. “You think this is a small matter?”

“I suppose it is a small matter,” Ye Jiuyou said lightly, “since I was never a corpse.”

“Then why do you want to kill me?” Ye Jiuyou asked with a soft laugh. “Aside from that, I don’t recall any grievance between us.”

The Sword Emperor’s gaze fell on Han Wubing, then shifted to the depths of the cave. “Because the Sovereign and I have an irreconcilable conflict over this matter.”

Ye Jiuyou smiled. “You want the White Tiger? Indeed, your intents align. If you could merge with it, you might break through your barriers.”

The Sword Emperor said flatly, “And what is the Sovereign’s purpose in wanting the White Tiger? To turn it into a corpse puppet like the Azure Dragon?”

Night Youjiu snapped her fingers.

Two shadows swept behind the Sword Emperor—one a typical Vermilion Bird silhouette, but pale blue-white, its once fiery flames turned into ghostly netherfire; the other clearly a Black Tortoise form, yet cold as a stone statue.

“The ancient Vermilion Bird and Black Tortoise left no corpses,” Night Youjiu explained with a smile. “But the new Night Emperor of this age is a good man. He neither destroyed the Azure Dragon’s corpse, nor, knowing where the Southern Brightness Fire and Northern Abyss Water lay, did he destroy them—only took the cores. Thus, I could refine the residual shadows; in a sense, they are corpse puppets. Now, among the Four Symbols, I lack only the White Tiger to build my own Netherworld Four Symbols system.”

The Sword Emperor smiled. “So you abandoned the laws of Shadow and Annihilation, merely to clumsily imitate Night Wuming?”

“Imitate?” Night Youjiu snorted. “These were always mine; I am merely tracing back to the source. You wouldn’t understand even if I explained. In short, I am determined to obtain the White Tiger. You may take your leave.”

The Sword Emperor sighed softly. “If you had already obtained the White Tiger, with all Four Symbols complete, you could indeed make up for the loss of your self-severed limbs… But unfortunately, you have not yet. These corpse puppets cannot activate each other’s spirituality; they are but clay and wood, utterly unrepresentative of the Four Symbols. Moreover, this world grows increasingly peaceful, clashing ever more with your intent of chaos and annihilation. For some reason, you have not stirred the death that should come. Now, you lack heaven’s favor, earthly advantage, and human harmony… You are no match for me.”

Night Youjiu smiled faintly. “Then shall we try?”

“Whoosh!” The Sword Emperor’s wrist moved lightly; the ancient sword thrust straight at Night Youjiu’s face, seemingly slow and simple.

But it stopped a foot before her—unable to pierce further.

It was not a wall of qi blocking it, but distortion and chaos; the sword had struck into some unknown time and space, nowhere near here and now.

Night Youjiu’s hand pressed against the void before her, and the Sword Emperor’s figure tore apart like a figure in a painting, shattered into pieces.

—She had abandoned Shadow and Annihilation, but chaos and confusion remained.

Yet the strike did not take effect. The seemingly shattered Sword Emperor now stood several yards away, a terrifying sword light descending from above to cleave the heavens once more.

The onlookers, still absorbing the clash of the world’s mightiest laws from these two exchanges, momentarily lost track of Han Wubing’s movements. Han Wubing quietly retreated, dragging the imprisoned mad White Tiger, and fled far into the distance in a puff of smoke.

“You cannot escape.” The Sword Emperor’s and Night Youjiu’s forces clashed again, and from the collision, a sword light suddenly shot out, straight for Han Wubing’s back.

Night Youjiu’s face darkened like water. A troubling thought struck her—by the rules, the Sword Emperor need only kill the White Tiger to seize its essence, while she had to protect it. Which was simpler, killing or protecting? Need she say more…

“Whoosh!” Space rippled faintly; Night Youjiu appeared in the path of that sword light, blocking the blow for Han Wubing.

Han Wubing looked back, his expression one of utter astonishment.

Just as Night Youjiu blocked the sword qi, the Sword Emperor’s blade swept horizontally again. The Azure Dragon, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise corpse puppets struck together, blasting toward the Sword Emperor’s back. Meanwhile, a sharp, silent sword qi rose from the side—Snowy Owl, stealthily ambushing Night Youjiu’s neck.

In the chaos, Night Youjiu leaned back swiftly to evade the pincer attack of the Sword Emperor and Snowy Owl. Behind her head came a furious roar, and sword qi descended once more.

It was the mad ancient White Tiger, breaking free of Han Wubing’s guard, lunging viciously at Night Youjiu. Han Wubing had not even reacted before the White Tiger shot past him.

“…” A string of ellipses ran through Night Youjiu’s mind. Truly, no good deed goes unpunished.

I saved you only to fall into a disadvantage, and now you strike me from behind?

Suddenly, the night sky blazed with stars; the forms of the Four Symbols shone upon the heavens.

Starlight fell, as if crossing time and space, abruptly descending upon the ancient White Tiger. The tiger roared, flung far away by the starlight.

Where did this Four Symbols formation come from?

Everyone present turned in shock to see four stunning women guarding Night Youjiu’s back, encircling the ancient White Tiger. “Apologies, seniors, but this is an internal matter of the Four Symbols Sect. We claim the White Tiger.”

Among them, Xia Chichi turned to the silent Han Wubing, glaring fiercely. “Whose side are you on?”

Han Wubing gave a rare smile, pointing his sword at Snowy Owl. “I don’t know about the rest, but at least this one is too much of an outsider in this matter. We can clear them out first, then talk.”

Snowy Owl: “…”

In this chaotic battle of so many factions, none were allies; each had their own purpose, and even friend and foe could not be distinguished. Why was I singled out as the outsider?