Chapter 99: A World Where Only The Maitreya Sect Gets Hurt

Chapter 99: A World Where Only the Maitreya Sect Was Hurt

Of course, whether this thing was truly a Heavenly Scroll at this point was nothing more than Zhao Changhe's wild guess; after all, from its appearance, it lacked any semblance of an aura. It felt less impressive than a decent sword, resembling nothing more than an ordinary piece of gold leaf.

Han Wubing and Xia Chichi had noticed it, yet they did not even bother to see what else lay within the prayer mat. Han Wubing went straight to the walls of the sword chamber to choose a blade, while Xia Chichi remarked, "To think there is actually a gold-threaded prayer mat... Hey, you aren't planning to carry this whole thing away with you, are you?"

"No." Zhao Changhe nudged the prayer mat aside, taking the gold leaf into his hand and turning it over and over to examine it for a long time. Indeed, he found absolutely nothing, not even a single character. "It is an ancient object, after all. I suspect it might be a treasure, so I'll study it later."

Xia Chichi countered, "I cannot see it. Even if it is a divine object concealing its own brilliance or returning to a state of pristine simplicity, this is far too pathetic. It might just be something used for chanting sutras."

Zhao Changhe erupted into a helpless laugh. That was indeed a possibility. The Book of the Chaotic World possessed such an exalted dignity; if this truly belonged to the same category as one of its pages, how could it be a mere piece of gold leaf devoid of any discernible aura? Most likely, he had overthought it.

"Forget it." He casually slipped the gold leaf into his tunic. "Since we are already here, and both of you have gained something while I am left empty-handed, I ought to take a souvenir."

Xia Chichi bit her lower lip, stealing a glance at Han Wubing, who was fully engrossed in selecting a sword over there, before leaning close to Zhao Changhe's ear to murmur softly, "Have you really gained nothing at all?"

Zhao Changhe was momentarily stunned. "Huh?"

Xia Chichi's voice grew increasingly seductive, her tone turning intimate. "Are you afraid that if I remain the Holy Maiden for too long, I will forget you, and so you felt compelled to stamp a fierce imprint upon my heart before risking your life to protect me?"

"Well, how could I have had the time to think about all those random things? It was completely subconscious."

"You were worried that something would happen to me. Even though you knew full well there was a grand gathering of powerful masters from the Four Symbols Sect, you still dared to take the risk to disrupt it. Was that subconscious too?"

"You are their superior, after all. If we didn't even have this much tacit cooperation, could I truly just let myself be hacked to pieces by others?"

"What if I had thought you changed your mind because you had Cui Yuanyang, and that you intended to ruin my affairs?"

Zhao Changhe replied, speechless, "My Eldest Senior Brother may not have a large chest, but she has always possessed a brain. I trust that implicitly."

Xia Chichi cast him a glare that seemed both vexed and resentful. "Is there really something wrong with you..."

"Ah?"

"The atmosphere has reached this point, and you say this to me... Is it truly only when I am dressed in men's clothing that you will take the initiative?"

"Ah? No, don't misunderstand! It's because there is someone here... Mmph, mmph, mmph..."

Xia Chichi did not allow him to spout any more nonsense. She wrapped her arms around his neck, stood on her tiptoes, and kissed him until the world turned upside down. "Eldest Senior Brother's chest... why don't you feel it... it has grown a bit larger now..."

Han Wubing drew a sword to examine it, his expression entirely blank.

In truth, a place like a sword chamber, where the master had spent years meditating upon the blade, would inevitably retain some lingering traces of the master's intent. For a swordsman who was genuinely devoted to the blade, it was possible to comprehend some supreme techniques from it, or at the very least, grasp some ancient principles of swordsmanship. Han Wubing was experiencing a touch of enlightenment at this moment; this was actually his true fortune from this endeavor. Those two were not swordsmen. Though Xia Chichi used a sword, she did not truly possess the heart of a swordsman; they could not comprehend it, nor could they even sense it.

Yet Han Wubing felt that this did not seem to be the greatest value he had realized during this excursion... He felt that the greatest purpose of his existence here was to help the Four Symbols Sect preserve the integrity of their Holy Maiden.

He did not know whether the Four Symbols Sect would inspect such things, but if they did, could he be considered to have saved the lives of this passionate young pair of lovebirds once again?

Looking around, Han Wubing was quite satisfied with the sword in his hand. Its material was superb, its edge incomparably sharp, yet it appeared quite understated. Though it possessed no spirituality to speak of, he felt that he truly had no need for it.

"Clang!" Han Wubing maliciously sheathed his sword, startling the kissing pair of scoundrels awake. "I say, you two, if we don't go out soon, I fear the Four Symbols Sect is going to go mad."

...

The Four Symbols Sect had not yet gone mad; the ones on the verge of madness were the Maitreya Sect.

Over there, Tang Wanzhuang's attempt to save Xia Chichi had been blocked by Maitreya, with the result that she watched the "Imperial Prince" and Xia Chichi vanish together before her eyes, filling her expression with a chilling wrath. Initially, she had only given Zhao Changhe a very simple task; theoretically, the moment his arrow disrupted the sacrificial ritual of the Four Symbols Sect, his part would have been finished. The subsequent pursuit by the Four Symbols Sect would have been intercepted by her, making everything perfect.

Every single variable had been caused by this batch of Maitreya Sect members who knew nothing yet had intruded blindly. Could it be that the divine sword's inexplicable attempt to kill Xia Chichi was also being secretly controlled by the Maitreya Sect? Thinking this way only fueled her fury, and her voice sounded as if it were squeezed from between her teeth: "Apprehend all the wicked heretics of the Maitreya Sect! Do not let a single one escape!"

"Swish, swish, swish!" Wu Weiyang and other subordinates from the Fiend Suppression Bureau emerged from all directions, charging toward the Maitreya Sect members who were still by the lakeshore.

The Maitreya Sect members looked utterly bewildered.

Why were there so many people from the Fiend Suppression Bureau here?

The imperial court and the local authorities had never interfered with the affairs of the Ancient Sword Lake; for so many years, they had never cared! What was the meaning of this today?

It was fine that the Chief Director had come; one could just assume she was here for sightseeing. But to have such a formidable force lying in ambush here—had they calculated that the Maitreya Sect would come, specifically laying an ambush to eradicate bandits?

Even leaving that aside, the Maitreya Sect leader had personally appeared this time, and many powerful masters had accompanied him. The leader had resisted Tang Wanzhuang, so others should have been able to escape if they chose to run.

Yet, just as they were retreating and fighting, intending to flee, a crowd of Four Symbols Sect members with eyes spitting fire rushed out from the bamboo grove, charging at their rearguard as if avenging a murdered father.

The Maitreya Sect was completely dumbfounded. The Fiend Suppression Bureau and the Four Symbols Sect working together?

Had the sun risen from the west?

Xia Chichi had vanished after being "abducted" by Zhao Changhe and Han Wubing. The people of the Four Symbols Sect were quite experienced and knowledgeable; knowing that an alternate dimension existed at the bottom of the lake, they naturally reasoned quickly that the Holy Maiden had been transferred to that space by someone using a special method. Searching out here was useless, so they turned back one after another, intending to go to the bottom of the lake to find her.

The moment they emerged from the bamboo grove, they saw a crowd of Fiend Suppression Bureau experts blocking the Maitreya Sect members, engaged in battle.

The Four Symbols Sect immediately deduced that in all the years they had sought the sword, the divine sword had never exhibited such an inexplicable situation as today; it must have been caused by some secret method deployed by the Maitreya Sect. Thinking this way, they had to seize the Maitreya Sect people and question them thoroughly before they could find the Holy Maiden; otherwise, how could they enter the space at the bottom of the lake?

Thus, shouting in unison, they charged toward the rearguard of the Maitreya Sect.

This time, the Maitreya Sect suffered a complete tragedy, earning the honor of becoming the first entity in the history of the Great Xia to be besieged jointly by the Fiend Suppression Bureau and a demonic sect, with both sides gnashing their teeth and dealing fatal blows.

"What Holy Maiden? We didn't capture your Holy Maiden! You Wanqing, are you out of your mind! Oh, damn it!"

"How should we know why that sword went mad? We only just learned from you that the sword could manifest during the Beginning of Summer!"

"We truly do not know where your Holy Maiden went!"

"Zhao Changhe has nothing to do with us, ahhhhh!"

"Splash!" Xia Chichi's head emerged from the lake. The first thing she saw was that fat man, whose rear had been slashed, being surrounded and attacked by Elder You and the others, a sword piercing straight through his heart.

The fat man turned his head stiffly toward the emerging Xia Chichi. "I told you it had nothing to do with us."

With those words, his breath ceased, and he fell dead.

Elder You and the others could not care less about him; their relations were already terrible to begin with, so a misunderstanding was just a misunderstanding, and death was just death. They flew back across the lake surface in immense pleasant surprise to receive Xia Chichi. "Holy Maiden! Are you alright?"

"I am fine." Xia Chichi brandished the sword in her hand. "The Maitreya Sect employed a treacherous technique to make the sword pursue and kill me, but fortunately, this seat possessed an alternative miraculous method and has already subdued it."

Elder You and the others were filled with a mixture of pleasant surprise and joy. That the Holy Maiden was unharmed was already a massive blessing; to think that the mission had also been accomplished made her practically the Holy Maiden of Destiny!

Originally, some people had imagined a story about two men abducting a woman into a small space, but since the sword was in the Holy Maiden's hands, there was no need to think further; the Holy Maiden had turned the tables and killed them, so such a thing was impossible.

"Well, where are Zhao Changhe and Han Wubing?"

"Seeing that this seat had subdued the divine sword, they fled." Xia Chichi turned her head to look at the lakeshore, her expression also quite peculiar.

So many people from the Fiend Suppression Bureau—what was the situation...

And further away over there, was that Tang Wanzhuang?

Among the Maitreya Sect members on the field, those who could die had died, and those who could be captured by the Fiend Suppression Bureau were captured. Even the Sect Leader, Maitreya, had fled in a wretched state. He could duel Tang Wanzhuang alone, but he could not withstand a siege by the Fiend Suppression Bureau!

Tang Wanzhuang did not pursue Maitreya; her beautiful eyes stared from afar at the newly emerged Xia Chichi, unknown what she was thinking.

Xia Chichi locked eyes with her for a brief instant, a thought suddenly crossing her mind: she had come for the "Imperial Prince," hadn't she?

This woman is so beautiful, and she is a "subordinate." Zhao Changhe, can you restrain yourself?

Oh, I regret it. Is it too late for me to claim to be the Imperial Prince now? You are still looking! What are you looking at? You wouldn't be planning to kill me, would you? Tang Wanzhuang, you are being treasonous!

The thought flashed by, and beside her, Elder You spoke urgently, "Let us leave quickly. I do not know why Tang Wanzhuang is dazed, but if we do not leave now, it will turn into the Fiend Suppression Bureau surrounding and wiping out my Four Symbols Sect!"

Tang Wanzhuang seemed to have heard them, a trace of a smile curling at the corner of her mouth. "Hear my command, officers: apprehend the demonic disciples of the Four Symbols Sect!"

The crowd from the Four Symbols Sect raised a shout and instantly slipped away without a trace.