Chapter 219

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Chapter 219: The Truth Is Like a Swift Knife (1)

There has never been an army called "Immortal Slaying Army" in this world.

This is the real truth.

Rather, this is what should be expected.

Going against the tide of cultivating immortality is a rare and courageous act.

Like that Earth Sword Immortal.

As the strongest martial artist from forty years ago, his talent was considered extraordinary. He even cultivated the path of immortality. However, as he aged, his vitality declined, and he needed Qiao Mu’s nearly a thousand years of cultivation to transform his body into a sword and confront the elder of the Immortal Gate, Taoist Qingzhuo.

When the residents of the lonely city left the desert, it became difficult for Qiao Mu to continue cooperating with Captain Hai’s lies.

Although the Qiao family members of this generation may have been lying, with a little bit of thought, people can understand that it was done with good intentions.

Not to mention, they have sacrificed their lives for this lie, shedding blood on the yellow sand and turning into a handful of yellow soil.

At this moment, the old man who called himself Qiao Shui and Qiao Xiaoming, who was holding the body of the unnamed Qiao family elder, reunited and looked at each other in silence.

Storyteller Clairvoyance let out a slight sigh.

"There really is no Immortal Slaying Army in this world, only Qiao family members who face death calmly."

Coming from Tide Listening Building, even Clairvoyance had never heard of the existence of the Immortal Slaying Army, so he had always been skeptical. Now his doubts had been confirmed.

"The Immortal Slaying Army is a lie. In comparison to the current situation in Jiu Province, this matter is trivial," Clairvoyance sighed lightly.

More tragic than "Why surrender before we engage in the battle?" was the fact that the lonely city and its remaining soldiers had held on for forty years, while the Great Yan Imperial Court behind them had been kneeling for forty years!

The people and soldiers of the lonely city managed to escape the desert, surviving with the help of Earth Sword Immortal and the Qiao family member, opening up a path of escape.

But what awaited them was not the hope brought by the Immortal Slaying Army, nor the magnificent blueprint that Qiao Shuangsen had painted for them in the past, but the gory truth.

Great Yan is ruined.

Forty years ago, there were one hundred thousand soldiers, who now represent the last resistance of the Great Yan Imperial Court.

That’s why the guards at Anxi Pass are so astonished, finding it hard to believe the accomplishments of the old soldiers before them.

………

Above Anxi Pass, in the clouds.

Taoist Qingzhuo, with a pale face, overlooks Anxi Pass below, observing the various appearances of the residents and soldiers with his divine perception.

Although he was repelled by a member of the Qiao family.

As an Elder of the Immortal Gate, he shouldn’t be afraid of mere martial artists and flee in panic.

He didn’t flee, he simply achieved his goal of taking Earth Sword Immortal and temporarily withdrew due to some damage to his foundation.

Hundred-mile Desert is a special secret place created by Immortal Gate. It’s not for everyone to know, or it might harm the trust and belief of the followers.

It’s not right to just let the people and soldiers of the lonely city leave like that.

So he came again.

Even though he was injured and not in his best condition, it would be easy for him to kill all the remaining enemies and bury them together with Anxi Pass.

Just as he was about to take action, his eyes landed on the face of an old man claiming to be Qiao Shui from the Qiao family.

"Are there really other Qiao family members coming to support? Or should I be cautious and not act immediately," said Taoist Qingzhuo, frowning and stopping his unfinished spell.

At first, he didn’t care about the Qiao family members. When Dao Zhen mentioned them to him, he laughed at Dao Zhen for underestimating a common martial arts family like that.

And then, as an elder of Immortal Gate, he almost fell into the hands of the Qiao family members.

He didn’t die, but he got injured and his spiritual foundation was damaged. He couldn’t reach his full potential anymore, paying the price for his arrogance.

"This matter can only be done once and not repeated…" Just as Taoist Qingzhuo was about to say this, he remembered the second strike of the "Heavenly Slashing Swordsmanship" that made the elderly member of the Qiao family (who temporarily avoided the danger) and changed his words, saying:

"No, things shouldn’t happen more than three times."

The first Qiao family member was Qiao Zhuosen, who joined forces with Earth Sword Immortal to strike with a sword, sacrificing himself to pierce through the sky and break the Immortal Gate formation, but also causing damage to Elder Qingzhuo’s foundation.

At that time, Taoist Qingzhuo thought such things couldn’t possibly happen a second time.

After all, it’s rare to find a second fool who would sacrifice themselves for others.

And then the second Qiao family member arrived immediately.

Fortunately, he reacted quickly and escaped in time.

Now that the third Qiao family member has appeared, would he simply come forward so easily?

After cultivating the immortal path for over a thousand years, why should he fight desperately against an ordinary martial artist who is not even close to his age?

Taoist Qingzhuo’s spiritual foundation is damaged now, even if Qiao Shui only has a small chance of threatening him, he is not willing to take that risk.

"Don’t worry. Mortal lives are short, like the ephemeral mayflies. By the time I finish my recovery, this Qiao family member might have already passed away. I can patiently wait for that."

In the end, Taoist Qingzhuo made a decision, holding the stone sword in his hand, he transformed into a rainbow of light and flew from Anxi Pass towards the Great Dao Sect.

Although Taoist Qingzhuo is afraid of Qiao Shui, and unwilling to fight him while injured, the Sect Secret Realm called "Hundred-mile Desert" has already been forcefully destroyed, and this is not a small matter.

It is estimated that someone from the Great Dao Sect will soon come.

As the Elder of the Immortal Gate, who is responsible for the current situation, Taoist Qingzhuo naturally needs to take care of the aftermath.

…………..

The Great Dao Sect.

Dao Zhen landed in front of a grand hall, and in front of the hall, there was a shimmering water mirror. In the mirror, there was a vast desert and a partially collapsed empty city.

Except for him, there were several deacons from the sect. They frowned and stared at the scene in the water mirror, discussing a few words.

When Elder Qingzhuo dismissed the deacons from the sect and decided to take matters into his own hands, Dao Zhen and others naturally thought that it was settled and could be resolved properly.

Therefore, the deacons didn’t pay too much attention to this matter anymore.

Just a moment ago, they noticed something bad. The Immortal Gate’s Soul-Restraining Array that shrouded the Hundred-mile Desert was broken. They investigated the current situation of the Hundred-mile Desert through this water mirror and only saw this partially collapsed empty city.

"The array being broken is not a small matter. If the matter of the Hundred-mile Desert leaks out, it might affect the incense."

"This Secret Realm in the Hundred-mile Desert has existed for forty years and has already reached its end. Even if it wasn’t broken today, in the future, the isolated city and the remaining soldiers will eventually perish. The array will be removed. Now, it’s just a bit earlier than expected."

"So where are the soldiers and civilians in the city? Are they dead or did they run away? Does Elder Qingzhuo have an explanation?"

"Don’t talk too much. Elder Qingzhuo is personally handling this matter. When Elder Qingzhuo returns, he will definitely give the sect a response…"

Speaking of which, a rainbow light flashed in the sky, it was Taoist Qingzhuo.

His face no longer had the previous paleness, but looked serious and dignified like before.

"This Sect Secret Realm is already in its final stages. Today, I will personally break it. Do any of you have objections?" Taoist Qingzhuo asked calmly.

He released a stone sword from his hand, which hovered in the air, emitting a faint glow.

In the eyes of Earth Sword Immortal, this was more valuable than three hundred old soldiers and half the city’s population.

The latter were just spirits of soldiers, while the former…

Earth Sword Immortal had already proven his extraordinary abilities. Even if trapped in a solitary city in the desert, he could still enter the path of immortality.

Even if he turned himself into a sword, he could still break through the Immortal Gate formation and injure Elder Qingzhuo.

"..No objections," the deacons could only answer like this.

With Elder Qingzhuo’s status and power, the deacons of the sect couldn’t say anything even if he acted arbitrarily.

After all.

Elder Qingzhuo was one of the elders who set up the Hundred-mile Desert Immortal Gate formation in the first place. This Secret Realm is indeed his creation.

Elder Qingzhuo didn’t intend to have a long conversation with them. He simply appeared and said two sentences, then quickly left.

The other deacons had no choice but to scatter like birds and beasts. Elder Qingzhuo’s attitude was clear, and they had no right to interfere.

Dao Zhen had a curious expression on his face, as if he were deep in thought.

Elder Qingzhuo turned into a streak of rainbow and flew in the sky above the sect.

He was already injured at the moment and needed to return to his cave as soon as possible to take healing pills and treat his injuries with the fastest speed…

Just before reaching his cave, a streak of rainbow light blocked his way, and a familiar figure appeared.

"Junior Brother Qingzhuo, are you safe?"

The person speaking is also a wise old man with white eyebrows. He is the master of Dao Zhen and Dao Xu, and is a senior at the Immortal Gate in the Imperial Capital, named Qingyi.

"Brother Qingyi." Taoist Qingzhuo frowned secretly, but remained calm on the surface and bowed respectfully.

"Brother, aren’t you busy with worldly matters? Why do you have leisure time to come back to the mountain gate today?" Taoist Qingzhuo asked.

Previously, Elder Qingyi claimed to be busy with affairs and asked Taoist Qingzhuo to handle the matter of the Hundred-mile Desert.

Now that there is a conclusion to the matter of the Hundred-mile Desert, why did he come back to the sect so confidently?

"The matter of boosting King Qin’s momentum has been well dealt with. Perhaps we will soon establish an underground immortal kingdom. I heard that Junior Brother caused destruction in the Sect Secret Realm of the Hundred-mile Desert?" Taoist Qingyi smiled.

"I see that Junior Brother’s aura is unstable. Did he get injured in the Hundred-mile Desert?"

Taoist Qingzhuo’s eyebrows immediately furrowed deeply, and he said coldly:

"What kind of joke is Brother making? In the Hundred-mile Desert, there are only remnants of Great Yan’s army, just ordinary martial artists. As a senior of the Immortal Gate, how could I be harmed by ordinary people?"

What a joke, how could he possibly admit it?

Regular martial artists have always been weak and poor, not being respected by immortal cultivators.

Taoist Qingyang of Nan Province’s Xuantian Sect died at the hands of a Martial Saint, causing the entire Xuantian Sect to be looked down upon by the other Eight Immortal Gates.

It’s like when the national soccer team wins a match, others might not think it’s because the team has suddenly improved, but rather because the opponents made mistakes.

If Taoist Qingzhuo were to be injured by a mortal, if news of this goes out, how will his reputation be? It’s likely that he will become the laughingstock of the Immortal Gate.

Moreover, this is not a matter of reputation at all….

Because Elder Qingzhuo is truly injured, his cultivation has been affected.

"Well, I was just being overly concerned. It seems like you’re doing fine, junior brother." Elder Qingyi laughed and glanced at the stone sword in Elder Qingzhuo’s hand, finding an excuse to take his leave.

It wasn’t until his figure disappeared into the clouds that Taoist Qingzhuo withdrew his gaze.

Qingyi was waiting outside my cave, could he see that my cultivation had been damaged? Was he kindly reminding me?

"If my injuries are already obvious enough for him to see, then I must immediately retreat and heal, there’s no time to waste."

The matter of my damaged cultivation must not be exposed, even within the Great Dao Sect.

I just don’t know if Elder Qingyi is kindly reminding me or trying to deceive me.

Without hesitation, Taoist Qingzhuo grasped his stone sword and entered the cave, activating the protective formation inside, preparing to retreat and heal.

The damage to his cultivation was not a trivial matter at this point, it was not just about face anymore, it could even harm his status as an elder.

In this era of declining spiritual energy, aside from a few exceptional genius cultivators, most immortal cultivators who have reached a high level can only progress further by relying on the assistance of the Incense Symbol of Divine Fire.

In the past, when the spiritual energy was abundant, immortal cultivators often needed to rely on pills like Foundation Building Dan or Nascent Soul Dan to break through to the next realm.

But in the current era, many cultivators can no longer rely solely on pill cultivation, they need a large amount of mortal worshippers’ incense.

So, the number of high-level cultivators in the Immortal Gate is limited. The number of senior cultivators in the Great Dao Sect is basically equivalent to the number of top-ranked immortals in the Immortal Gate’s main hall.

This is also one of the main reasons why Elder Qingzhuo values Earth Sword Immortal so much.

In a place like the Hundred-mile Desert, where even ordinary people can cultivate the Immortal Way, it is definitely rare for someone to have exceptional talent in cultivation.

"If the foundation of my cultivation is damaged… if it is discovered by Qingyi or other members of the sect, my position as an elder might be unstable," Taoist Qingzhuo muttered to himself.

Elders are already high-ranking members of the sect, they are not just some easy-to-find individuals that anyone can become.

But now the overall situation has become difficult. In this era of scarce spiritual energy, there is a shortage of many things, except for talented individuals.

Within the Great Dao Sect, there are several rising stars who are stuck at a bottleneck. If they obtain Elder Qingzhuo’s position, and receive the support of the sect, they will have a good chance of replacing him in the sect.

So…

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