Chapter 294: The Taiyi Dao Fire Melts Iron to Water

Xing’s words were the fuse. The soldier’s face filled with rage, and with a beautiful flourish, he slashed his steel saber at Qin Haoxuan.

Watching the saber chop towards him, a glint of cold light, Qin Haoxuan simply extended his right hand and caught the rapidly descending blade between his index and middle fingers.

As he held the saber, he thought to himself, ‘If I hadn’t started cultivating, a single strike from this saber would have at least skinned me, if not killed me. But now, even if it were to strike my body, it couldn’t harm me.’

With the blade caught by Qin Haoxuan, the soldier found he could neither bring it down nor pull it back; it wouldn’t budge an inch. His face was a mask of horror.

The soldier had used his saber against him, yet not a single ripple stirred in Qin Haoxuan’s heart, let alone an emotion like anger.

Because in his eyes, these soldiers were like ants. Their existence posed no threat to him at all. It was like an ant raising its pincers in a show of defiance to a human. What human would get angry at an ant for its posturing?

Qin Haoxuan didn’t want to get entangled with them any longer. He thought, ‘I might as well reveal an immortal’s technique to stun them, then I should be able to enter. How should I do it? Shattering the saber is too commonplace; even an expert in internal martial arts from the military could do it. How about… I use the Taiyi Dao Fire that Xing just taught me!’

The Taiyi Dao Fire was a spiritual art that Qin Haoxuan had obtained from Xing through a “fair trade” at the cost of ten low third-grade spirit stones. The art had a total of nine levels. It was said that upon reaching the ninth level, one could simulate the Taiyi Golden Fire. But since it was only a simulation, its power was not as great as the real thing, hence the name Taiyi Dao Fire.

So far, Qin Haoxuan had only reached the second level. It might not be enough to deal with powerful cultivators, but it was more than sufficient to awe these mortal soldiers.

Qin Haoxuan circulated his spiritual energy and unleashed the Taiyi Dao Fire. A pale red flame suddenly appeared in his hand. The flame didn’t look very hot, but the soldiers standing nearby felt a heaven-shaking wave of heat rush towards them, as if a house were on fire right in front of them, making it hard to breathe.

Fortunately, this sensation lasted only for an instant. A moment later, the pale red flame in Qin Haoxuan’s hand disappeared, and the terrifying heat wave subsided.

After the heat wave faded, the soldier whose saber had been caught by Qin Haoxuan found that he could move his weapon again. He stumbled back a few steps in fear, and when he looked at the saber in his hand, he saw that he was no longer holding a glittering steel weapon, but merely a hilt.

And on the ground was a puddle of molten iron—the steel saber had melted.

The molten iron hitting the ground made the nearby soldiers cry out in alarm, and it stunned the archers who had their arrows nocked.

‘Is he a martial arts master? Can a martial arts master melt a steel saber in an instant? Could they really be immortals?’

In any case, the skill Qin Haoxuan had just displayed made these fierce guards dare not move another muscle.

A martial arts master could catch a blade or shatter a steel saber, but no one had ever heard of a martial art that could instantly melt a refined steel saber into molten iron.

Even in the high temperatures of a blacksmith’s forge, it would take at least the time of a cup of tea to completely melt this saber! As guards of the capital’s city gate, their equipment was of the best quality.

“Now, do you believe me? Tell the person in charge here to see me!”

After Qin Haoxuan’s display, the soldiers’ eyes were filled with awe as they looked at them. They no longer dared to point their weapons at the trio. The nearby mortal commoners, on the other hand, had retreated far away in fear, keeping a great distance from them. Firstly, they were afraid of being implicated in a conflict with the city guards. Secondly, they believed the trio were either immortals or demons, and it was safer to stay far away.

A Sergeant Major, clad in full armor and wearing a conical helmet, ran over. He looked at the three of them with reverence and said, “You three… you three, I am Sergeant Major Ximen. If you need anything, you can speak with me.”

“I want to enter the city and go to the Zixiao Imperial City. Do you know where that is?” Qin Haoxuan asked in an indifferent tone.

Zixiao Imperial City. The Sergeant Major’s eyebrows jumped, and the muscles on his face twitched. As the Sergeant Major of the West City Gate, how could he not know where that was? It was the place where the emperor lived and governed. But even if he had a hundred times the courage, he wouldn’t dare to point the way!

‘What if these three are assassins? Wouldn’t my entire clan be implicated and executed? Even a hundred deaths wouldn’t be enough to atone for it.’

This Sergeant Major had accumulated his military merits bit by bit on the battlefield, fighting on the frontier for over a decade before being transferred to the capital’s West City Gate. He trusted the saber in his hand most of all. After all, there was no involvement of cultivators in their wars. The fact that cultivators were involved in the war between the Soaring Dragon Nation and the rebel army was a secret concealed by the nation’s upper echelons. Letting ordinary soldiers and citizens know that immortals were participating in the war would lead to civil unrest!

Despite the skill Qin Haoxuan had just displayed, he still believed that he was just a martial arts master!

‘Perhaps some lost ancient art can achieve this. This young man before me is a grand master with astonishing internal energy! He might be going to the Zixiao Imperial City to assassinate a member of the royal family or a minister…’

‘No, I can’t take him there. I should take him to the Garrison General. With the general’s martial arts, he can definitely take them down!’

‘Capturing three potential assassins would be a great merit.’

Having made up his mind, the Sergeant Major said tentatively, “Do you know what that place is? It is His Majesty the Emperor’s palace.”

Qin Haoxuan said indifferently, “I know. That is where I am going.”

The Sergeant Major’s heart pounded with fear, and he became even more convinced that the three were assassins. So, he led them all the way to the Garrison Command.

The City Guard Garrison Command was not far from the west gate. Arriving at the entrance, Qin Haoxuan looked up at the military office with the three large characters “Garrison Command” and couldn’t help but frown. He asked, “I am going to the Zixiao Imperial City. What is your meaning in bringing me here?”

The Sergeant Major wore a careful smile and said repeatedly, “Immortal, please don’t be offended. This humble servant’s position is too low, and I am not qualified to approach the imperial city. That is why I have brought you to the Garrison Command to ask the Garrison General to personally escort you there.”

The thing about lies is that nine out of ten sentences are true, but the most crucial one is false.

The Sergeant Major’s position was indeed low, and with his status, he certainly couldn’t get close to the imperial city. However, the Garrison General of the City Guard was a fourth-rank military official, and he was qualified to enter the imperial city. So, what the Sergeant Major said was not wrong.

However, the reason he had brought the three of them to the Garrison Command was not to introduce them to the general, but to find a place full of his own men where he could capture these three assassins.

“You three, please follow me,” the Sergeant Major said, the smile on his face growing even more cautious. He didn’t even dare to look Qin Haoxuan directly in the eye.

Xing shot Qin Haoxuan a look, signaling that something was not right. Qin Haoxuan smiled, unconcerned. He had dared to charge past the blockade of a Spirit Tree Realm expert with a flying sword; why would he be afraid of a mere mortal garrison? He would see what tricks this Sergeant Major wanted to play. No matter what, he had to grab someone to take him to the Zixiao Imperial City today.

‘Didn’t he say the Garrison General was qualified to enter? Then I’ll just grab him.’

The Garrison Command was large. Many soldiers were training, and there was no lack of martial arts masters and internal energy experts. After all, the City Guard was responsible for the safety of the entire capital, so they naturally needed characters who could hold their own.

Now on his home turf, seeing his numerous brothers in arms with glittering sabers and spears in their hands, the Sergeant Major’s confidence surged. He suddenly shot away from the trio and, pulling a safe distance, yelled at the top of his lungs, “Quick, seize these three! They want to force their way into the Zixiao Imperial City!”

“They want to force their way into the Zixiao Imperial City?” The soldiers here were elite troops raised by the royal family, and their loyalty was quite high. Hearing that these three young-looking people wanted to break into the palace, they were instantly enraged. Blades of light slashed towards the trio, and at the same time, powerful crossbows tore through the air with sharp hisses, aiming for their vital points.

Faced with so many attacks, although the trio’s cultivated bodies would not be harmed by these mortal weapons, they still didn’t want to be hit.

Lan Yan took out a talisman of about the Tenth-Leaf Spirit Sprout Realm and crushed it.

A pale yellow light barrier rose, enveloping the three of them. Faint spiritual energy rippled outwards, and within the light, Qin Haoxuan, Xing, and Lan Yan looked like celestial beings.

The moment the soldiers’ steel sabers and spears touched the pale yellow barrier, they inexplicably vanished. Even the powerful crossbow bolts that could pierce through green bricks disappeared without a trace upon contact with the water-like barrier.

The pale yellow light barrier didn’t even ripple.

At the same time, an attack from an internal arts master arrived. This master was highly renowned in the City Guard. It was said that a single palm strike from him could shatter a palm-thick steel plate, and his internal energy was unrivaled. Dozens of elite soldiers couldn’t even get close to him.

When this master’s palm struck the pale yellow light barrier, his hand stuck to it, and he couldn’t pull it free no matter how hard he tried. The internal energy he released was like a stone sinking into the sea, not even making a single ripple.

Qin Haoxuan waved his hand and dismissed the barrier. Only then did the internal arts master retreat in horror.

Qin Haoxuan condensed the Taiyi Dao Fire. With a casual wave of his hand, the pale red, second-level flame appeared in his palm, then was thrown out, accurately melting the steel sabers in the hands of the other soldiers into molten iron.

The internal arts master’s face was pale, his body trembling as he muttered, “Im… immortal… they’re immortals…”

The other soldiers, who had been eager to attack, were completely dumbfounded. These three good-looking people—two men and a woman—were actually the legendary immortals? Did immortals truly exist in this world?

Whether they believed it or not, no one dared to make another move.

Qin Haoxuan took a step forward, his expression emotionless. He felt no anger in his heart, only calmly looking at the ant-like Sergeant Major. He said, “You treat human life as grass. If I were not an immortal, I would have become a ghost under your sabers by now!”

The Sergeant Major was accustomed to the life-and-death struggles of the battlefield, had seen plenty of blood and corpses, but he had never seen an immortal. Now, he finally knew that he had offended a real immortal. He stood rooted to the spot in fright, able only to tremble.

Qin Haoxuan continued, “Yes, you are charged with the duty of protecting the capital, and you hold great power in your hands. But today, if I were an ordinary person, I would have died unjustly at your hands. You are confident in your great power and your ability to control the lives and deaths of others at will. But unfortunately for you, I hold a power even greater than yours. Today, your disregard for human life must be punished.”

With that, Qin Haoxuan raised his hand. These mortals didn’t even see how he moved. They only heard a muffled thud, and the Sergeant Major’s head fell to the ground.

As the corpse fell and blood spurted out, Qin Haoxuan, who had killed him, looked on as if he were watching a stepped-on ant. He said with an emotionless, indifferent tone, “For you, the best punishment is death. Because you have surely taken innocent lives before. I am just avenging them.”

Qin Haoxuan’s indifferent gaze swept over the others.

The soldiers who were caught in his gaze, including the internal arts master, all felt their bodies go limp. They could smell the scent of death. Forget fighting back; they didn’t even have the strength to run.

They discovered with horror that this young man, who looked to be only seventeen or eighteen, exuded a bloody killing aura that was even more intense than that of veteran soldiers like them, who had been carefully selected and had reaped many enemy lives on the battlefield for years.

Caught in his faint gaze, their feet seemed to have grown roots, nailed to the ground, unable to move.

Just as Qin Haoxuan was about to mete out more punishment, an urgent cry came from the distance. “Supreme Immortal, have mercy! This humble general of the Garrison, Huang Shanhai, has arrived late. I beg the Supreme Immortal for forgiveness.”

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