Chapter Sixteen: Turbulent Winds, Celestial Omens Observed?

Outside Jiayu Pass.

Amidst the towering, rugged mountains, several figures stood atop a peak, gazing at the events unfolding beyond the pass.

"Are we not going to intervene?"

A man dressed in yellow, with delicate features and bright, phoenix-like eyes that exuded a blend of ethereal beauty and sinister charm, tilted his head toward the man beside him.

The man in fine robes, possessing an incredibly imposing stature and a visage of near-demonic handsomeness, watched the beleaguered Dharma King Hongri below. He shook his head. "We are less than fifty miles from Jiayu Pass. To rescue Hongri, we would need to finish this swiftly, and the commotion would inevitably be significant. If we act, do you think that Prince will sense it and join the fray?"

"We are nearly thirty miles away. Even if he is fast, given our strength, surely we could strike once and retreat without issue?"

Before the man in fine robes could answer, another person beside them spoke.

"We would not escape."

"Li Chimei, you have never seen that young Prince act in person. Once you have truly witnessed it, you will know that once you are locked onto by his sword intent, there is no escaping."

Li Chimei looked at him with suspicion. "Thirty miles away—is he a god or something?"

"He is not, but he is not far off!"

"He is a Sword Immortal—a peerless Sword Immortal who, with the rise of a single sword, commands ten thousand swords like a surging tide."

Recalling that year, that man, and that overwhelming sword energy, the speaker could not help but shiver involuntarily. "Had the young Prince’s strength not been so monstrously formidable, the Great Imperial Preceptor and Yelu Wudi would have breached Jiayu Pass long ago. We would not be here today, merely testing the waters."

"Then Hongri, he..."

"He is a dead man!"

The man in fine robes turned his gaze toward the hundred armored cavalrymen appearing outside the pass, and the young man in red with curled hair. "A Grandmaster of the Blade, a Heavenly Phenomenon realm expert blocking the path, another Heavenly Phenomenon Grandmaster watching from the flanks, and a hundred armored riders of the Vajra and Finger-Mysterious realms—let alone Hongri, even if I were to encounter this, I would pay a devastating price just for a glimmer of a chance to survive."

And that was only a glimmer.

"Three Heavenly Phenomenon experts?" Li Chimei’s voice rose sharply.

He squinted, spotting the figure in red not far from Dharma King Hongri.

"The Blood Dragon, Lian Chengbi."

Li Chimei braced himself as if facing a grave enemy.

The man in fine robes looked surprised. "You know him?"

"Yes. A year ago, I came from the northern desert seeking something. I wiped out a few villages and ran into him. This man’s martial arts are bizarre, as if he were immortal. I exhausted all my strength, and he hunted me for three hundred miles. I had to pay a heavy price just to shake him off." Li Chimei spoke of Lian Chengbi with gnashing teeth and lingering fear.

A shadow behind them quickly recited information about Lian Chengbi.

"Lian Chengbi, formerly the master of the Lian Family Fort in the Great Ming. After his entire family was wiped out overnight, he wandered the martial world and vanished. Two and a half years ago, he reappeared, slaughtering all in his path. He has become a Grandmaster of the Heavenly Phenomenon realm, with bizarre and unfathomable martial arts, and has already achieved the feat of defeating and killing other Grandmasters."

These were the reports on Lian Chengbi from the Great Ming underworld. The Mongol Yuan had a long reach, but it could not extend into Lanzhou Prefecture; otherwise, they would have fled the moment they saw him.

"I am Lian Chengbi. Greetings, everyone."

An abrupt voice echoed in their ears.

Lian Chengbi appeared like a phantom. One moment he had been watching from ten miles away, and the next, he stood right before them. "Since you have traveled from afar, perhaps you would care to join me in the city? I believe His Highness would be most pleased to hear of your arrival."

Even the man in fine robes frowned.

"The 'Human-Demon' Li Chimei, Pang Ban—the top expert under the Mongol Emperor—the 'Flower Immortal' Nian Lian-Dan, and the 'Purple-Eyed Demon Lord' Hua Zha-Ao."

"Plus, Dharma King Hongri."

"The Mongol Yuan has sent five Heavenly Phenomenon experts at once. Their ambitions are not small."

Another voice sounded from behind them. They turned to see a handsome man holding a folding fan, watching them thoughtfully.

"It seems this is a trap." Pang Ban merely glanced at him, his gaze sweeping over the mountain forest behind them, where a dozen powerful auras could be faintly sensed guarding every direction, sealing their path of retreat.

A feeling of being watched, like needles pricking their backs, arose within them.

"Three Heavenly Phenomenon Grandmasters, two peak Finger-Mysterious experts, and three Finger-Mysterious attendants."

"Though the 'Earthly Immortal' we expected did not arrive in person..."

"This is still quite a harvest."

Lian Chengbi and Li Fu smiled.

Their arrogant, certain-victory demeanor made Pang Ban and the others frown. Fury kindled in their hearts, accompanied by an ominous premonition.

Could it be...

A terrifying guess emerged in their minds.

But before they could move, neither Pang Ban nor Li Chimei dared to act rashly.

The moment they exerted even a sliver of internal energy or entertained the thought of movement, they felt as if their glabella, hearts, and throats would be pierced through in an instant. A lethal crisis lingered constantly over them; no matter how they tried to channel the weather and energy of heaven and earth, or push their cultivation to the limit, they could not shake the sensation.

Li Chimei gritted his teeth. "To deal with us, did Prince Su come himself? Does he not feel it is beneath his status?"

Capable of posing a lethal threat to a Grandmaster of his caliber, holding him immobile with mere presence alone, Li Chimei could only conclude it was the Great Ming Prince Su, who had long since stepped into the realm of Earthly Immortals.

Pang Ban said nothing, though he secretly harbored the same thought.

Yet, he excelled in using spirit to manipulate matter, and he could perceive that the force locking onto them was not an Earthly Immortal, but merely a Grandmaster of the same realm as themselves.

Boom!

A violent explosion shook the forest.

Pang Ban and the others did not need to look back to know it was the fate of Dharma King Hongri.

However, that momentary distraction was all the opening Lian Chengbi, Li Fu, and the hidden soldiers of the Cangyun and Snow Dragon Cavalry needed. Lian Chengbi moved like a swimming dragon, executing his self-named "Blood Shadow Swimming Dragon," while Li Fu moved like flowing clouds, executing one of his prized techniques, "Thousand Instant Flowing Clouds."

The two struck simultaneously, causing heaven and earth to change color.

Pang Ban and the others would not simply wait to die, but as they attempted to counterattack, they found the surrounding world like a vast quagmire. Though the energy of the surrounding hundred miles surged like waves, they could not borrow a single shred of the power of heaven and earth.

Li Chimei let out a roar of frustration: "Prince Su, you dare not face us!"

"Pfft!"

The next moment, Li Chimei’s chest was struck repeatedly by Li Fu’s "Thousand Instant Flowing Clouds," causing him to spew blood uncontrollably.

Pang Ban, on the other side, fared no better.

Lian Chengbi’s "Blood Shadow Swimming Dragon," refined through the guidance of Zhu Jinzhen and the martial arts of the Prince Su’s estate, might not have matched the true "Dragon Divine Art," but it was far superior to the scraps of the Marquis of Xiaoyao or contemporary techniques. With a single strike, it roared like an angry azure dragon, trampling like a savage beast, with force enough to shatter mountains.

Pang Ban, struggling to launch a single palm strike, had his right arm shattered by Lian Chengbi’s blow, and a terrifying series of cracks erupted from his bones throughout his body.