Chapter 223
Chapter 223
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 223
Chapter Title: Nether Spring Soaring Dragon Sword
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The northwest shore of Great South Lake was Nandu, renowned throughout the world for its carriage craftsmanship.
In the suburbs of Nandu City, on South Profit Peninsula, around 1,300 cultivators from Moving Mountains Sect and Hundred Refinements Hall had gathered.
"
Confirming the location of a marquis's grand tomb or an ancient sage's cave abode was a true technical feat.
A tall, slender woman watched as experts from Moving Mountains Sect and Hundred Refinements Hall dealt with a massive dragon-shaped entity emerging from the cliffs of the peninsula. Her heart stirred with excitement as she smiled and said that Moving Mountains Sect's discovery of this cave heaven blessed land from the True King Era was truly remarkable.
She had bright eyes and pearly teeth, snow-white skin, and lips that were thin on top and full on the bottom, with a small black mole at the right corner of her upper lip that added a unique charm.
She wore a goose-yellow collar-crossed long robe, bright in color and thin in fabric, with red embroidered camp grass flower straps under each armpit.
The long robe reached her knees, revealing a red pleated skirt below with excellent drape, and the tips of her upturned shoes peeked out.
The one speaking with her was the sect master of Moving Mountains Sect, named Baili Mu. He was not tall and not particularly old, in his forties. Due to his frequent nighttime activities in tomb passages, his voice was soft and low.
"Saintess Xuan overpraises me."
From a young age, I cultivated the *Shaking Dragon Scripture*. Though I achieved minor success, the technique was incomplete. Fortunately, the Young Master gave me his treasured copy of the *Shaking Dragon Scripture*, allowing my cultivation to advance by leaps and bounds.
Baili Mu spoke respectfully.
"The Young Master treats me with kindness as heavy as a mountain. He even sent over the *Doubting Dragon Scripture* and *Funeral Arts Cane Staff* to aid my practice."
"After years of cultivation, I've reached the Divine Descent Realm. Now, observing the world's feng shui and the flow of dragon veins is like reading lines on my palm. Whether a mountain holds treasures or tombs is all clear as day."
He spoke with pride.
Moving Mountains Sect was actually an ancient sect that had existed since the True King Era.
But their trade was a deadly one—tomb raiding—so it never grew. The sect's various techniques were lost over time.
By Baili Mu's generation, it had declined to the brink of extinction.
Baili Mu was a man of extraordinary talent, confident he was no less than his ancestors. But the lineage had been severed.
Fortunately, the Young Master recognized his potential and gifted him Moving Mountains Sect's three core techniques, leading to Baili Mu's current achievements.
After submitting to the Young Master, Moving Mountains Sect flourished. Experts emerged in droves, rivaling ordinary major sects in the martial world.
This dragon capture involved seventeen Nascent Soul Realm experts and six Soul Transformation Realm powerhouses from the sect, leading over a thousand sect members to lay a heavenly snare around the cave abode's treasure in the cliff.
Though Moving Mountains Sect had a poor reputation, it was a sizable faction in West Ox New Continent with about two thousand members, each a skilled hand.
Moving Mountains Sect cultivated feng shui and geomancy arts. Sect members were called feng shui masters or geomancers. In their downtime, they roamed streets and alleys, selecting sites and feng shui for homes, auspicious dates for weddings, or gravesites to bless descendants.
But that was just daily business.
While wandering, they observed the world's mountains and rivers, tracing dragon veins to locate ancient grand tombs or cave abodes, excavating mausoleums, breaching cave heavens, and plundering treasures.
It was a business with no capital outlay. Per Great Ming law, getting caught meant execution, so they avoided acting in public.
Moving Mountains Sect operated the same way.
As the Young Master's enterprise, they kept a low profile. By day, feng shui masters divined sites for graves; by night, they robbed tombs.
They often encountered ghosts and evil spirits at night, so they honed formidable skills. Their cultivation was impressive.
The weak died in tombs or at the executioner's blade.
South Profit Peninsula was remote and uninhabited, so they were bolder in excavating this cave abode.
Even so, they set up soul-bewitching arrays along the paths to the peninsula to bar outsiders.
Saintess Xuan smiled faintly.
"The Young Master is indeed forthright and generous, a great hero worthy of admiration."
"Were it not so, he wouldn't capture hearts so thoroughly."
"
The Young Master is truly a once-in-a-millennium great hero!
Baili Mu's expression turned solemn, filled with reverence.
"He hails from a prestigious family with grand ambitions. Though young, his insight and understanding leave even me in awe."
"In the jianghu, which sect or faction doesn't admire the Young Master to the utmost? Mention him, and thumbs go up, proclaiming him to have the志 of a true dragon and the ability to save the world."
Saintess Xuan felt delighted hearing such praise for the Young Master and smiled.
"He truly deserves such acclaim."
As they spoke, Hundred Refinements Hall cultivators finished setting up the altar and called out,
"It's ready!"
The altar's layout was nearly identical to the one at Phoenix Ridge's Peaceful Gate. Hundred Refinements Hall members hauled barrels of exotic beast blood, pouring them into the grooves. Soon, the ground's intricate talisman patterns filled with blood, activating the altar.
Golden Core Realm cultivators cast spells one by one. Clouds billowed, the underworld opened, and rings appeared in the air, each less than a zhang across.
Hundred Refinements Hall cultivators maintained the rings.
In the sky hung airborne talismans linked by blazing electric light into a vast net, locking down a li or so of space.
That was Moving Mountains Sect's heavenly snare.
For this treasure hunt, Moving Mountains Sect and Hundred Refinements Hall had spared no expense.
On the cliff facing the lake, several Moving Mountains Sect cultivators dangled on ropes, channeling their Golden Cores to melt the rock wall.
Baili Mu said,
"The cultivator dwelling in this cave heaven was a True King Era expert at the Great Vehicle Realm."
"Behind the cliff lies his Void Great Realm, refined into a cave heaven."
"Were it not for the realm's instability after eons, leaking its treasure light, I wouldn't have found this gem."
Saintess Xuan asked,
"Does Sect Master Baili know who occupied this cave heaven?"
Baili Mu shook his head.
"No idea."
"But judging by the treasure site's formation time, it was around eight thousand years ago, still the True King Era."
Saintess Xuan gazed at the sky.
Vibrant auroras streaked across, linking to the cliff—the hallmark of leaking treasure light from a Void Great Realm.
"This True King Era cultivator was extraordinary."
Baili Mu said,
"As the verse goes: 'Clouds crown the lofty peak of Master Cloud Yellow; here lies the dragon tower treasure hall confirmed.'
'The great ridge births faint clouds; mists like a tempest defy proof.'"
"This man followed the flow of mountains, rivers, and lakes to find this dragon tower treasure site. He borrowed its dragon qi to preserve his flesh undecayed and temper an immortal treasure."
"At the right moment, he would corpse-decompose into immortality, wielding his pure yang treasure to ascend with his body."
Saintess Xuan eyed the peninsula's ridges, layered peaks shrouded in mist, evoking a true dragon coiled around lofty halls. But the cliff abruptly sheared off at the lake, and she wondered,
"But why did it become a sheer drop here?"
Baili Mu speculated,
"This cultivator surely had enemies. After his death, the mountain was severed, ruining the dragon tower site. His body decayed, foiling ascension."
"The tempered treasure was invaded by lake water carrying underworld nether spring qi, turning from pure yang to yin-yang mixed, severing his immortal path."
Saintess Xuan's eyes flickered.
"So Sect Master laid this formation to bind it, preventing escape, while Hundred Refinements Hall opens the underworld for subduing it there."
Baili Mu smiled.
"Saintess Xuan is astute, as expected of the Young Master's beloved."
Saintess Xuan blushed faintly.
"Not yet."
Baili Mu laughed heartily.
"Soon enough."
Saintess Xuan sighed, a touch of worry in her voice.
"The Young Master has many admirers, many better than me. I'm just one among them."
"Who knows which woman has caught his eye?"
At that moment, the cliff suddenly split open. A deep, resonant dragon roar echoed as the treasure light shattered the wall. Three Moving Mountains Sect experts chiseling with their Golden Cores disintegrated in the blast, crumbling to dust!
A dragon-shaped entity burst free, thrashing in the air to escape.
It wasn't a true dragon but a form woven from silver and golden treasure light, nurtured in the cliff, absorbing the dragon tower's qi to coalesce into this shape.
Suddenly, it brushed the electric light, shuddering and plummeting.
It pierced the void, fleeing into the underworld.
Moving Mountains Sect and Hundred Refinements Hall experts descended through the aerial rings into the underworld, unleashing talisman soldiers at the dragon-form.
Hundred Refinements Hall brought their sect treasure, the Profound Mechanism Ever-Changing Furnace, and activated it. The furnace ballooned to four or five zhang tall, even six, flames roaring skyward. Empowered by a Soul Transformation Realm expert, it plunged into the underworld!
Sparks flew from the main furnace fire like burning coals, blindingly bright.
Suddenly, weapons emerged from the flames—blades yards long slashing at the airborne dragon-form.
Weapons poured endlessly from the firelight: spears, swords, halberds. That was the Profound Mechanism Ever-Changing Furnace's wonder!
Its flames birthed endless armaments to hurl at foes. Block one or two, even ten or eight—could you block a hundred, a thousand?
The dragon-form fared just so.
It blocked a dozen strikes before the swarm hammered it, igniting its body in flames.
The dragon-form rushed back to the yang realm, where Moving Mountains Sect experts unleashed a Like-Coming Treasure Seal from excavating a Chan sect enlightened monk's grand tomb.
The seal smashed down, conjuring a Five-Finger Mountain phantasm to pin the dragon-form.
It shattered the mountain and fled to the underworld, only for a chain from the Profound Mechanism Ever-Changing Furnace to lasso its neck. Nascent Soul and Soul Transformation experts seized the chain, soaring to mount its back.
The dragon-form battled the crowd, darting between yin and yang realms, unable to escape.
It shrank steadily, its form dwindling from its initial might.
Baili Mu grinned.
"Capture this treasure, and it'll make a fine gift for the Young Master's twenty-fourth birthday!"
Saintess Xuan beamed.
"Dragon-shaped, symbolizing the true dragon emperor. The Young Master will be thrilled."
Baili Mu smiled.
"This treasure owes much to Saintess Xuan. You'll surely outshine other women in his favor."
Saintess Xuan's heart bloomed; she bowed her head shyly.
"If I gain his favor, I'll never forget Sect Master Baili's kindness."
Seeing the treasure weaken, Baili Mu strode forth and declared,
"I cultivate the *Shaking Dragon Scripture* to shake the world's dragon veins. Today, I subdue a dragon for the Young Master. When he ascends the throne, I'll sever the realm's veins to safeguard his empire!"
His heroic spirit surged as he activated the *Shaking Dragon Scripture*. Dragon-shaped mountains pressed down from the sky, grounding the dragon-form and compressing its light to reveal its true shape.
The dragon-form was a slender sword, its blade like flowing water hiding nether spring qi.
Within the springs, a young dragon swam restlessly, desperate to break the siege.
Spotting the sword's inner dragon, Baili Mu rejoiced.
"Offering this to the Young Master is a great merit!"
The dragon-form dove into the underworld; Baili Mu pursued, his strikes summoning mountain phantoms of immense weight to suppress it.
Saintess Xuan watched eagerly, flicking a sleeve through a ring. She soared into the underworld.
As she prepared to aid in the capture, thunderous hoofbeats boomed.
She looked and gaped in shock.
Across the vast underworld charged a massive hound wreathed in thick demonic fire and blazing flames, like an underworld demon god. A tiny figure stood on its head, long spear slung over its shoulder.
Saintess Xuan moved to warn the others of ambush, but the hound was lightning-fast. With a boom, it scattered dozens of Nascent Soul and Soul Transformation experts, sending them tumbling every which way.
The hound swatted the Profound Mechanism Ever-Changing Furnace; Hundred Refinements Hall couldn't hold it. The furnace spun howling into the depths, weapons flying wildly in all directions.
Several Nascent Soul experts failed to dodge, bisected at the waist. Another evading was struck in the back by a sword—doomed.
Baili Mu, shocked and furious, evaded the hound's lunge but was singed by its demonic fire, nearly igniting his soul. Panic gripped him.
"
Big!
A voice rang from the hound's forehead. Baili Mu didn't comprehend before a spear over a zhang thick and dozens long thrust at his face.
Horrified, Baili Mu roared, interposing his soul—pierced through!
He slid a hundred paces before halting.
"
Small!
With the word, the spear vanished. Baili Mu saw it shrink countlessfold in the headrider's grasp, flying to impale one Hundred Refinements Hall and Moving Mountains Sect expert after another.
The rider snatched the spear, leaped atop the dragon-form's head, and yelled,
"
Got it—let's blow this joint!
The hound bounded, clamping the dragon-form's tail, and tore off howling.
Baili Mu, stunned and enraged, gave chase. The rider stood at the dragon head, smashing it with the spear—thud after thud.
Raw power battered the dragon-form smaller until it became a slender sword, seized by the rider.
"Eh? Not a brush tip."
The voice was childish, young.
"Weird, did the brush tip turn into a sword?"
Baili Mu watched the rider yank off the spearhead and slot the Nether Spring Soaring Dragon Sword onto it.
"Damn it!"
Baili Mu flew into a thunderous rage.
End of chapter.