Yinshan Record

Chapter 272 Who is behind the ambush on the way? (Part 1)

Su Che looked at Yan Qi with some emotion; this was truly a sad story.

Perhaps the mirage dragon and Yan Qi's master, Ren Fuzhou, had arranged this bet long ago, but Yan Qi was still too caught up in his feelings to know it.

Fortunately, his wedding wasn't a big affair. If everyone had found out, how would he have handled it?

However, he still allowed all his fellow disciples to participate.

Su Che asked himself, if he were in Ren Fuzhou's shoes, he would probably have to hold back his laughter so hard he'd choke on his breath when he attended his disciple's wedding.

My disciple, the girl you so desperately want to marry is nothing but a wad of phlegm from this old dragon…

"This……"

The Prince of Wuling was at a loss for words.

"Your master is too wicked. If you ask me, he must have seen through it a long time ago."

Zhu'er crossed her arms and said resentfully, "They actually waited until the very end to say it. They're so cruel."

“That’s not how it works.” Yan Qi shook his head. “If it weren’t for Master’s arrangements, I don’t know when I would have been able to see through the worldly desires and clear my original sword heart.”

This is true.

Su Che felt that although Yan Qi was very sad, he understood that women would only affect the speed at which he drew his sword, so it couldn't be considered a complete loss.

"In fact, there are no shortage of geniuses in the Central Plains, but because of the petty scheming in the rise and fall of this family, too many people cannot escape their fate."

Madam Xie looked embarrassed upon hearing this.

Her uncle Xie Youan, who had joined the East Sea Sword Palace, was one such example.

Even in his youth, he was recognized as the future number one person in Jiangzuo and was known as the "treasure tree of the Xie family". Later, he wandered the world of swords and never returned. When news came again, it was said that he had already attained immortality by slaying heavenly lightning with his sword in the East Sea.

Xie Jia was overjoyed and sent people to invite him back several times, but each time he was turned away.

Xie Youan later wrote a letter to his family, telling them that it was he, Xie Youan, who had achieved immortality, not the entire Xie family. He added that they should handle things personally and not think that just because the family had produced an immortal sword cultivator, they were above the law...

It almost drove all the old men in the family to their deaths.

If there were no immortals in the family to protect them, how could the Xie family of Chenjun have achieved what it has today?
Where is Xie Youan now, the one who achieved immortality?

However, since he was a long-lived sword cultivator from the East Sea Sword Palace, the old man of the Xie family was furious but still had to obediently fawn over him, occasionally sending people to bring some local specialties to visit him.

One doesn't hit a smiling face. Since the elders of the Xie family of Chenjun were so "respectful," the peerless swordsman didn't continue to point fingers. He simply accepted the gifts and sent them all away.

The Xie family of Chenjun originally hoped to send more of their own disciples into the Sword Palace by relying on this powerful figure, but things didn't go as planned, and they even lost a genius.

The major families in Jiankang treated this matter as a joke.

The miraculous Ganoderma lucidum tree that your Xie family of Chenjun painstakingly cultivated will ultimately only provide shade for other families.

"I have heard my elders mention that the way of sword cultivation lies in the two methods of spiritual insight and morality." Madam Xie said with a light smile, "Using one's own spiritual insight as the blade and worldly morality as the sheath, this experience can be seen as Mr. Dongya's guidance and tempering of Brother Yan."

"Madam has discerning eyes."

Yan Qi nodded.

"After an experience, I initially felt that I had broadened my horizons, but later my sword heart became clearer and clearer. Although I had not yet forged the sword embryo, I could see that there was a path ahead."

Su Che had read in the Imperial Guard's records that sword cultivators who reached the fifth rank had to condense sword energy and forge a sword embryo, which was equivalent to the Xuanmen achieving the Rejuvenation Pill and the Buddhist cultivating the Golden Body. Passing this test could extend one's lifespan by several hundred years, making one no longer an ordinary person.

The key to this lies in clarifying one's own sword heart.

Su Che looked at it from left to right, but only managed to read out one word: "enlightenment".

Some people dance with their swords under the moon, their sword hearts becoming clear, and in an instant, they create the sword embryo. Others cleave the sea with three thousand swords in a single day, shattering countless tides over ten years, finally achieving their goal naturally.

Everyone's karmic connections are different, and there is almost no discernible pattern to follow.

Although Yan Qi lost face in this matter, if he could use it to cultivate his sword heart and forge a sword embryo, then it could be considered a blessing in disguise.

All things considered, he still came out ahead.

"Madam's eyes are bright and intelligent. If she dedicates herself to the pursuit of the Dao, she will surely achieve great things." Yan Qi asked Madam Xie, "The Xie family of Chenjun is a prestigious family in the Central Plains. Did you never consider cultivation in the first place?"

"That's not my ambition."

Madam Xie shook her head as she spoke: "Some people love the pine and cypress that wither in the cold, but I prefer the ephemeral beauty of the night-blooming cereus."

Yan Qi nodded as if he understood.

“My older sister just doesn’t practice cultivation. With me around, I’d like to see who dares to bully her.”

The maid Zhu'er, however, crossed her arms, looking as if she wouldn't back down.

Su Che wanted to laugh immediately upon hearing this.

Madam Xie definitely possesses cultivation abilities; it's just that neither he nor Yan Qi could discern the pathways of her cultivation.

This Zhu Yan was of unknown origin, raised by the Xie family of Chen Commandery, yet it was so loyal. Su Che had only heard that such ancient and exotic creatures were naturally unruly and unwilling to submit to others.

"Brother Su, Brother Yan, you are both highly skilled cultivators. Could you please offer me some guidance?"

Seeing that the group was chatting enthusiastically, the Prince of Wuling spoke up.

Su Che remained silent upon hearing this.

Yan Qi, on the other hand, smiled.

"If you are interested in learning swordsmanship, then I will teach you a few moves..."

Su Che listened to the two talking, but his eyes were looking ahead.

Yan Qi slowly shook his head.

"Don't be anxious yet."

It seems he sensed it too.

The convoy moved forward gradually, having already entered the mountains quite far. Su Che sensed a faint divine thought lingering nearby.

At first, I thought I had disturbed some cultivator hiding in the mountains, but this divine thought has been maintained here for a long time, so it seems that it is not as simple as I thought.

Su Che stretched out his hands and slowly formed a hand seal, chanting an incantation. A profound magical power surged from his body, empowering the ghosts and stirring up gusts of yin wind. The ghosts, driving the carriage, moved with astonishing speed.

As the black mist rose into the sky, Su Che's eyes lit up.

A thunderclap suddenly resounded in the sky.

A thunderbolt ripped through the sky, heading straight for his own carriage.

"Heavenly punishment and righteous law, slaying demons and eliminating evil!"

At a command, lightning bolts snaked down from the sky.

Upon hearing the thunder, the ghosts instantly slowed their escape in the face of its immense power.

Thunder is the origin of Yang, the source of the divine punishment and majesty of heaven and earth. It has a restraining effect on all evil spirits and demons. Although the ghosts under Su Che's command have been refined by him, they can be regarded as "ghost soldiers" or "ghost soldiers of the underworld" in the Xuanmen.

But since it was born from yin energy, it was naturally restrained by the heavenly lightning.

Someone actually attacked me in these mountains.

Su Che conjured magical power in his hand, which condensed into an imperial bell. He gently shook it, guiding the ghosts to meet the bolt of lightning.

The lightning was dazzling, and the yin energy was like the remnants of snow meeting boiling water. The ghosts clashed and then turned into specks of ghostly light, returning to Su Che's body.

"Brother Su."

The Prince of Wuling gazed at the streak of lightning winding down from the sky, his eyes filled with deep fear.

Could it be that the Crown Prince's retainers have finally turned against me? Or is someone trying to frame the Crown Prince by attacking me?

Could it be the emperor? Yes, he's capable of such a thing, and it's not the first time he's done it.

Can Su Che be trusted? Can only Madam Xie guarantee my safety?

Is the mysterious Yan Qi really a disciple of the East Sea Sword Palace as he claims? Could he be working with these assassins?

For a moment, various thoughts arose in the mind of the Prince of Wuling.

I still have a few secret treasures that I brought from the palace. Should I make a move now?
The Prince of Wuling glanced around, seeing everyone as an accomplice of the assassin and a henchman of the Crown Prince.

"Clear your mind; someone on the other side is trying to disrupt our concentration."

Yan Qi flicked his right finger in the air, seemingly striking an invisible sword. A faint sword hum brought a moment of peace to the troubled mind of the Prince of Wuling.

Zhu'er's eyes were bloodshot, as if she was enduring something. Streaks of demonic energy emanated from her body, and waves of heat rose up, making those around her feel as if they were in a furnace.

"Zhu'er..."

Madam Xie called out softly.

"Um……"

The maid, who was actually a demon beast, groaned, as if she were enduring immense pain.

"Divine mental attack".

Madam Xie placed her hand on the maid's chest and slowly chanted an incantation.

A radiant glow shone from her, as if she were using some kind of magical artifact.

Naturally, demonic beasts like Zhu Yan are less stable in their mental state than human cultivators.

Even if they are at the same level, demon cultivators often seem to be more prone to losing control.

A master of the Demonic Sect once joked that if the Demonic Sect had established itself in this realm earlier, it would have been much easier to slay the primordial beasts back in ancient times.

They could corrupt these fools with ease.

The maidservant's situation here is not good, and a few guesses flashed through Madam Xie's mind.

Thunder and lightning, divine thought attack.

It looked like a combo, but it was clearly aimed at the setup of someone in their line of work.

Could it be that there have been some changes again?
Su Che waved his hand, and the Yin Spring Nine Bends transformed into a black canopy to meet the lightning that snaked down from the sky. On it, magic talismans slowly rotated in the air, like stars in the sky.

Although Su Che managed to withstand the lightning strike with the help of the magical artifact, his blood and qi surged violently throughout his body.

What powerful Xuanmen thunder magic!

Su Che looked at the lightning that had already dissipated in the sky.

"Fellow Daoist He Fang, I have met you before from the East Sea Sword Palace. I wonder if there is some misunderstanding? Why don't you show yourself and let's talk?"

Yan Qi let out a long roar, and sword energy soared into the sky from inside the carriage.

The sound of the sword's cry was like the wind rustling through sparse bamboo, melodious and clear, naturally expressive.

"I never imagined that the East Sea Sword Palace would collude with demons. Very well, I will cut off your heads and let my fellow Daoists in the East Sea see it for themselves."

A sound suddenly exploded in the air, like a thunderclap.

Above the sky, several dark clouds stretched across the horizon, with faint flashes of lightning, still brewing a new attack.

"Brother Su, they..."

Yan Qi frowned deeply.

"I thought the disciples of the East Sea Sword Palace should be more straightforward."

Su Che swayed, and countless ghostly spirits appeared around him.

The warriors, armored and halberds in hand, roared silently to the sky.

As the two were talking, a powerful surge of energy rose from beneath their feet, and the turbid waves faintly transformed into a giant dragon.

"The earth and sky have been turned upside down!"

A man clad in heavy armor emerged from the ground, stretching out his large hand. His magical power condensed into a giant fist, which he aimed directly at the Prince of Wuling.

(End of this chapter)