Liver into a martial arts legend: starting with Embroidered Spring Blade

Chapter 192 The Twelve Fiends of Tianchi

The mention of the World Society caused their expressions to turn very serious.

The entire martial arts world in the Northwest is now completely controlled by the World Alliance.

Apart from Wushuang City, no other force can rival the World Alliance.

Wushuang City is also the only obstacle preventing the World Alliance from continuing its expansion into the Central Plains martial arts world.

Therefore, a battle between these two major forces is inevitable.

At this point, on the surface, Wushuang City was simply no match for the Tianxia Society.

Dugu Yifang, the lord of Wushuang City, was no match for Xiong Ba, and Xiong Ba never took him seriously.

What he truly feared was Dugu Jian, the Sword Saint of Wushuang City who had been in seclusion for many years and had not yet emerged from the world. Dugu Yifang's older brother was Dugu Jian.

The moment Xiong Ba is confident he can defeat Dugu Jian will be the moment Wushuang City is destroyed.

Therefore, the current situation in the Northwest martial arts world is very tense, almost entirely revolving around the World Alliance and Wushuang City.

Yan Shisan and his companions were well aware of this, which is why they took great risks when they came to the Northwest Tianshan Mountains to bring Su Xin back. They traveled in a low-key manner, never causing trouble, for fear of attracting the attention of the World Society.

Despite their arrogance, even powerful figures like Yan Shisan, Xia Xueyi, and Huang Xuemei were extremely wary of the Xiong Gang leader who dominated the martial arts world in the Northwest.

"I heard that the negotiations between the World Alliance and Wushuang City have recently broken down. Duan Lang, the son of Duan Shuai, the 'Southern Lin Sword Master' from twenty years ago, has defected from the World Alliance and joined Wushuang City. He has been adopted by Dugu Yifang. The two sides have completely broken off relations and entered a tense preparation phase for war."

Huang Xuemei's expression was solemn as she said, "The Northwest is not safe. After we find Suxin, we should leave as soon as possible."

The three nodded.

Yan Shisan looked at Cheng Shifei and asked, "Have you found out where your mother was frozen?"

"I found it!"

Cheng Shifei nodded: "It's in the iceberg behind Tianchi. Last year, I secretly followed Zhu Wushi here and saw him go in."

Yan Shisan nodded: "Then let's go. Take your mother away first."

The group continued their journey, heading north towards the Tianshan Mountains. Soon they crossed the highest peak of the Tianshan Mountains, where the Tianxia Society was located, and arrived at the Tianchi Lake area behind the Tianshan Mountains.

Looking into the distance, a huge lake sits in the center of the mountains, clear and bright, reflecting the surrounding scenery. It is incredibly beautiful, just like a fairyland, like a heavenly jade pool.

Surrounded by mountains, the most striking feature is the massive iceberg to the north, hundreds of feet high, stretching for hundreds of miles with no end in sight. It inspires awe at the wonders of nature, truly a masterpiece of the universe.

Cheng Shifei turned his gaze and pointed directly to a protrusion halfway up the iceberg, saying, "That should be it. There's a passage under the Heavenly Pool that leads there, but there are many traps, so be careful."

As he spoke, Cheng Shifei stepped forward to lead the way.

The group entered through an inconspicuous little cave next to Tianchi Lake, and after a winding and tortuous journey, they finally arrived at the ice cave where Su Xin was sleeping.

The ice cave was very empty, with only an ice coffin placed in the very center.

Cheng Shifei hurriedly stepped forward and opened the ice coffin. Inside, he saw a woman in her early twenties sleeping with her eyes closed. The woman was extremely beautiful, and her features bore a resemblance to Cheng Shifei. It was clearly Su Xin.

"Mother, I've come to see you..."

Cheng Shifei stared blankly at the unconscious Su Xin with a complicated expression, a feeling of blood connection welling up within him.

Despite being frozen for twenty years, Su Xin remained lifelike, showing no signs of death. Apart from being a little pale, she was no different from a normal person, and even her heart was still beating.

"She was frozen for twenty years, and she's actually still alive?!"

Huang Xuemei exclaimed, "It's unbelievable that such a precious treasure as 'Heavenly Fragrance Cardamom' truly exists in this world, capable of preserving one's vitality!"

Yan Shisan stepped forward, took a look, and shook his head, saying, "Her aura is extremely weak. For the past twenty years, she has been kept alive by the energy of 'Heavenly Fragrance Cardamom.' Now it seems that her energy is about to run out. If she doesn't take a second 'Heavenly Fragrance Cardamom' to wake her up soon, she will die in a coma very soon."

Cheng Shifei snapped out of his daze, his face filled with anxiety, and said, "What do we do now? Master gave that 'Heavenly Fragrance Cardamom' to Zhu Wushi!"

"Don't worry, given your mother's current condition, she won't have any problems in the short term even if she leaves the iceberg. If there are other life-extending treasures, she might be able to maintain her life for a while longer."

"Moreover, as long as Zhu Wushi knows that Suxin is in our hands, he will come to us on his own. Right now, he wants your mother to wake up even more than you do."

Huang Xuemei comforted her.

Upon hearing this, Cheng Shifei felt much more at ease.

He already knew about the grudges and disputes between his parents and Zhu Wushi when they were young from his master, and he had no doubts about it.

Although Zhu Wushi was the culprit who caused his family's destruction, his feelings for his mother, Su Xin, were undeniable.

Otherwise, it is unlikely that anyone else would have been able to sacrifice such a precious treasure as Tianxiang Doukou to maintain Suxin's life, and visit her once a year for the past twenty years without interruption.

Such a devoted and affectionate man, even his father Gu Santong might not have been able to do it.

Cheng Shifei did not want to comment on the grudges and feuds of their older generation, nor did he know how to resolve them.

At that moment, all he wanted was to save his mother as soon as possible.

Soon, the four of them worked together to move the black iron ice coffin out of the ice cave, intending to take the coffin with them.

It's clear that Zhu Wushi spent a great deal of money to create this ice coffin. It's made entirely of black iron, which has freezing and anti-corrosion properties. Placing it inside an iceberg will enhance the anti-corrosion effect, thus ensuring that Su Xin's bodily functions remain intact and that she has no other odor.

It is extremely heavy, weighing over a thousand kilograms.

However, all four were martial arts masters, so this weight was naturally no challenge for them.

"Um?!"

Unexpectedly, the four of them changed their expressions as soon as they stepped out of the ice cave.

"Hehe, I never expected that there would be such a secret passage hidden in this Heavenly Lake. As the host, we didn't even know about it. What a failure of us."

In front of the ice cave, twelve oddly shaped and uniquely dressed people blocked the way.

Leading the group were two women who looked like children, dressed and even looked exactly alike. One held a rag doll in her hand, and the other held a rattle drum and gently shook it, making a clear and pleasant sound.

The ten people behind him were all increasingly bizarre.

Some were dressed in theatrical costumes and wore opera masks; some were tall and thin, like paper dolls; some were shirtless and naked, with bellies as big as oxen; some were dressed as matchmakers, holding large palm-leaf fans...

The two girls who were leading the group spoke up at that moment.

"Hehe, yes, I never expected that our Heavenly Lake would have a secret passage that we didn't know about. I wonder what treasures are inside this coffin?"

Another girl spoke up, her gaze fixed on the black iron coffin behind the four people, showing interest.

"Gentlemen, what good things did you bring out from inside? Could you show them to us?"

The little girl's voice carried a hint of allure, and as she spoke, she shook the rattle in her hand, creating a unique rhythm that drew people in and made them unable to extricate themselves.

For a moment, Yan Shisan and the others all felt somewhat dazed.

Zheng!
At the critical moment, a clear piano note rang out, instantly waking them up.

"A sonic attack that can bewitch people's minds?!" Yan Shisan and the others' expressions changed, and they instantly became more vigilant, staring intently at the two girls, not daring to relax their guard in the slightest.

"what?"

The two girls exchanged a glance, then looked at Huang Xuemei, who was holding the Heavenly Demon Harp, with surprise in their eyes.

"This lady is truly remarkable for being able to resolve even our 'childlike innocence' so quickly!"

"I never imagined this lady was also skilled in this art. What a coincidence!"

"Yes! What a beautiful guqin! A guqin with such magic in the martial arts world must not be an unknown instrument!"

"Sister is right. Didn't a zither appear in the martial arts world last year?"

"I know, it's the Heavenly Demon Harp!"

"That's right, the Heavenly Demon Harp is here, so this lady must be the legendary..."

"The Six-Fingered Demon of the Harp!"

"Hehe, my sister is so smart!"

"We sisters are of one mind, and you're very smart too, little sister!"

The two girls, singing in unison, quickly guessed Huang Xuemei's identity.

Yan Shisan and the other three looked at each other with extremely solemn expressions, and were also very puzzled as to where this group of strange-looking people came from.
"Hehe, you must all be wondering about our origins, right?"

The older girl smiled slyly and said, "Little sister, should we tell them who we are?"

The younger sister said with a smile, "Since they've come to our territory, we, as the hosts, must fulfill our guests' wishes, otherwise people will say we're impolite."

The older sister said, "Aren't we being impolite?"

The younger sister said, "Of course not, we are the most polite and hospitable!"

The older sister said, "Then let's grant our guest's wish."

The two sisters looked at Yan Shisan and his group of four and said with a grin, "I'm the younger sister."

"I'm my sister!"

"You can call us dolls, or you can call us—the Child Emperor!"

The two sisters said in unison, then looked at the ten strangely shaped people behind them: "Hurry up, it's your turn!"

"Food Immortal, Iron Broom Immortal, Paper Scholar, Dog King, Playful Treasure, Husband Sings, Wife Follows, Hand Dance, Foot Dance, Matchmaker."

The ten people spoke in turn, some with sneers, some with honesty, some with ferocity, and some with indifference; their personalities were all different.

The only thing they had in common was that all twelve of them possessed an incredibly profound and terrifying aura, and were all grandmaster-level experts.

"The Twelve Fiends of Tianchi?!"

Upon hearing the introduction, Yan Shisan and his companions' expressions changed, finally recognizing this famous assassin group that had once stirred up countless bloody storms in the martial arts world.

This assassin group has a very mysterious origin. All people in the martial arts world know is that these assassins are extremely skilled in martial arts and travel around the world under the name of "Twelve Fiends of Tianchi". There is no one they cannot kill if they want to.

It is said that even grandmasters have been successfully assassinated by them, thus they are infamous in the martial arts world, and are so powerful that they can stop children from crying.

Their whereabouts were also extremely secretive. They usually traveled around Tianchi. Later, Xiong Ba founded the World Society and subdued these Tianchi assassins for his own use.

Over the past decade or so, under Xiong Ba's orders, countless renowned masters have died at the hands of these Tianchi assassins.

Unexpectedly, during my visit to Tianchi, I ran into this group of killers.

"Trouble..."

Yan Shisan frowned, staring intently at the Twelve Fiends of Tianchi, feeling quite troubled.

This group of Tianchi assassins is notorious, morally ambiguous, and now that they serve the World Society, they are even more difficult to provoke.

Once you get involved, you're bound to face endless trouble in the future!

"What should we do?" Xia Xueyi whispered, her right hand already gripping the Golden Serpent Sword tightly, while three Golden Serpent Cones slipped from her left sleeve, ready to be used at any moment.

"Don't rush into action, let's talk first." Yan Shisan took a deep breath, preparing to step forward to negotiate.

But at this moment, the eldest of the 'Child Emperors' spoke first: "Hehe, everyone, we have already told you our identities. As the hosts, we have been so hospitable. In return, shouldn't you let us see what left in this coffin?"

Yan Shisan's eyes flickered. He stepped forward, cupped his hands in greeting, and said, "Gentlemen, the four of us have trespassed into your Heavenly Pool Forbidden Area this time only to bring back a friend. This coffin contains a friend of mine, not any treasure. Please do us a favor."

Heaven have mercy, Yan Shisan's aloof nature meant he had never interacted with people like this before, so even saying those words felt very awkward to him.

But even though he's arrogant, he's selective about who he's with.

In his youth, he also roamed the Northwest and was known as the "Deadly Swordsman," making him a kind of assassin.

However, his fame at the time was far less than that of these Tianchi assassins.

Even when he was a teenager, this group of Tianchi assassins were already feared figures in the martial arts world.

Despite his current mastery of swordsmanship, he was not confident of victory against so many masters skilled in killing. Moreover, he was currently carrying the sleeping Su Xin. If he made a mistake, not only would he not be able to bring Su Xin back, but they might also perish here.

Therefore, Yan Shisan had no choice but to bite the bullet and negotiate, hoping to resolve the matter peacefully.

However, his explanation clearly did not satisfy the Twelve Fiends of Tianchi.

"friend?"

Sister Tonghuang chuckled, "We'd love to get to know a friend who would be personally picked up by the dignified 'Deadly Swordsman' Yan Daxia."

Clearly, Yan Shisan's identity had already been recognized.

"That's it!"

My younger sister, with a mischievous air about her, said, "We're all in the same business, don't be so formal, open it and take a look!"

Compared to the Tonghuang sisters, the attitudes of the other members of the Twelve Fiends of Tianchi were much worse.

"Open it!" Iron Broom Fairy said without room for argument.

"Everything in our Heavenly Pool, whatever it may be, belongs to us. No one can take it away!" Paper Scholar said sinisterly, making no attempt to hide the malice in his eyes.

The others also gathered around.

For a moment, the atmosphere was tense.

Yan Shisan's face was grim. He flicked his thumb, drawing his thirteen swords slightly, and stared coldly at the Twelve Fiends of Tianchi: "Gentlemen, are you really determined to make things impossible?!"

(End of this chapter)