Chapter 3149 - A Leaf Can Blind the Eyes and Obscure the Heavens

This new arrival was a graceful, elegant beauty in red. She gripped a sword that looked condensed out of boundless autumn waters, and when her beautiful eyes scanned her surroundings, they were full of natural, amorous charm.

This was the kind of beauty that could bewitch the masses and shake the soul.

Everyone here recognized her at a glance. This was Lu Hongpao, the Red-Robed Heavenly Sovereign!

During the battle in the Literati Continent, a group of Heavenly Sovereigns surrounded and ambushed her. She’d vanished from this world ever since, her whereabouts unknown.

Now, she’d returned at a critical juncture, her sword severing the ages. It blocked that glinting, snow-white saber and cleaved into the black-robed Threelives Buddha!

Her majesty left countless onlookers startled.

Moreover, her arrival saved Hua Qingyi from the precipice of disaster, turning the situation on its head once more.

Ku Xuan’s heart shook. A massive weight lifted from his shoulders. Only now did he realize that Su Yi had arranged for both True Progenitor Shi Yin and the Red-Robed Heavenly Sovereign to come assist them.

“Impressive. Her Dao of the Sword is stunning—and so is she!” True Progenitor Shi Yin sighed with admiration.

Lu Hongpao was a woman, but she wielded the Dao of the Sword with an unaffected, dashing beauty. It was a feast for the eyes.

“You’ve got good eyes, old-timer! And your words are easy on the ears, too.” Lu Hongpao laughed.

Even as she spoke, a grand battle broke out.

Heavenly Sovereign Ku Xuan and True Progenitor Shi Yin no longer had to worry about defending anyone, so they could let loose and fight. Their power was terrifying to behold.

In stark contrast, Chu Shanke and the other Primordial Divine Court Heavenly Sovereigns’ expressions darkened.

As for Lu Hongpao? She attacked the black-robed Threelives Buddha, red dress billowing around her as sword qi flew in all directions.

Her combat strength was just too dazzling. As soon as she attacked, she suppressed the black-robed Threelives Buddha, the relentless onslaught of sword qi repeatedly forcing him back.

She was as beautiful as jade, her slashes like arcs of light, each as radiant as she was. There was no end to her brilliance and charm.

Those familiar with Lu Hongpao could clearly sense that she’d transformed completely since they’d last seen her. She was still a Heavenly Sovereign, but her combat strength was nothing like before!

The black-robed Threelives Buddha was quite strong, too, and his snow-white saber was a taboo weapon. Every slash was like the passage of the ages.

But Lu Hongpao overshadowed even him. She fought with such intensity that all he could do was passively dodge and defend!

There was no telling how many onlookers were overcome with astonishment.

“That’s Flowing Waters, the Big Boss’s former weapon. I would never have guessed that woman would wield it...” Old Lord Gouchen recognized Lu Hongpao’s weapon at a glance. It was one of the Big Boss’s weapons.

It wasn’t particularly famous on the Far Shore of Destiny because the Big Boss of Sword Sovereign City sealed the sword prior to building Sword Sovereign City.

However, as one of the oldest of the Secluded Ones, Old Lord Gouchen knew that it was the sword the Big Boss had been the most proud of!

He didn’t even need to think to know that Lu Hongpao’s transformed strength had something to do with Su Yi.

But Old Lord Gouchen could also tell that although Lu Hongpao could wield Flowing Waters, she couldn’t unleash its full power. After all, she was still just a Heavenly Sovereign.

“Lu Hongpao is already this strong, huh...?” Heavenly Sovereign Qingyi’s gaze shifted inscrutably. She would never have guessed that Lu Hongpao would be the one to save her.

A moment later, she pursed her lips and set the matter aside. She forced her badly injured body to move and attacked decisively.

She was still targeting the now disembodied Heavenly Sovereign.

Lu Hongpao’s transformation astonished Hua Qingyi, but she wasn’t envious. She was now cultivating alongside Ruo Su, and she’d already touched upon the secrets of breaking the shackles of destiny. She had no need to fear failing to step onto the Path to Ancestry herself one day!

Meanwhile, beneath the dome of heaven, the white-robed Threelives Buddha’s brow furrowed. He, too, had never considered that Lu Hongpao would show up, much less that she’d have grown so strong.

Heavenly Sovereign E’s expression darkened.

First True Progenitor Shi Yin, now Lu Hongpao. Their sudden, unexpected arrivals had ruined their plans twice in a row. That naturally displeased him.

Fortunately, they still had the advantage!

They attacked with increasing ferocity. All manner of taboo treasures whooshed through the air, repeatedly injuring Su Yi. The Book of Destiny shook violently in midair; it clearly wouldn’t last much longer.

It was then that Su Yi suddenly laughed. This is the opportunity I’ve been waiting for.

Lu Hongpao’s arrival meant that the Little Boss was watching the battle, too. That meant that Su Yi no longer had to worry about the Secluded Ones disregarding the rules and intervening when he and the Heavenly Sovereigns determined who lived and who died.

“You seem increasingly fond of speaking in riddles,” the white-robed Threelives Buddha said with a sigh. He understood Su Yi better than just about anyone, but he still couldn’t fathom what Su Yi was up to.

He’d thus been on guard this entire time.

“Riddles?” Su Yi shook his head slightly. “You’re mistaken. I’ve already told you that I invited you here to rebuild the Heart-Tempering Sword House and help my disciples prove their Daos and become Heavenly Sovereigns. I’ve never once hidden any of my plans from you.”

Heavenly Sovereign E laughed coldly. “What a joke! Snowy Gale Mountain has been leveled, and you’re in grave peril. You might die at any moment. Why even speak of rebuilding the Heart-Tempering Sword House?”

Su Yi laughed, not the least bit concerned. “This is the perfect opportunity to re-establish my sect, but I must first use your lives and blood to... consecrate its foundations!”

Before his voice had even finished echoing through the air, a verdant beam of misty light shot out of Su Yi’s forehead.

It was a leaf as thin as a cicada’s wing. There was nothing overtly special about it.

But as soon as it appeared, the scenery transformed around the Heavenly Sovereigns.

The ancients said that a single leaf was enough to obscure someone’s vision and prevent them from seeing the divine mountain standing right in front of them.

When this leaf appeared, the white-robed Threelives Buddha felt the truth of that idiom on a more visceral level than ever before.

This was still the far reaches of the firmament, and they were still surrounded by the Laws on all sides, but there was now a towering divine mountain rising out of the earth. Its slopes were covered in buildings and cultivation grounds.

He could even spot the collapsed gates to the mountain, overgrown medicine guardians, and empty sparring arenas.

It was as if he’d been transported to an all-new world.

Most unbelievable of all, this strange hidden realm was interwoven with the ancient and mysterious Law of Chaos. It had actually appeared without any kind of backlash from the surrounding Laws!

What is this place? The white-robed Threelives Buddha was stunned. He instantly realized that something wasn’t right here.

This was no mere illusion. It was a true, ancient hidden realm!

It was much like Huangting Grotto, the ancestral grounds of Limitless Palace, or Taiwu Grotto, the ancestral grounds of the Taiwu Sect.

He was still locked in fierce combat with Su Yi, and the aftershock of their battle swept outward with immense force, dealing massive damage to the hidden realm.

However, unbelievable as it seemed, the Laws of Chaos surged forth immediately afterward, rapidly repairing the damage.

Even the remaining aftershock was erased!

This time, Heavenly Sovereign E and the others looked stricken, too. All of them had a sudden sense of foreboding.

Meanwhile, outside the hidden realm, the onlookers were astonished to discover that Su Yi and the Heavenly Sovereigns had vanished into thin air.

They’d obviously been locked in fierce combat mere moments prior, only to vanish inexplicably in an instant.

A leaf floated where they’d been fighting. In other circumstances, it wouldn’t have been at all eye-catching, but now, it floated in mid-air. Chaos qi flowed over its surface.

The Secluded Ones were the first to see it. Their eyelids twitched as they realized that something out of the ordinary was afoot. A leaf, that’s all. Even if it contains a hidden realm, how could it possibly bear the power of Heavenly Sovereigns?

People talk about each flower containing a world, or about universes hidden in mustard seeds, but here on the River of Destiny, no such hidden realms can confine Heavenly Sovereigns.

Heavenly Sovereigns’ power is like the manifestation of Heaven’s Will. All hidden realms are as fragile as soap bubbles before Heavenly Sovereigns!

Unless... that hidden realm was made with the power of an Eternal Throne, just like Heavenly Sovereigns’ grottoes.

Limitless Palace, the Court of the Southern Heavens, the Xuanli Sect, and the Taiwu Sect all had such hidden realms. Their Heavenly Sovereigns were the absolute rulers of their hidden realms. No one who entered could shake them, no matter who they were.

Years prior, Su Yi and Hua Qingyi chased Heavenly Sovereign Wen all the way back to Huangting Grotto, but in the end, they had no choice but to leave.

This was because Heavenly Sovereign Wen was invincible within the confines of Huangting Grotto!

“An Eternal Throne? Impossible! Su Yi obviously hasn’t become a Heavenly Sovereign, and he hasn’t mastered Sovereign-level Laws!” one of the Heavenly Monarchs said with bewilderment. “How could he possibly have confined the Heavenly Sovereigns in a hidden realm?”

“There’s something strange about that leaf!” someone said gravely. “I suspect it contains a mystical, unfathomable hidden realm every bit as powerful as the Heavenly Sovereigns’ grottoes. If Su Yi is its ruler, the Heavenly Sovereigns... are in unimaginable peril!”

One of the Secluded Ones roared, “That leaf isn’t from the River of Destiny, and its power is beyond the bounds of Eternity. Su Yi is cheating!”

The other Secluded Ones were uncertain. Is that really the case?”

“If we want to know the truth, all we have to do is take the leaf and examine it,” said one of the Secluded Ones. Then, without waiting for a response, he reached for the floating leaf from afar.

Old Lord Gouchen waved his sleeves and stopped him with a decidedly unfriendly glare. “What the hell are you doing? Who said you could intervene?”

He swept his cold, icy gaze across the others. “That leaf is floating beneath the dome of heaven, but it’s provoked no backlash from the Laws. That proves that no one has broken any rules! If any of you use this as an excuse to pluck fish out of turbid waters, well, don’t blame me for my poor manners!”

His voice seethed with murderous intent.

Many of the Secluded Ones had ulterior motives, and many of them initially planned to test their luck, but in the face of Old Lord Gouchen’s fury, they dared not try anything reckless.

Meanwhile, in the clouds over Divine Reverence Pavilion, Ruo Su’s gaze shifted strangely. She murmured to herself, “It’s finally time to determine life and death...”

That was the leaf of a bodhi tree, and the hidden realm within it was the ancestral grounds of Fangchun Mountain!

This was the gift Grandmaster Bodhi had given to the reincarnation of the Big Boss of Sword Sovereign City through her hands.

Why had Su Yi recently declared that he’d re-establish the Heart-Tempering Sword House?

It was simple. He was planning to use Fangchun Mountain as the Heart-Tempering Sword House’s new ancestral grounds!

It was also the true battleground that Su Yi had arranged for this battle. It was a place where he could decide life and death and end his enmities once and for all!

Now, he’d put his plans into action. The beetles were in the jar; all he had to do now was crush them!

These were the plans he’d been waiting for the right moment to implement since the moment the battle began.