Chapter 497 - 333: The 3 Great Families’ Reactions (Part 2)

Chapter 497: Chapter 333: The 3 Great Families’ Reactions (Part 2)

Of course, these were matters that no one below the rank of Elder or outside the core disciples would ever know.

However, to obtain the secrets of this kind of array, one first had to find Ling Xiao. But Ling Xiao hadn’t been seen for three whole years. Although he hadn’t shown his face this time either, the grand array of the Shushan Inner City, which was normally active year-round, had suddenly closed. This basically heralded one thing: Ling Xiao was about to appear!

Otherwise, the people of Shushan would never have done such a thing!

They had been provoked and humiliated countless times by the Zhe Family’s Sword Venerable, Zhe Wushuang, over the years, yet no one ever came out to face him. Therefore, no one would believe that the array was closed for any other reason, such as a sudden malfunction.

In the Zichuan Zhe Family, Zhe Shiwei was reporting the sudden changes in Shushan City to Zhezhong Tang. "Ancestor," he said, "do you think this could be a conspiracy they’ve cooked up? I think it’s possible that Ling Xiao is no longer among the living! They’re scared witless of us, but they can’t hide in their shells forever, so they’ve set a trap for us to walk into!"

Zhezhong Tang pondered for a moment. He had considered this possibility, but he felt it was unlikely. In just three short years, the Sword Emperor Realm experts under Ling Xiao couldn’t have improved that much. Even with that woman, Su Xue, who had mastered a Secret Technique, it wouldn’t make a huge difference. After all, for experts at the Sword Emperor level and above, even the slightest improvement required a great deal of time and considerable comprehension!

To this day, the Zhe Family still didn’t know that the Secret Technique they possessed for enhancing their strength was incomplete! This was a secret that, most likely, only Su Xue was aware of now.

Therefore, Zhezhong Tang didn’t think a trap was likely. "They should understand that if our family’s Sword Venerable experts were to go, a few blasts of Sword Qi would be enough to annihilate their entire sect, assuming there’s no trap! So, I believe Ling Xiao has appeared! After three years of seclusion, what level of strength has he reached?"

The moment Zhe Shiwei heard the name Ling Xiao, he felt an instinctive chill. The name was simply too terrifying. Just thinking of Ling Xiao reminded him of all the experts his family had lost. All told, the Zhe Family had lost nearly half its strength at that man’s hands.

"Then what do you think we should do, Ancestor?" Zhe Shiwei asked humbly.

"Wait." Zhezhong Tang’s expression was strange. He suddenly sighed softly. "Send all the family’s young disciples away as soon as possible. Send them overseas! Many of the island nations are under our Zhe Family’s influence. Just make sure they don’t forget who their ancestors are!"

"Why build up their prestige and diminish our own morale?" Zhe Wushuang strode in from outside as smoothly as flowing water. He glanced at Zhezhong Tang; in terms of seniority, he was still Zhezhong Tang’s junior. Zhe Wushuang looked at Zhezhong Tang and said, "Ling Xiao’s power is nothing more than that miraculous array of his. If he dares to leave Penzes City, do you really think he has any chance of survival?"

Zhezhong Tang shook his head. "It’s just a gut feeling. I always feel that Ling Xiao can’t be judged by ordinary standards. Do you remember Yun Zilan? In just fifty short years, Yun Zilan went from a complete unknown to the Sword Saint Realm! But did you know that when Yun Zilan was Ling Xiao’s age, he wasn’t nearly as outstanding! So, after three years, Ling Xiao reappears, and the first thing he does is shut down the array. Doesn’t that imply that his strength has already..."

"Absolutely impossible!" Zhe Wushuang said with a disdainful expression. "Him? Compared to Sword Saint Yun Zilan? HAHAHA, that’s completely out of the question! Hmph, fine. In that case, I won’t go to Shushan City to kill him. I’d like to see just how much nerve that brat has. Let’s see if he dares to come to the Zhe Family for revenge!"

In the East Sea Qin Family, the number of Sword Venerable Realm experts had increased to six within the past three years! If this news were to get out, it would shock countless people!

Three years ago, the Qin Family only had three Sword Venerable Realm experts. By cultivating that evil technique, the Qin Family began mass-producing Sword Venerables as if they were gushing from a well. As for Sword Emperor Realm masters, the Qin Family now had more than thirty!

Even Qin Feng’s father, Qin Zhaoran, had broken through the Sword Sect realm to become a Tier Two Sword Emperor!

Qin Feng had also broken through the Sixth Rank Demon Sword Master realm to reach Tier One Sword Sect. Of course, what Qin Feng didn’t know, even now, was that his incredibly rapid increase in strength wasn’t due to his exceptional talent, but... Essence Blood!

A few of the Qin Family’s Sword Venerables had once planned to turn the Shushan Sword Sect into a cradle for cultivating Essence Blood. Unexpectedly, right after they had absorbed the Essence Blood of three exceptionally talented children, they were discovered. The Sword Venerable involved was only at the first tier of his realm. Having reached the Sword Venerable Realm through an evil cultivation technique, his mental state and cultivation base were both unstable, still lingering at the level of a Tier Six Sword Emperor. Even so, Quefeng and High Priest Su Xue were no match for him, and he injured them both. However, because the Qin Family Sword Venerable had just absorbed the children’s Essence Blood and hadn’t fully refined it, he didn’t dare get entangled with Quefeng and the others, so he made a hasty retreat.

When they later returned to Shushan City, they found that the sect had activated its array, and they could no longer get in! Thus, they turned their sights overseas. The Canglan Continent was vast, and the Lanyue Empire’s territory alone was enormous. But on the islands across the sea, there were nations no smaller than the Lanyue Empire. However, they were too distant, and aside from some trade, there was little interaction between them.

The Qin Family’s Sword Venerables had traveled far overseas in recent years, committing countless evil deeds. Terrifying stories circulated among many of the hidden families overseas, but few of those tales ever made their way back here.

Ling Xiao’s emergence from seclusion naturally caught the Qin Family’s attention. The one who hated Ling Xiao the most was none other than Qin Feng. Qin Feng had never forgotten the humiliation Ling Xiao had inflicted upon him: his own fiancée had become Ling Xiao’s woman. How could he ever let go of the grudge of having his wife stolen?

Therefore, for the past few years, Qin Feng had been waiting for Ling Xiao to reappear. With the Qin Family’s six Sword Venerables, killing Ling Xiao would be a piece of cake!

’When the time comes, I’ll first have to pry all of Ling Xiao’s secrets out of him. Then, I’ll capture that bitch Song Mingyue and, right in front of Ling Xiao... HAHAHA!’

A smile crept across Qin Feng’s face as he imagined the satisfying outcome.

Qin Zhaoran glanced at his son, knowing what he was so excited about, but paid him no mind. In Qin Zhaoran’s view, the more of this evil festered in Qin Feng’s bones, the better! It would only make his cultivation of the technique twice as effective!

Qin Zhaoran turned his head toward the old men sitting in the seats of honor. They were all elders of the Qin Family. Having cultivated the evil technique for so long, their gazes were all terrifying. The one with the highest cultivation, Qin Du, had already reached Tier Four Sword Venerable! He was also the Qin Family’s first Sword Venerable expert and the one most likely to enter the Holy Sanctuary within a hundred years.

Qin Du swept his gaze over Qin Zhaoran, his voice somewhat high and shrill. "Zhaoran, my boy, are you saying you want to move on the Shushan Sword Sect?"

Before Qin Zhaoran could speak, another man, the Tier Two Sword Venerable Qin Wei, said, "What’s there to even talk about? The disciples in the Shushan Sword Sect are all exceptionally talented! Their Essence Blood... tsk tsk. I only got to absorb two of them back then. What a pity they found me out! My biggest regret was trying to lure them out of the city to kill them. If I had just slaughtered everyone on the spot, would they even be here today? We can’t let this opportunity slip by again!"

Qin Du glanced at Qin Wei and said, "The Zhe Family and that brat are sworn enemies. What’s our rush? We’ve stayed hidden for so many years; for now, we just watch the show!"

Qin Wei licked his lips. "An opportunity missed is an opportunity lost!"

"That’s still better than throwing our lives away!" Qin Du said sharply. Qin Wei fell silent. ’Your cultivation may be the highest,’ he thought, ’but you’re far too timid!’

Qin Feng’s thoughts were the same as Qin Wei’s, but it wasn’t his place to speak here. Qin Zhaoran, however, agreed with Qin Du’s suggestion. They should just watch the show. After all, that kid from the Ling Family was no pushover!

The ultimate fate of that arrogant group of experts from the Zhe Family was the best example of that!

After being closed for several days, the great array of the Shushan Inner City opened once again, leaving many people dumbfounded. What were they doing?

...

Meanwhile, Ling Xiao was leading a group of Sword Emperor Realm experts, standing on the territory of the Zichuan Empire. He squinted, looking at a quiet mountain villa in the distance, and asked the High Priest, "So this is the foundation of the Zhe Family?"