Chapter 92: Ten Thousand Sword Mountain

Outside the city of Qianjing, golden lightning danced wildly in the air like giant pythons.

The Tier 5 "Nine Heavens Mysterious Thunder Nation-Protecting Formation," personally set up by the founding Grand Emperor of the Great Yuan Dynasty, was currently absorbing the Spiritual Qi of the earth veins that the Great Yuan Dynasty had accumulated for a thousand years at a speed almost visible to the naked eye.

Nine golden thunder dragons, each hundreds of zhang long, roamed across the light barrier, their roars deafening as they guarded the entire capital city tightly.

The bloody scent of the fall of Great Yuan City had not yet dissipated, and the severed limbs of the hundred thousand Black Armored Army on the plains outside the capital were still silently recounting the previous tragedy.

On the deck of the warship, the several Golden Core Elders of the Divine Sword Sect wore solemn expressions.

"Grand Elder Executive," a living Elder beside Great Elder Zhao Wuji whispered in request, "This Nine Heavens Mysterious Thunder Formation has stirred the thunder veins beneath Qianjing, and its power is comparable to a Tier 5 Formation. If we force an attack on the city, even with the fourteen Heavenly Demon Puppets clearing the way, I fear our Sect Disciples and the gathered Loose Cultivators will suffer heavy casualties."

Chu Chang stood at the bow of the ship, his right hand resting on the hilt of the duanchen ancient sword.

He could feel that this Tier 5 Formation was not only defending against external enemies but also subtly suppressing that restless, ancient aura deep beneath the imperial palace—the aura belonging to the ruins of an ancient Sword Cultivator. At this moment, the obscure Tongyou Realm fluctuation deep within the palace was at a critical juncture of Breakthrough, like a blazing sun about to detonate.

"Pass down the order: the three armies are to retreat ten li for now and set up camp."

Chu Chang spoke indifferently, his voice clearly reaching everyone's ears.

"Besiege but do not attack. This Seat wants to see how many days the Great Yuan royal family can hold on with a Formation that consumes countless Spirit Stones."

"Yes!"

Following Chu Chang's order to retreat, the once murderous Divine Sword Sect warships and the vast crowds of Jianghu figures slowly withdrew, setting up camp on the barren plains and hills ten li from Qianjing. Countless campfires were lit under the cover of night, resembling a giant dragon made of flames that tightly besieged Qianjing.

On the city walls, watching Chu Chang retreat, the Great Yuan royal army guards couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, but inside the Golden Throne Hall, Qianyuanzi's expression grew even gloomier.

A siege, for the imperial capital of a Dynasty, is a blunt knife cutting flesh, far more lethal than a direct assault.

After the news of Chu Chang's temporary ten-li retreat spread, the various Cultivator Sects and Cultivator families of the entire Great Yuan Dynasty were thoroughly shaken.

They saw the situation clearly—the fall of the Great Yuan Dynasty was only a matter of time, and this young Grand Elder Executive of the Divine Sword Sect had Heaven-Defying means. Not only did he possess a Puppet army consisting of one Purple Mansion Peak and thirteen Purple Mansion and Golden Core Puppets, but he was also a decisive and ruthless master.

For a time, those second and third-rate Sects that had originally taken a wait-and-see attitude, as well as the various Cultivator families holding territory in different regions, all prepared their Sects' most precious resources and rushed to Chu Chang's camp overnight.

They were not here to serve the King, but to surrender.

"The Sect Master of the Green Wood Sect presents three stalks of Tier 3 Spirit Medicine, Nine-Leaf Orchid, and one Tier 4 holy healing pill, Hundred Herb Stasis-Dissolving Pill!"

"The Valley Master of the Departing Fire Valley presents one hundred catties of Earth Fire Essence Gold and three Tier 4 Departing Fire Nine-Turn Pills!"

"The Great Yuan Branch of the Myriad Treasures Pavilion presents one bottle of Tier 5 fire-attribute Earth Vein Spirit Marrow and ten Top-Grade Spirit Stones!"

In the camp, the Divine Sword Sect Disciple responsible for registering the offerings was reading until his mouth was dry, his eyes filled with wild joy.

These heritage resources, which the various Sects usually regarded as their very lives, were now piling up in the Divine Sword Sect's warehouse like worthless trash.

And the most precious gift among them came from the Medicine King Valley, the largest reclusive alchemy Sect within the Great Yuan borders.

The Valley Master of the Medicine King Valley came in person. This alchemy Great Master, whom even Emperor Qianyuanzi had to treat with deference on ordinary days, was now in Chu Chang's tent, his attitude so respectful it bordered on obsequious.

"Exalted Chu, this is the treasure of our valley, sealed for three hundred years—the Nine-Orifice Tongyou Pill."

The Medicine King Valley Master held a jade box carved from ten-thousand-year warm jade with both hands and respectfully presented it: "This pill is a Tier 5 Elementary Divine Pill, refined from the medicinal embryos of nine types of Tier 5 Spirit Medicines, supplemented with Dragon Blood Grass, and crafted by three Purple Mansion Peak Elders of our valley working together for forty-nine days. It has Heaven-Defying effects for breaking through the Bottleneck of the Tongyou Realm, as well as for widening Meridians and condensing magic power. This old man has heard that the Exalted One's divine arts are peerless, and I have come specifically to present this, only asking that after the Great Yuan falls, the Exalted One can protect the heritage of my Medicine King Valley."

Chu Chang opened the jade box, and in an instant, a medicinal fragrance so rich it was almost tangible instantly permeated the entire tent.

A dark golden pill, round all over and with nine natural air pores, lay quietly inside, with the faint sound of a dragon's roar emanating from within the pill.

"Very good."

The corners of Chu Chang's mouth curled up slightly: "This Seat accepts the sincerity of the Medicine King Valley. As long as the Medicine King Valley behaves itself in the future, there will be a place for you within the Great Yuan borders."

"Many thanks, Exalted One!" The Medicine King Valley Master, as if having received a pardon, bowed and scraped repeatedly before retreating.

Chu Chang closed the jade box, a flash of heat passing through his eyes.

His current cultivation level was the Late Stage of the Tongyou (Purple Mansion) Realm. Although he could run rampant in the Great Yuan by relying on his Chaos True Essence and the "Heavenly Demon Puppet Technique," facing the royal Grand Emperor who was about to break through to the Tongyou Realm, as well as the unknown ancient ruins, naturally, the higher his cultivation, the better.

"Everything is ready; tonight, I shall Breakthrough to the Peak of the Tongyou Realm."

Inside the tent, several layers of defensive and isolation Formations were set up.

Chu Chang sat cross-legged in the void, and those boxes of Top-Grade Medicinal Pills, Earth Vein Spirit Marrow, and mountains of Spirit Stones presented by the various Sects floated around his body.

"Swallow."

Chu Chang opened his mouth and inhaled.

Boom!

That Tier 5 "Nine-Orifice Tongyou Pill" instantly transformed into a scorching golden dragon, flowing into his mouth.

At the same time, the mountains of Top-Grade Spirit Stones and Spirit Marrow surrounding him, under the pull of the Chaos True Essence, all exploded one after another, turning into an extremely pure storm of Spiritual Qi that poured crazily into Chu Chang's body.

[Chaos Creation Art, activate!]

Inside Chu Chang's Dantian Qi Sea, that gray Chaos Divine Furnace spun crazily.

The violent medicinal power of the Nine-Orifice Tongyou Pill, the moment it entered his Meridians, attempted to rampage, but under the powerful suppression of the Chaos True Essence, it was instantly assimilated and tamed, turning into the purest gray energy.

Crackle!

Under the baptism of this immense energy, Chu Chang's bones, flesh, and Meridians emitted crisp sounds.

His Meridians were forcefully widened several times over, and the gray mist within his Qi Sea gradually condensed, eventually turning into a viscous liquid like mercury.

That was the precursor to the Chaos True Essence transforming from a gaseous state to a liquid, or even solid, state!

Tongyou Realm Late Stage… Tongyou Realm Late Stage Peak… Tongyou Realm Great Perfection!!!

The void around Chu Chang's body began to twist slightly because it could not withstand this pressure.

The Chaos Divine Seal between his eyebrows flickered with dazzling light, and the sword shadow, which was originally just the outline of a broken sword, became much clearer at this moment, with the supreme sharpness of an ancient Sword Cultivator faintly revealing itself.

However, Chu Chang did not stop.

He circulated his divine art, squeezing the medicinal power and the surrounding Spiritual Qi to the extreme, repeatedly slamming against that barrier representing the "Tongyou Peak."

Crack.

It was as if a crisp sound of porcelain cracking rang out in his mind.

Rumble!

An extremely terrifying gray wave of energy exploded outward with Chu Chang as the center; had it not been for the isolation of the Formation, this blast would have been enough to flatten the hilltops for several li around.

Chu Chang slowly opened his eyes, and in the depths of his pupils, scenes of stars being destroyed and the beginning of Chaos seemed to flash and vanish.

Tongyou Realm, Peak!

At this moment, the richness of the True Essence within his body was more than ten times that of an ordinary Cultivator of the same rank. Even without relying on Puppets, he had the confidence to suppress and kill a Purple Mansion Peak with one hand, or even fight a Half-Step Tongyou expert head-on!

"Great Yuan royal family, your trump cards are even less worth mentioning in the eyes of this Seat."

Chu Chang felt the surging, roaring power within his body and muttered coldly to himself.

Late at night, the night was as cool as water.

In the wilderness camp, apart from the Loose Cultivators and Divine Sword Sect Disciples responsible for patrolling, most people were meditating and cultivating.

Suddenly, in the void above the camp, several ripples that were so faint they were almost imperceptible appeared.

Five eerie figures wearing tight black clothing, possessing no Spiritual Qi fluctuations, and with even their heartbeats and body temperatures completely erased by secret techniques, silently passed through the warning Formations on the perimeter of the camp.

The Great Yuan royal family's death soldiers, the "Shadow Guards."

These five were all at the Middle Stage of the Purple Mansion Realm, practicing the Great Yuan royal family's most cruel "Shadow Transformation Demonic Technique." By stripping away their own vitality and Soul, they transformed into incorporeal shadows, specializing in one-hit kills. After paying a great price, the Great Yuan Emperor Qianyuanzi finally deployed this trump card, which was never easily used, attempting to break the siege of Qianjing by assassinating Chu Chang.

The five black shadows wove through the shadows of the tents, moving extremely fast without stirring a sound of wind.

A moment later, they arrived outside Chu Chang's main camp tent.

The leader of the Shadow Guards signaled with a gesture. The five simultaneously circulated the remaining Death Qi in their bodies, driving the "God-Breaking Awls" in their hands to the extreme. These God-Breaking Awls were refined from far-northern cold iron combined with virulent poison, specifically designed to break a Cultivator's protective True Essence and Divine Soul.

"Kill!"

No roars, no unnecessary movements.

Boom!

The five tore through the tent almost at the same time, transforming into five streaks of black lightning, stabbing directly at Chu Chang, who was sitting in the center of the tent, from five different, tricky angles.

The tips of the five God-Breaking Awls flickered with an eerie, dark green light in the night, instantly sealing off all of Chu Chang's paths of retreat!

"Success!"

A flash of joy passed through the eyes of the Shadow Guard leader. The opponent had been careless and had not actually let those fourteen Puppets guard him closely.

However, when their God-Breaking Awls were only an inch away from Chu Chang's throat and Dantian, they could not advance even a fraction further.

A large gray hand condensed out of thin air in the void, like a giant steel pincer, pinning the five people, along with their Magic Treasures, tightly in mid-air.

Chu Chang remained sitting cross-legged, not even opening his eyes.

"The Shadow Transformation Technique does indeed have some merit."

Chu Chang spoke indifferently, his voice carrying supreme majesty: "But if you want to assassinate this Seat, the Great Yuan Emperor has underestimated this Seat far too much."

"Not good! Retreat!"

The Shadow Guard leader was terrified, his Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering, as he tried to circulate his Demonic Technique to transform into a shadow and escape.

However, he discovered with horror that the surrounding void seemed to have solidified into pig iron at this moment, and under the terrifying Realm pressure of Chu Chang, even circulating the Chaos True Essence within his body had become incredibly difficult.

This is… the absolute Domain of the Tongyou Peak!

"Since you have come, then stay."

Chu Chang opened his eyes and flicked his finger.

Five gray flames of Chaos shot out, instantly landing on the bodies of the five Shadow Guards.

"Ahhh!"

The shrill screams finally rang out under the silent night sky. The gray flames were like maggots on rotting bones, not only burning their Physical Body but also crazily devouring their True Essence and Divine Soul.

Chu Chang slapped his palm onto the top of the Shadow Guard leader's head.

[Heavenly Demon Soul-Searching Technique!]

Complex memory fragments flooded into Chu Chang's mind like a tide. A moment later, Chu Chang withdrew his palm, and the leader turned into a wisp of black smoke in despair, his Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering.

From this leader's memories, Chu Chang obtained two extremely important pieces of information.

First, the royal Grand Emperor had indeed reached a critical period for breaking through to the Tongyou Realm and was expected to emerge from seclusion no later than the morning after tomorrow.

Second, the Great Yuan Emperor Qianyuanzi had already secretly contacted a larger power behind Great Yuan City—the Rank 4 Sect located in the Tianqian Domain, "Ten Thousand Sword Mountain," attempting to invite a wolf into the house, using the underground ruins as a price to exchange for Ten Thousand Sword Mountain taking action to kill Chu Chang.

"Ten Thousand Sword Mountain, is it…"

Chu Chang stood up and brushed the dust from his sleeves.

"Your appetite is indeed quite large. It is a pity, however, that you will not have that opportunity."

He walked out of the tent; the sky was filled with twinkling stars, and in the distance, the city of Qianjing looked like a giant cage amidst the lightning.

"Sect Master Lin Wuwen, assemble everyone."

Chu Chang looked at the golden light barrier of the Formation and ordered coldly: "There is no need to wait until the day after tomorrow. Pass the order to the army: tomorrow at dawn, break the city, destroy the Great Yuan Dynasty!"