Nine Dragons Saint Ancestor

"Young Sect Master, the situation has changed!"

The elders of the Jade Sword Sect quickly came to their senses, seeing Zhuo Bufeng and Xu Qingshan still engaged in fierce battle. The Half-step Lingyun Realm Fifth Elder couldn’t help but exclaim.

"Hmm?"

Zhuo Bufeng indeed hadn’t noticed what had happened over there. He was joyfully suppressing his old opponent until he was completely defenseless, when suddenly he heard the shout and his heart skipped a beat.

"Huh? Where is the Fourth Elder?"

Only now did Zhuo Bufeng finally notice that the Lingyun Realm Early Stage Fourth Elder had disappeared; he couldn’t even find a trace of him, this shock was quite extraordinary.

Swoosh!

A sound of breaking wind came over, and shortly thereafter, the Half-step Lingyun Realm Fifth Elder of the Jade Sword Sect had already flitted near Zhuo Bufeng, his face visibly heavy.

"Young Sect Master, we’ve all been mistaken. That youth is actually disguising himself, a strong Heavenly Realm cultivator!"

The Jade Sword Sect’s Fifth Elder, having realized the seriousness, spoke a truth with an extremely grim expression that almost caused the sword in Zhuo Bufeng’s hand to slip and fly out.

"What... what? A Heavenly Realm cultivator?!"

The Fifth Elder’s words truly startled Zhuo Bufeng; he suddenly realized he had made a huge mistake this time. Why provoke that youth who had done nothing?

But what Zhuo Bufeng didn’t know was that when he claimed to be part of the Emperor Palace, the result was already set, especially since he was the one who provoked Yun Xiao.

"A Heavenly Realm cultivator?"

Meanwhile, Xu Qingshan, who was gasping for breath under Zhuo Bufeng’s suppression, naturally heard the Fifth Elder’s words. He first froze, then was overjoyed.

Originally thinking that he was merely a boy accidently angered by Zhuo Bufeng, it turned out he was an unfathomable master. Xu Qingshan felt joy as well as some remorse.

To think, just moments ago, Xu Qingshan had been telling Yun Xiao to escape alone, but now it seemed such a powerful Heavenly Realm cultivator would hardly need to run from mere Lingyun Realm Early Stage lower rankers.

Such a young Heavenly Realm cultivator stirred waves in Xu Qingshan’s heart. He had also been a top genius in Ye City, but compared to that youth, he was as insignificant as Xiaowu.

Xu Qingshan even doubted if the boy was a super prodigy from some powerful family or faction; otherwise, how could he reach the Heavenly Realm level at just over twenty?

Bang!

Amidst the cluttered thoughts running through Xu Qingshan’s mind, a sudden force struck him, causing him to stagger and retreat several steps before stabilizing.

It was Zhuo Bufeng, realizing the boy was a Heavenly Realm cultivator, lost interest in battling Xu Qingshan in three hundred rounds. In such a situation, he knew saving his own life was his priority.

"Brother, today’s incident is really a misunderstanding. If you leave right away, I assure you that the Ye City Emperor Palace won’t hold you accountable for unauthorized killing!"

After staring at the motionless youth for a moment, Zhuo Bufeng finally took a deep breath and spoke, almost making Yun Xiao burst into laughter.

However, Yun Xiao was unaware of Zhuo Bufeng’s mindset; this time, he wasn’t acting on behalf of the Jade Sword Sect, but following orders from the Ye City Emperor Palace.

If he couldn’t capture this fish that slipped through the net back to Ye City, even the Jade Sword Sect might be implicated.

Hence, Zhuo Bufeng was determined not to easily give up the hunt for Xu Qingshan, and his confidence in facing a Heavenly Realm cultivator was naturally backed by the Emperor Palace.

"Did you not understand the situation? What you should be considering is whether I will let you go now?"

A peculiar expression surfaced on Yun Xiao’s face, and his words caused the complexion of Zhuo Bufeng and the others to change slightly, knowing they were in for some trouble.

"You should know, we belong to the Ye City Emperor Palace. If you dare kill us, the Emperor Palace will hunt you to the ends of the earth, leaving you with no place to stand in the Nine-layered Dragon Cloud!"

At this point, Zhuo Bufeng dared not act rashly and could only rely on his backing, causing the youth to respond with a cold smile.

"Actually, I wasn’t wrong earlier; those two corpses down there indeed are Lou Liheng and Fei Qingchen."

Yun Xiao suddenly gestured, mentioning a seemingly unrelated topic, prompting the Jade Sword Sect’s cultivators to look at the two bodies he indicated, one of which was missing both arms.

"But do you know how they died?"

Yun Xiao spoke leisurely, a trace of a smile on his face, making some insightful individuals begin to speculate on the matter.

"It seems you’re not foolish; indeed, I am the one who killed those two!"

To these lower-ranked ants, Yun Xiao did not keep them in suspense. At this moment, he concluded, confirming the suspicions of Jade Sword Sect’s elders.

"You... you actually dared to kill an Emperor Palace Inspector, don’t you fear..."

Zhuo Bufeng found it incomprehensible, secretly thinking how could someone exist in the Human Territory of the Nine-layered Dragon Cloud who disregards even the Emperor Canglong Palace?

Lou Liheng was an Emperor Palace Inspector, entirely different from the chiefs of various cities’ Emperor Palace divisions. Offending an Emperor Palace division might leave room for maneuver, but killing an Emperor Palace Inspector is inviting inevitable death with Emperor Canglong Palace.

"Fear! Of course, I’m afraid!"

Yet Zhuo Bufeng’s words were cut off by the coarse-clothed youth across from him, who said, "But they were all trying to kill me; shouldn’t I resist a bit?"

"This..."

As Yun Xiao uttered this justification, all the cultivators from Jade Sword Sect fell silent, for they had no way to refute such a reason, though they sensed something was amiss.

The strong influence of Emperor Canglong Palace or rather the Emperor Palace divisions had been deeply ingrained. In the Human Territory of the Nine Great Continents, it had always been the Emperor Palace cultivators bullying others; who dared to provoke them?

Sometimes, when people from the Emperor Palace division wanted to kill you, fearing for the safety of one’s family, you wouldn’t dare resist in the slightest.

Over time, it created an illusion among the human cultivators of the Nine-layered Dragon Cloud: that no one dared to provoke Emperor Canglong Palace. Anyone who did would end up with nowhere to be buried.

But when someone actually achieved this and even killed an Emperor Palace Inspector, the sect cultivators like Zhuo Bufeng, who had already submitted to the Emperor Palace division, were naturally unable to react.

"If you weren’t affiliated with Emperor Canglong Palace, perhaps I might mercifully let you go, but alas..."

Seeing the silence among Jade Sword Sect’s members, Yun Xiao didn’t want to waste more words with them. Although his last sentence was not fully spoken, it still hinted at his intentions.

It meant that being affiliated with Emperor Canglong Palace was the real reason Yun Xiao wanted to kill them, a reason that had never appeared in previous Nine-layered Dragon Cloud times, had never even been heard of.

Whether in the era when the Long Xiao Battle God was alive or in the recent century under the empress, no one dared to provoke Emperor Canglong Palace. Let alone being an Emperor Palace cultivator would bring one a death curse.

The identity associated with Emperor Canglong Palace always brought convenient benefits to a cultivator, so today’s outcome was something Zhuo Bufeng and others had never imagined.

Crack!

As Yun Xiao finished speaking, Zhuo Bufeng and the others were overwhelmed with thoughts. Suddenly, they heard a slight sound, followed by a Jade Sword Sect elder lowering his head in disbelief.

They saw a dark light emerging from the elder’s chest, carrying a splash of fresh blood, which surprisingly caused little pain.

But the blood spurting from the chest, and the coldness in the heart, indicated that the elder’s heart was pierced through, making survival impossible.

"Everyone, disperse and escape!"

Witnessing the ruthlessness of the coarse-clothed youth, seemingly disregarding the intimidation of Emperor Canglong Palace, Zhuo Bufeng finally panicked. While his voice trailed off, he was already fleeing towards a certain direction.

"Zhuo Bufeng, you have your day too?"

However, in Zhuo Bufeng’s path, there was Xu Qingshan, a Young Master from Hidden Blade Sect. At this point, how could he let Zhuo Bufeng, his sworn enemy, truly escape?

But Xu Qingshan failed to notice, as he approached to block Zhuo Bufeng under the sky, a glint of cunning shone in the eyes of the Jade Sword Sect Young Sect Leader.

Zhuo Bufeng was far from foolish; instead, his mind turned quickly. Within moments, he knew that in front of a Heavenly Realm expert, escaping was an unlikely prospect.

So at this moment, Zhuo Bufeng clearly had the same idea Xu Qingshan had earlier: to take someone hostage. Even though the coarse-clothed youth seemed unconnected to Xu Qingshan, this was Zhuo Bufeng’s last chance at survival.

Earlier, Xu Qingshan’s strategy was seen through by Zhuo Bufeng, and due to fleeing, his Meridian Qi was unstable, failing to achieve the desired effect.

But now Zhuo Bufeng was entirely different, and he hadn’t exerted full strength previously, with many Jade Sword Sect techniques yet to be shown—a resource finally utilized now.

Swoosh!

Just as Zhuo Bufeng’s sword was about to strike Xu Qingshan’s chest, it suddenly turned a half circle, along with his figure arriving instantly behind Xu Qingshan. The speed of this switch was astonishing.

Quick change of tactics, a decisive strike!