Chapter 14: Making a Quick Getaway

The duel between the old Taoist priest and the bald cardinal of the Holy See had certainly captured every eye and stirred up a clamor. Their exchange of mystical arts and techniques was dazzling, yet this encounter marked a turning point in the battle. No one knew if Chen Hongxu and his side had other tricks up their sleeves should the fight drag on; after all, the young man hardly looked like someone who could be cornered like a turtle in a jar.

The fight between the priest and the bald man had reached its most intense moment. The priest’s entire body was suffused with black veins, and the lotus flower at his brow had shifted from red to purple. Ignoring the white light the bald man cast upon him, he buried his head, closed the distance, and wrapped his arms around his opponent.

"Sizzle, sizzle!" It sounded like flesh searing over a slow fire, and an acrid, burning scent filled the air.

"You old geezer, you want to die with me? In your dreams!" The bald man, realizing he was at the brink of life and death, dared not hold back any longer. His body erupted in brilliant white light, and a prominent golden thread emerged along his arm.

"The Sword in the Stone, is it?" the old priest sighed, the black aura around him intensifying.

The golden thread on the bald man’s arm flowed toward his palm, eventually erupting from the center to condense into the form of a sword. With a savage grin, he thrust the blade straight into the old priest’s back, seemingly intent on skewering them both.

The delicate, modest young girl let out a shrill cry and ran toward the old priest, her face streaked with tears. Chen Hongxu’s brows furrowed, and his hands, hanging at his sides, tightened. He prepared to intervene; the old priest had already done enough to prove his loyalty.

Just then, Xue Xi, who stood beside Chen Hongxu, narrowed her eyes. She muttered something in a voice even Chen Hongxu could not catch, then looked up with a bewildered expression. Chen Hongxu followed her gaze to the sky, where circles of air currents had suddenly appeared in the clouds. They did not rotate quickly, yet they evoked a terrifying sensation, as if the heavens themselves were collapsing.

In that instant, the golden sword in the bald man’s hand had pierced the black aura surrounding the priest. Though the blade’s light was no longer as brilliant as before and its surface had been pitted by corrosion, nothing stopped it from plunging another inch to run the priest through.

"Clang!" But that final inch remained unreachable. The savage grin remained on the bald man’s face, yet the sword embedded in the priest was now nothing but a hilt; the magnificent Sword in the Stone had shattered piece by piece.

The bald man realized the problem quickly enough as the sword grew lighter in his grip. His smile faded, replaced by his first true taste of fear. Beyond the black mist suffusing the priest—which caused him a soul-tearing agony—the technique that could shatter the Sword in the Stone was beyond the reach of an ordinary man.

Had he been able to move, he would have fled without a second thought. But the old priest gave him no chance. Sensing no resistance, the priest roared and redoubled his strength. The bald man’s body visibly buckled, his eyes bulging and bloodshot, terrifying to behold. At that exact moment, the black mist from the priest’s body surged into the bald man’s nose, mouth, ears, and eyes.

"Ah!" The bald man let out a cry of agony. Something seemed to be eroding his very viscera from within, causing him to wither rapidly. The old priest, gasping for breath, released his grip and tossed the unrecognizable, shriveled husk to the ground.

The battle had been full of twists, a life-or-death struggle with high stakes, yet aside from Chen Hongxu and the young girl, no one’s eyes remained on the fight. The air currents in the sky rotated faster and faster, drawing in the surrounding clouds. Everyone held their breath, watching without daring to move, as the pressure from above reached a level incomprehensible to ordinary mortals.

Seeing the fight end, Chen Hongxu glanced up at the swirling vortex, then turned to find Xue Xi’s eyes rolling back to show only whites. Struck by alarm, he gathered his energy, intending to snap her out of whatever trance had seized her. Before he could reach her, a green snake darted from her body. Chen Hongxu recognized it instantly—was this not Su Xiaoxiao’s primordial snake? How had Xue Xi obtained it?

The snake flicked its tongue at Chen Hongxu before winding around his arm. Its touch was cool and oddly soothing. It slithered to his neck, tapped its tongue against his lips, and then, with a remarkably human expression of joy, shook its body as if to signal that he should not act recklessly.

*Outsmarted by a snake?* Chen Hongxu felt a flush of embarrassment, but reading a hint of Su Xiaoxiao in the creature’s gaze, he stopped his movements.

A layer of white mist on Xue Xi’s body began to harness the energy of the celestial vortex. A moment later, a sound like tearing silk rang out. The vortex stopped spinning, splitting down the middle into two semicircular clouds.

Bursting from the center of the vortex was a sword—a weapon of such tyrannical presence that it defied description. Because it appeared in the open sky, unobstructed, those outside the club witnessed this impossible sight. Pedestrians on the street stopped in their tracks, staring up in horror, frantically capturing screenshots on their phones.

"Boom!" A thunderclap shook the air. The giant sword fully manifested before them, appearing as if composed of clouds—at once illusory and real. Yet no one doubted its power. The moment it appeared, every sword-wielder in the venue coughed up blood, their own weapons shattering in their hands.

Xue Xi, her eyes glowing white, stood as the mist beneath her feet coalesced into the shape of a blade. She rose slowly into the air, reflecting the majesty of the giant sword, and shouted, "Who dares to fight?"

The crowd was stunned, looking at Wukong with suspicion. *You said this girl wasn't powerful? If she isn't, who in this world is?*

For a long moment, no one dared to cross the line. Everyone was paralyzed by the giant sword hanging over their heads; no one felt their life was long enough to test it, especially since the locking intent radiating from the blade’s tip seemed to bind them all in place.

Seeing no one move, Xue Xi gave a cold snort and said lightly, "Xu, let’s go."

With that, she stood with her hands behind her back and vanished into the sky. Chen Hongxu’s palms were slick with sweat, his heart anxious. Glancing at the crowd, he saw that while Yan Shanren had yet to wake, the others were still capable of action. Without a word, he signaled to Liu Yixian and Gu Jisong, then soared into the air to follow Xue Xi. Fan Caobao chuckled, dragged the old priest from the Spring Sun Shrine and the young girl along, and immediately followed suit.

Chen Hongxu’s group had arrived with confidence and departed with style. Their exit left the crowd not only awestruck but also deeply resentful. While a few top-tier cultivators had not attended, those present represented eighty or ninety percent of the cultivation world. And yet, this overwhelming majority had failed to stop Chen Hongxu? The frustration was palpable.

...

Chen Hongxu glanced back at those following him and said in a low voice, "Hurry. If that group reacts, they will be back on our heels."

With nothing left to fear, the group flew at high speed through the sky in broad daylight, fully exposed. Below, ordinary people were terrified, crying out about immortals, and some even chased them in cars—a futile effort, of course.

After Chen Hongxu’s group departed, Wukong did not dare show the slightest hint of disrespect. However, standing there forever was not a solution. He grabbed a nearby nobleman and, in a fit of desperation, hurled him directly at the giant sword in the sky.

There was no explosion, no reaction. The giant sword was nothing more than ordinary cloud vapor. The nobleman passed right through the tip, suffering no harm at all.

"Bastard," Wukong cursed under his breath. He realized they had been bluffed by Xue Xi’s sword intent; the woman could only use the illusion to frighten them, not to kill.

He was right. Had she truly been able to summon such a terrifying blade, given the depths of her hatred, would any of them have survived? Even if the Princess of the Xue family was soft-hearted, it was only ever for the sake of Chen Hongxu.

The masters scrambled into the air to pursue the group, leaving the nobleman who had been thrown into the sky to fall to his death, turning into a bloody mess upon impact.