From the fake emperor to the concubine

"Stop right there!" the host from the Jinliu lineage roared, his voice shaking the glazed tiles on the eaves.

His fat face turned bright red, his triple chin trembled with his roar, and his entire body of fat jiggled, making him look like an enraged hippopotamus.

He tossed it into the air, and the golden abacus instantly grew larger in the wind, becoming a square foot in diameter. Sunlight shone on the gilded frame of the abacus, reflecting a dazzling golden light.

In an instant, hundreds of abacus beads shot out in all directions like a torrential rain, each one accompanied by a sharp whistling sound. Those golden abacus beads seemed inconspicuous, but they suddenly accelerated during their flight, leaving behind streaks of golden afterimages.

"what!"

"my leg!"

Screams rang out one after another. A cultivator in the Crystallization stage had just taken to the air on his sword when he was struck in the back by three abacus beads at the same time, and his protective true energy was pierced through as easily as paper.

He stared wide-eyed at the golden light emanating from his chest in disbelief, then everything went black, and he plummeted from the sky like a kite with a broken string.

With just one move, he knocked out more than a dozen cultivators.

The fat man squinted his tiny, beady eyes and scanned the battlefield, his nostrils twitching incessantly.

Although his move was quite impressive, to those evil cultivators, the dozen or so cultivators who were captured were nothing more than a drop in the ocean.

The fleeing cultivators unleashed their life-saving magic treasures; some transformed into black smoke and burrowed underground, others rode talismans to break through the air, and still others directly crushed teleportation jade slips.

They didn't even glance at the unfortunate men who had been captured, and ran as fast as they could, afraid that if they were a step slower, they would suffer the same fate as those unconscious men.

The fat man was furious. He turned to look at the guards behind him and his voice suddenly rose: "What are you all standing there for? Hurry up and take down these guys!"

The guards looked at each other, but none of them moved.

At this point, anyone capable of fighting has already engaged in countless battles. Some have exhausted their spiritual energy, while others have been injured.

They knew the principle of not pursuing a cornered enemy. Since these desperate criminals had already begun their escape, none of them wanted to gamble their lives on catching even a few.

Xu Ke stepped forward with a wry smile and gently pressed down on the fat man's trembling shoulders.

Feeling the fat under his palm taut like a rock, he knew the fat man's mood: "Never mind, the most important thing now is to maintain the stability of Hongchenfang. Even if these people run away, we know their background, there's plenty of time."

The fat man was breathing heavily, like a bellows. He understood perfectly well that Xu Ke was right.

Watching those plunderers walk away so freely, it felt like a heavy stone was pressing on my chest.

Unable to resist, he slammed his fist into the stone lion beside him, instantly shattering the exquisitely carved lion's head into dust.

"I...I'm such an idiot." After venting his anger, the fat man immediately regretted it.

Although this stone lion was just a sculpture carved by an ordinary person, the craftsmanship was superb. But because he couldn't control his temper, he wanted to replace it.

This also costs money.

He deeply regretted his recklessness.

In the sky above Chenfang, it was as if a giant firework had exploded. The firework, like a silver river cascading down from the heavens, instantly illuminated the entire market.

The fleeing cultivators were surrounded by a dazzling array of spiritual energy.

Some people stepped on the Azure Rainbow Sword and transformed into a streak of green light, while others, clad in Purple Cloud Escape Techniques, streaked across the sky like shooting stars.

Some people even used flying talismans, leaving long golden trails of flame behind them.

They scattered in all directions, disappearing thousands of miles in the blink of an eye, leaving only afterimages that slowly dissipated in the air.

The whooshing sound of air being cut was incessant, and the sword cultivators, skilled in movement techniques, were so fast that even their afterimages were difficult to catch.

The speed at which they escaped was so fast that even the fat man from the Red Dust Workshop couldn't help but marvel at how quickly they fled.

He squinted his tiny, beady eyes, watching the last glimmer of light disappear on the horizon, his fists clenching so tightly they cracked.

Once everyone had fled, the fat man began to tally up the losses. With each step he took, the bluestone slabs beneath his feet groaned under the weight.

Fortunately, the fat man remembered not to destroy anything further, otherwise these bluestones would definitely have shattered.

Looking at the overturned houses and stalls, the scattered medicinal herbs, and the damaged magical artifacts from the fighting, these things felt like knives stabbing into the fat man's heart.

"These damned thieves, just you wait, I'll make you pay for this sooner or later!" he cursed through gritted teeth, his voice sounding like it was being squeezed out from between his teeth.

The fat on the man's neck had turned visibly blood red, and the veins under his skin writhed like earthworms; even his breath was hot.

As the inventory continued, the fat man's face changed from anger to utter despair.

His shoulders slumped, his legs buckled, and he sat down on the ground, bursting into tears like a child, his thick face etched with deep lines.

"My money! Gone! Waaah!" He pounded his chest and stamped his feet, each sob heart-wrenching. His cries echoed through the empty market, mingling with the mess on the ground, a sound that would move anyone who heard it to tears.

Xu Ke frowned impatiently. He kicked aside a broken jade bottle, the shards scraping the ground with a screeching sound. He walked over and kicked the fat man in the backside, saying impatiently, "What are you crying about? It's already lost, what kind of woman are you being so fussy? Will crying make up for the losses?"

The fat man was jolted by the kick, his snot bubble bursting in fright. He looked up and saw Xu Ke's cold, stern face, then suddenly let out a loud burp.

"Instead of crying, we should hurry up and think of a way to make up for some of the losses. Isn't this what you're best at?" Xu Ke stood with his arms crossed, his eyes scanning the surroundings. "Recycle as much as possible, that way we can minimize the losses."

Upon hearing this, the fat man immediately wiped away his tears hastily with his brocade sleeve.

He sniffed, and a shrewd glint suddenly flashed in his small eyes: "You're right, the losses have already been incurred, now we should try to mitigate them."

The fat man's eyes gleamed with a strangely reassuring light. Within that light, the two large, gleaming golden characters "profiteer" clearly danced.

Fanyin Temple.

The mountain was shrouded in mist, and the densely packed crowd stared in disbelief in one direction.

The bald monks in their grey robes had shiny bald heads that reflected a dazzling light, like bright lamps.

They were all looking at the same thing: that terrifying sword aura that pierced the sky.

The sword energy was like an inverted Milky Way, splitting the sea of ​​clouds in two. Even from a thousand miles away, the residual sword energy was enough to chill one's heart.

The sword light seemed to cleave the entire Eastern Wilderness in two.

After a long, long time, a young cultivator murmured in disbelief, "Such terrifying power actually exists in this world..."

A swordsman carrying a longsword beside him instinctively gripped the hilt, his knuckles turning white. His voice became shrill with shock: "Impossible, absolutely impossible! How could such power be emitted by a cultivator? Even the sect master of the Heavenly Profound Sword Sect, Senior Sword Thirteen, could not possibly possess such power!"

These words were like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, instantly creating ripples.

The entire Fanyin Temple erupted in chaos, with discussions rising and falling.

Everyone was expressing their opinions.

"Not necessarily!"

A middle-aged cultivator in purple robes stroked the jade pendant at his waist. "Sword Thirteen is the number one swordsman in our Eastern Wilderness. In the past, no one has ever truly seen him use his full strength. How do you know that Senior Sword Thirteen can't do it?"

His companion nodded repeatedly, adding, "That's right, this time we're dealing with extraterrestrial demons. If we burn our essence blood and use some kind of secret technique, it's not impossible to unleash an attack far exceeding our own cultivation level in a short period of time."

At this moment, an elderly man with white hair and a youthful face stroked his long, snow-white beard and sneered. The old man's voice was not loud, but it made the surroundings fall silent instantly: "Indeed, impossible."

“I have fought with Jian Shisan before. Although he is very strong, he could never do this. Even if he used a secret technique to burn his lifespan and went all out, he could not have such powerful sword energy.”

Upon hearing this, all the cultivators present gasped in shock. That was the Sect Master of the Heavenly Profound Sword Sect!
For most of them, they were legendary masters.

They had never even seen Jian Shisan, let alone fought him.

Everyone stared intently at the old man, trying to glean some clues from him.

Some people noticed that he had an ancient bronze short sword hanging at his waist, with obscure and difficult-to-understand Taoist patterns engraved on the scabbard.

He looks like a hermit sage.

only……

Surprisingly, none of the many cultivators present could recognize this person's origins.

Several experienced old cultivators exchanged bewildered glances, all seeing the same confusion in each other's eyes. This mysterious old man seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, yet he seemed to know everything about Jian Shisan's strength.

A mountain breeze swept by, carrying the lingering power of the sword energy from afar.

Everyone shivered involuntarily. Why did they suddenly feel that the terrifying and powerful sword energy seemed to have an inexplicable relationship with this reclusive master?

"Senior, when did you fight with Senior Sword Thirteen? We've never heard of it before. Please enlighten us." A young cultivator in a brocade robe squeezed to the front of the crowd, his eyes gleaming with gossip.

The goatee-bearded monk grew even more smug upon hearing this, his white beard seemingly reaching for the sky. He stroked his beard with feigned profundity, his wide sleeves fluttering even without wind: "Let bygones be bygones."

Even though he said that, as if afraid that others would really not ask, he quickly added: "Seventy-eight years ago, I had a chance to spar with Jian Shisan a few times."

As he spoke, he held up two fingers and gestured, with a faint aura of sword energy emanating from the fingertips.

At first, everyone listened intently, and several young cultivators had their eyes shining, wishing they could pull up a small stool and sit down to listen carefully.

Upon hearing that it was 78 years ago, the anticipation on everyone's faces instantly vanished.

A cultivator carrying a medicine basket couldn't help but roll his eyes and muttered under his breath, "So it was that time at Sword Debate Mountain..."

Someone nearby immediately let out a knowing sneer.

The sword-fighting tournament held seventy-eight years ago was widely known throughout the cultivation world of the Eastern Wilderness. At that time, Jian Shisan, in order to break through the limits of swordsmanship, invited sword cultivators from all over the world to exchange and spar at the Sword-Fighting Mountain.

Regardless of one's level of cultivation, anyone with some understanding of swordsmanship can step onto the stage to debate swordsmanship.

A burly man with a gourd of wine hanging from his waist curled his lip and said, "My master also went to that conference. Even he, a Crystallization stage cultivator, was able to exchange three blows with Jian Shisan."

The goatee-bearded cultivator's face immediately turned bright red, and the surrounding cultivators all revealed knowing smiles, with several even turning to leave.

Many people secretly memorized his appearance, planning to "seek his advice" in the future.

How dare they play tricks on them! We have to teach this guy a lesson.

At this moment, a young cultivator suddenly seemed to remember something: "I don't think this is sword energy that a cultivator could release! Only a magic weapon could have such terrifying power, right?"

A cultivator with a pockmarked face slapped his thigh, making the jade pendant at his waist jingle: "I remember now! Last month I met a fellow Daoist from the Li Huo Sect. He said they were pooling the power of their entire sect to forge the number one spiritual sword in the Eastern Wilderness!"

Their explanation is clearly much more reasonable.

The cultivators suddenly realized what was happening, and the previously noisy discussions gradually became unified.

Several older cultivators nodded repeatedly, and the younger cultivators gradually showed signs of understanding.

"That's probably the real situation."

An old man carrying a medicine basket stroked his beard and said, "I'm not surprised at all that the Li Huo Sect can forge a spirit sword with such great power."

"Back then, the Prison King Sect was known as the number one demonic sect in the world. It relied on the Six Ren Burning Heart Armor, which the sect leader Ling Wanchun had seized from others through trickery and force. Combined with the Prison King Sect's Prison King Saint Luo Gong, it perfectly unleashed the Six Ren Burning Heart Armor's greatest power."

"At that time, the sect leaders of the three major righteous sects and the ten experts made their moves one after another, but none of them were able to break through the defense of the Prison King Sect leader."

"In the end, the leaders of the three major righteous sects were forced to join forces and fight for more than seventy days and nights before they finally exhausted the demon's spiritual energy and killed the demon for our Eastern Wilderness."

Many older cultivators couldn't help but sigh when they heard this person say such things.

The young monks who were unaware of this matter all listened with shining eyes.

A magical treasure capable of withstanding the combined attack of the three major righteous sects—just hearing its name evokes a sense of awe and excitement.

Some people even couldn't help but think that if given the chance, they might be able to find this supreme treasure themselves.

Before their thoughts could even settle, the old man carrying the medicine basket sighed, "That Prison King Sect Master is quite ruthless. After realizing he was doomed, he didn't hesitate to self-destruct his dantian, wanting to drag the sect masters of the three righteous sects down with him."

"Although he did not succeed, the sect leaders of the three major sects were all seriously injured. The Six Ren Burning Heart Armor was also completely destroyed, and even the Li Huo Sect could not completely repair it."

The once lively scene suddenly turned cold.

If you listen carefully, you might even hear the sounds of many cultivators' hearts breaking. (End of Chapter)