Chapter 827: Sunrise in the East

This upward sword rain, in the blink of an eye, instantly killed over thirty national guardian immortals who had been invited down from their pedestals by Liyang.

However, the sword array near the Imperial Astronomical Bureau still rapidly ascended, each sword like a raindrop. Countless sword tips simultaneously pointed towards the Bureau, invisibly transforming it into a cage for trapped beasts.

A civil official in the imperial court, if condemned by a thousand men, might die without illness. A general on the battlefield, facing a volley of ten thousand arrows, would likely become a porcupine. In short, their fates would not be good. So, with ten thousand swords suspended, poised to strike, the immortals targeted by countless sword tips must not be having a pleasant experience.

About a mile from the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, two spectators casually sat atop a high wall. One wore clothes as white as snow, the other a vibrant red robe. The man in white sat on the wall, one leg bent at the knee, the other hanging over the side. A wine flask was tied to his wrist with a red string. He tilted his head back, took a swig of wine, and then chuckled softly, "Peach Blossom Sword God, doesn't this move resemble my welcoming gesture during that great rain at the gates of Dunhuang City back then?"

Deng Taia, who had been addressed, finally appeared, standing not far from Luoyang, who was dressed in white. He nodded, "It's somewhat similar, but the momentum is greater than your occasion."

Luoyang, the former number one demonic overlord of Beimang and now the sect leader of Zhulu Mountain, gazed at the distant battlefield, which was unprecedented and likely unmatched in the future. He mused, "Having been a lonely spirit for eight hundred years, I've seen many who ascended and many banished immortals. I know a little about their ways. When over sixty patriarchs from Longhu Mountain descend together, they are limited by the Heavenly Dao. Most merely possess the physical prowess of the Vajra realm and the mystical energy of the Zhiyuan realm in the mortal world, at best mastering a few heavily discounted immortal mystic arts. They only look like terrestrial immortals, like paper tigers that can scare but not kill. However, the seven or eight individuals positioned in the center, even with diminished cultivation, are at least at the Celestial Phenomenon realm and should not be underestimated. Especially the three Grand Daoist Masters in the very center, they must be considered Taoist saints, right?"

Deng Taia, with one hand across his chest and the other rubbing his chin, replied, "The one wielding the sword is the first patriarch of Longhu Mountain. The one wearing the lotus crown should be the Liyang Dynasty's first national protector, a True Man; the Violet-Gold Lotus Pond of the Celestial Master's Residence is said to have been created by him. As for the one riding the white deer, by seniority, he is Qi Xuanzhen's martial uncle. These are all formidable figures. If they were on the verge of ascension, not yet having crossed the Heavenly Gate, they would be truly powerful, genuinely transcending to sainthood. As they are now, they are just ordinary terrestrial immortals, limited by their less robust physiques but superior in their comprehension of the Heavenly Dao… Hmm, but since they are currently in the mortal realm, especially facing that young man, that's not much of an advantage either."

Suddenly, a figure in a green robe gracefully appeared. In terms of demeanor and bearing, the unassuming Peach Blossom Sword God was vastly inferior to him. Even though the latter's temples were frosted with white, when Deng Taia stood next to him, one looked like a country bumpkin, the other a refined scholar. Such comparisons can be infuriating, which is why it's no wonder Deng Taia's disciples wanted their master, who lacked innate presence, to compose poems every time he rode a donkey. The green-robed Confucian scholar observed the activity at the Imperial Astronomical Bureau and remarked, "Deng Taia, Luoyang, facing over sixty first-rank cultivators attacking together, with three saints among them, how would you feel if you were in their shoes?"

Deng Taia thought for a moment, then seriously replied, "I'd kill until my hands cramped, probably needing to switch several swords, and still wouldn't finish them all."

Luoyang smiled, "Hard to kill, hard to escape."

Grand Official Cao Changqing, who for some reason still hadn't left the capital to return to Guangling, wore a somewhat helpless expression.

Luoyang casually asked, "Deng Taia, after Li Chungang borrowed your sword, will you ever truly wield a sword again?"

Deng Taia calmly replied, "Even if I do, it won't be today. My bond with that young man ran out long ago. Don't expect me to intervene this time."

Cao Changqing said gravely, "It has begun!"

The sword array, forming a massive semi-circle around the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, unleashed ten thousand swords simultaneously.

The immortal riding the deer gently pulled the reins, and the white deer beneath him took a soft step forward.

As the white deer's hoof landed, a magnificent ripple instantly spread out, like a boulder dropped into a small lake.

It was like hearing heavenly music.

The momentum of the flying swords instantly paused, but their speed was too great, their approach too furious; they merely slowed slightly before continuing their charge.

The white deer's second hoof landed heavily again, and that majestic aura rapidly spread once more.

The flying swords were once again slightly hindered.

With the earth as a bell, each forward step of the immortal's white deer was a powerful tolling, resonating with immortal sound.

By the time the white deer was thirty steps from the Imperial Astronomical Bureau's gate, the flying swords, which had been covering the sky like a swarm of locusts, had changed from rapid flight to a slow glide.

The more than a thousand heavy cavalry troops on both sides of the street raised their swords to meet the enemy. The dense mass of flying swords overhead was suffocating. Although their speed had significantly decreased, they continued to descend with an irresistible force that could be slowed but not stopped.

There's a common saying that gods are three feet above your head.

But now, there were flying swords three feet above.

Several iron cavalrymen, defiant and unwilling to surrender, leaped high from their horses to strike at the flying swords.

Their war blades were like drawing a knife through water, seemingly effortlessly cutting the surface, yet the flying swords remained unharmed. However, those few flying swords that were grazed by the iron cavalrymen's blades seemed to be pulled away, swiftly detaching from the main sword array and vanishing in a flash.

The next moment, six iron cavalrymen were impaled as if by a massive crossbow bolt, pinned from the air onto the ground. There were no physical flying swords in their bodies, but each had a fist-sized bloodied hole.

They had sought their own demise.

A cavalry commander, seeing the dire situation, roared, "Dismount! No one is to draw their blade without a military order!"

The heavy cavalry troops dismounted one after another, trying to distance themselves from the flying swords.

The immortal riding the white deer casually waved his large sleeve, and above the heads of all the Ma family's heavy cavalry and the Li family's armored soldiers, violet-gold lotus buds bloomed. They grew rapidly, swaying gracefully as if in a breeze, though there was none.

Like two armies facing each other on a battlefield, equally matched, neither daring to make a move, the flying swords finally became completely still, hovering motionlessly in the air.

The immortal simultaneously raised a hand, spreading his five fingers and gripping the air, softly commanding, "Five Sacred Mountains, heed my decree!"

A majestic mountain rose beneath Xu Fengnian's feet, lifting him high. Around him, four other ethereal mountains, each with a distinct aura of grandeur, beauty, danger, or wonder, also slowly emerged.

Xu Fengnian drew the sheathed Liangdao, planted the blade into the ground, placed his stacked hands on the hilt, and gently pressed down.

Not only did he halt the ascent of the mountain beneath him, but the four surrounding mountains also began to totter.

Beiliang's blade, unmoved by wind and thunder, unyielding to rain and snow.

Across Liyang's vast territory, on the five towering mountains standing in the Central Plains, all incense sticks burning in censers within Taoist temples, regardless of size or whether indoors or out, simultaneously extinguished. The smoke previously released also began to swirl and sway.

At the same time, four immortals swept out from the entrance of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, taking their positions atop the "Four Sacred Mountains." Each offered up a precious seal — one made of wood, one of bronze, one of jade, and one of gold — with their knobs shaped like the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise, respectively.

Xu Fengnian cast a strange glance at the immortal proudly standing on the peak of the Western Sacred Mountain. With just a fleeting look, the immortal, his magical seal, and the mountain itself all disintegrated into dust.

The old Taoist priest with the lotus crown, who had been watching idly, looked up at the western sky, seemingly overwhelmed with emotion, and sighed.

Xu Fengnian, pressing his advantage, forcefully pushed down on the sword hilt.

That scene was as if the "Sinking of the Central Plains," which Liyang scholars had muttered about for twenty years, was truly happening.

After the rainbow light symbolizing the Western Sacred Mountain immortal's cultivation exploded, the immortals on the other three mountains shattered in quick succession.

Xu Fengnian slowly descended back to the ground, the tip of the Liangdao's sheath touching the earth.

On the peaks of all Five Sacred Mountains, regardless of the weather, a simultaneous thunderous roar echoed.

This was truly a case of immortals fighting and mortals suffering.

The flying swords above the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, which had been motionless, suddenly accelerated.

The immortal riding the deer snorted coldly, tugged the reins, and the white deer, wreathed in ethereal mist, lifted its front leg high and stomped it forcefully onto the ground.

Countless flying swords again halted their charge, but this time, their blades vibrated wildly, buzzing loudly.

The invisible violet-gold lotus flowers, which had been protecting everyone, visibly withered at an astonishing rate.

All the armored soldiers instinctively drew back their necks, sweat pouring down their faces, as they stared at the nearby flying swords and swallowed hard.

The White Deer Immortal suddenly vanished.

A streak of rainbow light surged into the body of a heavy cavalryman, and then, very abruptly, this cavalryman broke formation and charged forward, swift as lightning!

In an instant, he had charged right up to Xu Fengnian.

Xu Fengnian merely raised his sheathed sword and pointed, and the golden-armored rider shattered with a crash. The glittering, colorful afterimage dissipated a few steps from Xu Fengnian, who remained perfectly still, only his sleeve fluttering slightly.

That streak of rainbow light suddenly transformed into two golden points, radiating from the golden-armored rider like a center. They arced left and right, striking two other cavalrymen on the street.

The two cavalrymen began to charge and kill.

Xu Fengnian withdrew his sheath. Before the two cavalrymen could get within ten paces, their heads were pierced as if by a feathered arrow, and they died instantly.

The two golden points each split into two, and four heavy cavalrymen once again began their valiant, death-seeking charge.

All the flying swords imbued with his will, which Xu Fengnian had used to counter Qi Jiajie's sword, had already manifested. The flying swords he now used to defeat the enemy were the miniature ones gifted by Deng Taia on the shore of the East Sea. After his deadly battle with Han Shengxuan, several were destroyed. In the past two years, Xu Fengnian had quietly completed the set of twelve perfect sword embryos. Wherever his mind directed, the swords followed.

Dark armor, childhood sweethearts; morning dew, spring water, peach blossoms; moth-browed Vermilion Bird, yellow paulownia; ants, golden threads, Taia.

On the general's platform, mighty troops would be called forth.

The four golden-armored cavalrymen were like eggs striking a rock.

Then came eight dazzling golden cavalrymen.

After those eight fell, sixteen cavalrymen surged forward.

Xu Fengnian unleashed his twelve swords, creating a thunderous pool.

The golden-armored iron cavalry vowed not to stop until they broke through the thunderous pool.

In the distance, Deng Taia let out an undisguised chuckle, "This time, he's learned from me."

Luoyang retorted irritably, "Just for show."

Deng Taia raised an eyebrow, "It's both beautiful and practical. Don't speak against your true feelings, okay?"

Cao Changqing, listening to the two Grandmasters, both among the top fourteen in martial arts rankings, bickering, found it somewhat amusing. He said, "What's there to argue about?"

At both ends of the street, no fewer than two hundred dense ranks of golden-armored knights began a collective spear charge.

The vast expanse of shimmering golden light that met the eye made it seem as if one were in the majestic Heavenly Court.

Even from a mile away, Cao Changqing's face was bathed in golden light. He squinted slightly and murmured, "To resist the heavenly might of immortals with one's own strength is no less impressive than Beiliang's iron cavalry resisting a mortal emperor's imperial decree. It's a pity that, apart from us few, not many are fortunate enough to witness this scene."

Deng Taia nodded in agreement, "Thinking back to those times in Wudi City, watching others challenge Wang Xianzhi, or rather, others watching me, Deng Taia, ascend the tower—those scenes now seem somewhat overshadowed."

A mere twelve flying swords, like a wall of bronze and iron, stood unshakeable against a thousand armies and ten thousand horses.

More than two hundred golden-armored heavenly soldiers and generals, outside that wall, fearlessly crashed into it one after another, shattering into pieces. The continuous, dense sound of thunder, converging together, truly gave mortals the illusion of hearing heavenly thunder.

Many martial arts masters, closely monitoring the situation at the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, were forced to retreat. It wasn't that no one wanted to stand their ground, but these masters were horrified to find blood beginning to trickle from their seven orifices; a casual wipe revealed their hands covered in fresh blood.

Only a few grandmasters, such as Wu Jian, the old patriarch of the Wu Family Sword Mound, and Chai Qingshan of the Dongyue Sword Pool, were able to persevere.

Next, a stirring scene unfolded: over four hundred golden-armored immortal soldiers charged from both left and right flanks towards the young vassal king outside the Imperial Astronomical Bureau's gate.

The light was dazzling, like the sun rising from the East Sea.

A red sun, born from the Imperial Astronomical Bureau.