Chapter 828: Entry

The sun rose in the east.

Even the residents of Tai'an City were drawn to this breathtaking sight, looking up in unison.

Xuanyuan Qingfeng, in her purple robes from Huishan, arrived at the Jiujiu Restaurant at some unknown time. She ordered their signature mutton hotpot from a young waiter who recognized her instantly. She emotionlessly picked up her chopsticks.

Someone was closer to the Qintianjian than even veteran figures like Wu Jian and Chai Qingshan, and even closer than Luoyang's Deng Taia and Cao Changqing.

The girl stood behind the base of a high wall, reaching up to adjust her tilted mink hat, which was slightly obscuring her eyes.

No one knew when she had arrived. Not only did the immortals guarding the Qintianjian entrance fail to notice her, but even Xu Fengnian, who was focused on confronting his enemies, remained unaware.

In fact, she was separated from the heavy cavalry, who had become mere pawns, by only a wall.

As an assassin, she had actually killed very few people—to be precise, only a handful.

For instance, Wang Mingyin, who was once ranked eleventh in the martial arts world.

And Liu Haoshi, the gatekeeper of the capital, who had clearly escaped Xu Fengnian when possessed by the Great Qin Emperor, yet was ultimately slain by her, his head kicked around like a ball.

Other than her attempts on Xu Fengnian's life, she had only failed once: when she tried to prevent Wang Xianzhi from entering Beiliang.

This time, she would not allow herself to fail.

In the street, over four hundred cavalry began to charge towards each other.

If Xu Fengnian's twelve flying swords blocked them again this time, it was likely that next, the remaining thousand-plus cavalry would launch an all-out assault.

However, Xu Fengnian's flying sword intent was clearly exhausted; eight of his swords were on the verge of shattering and had to return to his sleeves.

In fact, Xu Fengnian's sustained effort was such that against elite human cavalry, it would be equivalent to breaking through sixteen hundred armors.

But the White Deer Immortal, transformed into a rainbow, gave Xu Fengnian no chance to recover; over four hundred cavalry were already thundering towards him.

The date-shaped mark on Xu Fengnian's brow shone brightly, and a trickle of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

He raised his hands, adopting a sword stance.

"My life's only three-foot blade, where there are dragons, dragons I slay."

"Two Sleeves of Green Dragon."

He recalled the old man in sheepskin who had once boasted of teaching him this technique, a sword move as renowned as "Sword Opens Heavenly Gate." The young prince had wondered how a one-armed old man could possibly wield "Two Sleeves of Green Dragon."

Sixty years ago, there was only one person in the vast martial arts world capable of this.

Sixty years later, on the Great Snow Plain, came the words "Sword, come!"

A young swordsman made his debut, laughing as he rode his sword over Guangling.

An old man's final battle involved breaking two thousand six hundred armors with a single sword strike by the Guangling River.

He entered the martial world with brilliance and left it with grace.

This was Li Chungang.

Li Chungang, the only person in a thousand years whose swordsmanship could stand alongside Lu Zu's.

Cao Changqing and Deng Taia's eyes widened almost simultaneously. Even these two Earth Immortals, among the Four Grandmasters of martial arts, were bewildered and shocked.

They vaguely saw an old man in sheepskin robes standing beside Xu Fengnian. This appearance was different from the mere "likeness" they had seen earlier on the streets of Xiamawei Posthouse.

This time, it was a spiritual resemblance!

The stooped old man stood behind the young prince and smiled, saying, "Brat, consider this our farewell. Don't bother me again without reason. It's time to go. I have nothing left to cherish myself, so why can't you let go?"

Xu Fengnian nodded gently. From his two sleeves, immense azure qi surged forth.

"You want to emulate my battle by the river, trying to be so strong? No regrets?"

"If I'm not stronger than her, I won't have the face to pick her up later."

"That's true. I was stronger than Green Robe back then, or she wouldn't have looked at me. Oh, and don't bully her just because you're skilled. I've been there, and you'll regret it. Remember, it's unacceptable to take a woman's affection for granted and not cherish her."

"You don't need to nag."

"Brat!"

"I've always watched you show off, but this last time, how about you get a good look?"

"Alright."

The Two Sleeves of Green Dragon, one on each side, burst forth like a breached dam, each resembling a great river flowing eastward and westward.

Li Chungang's form gradually faded, his eyes filled with nostalgia and surging emotion. Finally, he whispered, "A century of jianghu, with me, Li Chungang, then Wang Xianzhi, and now you, Xu Fengnian… no wine is fine, after all…"

The two azure dragons surged past. Most of the over four hundred gold-armored cavalry were thrown from their horses. Fifty or sixty riders struggled against the current, but the golden light covering them rapidly dispersed.

The wall at the end of the street collapsed with a crash.

Yet, within this scene of collapse, four cavalrymen stood out. Though their former military ranks were generally low and their individual combat prowess far inferior to that of other cavalry generals, they were, without exception, troopers personally handpicked by Jin Xinan from the main camp. Previously, they had been inconspicuous members of Ma Lulang's heavy cavalry. When chosen to temporarily join the battle at the Qintianjian, these four had felt bewildered and hadn't thought much of it, assuming they had simply caught the eye of a powerful military figure. These four riders, of course, didn't realize that while they might just be ordinary heavy cavalrymen in the eyes of General Ma Lulang, to the Qi practitioner Grandmaster Jin Xinan, each carried a unique form of "qi luck." Their ancestors hailed from Old Liyang, Eastern Yue, Northern Han, and the remnants of Western Chu, making them the true trump cards against Xu Fengnian and Beiliang—the most insidious trap in this entire war. Despite their charge being disrupted, these four standout riders continued to slowly advance towards Xu Fengnian. The leading rider, wielding a golden long spear, found his warhorse unable to push forward even a single step when it was five paces from Xu Fengnian's side. With a mournful whinny, the horse reared high on its hind legs, and the tip of the rider's spear extended inch by inch, aiming for Xu Fengnian's head.

The warhorse finally gave out, its hooves crashing to the ground, and the long spear simultaneously swept downwards.

But the spear, like ice nearing a furnace, visibly melted away mere inches from Xu Fengnian's shoulder.

The Liyang cavalry captain, whose grandfather had once been the Grand General of the East for Eastern Yue, disintegrated into dust.

The invisible pillar of qi luck, which stood in the capital of Eastern Yue, shook violently as if struck by lightning.

Next, a shockwave rippled through the area near modern-day Jizhou, once part of the Old Northern Han territory. Many descendants of the Old Northern Han felt a profound sense of unease.

In the Western Chu imperial capital, which had welcomed the Central Plains' first female emperor, many scholars—from eminent literati holding books in their studies to young children reciting texts in private schools—paused. After a moment of confusion, they resumed their reading.

When the last heavy cavalry soldier, whose father had died in battle at Xilei Wall, also disintegrated into golden light, a mournful dragon's roar suddenly echoed above Tai'an City.

Xu Fengnian's body trembled subtly four times, and in the last instance, blood even seeped from his brow.

Three immortals seized the opportunity and brazenly attacked, attempting to jointly inflict severe damage on the young prince who was barely holding on.

Xu Fengnian exhaled a heavy breath of turbid air.

The turbid air was streaked with blood.

After expelling this stale qi and stagnant blood, the hundreds of flying swords above his head appeared to fall listlessly. The three immortals safely bypassed this rain of swords, their movements light and swift. Between the Qintianjian's main gate and the young prince, the three Dragon Tiger Mountain immortals flickered in and out of sight, rapidly closing in on Xu Fengnian. These unsupported, chaotic flying swords had merely delayed them for a fleeting moment.

Yet, it was precisely this precious instant that Xu Fengnian, with his thumb pressed against the Beiliang Saber at his left hip, lightly pushed. The saber almost entirely slid from its sheath, only its tip remaining inside.

Xu Fengnian's feet remained rooted, his body leaning backward. The hilt of the Beiliang Saber, not yet fully unsheathed, precisely struck the chest of an immortal who was sweeping a whisk.

The immortal's body shattered like Kunlun jade.

Xu Fengnian, with his feet still rooted but body leaning back, straightened himself completely after the saber's hilt lightly touched the ground like a dragonfly dipping into water. He pushed the hilt again, and the second immortal's body was likewise shattered by the Beiliang Saber.

As the last immortal abandoned the idea of close-quarters combat, Xu Fengnian suddenly clenched his five fingers. The unsheathed Beiliang Saber trembled slightly, not sliding back into its sheath, but instead jutting out another inch against its natural return.

Thunder instantly erupted behind the retreating immortal.

In an instant, the three immortals dispersed into white rainbows.

The over five hundred iron cavalry on the street were utterly annihilated.

Just then, a small figure darted towards the white deer, her hand forming a blade that precisely struck the chest of the immortal who had just materialized on the deer's back.

Having successfully struck, she retreated swiftly without hesitation.

However, the exploding golden light still heavily impacted her body.

Along her retreat path, she passed through several walls. When she finally managed to stop in the distance, she coughed up a mouthful of blood, adjusted her mink hat, wiped the corner of her mouth with her arm, then lightly leaped to sit on top of a wall. She pulled out a scallion pancake she had bought on the way and took a large bite.

Cao Changqing and Deng Taia exchanged a smile. Killing an immortal and then eating a pancake—it certainly had a harmonious ring to it.

At the main entrance of the Qintianjian, after the White Deer Immortal was inexplicably successfully ambushed by a young girl, the old Taoist priest with the lotus crown and the Founding Patriarch wielding a talismanic sword finally attacked simultaneously.

A small crack had just appeared beneath Xu Fengnian's toes, caused by his shoe scraping the ground as he refused to retreat even half a step.

Although the three immortals had failed and could not return, just as Xu Fengnian's falling swords had delayed their advance, they had also successfully delayed Xu Fengnian's chance to recover his breath.

The Dragon Tiger Mountain Founding Patriarch, sword in hand, arrived gracefully.

Xu Fengnian, not yet having recovered his breath, still forcefully charged at him.

His left-hand saber finally unsheathed.

The old Beiliang Saber clashed resoundingly against the talismanic sword, Yulei.

The "young" Founding Patriarch, with a face like jade, slid backward dozens of feet, almost crashing into the Qintianjian's main entrance, but his smile remained radiant.

Xu Fengnian lunged forward ten steps, retreating only nine. However, the elderly immortal with the lotus crown passed directly through the sword-wielding immortal, the two immortals swapping places. The latter then struck Xu Fengnian's forehead with a palm, uttering two words.

"Mountain Cleave!"

Xu Fengnian's head swayed slightly backward, his heels lifted from the ground, and his toes pressed hard into it.

One step.

He only retreated one step.

Yet, he still hadn't moved from the position where he had earlier stood in distant confrontation with over sixty immortals.

The old Taoist priest with the lotus crown, who had struck Xu Fengnian's forehead, floated backward. Simultaneously, the sword-wielding immortal passed through him along the same straight line, smiling as he said, "Mountains and rivers, filled with thunder."

Xu Fengnian stepped forward, gripped his saber with both hands, and brought it down without hesitation.

The saber stood vertical, the sword horizontal.

Between the saber and the sword, winds surged, clouds gathered, and thunder rolled.

The sleeves of the young-faced Patriarch's Taoist robe swirled wildly, and Xu Fengnian's sideburns likewise whipped about.

The lotus-crowned immortal's figure almost overlapped with the sword-wielding Patriarch. His right palm pierced through the saber and sword, striking Xu Fengnian hard in the chest.

As if to amplify the supreme power of this strike, the elderly immortal placed his left hand on the back of his right palm and softly commanded, "Ascend to Heaven!"

Wave after wave of profound force, like immortals ascending a tower floor by floor, continuously flowed through Xu Fengnian's chest. Consequently, the white linen garment on his back, directly behind his heart, suddenly billowed outwards.

Xu Fengnian, with a purple-gold mark on his brow but a deathly white face, his lips moved slightly, yet no sound escaped.

"Sword Nine."

The next moment, the two immortals stood side by side at the Qintianjian entrance. Although their faces showed no lingering fear, a hint of solemnity had replaced their previous composure.

Xu Fengnian advanced instead of retreating.

The sword-wielding immortal swept his sleeve, raised his arm, and held his sword horizontally, standing like a guardian at a pass, poised to block the young prince's path.

Blood was already flowing from Xu Fengnian's chest and back.

His brow was even cracked, a horrifying sight.

But he continued to charge forward.

Cao Changqing was somewhat speechless.

Deng Taia sighed, "He's truly fighting for his life."

It turned out that the human and the immortal had exchanged a single move.

A remarkably simple move.

The Yulei sword pierced Xu Fengnian's chest, and the Beiliang Saber pierced the immortal's chest.

Xu Fengnian pushed his saber forward.

He directly thrust the Yulei sword and the Dragon Tiger Mountain Founding Patriarch together into the Qintianjian's main gate!

Not only that, but he also broke through the Li family's armored infantry formation!

Xu Fengnian, the King of Beiliang,

thus entered the Qintianjian's main gate.