Chapter 119: Complete Annihilation in One Strike (Supplement to Yesterday’s Second Update)

In the cold night wind, Xu Xuan carried a whistling force around him, flapping his red wings like a great bird as he glided briefly through the air.

He remained in that state for several breaths before slowly descending toward the ground.

Boom!

At the same time, a deep, heavy roar came from above Huanglong City, as though some enormous object were stirring the air across the entire region.

Xu Xuan turned his head and was immediately horrified.

Above Huanglong City floated the Thousand-Feather Sailboat, stretching forty or fifty zhang in length. It radiated dazzling azure light, and with a series of snapping sounds, hundreds upon hundreds of feathered sails unfurled at once. Countless luminous feathers trembled, forming an illusory shape resembling the wings of a bird. Five-colored radiance coiled around the hull, producing thunderous gusts of wind. The powerful force scattered the large flying artifacts nearby in all directions.

The night sky across a radius of several hundred zhang was illuminated as brightly as day by the radiance of the Thousand-Feather Sailboat. Countless cultivators outside Huanglong City stared in shock, their faces drained of color as they stood frozen in place. A violent spiritual pressure, vast enough to cover the heavens and earth, enveloped the area for several miles.

This was the largest large-scale flying artifact Xu Xuan had seen when he first entered Huanglong City. When it was truly activated, its might was nothing short of world-shaking.

“The Eastern Family really is making a major move!”

Xu Xuan became even more certain of his guess.

He swallowed a healing pill and several blood-replenishing pills, then exerted his strength and hurried toward Pinghua Town.

Whoosh!

The Thousand-Feather Sailboat was enormous, and although it was not particularly fast in flight, it could ignore the terrain and travel in a straight line.

“That boy surnamed Xu cannot have escaped very far. Jiang Yu, take some men and search for him thoroughly.”

At the bow of the Thousand-Feather Sailboat stood a tall, purple-haired man, looking down from above. He was none other than Dongfang Ba.

“Yes, Young Master!”

Senior Brother Jiang nodded and led several martial cultivators away from the Thousand-Feather Sailboat on flying artifacts.

……

Xu Xuan flew toward the deeper darkness of the night, first making certain that the people aboard the Thousand-Feather Sailboat had not noticed him.

However, after he had traveled only several miles, he sensed the sound of something cutting through the air in the distance, accompanied by footsteps moving swiftly across the ground.

Clearly, members of the Eastern Family were heading in this direction.

Xu Xuan gritted his teeth and circulated his elemental power frantically, pushing the essence of the Floating Formula to the highest level.

Before long, however, he heard the sound of something breaking through the air from behind.

“Search over there! Xu Xuan may well have fled in that direction!”

A familiar voice came from the sky.

A Soul-Refining Immortal cultivator was riding a flying artifact toward him, bringing Senior Brother Jiang along.

Xu Xuan inwardly cursed. He rolled across the ground and hid beneath the shadow of a large tree, holding his breath as he circulated the essence of the Stillness Formula. The vitality and blood within his entire body became almost as motionless as stagnant water. After opening the gate of Ancient Body Cultivation, the profundity of the Dragon-Serpent Nine Transformations had risen to an entirely new level.

Whoosh!

Before long, a powerful pressure bore down upon the area. Senior Brother Jiang and the Soul-Refining Immortal cultivator flew nearby, sweeping through the air as they searched.

“I found nothing,” Senior Brother Jiang said with some disappointment.

“Hahahaha… Come out. I’ve found you!”

The Soul-Refining Immortal cultivator gave a smug, triumphant laugh.

Xu Xuan felt a powerful and terrifying spiritual sense pressing toward his heart.

Not good. Have I been discovered?

Yet beneath that nearly absolute rationality and cold detachment, Xu Xuan did not move at once. He keenly sensed that the cultivator’s spiritual pressure had been released in every direction rather than aimed specifically at the corner where he was hiding.

There was no reaction.

The Soul-Refining Immortal cultivator slightly furrowed his brows and shook his head.

“It may have been an illusion. There’s no one here.”

The taut nerves in Senior Brother Jiang’s heart gradually relaxed. He secretly cursed. That old fellow had acted so convincingly that even he had been fooled.

After watching the two men leave, Xu Xuan let out a faint sigh of relief. Once one reached the Soul-Refining stage, one’s senses became astonishingly acute.

After waiting for a while, he saw several more martial cultivators from the Eastern Family pass through the area.

At a certain moment, Xu Xuan took a deep breath and darted across the ground like a loach, moving wherever shadows covered the earth.

Whenever he sensed the slightest disturbance, Xu Xuan immediately hid within the shadows. Every step of the process was fraught with danger.

After roughly half an hour, Xu Xuan escaped the area near Huanglong City. From then on, he encountered no one from the Eastern Family.

With a sharp sound, Xu Xuan increased his speed and hurried toward Pinghua Town.

Along the way, he changed his clothes and, using the disguising methods preserved in his former life’s remnant soul, altered his appearance. In the blink of an eye, he had become a middle-aged man. He bought a fine horse and continued toward Pinghua Town.

Pinghua Town lay a thousand miles from Huanglong City. Neither traveling through the air on a flying artifact nor running on foot was practical, and either method would make him easier to discover.

Riding day and night for nearly two days, Xu Xuan finally reached Pinghua Town. It was already the dead of night.

Xu Xuan was extremely cautious. Instead of returning directly home, he quietly went to Song Heng’s residence.

“Immortal Master Xu?”

Song Heng was startled. He scrutinized the middle-aged man for a while before finally recognizing Xu Xuan in disguise.

“A major event is about to occur in Pinghua Town. There is no time to lose. Take my family away as soon as possible and go to Greenwood Town, several hundred miles to the south. That place is under the control of the Zhang Family.”

Xu Xuan spoke urgently, then quickly explained several details concerning how they should remain in contact.

He knew about Greenwood Town because Zhang Feng had mentioned it during their conversation that night. The ancestors of the Zhang Family had risen from Greenwood Town before gradually growing in power and becoming the only force in Huanglong City capable of contending with the Eastern Family. Greenwood Town could be called the Zhang Family’s headquarters, and it was also the place where the Eastern Family found it most difficult to establish a foothold.

At the end, Xu Xuan took out a black jade bottle and solemnly handed it to Song Heng.

“Mr. Song, give this to my father…”

“Immortal Master Xu, rest assured. I have been to Greenwood Town before. I, Song Heng, will not fail in this mission.”

Song Heng nodded solemnly.

He immediately went to the Xu residence in the town, explained the situation from beginning to end, and handed the Three-Spirit Deer blood to Xu Xuan’s father.

“Elder Xu, this is the Three-Spirit Deer blood that Immortal Master Xu entrusted to you. He said that you would understand once you received it.”

“Three-Spirit Deer blood!”

The corners of Xu Xuan’s father’s eyes grew moist. Gazing up at the night sky, he said with a trembling voice, “My son… I merely mentioned it in passing. I never imagined you would truly manage to obtain it.”

“Elder Xu, Immortal Master Xu instructed me to take you away immediately.”

Song Heng’s expression was grave and urgent.

“My clothes, and the formation materials my elder brother gave me…” Xu Huilan said reluctantly.

“What exactly happened?” Xu Xuan’s mother asked in panic.

“Leave! Don’t worry about anything, and don’t ask any questions!”

Xu Xuan’s father shouted harshly, but in the end he could not restrain himself. Tears streamed down his aged face.

“My son must be facing a great calamity and has no time to look after us. The only thing we can do now is go as far as we can. If we cannot escape… then we must end our own lives!”

At these words, Song Heng was deeply moved. His spirit trembled, and he was impressed by the old man’s wisdom and decisiveness. Drawing a deep breath, he said solemnly, “Elder Xu, rest assured. Even if I must give my life, I will escort you all to safety.”

The members of the Xu Family followed Song Heng onto a carriage and sped away into the night.

Song Heng did not know that, at that very moment, in the rear courtyard of the Xu residence, the figure of a young man was silently watching his family depart. His eyes were wet with tears.

“Father… take care!”

Xu Xuan had in fact followed Song Heng the entire way, yet he had neither revealed himself nor met with his family. Such caution and courage were far beyond what ordinary people could possess.

For one thing, he did not fully trust Song Heng. For another, he intended to protect them secretly. Hiding in the shadows was far more effective than standing in the open.

Only after watching the carriage disappear completely from Pinghua Town did Xu Xuan’s gaze flicker. He quietly returned to the courtyard of the Xu residence.

After waiting for a long time, figures gradually began moving through Pinghua Town. Many of the town’s law-enforcement Immortal cultivators had been dispatched.

Another half an hour passed before a squad of law-enforcement Immortal cultivators arrived at the Xu residence.

“Two lords, it should be this place.”

The leader, a third-level Qi Refinement cultivator, spoke with solemn respect.

In midair, two cultivators stood upon flying artifacts. They were Senior Brother Jiang and another Soul-Refining Immortal cultivator.

“There is a light inside. Go in and search!” the Soul-Refining Immortal cultivator barked coldly.

Soon, a squad of law-enforcement Immortal cultivators entered the house and searched it thoroughly, but found no one.

“Could Xu Xuan have gotten here first?”

Senior Brother Jiang and the Soul-Refining Immortal cultivator were unwilling to believe it. They entered the house and searched it carefully.

“There’s no one here.”

The Soul-Refining Immortal cultivator’s spiritual sense swept through the entire house. His brows drew tightly together.

“Xu Xuan is actually this cautious. I only thought of this place on a sudden inspiration at the last moment, and after great effort managed to find it. I never imagined that he had already accounted for everything.”

Senior Brother Jiang inhaled sharply, a chill and fear filling his heart.

At that moment, he finally understood that the enemy he faced was not only terrifying in strength and potential, but also possessed extraordinary intelligence. Senior Brother Jiang even began to wonder whether his opponent was truly a sixteen-year-old youth.

In truth, Xu Xuan had already anticipated the possible consequences the moment he agreed to the duel in Huanglong City. But by then, Dongfang Ba had already developed murderous intent and would never have spared him. Xu Xuan had therefore accepted the challenge without hesitation, risked everything, slain Ghost Wind, and obtained the Three-Spirit Deer blood.

“Hehe, Senior Brother Jiang, welcome to my humble home.”

A young man’s light laughter came from outside the house.

“Xu Xuan!”

Senior Brother Jiang was stunned. He stared at the young figure standing outside.

Xu Xuan had blocked the entrance, wearing a faintly mocking smile.

In the next instant, Senior Brother Jiang recovered and burst into derisive laughter.

“To think that after searching everywhere in vain, you would deliver yourself straight into our hands! Xu Xuan, Xu Xuan, you sent your family away and then foolishly came here yourself. I admit that you are powerful, but do you really think you can contend with a Soul-Refining Immortal cultivator?”

“Senior Brother Jiang, you betrayed the sect for profit. I will not question that. But why did you collude with the Eastern Family to harm our sect? Betraying the Windfeather Sect was one thing, but you were actually malicious enough to target my family!”

Xu Xuan stared fixedly at him. Behind his back, his hand tightly gripped a special azure-red spirit talisman.

“You truly are no ordinary person. From only a few clues, you managed to guess that the Eastern Family intended to scheme against Starfeather Mountain. I, Jiang, have never hesitated to use any means necessary. There is nothing I cannot do if I set my mind to it. That is why I have continued to rise step by step, while you will remain forever trapped in some minor sect.”

A trace of ferocity and sinister killing intent appeared on Senior Brother Jiang’s face.

“Why waste words? Let this old man capture him!”

Powerful fluctuations of magical force surged from the Soul-Refining Immortal cultivator’s body as he prepared to attack.

But in the very next instant, a formidable spiritual-energy fluctuation radiated from the azure-red spirit talisman in Xu Xuan’s hand.

“Not good!”

The Soul-Refining Immortal cultivator’s expression changed drastically.

Xu Xuan stood blocking the doorway, not a trace of emotion in his eyes.

Whoosh!

The azure-red jade talisman shot from his hand and transformed into a deep, swirling mass of fire and wind.

“A third-grade spirit talisman!”

The Soul-Refining Immortal cultivator’s pupils contracted. His face filled with terror as he screamed at the top of his lungs, “No—!”

In an instant, a terrifying and soul-shaking aura spread across the surroundings.

The fiery vortex swelled from one zhang… to five zhang… to ten zhang in the blink of an eye. Flames and violent winds raged across the entire house, shredding everything within sight and reducing it to ashes…

This chapter makes up for yesterday’s missed update. Those with monthly tickets, please cast them for Immortal River. Fastfood has been doing his utmost to maintain both quality and quantity. Even though he was ill yesterday, he still persisted for four or five hours and managed to complete a chapter!