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Chapter 545: Assassination Before a Grave (part 2)

Chen Feiyuan cleared his throat. Xu Qing grinned. The three of them looked at each other, and for a moment it was like they were all back in that tent in the scavenger basecamp, sitting together and listening to Grandmaster Bai’s lectures. A moment passed, and they continued on their way to the public cemetery.

Daoist Sima followed behind, keeping his distance. As he looked at the three youngsters, he sighed inwardly and thought of his own Junior Brother. I should go remind him again not to covet the bloodlines of others. It will only lead to disaster.

It was currently noon. Though it was in the middle of winter, the sky was clear, with only a few wispy clouds floating along. The wind wasn’t very cold, and the sun shone down on Xu Qing, Chen Feiyuan, and Tingyu, keeping them warm as they walked to the cemetery.

Martial law had been imposed thanks to Xu Qing’s visit. What was more, there were guards from the eight clans nearby, ready to follow orders from Chen Feiyuan if necessary.

There were plenty of flowers and incense at Grandmaster Bai’s grave. Whether it was Chen Feiyuan and Tingyu, or other people who had been helped by Grandmaster Bai through the years, there were always people coming to pay respects.

Xu Qing looked at the grave and thought back to Grandmaster Bai. Tingyu handed him some incense, and he lit it, knelt in front of the grave, and kowtowed. Parents impart the soul to a child. A teacher prepares them for life. Because of that, teachers and parents surpass the importance of heaven. Whether it was Master Seventh or Grandmaster Bai, it was the same.

Xu Qing had understood that truth from a young age. Although he lived in a chaotic world, anyone who imparted knowledge to him was someone he would cherish forever.

However, as Xu Qing kowtowed, those wispy clouds floating in the sky suddenly stirred into motion. There was no explosion of killing intent. There was no icy will. The clouds just formed into a hand that shot down toward Xu Qing in front of the grave. It moved so quickly, and happened so unexpectedly, that it seemed clear this was an ambush designed to be difficult to defend against. What was more, Void Returning power erupted in the hand, causing it to pulse with a sensation of extermination.

Nine figures suddenly appeared.

The first eight were the clan chiefs who had previously departed. All of them pulsed with Spirit Trove fluctuations. The ninth person was an old man with white hair who had a Void Returning aura. Together, they shot toward the descending hand. That old man was publicly accepted as the patriarch of all eight clans, and he was the only Void Returning cultivator in the Violet Lands.

When the two forces collided, the hand was sent flying backward. Eyes shining, the Violet Lands patriarch raced in pursuit.

The eight clan chiefs then flew out to make sure Xu Qing wasn’t harmed by any residual shockwaves from the hand. Just like that, the situation was resolved.

The entire time, Xu Qing didn’t react at all. He just kept kowtowing.

Tingyu was visibly shaken. As for Chen Feiyuan, his face remained expressionless. Because he was in charge of Xu Qing’s safety, he had immediately requested help from the Violet Lands leadership when he sensed something was going wrong.

However, just as Xu Qing’s forehead touched the ground, streams of smoke suddenly rose up all around him. Numerous Smokewights took form and rushed toward Xu Qing. There were hundreds of them, all with extraordinary cultivation bases. Being skilled at assassination, they closed in quickly. However, before they could get close, the surrounding air rippled, and a huge sealing mark appeared, pulsing with terrifying power. It was the combined power of the eight clans’ magical treasures. Though it wasn’t quite at the level of a taboo treasure, it was about as powerful as a magical treasure could be.

All it took was for Chen Feiyuan to crush a jade slip he held in his hand, and the magical treasure appeared. Everything trembled.

Xu Qing wasn’t hurt at all, but the Smokewights screamed as they were ripped apart.

Things weren’t over yet, though. Almost as soon as the magical treasure sealing mark appeared, the third wave of assassins arrived. They didn’t attack from the sky or land, but rather, from within the wind. As the wind blew from all directions, over a thousand figures appeared. They seemed to be Smokewights, except their auras were different from Smokewights. Clearly, they were just in disguise, and were from some other unknown species.

When they appeared, the dreadnaught shot onto the scene. A thousand swordsages emerged, and arrayed themselves around the cemetery with deadly force.

Meanwhile, a black lightning bolt shot through the sky, opening up a rift out of which three figures emerged.

All three were Void Returning experts. One was in the second stage, the other was in the third stage. All were in disguise as Smokewights. The moment they appeared, the clouds seethed as a caw from Qingqin turned into an attack that targeted all three of them.

As explosions filled the air, a fourth figure emerged from the rift. It became a bright beam of light that shot right toward Xu Qing. As the fourth figure neared, Daoist Sima’s eyes glittered with cold light. Stepping forward, he flicked his sleeve, flew up into the air, and started fighting.

As fighting played out in the sky and on the land, a nearby clan member shivered, and then exhaled sharply. The breath transformed into two imps made of mist that rushed toward Xu Qing.

They were so close to Xu Qing that they made an immediate threat. In the blink of an eye, they were closing in. That was when a hand reached out of thin air and grabbed both of them. The hand clenched, and the imps screamed as they shattered into bits of mist. Then the hand continued outward as a person emerged.

Xu Qing recognized this person. It was the old deputy palace lord of the Justice Palace, who was now the official palace lord. He nodded at Xu Qing, then pursued the fleeing bits of mist.

At the same time, a massive magical symbol of teleportation appeared next to the rift in the sky. It flickered to life, and eight people stepped out. Shockingly, they were led by Palace Lord Li Yunshan. Next to him was the palace lord of the Administration Palace, plus the other three honor guards.

They immediately shot into the rift, after which rumbling booms rang out.

Tingyu was completely stunned by what was happening. She opened her mouth to speak, but Chen Feiyuan reached out, grabbed her, and pulled her to safety.

Xu Qing stopped kowtowing and looked up into the sky. There, golden light flickered as the county capital’s taboo treasure net formed. It spread out to fill the canopy of heaven. In the middle of that net, a face appeared. It was none other than Marquis Yao.

Countless minor worlds swirled around him, like glittering stars. With the blessing of the taboo treasure net, and the destiny aura of the county capital, those minor worlds coalesced into a single major world! It then swept toward the rift formed from the black lightning.

“Fourth-stage Void Returning!”

Even as Xu Qing’s eyes narrowed, the smoke coming off of the incense in front of the grave turned into a finger that shot toward Xu Qing. An aura of fatal killing spread out, locking onto Xu Qing’s soul. If that finger attack landed, Xu Qing’s soul would collapse.

However, the moment the finger appeared, the air next to it rippled, and another person emerged to stand protectively in front of Xu Qing.

“Begone!”

The fluctuations in the voice were terrifying, but they didn’t harm the grave itself. They were all focused on that finger of smoke. The smoke collapsed.

It only took a moment for Xu Qing to realize who this newcomer was. He was the grand elder from the Swordsage Court in Emperor-Receiving Prefecture.

He was Grandmaster Bai’s Master! After a moment, he turned to look at Xu Qing. Then he looked at Tingyu and Chen Feiyuan. He nodded.

“Xu Qing, continue paying your respects.”

After clasping hands to the grand elder, Xu Qing looked back at Grandmaster Bai’s gravestone. Once again, he began kowtowing earnestly.

“Sorry to disturb your sleep, Teacher...” Xu Qing murmured. He could guess at what Marquis Yao was trying to accomplish here, though Xu Qing himself had not been aware of the plan. And he also knew why Marquis Yao didn’t mention anything ahead of time. The marquis had obviously been aware that Xu Qing wouldn’t agree to lay a trap like this right in front of his Teacher’s grave. Or perhaps this wasn’t their chosen location for the fight to play out.

Xu Qing continue to kowtow.

One kowtow. Two kowtows. Three kowtows....

Marquis Yao had obviously prepared thoroughly for this situation. He also had the cooperation of the Violet Lands. As a result, the well over 1,000 would-be assassins were either being killed or captured. The fight didn’t last long. Once the attackers realized a trap had been laid, they tried to flee.

After Marquis Yao’s major world entered the rift, the place rained blood. The assassination attempt was already almost over. Although some fighting was still playing out, it had already moved out of the Violet Lands.

Everything grew quiet.

The assassination attempt by the secret resistance forces in Sea-Sealing County had been thwarted. Perhaps they didn’t attack with full force, or perhaps they didn’t prepare well enough. Either way, their haste, coupled with their selection of the wrong battlefield, and perhaps other factors they couldn’t have predicted, led to this conclusion. Because of everything, Xu Qing felt like he had just been part of a show.

Or maybe Marquis Yao wasn’t on a fishing expedition. Maybe he got some information about what was going to happen, and decided to tighten the noose....

Xu Qing thought about it for a moment.

The grand elder from the Swordsage Court noticed Xu Qing’s facial expression.

“Don’t be irritated at Marquis Yao,” he said. “He paid a heavy price for this. Tapping into the county’s taboo treasure and destiny aura, plus the forced convergence of his major world, is going to cost him longevity.

“Now that he’s the governor, his connections with the various nonhumans are going to be the foundation of his success in Sea-Sealing County. He has a totally different style than the old governor. Some species required to give blood tribute did it in the form of intelligence reports.

“Marquis Yao wants to stabilize the county and intimidate those around us. He can’t afford to show any cowardice, and thus, chose to make an impression. The reality is that Sea-Sealing County doesn’t actually have a fourth-stage expert, which led to this current situation.”

The grand elder looked deeply at Xu Qing.

“Furthermore, he took a weakness of yours and managed to erase it in the eyes of the enemy. If they think you’re willing to lay a trap like this right in front of your Teacher’s grave, then they’ll believe that mundane emotional connections are meaningless to you. Going forward, no one will try to use such things against you. Of course, this is all just my opinion.”

Xu Qing didn’t reply. He knew the situation in Sea-Sealing County, and he could guess Marquis Yao’s intentions.

As Xu Qing looked in the direction of where the fighting was still playing out, Chen Feiyuan approached.

“Our Violet Lands forces have captured many enemies. Some we need to keep for interrogation. What do we do with the others?”

Calming his heart and mind, Xu Qing said, “Kill them.”