Chapter Fifty-Eight: What Price Must Be Paid

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“A flying sword of the treasure grade—impossible! How could you possibly possess such a priceless artifact?” The Nascent Soul female cultivator stared at Xu Zhe, her voice sharp with disbelief. Clearly, she was deeply shaken.

Xu Zhe was momentarily taken aback. It’s just a treasure, is it really so extraordinary? And why shouldn’t I be able to own it? Didn’t Qu Hongxiu say this woman was from the Jade Pool? Why is she so unreasonable?

“Xu Zhe, give me your flying sword. I will cease to be your enemy, and I’ll even tell you who sent us!” the Nascent Soul woman said in a trembling tone, her voice betraying agitation.

Xu Zhe frowned slightly. From the look in her eyes, he saw a very obvious emotion: greed.

How shallow. That battered flying sword—could it possibly be more attractive than I am?

“I have no interest in knowing who sent you. As for this flying sword, you want it?” Xu Zhe asked.

“Yes, I want it!” The Nascent Soul woman’s gaze blazed with desire.

“Well, I won’t give it to you. Does that upset you?” Xu Zhe asked again.

The Nascent Soul woman was briefly stunned.

Not giving it to me, and asking if I’m upset?

I… damn it, I’m about to explode with rage!

“You’re courting death!” she shrieked, her humiliation quickly turning to fury. “Refusing a toast only to drink the penalty—do you really think I can’t kill you?”

She had not intended to risk injury for this mission—after all, everyone else had fled, leaving her alone to face Xu Zhe. Even if she could kill him, the cost would be high. But now, the allure of that treasure-grade flying sword gave her all the reason she needed to risk everything.

At any cost!

“What a coincidence, I want to kill you too,” Xu Zhe replied with a faint smile. With a leap, he soared into the air.

Boom!

Suddenly, a surge of sword energy erupted from beneath his feet, bursting forth in an explosion of flames and molten rock.

“These ambush tricks are outdated!” Xu Zhe commented with a smile.

The Nascent Soul woman said nothing, her eyes burning with greed and desperation, murderous intent radiating as she lunged forward. Her natal flying sword was already damaged, so she dared not use it again. But she still had many fine swords in her storage ring, and now she summoned them all.

Dozens of flying swords, cloaked in spiritual energy, hovered before and behind her, their auras interlocking to form a sword array.

“Heaven begets water, earth completes it with six; earth gives birth to fire, heaven completes it with seven…” she chanted, her fingers weaving together to cast a series of sword incantations.

Spiritual energy began to gather from all directions. The swords hummed in unison, the sound reminiscent of mythical beasts wailing as their momentum mounted to overwhelming heights.

“The Four Symbols Incantation? Are you… are you casting the Four Symbols Sword Array?” Xu Zhe exclaimed in surprise.

He recognized this sword formation—he’d seen it before, and its power was considerable. But precisely because of its strength, it was also notoriously difficult to control; if its wielder lost command, the formation would backfire, and the caster would be the first victim.

Back in the Celestial Emperor’s clan, the old scholars had exploited this very flaw, devising a method to break the Four Symbols Sword Array—knowledge that became widespread in the Heavenly Domain. Thus, the Four Symbols Sword Array had become infamous as a suicide technique.

Who would have thought some fool on the Azure Gift Continent would actually use it…

Xu Zhe clicked his tongue in amusement.

“Uncle Xu, fall back! This sword array is extremely perilous. Get out of its range first, then look for an opportunity to strike!” Qu Hongxiu called out, her face grave as she flew forward to join him.

She had figured it out: this Uncle Xu was no ordinary person. Though he was only at the Foundation Establishment stage, he possessed terrifying strength. With her help, perhaps they could really slay a Nascent Soul cultivator across realms.

The thought made Qu Hongxiu’s heart race with excitement. If they succeeded, she could boast about it when she returned to the southern border battlefield. From then on, any Nascent Soul officers would have to avert their gaze in her presence.

“Uncle Xu, let’s join forces—”

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“Why are you coming over again? Step aside!” Xu Zhe shot Qu Hongxiu a glance, cutting her off as he darted straight into the sword array.

“???” Qu Hongxiu froze in disbelief. But when she saw Xu Zhe plunge into the formation, she turned pale with fright and shouted, “Uncle Xu, get out! You can’t barge into the Four Symbols Sword Array!”

Clang!

Even as she spoke, Xu Zhe had already forced his way into the array. Several flying swords struck him directly, but the only sound was of metal on stone, sparks flying everywhere.

Xu Zhe was utterly unharmed!

“Golden Body level flesh?” Qu Hongxiu gasped, stunned on the spot.

How could this be? Wasn’t Uncle Xu supposed to have only copper-skin level defenses? When did it become the Golden Body stage?

That was said to rival the power of a Core Formation cultivator!

“So what if you’re at the Golden Body stage? Charging into the Four Symbols Sword Array is suicide—how ignorant!” The Nascent Soul woman, though startled, let out a cold laugh.

Already wounded and facing Xu Zhe’s treasure sword, she dared not delay. She unleashed the Four Symbols Sword Array, risking the backlash, determined to kill Xu Zhe at any cost.

Who would have thought Xu Zhe, instead of dodging, would hurl himself straight into the array? She could barely keep from laughing at the absurdity.

Boom!

She pointed forward with both fingers, and it was as if invisible threads drew the dozens of swords together, their points aimed directly at Xu Zhe.

The four cardinal directions each manifested a sign: gold, wood, water, and fire spiritual energies surged forth, dividing the swords into four groups, each coalescing into a gigantic, radiant sword shadow.

A chilling, murderous aura swept across the battlefield.

“Die!” At the Nascent Soul woman’s command, the four enormous sword shadows slashed down at Xu Zhe.

He had already reached the heart of the array. Suddenly, a surge of earth-type spiritual energy erupted from him, filling the central area and forcibly transforming the Four Symbols into the Five Elements.

Bang!

With a deep boom, the four giant sword shadows abruptly halted midair.

“What?” The Nascent Soul woman was aghast.

Before she could react, a wave of earth-attribute energy surged through her, then raced toward the sword shadow in the north.

North is water; earth conquers water!

“Yin and Yang reversed, Five Elements inverted—break!” Xu Zhe stamped his foot, shattering the ground as flames and magma erupted.

With a wave of his hand, the flames shot toward the western sword shadow.

West is metal; fire conquers metal!

Boom! Boom!

Two deafening explosions tore through the air. Spiritual energy became violently agitated, clashing chaotically.

The Four Symbols dissolved into Five Elements, the Five Elements turned against each other, and the entire formation collapsed.

The four huge sword shadows began to fracture. One after another, the flying swords fell from the sky, clattering to the ground.

“No—impossible!” The Nascent Soul woman screamed in terror.

With the array broken and energies running rampant, she was completely unable to control it.

Boom!

The chaotic Five Elements spiritual energies exploded, a dazzling rainbow of light filling the sky.

The Nascent Soul woman bore the full brunt of the blast, her clothes shredded by the force. She was flung away, crashing heavily to the ground, her body torn and bloodied, her breath barely a whisper.

“No, it can’t be… I am a Nascent Soul cultivator…” She still could not accept the outcome.

Even if she feared Xu Zhe’s strength, she had never thought she would lose—let alone be so easily defeated.

“If you hadn’t used the Four Symbols Sword Array, I might have had to fight you for quite a while. But since you chose a suicide technique… oops, I let that slip,” Xu Zhe said with a shake of his head, appearing before the wounded woman.

“Xu… Xu Zhe, you can’t kill me. I am an inner disciple of the Jade Pool Sacred Land, Zheng…” The Nascent Soul woman gasped, struggling to speak.

Her true face was now visible, lips trembling, cheeks streaked with blood, her complexion deathly pale.

At last, true fear overtook her.

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She looked into Xu Zhe’s eyes—so calm, too calm.

This calm was one that looked down upon all living things, a gaze devoid of even the slightest indifference. It was not the gaze of a normal person.

“I can spare your life, but you must answer one question,” Xu Zhe said, drawing a small bronze sword from his sleeve.

“I’ll tell you, I’ll tell you everything! It was Li Xunhuang who sent us. There were a total of twenty teams, ten of them led by Nascent Soul cultivators, tasked with stopping Qu Hongxiu and framing the ‘Shocking God’ organization, to provoke a clash between the Vermilion Bird Army and them!”

Xu Zhe showed no interest, shaking his head. “That’s not what I want to ask. What I want to know is: do you still want this sword?”

He shook the battered bronze sword in his hand.

The Nascent Soul woman froze, then quickly replied, “No… I don’t want it, I don’t want it anymore!”

“Excellent!” Xu Zhe nodded with a smile and turned to leave.

Qu Hongxiu stood in the distance, staring blankly at the scene.

“Stop!” A sharp, clear voice rang out from the sky above.

Dozens of figures swept down from the clouds, all clad in green-blue robes—every one of them a woman.

“Senior Sister Zheng!”

As they landed, they spotted the wounded Nascent Soul woman and cried out in shock.

“People from the Jade Pool!” Qu Hongxiu gritted her teeth in fury, about to march up and demand to know why members of the Jade Pool had been sent by Li Xunhuang to kill her.

But the dozens of Jade Pool disciples glared back with icy anger.

“Qu Hongxiu, you actually joined forces with Xu Zhe to harm our Senior Sister Zheng. If you don’t give us an explanation today, we will not let this matter rest!” one Jade Pool disciple barked coldly.

The wounded Nascent Soul woman, having been spared by Xu Zhe, finally let out a sigh of relief. She no longer had the strength to speak, not even to send a message, and could only widen her eyes in silent warning, hoping her fellow disciples wouldn’t stir up more trouble.

But her look, in the eyes of her sisters, was taken as one of resentment, as if she were asking them for revenge.

Qu Hongxiu almost exploded with anger at their accusations.

“Absurd! Are you trying to turn right and wrong upside down? Ask your Senior Sister Zheng what she’s done!” Qu Hongxiu retorted.

“No matter what she did, you must have ambushed her to injure her so badly!” another Jade Pool disciple answered coldly.

In their minds, there was no way Xu Zhe and Qu Hongxiu could defeat their Nascent Soul senior sister directly—so it had to be a sneak attack. If it was a sneak attack, then the Jade Pool disciples were clearly in the right.

“A sneak attack?” Qu Hongxiu was almost amused by the accusation.

Uncle Xu could have knocked your Senior Sister Zheng flat with a single punch—why would he need a sneak attack?

“Xu Zhe, get away from Senior Sister Zheng. Move!” Several female disciples rushed forward to tend to their fallen sister, barking at Xu Zhe, “For daring to ambush and gravely injure our senior sister, even if you are a chosen one, you will pay a terrible price!”

Xu Zhe frowned, turning to face the Nascent Soul woman.

Then, he raised his foot and stomped down.

Boom!

The ground split open. In an instant, searing flames engulfed the Nascent Soul woman, burning her to ash.

The entire process took less than a breath, so sudden and unexpected that no one could react.

A deathly silence fell. Not a sound could be heard; even a pin drop would echo.

Xu Zhe slowly lifted his head, his gaze sweeping over the Jade Pool disciples.

“If a grave injury merits a terrible price, then now that she is dead, what price must I pay?”

His voice remained calm and steady, every word cutting through the silence.

All his earlier frustration was now completely gone.

…