Yu Ci's gaze swept over the three faces once more. Bu Cuo, Xiao Bo, and Chen Guang, each differing in build and height, held an identical gloominess. They held their swords, encircling from three sides, their auras intermingling, slowly mending the Sword Qi Barrier that Yu Ci had cut open with his sword intent.

If he could strike now, it would be ideal, but alas, Yu Ci was not in his prime and could only express his thoughts:

"Isn't it a death without a decent burial if you don't manifest a Flying Boat? The Pan Emperor's Three Swords, you've certainly put on a good show."

While mocking, he tried to suppress his injuries. In fact, Yu Ci found the actions of Pan Emperor's Three Swords to be overly "courteous". Having gained the upper hand, why not press the advantage?

Even in his prime, facing a three-person siege, his chances of victory were slim. In the Cultivation World, few were famous for using Sword Arrays, Ge Hui's trio included, but they hadn't made a name for themselves in the Cultivation World yet. In contrast, Pan Emperor's Three Swords were more accomplished, their "Yin Yang Disk" Sword Array more intricate and unpredictable than the "Tri-Polar Spectrum Sword Array". If fully utilized, it could potentially trap and kill an Advanced Golden Elixir Cultivator.

Under such circumstances, their caution was perplexing, unless...

Their gazes met in the middle, and finally, the chubby Bu Cuo spoke: "An incomplete job has exposed us, much to the amusement of Daoist friend Yu. However, we didn't expect you to be from the Lichen Sect. In the past, the Eastern Marquis's tomb was indeed one of the treasures in the Sword Garden, but now with the Secret Domain wide open, returning here seems a bit pointless, doesn't it?"

There was indeed a problem!

Bu Cuo's slow and steady approach was highly unusual, leading Yu Ci to naturally suspect that they must be facing some difficulties.

Just like Ge Hui's trio's predicament, using them as shields was definitely advantageous, but it didn't seem to be the only option. When Yu Ci fell from the Misty Shadow Sky, he was in a terrible state. If Pan Emperor's Three Swords had appeared in their true forms and attacked with full force, Yu Ci might already be lying dead in the tomb, and this current situation wouldn't exist.

Bu Cuo's voice continued to resonate: "As far as I know, most of your fellow sect members have also entered the Secret Domain. Why don't we join forces to break the Three-layer Talisman Seal? When the time comes, everyone can share the Sword Immortal Heritage. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

Yu Ci responded with a smile: "And how do you propose we join forces? By using the Sky Demon plague?"

"In a short time, this is the best way to gather strength," Bu Cuo replied, appearing quite shameless.

After a pause, he added: "You were the one who controlled the Talisman Seal twice in the Misty Shadow Sky, weren't you? Our founder praised your Talisman skills as being masterful. But now it seems that we underestimated you. You've clearly achieved exceptional success. Why don't you consider this? With your abilities and our founder's familiarity with the Secret Domain, if we join forces, the Three-layer Talisman Seal will be no obstacle. Once we enter the core of the Secret Domain, we can split the Sword Immortal's Legacy equally. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

"Sounds promising. However, since it's a given, wouldn't it be better for me to break the Three-layer Talisman Seal and monopolize the treasure? No need to share the spoils, no distinction between high and low. Watching our esteemed ancestor take Master Yuan Dao's physical body, thinking they've gotten the upper hand... How foolish can they be?"

At the mention of "Yuan Dao", the faces of the Pan Emperor's Three Swords simultaneously changed color. All talk of cooperation and sharing profits was cast to the winds, replaced by a palpable intent to kill.

Yet, even so, they did not make the first move!

Yu Ci's gaze shifted again, sweeping over the faces of the three men in turn. Bu Cuo and the others inexplicably felt uneasy. Yu Ci's eyes seemed unfocused, as if there was no fixed point in his vision, yet there was a cluster of energy, hidden and then revealed, ceaselessly pulsating.

This was Yu Ci activating his Illuminating Soul Dharma Eye. What he saw was everything on the Divine Soul level.

He saw the "Soul Source" of the Pan Emperor's Three Swords glowing brightly, positioned in three directions, but the radiance they emitted was oddly twisted, as if there was something else in the void with a strong gravitational pull, causing the light to bend towards it.

"That is..."

Yu Ci suddenly looked up, a move that finally crossed the line for the Pan Emperor's Three Swords!

The three men let out a unified roar, their cries fluctuating in a sequence that resembled a spell chant. The thick stone ceiling of the tunnel twisted abruptly, and an invisible toxin that Yu Ci was all too familiar with cascaded down. At the same time, reflected in Yu Ci's eyes was a fist-sized bead, its color an extremely eerie, deep black, surrounded by a ring of barely visible poisonous fire, burning fiercely.

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

"Heavenly Calculation Bead! What kind of bead is it now?"

Although its shape had greatly changed, Yu Ci still recognized the origin of the bead. However, as the bead came crashing down, he suddenly found the situation becoming tricky. The invisible toxin attacked the Divine Soul, and he had the Qi of the Heavenly Dragon True Form to resist it. But when the toxin solidified into a fire that burned flesh, Yu Ci realized he could not solidify the Qi of the Heavenly Dragon True Form.

The poisonous fire rolling down from the bead, straddling the line between tangible and intangible, burned through the barrier between spirit and matter, its strangeness was something Yu Ci had rarely seen in his life.

"Sky Demon Fire, dodge it!" Xuan Huang warned in time.

Dodge where?

Yu Ci was standing next to Ge Hui and the others. If he dodged, his three fellow disciples would inevitably be unfortunate. In the blink of an eye, he had lost the best opportunity. Without thinking, he stabbed the Nine Luminaries Dragon Abyss Sword Talisman, forcing out the Sword Energy, to confront this "Sky Demon Fire" head-on.

"Hey ya!"

The Pan Emperor's Three Swords exhaled and let out a cry once more, a mysterious force infused within, causing the venomous fire on the Heavenly Calculation Bead to surge threefold, instantly engulfing half of the Sword Technique.

Under the sensation of the Aura, Yu Ci felt as if his entire body had been traced by that scorching fire line, involuntarily letting out a stifled grunt. The Qi of the Heavenly Dragon True Form surged wildly in the Inner Void of his Heart, filling his Physical Spirit, yet unable to manifest, he could only defend, powerless to retaliate.

In the midst of his busy struggle, he managed to steal a glance at Pan Emperor's Three Swords, whose face was purplish-red from the immense pressure. If only, if only...

"Before the Three Thunderbolt Tribulation, the founder of the Pan Emperor Sect, Prime Master Pan Shang, made a name for himself in the North Wilderness, establishing a sect with one swift move. He was admired by all, hailed as a grandmaster among the unaffiliated cultivators, a hero among grandmasters. Yet who would have thought, as time washes away illusions, that this was the reason all along. A lifetime of wisdom, now comes to rest!"

These hundred or so words suddenly entered people's ears. It wasn't a lengthy speech, but who had the mood to listen at this crucial moment? Yet, these words slipped in, presumably spoken quickly, yet each word was clear, even the changes in the final tones, shifts in mood, and the rise and fall of the voice were perfectly preserved. It was a sigh of lamentation, strange and unparalleled when pieced together.

Yu Ci was taken aback. He could hear a powerful force concealed within these words. As his thoughts flowed with it, his internal injuries seemed to be healing. However, Pan Emperor's Three Swords didn't agree, and Bu Cuo let out a sharp scream:

"Feathered Heavenly Sound!"

Before the scream had ended, the three of them simultaneously spat out blood.

It was the same voice as before, but this time it laughed, "Although Eastern Marquis is gone, our Lichen Sect has been favored by the predecessors and inherited the Daoist Orthodoxy, witnessed by Heaven and Earth. Do you demons and clowns, wreaking havoc in the Eastern Marquis Tomb, really think our sect is unattended?"

As the words fell, a figure blocked the end of the corridor, draped in a Taoist robe, tall and imposing. His narrow eyes were filled with lightning-like sword light, exuding an awe-inspiring aura.

Bu Cuo, who was facing away from the corridor, couldn't see, but judging by the expressions of his two junior brothers, he knew it was real. He cried out once more, the color of the Heavenly Calculation Bead above Yu Ci's head was so dark that it seemed to engulf the void. The three figures suddenly twisted, converged from three directions, and, with the bead above them, broke through the stone layer above and disappeared in a blink of an eye, using some unknown Escape Technique.

"Senior Brother Xifeng!"

Yu Ci called out joyfully, but the next moment, he saw that Hu Xifeng's normally rosy face had first lost all color, then turned a pale gold, and the light in his eyes had dimmed even further.

In a stunned moment, Hua Xifeng was already stepping forward, reaching out to seize Dong Ji and Nie Zong, and said to Yu Ci, "Take Ge Hui with you, and follow me!"

Yu Ci felt a chill in his heart, no longer spoke, and followed Hua Xifeng in a brisk walk. They left the corridor and entered a round stone chamber, the walls of which were densely covered with inscriptions and images, possibly a highly sophisticated sword method. Yet Hua Xifeng didn't spare it a glance, walking to the southeast corner, uttering a spell chant. The corner lit up, the light soon filling the entire stone chamber.

Suddenly, the world seemed to spin. Yu Ci, having experienced traversing through the Secret Domain, was not surprised. Following Hua Xifeng in this manner, they passed through seven or eight stone chambers before finally reaching their destination.

Yu Ci's eyes brightened, almost thinking he had returned to the surface. This was a garden, designed with great ingenuity, somewhat similar in style to the place where he first entered the Secret Domain, perhaps the work of the same person. It was smaller, yet more complete than that garden. With a slight turn of his head, he even saw the Four Directions Pavilion.

"Where is this..."

"The heart of the Eastern Marquis tomb. Outside the garden is the place where the Eastern Marquis ascended, called the 'Great Sun Main Hall'."

Yu Ci finally connected the reality with the information he had gathered, and then asked in a deep voice, "Senior Brother Xifeng, has something happened here?"

Hua Xifeng chuckled, nodded, but did not directly respond: "I just used the Water Mirror Technique, saw your confrontation with the Pan Emperor Sect, and heard some words..."

"Indeed, the situation is critical now..."

"I know."

Hua Xifeng, with Dong and Nie in tow, walked into a refined dwelling in the garden. Yu Ci followed, and the sight before his eyes made him pause.

The front hall of the dwelling was spacious, but at this moment it was densely packed with people, each sitting with their eyes closed, seemingly in meditation. Yet their expressions were tense, anxious, or angry, hardly any of them seemed normal. Yu Ci glanced around and even saw Li You and Zhang Yan among them, with Zhang Yan looking particularly desolate, as if he was on his last breath.

Only a few people on the outermost periphery were normal, namely Li Hong, Wang Jiu, Xiao Lu, and Zhao Fu, the four advanced golden elixir cultivators.

Hua Xifeng sighed, "I know the situation is critical. In fact, including Ge Hui and the others, there are twenty-nine of our sect in the Sword Garden. Now, twenty-four of them have suffered the demonic Thunderbolt Tribulation to varying degrees. Some junior brothers have even suffered severe heart-mind damage. If it wasn't for me and Junior Brother Xiao, Junior Brother Zhao and others setting up the 'Heavenly Capital Altar' and constantly reciting the Demon Expelling Spell with Feathered Heavenly Sound, I fear some would have already met with misfortune!"