SWNOVELXO Chapter 73
**Chapter 73: Storm Clouds are Gathering**
The vast Qian Yue Cave was particularly empty today.
Apart from a few low-level disciples or servants maintaining basic operations, very few were seen.
In front of the library pavilion.
Li Xiuyuan waited for a moment, and the disguised Zhong Li came over.
“Idiot, I will seal the entire library pavilion with a secret method. You won’t be able to sense the outside situation, so keep watch here. If there’s any movement, use this jade token to contact me. Do you understand?”
The jade token Zhong Li handed to Li Xiuyuan was imbued with secret methods, allowing communication through the restrictions and formations she set up.
“Senior Sister, you’ve been eyeing this library pavilion for a long time. Is there a great treasure inside?”
Last time, Zhong Li had sneaked in but didn’t do anything particularly special. This time, it made Chen Ansheng curious.
“I’ll tell you when I come out.” Zhong Li said dismissively.
“That’s not acceptable.” Chen Ansheng didn’t trust the Demoness at all and continued, “If you get a treasure, you definitely won’t share it with me. I’m risking a lot to keep watch for you; you have to at least show some appreciation, right?”
“???” Zhong Li frowned deep in thought. This cowardly idiot only asks for benefits when the arrow is already on the bowstring. If it weren’t for that mysterious will restricting her, she would have slapped him to death.
However, she figured that as long as this trip went smoothly, giving him something wouldn’t hurt: “What do you want?”
Chen Ansheng replied, “Just give me 80,000 or 100,000 purple crystals as a token of appreciation. After all, our relationship is special.”
Seeing Chen Ansheng grinning like a hyena while controlling Li Xiuyuan, Zhong Li felt an urge to vomit. “Go to hell! Do you think I have a mine? Three thousand; you don’t even have to take the risk yourself. Three thousand is already the maximum!”
Chen Ansheng pretended to ponder, feigning difficulty. “Don’t say it like that. What if you get caught? They’ll surely trace it back to me. But considering our relationship, giving you three thousand is already generous.”
Zhong Li gritted her teeth and reluctantly handed over three thousand purple crystals to the puppet. Chen Ansheng stored it in his storage pouch, feeling pleased—this was much easier than mining!
“Stay alert!”
Zhong Li shot him a fierce glare, then entered the library pavilion. As the secret method’s restrictions expanded, Chen Ansheng completely lost sense of what was happening inside.
Meanwhile, Zhong Li bypassed the interior and arrived at the deepest room in the library pavilion.
Inside, two initial-stage Xuan Immortals guarded the place.
“Boom!”
Zhong Li struck with a palm, shattering the protective barrier.
Then, her figure flickered, arriving before the two Xuan Immortal masters.
“Bold!”
Upon realizing someone had forcefully intruded, the two Xuan Immortals activated their weapons, their immortal power surging.
Zhong Li, however, looked down upon them, a cold smile curling at the corners of her mouth. As a late-stage Xuan Immortal, she could easily suppress the two in a surprise attack.
“Suppression!”
She flipped her hand and pressed down, a vast black palm shadow descending upon the two.
Bang bang…
The immortal power defenses on the two shattered.
With horror in their eyes, the two tried to break through the explosive palm shadow, fighting desperately!
Yet, having seen countless lives lost, Zhong Li had killed at least a hundred Xuan Immortals and was very experienced in battle; she would never give them a chance.
“Zhi zhi!”
Two poisonous immortal nails, shot from an unknown source, pierced through the heads of the two Xuan Immortals.
“Soul Suppression Seal!”
Finally, Zhong Li summoned a huge red-gold seal engraved with Xuan patterns and pressed it down towards their bodies.
“Hiss, ah!”
Two agonizing cries echoed as the two Xuan Immortals were reduced to ashes, their immortal souls obliterated.
The entire process of killing the two Xuan Immortals was swift and without any hesitation or flaw.
Afterward, Zhong Li looked at the blood-red crossed seal on the ground.
“Indeed a forbidden zone!”
Zhong Li’s face lit up; she had previously infiltrated the sacred grounds in hopes of entering such forbidden zones.
To her surprise, this small Qian Yue Cave also had a similar forbidden area, making it effortless.
“Open for me!”
Zhong Li took out a blood-red jade token and pressed it against the crossed seal.
Instantly, the blood light surged, and the ground collapsed, revealing a bottomless black pit.
At this moment, Zhong Li summoned another item.
It was a black hooded robe covered with fine array patterns. Without this defensively, entering the forbidden zone would result in poisonous energy corroding her, leading to her death.
Thousands of miles away from Qian Yue Cave, a group of elders awaited the arrival of the celestial beings from Xuan Yang Immortal Mansion.
Suddenly, an old man turned pale and clutched his head, beginning to vomit.
“Not good, my disciple has perished! Something happened in the forbidden zone!”
Despite the intense pain in his head, the elder quickly sent a message to the other Xuan Immortal elders.
Zhong Li had calculated everything; her formations could even block the sensing of soul contracts. Yet she hadn’t considered that among the elders of the Qian Yue Cave, there were a pair of twins connected by blood and spirit.
That kind of sensing transcended any rules and operated on a natural instinct that was not obstructed by restrictions or formations.
…
On the plaza.
The grand meeting had begun, with each of the four major caves sending eight elite disciples to participate in the competition.
“Brother Chen, look, that is Gu Jue, the top expert of my Bi Yan Cave’s younger generation. He has been cultivating for over a hundred years and has reached the late True Immortal stage!”
Yao Jianyuan pointed at a handsome young man with an extraordinary presence, gesturing excitedly.
“He truly possesses an extraordinary aura!”
Chen Ansheng sensed a sharp energy from that youth, as if countless immortal swords were aimed directly at him.
“Senior Brother Gu Jue is about to face Feng Wuqing, the top expert from Qian Yue Cave. These two have been battling since twenty years ago without a clear winner. Let’s see if this time can settle who’s stronger!”
It was clear that Yao Jianyuan was very interested in the competition. Usually, he would only hide in the corner out of fear of Murong Yan.
“Is Feng Wuqing also a late True Immortal?” Chen Ansheng asked.
“Naturally!” Yao Jianyuan didn’t take his eyes off the battle platform.
“In that case, Feng Wuqing is considerably stronger than Murong Yan.”
Chen Ansheng mumbled to himself. He knew that Murong Yan was only a beginner True Immortal, falling two tiers behind this one.
Though he was reluctant to mention Murong Yan, Yao Jianyuan still replied, “You can’t just judge like that; it depends on their years of cultivation. That brat Murong Yan only cultivated for over thirty years to step into the initial True Immortal stage. Now, he is almost advancing to the mid-stage. His talent is no less than these two. Of course, I wasn’t inferior to them back then, but later… let’s not dwell on it.”
Chen Ansheng nodded silently. From Yao Jianyuan’s tone, even though Murong Yan was his enemy, the evaluation was quite objective.
Thus, Chen Ansheng secretly compared himself with Murong Yan once more. In terms of blood qi, he was slightly inferior; physically, Murong Yan had a royal-grade physique, which was two grades higher. As for comprehension, with his powerful mental strength, Chen Ansheng thought he likely wasn’t much behind.
Taken together, as long as he improved his physique and blood qi again, he could surpass Murong Yan’s talent and rank among the top talents in the Four Caves of Ninefold Flower Mountain!
As Chen Ansheng was lost in thought, changes were occurring on the main battle platform. On one side, the duel between two young masters was beginning, while on the other side, Nan Gong Xiu’s expression darkened as she hurriedly left her seat, as if something significant had happened.