CHAPTER 256: 175. PLEASE LEND ME A PEN TO SIGN SOMETHING TODAY.

Amid the purple thunder, radiance flickered, displaying countless runes.

Within, a magical sword shone brightly, and with its tremors, peals of thunder resounded like the sword’s very cry.

This was none other than the Celestial Master’s Sword, one of the Celestial Master’s Three Treasures!

The supreme treasure was sentient; influenced by the great war on Dragon Tiger Mountain, the Celestial Master’s Sword, as the Celestial Master Seal once had, indeed returned to the vicinity of Dragon Tiger Mountain.

Unlike the day with the Celestial Master Seal, Lei Jun at present had no clues or spiritual objects related to the Celestial Master’s Sword, so he failed to sense its presence earlier and could only rely on guesswork.

Holding vital clues and mere steps away from success, Tang Xiaotang, on the other hand, managed to clearly sense beforehand that the Celestial Master’s Sword had already returned near the sect gate.

Now, she had successfully summoned this supreme treasure back!

"You search high and low with no result, yet it falls into your lap effortlessly," Tang Xiaotang laughed loudly, "Today is the day you come to me!"

Above Tang Xiaotang’s palm, lightning flashed, as if establishing a connection with the magical sword.

The great scholar of the Chu Clan outside the mountain tried to intervene, but as he drew near, streams of purple thunder from the sword turned into swordlight, sweeping in all directions.

The Chu Clan scholar could not be harmed by the swordlight, but the fierce sword qi, vast as the abyssal sea, blocked it all from reaching him.

Yet he was forced to halt, left only to watch helplessly as the magical sword soared toward the skies over Dragon Tiger Mountain.

However, just at that moment, a figure flashed in the distance.

Someone approached Dragon Tiger Mountain from outside.

The giant altar enshrouding the peak did not particularly target this person.

This individual raised their hand and, astonishingly, hurled a massive boulder—like the peak of a small mountain cleaved clean off and carried here.

On the boulder, there was distinctly a sword scar, within which purple lightning pulsed, darting and crackling through the air.

Affected by this, the Celestial Master’s Sword hanging in the sky suddenly slowed down.

Tang Xiaotang’s eyes went wide, "How was the Celestial Master’s Sword lost back then? You’ve really got the nerve to try and snatch it now?"

The person who appeared was, shockingly, Li Zhengxuan, who had also been away from the mountain for a long time and never returned until now.

"You have to get up where you have fallen," Li Zhengxuan answered calmly, "It’s true I lost the Celestial Master’s Sword that day, so now it’s my duty to retrieve it and bring peace to the ancestors of every generation."

He ignored Tang Xiaotang and immediately dashed for the Celestial Master’s Sword.

Li Hongyu’s expression grew slightly complicated as she glanced at the Celestial Master’s Sword, but she quickly looked away and moved to block Tang Xiaotang.

Earlier, she had exchanged one move for two, came up short in skill, and was wounded by Tang Xiaotang.

Fortunately, with the Celestial Master Robe bolstering her, she could keep her injuries in check for the time being.

The nine-colored radiance of the supreme treasure shimmered, lending her even more strength in facing Tang Xiaotang’s coming onslaught.

All around Tang Xiaotang’s body, golden light and blazing flames shone, the dragon and tiger entwined by her side, her whole being like a scorching sun crashing to earth, smashing into Li Hongyu with a thunderous impact.

Li Hongyu, cloaked in the Celestial Master Robe, withstood the blow.

An explosion of gold rain swept across the sky, as though billions of golden threads shot out in every direction.

Even the Chu Clan scholar, relying solely on his own sword qi, struggled to block the golden rays entirely, if only for a moment.

His expression grew more solemn as he took the initiative to attack, his sword qi rising in a wave like a tidal surge, seemingly holding back the golden brilliance from the perimeter.

Where gold light met sword qi, it transformed instantly into chains of golden thunder and fire, exploding without cease.

*To have such strength just upon entering the Eighth Heavenly Layer...* That Chu Clan scholar frowned deeply in secret.

On the other hand, Li Hongyu, newly entered into the Eighth Heavenly Layer, had also just begun refining the Nine Abyss Flame Ancestral Dharma.

Yet she was already dazzlingly talented, having successfully executed the Dragon-Tiger Strike of Dragon Tiger Mountain.

With this move alone, the newly ascended Eighth Heavenly Layer Li Hongyu had surpassed Li Song, making her now the number one expert of the Li Clan.

But even so, she had still been defeated by Tang Xiaotang.

At this sight, even the Suzhou Chu Clan’s Great Scholar at the Seventh Heavenly Layer could not help but take notice.

He had long known Dragon Tiger Mountain had such a prodigious young woman, but with this battle today, her name would surely spread further across the world.

Still, as powerful as Tang Xiaotang was, Li Hongyu at this moment wore the Celestial Master Robe.

Even though Li Hongyu was already injured, it allowed her to instantly turn the situation, even begin to seize back the upper hand!

More importantly, Li Zhengxuan had already reached the Celestial Master’s Sword.

...Wait.

Something’s off!

Something’s very off!

Li Song, the Li Clan’s old uncle, stared at Yuan Mobai, who stood before him as serene as ever, neither anxious nor irritated, and suddenly felt a chill run through his heart.

He looked up at Li Zhengxuan and the Celestial Master’s Sword, then at Li Hongyu and the Celestial Master Robe.

He glanced at Tang Xiaotang.

He saw Tang Xiaotang looking displeased.

"Nephew Xiaotang, these are extraordinary circumstances, we must not hesitate," Yuan Mobai spoke kindly and gently, sounding completely out of place amid the ongoing battle—yet somehow, it struck like thunder in the silence.

Tang Xiaotang turned her face away, "When Senior Sister returns, she’ll just laugh at me."

All the same, as she spoke, she still threw something with a flick of her hand.

A stone rod, marked with a sword scar.

It was the stone rod that Xu Yuanzhen had once brought back, refining it for many days at the Wanfa Sect’s Altar, and later entrusted to Tang Xiaotang.

This item had played its part in Tang Xiaotang’s success today summoning the Celestial Master’s Sword in one go.

And its role did not stop there.

The stone rod returned to the Altar of Wanfa Sect.

Though Li Song did not know the deeper details, his unease soared to its limit, and he stepped forward at once.

Yet Yuan Mobai, now standing face to face with him, also took a forward step.

Talismans swirled like the star river, and their identical Destiny Star Gods seemed to become two giants clashing within the Altar of Wanfa Sect.

Li Song grunted, forced to retreat!

He jerked his head up to glare at Yuan Mobai.

Even though his injuries were heavy and age was catching up, he had still cultivated Longevity Skill Human Script Talismans in the Daoist Talisman Sect’s Eighth Heavenly Layer for many years.

*It’s perfectly reasonable to avoid close combat with a fit, youthful Eighth Heavenly Layer opponent like Tang Xiaotang, but to be held off by a Seventh Heavenly Layer opponent—Old Uncle Li wouldn’t have thought it possible.*