CHAPTER 420: CHAPTER 420: A HORRIFYING CORPSE

An extraordinary celestial phenomenon occurred. Not only were Wang Lan and the members of the Lv Family shocked, but even the Exotic Beasts all stopped attacking.

Wang Lan tightly clenched the Zanpakuto in his hands, a look of horror in his eyes. The Zanpakuto was linked to his soul, a physical manifestation of it, belonging solely to Wang Lan and impossible for others to seize.

But at this moment, the Zanpakuto seemed to be summoned by some existence, vaguely wanting to leave him. However, because the Zanpakuto was connected to Wang Lan’s soul, this sensation was not as clear to him as it was to the members of the Lv Family.

Compared to Wang Lan and the others, who were at a loss, the Exotic Beasts seemed to understand better what this situation signified. After a brief shock, the beasts turned and fled.

Their desperate flight suggested that even the slightest delay could cost them their lives.

"SWISH, SWISH—"

Suddenly, the swords in the hands of the Lv Family members flew out of their grasp and into the sky. Within just a second, all the swords shattered in mid-air.

"What... what’s happening?" a young Lv Family disciple asked, his face terrified.

"Look!"

Following someone’s alarmed shout, everyone promptly turned to look in the indicated direction. High in the sky, atop the clouds, countless white lights descended. These white lights resembled shooting stars, downy feathers, or even brilliant moonlight.

The white lights drew closer and closer. When everyone could finally see what they were, their souls nearly fled their bodies.

"It’s Sword Qi—" Lv Yifeng screamed, his voice breaking. He was, after all, a Titled Strongman of high caliber, with a Cultivation Level surpassing the Star Sea Realm.

But he still could not comprehend the scene before him: a sky full of Sword Qi, each strand pure and as relentless as a torrential downpour. Each strand of Sword Qi was three meters long and nearly half a meter wide.

Each strand exuded an oppressive aura of sharp metal. The Sword Qi was still distant, but Lv Yifeng could already feel the bone-chilling murderous intent radiating from it. Was this not reminiscent of the legendary Killing Immortal Sword Qi?

Everyone silently watched, knowing there was no need to hide or flee; there was nowhere to escape from such a cataclysmic attack.

A hand gently, yet firmly, grasped Wang Lan’s palm. He looked down slightly—it was Yu Ruoyun’s pale hand. At this moment, everyone felt utterly hopeless.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!—

The terrifying Sword Qi descended. Wang Lan saw the giant King Kong Gorilla, which had turned to run, struck by a sword attack and instantly blown to smithereens by numerous exploding Sword Qi. He also saw the green creature that had fought him for so long turn to ashes under the Sword Qi.

The dozen or so giant beasts that had just attacked them were reduced to ash by the first volley of the sword rain. Many more giant beasts hidden in the shadows were slain by the sword rain, including three Abyss Giant Beasts that had remained concealed until now, dissected by the Sword Qi as if they were fish on a chopping block.

Yet, not a single strand of Sword Qi fell upon Wang Lan or any of the others.

The Sword Qi came quickly and vanished just as fast. While everyone was still reeling in shock from the massacre wrought by thousands of swords, the Sword Qi transformed into streams of light, returned to the sky, and then flew eastward.

It took a long while for everyone to snap back to reality.

Wang Lan dispelled the Mandala Flower. Everyone was unharmed. It appeared the Sword Qi had come to their rescue.

"It must be the Sunlight Sword Pavilion! It must be! The Sunlight Sword Pavilion still exists, it still stands—" Lv Yi shouted excitedly. "Quick, follow the Sword Qi! Let’s find our Sect—"

The Lv Family members departed without a backward glance, while Wang Lan and his two companions hesitated briefly.

"Let’s go, let’s follow them," Yu Ruoyun said immediately.

"But... the one who intervened is unfathomably powerful. What if..." Qiu Bo said cautiously.

"Qiu Bo, there are no ’what ifs’ anymore," Yu Ruoyun stated. "Whether that person intends us good or ill, what can we do? Can we even block a single one of their sword strikes?"

"No!"

"Then isn’t it settled?"

In an instant, the three of them flickered into motion and also pursued toward the east.

"Right, Qiu Bo, where’s Lv Xiangyang? Why didn’t I see him?"

"He’s dead!" Qiu Bo said flatly, his tone devoid of any fluctuation, as if the deceased was not a Titled Strongman but some insignificant nobody.

"How did he die?" Yu Ruoyun asked, shocked.

"Blown to bits by an Exotic Beast’s attack. Luckily, our people didn’t enter with us; otherwise, they would have suffered heavy casualties, just like the Lv Family members."

「After about a hundred kilometers at a swift pace」

An imposing mountain gate appeared before Wang Lan and his companions. This gate was the South Heavenly Gate they had seen multiple times before.

The name "South Heavenly Gate" was merely a moniker coined by netizens. On the gate’s plaque, the name "Sunlight Sword Pavilion" was clearly inscribed in large bird-and-insect script.

The gate, covered in mottled traces, had stood there for countless years. Its two dragon-carved pillars also bore numerous cracks. Behind the gate lay an endless flight of stone stairs, with no sign of the Lv Family members.

"Let’s go, let’s head up."

Qiu Bo charged up the stone steps, leading the way. But just as he took the first step, he suddenly tripped as if something had snagged him and tumbled to the ground, rolling down the steps. Yu Ruoyun hurried to help Qiu Bo up.

"How strange. Where did that mysterious wind come from?" Qiu Bo looked puzzled. The moment he had stepped onto the stone stairs, a strong gust of wind had blown directly at him, knocking him to the ground. Considering Qiu Bo’s strength as a Titled Strongman, not even the most powerful gale should have affected him in the slightest.

But this gust of wind was peculiar. It blew him over in an instant and only disappeared after he had rolled to the bottom of the steps.

"Qiu Bo, there must be some kind of Array on these stone steps that prevents people from rushing up or flying. We have to walk up step by step." Yu Ruoyun had experience with this; she had once carried Wang Lan up eight thousand steps to reach the Fairy Cloud Sect.

The three of them stepped onto the stone stairs again. Sure enough, as long as they walked step by step, nothing unusual happened. Perhaps because this mountain was steeper, each stone step was much taller than those at the Fairy Cloud Sect.

After climbing about a thousand steps, they arrived at a platform. To continue upward, they had to go around a corner.

At the edge of the platform was a cliff, its depths swirling with mist. Suddenly, Wang Lan stopped in his tracks, moving to the cliff’s edge and staring intently into the mist.

"Wang Lan, what are you looking at?"

"Ruoyun, there seems to be something on the cliff face opposite us. It’s obscured by the mist... I can’t make it out clearly..."

"Something there?"

Just then, a fierce wind suddenly swept in. The gale drove the thick fog in the chasm, causing it to instantly rise into the sky. The view below the cliff became crystal clear.

Seeing what lay within the chasm, all three of them stood frozen, a chill climbing their spines.

The cliff was about three hundred meters deep, forming a canyon with the opposite cliff face. Below, in the canyon, lay heaps upon heaps of skeletons. The bones were so numerous they nearly filled the entire canyon, forming what looked like a mountain of skeletal remains.

On the opposite cliff, there indeed was something: a huge, humanoid skeleton. Although humanoid, it definitely wasn’t human; no person in the world was nearly seven hundred meters tall. Moreover, the skeleton was peculiar. Besides the frame supporting its joints, many bone plates covered its exterior. Notably, behind its towering forehead, these plates extended almost to its lower back.

Seeing the skeleton, Wang Lan instantly pictured its original owner: an upright creature whose body was covered with a layer of bone plates, like a warrior clad in armor.

Instantly, Wang Lan’s gaze turned cold. "Demon Clan..."

"The Demon Clan? Are they really that large?" Yu Ruoyun asked, curious.

"A reconstruction based on this skeleton would depict a member of the Demon Clan," Wang Lan replied. "But I don’t know if any Demon Clan members grow this large. Besides, who’s to say the Demon Clan doesn’t have titan-sized individuals?"

"All these Demon Clan bones piled here... there must be hundreds of thousands, at least, right?"

"A horrendous battle must have taken place here."

The three continued forward. The further they went, the more obvious the traces of battle became: broken steps, visibly shattered cliff faces, and human skeletons lying on the path.

These skeletons belonged to humans. Wang Lan had tried to gather them, but even a light touch would cause the bones to turn into ash and disappear without a trace.

After carefully ascending several thousand more steps, the trio finally completed the total of eight thousand and arrived at the Sect Gate of the Sunlight Sword Pavilion. The scene before them was still so familiar, identical to that of the Fairy Cloud Sect.

But the Fairy Cloud Sect was in better condition than the Sunlight Sword Pavilion. At least the Fairy Cloud Sect still had a great hall standing; the Sunlight Sword Pavilion had nothing but ruins.

The Lv Family members surged into the ruins to search, but with so few of them, what could they possibly find amidst such widespread devastation?

"How could this be... How could this be? Senior who intervened just now, where are you? Please show yourself! My ancestor was once a disciple of the Sunlight Sword Pavilion.

"My ancestor was Lv Chun, the one hundred and thirty-second generation disciple of the Sunlight Sword Pavilion. He was commanded to descend the mountain but was delayed by an incident for three days and failed to return to the Sect in time. My ancestor left a dying wish: his descendants must find the Sect and become its disciples. We have been searching for the Sect for three thousand years.

"Senior, I beg you to show yourself—"

But no matter how Lv Yi called out, everything around remained deathly silent.

Wang Lan closed his eyes slightly, sensing the surroundings as waves of Star Energy Fluctuation rippled outward. After a long while, Wang Lan slowly opened his eyes.

"Nothing... It doesn’t seem to be shrouded by an invisible Magic Artifact, unlike the Fairy Cloud Sect."

"Then the Sword Qi from before... it was either from a person or a Mountain Protector Array."

BOOM!—

Suddenly, a earth-shattering sound came from afar. The group was startled for a moment, then rushed towards the source of the sound. After traveling about five kilometers through the ruins, they saw a solitary mountain peak less than a kilometer away. Atop this peak stood a glowing Array.

Wang Lan and Yu Ruoyun immediately soared into the air. The Lv Family members capable of flight or other means of crossing also displayed their skills. In the blink of an eye, more than a dozen people reached the mountain peak, leaving fewer than five behind on the other side.

At the edge of the mountain peak, Lv Yifeng lay unconscious, blood trickling from his mouth. Lv Yi quickly went to support him.

"Yifeng, wake up! What happened to you?"

Shaken by Lv Yi, Lv Yifeng slowly opened his eyes. "Clan Leader, I’ve found the legacy. Look, the longsword floating over the altar emits a powerful aura. It should be the Sect’s Divine Artifact of the Sunlight Sword Pavilion.

"I tried to take it but was unexpectedly repelled by its Sword Qi, suffering severe injuries and losing consciousness. The Divine Sword is sentient and can only be obtained by one who is destined."

"Is that so?" Lv Yi’s gaze towards Lv Yifeng turned somewhat cold. If Lv Yifeng weren’t the only Titled Strongman present, and if they didn’t need him to protect the treasure, his attempt to claim the Sunlight Sword Pavilion’s sacred item would have been enough to warrant punishment under family law.