Chapter 408: The Truth Behind Qiu Qianhen's Fall Revealed
Clang!!!
With the ringing of a sword, three sword manifestations wielded by Chu Feng appeared within the stone chamber.
Qiu Qianhen's face twisted into a cold smile, ready to mock them, but his expression froze when the three sword auras pierced straight through the formation and struck three Great Sage corpses.
"This… how is this possible?"
"The Nine Corpses Summon the Moon Formation should only be breakable by a Saint!"
Whoosh…
A gust of wind swept past, and the three Great Sage corpses instantly disintegrated into nothingness.
The formation enveloping the chamber collapsed at once.
The blood moon hanging above also vanished.
Cao Youqian laughed. "Brat, I told you before—you're not worthy to compete with me in background. Now, let despair swallow you piece by piece, hehe…"
Qiu Qianhen stumbled back half a step, the sight before him crushing the last of his hope.
In just a few short days, everything he had taken pride in was mercilessly destroyed.
He muttered ceaselessly, "Why… why is it like this?"
Even two disciples of Wendao Academy were dumbfounded. They had never imagined that the arrogant holy son Cao would behave this way.
This was no prodigy—he was like a villain straight from a storybook.
The remaining six Great Sage corpses halted, turning their gaze upon Cao Youqian and his companions.
Great Sage Jiaoyang took a step forward and pointed at three of them. "The three of you, come at me together."
"Roar!"
The Great Sage corpses roared in anger and charged toward Great Sage Jiaoyang.
The other three fixed their sights on Cao Youqian and the two juniors.
Cao Youqian smirked and crooked a finger at one of them.
But upon seeing the sword-jade in his hand, the Great Sage corpse instinctively shrank back half a step. Even as a corpse, instinctive fear lingered.
"Already afraid?"
Cao Youqian goaded further.
"Hoh!"
The Great Sage corpse was instantly enraged. For a lofty Great Sage to be provoked by a junior—it immediately lashed out with a giant claw at Cao Youqian.
"Master, aid me!"
Cao Youqian dared not be careless.
Han Ping and Fang Mu also struck without restraint.
Clang, clang, clang…
Three flashes of sword light cut across.
No dazzling spectacle, no earth-shattering might.
Yet the three Great Sage corpses froze in place, then dissolved into the cold wind.
Above, the blazing sun behind Great Sage Jiaoyang enveloped the three before her.
Boom!!!
A thunderous roar shook the chamber violently, with signs of imminent collapse.
All looked toward the blazing sun, where four figures clashed fiercely within.
As time passed, three silhouettes gradually faded away.
Finally, Great Sage Jiaoyang emerged from the sun, holding three corpse-pills in hand.
Thud!
Qiu Qianhen collapsed like a soulless shell, muttering over and over,
"It's over… everything is over…"
"Senior brother, shall we end this one?"
Han Ping looked at the desolate Qiu Qianhen without a trace of mercy. As a rogue cultivator, he knew well the importance of cutting grass at the root.
Cao Youqian smiled. "Give him a chance for last words. After all, we're not monsters."
As he spoke, the three fixed their eyes on Qiu Qianhen.
But before they could speak, Qiu Qianhen's body erupted with corpse qi.
For a living man to emanate such qi was bizarre.
Yet since Qiu Qianhen was of the Heaven Corpse Sect, Cao Youqian and the others found nothing strange about it, merely watching in silence.
Soon, Qiu Qianhen muttered again and again, "This is impossible… this cannot be possible…"
???
Everyone present was bewildered by Qiu Qianhen's crazed appearance.
They had no idea what he was trying to do.
At that moment, Great Sage Jiaoyang casually waved her hand, and an image flew out from Qiu Qianhen's mind.
For a Great Sage, projecting what a lower cultivator had seen was no difficult task.
The crowd watched as Qiu Qianhen followed a group of people to the gates of the Heaven Corpse Sect. At the front was an old man who bore a three-point resemblance to Qiu Qianhen, murmuring something under his breath.
Next, corpse qi erupted from the Heaven Corpse Sect and swallowed the group. Soon after, the great sect gates swung open.
An aged voice entered Qiu Qianhen's ears.
"From this day forth, your name shall be Qianhen. Remember, the ones who destroyed my Qiu clan are the Shi family of Northern Wilderness and the Zhao family."
Upon hearing this, Qiu Qianhen lost the last trace of his consciousness.
Xiao Qian burst out laughing. "Interesting, truly interesting. So it was the Qiu clan that wanted their disciple to inherit the Heaven Corpse Sect's legacy, but in the end they made little junior brother carry the blame."
When the image faded, Qiu Qianhen sat numbly in place. At this moment, his Dao heart was completely shattered.
He no longer knew what meaning there was in living. Everything he had pursued turned out to be a lie.
"Enough, let me grant you release."
Xiao Qian raised his hand and crushed Qiu Qianhen's body and soul into fragments.
Great Sage Jiaoyang glanced at the scene and said calmly, "Xiao Qian, divide the spoils here among yourselves."
"Many thanks, Ancestor."
Xiao Qian waved his hand. "Search every inch, leave no treasure behind."
"Yes!"
Everyone's face lit up with excitement.
After all, the Heaven Corpse Sect had once been guarded by a Saint corpse; surely their sect held many valuable treasures.
Xiao Qian casually collected two coffins into a storage pouch—these were prime materials for refining and could not be wasted.
…
Within the Heaven Corpse Sect, there was no day or night.
While the others stripped the place bare, Chu Feng and his group departed Frostwind Valley and headed toward Boundary-Setting Mountain.
"Senior, should we pick up the pace?"
Liang Yi asked curiously.
"No rush. Not everything within the Tomb Sect is meant for any random cultivator to obtain," Chu Feng replied with a smile.
"Could it be that Senior knows the secrets of the Tomb Sect?"
Only after asking did Liang Yi realize his slip and quickly closed his mouth.
Chu Feng paid it no mind and continued, "No rush, no haste. Going with the flow is also a way to temper the heart. Let's take it slowly—perhaps we will stumble upon unexpected gains."
Hearing this, Liang Yi once again sank into thought. The disciples of the Quanzhen Sword Sect following behind, however, were full of displeasure.
They could not understand why Senior Brother Liang treated these two seemingly ordinary people with such courtesy. It was one thing to treat them to meals and guide them, but now even opportunities for fortune had to be dictated by them.
At their current cultivation, they could have reached the Tomb Sect within a day. At this sluggish pace, it might take three to five days.
They resolved to persuade Senior Brother Liang soon.
By dusk, the group camped by a small creek.
One disciple of the Quanzhen Sword Sect approached Liang Yi and whispered, "Senior Brother, are you not valuing those two too highly?"
Being a clever man, Liang Yi instantly grasped his meaning.
"Junior Brother, is this only your thought, or do all the others feel this way as well?"
The disciple replied, "The other brothers think so too."
Liang Yi said, "Tell them—when we arrive at the Tomb Sect, you will see for yourselves just how strong Senior Qian truly is."
"You mean… he is truly an expert?"
The disciple asked with confusion.
"Time will prove all," Liang Yi replied, then turned to leave, leaving the disciple scratching his head.
Later, he returned to Chu Feng's tent and quickly explained, "Senior, my junior brothers don't understand the proper etiquette. Please forgive them."
Chu Feng answered indifferently, "No matter. Those who do not know cannot be blamed."
Three days later at dusk, the group reached the territory of the Tomb Sect in Zhongbei Mountain.
Meanwhile, within the Heaven Corpse Sect's ruins, Cao Youqian's group also made a surprising discovery…
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