Firmament Sword

Then, when the group saw people from Celestial Brilliance approaching, they all stopped talking. The gazes of many, however, were fixed on Xu Luo.

”Boss, a lot of people are staring at you, and they don’t look friendly...” Tang Xiao leaned close to Xu Luo and whispered.

The others nodded in agreement, feeling the same way.

Xu Luo said softly, ”Ignore them.”

Warships crisscrossed the sky, with people constantly coming and going. The vast majority of them kept a low profile, clearly wanting to avoid drawing attention.

In the distance, Xu Luo saw Du Qingteng talking quietly with a few other people.

Sensing a gaze upon him, Du Qingteng looked over. When he saw it was Xu Luo, a faint smile graced his otherwise cold face, and he gave Xu Luo a wave.

Xu Luo nodded back.

The exchange between them immediately drew the attention of many onlookers.

”Who is that guy? He actually associates with the successor of Weiyu Mountain?”

”Those people... didn’t they come from one of Celestial Brilliance’s warships? They must be Heavenly Brilliance Disciples, right?”

”I heard that people from Celestial Brilliance were the first to discover these ancient ruins. Why did they only send such a small group?”

”That’s not clear. Perhaps... Celestial Brilliance thinks each of their disciples is worth a hundred men...”

As people murmured among themselves, you could tell from their words that they held little reverence for Celestial Brilliance.

Everyone present, even disciples from minor factions, was a genius in their own right. Pride was ingrained in their very bones. In their eyes, Celestial Brilliance was just a slightly larger sect, and its disciples weren’t necessarily much stronger than they were.

Still, they were all rather surprised that Du Qingteng knew people from Celestial Brilliance.

The reputation of the three great Holy Lands... was still far more renowned.

After all, Celestial Brilliance was merely a Supreme Great Sect in Xi Hezhou, whereas the three great Holy Lands presided over all of Jiuzhou!

Displeased by their disdain, Yu Tianjie sneered, ”A bunch of ignorant fools. We’ll show them sooner or later!”

Yu Tianying said, ”Pay them no mind. Our true abilities will be revealed once we’re inside the ancient ruins. There’s no need for pointless arguments.”

Xu Luo nodded. ”That’s right. We didn’t come here to compete for the spotlight. If we want to test our strength against them, we’ll have plenty of chances at the Xi Hezhou grand tournament.”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

They were Heavenly Brilliance Disciples, standing at the pinnacle of Xi Hezhou. They possessed the best resources and reigned supreme over the younger generation; there was simply no reason for them to fear others.

Just then, Jiang Botao and Xie Wanrou arrived. After setting up a barrier, they turned to Xu Luo’s group with solemn expressions. ”The four ancestors met with the higher-ups from the other major powers, including those old freaks from the Blazing Flame Province,” Jiang Botao said. ”Everyone has agreed to prohibit any conflict out here. But once you enter the ancient ruins, it’s every person for themselves!”

Xie Wanrou added, ”Be careful of the youths from the Blazing Flame Province. They might try something against us from Celestial Brilliance.”

Previously, many from Celestial Brilliance had been killed by those old freaks from the Blazing Flame Province, creating a deep-seated enmity between them. However, Celestial Brilliance had deliberately suppressed news of this feud and hadn’t released many of the details.

As a result, other than Xu Luo, most of the group was unaware of the grudge between Celestial Brilliance and certain individuals from the Blazing Flame Province.

As she spoke, Xie Wanrou glanced at Xu Luo. ”By the way, you need to be especially careful. I just received word that someone has issued a high-priced bounty for your death, and it’s already been posted with the Bounty Guild. This was an oversight on our part. We never imagined someone would be so audacious as to openly target a member of Celestial Brilliance.”

”But don’t you worry. I’ve already sent people to negotiate with the Bounty Guild. We’re hoping they’ll agree to cancel your bounty!”

Tang Xiao and the others were stunned. As Heavenly Brilliance Disciples, they had of course heard of the Bounty Guild. They knew it was a powerful underground organization, one not much weaker than Celestial Brilliance itself.

And now a bounty had been placed on Xu Luo... While the Bounty Guild itself hadn’t issued it, this was enough to prove that the Guild hadn’t objected to the listing!

Otherwise, getting a bounty posted on the Guild’s notice board was no easy feat.

”What is the Bounty Guild thinking? Do they want to declare war on Celestial Brilliance?” Yu Tianying said coldly.

As a scion of a Heritage Clan, he had long considered Celestial Brilliance his home. Seeing the Bounty Guild target one of his own infuriated him.

Yu Tianjie added coldly, ”Has Celestial Brilliance been keeping too low a profile these past few years?”

Xie Wanrou waved her hand. ”Calm down. There’s... probably more to this situation than meets the eye. Besides, the Bounty Guild is just a platform, and our people are already there negotiating!”

With that, Xie Wanrou pursed her lips and looked at Xu Luo. ”The negotiations might take some time to produce results, so... you absolutely must be careful. It’s possible that... many people are already targeting you.”

Realization dawned on Tang Xiao and the others. ”No wonder,” one of them said. ”When we first arrived, so many people were giving us hostile looks.”

”They were actually staring at Senior Brother Luo!” Ming Youyue said coldly. ”But... as if the likes of them could do anything...”

Xu Luo smiled, and at the same time, he couldn’t help but inwardly admire the Divine Maiden Tower’s intelligence network. ’It truly is second to none!’

Even someone of Xie Wanrou’s standing had only just now heard about the Bounty Guild’s listing, and so late at that.

Yet Xue Chuqing... she had not only received the news long ago, but had even told Xu Luo exactly who had issued it!

Xu Luo looked at Xie Wanrou and said, ”Please rest assured, Martial Aunt Xie. I will be extra careful!”

Xie Wanrou nodded. ”In a moment, Elder Jiang and I will escort you down. Once you’re inside the ancient ruins, head northwest. Remember, do your best to lose anyone who might be following!”

Xu Luo nodded silently. He knew that the years of effort put in by Xie Wanrou, the Old Golden Monkey, and their group had not been in vain. They surely knew far more than others.

Jiang Botao then looked at Xu Luo and said in a deep voice, ”Don’t worry too much about the Bounty Guild’s listing. As long as your group sticks together, even a Supreme Great Power who enters the ruins won’t necessarily be able to harm you!”

As he spoke, Jiang Botao took out nine Talismans and handed one to each of them. ”These are Divine Movement Talismans. Each one stores up enough energy for a million li of travel! At a critical moment... if you face true danger, you can use it to instantly escape to a distant location!”

”However... do not use them unless it is your absolute last resort. Once you activate a Divine Movement Talisman, your group... will be scattered!”

”That is when the real danger begins!”

Xu Luo accepted the Divine Movement Talisman and thanked Jiang Botao. ”Please rest assured, Elder Jiang,” he said. ”We will be sure to protect ourselves. After all... this is also a rare training opportunity!”

Jiang Botao nodded. ”Let’s go. It’s time.”

Then, led by Jiang Botao and Xie Wanrou, the group leaped into the seemingly bottomless Grand Canyon and flew downward.

”There are powerful astral winds in the middle of this Grand Canyon. Be careful,” Xie Wanrou reminded them.

Xu Luo sighed to himself. ’These elders are just like parents. Even when they know their children are grown, deep down, they’re still filled with worry.’

Upon reaching the middle of the canyon, they were met with incredibly strong astral winds. Everyone immediately activated their Protective True Qi.

Though the astral winds were powerful, they didn’t pose much of a problem for this group.

There was, however, one unlucky disciple from an unknown sect whose strength had yet to reach the Saint Realm, but who had tagged along for the excitement anyway.

While passing through the zone of astral winds, he was blown off course, nearly losing control and slamming into the cliff face before being grabbed by a person next to him.

While he wasn’t in any real danger, he had lost a great deal of face.

Fortunately, everyone was too preoccupied with the descent and wondering what awaited them in the ruins to bother laughing at him.

”This canyon is unbelievably deep!” After more than an hour had passed and they still couldn’t see the bottom, the group grew anxious. Shao Zheng grimaced and said, ”My True Essence is almost gone!”

Jiang Botao grabbed Shao Zheng’s arm. ”We’re almost there!” he said.

The Grand Canyon was so deep that even experts at the Saint Realm would find the descent strenuous. Looking around, they could already see several Saint Realm disciples being supported by their companions.

Otherwise, if their energy was depleted, they would lose control and plummet. No matter how tough their physical bodies were, such a fall would surely smash them to pieces.

After what felt like an eternity, the group finally spotted solid ground at the bottom of the canyon, and expressions of excitement lit up their faces.

Very quickly, however, that excitement was replaced by horror.

At the bottom of the canyon was a great river, its current raging violently!

Under normal circumstances, no one here would have been afraid. Even if they sank to the riverbed, the current wouldn’t have been strong enough to sweep them away.

But at this moment, they were descending at high speed. If they plunged into the water, the current would instantly wash them far downstream.

Even if they weren’t injured, it would be an utterly humiliating experience.

Xie Wanrou, however, paid no mind to the others, leading Xu Luo and his group directly toward a small, isolated platform.

A few people were already standing on the small platform, and there wasn’t much room left.

Seeing them approach, a young man on the platform shouted coldly, ”This spot is full! Go land somewhere else!”

Beside the youth stood several red-robed elders with profound gazes, all of them staring coldly at the descending group.

Xie Wanrou’s eyes narrowed. She squeezed three words through her gritted teeth: ”Blazing Flame Province!”

With a flick of her sleeve, a terrifying aura instantly blasted toward the small platform below.

It was like a hurricane sweeping through. Everyone on the small platform was tossed about like cotton fluff in a storm and blown clean off!

The youth, his face moments ago a mask of cold arrogance, was now panicking, completely unable to control his own body.

The red-robed elders roared in fury, ”Bitch! Are you trying to violate the truce?”

Xie Wanrou remained silent, simply pointing a finger at the elder who had just spoken.

Celestial Venerable’s Finger!

PUFF!

The space between the red-robed elder’s eyebrows... instantly exploded!

He died instantly!