Nightfall

For these two days, there were always two people who showed up one after another on the sea islands, down at the foothill of Tile Mountain, in the small towns, in the cities and amid the green curtains of tall crops. All in all, they showed up in many places around the world.

The former one was dressed in a cotton jacket and while the latter wore an indigo Taoist robe.

This was a fight far above the Five States, it was a chase between Limitless State cultivators.

Though both being of the Limitless State, they still held some difference within this realm.

Due to the fact that the Academy had already made some arrangements in advance, Eldest Brother had consequently strived for some time successfully while being in front of Verdant Canyon today. But he knew that the time which he had won would certainly be extremely transient. That was the exact reason why he had to get off in a hurry.

Right after the moment when Eldest Brother vanished, the Taoist in indigo then came to the front of the Verdant Canyon.

Numerous gazes from all over the wilderness fell on that Taoist in indigo.

This was the Abbey Dean of Zhishou Abbey, who had come to the public for the first time.

Kneeling towards the Taoist in indigo located far away, Ye Hongyu lowered her head with reverence.

Sounds of the friction between armors rustled and rattled like rippling wheat. Many people knelt down.

The disciples of the Academy in front of the Verdant Canyon neither knelt down nor professed worship.

Looking at this supreme powerhouse of Haotian Taoism silently, they wore pretty firm expressions on their faces, with their complexion being slightly white.

The Second Brother kept his eyes on the Taoist in indigo and walked out of the shelter, with the iron sword raised up in his hands.

Taoist in indigo cast him a glance, without revealing any expression at all on his face.

Then he turned around and looked towards the open field in the south. While looking at the divine carriage which was burning bright, he perceived the delicate and subtle change taking place amid the aura of heaven and earth with a furrowed brow. All of a sudden, his Taoist Heart seemed to become somewhat restless.

It was not due to the fact that the divine carriage had been destroyed nor the fact that the Great Divine Priest of Revelation had been severely wounded.

For a Zhishou Abbey that hid from the world and maintained an observer’s stance, it was only the belief of Haotian that genuinely mattered. It would never be counted as some big deal even if the West-Hill Divine Palace had been devastated.

What made the Taoist in indigo feel restless was the end of Eldest Brother’s next journey.

With the slight disturbance to his Taoist Heart, the Taoist in indigo knew that he must leave at once. It meant that the time gap which the Academy side had calculated was so clear that there was no time left for him to make his moves.

This was a goal which the Academy must achieve.

Upon making his appearance in front of the Verdant Canyon, Eldest Brother immediately turned the tide destroying the most important combat capability of the West-Hill Divine Palace.

If the Taoist in indigo would have had time to make his moves, how many other disciples of the Academy in front of Verdant Canyon could still survive?

The time gap was the final result which Eldest Brother and Fourth Brother had got after spending multiple nights’ time on calculations, which both of them had deemed as free of issues.

However, they still underestimated the state and strength of the Taoist in indigo.

As the most supreme powerhouse of Haotian Taoism and one of the sovereigns who were only inferior to Haotian, he held a state that was too profound to be measured.

In the previous plan, the Academy was sure that while chasing after Eldest Brother, the Taoist in indigo must take his leave without any time left to make his move. To the Academy’s surprise, the opponent actually could make his move and depart at the same time.

Turning around and walking towards the south wilderness, he randomly waved back with his right hand.

With his footstep treading on the spongy soil, the chilly autumn wind suddenly became cold. The autumn wind howling in front of him was frozen into thin snow all of a sudden, which softly fell down, amid which a door was looming up.

That was exactly the passageway hiding within the turbulent flows of the Heaven and Earth’s aura.

That was exactly the passageway which could only be seen by those of Limitless State.

As soon as the right foot of the Taoist in indigo stepped into the door, all had become empty in an instant.

It seemed that he had stepped into the void from the numerous perspectives of the people in front of the Verdant Canyon.

Looking at this scene which looked pretty much like a divine miracle, tens of thousands of people in the West-Hill Divine Palace Coalition Army were shocked speechless.

And at that exact moment, one more sword appeared in his right hand, which he swung back randomly.

That was a sword formed by air freezing.

The sword had already slipped out of his hand and to the shelter covered with arrows like the thatched cottage right in front of the Verdant Canyon.

Deathly silence befell on the Verdant Canyon after the Taoist in indigo had shown up.

Second Brother was the quietest one.

Lowering his head in silence, he was staring at the stone lying on one and a half feet away from him.

He did not look at the Taoist in indigo, because he wanted to keep his war intent and confidence to their fullest.

Nor did he keep his eyes on the iron sword in his hand, because swords were not for watching.

Second Brother moved after the Taoist in indigo had randomly thrown that flying sword.

Raising his head all of a sudden, he kept his eyes on that flying sword which was formed by frozen air, with his iron sword trembling slightly.

Would the iron sword which had exterminated hundreds of armies and thousands of horses be able to block the simple-looking Virtual Sword?

No one knew the answer.

Because the Virtual Sword which the Taoist in indigo had drawn out became a genuine void all of a sudden, right in front of Jun Mo’s body. It pierced right through the location where he had been without any sound and was back to its essence right behind him, only to continue and stab under the awning!

How incredibly inconceivable it was that this measure could actually make the Taoist Sword appear to have stepped into the Limitless State!

When faced with such a flying sword which was too deeply profound to be understood, Second Brother did not wear a shocked expression on his face, let alone an expression of fear. Instead, with a slight frown, he seemed to look down upon his opponent.

This Virtual Sword was indeed ingenious and this choice was indeed accurate. Since it was a hasty and careless sword drawn before the Taoist in indigo’s departure, he had to make sure that it should be a sword which could produce the greatest damage.

The Taoist in indigo let Second Brother go because of this somewhat hasty and careless sword.

In a sense, this was his respect for Second Brother.

But from Second Brother’s perspective, this was ridiculous. Based on his identity and state as being the Taoist in indigo, how extremely foolish and ridiculous of him was to go as far as to ponder on how to deal with them, who were merely disciples of the Academy.

That was the reason why he had looked down on the man.

“Even if your state is far above mine, even if you are the Abbey Dean of Zhishou Abbey, even if you are the highest mountain in the cultivation world since the Headmaster has ascended to heaven, I just despise you.”

Regardless of how powerful, as long as they are stained with the aura of vulgarity, they will be treated like dirt by Second Brother.

Of course, it doesn’t mean much else.

Knowing how horrifying the power of the Virtual Sword was, Second Brother raised his dashing eyebrows slightly.

It was also due to the fact that the opponent had not been able to see through the tactical array in the iron shelter, that he consequently looked down on the Taoist in indigo.

Though with this Virtual Sword having bypassed him, once the Sword was under the shelter, it would still be him who should bear the sword attack in the end.

Because there was a red line tied to his feet all the time.

While on the red line’s other end, passing under the awning, it was correlated with all the Younger Brothers and Sisters.

He had already made the preparation to bear that Virtual Sword.

He was ready to be hurt.

To be severely wounded.

But he was not ready to die.

Because if he died, there was no way that the Verdant Canyon could be kept safe.

While disturbed by the Qi of Heaven and Earth carried over by the Virtual Sword, the broken arrows on the iron shelter streamed down from its edges as if they were falling sands, ending up as a waterfall of arrows.

While inside the waterfall, Seventh Sister Mu You wore a pale look on her face with her hands holding tightly onto the red thread and pulling the line hard. With her fingers shaking badly, she kept her eyes firmly on the figure of the man who had been standing outside the shelter.

All the physical assault which had been imposed on the awning, on her and her fellow disciples, with this iron shelter included, all would befall on Second Brother in the end. However, the person who Second Brother fought with this time was not a Sword Garret’s disciple coming from the South Jin Kingdom, but the Abbey Dean of the Zhishou Abbey who was a godlike guardian. Would Second Brother be able to endure his attack? How badly would he be wounded? Would he be fine or not?

All of a sudden, she glimpsed an extremely shocking scene.

The red thread hiding in the sand and mud had been secretly cut off by someone, and nobody knew when it happened!

Fourth Brother’s fingers just left his ankle.

There was another red thread tied to his ankle.

That red thread originally tied to Second Brother was fastened to Fourth Brother’s ankle instead, which also meant that it would be Fourth Brother who was going to bear the Virtual Sword of the Taoist in indigo!

Originally, the tactical array was designed by Fourth Brother along with his senior brothers and it took its final form in the end after revisions made by Eldest Brother. Mu You knew that all the changes Fourth Brother was making right now would not cause any problems at all.

However, merely being in the Seethrough Realm, how would he be capable of warding off the blow coming from Abbey Dean of the Zhishou Abbey?

Before Mu You’s exclamation could come out of her lips, the Virtual Sword had shown up.

The dim and ghostly shadow of sword seemed to have gone far beyond the scope of speed.

At the time when it entered the iron shelter in front of the Verdant Canyon, it suddenly slowed down its speed, transforming itself into a scene visible to the naked eye.

The tactical array beneath the iron sail was triggered under stimulation. The red thread tied to the feet of all the Academy disciples began to tremble violently, producing numerous rays of aura as delicate as wadding and as tenacious as gold.

Tied up by numerous rays of aura, the Virtual Sword suddenly slowed down.

It looked exactly like that mystic sword drawn out by Liu Yiqing who was a Knowing Destiny State powerhouse from the Sword Garret.

However, the states of the Zhishou Abbey’s Dean and that of Liu Yiqing were as vastly different as heaven and earth. That Virtual Sword which seemed to be thrown out randomly was definitely thousands of times stronger than Liu Yiqing’s mystic sword.

Only then a hissing sound was heard!

The Virtual Sword overwhelmingly tore down all the silk-threaded aura!

Then… it deeply stabbed into a vastness of yellow sand.

This vastness of yellow sand had considerably small grains, whiter than the fine sand by the sea and finer than the sand on the riverside.

Though there existed sandy mud in the wilderness facing the Verdant Canyon, in no way could such kind of yellow sand be found.

Such yellow sand could only be found in one place.

In the Sandbox which never left Fourth Brother’s side.

The Virtual Sword stabbed into the Sandbox.

The expression on Fourth Brother’s face suddenly became pale.

Both hands shook violently, as he held the Sandbox high in front of his body.

The seemingly ordinary Sandbox could really hamper the Virtual Sword of the Taoist in indigo!

The body of the Virtual Sword disappeared in the Sandbox, vanishing into a vastness of yellow sand.

The sand danced and flowed in the air like great rivers.

And it fell on the ground, becoming sheer cliffs and mountains.

A grain of sand could be a world. The Sandbox had a world of its own.

It was an extremely magnificent scene of rivers and mountains.

The Virtual Sword then seemed to be dancing and flying amid the mountains and rivers which held no exact boundaries.

It was extremely difficult for that Virtual Sword to be actually coming into contact with any other things because of the vastness and grandeur.

That was the reason why the horrifying power of that Virtual Sword had not been able to be released.

The sword was flying in the sandbox, flying over the high mountains and great rivers, flying across the wilderness and the blue sky.

The sword carried on in its lonesome flight.

The figure of the Taoist in indigo had almost disappeared into the void.

He would then walk from the front of Verdant Canyon to the next place.

He was not concerned about how the Virtual Sword would end.

Because he was pretty sure that even if Jun Mo bore that sword hit, he was definitely going to be badly hurt.

The various disciples of the Academy would no longer be able to hold the Verdant Canyon by then.

All of a sudden, he gave a slight cry.

That whispering cry seemed to be of a little astonishment.

With the thin snow gradually falling off, the entrance to the aura of heaven and earth was closed off.

The Taoist in indigo disappeared from the wilderness.

The sentence which he had said before leaving still echoed in the air.

“To my surprise, it was the River and Mountain Sandbox.”

The River and Mountain Sandbox was an item from the Calculating Masters’ ancient legends.

During the Kai Yuan Years of the Tang Empire, the River and Mountain Sandbox was lost without a trace. Consequently, the River and Mountain Sandbox calculation had cut off its legacy.

Few people knew that in less than 40 years later, people from Ying Mountain, the seventh founder of the Black Ink Garden of the Great River Kingdom and Nun Xiaofeng who was the famous professor of multiple subjects in the Academy had been analyzing together for six years to recreate the calculation of the River and Mountain Sandbox. Later these two sages had devoted their lives to recreate the River and Mountain Sandbox.

Ever since that time, the River and Mountain Sandbox had been staying in the mountain behind the Academy. With the passing of time, it was gradually forgotten by the whole cultivation world. Even the temporary Master of Calligrapher, whose name was Wang and who came from the Black Ink Garden did not know about this secret either.

Back to many years ago when Headmaster was traveling around various countries, searching for the entrance of the Underworld or looking for delicious food, he came across a young apprentice in a pawnshop, which was outside the wetland of the small town of Yin Lun. The Headmaster had actually been watching the juvenile apprentice calculating with the abacus for half a day’s time. All because he felt that the young man was using the abacus beautifully. The sound produced by his use of the abacus was indeed lovely.

The young apprentice was called Fan Yue, who later became the Headmaster’s fourth core disciple.

It was natural that the Headmaster had handed the River and Mountain Sandbox over to him.

Until then, except for the people in the back of the mountain, only Mo Shanshan knew about it.

The Taoist in indigo had taken his leave.

While his Virtual Sword remained.

The Virtual Sword was still dancing and flying in the River and Mountain Sandbox.

While holding the Sandbox, Fourth Brother wore paler and paler looks on his face, with blood gradually dripping from his lips.

Second Brother was back in the shelter.

Mu You kept her eyes on him and asked with her voice trembling, “What should we do?”

After having been silent for a very long time, Second Brother spoke out, “I don’t know.”

While Sixth Brother said, “I will smash this Sandbox with my hammer.”

Due to the fact that all of Fourth Brother’s Psyche Power had been used on trapping and locking that Virtual Sword, especially the Spirit which was connected to the River and Mountain Sandbox, Fourth Brother who had been too weak to utter a word was enraged instead by hearing this sentence.

“How about you smash me to death first!”

Staring at the Sixth Brother with fury, he coughed out blood while speaking.

Sixth Brother reluctantly put his hammer down.

Looking at Fourth Brother who was holding the Sandbox high, Wang Chi spoke out with concern and worry, “Could it be that for Fourth Brother has to hold it all the time? Fourth Brother, if you are tired from lifting, I will lift the Sandbox on your behalf. I’ve already prepared enough medicine for two days.”

Hearing the naive words spoken out by his Younger Brother, Fourth Brother said with relief, “It’s unnecessary, since I can no longer put it down.”

After this sentence was out, there was a deathly stillness hanging beneath the iron shelter.

In such a short time, Fourth Brother had lost so much blood. How much time longer could he hang on? Even if he can hang on, will he be able to hang on forever?

Eldest Brother looked at him and asked, “Would the sword stop on its own?”

Shaking his head, Fourth Brother said, “There is a virtual state within the River and Mountain Sandbox, with the sword being the Virtual Sword and neither air nor influence of external aura existing. Even if the sword would stop, it would take hundreds of years.”

Second Brother asked then again, “What would happen if we put the Sandbox down?”

After a moment’s silence, Fourth Brother said, “It would explode.”

Second Brother said, “Then let it explode.”

Shaking his head, Fourth Brother smiled with a somewhat pained expression and said, “The reason why I did not allow Sixth Brother to smash the Sandbox was not that I was reluctant to part with it, even though I have been attached to it after all these years… It was due to the fact that if I let it go, the Sandbox will immediately explode. So even if we are going to let it explode, you’d better let me walk further away.”

Everyone was silent.

“Of course I know that you are unwilling to let me to walk away to die alone.”

Keeping his eyes on all of them, Fourth Brother smiled slightly and said, “So I will try to hold the Sandbox for as long as I can.”

Second Brother turned around to look towards the West-Hill Divine Palace Coalition Army in the south and said, “No worry. There are still other ways out.”

“What is it? Senior Brother, please say it quickly.” Mu You asked anxiously.

“If Eldest Brother can get rid of the Abbey Dean, then your issue will be taken care of.”

“What if he can’t? Moreover, Eldest Brother does not know about the things that happened here.”

“Then he should kill the Abbey Dean. As long as Abbey Dean is dead, then consequently his sword would become something useless.”

“Without The Headmaster being here, who else is able to kill Abbey Dean now?”

“To put an end to this war, the Abby Dean must be killed off. So it is not a question of who is able to get him killed. Whether it was for this war Of Verdant Canyon or for anything else, they were all preparations made to get the Abby Dean killed.”

Second Brother said, “Chang’an City has always been waiting for him.”