Nightfall
chapter-596

A sword came flying from the skies toward the Lanke Temple.

There were clouds above Tile mountain. The sword tore through the clouds, bringing with it trailing wisps of clouds and plunged into the ground.

The sword was very fast. It was so fast one could barely make it out, only catching a glimpse of a passing glimmer of light. However, it could not hide its innate power, so everyone knew that it was a sword.

The Lanke Temple was enshrouded by rain. The sword traversed through the rain while ignoring everyone in the courtyard, not even Qi Nian. It did not pause because of the quickly approaching cloud of dust. It flew toward the black horse carriage.

The terrifying intent of the Two-Horizontal Talisman lingered before the black horse carriage. The sword ignored it as well, as if it were extremely familiar with Yan Se’s Talisman Taoism. It crossed the lines easily, piercing Sangsang who sat inside the horse carriage.

There was a sharp pain in Ning Que’s sense of perception. Sangsang opened her eyes, face pale. More than half of the black horse carriage had entered the peaceful Light of Buddha. However, it seemed like it would have to stop here.

The domineering sword that came from the skies was just like its owner. Its master was powerful, because he was be able to accomplish anything he wanted to. He could do so because it was logical, and that was the logic of the sword.

It was logical, so the sword that came from the skies passed the rivers and mountains in the south as it traveled through the clouds. Naturally, it made sense for it to tear through the clouds and the autumn rain. It ignored tthe surprised gazes of those in the Lanke Temple to kill Sangsang.

Ning Que once saw a sword on a piece of paper. He had seen and learned about this logically strong sword and knew who the owner of the sword was.

He knew that it was pointless to do anything to the flying sowrd. So he hugged Sangsang close to him, and then watched silently as the Light of Buddha grew brighter and brighter in the carriage.

Everyone in the Lanke Temple stared in shock at the sword that came from the sky. Qi Nian silently chanted while Ye Su’s raised brows and Tang regarded with a grave expression. They had all guessed where the flying sword had come from. Not even the most powerful man in the world could remain silent before the coming of the Daughter of Yama.

At the time when the Academy, the Buddhism Sect and the Devil’s Doctrine were at their most tense, someone had intervened with overwhelming power. There was only one person who could do this. He was the strongest powerhouse, who cultivated in the South Jin Kingdom’s Sword Garret–Liu Bai.

Sword Sage Liu Bai’s sword was the strongest in the world. Since it had the intent to kill, the Daughter of Yama would not be able to survive. Qi Nian silently chanted and slowly lowered his head.

Yet, what happened next was beyond anyone’s expectations.

Just as the flying sword was about to break through the black horse carriage and stab both Sangsang and Ning Que to death, it suddenly started shaking violently. The tip of the sword rose sharply, then it stuck near the end of the black horse carriage to fly upwards right after. There were loud crashes as the sword brushed by the yellow tiles of the Buddhist temple, causing them to fall. It flew up into the autumn rain and disappeared into the clouds.

The black carriage entered the Light of Buddha’s quiet world and drifted further away into the deep road. Then, the Light of Buddha converged into the chessboard and everything returned to how it was before.

It was completely silent in the back temple of Lanke.

Everyone was shocked silent. They did not understand what had happened. Why did Liu Bai’s sword suddenly fly away, just as it was about to kill the Daughter of Yama in the black horse carriage?

The sword came and went so quickly.

Moments ago, the Eldest Brother had stood beside a plum tree near a side hall of the Lanke Temple. His palm landed on an ancient bell. The chiming had stopped, and this was the last bell he destroyed.

Just as Ning Que had hoped and predicted, Eldest Brother would appear before the temple hall and the black horse carriage in the shortest time possible after he destroyed the Light of Buddha’s tactical array.

However, he did not move.

While the Lanke Temple was under an autumn rain, the Eldest Brother’s cultivation state was the highest. That was why he had perceived the Taoist Sword way before anyone else in the temple. He had already sensed it the moment the sword left its cottage.

The Eldest Brother looked toward the northwest. He looked at the skies beyond the autumn clouds and his expression turned grave. Dust spewed out from his old cotton robe, and his figure shook slightly before disappearing from the side of the plum blossom.

In the northwest, a few thousand miles away from the Lanke Temple, there was a lonely mountain. Three sides of the mountain were covered by smooth stone; when the autumn light reflected off them, it looked like a sword carved from a stone pillar.

There was a black and white ancient pavilion in front of the mountain. This was the sect of the strongest powerhouse in the world, the Sword Sage, Liu Bai. This was the holy land many Sword Masters in the cultivation world looked up to. It was the Sword Garret.

Liu Bai was not in the Sword Garret, but in the middle of the mountain behind the Sword Garret.

He sat next to a quiet pond, in front of a hut, quietly looking at the scholar before him.

The Eldest Brother stood in front of Liu Bai. His face was pale white, and his cotton robe was stained with blood. The cotton that had erupted from the seams were congealed with blood.

The Eldest Brother’s position was well-thought out. It was not far from Liu Bai, and just a step away. If one measured with a ruler, then it would be just a foot away.

Liu Bai looked at the scholar in front of him and suddenly smiled. He said, “Li Manman (‘Manman’ means slow), you are obviously the fastest person. Why do they call you Manman then?”

Eldest Brother said, “I am slow, that’s why I can be quick.”

“I love this kind of logic.”

Liu Bai reached out to scoop up some cold water from the pond and sprinkled it on the floor in front of him. He said slowly, “The foot before me is my world. Not even the abbey dean nor the chief preaching monk would dare to stand here. It is pointless no matter how fast you are.”

“Master Yan Se once said this to Youngest Brother, and I have also heard this before.” Eldest Brother looked at his feet and said, “That is why I am standing a foot away and have not taken a step forward.”

Liu Bai’s brows raised slightly and he asked with slanted eyes, “You want to take one step forward?”

Eldest Brother said, “I would like to have a try.”

Liu Bai replied, “Even if this foot of land belongs to me?”

Eldest Brother answered, “The foot is your domain only if you’re holding your sword. But the sword is not here.”

Liu Bai sighed with regret, and he reached out into the air facing him.

The light that streamed through the hole at the top of the mountain suddenly dimmed.

The straw grass hanging from the roof started moving even though there wasn’t any wind.

The quiet water in the stream rippled even though there was no wind.

The sword flew in the skies and turned into a stream of light coming from the hole at the mountain top. It fell into Liu Bai’s hands.

Eldest Brother bowed to him in thanks.

Liu Bai quietly looked at him and asked, “You all want to protect the Daughter of Yama, but have you thought about how to deal with the Underworld Invasion?”

Eldest Brother said, “If the Academy cannot treat her, then, the disciples of the Academy will stand at humanity’s forefront, to fight when the war comes. We might defeat the Underworld, or all of us will die, then we won’t need to worry about what to do.”

“You’ve got a point.”

Liu Bai said, “But there is still something I don’t understand. If the Headmaster had acted to protect the Daughter of Yama, would any of this ever happen? Or is the Headmaster unbothered by the Underworld Invasion? Would the Headmaster not act even if the whole world moves to kill?”

The Eldest Brother did not know how to lie, so he did not answer the question directly. He said, “My teacher has other matters to work on, so his disciples will toil on his behalf. We will trouble our teacher when we students cannot deal with things.”

Liu Bai asked, “Can you still handle it?”

Eldest Brother said, “If the Sword Sage doesn’t act, I might be able to.”

Liu Bai looked at his pale face and guessed that he had used up all his cultivation skills today. He had also suffered many severe injuries. Liu Bai frowned slightly and asked, “I would very much like to know how many broken bones you have.”

Eldest Brother answered honestly, “Two hundred and six.”

Liu Bai was shocked. He sighed and said, “You will die if you continue this.”

Eldest Brother shook his head and said, “At least I’m not dead right now.”

Liu Bai lamented, “I used to think that Jun Mo was the only crazy person in the Academy, after Mr. Ke. But it seems like everyone in the Academy is nuts.”

Eldest Brother said, “Sword Sage, you think highly of us.”

Liu Bai slowly slid his sword into the scabbard and said, “I shall fight you to my heart’s content in the future.”

The strongest powerhouse in the world had already sensed the Daughter of Yama’s aura disappearing from the world. He knew that the Academy had allowed her to escape into the heavens. As such, he would not need to use his sword again.

Liu Bai wanted to fight with the scholar in front of him. However, the scholar had travelled thousands of miles in a short period of time, and was severely injured today. It would not be an honorable victory even if he could win.

Furthermore, he was not confident of being able to detain the scholar here.

Eldest Brother thanked him sincerely, “Thank you, Sword Sage. However, I really don’t know how to fight.”

It was silent in the back temple of Lanke.

Master Qishan’s withered palm landed on the back of the chessboard. No one would have imagined that the unassuming chessboard could send a horse carriage into another world.

Qi Nian walked toward Master Qishan.

Master Qishan looked at him and said feebly, “No one can destroy Buddha’s chessboard.”

Qi Nian shook his head with determination. His pale lips parted slightly.

Ever since the Son of Yama descended 16 years ago, Qi Nian had chewed off his own tongue and begun to cultivate the Silent Meditation. He never opened his mouth again other than when he smiled. ( )

Of course, he was not in the mood to smile at this moment.

This meant that he was about to speak.

Master Qishan guessed what he was about to do, and his expression dramatically changed. Buddha’s chessboard could not be destroyed, but Bhadantas well versed in the Buddhism Sect skills could sacrifice their own Buddhist spirit, to forcefully change the way time passed in the world within the chessboard.

Only the Chief Preaching Monk in the Xuankong Temple had this power.

Master Qishan did not think that Qi Nian had such an ability.

Qi Nian had cultivated in Silent Meditation for 16 years, and when his lips moved for the first time in 16 years, Master Qishan came to the startling realization of how powerful Qi Nian was.

The back temple’s door suddenly exploded with a boom.

A tall crown appeared in the dust.

…