Chapter 141: Sparking Conflict

Not only Xiao Yu, but even disciples like Gu Jian who lived within the martial arts sects knew nothing about this period of history.

It seemed as though this chapter of history had been deliberately sealed away by someone, leaving later generations of martial artists only knowing how to harbor hatred toward cultivators, yet unable to articulate the exact reasons behind it.

"You must be important figures of the Enforcement Hall. I wonder what brings you to the Xuanyuan family this time."

Upon hearing Jiang Chao's introduction, Xuan Yuanjian remained completely unfazed. He continuously twirled the Divine Xuanyuan Sword in his hand and asked with a calm expression.

"Hehe, I have long heard of the Divine Xuanyuan Sword, and naturally, I wanted to come and witness it for myself this time. I simply didn't expect to discover the murderer of our Enforcement Hall here, so I would like to ask the Xuanyuan family to hand the person over to me."

Before Jiang Chao could speak, Nanke on the side immediately smiled and said, then stepped forward to take the lead. Seeing that this protector of the Enforcement Hall was so presumptuous in front of Jiang Chao, everyone could not help but glance at Jiang Chao's expression.

To their astonishment, however, Jiang Chao held not the slightest bit of prejudice against this. This was somewhat beyond their expectations.

Xuan Yuanjian, who had just undergone the baptism of the heaven and earth energy, could also sense the extraordinary aura emanating from Nanke before him. This was because he could perceive no aura from Nanke at all. Yet the more it was so, the more vigilant Xuan Yuanjian grew in his heart. Xuan Yuanjian even had a lingering intuition that the Nanke before him was not human—strictly speaking, not a mortal, but rather the immortals that cultivators had always pursued.

"Who are you?!"

Xuan Yuanjian frowned deeply and asked with a solemn expression.

"You noticed? Hehe, well, that makes sense. After all, the Divine Xuanyuan Sword, ranked eighth among the divine artifacts, has acknowledged you as its master. You should be able to deduce a thing or two through the information it shares with you."

Regarding this inexplicable question from Xuan Yuanjian, Nanke let out a light chuckle and slowly replied.

Hearing Nanke's ambiguous response, Xuan Yuanjian's heart instantly grew tense. He thought to himself that the information imparted to him by the Divine Xuanyuan Sword must be correct: the person before him was by no means a mere protector of the Enforcement Hall, but a genuine immortal—an immortal hailing from the Immortal Realm.

After Xuan Yuanjian underwent the baptism of the heaven and earth energy and the Divine Xuanyuan Sword acknowledged him as its master, a vast amount of information had flooded into his mind. Among this information was the existence of the Immortal Realm, which he had previously thought to be nothing more than a myth.

Judging by the insights revealed by the Divine Xuanyuan Sword, the beings of the Immortal Realm harbored a deep and ancient grudge against the mortal martial artists, a feud whose origins dated back to an unimaginably distant era. This perfectly explained why the cultivators of the Enforcement Hall constantly targeted martial artists at every turn. A more crucial point among this was why the Enforcement Hall actively prevented martial artists from giving birth to supreme powerhouses.

"What is your Immortal Realm's true objective? To actually dispatch an immortal like you to this world. Could it be that your Immortal Realm has no fear of the beings in the Celestial Realm finding out?" Xuan Yuanjian said in a low voice.

"Hehe, it seems the memories bestowed upon you by the Divine Xuanyuan Sword are quite extensive," Nanke said with a smile.

The Celestial Realm was a plane as powerful as the Immortal Realm. To be precise, the strength of the Celestial Realm vastly surpassed that of the Immortal Realm. While the Immortal Realm was the ultimate destination of yearning for cultivators, the Celestial Realm was the paradise longed for by countless martial artists. The Celestial Realm was filled with towering powerhouses; to put it bluntly, any ordinary sect disciple from the Celestial Realm could walk sideways unhindered across their entire starry domain.

According to the information brought by the Divine Xuanyuan Sword, martial artists within their starry domain who reached a certain level of cultivation were originally supposed to shatter the void and ascend to the Celestial Realm. However, at some point in time, the path leading from this starry domain to the Celestial Realm had been sealed off, and the ones who sealed this passage were the powerful immortals of the Immortal Realm. This was also one of the direct reasons why this starry domain could no longer produce supreme powerhouses.

"That person down below shouldn't be a member of your Xuanyuan family, right? Originally, I only came here to observe the Divine Ceremony, but now, I must take that person away."

Seeing Xuan Yuanjian remain silent for a long time, Nanke stated his purpose. Yet judging from his tone, taking Xiao Yu away was a settled matter, and voicing it was merely an announcement rather than a negotiation.

Hearing Nanke's words, Xuan Yuanjian furrowed his brows, and his gaze fell upon Xiao Yu. For reasons unknown, from the very first moment he laid eyes on Xiao Yu, Xuan Yuanjian had felt an indescribable sense of affinity toward him—a feeling he could not even explain himself.

"On what grounds? On the grounds that you are an aloof immortal in the eyes of those people? Or on the grounds of the Enforcement Hall?" Xuan Yuanjian took a deep breath, looked at Nanke, and slowly said, "This is the Xuanyuan family, not Mount Kunlun. If you think you can take someone away from the Xuanyuan family based on just a few words of yours, wouldn't that make the Xuanyuan family a laughingstock to others?"

Hearing Xuan Yuanjian's words, Nanke was slightly taken aback. He had not expected Xuan Yuanjian to speak to him like this over an outsider. This made Nanke feel somewhat amused. Setting aside his identity as an immortal, even the mere influence of the Enforcement Hall was not something the Xuanyuan family could compare to. Of course, this was not to say the Xuanyuan family was weak, but was the Enforcement Hall weak by any measure?

"It seems you are intent on shielding the person my Enforcement Hall wants to arrest. If I tell you that I am taking this person away today, no matter what! What can your Xuanyuan family possibly do about it?!"

A cold sneer surfaced on Nanke's face, and his tone shifted drastically from before. A surge of spiritual energy continuously overflowed from his body. Seeing this, Jiang Chao and the others also stepped forward, arriving by Nanke's side with icy gazes fixed upon Xuan Yuanjian.

Witnessing this scene unfolding in the void, the crowd below could not help but be stunned. They had not overheard the conversation between Xuan Yuanjian and the Enforcement Hall, so they had no idea what had happened. However, the one thing they did know was that the people of the Enforcement Hall appeared to be on the verge of fighting Xuan Yuanjian. This situation instantly ignited the righteous indignation of the numerous martial artists present.

Although these people had no idea what was truly going on, it did not mean Xiao Yu was equally clueless. Not only Xiao Yu, but even Gu Jian and the handsome youth knew precisely what was transpiring up above.

"Brother Xiao, what on earth did you do to make the Enforcement Hall this furious?" Gu Jian asked Xiao Yu with a puzzled expression.

As for Xiao Yu slaying a deacon of the Enforcement Hall, the Enforcement Hall had long since locked down and suppressed the news, so the incident had never leaked out.

"I merely killed a deacon of the Enforcement Hall," Xiao Yu said indifferently.

"Uh......" Seeing how casually Xiao Yu put it, Gu Jian and his companion felt a wave of shock, followed by an even greater surge of admiration.

Although the two of them also had some past grievances with the Enforcement Hall, those were at best minor frictions and petty conflicts. When it came to actually killing members of the Enforcement Hall, neither of them had ever dared to do such a thing.

Thinking of this, both of them quietly gave Xiao Yu a thumbs-up, and their view of him underwent a profound shift.