Chapter 164: The Quaking Ancient Martial Arts World

"Is Xiao Jian alright?"

Jian Chen dragged his heavily injured body slowly toward Gu Jian, looking with affectionate eyes at Gu Jian, who was lying unconscious in Xiao Yu's arms.

In his youth, Jian Chen had been utterly obsessed with martial arts, to the extent that even now, at the advanced age of over seventy, he did not have a single heir. Ever since Gu Jian arrived at the Myriad Sword Sect, Jian Chen discovered that the boy possessed a natural sword heart and was prime material for cultivating the Dao of the Sword, leading him to cherish Gu Jian deeply. Not only did he impart everything he had learned in his lifetime to Gu Jian, but he also took out the Phoenix True Blood, which had been treasured within the sect for hundreds of years, to forge the Immortal-Slaying Sword for him.

One could say that in Jian Chen's heart, Gu Jian was no different from his own child. When the Myriad Sword Sect was attacked by the Law Enforcement Hall, Jian Chen used a secret technique to transmit the Myriad Sword Sect's Sect Master Token directly to Gu Jian's side. His original intention was to hope that Gu Jian could revive the Myriad Sword Sect in the future, but he never expected that Gu Jian would return here.

"Senior, rest assured, Brother Gu is merely exhausted and has thus fallen unconscious. There is nothing seriously wrong with him," Xiao Yu said calmly.

Hearing Xiao Yu's words, Jian Chen finally set his mind at ease. He then covered his mouth and coughed lightly twice, and a stream of bright red blood immediately trickled from the corner of his mouth.

"Senior, are you alright?" Seeing this, Xiao Yu quickly reached out and tapped a couple of pressure points on Jian Chen's body, after which Jian Chen felt somewhat better.

Jian Chen wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, shook his head, and then looked at the few remaining disciples around them, a look of profound heartache instantly surfacing on his face.

Without speaking, Jian Chen extended his hand toward Xiao Yu, opened his palm, and asked in an extremely solemn tone, "Young friend, is this token yours?"

Seeing the token in Jian Chen's hand, Xiao Yu nodded. This token was precisely the item that Xuanyuan Qingshan had handed over to him on behalf of his two mentors when he was leaving the Xuanyuan family. After leaving the Xuanyuan family, Xiao Yu had not given the token much thought; it was only now, when Jian Chen produced it, that he recalled the matter.

"Indeed, indeed. To think that the records in the ancient texts are all true." Seeing Xiao Yu nod, Jian Chen suddenly let out a long sigh toward the heavens, handed the token back into Xiao Yu's hand, and said with a solemn expression, "Young friend, remember this well: you must not let the people of the Law Enforcement Hall know about this item."

Hearing Jian Chen's words, Xiao Yu could not help feeling somewhat dazed. Judging by Jian Chen's reaction, he seemed to know a thing or two about this token. Did that also mean Jian Chen knew certain matters that remained unknown to him?

Observing Xiao Yu's expression, Jian Chen knew that he would ask about the token, so he immediately stated, "Some matters require you to unravel them yourself. To tell the truth, I do not truly know about this token either. All that I know is simply what has been recorded in the ancient texts."

A trace of disappointment flashed across Xiao Yu's face upon hearing this. It seemed that regarding this matter, he truly had no choice but to make a trip to the Valley of No Return in the Heavenly Hazard Lands.

"Oh no! The Heavenly Dao Alliance!"

Suddenly, Xiao Yu remembered the Heavenly Dao Alliance, which had suffered an attack just like the Myriad Sword Sect. Judging by the current situation, the culprits behind the attacks on all three major factions were likely members of the Law Enforcement Hall. Yet, try as he might, he never imagined that the current plight of these three major forces was entirely due to him. Otherwise, Xiao Yu would likely have lived the rest of his life consumed by guilt.

Hearing Xiao Yu's cry of alarm, Jian Chen was startled at first, but then he smiled faintly and said, "Young friend, rest assured. This Heavenly Dao Alliance is far stronger than our Myriad Sword Sect by more than just a little. Furthermore, within the Heavenly Dao Alliance, there remains a supreme lethal grand array left behind by its founding Alliance Master—an array capable of slaying immortals. The Heavenly Dao Alliance will be fine."

And the facts proved Jian Chen right. When the members of the Law Enforcement Hall went to the Heavenly Dao Alliance to launch their attack, they encountered fierce resistance from the alliance's disciples and numerous powerful elders. Although the Law Enforcement Hall held the advantage in cultivation realms, the foundation of the Heavenly Dao Alliance, as a sect that had existed for who knows how many years, was unimaginable.

Facing the stubborn resistance of the Heavenly Dao Alliance, the Law Enforcement Hall reaped no benefits. After a fierce battle, the Law Enforcement Hall lost no less than six individuals of the elder rank alone. In the end, it required two experts of the Deity Transformation stage to step forward and barely stabilize the situation.

However, as the powerful figures of the Heavenly Dao Alliance appeared one after another, this stable situation was instantly shattered. By the time Lu Yining returned to the Heavenly Dao Alliance, very few members of the Law Enforcement Hall remained, with only a few Fusion-stage elders and a single Deity Transformation expert still putting up a bitter struggle.

Subsequently, under the joint assault of numerous Heavenly Dao Alliance powerhouses, the remaining struggling experts of the Law Enforcement Hall let out furious roars, each detonating their primordial spirits and perishing within the Heavenly Dao Alliance.

Although these departing cultivators originally intended to drag a group of enemies down with them through their self-detonations, under the concerted efforts of several Supreme Elders of the Heavenly Dao Alliance, the destructive power of their self-destruction produced only a negligible effect.

Upon learning that his sect was in danger, Lu Yining had rushed back in a frantic state of anxiety, only to find that the battle was already over by the time he arrived. He also discovered that the Law Enforcement Hall was pulling the strings behind the scenes. Originally intending to stay behind and help clean up the aftermath, he suddenly remembered that Gu Jian's Myriad Sword Sect had also suffered a sudden attack. Without hesitation, he left the sect and sped toward the location of the Myriad Sword Sect—truly coming in a rush and leaving in a hurry.

As for the Xuanyuan family, Lu Yining was not overly concerned. After all, the Xuanyuan family was also a clan with a heritage spanning hundreds of years; its hidden foundation was likely enough to give the Law Enforcement Hall a hard time. Moreover, there resided a deeply mysterious mountain guardian within the Xuanyuan family—an old monster who had lived for centuries, and goodness knows whether his true strength was merely that of a peak Martial Emperor.

Things unfolded precisely as Lu Yining had anticipated. As a clan passed down for hundreds of years, the Xuanyuan family displayed an overwhelmingly formidable side when facing the raid by the Law Enforcement Hall. Over a dozen elders at the Martial Emperor realm appeared one after another, thoroughly battering the Law Enforcement Hall in a most tragic fashion. Although there was an expert of the Deity Transformation realm present in the attacking force, the moment this person emerged, he was directly and forcefully slain by Xuanyuan Qingshan. Realizing the situation was turning disastrous, a portion of the Law Enforcement Hall's forces attempted to flee, only to be intercepted and cut down in the dense forest by the swiftly pursuing Xuanyuan Jian.

It could be said that this campaign by the Law Enforcement Hall against the three major factions of the ancient martial world ended in a miserable defeat. Among their losses were two Protectors of the Deity Transformation stage, a dozen elders of the Fusion stage, and countless cultivators of the Nascent Soul and Core Formation stages.

Naturally, the news of the Law Enforcement Hall's attack on the three major factions of the ancient martial world spread throughout the entire domain before long, sparking heated discussions everywhere. In the end, the leaders of several major first-rate factions in the ancient martial world successively voiced their suggestions, forming a powerful alliance specifically targeting the actions committed by the Law Enforcement Hall to demand accountability.

Yet, amidst all this, there was one detail of which they remained entirely ignorant: in order to deal with these three major factions, the Law Enforcement Hall had actually colluded with the people of the Sakura Country. Had this secret been exposed to those leaders, the entire ancient martial world would likely have stormed the Law Enforcement Hall in collective wrath.