In the darkness of the night far ahead, a blazing line of fire rose from outside the gate of Hundred Refinements City, lighting up the sky as it swept forward, dragging behind it a trail of scorching fire that seemed to split the entire heavens in two.
In an instant, that streak of fire crossed several hundred yards, like a burning meteorite tearing through the night, and came to a stop above the Hundred Fragrance Pavilion.
The hemp-robed elderly man and Lin Xunner looked up with cold dread in their hearts.
Above the Hundred Fragrance Pavilion, a fireball roughly ten feet across hung suspended in the air. Its flames were deep blood-red, the air around it twisted and warped, and ring after ring of fire vortexes churned around it, sending waves of scorching heat rolling outward, lighting up the entire street below as though it were daylight.
As the blinding flame visible died down at a visible rate, a blurred figure wreathed in fire gradually revealed itself.
The martial pressure radiating from this figure was even more terrifying and fearsome than the Hundred Refinements Peak Master Zheng Yunfeng had been.
...
At the same time, in the dark and densely forested mountains, several figures were leaping through the night from different directions, rapidly approaching the core territory where Falling God Peak's nine peaks were located.
Before long, on a hilltop several dozen miles outside Hundred Refinements City, an icy and bone-chilling cold wind suddenly arose in the damp night air that was already cold within the mountains. Wherever the wind passed, the nearby pine trees and undergrowth were coated in a layer of crystalline frost.
Reaching the summit, the three figures landed lightly at the tops of three pine trees. Not a single branch bent or swayed, showing that their lightness technique had reached the level of leaving no trace even on leaves.
In the dim night air, the faces beneath their black hoods could just barely be made out. All three were elders past sixty, with loose and creased skin, eyes lowered in cold shadow, and threads of cold and gloomy energy faintly circling each of them.
But the three had barely stopped when their expressions all shifted, and they turned their heads in unison to look toward the other side of the hilltop.
In an instant, two middle-aged men also in black robes, accompanied by four followers, rose in silence from the dark forest below and appeared in the three elders' line of sight.
The two lead middle-aged men were tall and strongly built, with faces like weathered bronze, and their sharp, blade-like gazes fell on the three black-robed elders. Their eyes then narrowed slightly, and they raised a hand to stop the followers behind them from advancing further.
"So it is the Profound Yin Three Elders of Primal Yin Origin Sect. The juniors pay their respects."
The group landed on a rocky outcrop, and one of the two lead middle-aged men was first to speak.
Together with the other middle-aged man and their followers, they folded their hands in a respectful bow toward the three elders standing at the tops of the pine trees ahead.
The three elders swept a look over the six who had arrived, and one of them moved his lips, producing a dry, sandpaper-like voice, asking, "Are you people from the Alliance Under Heaven?"
The lead middle-aged man did not deny it, and gave a slight nod, saying, "The elder's eye is as sharp as ever. My colleague and I hold the positions of left and right helmsmen of the Alliance Under Heaven's Yuan Province branch."
The elder's aura was cold and gloomy, and he let out a dry laugh, asking further, "And what are Alliance Under Heaven people doing infiltrating Falling God Peak's territory in secret? What exactly are you after?"
The two Alliance Under Heaven helmsmen exchanged a glance, and the one named Yu moved his eyes slightly and folded his hands in a bow, saying, "Our purpose is probably the same as that of the three elders. Not long ago our alliance received word that the Great Li court intends to act against Falling God Peak."
"The matter arose suddenly, and our branch alliance leader considered it of great importance. To verify whether the news was true, we were sent here specifically to investigate."
At those words, the Profound Yin Three Elders exchanged a glance, and the elder who had spoken before moved his lips and said, "Your Alliance Under Heaven is well-informed. We three old ones also received word from our sect only recently, which is why we came to take a look at this Falling God Peak."
He then looked toward the direction of Hundred Refinements City in the distance, saying, "From the look of things now, the Great Li court has truly paid a considerable price in moving against Falling God Peak this time."
Hearing this, both Alliance Under Heaven helmsmen gave slight nods. On their way here they had seen from a distance two distress signals sent in succession from the direction of Hundred Refinements City.
They had even vaguely made out what appeared to be Hundred Refinements Peak's Peak Master Zheng Yunfeng making his move, only to be defeated by his opponent.
Of course, because of the distance they were not entirely certain about this, and had been quietly approaching Hundred Refinements City from which the signals had come to see the situation for themselves.
At that point Helmsman Yu thought briefly, then folded his hands in a bow toward the Profound Yin Three Elders and asked, "It is indeed surprising that the Great Li court would move against Falling God Peak. How do the three elders view the situation?"
Hearing this, one of the elderly men let out a cold laugh, saying, "The Great Li court has always viewed us four great martial world sects as thorns in their side. It would not surprise us one bit if that Emperor Yuanwu chose to move against any of the sects."
"However, that the Great Li court would launch such a thunderous assault on Falling God Peak without giving away even the slightest hint beforehand is indeed something we did not anticipate."
At that point another of the Profound Yin Three Elders narrowed his eyes slightly and said in a cold voice, "Of course, this is good news for us. When the snipe and the clam fight, it is the fisherman who profits. The Great Li court and Falling God Peak both suffering heavy losses is exactly our opportunity. Perhaps the four great sects of the martial world will soon be down to three."
At those words, both helmsmen's expressions shifted.
But right at that moment, a faint sound of sword keening came from the dark night air in the distance.
In an instant, everyone on the hilltop, the Profound Yin Three Elders included, looked toward the source of the sound.
They then saw a streak of silver sword light slice through the darkness, rushing up from below the hill in an instant and shooting into the air above the summit.
"I noticed this hilltop had the widest view in the area, most suitable for watching the action. I never expected it to be this lively."
An aged voice accompanied the light, and everyone looked up to see a white-robed elder standing on a sword suspended in the night air.
The sword beneath his feet hummed with resonance, its silver light brilliant, filling the entire hilltop in every direction with sword energy.
The Profound Yin Three Elders saw who had arrived and their expressions all became peculiar. One of them said in a low voice, "Your Great Yan Sword Sect never willingly involves itself in martial world disputes. Why have you come here as well?"
Both Alliance Under Heaven helmsmen also recognized the white-robed elder and immediately folded their hands in a bow, saying, "The juniors pay their respects to the Silver Moon Sword Lord."
The white-robed elder waved a hand, saying, "No need for formalities."
Then the sword beneath his feet hummed softly and swept out a silver arc of light, rang out once, and slipped into the scabbard at his back.
The white-robed elder then drifted down and landed lightly on a rock at the hilltop. His gaze moved to the Profound Yin Three Elders, and with a light brush of his robe sleeve he said with a slight smile, "Your Primal Yin Origin Sect and the Alliance Under Heaven want to act against Falling God Peak, and even intended to bring the Great Yan Sword Sect along. Naturally we had no wish to get involved."