Chapter 13

According to historical records, a treasure emerged, its brilliant light piercing the sky.

Ancient Dust was invigorated and spurred himself on, moving as swiftly as a flying bird through the forest, advancing another fifty to sixty miles and reaching deeper into the mountains.

"Why is there a smell of blood?" A strong scent of blood was carried by the wind. Ancient Dust stopped, and not far away, he saw a mountain hollow. There were torches flickering, and shadows of people moving. On the ground were corpses, all dressed in black, their heads covered, crouching with curved long knives in their hands.

The curved long knives had clear patterns, forged from special cold steel through countless hammerings and foldings, capable of slicing through people like tofu, and a slight swing could sever a head.

At least dozens of black-clothed people surrounded the valley, and dozens more lay dead on the ground, their blood staining the snow red.

A woman sat half-reclined in the valley, wearing a white fox fur coat, but her body was already stained with blood.

"Island Lord, you have nowhere to run. With that last strike, you even used up your final Ten Thousand Sword Talisman, killing so many of our experts. Can you still move now?"

Several black-clothed leaders approached, but they did not dare to get too close, fearing that the woman still had the strength to counterattack.

"You betrayed me." The woman's lips were pale, but her voice still carried immense authority. "What did Gu Hengsha offer you? You are willing to be his inside men and betray our Dragon Sword Island. Are you not afraid that the other islands will hunt you down once they find out?"

"Island Lord, you know the situation. The Great Yong Dynasty is at its peak, and the Heavenly Talisman Emperor has the power to slay gods. The other islands will eventually fall into the hands of the court. Your resistance is futile. You might as well sell yourself for a good price. I am the leader among the princes, with a great reputation and a million troops under my command. I am a good master. I suggest you stop being stubborn and come with us, to be one of my twenty concubines." The leader of the black-clothed men spoke while observing whether the woman had truly lost her fighting ability.

"So, they are from the other islands and have a connection with the leader, Gu Hengsha." Ancient Dust listened clearly and thought to himself.

The eldest prince, Gu Hengsha, was a towering figure in the royal family. As the leader among the princes, his martial arts were unfathomable, and he had long ago achieved the Daoist realm. He played a crucial role in the Heavenly Talisman Emperor's struggle for the throne and now held a high position, commanding troops to guard the coast and wage war against the overseas islands and various sects of immortals and demons.

The Heavenly Talisman Dynasty had destroyed countless sects, and many remnants had fled overseas, waiting for a chance to return. The court placed great importance on maritime defense, building canals to connect the inland with the sea to facilitate the transportation of war supplies.

Because of this, the eldest prince, Gu Hengsha, had the strongest influence among all the princes, even surpassing the seventh prince, Gu Fasha, who was the emperor's own son. Of course, this was in terms of power, not true cultivation. In terms of cultivation, the seventh prince was likely even more advanced.

"Is this the person the eldest prince wants? Should I save her?" Ancient Dust pondered. "I remember when my mother committed suicide, the eldest prince's mother immediately sent her eunuchs to take away the ring my mother left behind. At the time, I didn't know the importance of that ring, but later I found out it was called the 'Giant Spirit Ring,' forged from the finger bone of the ancient Giant Spirit. Anyone who wears it will be transformed by the ring's power, changing their constitution and gradually becoming immensely strong, capable of tearing apart fierce beasts. I will eventually settle this score, and now I can consider it as collecting interest. Moreover, these people surrounding a woman, not saving her would be against the code of honor. Since I've encountered this, I can't just ignore it."

The black-clothed men were all highly skilled in martial arts, and Ancient Dust did not take them lightly. He covered his face with a cloth and moved forward silently.

"Who's there!"

Just as he was about to approach, the black-clothed leader suddenly roared and looked in his direction.

Ancient Dust felt as if he were being stared at by a venomous snake, extremely uncomfortable.

"Grandmaster!" Only a grandmaster could have such sensitivity, locking onto him with their spirit.

He immediately activated his movement technique, dashing through the crowd.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

He continuously struck out, sending several black-clothed men flying into the snow, where they fainted. He did not kill them but used the breath-sealing technique from the Giant Spirit Palm to incapacitate them. He was only there to save someone, not to kill.

He had practiced the Giant Spirit Art to about three or four levels, though he had not yet tested it in combat and was still somewhat clumsy. However, with his immense strength, it was still incredibly powerful.

"Waterfall Slash!"

A bright blade of light cut through the sky, with the force to sever a waterfall. The black-clothed leader leaped over, his movements light and graceful, but his blade carried a fierce and bloody aura, capable of taking a life.

"Powerful!" Ancient Dust, unarmed, did not dare to block the blade with his flesh, especially a grandmaster's blade.

At the grandmaster level, a leaf or a flower could pierce through armor. Only those who had reached the third transformation of the Daoist realm, "Copper Skin and Iron Bones," could withstand such an attack.

He slid forward, using the movement technique from the Sun and Moon Refinement, moving like sunlight through a small gap, finding a tiny flaw in the blade's momentum and slipping through.

The seated woman saw this movement and was surprised, as if she had never seen such a wondrous martial art.

With this technique, Ancient Dust instantly reached the woman, grabbed her shoulder, and without a word, leaped up, breaking through the encirclement and leaping out like a fish into the sea.

"Chase him!" The black-clothed leader roared, leading his men in pursuit, but they could not catch up. After half an hour, they lost all trace of him.

Ancient Dust carried the woman through the mountains, shaking off the pursuers. He noticed that her breath was long and seemingly endless, a rare occurrence, indicating that her cultivation was much higher than his, though she was injured, her face pale and green, as if she had been poisoned.

After wandering for a while, he finally found a hidden cave, entered, and let the woman rest, then went outside to gather firewood.

But as he returned with the firewood, he saw a red glow warming the cave. The woman had taken out a pearl to warm herself, its yang energy soothing and making one feel lazy.

"Fire Pearl." Ancient Dust threw the firewood to the ground. "You have this treasure, so it's much easier."

The Fire Pearl was extremely valuable, and even in the Great Yong Dynasty, only the nobility could afford it. Each one was worth tens of thousands of coins, and even with money, it was not easy to obtain. It was produced by the Heavenly Palace Academy, using rare gems and inscribed with mysterious arrays. It could be activated by rubbing it with the palm of the hand and deactivated by soaking it in water, which would extinguish the red glow.

"Who are you, and why did you save me?" the woman asked as Ancient Dust walked in.

"Just a matter of justice. You are the young island lord of the Dragon Sword Island, right?" Ancient Dust had overheard the black-clothed men and knew her identity.

"I am poisoned. Can you help me sit up so I can use my cultivation to expel the poison?" The woman could not move.

Ancient Dust nodded, walked to her, and extended his hand.

Suddenly, the woman's hand flipped, like a giant whale emerging from the water, with a wave of energy that enveloped Ancient Dust from all sides, carrying the sound of a raging sea.

Ancient Dust never expected the woman he had saved to attack him. Fortunately, he had practiced the Emperor's Divine Sealing Technique for half a year, and his spiritual senses were already extraordinary. When the crisis came, he felt a faint warning and roared, using the technique to block the attack, his left hand supporting the sun and his right hand holding the moon, the yin and yang changing, the day and night flowing, as he forcefully resisted the woman's fierce attack.

In an instant, they had exchanged dozens of palm strikes, the force of which shook the cave, making the stones fall and giving the impression that the cave might collapse at any moment.

The pressure on Ancient Dust grew, and with each strike, he felt the woman's palm force like an endless tide, making it hard to breathe, and he was on the verge of being overwhelmed.

"This woman is not a grandmaster, not in the ordinary realm, but has definitely reached the Daoist realm!" After the thirtieth strike, Ancient Dust could no longer hold back, and he was thrown back, his internal organs damaged, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Reaching such a level as a grandmaster is rare, and you managed to withstand thirty strikes of my Whale Tide Palm." The woman stood up, also spitting out black blood, and the poison in her face seemed to dissipate, as she had used the exchange to expel much of the poison.

"I saved you, why did you try to kill me!" Ancient Dust, though injured, remained calm, rolling to the cave entrance and secretly adjusting his breathing, trying to recover. He had confirmed that the woman was a Daoist realm expert. Even with his practice of the Emperor's Divine Sealing Technique, his level was far below hers.

"I, Long Yuyun, do not trust anyone." The woman's face was cold. "Your skills are extremely mysterious, and you are immensely strong, but your combat experience is poor, and you lack the aura of a killer, meaning you have never taken a life. You must be a well-cultivated noble, living a life of luxury. This place is close to the capital, and the level of your cultivation is beyond my guess. The Heavenly Talisman Emperor has gathered all the world's texts and plundered the martial arts of the Immortal, Demon, Magic, and God sects. Only the royal family could have such cultivation techniques. All signs point to you being a member of the Gu family, a royal disciple, or even a prince. The Dragon Sword Island and the Great Yong royal family have deep-seated enmity. Do you think I was wrong to act as I did?"

"This woman can deduce so much from such little information, truly terrifying. It's my lack of combat experience that led to so many flaws." Ancient Dust thought rapidly, analyzing his mistakes, but he was not panicked. Although he had pretended to be insane in the palace for years, he had never experienced killing or war, and his life experiences were limited. In contrast, Long Yuyun was clearly a seasoned warrior who had been through countless battles.

It was laughable that he had even tried to save her.

Seeing Ancient Dust ready to flee from the cave entrance, Long Yuyun did not pursue him but took a deep breath. A mysterious force in the air quickly condensed into a light green mist, entering her major acupoints, and her face gradually became more rosy.

"This is the technique of Breath Control and Fasting."

Breath Control involved sensing the spiritual energy in the air and drawing it into the body, completely avoiding the need for food. Spiritual energy was the most mysterious form of energy, capable of transforming the body, shaping the soul, refining the spirit, and strengthening the will, all of which required it.

Now, Long Yuyun was rapidly absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to cleanse the poison from her body.

"I can't let her recover, or I won't be able to escape."

Ancient Dust did not retreat but advanced, his hands forming a ring, the sun and moon merging, his body embracing like a furnace, as if to envelop and refine Long Yuyun. This was the essence of the Sun and Moon Refinement, a movement like a furnace of the sun and moon, capable of refining all things, with immense destructive power.