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Translator: Fate
Translation Checker: Silavin
As if cast from Immortal Divine Gold, the dark gold paper was suspended in the void while it made whooshing sounds. Every word on it seemed to have turned into a peerless divine sword that shone brightly, and each of its sword-like beams was capable of destroying everything, all Principles included.
“This is definitely a supreme Sword Technique…”
“Its fluctuation alone is already frightening.”
Everyone at Stone Gathering Square grew short of breath as they nervously stared at this page. Some young prodigies immediately used divine abilities such as Heaven Peering Eye to try to memorise the words on it. However, the text was too strange as every stroke seemed to be formed from sword energy. The moment it slashed ahead, it could penetrate any living being. The beings with slightly weaker cultivation had tears streaming down their piercingly painful eyes, and they didn’t dare to take a second look.
No matter who it was, they couldn’t help but feel heated at this moment.
“Could this Sword Technique that shocked even us surpass the Might of an Emperor Technique?”
“What great fortune!”
“Who would have thought that something like this would appear from a rock!?”
Greed began to creep up the hearts of many Elders then. Even though they knew that this object was extracted by Gu Xianer, they could hardly contain their emotions. Despite that, they didn’t dare to make a move to snatch it. They locked the surrounding space to prevent this piece of paper from escaping. Many people also felt regretful. If they knew that this object was hidden inside the stone, they would have bought it a long time ago.
[This item definitely surpasses Emperor Techniques…] the King with Six Crowns, Young Holy King, the Phoenix Lady and the others also had serious looks on their faces. Every Emperor Technique was a priceless treasure which contained supreme profoundness and mystery that a cultivator could use for a lifetime. Only the Immortal and Formidable Forces had them. They could already imagine that the value of this object was more than any amount of Spiritual Stones could make up for.
[It’s trying to get away!] Gu Xianer frowned. Obviously, she didn’t expect there to be a Sword Technique hidden in the stone. This paper had spirituality, and as it slashed out several terrifying black Sword Qis, it smashed the golden vines she shot out into ashes, causing even the space they were in to collapse. The other people’s attempts to stop it also seemed futile. They couldn’t stop it from escaping.
[What a bother. It seems that we can’t stop this thing using ordinary methods.] Even an old Sacred Emperor Realm expert was injured by a Sword Qi just now, leaving a wound where dark blood flowed from. The Sword Qi was also difficult to get rid of right after.
Immediately, she raised her hand, and a crimson Primeval True Feather emerged. It was like a crystal-clear, gorgeous red jade which directly turned into a red cloud and flew out, wanting to knock down this dark gold paper. This was the Primeval True Feather, a Nirvana Grade artifact which Gu Changge gave her. It might be difficult for her to fully activate it with her current strength, but its power was far superior to other artifacts.
*Boom!*
The moment the Primeval True Feather flew out like a red galaxy to cover the dark gold page, an unparalleled wave suddenly erupted here. If the other Sect Masters around the area hadn’t noticed something was wrong and rushed to block the wave, this place would have been ruined by the aftermath alone.
Afterwards, thousands of Sword Qi burst out like thousands of revived divine swords, slashing through all the existences that approached it. Even the Primeval True Feather let out clanging sounds as Divine Chains shot out and red rays of dawnlight splashed everywhere.
[I can’t believe I can’t get it to yield…] Gu Xianer’s frown grew deeper. She didn’t expect it to be difficult to take down even with the Primeval True Feather.
Seeing this, An Xi on the other side slightly shifted her gaze to Niu Tian behind her and suggested, “You can try to communicate with it in Hidden Celestialian…” She had already figured out that this thing was definitely related to the Hidden Celestial Bloodline. The text on it came from their bloodline, and they were written in characters she happened to recognise. However, she might not be able to control it well as she didn’t have the Hidden Celestial Blood. Niu Tian, on the other hand, was different. He was a pure-blooded Hidden Celestial. If there was anyone here who could guide the page, it would only be Niu Tian.
Niu Tian nodded when he heard this. He didn’t say anything else as light green runes flickered in his eyes. Immediately after, he began to mutter, and strange characters appeared in light green colour around him. They resembled True Dragons, Celestial Phoenixes, Qilins, Black Tortoises, and other strange beasts. Each word contained the terrifying power of the gods.
Everyone at Stone Gathering Square suddenly felt a strange feeling. Those words seemed to come back to life as they began to twist and manifest while letting out an incomparably clear and bright glow.
“What is this?”
“These characters are cognate with the text, are they not?”
Many people watched this scene in shock. The eyes of many Sect Masters, who were hiding in the dark, too, were also focused on Niu Tian. They felt the same energy as that of the dark gold paper from this burly man. There could only be one possibility—he had the blood of the person who left this Sword Technique!
Thinking that Niu Tian must hail from a prominent bloodline for being able to lead the dark gold paper, the crowd started to speculate on Niu Tian’s origin.
“Is he a member of the An Clan? I haven’t heard of someone like him among them.”
“Could he be an ancient monster?”
*Hum!* At this exact moment, the dark gold paper in the void must have sensed something as it also trembled slightly. The sound of the sword reverberated in all directions. Faintly, the crowd saw a dull yellow dirty river which flooded over all living beings. A look of joy soon appeared on Niu Tian’s face; he could indeed feel the spirituality and intimacy from the dark gold paper.
“I can keep it under control,” he mentioned in a deep voice. His gaze was on fire as a striking green light permeated from him. While he resonated with the page, the Hidden Celestial characters seemed to come alive.
*Swoosh!* The sound of sea waves could be heard when the paper unfolded. The terrifying sword-like beam was soon restrained before it turned into a stream of light that flew towards Niu Tian.
Everyone watched this scene in shock.
They never would have thought that the page that was acting menacing just now had such a docile side, and it would voluntarily go to Niu Tian.
“A supreme Sword Technique…” Seeing the dark gold paper fall into his hands, Niu Tian flashed a slightly excited smile. He couldn’t hide his enthusiasm.
“Great. It seems that my guess is correct.” An Xi let out a small smile and nodded.
“But that is from my rock…” Gu Xianer obviously didn’t expect that the thing that she extracted would end up in someone else’s hands. This made her pull her sleek brows into a deep frown. Despite her annoyance, she didn’t let it show on her face. She doubted the Hidden An Clan would dare steal her belonging in front of everyone.
At this moment, An Xi, who had been quiet in the corner, suddenly walked out with a proper and generous smile on her face. She said to Gu Xianer, “Lady Xianer, this thing has a big connection with an Ancestor of our family, the An Clan. I’m sure you and everyone else have seen it.”
“What are you trying to say?” Gu Xianer looked back at her with an indifferent gaze. Her eyes were visibly cold and distant.
An Xi, who wasn’t bothered by the look on Gu Xianer’s face, continued to smile. “This is a belonging of an An Clan Ancestor. With your status and identity, you probably wouldn’t usurp someone else’s belongings. You may as well return it to its original owner. As long as you request it, the An Clan is willing to pay a high price to buy it back. My family will remember your kindness forever. Of course, if this bothers you, I will have my people give it to you.”
Everyone’s eyes flickered when they heard this. They thought that this young lady of the An Clan was not one to be trifled with. She spoke with the right amount of push and pull in an organised way. With just a few words, she clearly stated her purpose and won the upper hand.
What she said was pleasant to the ears. She started by explaining that this object was left behind by their Ancestors before she put Gu Xianer on a pedestal. That way, it would make it seem inexcusable if someone of Gu Xianer’s identity were to forcibly take an item of someone’s Ancestor. An Xi then said that she was willing to buy it, which in other words, meant that she had no intention of taking it back by force. If Gu Xianer did not agree to it, An Xi would immediately return it to her.
So no matter whether Gu Xianer agreed or refused, there was nothing wrong with An Xi and the An Clan’s actions. They were on the absolutely favourable side.
It would be fine if Gu Xianer agreed to it, but if she didn’t, she would inevitably draw criticisms about how she had gone too far. Logically, it would be unreasonable. After all, she would be claiming a relic of another person’s Ancestor for herself. Many of the older generation present were beings with extensive experience who managed to analyse An Xi’s intentions almost immediately.
“For her to play mind games on this… I’m afraid the princess of the Gu Family is no match for her.”
“She is just a young lady after all. She wouldn’t spend her time looking into things like this… She won’t be able to compete with the lady from the An Clan in terms of mind games.”
This made them want to watch the drama unfold, and they couldn’t help but look at Gu Xianer with interested eyes.
Of course, Gu Xianer could tell what An Xi’s intention was from her words. However, her expression remained the same. She didn’t care at all what people thought about her.
“I got this from the stone I cut.” She calmly uttered, “And you mentioned returning it to its original owner? I think you should return it to me.”
An Xi’s soft smile stayed throughout the conversation. It was as though she was confident Gu Xianer would fall for her scheme. “I understand, but this was also left behind by my family’s ancestor—”
“So you’re planning to forcibly take it from me?” Gu Xianer emotionlessly asked as she took a glance at An Xi with cold eyes.
An Xi smilingly shook her head. “Oh, don’t say that, Lady Xianer. I wouldn’t dare take what is yours. Since it bothers you… How about this? I will help you translate the text on it. It will be rather pointless for you to have it just to not recognise the words, no? What do you think, Lady Xianer?”
The crowd could tell that An Xi had been pretending to make concessions to push forward. She seemed as if she was being considerate towards Gu Xianer, but in the end, she had no intention to give the piece of paper back to Gu Xianer.
Other than that, she had been obvious with her words that no one other than those with the Hidden Celestial Blood could read the text. Gu Xianer wouldn’t be putting it to good use even if she got the page.
Logically speaking, there wasn’t anything wrong with her doing this. However, it felt somewhat stifling and thrown into passivity from the perspective of the person involved.
Gu Xianer ‘s eyebrows knitted together into a frown when she heard that. She could feel An Xi’s bad intentions. [So what if I can’t read the characters? I am from the Gu Family. We will find a way to crack the code.]
Furthermore, An Xi would also obtain the Sword Technique on the page if she were to translate it. It was obvious from this that An Xi was trying to take advantage of her. She wouldn’t give Gu Xianer the paper just like that. However, before Gu Xianer could reply, a calm voice rang out from outside Stone Gathering Square.
“There is no need for that. Even if our princess can’t read the text on it, it still belongs to her. She can even throw it into the flames if she wanted to. Who the hell are you to be making decisions for her?”
The crowd’s faces immediately fell when they heard that. Many hidden Elders and Sect Masters became glum as they turned to look outside the building. The King with Six Crowns, the Phoenix Lady, Young Holy King and the others were also alarmed. [Gu Changge? Why is he in Dark Kun City? When did he get here?]
As soon as those words sounded, a young man in dark ceremonial robes embroidered with patterns such as the Celestial Phoenix, the True Dragon, and various stars strode in from outside the pavilion. He looked extremely mysterious and noble. The many experts behind him only added to his intimidating aura.
The looks on the faces of all slightly changed when they saw the young man, and they quickly stepped aside to make way, appearing to be both fearful and respectful.
