NOVEL NEXT Chapter 863 Chapter 864: Such Green Leeks
863 Chapter 864: Such Green Leeks
The officials from the cultural relics department followed him out of the great hall.
Outside, not a soul was to be found; the streets lay barren with not even the breath of living creatures.
Everyone was stunned. Even Young Master Hua's brow furrowed slightly. When he had arrived, the place was bustling with voices and streets filled with the continuous flow of carriages and horses. How could everything have vanished in just an hour or two?
It wasn't just that the cultivators were gone—even the stalls that were perennially set up by the roadside had disappeared without a trace. Aside from the large structures like houses, everything else within the city seemed to have flown away on wings.
"Holy shit, the houses are empty too. Yan City has been stripped bare!"
"Who did this? No wonder the City Lord and his men never returned. They must be entangled in a fight with the thief as we speak!"
The officials turned as pale as death, the entire Yan City, both cultivators and resources, had been silently plundered away. Even someone like Hua Qiang from the Blade Sect, a genius of his kind, was taken completely by surprise. How powerful must the perpetrator be? They dared not imagine.
"There's someone over there!"
A cultivator pointed towards a corner of the street where a golden chariot rolled out from around the corner. On it stood a young man, holding a longsword in his embrace and a Jade Gourd in his hand.
"Who goes there? I am Hua Qiang, an Inner Sect Disciple of the Blade Sect. Perhaps the gentleman would care to step out for a chat!"
Young Master Hua's gaze sharpened as he sensed that the matter was far from simple.
"Young Master Hua, he's holding a sword, surely a disciple of the Sword Sect. He must have realized that we sought the support of the Blade Sect and hence has gone on a massacre in the city. Please, Young Master Hua, take charge and ensure that this man is brought to justice!"
The surrounding officials looked at Li Xiaobai with trepidation in their hearts. The saying goes: a guilty conscience needs no accuser. They could only dream of the Sword Sect coming for them in revenge.
"Shut up!"
Young Master Hua scolded impatiently. He instinctively felt the sense of crisis. Previously, so many cultivators of the Earth Immortal Realm had set out, and all had disappeared without a trace, the City Lord of Yan Nian included. He knew he wasn't capable of such a feat.
If this young man before him really was the instigator, then even he might have to flee.
"May I have the honor of knowing your esteemed name, sir?"
"I am Li Xiaobai, the Peak Master of the Second Peak of the Sword Sect. Today, I have come to bring warmth to the Great Flame Dynasty and to put an end to the spread of war from its root."
Li Xiaobai spoke indifferently.
"Sword Sect's Peak Master, you are Li Xiaobai? The cultivator who emerged from the Little Ghost Secret Realm?"
"What exactly happened within the Secret Realm? Why did only you and the Sect Master of the Sword Sect come out? Could it be that you two set a trap and killed our Sect's cultivators?"
Upon hearing this, Young Master Hua's eyes instantly became fierce. The name of Li Xiaobai was not unfamiliar to the disciples of the Blade Sect. As for the source of the chaos, it was undoubtedly Li Xiaobai and Ying Diao. A crowd had entered, but only two emerged, and the rest of the cultivators, along with the Little Secret Realm, all vanished into thin air. If one were to say it had nothing to do with the Sword Sect, they would not believe it even if they were beaten to death. It was also for this reason that the Blade Sect took the opportunity to join forces with the other Great Sects to pressure the Sword Sect, with the desire to annex their territory.
Li Xiaobai said, "I do not understand what you are talking about, but the fact that you dare to lay hands on the territory of my Sword Sect shows great courage."
"Where are the City Lord of Yan Nian and those Earth Immortal high-level cultivators?" Young Master Hua continued to question.
"I have them all tied up. Now it's your turn. Maybe you don't understand this action now, but in the future, you will surely thank me for it."
Li Xiaobai toyed with the Jade Gourd in his hand and chuckled.
"You're courting death!"
Young Master Hua bellowed in anger, sweeping his blade across, and the force of the blade turned into a whirlwind that struck directly at Li Xiaobai.
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[Attribute Points +300,000...]
This value was mediocre, not very impressive. Li Xiaobai remained unmoved, as the blade's light could not even leave a mark on his skin.
"This... this is impossible!"
"Just a few days ago, you were merely at the Human Immortal Realm, even if you stepped into the Earth Immortal Realm, it would have been a recent advance into that level, how could you possess such strength? To actually withstand my blade's light with your flesh?"
Young Master Hua's complexion changed, his eyes filled with intense shock.
Li Xiaobai didn't speak; he slowly lifted the Jade Gourd in his hand and gently patted it, "Fellow Daoist, please hold!"
Whoosh!
A sweep of verdant light, and Young Master Hua disappeared without a trace. He continued to wave it a few more times, the light sweeping across, taking a whole swath with each move, gathering all the artifacts and elixirs into his possession.
After the time it took for a cup of tea to steep.
"Peak Master, the resources within the city have been completely plundered, and the gold in the Imperial Palace has also been gathered. We have restrained the source of this evil!"
Li Chen reported respectfully.
"Hmm, very good."
Li Xiaobai nodded in satisfaction. He took the Storage Bag and glanced inside, feeling his blood surge through his body, his heartbeat accelerating, his breathing becoming rapid involuntarily.
How much resources a city held, and the accumulated wealth of a dynasty—nobody would understand better than him at this moment.
This haul was not merely mid-grade or high-grade Immortal Stones, but even top-grade Immortal Stones numbered in the tens of millions. Countless Magic Treasures and Elixirs, after all, belonged to the treasury of the Great Yan Dynasty, amassed over many years. Only a small portion of these riches was for the daily cultivation expenses of the disciples within the dynasty; most were for trade with other dynasties and Sects—these resources were naturally considerable.
"Peak Master, how shall we proceed? Shall we return to the Sword Sect to report this matter?"
"Now that the Great Yan Dynasty has been emptied by us, it is but an individual case and not enough to serve as a warning. Only by emptying all the other major dynasties and achieving true equality can the chaos end. Hearing what they said earlier, the Blade Sect is planning to move against the other two dynasties affiliated with the Sword Sect. We will act first and empty those two dynasties before the Blade Sect has a chance to profit and naturally, they will cease their actions."
"This move is what I call 'Circuitous Salvation'!"
Li Xiaobai waved his hand and casually spoke.
"Brilliant!"
Li Chen and the others nodded frequently. Following the boss not only meant meat to eat but also learning the boss's way of thinking. Quite nice. In the future, when it was their turn to stand alone, they were determined to act in the same way, steadfastly maintaining the boss's reputation.
"Roar!"
Suddenly, the ground trembled, and a towering pillar of fire erupted from the center of the city. The flames, black as ink, were strange and eerie. The surrounding buildings that came into contact with it were devoured in an instant.
An ancient voice filled with anger boomed, "Who dares cause trouble in my Great Yan Dynasty, presuming that the Great Yan Dynasty has no one left to stand against them?"
"I am Li Xiaobai, Peak Master of the Second Peak of the Sword Sect. The Great Yan Dynasty fell to the Blade Sect, intending to harm the neighboring forces. Today, a little punishment has been dealt hoping to avert future mistakes."
Li Xiaobai, holding his longsword, let a hint of mockery flicker in his eyes. He had only lent a sliver of Hellfire back then; he hadn't expected that after many days, the flames would grow so fierce. Indeed, giving it to the Grand Emperor was the right choice—the green lushness of this "chive" was truly powerful!