ASER - Chapter 178
Chapter 178: Home Delivery
Nie Yuanyuan certainly knew that since she was disguised as Chen A'Diao, she would have to face hostility from Lou Tanglie and others. Moreover, traps had already been set in Mirror Blade Gorge, all targeting Chen A'Diao.
Could she withstand it?
Even if she could block one, she couldn't block a group. And if a real fight broke out, her methods were so different from Chen A'Diao's that she would easily be exposed. So, in their plan...
After approaching Mirror Blade Gorge, Nie Yuanyuan slipped into the bustling rest area outside. Many Lushan cultivators were here, including guards, locals, teachers, and so on.
At least a thousand people were cultivating in this area. After entering the rest area, Nie Yuanyuan moved in and out of alleys, quickly merging from one stream of people into another. By the time Lou Tanglie and his group chased her here, they had already lost Chen A'Diao's trail.
"This person is skilled in disguise, with superb methods. She must have transformed into someone else."
"No matter who she has become, she will go to Mirror Blade Gorge to challenge the First Blade Mirror. Let's go!"
Their prediction was correct. Nie Yuanyuan indeed headed straight for the First Blade Mirror in Mirror Blade Gorge. After she had lured away most of the Kun Class members, A'Diao, in the guise of Dantai Ke and walking with the noble gait of the Seventh Prince, moved through the rest area. However, she could already feel an increasingly intense power.
A sense of sharpness, majesty, killing intent, and... immense spirituality.
Soon, she arrived at a railing and looked up.
The world was vast, but in the sky above, there were ring after ring of metallic storm clouds, like donuts. In front, a colossal longblade was half-embedded in a shallow bank. The blade was over a thousand meters long, and its flat surface alone was tens of meters wide. The ground had erupted into a large area of black, sharp metal, like inverted scales or barbs.
That's right, this entire large area was a massive piece of special metal. After being pierced by the blade, due to the terrifying impact force, the metal body itself changed, but it didn't crack. Every sharp metal barb was connected to its main body.
Whether it was the barbs or the texture of its metallic body, its surface was smooth as a mirror, appearing like opaque black crystal at first glance.
The area of its barbs conformed to the principle of energy impact radiation, forming a circular shape, with the barbs spreading out to a radius of a thousand meters.
The outermost ring was what the Lushan people referred to as the First Blade Mirror.
One end of the terrifying giant blade's hilt was bound and wrapped by a thick, heavy chain, while the other end stretched straight towards the end of the sky, amidst those metallic storms.
Seeing this scene, A'Diao was undeniably deeply shocked.
"Ah, this... although it's not the first time I've seen it... this scene is too grand, Awesome PLUS!"
This was the simplest and crudest exclamation, but A'Diao knew the principle behind Mirror Blade Gorge.
"That huge black stone should be the Xuangang Meteorite, reputed as one of the ten hardest substances in the universe. The essence of Xuangang is its hardness. It's ancient, massive, and from outer space, containing the spiritual Dao power of the cosmos, forming a fixed spirituality. When it fell, given the destructive power of an extraterrestrial meteorite, it probably could have directly destroyed this space back then. But it was pierced by a supreme expert's blade, and the blade was pulled upwards by chains, arresting its impact force so it wouldn't destroy Lushan. Then, the clash of forces from both sides created the mirror spikes on the ground. At that time, a metallic nebula belt must have also formed due to the complex energy field. This chain, made of black iron, was drawn towards the sky by magnetism, creating the scene of a blade drawing celestial power to cleave Xuangang."
"But the metallic nebula storm, the black iron chain, this blade, and this huge Xuangang Meteorite, though not originally living beings, have all developed their own spirituality over long ages due to being so high-end and powerful. Together, they formed Mirror Blade Gorge. And this Mirror Blade Gorge, after many years, has formed a fixed energy field and spiritual field. Not to mention that the Blade Intent on the blade is worth comprehending like a Dao Tablet, even this spiritual field can be used for tempering."
A living being's upper limit is basically fixed by its genes. Spiritual cultivation is inherently a process of defying this genetic curve. Bloodline, spirituality, and so on are all important junctures.
And bloodline is the substance of a living being, while spirituality is its soul.
But spirituality is too difficult to cultivate.
No wonder so many Lushan experts head to Mirror Blade Gorge. Mirror Blade Gorge is also reputed to be the place where Lushan disciples spend the most time in their lives.
First, for spirituality; second, for tempering the physique with the energy field; third, for Blade Intent.
Of course, the third point is most beneficial to blade practitioners, so blade masters make up a considerable proportion of Lushan's experts. The first founder was also a blade master, and this blade is the first founder's personal blade—Tian Duan.
Looking at this scene, A'Diao couldn't help but let out a breath.
She jumped directly down from the railing.
Whoosh... She landed on the outer ring of the First Blade Mirror. At this time, Nie Yuanyuan had already entered the First Blade Mirror, and Li Che and others had also entered one after another. A'Diao was a step behind them.
Within the First Blade Mirror, the barbs were sharp. Everyone could see their own reflection on the black metallic mirror surface, and also see others' figures. Upon entering this area, powerful waves of spiritual tide came one after another. Although the frequency was not high, far less than the blade mirrors further in, it made them quite uncomfortable.
Especially those not skilled in spirituality.
At least A'Diao felt discomfort in the area of her foundational bridge. Just as she was preparing to adapt, her nerves suddenly tensed.
Swish! A sharp afterimage shot past where her body had just sidestepped. A'Diao extended a hand, and an energy mass in her palm locked onto this afterimage—it was a palm-sized lens-like fragment.
Toilet: "Although this Xuangang is a whole, years of tidal waves and the dual scouring of spiritual and energy fields have produced some fragments. Because these fragments are small, they absorb energy more easily and have spirituality attached to them. But because their energy attribute is too sharp and their aggressiveness too strong, they gradually turned into little Blade Ghouls. From them, one can temper both Blade Intent and spirituality. This Mirror Blade Gorge is indeed a treasure trove. Catch them!"
She didn't use a blade, but Blade Intent itself was a type of intent. It could inherently serve as an auxiliary reference for cultivating other intents, just not as uniquely advantageous as it was for blade masters.
Many blade masters were trying to capture the little Blade Ghouls. Song Ling, of course, was also attacked by them. They weren't as formidable as A'Diao, who had directly captured one. Most were still in a state of evasion, while trying hard to comprehend the Blade Intent contained within this First Blade Mirror.
"I heard there are a total of 13 types of Blade Intent in this Mirror Blade Gorge. The First Blade Mirror only has one, and its content is the smallest. Further in, there are more, and they get stronger. However, the Blade Ghouls also increase in number. We also have to be wary of the Xuangang Spirits that start appearing from the Second Blade Mirror. They are born from the Xuangang Meteorite and are trapped here, unable to go to the cosmos. But their accumulated spiritual precipitation is a very high-end resource. Using them to temper the physique is more effective than Star Coins. They are considered a unique treasure of our Lushan. It's just that the Blade Ghouls also covet them, wanting to devour and fuse with them to become large, solid Blade Ghouls."
Listening to everyone's discussion, A'Diao knew that both Blade Ghouls and Xuangang Spirits were dangerous creatures found in perilous environments, but like demonic spirits, they were also resources. The former could temper a small amount of spirituality and Blade Intent, while the latter could yield a large amount of spirituality and Xuangang Spirit material. Especially the latter, its energy level was two tiers higher than Star Coins. Most importantly, in Lushan's point system, Lushan stipulated that for every blade mirror broken through, corresponding points would be awarded. The first blade mirror was worth 50 points, the second 200 points, increasing thereafter. And Xuangang Spirits could be exchanged for points.
Treasures were everywhere. As long as one could survive inside, one could obtain resources and benefits.
No wonder Toilet was excited.
A'Diao glanced at the crowd and saw that Nie Yuanyuan, disguised as herself, had already withstood the spiritual tide and was walking at the very front, even ahead of Rong Wan and the others.
Nie Yuanyuan, after all, had the strongest spirituality and a BUG-like talent—she could devour spirituality to replenish her own. So, she was like a fish in water in this First Blade Mirror. However, she was not Chen A'Diao now. If Chen A'Diao disappeared, everyone currently entering or in the First Blade Mirror would become suspects for certain people.
What measures would they take?
Nie Yuanyuan lay low, also glancing at A'Diao at the other end of the First Blade Mirror's outer ring in the distance.
A'Diao was now in the middle section and had already encountered four or five Blade Ghouls. But soon, the Qian Class people realized that the Kun Class people were moving to surround them.
"What, looking for a fight?" Li Che and Nie Yuanyuan were arguably the only two who had an advantage here. He was also at the Star Realm and wasn't very afraid of the Kun Class people. Moreover, Handan Jidao was not far away. The two exchanged glances, preparing for a fight.
Lou Tanglie: "So sensitive? They say what you think about by day, you dream of by night. Are you scared now?"
Both sides were on edge, swords drawn. Suddenly, a cultivator shouted, "Young Master Lou, you are locals after all, why act like this? You should know that the energy field in Mirror Blade Gorge is fixed. Fighting at the drop of a hat is not a good thing, especially since we are all here."
Song Ling and the others indeed saw many cultivators. They were all in this area, and it was because of the crowd that they felt some sense of security. Otherwise, if Lou Tanglie and his group had deliberately surrounded them like this, they would have counterattacked long ago.
Lou Tanglie's expression changed, and he snorted lightly, "We are also cultivating here. What, is that not allowed?"
The cultivator: "It is allowed, but please prioritize harmony."
As he spoke, many cultivators expressed their stance, even deliberately positioning themselves around the Qian Class members. Because there were more of them and their cultivation levels were higher, it made the Kun Class people hesitant to act rashly.
The latter could only retreat further away resentfully.
"Thank you," Li Che said to these people.
"You're welcome. We are all Lushan people; there's no need for such internal strife." These people were much older and had a very kind attitude. Afterwards, they joined them in capturing Blade Ghouls while approaching the Second Blade Mirror.
As outsiders, being able to cooperate with the local Lushan cultivator group was indeed an unexpected pleasure.
At this moment, A'Diao, transformed into Dantai Ke, watched all this with cold eyes. Some cultivators approached her, but A'Diao deliberately and suddenly roared angrily, "Get away from me! Trying to ambush me? Are you colluding with Chen A'Diao?!"
"Or perhaps, Chen A'Diao is hiding among you!"
Without another word, she immediately unleashed a vast expanse of powerful golden sword intent.
"Scram!"
These people were instantly beaten until they vomited blood.
This sudden change made everyone look over. But A'Diao, looking at the injured people on the ground who hadn't revealed Chen A'Diao's identity, did not apologize.
What a joke! She was His Highness the Ninth Prince; how could she apologize!
Facing the anger of these Lushan cultivators, A'Diao said coldly again, "Don't think I don't know Chen A'Diao is mixed among you, trying to sneakily surround me? Dream on!"
"Just to kill me, you've put on such a big show, ha!"
Then she plunged headfirst into the Second Blade Mirror.
At this moment, Lou Tanglie: "..."
No, our target is Chen A'Diao. Why are you, the Ninth Prince, trying to make your presence felt?
"He's too paranoid, but we can use that." After he explained the plan, Jiang Wulin said coldly, "This Ninth Prince and Chen A'Diao are like fire and water, naturally enemies. But he's not one of us either. Don't forget Lushan and the imperial family... So this Ninth Prince might also be scheming against her. If we are to cooperate, we must confirm whether his primary goal in this Mirror Blade Gorge aligns with ours, and that he isn't planning to be the oriole."
That means we need to observe first...
"Enter the Second Blade Mirror first, and we'll make our move inside."
They acted according to the plan and all entered the Second Blade Mirror.
In the Second Blade Mirror, there was a layer of damp mist, probably dense water vapor churned up by the tidal waves, accumulated here, making it particularly hazy, like a labyrinth.
At this time, Nie Yuanyuan and others had also entered the Second Blade Mirror. Only, Nie Yuanyuan was now in the guise of a local cultivator, mixed in their area. She was about to capture a Blade Ghoul when she suddenly saw a purplish-black haloed crystal forming not far from it. She observed her surroundings, contacted A'Diao, and her eyes lit up. She deliberately manipulated a tendril of lightning to grab it.
Just as she grabbed it.
Suddenly!
A'Diao, who had entered the Second Blade Mirror earlier, suddenly leaped out. In her guise as Dantai Ke, she aimed a surprise critical strike at Nie Yuanyuan.
The golden sword attacked. Nie Yuanyuan blocked with a shield, deliberately mimicking A'Diao's usual tone of voice and sneering, "Dantai Ke, you've colluded with these Kun Class people? Very good!"
Then she quickly escaped into space, and A'Diao deliberately pretended to chase after her.
"Is that A'Diao?"
"That person just now was A'Diao?! She's disguised herself again."
Secretly, Lou Tanglie and the other two finally confirmed Chen A'Diao's identity. They had just specifically observed and found no signs of disguise on her, and the attacking Dantai Ke was indeed Dantai Ke—the golden sword couldn't be faked.
However, they hadn't expected this Dantai Ke to be so bold as to directly ambush Chen A'Diao.
Rong Wan: "This Chen A'Diao is truly formidable. We couldn't even see through this disguise."
"The intelligence was correct; this person is extremely skilled at disguise. But this Ninth Prince is, after all, the foremost royal genius of the Tang Song Nation. He might possess some supreme treasure that allowed him to see through her disguise, hence the attack."
Lou Tanglie: "I'll go contact him. With his help, we can deal with that Chen A'Diao, and in the end, we won't even need to make a move ourselves."
Soon, A'Diao received a private message from Lou Tanglie.
The content was simple: Your Highness, want to partner up and take down Chen A'Diao?
A'Diao naturally agreed. On the surface, she coolly and indifferently sized him up, but inwardly, she was quite patient: This idiot!
"How do we deal with her? If you don't have a plan, I won't be the blade used by others to kill."
"Rest assured, we've arranged everything. Later..."
The scene just now alarmed Song Ling and the others. They all attacked simultaneously to interfere with Dantai Ke (A'Diao). At this moment, the Kun Class people jumped out.
Ambush!
The two groups immediately clashed, one ambushing, the other meeting them head-on.
During the fight, the group of local Lushan cultivators helped Song Ling and her group.
"Thank you, Brother Zhan Guang!"
"Thank you..."
In this wave, the Kun Class suffered a loss, and Dantai Ke (A'Diao), seeing the situation was not good, also chased after Nie Yuanyuan.
Soon, they rushed into the area with the thickest mist.
Although he wasn't on the same side as A'Diao, Handan Jidao also knew that these Lushan local purebloods would definitely contend with them. If they took down Chen A'Diao, he would be next.
So he could only help Chen A'Diao.
Soon, they caught up, because Chen A'Diao was fighting with that Ninth Prince. The fight caused the mist to churn and energy to become chaotic.
"Over there!"
A large group swarmed over. Handan Jidao and others rushed to A'Diao's side and quickly united to deal with Dantai Ke, this traitor...
And A'Diao also sent a voice transmission to Lou Tanglie: "Send me the coordinates."
Lou Tanglie sent them.
So he watched as this Ninth Prince led the Qian Class people towards the destination he had set up, while his Kun Class people waited in the mist, waiting for the plan to be completed.
Because of the mist, Zhan Guang and the others soon got separated from them, and Chen A'Diao, this Ninth Prince, also disappeared.
The Qian Class people were visiting a place like Mirror Blade Gorge for the first time, so they were naturally suspicious and cautious. But they didn't know that Zhan Guang and other "friendly individuals" who were mixed in with them, seemingly protecting them, were deliberately using the mist to move away. And as they moved away, they secretly released a large number of Blade Ghouls from special pouches.
This, this, this?
What kind of maneuver is this?
If Toilet hadn't seen A'Diao discussing the trick with Nie Yuanyuan and heard A'Diao mention it, Toilet would have really thought these Lushan people weren't very bright.
Previously, A'Diao had said this to Nie Yuanyuan: "Wait until I KO a small leader of the Kun Class with lightning speed. They will definitely be wary and won't dare to attack easily alone or in small groups, because if they lose, it's a total defeat, and even if they win, they might not gain much advantage. After all, they can't kill me. What they want to do now is to severely injure me and slow down my cultivation speed. Only after the three-month novice period can they get serious. So, to deal with me now, they will definitely use the Blade Ghouls in Mirror Blade Gorge. When I passed through the First Heaven's town below earlier, I saw some shops on the shore selling pouches for holding little Blade Ghouls. This shows that Lushan has equipment for little Blade Ghouls. After all, tempering with live little Blade Ghouls is most effective."
"I also asked the Grandmaster Swordsman. He said that the Second Blade Mirror has Xuangang Spirits, and Xuangang Spirits are much more precious than Blade Ghouls. So, they are very likely to use a borrowed knife to kill! There are already many Blade Ghouls, but they don't easily gather in one place to besiege, unless a batch of Blade Ghouls gathers near you beforehand. Other Blade Ghouls will think your area has a large number of Xuangang Spirits, which will attract their kind. Thus, like a magnet, a large number of Blade Ghouls will quickly gather around you, achieving the effect of killing with a borrowed knife. This exploits their advantage as locals who understand Mirror Blade Gorge. So, working backward, they will definitely arrange for people to mix in with you..."
But this move now was truly vicious. After these Blade Ghouls were released, they gathered near the Qian Class people. And A'Diao, under Lou Tanglie's guidance, led them towards a coordinate that was precisely the core area of Blade Ghoul activity in the Second Blade Mirror region.
And so... densely packed Blade Ghouls swarmed out and surrounded them!
Many of the Qian Class people's faces changed.
And not too far away, the Kun Class people met up with Zhan Guang and about a hundred other locals who were cooperating with them.
Lou Tanglie was delighted and said with a laugh, "Thank you, Brother Zhan."
Zhan Guang chuckled lightly, "It's nothing. We are Lushan people after all... Besides, I was just following Captain Zhang's orders."
The implication was that he was giving face to Zhang Xiaodao.
Lou Tanglie's expression stiffened slightly but quickly returned to normal. After all, they all knew how formidable Zhang Xiaodao was.
"Now that so many Blade Ghouls have been drawn to them, they will definitely be severely injured. Probably more than half of them won't be able to attend the next class. We can take this opportunity to plunder some Xuangang Spirits. Let's go!"
Thinking of how Chen A'Diao acted all high and mighty and said she could sit wherever she wanted, everyone finally felt they had vented their anger. Just as they were about to leave.
Suddenly, they saw a large patch of Xuangang Spirits appear ahead.
Everyone's breath caught in their throats.
At least several dozen pieces!
Snatch them!!
The moment these people all rushed forward to snatch them.
Buzz, a large array formed beneath their feet.
A 3000-times gravity suppression array.
Everyone was trapped within it.
"Someone set us up!"
"Break the array, quickly!"
"It's over, the Blade Ghouls from over there are being attracted here."
The Blade Ghouls originally gathered near Song Ling and her group, like jackals smelling delicious food, rushed over. Their speed was extremely fast, and they soon swarmed into the large array.
They were also trapped by gravity, but since everyone was weakened together, they could still fight.
For the sake of the dozens of gathered Xuangang Spirits—although the quantity wasn't huge, Xuangang Spirits usually didn't gather like this but were scattered, and these were too close. It was like ten pounds of meat versus one pound of steamed buns; a starving dog would definitely choose the former.
Song Ling and the others saw the Blade Ghouls being lured away and were momentarily confused about the situation. But Nie Yuanyuan remarked, "The Ninth Prince is truly formidable."
Then she escaped into the mist and fled far away—the Blade Ghouls had been attracted on a large scale, quick, find the most precious Xuangang Spirits!
"Attack the array core!!"
Jiang Wulin and the others attacked the array core in unison, but the array core suddenly moved.
To be able to control the array core so flexibly meant the opponent was nearby!
Everyone looked out and saw His Highness the Ninth Prince walking out of the mist, hands clasped behind his back, giving them a faint smile. "Was it fun?"
No matter who she was now, she had come to Mirror Blade Gorge in advance last night and worked all night, so today was her second time here.
Lou Tanglie was instantly stunned.
He had been used.
This was clearly a scheme within a scheme.
Just as Lou Tanglie was panicking, Jiang Wulin suddenly smiled, "It was very fun."
Abruptly, his and Rong Wan's real bodies turned into Puppet Talismans. On the other side, two shadows suddenly erupted from behind Dantai Ke (A'Diao) to attack!
They had never trusted this Ninth Prince.
So...
Their surprise attack was extremely swift, but they suddenly saw this Ninth Prince take out something.
Why go through all this trouble?
It was precisely because these purebloods all had backers and possessed many treasures. If it weren't a truly critical moment, they wouldn't reveal their true forms and trump cards.
And she never did things half-heartedly. If she was going to do something, she'd go big!
Do it all together.
So that was... a Grade A, top-quality energy burst bomb worth one hundred thousand Star Coins.
What the hell is this! This thing can kill a mid-tier Star Realm cultivator!
Is this Ninth Prince insane?!!!
Jiang Wulin's and Rong Wan's pupils trembled. Both tried to flee, but it was too late.
They had launched a close-quarters surprise attack. This was tantamount to delivering themselves to her door.
BOOM!!!
Five minutes ago, in the rest area on the cliff overlooking Mirror Blade Gorge, Zhang Xiaodao stood with his hands clasped behind his back, coldly observing the vast Mirror Blade Gorge area.
"What, not at ease? Afraid you can't handle that Chief? Otherwise, why would you have just sent Xiao Ren down to divide the spoils of victory?" a captain from the same Martial Hall asked with a smile.
"This Chief is no ordinary person. Her mental power is outstanding; she's really not easy to deal with. But she's young and impetuous, after all. As long as we don't play tricks with her and don't give her time to plan a counterattack, once she enters Mirror Blade Gorge, she's bound to lose this battle."
"We can't kill her either, so we can only teach her a lesson first. But after this time, she'll suffer heavy losses and will surely be unable to cope with the challenges after the three-month novice period. Do you want that Langya Courtyard? I'm not capable anymore, but with your exceptional talent, you should have this chance. It's a pity the Mountain Head... However, I see that several from the other Law Hall and Blade Hall also have this intention. But if you take down this Chief this time, those old folks above will likely look at you in a new light."
Zhang Xiaodao caressed his blade hilt and said faintly, "Prodigies are often proud and fiery. She is too ostentatious. Those who are ostentatious will inevitably..."
BOOM!!!
A massive explosion swept through the core area of the Second Blade Mirror.
They had originally cleared the area to stir up trouble. Now, it had been flattened by a wave. What about those people inside?
The light was so strong it almost blinded them—this was indeed what "looking at someone in a new light" should be like.
Zhang Xiaodao's and the nearby captain's faces instantly turned pale, and they simultaneously dashed down.
In this area, they were still unable to fly and could only run for their lives.
Brother! My brother! You weren't blown to death, were you!
And so many pureblood geniuses of my Lushan...
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