Chapter 1235: Chapter 241: Formation · Sword Forging Valley (1/2)
The ancient city of Loulan is the ruins of an ancient kingdom in the Western Regions from a thousand years ago. According to docunted records, its national strength was among the strongest of the Western Regions’ kingdoms at the ti.
During that era, the kingdom housed nearly a million inhabitants.
The palaces and pavilions, altars for offering sacrifices to Heaven and Earth, residences, and palaces were all orderly arranged.
Yet, inexplicably, a thousand years ago, a million people vanished overnight, and the once-prosperous Western Region kingdom collapsed overnight, leaving countless mysteries behind.
Over the millennium, countless people have attempted to co to Loulan in the Western Regions to seek the mystery of Loulan’s disappearance and the secret treasures left by the royal family, but most have found nothing.
Rather than gold and jade, it is bandits who are more easily found here.
Wang Anfeng and Lv Yingbo, along with others, hurried through the boundless yellow sands, easily losing their way and direction. The surrounding scenery was monotonous, and their sense of ti beca dulled.
Unsure how much ti had passed or how many hours had gone by, Wang Anfeng finally saw the ancient city of Loulan in the distance, the ancient city shrouded in countless mysteries.
His eyes lit up slightly at this mont, instead controlling his Qi chanism, descending from the sky to the ground, and continuing towards Loulan. Even at this mont, or rather, precisely because his heart was anxious as fire, his thoughts beca calr.
Sheng Zhehan was sowhat nervous, gripping tightly the strong bow in his hand, his left hand hanging down to make several gestures. The mbers of the Bokel Family riding on black wolves slowed their mounts’ movents to prevent making too much noise.
The group slowly approached the ancient city of Loulan, taking much longer than before.
…………
Upon entering the city, the desolation was imdiately palpable. Everywhere were ruins and broken walls; the once-great palaces and houses were reduced to lonely fragnts of walls barely standing. A thousand years was too long, long enough for a hero’s ambition and aspirations to be swallowed and disappear, let alone the joys and sorrows of ordinary people.
Sheng Zhehan raised his eyes to look at Lv Yingbo and said:
“Where do we go next? Since you know there’s sothing here, you should also know where it is now, right?”
Lv Yingbo’s face was pale and thin. He shook his head and said, “I don’t know. This matter was entirely handled by that person. I was responsible for matters in surrounding countries and didn’t know much about the details. Back then, I wouldn’t have asked about such things, nor would he have told .”
Sheng Zhehan’s face turned sowhat green. He pointed at the vast ancient city spread out before them, speaking one word at a ti:
“So what you an is, we’re supposed to find that sword hidden sowhere in this massive ruin, while the others already know exactly where it is?!”
Lv Yingbo’s face also looked grim, but he still nodded.
Sheng Zhehan took a deep breath, emotions boiling in his chest. If not for Wang Anfeng beside him, he might have smashed his bow and arrows on the ground and given up entirely. Loulan was the largest city in the Western Regions from a thousand years back. A city of such size naturally covered a vast area, not to ntion the secret passages that were hard to discern with the naked eye.
In a city this large, searching for a sword would require ti and manpower.
Unfortunately, though he didn’t understand the whole truth, he knew clearly that these were the two things they lacked the most at this mont.
Yet there was no choice; the situation was as it stood, and they could only search slowly, hoping that destiny favored them, that the sword wasn’t hidden too far, and a little searching would reveal it.
Sheng Zhehan took a deep breath.
At that mont, Wang Anfeng suddenly turned his body towards the northwest direction.
The Orb of Heavenly Secrets tied to his sleeve moved with the wind. Wang Anfeng’s Qi chanism intertwined, using the thods of mystical arts to instantly sweep over the entire city. In his vision, the whole ancient city of Loulan appeared dim.
Because there were no longer any residents here, the city lacked ‘fate’ and ‘karma,’ making it impossible for mystical arts to affect lifeless existence. In the unique perception of the Dongfang Clan, this was a dead zone.
However, within this ruin-like, withered and cold world, there was a corner that exuded a faint warmth. This unusual sensation was barely perceptible, but even the faintest light would appear as conspicuous as the sun in the darkness.
Wang Anfeng’s eyes slightly brightened, saying:
“Over there…”
“What?”
Sheng Zhehan paused slightly, and Wang Anfeng had already unfolded his movent technique, gliding over the desolate, barren land like a flying wild goose. Lv Yingbo and Sheng Zhehan exchanged a glance, suppressing their inner agitation and worry, following closely behind.
In such a vast, empty, and unfamiliar place, Wang Anfeng seed undeterred, moving straight ahead, his speed constantly increasing as if limitless. Despite their best efforts, Lv Yingbo and Sheng Zhehan still lost him, though thankfully Wang Anfeng hadn’t erased his tracks, so the two didn’t lose direction.
When they finally found Wang Anfeng, he was already standing before an ancient building, seemingly whispering. Sheng Zhehan stopped, looking up at the structure before them, eyes slightly widening, murmuring:
“This, this is…”
Even during this ti, having seen many things never seen before, the scene before them still stirred deeply within his heart.
The structure standing before them.
Or rather, the existence that was difficult to describe solely as “building,” standing there.
The whole entity was the sa dull yellow as Loulan of the ancient kingdom but bizarrely tapered from a wide top to a narrow bottom. If one were to describe it, it would be like a longsword plunged upside down into the ground, yet this sword was exceedingly large, rising several dozen ters high.
From the position of the sword hilt to the blade, eight chains extended outward, suspended in the void.
The closer the chains got to the sword, the more real they appeared, glowing a bluish-black light. As they spread in all directions, they grew more illusory, matching the color of Heaven and Earth, and eventually disappeared into the void. The sound of chains rattling could be heard in the air, but upon quiet contemplation, nothing could be heard.
Amidst the vast expanse of Heaven and Earth, one could only see a sword standing, with chains spanning across in eight directions.
He could no longer feel any hint of Qi chanism.
Sheng Zhehan’s expression shifted, as if struck by a thought, and he retreated a few steps.
A flash crossed his eyes, and the sword suspended in the air vanished from his sight. What he saw returned to the vast scenery of the Great Desert. He moved forward two more steps, and the divine weapon that seed like it belonged in legends reappeared before him.
“An illusion array of the Taoist Sect, and a rather high-ranking one at that…”
Wang Anfeng spoke, and at this mont, he recalled from his youth under the Qingfeng Edge, where stepping wrong ant never entering its gates. He recognized the origin of this scene; in the Western Regions, few understood such formation techniques.
But he had a guess in his heart.
The previous year, at his last eting with that Qiong Qi, the latter ntioned that the Zhan Lu Sword was forcibly controlled by Ouyang of the present generation, taken away from Wang Tiance, leaving a question in his mind ever since.
Qiong Qi said the divine weapon Zhan Lu often went berserk, but after that incident years ago, Li Bo would not have failed to seek out the Zhan Lu Sword. The rampage of a divine weapon often triggered atmospheric changes across hundreds of miles, a change impossible for any Grandmaster, who is one with Heaven and Earth, to miss.
Especially not for Li Qidao, who was extrely familiar with the Zhan Lu Sword.
But now, everything had an explanation. The Sword Forging Valley also understood this well and definitely did not want to face Li Bo head-on. After taking the Zhan Lu Sword away, they did not leave it within the Great Qin but found ways to send it beyond the Western Regions, to the ancient city of Loulan, in an desolate area, a thousand miles with no human presence.
Added with the superior Taoist Sect’s illusion array to conceal the changes in Qi chanism.
Unless a Grandmaster ca within thirty miles of this place, there was no chance of detecting anything out of the ordinary.
Sword Forging Valley…
Wang Anfeng silently mouthed, and at this ti, Sheng Zhehan finally recovered from the initial shock of the atmosphere, whispered a couple of tis, and said:
“Is it a formation? Then, is the divine weapon Zhan Lu really stored here now?”
Lv Yingbo nodded, saying, “Qi Lock Eight Directions Dragon Subduing Formation, this place is indeed where the Zhan Lu Sword is suppressed. The formation here is intact, and it seems that the people of White Tiger Hall haven’t discovered this place yet. Let us go in quickly.”
“But be cautious, there should be many formations here, not just those suppressing the divine weapon.”
Sheng Zhehan nodded, tightened his grip on his strong bow, and beca vigilant.
Wang Anfeng shook his head and said softly, “You all stay outside and guard.”
Sheng Zhehan was slightly taken aback and instinctively looked at him, saying:
“Young Master?”
Lv Yingbo furrowed his brows and said, “Don’t be reckless. Seeing this formation should make you understand just how much the person who trapped this sword here treasures it. There must be other arrangents—they wouldn’t leave it undefended. Going in alone, even if it’s you, won’t easily succeed.”
Wang Anfeng closed his eyes briefly and said:
“At least I’ll be able to leave alone.”
“It’s decided then.”
“If the people from White Tiger Hall co, delay them. I will retrieve the Zhan Lu Sword inside as quickly as I can.”
Lv Yingbo looked at him firmly for a few monts, seeing his determination, then exhaled, nodded, and said:
“If that’s the case, I will stand guard here.”
“When it cos to attacking and defeating the enemy, I may not be your rival, but in keeping others out, I won’t fall short of anyone.”
Sheng Zhehan also nodded, and gave a command, dispersing the martial artists skilled in riding and archery around them.
Wang Anfeng took a deep breath, looking ahead at the grand formation and the towering structures dozens of ters high.
The Zhan Lu Sword was inside.
As long as the formation of the Sword Forging Valley is broken, he could see that sword.
Raising his right hand, he mobilized his Qi chanism, wrapping himself in a magnificent aura, forcibly stepping into the ‘Heaven and Earth’ suppressed by the formation, with the help of the Orb of Heavenly Secrets. Taking a few steps forward, from Sheng Zhehan and the others’ perspective, only faint ripples could be seen, and soon Wang Anfeng vanished from sight.
PS: This is the first chapter for today…
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