9. The Eight Desolations Sword Master
These words, spoken by another, were far more credible than if Gong Yiling had said them herself.
After hearing the black-clad man’s account, the hall erupted in an uproar.
The Baiyao family… what family was that?
They looked at each other, unable to understand what it all meant. And if what the black-clad man said was true, then didn’t that mean… the Baili royal family had stolen the throne from the descendants of the founding emperor?
“Well.” Miss Gong, feigning to have just heard this, raised an eyebrow with surprise. “What did I just hear?”
“The Baili royal family, the Baiyao family, the Baiyao Dynasty…” She stroked her chin and looked at Baili Yue curiously. “Your Majesty, is what he said true? Or… is it just a fabrication?”
Baili Yue stared at her for a long time, his expression unreadable. Then, as if seeing something, his expression suddenly relaxed, becoming wild and unrestrained.
“The Palace Master of the Pear Blossom Blood Orchid Palace, and the Young Palace Master.” Even facing Gong Muzhi, he seemed to have no fear. “I remember that the Five Demonic Abysses are not to interfere in the internal affairs of the Four Kingdoms. Otherwise, the Hundred Paths Mountain will also get involved. Am I correct?”
“So?”
“I am not aware of any rumors. This was all handled by my subordinates. After I have investigated the matter, I will send the mastermind directly to your palace, to be dealt with as you see fit.”
He said calmly, “As for the rest, you, the Pear Blossom Blood Orchid Palace, seem to have no right to interfere.”
His words made his intentions clear.
Simply put, he was dropping the act.
Even if he did all this, it was none of the Pear Blossom Blood Orchid Palace’s business.
“Is that so?” Miss Gong, now acting as a spokesperson, turned to the bewildered girl from Tianyin Daoist Mountain.
“Miss Tian, you’re from the Hundred Paths Mountain. We, the Pear Blossom Blood Orchid Palace, can stay out of this, but will the Hundred Paths Mountain also stand by?”
Tian Zhenyin was far from being as decisive as the others present. She could only say, her voice trembling slightly, “No matter what, the Hundred Paths Mountain also has no right to interfere in the internal affairs of the Four Kingdoms.”
“Let’s not talk about the past.” Miss Gong pointed at the increasingly angry ministers behind her. “They have served their country and its people, and now they are to be killed because of some baseless suspicion. If the Hundred Paths Mountain doesn’t even care about this, then whatever the Five Demonic Abysses do in the future, don’t you dare interfere.”
“That’s a different matter.”
“How is it a different matter?” Gong Yiling sneered. “If this agreement is so rigid and inflexible, then it’s simple. From today onwards, I am no longer a member of the Pear Blossom Blood Orchid Palace. Can I interfere in this matter now?”
“You!”
Her words left Tian Zhenyin speechless.
She wasn’t the one who made the rules. She was only here because the elders hoped she could express their stance to the Baiyao Dynasty. But now, their stance was clear, but was it useful?
If this girl was determined to do this, then according to her logic, no one in the world had the right to stop her, right?
And then—
“No, if my dear daughter is leaving, then I’m leaving too.” Gong Muzhi raised her hand and said seriously, pouting, “It’s just leaving the Pear Blossom Blood Orchid Palace. No big deal.”
“Mom, why are you leaving too? If you leave, who will be the Palace Master? Uncle Ghost?”
“Although your Uncle Ghost likes to call his apple trees ‘sweetie’ (Ghost Lord Nine: Wait? Is it polite to say this in public?), he’s still a reliable person!”
Gong Muzhi smiled. “And after this is over, we can just accept his invitation and rejoin. Won’t that be fine?”
As expected of her mother, she was even more avant-garde than her when it came to bending the rules.
“You—!” Baili Yue had originally wanted to use this rule to dampen their spirits, but it was clear these two were not people who played by the rules.
“Good, very good.” Baili Yue sneered with rage. “I was going to save you some face, but it seems you two don’t want it.”
“In that case,” he suddenly flicked his right sleeve and said sternly, “then I won’t be polite!”
As he finished speaking, Gong Yiling felt a chilling, murderous aura lock onto her.
And not just that, her opponent’s cultivation was so high that it was terrifying. She couldn’t even speak, only a suffocating nausea welling up within her.
Could this feeling be…
Just as she was stunned, Gong Muzhi suddenly pulled her into her arms, and with a horizontal slash of her sword, a thunderous explosion echoed, sending the weaker cultivators flying.
And after clashing, Gong Muzhi retreated several steps with Gong Yiling, creating a distance. Her opponent also retreated to Baili Yue’s side.
However, when the Sword Alliance members saw his face, they were shocked.
“You are… the Eight Desolations Sword Master, Jian Haiming!?” Their surprise was understandable.
Because the person who had just appeared was none other than the Eight Desolations Sword Master who was supposed to have died in the last Eight Desolations turmoil.
After over a hundred years, he looked much older, his hair white, his face wrinkled, even older than the Sword Alliance leaders.
But his sword intent was unparalleled. The moment he entered the hall, the surrounding swords began to resonate strangely.
Even the sword in Gong Muzhi’s hand, a sword that had acknowledged her as its master, showed a slight sign of wanting to break free from her control.
This sword was no ordinary weapon, but a low-grade Immortal Artifact. For it to react so strangely was not a common occurrence.
“Peak Heavenly Venerable…?”
This person’s cultivation finally made Gong Muzhi serious.
Those Sword Alliance people from before, their cultivation was at most at the early Heavenly Soul realm. She could have dealt with them with one hand.
But a peak Heavenly Venerable was different. And this guy wasn’t just any peak Heavenly Venerable. His sword intent had reached the pinnacle of perfection, just a step away from the realms of Sword Saint and Sword Emperor.
A peak Heavenly Venerable with such sword intent, he could even fight against an Immortal Mansion cultivator without losing.
Although Gong Muzhi wasn’t sure she could defeat him, if this person was the previous Eight Desolations Sword Master, why would he help Baili Yue?
