Tome of Troubled Times

Chapter 151: Master and Servant Switching Positions? No Man’s Land!

Despite Zhao Changhe’s Conan-level analytical skills, he could only watch Sisi in a daze as she pulled out a small compass-like gadget and meticulously surveyed the surroundings.

Getting a pocket-sized luopan[1] was probably not easy. Perhaps she even stole it from Thief Saint Ye Wuzong...

Zhao Changhe was completely clueless when it came to geomancy, tomb-robbing, and such matters. At the moment, he regretted reading too much of Lu Xiaofeng[2] rather than Ghost Blows Out the Light.

Even if he tried to emulate Lu Xiaofeng, he could not do so. After all, Lu Xiaofeng had excellent movement arts and nimble fingers far superior to even Taka Kato’s[3]. As for himself, he was built like a tank. He needed to rely on the help of others when investigating cases, and even if he did have nimble fingers, he had no place to use them.

It was quite embarrassing.

All he could do was follow Sisi cautiously as she paced around. “What are you surveying?”

While surveying, Sisi said, “What means do they have to make the vicious qi surge into the sword pond? If they had such means, they would have been able to control this place long ago... I can deduce that their plan must involve triggering an outbreak of the main tomb’s defensive measures, destroying everything around it completely. Only then would it be possible to break through this space and cause turmoil at Tiger Hill above, while at the same time causing the collapse of the sword pond. As for the old man who is responsible for triggering this series of events, they don’t really care whether he lives or dies. He only has about a month left to live anyway.”

“So, my guess about the ants was right... Are you trying to figure out where the main tomb is located?”

“Obviously. Do you think I’ve just been trying to measure to size of your Dragon Bird?”

She really seems to have a bone to pick with that term...

Sisi suddenly stowed away the luopan and darted out. “I’ve got a general idea of where it is now. Let’s go!”

Zhao Changhe followed after her and asked curiously, “Why do you seem to be more anxious than me?”

“If we fail to stop this and the tomb collapses, we will definitely die. Why in the world would I not be anxious?!” Sisi said angrily. “I was just fine being a little maid, but now I’ve been dragged into this crazy death trap by my crazy master! Zhao Changhe, let me tell you, if I die here, I’ll come back to bite you even as a ghost!”

“It would be much better if you bite me and come, then you can become a ghost.”

Sisi: “?”

Swish, swish, swish!

Streams of sword qi began shooting all around them once again, seemingly even more ferocious than before.

“That old man must be close to the main tomb. Hurry!” Sisi had no time to argue with him. She fully unleashed her true abilities and sped forward.

In Zhao Changhe’s eyes, she moved like a goddess dancing across the waves, gliding through the air gracefully, evading thousands of blades that failed to even touch a sliver of her skin.

She was both beautiful and swift, reaching the opposite end of the passage in just the blink of an eye.

What was most amazing was her movement art that combined the Thief Saint’s movement art and the Celestial Maiden Scattering Flowers Art of the Maitreya Cult. It could surprisingly arouse desires within those who saw it even without the use of spiritual illusions. She was a genius, successfully merging the things that she had secretly learned and creating her own unique version of it. Behind her beauty lay a deadly undercurrent of murderous intent.

“Come on!” Sisi spun around at the end of the passage, her eyes blazing with fury.

Zhao Changhe gritted his teeth and swung his saber wildly, hacking his way forward.

He could not shake off the feeling that their roles of master and servant had switched right now. It was as if his prestige had fallen into the mud. While Sisi moved gracefully through the streams of sword qi like treading the waves, he clumsily made his way through like a mud-covered dog.

Not only was he struggling with his self-image, but the environment truly was quite challenging. Although they had yet to reach the core area, and the peripheral blades of sword qi were mostly just “cannon fodder” of sorts, it was still incredibly difficult to deal with. It had even been able to significantly restrict and hinder the old man who was at the level of those on the Ranking of Man, forcing him to reserve his strength and remain vigilant against the onslaught from all directions.

Sisi’s agility was perfect for this environment, but ironically, it was Zhao Changhe, who obviously possessed greater combat prowess, who was having a difficult time. The relentless assault of sword qi from all directions made it exceedingly difficult for a man like him, who used a broad saber.

“Is this how a master is supposed to be?” Seeing Zhao Changhe struggling halfway through, his clothes torn and tattered from the constant attacks, Sisi finally dropped the act and sneered, “With how you’re faring, I seriously doubt if you can even make it to our destination.”

Zhao Changhe bared his teeth, “Are you rebelling?”

Sisi snorted coldly, “The important thing right now is for us to reach our destination quickly! Not to debate whether or not you’re behaving like a master should!”

“Well, that’s simple.” Zhao Changhe suddenly grinned. “I can move faster than you, do you believe it?”

Sisi was taken aback. She watched as Zhao Changhe abandoned any attempts to protect his non-vital areas, allowing the sword qi to cut through his body while focusing solely on protecting his vitals. Instantly, his speed increased exponentially, and he charged forward like a raging bull. In the blink of an eye, he got to where she was.

Sisi was stunned. “You... Don’t you feel pain?”

“I was originally just worried about losing control of myself if the vicious qi invaded my body, but it seems that the sword qi isn’t as bad as I thought. I can handle it, so why not just do that?” Zhao Changhe replied, showing off a bit. “Where to next? Lead the way!”

“...”

Sisi led the way, soaring ahead. She then said, “If this is indeed the tomb of the Sword Emperor, the sword qi here should be acting as its guardian, and it should not have contained any vicious qi. The presence of vicious qi worries me. I can’t explain it If it’s just because the Lu Clan had killed a lot of people, then it’s a minor issue. What I’m truly concerned about is...”

“What?”

“The possibility that the Sword Emperor isn’t actually dead. Thoughts of chaos have been gradually resurging and spreading, and that may be the cause of the emergence of vicious qi within the tomb. This could also be the reason why the sword qi has managed to leak into the space outside this dimension. It’s the most likely and most dangerous scenario. If the Sword Emperor is awakened by the vicious qi, then it could end up not only threatening Gusu, but the entire divine land[4].”

The terrifying consequences of this possibility stunned Zhao Changhe for a moment. He was left in such a daze that he could hardly feel the pain of the sword qi cutting into his body. “This...”

The disparity in power between the previous era and the current one was something that he had experienced many times. If an existence worthy of being called an “Emperor” in the previous era were to really be awakened by the vicious qi, it could indeed lead to the downfall of the entire empire. It would be impossible for anyone to resist such immense power, even Xia Longyuan.

Sisi pondered for a moment before continuing, “Things might not be that bad... Logically speaking, even the defenses at the periphery of the tomb should have been beyond our capabilities to bypass. The fact that the streams of sword qi weren’t at that level of power suggests that the power in this place has greatly diminished after the countless years since it was established. Therefore, even if the Sword Emperor truly awakens, he may not have the same strength he did in his prime.”

Zhao Changhe nodded. He found this explanation more plausible with the evidence of the weakened sword qi. If that were the case, then perhaps the individuals at the top of the Ranking of Heaven would still have a chance against the Sword Emperor. Since there were still tall people to hold up the sky when it fell, those who were still in the pond below as hidden dragons did not need to worry too much about the distant future. For now, the two of them simply needed to focus on stopping the Lu Clan from doing something foolish.

Speaking of which, Sisi seems to know quite a bit about the previous era. Moreover, she was even able to tell that the old man from the Lu Clan was approaching death with just a single glance.

Could she really have learned all of that from just half a year in the Thieves Guild? Since Ji Chengkong is from the main branch of the Thieves Guild as well, shouldn’t he also have this knowledge?

She knows about the previous era, yet she could not even recognize the founding saber of the current empire, Dragon Bird... Just what exactly are her origins?

While Zhao Changhe was pondering, a violent explosion sounded ahead. Sisi’s expression changed drastically, “These fools really have no idea what they’re doing. They’re using methods that would anger the Sword Emperor’s tomb, attempting to incite the vicious qi here and have it break through the upper space! Did these fools never consider the possibility of prematurely awakening the Sword Emperor with what they’re doing?! All of them will be buried with that stupid old man! Do they really think that they can just charge at the Tang Clan’s sword pond?!”

Zhao Changhe could not be bothered to respond. He had been cut all over by the sword qi when he rushed over, and he did not have much energy to spare for pointless conversation.

He rushed ahead of Sisi and turned at the next intersection, only to be met with the sight of a massive stone door. The old man from the Lu Clan was frantically bombarding it, laughing maniacally as he did so. “Feel the anger! Charge! Break through this damned space! Show me what happens when the vicious qi that has been tormenting our Lu Clan redirects its wrath on the Tang Clan!”

What a mess...

Zhao Changhe did not have the time to complain. He leaped several zhang through the air and directly used Scattering the Gods and Buddhas, aiming his strike at the old man’s head.

The nearby vicious qi grew denser and more frenzied, condensing into a solid form. Even the surrounding sword qi came to have a crimson, bloodthirsty aura. The area right before the entrance to the main tomb became a crimson hell, with a bloody vortex seemingly trying to surge upwards.

To make matters worse, the entire space felt like it was trembling, causing Zhao Changhe’s heart to pound with fear. He felt as though the terrifying ancient Sword Emperor was rising up from behind the heavy gate in front of him.

This strike had nearly exhausted all of his strength. Every wound on his body burst open, blood gushing out from them like a fountain. His blood-soaked figure eerily fit perfectly in this scene that resembled a crimson hell.

“Did you seriously think that I wouldn’t be able to deal with you brats at the fourth and fifth layer of the Profound Gate just because I’ve been exhausting myself?” The old man laughed maniacally and suddenly thrust his sword at Zhao Changhe’s Danzhong acupoint.

This was the most obvious flaw in the Scattering the Gods and Buddhas. Zhao Changhe’s acupoint-shifting skill could not be used in this situation. His only option was to retract his saber and sweep it horizontally to try to deflect the attack. However, by doing so, he would be completely canceling out the Scattering the Gods and Buddhas. Furthermore, the most serious problem was whether he would even be able to deflect the strike of someone at the ninth layer when he was only at the fifth layer himself. With such a huge difference in their power, exposing one’s flaws like this was simply courting death!

As expected, Zhao Changhe retracted his sword and swept it horizontally, striking the side of the old man’s sword

To the old man’s astonishment, his sword was actually deflected. He even felt as if his strength was inferior to Zhao Changhe’s!

He took a step back in surprise, intending to reorganize his offensive, but was even more shocked to find that Zhao Changhe’s eyes had turned completely blood-red. His face was contorted and filled with madness, just like when his grandson had pretended to have gone mad from the vicious blood qi.

At this moment, Zhao Changhe could no longer recognize him, nor could he even recognize himself.

No Man’s Land!

This was the second time that he used this forbidden move of the Vicious Blood Art.

After having absorbed so much vicious qi along the way, the amount of vicious qi in his blood and qi had already exceeded the limit. Even if he did not actively use this ultimate technique, he would probably start to lose his mind and go mad soon enough. By voluntarily gathering the vicious qi and using it, he not only gained some initiative, but also exceeded his original level of power due to absorbing so much vicious qi.

Sisi, who had intended to help him, gulped and quietly stepped back.

This guy’s combat instincts and willpower are really terrifying. I didn’t even think that the reason why he has been allowing himself to get cut countless times by the sword qi was that he wanted to unleash all of the vicious qi he absorbed once we got here...

Sisi had felt like she had been standing up a few moments before, but now she felt like she was kneeling down once again...

1. A luopan is a geomantic compass used in Feng Shui. Fans of Necropolis Immortal might recognize it. ☜

2. Reference to The Legend of Lu Xiaofeng. ☜

3. Legendary Japanese AV actor. ☜

4. The words used here were 神州, which likely refer to the empire. ☜