Volume 3, Chapter 329 – How Can It Be You!

Within the city walls, all escape techniques were forbidden.

Under the suppression of the formation array, every cultivator was bound by this rule.

And beneath the Human Empress’s reign, nearly every major human city was outfitted with this same array.

The Beihe Commandery seat was no exception.

Even Lu Guan, as the head disciple of Lingxiao Sword Sect’s sect master, lacked the ability to break past this restriction.

For now, all he could do was move like an ordinary person, putting one foot in front of the other toward the city gate.

A sword venerable’s reincarnation had truly appeared in the world, and it was none other than the second daughter the Chi family had just recently brought home.

This information was of immense importance to Lingxiao Sword Sect.

After Immortal Venerable Qingzhi fell, Lingxiao Sword Sect lost its greatest pillar of strength.

The one fortunate thing was that Immortal Venerable Qingzhi had fallen within demon clan territory.

So the world only knew that a venerable saint had perished, not which one.

Immortal Venerable Qingzhi had spent years stationed at Lingxiao Peak, rarely venturing out.

And among the venerable saints of the various clans, there existed an unspoken agreement: none would casually interfere in the affairs of others.

No one would have thought that Lingxiao Sword Sect’s Immortal Venerable Qingzhi would suddenly appear in the Nether Abyss Demon Sovereign’s territory, let alone fall at the hands of the fox clan.

Every sect master and elder among the Seven Sword Sects felt something close to despair each time the thought crossed their minds.

The Seven Sword Sects had concealed the news of Immortal Venerable Qingzhi’s death and kept its consequences from spreading.

But that was no long-term solution. Lingxiao Sword Sect had been searching ever since for a way to fill the gap left by the loss of a venerable saint’s power.

And now, the sword venerable’s reincarnation, that seed of hope, was right there inside the Chi family estate.

Lu Guan knew that once word got out, that girl would become the target of every major power scrambling to claim her.

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The Chi family was a merchant clan. Wealthy enough to rival a nation, perhaps, but they did not have the foundation to nurture a sword venerable’s reincarnation, nor the capability to protect her amid the struggle that would follow.

Among all the great human powers, only three possessed the depth to raise and shelter a sword venerable’s reincarnate.

“No matter what, Lingxiao Sword Sect must secure that seed.”

“Word of the sword venerable’s reincarnation will not stay quiet for long. The girl must be taken before any of the other sword sects catch wind of it.”

Lingxiao Sword Sect had learned first. The advantage was theirs.

Once the sect master himself stepped forward, the Chi family would not have the standing to defy Lingxiao Sword Sect.

Just like when the engagement between Chi Xiyan and Song Shixuan had been arranged.

With that thought, Lu Guan’s pace quickened.

Then, without warning, a cold premonition seized him.

A crisis instinct, born of years of sword cultivation, made him lurch to a halt and throw himself backward.

A thundering blast erupted across the very path he had been walking.

A bolt of crimson demon lightning exploded where he would have been.

Lu Guan’s expression shifted sharply.

The scenery around him was distorting in violent, impossible ways.

The road stretching toward the city gate ahead had begun to warp and extend without end.

The crowd of passersby that had filled the street moments ago had vanished entirely.

Lu Guan’s face went cold.

As a formation master himself, he understood exactly what had happened.

He had been drawn into a trap using a formation array.

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But this was Beihe Commandery, one of the wealthiest commandery seats among the nine heavens and twelve commanderies of human territory.

Who in this city would dare attack a senior disciple of a sword sect?

A chill ran up Lu Guan’s spine.

There was only one power in Beihe Commandery bold enough to do something like this.

The local king of this territory.

“Chi Jingwen?!”

Lu Guan’s teeth clenched.

He had only just learned Chi Muxue’s true identity, and already, before he had even left the main city district, someone had moved against him.

It was difficult to claim this had nothing to do with the Chi family.

“Chi Jingwen, is this you?!” Lu Guan’s voice rang out in fury. “The Chi family is a well-known and distinguished clan. Are you not afraid that acting so covertly like this will invite ridicule if it comes to light?”

What answered him was a laugh like the clear chime of silver bells.

Lu Guan’s cold expression faltered. Something about that laugh sounded familiar.

In a cascade of tinkling, crystalline sound, pink rain began to fall from the sky. A strange fragrance spread slowly through the air.

Lu Guan breathed it in.

The rich, intoxicating scent was almost pleasant at first, but a moment later a warmth he could not account for began rising in his chest.

His expression changed.

In that instant, he felt the Lingxiao sword intent within him threatening to slip from his control.

“Fox demon pheromones?!”

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“No. This isn’t pheromones. It’s something else entirely.”

Lingxiao Sword Sect had dealt with fox demons for generations. As the sect master’s head disciple, Lu Guan was no stranger to fox demon pheromones.

Every inner disciple of Lingxiao Sword Sect was taught in their very first lesson before heading to the battlefield how to resist the erosion of fox demon pheromones.

So whether a scent was pheromones or not, Lu Guan could tell with a single breath.

This was not pheromones. It was a toxin crafted to imitate them, carrying a similar effect: the ability to make a sword cultivator’s sword intent spiral out of control.

“A poison made specifically to target sword cultivators. You prepared quite thoroughly.”

What a pity, then, that the one who had laid this formation apparently did not know that Lu Guan was himself a formation master.

A trap set in such haste as this would not hold him for long.

Lu Guan raised his sword and channeled his spiritual energy into his eyes, activating his spirit-reading sight to scan for weaknesses in the formation.

The moment he broke through it, he could send a transmission to the sword sect disciples stationed nearby and have them converge on his position.

Just then, another gust of force came at him from the side.

Lu Guan’s expression stayed cold. He raised his sword to meet it.

Through his spirit sight, the trajectory of the opposing sword qi appeared clearly before him.

Two streams of sword qi collided in midair, scattering curtains of pink raindrops in every direction.

Lu Guan fell back several steps.

Of course his opponent would not simply let him break the formation unopposed. That was no surprise.

But that sword qi, the one that had just clashed with his, carried a feeling he could not shake.

It was deeply, unmistakably familiar.

Lu Guan drew a slow breath and looked toward the girl who had just struck.

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As that familiar silhouette came into focus before his eyes, his pupils contracted sharply.

A sound escaped him before he could stop it.

“It’s you!”

“How can it be you?!”

Lu Zhuxin held a sword in one hand and kept the other around Bu Lianshuang’s waist.

She walked forward unhurried, and the pink rain parted around her like a curtain making way.

Bu Lianshuang looked at Lu Guan, surprised. “Xin’er, so he’s the one you wanted to kill.”

She had seen this sword cultivator once before.

The weight of blood on this man was immense. Even from a distance, Bu Lianshuang could smell the nauseating reek of slaughter clinging to him.

And that smell was built almost entirely from the lives of her fellow demon clan kin, with the fox clan making up the largest share.

Bu Lianshuang had a fairly clear idea now of why the fox clan wanted him dead so badly.

Lu Zhuxin said lightly, “He is the sect master of Lingxiao Sword Sect’s head disciple. If he dies here, what do you suppose Lingxiao Sword Sect’s reaction would be?”

Lu Guan’s expression shifted again. “The Chi family actually intends to kill me?”

Looking at the scene unfolding before him, his mind was full of questions he could not answer.

Why was Chi Muxue the one sent to kill him?

And had Chi Muxue truly grown to this level?

The sword qi she had just unleashed carried the power of at least the sixth realm.

“Chi Muxue!” His voice cracked out like a blade. “Do the Chi family truly intend to burn every last bridge with Lingxiao Sword Sect?!”