Chapter Nine: Accepting the Mission

"The direction is correct, but there’s some trouble," Mu Renxing said with a frown.

"What kind of trouble?"

"A thousand feet below, there’s a flash of purple light. The treasure should be there, but it’s guarded by countless wraiths. Right now, over a hundred cultivators are besieging the place!"

Upon hearing this, Su Yizhao’s eyes brightened slightly.

Every mine tunnel harbored wraiths.

Wraiths specialized in soul attacks, impossible to guard against. A powerful wraith could shatter a cultivator's soul in an instant—at best, driving them mad, at worst, killing them on the spot.

To defend against soul attacks, one needed specialized mystic artifacts or techniques. Killing a wraith was even harder; flying swords and spells did little harm.

"If these cultivators can resist, the wraiths must be of a low level. Let’s go!" Liu Qinwu’s face lit up, and he charged ahead.

Along the way, they encountered another dozen or so cultivators.

Some were crazed, others dull and vacant, but without exception, they all fell to the blades of Liu Qinwu’s group.

The three women were furious, but powerless to intervene.

The other three men seemed accustomed to this, eyes alight with restless anticipation.

Su Yizhao thought to himself, "This mission—Gold Medal Law Enforcer Su Yizhao accepts it!"

After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the clamor of battle reached their ears.

A gust of eerie wind swept by, and the scent of blood grew ever stronger.

Just as the chill seeped into their bones, the passage suddenly opened up into a vast chamber.

In the center of this space hovered a mass of purple radiance.

The purple glow flickered mysteriously, as if veiled by something unseen.

Clusters of silver-gray misty forms encircled the purple light, while more of these wraiths darted about the chamber.

The ground was strewn with the corpses of cultivators.

Over twenty cultivators were driving their flying swords and casting spells, locked in a brutal struggle with the wraiths.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Howl! Howl!

Snap!

Su Yizhao focused his gaze—flying swords, fireballs, and ice spikes crisscrossed the air in a blinding dance of cold and heat, the stench of blood and the chill of death entwined.

"Fellow Daoists, the treasure is before us! Let’s join forces to slay these wraiths, and everyone gets a share of the prize—what do you say?" a burly cultivator shouted to them.

Liu Qinwu’s group scrutinized the scene, then coolly remarked, "As expected, the wraiths are at most at the Fourth Profound Realm."

Mu Renxing tilted his head and replied, "Why bother? We’ll wait till you’re all dead, then make our move."

The burly cultivator nearly spat blood in fury. Before he could retort, a sense of dread overtook him, and he fled in an instant.

At that moment, the purple glow in the air suddenly flared, as though sensing a threat. The wraiths clustered around it exploded outward.

Thousands of wraiths shot toward the group like arrows. At the heart of the purple light was a small, purple orb.

Though separated by thirty feet, Su Yizhao felt a soothing warmth wash over his soul.

This orb must be soul-related!

His eyes gleamed with delight. Stepping forward, he shielded Li Xiu Yue behind him.

Liu Qinwu and the others’ faces darkened. In unison, they summoned their flying swords.

"Wooooo..."

The wraiths seemed to wail, their piercing cries drilling straight into the soul.

"Run!"

"Quick, escape!"

The twenty-some cultivators battling in the air realized the danger and scattered toward the mine tunnels.

The wraiths ignored them, converging instead on the ten remaining in the chamber.

Su Yizhao formed a hand seal, and a beam of white light shot forth.

"Give it your all—leave your fate to the heavens! Release!"

At Liu Qinwu’s command, flying swords flashed forward like lightning.

The others followed suit, and the chamber burst with cold light.

Fist-sized wraiths rained down like a storm.

The sword light would pierce the wraiths, halting them for only a moment. The misty forms, even when punctured, instantly healed.

"Wooooo..."

As if directed by some unseen hand, when the wraiths drew within fifteen feet, they all let out a shrill cry.

The sound made everyone shudder violently. A ringing filled their minds, and their vision blurred into chaos.

Su Yizhao hastily formed another hand seal.

With a hiss, his flying sword pierced through the midst of the wraiths, spinning rapidly.

At the same time, an ice shield materialized before him.

Most of the attacks targeted Liu Qinwu’s trio.

They, however, were unaffected. Moving with astonishing speed, their swords cleaved through the wraiths, shredding them to fragments.

By contrast, the other three staggered, grunting as blood trickled from their ears, clearly wounded.

Standing behind Su Yizhao, the three women were pale, blood seeping from their noses and mouths. Each swiftly produced a pill, swallowed it, and their color returned.

Soul attacks were the hardest to defend against.

That all three women had pills to heal soul wounds was even rarer.

Watching the tidal wave of wraiths surging toward him, Su Yizhao took a deep breath, drew upon his mystic energy, and slashed powerfully with both hands.

His flying sword moved with such agility that in the blink of an eye it had slashed up and down a hundred times, cutting forty or fifty wraiths to pieces.

Still, more wraiths pressed past the sword light, storming toward him.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

A flurry of impacts rattled his ice shield.

His body shook, but he did not retreat a single step, holding his ground with fierce resolve.

He knew—the most dangerous moment had arrived.

As the wraiths crashed against the ice shield, they immediately soared up again, darting around the shield, aiming for his head.

With urgent hand seals, his flying sword flashed constantly before his face.

Wraith after wraith was shredded to mist.

The flying sword sometimes swept across his brow, at other times hovered before his face, missing not a single foe.

If a wraith invaded one’s mind, even the gods could not save them.

In the center of the chamber, the spherical treasure shone like a purple sun, casting dazzling rays.

"Heavenly Thunder Sword Art—release!"

"Wild Wind Sword Art—release!"

"Liu’s Sword Art—release!"

Suddenly, three voices boomed out, and the entire chamber quaked as if in a storm.

Su Yizhao’s expression grew grave. He murmured, "The Sword Art?"

At the Fourth Profound Realm, one could learn fourth-tier Sword Arts, whose power was at least triple that of third-tier Sword Control Arts.

But such arts were precious—even he, a Gold Medal Law Enforcer, could not study them for free.

Titled Sword Arts were even rarer. In the Profound Qi Sect, no amount of spirit stones could buy a titled Sword Art, for they simply didn’t exist.

At this moment, he once again felt the overwhelming power of the emissaries from the main sect—their backing was indeed formidable.

As the three men unleashed their arts, flying swords raged through the space like a wild tempest.

Boom! Boom!

Wooooo...

Wraiths were shredded in swathes.

In the eyes of all, the purple glow grew ever stronger.

Liu Qinwu and the other two displayed godlike prowess, giving Su Yizhao a welcome respite.

Even more to his delight, after watching their display, he realized that his own perfected Sword Control Art was scarcely inferior in power.

Still, accustomed to keeping a low profile, he had no intention of revealing his strength now.

Thus, he pretended to struggle, commanding his flying sword with difficulty, all the while protecting Li Xiu Yue behind him.

"Ha! Fellow Daoists, you’ve learned something today, haven’t you? This is the true power of Fourth Profound Realm cultivators!"

"Daoist Xiu Yue, your companion may be a genius here, but compared to us, he’s nothing—talent, strength, background, we surpass him by countless leagues."

"Daoist Xiu Yue, let’s put past grudges behind us. How about we get to know each other anew?" Mu Renxing added.

As the wraiths thinned, the three began to boast of their prowess.

And, to be fair, they had reason to boast.

The three prodigies who had entered the main sect without examination looked on with admiration and envy, nodding in agreement.

Before Li Xiu Yue could reply, Liu Qinwu said, "Su Yizhao, you’re not worthy of Xiu Yue. Here, take some spirit stones, dissolve your engagement yourself."

"If you don’t know what’s good for you—hmph!" Mu Renxing added.

Su Yizhao acted as though he hadn’t heard, his gaze passing over them to the ground, his face contemplative.