Martial Universe (Wu Dong Qian Kun)

Ch!

The sharp edge of the sword was accompanied by wild Yuan Power as it whistled past. Fresh blood splashed in all directions as many figures spat out blood and flew backwards. Their bodies twitched and quickly became ice-cold. In their eyes was a trace of despair.

Countless figures seemed to fill the sky and cover the land as they swept out from within the black clouds. They were like locusts as they charged into the huge island floating in the sky. Ferocious battle cries resounded over the entire place.

Miserable cries and fresh blood added a layer of misery to the land.

Su Rou held the longsword in her hand. With a slash, she killed over a dozen Yuan Gate disciples around her. Her green dress was also dyed in blood. That small and pretty face of hers looked at the blood red floor as intense grief flashed across her eyes.

“All disciples, protect the main palace!”

Su Rou cried out. Majestic Yuan Power surged and she once again caused the many Yuan Gate experts around her to spit out blood and fly backwards. However, a pale look emerged on her face in the face of the flood like attacks.

“Understood!”

Countless figures around her cried out in unison. They formed a huge array that surrounded the palace, blocking the Yuan Gate’s flood like attacks that came at them from all directions.

However, each time the Yuan Gate disciples charged forward, the Nine Heavens Supreme Purity Palace disciples would leave behind a pile of corpses. After which, they were once again forced to pull back their line of defence.

Even though this was the case, not a single person withdrew. Although there was despair in their eyes, they did not show any signs of giving up. Every place had a pillar of faith that belonged to them alone. Just like how the Dao Sect disciples believed in Lin Dong, the Nine Heavens Supreme Purity Palace disciples had a pillar of faith whom they fully believed in within their hearts.

That pillar of faith was called Ling Qingzhu.

She was the most outstanding person of Nine Heavens Supreme Purity Palace in the last thousand years. This was not something that only the disciples felt. Even the palace master and the many elders deeply believed this.

As long as she had yet to fall, Nine Heavens Supreme Purity Palace would be like the moon in the sky, an eternal existence which would never disappear.

　　……

The atmosphere within the simple yet imposing palace was peaceful, very different from the desperate battles that were spreading outside. Majestic Yuan Power gathered into many rivers that flowed within the entire hall. One could see countless flickering crystals within the Yuan Power rivers. Crystals that were as dazzling as diamonds.

These Yuan Power rivers gathered into an ancient and complex formation. There were dozens of elders seated around the formation. Their complexions were deathly pale. Majestic Yuan Power continuously surged out from within their bodies before gathering together and pouring into the ancient formation.

Yuan Power condensed into a green lotus at the middle of the formation. Atop the green lotus sat a lovely and beautiful figure. She had fine ink black hair. Her skin was snow white, and her eyebrows were bent like a willow leaf. Although there was a thin veil over her face, it was still possible to see its soul rendering outline.

At this moment, her slender hands had formed an extremely mysterious gesture. Her fingertips were touching each other, while her palms curved into an extraordinary arc. It was as though the entire world was contained within.

An indescribable ripple was stealthily being emitted.

A pretty middle-aged woman at the very front was staring intently at the extreme beauty at the middle of the formation. In the next moment, she suddenly bit the tip of her tongue and a mouthful of essence blood fell into the formation. After which, a thunderous cry sounded. “Qingzhu, feel the Zenith!”

Grug!

The dozen surrounding elders likewise spat out a mouthful of essence blood as the auras on their bodies rapidly weakened. Their originally white hair gradually withered and even fell off at this moment.

The huge and ancient formation seemed to be stealthily rotating at this moment. In the next instant, the extreme beauty inside suddenly trembled. One could see a radiance suddenly surface above her head. This light appeared extremely blurry and was only five feet in size. However, this tiny five feet radius contained an extremely ancient ripple, a hazy rapple that seemed to be primal chaos itself.

Wild joy was revealed on the defeated faces of the surrounding elders when they saw this scene, as murky tears rolled down their faces. In the end, they struggled to their feet and sincerely knelt towards the extreme beauty in the middle of the formation.

“Has it… really succeeded?”

The deathly pale pretty middle-aged woman watched this scene as her body shook with excitement. Without any concern for her rapidly whitening hair, she laughed out loud, “Haha, it has been a thousand years. My Nine Heavens Supreme Purity Palace finally has a disciple who has truly sensed the Zenith! All of us can die without regrets!”

Grug!

The pretty middle-aged woman once again spat out a mouthful of blood as her shrill laughter rang out and her body quickly collapsed. The other elders also slowly fell to the ground as their auras gradually disappeared.

Buzz.

The vast and endless Yuan Power rivers in the air suddenly came whistling downwards. Finally, it poured into the extreme beauty. Faced with the influx of power that even an ordinary Samsara stage expert would not be able to endure, the white clothed lady actually managed to directly absorbed all of it.

“Swoosh.”

The great beauty suddenly opened her tightly shut eyes as the Yuan Power river poured into her body. Those eyes of hers were like the deep ocean, clear and boundaryless. However, there was also a unique ripple within them. This ripple seemed to ride above the world.

However, the ripple was only present for a moment before disappearing. Soon after, her figure appeared beside the rapidly aging middle-aged beauty. She hurriedly helped the latter up and anxiously cried, “Teacher!”

The pretty middle-aged woman slowly opened her eyes after Ling Qingzhu cried out. She looked at the red eyed great beauty with pleased eyes. The blood at the corner of her lips caused her to appear exceptionally miserable. “Qingzhu, you have really succeeded…”

Who else in this Nine Heavens Supreme Purity Palace would be addressed in such a manner other than Ling Qingzhu?

“Teacher, how are you feeling?” Ling Qingzhu tightly hugged the middle-aged beauty. At this moment, her voice had become a little choked despite her usual cool and indifferent character.

“Ha ha, I have already passed on my entire life’s cultivation to you. I’m afraid that it will be difficult to keep this life of mine.” The pretty middle-aged woman slowly extended her hand and wiped away Ling Qingzhu’s tears and said, “There is no need to be sad. Being able to witness you sensing the Zenith before I die is already my greatest achievement.”

“Teacher, you will be okay.” Beads of tears fell from Ling Qingzhu’s eyes as she softly sobbed.

“Foolish child. This body of mine was seriously injured to begin with. I am already very satisfied to have been able to do something for you at this final moment.”

The pretty woman’s face was warm and gentle. She glanced at Ling Qingzhu before she suddenly said, “The person who took your virginity back then is that Lin Dong from Dao Sect, right?”

“Ah?”

Ling Qingzhu was stunned. However, she bit her red lips tightly and refused to speak.

“You visited the Great Yan Empire annually for the last three years. Do you really think that teacher does not know what you went to do?” The pretty middle-aged woman softly said. “I only did not expect that there would actually come a day where this aloof and proud disciple of mine would do such things for a man. That little brat is really blessed.”

“I… he helped me back at the Unique Devil Region. I… I merely wanted to return this favor. Teacher, please do not think more of it. Qingzhu does not have much hopes when it comes to romance. I only wish to ensure Nine Heavens Supreme Purity Palace prospers forever.” Ling Qingzhu softly said.

“You foolish girl. I knew what happened ever since you returned from the Great Yan Empire back then. Yet, you were incredibly stubborn and refused to mention the name of the person who took your virginity. Isn’t this because you are afraid that teacher will tear that person into pieces in anger? Aih, but by taking your virginity back then, that fellow also completely ruined the Great Purity Skill that you practiced so hard for so many years. That is something essential to sensing the Zenith!” The pretty middle-aged woman sighed.

“Teacher, it is impossible for everything to be perfect in this world. Although the Great Purity Skill that I had practiced was ruined, I also ended up gaining a blessing from this disaster and successfully sensed the Zenith. Just who can clearly distinguish between blessing and disaster?” Ling Qingzhu said.

“You are still protecting him even till now. You have tried to sense the Zenith for many years. That little fellow is greatly responsible for the fact that you were only able to touch it now.”

The pretty middle-aged woman laughed bitterly. Soon after, she sighed and said, “Hopefully that little fellow is indeed worthy of you. You have felt the Zenith. Although this is only the initial stage, your future accomplishments will be limitless.”

“Qingzhu, do you know what is the greatest secret hidden by our Nine Heavens Supreme Purity Palace?” The middle-aged woman was quiet for a moment before she suddenly asked.

“No.” Ling Qingzhu shook her head. There was a somewhat lost expression in her pretty eyes. Even with her position in Nine Heavens Supreme Purity Palace, she was still not completely aware of its secret. From this, one could tell that this so called secret was extremely well hidden.

“Hehe, this matter has been passed on verbally from one palace master to another in Nine Heavens Supreme Purity Palace since the first generation. Our Nine Heavens Supreme Purity Palace has another name during in the distant past.”

“It was called… Zenith Palace.”

“Zenith Palace?” Ling Qingzhu was slightly startled. She quickly shook her head. Although she had read many ancient texts, she had never read of the existence of this great sect during those ancient times.

“Truth be told, Nine Heavens Supreme Purity Palace does not have the qualifications to call itself the successor to Zenith Palace. Of course, you can perhaps now be considered to have barely touched the path of Zenith Palace. However, you cannot call yourself a member of Zenith Palace.” The pretty middle-aged woman said.

“There has only been one member of this Zenith Palace since that ancient era.”

“One member?” Ling Qingzhu frowned and asked, “Who?”

“The person who stood at the peak of this world… the great Symbol Ancestor!” An extremely fanatical respect suddenly rose within the pretty middle-aged woman’s eyes.

“Symbol Ancestor?”

Ling Qingzhu’s pretty figure shook and her expression finally altered. The peak expert, who had once led the countless lives of this world to fight the evil Yimo, was actually the founder of this Zenith Palace?

“Zenith Palace was not created by the Symbol Ancestor. However, this name originated from him. Even we do not know whether the so-called Zenith Palace is a sect or whether it represents an even greater secret…”

“The Symbol Ancestor can be considered a member of Zenith Palace. Amongst his eight great disciples, also known as the eight ancient masters, the Ice Master can be perhaps be considered half a member. The remaining seven masters cannot meet the criteria. However, I believe that even they might not be clearly aware of the meaning of this ‘Zenith Palace’. This seemed to be the greatest hidden secret in this world.”

“From a certain point of view, you can also be considered the ninth disciple of the Symbol Ancestor.”

Ling Qingzhu was startled. This matter was far too mysterious. On top of being baffling, she had actually ended up gaining a connection with the expert who stood at the peak of the world.

“Cough.”

The pretty middle-aged woman coughed violently while she uttered these words. Blood continued to seep out from her lips and the remaining life in her eyes rapidly disappeared.

“Do not cry Qingzhu. You must promise me that you will ensure that our Nine Heavens Supreme Purity Palace will continue on for tens of thousands of years. It must not end at my hands!” The pretty middle-aged woman tightly grabbed Ling Qingzhu’s hands at the very last moment as she uttered these last few words. The life within the latter’s eyes also completely disappeared.

“Teacher!”

Ling Qingzhu cried out in grief. She finally could not resist jumping onto the pretty middle-aged woman’s arms as she weeped without end.

The seriously injured elders in the palace revealed an expression of great sadness and quietly sobbed.

“Qingzhu, now is not the time to grief. Our Nine Heavens Supreme Purity Palace is facing the danger of being destroyed. You need to fight in order to prevent our destruction!” An elder said in a deep voice while suppressing the injuries within her body.

Ling Qingzhu’s hand gently wiped off the tears on her face. After which, she knelt down towards the now ice-cold body of the pretty middle-aged lady. She respectfully kowtowed three times. Those crystal like tears fell onto the ground, leaving water stains.

“Teacher, you can be rest assured that the palace gates will never fall even if Qingzhu dies!”

Ling Qingzu slowly clenched her slender jadelike hand as tiny veins protruded on the surface of her skin. Soon after, she suddenly stood up. Her hand held a longsword as her body turned into a ray of light. The ray of light tore through the doors of the palace while accompanied by an overflowing aura of sharpness. After which, she charged into the blood rain that permeated the sky.

Amidst the bloody fights across the sky, that slender figure appeared like a slowly blooming flower within the flames. It would ultimately turn into ashes, but it was duty bound to never look back.