Chapter 496 - 251: Thousand Mechanism Sword Intent

Outside the long corridor of Wenda Tower, Liou Yuan stood there, quietly waiting for Xuanyi’s return.

His eyes, however, were restless, sometimes glancing into the glass portal, and other times looking at the meticulously cared-for spirit plants outside the corridor.

During this process, he had already drafted a plan in his mind on how to explain the ship contract to Xuanyi.

"The Sect Leader is insightful; if I lie, he will see through it at a glance. I have to be honest."

Of course, he couldn’t entirely detail how he obtained the ship contract; at least he needed to hide the existence of the Fixed Star Compass.

As for the existence of the Cyan Feather Gui Character Crossing, it’s certainly impossible to conceal.

Anyway, Liou Yuan hadn’t thought about hiding its existence.

There are benefits to gain inside, but compared to those trivial things, the ghost ship inside frightened Liou Yuan more.

As he pondered.

Suddenly, Xuanyi’s gentle and elegant voice echoed from inside the tower.

"Come in!" It seems Xuanyi has returned.

Yet as a Golden Core cultivator, he could come and go without a trace, and Liou Yuan hadn’t noticed even a bit.

"Yes!" Responding, Liou Yuan took a deep breath and walked toward the glass portal at the end of the corridor.

Upon entering Wenda Tower, he saw Xuanyi sitting on a fur-covered couch made from the hide of Green-eyed Golden Lion, fiddling with a demon beast’s brush, continuously gesturing on the calligraphy paper on the table, seemingly brewing what to write next.

Although Liou Yuan couldn’t see any expression on the Sect Leader’s face, he could discern through Xuanyi’s occasionally squinting and then relaxing eyes that he seemed to be in a good mood.

"Why is the Sect Leader so enthusiastic?"

"Could it be really related to Sister Miaomeng..." Liou Yuan thought with a somewhat mischievous spirit.

Until Xuanyi’s voice reached his ears.

"Didn’t you say you have an important matter to report?"

Xuanyi gave Liou Yuan a sideways glance, his hand never stopping; the demon beast’s brush began outlining on the calligraphy paper.

As the brush turned, a quaint pavilion swiftly emerged on the paper, surrounded by mist, faintly visible with two figures, a man and a woman, standing inside.

The man stood behind a recliner, grasping the woman’s wrist, showing a fierce look.

The woman looked greatly startled, appearing pitiful.

When the brush tip touched the eyes of both characters, the entire scene suddenly became more vivid, as if it would come alive from the painting.

Liou Yuan dared not look at what Xuanyi was drawing. After hearing Xuanyi’s words, he cleared his throat and meticulously narrated his experiences at Qingyou Prefecture before reaching Foundation Establishment.

He didn’t mention his original intention was directed at Qiwen Mountain; he merely stated that during the capture of a wanted criminal by the Disciplinary Hall, he entered Qiwen Mountain, coincidentally encountering Miss Anyang and the Yanluo Sect’s Foundation Establishment in a joint fierce battle against Daoist Huixie.

Both sides fought fiercely, stirring up winds and clouds. Liou Yuan had to seek a safe place to hide and inadvertently stumbled upon a hidden restriction on Qiwen Mountain.

Then he arrived at the Cyan Feather Gui Character Crossing.

Hearing the words Cyan Feather Gui Character Crossing, Xuanyi’s hand holding the brush suddenly paused.

"Continue!" Xuanyi put down the brush and looked sideways at Liou Yuan.

Then Liou Yuan recounted how he was bewitched by the star erosion at the Cyan Feather Gui Character Crossing with the Divine Sense Skill, picked up the ship contract, and summoned the ghost ship.

Upon hearing this, Xuanyi finally couldn’t sit still. He stood up from the Green-eyed Golden Lion’s fur and walked to Liou Yuan.

His youthful, elegant face was less than five feet away from Liou Yuan’s.

"So that broken ship was coming for you after all."

Xuanyi gazed into Liou Yuan’s eyes. Though no Golden Core phenomenon appeared in his gaze, the dignity contained deep within his pupils made Liou Yuan not dare to meet his gaze, so Liou Yuan lowered his head, showing a bitter smile.

"This disciple is uncertain whether that ghost ship came for me."

"When it attacked our sect, I was at Xiang Mountain, in seclusion to break through Foundation Establishment."

"About the ghost ship, I only heard Brother Tuoba Xin mention it afterward."

No matter how Xuanyi pressed him, Liou Yuan acted as though he knew nothing, showing the attitude of a rogue through and through.

Fortunately, Xuanyi already had a plan in mind, not caring about what Liou Yuan said.

He deliberately moved his gaze away from Liou Yuan and, with hands behind his back, paced around Wenda Tower once, then reached out toward Liou Yuan and said, "Hand over that ship contract. You can’t hold onto it now; it will just bring you trouble."

Liou Yuan came bearing the intention to hand over the ship contract.

Now that Xuanyi actively requested it, Liou Yuan naturally wished for it, hoping to give this hot potato to Xuanyi.

"Yes!" Therefore, after Xuanyi’s voice fell, Liou Yuan brushed his palm over the ring, took out the completely black ship contract, and respectfully presented it to Xuanyi with both hands.

"For being able to escape from the Foundation Establishment’s Charming Heart Star Erosion with just Qi Cultivation, you are considered not to have disgraced the Liou Family’s name."

Xuanyi teased Liou Yuan while accepting the ship contract.

However, when Xuanyi’s hand touched the ship contract.

Liou Yuan could clearly see Xuanyi’s body stiffen for a moment.

Bang! Following this was a fierce sword chant echoing inside Xuanyi’s body.

Xuanyi’s eyes narrowed slightly, as if wrestling with some kind of power.

The source of that power naturally came from the ship contract handed over by Liou Yuan.

The ship contract, which appeared utterly ordinary and without any divine manifestations in Liou Yuan’s hand, transformed into a deep black hole in Xuanyi’s hand.

Thick black mist resonated from the ship contract, enveloping Xuanyi, attempting to swallow him.

The sword chant within Xuanyi was terrifying, with surging Sword Intent continually bursting forth from within him.

Although he deliberately controlled the power of Sword Intent not to harm Liou Yuan, it still shattered the clouds floating above Wenda Tower as if they were mere illusions.

The entire Wenda Tower began to sway.

Liou Yuan, being close to Xuanyi and inside Wenda Tower, could clearly feel the intense shaking beneath his feet.

"Turns out the ship contract is so dangerous; I couldn’t feel it before simply because my cultivation was too low." Witnessing the confrontation between Xuanyi and the ship contract, Liou Yuan’s hairs stood completely on end with sweat.

He now somewhat regretted handing the ship contract to Xuanyi.

If their Sect Leader fell because of it, he would become a notorious sinner of Five Extremes Mountain.

He had underestimated Xuanyi.

The battle between the two didn’t last long.

Xuanyi’s palm grasped in the air; he forcibly shattered the black hole erupting from the ship contract, securely holding the ship contract in his hand.

With this, everything calmed.

Liou Yuan also naturally breathed a sigh of relief, quickly praising Xuanyi, "Sect Leader’s profound skills are matchless, the sinister evades."

Xuanyi toyed with the ship contract in his hand, listening to Liou Yuan’s clumsy flattery by his ear, smirked, and leisurely said, "Seeking me today, wasn’t just to hand over this ship contract, right?"

"Speak, what kind of reward are you looking for."

Liou Yuan’s schemes were clearly seen through by Xuanyi; he likely had long realized Liou Yuan wanted something.

With no trace of embarrassment after Xuanyi revealed his ploy, Liou Yuan promptly replied, "Sect Leader’s insight is remarkable; this disciple indeed has a request."

Speaking, Liou Yuan swiftly took off his upper garment, revealing his well-proportioned upper body.

On his chest, a black ink-like mark was visible on his skin, delineating an ’卍’ symbol.

Xuanyi immediately recognized the origin of that mark, glanced at Liou Yuan’s chest, then at the ship contract in his hand, his face showing a look of understanding.