Chapter 1796: Collapse

"Stop right there, you bastard!"

Seeing himself caught off guard and allowing the opponent to kill yet another elder of the Emperor Palace, Tan Qigong was so furious he spewed profanities. One can imagine just how angry he was.

Yun Xiao’s evasive rather than combative approach further convinced Tan Qigong that the opponent wasn’t his match, only able to pick on the weak. This made him feel anger and a slight boost of confidence.

To be honest, Yun Xiao’s ease in nullifying the Covering Water Spirit’s method had genuinely surprised Tan Qigong. He suddenly found himself unable to see through this boy in coarse clothes.

Yet, even with full confidence, Tan Qigong could not catch up to Yun Xiao. Within just a few breaths, that seemingly ordinary wooden sword once again pierced through the chest of an Emperor Palace Elder, puncturing a vital spot in the heart.

"Boy, if you have guts, fight me for three hundred rounds. What skill is there in bullying the weak?"

Seeing the coarse-clothed boy’s Thunder Wings flickering behind him, shifting rapidly, and himself not specialized in speed, Tan Qigong could only resort to provocation tactics.

"Sorry, I just enjoy bullying the weak. What can you do about it?"

Yet Tan Qigong’s clumsy provocation didn’t deceive the coarse-clothed boy but became a proud declaration, almost causing him to spew blood in anger.

In Yun Xiao’s eyes, these Emperor Palace people had no distinction of strength; anyone who harbored killing intent toward him was on the path to death, soon to become the deceased under the Dragon Taming Sword.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Within just 15 minutes, apart from the Third Elder who escaped the hall first, only Tan Qigong and the Great Elder Ruan Buwei remained in Murong Huchen’s Spirit Hall.

Gazing at the lifeless corpses scattered about, Tan Qigong felt his eyes split with rage. He realized that Murong City Emperor Palace suffered greatly this time, wounded by a mysterious boy in coarse clothes.

Even now, Tan Qigong only knew the boy in coarse clothes was called Yun Xiao, but knew nothing of his origin or background.

With the Murong City Emperor Palace reduced to barely a handful, Tan Qigong had reason to believe that once the facts were reported to the Dragon Emperor Palace, his tenure as the Murong City Emperor Palace Director was likely over.

"Great Elder, watch out!"

Yet, an even more alarming issue arose for Tan Qigong when he saw the coarse-clothed boy glance at the fleeing Third Elder outside the hall, then turned his gaze to Great Elder Ruan Buwei, prompting Tan Qigong to shout a warning.

In fact, Ruan Buwei hardly needed Tan Qigong’s warning. Having witnessed the boy’s unrivaled sword stab, his whole body bristled with tension, no longer viewing him as a Lower Ranker.

Ruan Buwei now knew that the seemingly inconspicuous wooden sword was a divine weapon, capable of causing injury upon contact and death upon touch.

His old eyes fixated unwaveringly on that blunt sword tip, fearing it would pierce his throat or heart at any moment.

"Watch out, the sword is coming!"

Just when Tan Qigong’s eyes turned somber and Ruan Buwei fully focused on defending against the wooden sword, the latter indeed saw a black glimmer streaking toward his chest, sending a shiver through him.

Ruan Buwei was, after all, a Heavenly Realm Peak expert, far stronger than those Late Stage or Middle Stage Realm Elders.

Having constantly kept an eye on the Black Wood Sword, he dodged deftly at that moment. As he sensed a gust of wind brush past his right side, he breathed a deep sigh of relief.

"Stay alert!"

However, just as Ruan Buwei thought he had evaded a lethal blow, the Director’s warning voice echoed again, startling him. He was momentarily uncertain of what Tan Qigong meant for him to stay alert about.

Whew...

In the next instant, Ruan Buwei no longer needed Tan Qigong to remind him, as an agile whip-like leg seemed to have been lying in wait precisely where he had dodged to, drawing him in.

The whip-leg was naturally Yun Xiao’s intentional right leg, which he had infused with an Earth Attribute Ancestor Vein. Combined with his inherently formidable physical strength, this leg reached a pinnacle of power.

Bang!

Caught off guard by Yun Xiao, solely focused on defending against the Dragon Taming Sword, Great Elder Ruan Buwei found it too late to react, being struck squarely by Yun Xiao’s right leg.

Fortunately, this Great Elder of the Emperor Palace had considerable physical strength; at the critical moment, he forced his Heavenly Realm Peak’s Meridian Qi against the source of impact, avoiding death from the kick.

Still, the force within Yun Xiao’s right leg was remarkably intense. Despite his robust physique, Ruan Buwei struggled to bear it, his aged figure scattering like a kite with a broken string, tumbling back.

"Ouch!"

When Yun Xiao raised his eyes to look at Ruan Buwei, who was flying backwards, he couldn’t help but gasp. The Great Elder of the Emperor Palace had flown right to where the desk and the remains were located.

Although a dead person meant nothing major to Yun Xiao, respecting the dead was a big deal, and the previous life’s Long Xiao Battle God was on good terms with the Murong Family’s Clan Leader. Yun Xiao had admired Murong Huchen and naturally did not want to see his remains destroyed.

Sadly, the sudden change at this moment was beyond even Yun Xiao’s expectations. It was too late for him to stop it, and he could only watch as Ruan Buwei’s body got closer to the platform.

Bang!

Crash!

First, there was a loud sound as a body collided with the desk, and then Ruan Buwei, unable to control his form, crashed into Murong Huchen’s remains, causing the bones to scatter everywhere.

"Damn it!"

Seeing this scene, not only did Yun Xiao’s expression darken, but Tan Qigong too cursed under his breath. He originally planned to take those remains for research, but now that plan was in vain.

A set of intact remains might have allowed Tan Qigong to uncover something, but a set broken into pieces, some of them scattered, was of far less research value.

At this point, no matter how angry Tan Qigong was, he could do nothing. He could only turn his furious gaze to the young man in crude clothes, his eyes nearly spitting fire.

Tan Qigong blamed all these unexpected events on that young man. If it weren’t for this kid’s repeated sabotage, he wouldn’t be so aggrieved.

Moreover, the bodies of many Emperor Palace Elders in the hall were all killed by Yun Xiao. Now, both new and old grudges surged in Tan Qigong’s heart, and he felt an extreme killing intent like never before.

Boom!

At the moment when Tan Qigong’s Half-step Holy Rank Meridian Qi was about to erupt again, ready to attack Yun Xiao, a strong wave of energy suddenly burst within the hall.

Simultaneously, both Tan Qigong and Yun Xiao felt shaking beneath their feet. Even with their Heavenly Realm Peak cultivation, they struggled to stand, their expressions changing dramatically.

"What? An earthquake?"

Yun Xiao, relatively calm, subconsciously thought of some possibilities. After all, they were deep at the bottom of Yingrong Lake, and it was plausible that tectonic movements would cause an earthquake here.

But the next moment, as Yun Xiao glanced at Ruan Buwei in the depths of the Spirit Hall, he dismissed his previous suspicion, wondering if Ruan Buwei’s collision with Murong Huchen’s remains was the cause of this change.

The more Yun Xiao thought about it, the more likely it seemed. Why else would such a violent tremor occur right after the remains were shattered?

Rumble!

A moment later, the tremors in the Spirit Hall increased, with dust falling as if the roof beams were shaking violently, seemingly on the verge of collapsing.

"This place is not safe to stay!"

Sensing the intense shaking above, Yun Xiao’s face changed slightly, not wanting to linger any longer. Despite always holding a thread of reverence for the exceptional Murong family expert of old.

It seemed that Murong Huchen, to prevent his remains from being damaged, set up some mechanism to collapse the entire Spirit Hall if touched, making it hard for outsiders to find later.

In this way, this collapsed Spirit Hall could still be considered Murong Huchen’s burial place, though now a pile of ruins rather than a grand hall.

Whoosh!

In a decisive move, Yun Xiao cast a final glance at Tan Qigong, who looked conflicted, then hurriedly dashed out, disappearing into the distant darkness in an instant.

Interestingly, Yun Xiao originally planned to deal with the Emperor Palace’s Third Elder after exiting. However, finding no trace of him and wanting to avoid unnecessary trouble, he decided it best to wait.

After all, this was inside Murong Tomb; who knew what other dangers might lurk? Even a Heavenly Realm Late Stage Cultivator like him could suffer serious injury if hit by the collapsing debris.

"Damn brat!"

Seeing Yun Xiao vanishing from the doorway, Tan Qigong couldn’t help but curse, then looked up at the wobbling roof before finally making up his mind.

In a flash, Tan Qigong lifted the heavily injured Great Elder Ruan Buwei and sped out of the hall at a tremendous speed.

Rumble!

Just as Tan Qigong and Ruan Buwei escaped the hall, a collapse resounded behind them, dust flying, the force of it shocking. A moment’s delay could have seen them buried alive—it was a narrow escape.