Stranger Danger

Chapter 824: Demon Subjugation, Demon Slaying

“Northern Dipper Demon Subjugation, descend!”

“Seven Killing Demon Slaying, release!”

Wen Anran suddenly opened her eyes, and dazzling light burst out where there was only emptiness and lack of focus before[1].

In the sky, seven stars—Tongyao, Tianshu, Tianxuan, Tianji, Tianquan, Yuheng, Kaiyang and Yaoguang[2]—shone brightly and cast starlight toward the earth. They combined to form the Northern Dipper Demon Subjugation Sword.

On the ground, seven stars were shining as well—Greedy Wolf, Break Army, Civil Song, Martial Song, Giant Gate, Incorruptible Chaste and Save Fortune. Their light shot into the sky and formed a sword named the Seven Killing Demon Slaying Sword.

When the two swords emerged, death was not a probability, but certainty. Heaven and earth quaked in fear, and all living things fell silent before their power.

“Don’t!”

Goddess White Deer, Goddess Green Lotus and Goddess Moonview cried out in horror when they sensed the power contained within the two swords. They tried to stop it, but as Feng Qingyou said, it was too late.

Wen Anran let out a quiet cry, and the two swords acted at once.

The Northern Dipper Demon Subjugation Sword swung vertically, whereas the Seven Killing Demon Slaying Sword swung horizontally.

Their sword qi spanned from end to end, and their sword intent could freeze the nine provinces.

A cross of light appeared on the mountain where the wall paintings hung, and it split into four halves just like that.

It was as if the mountain was made of tofu. The two swords had made no resistance whatsoever.

The wall paintings began mottling bit by bit, and the fortune empowering the three goddesses began departing them. Even their bodies began to mottle and darken.

“Noooo!”

The three goddesses screamed and struggled to retain their power as best they could, but it was futile.

After the deed was done, the Northern Dipper Demon Subjugation Sword and the Seven Killing Demon Slaying Sword turned back into light and slowly faded away. At the same time, the seven stars in the sky and on the ground winked out of existence.

Wen Anran let out a sigh of relief and staggered on her feet a little. Her face looked as pale as a ghost as well.

“Are you alright?” Feng Qingyou caught her and asked concernedly.

“I’m fine.” Wen Anran fished out a pill from her lap and ate it. As her complexion slowly returned to normal, she shot Feng Qingyou a smile and said, “Fortunately, I was able to live up to expectations.”

Suddenly, Wen Anran recalled Ye Qing and asked with a touch of nervousness and urgency, “Oh right, how is warrior Ye?”

“He’s fine,” Feng Qingyou replied.

As if on cue, a silhouette flew over and landed in front of the two women. He was covered in blood and ash, but the killing intent and pressure he gave off were no joke. His overwhelming vigor made him feel like an insurmountable mountain; grounded earth that could not be removed. As an enemy, he was the kind of person you never wanted to meet, but as an ally, there was no one more reassuring.

He was, of course, Ye Qing.

Ye Qing was gripping a human head in one hand. It belonged to none other than Duanmu Longhua.

The city lord’s face was wide-eyed with disbelief. Her features were also twisted into a permanent scowl.

“Are you girls alright?” Ye Qing asked concernedly while tossing Duanmu Longhua’s head behind him. Even as he spoke, they could see his wounds disappearing at a visible rate.

No thanks to Duanmu Longhua, the three goddesses had not held back at all when they pummeled him into the ground earlier. Luckily, he was thick-skinned and protected by the Profound Yellow Mother Qi. Plus, the beating only lasted a dozen breaths or so. His injuries were definitely not insignificant, but it wasn’t fatal either.

With his recovery speed, any injury that wasn’t fatal was generally not a concern.

He had killed Duanmu Longhua on his way over to the girls. The city lord had looked like she was seconds away from death, but the second he climbed out of the underground, she had glared at him like she wanted nothing more but to feast on his flesh and drink his blood. Unwilling to risk her pulling some sort of trick with her dying breath, Ye Qing went over to her, ripped off her head, and annihilated her soul.

Feng Qingyou replied, “I’m perfectly fine. Anran is close to bottoming out her qi and essence though. She just executed Demon Subjugation and Demon Slaying after all.”

Ye Qing hid a sigh of relief when he confirmed that Feng Qingyou was indeed unharmed. Then, realization hit him as he exclaimed, “Wait, Miss Wen’s the one who summoned the two swords?”

To say that the two swords were overflowing with sword intent, killing intent, and power would be an understatement. They were so powerful that even he felt chilled to the bone. He thought for sure that Feng Qingyou was the one who summoned them, but it was Wen Anran?

“What, you don’t believe she can do it?” Feng Qingyou teased.

Ye Qing rubbed her nose and pleaded the fifth. It couldn’t be helped. Wen Anran was young, petite, and mild-tempered. She just did not look like the type of person who could execute such a murderous sword technique.

Feng Qingyou knew what he was thinking and chided him, “You shouldn’t underestimate Anran. She’s the true disciple of the True Martial Sect.”

“The True Martial Sect?!”

If Ye Qing wasn’t surprised before, he was now. The True Martial Sect was one of the Three Temples of Dao and stood on the same level as the Heavenly Master Mansion and the San Qing Temple. He never imagined that Wen Anran would hail from such a prestigious background; a true disciple no less.

That would explain why she was able to fool him into thinking that she was just an ordinary Spirit Master when she was really a Half-Step Trueman though.

The True Martial Sect had a long and illustrious history in the jianghu

. One could only imagine the number of godlike arts and secret arts they possessed. It was perfectly normal for Wen Anran to pick up an art that concealed her aura and power level from others.

Ye Qing was still digesting this revelation when Feng Qingyou hit him with another shocking fact, “That’s not all. Did you know that Anran is Junior Dao Lord, the sixth named warrior on the Human Champions Ranking?”

“She’s the Junior Dao Lord?!” Ye Qing blurted. “That’s not possible!”

“And why not?” Feng Qingyou giggled at his reaction. “You didn’t think that the Junior Dao Lord was a man, did you?”

“N-no, of course not!” Ye Qing rubbed his nose furiously. The truth was... that was exactly what he thought. It wasn’t his fault though! The name was obviously masculine! How was he supposed to know that the person behind the moniker was actually a woman?

In response, Wen Anran said humbly, “Please don’t tease me, Miss Feng, warrior Ye. I hardly deserve such a prestigious title.”

Ye Qing blinked, not sure what to say to Wen Anran. Now that he really thought about it, no one had ever said that the Junior Dao Lord was a man. It was all because the Junior Dao Lord was an exceedingly private person.

Normally, the life of a gifted genius on the Human Champions Ranking was anything but anonymous. They were often seen in public, and they almost always committed benevolent acts or vile crimes that drew everyone’s attention.

On the other hand, the Junior Dao Lord rarely set foot in the jianghu and never sought to put herself in the limelight. The True Martial Sect had never gone out of their way to expound her virtues or achievements either. As a result, practically no one except the disciples of True Martial Sect knew if she was male, female, old, young, tall, short, fat or thin.

If not for the fact that her name was constantly listed on the Human Champions Ranking despite repeated updates, most people would think that she didn’t exist.

Generally speaking, most people believed that the Junior Dao Lord was a man just like Zhang Lingyang of the Heavenly Master Mansion and Yun Qingxiao of the San Qing Temple. There was just no reason to think otherwise especially since the moniker sounded masculine. Who would have thought that she was a gentlewoman who looked like she hadn’t set foot outside her mansion her whole life?

... Then again, the Saint of Demonic Mountain was a woman despite the moniker being masculine. With that in mind, why couldn’t the Junior Dao Lord of True Martial Sect be a woman?

Yeah. I was narrow-minded.

Wen Anran said, “I hid my identity from you because I must. I hope you will forgive me, warrior Ye.”

Ye Qing waved away her apology. “Of course. It’s no problem at all.”

He then recalled the sword art that chilled even him to the core again and blurted out, “If you are a disciple of True Martial Sect, then the two techniques you executed just now... are they part of the legendary ‘True Martial Demon Subjugation Sword Scripture’?”

1. Just a reminder, but Wen Anran is blind. ☜

2. ">https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-my/%E5%8C%97%E6%96%97%E4%B8%83%E6%98%9F ☜