When the first pure sword glow swept out from the forest to the southwest of the Mausoleum of Books, Shang Xingzhou's right hand that hung at his side moved.
He prepared to hold the hilt of his sword.
Wang Po's reaction wasn't faster, but it was more direct.
He gripped the hilt of the knife.
At this moment, Shang Xingzhou was in the same situation as Wang Po. If he moved, he would have to face Wang Po and those sword lights at the same time.
Just now, it was he who had prevented Wang Po from moving. At this time, it was Wang Po who had stopped him from moving.
More and more sword glows appeared, denser and denser, piercing through the air from various parts of the Mausoleum of Books.
The sword light that pierced through the air was diluted by the sunlight, but the sword will became clearer, forming countless faintly discernible lines that weaved into a very dense net.
The Holy Light Arrows that rained down like a storm all crashed into this sword net.
Ear-piercing sounds of cutting and friction rang out as the crossbow bolts broke one after another.
Compared to the number of crossbow bolts, the Mausoleum of Books produced far fewer sword glows.
However, these sword lights were also imbued with Holy Light, which was much purer and denser than the Holy Light on the crossbow bolts.
With the shattering of the crossbow bolts, milky-white rays of light constantly scattered, illuminating the southern foothills of the Mausoleum of Books with incomparable clarity.
The hundreds of sword lights gradually disappeared and returned to the ground.
The crossbow bolts in the sky were all cut into pieces. They slowly floated down like willow catkins and were swept away by the wind.
Her white dress was also fluttering in the wind.
Several hundred South Stream Temple disciples appeared in the forest, on the stone path, by the canal.
It was like several hundred white flowers had suddenly bloomed in the mountains of the Mausoleum of Books.
The disciples of South Stream Temple had always been in the Mausoleum of Books.
They had used some sort of method to evade the surveillance of the Imperial Court, and not even the priests of the Li Palace had noticed them.
Of course, in front of Shang Xingzhou, even the green mountains could not hide their sword intent.
However, Wang Po used his saber dao to successfully block Shang Xingzhou's vision.
As he gazed at this beautiful and even spectacular sight, Shang Xingzhou thought of something and glanced at Wang Po.
Several hundred years later, the human race once again entered the age of blooming wildflowers.
The beginning of this era was the appearance of Wang Po.
…
…
South of the Mausoleum of Books, a white dress fluttered in the wind.
The sword array was completed, and Shang Xingzhou was trapped in it.
All the disciples of South Stream Temple had appeared here.
Without question, this was the strongest version of the South Stream Temple sword array in the last one thousand years.
The sword formation that Zhou Dufu encountered when he charged into Holy Maiden Peak was only at this level.
Shang Xingzhou was on the Divine Path and did not go deep into the sword formation. Moreover, the formation definitely had a Life Gate.
Logically speaking, he should have fled as fast as he could, but he didn't.
Because he knew that since the other party had racked their brains to come up with such a plan, they would definitely not leave any loopholes.
Xu Yourong appeared on the Divine Path, slightly higher than Shang Xingzhou.
She wore a white ceremonial robe. Her expression was calm, and her face was pretty.
If Shang Xingzhou wanted to break the South Stream Temple sword array, this was the only path.
Just now, it was Shang Xingzhou who had stopped Wang Po from attempting the Divine Path.
At this time, it was Shang Xingzhou who had to attempt the Divine Path.
The offensive and defensive momentum were reversed.
…
…
Judging from the current situation, Shang Xingzhou was outnumbered.
However, he did not say anything. Xu Yourong did not say anything either, because they were both very clear that just like how the offensive and defensive positions could be reversed at any time, the same could be said for the number of positions.
This had nothing to do with gaining or losing the Dao. It was just a cold and boring number.
Dust was flying outside the Mausoleum of Books. The Orthodoxy cavalry and the Imperial Guard were in a standoff, and two groups of black-armored cavalry with terrifying strength were on their way.
Many experts from the Imperial Court, the military, and the various ministries had already infiltrated the Mausoleum of Books.
From time to time, flocks of birds would be alarmed and fly off into the distance with slightly panicked cries.
A place where no birds could be seen and no sound could be heard was actually even more dangerous.
The assassins from the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets and the blue-clothed Daoist from the Monastery of Eternal Spring might be in that forest.
… …
… …
Flying carriages were extremely difficult to make and extremely expensive. They were also very slow, so they had always been regarded as flashy but impractical objects.
In the entire continent, only the capital and Xuelao City had them. In the view of many people, those were things that the humans and demons used to flaunt their abilities, more like decorations.
But today, the Prince of Xiang had chosen to ride a flying carriage to the Mausoleum of Books.
Of course, it was not because he was worried that the capital's streets were already blocked by the army, nor was it because he was in a hurry.
He did not have a mount like the Firecloud Qilin, but he was completely capable of flying over.
He had chosen the flying carriage precisely because it was slow.
He sat in the carriage, his hands propping up the fat on his abdomen as he constantly sighed.
Flying carriage, oh time, why can't you be any slower?
… …
… …
The princes of the Chen clan had never been good-for-nothings. Their horsemanship was superb, and many princes had already brought their clan generals to the Mausoleum of Books.
They were not surprised that Prince Chen Liu was not present, but when they looked at the flying carriage in the sky, they couldn't help but frown.
The Prince of Zhongshan had arrived long ago. He stood on the distant riverbank, gazing at the Mausoleum of Books with a slightly cold gaze, his thoughts inscrutable.
The Old Lady of the Mutuo clan and the head of the Wu clan had also arrived, but they were to the south, standing on the riverbank just like the Prince of Zhongshan.
Even though they understood many secrets, they still found it impossible to clearly see today's situation, so they subconsciously wanted to get even further away.
Other than those participating in the Grand Examination, all the other experts of the south had come to the Mausoleum of Books.
Three thin and tall men stood at the front, dressed in cloth and radiating sword intent.
They came from Mount Li and were elders of the Sword Hall, experts in killing.
The Eastern Tide Divine General stood at the front of the army, his face rather gloomy as he gazed at the three elders of Mount Li's Sword Hall.
He and these three elders of Mount Li's Sword Hall had once worked together in the snowy plains of the north, so he knew how formidable they were, so he naturally attached great importance to them.
"Once the army arrives, gather all the array masters. We must kill these three as soon as possible."
The Xiaoling Divine General fell quiet for a few moments, then asked, "How many array masters will die?"
The Eastern Tide Divine General harshly replied, "It's worth it, or else we'll all die to the swords of these three."
… …
… …
Shang Xingzhou calmly gazed at Xu Yourong. He was not angry at having fallen into the trap, nor was he nervous. On the contrary, he found all this rather interesting.
He had worked together with her in White Emperor City, and at the time, he had greatly admired her talent, intelligence, and resolve.
From the standpoint of a senior, he had even felt that Chen Changsheng was not worthy of her, even though Chen Changsheng was his disciple.
Today, he admired her even more.
The experts of the great clans and sects outside the Mausoleum of Books, including Wang Po, were all her pawns, and they were willing to be her pawns. This was an extremely extraordinary feat.
She had forced him to return to the capital and pushed the situation to this point, like a horse galloping through ice and snow. The rhythm was clear to the extreme, and the entire arrangement was extremely beautiful.
The question was, what was she prepared to do next?
"Several decades ago, when Emperor Xian was gravely ill, Tianhai reneged and refused to hand over the imperial throne. From then on, every time I encountered a major event, I would ask myself: what happened next? Only by looking straight into my Dao heart and asking this question can I obtain the true answer and know just what I want. If I had thought about this word back then, perhaps I would not have met her in the Hundred Herb Garden, and naturally none of these things would have happened. Now it's your turn to think about this question. You wanted me to return to the capital, and I returned, then … what happened next? "
Shang Xingzhou's voice was very calm, devoid of emotion.
Xu Yourong's voice was also very calm. "If you are not willing to agree to my request, then there will be no 'then'."
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