The Quest for Immortality Chapter 2216: Blood of the Qilin (part 2)

The Tianzi Bureau is set to fully emerge as the central arena for the Four Great Sects.

Taixu Gate will surely encounter challenging obstacles ahead.

Each move they make invites surrounding by the elite heroes from the Four Sects.

Even should Mo Hua stay undefeated throughout the Tianzi Bureau, such a feat would prove useless.

The Tianzi Sword Discussion holds immense importance in deciding the outcome.

With Taixu Gate's base being so fragile, their elite disciples stand no chance against those of the Four Great Sects, ensuring their ultimate placement remains low.

Taixu Gate appears to be steadily closing in on the status of the 'Four Great Sects.'

Yet, the closer Taixu Gate gets to that 'Four Great Sects' rank, the farther Mo Hua's personal aim of claiming 'first in sword discussion' slips away.

This distance has grown so vast that it stirs a hint of 'despair' within him.

His desire is to seize the top spot in the sword discussion.

To achieve that, his rivals would include every premier genius across the Qianxue State Boundary.

His intuitive sense of causality suggests a faint opportunity lingers amid this turmoil...

Still, the prospect of breaking into the top four in the Dizi Bureau now looks exceedingly slim.

The Tianzi Bureau feels nothing less than a 'dead end.'

With developments unfolding this way, genuine victory seems utterly impossible.

Mo Hua slumped over his desk, gripped by frustration and a touch of powerlessness.

His power isn't lacking by any means, and he's acquired substantial techniques, but this 'helplessness' persists nonetheless.

Heavenly secrets stay veiled, causal threads prove slippery, and foresight into what lies ahead remains elusive.

A flicker of bewilderment crossed Mo Hua's thoughts, prompting him to draw out a copper coin, which he rolled in his hand while whispering inwardly:

'Master, precisely how... can I rescue you...'

But the coin stayed still, showing no ripple of causality.

...

By noon the following day, the sword discussion against Qian Taoist Sect commenced.

The outer grounds of Mount of Tao brimmed with spectators once more.

The crowd of observing cultivators matched or exceeded that from the prior clash between Taixu Gate and Daluo Sect.

The earlier sword discussion between Taixu Gate and Daluo Sect had decided Taixu Gate's claim to 'leader of the Eight Gates.'

Today's bout would decide whether Taixu Gate retains even a glimmer of hope to rise among the Four Great Sects.

Both events carry equal gravity.

Debates over who would triumph raged on without end.

The majority predicted Taixu Gate's certain defeat.

A handful of cultivators believed Taixu Gate could still put up a strong resistance.

The key factor lay in this being a 'castle defense battle' for Taixu Gate.

While others' defense efforts typically put them at a disadvantage,

Taixu Gate's version offered them a distinct edge.

'Mo Hua may be irritating, but during a castle defense, his mastery of formations—climbing to the peak—delivers impact comparable to the elite geniuses from the Four Great Sects.'

'That's undeniable.'

'Moreover, he possesses that distinctive 'sword control' ability...'

'Please, what sort of 'sword control' is it really?'

'No sword moves, no sword Qi—just manipulating a sword that's on the verge of exploding...'

'How does that connect to actual 'sword' prowess?'

'Does this even qualify as 'sword control'? It's embarrassing.'

'Regardless of the label, its destructive force isn't something to dismiss, is it? Recall how a Daluo Sect member fell to just one sword.'

'Indeed, that individual did perish from a lone sword strike...'

'Perished by a single sword...'

Because of that one sword discussion, Daluo Sect's Ye Zhiyuan shifted from celebrated Qianxue sword control genius to merely 'that individual.'

The onlookers might forget his identity, but his 'tale' sticks vividly in memory.

Namely, meeting his end 'killed by a single sword.'

'Thus, Taixu Gate has a real shot in this sword discussion.'

'Should they fall short in the end, it'll at least make for an exciting spectacle.'

All present agreed with nods at these words.

...

Under this eager expectancy, the sword discussion unfolded.

It was an assault versus defense confrontation.

Qian Taoist Sect launched the attack, while Taixu Gate held the fort.

The wall's safeguarding formation had been swapped to a Third Grade Gold Stone Formation by Mount of Tao's Elders, aiming to stop Mo Hua from demolishing it once more.

Luckily, the Elders of Mount of Tao anticipated this.

Otherwise, Mo Hua had indeed contemplated blasting the wall anew, potentially burying Shen Linsu and his allies beneath it.

The sole concern was preserving the life-gate spot for the City Lord statue.

Should the City Lord statue endure unscathed amid the wall's total destruction and the deaths of all others, Taixu Gate would still claim victory.

Regrettably, Mount of Tao's Elders had preemptively sealed off this 'improbable route.'

Mo Hua found himself compelled to defend directly.

Yet evidently, the assembled group—including Mo Hua to some degree—had undervalued the might of Shen Linsu, the prodigy bearing the Qilin bloodline.

Shen Linsu, standing at the peak of Foundation Establishment, commanded spiritual power vast as an ocean, clad in a Taoist robe of deep white accented with golden embroidery, his locks dark as midnight, skin smooth as fine jade, gaze shimmering with violet glow, sword at the ready, purple Qi rising from the east, his bearing ethereal like an immortal.

This was Qian Taoist Sect's Purple Qi Golden Scale Sword Skill.

A premier high-level sword art that had vanished for ages.

Its disappearance stemmed from the need for the ancient Qilin bloodline to practice it.

For generations, neither the Shen Family nor Qian Taoist Sect had produced a genius with Qilin blood.

As a result, the technique lay dormant for hundreds of years.

Only in this era did the Shen Family yield Shen Linsu.

And through the projected display of the proceedings, every watching cultivator beheld for the first time Shen Linsu's fervent combat and his sword style, unique owing to his extraordinary bloodline.

Purple Qi from the east, bloodline forging the blade.

Auspicious clouds enveloping, Qilin essence manifesting in his frame.

The strike seemed straightforward, but the purple-gold sword Qi erupted with ferocity, resembling a grand rainbow eclipsing the sun, unstoppable along its course.

Ouyang Xuan stood utterly outmatched.

Linghu Xiao's Chongxu Sword Qi fared no better against it.