“Boom!”

With a thunderous crash, two burly middle-aged men were sent tumbling to the ground by Xu Taiping, rolling over several times.

Yet Xu Taiping himself only took a few steps back.

“How dare you harm my people? Elder Lin, Elder Sun, kill him for me!”

The young palace master, previously full of pride, suddenly changed his expression to one of vicious fury upon witnessing this scene, pointing at Xu Taiping and ordering.

The two elderly men with their hands hidden in their sleeves opened their eyes in unison, their robes billowing out as a powerful aura emanated from them.

“Clang!”

But at that moment, the sound of a sword’s cry pierced the air.

Xu Ziyan, the Second Senior Sister from the Sixth Peak, leaped in front of Xu Taiping, drawing her sword and aiming it at the two elders, shouting, “Form the Qingxuan Sky-Cleaving Sword Formation!”

As her words fell, Nangong Hui, Lin Buyu, and others behind her drew their swords in swift succession, each taking their positions, their formidable auras spreading out.

In an instant, the sword formation was established.

“Boom!” The moment the sword formation was set, a fierce sword energy burst forth like a wild wind, sweeping across the entire teleportation platform.

The oppressive force from the sword formation forced the two elders to halt their steps.

“The Qingxuan Sky-Cleaving Sword Formation?”

The round-faced elder furrowed his brow.

“So what if it’s the Qingxuan Sky-Cleaving Sword? Without the Thunder Spirit Root, sword cultivators can’t control the sword, and this formation is nothing but a display.”

The other elder quickly identified the weakness of the sword formation.

However, at that moment, Lin Buyu, who was at the center of the formation and had not drawn her sword, suddenly unsheathed it with a “swoosh” and, pressing two fingers to the blade, she declared:

“Servants of the Three Realms, envoys of the Five Emperors, deities in homage, command the thunder!”

With these words, a streak of lightning sword energy shot into the sky, transforming into a colossal sword standing above the teleportation platform.

“Within it lies thunder, the Thunder God remains hidden.”

As Lin Buyy recited the final phrase, she pointed her sword towards the people from Yunjing Palace.

The giant sword shadow, originally towering above the platform, now slowly aligned its blade with the two elders under Lin Buyu’s guidance.

Seeing this, the two elders’ previously arrogant expressions turned cautious.

Even the haughty young palace master fell silent.

“Gentlemen, gentlemen, why has this turned into a fight?”

Just then, Oriole arrived at the teleportation platform with his spirit pet, a black bear.

“Miss Zi Yan, elders from Yunjing Palace, can’t we talk this out nicely?”

He approached Xu Taiping with a smile and pushed the saber, which had already been drawn, back into its sheath.

“What’s there to talk about? They from Yunjing Palace are trying to kill my Junior Brother, didn’t you Nine Mansions see it?”

Xu Ziyan remained unmoved.

Xu Taiping immediately drew his saber again with a “swoosh.”

Lin Buyu, with a flick of her sword, caused the massive sword shadow to press even closer to the group.

Oriole felt a headache coming on, thinking to himself that everyone from the Qingxuan Sect seemed to be desperate outlaws.

Upon seeing the attitude of the Qingxuan Sect, the people from Yunjing Palace, though still wearing looks of disdain, began to show hesitation in their eyes.

As the saying goes, the bold are afraid of the reckless, and the reckless are afraid of those who have nothing to lose.

If it really came down to a fight, they might not fear it, but there would be casualties, especially with the young palace master present.

“A bunch of juniors, so impetuous. For the sake of your Qingxuan Sect’s young uncle, you, boy, come out and apologize, and we’ll let this go.”

The round-faced elder pointed at Xu Taiping.

“Me?” Xu Taiping, whose Spring Tiger saber had been pushed back by Oriole once again, wondered if he had misheard.

“You hurt our people, what’s wrong with apologizing?”

The long-faced elder glanced at the two middle-aged men struggling to stand up and then gave Xu Taiping a sideways look.

“Old man, you were the ones who hurt someone first, why should our people apologize to you?”

Before Xu Taiping could speak, Lin Buyu interjected.

As she spoke, a surge of sword energy erupted from her fingertips, spreading out mightily in all directions.

In terms of swordsmanship, Lin Buyu was a one-in-a-million genius, and with the Qingxuan Sky-Cleaving Sword Formation to bolster her, she truly wasn’t afraid of the two old men before her.

This was also the confidence that allowed the Sixth Peak to send these female disciples to brave the Ruins of the Cloud Dream Marsh.

Feeling the might of the sword formation, the two elders frowned again.

The young palace master, however, snorted coldly, “Little girl, watch your words. Even if your Peak Master were here, he wouldn’t dare speak to us like this.”

“Swish!” As soon as the young palace master finished speaking, Xu Taiping drew his saber once more, his powerful aura exploding out, wrapped in the intent of his blade.

“You’ve said it yourself, there’s nothing more to say, let’s fight!”

Xu Taiping aimed his saber at the young palace master.

Feeling the aura emanating from Xu Taiping, whether it was the two elders or the middle-aged warriors nearby, all felt a tremor in their hearts.

Xu Taiping’s cultivation might only seem average to them, but the intent and momentum of his saber clearly indicated that he was a desperado.

“Taiping, don’t be like this, give your brother some face, I’ll resolve this for you.”

Oriole winked at Xu Taiping.

Speaking, he walked up to the round-faced elder with a beaming smile and whispered into his ear:

“Elder Lin, there’s something I’m not sure whether I should mention.”

“What, you want to use the Nine Mansions to pressure me? I don’t fall for that, we can just skip the ruins.” The round-faced elder snorted coldly.

“No, how could I dare? I just wanted to remind you that this kid with the saber has a somewhat unclear relationship with a certain couple.” Oriole said with a chuckle.

“What? This kid, could he be the illegitimate son of the Qingxuan Sect’s leader?” Elder Lin frowned.

If he really was an illegitimate child, he would have to weigh his options, as even a dying camel is bigger than a horse, and the Qingxuan Sect had its days of glory.

“No, where did your thoughts go?” Oriole shook his head repeatedly, his forehead creased.

“What are you trying to say?” Elder Lin’s expression turned displeased.

Although Yunjing Palace’s status was not as high as the Carefree Sect’s, as one of the palace’s top elders, he naturally wouldn’t fear this junior.

“A while ago, you must have heard about the incident with that couple from the Black Vulture Nation, right?”

Oriole asked with a smile.

Hearing this, Elder Lin’s pupils shrank, and he spoke with a hint of wariness:

“This kid, could he be the illegitimate son of that couple?”