The same situation wasn’t limited to the Sword God Realm. The other two major factions, Heavenly Sword Gate and the Swordless Mountain, had received similar orders.
Throughout the day, many people wanted to visit the Fortune-Arrival Inn, but Xu Zimo remained behind closed doors.
There wasn’t much anyone could do, forcing their way in was out of the question.
Another day passed, and night fell.
A bright full moon hung in the sky, and the stars shone brilliantly tonight.
Unknown insects chirped in dark corners.
Three figures approached the rooftop of the Fortune-Arrival Inn from different directions.
Their movements were swift and light, each figure cloaked in a large black robe.
They stepped through the air from afar, covering dozens of meters with each step.
When the three met on the rooftop, they were visibly cautious of each other.
"Who are you?" asked Elder Jian first.
"Old man Jian, I’d recognize your voice even if you turned to ash," laughed the black-robed figure on the left.
"So, you’re from Heavenly Sword Gate. Since when did your sect start sneaking around like this?"
"Cut it with the sarcasm, old man Jian. Your Sword God Realm is no better," the Heavenly Sword Gate elder snapped back.
Listening to the bickering, the black-robed figure on the right sighed.
"You two, stop arguing. Have you forgotten our mission?"
"Looks like even the Swordless Mountain can’t sit still now," muttered Elder Jian.
The Swordless Mountain had always prided itself on being a noble sect, rarely getting involved in the conflicts between Heavenly Sword Gate and the Sword God Realm.
They usually kept a detached attitude, but the appearance of a Jiang Clan descendant had clearly changed things.
"Gentlemen, the situation isn’t clear yet. We don’t know if he’s really a Jiang," said the Heavenly Sword Gate elder, shaking his head. "But whether he is or isn’t, our orders are the same, better to kill the wrong person than let the real one go."
…………
In the third-floor room of Fortune-Arrival Inn, Xu Zimo leaned against the windowsill, enjoying the moonlight while waiting for his prey.
The candlelight in the room had been extinguished, leaving the space in complete darkness.
A light breeze drifted in from the window, followed by the faint sound of the door opening.
As the door creaked open, three figures quietly stepped inside.
Their eyes immediately fell on Xu Zimo sitting at the window.
Moonlight bathed him like a layer of silver frost.
He leaned comfortably against the windowsill, looking at the three of them with a faint smile.
"You knew we were coming?" the elder from the Swordless Mountain narrowed his eyes, watching Xu Zimo warily.
"I was hoping to catch a big fish, but this is what I get? Three little shrimps!" Xu Zimo sighed and shook his head.
Then, with a wave of his hand, a powerful force pressed down on them.
"Run!" the Swordless Mountain elder shouted.
He transformed into a sharp sword and shot into the distance.
None of the three even thought about fighting, they felt like they’d fallen into a giant trap.
All three were powerful cultivators in the Imperial Meridian Realm.
Yet when Xu Zimo’s hand came down, the surrounding space was sealed by an invisible force.
It was like they were stuck in a swamp, unable to move.
The Immortal-Suppression Chain flashed from Xu Zimo’s hand and completely restrained them, dropping them to the floor of the room.
Seeing Xu Zimo’s casual display of such overwhelming power, all three of them swallowed hard.
"Respected one, we mean no harm," Elder Jian quickly said.
"We only heard rumors of a Jiang descendant and came to take a look."
"But I do mean harm," Xu Zimo said with a faint smile. "Now answer my questions. If you can tell me something useful, you live. If not, you won’t see tomorrow’s sunrise."
"Ask what you like, we’ll tell you everything we know," Elder Jian replied.
"Why do you want to kill the Jiang Clan descendant?" Xu Zimo asked.
The three were silent for a moment. The Swordless Mountain elder finally said, "We don’t know. It was an order from the higher-ups."
"Does the Jiang Clan’s disappearance have anything to do with your three sects?" Xu Zimo asked.
"Tell me everything you know about the Jiang Clan from these past years."
"We really don’t know anything," said Elder Jian. "The Jiang Clan vanished suddenly. We didn’t do anything. We’ve been trying to track them for years, with no results. It’s like they disappeared from the face of the earth."
"Your words are useless to me," Xu Zimo said impatiently as he drew Shadow Tyrant from his back.
In the darkness, a streak of blood flew through the air.
The blood was bright red, and strange.
…………
Early the next morning, a servant silently dragged out three corpses. The room was cleaned up.
Not far from Overlord Sword City stood Sword God Mountain.
One of the three major sects, the Sword God Realm, was built there.
The morning glow lit up the sect’s buildings.
Within the Sword God Realm, disciples flew on swords, elders breathed and channeled energy. A single breath could send a sword hundreds of miles, slicing open the void.
Sword-shaped peaks floated in midair.
The sea of swords sparkled under the morning light.
On the plaza, hundreds of disciples practiced sword techniques with intense momentum.
At the top seat sat the sect master, Jian Yihai, with ten elders beneath him.
His hand tapped rhythmically on the armrest beside him.
His eyes opened slightly and he said, "Elder Jian’s soul lamp has gone out?"
"Yes, he’s likely dead," the Grand Elder of the sect stepped forward.
"This appearance of the Jiang descendant feels strange. I have a bad feeling."
"I’ll handle this matter. You may all leave," Jian Yihai waved them off.
After everyone left, Jian Yihai entered the hall’s inner chamber.
Making sure no one was around, he crushed a spatial jade talisman in his hand.
As the talisman shattered, a spatial vortex opened and sucked him in.
Inside the space was a sea of blood.
The smell of blood was so thick it seemed almost solid.
At the center of the sea of blood was a bridge made entirely of skulls.
It looked like thousands of skulls had gathered to form it.
The area was deathly silent. After entering, Jian Yihai stepped onto the skull bridge and walked toward its end.
There, at the far end, sat a black-robed creature, quietly fishing beside the blood sea.
No one knew what it was trying to catch.
"Lord Ming," Jian Yihai knelt respectfully before the figure in black robes. "The people I sent are dead."
"You have three days. I want all the information," the black-robed creature spoke.
Its voice echoed heavily, deep and magnetic.
It carried an overwhelming pressure.
"I understand," Jian Yihai said, his forehead covered in sweat. "I’ll go myself."
"Get lost!"