Chapter 644: The Fall of the Taixuan Palace
Nine Heavens Taixuan Palace.
Countless massive islands floated in the air, wreathed in mist where white cranes spread their wings, a scene of perfect tranquility.
Yet under the suffocating shroud of evil demonic qi outside the protective barrier, that peace felt terribly fragile.
From within the miasma, endless howls echoed. Looking closer, the black clouds teemed with figures as far as the eye could see.
Every one of them wore the same uniform. On their chests, black‑and‑white emblems turned slowly—the mark of Yuan Gate. An entire army of Yuan Gate disciples surrounded the palace.
Their gazes were vicious as they stared at the mountains and islands sheltered by the light barrier. Deep in their eyes, sinister black light flickered, lending their faces a twisted, frightening cast.
Outside the great barrier, a scattering of figures not dressed in Yuan Gate robes fought to hold back the advancing black clouds.
Surges of Yuan Power flared, only to be swallowed again and again by terrifying attacks screaming out of the darkness. Screams followed in short order.
However they struggled, their defense was crumbling before that rolling wave of Yuan Gate might.
Blades flashed. Blood flew. The slaughter was unspeakably brutal.
At the very heart of the black clouds, several figures watched the barrier‑shielded Nine Heavens Taixuan Palace with cold indifference.
It was the sect's final line of defense. Once the formation fell, the palace would be fully exposed to Yuan Gate's butchery.
"Hehe, Grand Elder, it seems their formation won't last much longer."
One elder behind the lead figure chuckled.
"Yesterday, you left their Palace Master gravely injured. She's likely dead already.
"The other major elders have all taken serious wounds as well. All that's left in Nine Heavens now are juniors. They won't stop us for long."
As the black mist parted, the Yuan Gate Grand Elder's frame emerged—sunken eyes, skeletal features, pupils burning black. At the words, he only shook his head with a chilling smile.
"Don't underestimate Nine Heavens Taixuan Palace. From what I know, that place may hide an astonishing secret."
"Oh?"
The other elders blinked, exchanging puzzled looks. They had heard nothing of such a secret.
"Hehe, don't bother asking. Not even the three Sect Masters themselves know the full story." the Grand Elder said lightly.
"If it's that important, why didn't the three Sect Masters come themselves?" one elder muttered.
"They're at the most critical juncture of their attempts to break into the Samsara Stage. They cannot be distracted."
The Grand Elder waved the concern aside. "With the old man here, why would they need to move?"
"Of course, of course. With you leading, Grand Elder, what is a mere Nine Heavens Taixuan Palace?" another elder chimed in obsequiously.
…
Inside the great formation, on a towering suspended island.
Countless Nine Heavens disciples stared up at the trembling barrier, hatred burning in their eyes as they glared at the darkness beyond.
"All disciples, take your positions! If the protection array falls, form up and meet the enemy at once!"
A clear voice, wrapped in surging Yuan Power, swept across the island and rolled over the entire sect.
"Yes!"
The disciples answered as one and turned their eyes skyward.
There, a slender figure hovered in mid‑air. Clad in a green dress, she swayed in the wind, her thin form seeming almost ready to drift away with the breeze.
Following their gaze up to her face, one would find strikingly familiar features—the same delicate profile that had once marched through the Hundred Empires War alongside Lin Langtian: Su Rou.
She was no longer the timid girl who had once spoken in a whisper. Her pretty face now held a firmness and resilience she had not possessed back then.
Buzz.
The barrier above shook harder and harder. Cracks began to spiderweb quietly across its surface.
Below, every disciple gripped their weapon tight as Yuan Power roared through their meridians like a storm.
Boom!
Under countless watching eyes, the last layer of Nine Heavens Taixuan Palace's protection shattered completely.
The black clouds poured in like a flood.
"Sisters, brothers—we can die, but the palace must not fall!"
Su Rou stared at the onrushing darkness. Tears spilled steadily from her wide eyes.
All around her, Nine Heavens disciples surged forward like a tide, eyes bloodshot.
"We can die, but the palace must not fall!"
"Kill!"
Battle cries shook the sky as the sun slanted west, drenching the carnage in bloody light.
Far away, several streaks of light raced through the air at full speed toward the embattled sect.
Boom, boom!
Just as Yuan Gate's army crashed down, a sudden flash of azure light descended from the heavens, slicing past several leading experts before plunging into the ranks behind them.
The charge collapsed as rows of Yuan Gate disciples were erased by that single streak.
In an instant, a vast gap opened in the sea of black.
The abrupt intervention stunned both sides into momentary silence.
Su Rou and the others whirled around and gasped with relief.
Not far behind them, a woman in fluttering white walked forward, sword in hand. Her already cool aura had turned glacial.
"Senior Sister Qingzhu!"
Cries of joy rang out from the Nine Heavens disciples. Their fading morale surged back to life.
"Senior Sister, you inherited the Palace Master's legacy?"
Su Rou looked up at the woman now at her side. Though Ling Qingzhu's face remained veiled, the bottomless depth of her aura told its own story.
"Mm. Little Junior Sister… you've worked hard. Leave the rest to me."
Ling Qingzhu looked at Su Rou's exhausted face, then at the bloodied disciples around them. The hand gripping her sword trembled slightly.
"Protecting Nine Heavens is our duty too." Su Rou said, shaking her head.
Ling Qingzhu nodded softly, then raised her eyes to the churning black above.
More Yuan Gate disciples were pouring out of the clouds. At their center, several aged figures radiated crushing pressure down over the entire sect.
They were the true threat.
"Hehe, finally someone worth looking at. Tell me, where is your Palace Master?"
The Yuan Gate Grand Elder smiled faintly at Ling Qingzhu. "Ah, I forgot. I left her half‑dead yesterday. She's probably a corpse by now."
Rage exploded among the Nine Heavens disciples. They glared at him with murderous hatred, bodies shaking.
"It was you who hurt my master?"
Ling Qingzhu's eyes, cold as a winter moon, locked onto the Grand Elder. Her fingers tightened on her sword as a terrifying aura erupted from her and soared into the heavens.
Her power had reached the Reincarnation Stage.
And yet for some reason, the sense of danger she gave off surpassed even that of many peak experts who had touched upon Samsara.
"Oh?"
The Grand Elder's brows rose.
"So the Palace Master poured her life's cultivation into you before she died. This kind of transfer almost always fails… but you're the lucky one.
"Still—so what if you have her legacy?"
His lips curled in mocking disdain. "She herself fell to my hands. Do you really think a little girl like you can fare any better?"
Ling Qingzhu's gaze did not waver. The chill in it made even him frown slightly.
He snorted and waved a hand. "Kill her."
"Yes."
A Yuan Gate elder stepped out from behind him. With each stride, a massive surge of Yuan Power erupted from his body. Evil black light flickered in his eyes.
He too had reached the Reincarnation Stage—and the density of his aura left Zhao Kui and Li Gang far behind.
Clearly, Yuan Gate had paid dearly to wipe Nine Heavens from the map.
Ling Qingzhu's eyes grew even colder. She took one step forward, sword flashing in a slanting cut.
Buzz.
The moment her blade moved, the very Yuan Power of heaven and earth boiled. A streak of emerald light pierced the void at unimaginable speed.
Space itself seemed to split.
Every hair on the Yuan Gate elder's body stood on end. A suffocating sense of mortal peril crashed over him. Yuan Power flooded out of him in a desperate rush, cocooning his body in layer after layer of defense.
Swish!
The green light arrived.
For a heartbeat, time froze. The churning Yuan Power, the elder's expression—everything hung perfectly still.
Crack.
A soft sound whispered from his barrier. Before the watching eyes, cracks raced across the supposedly impenetrable defense and then shattered with a bang.
The elder's body exploded into a cloud of blood mist.
"Hiss!"
The entire battlefield drew breath as one.
None of them had imagined a Reincarnation Stage powerhouse would be slain in a single strike.
"Hmph. Useless trash."
The Grand Elder's eyes flashed coldly as he watched the scene unfold. Ling Qingzhu's face, however, had gone a shade paler. That terrifying blow had clearly cost her dearly.
"No wonder they call you the most talented disciple in Nine Heavens history. Even your master couldn't match this."
"But tell me—did you really think you alone could save this place?"
"All Yuan Gate disciples, listen up—wipe Nine Heavens Taixuan Palace from the map!"
His shout rang with rabid killing intent.
"Yes!"
At the command, the Yuan Gate army roared and surged forward, killing aura drowning the sky.
Su Rou watched the tide roll in again and bit down on her lip, readying herself to charge.
"Little Junior Sister."
Ling Qingzhu's sword barred her path. She gazed at the oncoming slaughter and spoke softly.
"The situation is dire. Take the disciples and retreat. I'll hold them here.
"Most of the Eastern Xuan Region has already fallen into Yuan Gate's claws. Head west to seek refuge with Heavenly Palace. I believe… he won't turn you away."
"Senior Sister Qingzhu!"
Su Rou's eyes widened. Even with Ling Qingzhu's astonishing power, Yuan Gate's strength was overwhelming—and the Grand Elder had yet to act.
How could she face all of that alone?
Biting harder, Su Rou's mind flashed to a green‑robed figure.
If only Brother Langtian were here. With his bond with Senior Sister Qingzhu, he would never stand by and watch.
But the Eastern Xuan Region had heard nothing of him for a full year…
"Senior Sister, we're not afraid of dying. Let us live and die with Nine Heavens!" cried the disciples around them.
"If you all die, our legacy dies with you."
Ling Qingzhu lifted her sword. A simple, ancient token appeared in her other hand.
Her cold voice carried through the entire palace.
"By the authority of the new Palace Master of Nine Heavens Taixuan Palace, I order you—retreat at once. Any who defy this command will be expelled from the sect."
"Senior Sister!"
Tears streamed down countless faces as disciples dropped to their knees like a black‑clad tide.
"If you don't want my death to be meaningless—then obey me."
Crystal drops slid from beneath Ling Qingzhu's veil and vanished on the wind.
She stepped forward alone to meet the tide of Yuan Gate blades.
Her slender form, sword in hand, stood solitary and unyielding beneath the dying sun.
"Qingzhu may die—but the palace will never fall."
Her cold voice, brimming with proud defiance, rang through heaven and earth.
"Spirited, at least."
The Grand Elder's smile twisted cruelly.
"Kill them all. Leave no one alive."
(END CHAPTER)
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 30 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Franklin1