Yang Qing's face looked dreadful, and the expressions of the others were not much better.
The sect masters of the Immortal Sects who had arranged the "Dragon Serpent Rising from the Land" formation with him stiffened all over, cold sweat dripping down their foreheads when they heard Gu Fangchen's words.
In their original plan, the concealment of the "Dragon Serpent Rising from the Land" formation was guaranteed.
After all, it was a grand formation secretly set up near Liuhua Province, with the barriers and arrays all perfectly arranged.
Once the formation was activated, Ning Songjun would make a move, his Dao Heart would suffer damage, Sword Pavilion would be forced to compromise, and their goal would be achieved.
Then, with Gu Yuandao stepping in to mediate, the matter would be settled. They would then destroy the "Dragon Serpent Rising from the Land" formation amidst the chaos, leaving no trace behind.
However, their plan had stalled precisely at the point of making Ning Songjun strike.
At this moment, the ones remaining at the formation were unaware that the entire situation had already turned upside down.
They were still maintaining the operation of the array.
Even worse, because they had never guarded against Gu Fangchen, they had allowed Yang Zheng to contact him once, merely to test whether he was a pawn planted by Gu Yuye to interfere with their plans.
After that, they hadn't even bothered to check whether Yang Zheng had been followed...
After all, in their eyes back then, Gu Fangchen was still that useless, arrogant wastrel, who would ever guard against him?
If Gu Fangchen had truly marked Yang Zheng, then the existence of the "Dragon Serpent Rising from the Land" formation could no longer be hidden.
Once discovered, it would be a case of crime and evidence both in hand!
Yang Qing's face turned ashen. He had never imagined that his own son would become the greatest flaw in their plan.
But now, they were facing a dead end with no escape...
Yang Qing instinctively turned his gaze forward, straight into the cold eyes of the Iron Tile Hall Master.
He glanced around. The others' gazes were filled with hatred, anxiety, pleading, and even naked killing intent.
If the "Dragon Serpent Rising from the Land" formation were exposed, the Seven-Sect Alliance would collapse instantly, and the Sun River Sword Sect would be the chief culprit.
Yang Qing understood their meaning. They still harbored a trace of delusion, believing that if he let Yang Zheng take the blame, then perhaps the remaining sects might survive.
But Yang Qing knew that was nonsense.
What ability could his son possibly have to steal the Sword Saint's sword?
Their true goal had always been the "Dragon Serpent Rising from the Land" formation!
And from the very beginning, Gu Fangchen must have known everything about it, only thus could he have manipulated Yang Zheng so precisely into misunderstanding and coming to report.
Since he had come targeting the formation itself, what good would it do even if Yang Zheng took the blame?
Gu Fangchen would still have ten thousand ways to find its location.
They had been blind from the start, taking this supposed wastrel for a fool, never realizing that he was the hunter lying in wait!
After a long silence, Yang Qing gave a bitter smile, clasped his hands, and said,
"It was my failure as a father. I am willing to personally capture Yang Zheng and hand him over to Sword Pavilion for punishment..."
With the Seven Sects still watching, he had to at least put on the proper front.
Gu Fangchen, however, gave a cold snort, his tone utterly stern.
"You, capture him?"
"Even a tiger won't eat its own cub. You're all in this together, how can I trust that you're not just going to warn him to flee?"
"It's better for me, as a neutral third party, to find where this sneaky fellow is hiding and see what tricks he's playing!"
Gu Fangchen turned toward Ning Songjun, clasping his hands with a serious expression.
"Uncle, elders, please come with me."
Ning Songjun leapt forward, swift as lightning, reaching out as though to support his nephew in a show of camaraderie.
His expression didn't change as he said coldly, "Very well."
While everyone else was still awed by the power of those seventy-two swords, only Ning Songjun noticed that the boy's spiritual power was nearly exhausted.
Whatever secret technique Gu Fangchen was using, he was forcing himself to sustain this façade, covering his weakness beneath the aura of the seventy-two swords.
If the Seven-Sect masters regained their senses, they would surely notice something wrong.
Fortunately, despite appearing reckless, Gu Fangchen still held the advantage, Ning Songjun and Ning Wuzhen were both on his side.
When Ning Songjun sent his spiritual energy toward him, it disappeared like a stone sinking into the sea. He froze for a moment.
The Sword Saint's heart trembled.
This boy's outbursts had happened so many times that he had half-expected seventy-one of those swords to be fake, but this time, they were real.
All seventy-two swords were embryo-grade Supreme-Grade Swords.
If this news spread, every sword cultivator under heaven would go mad... it was far more dangerous than Gu Lianqian's "Lotus Concealed in the Womb."
Ning Songjun withdrew his hand, and Gu Fangchen let out a breath of relief.
His pitiful cultivation was barely enough to make this Sky-Piercing Sword of the Seventy-Two Peaks sparkle like a firework...
But at least, it was a mushroom-cloud-level firework.
Just the sight of his finger hovering over the trigger was enough to scare the others witless.
Who had time to wonder whether it was real?
Gu Fangchen, Ning Songjun, the Sword Pavilion elders, and the Seven Sect Masters together left the Sword Pavilion, flying straight toward the nearest node of the "Dragon Serpent Rising from the Land" formation.
By this time, the hearts of the Seven-Sect masters had already sunk.
They could no longer deceive themselves that Gu Fangchen was bluffing.
He truly knew!
The so-called theft of the sword had only ever been an excuse!
The sect masters' expressions could only be described as mourning their own deaths.
Gu Fangchen descended onto an empty clearing west of Liuhua Province, staring at the open woods ahead.
Behind him, the others landed one after another.
The Iron Tile Hall Master struggled and said,
"Your Highness, look, there's nothing here! Could the mark have been mistaken, ?"
Gu Fangchen nearly laughed. So now the man was calling him "Your Highness." How quickly people could change their tune, disgraceful but amusing.
He turned his gaze to Yang Qing.
The expression on the Sun River Sword Sect leader's face said everything.
Gu Fangchen had found the correct node.
In truth, he hadn't placed any mark on Yang Zheng at all.
He simply knew the positions of all the "Dragon Serpent Rising from the Land" formation nodes.
A little reasoning told him that Yang Zheng must have been the one nearest to the Sword Pavilion, thus sent to test him.
All Gu Fangchen needed to do was locate the node closest to the Pavilion in a straight line.
He thought for a moment, stroking his chin as he recalled the steps for dispelling the illusion.
Taking a few steps forward, he found the tree serving as the eye of the formation.
Just as he raised his hand to undo the illusion,
A sudden gust of wind sounded behind him.
A sharp "pfft!"
Gu Fangchen turned, seeing a twisted, feral face.
It was Yang Qing of the Sun River Sword Sect, who had suddenly attacked from behind, attempting to assassinate him.
Whether it was for the sake of the Seven-Sect Alliance or for his unworthy son, no one would ever know.
But with Ning Songjun present, how could he be given a chance?
The Sword Saint raised two fingers, lifted slightly, and Yang Qing's head was severed cleanly.
As his head rolled to the ground, his eyes, bloodshot and despairing, fixed upon the gradually revealing mountain stronghold.
All their years of scheming and plotting among the Seven Sects,
Destroyed in a single day, by the very wastrel they had always dismissed!
...
Yang Zheng stared nervously at the two magnetic stones floating before him, focusing with all his might.
Suddenly, a commotion erupted outside.
Someone shouted frantically,
"The illusion's broken! Sword Pavilion's people are here! Young Master, run! Ah, !"
Yang Zheng jolted up in shock, only to see a flash of cold light as that man was run through the heart, collapsing to the ground.
A familiar figure stepped forward with a smiling face, lightly kicking a round object at Yang Zheng's feet.
Looking down, Yang Zheng met his own father's unseeing eyes, and immediately collapsed, trembling and bawling.
"You, you you, don't kill me! I'll tell you everything! I'll say everything!"
Gu Fangchen looked down at the fat, cowering dandy, thinking that his own original self probably looked much the same in the eyes of others.
Still, at least Yang Zheng had had a good father.
Drawing a sword from a nearby corpse, Gu Fangchen lightly patted Yang Zheng's face, smiling brightly.
"Shh, don't say anything, and I'll spare your life."
Yang Zheng was bewildered, but desperate for any chance to live. He nodded wildly and clamped his mouth shut.
"Mmm! Mmm!"
Satisfied, Gu Fangchen withdrew his sword and turned toward the two magnetic stones rotating like twin stars at the center.
That was one of the nodes of the "Dragon Serpent Rising from the Land" formation.
While the others had yet to enter,
Gu Fangchen flipped his wrist, drawing out the Linked Stars Sword, and threw it into the node.
"Clack!"
The Linked Stars Sword, whose blade had been polished with magnetic dust by the old swordsmith, was immediately drawn in, firmly attaching itself to the stones!
Originally, the minute trace of magnetism on the Linked Stars Sword would have been far too weak to affect the great formation.
After all, the "Dragon Serpent Rising from the Land" formation covered the entirety of Liuhua Province, and its influence would have been negligible by the time it reached Donglong Prefecture.
Under the Seven Sects' original plan, the sword would merely have been unbalanced, enough for the Sword Saint to sense something off.
But now, Gu Fangchen had thrown it directly into the node.
With such immense magnetic force, even the slightest magnetic dust would be drawn in, let alone the Linked Stars Sword itself!
Yang Zheng, covering his mouth, stared in disbelief.
Gu Fangchen turned to face Ning Songjun, pointing dramatically.
"Uncle, look!"
He hardened his expression and shouted at the Seven-Sect masters,
"Your sword truly was stolen, and such a great formation was hidden here! What are you Seven Sects plotting?!"
...
Gu Yuandao had remained in Sword Pavilion instead of going to the formation site.
Together with Ning Wuzhen, he entered the Sword Pavilion's main hall, then bowed deeply.
"Grandfather, may I see my mother? Though she has shut me out, I am still her child, born of ten months' labor..."
Ning Wuzhen stood with his hands clasped behind his back, turning slowly.
"So you still remember that you were carried by Cai Yong for ten months? If you remember, then stop doing things that disappoint your mother!"
Gu Yuandao's heart sank.
"Grandfather, I came this time to settle the Seven-Sect Rebellion..."
Ning Wuzhen's voice cut coldly through the air.
"Whatever your reason, you and that father of yours know full well."
"For what you said just now, I will overlook this once. But there will not be a next time. See your sister, and then leave."
With that, he flicked his sleeve and departed.
Gu Yuandao stood motionless, his expression shifting through gloom and resentment.
Finally, he drew out the imperial edict in his sleeve and clenched it tight.
Since it had yet to be proclaimed, he had not lost!
Before Gu Fangchen returned to Huangtian City, there was still one last chance!