I Have A Sword

Before long, the two of them spotted a city in the distance.

It was none other than Qiuyong City.

They quickened their pace, but soon, both of them frowned. There were footsteps on either side of the main road. They could hear footsteps, but there wasn't anyone else around them.

Ye Guan suddenly stopped. He looked around and shouted, "The Great Daoist Brush Master is here in person! All you rats lurking in the dark, get lost now, or do you want to eat shit?!"

Gu Pan was speechless.

In the shadows, the hidden beings were instantly enraged by his words...

***

The air buzzed with suppressed fury as powerful auras surged from the darkness. But none dared step onto the main road.

Ye Guan didn't wait to see what would happen; he turned and ran.

He wasn't about to bet that those creatures truly wouldn't set foot on the main road. If he pushed them too far and they rushed in, he wouldn't stand a chance.

Soon, Ye Guan and Gu Pan reached Qiuyong City, but the city gates were tightly shut.

Instinctively, Gu Pan prepared to fly over the walls, but Ye Guan stopped him.

He looked up. It was the darkest hour before dawn, pitch black, with nothing visible.

Gu Pan also sensed something was off. The city wall was over ten meters tall. If they flew up and left the bounds of the main road, it could be bad news.

Gu Pan stepped up to the gate and banged on it hard.

"Open the damned gate! We're not the bad guys!"

Ye Guan was speechless.

There was no response from inside.

Gu Pan's face darkened. He raised his hand to knock again, but Ye Guan stopped him.

"Let's wait," he said.

Gu Pan looked at him.

Ye Guan glanced around. "It'll be dawn soon."

Gu Pan nodded. "Alright."

The two of them sat outside the city gate, and they were surrounded by powerful but hidden auras in the darkness.

Ye Guan said, "That battle back then must have been brutal."

Gu Pan nodded solemnly. "I wonder what kind of divine artifact could attract so many powerful beings of the Boundary of Truth and Illusion..."

Ye Guan murmured, "I'm curious, too."

Just then, Gu Pan looked up. A bloody man was approaching from afar.

It was none other than the Great Daoist Brush Master.

Seeing his battered state, both Ye Guan and Gu Pan's expressions changed.

The man glared at Gu Pan like he wanted to tear him apart.

Gu Pan wasn't fazed. He clenched his fist, and a surge of powerful soul energy radiated from his body.

The Great Daoist Brush Master clearly couldn't tolerate it and prepared to act, but Ye Guan's divine sense enveloped him.

He frowned and turned to Ye Guan.

Ye Guan smiled faintly, saying, "Great Daoist Brush Master, this is the darkest hour of the night. Not the best time to fight, don't you think so?"

The Great Daoist Brush Master sneered. He glanced at both of them, but didn't make a move. Then, he sat on the side and closed his eyes.

Gu Pan stared at him, his eyes flickering thoughtfully. After a while, he turned to Ye Guan, who shook his head.

He knew what Gu Pan was thinking. However, the Great Daoist Brush Master had a mysterious soul helping him. Even if he couldn't defeat both of them, he could still easily escape.

The three waited in silence until finally, a pale light appeared on the horizon.

Dawn was here.

The oppressive auras vanished, and everything returned to normal.

The city gate creaked open. A guard stepped out and was startled to see the three of them.

They got up and walked into the city.

Qiuyong City was small and modest. Most of its residents were ordinary people. Only a few had trained in martial arts, and even those hadn't reached the realm where they could sense spiritual energy.

Suddenly, a scholarly middle-aged man approached them. He smiled politely, "You three... are from outside the city?"

Ye Guan nodded.

The man looked surprised but quickly composed himself. "I'm Li Shi, the city governor of Qiuyong. May I ask what brings you here?"

Noticing the tension in Li Shi's demeanor, Ye Guan smiled. "City Governor Li, we're just passing by. Nothing more."

Li Shi relaxed a little. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

Ye Guan thought for a moment, then said, "City Lord, I'm looking for two people, Yuan Zhen and Qin Lian from Yuan Village."

"Yuan Village?"

Li Shi turned to an elder nearby. The old man hurried over and flipped through a logbook. After a moment, he said, "They were here... but they left."

Ye Guan narrowed his eyes. "Left?"

"Yes."

Li Shi looked puzzled. "They didn't return to Yuan Village?"

"No."

Li Shi's expression darkened. "That's..."

Ye Guan studied them both. It was clear they weren't lying, meaning Yuan Zhen and Qin Lian had left the city, but they never made it home.

Something had to have happened to them.

Just then, the elder said, "They didn't leave through the south gate."

Ye Guan turned to him.

The elder flipped through his records. "It's noted here that they left through the north gate. The south gate is where you three entered, and it leads to Yuan Village. The north gate... leads away from it."

"Do you know what they did while in the city?"

The old man shook his head with a wry smile. "I'm afraid we don't have that kind of information."

"Does the road through the north gate lead to Ancient God Capital?"

"Ancient God Capital?" The elder looked confused.

However, Li Shi's expression changed dramatically.

The three looked at him.

Li Shi revealed a bitter smile. "Sirs, I don't know much about it myself. Just heard legends... Most of us believe that it doesn't exist, but who would have thought..."

Ye Guan asked, "You people didn't know what's beyond the gate?"

"No, we have only heard some elders in our village mention it before. We don't dare wander too far. And absolutely no one stays outside overnight; those who do... never return."

Ye Guan's expression turned grim. He thought of Yuan Zhen and Qin Lian. They had left through the north gate. Something didn't add up. As locals, they had to be aware of how dangerous the outside world was.

Despite that, they still left through the north gate...

Was it intentional? Were they not actually from around here?

Ye Guan couldn't help but overthink it; something about their behavior didn't sit quite right with him.

Suddenly, the Great Daoist Brush Master said, "Stop wasting time. Meet at the north gate tonight."

With that, he turned and walked away.

Ye Guan glanced at the man's back.This guy got ganged up on and still survived. Tough bastard.

Li Shi arranged accommodations for them. Ye Guan and Gu Pan each settled into their rooms.

Inside, Little Pagoda asked,"Do you trust Gu Pan?"

"Half."

"Only half?"

"It's a partnership based on mutual interest. And that kind of relationship... can never be fully trusted."

"Kid, I've got a bad feeling about this."

Ye Guan rolled his eyes."Come on, Master Pagoda."

"I'm serious,"he said."My gut feeling is usually spot-on."

Ye Guan winced.

"Back then, I wasn't sealed, so you could act all cocky. But I'm sealed right now, so you'll have to be extra cautious. Got it?"

Ye Guan was silent.

He closed his eyes, not dismissing the warning. He, too, could feel that things were spiraling into something far more dangerous.

The Ancient God Nation. The Boundary of Truth and Illusion... He was caught right in the middle of it now.

Even though both he and the Great Daoist Brush Master weren't exactly free, they could still resort to any means necessary. The only real difference was that the Great Daoist Brush Master had more experience and knew far more people than him.

That was Ye Guan's weakness. A flicker of frustration flashed in his eyes. He couldn't afford to lose this time. Otherwise, he would become the King of Relying on Others forever.

On second thought, however, the idea sounded not too bad.

"Hahaha." He chuckled."Master Pagoda, I know this is serious, and I'll give it everything I've got."

He closed his eyes again and focused his divine sense on the mysterious talisman. Something wasn't right with either the Great Dao River or the talisman.

He'd even considered detonating the talisman to take the Great Daoist Brush Master down with him. He could then ask his aunt to resurrect him afterward.

That way, he'd still win in a sense.

The moment he remembered that the Great Daoist Brush Master was just a clone, he gave up on the idea.

It's too much of a loss! Besides, what if Aunt refuses to resurrect me... I'll actually end up dying by then!

Ye Guan could already sense that his aunt was no longer willing to help him with such things so easily.

Even if she did, he would have to pay an extremely steep price.

Soon, night fell, and the three of them arrived outside the north gate. Ye Guan looked at the Great Daoist Brush Master. The man had changed into a brand-new Daoist robe, making him look like a deity.

Gu Pan's expression was blank, as if someone owed him several million.

The three walked along the main road, heading into the distance.

On the way, none of them said a word.

An unknown amount of time later, a group of Ancient God Soldiers appeared in the distance. The moment they saw them, the trio hurried to follow.

They kept right behind the group of Ancient God Soldiers. What they noticed was that wherever the soldiers went, there would be no hidden auras there.

The trio followed the Ancient God Soldiers for a long time and eventually arrived at a plateau. As soon as they set foot on it, their expressions turned grave.

An overwhelming wave of battle intent spread across the plateau.

"The gods... are dead... all dead...!"

From atop the plateau, a roar thundered through the air like crashing lightning.

The three grew even more solemn... That aura. The owner of it was at least on the ninth level of the True Dao.

None of them dared move forward.

Ye Guan said, "Great Daoist Brush Master, didn't you say you were a god?"

The Great Daoist Brush Master replied with a blank face, "Did I? I'm not a god. I hate gods more than anything! Don't go around spouting nonsense on my behalf!"