This Sword Cultivator is Somewhat Dependable

The rabbit's death grieves the fox; creatures mourn their kind.

They felt a foreboding premonition rising in their hearts.

At this point, Lu Qingshan suppressed his sigh and exhaled again. His gaze swept over the several demonic cultivators, and he remarked, "Cooperation, yes, but with the few scant details you provide, it's truly difficult to let you go."

Hearing these words, the hearts of the five void demonic cultivators seized, and a sense of deadly danger confronted them directly.

Amidst Lu Qingshan's gaze brimming with murder intent, the smallest of the five void demonic cultivators suddenly seemed to think of something and spoke tremblingly, "Were you referring to the matter of Qing King's blood slaughter just now?"

"Oh?" Lu Qingshan's expression remained unchanged as he turned his gaze toward this void demonic cultivator, continuing to listen.

"I seem to have a faint impression..." This void demonic cultivator, feeling the eyes of all present upon him, spoke with a slight tremble in his voice, appearing very nervous.

"When I was speaking with Blood Demon Lord, he once casually mentioned, 'To even dare slaughter their own imperial city, some humans treat their fellow kin far more cruelly than we demons do'..."

"At the time, I didn't think much of it. Now that I consider it, could it be related to the Qing King blood slaughter you mentioned?" the demonic cultivator cautiously inquired.

"To even dare slaughter their own imperial city?"

This sentence exploded like thunder in the ears of Lu Qingshan and Li Qiubai.

Chang'an City?!

The location of Qing King's blood slaughter was actually... Chang'an?!

Qing King intended to slaughter the city!

Lu Qingshan felt his mind buzzing as if someone had struck him over the head.

His consciousness even faltered for a moment, stunned in place.

This news was too shocking to believe!

"Indeed, it should be so, it should be so....

Since Qing King desires to break through by slaughtering for blood, for such a significant event, he certainly wouldn't be too far from the site of the blood slaughter.

If it's too far, it would be inconvenient for him to absorb and refine the blood essence at the time, and how could he leave such an important event to others, not watching over it himself?"

Lu Qingshan absentmindedly muttered, an epiphany dawning, "So, wherever Qing King is now, that place is likely the predetermined land of blood slaughter..."

He had actually considered this line of thought right from the start.

But he quickly dismissed the idea due to Qing King being personally escorted by Li Qiubai to Chang'an...

This was one of Qing King's clever tactics in this scheme.

Clearly wanting to enter Chang'an himself, he used such methods and plotted a self-harm scheme, entering Chang'an under the guise of being forced by the Chang'an Sword Immortal, thus covering the abruptness of entering the capital and diverting others' attention.

A significant reason why Lu Qingshan dismissed this idea was that he dared not believe, was unwilling to doubt.

What is Chang'an?

It is the Imperial City of Great Xia, the symbol of Great Xia, the most solemn and reverent place in the Human Realm, gathering countless powerful cultivators, heavily guarded.

Disasters could occur anywhere in the Human Realm, except for Chang'an, the least likely place!

In everyone's subconscious, if something happened to Chang'an, it was as if the Human Race was finished, the sky was falling.

Qing King inclined to act contrary, taking action against Chang'an.

But if it truly is Chang'an, how could Qing King conceal it from the world, how could the blood slaughter be accomplished?

It's not some small or obscure sect, but the largest city in the Human Realm, with profound heritage.

Although the Annihilating Venerable Formation's existence is secret, unknown to Lu Qingshan, he can be certain there must be special protective means within Chang'an.

Moreover, Qing King is part of the Great Xia Imperial Clan, a titled king; the imperial city to him is ancestral land, a "family shrine."

What descendant would set fire to their ancestral land?

Yet... thoughts flew through Lu Qingshan's mind.

In his assumption, Qing King was covering the pathways openly, crossing the sea secretly, the land of blood slaughter being an unpredictable location.

He thought it impossible, even when receiving exact details, the instinctive first reaction was impossibility.

Others would surely think it impossible, even the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion Master would have checked only Qing State upon receiving the news, even Shui Yue Pavilion Master, believing his warnings, would merely have directed Heavenly Secrets Pavilion disciples to investigate various human states thoroughly, neglecting Chang'an City.

In reality, there were no Heavenly Secrets Pavilion disciples monitoring within Chang'an City.

After all, it was the imperial city, too many secrets, outsider investigations were not permitted.

Isn't this exactly the "unthinkable place"?

The true blind spot beneath the lamp, using inertia of thought to cross the sea concealed from heaven.

Upon reflection, Chang'an alone had tens of millions of inhabitants, also the city with the most human cultivators gathered.

The essence blood of one cultivator compares to that of a thousand or ten thousand mortals.

So, although Chang'an is just one city, during a blood slaughter, Qing King could gain enough essence blood comparable to slaughtering an entire state.

This perfectly satisfies Qing King's requirement for a breakthrough!

But how dare Qing King?

Even if successful, how would he handle the ensuing public censure and universal opprobrium?

Insanity, sheer madness!

Lu Qingshan rubbed his temples, forcibly suppressing his tumultuous emotions.

He turned to speak to Li Qiubai, only to find the ever-calm and composed Chang'an Sword Immortal looking deeply grim and unpleasant.

In Li Qiubai's deep gaze, he even detected a trace of profound fear.

Could the invincible Chang'an Sword Immortal of the Human Realm feel fear? Fear of something?

"Senior..." Lu Qingshan was momentarily taken aback, unable to react.

"I must go to Chang'an." Li Qiubai's voice echoed in the air, his figure already transformed into a sword light, soaring upward, unleashing his aura without restraint, several sword qis emerging in rapid succession.

Before the sword qi could disperse, Chang'an Sword Immortal's figure had already carved out a vacuum path in the miasma-laden Black Abyss, disappearing from Lu Qingshan's sight in an instant.

"Xia Zhao is in Chang'an City. If Qing King succeeds in slaughtering the city, Xia Zhao's fate won't be any better!" Lu Qingshan snapped back to reality, realizing Li Qiubai's fear, understanding why Li Qiubai's actions were so urgent.

Pop pop!

At this moment, the sword qi unleashed by Li Qiubai surged with ghostly speed beyond the naked eye, leaving winding trails in mid-air, directly targeting those five void demonic cultivators and the unconscious Blood Demon Lord.

The dazzling sword qi sliced through the sky, sweeping over the bodies of those six demon race members.

With only a momentary sweep, the five void demonic cultivators' eyes widened in terror and disbelief, with fear, grievance, and resentment—"You were sword cultivators, why break your word? We answered every question truthfully, and yet..."

Human sword cultivators keep their promises, so why not now? We complied, but you still....

Six clouds of blood mist had already exploded.

The Divine Demon Bodies, of which the demons were so proud, were shattered by Li Qiubai's casually unleashed sword aura.

"No one ever promised to spare your lives," Lu Qingshan sighed as he looked at the blood mist in the air that gradually dispersed like fireworks, shaking his head.

"Something major has happened; this news must be immediately reported to the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion and the Sword Sect." A brilliance flashed in his eyes.

Considering the significance of the situation, every moment was precious.

Even if the Chang'an Sword Immortal was rushing to Chang'an, if Qing King was so audacious to dare to plan a blood massacre in Chang'an, his preparations must be exceptionally thorough.

There was no time to waste; Lu Qingshan took a deep breath, releasing it slowly, yet he found it hard to quell the frustration and repressed emotion within him.

The term "Sword Opening Heaven's Gate" suddenly surfaced in his mind.

Now, he almost guessed this name's meaning.

"It can be changed... it definitely can be changed..."

The same principle as controlling a sword, so long as he held onto this belief.

He knew deeply now—a truth profoundly understood—that the preset storyline of this world was by no means unchangeable!

Can Chang'an, today, still be safe?