Sword Among Us

Ever since Thousand-faced Human Fox activated the quest in the forbidden land at the former ruins of Dragon Gate Inn, he became the closest NPC to the questline related to the desert palace. Not only did he become the person who executed the quest, he also became the person who gave the clues for the quest.

From the moment he faced the mercury moat, Thousand-faced Human Fox changed from a follower to a quest NPC who gave off clues for the quest.

With just a few words, Happy obtained a notification from the system.

“Ding!

“Obtained information!

“Based on the experience from Thousand-faced Human Fox, you can generally be certain that the legends of the treasures in the desert palace are just rumors. The real reason behind why the desert palace exists is to suppress a catastrophic and forbidden item that caused blood to spill in the world of wanderers. That is why it appeared in the desert.

“The danger level of the desert palace has increased!

“Help Thousand-faced Human Fox get through this difficulty and look for the catastrophic item that is suppressed at the depths of the desert palace!”

The sudden system notification shocked Happy. This was the first quest he received ever since he entered the desert palace. But he did not expect that the person who gave him the quest was his follower—Thousand-faced Human Fox.

What surprised Happy even more was that while the quest was not forced on him, it had happened so naturally that Happy had to carry it out!

At the same time, there was no reward for this quest.

‘What a good-for-nothing quest.’

Happy criticized in his heart, and suddenly, the actions of a few people in the dao of heaven suddenly attracted his attention, and he could not help but look over.

As Bi Xuan saw through the nature of the mirage above the mercury moat, the people in the dao of heaven held an emergency meeting. To them, a natural moat was not actually something that was difficult to cross. They just needed to think about how they were to cross it.

“It’s impossible for the mercury moat to be so wide that there is no bounds for it. We can use something to serve as platforms for us to cross over it.”

“There is poison in the moat and a mirage. Who knows whether there are other traps in it.”

There are those who supported going over the moat, and there were those who hesitated.

“Master Zither Player, if we act according to what you said and continue delaying things, the black sandstorm might be over, and we will all be buried under sand. Then, we will rot together with the desert palace.” Ye Gucheng gave the old zither player a mocking look.

The old zither player spoke in a natural manner. “I am just reminding all of you not to be too rash. Right now, the most important thing is for us to remain calm. We must think of the most suitable and safest plan.”

“Alright, then tell us. What should we do?”

The group cast their glances on the old zither player.

The old zither player thought about this for a while before he came up with a plan. “Zither sounds can affect areas wider than other attacks from normal martial artists. It can also travel very far. If you don’t mind, allow me to play a piece to check just how deep the mercury moat is.”

Once he said those words, Ye Gucheng immediately had the mocking look on his face disappear. His expression became stern.

“Then, I will have to trouble you, Master.”

The other people in the dao of heaven also believed that this was a plan, and they nodded. “If that’s the case, we shan’t delay things any longer. Master, please go on ahead.”

“Alright.” The old zither player did not waste his time in pleasantries either. He sat down cross-legged and brought out his dilapidated zither from underneath his black cloak. He placed it on his knees and slowly pushed his hand down on it to play a note that traveled far and wide.

Twang!

The note was like the sound of a water drop falling from a mountain into a calm lake. It created a ripple of sound that could travel incredibly far and had a lingering charm.

All the people in the hall felt their hearts tremble. They felt refreshed, and their spirits were lifted.

At the same time, something in the rather thick fog above the mercury moat seemed to have been stirred. It started tumbling about madly, and that momentum made it seem as if a violent gust of wind had blown against it. It started rolling backward, and its movements were incredibly distinct.

“It’s effective!”

Happy and Thousand-faced Human Fox saw this on time when they turned their heads around. They could not help but quirk their eyebrows.

If the old zither player’s zither note had managed to affect the air flow above the mercury moat and caused the mirage above the moat to crumble because of it, they would be able to clearly see just what was behind the mirage.

The old zither player did not disappoint the people.

As the note swept outward like a violent gust of wind, the subsequent zither notes suddenly became forceful. At the same time, they carried a gentle and sweet tone. They were like continuous waves that violently tore apart the fog above the mercury moat.

Boom!

The golden mirage swayed a little because of the tumbling fog and the impacts from the zither notes. Soon, it collapsed and turned into shattered golden pieces that completely disappeared above the mercury moat.

“…”

The people in the hall took action!

Everyone’s gazes were fixed on the tumbling and blurry fog. They wanted to see through what was behind the mirage. But clearly, this was rather hard.

At that moment, a spark flashed in the old zither player’s eyes.

He moved his hands faster over the zither. All six of his fingers flew like two dancing butterflies. With an exceptionally unique method, his hands flew on the zither. He would either pluck, flick, sweep, or hook the strings. In an instant, the two butterflies turned into four, and four turned into eight…

In an instant, it was as if there were dozens of butterflies dancing on the zither. It dazzled the people’s eyes, and their hearts trembled.

Boom!

Invisible zither forces swept out.

The endless waves of zither forces were like extra large blades. They easily cut the fog over the mercury moat was cut into pieces. Then, with a momentum that could not be blocked, they pushed forward and turned into nearly one thousand sound blades that cut the shattered fog so much that it could not fuse together within a short amount of time.

The waves of zither forces cut the mirage into pieces and sent it scattering. At the same time, the people were able to see the truth behind the fog, which now resembled a net.

“…That is…”

“How could such a thing appear in this place?!”

“That’s impossible!”

“Could that also be a mirage?!”

When they saw what was behind the mirage, quite a number of people in the hall sucked in sharp breaths at the same time. Their eyes were filled with shock and disbelief.

Happy’s eyesight was not any worse than the people in the hall. He could also see what had appeared behind the mirage.

It was the mouth of a beast, and it was dark and savage. It was wide open in a mighty and fierce manner. It had its neck craning forward, and it was less than 164 feet away from the mirage. But it seemed like it was fixed in place by a few black chains that were two feet wide. It was like a huge creature that protected the moat. It gave off an incredibly powerful pressure and air of danger.

“What is that?”

Happy had never seen this before.

Thousand-faced Human Fox seemed to remember what it was. His face instantly turned pale. He mumbled, “It’s an ancient machine used to attack cities! It’s the Fire Spitting Beast of Clouds! It’s a divine weapon for attacking cities. How could it appear in this place? It’s fake. It’s definitely fake. It’s just used to intimidate us.”

But…

The zither sounds changed.

Even more powerful zither sounds swept forward. They endlessly cut into the metallic body of the Fire Spitting Beast of Clouds. Clanging sounds rose, but the sound waves from the elite in the dao of heaven never did manage to shake this huge divine weapon used to attack cities. It remained hanging over the mercury moat pridefully. It looked down on them, as if it stood at the peak of the world and was staring at the ants in the world.

“It’s… real…”

The clear sounds were reflected in the ears of the people in the hall. The elites in the dao of heaven all had their expressions change.

“It’s a real Fire Spitting Beast of Clouds…”

The Fire Spitting Beast of Clouds was an ancient machine used to attack cities. It could spit phosphorus flames that could burn everything, and even those in the dao of heaven would find it troublesome if those flames touched them. They would be burned badly by it.

“Look over there! There seems to be more than one!”

Bi Xuan cried out softly.

“Yeah, they have one Fire Spitting Beast of Clouds situated every 162 feet. The money spent for the desert palace simply cannot be imagined. This is built by a royal family falling in decline, but they managed to create so many divine weapons to attack cities. If these are used to attack the Chinese plains, even the Qin Dynasty at its strongest would not have been able to withstand it!” Ye Gucheng’s eyes burned intensely.

But soon, someone dashed his hopes.

“The Fire Spitting Beast of Clouds have already disappeared from the world. Even Heaven’s Secret Valley cannot create it. You can take this Fire Spitting Beast of Clouds with you, but let me give you a word of warning. You only have one day to take it to the desert.” Evil King laughed coldly.

“It doesn’t matter whether I can get this Fire Spitting Beast of Clouds. I’ll be satisfied as long as I can get some other thing from the desert palace.” Ye Gucheng retorted brusquely.

“City Master Ye, aren’t you easily satisfied?”

“The more powerful you are, the more you can gain. These words might be crudely phrased, but they are true.” Ye Gucheng did not care about Evil King’s mocking words. “Evil King, aren’t you thinking about how to get past the lockdown of the Fire Spitting Beasts of Clouds? Since these are true, could it be that you think the master of the desert palace also placed these here to intimidate us?”

When he heard this, Evil King stopped fighting with Ye Gucheng. It was just as he said, the Fire Spitting Beasts of Clouds posed as quite the threat to those in the dao of heaven. If they were careless, they would die, and he had to be careful.

Buzz!

The final zither force was flung out, the dozens of flying butterflies immediately disappeared from the zither strings.

The old zither player slowly opened his eyes and cast a glance at the Fire Spitting Beasts of Clouds set in the depths of the mercury moat. A faint hint of resignation appeared on his old face. “The Fire Spitting Beasts of Clouds are bound by recondite steel, and they weigh over ten thousand pounds. Even if I give up my life for this, I cannot affect those huge beasts. I’m afraid that I’ve disappointed all of you.”

“Nonsense. Mister Zither Player, you’ve helped us see the road ahead of us, and this is already very valuable. Besides, the Fire Spitting Beasts of Clouds are peerless and wondrous items. Even if we attack at the same time, we will need a long time before we can destroy them. We cannot blame you for not destroying them.”

Bi Xuan and the others in the dao of heaven nodded.

“We don’t have much time. Let’s talk about what we should do now. Since there are Fire Spitting Beasts of Clouds guarding the area, even we will have a hard time breaking through the lockdown and jumping over the mercury moat. If we have the time to exchange pleasantries, it would be better for us to think about how we should go over.” The swordsman in black armor took the initiative to speak, which was something rare of him.

“Heh…”

Before the others in the dao of heaven reacted to what he said, they heard a clear voice speak with a mocking tone by the side. “Ever since we entered the desert palace, you have been so calm that it’s as if the desert palace is your backyard, sir. I thought that there should be nothing that can possibly trouble you. I can’t believe that you would actually feel troubled right now.”