Chapter 499 - 418: Suspicion (3)

Chapter 499: Chapter 418: Suspicion (3)

"Don’t try to turn the tables and muddle the truth, you two."

Chen Li chuckled, but his laughter held a bone-chilling coldness. "Miss Feng is a woman of chivalry and integrity, utterly incorruptible."

"You are smuggling and selling Opium, a substance forbidden by the Court—eighty thousand boxes of it in a single go. Such a heinous crime cannot be redeemed even by a hundred deaths. Miss Feng’s decision to uphold justice over her own sect is truly the work of a righteous warrior. She is an example for us all."

Before he could finish, the expressions on Jiang Buyu and Ye Guhong’s faces had changed completely.

The matter of the Opium was top secret.

Even among the Celestial Sword Disciples participating in this operation, no more than ten people knew about it.

What’s more, this man could state the exact quantity of the Opium.

This clearly wasn’t information that could be extracted in a short time, nor was it something that could be explained away by Feng Qingxuan’s betrayal.

A sense of foreboding settled over them like a dark cloud.

They suddenly realized that the mysterious gray-robed man before them had likely premeditated his involvement in tonight’s events, in the Celestial Sword Sect’s operation. Perhaps... this was all an elaborate trap.

"Don’t you dare frame us!"

Jiang Buyu stared at Chen Li and said coldly, "The Celestial Sword Sect is a renowned and righteous sect. How could we possibly engage in such vile deeds?"

"What is your goal in killing our Celestial Sword Disciples tonight? Out with it!"

Chen Li shook his head. "Whether it’s true or not isn’t for you two Supreme Elders to decide. The proof is inside those crates."

"Coincidentally, I have already notified the Government Office. They will be sending men here shortly. As for what goods are in these crates, the truth will come to light once the Government Office opens them for inspection."

The faces of Jiang Buyu and Ye Guhong instantly turned hideous, and the killing intent in their eyes surged.

Opium was a substance strictly forbidden by the Court. It was highly addictive, devastated the body and mind, and ruined families. It was infamous even in the Jianghu, universally condemned.

Even underworld gangs rarely dared to touch the stuff.

And the Celestial Sword Sect was the leader of the Jiangzhou Martial Arts world, a pillar of the righteous path in the lands, with a reputation built over several hundred years.

If this affair were to be exposed, if the shocking scandal of them smuggling Opium was confirmed, Jiang Buyu and Ye Guhong could fully imagine how severe the consequences and how devastating the fallout would be.

At that point, not only would the two of them be utterly disgraced, but the entire Celestial Sword Sect’s reputation would suffer a catastrophic blow.

The Sect might even, in order to preserve its good name, immediately sever all ties with them, casting them out as sacrificial pawns to appease the public outrage.

So how could they possibly agree to let the Government Office investigate? How could they let those crates be opened in public?

’He can’t be allowed to leave here alive!’

Jiang Buyu and Ye Guhong exchanged a look, and both saw the resolute killing intent in the other’s eyes.

"Tonight, you will surely die!"

The last trace of hesitation and probing in Ye Guhong’s eyes vanished completely, replaced by pure, frenzied killing intent.

He knew there was no turning back from this. The only way forward was to kill this man.

"VMM!"

Without another word, his figure shot forward.

The Soft Sword in his hand instantly straightened, its tip a cold star piercing the air at a speed that defied sight. It carried a heart-stopping, panic-inducing Sword Intent as it aimed straight for Chen Li’s throat.

"Feel free to try."

Chen Li neither dodged nor retreated. He took half a step forward with his right foot, clenched his right hand into a fist, and threw a simple, unadorned punch.

As the fist cut through the air, the atmosphere seemed to compress and evacuate, letting out a low whimper.

Within the ebb and flow of the Fist Intent, a majestic concept seemed to be contained—of the turning seasons, of the birth and death of all creation.

Five Directions Twenty-Four Solar Terms Wuxiang Fist.

"BOOM...!"

The Fist Intent clashed head-on with the sharp Sword Gang from Ye Guhong’s thrust.

A deafening roar suddenly erupted.

It was like a clap of thunder on a clear day, or the collapse of a mountain.

A circular shockwave, visible to the naked eye, exploded outward from the point of impact, blasting away all the gravel and dust within a radius of dozens of yards.

"PFFT!"

As if struck by a heavy blow, Ye Guhong was sent flying backward, spitting a wild spray of blood that drew a grimly beautiful arc in the air.

"GWAH!"

After landing, Ye Guhong spat out another mouthful of blood, dyeing the front of his robes red. His face was ashen, his aura weak; he had clearly suffered significant internal injuries.

He merely had Guiyuan Cultivation, a fundamental gap separating him from Chen Li’s Dharma Aspect power.

In a direct clash, the outcome was never in doubt!

"Dharma Aspect?!"

Ye Guhong struggled to his feet, his eyes filled with horror as he stared intently at Chen Li.

It wasn’t just him.

Jiang Buyu, who was at the side, also had a drastic change in expression, the shock in his eyes impossible to conceal.

According to both Hua Wuxin and Feng Qingxuan, Chen Li’s strength was at the Guiyuan Realm at most.

They never imagined the information could be so ridiculously wrong.

This man was a Dharma Powerhouse!

This completely exceeded their expectations and shattered their last shred of hope.

"Kill him!"

Jiang Buyu no longer hesitated. His Heavy Sword left its sheath as his body shot forward like a cannonball.

He swung the Heavy Sword, and a brilliant Sword Gang dozens of feet long erupted from the blade, carrying the terrifying might of Mountain Splitting as it chopped down toward Chen Li’s head.

Where the Sword Gang passed, the air tore apart with a deafening sonic boom.

Under this pressure, the ground cracked inch by inch, fissures spreading out for dozens of yards.

Ye Guhong also forced himself to muster a breath of Inner Qi, leaping up from the ground and darting out like a phantom.

Attacking from the left and right, the two of them charged Chen Li at the same time.

They knew that now, there was no way out.

Their opponent was a Dharma Powerhouse who held a fatal piece of leverage over them. Only by fighting to the death could they have a sliver of a chance at survival.

As for the eighty thousand boxes of Opium, they could only figure out how to cover it up or explain it away later... if there even was a later.

Chen Li smiled faintly and made a grasping motion with his right hand in the empty air.

"VMMM..."

A faint golden light swirled, and the Qiankun Ruyi Staff materialized in his hand.

He took a step, and the ground exploded beneath him as he shot toward the two men like a meteor.

"CLANG!"

The Heavy Sword and the long staff clashed violently.

The deafening sound of metal on metal rang out, and a visible shockwave erupted from between the two, sweeping in all directions.

Jiang Buyu wielded his Heavy Sword, his Swordsmanship grand and sweeping, powerful and unmatched. Each strike carried the brutal Sword Intent of a general seasoned by a hundred battles on the field of war.

Great skill appears artless; a heavy sword has no edge.

However, against Chen Li’s Qiankun Ruyi Staff, he couldn’t gain the slightest advantage.

"CLANG!"

After one hard collision, several nicks appeared on the body of the Heavy Sword. The web between Jiang Buyu’s thumb and forefinger split open, dripping blood, and he staggered backward.

And in the instant Chen Li forced Jiang Buyu back...

"SHHIIING!"

Ye Guhong’s figure appeared like a phantom on Chen Li’s left. The Longsword in his hand became a streak of spectral light, stabbing straight toward Chen Li’s ribs.

A cold gleam pulsed from the blade’s edge, carrying a heart-stopping Sword Intent of fear that seemed capable of piercing the Divine Soul.

Chen Li’s expression remained unchanged. He formed a sword-finger with his left hand and tapped forward gently.

"TING..."

His fingertip met the sword’s tip with a crisp sound.

Ye Guhong felt an irresistible, immense force travel up the blade. The Longsword vibrated violently, almost flying from his grasp.

His expression changed, and he retreated hastily.

But Chen Li had already taken a step, following him like a shadow, his Qiankun Ruyi Staff sweeping out as if to mow down an army.

BOOM!

The staff’s shadow descended like a mountain, carrying a terrifying power that could crush anything, smashing down on Ye Guhong’s head!

Ye Guhong blocked with his Longsword held horizontally.

"CLANG...!"

He was sent flying again, spitting blood, and slammed heavily into the ground, blasting a pit several feet deep.

"Junior Brother Ye!"

Jiang Buyu’s eyes looked ready to split from their sockets. He swung his Heavy Sword, its Sword Gang surging and transforming into a blade of light dozens of yards long, which he brought down viciously on Chen Li’s back.

Without even turning his head, Chen Li thrust his staff out behind him.

"Break."

The faint golden shadow of the staff, though launched later, arrived first, tapping against the blade of light.

"KRA-CHA..."

The blade of light shattered inch by inch.

Jiang Buyu grunted, staggering backward. Each step he took left a deep footprint in the ground, and a trickle of blood escaped the corner of his mouth.

The three-way battle was exceptionally fierce, having reached a fever pitch.

"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"

The explosive sounds of clashing Qi Strength were incessant, one after another, rolling and echoing through the night sky above Jiangkou Pier.

Beams of sword light and shadows of the staff crisscrossed, tearing the night sky asunder.

The thunderous roars shook the heavens and the earth as boundless waves of Qi surged skyward.

Every move was earth-shattering, enough to make the ground tremble and the mountains sway.

In a hundred-yard radius around the three of them, the ground was cracked and fissured, earth and stone were overturned, and all vegetation was turned to dust.

Further away, Feng Qingxuan’s face was pale. She stared at the gray-robed figure in the center of the battlefield, her eyes filled with shock.

She had originally thought that Chen Li must have used some trick or scheme to capture her martial uncle.

She never imagined that, facing a joint siege by two Supreme Elders of the Celestial Sword Sect, he could still hold the upper hand—and not just hold it, but crush them!

’This man... just who in the world is he?’

The thought grew ever stronger in Feng Qingxuan’s mind.

...