Chapter 127: The Hall of Awakening and the Unity Sect

Chapter 127: The Hall of Enlightenment and the Unity Sect

Ye Hua moved, transforming into a streak of white light as he swept across the distance. Hovering a hundred paces above the ground, he looked down to see seven or eight people surrounding two men and a woman. Sword light flickered, and shouts filled the air. Judging by their cultivation levels, they all appeared to be below the Three Truths Realm.

The three being besieged were clearly wounded and struggling. Suddenly, the turbulent waves of the lake surged and scattered, transforming into countless water arrows that shot toward the attackers. Several of them failed to dodge in time and were struck. Amidst a chorus of curses, a bearded man shouted, "This Black-Tailed Sea Swallow is a tough nut to crack! Old Du, get up there and hold it off!"

"Fine! Heh, watch me!" A lean, dark-skinned middle-aged man stepped forward wielding a long spear. As the water arrows approached, he shook his weapon, unfurling a hundred spear flourishes. There was nothing seemingly extraordinary about them, but as they appeared, they vanished, only to manifest again in front of the water arrows. With a sudden explosion, golden energy sprayed everywhere, and the water arrows were instantly turned into a mist.

The creature in the lake seemed unwilling to give up. Seeing its arrows destroyed, it unleashed hundreds of grey gusts mixed with water mist toward the spear-wielding man.

The man let out a boisterous laugh. "You demon bird, your ancestor is here! You’d better use all your tricks now!" A radiant glow flashed from his hand, revealing a small pair of golden shears. With a glint of light, they transformed into a swimming dragon that flew toward the incoming grey mist. The golden dragon opened its mouth and inhaled; in a single breath, the mist withered and vanished.

The three people trapped on the ground looked on with desperate anxiety. The woman cried out, "Black Swallow, leave now! Go find Elder Zhou..."

"Heh, so you still want to send a message, hoping the Hall of Enlightenment will come to your rescue? None of you are escaping today!" the bearded man laughed. "Brothers, capture them! The Branch Altar Ancestor will surely reward us!"

"Boss Lin, isn't there a bounty from the Main Altar as well? You don't intend to keep it all for yourself, do you? Hahaha!" his companions joked, though their sword strikes grew faster and more lethal.

Hearing the woman’s words, the creature in the lake let out a sharp cry and shot out from the water like a bolt of black light, attempting to flee into the distance. The lean, dark-skinned man laughed, "You think you can escape? Behold your ancestor's Divine Flood Snow-Silk Net!"

He cast his hand outward, and a streak of white light, fast as lightning, enveloped the black streak. The black light veered sharply, trying to evade. As the light dissipated, the creature was revealed to be a black swallow, no more than a few feet in size, shrieking in distress.

Watching from afar, Ye Hua was astonished. "To think such a dainty little bird could stir up such massive waves! It must be a water-element spirit creature, though its cultivation is far inferior to a Golden Eagle. And what is this 'Hall of Enlightenment' they speak of? I have never heard of it."

As he pondered, the man with the spear gestured, and the white light in the sky folded back, scattering into a hazy mist that descended upon the bird. He then hurled his spear into the air; it turned into a beam of light, streaking toward the swallow.

Just as Ye Hua focused his attention, a pained groan reached his ears. He turned to see one of the trapped men struck by a sword. An attacker rushed forward and pressed a blade against the man's throat, rendering him unable to move.

The remaining man and woman panicked, calling out, "Brother Ma Jun!"

"Cack-cack, tonight we shall roast your flesh!" A dry laugh echoed from afar. It was the lean, dark-skinned Old Du, holding his spear and pinning the immobile swallow in mid-air. Ye Hua looked on in confusion. "Why is the swallow frozen? I didn't see him cast any spell!"

As he watched, the bright sun caught a faint, shimmering thread. Only then did Ye Hua realize that the swallow was bound by transparent filaments. Had the sunlight not hit them just right, they would have been impossible to see.

"So that is the Divine Flood Snow-Silk Net? Quite ingenious," Ye Hua mused with a faint smile.

Old Du laughed for a long time, then turned to see one of the three on the ground captured and the others failing. He chuckled, then turned back to the bird, thrusting his spear down toward it.

Ye Hua frowned in the distance. The man was intent on killing the bird! It would be a pity for such a spirit creature to die here.

The woman on the ground seemed to sense the danger. She looked up just as the dark-skinned man lunged with his spear and screamed, "No!" She tried to cast her sword, but it was too late. With a soft sigh, she collapsed, fainting from the overwhelming stress. Her attackers laughed, and one of them stepped forward to restrain her.

In the air, Old Du watched his spear head toward the swallow, already imagining the feast. Saliva dripped from his chin. "Hee hee, I've never tasted Black Swallow meat before. I shall—!"

Before he could finish, a flash of white light struck his spear with tremendous force. The weapon veered off course, missing the bird by a foot. Stunned, he shrieked, "Who goes there?!"

He spun his spear, surrounding himself with a golden glow as he unleashed his "Autumn Wind Force" to repel any nearby attackers. But when he finished the move, there was no one there. He paused, confused, until a young man suddenly appeared before him, watching with a calm smile. Old Du retreated in alarm, but the youth did not pursue.

It was Ye Hua. Unable to watch the bird die, he had intervened. Seeing Old Du retreat, he pointed a finger forward, and a golden light sliced through the filaments of the Divine Flood Snow-Silk Net. A sharp, snapping sound echoed.

Old Du, who had been about to sneer, turned pale. "No!" he cried, desperately gesturing to recall his weapon. A strand of silk appeared in his hand, and he looked at it with a pained expression. Meanwhile, the black swallow let out a cry and vanished into the distance as a streak of black light.

Ye Hua smiled thinly. "What is 'no'? Didn't that woman just scream 'no' as well? What is it that you cannot allow?"

Old Du inspected the damage. His Divine Flood Snow-Silk Net had been severed in several places. He grew furious. "What do you mean 'what'? I said no, so it is no! This net was refined from mermaid silk that I spent my life's blood to obtain! How dare you damage it!"

Ye Hua replied calmly, "My apologies, I acted in haste..."

The attackers on the ground realized a new opponent had arrived. "Old Du, stop wasting time! Take him down!"

The bearded man retreated to the side, watching silently. He had noticed the youth earlier but assumed he was a mere passerby. Now that the stranger had intervened, he wasn't sure of his affiliation. He certainly wasn't from the Hall of Enlightenment. If he were an enemy, they could overwhelm him with numbers, but it was best to be cautious.

Old Du heard his companions and his face shifted. Having seen the youth appear so suddenly, he knew, "His cultivation is far above mine. If I could have taken him down, I would have done so already without you idiots yapping!" He glanced at the bearded man and decided to shift the responsibility.

"Kid, where are you from? How dare you interfere with the affairs of the Unity Sect! Are you tired of living? Don't you know Boss Lin is here?" He turned to the bearded man. "Boss Lin, what should we do with this brat?" He then descended to stand beside the bearded man.

Ye Hua was startled. "The Unity Sect! It is one of the three great sects!"

The Unity Sect, also known as the Combined Intent Sect, was not a single entity but a coalition of dozens of smaller factions. They had joined together, hence the name, boasting over a hundred thousand members.

The most powerful among them—the Yihe Sect, the Martial Saint Sect, the Golden Elixir Dao, the Ruyi Sect, and the Hunyuan Sect—were formidable on their own, let alone united. With the Tai Tian Sect now in decline, the Unity Sect was the greatest power in the world.

Ye Hua recalled the mention of "Branch Altar Ancestor" and "Main Altar Ancestor." It all clicked. "So that's how it is! The Unity Sect’s structure is unique: dozens form a branch, and several branches form a main branch, led by an 'Ancestor.' Only they use such titles! I should have realized it sooner; how foolish of me!"