Tome of Troubled Times

Chapter 299: Dragon Bird of Great Xia vs. Ancient Sword of the Dragon Emperor

The Four Idols Cult had once dug up a tomb here.

It was the underground tomb where Fang Buping and his men conducted their ritual. Over a decade before, it had been cleared out under the direction of the previous White Tiger Saintess, leaving behind an empty pit. When Zhao Changhe first arrived, he spent some time in it and found nothing of interest. Later, when he became the stronghold master, he repurposed the place as a storage area.

A place that had been thoroughly explored and stripped clean by the cult, leaving no stone unturned, was unlikely to have anything left behind even deep underground.

The gold, silver, treasures, and martial arts manuals obtained from the tomb should have significantly bolstered the Four Idols Cult back then, and the ancient records they obtained were also likely very meaningful. According to Lady Three, the previous generation of the Four Idols Cult was not very strong, but their rapid development over the past decade or so was likely closely linked to this discovery.

They had probably found records of the Azure Dragon Seal back then as well, just that those records did not precisely say where it was. The White Tiger Saintess then likely later passed this information to her daughter. The Four Idols Cult, having already harvested and reaped substantial rewards, did not think that there was anything left of value here. It was not until many years later, when new clues emerged, that they suspected there might be another treasure hidden here and organized the Blood God Cult to search for the Azure Dragon Seal.

This was the origin of Zhao Changhe and Xia Chichi’s relationship; they were both key players in this story.

If you were to take history into consideration, the area had already been thoroughly searched twice. Despite that, neither the Four Idols Cult nor Zhao Changhe, who had lived there as a stronghold leader, thought that there could still be a main tomb hidden below!

“They truly spared no expense in creating this elaborate decoy tomb,” said Lady Three somewhat defensively. “The tomb we excavated earlier was indeed very wealthy... It had the hallmarks of a genuine tomb, and we greatly benefited from it.”

Zhao Changhe asked, “Was there a body?”

“Yes, there was the remains of a powerful man,” admitted Lady Three, knowing what he was getting at. “However, he was not at the level of the ancient Azure Dragon. If it truly were him, there should have been an intact body rather than just a pile of bones. But back then, our understanding of the previous era was not as refined as it is now. We thought that even the fact that those bones had stood the test of time was already impressive.”

Zhao Changhe nodded. It was normal for their perceptions to be limited by their knowledge. Back then, he himself had been much less knowledgeable. He had lived here as the stronghold master for quite some time, but he had never thought that there would be something hidden below. Who really was to be laughed at now?

“I actually think that aside from the main tomb being slightly shifted, most of the valuable items were taken by you guys. The main tomb here probably only contains powerful traps and maybe a body. The Azure Dragon was quite meticulous, leaving all the valuable items up for taking to make it so that few would persist in searching.”

Lady Three nodded. “It’s likely that besides the remains and the traps, there isn’t much else. But we can’t just rely on assumptions. I have to go down and check it out myself. You’re not strong enough, so it’s best you don’t go down with me. I might not be able to protect you.”

Zhao Changhe hesitated for a moment. “Honestly, I’d suggest that you don’t go down either. We should seal this place back up first. You can just come back after you’ve made a breakthrough.”

Black Tortoise was on par with Tang Wanzhuang, and this ancient Azure Dragon was likely on the same level as the Sword Emperor. Judging from the specifications of the Sword Emperor’s tomb, Tang Wanzhuang decided to only explore the outskirts of the tomb and leave the core sealed due to the dangers it posed.

Here, the so-called “outskirts” had long been emptied, and now this main tomb below was the core.

Lady Three, having never witnessed the might of the Sword Emperor’s tomb, would not be able to resist exploring for the sake of the cult and her own curiosity. Their relationship was not strong enough for her to immediately heed Zhao Changhe’s advice.

Reluctantly, Zhao Changhe could only watch as Lady Three ventured into the passage, feeling uneasy as he paced above.

If even a top-ranking expert on the Ranking of Earth could not handle it, his presence would only add to the trouble. It would be foolish to go down and make things worse.

He hoped that Lady Three would sense the danger and retreat instead of forcing her way through.

Just as he was thinking this, tremors from below shook the ground, accompanied by explosive clashes of energy. It seemed that Lady Three had already engaged in battle.

Zhao Changhe’s anxiety grew as he paced back and forth.

Dragon Bird, which was usually dormant, began to shake again, reminiscent of its reaction to the sword phantom at the Sword Emperor’s tomb.

Zhao Changhe said angrily, “Stop shaking. You didn’t react when Xia Longyuan showed up, but now you do?”

Dragon Bird continued to shake.

Perhaps it was due to Zhao Changhe’s proximity to the threshold to the Profound Mysteries, but he unexpectedly comprehended more nuanced emotions than mere excitement and displeasure from Dragon Bird this time. It seemed to say, “I no longer have an interest in him. Why should I react when he appears?”

Zhao Changhe’s interest was piqued. This is quite intriguing...

Dragon Bird’s personality resembled Xia Longyuan’s. They were both domineering and arrogant. They were proud and always eager to prove themselves against others. But this was just on the surface. Its core nature was that of an imperial saber, its domineering nature was aligned with the emperor’s will, and its pride stemmed from the notion of a single sovereign ruler. Xia Longyuan’s recent actions, while still domineering, no longer embodied the true essence of an emperor.

The saber’s spirit, sensing this discrepancy, no longer recognized Xia Longyuan as its rightful master.

If its fate had been like that of the Qinghe Sword, its spirit might have entirely faded by now, but it had fortunately gotten to stay with Zhao Changhe.

While Zhao Changhe’s actions did not exactly align with the will of an emperor either, they did seem to at least align with Dragon Bird’s nature.

Cui Wenjing mentioned that it was time he considered letting Dragon Bird recognize him as its master.

Dragon Bird conveyed another message, “There’s a lively one down there. I want to fight it.”

In daily battles, Zhao Changhe rarely used Dragon Bird’s power—it usually did not even listen to him. Occasionally, it would begrudgingly use its power, but normally, Zhao Changhe could only use it as a regular weapon. He remembered that during the battle at Tiger Hill against the sword phantom, it was entirely Dragon Bird’s power that had dispelled the phantom. He had not done much, he had pretty much just been an accessory for Dragon Bird.

In other words, if there was another sword spirit or sword phantom down below, Dragon Bird could definitely join the fight.

Just as he thought this, he heard Lady Three’s muffled groan come from below, indicating that she was at a disadvantage.

Zhao Changhe could no longer hold back and swiftly descended into the passage.

The scene before him was indeed very similar to the Sword Emperor’s tomb. A divine sword was attacking Lady Three, who was standing next to the central jade coffin. Lady Three had pulled out a whip from somewhere and used it to form a protective barrier around her that resembled a tortoise shell. The barrier was blocking the sword’s attacks.

Back then at the Sword Emperor’s tomb, the sword phantom had been entwined with vicious blood qi, and the only characteristic it displayed was one of violence. This proved that the Sword Emperor had been deeply resentful at the time of his death. The judgments that Sisi and Tang Wanzhuang made were based on the belief that once the Sword Emperor was revived, it would inevitably lead to a catastrophe in the divine land.

The divine sword this time, on the other hand, was much more vibrant, emanating a green glow with golden dragon-shaped markings on its blade. It was so lifelike that it almost looked like a real sword... No, it really was a sword, it was not some phantom!

This sword was slightly wider and thicker than common swords, and it had an ancient design to it. It was not violent; instead, it exuded majesty and dignity, with a hint of vitality and rejuvenation. These were the characteristics of the Azure Dragon.

This was the personal sword of the ancient Azure Dragon. Zhao Changhe had seen this sword on the waist of the man in the imagery at the Ancient Sword Lake!

Azure Dragon’s sword!

As for Lady Three... Zhao Changhe did not know why her weapon was a whip. Could this be the true meaning of tortoiseshell binding?[1]

In any case, while such a weapon was certainly effective against people, it was at a huge disadvantage when facing nothing but a literal sword. Zhao Changhe could imagine that with the Black Tortoise’s tortoise-snake duality, Lady Three’s strategy involved maintaining a sturdy defense while waiting for an opportunity to strike with her whip like a snake and deliver a fatal blow to the opponent.

The problem here was...where was the opponent?

There was no one there at all! How was she supposed to fight?

With only defense and no offense, her only option might be to use the whip to wrap around the sword. However, the material that the whip was made of was definitely inferior to the sword’s, so it was risky to try and wrap the whip around the blade. But then targeting only the hilt was extremely difficult. All of this placed her at a significant disadvantage.

Adding to the difficulty, with each clash, the ancient sword emitted scattered sword qi that occasionally penetrated her protective whip barrier, leaving her in a tight spot. Fortunately, being the Black Tortoise, her defense was incredibly strong. If it had been an ordinary person in her place, they would have long since fallen.

The muffled groan Zhao Changhe heard was from when Lady Three was grazed by sword qi, sustaining a minor injury to her arm.

All of these impressions occurred in an instant. Seeing him come down, Lady Three shouted, “What are you doing down here? Go back quickly! I can’t protect you!”

Before she finished speaking, she saw Zhao Changhe raise Dragon Bird, leap forward, and slash directly at the ancient sword. “Did no one tell you that I have a lot of experience fighting sentient weapons?”

Lady Three was flabbergasted.

Clang!

Dragon Bird excitedly struck the ancient sword, producing a clear, resonant sound.

A tremendous force surged through Zhao Changhe, sending him flipping back, his palm numbing from the impact. He realized that this time, Dragon Bird seemed unable to overpower the ancient sword.

After all, last time, it had been merely a sword phantom—this was an actual sword. So was it that the weapons of the current era were inferior to those of the previous era, or was Xia Longyuan’s power lower than that of the ancient Azure Dragon?

“Ugh...” Zhao Changhe staggered backward, his feet dragging long marks on the ground as he barely managed to stop himself from falling. Meanwhile, Lady Three’s whip was already dancing wildly, entangling the ancient sword once more.

Now, however, Lady Three no longer tried to drive him away. She was quite surprised that he could engage the ancient sword head-on without getting injured. With his help, they might actually stand a chance.

As she thought this, she heard Zhao Changhe slapping and scolding his saber. “You’re so excited, acting all proud and twitchy, but when it comes to the actual fight, where’s your damage output, huh? Where is it?!”

As he spoke, the broad saber flared up in a rage, almost transforming into a streak of blood-red light as it charged straight at the ancient sword.

In Lady Three’s eyes, the blood-red light seemed to carry the phantom of a dragon, with a hint of a vermillion bird spreading its wings. As for Zhao Changhe, who was being dragged along by the blood-red light, he looked purely like an accessory.

Lady Three’s heart stirred slightly. Before she could think further, the ancient sword abandoned her and turned to face Dragon Bird.

It was like a collision between a blood dragon and a golden dragon. Sword qi and saber qi erupted instantly, filling the entire space.

Lady Three was one of the top experts in this world. How could she miss such an opportunity? She flicked her whip, accurately wrapping it around the hilt of the ancient sword.

It was an extremely shameless two-on-one fight. The ancient sword struggled, but it could not break free. Lady Three was not someone to be trifled with.

Dragon Bird seemed very displeased and itching to slash at Lady Three. Zhao Changhe gripped onto its hilt tightly, almost begging the saber to give him some face.

Dragon Bird twitched a couple of times but eventually went silent, as if saying, “It’s enough that you know how awesome I am. I can’t be bothered to argue with you.”

Lady Three held the ancient sword and found that, like other divine weapons, as long as someone held the hilt, the ancient sword would calm down.

The inexplicable battle ended just as inexplicably. Lady Three let out a sigh of relief and looked at Zhao Changhe happily. “Not bad, little brother, you actually were helpful...”

Zhao Changhe did not respond. He silently planted Dragon Bird into the ground and began taking off his clothes.

Lady Three tilted her head in confusion.

She watched as Zhao Changhe took off his outer garment and tossed it over to her. “Put it on.”

After saying that, he turned his back and faced the entrance of the passage without saying a word.

Lady Three instinctively caught it, then realized what was going on as she looked down.

The area around her chest had been struck by sword qi, causing her clothes to split apart and expose her skin. There were plenty of holes in her clothing, leaving patches of bare skin showing.

Lady Three glanced at his back. Without saying anything, she put on his coat very naturally and said with a smile, “Shall we check out the coffin?”

Zhao Changhe then turned back around, acting as if nothing had happened. “Do you think he’ll come back to life?”

“Probably not,” said Lady Three. She then peered into the jade coffin and muttered to herself, “The ancient four idols may all be... truly dead.”

1. In the raws, this is 龟甲缚, which refers to a certain style of bondage where one ties their body up in hexagonal patterns. If you’re truly curious and want to know what this is referring to, search up “kikkou bondage” or you can also just copy-paste 龟甲缚. ☜