537 The Setting Sun Amongst the Willows

As Zhu Luo opened the letter from Su Li, the portly elder sat smiling on theside, not very concerned. He naturally knew that Su Li was quite powerful andhis sword was quite terrifying, but this was still just a letter. Even ifcontained the concentrated soul of Su Li's sword intent, there was a limit tothis medium. How could it truly injure Zhu Luo? The old man even regarded Zhu Luo's hesitation with some contempt, thinking,  perhaps the matter of the capital requires other arrangements. But when the sword intent shot out of the envelope and all of the MyriadWillows Garden was plunged into darkness, the portly elder knew that he hadbeen mistaken. Su Li's sword was far more powerful and terrifying than he had imagined. Solely relying on a sword intent on a sheet of paper, he was actually able tosuppress a supreme expert of the Eight Storms? Although Zhu Luo was still injured, this was still too inconceivable. The level of this sword intent had even faintly surpassed Zhu Luo by a wholelevel! Even the will of a Saint might not be able to accomplish this. Besides those legendary experts of the past like Zhou Dufu, Chen Xuanba,Emperor Taizong, and Wang Zhice, who could do this? Su Li was no Saint, but his path of the sword was already close to that of agod! When he saw those Golden Crows surging through the garden and the suddendimming of the bright moon in the night sky, the old man revealed a shockedexpression. Without time to think, he flew over. Zhu Luo was already in dire straits. If he did not act now, he would be toolate. With a howl, the plump elder's two palms tore through the air in front of him,swatting towards those Golden Crows formed of blazing sword intent. He seemed like a mountain of meat, but he flew over very gently, his two palmsdescending with similar softness. They slowly fluttered, like real birds. The Golden Crow Sword was a secret technique of Mount Li, created by Su Li.Its sword intent was incomparably hot, and once the sword rose up, it wouldbathe the world in endless light and heat, its energy unblockable. Back in the Grand Examination and the Garden of Zhou, whenever Chen Changshengused the Golden Crow Sword, even opponents stronger than him had to temporarilyavoid its edge. Today, these Golden Crow sword intents had come from Su Li's hand and theirmight was unimaginable. Any other ordinary cultivator would probably be vaporized into smoke by thesesword intents before they could even touch them. Even experts of incredibly advanced cultivation could only do as Zhu Luo did,relying on the sword intent of the moonlight sword to confront it, but notdirectly touching it. For some reason, although the old man had an expression of vigilance and fear,he still sent his palm flying towards those sword intents of Golden Crows. An indescribable Qi appeared in the Myriad Willows Garden that had alreadybeen transformed into a ruined mansion. This Qi was very powerful. It was still inferior to the moonlight swordintent, but this Qi exuded an ancient aura. An almost real sun lay between the palms of the elderly man, incomparablybright and dazzling! Under the illumination of its light, the portly old man's face no longercarried the slightest hint of jubilation, his kind brows and pleasant eyes allreplaced by awe-inspiring dignity, and the images of dragons and tigersappeared behind him. The present him no longer bore the slightest resemblance to those wealthy oldmen of the countryside. Now, he was clearly an emperor! …… …… Three powerful Qis collided in the Myriad Willows Garden. With great difficulty, the moon in the sky spilled down its silver light. The fierce sun incessantly supported the falling of the curtain of the night. Countless sword intents like fiery birds shuttled back and forth between thesun and the sky. The tens of thousands of cold-resistant willows began to burn. This was not the blaze brought about by the twilight, but true flames. The cold winter garden seemed to have been instantly plunged into the blazingabyss of the Netherworld. With a massive boom, flames were sent flying in every direction. The scorchedwillows toppled, the wells shattered, the walls collapsed. After a long time passed, those rampaging Qis finally calmed. The mansion was in ruins, its cold pond no longer able reflect the images ofothers. Zhu Luo leaned against a shattered willow by the pond, his face pale, hischest covered in specks of blood. Even more seriously, his left hand had beensevered at the wrist. The fat old man stood on a rotted table, his plump body almost causing theedges of the table to collapse and seem ready to shatter at any moment. No joycould be found on his portly face, nor any of the majesty of an emperor. Onlyexhaustion and ugliness was left behind. He had reached the threshold of the Divine Domain many years ago. If not forhis fear of the response from that person in the capital, perhaps he would havealready crossed it. In the battle just now, he had even displayed strength torival that of the Divine Domain. But he and Zhu Luo had still lost, and had lost miserably. If that swordintent's true goal had not been Zhu Luo, if his clan's techniques and theGolden Crow Sword had not shared a similar source, he might also have sufferedsevere injuries. Moreover, even with his assistance, Zhu Luo might already bedead. And their opponent had merely been a letter of Su Li's. Zhu Luo slowly stood up and looked around him. The limitless beauty of the Myriad Willows Garden was now a part of thepast—only scorched earth remained. In the distance, some willow trees werestill burning. The Myriad Willows Garden still existed, but it no longer resembled its name. Just like him. He was keenly aware that this was Su Li's revenge. To this, there was nothing he could say. "Forgive me, but I cannot take part in this matter in the capital." Zhu Luo said to the portly elder, not turning to face him, his expressionsomewhat desolate. The portly elder knew that this was inevitable. Putting aside the possibilitythat Zhu Luo would forever be unable to return to the strength he held at hiszenith, it was highly likely that he would have to leave the ranks of theStorms of the Eight Directions. To Zhu Luo, the most important matter was to find a way to manage the futuresof his clan and the Emotion-Severing Sect, because those two were his truelegacy. His mountainous body staggering, the plump old man made his way out of theMyriad Willows Garden. Outside Hanqiu City, his subordinates assisted him in clambering with greatdifficulty onto an enormous carriage. A middle-aged man, face caked with powder and voice rather piercing,whispered, "Prince, what happened?" "Do you know? I originally thought that if this grand affair succeeded, thefirst thing I would do is steal that big imperial carriage of the LiangHousehold." The portly elder narrowed his eyes in the direction of Xunyang City and sadlysaid, "But now I don't even know whether I'll have the chance to sit in it forthe rest of my life." He gazed at Xunyang City, but he was really gazing at the capital. He spoke of the Liang Household's imperial carriage, but he really spoke ofthat throne in the Imperial Palace. That middle-aged man had already been deeply unsettled by the strangephenomena occurring in the Myriad Willows Garden, but upon hearing the prince'ssighs, he became unsettled to the extreme. He and these soldiers and officials were all subordinate officers of theprince's household, but they could only obey the orders of the capital. In thepast few years, he and the other subordinates had taken incredible risks toassist the prince in spreading the word. If the prince's grand affair failed,what path did they have to survival? "Wuqiong Bi has entered the capital." The middle-aged man wanted to raise the prince's spirits, so he hurriedlyrelayed the news he had just received. The portly elder was somewhat surprised. Although Wuqiong Bi was also one ofthe Eight Storms, she had never been a target of his recruitment efforts,because she was also a woman.