From Cold Palace Princess to Celestial Empress Ch. 145
Xiao Minghuang closed her eyes, sinking her mind into the true essence of the sword dao, slowly enveloping the sword intent and then gradually devouring it.
Her sword dao essence bit by bit consumed the black and white sword intent, becoming increasingly refined and complete.
After an unknown amount of time, she opened her eyes, her gaze as bright as the blazing sun, a terrifying pressure emanating from her.
Xiao Minghuang stood there, the sword’s resonance ringing out, sword qi soaring into the sky.
This terrifying pressure swept out like a gale, tearing through the surrounding air, shaking the entire mountain peak, causing the branches to rustle and the leaves to fall in a flurry.
In an instant, everyone around the Sword Dao Stone Tablet stopped their comprehension, looking up in shock at Xiao Minghuang.
“Such a profound comprehension of the sword dao…”
“Is this… sword intent?”
“Great Accomplishment sword intent! How terrifying!”
At that moment, two figures in white robes descended like rainbows, landing on the ground. They were the disciples of the Spirit Sword Sect’s sect master, Luo Rong and Cheng Wen.
Their master, the sect master of the Spirit Sword Sect, was a sword cultivator who had comprehended Great Accomplishment sword intent.
They had also experienced their master’s Great Accomplishment sword intent, leaving a deep impression on them.
Yet the sword intent emanating from the young girl before them seemed no weaker than their master’s.
Upon closer inspection, they realized that this genius girl who had comprehended Great Accomplishment sword intent was none other than the Princess of Xia, Xiao Minghuang, who had recently gained fame in the southern region.
“Impossible, she’s only fifteen years old!”
The newly arrived members of the Spirit Sword Sect were all filled with disbelief.
As sword cultivators, they understood better than ordinary cultivators the difficulty of comprehending sword intent.
Within the entire Spirit Sword Sect, only the sect master and a few elders had comprehended sword intent.
In fact, only the sect master had achieved Great Accomplishment sword intent.
The other elders were merely at the initial or entry level of sword intent.
At the center of the whirlwind, Xiao Minghuang paid no heed to the astonishment of the crowd. She merely swept a cold gaze across the room before sheathing her sword.
“I have comprehended the full essence of the Sword Dao within the stone tablet. This tablet will no longer be of use. You may all disperse now,” Xiao Minghuang spoke indifferently. With a wave of her sleeve, countless spirit stones and elixirs flew out, transforming into a radiant rain that scattered and fell.
Perhaps intimidated by her formidable presence, no one dared to make a move even at the sight of the heavenly spirit stones. Instead, they all looked at Xiao Minghuang with puzzled eyes.
Xiao Minghuang spoke softly, “I have taken all the sword intent, cutting off your opportunities. These spirit stones and elixirs are my way of making amends. Please do not hesitate to take them as a token of my goodwill.”
As soon as her words fell, several figures leaped into action, swiftly collecting the spirit stones and elixirs.
“Thank you, Princess Xiao! I am deeply grateful!”
“Princess Xiao’s generosity is unparalleled! May the heavens bless you with prosperity and fortune!”
Excited voices echoed throughout the grand hall.
Xiao Minghuang’s actions were essentially giving them free wealth!
It was important to note that most of the rogue cultivators lingering here were not swordsmen. They had stayed in the hopes of stumbling upon some fortune, thinking that if they could glean even a hint of the Sword Dao from the stone tablet, it would bring them immense benefits.
In essence, the depletion of the sword intent within the tablet had no real impact on them. Xiao Minghuang’s gesture was simply handing them spirit stones and elixirs for free.
Seeing the rogue cultivators’ faces filled with gratitude and joy, Xiao Minghuang added, “Now that you have gained these treasures, be sure to keep them safe. Do not let them fall into the hands of evil forces. Losing the elixirs would be a small matter, but losing your lives would be a grave one!”
Hearing this, the rogue cultivators exchanged confused glances. Why would they need to worry about evil forces within the Tianfu Secret Realm?
Princess Xiao’s words seemed to carry a deeper meaning!
Seeing that she had successfully piqued their curiosity, Xiao Minghuang smiled faintly and took a step back, her gaze shifting to Li Chunyan, who stood not far away.
“Fellow Daoist Li, would you please share with everyone here the encounter you had with the evil forces a few days ago?”
Caught off guard by Xiao Minghuang suddenly turning the focus onto her, Li Chunyan was momentarily stunned. She whispered through a sound transmission, “Princess, this is so sudden… I…”
“No need to be nervous. Just speak the truth,” Xiao Minghuang replied with a gentle smile, giving Li Chunyan a subtle wink.
Seeing this, Li Chunyan felt a surge of warmth in her heart, as if she had been filled with boundless energy. She began to speak fluently, recounting her encounter with the disciples of the Dragon Tiger Sect.
When she mentioned the Moon Spirit Fruit Tree, the rogue cultivators’ eyes lit up with envy.
Then, when she spoke of how Princess Xiao had slain the demonized Wang Xiao, who was comparable to a Divine Sea Realm cultivator, with a single sword strike, their expressions turned to shock.
To be able to kill a demonized Wang Xiao, who was on par with a first-level Divine Sea Realm cultivator, with just one strike, Princess Xiao’s strength must have reached at least the second level of the Divine Sea Realm. And if one factored in her magical treasures, her true power might be even greater.
Finally, when Li Chunyan revealed that Princess Xiao had given her all the Moon Spirit Fruits, the rogue cultivators’ faces were a mix of astonishment and envy.
Those were over a dozen Moon Spirit Fruits!
And she had just given them away like that.
Was Princess Xiao’s righteousness boundless, or was she simply naive?
At the very least, no one present had the audacity to do something like that.
This incident also left the disciples of the Spirit Sword Sect and the Beast Taming Sect in awe.
At this moment, Liu Yan, the True Disciple of the Beast Taming Sect, also arrived at the scene. Upon hearing that Xiao Minghuang had given the Moon Spirit Fruit to Li Chunyan for free, he immediately showed a look of disappointment.
Simultaneously, the news that the second True Disciple of the Dragon Tiger Sect was practicing demonic arts reached the ears of everyone present.
The shock of this revelation far surpassed that of the Moon Spirit Fruit.
The Dragon Tiger Sect did not practice sword cultivation, so there were no disciples from the sect present here. Otherwise, a conflict would have been inevitable. However, some people expressed doubts.
“The Dragon Tiger Sect is one of the three great sects. Although they are known for their domineering ways, they are a thousand-year-old major sect in our Southern Region. How could a True Disciple of such a prestigious sect willingly degrade themselves to practice demonic arts? Could Princess Xiao have made a mistake?”
Someone in the crowd carefully chose their words and spoke cautiously.
“Hmph! I think you are utterly clueless about right and wrong. Princess Xiao witnessed this herself, and there are rescued rogue cultivators who can testify. Isn’t that enough to be convincing? Or are you questioning Princess Xiao’s integrity?”
As soon as these words were spoken.
The person who had expressed doubt immediately looked ashamed. After all, his storage pouch still contained spirit stones and elixirs given by Princess Xiao.
It’s hard to bite the hand that feeds you. Asking him to return the spirit stones would be more painful than taking his life.
In just a short while, the cultivators present unanimously believed Li Chunyan’s words.
The current situation was entirely within Xiao Minghuang’s expectations, but the next step of guidance was the key to the matter.
She wanted the rogue cultivators to deduce on their own that it wasn’t just Wang Xiao who practiced demonic arts within the Dragon Tiger Sect, but hopefully, it would implicate other disciples, even Xue Wushang.
However, this was not something she could completely control.
After all, human nature is always the most difficult thing to predict.
But after this incident, the reputation of the Dragon Tiger Sect was thoroughly tarnished.
Having a True Disciple who was a demonic cultivator, even if the sect was unaware, could still be labeled as negligent and incompetent.
Translator: Glariosa
Editor: Ruu
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