Invincible Dad-Chapter 582: The First Rune_1

In the darkness of night, a jade gate emanating a terrifying aura hovered before the eleven individuals. It was the portal to the Yunxiao Sect.

Usually, emissaries would step out from the Jade Gate.

But today, no one emerged. Instead, a row of golden characters floated in the air, exactly twenty in total.

"By order of the High Sect: Find the Demon Sword and slay the fiend who destroyed the Penglai Sword Pavilion. Let this be a warning to all!"

WHOOSH.

The golden characters did not last long, dissipating like smoke in less than ten seconds.

"..."

Silence fell upon the scene.

The leaders of the Three Sects and Eight Pavilions all wore different expressions, and the silence was terrifying.

After the massive Jade Gate also vanished, a full ten minutes passed before Blade Sect’s Sect Master, Qi Jiuyang, finally broke the silence, his voice cold. "How... did they know we were here?"

This "they" obviously referred to the Yunxiao Sect.

An inexplicable chill ran through the hearts of the other ten leaders of the Holy Lands.

Their gathering here in the dead of night had been a spur-of-the-moment decision, one they hadn’t even mentioned to their confidants. Yet, the Yunxiao Sect had issued a secret order from Penglai Island.

In other words, the locations of all eleven of them were being constantly tracked.

Even the notoriously hot-tempered Daoist Chi Huo of the Red Fire Pavilion couldn’t help but break into a cold sweat.

A pair of eyes had been watching their every move from the darkness, and no one knew for how long.

As their gazes met, they all tacitly suppressed the unease and dissatisfaction of being watched.

"Everyone, what are your thoughts on the High Sect’s order?" an elderly man asked, his voice raspy.

The elder’s robes were embroidered with a bagua diagram, and he stood only a little over 1.3 meters tall. His hunched back gave him a somewhat comical appearance.

But none of the leaders of the Holy Lands dared to underestimate him, for he was Shen Xun, the Sect Master of the Formation Sect.

He had once annihilated over a thousand members of the Moon Clan with a single Killing Formation.

The defensive array around Chang’an City was his personal work, earning him the title of the number one Array Path expert in all of Hua Country.

At this moment, faced with Shen Xun’s question, everyone’s brows furrowed.

The Yunxiao Sect was ordering them to retrieve the Demon Sword and then kill Xu Lai, the man behind the Penglai Sword Pavilion’s destruction. This was an impossible task!

According to the elders of the Penglai Sword Pavilion, Xu Lai had shattered a million swords with a single thought and had crippled the boundary of ten thousand disciples on the island, including three Supreme Elders with terrifying boundaries.

Xu Lai’s boundary had likely...

No. It had definitely reached the Nascent Soul Realm.

The sect masters were mostly at the early or middle stages of the Golden Core boundary. The only Supreme Elders who could have stood a chance against Xu Lai were all near the end of their lifespans and lay dormant, sealed within the Dao Endowment.

How were they supposed to kill Xu Lai?

If Pavilion Master Daoist Chi Huo of the Red Fire Pavilion hadn’t pressured the Martial Dao Association in the name of the Three Sects and Eight Pavilions—the eleven Cultivation Holy Lands—Mo Lian and the others would never have gotten involved in the Penglai Sword Pavilion’s messy affair. They wouldn’t have dared.

"Your wish came true," Blade Sect’s Sect Master, Qi Jiuyang, said, looking coldly at Daoist Chi Huo.

Daoist Chi Huo’s expression turned exceedingly ugly.

Although he had achieved his goal for this trip, he felt no joy whatsoever. Instead, he felt worse than if he had swallowed a dead fly.

"Regarding this matter," Daoist Chi Huo said through gritted teeth, "we need to plan this out carefully. Once we make a move, we must ensure our success. Otherwise, our lives will be at risk."

The scene fell silent once more.

A gust of sea breeze blew past, carrying with it a few clouds that obscured the bright moon. Penglai Island was plunged into darkness, mirroring the hearts of everyone present.

When the moonlight finally broke through the clouds again, the eleven individuals on the island were long gone.

***

The morning sun rose.

It was seven o’clock.

Ruan Tang propped her chin on her hand, gazing at Xu Lai sleeping soundly beside her, her beautiful eyes shimmering with fascination.

This man of mine... he’s handsome from every angle.

Ruan Tang couldn’t resist pinching Xu Lai’s nose. He had no reaction at all.

He’s a cultivator, after all, she thought. With his boundary, going without air is probably no problem for him, right?

So, Ruan Tang let go and leaned close to Xu Lai’s ear, whispering tenderly, "Honey, time to get up."

"Honey, the sun is up."

"Honey, wake up, wake up."

"..."

After more than ten such calls, Xu Lai was finally roused. He opened his heavy eyelids and mumbled, his head aching, "Let me sleep a little longer. I’m so tired."

"Tired?" Ruan Tang chuckled. "So much for being ’number one in the world.’ We’ll see if you dare to boast like that again."

Xu Lai’s mouth twitched in frustration.

Yesterday, he had spent a mere half-hour studying the thirty-six ’characters’ in the Cloud Water Rust, and it had completely drained his mind and spirit. It was countless times more exhausting than battling a Quasi-Emperor Realm or even an Emperor Realm powerhouse, and he needed time to recover slowly.

As a result, during their ’session’ last night, Ruan Tang—who usually had to beg for mercy—took the initiative and had him utterly subdued.

"Tonight, we go again!" Xu Lai declared.

"Why not right now?" Ruan Tang’s smile was as radiant as a flower in bloom.

"..."

Xu Lai was suddenly wide awake.

Staring at his wife’s smile, he uttered four words: "Spare me, heroine."

"Hahaha."

Ruan Tang was practically trembling with laughter.

Her pajama strap slid off her shoulder, revealing an enchanting view, but Xu Lai had no mind to appreciate it. He just wanted to doze off for a bit longer.

Ruan Tang didn’t tease him anymore. Instead, she gently massaged his brow and said softly, "You rest well today. I’ll take our daughter to school and pick her up."

"Mm."

Xu Lai didn’t argue and continued to rest. When he woke again, it was already noon.

He got up and went downstairs. Though his mind and spirit hadn’t fully recovered, he was about seventy or eighty percent of the way there.

"No wonder it’s called an Immortal Scripture. It’s terrifying," Xu Lai mused aloud. Even for someone with his Emperor Realm boundary, studying it for half an hour required nearly a full day of recovery.

What about others?

They would need even more time and mental energy. Those with weaker boundaries might even die on the spot, their minds and spirits completely depleted.

Xu Lai took out a jar of wine.

It was a treasured wine brewed from various spiritual treasures, capable of quickly restoring one’s mind and spirit. But it tasted awful, so Xu Lai rarely drank it.

This time, for the sake of studying the Cloud Water Rust, he had brought it out.

His eyes flashed as he declared, "I refuse to believe that a few ’characters’ can stump me!"

He spread a sheet of white paper on the table.

Xu Lai drank his wine while studying and deducing the characters. Though he still felt dizzy, his head was much clearer than it had been last night.

Time flew by, and night fell once more.

With eight empty wine jars at his feet, a sharp light suddenly gleamed in Xu Lai’s eyes. He had finally deduced the meaning of the first character.

But the moment he understood, his pupils constricted. This wasn’t an Immortal Scripture at all.

The first character was merely a horizontal and a downward stroke, but its deduced meaning was a list of one hundred names, arranged in order—

One, Yuan Ying, Tian Gui Tribe.

Two, Si Li, Blood Demon Tribe.

...

Fifty-seven, Shang Chou, Yin Yang Clan.

...

Sixty-four, Dongfang Youming, Netherworld Clan.

Sixty-five, Dongfang Youming, Corpse Kui Clan.

...

Eighty-one, Liu Xingyuan, Star Tribe.

...

Eighty-five, Ghost Wood, Ghost Locust Clan.

...

One hundred, Xu Lai, Human Race