Chapter 281 - Swordmist Core   The platform that they were standing on was forged from a chunk of the peak that was sliced off. This way, it could accommodate tens of thousands of people without feeling crowded. The crowd took advantage of this as there were a multitude of people at the Alliance-Union Battle.

The best seats belonged to Guardian Plum, the Sword-Bearing Elders, the four Hall Masters, Elders, disciples of the Sky Ranking, and the invited guests. The guests consisted of the royal clan, prestigious clans, and elites from other sects.

When Lin Yun directed his gaze over, he actually saw an unexpected person, Liu Yue. Then again, it was natural that she would be seated there since her status was the beloved daughter of the commander of the Divine Guards. When he saw all the elders on the stage, he knew that this Alliance-Union Battle wouldn’t be simple.

Lin Yun casually sat on a stone chair in the corner and looked down at the dense forest. He could vaguely hear beastial roars echoing from the forest. Lin Yun had heard about the Burial Sword Peak’s demonic beasts. It was rumored that it was hard for demonic beasts living in the Burial Sword Peak to form a beast core, but any demonic beasts who had successfully formed their beast cores would have horrifying sword intent.

The beast core was also called the Swordcloud Core since it could strengthen one’s sword intent upon being refined. It was also said that they were more effective in strengthening sword intent than the Myriad Sword Diagram was. That’s why the Swordcloud Cores were the target of many disciples participating in the Alliance-Union Battle. After all, even if one didn’t become an inner disciple, obtaining a few Swordcloud Cores was still a huge fortune. Furthermore, they could also guarantee their safety if they stayed hidden in the dark.

The discussions on the platform continued until two figures descended with their Sword Condors. These figures released a powerful aura in the Violet Palace Realm that instantly silenced everyone.

When Lin Yun directed his gaze over, he noticed that the two were the two elders whom he was familiar with, Luo Feng and Bai Ting. Lin Yun frowned when he saw Bai Ting. This old fellow had been targeting him ever since he joined the Sword Firmament Pavilion. In fact, Bai Ting even tried to kill Lin Yun on behalf of Wang Yan.

“Luo Feng and Bai Ting, pay greetings to Guardian Plum, the Sword-Bearing Elders, and the Hall Masters. Guardian Plum, please announce the beginning of the Alliance-Union Battle!” The two gave a bow towards Guardian Plum’s direction from their Sword Condors.

Guardian Plum nodded his head and spoke, “The Alliance-Union Battle is a grand event of our Sword Firmament Pavilion. I’m honored by everyone’s presence. I won’t go on about the Alliance-Union Battle’s rules. The Alliance-Union Battle will be hosted by Elder Luo Feng and Elder Bai Ting. There will be death in the Alliance-Union Battle, so you will be signing a Life-Death Contract in order to participate in the fight. Aside from cosmic artifacts, all means are permitted in this fight, even killing.”

Guardian Plum then sat down and stretched his hand out towards Luo Feng and Bai Ting, signaling the two that the Alliance-Battle Union could begin any time. Standing on the Sword Condor, Bai Ting looked around and then his voice echoed out, “Leaders of the various alliance-unions, please hand the jade plaques to the disciples who will be participating in the Alliance-Union Battle.”

“Junior Brother Lin, Junior Brother Li Wuyou, take it.” Xin Yan took out two jade plaques when she saw them nodding their heads. These jade plaques had the Locket Mountain’s emblem on it, with a star flickering in it. Lin Yun and Li Wuyou were the only ones participating in the Alliance-Union Battle on behalf of the Locket Mountain.

Everyone else was afraid that those in the top ten on the Mortal Ranking would implicate their sect because of the grudge Lin Yun had with them. The Burial Sword Peak might be tempting, but nothing was more important than their lives. Although there were some fearless disciples, Xin Yan had advised them to withdraw.

Everyone from Locket Mountain looked at Lin Yun and Li Wuyou with a complicated gaze, especially Lin Yun. The Locket Mountain’s reputation rose because of him, but he was also the one who pushed them to the edge of the cliff. This Alliance-Union Battle was crucial to them and failure would strike them with a heavy blow.

Wang Yan swept his gaze over while Lin Yun and Li Wuyou dropped their blood onto the jade plaques. Since killing was allowed in the Alliance-Union Battle, Wang Yan wanted to see how Lin Yun would die after offending the top ten on the Mortal Ranking. After all, Wang Yan had a grudge against Lin Yun for killing Wang Ning and for the punishment of his broken limbs.

Lin Yun noticed Wang Yan’s gaze, but he wasn’t bothered by it. After everyone put away their jade plaques, they got on the platform where all the participating outer disciples were gathered. The number of participants was larger than anyone had imagined. There were nearly five thousand participating disciples.

This was equivalent to one-sixth of the entire outer sect and no one knew if there were any hidden experts in this group. After all, experts didn’t have to rank in the top ten on the Mortal Ranking.

“Alright, head on in. The Alliance-Union Battle will start immediately after you do so.” Luo Feng waved his hand and gave instructions to the participants.

“How are we going to get in?” Everyone was dumbfounded. But before they could react, a bright light radiated beneath Luo Feng’s feet and formed into a complicated array. The array began to spin faster and Lin Yun found that his vision was being blurred. Next thing he knew, he found himself in a dense forest.

The surrounding was dark and cold. Through the gaps between leaves, Lin Yun could see the rough outlines of the platform that he was previously on. The Alliance-Union Battle had started before anyone could prepare.

Lin Yun determined that they must have been randomly transported, else he would still be standing next to Li Wuyou. The purpose of the first round was to accumulate thirty stars in the jade plaque. This meant that he had to defeat thirty participants and seize their jade plaques. This wasn’t something challenging for Lin Yun.

He started checking his surroundings. He didn’t rush because he wanted to be familiar with the surroundings first. But before he went too far, he noticed movements in his surroundings. He noticed a few gazes on him, but they all swiftly left. They knew that Lin Yun wasn’t a pushover, so they didn’t dare to attack him.

“The Sword Tomb!” No sunlight could penetrate into the dense forest, but the horrifying sword intent emitted from the Sword Tomb acted like a lighthouse. It signaled everyone of its direction. The final battle would take place in the Sword Tomb, so everyone had to rush to the Sword Tomb regardless of whether or not they were willing to.

“Let’s hope that I can find Wuyou before heading for the Sword Tomb.” The forest might be vast, but that didn’t mean it was impossible to find someone if he was determined enough. It worked out since the forest was already full of unrest. The addition of thousands of outer disciples made the forest feel even more uneasy. Along the way, Lin Yun could hear the roars coming from various demonic beasts along with sharp cries.

He speculated that those cries must be from the disciples who fell prey to the demonic beasts. Just like how cultivators would hunt demonic beasts for their beast cores, demonic beasts would also hunt cultivators for their flesh.

Lin Yun pressed on while he searched for Li Wuyou. Li Wuyou practiced the Astral Star Art, so he would emit starlight when he executed his martial techniques. It should be relatively easy for Lin Yun to find Li Wuyou here

Suddenly, three figures appeared before Lin Yun. But their faces changed before they could open their mouths when they saw Lin Yun. They exclaimed, “It’s Lin Yun!”

“Damn it. What kind of luck is this to encounter him as our first prey? Run!”

The three came and left in the blink of an eye. Lin Yun couldn’t even get a close look at their appearance before they were gone.

“This isn’t working… Not many will dare to attack upon identifying me.” Lin Yun rubbed his nose and patted on the interspatial pouch, retrieving the mask he obtained from Xue Feng. When he put on the mask, his temperament underwent a huge change and his aura became indistinguishable

“There is no way for me to be identified now…” said Lin Yun. As for the sword box that he was carrying on his back, Lin Yun wasn’t too worried about it. After all, it was common for Sword Firmament Pavilion’s disciples to carry a sword box with them.

It didn’t take long for the stars in Lin Yun’s jade plaque to reach eight. It was easier for him to find opponents after he put on the mask. He swiftly eliminated seven participants during the short amount of time.

Suddenly, a violent gale brushed past Lin Yun. It was a leaf infused with buzzing sword intent. The leaf flew like a streak of light and plunged itself into the tree.

“What powerful sword intent!” Lin Yun fell into deep thought. He could hear the sound of battle coming from up ahead that was carried over by the wind. He knew that someone must be lucky to encounter a demonic beast that had formed the Swordcloud Core. He had been ignoring the fights between disciples and demonic beasts along the way, but a demonic beast with a Swordcloud Core was naturally a different story.

Lin Yun spread his arms apart and leaped onto a tree branch before his figure flashed into the forest. It didn’t take long for him to arrive at a battlefield. The battle was taking place five hundred meters away. There were five disciples fighting a demonic beast that was shrouded in flames. It was a Firecloud Leopard, a rare fourth stage of the Profound Martial Realm’s demonic beast that was rarely found in the outside world. This particular Firecloud Leopard actually required all five outer disciples to fight against it.

If the blue-clothed youth leading the party didn’t have high cultivation, they might not have had the upper-hand in the fight. The Firecloud Leopard was heavily wounded, so it was just a matter of time until they took it down. The outcome went as Lin Yun had expected, it didn’t take long before the Firecloud Leopard collapsed onto the ground.

“It’s finally dead!”

“A fourth stage demonic beast is actually so powerful. It’s all thanks to Senior Brother Chen. If it wasn’t for you, we might not have been able to defeat it.”

“Judging from its powerful sword intent, it must have a Swordcloud Core!”

The party disregarded their injuries with excitement on their faces. The youth leading the party was also excited. But just when they were going to bisect the Firecloud Leopard to retrieve the Swordcloud Core, the blue-clothed youth’s face suddenly changed. He yelled out, “Wait!”

Right when he spoke, he turned around and saw Lin Yun standing on a tree branch.

“Who are you?!” Everyone else was also startled when they saw Lin Yun.

“I’m Chen Ling. Who are you and what are you trying to do by hiding yourself?” The blue-clothed youth asked with a wisp of murderous aura between his brows.

“You’re the Chen Ling who’s forty-eighth on the Mortal Ranking and who’s famed for the Thundercloud Sword?” Lin Yun had an excellent memory, so he naturally remembered everyone in the top hundred on the Mortal Ranking.

“Since you know my name, why are you still here?” Chen Ling said this with a hint of arrogance that radiated from his brows. His ranking of fory-eigth helped him stand out among the five thousand outer disciples.

“Because I’m also not a nobody myself.” Lin Yun smiled and dashed down. He appeared before Chen Ling in the blink of an eye and punched him.