"Stop right there," said the Nameless Swordsman, his eyes bursting with endless sword intent as he looked at Xu Zimo.
"I'm looking for Flawless-Diviner," Xu Zimo replied.
"Then defeat me first," the Nameless Swordsman slowly stood up and drew his sword, speaking calmly.
"You're not strong enough," Xu Zimo shook his head slightly.
He drew his saber, Shadow Tyrant and slashed down.
Although this slash looked ordinary, the Nameless Swordsman's expression turned serious.
No matter what choice he made, he felt he couldn’t dodge this slash.
His vision was filled only with the blade, and the hand gripping his sword trembled slightly.
"This is boring," Xu Zimo chuckled lightly.
He sheathed his saber, put his hands behind his head, and walked deeper into the alley.
When the blade was withdrawn, the pressure around the Nameless Swordsman finally disappeared.
Unknowingly, his forehead was drenched in sweat.
He took a deep breath, but his hand still dared not draw his sword.
He could only watch Xu Zimo walk deeper into the alley.
The courtyards on both sides of the alley were interconnected.
The entrance was a small, delicately crafted wooden door.
Two green parrot trees were planted in front of the door.
These trees had a strange attraction for yellow parakeets, who loved nesting in them.
As Xu Zimo stepped through the door, the space opened up before him.
The courtyard was vast, filled with various objects.
In the center stood a large tree.
Xu Zimo didn’t recognize its species, but it was over fifty meters tall.
Clearly, it had grown for a long, long time.
Under the tree, there was an altar.
A circular, completely black altar about five meters tall.
On top of the altar was a platform, which held five items:
A ball of fire, a sapling, a piece of golden ore, a drop of water, and a handful of yellow soil.
Each item was enclosed in a transparent dome.
Under the tree lay a black kitten.
When Xu Zimo entered through the wooden door, the once-sleeping kitten instantly opened its eyes.
Its eyes were blood-red.
It pounced at Xu Zimo, its body growing dozens of times larger in midair.
In an instant, the cute kitten had become a monster.
Feeling the foul wind rushing toward him, Xu Zimo frowned and slapped it away.
A loud “yowl” echoed.
The giant form of the kitten was swatted away, crashing to the ground and smashing several large holes into the earth before coming to a stop.
It bared its teeth angrily at Xu Zimo but didn’t dare make the first move.
"If no one comes out, I’ll destroy this altar," Xu Zimo said with a light smile.
Just as he finished speaking, a disheveled man walked out from the inner room.
He looked like a wild man from deep in the mountains.
His clothes hadn’t been washed in who knows how long, and even from a distance, Xu Zimo could smell a foul stench.
His hair was long and covered most of his head.
"Who are you?" the man asked, his voice hoarse as if something was pressing on his throat.
"I'm looking for Flawless-Diviner," Xu Zimo frowned slightly.
"It’s me," the man replied. "If you're here for a fortune reading, then please leave. Don’t disturb me!"
"If you don’t answer my questions, I’ll destroy this altar," Xu Zimo said with a smile.
He could tell this altar was very important to Flawless-Diviner.
"Are you threatening me?" Flawless-Diviner turned his head and spoke in a low voice. "Kid, do you know how many years it’s been since someone dared to threaten me?"
"I’m not only going to destroy your altar," Xu Zimo continued, "I’m going to kill your cat. And then I’ll kill you. Think about it."
Flawless-Diviner stared deeply at Xu Zimo, then finally took out a cylindrical item from his storage ring.
When he opened the cylinder, a firework shot into the sky.
Brilliant, colorful fireworks exploded overhead, visible to the entire Myriad Swords City.
"Young people must always pay for their arrogance," Flawless-Diviner said calmly.
Not long after, several figures flew through the sky toward the courtyard.
There were five of them.
Three middle-aged men and two elders.
One elder wore a red robe, bald on top, with a ruddy face.
The other wore a blue long robe, his aura ethereal and refined like an immortal.
When these five arrived, Hong Tianfu saw the scene from the alley entrance.
"What did Brother Xu do inside? Why are all the big figures of Myriad Swords City gathering here?"
Hong Tianfu exclaimed, "That’s Sword Tower’s chief Lord Huo, Xue Clan’s Patriarch, Xue Qicheng, Feather Sect leader Xiang Mu, Black Cloud Gang leader Sha Hu, and my own clan’s patriarch."
Hong Tianfu wanted to go in, but seeing the Nameless Swordsman guarding the alley, he could only wait anxiously outside.
Once the five arrived at the courtyard, Xue Qicheng was the first to laugh and said, "Flawless, you finally came begging to us, huh!"
Flawless-Diviner frowned slightly and pointed to Xu Zimo.
"Whoever can capture him, I’ll give them one free fortune reading, within my ability."
"Easy enough," Xue Qicheng laughed loudly, releasing a powerful aura of the Empyrean Meridian Realm and stepping toward Xu Zimo.
He laughed, "Kid, are you going to surrender or should I break your limbs?"
"Old Xue, don’t take what’s mine. This brat is mine," Sha Hu snorted coldly.
His muscles bulged, and he wore a black tank top with a tiger head symbol on his chest.
"Sha Hu, whoever catches him first gets him. Flawless didn’t set rules, did he?"
While the two bickered, the other three simply watched Xu Zimo calmly.
But from their stance, they were ready to act at any time.
"Gentlemen, there’s no need to be so hasty," Xu Zimo interrupted, smiling. "There’s plenty of time, and I’m not going anywhere."
"Kid’s got guts," Xue Qicheng chuckled and reached out to grab Xu Zimo.
Xu Zimo waved his right hand, and the space in front of him shattered.
A massive figure emerged from the void.
As the enormous being appeared, the pressure of an Arcane Immortal powerhouse enveloped all of Myriad Swords City.
Centered on the courtyard, everyone present was pinned in place.
Chaos’ ferocious eyes stared down at them all. In that moment, none of them dared to even breathe heavily.