Master Lu half-closed his eyes, sensing the approaching purple lightning and azure thunder from afar, his heart completely free of distractions, entering a state of utmost clarity and self-awareness.
At this moment, he forgot whether Gao Lan would successfully intercept the Dharma King of Vacuum, forgot that no one was entangling the “Demon Sage” Han Guang, and saw only the Great Khan of the grasslands, G’uldor, and the Heaven’s Retribution Axe in his hand.
Chonghe Daoist, charging in a pincer formation, envied Master Lu for this ability. Although he himself had reached his peak state and was poised to unleash his power, other thoughts still flickered in his mind, worrying about other battlefields.
This time, the strategy was to concentrate superior forces for a localized blitzkrieg. If Kong Wen, Cui Qinghe, and Yun He could swiftly defeat the Blood Sea Rakshasa, they would undoubtedly have enough time to return and thwart the Demon Sage’s destructive plans or other schemes. Even if the demonic forces intervened, with their concentrated strength, they wouldn’t risk defeat. Additionally, the fixed battlefield would allow the top sects and noble families of the Great Jin Dynasty to deploy quasi-Dharma-body combatants for support, tipping the balance of power in their favor—perhaps even securing a slight advantage.
However, there were two major concerns: first, whether Gao Lan’s unpredictable stance would lead him to remain passive and uninvolved; second, whether the “Demon Sage” Han Guang would first target the Blade of Time or join this battle…
Chonghe suddenly sighed. How could worldly affairs be perfectly calculated? Just like the Sword-Hiding Pavilion—if it were easily breached, it would intimidate other top families and sects, causing the fence-sitters to lean toward the grasslands, creating a powerful momentum. Their divine swords and quasi-Dharma-body fighters would have a significant impact; the decrease and increase would be terrifying.
“Haven’t we already decided long ago? Do our best and leave the rest to fate,” Chonghe Daoist exhaled a breath of turbid air, his mind returning to calmness, casting aside other concerns.
The overall situation certainly wouldn’t collapse!
Dark clouds gathered in the half-sky, as if Heaven itself descended, bringing an immense sense of majesty, making people suddenly feel small, insignificant compared to Heaven and Earth.
Billions of purple lightning bolts and azure thunder converged into a massive force, coiling around a long-handled giant axe. The axe expanded with the wind, stretching thousands of zhang in length, blotting out the sky and sun as it cleaved toward Master Lu.
Boom!
The thunder rumbled heavily, the lightning scattered, illuminating the sky as bright as day, clearly revealing every dark cloud and the long-handled giant axe. It resembled a bronze casting, ancient and majestic, with nine engraved inscriptions, including flames, thunder, and chaos, like embodiments of Dao.
Boom!
In front of the axe, purple lightning and azure thunder flickered in and out of existence, the void itself shattering and reforming. If struck, one’s physical body would be torn apart, and one’s Yuan Shen would be obliterated, revealing the might of heavenly punishment.
Master Lu opened his eyes, reflecting the image of this axe within them, yet even more complex and detailed, as if delving into the fundamental structure of lightning and thunder, into the basic level of all transformations.
This axe strike held no secrets from him anymore.
The “Single-Minded Sword” thrust forward, its blade plain yet exquisitely refined, striking precisely at a certain point in the void. In an instant, the intricate web of billions of purple lightning bolts and azure thunder shattered, collapsing and dissolving into a sea of thunder. Rather than attacking the two, it intercepted G’uldor’s subsequent assault. The dark clouds momentarily parted, and the morning sun showered down, draping their figures in golden light.
G’uldor inwardly expressed mild surprise. Their previous brief encounter had only made him feel that Lu was unusual, without further investigation. Now, he feared Lu might not be an ordinary Earth Immortal. His subtle grasp of the Heaven-Earth Qi mechanism and his thorough understanding of things and transformations were practically worthy of a Heaven Immortal, albeit not as powerful.
The stronger the enemy, the more delighted G’uldor became. His fighting spirit surged, and he slashed another axe from afar, a strike full of transformation and extreme speed.
Suddenly, the air ignited, various flames transforming into an ocean, merging and changing, spreading like wildfire toward Master Lu.
Before they arrived, Chonghe Daoist already felt the heat, as if even a slight touch would ignite his physical body and Yuan Shen, never to be extinguished.
Master Lu focused intently, suddenly swinging his sword casually. The sword light divided into countless strands finer than silk threads, imperceptible even to spiritual senses, then slashed out like a rain of blossoms.
Swoosh! Different sounds overlapped, merging into one. The blazing sea of fire vanished instantly, and the axe was struck by the sword tip, reversing its direction.
“Excellent!” Knowing Lu’s extraordinary nature, G’uldor roared, manifesting his “Heavenly Punishment Treasure Body,” dozens of zhang tall, bronze-colored, covered with various eerie marks, brimming with destruction. Standing there, he looked down as if executing heavenly justice. Within a thousand li, the sky darkened, the air grew heavy and oppressive, lightning flickered faintly, and underground fire smoldered, awaiting the descent of heavenly punishment.
“Take this strike!” He gripped the axe with both hands, slashing down like a war god, with unimaginable weight and an immense suction force.
This axe strike hit empty space, as if striking the surface of a lake, causing ripples in the void, rapidly collapsing, becoming heavy and solid. In midair, a rapidly spinning dark vortex appeared, absorbing light and heat.
Trees and rocks on the ground defied normal laws, rushing upward. A city resisted slightly, but bricks and tiles flew into the vortex, and common martial heroes and civilians followed suit!
This axe strike relied purely on brute force and the Heavenly Retribution Axe’s inherent power. Although Master Lu perceived the minute changes, he couldn’t utilize them. He thrust his sword forward, the sword light darting straight into the core of the dark vortex.
His skin gleamed metallically, exuding an indelible aura. Compared to others’ Dharma bodies, the “Gengjin Immortal Body” seemed so ordinary.
At this moment, four sword lights in red, cyan, black, and white shot down, instantly twisting the void and severing the dark vortex’s suction force on the earth. Time flowed like water, momentarily creating a subtle confusion—unclear whether the four sword lights struck first or G’uldor escaped the Sword Array of Slaying Immortals first.
Matter transformed into energy, vast and mighty, pouring into the dark vortex, finally filling it.
The four Chonghe Daoists didn’t pause, each wielding their swords. The four sword lights in red, cyan, black, and white simultaneously slashed toward G’uldor, not giving him a moment to breathe. Master Lu seized the opportunity to advance, planning to drag G’uldor into the Sword Array of Slaying Immortals together!
“Excellent!” G’uldor became even more excited, his axe slicing out as if water or mist, capable of slaying celestial beings.
As soon as the four sword lights were struck, they all became ordinary, losing their Earth Immortal might.
…
Xuantian Sect.
Daoist Shoujing sat calmly before the “Blade of Time,” his expression serene, his breathing long and steady, as if patiently waiting for someone.
…
In a remote mountain area of Jiangdong, a delicately carved child wailed in distress: “No, no, I won’t practice this secret technique, I just won’t!”
His eyes were narrow, resembling a snake’s, and as he spoke, his tongue flickered, slightly slurred.
Jin Li, with his high cheekbones and a mole beneath his right eyebrow, looked helplessly at his wife and said, “A doting father often spoils his child. You talk to him.”
Shen Ruoxuan gracefully approached, her waist as supple as if boneless, smiling: “Good boy, if you don’t want to practice, then don’t. In the past, we relied on this secret technique recorded in the “Emperor of Demons’ Canon” to deceive powerful beings and infiltrate the human race. Perhaps in the future, we can walk openly.”
…
In front of the Sword-Hiding Pavilion’s mountain gate.
Meng Qi suppressed his “Invisible Flame,” saying no more. After all, he had already fulfilled his duty to warn them. Even if Qiu Wansheng and others still doubted his identity and purpose, they would certainly add some precautions secretly. If the “Faceless Demon” launched an attack, at least they would be prepared and not panic.
Time was pressing; this was all he could do!
Just as Meng Qi was about to leave, planning to use the “Inverting Da Yan Talisman” and the “Primordial Heart Seal” to conduct guerrilla operations, disrupting the grassland masters’ minds and contributing to the righteous path, he suddenly furrowed his brows and turned his head toward a nearby place.
There, dark clouds gathered, and colorful lights pierced the sky, giving off a feeling of demons dancing wildly.
“Oh no, they’re attacking the Sword-Hiding Pavilion first. There was definitely something wrong!” Meng Qi immediately ascended, avoiding being trapped at the Sword-Hiding Pavilion’s mountain gate by the grassland forces and left sects, unable to advance or retreat.
He passed through layers of white clouds, stopping only when the gales struck his face. Concealing his form, he activated his “Wisdom Eye” to observe the battle.
Outside the “Heavenly Maimed and Earth Deficient Sword Killing Formation” of the Sword-Hiding Pavilion, numerous powerful beings had gathered, launching fierce attacks to break the formation.
A malevolent green deity enshrouded in yin energy, an immortal exuding a chilling aura with icy eyes, and a shaman ancestor god adorned with a necklace of human skulls.
Additionally, there were two coffins rolling with blood-yellow death mist, the Joyful Bodhisattva seated on a nine-petaled lotus throne disrupting yin and yang, and a monk resembling a wealthy young master holding a vajra club, with a fierce golden Buddha behind him, bare-chested, embracing a celestial consort.
Meng Qi inhaled sharply. The first three gave him a slight Dharma-body sensation, likely being the quasi-Dharma-body fighters of top sects. The Ice Soul Immortal seemed to be the remnant corpse of a Cao family Earth Immortal.
The Cao family is really determined… Meng Qi sighed inwardly. Additionally, there was the “Emperor of the Netherworld,” the Joyful Bodhisattva, and the current Joyful Buddha, each wielding divine weapons. Three out of the top four from the Black List were here, not to mention the twenty-odd masters led by the Golden Tent Warriors and the Longevity Cult shamans, including the leader of the Golden Tent Warriors, Haswula.
What a luxurious lineup… Meng Qi exhaled. If the Sword-Hiding Pavilion had no traitors and relied on its protective formation, divine weapons, half-step Dharma-body, and hidden strength, it might not necessarily fall. But now, it was truly concerning.
Once the Sword-Hiding Pavilion fell, other watching families and sects might join the grassland side, leading to a collapse like a mountain falling!
Meng Qi didn’t flee far, hiding high above, using his Wisdom Eye to peek and seek opportunities to help.
This battle had no personal grudges or emotional biases!
“May the Ancestral Master protect us.” Qiu Wansheng, known as the “Thunder Flame,” held the Wusheng Sword and bowed respectfully.
In an instant, the formation shifted slightly, and the Wusheng Sword emitted a faint, eerie glow as it surged into the Sword Graveyard.
The sword graveyard trembled, and residual sword intentions boiled.
Soon, a crimson fire sword emitting a slight Dharma-body aura flew out, joining the sword formation. Anything it touched turned to ashes instantly.
Quickly, other sword graveyards also released various semi-real, semi-illusory swords—some condensed from lightning, some swirling with fierce winds, some heavy as mountains, all exuding immense killing intent.
The moment these four swords—remnants of the sword intent left behind by the Dharma-body masters of the Sword-Hiding Pavilion—entered the formation, the sword array’s power surged dramatically, stabilizing its previously precarious condition.
Qiu Wansheng held the Wusheng Sword, preparing to join the formation and unleash the divine weapon’s power.
At that moment, a silent sword qi, like a venomous snake, attacked from the side, deeply concealing a deadly aura!
However, Qiu Wansheng was prepared. He slightly sidestepped, dodging the sword.
“It’s really you!” Looking at the attacker, Qiu Wansheng’s eyes burned with anger.
Although he favored his disciples, he had his own judgment, secretly raising his guard. Indeed, as Su Meng predicted, there was a master within the sect who had fallen into becoming the Faceless Demon.
At this moment, reflected in Qiu Wansheng’s eyes, was “Heavenly Maimed Sword” Nan Gonghen. From the beginning, he had suspected that if there was a Faceless Demon, it would be this senior with grievances, stagnating without progress, having too many reasons to fall.
Before Qiu Wansheng could finish his words, he suddenly stopped. A gleaming green longsword, radiating a chilling light, thrust out from his mouth!
Behind him stood his direct disciple, “A Glimpse of Beauty” Yu Wujiu, who had used a specially crafted secret treasure sword to pierce Qiu Wansheng’s protective treasure, impaling his head.
“Rebellious brat!” Qiu Wansheng’s eyes blazed with fury.
Nan Gonghen’s power surged, blocking the furious Ma You and Li Sinong, and coldly laughed:
“I’m not the Faceless Demon; your disciple is.”
I am the mythological “Gou Chen Divine Lord”!
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