Chapter 162
As the final stroke of the brush hung in the air, the entire dome of the sky suddenly collapsed.
That ink mark, which spanned the heavens and the earth, transformed into a sword!
The sword fell.
In a silent roar, the world lost all color.
The Buddha and the demon, their forms frozen in shock, gazed at the ethereal figure atop the clouds, as if entranced.
In the waning moonlight, Chen Huai'an sheathed his sword, shaking his head with a sigh.
"The Sword Style Twelve has only unleashed two swords so far... You ultimately cannot bear the weight of my karma."
As his words fell, a crack appeared in the brow of the demon's form, a sword mark splitting it open.
With a gust of wind, the demon's body shattered, scattering into a sky full of karmic flames.
…
Thousands of miles away, within a collapsed ancient temple nestled in the towering mountains.
The gray-robed old nun, deep in meditation, suddenly jolted, her face pale as she spat out a mouthful of old blood.
"Cough... Such formidable swordsmanship."
She paid no heed to the blood at the corner of her lips, immediately sitting cross-legged to regulate her breath, taking a long while to recover.
Though she had merged with Ji Dong's form, it was still a part of her original power.
Yet that sword cultivator had nearly torn apart her original power with just two strikes.
The sword intent had rolled back with her extending power, like a maggot clinging to a bone.
If she hadn't already reached the third level of the Dongxu stage, she would never have been able to resolve it so easily. Had someone of the same cultivation level been here, the moment their original power returned, their body would have been sliced into nothingness by that sword intent.
"When did such a powerful sword cultivator emerge in the Cangyun Realm? Could it be some hidden old monster from the Sword Pavilion?"
The gray-robed old nun's face darkened, her eyes swirling with uncertainty.
But if it were an old monster, they should know the crisis currently facing the Cangyun Realm.
When she had just spoken with him, it was clear he knew nothing.
Moreover, the Chen family ancestor she remembered had long since left this realm, and their sword paths were completely different.
Surely, it couldn't be that a super sword cultivator suddenly appeared while she was in seclusion?
"Could it be a variable? Or is someone disguising themselves to deliberately send a signal to the old nun?"
The gray-robed old nun muttered to herself, her brows furrowed with malice.
"Master, save me! Master, I don't want to die..."
Ji Dong's lingering soul appeared before her, clinging to the gray-robed old nun's form like a lifeline. But even as a remnant soul, he was pierced by countless sword energies, and if he wasn't rescued soon, he would clearly dissipate.
"Save you?!" The gray-robed old nun grasped the remnant soul with her fingers, a sinister smile creeping across her face. "A mere insect of the demonic path expects me to protect you? I never concealed the heavenly secrets for you. The moment you stepped out of the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, your fate was sealed."
"What? This... this is impossible..."
"You lied to me! You actually deceived me!"
Ji Dong's remnant soul twisted in rage, not knowing whether it was anger or the torment of the sword intent that made him feel worse than death.
"You will not die a good death! Lingpu Old Nun, you will not die a good death! Ahhh!"
Lingpu merely chuckled coldly, saying nothing, as she closed her fingers, crushing Ji Dong's remnant soul.
The young master of the ancient Tianmo Sect, who had not perished under the sword cultivator's blade, met his end in her palm.
"Since a variable has appeared, to ensure the arrangement of the Zhongzhou Secret Realm is foolproof, I shall take a tool to conceal the heavenly secrets." The gray-robed old nun rose, a golden lotus platform appearing beneath her feet, her figure gradually becoming ethereal and vanishing, leaving behind murmurs: "The heavenly path is flawed... the heavenly path is flawed..."
…
…
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Chapter 174: You Can Leave Now
In the late stage of the fusion realm, Chen Huai'an consumed half an hour's worth of resources in just one minute.
So he could still stay in the Cangyun Realm for a while longer.
As for why he wouldn't stay longer?
Just look at this terrifying consumption; if he didn't exercise restraint, let alone ten billion, even a trillion wouldn't be enough.
Besides, distance creates beauty.
He needed to leave a little mystery, so that Qingran would think of him every day.
It was definitely not because he couldn't reach Qingran and thus decided not to indulge.
To facilitate Li Qingran and the others' travels, Chen Huai'an bought a medium-sized flying boat.
Now, the electronic girlfriend store corresponding to the mid-stage of the Foundation Establishment realm allowed for the direct purchase of medium-sized flying boats.
On the flying boat, Su Qinian wore a beaming smile, as if it were the New Year: "Everyone, after your long journey, why not have a meal here? Don't worry, although the Sword Pavilion is poor, we still know how to treat our guests."
"Uh, Su Pavilion Master, I still have some pills refining in my alchemy furnace, so I’ll be leaving first..." Zhou Xuanzai awkwardly laughed as he was the first to excuse himself.
"Oh, I just remembered my spirit beast is in labor; I need to hurry back to handle that." An elder from the Beast Master Sect also left.
"I, too, should go beg for alms..."
Each had their own reasons, and soon the place was cleared out.
Su Qinian looked at the group of fleeing God Transformation cultivators, puzzled.
Today, he was in high spirits!
His ancestor had made a grand display, helping the Cangyun Realm eliminate a major threat, and it was a time for the Sword Pavilion to bask in glory. He had finally overcome his psychological pressure and prepared a feast, yet these people slipped away as if they were on fire.
"Strange, strange. Usually, these old fellows would scrape every last bit of oil off me; why are they so polite today?"
"Don't you have any idea?" Yue Qianchi nudged Chen Huai'an, who was guarding Li Qingran closely, even activating a killing formation for protection. "Look, the ancestor is right here. Just look at this killing formation! Thousands of spirit swords are suspended above the flying boat, the sword intent darkening the skies. Who would dare stay here any longer?"
Su Qinian turned to take a look and was immediately startled.
Before him, thousands of swords twisted through the air, lightning and thunder splitting the heavens—wherever the sword formation passed, the world was imprisoned.
This was no mere protection!
It seemed more like a warning to obliterate some sect.
"Well, that's fine, at least it saves me ten low-grade spirit stones." He shook his head, hands behind his back, obediently returning to the flying boat to find a chair to sit in. Li Qingran had gained insights from Chen Huai'an's sword techniques, and he needed to digest that as well.
"Ten low-grade spirit stones..." Yue Qianchi scoffed.
Hmph, such a miser.
Good thing those God Transformation cultivators didn't stay behind to eat and drink; otherwise, the little bit of face the Sword Pavilion had just earned would be lost in an instant.
If it was a feast, it should at least cost twenty low-grade spirit stones, right?
…
At this moment, Chen Huai'an was showing off.
But he wasn't doing it just to show off.
It was because Li Qingran had gained insights again, and he was protecting her.
As for why he needed to make such a big commotion?
Usually, he and Li Qingran couldn't even meet; now that they had the chance, he naturally wanted to give her the best.
Protection had to be all-encompassing.
Seeing that Li Qingran still needed some time to comprehend, Chen Huai'an began to reflect on his recent gains.
After defeating that demon Buddha's form, he didn't immediately receive any loot; instead, he waited a few minutes before a fragment of a demon cultivator appeared, along with the main scroll of the
What concerned him more was that this demon cultivator should have been crushed under his foot, yet the form had somehow recovered with the aid of some power. The demon Buddha's form that appeared later was clearly not controlled by him alone, and the Buddha aspect of that demon Buddha's form exuded a pure and peaceful aura, evidently stemming from a very orthodox Buddhist technique...
Regarding this matter, he had inquired with the Zen Sect's leader.
But that monk couldn't provide any clear answers either.
He only mentioned that there were quite a few loose cultivators in the Cangyun Realm practicing Buddhist techniques.
The Buddhist precepts are strict, and many Buddhist cultivators are those who have broken the precepts and been expelled.
For example, the smiling Buddha Leng Chanxin is a typical representative.
After so many years, who knows how many have fallen into obscurity?
It's hard to guarantee that among them, there aren't one or two who are extraordinarily powerful.
"I can't shake the feeling that there's something fishy going on... Could it be a nested scheme? Is there another true mastermind behind this?" Chen Huai'an narrowed his eyes. Just in case, he needed to run another divination.
Previously, he had deduced that the demon cultivator had fifty layers, and there were still fifty layers of operational space left, which should be sufficient.
"Help me deduce who the true mastermind behind the Tianmo Sect's young master is."
In Chen Huai'an's vision, the loading circle of the customer service interface spun for quite a while before a prompt box popped up:
[This target has been concealed by a Dao tool, and attempting to force a deduction will increase the 'Fortune Loss' status by at least 2000 layers. With the player's current strength, they cannot withstand more than 1000 layers of Fortune Loss. Please try again after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage.]
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