In a damp and chilly cell, Chilian slowly stood up. As he pulled up his trousers, he examined the young woman he had just ravaged and said with satisfaction,
“Truly worthy of being a wealthy family’s daughter, so tender indeed.”
The woman was curled up on the ground, her gaze hollow, her fair skin covered in bruises.
After speaking, Chilian turned his head to look at the group of Earth Sect disciples queuing behind him, giving a sly chuckle:
“Look at how eager you are. Fine, do as you wish, but remember to leave her alive. There’s plenty of time ahead.”
The disciples in Daoist robes snickered in response, their faces full of wicked excitement:
“Thank you, Senior Uncle Chilian, thank you, Senior Uncle Chilian!
“We’ll be sure to take good care of this little beauty.”
Daoist Chilian tidied his clothes and, ignoring the woman now surrounded by his disciples, walked out of the dungeon.
The Earth Sect prided themselves on indulging the evil in human nature, but each person had their own preferences.
Daoist Chilian was primarily motivated by lust, enjoying the rape of respectable women and revelling in their despair and pleas for mercy, but he was not particularly keen on killing or torture.
Daoist Chilian crossed the corridor to the guards’ rest room, beckoned a disciple and asked:
“Have you spotted any good-looking women recently?”
The disciple sneered:
“There are a few…”
He then proceeded to report to Daoist Chilian the beauties selected by the disciples under his command, such as so-and-so’s wife or so-and-so’s daughter…
“It’s just that they’ve all submitted and joined the Yunzhou army, so it wouldn’t be convenient to openly seize their women.”
Daoist Chilian picked up his teacup and took a sip:
“It’s just a few women. They should know when to make sacrifices. If they refuse, lock their whole family in the dungeon. People die in the dungeons every day, and new faces are always needed.
“Either send in their wives and daughters, or bring the whole family in and let them watch us play with their women.”
As he spoke, the lust in his eyes grew ever more intense, as if he thought this was an excellent idea.
As for the Yunzhou army, Chilian was completely unconcerned. Who would dare challenge the Earth Sect for the sake of a few nobodies?
Did they think a second rank Daoist Leader was vegetarian?
Even Xu Pingfeng would turn a blind eye, for the price of winning Earth Sect’s support had to be paid.
Upon hearing this, the disciple’s face flushed with excitement. He grinned savagely:
“I’ve long taken a fancy to a little beauty. Today, I’ll bring her back for Senior Uncle Chilian to enjoy.”
Of course, after Senior Uncle Chilian enjoyed her, it would be their turn.
Daoist Chilian grunted acknowledgement, picked up his teacup to drink again, but suddenly noticed that the disciple before him now had vacant eyes. Without any warning, the disciple drew the sabre from his back and stabbed at Chilian’s chest.
At the same time, the scalding tea in his hand was flung in his face.
His collar and belt also rebelled: the former suddenly tightened, trying to strangle him, while the latter unravelled and bound him to the chair, restraining his movements.
The teacup on the table flew up and attached itself to Daoist Chilian’s chest, precisely blocking the disciple’s strike.
Daoist seventh rank, Guiding Qi!
He could control everything nearby and use it for himself, a method even more exquisite than a martial artist’s Qi manipulation.
After blocking the disciple’s attack, a jet-black and brilliant “golden core” appeared above Daoist Chilian’s head. Bathed in dark light, the rebellious clothes lost their spirituality.
Though the Earth Sect Daoists had fallen to demonic desires, the golden core’s ability remained essentially unchanged, indeed, it was even more powerful than orthodox Daoist golden cores, for it carried a measure of corrupting power.
Pressing his palm lightly on the disciple’s chest, Chilian sent him crashing into the wall with a bang, knocking him unconscious.
At that moment, two ethereal figures passed through the wall: a handsome young man in Daoist robes, and a beautiful maiden in light armour and a crimson cloak.
The Heaven Sect’s hidden dragon and fledgling phoenix!
These were their nascent souls.
Upon entering, Li Miaozhen and Li Lingsu simultaneously spat out two glittering golden cores, ramming them at Chilian’s own “golden core” in a suicidal assault.
Boom!
Chaotic spiritual force swept through the entire dungeon, causing the prisoners and Earth Sect disciples outside to lose their senses.
Chilian’s primordial spirit was shaken, leaving him briefly dazed.
At that moment, the wall exploded with a bang, as a figure shrouded in golden light smashed through and charged inside.
Seizing upon Chilian’s momentary distraction, Master Hengyuan moved swiftly, closing the distance and landing a punch on his dantian, another on his chest, a third on his face, Chilian’s physical body exploded in an instant, blood and flesh splattering all over the walls.
For Warrior Monks and martial artists, as long as they could close in, experts from other systems of the same rank were mere paper tigers, utterly vulnerable.
Daoist Chilian’s nascent soul escaped, not daring to dwell on his anger. He opened his mouth in a silent scream.
Thick, jet-black nascent soul force filled the room, corroding the three fourth rank experts present.
Taking advantage as Li Lingsu, Li Miaozhen and Hengyuan resisted this corrupting power, Daoist Chilian shot upwards, trying to escape the dungeon.
If he could get out, he’d be safe.
Outside were the Daoist Leader Heilian and many of his fellow disciples.
“Whoosh!”
Suddenly, a dazzling sword light shot from the hole in the wall Master Hengyuan had smashed through. Though it was a solid blade, it pinned the nascent soul, an intangible thing, to the wall.
Human Sect’s Heart-sword, the sword that cuts the soul!
With a ferocious roar, Chilian’s nascent soul slowly dissolved inch by inch, vanishing into nothingness.
All his resentment and fury came to an abrupt end.
A fourth rank expert was slain on the spot in less than ten seconds.
After finishing off Chilian, Li Miaozhen spoke rapidly:
“Master Hengyuan, you’re in charge of sweeping the place. Don’t leave a single Earth Sect fiend alive in this dungeon.”
Like a golden statue, Hengyuan pressed his palms together and chanted a Buddhist chant:
“Not a single one!”
With no expression, he turned away and strode into the damp corridor.
The gaze of the Wrathful Vajra!
Outside the dungeon, at the Sureillance Commission.
A radiant stream of virtue descended, coalescing into the form of Daoist Jinlian.
“Heilian, it’s time for us to settle accounts,” Daoist Jinlian called out loudly.
Deep within the constabulary, filthy and foul miasma rose up and transformed into a blossoming black lotus. In the centre of the lotus platform stood a humanoid figure, its body oozing with viscous black liquid.
The whole Sureillance Commission was now filled with dazzling streams of virtue and filthy, corrupting power, each force staking its own territory, clearly delineated.
His eyes were crimson as blood, glaring coldly at Jinlian not far away:
“Jinlian, just you? And a few little nobodies from the Heaven and Earth Society?”
As his words fell, a tall imposing figure appeared above the clashing forces.
He pressed his finger to his brow and said in a deep voice:
“And me!”
Hiss, the blazing fire-ring flared behind his head, golden lacquer spreading instantly over his body. A terrifying aura swept out across the sky.
“A Buddhist Vajra?”
Heilian’s attention was immediately drawn.
“No!” al-Asura knocked his brow again, the fire-ring retracted, and a dazzling halo appeared. He gave a slight smile:
“An Arhat!”
“Impossible!”
Heilian’s aura fluctuated violently, and he roared in disbelief.
…
Outside Xunzhou city!
Kou Yangzhou spat out a stream of sabre energy, infusing it into the mighty formation of sabres. In an instant, every blade was imbued with terrifying power, they echoed and merged with each other, becoming a seamless whole.
The swarm of sabres wheeled and spiralled like a cone, stabbing toward Agaruka Bodhisattva.
At the heart of that spiral was a dazzling longsword, the Heart-sword of Luo Yuheng!
Luo Yuheng’s choice showcased her wisdom to the full.
To genuinely and effectively harm Agaruka, a martial artist’s means were very limited. The Heart-sword’s killing power against this Bodhisattva even surpassed the Jianzheng’s attacks.
Within the soul domain, the Daoists and Warlocks reigned supreme.
Luo Yuheng might not be stronger than the Jianzheng, but in striking the soul, she surpassed him, a difference due to their respective systems.
Agaruka Bodhisattva hovered in the air, forming seals with both hands, followed by the Immovable Lord Dharma Aspect behind him doing the same.
The only drawback of the Immovable Lord Dharma Aspect was that the main body had to remain absolutely still while casting spells.
Buzz!
Spatial ripples were instantly flattened. A three hundred feet area around Agaruka turned into a stagnant, lifeless pool, without even the faintest breath of wind.
The formless, immaterial space became the strongest, most unbreakable prison.
Ding ding ding… The spiral sabre formation struck the solidified void, sending up dazzling sparks. One sabre after another broke, the shards of iron scattering in all directions like a torrential rain.
Both sides’ soldiers held their breath, staring at the scene, not daring to exhale loudly.
To witness such a miracle with their own eyes was their good fortune.
Moreover, the outcome of this contest of attack and defence would directly affect the morale of both sides.
Kou Yangzhou once again spat out a breath of sabre qi, adding it to the formation, his hand forming a sabre shape, stepping forward and thrusting out a palm-sabre.
The sabre formation instantly spun faster, like an electric drill, boring through the frozen space and advancing a yard forward.
Ding ding ding!
At the point where the “drill” met the spatial barrier, a scorching red light burst forth, it was a row of sabres glowing red like branding irons.
They immediately shattered into burning lumps of iron, thrown into the air and scattering on the ground.
The old man’s face was now twisted, his cheek muscles twitching, veins bulging on his temples and his palm-sabre trembling slightly.
This old man may not be able to break the Vajra Dharma Aspect, nor the Immovable Lord Dharma Aspect, but if I can’t even break through a mere magical barrier, then six hundred years of cultivation would be in vain… Kou Yangzhou’s body cracked inch by inch like porcelain, blood streaming down.
Yet his aura only surged higher and higher, more powerful than ever before!
“Open!”
The sabre formation seemed to go berserk, smashing into the spatial barrier with utter abandon.
Six feet, ten feet, thirty feet, a hundred, two hundred, three hundred… The seemingly indestructible barrier shattered. The air currents, dammed up for so long, surged madly in, whipping up a gale.
Ding ding ding!
The remaining sabres struck the Dharma Aspect of the Immovable Wisdom King, but could only send up a pathetic few sparks.
Yet the real killing blow followed close behind.
That iron sword, infused with Luo Yuheng’s Yang Spirit, pierced the brow of the Immovable Wisdom King.
“Ding!”
The iron sword spun and was flung skyward, Luo Yuheng’s Yang Spirit shaking it free.
For a brief moment, a hollow appeared in the eyes of Agaruka Bodhisattva, awe-inspiring even in his calm. He was briefly dazed.
The Dharma Aspect of the Immovable Wisdom King behind him froze stock-still.
At that very moment, Xu Qi’an, who had long been gathering energy, struck out with the most powerful strike of his life.
This strike fused every kind of magic, with the Great Feng’s number one treasure, Sovereign Sword, as the vessel. His target was the Vajra Dharma Aspect.
In that instant, a flash of golden sword light streaked across the world, appearing the next moment right at the Vajra Dharma Aspect’s chest.
The twelve arms of the Vajra Dharma Aspect formed a joint-blocking pose, but unlike the Immovable Wisdom King, it could not imprison space.
So it could not resist Broken Jade. There was no dodging, no blocking this strike.
Boom!
Heaven and earth boiled instantly, the five elements went into chaos, and space shuddered violently, nearly tearing apart.
Upon the city wall, the defenders dropped their heads and prostrated, using the city wall to shield themselves from the raging torrents of spiritual power, while the distant Yunzhou army was thrown into chaos, men and horses tumbling, formations losing order.
Fortunately, while they had no city walls for cover, the distance kept them safe. Otherwise, even immortals fighting could have harmed the innocent.
“Huff… huff…”
Xu Qi’an leaned on his sword, gasping for breath.
Ahead, suspended in mid-air, Agaruka Bodhisattva stood in silence. The Dharma Aspect of the Immovable Wisdom King was unharmed, but the chest of the Vajra Dharma Aspect was webbed with cracks. The unique property of Sovereign Sword made it impossible for him to repair the Vajra Aspect quickly.
The cracks grew, and the Vajra Dharma Aspect broke apart inch by inch, dissolving into fragments of light.
“Crack…”
Xu Qi’an’s chest split open in a web of cracks.
Broken Jade had reflected the force back at him.
The great self-healing power of a second-rank martial artist rapidly closed his wounds, restoring him in the blink of an eye. Apart from the drain on his strength, which left him exhausted, there were no after-effects.
“Roar!”
On Xunzhou’s city wall, several thousand defenders roared in unison.
A powerful confidence grew in the heart of every guard, and the azure-clad figure standing sword-in-hand at the centre of the field seemed like an unshakeable pillar to their nation.
At this point, with the Jianzheng fallen and the black cloud of Qingzhou’s loss scattered, the gloom in every defender’s heart had vanished.
Their faith in victory was reignited.
If our shaman clans had such a powerful leader, the whole of the Southern Marches would be ours… On the wall, some shaman warriors looked up at that figure with respect, and, for no reason, felt a surge of jealousy towards the Great Feng soldiers around them.
Because the Gu God’s power was limited, and could not be directly absorbed, shaman experts could not accommodate the power of the Gu God as Gu beasts did. This greatly stifled the birth of beyond-mortal experts.
The shaman clans rarely produced second-ranks; there was no hope of reaching first rank.
Their third-rank leaders could rise steadily, but often died to the beyond-mortal Gu beasts that crawled out of the Abyss.
Figures like Xu Qi’an were rare even in the history of the shaman clans.
Compared to the high-spirited city defenders, the distant Yunzhou army fell into silence.
Ji Xuan stared blankly at Xu Qi’an, a single thought flashing again and again through his mind:
Unbeatable!
Because of this undeniable fact, a flood of jealousy and rage welled up inside him.
I risked my life again and again to just reach third rank, plotted every step, used the chaos of war to forge a blood pill, pushed my strength to the middle of third rank, but to advance further, the blood pill already has little effect… Even after all this, I still can’t catch up to him. Why? Why!?
His anger and envy was almost enough to drive him mad.
Before this battle, he thought he had nearly caught up to Xu Qi’an. Xu had the Demon-sealing Nails in him, so his cultivation could not advance. Ji Xuan had risen steadily, and with the waxing and waning of fortune, his once-unreachable foe no longer had the upper hand.
Until now. Until he saw that terrifying sabre, the blow that shattered the Vajra Dharma Aspect.
Ji Xuan once again felt utterly powerless, as he had done outside Yongzhou city.
The only person present unaffected by emotion was Xu Pingfeng. The round formation at his feet suddenly expanded with no warning.
While Xu Qi’an, Luo Yuheng, and Kou Yangzhou were all drained, and both sides still reeling from the battle, the formation connected to the bronze artefact swiftly spread, catching all the beyond-mortal experts of both sides within it before anyone could react.
Almost at the same time, a teleportation formation of clear light appeared on the surface of the bronze disc. The next moment, the formation devoured the disc and sent it dozens of miles high into the sky.
Sun Xuanji gave a cold laugh.
Xu Qi’an slowly curled his lips into a smile:
“Xu Pingfeng, do you really think to repeat what you did to Jianzheng on us?
“Your intelligence is disappointing.”
No matter how strong the Jianzheng was, he was on his own, his means limited.
But among their group were martial artists, Daoists, arcanists, Confucians, and the quasi-third rank Sevenfold Gu.
Their means were countless, incomparable to the mere Jianzheng.
Even if any one of them would have been no match for the Jianzheng alone, sheer numbers made up for quality. Each of the great systems had their strengths, and together they were far harder to deal with than the Jianzheng alone.
Seeing his eldest son’s mocking expression, the corner of Xu Pingfeng’s mouth finally twitched.
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