Chapter 062 - The Sect Master Has Passed, Only His Heroic Spirit Remains Amongst the Living
"A bunch of trash like you think you can save the miscreants of the Sword Pavilion?" Ye Tiance, having worked off his frustration on those inundated with excrement in the ancestral hall, killed with rising exhilaration.
"The folk of the Sword Pavilion colluded with demons, setting a trap to harm us loyal Azure Spirit members. Right now, perhaps they are being backstabbed by those very demons. They’ve forged their own doom; they deserve no living quarter!
"And you bunch of dullards think to save them? Try saving yourselves first!" His laughter, thunderous and unrestrained, echoed into the night.
Yao Manxue, Zhang Jian, and three hundred Sword Cultivators followed with a chorus of mocking laughter.
"Just look at your impotent fury!" Yao Manxue shook her head, clucking her tongue.
"Kneel before Sword Venerable Ye now, and you might have a chance to survive, otherwise... hehe!" Zhang Jian threatened, his eyes wide with scorn.
In front of them, Shangguan Yu, Chen Dong, Li Chenlong, and others wore expressions of fiery rage, their eyes gleaming with teeth gritted! Humiliation! Powerlessness! Ye Tiance had played a timely trick!
Shangguan Yu and her diminished forces hadn’t stormed forward, and had instead lost several members!
Even Shangguan Yu and two other Sword Venerables at the Establishment Divine Sea Realm were held back by several at the peak of the same realm, unable to break through for the moment!
"Even if you break through, what of it? The Moon Fairy's avatar, a thousand-year-old serpent Demon Emperor, and the three wolf Demon Kings... they've likely cleaned out those Sword Pavilion wastes by now!" Ye Tiance chuckled inwardly, his heart basking in delight.
Thinking of Yun Xiao's spirit utterly shattered brought him boundless joy!
"After I sever the pathetic bones of this bunch, I'll flay you, Yun Xiao, stripping your tongue, pulling your tendons, peeling your skin!" Then, imagining Zhao Jianxing inevitably meeting his demise, he felt even more refreshed!
"You bested me my whole life, but with just two minor schemes, I have you underfoot. Admit defeat, huh, Zhao Jianxing, the great hero?" A torrent of exhilaration surged through Ye Tiance.
"Shangguan Yu!" His hawk-like eyes swept over, fixing on the blue-robed woman who opposed him.
"The cripple you admired is dead. You wanted to share a nest with him, didn’t you? I'll grant your wish!" With a brutal snicker, Ye Tiance, wielding his Upper Comet grade Golden Plume Sword Soul, swung with his Origin Core Realm magic power, scattering the crowd as thousands of sword rays pointed directly at Shangguan Yu.
"Despicable villain!" Seeing the sounds of battle and cries from the Sword Pavilion, Shangguan Yu felt her heart fill with an even greater sorrow and anger!
Now, Ye Tiance wanted to use her as a means to intimidate Azure Spirit! Even if she was a realm beneath him, she still gripped a blue Sword Soul and charged, her eyes filled with the resolve to meet death! She had never feared death!
But she feared that after her death, there would be no one to cleave the heavens and earth with a sword, to break the demons and evil spirits, to give the common people peace!
"Demons run rampant, villains prevail, we Sword Cultivators have shamed the heavens and earth, shamed humanity!" Shangguan Yu’s eyes were crimson! In front of her, swords and blood flew.
Scoundrels laughed wickedly! Who could stand up? Her heart drowning in sorrow, she could only clash swords with Ye Tiance with a backbone forged from her sword’s spirit!
"Hehe!" Ye Tiance thrust out his sword, soaring through the night sky like a golden eagle, shining in golden brilliance, his vast Origin Core Realm magic power erupting majestically, forming a coercive pressure that slammed down on Shangguan Yu!
Even before the man arrived, his magic power proclaimed dominance, suppressing another Sword Venerable! This was the prowess of the Origin Core Realm! In front of this golden eagle, Shangguan Yu simply couldn't resist!
The golden light pierced through with a sword, imperiously sweeping aside Shangguan Yu’s Sword Soul, pointed directly at her throat. One sword, lethal!
"Ye Tiance, your doom is ordained by the heavens!" Shangguan Yu, fearless in the face of death, abandoned her defense, stabbing toward Ye Tiance, hoping to exchange lives.
"You think you’re worthy to compare sword speed with me?" Ye Tiance's inner laughter grew even colder. What do you count for? You want to exchange lives with me? He was straightforward, the sword flashed golden light!
How many sword cultivators watched this scene, their eyes nearly bursting from their sockets? But they could only watch in outrage!
"The second Sword Venerable, dies!"
Just in this moment of despair—
A streak of azure light shot through! Sword sounds rang out ten times! Directly stabbing towards Ye Tiance's head! This sword, breaking through the sky, its sound alone stabbed at everyone’s eardrums, causing them to cease their battles, one and all! Within the azure light, black smoke was winding around!
"What?" Ye Tiance's sinister smile froze on his face, his expression changing dramatically. He hurriedly withdrew his sword, turning around to slash!
KLANG! His Golden Plume Sword Soul swift as thunder, immediately struck the azure light, sparks flying in all directions, sparing his life by a hair's breadth! Still, Ye Tiance’s arm went numb, the webs between his fingers splitting open! What kind of unbending sword was this?
Shock reverberated in Ye Tiance’s heart! In his astonishment, he forgot about Shangguan Yu! She was still fighting him to the death!
"Huh?" Ye Tiance’s spirit jolted in sudden alarm, he dodged hastily, but still fell a step behind.
SPUTTER! Shangguan Yu's sword punctured his shoulder blade.
BAM! Wincing in pain, Ye Tiance forcibly expelled her with a savage kick. His hand, stained in the blood that generously flowed from his shoulder, trembled. Fortunately, he evaded swiftly, or else that sword would have skewered his throat.
"Ten resonances from the sword... Who performed the Ten-Step Scale?!" Ye Tiance bellowed, fury painting his visage as he glared toward his rear. Who was it? Who sent that flying sword from the direction of the Sword Pavilion?
Cultivators, halted by curiosity, cast their gazes unanimously in the anticipated direction. Even Yao Manxue and Zhang Jian paused, astonished. Amidst the collective stare, a youth, swathed in white, bolted from the dark, a sword in hand, and eyes ablaze with sword rays, riveting the crowd.
“It’s Yun Xiao! He’s alive!” Eyes of Shangguan Yu, Chen Dong, and Li Chenlong widened, an unexpected joy surfacing in their eyes.
BOOM! Just as the youth appeared, another hand emerged from the misty darkness, dragging out a serpent and violently smashing it before the crowd.
“This is the Black Horn Serpent Demon from the Northern Wastelands!” Chen Dong trembled. He had battled this creature and knew its might.
“Its form has transformed... it has become a thousand-year-old Demon Emperor!” Li Chenlong exclaimed in horror.
“But it's dead!” Tears streamed down Shangguan Yu’s face, gazing mournfully towards the Sword Pavilion, “Elder Brother Sect Master!”
Chen Dong and Li Chenlong, too, howled in grief, directing their eyes toward the Pavilion.
THUD THUD THUD! Cultivators, tears streaking down, knelt towards the Sword Pavilion in a heartfelt lament, “Sect Master, for eternity!”
The man had departed. Only his valiant spirit lingered amongst them. Had it not been for the Sect Master’s ferocious final strike, how could this Demon Emperor have perished within Azure Spirit? Ye Tiance, gazing towards the Pavilion, inhaled a sharp, cold breath. A semblance of gratitude shimmered within, thankful that it hadn’t been him to incite the latter.
“Zhao Jianxing, you truly had guts!” Through gritted teeth and withstanding the searing pain in his shoulder, he snarled sardonically.
“He managed to annihilate this sturdy, millennium serpent demon with his last strike?” Even Yao Manxue was rendered speechless with astonishment.
“No matter! He’s dead; the killing spree can commence!” Zhang Jian, regaining composure, cackled sinisterly. His words had barely settled when suddenly, a streak of azure light surged forth.
“Ah, yes, that was the Ten-Step Scale just now...” It dawned on Zhang Jian, just a moment too late. Ten-Step Scale! It seemed like Yun Xiao’s doing? He had no time to react. In that instant, the rampaging azure light struck his shoulder.
Splurt! "GAGH!" A horrid scream escaped Zhang Jian. His arm flew away, blood spattering across the scene.
"My hand... Yun Xiao!!" His face was as pale as death, eyes quivering with an indomitable rage that seemed to engulf the heavens.
"You think your Sword Pavilion, stripped of Zhao Jianxing, can still contend with Swordking Ye?" Zhang Jian roared, though astonishment belied his snarl. How was this kid unleashing the Ten-Step Scale? How many years had the Sword Pavilion been nurturing him in secret?
Scarcely had the cry left Zhang Jian’s lips than his world bleached white.
"No...!" He jerked his head upward. The boy in white loomed above, a three-foot azure blade plunging down at him!
"Ahh!" With a heart-wrenching scream, another arm was severed, flung away into oblivion. Zhang Jian twitched, frozen in place, before his face contorted into a grotesque mask, his scream twisting through the night.
"You really are despicable," Yun Xiao's voice sliced through the night, his sword puncturing Zhang Jian’s tongue, reducing the seventh Sword Venerable's howls to incoherent gargles.
"You enjoy brown-nosing, do you?
"In a moment, I'll stuff Ye Tiance's flesh into your mouth. I'll let you flatter to your heart's content!"
THUD THUD! Two more strikes, and Zhang Jian's legs were airborne, leaving just his torso, slamming down before Yun Xiao.
"Ugh! Ugh!" Twitching in agony, eyes rolling back, froth at his mouth, terror finally clawed its way into his gaze.
"You cultivated a body of magic power, yet not for the people, not for the Dao, but solely to curry favor. What use have you for this Dantian?"
Yun Xiao's cold voice quivered through the night. With another thrust, his blade penetrated Zhang Jian’s abdomen.
"Ahh—" Curled like a cooked shrimp, Dantian rupturing, his magical power surged out wildly, billowing Yun Xiao’s white robe and black hair, rendering his crimson eyes even more haunting.
"The seventh Sword Venerable... is crippled!" Every onlooker's eyelids twitched uncontrollably. Wasn’t this fate worse than death?
"Still want to jump around, do you?
"Still have a nasty tongue?
"Continue your boot-licking, won’t you?"
Three successive shouts from Yun Xiao resonated through the nocturnal abyss. Meanwhile, all Zhang Jian could do was weep, eyes pleading towards Ye Tiance and Yao Manxue.
His silent entreaty screamed, 'Why aren’t you saving me?'
But the problem was, how could they? He hadn’t managed to parry even a single stroke! Moreover, after a moment of deathly silence, explosive gasps erupted.
"A twenty-nine-layer Sword Aura?!"
"A black Sword Ring, too?!"
A collective gasp swept through the throng.
What was with the Sword Aura? And the Sword Ring? As the crowd’s heart quivered between each heartbeat, their gaze shifted to the thousand-year-old serpent demon, and understanding dawned upon them.
“The Sect Master killed the demon to save his disciple, sacrificed himself for the Azure Spirit, yet left us a Yun Xiao!” someone exclaimed.
“What are we waiting for?”
Up above, people like Shangguan Yu, Chen Dong, and Li Chenlong exchanged glances. All the respect they had held for Zhao Jianxing morphed into fervent passion at that moment.
“Laughable! What’s the use of a dense Sword Aura? What’s the use of having a Sword Ring? Does he have an Origin Core too?” Yao Manxue coldly interjected. Her words galvanized the morale of the three hundred Sword Cultivators, who still placed their faith in Ye Tiance’s camp.
It was their last stand! From this moment on, if they chose to stand beside Ye Tiance, Yun Xiao would not give them another chance!
THUD! He stepped on the blood-spitting Zhang Jian, his indifferent gaze sweeping toward Ye Tiance and Yao Manxue.
“Ye Tiance, don’t be in a hurry. You’re next!” Yun Xiao said with a savage grin.
“Talking in your sleep, are you?” Ye Tiance retorted, his voice dripping with chill.
“He means he wants to take me down first,” Yao Manxue scoffed with a smirk.
She and Ye Tiance stood together. Did he plan to kill her first? As if Ye Tiance didn’t exist?
“Ignorance fuels your arrogance,” Ye Tiance declared, his sword horizontal, stepping forward to confront Yun Xiao, his Golden Plume Sword Soul held ahead. He wasn’t about to indulge Yun Xiao. With Zhao Jianxing dead, what threat did this mere boy pose? Eliminate him, and all would end!
“Zhang Jian, be at ease. Whatever you’ve suffered, I’ll repay him double!” As Ye Tiance spoke, his Origin Core magic power erupted, his entire body shimmering with golden light, a mighty ruler reincarnated, his sword morphing into a formidable eagle, its sharp edge aimed at Yun Xiao.
And behind him, Yao Manxue stood amidst the three hundred Sword Cultivators, arms folded across her chest, triumphant and self-satisfied!
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