As the giant black mosquito dissolved its form and lunged, Zong Shou’s eyes snapped open. The Thunderwing Sword was already gripped tightly in his hand, poised and ready to strike.
The agony of the Dragon Essence fusing into his body at that moment felt like thousands of blades carving through his flesh from every direction.
Although Elder Longying tried his best to suppress the violent changes the Dragon Essence was causing within Zong Shou’s physical form, thereby alleviating the pain, the effect was minimal.
Inside his body, the world-shaking true force of the water and fire spirals surged ceaselessly through his dual meridians. Moreover, the external core was aggressively injecting countless spiritual energies into his channels, causing his nine Wheel Meridians to become completely congested, squeezed to the point of near rupture.
Zong Shou could only focus entirely on the sword in his hands, completely pushing aside the searing pain that felt like being flayed alive by a thousand cuts.
In truth, it wasn't forgetting, but rather transforming that pain entirely into the will to fight!
The more intense the pain, the clearer his mind became, and the killing intent surging in his chest grew to its zenith during this process! All the latent potential within him was being roused, bit by bit.
“You are truly prepared to kill Long Ruo? I haven't heard of the Shangxiao Sect or the Danling Sect. However, the founding ancestor of the Lingyun Sect was quite a renowned Grandmaster in the past. Though you don't care now, it won't be easy for your Qiantian Mountain to unify the East Lin Yun Continent in the future…”
Elder Longying’s voice sounded beside his ear, tinged with light mockery. Zong Shou acted as if he hadn't heard a word, his gaze cold and utterly still.
The strength of the Lingyun Sect’s ancestor had nothing to do with him. He only knew that today, he absolutely would not allow these three individuals to leave his sight unharmed.
Since they had become enemies, why should he show any further mercy? Would the three sects—Lingyun, Shangxiao, and Danling—show pity and let Qiantian Mountain go?
In that brief instant, the black dragon mosquito had already crashed before his eyes. A cold light flickered from its single horn, where veiled true force gathered ominously.
Zong Shou took a deep breath, and then, when the two were about twenty zhang apart, he suddenly unleashed his sword!
“Platinum Dragon Sword, Cleave!”
The brilliant sword light, spiraling with true force, instantly illuminated the entire cavern in shades of blue and red. With a sweeping arc, he slashed across the space before him!
The trajectory of the sword pointed directly at the seemingly indestructible giant horn on the black mosquito’s forehead!
Meeting sharpness with sharpness! Breaking strength with keenness!
Clang!
A deafening, sharp, violent roar immediately shook the entire cavern. The momentum of the collapsing rock intensified further.
And at that moment, the black dragon mosquito let out a mournful cry, violently arching its massive body to retract its head.
The incomparably sharp horn was seen to have been cleanly split in half right from the center. The sword momentum didn't stop there; it bored directly into the mosquito’s head, carving a long, bloody gash.
It had been mere fractions of an inch from piercing the brain marrow!
Long Ruo, riding the Broken Blade Sword, arrived immediately behind it. At this moment, he felt his heart cease beating, utterly horrified!
How could such an utterly sharp and decisive sword strike have been unleashed by Zong Shou’s hand?
Could it be Longying? Impossible! Even a Martial Saint couldn't, after traversing hundreds of cycles of rebirth, simultaneously manipulate those Dragon Essences to temper Zong Shou’s body and yet strike out with a sword of such peerless sharpness!
In the very next instant, Long Ruo’s spiritual sense was captured by the icy gaze sweeping over from Zong Shou.
It was equally filled with killing intent, and equally profound in its stillness.
Long Ruo’s spirit calmed instantly. Since the fight had begun, there was no room for regret.
Regardless of the reason, he simply needed to slay Zong Shou to resolve everything!
The Broken Blade Sword slanted downward, avoiding the arching body of the black mosquito. It left a dazzling trajectory in the void, then accelerated to incredible speed, rushing toward Zong Shou so fast it was barely perceptible to the naked eye.
It gathered all the Metal-element spiritual energy along its path.
This strike, he felt, could shear metal and break blades—it was the Shattering Gold Sword Intent!
Zong Shou’s gaze flickered, and his sword momentum shifted again. Stamping his feet on the ground, he drew countless strands of terrestrial energy upward. The sword in his hand felt incredibly sluggish, as if pressed down by countless colossal mountains!
This was the Profound Yellow Dragon Sword!
The sword momentum appeared heavy, yet it was slow in appearance but fast in reality, and it grew faster and faster! A slash from left to right, no matter how the incoming aerial sword light shifted, it could not escape the coverage of this single strike.
And this time, there was a dull peng sound! That short, sharp, pale white sword light was actually smashed violently away by Zong Shou’s sword!
The Profound Yellow Dragon Sword—this strike truly carried the power of the mountains!
Long Ruo’s soul was also sent flying back by the surging colossal force. He only managed to stabilize himself after traveling a hundred zhang or so.
Fortunately, the Broken Blade Sword was nearby and had not slipped from his control. Yet, inside his mind, it felt as if a powerful explosive talisman had detonated, a torrent of questions assaulting his consciousness.
Nine-Nine Dragon Shadow Sword! This Zong Shou could actually utilize the Jiu Jiu Long Ying Jian? Where did this fellow get such vast internal breath? Even with the external core, shouldn't he require sufficient foundation to serve as the catalyst? How could this fellow master this newly realized sword form for actual combat in just ten days? And it seemed he had already grasped the complete sword intent!
Could it truly be Longying? But this aura felt distinctly different!
Over there, Han Nishui and Li Yuan Dan’s faces were grim as water. For a moment, they simply couldn't believe their eyes.
They initially suspected Longying had intervened, but their spiritual senses clearly perceived that the sword momentum and true force originated distinctly from Zong Shou himself!
But how could Zong Shou possess such magnificent and powerful energy?
The sword light vibrated, not just between the two opponents, but bursts of energy erupted. The entire mountain body shook continuously under the immense force. The collapse of the rock accelerated dramatically.
Zong Shou stumbled back several steps. During the clash, he had already channeled the majority of the impact force into the ground, and the spiraling sword force had also dissolved some of it. Nevertheless, some impact still forced its way into his body.
After taking only about ten steps, his figure stabilized, and most of the surging energy within him dissipated. Zong Shou frowned slightly, realizing that Elder Longying was helping him neutralize the residual shock. If not for that, this single strike would have been enough to severely injure his internal organs!
Even if he could withstand such a sword technique, three such strikes would cost him his life! His physical body would crumble, and his internal organs would shatter and bleed out.
The strength of a Day-Roaming Spirit Master could be seen from this glimpse!
Without Elder Longying as his rear guard, he would never have been able to fight Long Ruo on equal terms!
But he had no time for gratitude. Casually, he shattered every piece of falling debris around him. Even before the energy within him could fully settle, Zong Shou began moving rapidly underfoot. The Thunderwing Sword in his hand flared with lightning!
“Thunder Dragon Sword, Break!”
The aura erupting from the sword light instantly gathered all the lightning-element spiritual energy within several li radius. Flashing with electric light, it seemed to transform into a thunder dragon, surging throughout the entire cave.
The tip of the sword light flashed once and arrived before the giant black mosquito.
Elder Longying’s voice chuckled lightly again, “To incorporate the Raging Thunder Sword Intent as well, interesting!”
This thrust was not merely confined to the established forms of the Jiu Jiu Long Ying Jian. Zong Shou had integrated some merits of the Kuang Ting Lei Jian he had learned.
Harnessing the marvels of both, although this was only the first move of the Thunder Dragon Sword, its momentum was still terrifyingly potent!
Fierce and overbearing, yet swift and decisive!
Seeing this, Long Ruo let out a furious roar, his eyes nearly splitting, and his sword light attacked again.
And the black dragon mosquito, though its consciousness remained muddled, instinctively whipped its tail, instantly releasing a massive cloud of vapor that enveloped its surroundings. Layers upon layers of water shields generated in succession.
Zong Shou let out a cold sneer. Just as he broke through several layers of water barriers and clashed with the Broken Blade Sword, he roared the word "Burst!" followed immediately by the word "Stack!"
The vast lightning light instantly exploded, blasting the Broken Blade Sword away once more. Then, the sword light, following the previous strike with almost no delay, relentlessly pursued the black mosquito that was weaving and dodging.
—Nine-Nine Dragon Shadow: Profound Yin Dragon Sword!
Carrying boundless Yin energy, it struck as if without form or trace. Then, in a moment, a splash of blood could be seen erupting from the cloud of mist.
A mournful, tragic howl echoed simultaneously. The pervasive mist dissipated by more than half. The giant mosquito was seen to have had half its body cleanly severed. Countless blood sprayed forth.
Everyone in the cavern froze again. Long Ruo stabilized his body, and after a slight daze, endless grief welled up in his spirit sense.
Precisely at that moment, Han Nishui’s sharp shout rang out.
“Flesh and Blood Rebirth!”
As the words fell, clusters of green spiritual light suddenly surged over. At the severed ends of the giant mosquito’s two halves, countless flesh buds instantly sprouted, entwining each other.
However, just as the wound was about to heal—before the joy could surface in Long Ruo’s heart—Zong Shou’s figure had already rushed before the giant mosquito.
With a casual wave of the purple sword light, he cleanly severed the head of the black mosquito!
As blood light sprayed out again, a vast primordial force was forcibly sucked in through the sword.
In that single moment, Zong Shou’s expended energy was replenished, and the Wheel Meridians became even fuller. Some fragile acupoints even showed signs of tearing.
“Hmm? Your cultivation method can actually devour primordial energy? I recall seeing this technique back in the Primordial Era. It’s called the Heaven Swallowing Primordial Transformation Scripture. Strange, hasn't this art vanished into the Sinking Cloud Sea?”
Elder Longying murmured in mild surprise before falling silent again. Zong Shou’s heart suddenly thumped violently, but in the next instant, in his peripheral vision, he saw a ball of fire surging from the side. Behind the flames, Li Yuan Dan’s face could vaguely be discerned.
Zong Shou’s gaze turned frigid, and without thinking, he simply struck out with a sword.
“Insolent clown, how dare you be presumptuous!”
He had mastered the Profound Moon Wood Radiance Art. It was still the Profound Yin Dragon Sword; the purple sword shadow flashed, forcibly cutting apart the cloud of fire that seemed capable of obscuring the sky, aiming straight for Li Yuan Dan’s head.
The latter was utterly horrified and instantly retreated violently. By the narrowest margin did the chilling sword shadow graze past his body.
And then, Long Ruo’s voice sounded again: “Earth Wheel Grandmaster! Zong Shou, you have broken through the Human Obstacle among the barriers between Heaven and Man?”