For several breaths, Zong Shou managed to somewhat calm the flow of Qi within him. In truth, the Chakras remained in disarray, the dual spirals of water and fire True Qi perpetually clashing. Much of the vast spiritual energy injected from the Outer Elixir had also gone astray.

To him, however, this was almost the norm, a familiar state of affairs not worth mentioning.

Even pain that felt like being sliced by a thousand knives would not make him so much as furrow his brow.

The instant the True Qi could once again be poured into the Thunderwing Sword in his hand, Zong Shou immediately rushed forward again, planting his steps on the scattered rocks. With a few flashes, he arrived before the three figures who were frantically retreating.

A dark Epiphyllum flower within his Nascent Soul suddenly bloomed.

"I think you've truly gone mad! Do you only stop when your meridians are crippled? Zong Shou, your status is incomparably noble; even a single finger of yours is a hundred times stronger than those three combined. It’s like risking precious porcelain against worthless trash who can’t see its value—is it really necessary? I think water has gotten into your brain!"

Old Man Dragon Shadow cursed loudly, then followed up with a trace of surprise: "Dark Epiphyllum? You actually have such a thing in your spirit soul?"

That immense soul power poured into his body, and in a mere moment, it suppressed and readjusted the turbulent Qi channels, further drawing in a massive surge of heaven and earth spiritual energy.

Around Zong Shou, colossal purple thunder snakes writhed and spread, enveloping an area spanning a thousand zhang.

Thunder Dragon Sword, Kill!

With a single swing, countless mighty serpents of electric light converged and danced toward them. Fierce and swift, the sword light, driven by magnetic energy from the thunder power, reached its maximum speed without needing any acceleration.

A thousand layers of sword shadows enveloped the entire space.

The expressions of the three opponents shifted subtly. Han Nishui's pupils contracted to pinpricks. With a wave of his wide sleeve, he threw out no fewer than three silver figurines, which transformed into twenty-zhang-tall silver armored warriors that then slammed down!

Long Ruo, suffering from a backlash of soul injury, was utterly incapable of resisting. He could only summon a bronze shield from his Qiankun Pouch to block in front of him. Although Li Yuan Dan regretted his actions, he knew retreating now was impossible, nor could he afford to hold back. He hurriedly inserted several gold needles into his body. The one-armed man swung his sword, and countless flames erupted again. Sword shadows danced amidst the firelight, resembling a crescent moon. In the next instant, a continuous series of sharp 'Clang! Clang! Clang!' metal ringing sounds erupted, like a sudden, violent storm.

The experts above the Seventh Rank could still see what was happening. But the crowd below the mountainside, obstructed by the thunder and firelight from both sight and spiritual sense, were all left staring blankly, unable to discern anything clearly.

They could only hear gasps of shock rising from above.

Then, in the next instant, the covering firelight finally receded. The three silver armored warriors thrown by Han Nishui were pierced with more than ten holes each by the sword light. Especially at the knee and elbow joints, they were almost completely severed.

As for Li Yuan Dan, he had already retreated over a thousand zhang away. He was covered in wounds everywhere; though none were fatal, blood streamed down his body, and his face was slick with cold sweat.

The final sword strike carried a massive thunder dragon, cleaving downward.

"Boom!"

A heavy metallic resonance sounded. The bronze shield in front of Long Ruo was instantly smashed flying. The tremendous roar was painful to the eardrums. The edge was directly chipped, its spiritual light dimmed.

The people below grew increasingly chaotic. The sound first fell silent, then erupted into clamor once more.

Almost everyone’s eyes held disbelief. A large portion of the crowd hailed from lands beyond the Eastern Forest Cloud Continent, all marveling at who this youth was, capable of suppressing and gaining the upper hand against these three Seventh Rank experts who already held some renown?

Those who knew Zong Shou, however, were even more deeply shaken.

Even among the dozens of Seventh Rank experts in the air, they exchanged glances, their eyes filled with astonishment.

"—An Eighth Rank Spirit Artifact, the Han Shu Shield, still couldn't withstand it. The might of a single sword is this formidable. Is this the Nine Nine Dragon Shadow Sword? It truly is a Tenth Grade, Spirit-Class sword art—"

"It's not entirely due to the exquisite swordsmanship. This child has grasped sword intent, nearly achieving sentience. Long Ruo was already heavily injured; when commanding the Han Shu Shield, he probably couldn't utilize even seventy percent of its function. Why switch to sword cultivation?"

"Why not mention that this child is fighting three opponents simultaneously? Before shattering the Han Shu Shield, he destroyed three Spirit Artifacts belonging to Han Nishui. I think Li Yuan Dan’s will to fight has already wavered. If Han Nishui has no other Spirit Artifacts to counter, these three are set to lose this battle."

"Zong Shou's cultivation is only that of a Earth Vein Martial Ancestor. Under normal circumstances, a battle like this could shatter him with a single strike. Perhaps the Dragon Shadow Martial Saint is maintaining his body for him—"

"So what? Whether it is the swordsmanship or the sword intent, it originates from the Master himself. Moreover, even the power of the Outer Elixir requires one’s own cultivation to be sufficient to bear it. This Dry Heaven Mountain Demon King, just as Senior Brother Xuan described, is exceptionally brilliant! This Eastern Forest Cloud Continent has produced another astonishing figure—"

"If that’s the case, then the rumors that this person slew ferocious beasts and forced back the Yin Dragon in his early years might actually hold some truth!"

"But wasn't it said that Long Ruo claimed this person couldn't cultivate? Who should we believe? If Zong Shou could force back the Yin Dragon two years ago, then this Dry Heaven Demon King is truly a peerless genius. If he breaks through the human barrier within a year, he’s simply a monster—"

Xuan Taiji listened silently to the subsequent discussions, offering no comment.

Suddenly, his eyelid twitched. He saw True Man Ling Lie abruptly shift his body and begin to fall toward the mountaintop.

Then, in the next instant, he heard Shui Lingbo let out a cold hum. She thrust out a palm, reaching out toward True Man Ling Lie from afar, smiling sweetly: "True Man Ling Lie, where are you planning to go? The disputes of youngsters are for us to watch; why interfere?"

Her delicate hand seized, releasing a surge of mighty True Force across the distance. Even with True Man Ling Lie's Body Sculpting Realm cultivation, he possessed no power to resist and was pulled back.

Shui Lingbo felt a strange sensation. Upon closer inspection, she saw that the shell-like body’s eyes were tightly shut, its face expressionless, and there was no trace of vitality.

"Golden Cicada Shedding Its Shell technique?"

Her eyebrows arched. Realizing she had been thoroughly tricked by True Man Ling Lie, Shui Lingbo instantly became enraged, murderous intent blazing in her eyes.

When she looked further down, the battle situation below had drastically changed. After shattering that antique bronze Eighth Rank shield, Zong Shou continued without pause, unleashing another sword strike!

The purple sword light drew all the surrounding Gold-elemental spiritual energy, converging it into a white dragon that suddenly swept across!

Nine Nine Dragon Shadow's White Gold!

Long Ruo’s face turned slightly pale, his eyes filled with helplessness. Almost instinctively, he struck out again with his broken-bladed sword. Simultaneously, twelve fist-sized spirit pearls flew out from his sleeve, hurtling toward Zong Shou.

Then, in the void, there was another heavy 'clang' sound. The broken-bladed sword carrying the sword intent was directly pulverized by the Sixth Rank Thunderwing Sword in his hand!

The sword light twisted, transforming into tiny motes of sword shadow, knocking away all twelve spirit pearls.

The sword momentum did not cease, proceeding almost headlong and relentlessly. After slicing through all the spiritual techniques Han Nishui executed, it continued its charge.

With a 'Peng,' the sword struck, flesh and blood flying everywhere—it forcibly severed Long Ruo’s legs!

At that very moment, a powerful voice echoed through the void: "City Lord Zong, please show mercy! Give my Ling Yun Sect some face—"

Almost simultaneously with the sound, another piercing sound sliced through the air from behind.

Zong Shou’s expression remained unchanged; he didn't even bother to look back. He stared coldly at Long Ruo, meeting his gaze, which was filled with near despair.

If you intend to kill me, then I will cut you down first!

This was the simple way of handling matters for Tan Qiu!

He thrust out another sword. Cold energy permeated the air, and the surrounding hundred li were instantly coated in frost. This strike was the Cold Chi Dragon Sword!

Han Nishui gritted his teeth and threw out two more silver figures. But as soon as they transformed to twenty-zhang in size, frost covered their arm and knee joints, almost freezing them solid!

When they moved, they emitted a 'creak,' their speed slowing by at least ten times!

Long Ruo’s face also turned bluish-purple as he desperately tried to resist. The twelve spirit pearls struck down again, and his sleeve spewed out countless talismans that burst open.

Zong Shou’s sword momentum lightly tapped several times in succession, batting away all twelve spirit pearls. Then, an icy sword shadow tore forcefully through the dozens of talismans, directly piercing Long Ruo’s body!

The vast cold power instantly froze Long Ruo’s physical body solid. Then, with a 'boom' explosion, the figure, already frozen like ice, instantly shattered into countless particles of icy sand!

At this moment, the powerful, dangerous aura from behind finally arrived. Zong Shou let out a 'hmpf,' forced to abandon the soul of Long Ruo, which had already fled his body, and reluctantly retracted his sword.

As he turned, the purple sword in his hand spun and twisted, drawing all the dozens of talisman fragments, which had yet to explode, toward his back. Then, with a sharp surge of sword momentum, he obliquely met the attack from behind.

A flashing, formless sword strike—this was the Profound Yin Dragon Sword!

First, all the talismans detonated. The space spanning a thousand zhang trembled slightly, and countless streams of protective force diffused outwards!

Zong Shou's Profound Yin Sword was woven within this force, turning the tables, sweeping obliquely toward the source of that aura.

Then came a muffled 'boom,' and Zong Shou spat out a mouthful of blood. He could not stand steady and was sent flying back over a hundred zhang.

His True Qi was almost entirely scattered. His Qi channels collided everywhere. The power of the dark Epiphyllum had just faded. The vast spiritual energy from the Outer Elixir could no longer be injected into his body.

Zong Shou’s gaze turned ice-cold. As he looked out, waiting for the violent winds to dissipate slightly, he saw a figure standing opposite the location where Long Ruo's body had disintegrated, holding a token-shaped Spirit Artifact.

The manifested spirit soul had already formed limbs, and the features on its face were vaguely visible. Its gaze was coldly fixed downward upon Zong Shou.

At the same time, Old Man Dragon Shadow’s voice sounded again.

"Tsk! This old fellow is not simple; he’s almost achieved true form. But for a peak Body Sculpting Realm, Eighth Rank expert to strike at a junior like you—truly shameless! Don't worry, you have people from the Azure Life Dao here. That vile dragon is also rushing back. If he hadn't destroyed my spirit array restriction with his residual breath upon leaving, things wouldn't be this troublesome today?"