The speed of that blade light far exceeded the limits of human vision. Even the spiritual senses of the many Seventh Order powerhouses nearby could only perceive a mere trace of it, remaining utterly unaware of its details.
Several streaks of white light flashed and vanished in an instant, then were immediately drawn back into Zong Shou’s sleeve.
When Yuan Jinchen’s head flew upward, he was still utterly oblivious to his own death. Not until he tumbled several times in the air and saw his headless corpse did expressions of shock, panic, and ultimate despair finally surface.
Then, the head struck the ground, instantly being ground into crimson pulp by thousands of hooves amidst the fierce battle!
Ji Lingzi, standing beside him, let out a roar filled with utter disbelief.
This was the Profound Iron Mountain Armor! Ostensibly an Eighth Order artifact, it was in reality a spiritual implement comparable to a true magic treasure! How could it be shattered so easily?
He had already anticipated that Tan Qiu, having mastered the peak of Sword Intent, would possess almost unimaginable strength in a cavalry confrontation, enough to decisively turn the tide of the battle. That was why he and Yuan Jinchen had been equipped with this sect’s great treasure, precisely to withstand Tan Qiu’s onslaught.
But what exactly were those few streaks of white light? Why did they cleave through the Profound Iron Mountain Armor with such effortless ease? How could this be possible?
A fleeting look of scorn crossed Zong Shou’s eyes, then vanished instantly, his expression returning to normal.
The crimson greatsword in his hand swung out once more, slicing into the void exposed by Yuan Jinchen’s demise.
Just then, Zong Shou felt a vast, imposing Will suddenly descend from afar, attempting to breach the Illusionary Array.
It was magnificent and overwhelming, tinged with impatience, as if wishing to completely crush the small pocket of space!
His eyes narrowed slightly, and Zong Shou let out another soft chuckle. Indeed, with so many elite Sixth Order disciples involved, how could the Great Spirit Sect stand idly by?
But now, it was too late!
Twenty years ago, how many heroes of the Azure Life Dao perished at the hands of the Great Spirit Sect?
To let these perpetrators go—even if Zong Shou himself were willing—the nine hundred disciples of the Azure Life Dao behind him would never agree!
He would use these sixteen hundred heads to console the fallen heroes!
Bracing against the pressure of that Soul Will, the sword light in his hand shifted, and he instantly beheaded another Heaven Rank Martial Venerable caught completely off guard!
Zong Shou’s figure brushed past the despairing Ji Lingzi, plunging like an unparalleled peerless sword into the ranks of the Purple Cloud Sword Cavalry!
The crimson greatsword in his hand swung again, magnificent and dazzling. With every arc of the blade, armor snapped and bone splintered, stirring up clouds of flying blood mist!
The shadow of blades interwove, producing a continuous sound of ‘clang-clang,’ as countless sparks scattered everywhere, accompanied by surging protective energy.
Sword met sword, armor collided with armor. The moment the two cavalry formations fully engaged, it was as if two torrents of metal had crashed into one another. The cries of the Silver Scale Wind-Treading Beasts and the Purple Winged Lizards echoed from all directions.
This time, the nine hundred crimson greatswords swung in unison, heavy and majestic as mountains, yet condensed as a single entity.
Every downward slash resulted in a dull, piercing metallic impact! In just a few swings, the nine hundred beams of sword light had nearly sliced the over one thousand Purple Cloud Sword Riders completely in half!
When the two armored columns finally swept past each other, nearly nine hundred corpses littered the ground. Their armor was shattered, and their bodies were incomplete. Some of the Purple Winged Lizards and Silver Scale Wind-Treading Beasts were still alive, emitting pained moans. The blinding splattered blood almost completely dyed that small patch of ground red.
There were eight hundred and sixty-four bodies belonging to the Great Spirit Sect’s Purple Cloud Sword Cavalry, interspersed with some of their elite disciples.
On the Azure Life Dao side, there were just over forty casualties.
As the entire cavalry formation executed a dazzling flanking maneuver and turn, Zong Shou solemnly glanced at the fallen corpses.
In this battle, he had ultimately failed to ensure the complete safety of his subordinates.
However, these forty-plus casualties should be the final sacrifice.
Behind him, dozens of Azure Life Dao disciples had eyes burning crimson.
Those who had just fallen were the Azure Life Profound Dragon Knights. Nearly half of these suicidal military core disciples had died blocking swords for the others!
They understood perfectly why this was so. Most of the core soldiers among the Azure Life Profound Dragon Knights had reached the limits of their potential, incapable of further breakthroughs. Yet, these survivors possessed boundless futures, capable of advancing to the Seventh or Eighth Order, perhaps even stepping onto the path of immortality—
Because of this, their hearts ached intensely, their inner organs burning with emotion!
Shame, fury, and a weighty pressure settled upon their shoulders.
If they achieved nothing in this life, how could they possibly repay the deaths of these fellow disciples? If they did not slay more Great Spirit Sect disciples, how could they face the spirits of the departed?
Opposite them, the surviving Purple Armored Knights, numbering less than eight hundred, lacked the courage to turn back and fight after the initial clash, fleeing madly toward the other exit of the Black Spirit Valley path.
Zong Shou showed no agitation. He first proceeded at a measured pace, slowly reforming his cavalry formation while moving.
Only then did he suddenly accelerate! Following in pursuit.
At this moment, Ji Lingzi’s expression was far beyond mere grimness. As those Han King subordinates were retreating, he finally grasped the true function of this Reversal Inversion Illusion Array.
It not only blocked the divine senses of the sect’s powerhouses from penetrating but also caused their vision to be filled with incessant illusions.
—It was the same for the Purple Winged Lizards they commanded!
During the initial cavalry collision, they hadn't noticed, but now, their footing occasionally faltered inexplicably.
The ground before them was clearly flat, yet whenever they looked, it appeared uneven. Sometimes, a mountain rock would suddenly manifest before their eyes. In other instances, the opposite occurred, completely hiding obstacles from their perception.
This perpetually prevented the entire cavalry formation from reaching its maximum speed. Conversely, the eight hundred Azure Life Profound Dragon Knights behind them were constantly closing the distance!
If this continued, they would inevitably be overtaken! They would be slaughtered from the rear by these Azure Life Profound Dragon Knights!
With a howl of unwillingness, Ji Lingzi abruptly spun around. The entire cavalry formation, with impossible speed, completed a turn in the blink of an eye.
However, at that moment, the eight hundred and fifty Red Armored Iron Cavalry were already upon them. Sword light transformed into dragons, shattering their formation into pieces!
Eight hundred and fifty crimson greatswords swung up and down in unison. Following a screeching chorus of metal shearing, blood and flesh sprayed everywhere! Shards of broken armor flew in all directions.
When those eight hundred and fifty Red Armored Iron Cavalry swiftly rode over the hundreds of bloody corpses, not a single one perished.
Among the Great Spirit Sect disciples, fewer than two hundred remained! And the majority of those had mounts injured!
Zong Shou, guiding his Fifth Order Silver Scale Wind-Treading Beast, gradually slowed his pace, then turned back with an expression of cold indifference.
In the sky above, that immense Will was now frantic with impatience. It attempted to descend, but another power, no less potent and perhaps even superior, continuously blocked it, preventing its success.
Yet, the residual shockwaves of that Soul Will occasionally permeated the people within the Reversal Inversion Illusion Array, causing waves of dread.
Zong Shou paid them no mind, raising the giant crimson greatsword in his hand once more. He pointed it towards the remaining Great Spirit Sect disciples, and the still-living Ji Ling.
“—Among you, if any are willing to lay down their weapons and swear an oath to leave the Great Spirit Sect, I, Tan Qiu, will spare your lives today!”
Ji Lingzi felt an extreme tightness in his chest and could not stop himself from spitting out a mouthful of blood.
This youth was pushing them too far! He had uttered these exact words before, but now Tan Qiu had only changed a few characters and repeated them!
Yet, at that time, he had been completely assured of victory. Now, he was like a frightened dog without a home!
Despair. Nothing but despair!
※ ※ ※ ※
From the sky above, bursts of explosive sound echoed intermittently; amidst the torrential rain, countless streaks of lightning flashed.
Fang Wen and Han Fang, confined within the spatial rift, could no longer maintain their positions. They returned to the Cloud Realm along with Shi Ruolan.
“I think that Qiu Yunzi is about to become frantic with worry now.”
Fang Wen gazed into the distance. Before his eyes, layers of dark clouds obscured the view, making details hard to discern. However, for him, this was no great difficulty.
The area where Han Fang and Qiu Yunzi were fighting was precisely within that mass of thunderclouds, constantly booming, with each confrontation more frenzied and majestic than the last.
In just a few exchanges, the small section of space showed signs of fracturing. Every clash stirred the wind and clouds, shaking heaven and earth.
He could not grasp the profound mysteries within, causing Fang Wen to sigh repeatedly.
As far as he knew, Han Fang was a peak Divine Realm expert. Fang Wen himself was currently at the peak of the Ninth Order—a Spirit Martial Venerable, the zenith of the Cloud Realm’s powerhouses.
And after stepping onto the Immortal Path, one still had to cross the Spirit Realm and the Immortal Realm before reaching the level of the Divine Realm!
But if these three realms were further subdivided like the Heaven, Earth, and Mortal realms, that constituted a gap of nine distinct tiers!
Indeed, the difference in strength was on an unimaginable scale.
“If it were me, I would be anxious too! The one thousand four hundred Purple Cloud Sword Riders here alone account for nearly one-third of the Great Spirit Sect’s total numbers. If those two hundred disciples were lost, it would severely damage their foundation, potentially creating a generational gap in the Great Spirit Sect that might take ages to repair.”
Han Fang stood nearby with his hands clasped behind his back. Hearing this, he smiled and turned his head, “It’s better not to watch too closely; gazing too much might affect your state of mind. If Tan Qiu were here, perhaps, being familiar with Sword Souls, he might gain some insight.”
Fang Wen raised an eyebrow but showed no resentment. He immediately stopped looking and shifted his gaze downward.
“The Reversal Inversion Illusion Array set up by Senior Uncle Zong is truly vexing! While it successfully blocks Qiu Yunzi’s divine sense from penetrating, neither you nor I can discern what the situation is like inside now?”
“Why worry about that?”
Han Fang shook his head dismissively. “From the moment the Han King withdrew his troops, Junior Brother had already secured victory! His command of the Sword Dao is spiritual, his formation-breaking ability unmatched, and with those seven Heaven and Earth Anomalous Species, he can counter any trump card the Great Spirit Sect might hold. We only need to worry about the losses sustained by our Azure Life Dao disciples. These are all truly gifted prodigies whom we initially intended only for a brief trial, not expecting success. Yet, unintentionally, Junior Brother Zong has truly managed to overturn the world and settle this matter—”
As he spoke, Han Fang suddenly let out an exclamation of surprise and looked up toward the heavens.