The shadow of the spear struck, feeling like a series of heavy hammers descending, infused with the White Flame that scorched the void, bombarding Zong Shou's front.
Zong Shou’s Nameless Sword had barely managed to raise its light before this overwhelming force shattered its radiance.
The strength of three hundred Mount Sumerus! Four tenths of Spirit-Martial Unity!
Zong Shou’s pupils snapped wide. In a mere instant, he perceived the general power level of this adversary.
Truly the peak of the Immortal Rank! And surpassing his peers by a hundredfold!
The method this person cultivated must be the Great Dao of Control (Yu Zhi Dadao)!
Able to control all things, control all spirits, control all Laws, control the Three Thousand Great Daos!
This world actually harbored such miraculous arts!
The sword shadows in his hand scattered, only to instantly surge again, raising layer upon layer of sword curtains before him to defend and dissipate the assault.
Yet, without exception, each one was forcefully shattered the moment it materialized by the spear shadows.
Zong Shou remained completely unconcerned, his expression unchanged. He poured his absolute maximum effort into using the Nameless Sword in his hand to prop up the space before him.
Within ten zhang of the Primordial Yin (Yuan Yi Zhi Yin), it remained his Indestructible Sword Domain!
Engaged in battle with such a supreme powerhouse, he could no longer worry about Tan Qiu’s identity being exposed.
He exerted his full strength, daring not hold back an ounce!
In the void, there instantly followed a continuous string of metallic clangs.
Spear and sword clashed again and again, the shockwaves of force vibrating with each impact, beginning to pulverize this River of Void.
Zong Shou felt his arm and the sword tip were nearly numb. That immense, unstoppable power struck him in a relentless barrage.
Fortunately, it had not yet injured him; the vast majority of the force was devoured by the black hole within the void of Zong Shou's Sea of Consciousness the moment it neared his body.
It was then reflected back using the white hole technique.
This art of his, derived from the Heaven-Swallowing Primordial Transformation Technique, was indeed marvelous.
Even its most rudimentary application allowed him to become stronger against the strong and weaker against the weak.
There came another reverberating ‘Dang’, this strike seemingly merging the power of the previous hundreds of spear shadows into one.
The might of ten million mountains converged on a single point, and Zong Shou’s figure could no longer hold steady. He was blasted backward violently in the void, only stopping after retreating three full light speeds away.
His first glance went to the Nameless Sword in his hand.
The opponent was clearly using an Immortal Rank weapon. Under such a heavy blow, he couldn't help but worry.
The result brought a wave of relief to his heart; the blood-red longsword in his grip was utterly unharmed.
“Hmm? Strange. Today this sword has only drunk the blood of that ‘Poison Old Man,’ and half a day has passed. Yet, when wielding the sword, the true force of the sword aura is still almost doubled in magnitude—”
He secretly found it incredible. Could it be that the Nameless Sword had manifested a new ability?
Still, for today’s battle, this was nothing but beneficial—
Without time to ponder further, a pair of five-thousand-zhang thunder wings unfurled behind Zong Shou, pure black in color.
Besides the Heaven-Scorching Flame, faint streaks of lightning flickered within them.
The enhancement of the Heaven-Scorching Blood directly amplified the might of the Thunderous Brilliance of a Thousand Flowers.
It wasn't just the flames; the lightning force was the same. The Seven Constellation Profound Thunder Canon he had seized from King Jiamingluo, Zong Shou had never had time to properly cultivate due to his distractions with the Zhou Scripture and the Sword Array, yet he had still mastered three types of Constellation Thunder.
Unleashed now, their momentum was ferociously vast, far surpassing what was possible when he was merely at the Heaven Realm.
The Perfect Heaven Flame Armor also materialized, emerging from his body, burning with crimson flames.
If he could withstand this single spear thrust without dying, then he possessed a chance to fight.
After months of arduous cultivation, the situation was better than he had imagined.
However, to escape safely today, he would need to employ every ounce of his strength.
And just before Zong Shou’s eyes, a figure stepped out from the void opposite him.
He appeared to be around twenty years old, with a ruddy complexion. An esoteric talisman was etched on his forehead, lending him an air of demonic charm.
Yet, his eyes held a certain bloody glint, as if burning, as he focused his gaze.
“Your swordsmanship is not bad! It’s ridiculous that members of my Lu family still believe my cousin is a cripple. To cultivate to this level with a dual-meridian physique, you should be proud, cousin!”
Holding a silver spear, the youth walked forward slowly, then asked indifferently,
“Did Lu Zi die by your hand?”
“Yes.”
Zong Shou nodded, never once denying an action he had taken.
As soon as the words left his mouth, veins popped on the youth’s face.
“With your ability, she was no more than an ant before you! Why didn’t you spare her life then?”
“Why should I have?”
Zong Shou lifted his eyes, his gaze distant.
There were too many reasons for killing Lu Zi.
He did not want matters concerning the Lu family to impede his expansion into the outer domains.
The woman’s words and actions that day did not merit leniency from him.
Furthermore, she knew too many of his secrets, making her execution necessary.
His original intention had been to eliminate these few people and delay the trouble brought by the Lu family as much as possible.
Though in the end, things did not go as planned.
These words, however, he could neither tell this man nor did he wish to elaborate.
What good would explanation do anyway?
Therefore, he calmly regulated his breath, answering concisely.
The youth seemed unable to vent the torrent of anger in his heart; his furious eyes, blood-red, continued to advance toward him.
“Then do you know that Zi’er’s parents are in my Lu family’s Death Prison, needing her to atone for a reduced sentence? Do you know she has two younger brothers who need support? Though she was not your closest kin, she shared your bloodline—how could you be so merciless?”
Zong Shou gave the youth opposite him a strange look. What was wrong with this fellow?
Were there really such oddities in the Lu family?
Since enmity was established, a full-force battle was all that mattered. All this nagging was deeply annoying!
Were these words meant to instill guilt in him? That would certainly disappoint the speaker.
“Even with the Heaven-Scorching Blood, Lu Zi showed me no mercy when she attacked me!”
Zong Shou shook his head, then smiled casually, “Before you speak of these things, did you ever consider the thirty-six disciples of the Lu family who face death in three years due to the Marrow-Burning Spirit Sacrifice Art? If you want to fight, then fight; why waste words?”
The youth’s expression froze. He looked closely at Zong Shou, appearing slightly surprised, then let out a ‘hmph.’
Indeed, he stopped the prattling. The silver spear shadow vanished from his hand, only to reappear the next instant.
It was already fifteen zhang away from Zong Shou’s brow.
It seemed only three hundredths, or even one three-thousandth of a breath was needed to pierce Zong Shou’s brow.
A chill crept into Zong Shou’s heart. This spear harnessed countless forces, capable of piercing all worlds and all Laws!
In past battles, he could always unify with the heavens and earth to borrow their power. Now, however, it felt as if this very void completely rejected him.
Never mind borrowing the might of heaven and earth; even controlling spiritual energy was difficult.
What a magnificent Great Dao of Control!
This spear could not be met head-on!
As soon as the thought arose in Zong Shou’s mind, the Ten Absolute Dao-Controlling Extinction Sword Array reacted.
A mere twenty-four Dao-Controlling Dragon Tooth Swords unleashed torrents of sword Qi, hacking toward the opponent.
A total of twenty-four different Great Daos were infused within the sword aura.
The Nameless Sword in Zong Shou's hand also rose in a light, seemingly casual slash, angled outward.
For the first time, he attempted to infuse the true meaning of the ‘Dao’ he had comprehended into his sword.
The opponent could control all Laws, control the Three Thousand Daos.
Yet, Zong Shou’s sword at this moment was equivalent to the Dao itself.
Spear and sword struck with a clang, and Zong Shou retreated again, floating through the River of Worlds like a kite with a broken string.
Finally, a mouthful of bright red blood escaped his lips. However, the spear that rushed toward him was also repelled.
He let out a self-mocking laugh; the true meaning of the Dao he had grasped was indeed exceedingly fragile.
Defeated by one spear thrust from this cousin whose life he did not know.
The youth snorted coldly, though a hint of gravity showed in his eyes.
His figure flickered, weaving and shifting through the Ten Absolute Dao-Controlling Extinction Sword Array.
Then another spear thrust followed immediately, striking directly toward him.
Zong Shou’s pupils contracted once more. This spear actually harnessed part of the power of the Ten Absolute Dao-Controlling Extinction Sword Array.
The might of the array was turned against him. This was the Spear Intent of Control at the initial stage of the Soul Realm!
This person’s martial path was truly terrifying and formidable!
Daring not hesitate for a moment, Zong Shou thrust out another sword.
The Universe of the Primordial One Sword!
Space shattered, and the surrounding void instantly disintegrated into thousands of worlds, generating countless spatial rifts that twisted and stretched.
This made Zong Shou’s figure appear to oscillate between being extremely close and impossibly far from the spear tip—now just an arm's length away, now ten thousand zhang distant.
“This is a spatial technique? Messy!”
The youth snorted lightly, shaking his spear shadow. The entire fragmented void was forcefully stabilized.
Under the restraint of the sword array, Zong Shou ultimately managed to evade it.
Though messy, it was still profound!
Not discouraged in the slightest, the spear shadow changed again, resembling thousands of Pear Blossoms falling, dazzling and mesmerizing, yet carrying the vast power to crush everything.
“Thousand Flames Annihilation! Your talent is exceptional, truly worthy of being the only blood descendant of Fourth Aunt! You actually tried to move from complexity to simplicity, using the Dao as a foundation. Pity that Heaven did not grant you longevity. Since you killed my Zi’er that day, today I shall end your life—”
The ten million pear blossoms ignited with scorching white flames, causing the entire void to burn.
The youth’s voice, mixed within, sounded utterly ferocious.
“Let’s see how many spears of mine you can block today?”
Zong Shou’s face was pale, but he dared not stop smiling as he watched the sky full of pear blossoms.
His gaze focused, and then the millions of spear shadows began to vanish one by one in his vision.
From ten thousand to a thousand, from a thousand to a hundred; ultimately, the myriad spear shadows had boiled down to only three streaks of fierce light.
Though there were ten million pear blossoms, the true defense needed was only against these three strikes!
However, the Heaven-Burning Fire was truly dreadful!
So hot, he felt his entire body on the verge of combustion; his vital energy and spiritual consciousness were boiling, making control difficult.
If not for the past few months, where he utilized the inscribed Dao-Controlling Dragon Tooth Swords to train his manipulation of true force, breaking through the three-revolving, seven-stage Profound Penetration into Subtlety restriction, these white flames would have incinerated him alive.
The Primordial Yin!
Sword light flared up, and the five-thousand-zhang thunder wings behind him suddenly retracted, transforming into a dark, coiling fire dragon wrapped around the Nameless Sword.
Gleaming above the void, exactly three sword strikes collided amidst the dense spear shadows, preventing the ten million pear blossoms from descending.
The Thunderous Brilliance of a Thousand Flowers clashed against the blanket of white flames, erupting in continuous bursts of sound.
Zong Shou’s figure once again spiraled out of control, plummeting downward, battered by this colossal force until he was nearly plunged into the spatial rifts.
But, within these ten zhang, it still remained his Indestructible Sword Domain! (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welcome to visit the novel website... to cast recommendation votes and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)RQ