The power of Nascent Origin enveloped him, flesh regenerating, the primordial soul mending. In just a fleeting moment, Yuan Wushang’s body reformed from nothingness, standing perfectly whole a hundred feet away.
Unscathed, though his vital aura was slightly diminished. After all, he had endured the calamity of his physical body shattering and his spirit nearly annihilated; even in recovery, some damage was inevitable.
And Yuan Wushang, at this moment, burst into hearty laughter: "Zong Shou, I, Yuan Wushang, truly did not misjudge you! Was that sorcery or a divine treasure? Truly magnificent! Even a Thirteenth-Rank Supreme Divine Ability or a High-Grade Divine Artifact would be no more than this—"
In that instant, he had nearly believed Zong Shou was prepared to watch him perish at the hands of the Crimson Robe.
He had tried several times to prematurely terminate the Spirit-Quieting Art and flee. Yet, he held on until the very end, until he could resist no longer and was pulverized by a single finger from the Crimson Robe.
He had always been convinced that Zong Shou would not easily abandon a comrade and certainly possessed the means to rescue him from desperation.
The final outcome, indeed, proved him right!
His exhilaration stemmed not from being resurrected after death, but from possessing a brother-in-arms, a friend in life and death.
Moreover, with such a trump card in Zong Shou's hand, how could victory in this battle be in doubt?
The Crimson Robe and the others wore looks of extreme displeasure! Such a technique existed in this world?
If it were an artifact, it must be a Divine Treasure! If it were a pill, it had to be the most supreme Immortal Elixir!
Unkillable, indestructible—what use was their Saint Realm strength now?
The intentions of those 'Free Divine Demons' began to subtly waver; for the first time, thoughts of retreat surfaced.
They had suffered the least damage in this conflict. Since success was unattainable, timely withdrawal was the best strategy!
As for Han Qing, his mood plummeted from the heavens into the abyss.
He suddenly understood why, upon learning Lin Xuanshuang had stepped into the Apex Realm, all the sects and factions had been so apprehensive.
Even though Xiuguan had now left the Cloud Realm, the Sages of the Dao, Confucian, and Demonic schools still dared not act rashly.
"Don't celebrate too soon. This is the Life-Death Epiphyllum. Each use requires three years to accumulate. I only have three of these in total—"
Zong Shou replied with a calm tone, yet this answer caused a fierce gleam to ignite in the Crimson Robe's eyes.
Though he didn't know why Zong Shou was exposing his limitations, upon careful thought, this made more sense.
To restore someone whose spirit and flesh were on the verge of shattering—a being near the Divine Realm—in a hundredth of a blink, making them whole again.
If this could be used indefinitely, such a divine artifact might exist, but certainly not in Zong Shou's possession.
If it was a technique, then even Lin Xuanshuang's Origin Life Breath Art would struggle to achieve this!
If one strike cannot completely annihilate, then there will be a second, a third! He refused to believe Zong Shou could revive Yuan Wushang endlessly, three times, four times.
The hurricane raged anew, and the Crimson Robe flashed once more, reappearing beside Yuan Wushang, preparing to strike again.
That slash of bloody blade light descended once more. This time, the energy contained within the blade was also a spiraling force.
Nearly half of the eye of the surrounding hurricane had been seized by Su Chuxue, now controlled in reverse.
The blade shadow, exploiting these weak points, pierced through the wind barrier and struck directly at his throat!
The Crimson Robe let out a cold huff, sweeping his sleeve across the Blood Moon Blade. The sleeve disintegrated into countless fragments that scattered. Chuxue coughed blood again, forcibly blasted tens of thousands of feet away by the overwhelming power, crashing into the dust. This time, however, the injury was far lighter than the previous one. Having adapted to the Crimson Robe's spiraling divine ability, and using the Blood Moon Blade to borrow and reflect the spiral force, she finally possessed some capacity for resistance.
And in this brief moment, Yuan Wushang had again erected layers upon layers of wards before himself. He also placed two mid-grade Immortal Treasures on his left and right sides to firmly shield himself.
"Hmph! Futile. You are merely at the peak of the Immortal Realm; I estimate you cannot last half a breath—"
With another pointing strike, shattering all the talismans, the Crimson Robe’s senses suddenly sharpened, his chest wracked with inexplicable pain. He whipped his head around to look back at Zong Shou’s position.
What intense death energy?
Right, since it is named the Life-Death Epiphyllum, where there is life, there must be death—
Why did the feeling now seem so ominous? So dangerous?
Zong Shou waited silently. When the final petal of the Life-Death Epiphyllum withered completely, it was the third breath since the flower bloomed, releasing all the hidden death power it contained. This caused the death energy surrounding him to accumulate to its absolute limit.
All three thousand strands of Zong Shou's hair instantly turned bone-white. The muscles in his arms withered, and the color drained entirely from his face. The inherent enchanting charm of the Fox Clan remained, but mixed with the aura of death, it manifested an uncanny beauty, his temperament becoming more demonic and unique.
His eyebrows tilted upward. Zong Shou gently vibrated the Spirit Refining Sword in his hand. As the sword's cry echoed across all directions, a massive Nether Gate boomed open behind him. Innumerable icy, cold energies flowed through it.
The Nine Nether Styx River proclaims your demise!
This is the Sword of the Styx Proclaiming Death!
His figure streaked through the void like a phantom or an illusion.
He moved forward with the great river of Nether power. Everywhere it passed was instantly transformed to a pale gray, under the cover of the Nether power. All life, all matter, was dying, reaching its end.
And the tip of the Spirit Refining Sword, already stained pale by the death energy, was aimed squarely at the two Night Demon Venerables who had yet to recover from the previous strike.
At this moment, the Crimson Robe was utterly terrified!
"Supreme Sword Art? How is this possible?"
A Thirteenth-Rank Supreme Sword Art—let alone in the Cloud Realm, in this entire domain world, there were certainly no more than five existing!
It was rumored they trickled down from a previous domain world, and most had vanished over millions of years, their legacies broken!
How could such a Supreme-Rank divine sword technique appear out of thin air in this world!
In this world, all spiritual methods, all divine abilities, all martial dao grand techniques, all sword and blade arts. Once one surpassed the 'Uninjured' level, they could directly disregard rank! Regardless of cultivation realm or strength!
Even an ordinary person with no cultivation, if they could comprehend it, could injure an Apex Saint Venerable!
The only difference would be the severity of the wound!
No longer concerned with the presence of Yuan Wushang, the Crimson Robe focused all his senses.
After a moment, he let out a sigh of relief. It was not Supreme, but still Twelfth-Rank World-Ending—
It had not transcended the laws of this domain, though it had approached the Supreme level infinitely closely.
However, those two on the other side likely still could not withstand it!
A myriad of questions filled his mind: Who created this sword art that was so miraculous?
Especially the life-to-death conversion, which was supremely profound. Like the dotting of the dragon's eye, it caused a sword art, originally not top-tier and merely utilizing the power of the Nether Dead, to leap across several tiers!
Han Fang, on the other hand, looked completely stunned. He shivered involuntarily, gripped by terror.
If this sword had been aimed at him, could his Great Heaven-Defying Magic have reversed it?
Clang!
A sound of clashing metal interrupted everyone’s thoughts.
Zong Shou’s Spirit Refining Sword struck a colossal shield. There was no shockwave of energy, no impact from defensive power. The huge purple shield was instantaneously enveloped in pallor.
Then, under the incredulous gazes of the crowd, the entire shield dissolved into flying ash.
The Spirit Refining Sword passed through unimpeded. The sword path was remarkably simple, yet it gave the feeling of a surging tide, the River of Death!
The Night Demon Venerable holding the shield to defend met the same fate without question; his body instantly turned to sand, collapsing silently into a pile of dust.
Zong Shou’s figure zipped past eerily. The Spirit Refining Sword continued onward, pointing at the second target.
A simple sword posture, yet it gave the impression that evasion was impossible, that escape was futile.
The last Night Demon Venerable let out a roar of utter despair.
He summoned both his blades, burning all his vital True Essence. In an instant, he charged forward, unleashing ten million streaks of blade light, weaving countless dangerous shadows that sealed off the entire hundred-foot radius.
And immediately following that, another light clang. Two streaks of bloody blade light decayed into death within a breath.
The pale sword light pierced directly through his chest and abdomen.
Perhaps the death energy had finally been exhausted and began to wane. This person did not instantly turn to dust but instead aged and died slowly. All his flesh lost its vitality bit by bit.
The entire process lasted three breaths, yet it conveyed a deeper sense of horror.
In less than a hundred breaths, the three Saint-Rank Venerables of the Night Demon Clan were all buried beneath Zong Shou’s sword.
Although various factors contributed, the scene before them caused the hearts of the remaining five to constrict involuntarily.
If they continued fighting, it was likely none of the five would leave alive.
The Crimson Robe directly abandoned the thought of striking down Yuan Wushang again!
Three Life-Death Epiphyllums! In other words, there were still two more strikes of the death sword, nearly approaching the Supreme level, just like the last one!
Suddenly, the Crimson Robe understood. The reason Zong Shou exposed his weakness was not truly to warn them, but merely to intimidate!
Yet, even knowing this, he had no other choice now!
"Retreat quickly!"
With an angry snort, the Crimson Robe decisively broke away and fled. He instantly used his magic to seize Han Qing and fled into the distance at high speed.
As for those Free Divine Demons, they needed no reminder; they were already fleeing at the first moment.
Shen Yuexuan, however, revealed a mocking smile again. From within his sleeve, a giant golden net shot out, spreading to cover tens of thousands of feet as it opened.
Fortunately, the several clashes of True Force in this area had hollowed out the mountain, providing ample space for the golden net to expand.
However, the net was not made of actual threads, but something resembling Innate Qi. Swift and faster than the eye could follow, it enveloped the five figures from afar.
The Crimson Robe frowned again, glancing back in surprise. Not just because of this golden net, but because Zong Shou’s sword had locked onto him.
A trace of karmic force, not yet fully formed but no longer negligible, coiled around the blade.
The Crimson Robe finally gritted his teeth fiercely, and the dark brown hue in the sky exploded violently.
His corner of the mouth quirked up slightly, then shook his head again: (To be continued)