With a sharp crack, Fang Zhuguo’s palm landed squarely on the opponent’s chest. He could even hear the sound of bone shattering, and a spray of blood coated his face as the figure rocketed backward.

“Zhuguo, you… why did you attack me?” Faintly, Fang Zhuguo thought he heard Tianya’s voice, but it was so incredibly weak.

“Tianya…” Zhuguo’s heart seized. His figure blurred, and he instantly appeared before the falling body, catching it mid-air. But his own cultivation had reached the Ninth Heaven Realm, while Fang Tianya had barely managed the Third Heaven. How could he withstand a full-force strike?

Not only were his ribs pulverized, but his entire sternum was breached with a gaping hole. Blood sprayed out uncontrollably; the man had only air leaving his lungs, with none left to draw in.

Seeing that he had fatally struck down his own sworn brother with a single palm, Fang Zhuguo felt a deep, agonizing sorrow, even though it was unintentional.

But just then, Fang Tianya, who should have been dead, suddenly opened his eyes. His scalp began to melt away rapidly, as if it were being peeled off entirely. A pungent, thick stench of blood permeated the air, startling Fang Zhuguo into stumbling backward repeatedly.

Fang Tianya stood up, his face a mask of gore, his eyes now filled with a malevolent crimson glare. He began walking toward Fang Zhuguo, step by slow step.

His pace was so agonizingly slow that even an ordinary person could outpace him. Yet, for some inexplicable reason, Fang Zhuguo felt an intense, instinctive dread.

Moments ago, this was his brother; now, he was this abomination. No one could bear such a sight.

“Zhu… guo,” a low, guttural sound suddenly resonated right by Fang Zhuguo’s ear. He turned his head and instantly saw a blood-soaked head resting upon his shoulder. It was none other than Zhu Yu!

“Damn it…” Even the exceedingly bold Fang Zhuguo was instantly drenched in cold sweat. Disregarding that this was his brother’s head, he let out a fierce roar as streaks of azure light erupted from his body—the signature energy of the Fang family’s exclusive internal cultivation art.

A torrent of immense power exploded throughout his core. He slammed a punch that obliterated both the severed head and the gruesome, bloody corpse into dust.

His cultivation as a Ninth Heaven Martial God was unleashed completely. Furthermore, unlike a typical Ninth Heaven Martial God, Fang Zhuguo’s own soul energy was terrifyingly potent.

With a flash of blue light, Fang Zhuguo found himself inexplicably standing within a massive cavern. The cave was utterly dark, but as the blue radiance emanating from him intensified, the entire cavern illuminated, blazing with a brilliant sheen.

The cavern was empty save for a single pedestal at the far end. Upon this stand rested a single, ragged, broken mirror. Nothing else.

Upon seeing such an object in such a place, Fang Zhuguo’s heart hammered violently against his ribs. Anyone in this scenario would react the same way.

But he was, after all, a master of the Ninth Heaven, and having endured countless trials, his mental fortitude far surpassed that of ordinary men. He walked deliberately toward the pedestal, scrutinizing the mirror intently.

Perhaps due to immense age, the mirror’s original material was impossible to discern, and it was coated in a thick layer of dust, rendering the surface entirely opaque. It was only identified as a mirror due to its strong resemblance to the ancient bronze mirrors of antiquity.

Just as Fang Zhuguo reached out to lift the mirror, the cavern, which had been filled with his blue light, suddenly plunged into absolute blackness. Even his intensely radiating blue energy proved futile.

A wave of icy coldness seemed to wash over him from behind. Fang Zhuguo let out a harsh snort and lashed out with a powerful palm strike. A fierce gust of wind roared past, but it connected with nothing, slamming instead into a stone wall.

Immediately, a tremendous boom echoed, like an explosion. Following this, Fang Zhuguo felt the ground beneath him tremble violently, as if an earthquake had struck.

It was at that precise moment that a streak of black light suddenly shot out, plunging directly into Fang Zhuguo’s mind. He felt a blinding flash, and then he lost consciousness.

Elsewhere, the corpses of Fang Zhuguo’s other brothers lay sprawled out. Blood continued to seep into the earth, where faint flickers of light could be sporadically observed…

At that instant, the entire island began to shudder violently. The colossal mountain peak, in particular, shook relentlessly, sending cascades of rock and debris tumbling down from the Sword Peak. Those waiting at the island’s periphery, including Fang Zhentian, all changed countenance.

“Retreat quickly!” Sensing the overwhelming pressure emanating from that Sword Peak, Fang Zhentian roared the command.

The elders and the group of younger cultivators showed no hesitation, instantly spinning around to flee the island. However, at that moment, several shafts of sword energy ripped through the air and shot directly toward them.

These were core elites of the Fang family. Fang Zhentian could not allow them to be slaughtered. With a single hand lift, the Fang Tian Pagoda—which bore a noticeable chip where it had been struck by the Eastern Emperor Bell—materialized, shielding the group. Fang Zhentian himself shot into the air, instantly expanding to a massive hundred-zhang size, and slammed his palm toward the Sword Peak.

Rumble… The vicious sword Qi tore apart the surrounding blue light protecting the Fang Tian Pagoda. Just as the tower’s structure was about to be rent open, the group managed to escape the zone encompassed by the sword energy. Fang Zhentian, however, was lacerated with hundreds of wounds, large and small, but he seemed oblivious to them, pressing onward toward the peak, for he saw that the Sword Peak had begun to crack.

Vaguely, the outline of a black sword blade could be discerned as it was revealed. Over the sky, dark clouds had gathered, and bolts of lightning rained down incessantly, shattering the vegetation across the island and accelerating the destruction of the Sword Peak.

In mere moments, the Sword Peak completely shattered, and a black meteor shot upward into the chaotic sky.

Fang Zhentian’s expression shifted. He circulated the full power within his body, transforming into a streak of light, racing toward the ascending meteor. He could vaguely sense what that streak of light was: an ancient sword, one of absolutely high grade. Now that he had encountered it, how could he possibly let it slip away?

Swish, swish, swish… Fang Zhentian maximized his speed, even employing the art of instantaneous movement. He finally intercepted the black streak of light a hundred kilometers out. It was indeed an unparalleled, ferocious sword, entirely black in color…

At this juncture, an intensely malevolent aura erupted from the small island. Before Fang Zhentian could even fully process the event, the aura vanished without a trace, though a shadowy phantom slipped into Fang Zhuguo’s body…

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