A mere hundred zhang was but the blink of an eye for Zhan Lunhui at full speed. This thought barely crossed his mind before he had already surged forward to within eighty zhang!
Just then, the heavens and earth abruptly shifted in hue!
An unparalleled divine blade, bearing a monumental sword-light connecting heaven and earth, cleaved down directly towards Zhan Lunhui’s head!
Simultaneously, within this entire area, eighteen 'Space Imprisonments' were rapidly hurled forth, one after another, at an extreme velocity!
The sword-light was like lightning, obscuring the sky and blotting out the sun!
Before this dazzling beam of light, even the scorching sun seemed to have lost its color!
It turned dim and lusterless!
This sudden, incoming sword-light was so incredibly brilliant and magnificent, like a colossal bolt of lightning erupting across the deep night sky, stretching from one end of the heavens to the other!
Zhan Lunhui, focused solely on escape, was completely unprepared for this abrupt turn of events. The entire world within his sight was instantaneously filled with this earth-shattering, boundless sword-light!
This strike came suddenly, inexplicably, without the slightest warning; it was impossible for anyone to foresee or guard against!
One moment, he was filled with the joy of nearly escaping the snare; the next, his path was blocked only by a formidable sword-light capable of slaying any living existence. Such a powerful strike was not merely decisive; it was instantly fatal, deciding life or death!
Life hung by a thread!
Zhan Lunhui was greatly shocked by the sight, yet his nearly ten millennia of mental fortitude was not trivial. He reacted swiftly, letting out a fierce roar. Maintaining his constant forward speed, he sharply altered his direction—it shifted abruptly from a straight line to horizontal, suddenly ascending by at least ten zhang!
The eighteen 'Space Imprisonments' that Jun Moxie had previously laid down, hoping to restrict his evasion space, had absolutely no effect on Zhan Lunhui; he shattered them almost effortlessly! Not only did he break through the obstructions, but he executed a spatial leap, surging ten zhang vertically out of thin air, all while maintaining his constant forward momentum—almost entirely unimpeded!
Fortunately, Zhan Lunhui was not a deity; almost no effect did not mean absolutely no effect. The moment he changed direction, the magnificent sword-light tracked him, the tip flickering slightly before sweeping upwards, pursuing him as closely as a shadow!
Its power—had not diminished; perhaps it had even increased!
Zhan Lunhui’s expression darkened, and he finally halted his movement!
Had there been no momentary hesitation just now, with his speed, he was confident he could have evaded this sword path. But if he continued to flee now, he would be caught by the sword-light’s sudden attack. No matter how fast a person moves, it cannot surpass the speed of the sword qi unleashed by an expert of the same tier!
At this moment, though no figure had yet appeared before him, Zhan Lunhui knew clearly that he had definitely encountered a formidable foe! This person’s mastery over the sword had clearly reached a terrifying level—a true Grandmaster’s achievement!
Zhan Lunhui held Jun Moxie’s capabilities in extremely high regard. Facing such an opponent, succumbing to timidity and retreat would undoubtedly create a flaw in his otherwise perfect state of mind. Therefore, high in the air, Zhan Lunhui abruptly ceased his rapid forward momentum, transitioning into stillness, and then met the vast sword-light head-on with both palms!
The brilliant sword-light shot forward like a rainbow! Unaltered in its trajectory, it charged directly toward him!
Clash!
His palm wind exploded like a mountain torrent, crashing head-on with the radiant sword-light in a deafening boom!
But a new transformation occurred: the Yuxu Longsword suddenly emitted a soft chime and began to spin rapidly in mid-air, like a helical drill—tearing through Zhan Lunhui’s thick palm wind blockade layer by layer, instantly aiming for the vital spot of his throat!
Zhan Lunhui felt a sudden chill at his throat—stimulated by the spiraling, boundless sword qi, he was instantly covered in goosebumps.
He roared wildly, rapidly retreating, then launched himself upwards. He shot a full fifty zhang into the sky! At the very edge of life and death, in that critical instant, he broke free from the sword’s deadly embrace. After confirming his safety, he realized he was drenched in cold sweat!
It was a stroke of luck that he hadn't underestimated his opponent just now, that he had estimated the foe’s strength as highly as possible, and held back a fraction of his strength in his initial counterattack, allowing him to retreat in time! Otherwise, his physical body might have been reduced to a corpse after that strike—or perhaps not even a corpse, but pulverized meat, or fine dust, would not have been surprising! In thousands of years leading up to this moment, Zhan Lunhui admitted this was the first time he had encountered such a perilous situation!
Truly, life balanced on a knife’s edge!
That sword snaked past following a profound, mysterious trajectory steeped in the supreme laws of heaven and earth, charging back menacingly, the intent to press his advantage clearly evident.
But Zhan Lunhui had now mobilized all of his profound energy, poised and ready. Through that brief contact, he assessed that although the opponent’s skill was extremely high, his actual foundational power was likely a few tiers beneath his own. In a head-on confrontation, victory was still within his grasp!
Unfortunately, what truly dictated the situation before him was not solely that sword, the Yuxu Divine Blade, which seemed half demonic, half mystical!
Because just then, a sizzling sound cut through the air ahead, and a slender, entirely black, sharp sword, laced with an indescribable aura of sinister malignancy, materialized suddenly before him! It was like a lingering resentful spirit, with infinite malevolence swirling and ascending!
Such an attack, such an evil sensation, felt profoundly familiar to Zhan Lunhui...
Only someone from that place could possess such means of attack...
"Ninth Nether Fourteenth Young Master?" Zhan Lunhui was truly shocked this time! While the initial attack from the Yuxu Divine Blade had caught him off guard, leading to dire peril, after that brief exchange, Zhan Lunhui was certain he had a fair chance of evading entanglement with the Blade's master. But the sudden intervention of the Ninth Nether Fourteenth Young Master shattered his confidence!
In his haste, he flipped his hand, and a long sword gleaming with pure light finally appeared in his grasp!
Even when facing a death siege by all the strong experts of the Heavenly Saint Palace, Zhan Lunhui had not drawn a weapon to fight. But the moment the Nine Nether Cold Blade appeared, Zhan Lunhui immediately unsheathed his long sword!
The attacks from the Ninth Nether Fourteenth Young Master were not easy to endure!
Zhan Lunhui had previously clashed with one of the Ninth Nether Young Masters. During that encounter, even with his profound cultivation, he had faced death several times before managing to escape. Naturally, he understood how troublesome those madmen could be!
With a loud bang, Zhan Lunhui was forcefully thrown dozens of zhang backward under the pincer attack of two long swords!
The exclamation, "Ninth Nether Fourteenth Young Master?" uttered by Zhan Lunhui startled Jun Moxie: Huh? Damn it, I was the one attacking you... What does that lunatic have to do with anything?
However, this kind of “beneficial...” misunderstanding was all the better for Young Master Jun! The more serious the misunderstanding, the better! If he couldn't kill this guy today, he could send him to clash bloodily with the Ninth Nether Fourteenth Young Master another day.
Since that fellow has nothing better to do anyway...
Being idle is being idle, for the safety of the world and the lives of the continent... shouldn't he contribute a little?! Ugh, since when did this Young Master become so magnanimous and righteous...
So, Jun Moxie grew even more pleased, maintaining his hidden attack state without uttering a word. The Nine Nether Cold Blade in his hand transformed endlessly; sometimes, dozens of Nine Nether Cold Blades struck out simultaneously, frustrating Zhan Lunhui to the point of muffled roars!
Coupled with the independent attacks from the Yanhuang Zhi Xue (Blood of Yellow Emperor), which possessed a complete self-awareness for combat, Zhan Lunhui was immediately forced onto the defensive, having only the capacity to parry and no power to strike back—truly no power to counter, because the prerequisite for striking back is having a target, an object to strike! Right now, where was the target?!
Moreover, these two methods of attack were too bizarre!
So bizarre that even with Zhan Lunhui’s vast experience, he was utterly perplexed!
What kind of attack style was this?
Both swords were clearly employing the methods of Sword Control Art; yet, how could sword control in the void be so agile, the variations so subtle? The preceding Yuxu Divine Blade moved with complete ease, advancing and retreating at will, like a living sword. The transformations of the Nine Nether Cold Blade were even stranger—it was as if someone was manually operating it, yet clearly, there was no one around!
In the current situation, Zhan Lunhui's judgment was accurate: all phenomena suggested a master was controlling the Sword Control Arts from a distance. And his analysis was further correct: the Nine Nether Cold Blade was indeed being wielded manually, but the wielder was someone Zhan Lunhui could neither see nor sense.
As for the Yanhuang Zhi Xue...
Jun Moxie had allowed the Yanhuang Zhi Xue to attack entirely on its own this time. Since absorbing the vital blood essence of several Saint Venerables, Jun Moxie had vigorously refined the Yanhuang Zhi Xue three or four times using the power of Metal.
And now, the Yanhuang Zhi Xue, having fully evolved into a peerless divine weapon, had started to show off. It constantly flew around inside the Grandmist Pagoda on its own accord, slashing rapidly.
Furthermore, the most recent refinement involved Jun Moxie employing the Heart-Refining Essence Blood Technique recorded in the Grandmist Pagoda, infusing it with all his comprehension of the Way of the Sword and every sword move stored in his memory.
Does a person understand the sword better, or does the sword understand the sword better?
This question received the most perfect and thorough interpretation from Jun Moxie!
The result was that the Yanhuang Zhi Xue actually surpassed its master, Jun Moxie, by one tier in its mastery of the Sword Dao! And this trend continued to expand—after all, Young Master Jun had too many external affairs and miscellaneous tasks, whereas the Yanhuang Zhi Xue truly had ‘nothing to care about besides the sword’...
Every time he watched the crystallized essence of his painstaking efforts flying around proudly before him, frequently unleashing exquisite sword forms that he himself had to rack his brains to invent or use, Young Master Jun felt the urge to bang his head against a wall. Had he brought about his own downfall?!
Damn it, being looked down upon by a sword, how frustrating...
Currently, the intelligence of the Yanhuang Zhi Xue had only developed to the level of a fourteen or fifteen-year-old youth, but its comprehension of the Sword Dao was something even those old veterans steeped in the way of the sword for decades, centuries, or even millennia could never match!
If Sword Demon Dugu Qiubai were present now, he would surely sigh under the blade: If Yu Sheng (a contemporary) is born, why must Liang (another contemporary) also be born? If Dugu Qiubai exists, why must Yanhuang (the sword) exist!
(I say, two chapters today, and I’ve been typing for over eight hours... Does anyone believe that? (Happy Dragon Boat Festival to all brothers and sisters today! Reunions with family! May you be blessed with happiness!))