"Lu Ziyin, it's not too late to abandon the darkness and join the light."

"This venerable one was willing to take you as a disciple earlier, to have you join the Profound Sword Sect. Your Mount Shushan is about to fall. From now on, you'll be a member of the Profound Sword Sect, and no one will dare speak ill of you."

Lu Ziyin gazed at the massive dharma avatar in the sky and smiled faintly.

"Two pieces of trash like you think you're worthy?"

Lu Ziyin flicked his finger against his sword's blade. The sword didn't leave his hand, yet the winds for hundreds of miles suddenly froze solid.

"Hummm!!"

"A mere Transformation Spirit cultivator dares draw his sword before this venerable one?!"

Dark clouds pressed down on the city as three thousand tiny cracks split open across the sky, thunder gathering within them.

The gap between Transformation Spirit and Consolidation Stage wasn't just a simple difference in realm. Even the difference between Golden Core and Nascent Soul was like clouds and mud.

Let alone the gap between Transformation Spirit and Consolidation Stage.

To a Transformation Spirit cultivator gazing at the starry sea, a Consolidation Stage master holds the rudder of that sea.

This wasn't a quantitative difference.

Mount Shushan cultivators could fight above their level - but this was basically only possible below the Transformation Spirit realm.

Qi Refining fighting Foundation Establishment, Foundation Establishment fighting Golden Core, Golden Core fighting Nascent Soul, Nascent Soul fighting Transformation Spirit.

But beyond that? Fighting above one's level?

Even in Mount Shushan, only a handful could do so.

Sect Leader Lingxu, and that Xue Yun who was called the most talented disciple in the world.

A Transformation Spirit cultivator facing Consolidation Stage would basically have no ability to fight back.

Back then, Xue Yun at Transformation Spirit cultivation entered Cangzhou, to Burial Armament City.

After ten days of bloody battle, he returned to Zhongzhou with the heads of two Consolidation Stage great demons.

This was why he was praised as the strongest genius of his generation.

"The morning mushroom knows not the waxing and waning of the moon, the summer insect cannot speak of ice - this is called an insurmountable gap!!"

The voice of the Consolidation Stage mighty one boomed like a great bell.

Lu Ziyin laughed loudly, "Come!!"

Lu Ziyin swung his sword, the blade light splitting a line through the air that severed the gathering thunder techniques.

Just as it was about to touch the Consolidation Stage dharma avatar, the avatar flicked its finger and shattered the sword light.

Lu Ziyin stared at the two enormous dharma avatars.

Around one of them, a brilliant dao domain slowly unfolded.

It seemed slow, but by the time Lu Ziyin noticed it, it was already complete.

Within this dao domain was a world of its own, with unique heavenly laws.

A Consolidation Stage mighty one completely fused their physical body and primordial spirit, causing their spiritual energy to undergo a qualitative transformation into the more profound dao origin.

This allowed Consolidation Stage mighty ones to directly draw upon the world's natural laws within their dao domain as a source of replenishing energy.

This meant this mighty one could continuously obtain powerful energy in battle, with almost no possibility of exhaustion.

Unless one destroyed the dao domain, or killed this Consolidation Stage mighty one.

But killing a Consolidation Stage mighty one was harder than ascending to heaven.

Lu Ziyin's eyes revealed a kind of determination and fearlessness as he took a deep breath.

Then he suddenly raised his sword, the blade drawing an arc through the air before stabbing straight at the sky.

This sword strike was majestic, as if it would tear apart the heavens and cut down the gods above.

"..........."

"BOOOOM——!!!"

Unlike Lu Ziyin at the peak of Transformation Spirit facing two Consolidation Stage opponents alone, Lin Wanqing - though also a heaven-defying genius who reached Transformation Spirit in one step - appeared completely helpless before the Profound Sword Sect's Consolidation Stage mighty one.

That Consolidation Stage mighty one was like a deity.

Golden rays of light spilled down from the sky, so bright they made it hard to keep one's eyes open.

Facing this Consolidation Stage mighty one's casual attack, Second Senior Brother Pei Qi at Nascent Soul stage, Lin Wanqing at Transformation Spirit, and Sixth Senior Sister Yunran all struck together.

But against a Consolidation Stage mighty one, Pei Qi and Yunran had no ability to fight back.

Only Transformation Spirit Lin Wanqing could stand her ground.

Yet even dealing with the opponent's casual attack forced Lin Wanqing to exert her full strength.

Lin Wanqing bit her tongue until it bled.

Facing Consolidation Stage, even making a move was extremely difficult.

If a Transformation Spirit cultivator could still attack within their opponent's dao domain, that Transformation Spirit cultivator would already be remarkable.

Lin Wanqing delivered the strongest sword strike of her life.

In that instant, sword light flashed like the morning sun piercing darkness.

With the sword light's appearance came crisp shattering sounds all around, like breaking glass.

Yet facing such a fierce sword strike, the Consolidation Stage mighty one merely smiled faintly.

A trace of surprise flashed through his eyes, but more than that, approval.

As expected of a Mount Shushan disciple.

But that was all.

He casually raised his hand and lightly flicked, an invisible force rippling outward.

Within the dao domain, it was like a frozen ocean.

The originally swift sword light was slowed a hundredfold, a thousandfold.

Strands of sword intent struggled desperately within but ultimately couldn't escape this powerful restraint.

Finally frozen within the dao domain, the sword intent stretched from ground to sky.

Like blossoming flowers - beautiful, but having lost their original lethality.

The sword light that had once split the heavens now resembled a caged bird - still beautiful, but bereft of freedom.

"Lin Wanqing, this venerable one asks again - will you join this one's sect?"

Lin Wanqing's body trembled uncontrollably.

So this was Consolidation Stage?

A being that inspired awe just by existing!!

Lin Wanqing spoke with difficulty, "Lin Wanqing is a Mount Shushan disciple. I will live and die with Mount Shushan."

"Pity."

The Consolidation Stage mighty one sighed lightly and tapped the void with his finger.

Lin Wanqing bore the brunt of this force's impact.

The flying sword in her hand trembled violently like a disturbed swarm of bees.

The ground beneath Lin Wanqing's feet instantly collapsed under this power, forming a bottomless abyss.

Lin Wanqing's body crashed heavily at the abyss's bottom, her bones making cracking sounds as if being crushed.

"Cough cough cough......."

Yunran and Pei Qi still wanted to help, but with their power they'd only add two more corpses.

"A genius like you, since you cannot be used by our Profound Sword Sect..."

Dao patterns appeared in the Consolidation Stage mighty one's palm.

"...I grant you annihilation of body and soul."

Lin Wanqing had no strength left to struggle, her eyelids heavy.

"LIN WANQING!!!!"

Then a voice rang out.

Lin Wanqing's eyelids twitched slightly.

Was that...Junior Sister Feng Liuli?

Feng Liuli screamed hoarsely.

"Lin Wanqing, have you forgotten Fanyue?"

"Lin Wanqing, think of Fanyue!"

"He's still waiting for you - didn't you say you'd find him?"

"Lin Wanqing, don't you want to see Fanyue again?"

"After all you've been through with him - will you really die here?!"

"Is your love for him just this weak?"

Feng Liuli's voice was raw from shouting.

Thump thump thump!!

Lin Wanqing heard her own heartbeat.

Yes.

I can't die! I can't die!

Lin Wanqing reached out, and her sword returned to her hand.

She stood up again from the abyss.

The wind carried countless energies into her exhausted body.

The Consolidation Stage mighty one: ...........

Huh?