517: Chapter 162: One Sword!

517: Chapter 162: One Sword!

Zhou Yan finished his reminder, and immediately, the Natural Dao and the Heart of Nature manifested themselves.

Zhou Yan’s body transformed like a dragon, his very body deriving the Dragon Form Secret Technique.

The Dragon Swordsmanship also revealed itself at this moment.

The purple Gray Dragon materialized the shadow of Emperor Qi as though an emperor possessed him, identical to what Hou Chen had done earlier, as if Zhou Yan was deliberately displaying this technique to teach Hou Chen.

“Dragon Swordsmanship, the Path of Incompletion.”

Zhou Yan continued.

Then, the Transforming Gray Dragon self-mutilated, turning into an incomplete Gray Dragon.

But at that moment, a terrifying and furious aura burst forth.

The Path of Incompletion was like forcing oneself into a corner where there was no other choice but to fight to the death.

Initially, the momentum of the Gray Dragon couldn’t even compare to Ji Wu’s Asking Dao and the Ba Huang Ten Thousand Ghosts Sword Dao, but after the Gray Dragon’s self-mutilation, its momentum transformed immediately, endowing it with the true essence of an emperor’s mysteries, as if completing the dragon with the finishing stroke.

The dragon-like shadow of the emperor, manifesting supreme and imposing might, suddenly stretched out a massive claw as if it were a giant claw capable of supporting the heavens and ferociously struck down at Ji Wu.

At that moment, Hou Chen watched with a ripple in his soul, his eyes often flashing with the light of enlightenment, and the other geniuses around him were also taken aback, grasping the terrifying foundation of the Dao.

The giant claw came down, and Ji Wu’s magnificent attacks crumbled like a shattered window frame, trembling and on the brink of collapse, but then shattered with a ‘puff’.

“Puff—”

Ji Wu’s body tumbled, coughing up blood violently, desperately dodging in an awkward state, barely evading that peerless strike.

His face was extremely ugly and somewhat pale, and when he stared at Zhou Yan, his eyes were filled with bone-deep hatred and manic hysteria!

He knew that if he held anything back, he would definitely not stand a chance against Zhou Yan, even if he fought with all his might, he would still be easily suppressed by Zhou Yan.

Besides lifting all the Xuan Restrictions, he had no other choice, no way out, and couldn’t wait for that powerful being to kill Zhou Yan.

His body shivered, suddenly releasing waves of destructive aura.

Shocking forces caused ripples in the Void, spreading out alongside the shattering of all the Mysterious Runes on his body.

“He opened them all!

He has lifted all Nine-layered Profound Restrictions; his body is no longer bounded, his combat power must be extremely formidable!”

Some Cultivators couldn’t help exclaiming.

“Earlier, Ji Wu Xuan hadn’t lifted the Xuan Restrictions.

Although his strength was remarkable, compared to someone with the ancient and peculiar dual constitution like Zhou Yan, he was clearly being overpowered.

Now, he has no way out.”

Another Cultivator made a comprehensive analysis.

“Unsealing four layers is completely different from unsealing all nine.

Now, Ji Wu Xuan truly lives up to the title of ‘South Desolate First’ genius.

The previous Ji Wu had always been holding back, which is also to temper himself because for the proud Ji Wu Xuan, unsealing those Mysterious Seals was akin to admitting defeat.”

Other talented Cultivators also joined the discussion, each sentence and insight quite unique.

…

Zhou Yan did not pursue the advantage; he gave Ji Wu another chance to catch his breath.

If he had struck forcefully, Ji Wu might not even have had the chance to unseal the seals.

To his enemies, Zhou Yan had always practiced merciless tactics of rooting out problems, but Ji Wu was different.

If Ji Wu died too easily, it would not alleviate the hatred in Zhou Yan’s heart, nor would it demonstrate the capabilities of this adversary.

Apart from decisively defeating Ji Wu at his absolute peak and letting Ji Wu acknowledge that even when standing at the apex, he was completely no match for Zhou Yan, it was also about crushing Ji Wu’s will, to the point where he couldn’t even conceive the thought of being Zhou Yan’s enemy.

And besides, Zhou Yan also had to admit, Ji Wu was a formidable opponent, unyielding as a centipede in death, with extremely startling methods and hidden cards.

If Zhou Yan could thoroughly defeat Ji Wu at his supreme peak, and then destroy his will with the Killing Spirit Divine Dao technique—truly crushing the genius—it would be a method of catharsis—even though after completely unsealing himself, Ji Wu’s combat power might become extremely close to his.

But Zhou Yan was not afraid.

True powerhouses never knew the meaning of fear.

“Now, you’ve unsealed the Nine-layered Profound Restrictions on your strength, and you’ve also had a moment to breathe,” Zhou Yan said, “But I will give you a bit more time to adjust to the changes in your body’s strength and weakness, so you don’t have any excuses when you lose.”

Zhou Yan spoke with supreme arrogance, but he had the capital to be arrogant.

The Emperor Qi Sword Body was always proud and defiant, never putting anything in its eyes.

It was with such character that his disciple Hou Chen dared to be so unbridled.

“Idle talk is useless.

Now, I should thank you for giving me an opportunity to go all out.

But do you think that with your Combat Power Breaking Nine, you can certainly kill me?”

The fierce expression on Ji Wu’s face hadn’t diminished in the slightest, but his speech approached calm amid the madness; he had become almost inhuman, looking even more disheveled with hair flying messily and bloodstained all over.

No one dared to ridicule him, nor did anyone feel he had lost face, for the combat power of the two was something other geniuses could only aspire to.

Even in defeat, there was no shame.

In contrast to the disheveled air about Ji Wu, Zhou Yan, dressed in fluttering black garments, with hair flying, exuded an awe-inspiring Blood Qi that startled the heavens and earth—as if a War God from ancient times had descended, invulnerable to all things, his bearing powerful and domineering.

“Wherever you have faith, I will shatter that faith!”

Zhou Yan spoke calmly yet suddenly made his move.

Purple Flame burst forth with a ‘puff,’ appearing as if an unparalleled furnace had suddenly emerged, burning fiercely in a single stroke.

As the Purple Flame manifested, the Void immediately scorched, and all the chaotic energy and flying gravel instantly reduced to ashes and dust, burned into nothingness.

The figure of Ji Wu flashed with a ‘whoo,’ this time calmly dodging the attack, but he did not look triumphant; instead, his expression grew even more solemn.

For it was just a casual blow from Zhou Yan, as if it were meant to make him look foolish—that was clearly just ‘teasing.’

But in a fight of life and death, Zhou Yan would not engage in such trivial teasing.

When he unleashed the Purple Flame, it was merely to camouflage the direction of the endless energy in the Void.

The furious energy, all encompassing within the Purple Flame, was devoured and absorbed by the Purple Flame Void, drawn away.

The energy might have been explosive and furious, but it was extremely valuable energy, including the essence energy that overflowed from Hou Chen’s body, which after refining, Zhou Yan would replenish to Hou Chen entirely, using Hou Chen’s own energy to restore him, virtually as supreme as Divine Medicine.

With each step, Zhou Yan had precise calculations in mind.

At this level of strength and intelligence, every move definitely carried profound implications.

The moment the Purple Flame was released, Zhou Yan struck again.

This time, Zhou Yan deployed the Ten Thousand Ghosts Sword Dao.

This Sword Dao, realized within the Ten Thousand Ghosts Sword Tomb and inherited from Ancestor Wan Jian Tian of Ten Thousand Ghost Sword, Wan Jian Tian’s strength might not be particularly great now, but he had also managed to reenact the combat power of a Saint, stronger by a few measures than the likes of Yao, Fairy Die, and others.

But in the past, Wan Jian Tian’s strength was enough to slay gods!

Back then, against Saints like Evil King, Wan Jian Tian could kill hundreds with a single sword!

The Ten Thousand Ghosts Sword Dao was a legacy of Wan Jian Tian’s peak moment in Sword Dao, and naturally, it was extraordinary.

Moreover, the greatest advantage of the Ten Thousand Ghosts Sword Dao lay in its ability to pierce through defensive powers and strike the actual body.

In other words, this Sword Dao possessed a penetrating force that could virtually ignore the defensive powers of some Holy-level Battle Armor.

Such a technique was the perfect choice to inflict injury on Ji Wu.

The Ten Thousand Ghosts Sword Dao comprises seven major sword techniques: Yin Spirit Life and Death Sword, Resentful Spirit Life and Death Sword, Lonely Soul Life and Death Sword, Five Elements Life and Death Sword, Yin Yang Life and Death Sword, Ten Thousand Ghosts Six Desolations Sword, and Ten Thousand Ages in One Sword.

The seven sword techniques contain the Secret Techniques of Seven Stars and carry the aura of Array rules, immensely powerful.

As for the Ten Thousand Ghosts Sword Dao, Zhou Yan had almost complete mastery, and he had a particularly high affinity and insight into the Ten Thousand Ages in One Sword, for this Sword Dao resembled the Tao of ‘All Things are Law, Dao Sheng Yi, Origin Transformation,’ and so on.

The technique that Zhou Yan was unleashing now was precisely the Ten Thousand Ages in One Sword.

The Ten Thousand Ghosts Sword Dao, named ‘Ten Thousand Ghosts,’ naturally had its literal significance.

As this sword was executed, the world was immediately swept by a ghastly wind, and the phantoms of ten thousand ghosts emerged, as if Hell itself had descended.

The ten thousand ghosts wailed, howled, and struggled, as if Yin Soldiers passed by, exceedingly terrifying.

The howling and crowding of ten thousand ghosts, devouring each other in a scene that momentarily materialized like smoke, suddenly converged into one, forming a type of Sword Dao.

The Ten Thousand Ages in One Sword was precisely the power of ten thousand ghosts transforming into a sword, manifesting a Ghost Sword that was cold, sinister, and fearfully murderous.

The Ten Thousand Ghost Sword, with an invincible suppressing force, cleaved through the Void, striking at Ji Wu.

This sword, containing the true Tao and almost merging with the Tao itself, had become a part of the Tao, and thus, returning to simplicity, astonishingly manifested no Great Dao Resonance, nor did it display any amount of Divine Power, yet it made both Ji Wu and all the genius cultivators change color.

All eyes were locked onto this sword, brilliant with splendor, for this sword contained the dreadfully powerful force of the heavenly Tao, the true integration of the Tao’s power.

Everyone knew this move would be terrifying beyond belief.

Ji Wu’s face was grim as a sense of grave crisis washed over him; he knew he couldn’t block it, absolutely couldn’t block it!

But he was unwilling, utterly unwilling to believe that even after unsealing the Nine-layered Sealing, and nearly revealing all his cards, not only was he unable to defeat Zhou Yan, he couldn’t even withstand a single move!

Yet, compelled by the situation, he could only exert all his strength, unleashing his immensely powerful Slaughter Path, murder running rampant and Divine Power roaring, to clash with Zhou Yan.

However, the turn of events was far beyond anyone’s anticipation.

For against Ji Wu’s offensive, Zhou Yan didn’t even dodge; he took it head-on, and because of that, Zhou Yan’s attack, fully unleashed, likewise struck Ji Wu.

A single sword!

Just one sword stroke alone!

A muffled sound ‘puff’ echoed throughout heaven and earth.

Blood light exploded, a piercing scream resonated across the sky, making all genius cultivators shiver with cold, as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over their heads.