Chapter 609: Chapter 282: The Sixteen Powers of Jing Country_3

But he was undoubtedly the sharpest, most lethal blade in Jing Country.

“The Sixteen Stances of Jing Country, the Stone Buddha, the clash of grand forces between Buddha Country and Jing Country—who will claim the top prize? Let this blade decide.”

Zhou Xuan let his right arm hang slack, the blade’s tip dragging along the ground, as he walked towards the Stone Buddha.

As the Sixteen Stances dragged along, there was no mournful sound, no clash of metal or stone; the blade’s tip left no mark even on the soft, muddy earth.

This echoed the adage of master swordsmen: “It’s easy to reveal a blade’s edge, but to conceal it—now that’s true mastery.”

The Stone Buddha held no weapon, his fear palpable. He even lost the courage to face Zhou Xuan directly.

“Switch masks, quickly switch masks!”

The Wuxiang Prison gave a frantic warning to Daluo Tian.

Daluo Tian hastily donned the Heavenly Official Mask. Perhaps the mask’s powerful regenerative ability, capable of blood and flesh rebirth, could withstand Zhou Xuan’s blade?

While the Stone Buddha’s thoughts swirled in turmoil, Zhou Xuan had already closed in.

He swung his arm to strike.

The movement was clumsy, resembling a young laborer awkwardly chopping bamboo for the first time. The blade fell in an unremarkable, almost amateurish arc.

Yet, in the eyes of the onlookers, it was anything but mundane.

They saw stars shimmering, the fierce sun blazing overhead. Light and shadow carved the world into fragmented spaces, blurring the line between void and reality—impossible to discern one from the other.

In this fractured space, a torrent of light surged like a cascading waterfall, fleeting as a startled swan, gone in an instant.

If one’s eyes failed to keep up, they wouldn’t even perceive this torrent of light.

This slash—

spanned the heavens,

and this slash—

seemed to have never been unleashed at all.

The essence of Jing Country’s stance fully merged into this strike.

When light and shadow finally steadied,

when the space regained stability,

the Stone Buddha’s body had already been split cleanly in half, the break as smooth as a mirror.

The infantile form of the Wuxiang Prison and the elderly visage of Daluo Tian had been cleaved from the Stone Buddha’s body, lying motionless on the ground, their faces devoid of expression.

Only after a second or two did they finally feel the agony, their screams echoing incessantly.

The blade was so fast—

so fast that even pain couldn’t keep up.

Meanwhile, in Peng Town, Zhou Xuan stood in light, unassuming attire, gazing up at the vast blue sky, as if savoring a serene holiday.

The Mountain and River Map had vanished without a trace.

Even the Immovable Ming King had been cleaved perfectly in two.

As for the Saint Heir and Saintess, having been farther away, they only lost their feet to the strike. But with the energy of the Sixteen Stances imbued in their wounds, they were unable to achieve blood and flesh regeneration.

The first decisive clash between Jing Country and Buddha Country ended in a single stroke.

“The people of Buddha Country—hardly impressive after all.”

“So, the nemesis of the Suffering Faction… turns out to be Wuwen Mountain.”

He rambled on, now more like a talkative young man chatting to himself than a swordsman who had, moments ago, cleaved through the Saint Heir, Saintess, Stone Buddha, and the Immovable Ming King in a single stroke.

Yet those around him did not share Zhou Xuan’s composure. Members of the Tattoo Clan fell to their knees, worshiping Zhou Xuan. The clan’s first legendary tattoo map, created two millennia ago, had originated from Zhou Xuan’s hand.

The wandering divine entities of Mingjiang Prefecture were in a fervor.

To them, the leading Tangkou of Jing Country cultivation was undoubtedly the mightiest.

Neither the Immovable Ming King nor the Buddha Country Heavenly King Sect could withstand the breathtaking blade of the Nuo God’s disciple.

Only Zhou Lingyi approached Zhou Xuan, gracefully withdrawing the field of Red Spider Lilies that blanketed Peng Town as she slowly walked toward her brother, brushing the dust from his collar.

“Brother, this storyteller’s scholar’s robe doesn’t suit you at all—too bookish. Let’s have Tailor Li make you something else tomorrow. Still a robe, but more flowing and elegant.”

“Why not make me a Daoist robe? Those are quite chic.”

“That works too.”

After a monumental battle, the siblings’ first act was to chat about mundane attire.

Yun Ziliang gave Zhou Xuan a thumbs-up and said, “Xuanzi, you’ve got taste. What clothing can be more stylish than our Daoist robes?”

It bordered on shameless self-promotion, as everyone knew the Dragon Seeking Mountain People loved their Daoist robes.

With the battle won, Zhou Lingyi’s time to tend to her Tree Gate ability was drawing near. She reminded Zhou Xuan to remember the victory feast before returning first to Mingjiang Prefecture.

“Brother, so many people helped you; make sure to reward them generously.”

For a moment, Zhou Lingyi forgot… in the Zhou Family’s Troupe, she was the worst at keeping up with social obligations.

The best at it, however, was Zhou Xuan.

“Got it, Sis. Without your reminder, I might have just forgotten.”

“You little rascal,” Zhou Lingyi mockingly raised a hand as if to deliver a flick to Zhou Xuan’s head. Yet it was all for show. Once her figure dimmed, she waved him goodbye and disappeared from Peng Town.

“Old Hua, consume the Saint Heir and Saintess as sacrifices. I’ll ascend you to divinity.”

Zhou Xuan had already discussed it with the painter; the Saint Heir and Saintess’s bodies were meant for the painter’s devouring.

Once the painter became the Bone Elder Association’s top divine incense vessel across both the Human World and Time Realm, Zhou Xuan planned to return the Heavenly Official’s divine status to the association, allowing the painter to ascend as the new Bone Elder God-level entity.

“Thank you, Young Master, for fulfilling this destiny.”

The painter stared at the still-living Saint Heir and Saintess, scheming internally…

…

High above the Heavenly Dome, it was a scene of mixed emotions—elation for some, despair for others.

In despair were Mingjiang Prefecture’s true God-level deities: the Witch’s “Queen” and the City God’s “Shui Yong.”

They wished not only for Zhou Xuan to lose but for his outright demise.

Zhou Xuan’s meteoric rise had cast fear into the hearts of the gods above. Among those most shaken were, without a doubt, Mingjiang Prefecture’s God-level beings.

They had watched in disbelief as Zhou Xuan rallied the Bone Elder Association, the Witch, and reinforcements from Ping Shui Prefecture, slaying Peng Hou, the Heavenly Official, and the Ghost Hand one by one, embodying a fearlessness unmatched.

Though esteemed as God-level themselves, they worried each day that calamity might befall them next.

“Zhou Xuan is defiant. He cannot be allowed to live.”

“Goddess, he won’t survive. No one can resist the Will of Heaven Book. The book has already begun its activation; his demise is only a matter of time.”

“Indeed. Under the Will of Heaven Book, no one lives.”

While the Queen and Shui Yong fumed at Zhou Xuan’s audacious “turning of the tide,” the God of Suffering was exhilarated.

“What a lad! That breathtaking blade—it may even stand against the nine sticks of incense.”

The God of Suffering marveled at the resurgence of Jing Country’s Sixteen Stances after two thousand years. It stirred distant memories of the past.

Back then, the battle between the Heavenly Gods and the Heavenly Ghosts was devastating. If not for the combined forces of the gods channeling the essence of the Sixteen Stances, Jing Country would have long become a ravaged territory, mere livestock penned by brutal Alien Ghosts.

Above the gods are the Heavenly Gods; above the Alien Ghosts are the Heavenly Ghosts.

Yet in the two thousand years since the invaders were slain, no new Heavenly Ghosts had emerged on Jing Country’s soil.

Peng Hou’s Heavenly Ghost Map bore remnants of the Heavenly Ghost’s aura.

“In the Human World, there are nine sticks of incense. After this battle, they’ll all likely covet Zhou Xuan’s life.”

The incense fire Taoist appeared on a black donkey by the God of Suffering’s dim flame and said, “The youth is promising, but changing Jing Country will be a Herculean task.”

“Facing Zhou Xuan and Zhou Lingyi, even the nine sticks of incense must consider carefully whether they can withstand such an astonishing strike. Among the protectors of the Human World who shy from flying to the Heavenly Dome to sever ties with the Old Gods—every last one of them is cowardly.”

“What is there to fear about cowards?”

“Cowards may not be terrifying, but what about the Will of Heaven Book?” The incense fire Taoist, holding his horsetail whisk, patted it gently against his other hand as he posed the question.

“What do you mean?”

“The Will of Heaven Book has been activated. The gods intend to use this book to eliminate Zhou Xuan.”

“Using the Heaven Book against a mere mortal—Bi Fang dares too much.”

“The ‘Master’ has slumbered for five centuries. In that time, the deities of Jing Country seem to lack oversight. What wouldn’t they dare attempt?”

The incense fire Taoist remarked, “With the book in play, the youth likely cannot endure it. That said, he also gained a serendipitous understanding of it. Heaven Book against Heaven Book… this youth, I must admit, continues to stir my interest. Unlike the stagnant waters of the Time-Space World, unchanging and mind-numbingly dull.”

“If I awaken one day, the first to fall shall be Bi Fang.”

“Oh, here you go again. Wake up first and then talk.” The incense fire Taoist left behind a sardonic remark as he rode away on his black donkey…

…

“Cough, cough.”

In the camp within Peng Town, Zhou Xuan joined the Tattoo Clan in singing and dancing, drinking in large gulps. Yet, as he drank, he began coughing, pulling out a handkerchief to dab at his mouth, and staining it with blood.

“Miss Qiang, it really may be the Will of Heaven Book, corroding my body…”