Chapter 288 - 286: Vital Point
"Why is the Sun-piercing Sword rampaging?"
Chen Yuan suddenly asked.
Although Chen Yuan had long known the Sun-piercing Sword was on a rampage, he didn’t actually know why.
"Because of anger."
Words quickly materialized on the Human Skin Evil Book: "Divine Artifact Demon Soldiers all have their own intelligence. Though they are not as clever, agile, and knowledgeable of all things past and present as this book..."
Sensing Chen Yuan’s unfriendly gaze, the Human Skin Evil Book didn’t dare continue its nonsense. The boastful words quickly vanished, replaced by a different answer.
"The previous master of the Sun-piercing Sword was very strong and perfectly met its requirements for a Commander-in-Chief. Divine Artifact Demon Soldiers only acknowledge one master. While its Commander-in-Chief was alive, no one else could control the Sun-piercing Sword.
But for the Sun-piercing Sword to be in its current state, someone must have tried to forcibly control it before its master had even died. That’s what triggered its fury.
The Sun-piercing Sword is not angry because it’s rampaging; it’s rampaging because it’s angry.
Otherwise, under normal circumstances, the Sun-piercing Sword wouldn’t rampage immediately after losing its Commander-in-Chief. It would be a long time before it started to rampage from the need to be controlled.
𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎
I have peeked into Guan Tianming’s heart. That man is outwardly magnanimous but inwardly jealous, and his mind is dark. The death of the Sun-piercing Sword’s previous Commander-in-Chief is likely connected to him."
Chen Yuan nodded in understanding and suddenly asked, "What about you? What are your requirements for a Commander-in-Chief?"
The pages of the Human Skin Evil Book fluttered twice as if stunned, then words quickly appeared.
"You are my master. I have been waiting tens of millions of years for you to appear. Whatever you are is exactly what I require in a Commander-in-Chief.
One book does not serve two masters. If anyone else tried to forcibly control me, I would sooner immolate myself than give them the chance!"
No stick figures appeared on the Human Skin Evil Book this time, but Chen Yuan could sense its fawning nature from the handwriting alone.
Chen Yuan smiled, not believing a word of its bullshit.
Without touching the Sun-piercing Sword, Chen Yuan returned directly to the main hall.
The Sun-piercing Sword was currently beyond his control. If he rashly tried to unseal it, he would most likely be skewered to death by the rampaging blade.
He had gone down to look not only out of curiosity but also to test the Human Skin Evil Book.
’If this thing is still dishonest and tries to incite me to unseal the Sun-piercing Sword, I’ll just burn it to a crisp.’
Fortunately, it seemed genuinely afraid, or perhaps it believed Chen Yuan wouldn’t make such a mistake here, so it didn’t say anything unnecessary.
If the Human Skin Evil Book had known Chen Yuan’s thoughts, it would surely have cursed him. Who was the real evil manipulator here? Playing so many mind games with an evil artifact... was he even human?
"According to you, the Evil Bone Godslaying Sword technique Guan Tianming is practicing is actually incomplete? Are there any flaws?"
"Of course there are. The Evil Bone Godslaying Sword actually requires one to extract their own spine and refine it into the Evil Bone Sword, while simultaneously finding the bone of an Ancient Fierce Beast to refine and place inside their body as a replacement spine.
But how could the bone of an Ancient Fierce Beast be so easy to find? I was worried Guan Tianming would think my Cultivation Technique was inefficient, so I tricked him into shattering his Residual Cloud Sword and embedding the fragments into his spinal column to act as a spine. It could even enhance his own sharpness.
However, this method is like drinking poison to quench thirst. The physical body is also ravaged by the sharpness of the Celestial Soldier. And if someone were to furiously attack his spine from behind, causing the blade’s sharpness to pierce his Inner Viscera, Guan Tianming would be as good as dead."
Once Chen Yuan knew the solution, he immediately rushed outside.
He wasn’t worried the Human Skin Evil Book would lie to him about this.
To the Human Skin Evil Book, Guan Tianming was already a pawn to be discarded. It was eager to sell him out completely in exchange for Chen Yuan’s trust.
Outside, Mr. Bei and the other two were still locked in a fierce battle with Guan Tianming.
Having cultivated a half-finished version of the Evil Bone Godslaying Sword, Guan Tianming’s combat prowess was astonishing. He was single-handedly suppressing all three of them.
It was a good thing that Mr. Bei and the other two were considered powerful even among Divine Platform Realm Martial Artists; otherwise, Guan Tianming would have finished them off long ago.
Meanwhile, Pang Xing’an and Yuwen Shan were also in a heated fight.
Yuwen Shan was old, and Pang Xing’an was only at the Divine Platform Realm Early Stage, so they were evenly matched at first.
But by now, Yuwen Shan’s Qi and Blood were failing, and he could barely hold on. He began to retreat step by step, and the situation looked grim.
Seeing this, Chen Yuan shouted, "Seniors! Attack his spine, just behind his heart! That is his fatal weak point!"
Mr. Bei and the other two were momentarily stunned, but they all subconsciously chose to believe Chen Yuan.
Even though this was the first time Liu Bai and Wan Guiyuan had met Chen Yuan, they knew he was an extremely reliable junior Martial Artist who wouldn’t make baseless claims.
Mr. Bei immediately gathered the Power of Heaven and Earth. With a Cyan Heaven Dragon Transformation, he manifested a hundred-zhang-long dragon body that coiled toward Guan Tianming.
Wan Guiyuan, on the other hand, formed a Seal Technique. In an instant, a torrent of black Demonic Qi swirled around him, coalescing into a ferocious black wolf that shimmered behind him.
Dubhe Divine Radiance, Greedy Wolf Entering the Body!
The two of them simultaneously unleashed their full power in a frenzied assault on Guan Tianming, while Liu Bai held back, waiting for an opportunity to strike Guan Tianming’s back near his heart.
"You’re courting death!"
Guan Tianming sneered. He swung the Bone Sword in his hand, and every slash of sword light transformed into a black-and-red vortex, continuously devouring the surrounding power.
’I don’t even know what my own fatal weakness is. This junior is spouting absolute nonsense!’
’Besides, my spine isn’t bone anymore. Every single vertebra is a fragment of the Residual Cloud Sword—incomparably sharp and sturdy. How could it be a fatal weak point?’
Therefore, Guan Tianming didn’t bother with defense. He chose to meet Attack Against Attack, wanting to crush Mr. Bei and Wan Guiyuan in one fell swoop.
However, he had still somewhat underestimated the power of these two Ming Church Masters.
The Power of the Cyan Dragon, carrying the immensely vast Power of Heaven and Earth, was too much. Even with the astonishing Devouring Power erupting from his Evil Bone Sword, he couldn’t completely consume this force in a short time.
As Mr. Bei formed a Seal Technique, the Cyan Dragon roared, shaking the heavens and earth as it tightly bound Guan Tianming.
Guan Tianming snorted, and the black-and-red Evil Power around him erupted as he tried to break free from the Cyan Dragon’s coils.
But in the next moment, Wan Guiyuan was already swinging his Great Halberd down with a thunderous crash. Behind him, a Greedy Wolf Howled at the Moon as monstrous Demonic Qi condensed, blotting out the sky and sun, and chopped down toward Guan Tianming!
Greedy Wolf Devouring Heaven!
Guan Tianming snorted again. The Evil Bone Sword in his hand unleashed a deathly still power and slashed down, shattering the Greedy Wolf and colliding with Wan Guiyuan’s Great Halberd.
With a deafening BOOM, Guan Tianming grunted, feeling an extreme force slam into him. The ground beneath his feet shattered inch by inch.
The web between Wan Guiyuan’s thumb and forefinger also split open, and a large amount of blood flowed from his arm.
Just then, Liu Bai finally made his move.
The sword in his hand flashed. In that instant, there was only one sword between heaven and earth!
No one saw how Liu Bai had thrust that sword.
Everyone’s vision was filled by that dazzling, brilliant sword light.
Piercing and sharp, the ultimate sword light shone. By the time everyone saw the sword, its edge had already reached Guan Tianming’s back, right behind his heart!
Guan Tianming was horrified. The speed of this strike was so fast that even if he had been prepared, he wouldn’t have been able to block it. He could only shift all his power to his back and erupt with a black death-light to resist it head-on.
But in his haste, how much power could he possibly gather?
The sword struck Guan Tianming’s back, unleashing a boundless sharpness. The collision produced a resounding CLANG, as if weapons were clashing.
Guan Tianming grunted, and copious amounts of blood flowed from his mouth, mixed with fragments of his torn internal organs.
His spine bent in an instant, as if his entire body had been folded in half.
A strange smile appeared on Chen Yuan’s face. He held up the Human Skin Evil Book and waved it at Guan Tianming.
In that instant, Guan Tianming understood everything.
’I’ve been deceived!’
’I was actually deceived by this Human Skin Evil Book!’
But he couldn’t even utter a single word. Wan Guiyuan suddenly put force into his hands, and the Great Halberd chopped down, cleaving Guan Tianming in two!
This final Alliance Leader of the Sun-piercing Alliance was at last slain under the combined attack of the three masters.
On the other side, Pang Xing’an was horrified to see Guan Tianming die.
In his panic, his mind went blank, and Yuwen Shan pierced his Dantian with a sword, severely wounding him.
Pang Xing’an knew he was trapped. He hurriedly begged for his life, "Vice Alliance Leader Yu, spare me! My life is still useful—I can help revive the Sun-piercing Alliance!
I am willing to honor you as the Alliance Leader of the Sun-piercing Alliance and will be forever loyal, never to betray you!"
Yuwen Shan’s expression flickered, but upon hearing these words, he showed no mercy and killed Pang Xing’an in one final push.
Yuwen Shan only wanted to preserve the Sun-piercing Alliance; he himself had no ambition whatsoever.
’I’m an old man about to die of old age. How many days could I even be the Alliance Leader? What does that position have to do with me?’
Pang Xing’an had immediately and decisively begged for mercy after Guan Tianming’s death. This showed he was a two-faced backstabber with no bottom line.
’If I spare him today and let him develop the Sun-piercing Alliance with me, even if he doesn’t plot against me in the future, he will surely declare himself Alliance Leader after I die of old age and seize control of the Sun-piercing Alliance.’
For Yuwen Shan, the Sun-piercing Alliance could weaken, but it could not be controlled by someone like Pang Xing’an!
After killing Pang Xing’an, Yuwen Shan gasped for breath. He gave Chen Yuan and the others from the Ming Sect a complicated look, then left without even a word of greeting.
With Guan Tianming dead, the Sun-piercing Alliance had no more Ninth Realm Celestial Profound experts. Sun-piercing Valley was surely lost, and the Sun-piercing Sword would definitely fall into the hands of the Ming Sect.
One could say that the Ming Sect was the main culprit behind the destruction of their Sun-piercing Alliance.
But in reality, Yuwen Shan also knew that the root of all this lay with Guan Tianming—an Alliance Leader who was selfish, cultivated an Evil Technique, and disregarded the interests of the Sun-piercing Alliance.
So, Yuwen Shan couldn’t be bothered to dwell on the rights and wrongs of it all. However, he didn’t want to have any more dealings with the people of the Ming Sect.
His most urgent task now was to lead the remaining Sun-piercing Alliance Martial Artists to find a place of refuge. Otherwise, if they remained in the heartland of You Province, they would certainly be swallowed up by the Murong Family.