Chapter 269 - 267: Settling the Grudges
Feng Tianbao’s sudden explosion of power took everyone by surprise.
Zuo Tianyuan had thought he had secured an escape route, but he never expected Feng Tianbao to possess the Nine Dragons Pressing Down, allowing him to unleash the supreme power of the Dragon Vein and clash head-on with Murong Jing.
Murong Jing was at the peak of the Primordial Pill Realm. It could be said that if not for his advanced age, he would have had a real chance of breaking through to the Divine Platform Realm.
Under normal circumstances, all the Primordial Pill Realm Grandmasters present, even if they joined forces, would likely be no match for Murong Jing. Yet, at this moment, he was being completely overpowered by Feng Tianbao.
The power of the Dragon Vein was immense. Feng Tianbao had endured years of agony nurturing it, and now that he was unleashing his full strength, his might was simply astonishing.
After watching for a moment, Chen Yuan had a clear understanding of the situation.
Murong Jing was, in truth, still not as strong as Kou Anzhi. After all, the Murong Family’s legacy Cultivation Technique lacked any truly distinguishing features.
While not weak, it was rather mediocre when compared to the other Noble Families and Sects on the Jianghu Wind and Cloud Rankings.
But despite Feng Tianbao having the upper hand against Murong Jing for now, the final outcome was still far from certain.
For one, Chen Yuan didn’t know how long Feng Tianbao could maintain his Nine Dragons Pressing Down. For another, there was the matter of Star Shifting.
𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺
One had to admit, the Murong Family’s Star Shifting was an incredibly thorny technique to deal with.
Normally, a Major Sect like the Shangguan Family would give Divine Artifact Incarnations to their younger disciples to serve as life-saving talismans.
Conversely, many expert Grandmasters did not possess a Divine Artifact Incarnation, as their own strength was already sufficient. Given the limited supply of these artifacts, it was far more practical to entrust them to junior Martial Artists.
But the Murong Family was different. The method for creating Star Shifting was so simple that it was quite possibly the easiest Divine Artifact Incarnation to produce in the entire Jianghu.
Therefore, almost anyone with a respectable position within the Murong Family could obtain a Star Shifting Divine Artifact Incarnation.
Murong Jing absolutely possessed a Star Shifting. Among the disciples he had brought, it was also likely that the younger ones who had reached the Condensing Truth Realm or the Sea of Reincarnation Realm possessed one as well.
Feng Tianbao surely knew about Star Shifting’s properties. In fact, the entire Jianghu knew.
Therefore, the key to victory would be whether Feng Tianbao could withstand Murong Jing’s Star Shifting.
"Big Master Duan, can you still fight?"
Chen Yuan suddenly turned to Duan Hengshan.
Just moments ago, Duan Hengshan had clashed head-on with Zuo Tianyuan, relying entirely on his powerful physique to endure the latter’s Sword Qi.
He was now covered in blood, his body riddled with small cuts from the Sword Qi, yet he still looked to be full of vigor.
"Steward Feng is putting his life on the line, so of course I can still fight. If I don’t risk it all, how can I lay this foundation for my Twelve Blade Halls?"
"I’ll deal with Zuo Tianyuan. Big Master Duan, you hold off Wei Chaoge."
The moment the words left his mouth, Chen Yuan charged straight for Zuo Tianyuan.
Previously, when Zuo Tianyuan was at his peak, Chen Yuan naturally wouldn’t have clashed with him head-on.
But now, Zuo Tianyuan was heavily injured from his and Duan Hengshan’s combined assault, his aura was unstable, and Chen Yuan was confident he could kill him.
Seeing Chen Yuan make his move, Wei Chaoge hesitated for a moment before preparing to intervene, but he was immediately intercepted by Duan Hengshan.
Wei Chaoge was a Fierce Battle General, while Duan Hengshan’s Martial Techniques were also wide and powerful. For a moment, the two were locked in a fierce, evenly matched struggle.
However, Duan Hengshan was still the one being suppressed. He was at a great disadvantage when it came to Cultivation and Martial Techniques; his only trump card was his incomparably tough body and extreme resilience. Although outmatched, he would not be defeated so easily.
"Alliance Leader Zuo, you’ve just about played all your trump cards, haven’t you? The Nine Swords Alliance was the site of your ascension, and today, it will be your grave!"
As Chen Yuan brought down his Red Lotus Sin-Slaying Saber, a towering blood flame transformed into a Red Lotus, blooming in midair.
Zuo Tianyuan hastily gathered his Sword Qi, but he could only let out a muffled grunt as a spray of blood erupted from his mouth.
Yet he seemed to ignore it, his Sword Qi soaring up to shatter the Red Lotus. His face, however, grew even paler.
If Duan Hengshan’s greatest advantage was his physical body, then Zuo Tianyuan’s greatest weakness was his own.
He was a traditional Sword Cultivator in the purest sense, pursuing the path of the blade’s ultimate sharpness and raw power.
Thus, his Sword Momentum was purely offensive, never defensive. He always met an attack with an Attack Against Attack, seeking to cut down his opponent.
The consequence of this was low defensive power; once he was heavily injured, his combat effectiveness would be severely hampered.
Just moments before, he had taken the full force of Duan Hengshan’s tyrannical Demon Saber slash, as well as Chen Yuan’s Shenxiao Evil-slaying Sword.
Although Zuo Tianyuan had managed to block both of their full-powered attacks, his Inner Viscera had been severely damaged, his Meridians were torn, and faint cracks had even appeared on the surface of his Primordial Pill.
Chen Yuan, however, was still flushed with vigor, as if he would never tire.
Two supreme Secret Techniques originating from the Seven Kills Stele—the Blood Killing Heaven-Seizing Hand and the Gouli Blood Flame Divine Seal—crashed down simultaneously. The immense Blood Fiend Power threatened to completely envelop Zuo Tianyuan.
Zuo Tianyuan forcibly condensed his Sword Qi, unleashing a sky-full of sharp slashes to barely carve a path out of the immense Blood Fiend power, only to immediately spit out two more mouthfuls of blood.
The toll on Chen Yuan was not small either; he was also no longer at his peak.
But his physique was powerful, he possessed a natural Dao Body, and his Recovery Power was astonishingly high.
After unleashing those two immensely powerful Secret Techniques, Chen Yuan followed up with a Blood Sea Listening Tide Slash. A relentless wave of Killing Saber Intent swept toward Zuo Tianyuan, giving him no chance to catch his breath.
The fight was becoming incredibly suffocating for Zuo Tianyuan. He never imagined he would one day be so thoroughly suppressed by a junior Martial Artist.
At the same time, a deep sense of crisis welled up within him.
’I can’t let this go on! If this keeps up, my injuries will only worsen. Sooner or later, Chen Yuan will wear me down and kill me.’
A ruthless glint appeared in Zuo Tianyuan’s eyes. He formed a Seal Technique, and deep within his Dantian, a Cyan Sword Pill began to spin rapidly.
As the Power of the Primordial Pill was fully unleashed, streams of bitingly sharp yet immensely powerful Sword Qi instantly surged through Zuo Tianyuan’s entire body, bringing with it an instantaneous, excruciating, tearing pain.
This Cyan Sword Pill that Zuo Tianyuan had refined contained an extremely sharp Cyan Sword Qi, which normally served as the foundation of his power.
But now, Zuo Tianyuan was pushing it with all his might, completely draining the Power of the Primordial Pill and using his own body as a scabbard to contain its ultimate sharpness.
To a certain extent, Zuo Tianyuan’s move was somewhat similar to the Sword Concealment Technique used by Du Xiaochen of the Flying Shadow Sword Pavilion, one of the Yang Mountain Four Sects.
The only difference was that the Sword Concealment Technique required continuous practice and had severe side effects.
Zuo Tianyuan’s Cyan Sword Pill, on the other hand, only needed to be unleashed at a critical moment.
Sensing the ultimate sharpness emanating from Zuo Tianyuan, Chen Yuan abruptly halted and then rapidly retreated.
Zuo Tianyuan’s power was undeniable. Even heavily injured, if he was willing to put his life on the line, Chen Yuan had to avoid the brunt of his desperate attack.
"Trying to run now? Too late!"
Zuo Tianyuan roared. There was no longer a sword in his hand, but as he thrust out with a Sword Pointing gesture, a boundless, sharp Sword Qi condensed in midair and locked directly onto Chen Yuan.
In that instant, it was as if a sword had been drawn from its sheath. A vast and mighty Sword Qi, powerful enough to sunder the heavens and the earth, slashed down toward Chen Yuan!
There was nowhere for Chen Yuan to run, nowhere to hide. A grave expression settled over his features.
Faced with this strike, Chen Yuan had two options: use the Corpse Tower Forest Divine Artifact Incarnation, or use his Celestial Blood Eye to block it.
However, with so many prying eyes around, using the Celestial Blood Eye would risk exposing the fact that he cultivated a Blood God Sect technique.
Furthermore, he had already used the Celestial Blood Eye back at the Profound Celestial Daoist Palace. The Blood Qi he had accumulated since then was not yet sufficient; blocking this attack with it would be a stretch.
Just then, an idea struck Chen Yuan. He immediately pulled a pitch-black Demon Saber from his Qiankun Bag.
This was the very same Demon-Drinking Saber he had obtained from Xu Tianhong after killing him.
Although the Demon-Drinking Saber was powerful, it was not as compatible with Chen Yuan’s Cultivation Technique as Blood Sea Listening Tide was, which was why he hadn’t used it until now.
The power of the Demon-Drinking Saber lay in the Demon Dao Origin it contained. One could infuse their own Demonic Power into it over time, allowing it to accumulate, and then unleash it all in an instant during a battle with devastating results.
Chen Yuan had accumulated some of his own power within it recently, but not a significant amount.
Most importantly, a portion of the powerful Demonic Qi left behind by the White-haired Witch, Xu Baiwei, still remained within the blade.
Xu Tianhong had been too useless; even with the Demon-Drinking Saber in hand, he had been incapable of unleashing the full potential of the power his mother had left inside it.
Thus, after that bloody battle, nearly half of the Demonic Qi she had left behind—all of it from Xu Baiwei—still remained within the Demon-Drinking Saber.
Just because Xu Tianhong had been unable to unleash the saber’s power to its fullest did not mean Chen Yuan couldn’t.
Grasping the Demon Saber, Chen Yuan frantically channeled the power of the *Other-Transformed Self-Free Celestial Demon Secret Manual*.
This was a versatile, jack-of-all-trades Demonic Cultivation Technique, capable of integrating with many other techniques, making it an ideal foundation for the Demon Dao.
In the future, if Chen Yuan could obtain an even stronger Demonic Cultivation Technique to augment this one, he would be able to condense the Free Celestial Demon Aspect and wield infinite power.
Immense Demonic Qi gathered in Chen Yuan’s hands. The Demon-Drinking Saber instantly erupted with a magnificent Demonic Sword Aura that streaked across the sky, its power simply immense.
A torrent of Demonic Qi, enough to blot out the sun and sky, erupted from the Demon-Drinking Saber. The hand Chen Yuan used to grip the blade was trembling.
No wonder Xu Tianhong had been unable to push the Demon-Drinking Saber to its limit. If too much power erupted at once, one would lose control of it, injuring themselves before their enemy.
With a furious roar, Chen Yuan slashed down. "Ten Thousand Demons Return to Ruins!"
The sky-blotting Demonic Qi instantly enveloped the immense Sword Qi that could sunder the heavens and the earth.
The saber and sword clashed, and a thunderous BOOM echoed between heaven and earth.
No matter how sharp Zuo Tianyuan’s Cyan Sword Pill was, it ultimately failed to break through the overwhelming, sky-blotting Demonic Qi.
As the Sword Qi dissipated, Zuo Tianyuan’s face became deathly pale.
Chen Yuan’s face was just as pale, but he charged toward Zuo Tianyuan nonetheless, the Demon Saber in his hand slashing down with chilling killing intent!
Zuo Tianyuan raised his long sword to block, only to find he could not even muster a single wisp of Sword Qi.
With a loud CLANG, his Cyan Blade Sword was shattered by the Demon-Drinking Saber. In that same instant, Zuo Tianyuan’s head fell to the ground. The sword shattered, the man was dead.