Chapter 657: A very difficult battle!
Boom!
A massive shadow hand suddenly condensed above Li Yun and slapped down like a dark mountain.
Li Yun’s expression became grave.
"Soul Sword Control Art."
The six hundred and sixty-six precious swords gathered above him, forming a defensive sword formation. The Flowing Cloud Formation Diagram shone beneath the swords, and the overlapping power of Slaughter Sword Intent and Immortal Sword Intent erupted once again.
Bang!
The shadow hand struck the sword formation.
The sword formation trembled violently. Dozens of precious swords were blown away, and Li Yun spat out a mouthful of blood as he was sent flying backward.
Before he could stabilize himself, a shadow longsword appeared from within the darkness and slashed toward him.
"Slow Sword."
Li Yun gritted his teeth and swung his sword.
The rhythm of Slow Sword spread outward, barely intercepting the shadow longsword. However, within the Shadow Domain, the crimson-robed youth’s strength was greatly increased, while Li Yun’s power was suppressed. The collision shattered Li Yun’s sword rhythm and sent him flying several dozen meters away.
’This is trouble.’
Li Yun stood up, ignoring the sharp pain throughout his body. His expression became solemn to the extreme.
Within the Shadow Domain, he could not lock onto the crimson-robed youth’s position. If he used the sword immortal puppet recklessly, he would only waste its remaining energy. The puppet could erupt with combat power at the 9th level of Heavenly Core Realm, but only for a short time. If those few breaths were wasted, he would truly lose his greatest trump card.
"Li Yun, it seems you have reached the end of the road."
The crimson-robed youth’s elusive voice rang out again. "In that case, the game ends here. This move will be your end."
"Shadow Storm."
His figure suddenly emerged ten meter in front of Li Yun. He made a grasping motion with both hands, and the entire Shadow Domain boiled violently. Under his control, the surrounding darkness split into two halves.
Then, those two halves folded inward from both sides, closing toward Li Yun like two walls of death.
Boom!
Just then, a startling brilliance suddenly erupted from the Sword Altar.
"What is going on?"
The sudden change startled both Li Yun and the crimson-robed youth. The crimson-robed youth even stopped his movements and looked toward the Sword Altar with a horrified gaze.
At the center of the Sword Altar, in front of the thirty-three-meter-tall precious sword, a figure stood there.
It was Peak Lord Shen Ming.
At some unknown point, Peak Lord Shen Ming had retrieved Martial Ascension Gate’s sect master token from Elder Chen Ming’s corpse. With a calm expression, he pressed the token into the indentation on the precious sword.
"Stop!"
The crimson-robed youth’s expression changed instantly.
He had long considered the legacy within this altar to be his own possession, but he had not expected that while he was fighting Li Yun, Peak Lord Shen Ming would actually beat him to it.
"You are seeking death!"
He roared angrily and prepared to charge forward, but even though his reaction was fast, it was already too late.
Buzz!
A brilliant light erupted from the giant sword.
In an instant, the giant sword seemed to come alive, trembling as though it might break free from the altar and soar into the sky at any moment.
An incredibly intense Sword Qi erupted from it.
Even a mere trace of that aura spreading outward caused both Li Yun and the crimson-robed youth to stiffen, making it difficult for them to move.
The aura was too terrifying.
It felt as if a god or demon had awakened, causing a soul-deep tremor that made it impossible to form any thought of resistance.
Suddenly, the giant sword let out an earth-shattering sound and flew up from the altar. At the same time, it rapidly shrank. In the blink of an eye, it became only one meter long.
Although the sword body had become smaller, its aura became even sharper and more terrifying than before. It turned into a streak of light and landed in Peak Lord Shen Ming’s hand.
At that moment, even Peak Lord Shen Ming’s figure seemed to grow taller. His entire aura became incomparably powerful as he suddenly swung the sword.
A brilliant Sword Qi erupted.
Words could not properly describe the brilliance of that strike.
As the sword swung out, it seemed as if heaven and earth dimmed and the entire world lost its color. Endless divine light exploded, filling this pocket of space and spreading rapidly outward. Under that illumination, all shadows seemed to be corroded and dissolved.
In an instant, the crimson-robed youth’s Shadow Domain was completely destroyed.
His face turned deathly pale.
Under the intense backlash, he spat out a large mouthful of blood.
"Puff!"
At the same time, Peak Lord Shen Ming also spat out blood. His body swayed unsteadily, and the sword in his hand struck the ground as he nearly collapsed.
Immediately afterward, the divine light of the precious sword retracted, and it became like an ordinary longsword again, no longer showing anything extraordinary.
Li Yun’s eyes flashed with cold light.
Now was the best chance.
Peak Lord Shen Ming’s strike had broken the Shadow Domain and forced the crimson-robed youth out of his strongest state. If Li Yun failed to kill him now, then once the crimson-robed youth recovered and merged back into the shadows, all of them would die.
"Kill."
Li Yun no longer held anything back.
The aura of his Indestructible Body erupted. His blood energy surged like an ocean, supporting his exhausted body. At the same time, Soul Sword Control Art activated again, and the six hundred and sixty-six precious swords rose into the air, forming a sword formation around the crimson-robed youth.
The Flowing Cloud Formation Diagram appeared beneath the sword formation, increasing its power.
Then came the two Sword Intents.
Thirty percent Xiantian Stage Slaughter Sword Intent.
Twenty percent Xiantian Stage Immortal Sword Intent.
The two Sword Intents overlapped across the six hundred and sixty-six swords, causing every sword to release an even more terrifying aura. The crimson Slaughter Sword Intent gave them absolute killing power, while the pale Immortal Sword Intent gave them an undying edge that was difficult to destroy.
"Grand Profound Five Elements Sword."
Li Yun swung his sword.
Five-colored Sword Qi erupted, carrying the power of Five Elements Intent. Metal, wood, water, fire, and earth circulated endlessly within the sword strike, sealing off the crimson-robed youth’s front.
"Slow Sword."
The mysterious rhythm of Slow Sword spread across the battlefield, disturbing the crimson-robed youth’s timing and delaying his attempt to retreat.
"Dreamlike Bubble."
A soul-confusing Sword Light flashed, causing the crimson-robed youth’s mind to tremble.
"Thunder Rain Soul-Seizing."
Thunder roared inside his soul. Heavy rain transformed into countless invisible swords, piercing toward the depths of his mind.