Supreme Sword Exalt

Ling Ya fell silent for a moment before saying, “Mortal World Intent. Indeed, not bad.”

He then shattered, scattering as patches of blood mist falling down. Only a faint figure remained in the field, which was his strand of divided consciousness.

His tone carried some regret. “What a pity. If I had known you had such skill, I would have braved the cost and come in person. This split soul is simply too weak. Who would have thought that I schemed for half a lifetime, only to fall at your hands—”

“Not me. Us,” Gu Han corrected him. Then, he said in a tone more serious than ever, “Ling Ya, wait for me. I will find you, and make you pay for the suffering you inflicted upon her.”

Ling Ya paid no attention to Gu Han’s threat. “I must obtain the profound yin qi and the bodhi seed. I’ll be awaiting your arrival! Tell me... your name—”

Gu Han’s sword fell once more. “Don’t even ask.”

Full of starlight, countless strands of tiny sword intents landed on him, grinding his split soul into nothing.

In the next moment, Gu Han swayed, and over a dozen wounds split open on him.

After being possessed by Ling Ya, Hong Luan had become even more terrifying than an ordinary Saint realm cultivator. However, as Gu Han said, this was Wangxiang Village, where his Mortal World Intent was strongest. If it had been anywhere else, he absolutely could not have dealt with Ling Ya.

Even so, he once again faced the threat of collapse after slaying Ling Ya. After he downed a bottle of Transcendent Substance, he gently took out that bodhi seed and stared blankly into space.

***

Within the void, the angry vajra once again spat out a mantra, carrying boundless light. Stepping before Zhong Yu in one stride, its six arms were raised high as the vajra staff crashed down fiercely.

With a loud crash, the green-red talisman was covered in cracks. Endless light illuminated the surroundings, liberating the many souls imprisoned within Zhong Yu's talisman.

Zhong Yu cursed loudly, “You old bald donkey!”

Having refined the souls for many years, losing so many at once caused him great distress.

“Do you know who my master is?!”

The old monk pressed his palms together. “Amitabha. Benefactor, please step aside.”

Zhong Yu did not dare to let him step aside. “Dream on!”

He had to make sure Ling Ya accomplished his goal, even if it cost him his life.

The old monk fell silent for a moment before asking, “Benefactor, why do you obstinately cling to illusions?”

The angry vajra dissipated, transforming into endless light.

Zhong Yu sneered coldly. “Are you afraid? If so, then get lost, or I’ll make sure you die horribly!”

The old monk slowly extended his palm. Extremely slow, it was just an unremarkable palm strike, with no trace of imposing momentum whatsoever.

Zhong Yu’s expression turned grave as he sensed a mountain-like pressure falling from above. Hmm?

Looking up, he saw that above the void, a giant palm spanning a thousand zhang had appeared. Within the surging light, it gradually transformed into a Buddhist-swastika-shaped seal.

The giant palm struck Zhong Yu and his green-red talisman mercilessly.

***

Gu Han stood silently amid the devastated mountain. Although his injury had nearly healed, his heart held no joy at surviving the human tribulation. Instead, he felt a faint loneliness and loss.

Just then, Ah Nan finally came running up from the foot of the mountain. “Brother Gu, what happened? Did you get into a fight with someone? How did you—”

Instinctively, she felt that Gu Han was somehow different from before. That was when she realized the demoness was nowhere to be found in the field. “Huh? Where’s Sister Ah Yin?”

Recalling the earlier commotion, her face turned pale, and tears welled up in her eyes. “Brother Gu, what happened to Sister Ah Yin?”

Gu Han’s heart ached as he patted her head and said softly, “She’s fine. She’s just a bit tired. Let her rest for a while.”

Ah Nan nodded vaguely, not fully understanding.

Just then, a loud laugh rang out, and Yan Qianjue landed before the two. “What kind of worthless Fu Yulin is that? It really is you, kid!”

Gu Han saluted. “Senior.”

Yan Qianjue glanced at him and raised an eyebrow. “You got through the human tribulation?”

Gu Han fell silent for a moment, then nodded. “Yes.”

Yan Qianjue had intended to praise him a few times, but seeing that Gu Han seemed unwilling to mention the matter further, he didn’t ask more questions.

Gu Han suppressed the gloom in his heart. “Senior, how did you know I was here?”

Yan Qianjue waved his hand grandly. “Bring him up!”

Then, a Saint realm elder approached from a distance, holding a man who was scared half to death, not even daring to breathe loudly. It was the Blood Soul Old Ancestor.

For these ten years, he had never given up on watching Cold Mountain, but with Gu Han’s warning beforehand, he never showed himself. However, not only did the battle on Cold Mountain cause too much commotion, but it also seemed to involve Saint realm cultivators.

He was too cowardly, fearing he would bring disaster upon himself. Thus, he simply reported the matter and incidentally revealed Gu Han’s location as well. Who would have thought that he even brought Yan Qianjue here? In his entire life, he had only seen Yan Qianjue three times, including today.

Looking at the chaotic battlefield, Yan Qianjue appeared thoughtful. “What happened? Where would Saint realm cultivators come from at a place like this? Is it related to your human tribulation?”

“Yes.”

“Where is that Saint realm cultivator then?”

“I killed him.”

Yan Qianjue was speechless. He really wanted to tell Gu Han that the word ‘killed’ was particularly well-chosen and not to use it again next time.

The others exchanged glances. A Transcendent realm cultivator? Killing a Saint realm cultivator? How is that possible?!

Although they had witnessed many instances of cultivators defeating opponents above their realm, the gap between the Transcendent realm and the Saint realm was too vast. They simply couldn’t believe anyone could do it.

Yan Qianjue sighed with emotion. “That’s impressive! Kid, every single thing you do surpasses our understanding!”

He did not doubt Gu Han’s words. The human tribulation was extremely dangerous, so it was possible for a Saint realm opponent to appear.

After thinking for a moment, Gu Han briefly explained the situation, “Senior.”

However, he concealed the matter of the demoness, only saying that the two had come from outside the domain and happened to encounter him. The remaining one, Zhong Yu, was likely entangled by the old monk.

“Outer domain? Ascension realm? As far as I know, that ancient road has been broken for many years. How did they get in?” Yan Qianjue appeared thoughtful. Then, he began to gloat, “He’s got bad luck coming for offending an old bald donkey.”

“Senior, why do you say that?”

“What kind of person do you think that old bald donkey is?”

Gu Han answered without hesitation, “The master is open and magnanimous, and he is a person of great compassion.”

He felt genuine gratitude towards the old monk for giving him the bodhi seed and holding off Zhong Yu. Both gestures were immense kindnesses to him. Furthermore, the thing inside that seed was something Ling Ya desired even more than the profound yin qi.

Clearly, the seed’s preciousness far exceeded his imagination. Such a thing given away freely, and to a stranger he had met for the first time. To be fair, if it were him, he simply couldn’t do it. That was precisely why Gu Han admired the old monk.

Yan Qianjue appeared pained, with a knowing expression. “You’ve been deceived! That old bald donkey is petty! No one who offends him ever ends well!”