Chapter 1252: Reduced to Ashes
The immortal artifacts around the Qingfeng Sword were all magical treasures meticulously refined by the Heaven Mandate Immortal. He could sense them shattering, layer by layer.
Even the innermost layer—the Qingfeng Sword’s small world—quaked violently, causing the mountains and earth to shake.
On the other hand, Jiang Ping'an could sense the barrier created from national fortune being subjected to unimaginable abuse, so atrocious that he couldn’t bear to look. Under the impact of the self-detonation, the spherical barrier stretched vertically as though it was a lump of dough being relentlessly kneaded on a chopping board.
Jiang Ping’an and the Midheaven Emperor-Lord could almost feel their hearts jumping out of their chests as they watched this scene unfold before their eyes. They finally understood why everyone else had reacted so frantically moments before.
Those who were slow to flee would have shared Yao Sheng’s fate.
Only Yao Sheng remained within the barrier. He was covered in wounds, coughing up immortal blood. The detonation had shattered his immortal gold armor, its fragments piercing into his flesh. Never had he suffered such grievous injuries since ancient times.
However, he endured it all.
Immediately after, he watched as the blood mist suspended in the air re-coalesced into Yun Zhi’s body. The Everlasting Immortal Fairy was brimming with spirit. It had been a long time since she found a self-detonation this satisfying.
In contrast, Yun Zhi’s expression was somewhat peculiar. It’s my first time experiencing a self-detonation. This is so mortifying. Had I known, I wouldn’t have lent my body. I could have dealt with Yao Sheng myself.
Before preparing for her second self-detonation, the Everlasting Immortal Fairy cast a glance at the forlorn Qingfeng Sword planted in the earth. As for the immortal artifact remnants scattered around it, she automatically ignored them.
“Bestow upon the Qingfeng Sword the Everlasting state.”
This was the rule she had laid down before the first self-detonation.
She had also granted the Everlasting state to the Fengdu City space and the barrier.
“Again!”
Since I have vented enough through her fists, it is time to finish things cleanly.
The Everlasting Immortal Fairy once again blazed with blinding radiance and self-detonated a second time, so swiftly that Yao Sheng had no chance to activate Law Follows Words. He could only recite the words silently in his mind.
Absolute Defense.
Black mist gathered, and layers of immortal gold enveloped Yao Sheng tightly.
But it was useless.
The second self-detonation scattered the black mist, shredded the immortal gold, and left Yao Sheng’s immortal body riddled with holes.
Those within the Qingfeng Sword’s small world looked on in astonishment, not because Yao Sheng couldn’t withstand the self-detonation, but because the Qingfeng Sword had remained intact. After all, the first self-detonation had destroyed three spatial-type immortal artifacts.
“Is Wu Yao’s artifact refinement skills better than mine?” The Heaven Mandate Immortal suffered the greatest blow. I, the almighty progenitor of artifact refinement, am inferior to an immortal of a later age in artifact refinement techniques?
You are forsaken by the Five Elements.
Nine Heavens Xirang Soil, the Jianmu, Weak Water, heavenly fire, and the essence of the five metals materialized once more, this time attempting to seal the Everlasting Immortal Fairy completely.
Unfortunately, in the face of absolute power, even launching an attack was a pipe dream.
These elemental immortal creations had barely come into existence before the self-detonation’s shockwaves pulverized them to dust, their immortal nature completely dissipated.
Rejuvenation.
Uttering the word in his mind was equivalent to wielding the Rejuvenation Dao Fruit, and Yao Sheng’s wounds mended rapidly.
But no matter how quickly he healed, he couldn’t outpace the Everlasting Immortal Fairy’s self-detonations.
“The self-detonations have stopped?”
During the self-detonations, no one within the Qingfeng Sword’s small world dared to probe their immortal consciousness outward. Under such circumstances, their immortal consciousness would be instantly obliterated.
Now that the Qingfeng Sword had ceased trembling, they finally dared to extend their consciousness.
Yao Sheng had been blasted until his immortal body was completely destroyed, and even his three ethereal souls, seven corporeal souls, and foundation were battered and left in ruins. He was like a tattered sack, shriveled and limp.
“Everlasting, great! You’re really great!” Yao Sheng ground his teeth, his expression twisted with venomous hatred.
I’ve lost this battle through and through. Did I really succeed with the ambush only because Everlasting Immortal Fairy had been in some strange state?
But things aren’t over yet.
“Everlasting, don’t think you’re the only one who can self-detonate!” Yao Sheng’s body began to glow as well, identical to the Everlasting Immortal Fairy’s condition just now. He was clearly preparing to self-detonate!
“Oh no! He’s trying to escape!” Lu Yang shouted urgently.
If Yao Sheng could feign death and escape with Law Follows Words at the Transcendent Tribulation Stage, he certainly could do the same as an immortal!
Lu Yang even suspected that Yao Sheng could maintain two Law Follows Words decrees simultaneously in the same spacetime and that his feigned-death escape decree had been constantly active all along.
Yao Sheng burst into laughter. So what if they have figured out my methods? Do they have any countermeasures?
“The world is vast; there is nowhere I cannot go. The only way to catch me is for Yun Zhi to voluntarily unite with the Dao!
“Yun Zhi, do you dare unite with the Dao?!”
Either I’ll escape through self-detonation, or Yun Zhi will pay the price through Dao Union, becoming Heaven to hunt me down.
He was infuriated by Yun Zhi’s dismissive attitude. Do you really think I’m so easily manipulated?!
Trapped between a rock and a hard place, let’s see how you’ll decide!
Yun Zhi regarded Yao Sheng with the same scornful indifference, uttering not a word and showing no trace of panic. The countermeasure for this scenario had already been discussed with the Everlasting Immortal Fairy during their battle.
Just then, the Everlasting Immortal Fairy suddenly whipped out a hoe from behind her back and brought it down upon Yao Sheng’s head, leaving a faint mark on his skull.
Yao Sheng’s face twisted in terror. “Th-This is...”
The hoe was nondescript, devoid of any distinguishing features, just like the kind an old farmer would use in the fields.
As it happened, Lu Yang had seen this hoe before, and its owner was standing right beside him.
He turned to look at Jiang Ping’an. “Senior, is that the hoe you always use?”
Jiang Ping’an, dressed like an old farmer, chuckled. “That’s no hoe. It’s the Supreme Sword.”
“The Supreme Sword?!” Memories resurfaced in Lu Yang’s mind. At the Qing Province Grand Ceremony, when a Great Yu Transcendent Tribulation cultivator had attacked, the provincial governor had deployed a phantom of the Supreme Sword, instantly rendering the Great Yu cultivator’s rules ineffective.
If even a mere manifestation of the Supreme Sword possessed such power, then...
“The Supreme Sword’s true ability is to nullify Dao Fruits?!”
Jiang Ping’an smiled modestly. “It’s not that exaggerated. It depends on the opponent’s strength. The stronger they are, the shorter the nullification time. If it’s someone as powerful as Yao Sheng, I estimate it can only nullify his abilities for about five seconds.”
Lu Yang cast him a sidelong glance. In a battle between immortals, even the span of a single breath could determine victory or defeat. Nullifying a Dao Fruit for five seconds was already terrifying enough.
Jiang Ping’an indeed didn’t excel in combat, even with the Supreme Sword in hand. Hence, he preferred to lend it to immortals more adept at fighting.
“But why is the Supreme Sword a hoe?” Lu Yang asked. Had it not possessed such divine properties, he would never have associated the hoe with the Supreme Sword.
The other immortals were equally curious.
Jiang Ping’an rolled his eyes. This is such a simple question. “Everyone knows my Supreme Sword is dangerous. If I pull it out, wouldn’t my opponent be on guard? Since that’s the case, I might as well change the Supreme Sword’s appearance.
“As you can see, the effect is pretty good. Yao Sheng didn’t even react in time.”
The self-detonation process was irreversible. Yao Sheng found himself unable to activate his Law Follows Words Dao Fruit and sensed that his means of escape had been rendered ineffective. All he could do was watch helplessly and sink into utter despair as he blazed with light.
BOOM!
Reduced to ashes...