Chapter 211 - 203: Do You Submit?
Within Nan Dou Master’s sanctuary, green bamboo swayed and clear springs trickled.
An elegant bamboo house was built by the water.
Inside, Qian Xin Master and Nan Dou Master sat side by side.
Their gazes, however, were both fixed on the distant direction from which the Magical Power fluctuations originated.
Despite the great distance, the two Masters’ abilities allowed them to grasp most of what was happening in the battle.
Qian Xin Master unconsciously tapped his fingers on the bamboo railing, making a soft TAP, TAP sound.
"Senior Brother, is a Venerable Dao Foundation truly this powerful?
That kid Qi Yun... no, Nephew Qi just reached Foundation Establishment. He probably hasn’t even had time to properly grasp the various mysteries of the Foundation Establishment Realm, yet he can completely suppress Song Kun like this?
It’s simply inconceivable!"
His tone was filled with disbelief.
Song Kun, after all, was a veteran Master who had been immersed in the Foundation Establishment Early Stage for hundreds of years.
Moreover, as a Sword Cultivator, his offensive power was outstanding.
But before Qi Yun, he seemed utterly powerless.
His vaunted Sword Gang couldn’t even get close to him.
Nan Dou Master held his verdant Bamboo Staff and gently stroked his long beard. He spoke slowly,
"Innate are the laws, and Venerable is supreme.
If it weren’t this miraculous, how could it bear the title of ’Venerable’?"
"According to the Secret Scriptures, a Venerable Dao Foundation is innately able to ignore the Status suppression of other Dao Foundations.
Conversely, it can use its own Dao Position to forcefully suppress all non-Venerable Dao Foundations.
The only exceptions are the other Twelve Venerable Dao Foundations.
Within the same Realm, even an Upper Grade Dao Foundation’s Dao Position is naturally inferior, and the power of its Divine Techniques is greatly diminished.
To say nothing of Song Kun’s meager Middle Grade Star Sea Cyan Moon Dao Foundation."
At this point, Nan Dou Master stood up and walked to the side.
"There’s no need to watch anymore. The outcome of this battle is decided.
Song Kun... his defeat is certain."
"Decided? Senior Brother, isn’t that a bit too absolute?" Qian Xin Master’s brows twitched.
"Song Kun is, after all, over three hundred years Qi Yun’s senior.
His North Star Taiyin Sword Chapter is the culmination of his life’s work. It is treacherous and sharp, and when combined with the starlight and moonlight drawn from his Dao Foundation, it is by no means ordinary.
Even if Qi Yun can suppress him somewhat with his Dao Position advantage, it won’t be so easy to take him down!"
What he said was not without reason. In the path of cultivation, Realm and Dao Foundation are indeed fundamental.
But combat experience and mastery of Magic are equally crucial.
A rookie who has just entered Foundation Establishment facing an old devil who has fought for centuries... even with Divine Soldiers in hand, he might not be able to unleash their full power.
Hearing this, Nan Dou Master just smiled faintly. His gaze once again turned to the young figure standing on an azure cloud in the distance, a profound light flashing in his eyes.
"Just keep watching with an open mind.
Soon, you will understand what it means for... the might of a Venerable to be unshakeable."
...
His all-out attack had been so effortlessly neutralized by Qi Yun, not even managing to stir the corner of his robes. Song Kun’s expression was so grim it was practically dripping.
At this point, no matter how slow his reaction, he finally understood completely.
This junior he once saw as an ant must have forged some kind of unheard-of, bizarre Dao Foundation to be able to exert such a heavy, almost suffocating Dao Position suppression on a veteran Master like him!
"So what if it’s Dao Position suppression!" Song Kun’s eyes were bloodshot, his hair and beard standing on end, as he let out a long cry that echoed like the ring of a sword.
"Even if the heavens themselves were to collapse, I would still cleave them with a single strike!"
BOOM—!
His Sword Intent shot to the heavens, stirring the winds and clouds!
Song Kun held nothing back. The aura around him surged wildly at an unprecedented speed, as if all restraints had been broken!
The once-blurry void behind him completely solidified.
A magnificent, boundless Star Sea full of twinkling stars appeared, along with a vast, bright moon hanging high above it, cold and solitary!
It was his life-bound Foundation Establishment Realm Heaven—the [Star Sea Azure Moon Realm]!
At this moment, he completely and unreservedly unfurled this Realm Heaven.
Starlight and moonlight, like tangible substances, swirled around him. With every step he took, profound Circulation Star Maps would naturally form and dissipate in the void beneath his feet.
He drew upon the vast Power of Stars and Moon, compressing it and pouring it all into the Sword Formulas in his hand.
"The North Star is silent, the Taiyin is eternal!
Strike!"
Song Kun formed a sword with his fingers and thrust them fiercely toward Qi Yun!
VMMMM—!
A terrifying Sword Gang—far more condensed and brilliant than before, as if compressed from the entire Milky Way—tore through the sky. It shattered layers of the cosmic wall, rushing toward Qi Yun with the resolution to destroy everything!
Wherever the Sword Gang passed, it left black scars in space that wouldn’t heal for a long time.
An extremely brilliant divine light illuminated a thousand-mile radius.
It illuminated the entire Flower Moon Hall area as if it were day!
Faced with this terrifying strike—one that would make any Foundation Establishment Master of the same rank turn pale and give a wide berth—Qi Yun, who had been standing motionlessly on his azure cloud, finally moved.
He neither dodged nor summoned any Magical Artifacts, nor did he cast any complex Magic.
He simply raised his right hand calmly, his fingers slightly open, and gently pressed down toward the world-destroying Star Sea Sword Gang.
From his palm, a nine-colored radiance quietly bloomed, flowing and shifting, emitting a supreme aura that commanded all skills and stood above the Ten Thousand Daos.
[Mastering All Skills]!
In an instant, the terrifying Sword Gang, which had been charging forward with immense momentum like an entire star sea world, seemed to plunge into a formless, boundless mire as it entered a three-zhang radius around Qi Yun. Its speed visibly and rapidly solidified.
In the blink of an eye, this incomparably terrifying, peak-level strike became incredibly docile, finally coming to a complete stop right in front of Qi Yun.
Like a tamed river of starlight, it flowed quietly, unable to advance another inch.
Staring quietly at the stagnant yet still-dangerous Star Sea Sword Gang before him, a light flickered in Qi Yun’s eyes.
Then, the corner of his mouth curved into a faint smile, and he waved his hand casually.
"Returning it to you."
As his casual words fell, the peak Sword Gang that belonged to Song Kun, as if having received a supreme Decree, instantly reversed direction and shot back!
The Star Sea flowed backward, the Sword Gang turned on its master!
Utterly tyrannical, defying all logic!
Qi Yun had effortlessly seized control of another’s technique, then sent it back untouched, perhaps even with more power added.
Such a Divine Technique instantly stunned all the Holy Sect Masters who were secretly watching from various places within the Taixu Mirror Heaven!
Their colliding Divine Senses were filled with irrepressible shock and disbelief.
"Wh-what is this Divine Technique?!"
"Forcibly seizing an opponent’s Magic to counterattack? H-how are you supposed to fight that?"
"It’s too shameless! That’s just cheating!"
Even with their vast experience, they had never seen such an unreasonable Divine Technique that nearly subverted the common sense of Magical Combat!
Meanwhile, at the center of the battlefield, Song Kun’s pupils shrank as he faced the returning Star Sea Sword Gang—a familiar attack now bearing a deadly, alien feel!
He could feel the power within it—his own, yet even more violent!
"Star Sea Cyan Moon, protect my true self!"
With no way to dodge, he pushed his own Foundation Establishment Realm Heaven, the [Star Sea Azure Moon Realm], to its absolute limit.
Countless astral phantoms and the glow of the cyan moon wove together into the thickest possible barrier to meet the attack head-on!
CLANG!
BANG!!!
The sound of the collision was too terrifying, like the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder exploding by one’s ears, or an entire starfield collapsing before one’s eyes!
Violent ripples of energy exploded in a ring, sweeping out in all directions.
If Flower Moon Hall’s protective Grand Array hadn’t already been activated at full power, the aftershock alone would have been enough to level the halls below!
The rampant starlight and sword light flooding the sky submerged Song Kun’s figure.
Mixed within it was the violent backlash caused by his own power being reflected back at him.
"Urgh—!"
A pained groan was heard. As the light faded slightly, Song Kun was seen staggering backward, his face as pale as paper. He violently spat out a mouthful of blood he couldn’t hold back, staining the front of his robes red.
The starlight and moonlight surrounding him had dimmed by more than half, and the phantom of his Realm Heaven flickered violently, on the verge of disappearing.
He stared daggers at Qi Yun, his eyes sinister and venomous.
But deeper within, there was a trace of fear he himself was unwilling to admit.
He, Song Kun, had dominated his whole life. How could he have ever imagined that one day he would be so grievously wounded by his own all-out, peak-level strike!
"A taste of your own medicine. How does it feel?"
Qi Yun stood upon the azure cloud, his tone flat, as if he had just done something trivial.
Seeing Song Kun injured, he had no intention of giving him any chance to catch his breath.
He waved his hand—
WHOOSH!
A massive banner—jet-black, with faint phantoms of mountains, rivers, and altars of state, radiating a brilliant imperial might—rose into the sky.
The banner grew with the wind, instantly blotting out the sky and sun as profound Magic Patterns flowed across its surface.
Immediately after, a full eight hundred incredibly solid True Spirits with clear eyes howled out from the banner. In an instant, they spread out across the void along a specific trajectory, completely surrounding the injured Song Kun!
The [Human Emperor Banner] had not only perfectly inherited and upgraded all the powers of the [Soul Refining Banner]—such as nurturing Soul Spirits and integrating offense and defense—but had also awakened an even more terrifyingly powerful ability: [Array Formation]!
As the eight hundred True Spirits took their positions, a vast Daoist Intent Connection was formed with Heaven and Earth.
A grim, profound Grand Array that seemed capable of refining all creation suddenly took shape!
Yin Wind howled, and profound light flowed.
Under the Array’s shroud, space was sealed off, the temperature plummeted, and even light seemed to be devoured.
All that remained was the phantom of the [Taiyin] slowly coalescing in the center of the Grand Array—a phantom so cold it seemed to freeze one’s Divine Soul and dissolve one’s Magical Power.
This was the first peerless killing array contained within the Human Emperor Banner—the [Taiyin Refining Form Array]!
Looking down on Song Kun from above, Qi Yun spoke indifferently:
"Do you yield?"
"Refuse, and you will be refined!"
...