Translator: CinderTL
Yuanrong moved with lightning speed, rapidly closing the distance to Song Wen. His hand formed into a claw, aimed directly at Song Wen's face. Since Gou Jun had stopped fleeing, he would personally crush this ant.
Suddenly, a pitch-black short sword appeared in Song Wen's hand. As spiritual power surged into it, the Nine Calamity Heaven-Measuring Sword emitted an eerie black glow. Song Wen channeled all his spiritual power, mobilizing every ounce of strength in his body. Gripping the sword, he slashed at the approaching Yuanrong.
"The Nine Calamity Heaven-Measuring Sword! How dare you wield this blade before me!" Yuanrong roared in fury, his teeth grinding. "You mere ant! Even wielding a divine artifact, you're nothing more than a child swinging a sledgehammer!"
Clang!
The clash of metal reverberated through the heavens.
Song Wen felt an overwhelming force, infused with razor-sharp sword intent, surge toward him. The sword intent instantly shredded his left hand, tearing away flesh and skin to reveal the stark white bone beneath. The short sword slipped from his grasp, arcing backward into the sky.
Unable to withstand the immense force, Song Wen was flung backward like a kite with a severed string, hurtling dozens of miles before finally managing to halt his momentum.
Yuanrong stood suspended in mid-air, seemingly in complete control, yet tiny droplets of blood seeped from between his fingers.
The Nine Calamity Heaven-Measuring Sword was, after all, a Profound Heaven Spirit Treasure. Even though Song Wen couldn't unleash its full power, and even though Yuanrong's cultivation realm surpassed Song Wen's by an entire major realm, the sword's inherent razor-sharp aura still inflicted considerable pain.
The sword's piercing energy had invaded Yuanrong's meridians, surging from his fingertips straight toward his heart. He was forced to divert thirty percent of his spiritual power to suppress the internal turmoil.
Moreover, this attack had failed to crush Gou Jun as he had intended.
"Ji Yin, well done!" King Lu Yao's voice suddenly rang out.
She had already repelled the three flying swords, thwarting Yuanrong's attempt to form an array. Now free to act, she maneuvered the Thousand-Zhang Stone Statue to close in behind Yuanrong.
The statue's two snake heads and four fists crashed down upon Yuanrong with overwhelming force.
The Sword Qi barrier Yuanrong had erected earlier had already crumbled, leaving him completely exposed, his defenses shattered.
Yet facing King Lu Yao's assault, he remained utterly calm.
A molten gold radiance enveloped his body, causing his frame to swell dramatically. His muscles bulged, transforming him into a towering, hulking figure.
Yuanrong, despite being a sword cultivator, was also a body cultivator.
He clenched his fists and unleashed a series of punches into the air.
With each strike, a golden fist shadow, thirty meters in diameter, shot forth, colliding with the four massive fists of the Thousand-Zhang Stone Statue.
However, these golden fist shadows failed to halt the statue. Instead, they shattered upon impact, though they did weaken the statue's colossal fists.
As the statue's four massive fists drew closer, Yuanrong's pupils constricted. He crossed his arms in a defensive stance, his body erupting in a surge of molten gold light as he braced for the impact.
BOOM!
With a deafening roar, Yuanrong was hurled downward like a meteor, crashing into the ground below.
The earth trembled, dirt and debris flew skyward, and a cloud of dust billowed into the air.
In the newly formed crater, Yuanrong knelt on one knee, violently coughing up a mouthful of blood.
The molten gold light around him had dimmed, and his right arm hung at an unnatural angle—clearly fractured.
Yuanrong glared up at the Willow Serpent hovering above, his gaze dark and malevolent.
If only I weren't in such a weakened state, how could I have been injured by this beast, King Lu Yao?
But now was not the time to deal with King Lu Yao. His immediate priority was to crush this ant, Gou Jun.
Gou Jun had attempted to join forces with King Lu Yao to eliminate Yuanrong, but this scheme inadvertently trapped Gou Jun himself, temporarily dispelling any thoughts of escape.
Killing King Lu Yao first would inevitably drain Yuanrong's strength, and Gou Jun would undoubtedly seize the opportunity to flee while Yuanrong was occupied.
With this in mind, Yuanrong immediately activated his Nine Black Flying Swords, sending them slashing toward King Lu Yao in a coordinated assault.
Protected by her serpent scale shield, King Lu Yao had little to fear from Yuanrong's weakened attacks. However, to prevent Yuanrong from setting up a sword formation, she was forced to activate the Thousand-Zhang Stone Statue, unleashing streams of crimson light to intercept one or two flying swords at a time.
While King Lu Yao was forced into a defensive posture, Song Wen found himself in even greater peril.
Yuanrong redirected another flying sword to entangle Song Wen.
He had abandoned his original strategy of trapping Gou Jun before delivering a fatal blow.
Though Gou Jun possessed Substitute Puppets to evade lethal strikes, it was impossible for him to possess an endless supply of these puppets, as the rumors claimed.
By "killing" Gou Jun multiple times, Yuanrong could exhaust his Substitute Puppets. Once these were depleted, Gou Jun would have no escape from death.
Song Wen initially evaded three sword strikes by activating three Minor Teleportation Talismans.
With the fourth sword strike, the flying sword's power surged dramatically, its speed increasing exponentially. Song Wen didn't even have time to activate his Minor Teleportation Talisman before the blade decapitated him in a single stroke.
Seeing that the opponent's "death" had left behind only a withered Corpse Puppet, Yuanrong remained unfazed. This outcome had been entirely within his expectations.
However, in the next instant, his expression twisted into shock.
Using a life-substitution art, "Gou Jun" had teleported directly behind him, wielding the Nine Calamity Heaven-Measuring Sword, and thrust the blade toward Yuanrong's lower back.
Yuanrong hastily channeled his spiritual power to conjure a mana shield. But the hastily formed barrier was far too flimsy.
Sizzle—
The Nine Calamity Heaven-Measuring Sword pierced through the shield and plunged straight into the flesh of Yuanrong's lower back.
Yet, the short sword had barely penetrated a foot when a golden light erupted from Yuanrong's body, clamping down on the blade and halting its advance.
Song Wen strained with all his might, attempting to force the sword deeper, but the blade remained unyielding.
"Gou Jun, meet your end!" Yuanrong roared in fury.
Ignoring the Nine Calamity Heaven-Measuring Sword embedded in his back, he whirled around and struck Song Wen's head with a palm strike.
As Yuanrong turned, a torrent of blood and flesh erupted from the gaping wound in his lower back, torn open by the Nine Calamity Heaven-Measuring Sword.
The devastating palm strike crashed down on Song Wen's skull.
Song Wen's body instantly began to disintegrate from the head down.
Yet amidst the shattered flesh, not a single drop of blood could be seen.
Song Wen reappeared beside King Lu Yao, over a hundred miles away.
Distracted by Song Wen's sneak attack, Yuanrong's defenses against King Lu Yao weakened.
Seizing the opportunity, King Lu Yao manipulated the Thousand-Zhang Stone Statue to close in on Yuanrong.
In his current state, Yuanrong could no longer rely on body refinement techniques to withstand the statue's attacks. Forced to act, he recalled his Nine Black Flying Swords.
With the combined might of the nine swords, Yuanrong narrowly deflected the statue's assault.
Feeling the stinging pain from the wound on his lower back, Yuanrong's expression darkened with grim resolve.
Gou Jun's sword had nearly struck his spine; had it done so, his combat prowess would have been severely diminished, at least affecting his agility and power exertion.
Even without hitting the spine, the Nine Calamity Heaven-Measuring Sword had left a substantial residue of Golden Sharp Qi within his body, disrupting the flow of his spiritual power.
He suddenly realized that if this continued, he might truly fall victim to Gou Jun and King Lu Yao's scheme—to be worn down and killed here!
A flash of determination ignited in Yuanrong's eyes.
Crimson blood mist erupted from his body.
His previously weakened aura instantly surged with renewed vigor.
"A blood-burning secret art?" Song Wen murmured, warning King Lu Yao. "Be careful, he's going all out!"
(End of the Chapter)
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