Translator: CinderTL
The Void Refining cultivators soared into the sky, scattering in all directions.
With the restraint of their combined dao techniques lifted, Li Chunjun, already holding the advantage, pressed his attack. He unleashed a sword qi storm that instantly shredded and severed the myriad branches extending from the Jianmu Dharma Manifestation.
Thousands upon thousands of sword lights, no longer obstructed by the branches, continued their relentless assault on the Jianmu Dharma Manifestation itself.
"Li Chunjun!"
Sensing the terrifying power contained within those sword lights, Six Harmonies Venerable let out a bloodcurdling scream.
The scream carried a soul-piercing sharpness that shook Li Chunjun's Heart-Mind.
Clearly, this was his trump card, his ultimate killing move.
Unfortunately, such a technique was utterly ineffective against Li Chunjun, whose Mind Realm was equal to his own and had developed the trait of resilience.
Li Chunjun's Heart-Mind merely rippled slightly.
The sword qi storm, controlled by his Heart-Mind, showed no sign of slowing down, continuing its relentless assault on the Jianmu Dharma Manifestation.
The colossal Jianmu Dharma Manifestation, stretching over ten thousand miles, was struck as if by tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of meteorites.
The energy contained within each sword light defied any conventional unit of measurement.
Under the continuous barrage of thunderous impacts, the Jianmu Dharma Manifestation trembled violently, countless fragments exploding in all directions as it was utterly shattered.
"Stop!"
Six Harmonies Venerable roared, desperately trying to restrain the power of his Dharma Manifestation while rapidly spreading his mental power. "Swordmaster Li, there's no need for us to come to blows to the death! We have no personal grievances!"
Li Chunjun remained silent.
He had already understood.
Void Refining cultivators and Dharma Manifestation Venerables were no different from Core Formation cultivators and Nascent Soul cultivators.
When they wielded great power and authority, they treated others like livestock or ants, to be freely manipulated and trampled upon, not as fellow members of their species.
But once their power and authority were stripped away, or when faced with someone who could easily strip them of it, they would immediately become meek, respectful, and trembling.
They lorded over those beneath them.
They groveled before those above them.
This was their shared essence.
Because they shared a common trait: they were all sapient beings!
As sapient beings, they were fundamentally no different.
With this thought in mind, the sword qi storm he controlled showed no sign of slowing, tearing through Six Harmonies Venerable's Jianmu Dharma Manifestation with even greater ferocity, determined to shred it completely.
This resolute stance brought a look of despair to the Six Harmonies Venerable's eyes.
He gritted his teeth and prepared to detonate the remaining power of his Dharma Manifestation to force Li Chunjun back, hoping to create an opportunity to escape.
If he could just reach the Star Gate...
Whether the Star Gate opened successfully or not, even if he were swept into a Void storm, there would still be a sliver of hope.
It was far better than staying here and fighting Li Chunjun to the death, which was a guaranteed defeat.
But as he made this decision and scanned his surroundings with his Heart-Mind, he realized something was wrong!
The Void Refining cultivators of the Wu Ji Sect, who had scattered in panic earlier, were now completely trapped within a massive Array Formation that encompassed the area within tens of thousands of miles of the Immortal God Hall.
At this moment, all the Void Refining cultivators were shouting at the Immortal God Race, demanding they open the Array Formation. Some, believing the Immortal God Race couldn't hear them, even resorted to using dao techniques to bombard the Array Formation's barrier.
But the Immortal God Race members acted as if they were deaf and blind, completely ignoring the Void Refining cultivators' pleas.
The Array Formation enveloping the Immortal God Hall was as solid as a fortress, completely sealing them in and preventing anyone from entering or leaving.
This scene struck the Six Harmonies Venerable like a bolt of lightning!
Then, as if struck by a sudden realization, a flash of insight ignited in his mind.
"Wait! The power within you..."
The Dharma Manifestation Venerable's eyes widened as he stared at Li Chunjun, sensing the unique power that enveloped him.
Unfamiliar with the Immortal God Race's cultivation system, the power surrounding Li Chunjun gave him a feeling eerily similar to that of the Divine Race High Command.
This alone was enough to conclude that Li Chunjun and the Immortal God Race were deeply connected. He was no mere Human Void Refining cultivator who happened to be passing by.
Adding to this the Array Formation that sealed the battlefield...
"The Immortal God Race!? You're colluding with them, plotting to kill us all!"
Six Harmonies Venerable immediately grasped the truth.
His fury then erupted: "How dare they!? The Immortal God Race—how dare they be so audacious as to join you in attacking our Wu Ji Sect's Void Refining Elders!? This is suicide!"
With that, his mental power surged outward like a storm, even attempting to transmit a message beyond the battlefield: "Immortal God Race! Immediately activate the Array Formation and let us leave! The Wu Ji Sect might overlook today's events if you do. Otherwise... if we all perish here, the Wu Ji Sect's investigation will lead to the entire Immortal God Race paying the price for our deaths!"
"Stop shouting. You could scream until your throat bursts, and no one would hear you."
Li Chunjun's expression remained calm. "Since the Immortal God Race has intervened, they wouldn't leave any loose ends, giving you a chance to spread the news."
He spoke the truth.
This Array Formation sealed off all channels of information transmission at every level. Even if someone among them had forged a Soul Mirror, it would be disrupted. At most, they might transmit a few images of Li Chunjun killing them.
But what did a life-or-death battle between humans have to do with the Immortal God Race?
His words plunged the Void Refining cultivators trapped within the Array Formation into despair.
"No!"
"How could this happen!? We were promised this mission would be foolproof! We were promised that after this, we'd gather enough materials to forge our Dharma Manifestations! Why has it turned into this!?"
"Li Chunjun, Swordmaster Li, I swear to submit to you and become your follower! Please, Swordmaster Li, spare my life!"
It wasn't just these Void Refining cultivators who were plunged into despair. Even Six Harmonies Venerable felt his heart plummet into an abyss.
"Li Chunjun, you... you..."
He stared at Li Chunjun, his eyes filled with resentment, fury, and terror.
But Li Chunjun, having said his piece, had no further interest in continuing the conversation.
When these people learned of Hong Qianjue's death, they didn't immediately report it to the Wu Ji Sect. They didn't summon the Void Refining and Dharma Manifestation Venerables from the sect to hunt down his killer. Their true motive was to kill him themselves, seize his Dao Artifact, Dharma Manifestation Armament, and other valuable resources.
Just as Hong Qianjue had predicted, he would indeed perish at the hands of the "greedy ones."
These were the greedy members of the Wu Ji Sect drawn by his Soul Mirror.
However, even Hong Qianjue himself likely hadn't anticipated how weak these greedy ones would be.
Or perhaps...
Li Chunjun's strength was simply too overwhelming.
Therefore, these people deserved no sympathy.
With a wave of his hand, Li Chunjun pressed down. The Jianmu Dharma Manifestation could no longer withstand the relentless bombardment of the sword qi storm.
The combination of a Superior Dao Artifact and a Dharma Manifestation Armament had elevated the dao technique's destructive power beyond that of ordinary Dharma Manifestations.
Crack!
Amidst a chorus of shattering sounds, the Jianmu Dharma Manifestation completely disintegrated.
As the Dharma Manifestation collapsed, despair flooded the eyes of the Six Harmonies Venerable.
"The Wu Ji Sect will avenge me!"
With a final, resentful cry, the sword qi storm that had shattered the Jianmu Dharma Manifestation surged toward the Six Harmonies Venerable himself, instantly tearing him to shreds.
"Killed a Level 34 creature. Experience +43555!"
[Life Level: 37 (83766/700000)]
With the Jianmu Dharma Manifestation torn apart, the remaining sword qi storm encountered no further resistance.
It wasn't a complete massacre, though.
If the remaining Void Refining cultivators had united and formed a Battle Formation, they might have been able to withstand Li Chunjun's sword qi storm for a while.
While the ultimate outcome wouldn't have changed, they could have at least bought some time.
But now...
Scattered like grains of sand, the thirteen Void Refining cultivators couldn't endure even a single breath against the storm's roaring hiss as it tore through the Void.
The storm swept through, tearing them apart one by one.
Shouzhen, Void Metal, Void Wood, and the others cursed, begged for mercy, and wailed, but their fates remained unchanged.
After a dozen breaths, the battlefield fell silent.
The sword qi storm that had wreaked havoc across tens of thousands of miles gradually subsided, transitioning from violent chaos to stillness.
Li Chunjun reached out his hand.
Countless strands of Sword Qi, which had been flowing silently, stirred again.
Like a dense, massive school of fish, they swept over the Six Harmonies Venerable and the thirteen Void Refining corpses, gathering their "spoils of war" and converging them before Li Chunjun.
When the sword qi storm finally dissipated, the Scarlet Sky Sword and the Dharma Manifestation Armament lay quietly in his hand, silently merging into his body.
Li Chunjun released the power boost granted by his Divine Position as the Lord of Reincarnation and glanced at the spoils of war.
After a moment of calculation, he frowned.
"Truly poor."
One Dharma Manifestation Venerable and thirteen Void Refining cultivators had yielded spoils of war worth only about a dozen Void Dao Pills!
This was partly due to the destruction of many Dao Artifacts during the battle, but still... for so many cultivators to drop spoils worth only a dozen Void Dao Pills...
It was indeed fitting to call it "poor."
But then again, if the Six Harmonies Venerable had truly been wealthy, he wouldn't have cultivated only an ordinary Dharma Manifestation.
In fact, achieving a Dharma Manifestation in itself already signified immense wealth and extraordinary talent. It was only because Li Chunjun had struck it rich in the Profound Yellow Vast Land that he didn't consider a billion-plus spirit stones to be a significant loss.
"At least my experience increased," Li Chunjun mused. "Thirteen Void Refining cultivators, eight at level 32, and five at level 33—they collectively boosted my experience by approximately 120,000, bringing my total experience to over 200,000. It's not a complete loss."
After careful consideration, Li Chunjun realized that this single battle had advanced his level 37 Life Level by nearly a quarter. In other words, if he engaged in three or four more battles of this scale, he could smoothly advance to level 38.
However...
Void Refining cultivators and Dharma Manifestation Venerables were high-ranking figures in any faction. Obtaining experience so easily again wouldn't be easy. If he wasn't careful, he might provoke the factions behind them to mobilize their entire forces.
At that point, he wouldn't be facing mere Void Refining cultivators and Dharma Manifestation Venerables. He might even have to contend with the top-tier existences of Great Worlds—sages themselves.
(End of the Chapter)
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