Fang Xuan crushed the jade plate.
However, the expected scene of a family expert tearing through space to descend and dominantly slaughtering everyone did not occur.
Where the jade plate shattered, only a faint ripple of spatial energy shimmered.
Immediately after, a figure dressed in green robes with a majestic aura began to manifest, showing only half of a silhouette—
"Noisy."
From the depths of the Main Hall, that aged, hoarse voice rang out once more.
In the next instant, a grey-white giant palm that blotted out the sun appeared out of thin air above the figure.
Then, it slapped down without a shred of mercy.
"No—!"
The early-stage Transformation Realm cultivator who had just been summoned only had time to let out a single cry of horror.
"Boom—!!!"
There was no world-shaking explosion. It was as if a massive boulder had been forced into rotten mud...
Then, the grey-white giant palm dissipated...
In its place, only a smear of blood remained that barely resembled a human shape, along with the rapidly fading light of a divine soul.
A great cultivator of the early-stage Transformation Realm was just like that... slapped into nothingness.
Fang Xuan knelt on one knee, staring at that smear of blood being quickly absorbed by the remaining array of the hall. His mind went blank for a moment.
"......???"
Where was the person he called for? Where was his massive Transformation Realm bodyguard?
No... what happened to the promised family legacy?
....
Then.
An indescribable, terrifying pressure descended like an awakening primordial mountain.
This pressure far exceeded Lu Qingsong’s.
"Buzz—!"
The entire, already crumbling Qingyun Sect Main Peak Hall, along with several miles of surrounding space, felt as though it was about to be shattered by this pressure.
Fissures instantly covered the ground, walls, and remaining pillars.
A withered, grey-robed figure.
At some point, he had appeared in the deepest part of the hall, seated upon the high platform where Lu Qingsong had originally sat.
He did not radiate any dazzling spiritual light, but the sense of oppression stemming from his vast cultivation made even Lu Qingsong feel suffocated. Lu Qingsong lowered his head involuntarily, the color draining from his face.
"Master... Master..." Lu Qingsong’s voice was raspy.
The true stabilizing force of the Qingyun Sect, the supreme elder who had been in secluded meditation for countless years—Old Ancestor Dry Bone—did not even lift his eyes.
"Useless trash."
Lu Qingsong trembled all over. He hung his head even lower, his fingernails digging deep into his palms, yet he did not dare to offer a single word of rebuttal.
....
At this moment, inside and outside the Qingyun Sect, chaos had already broken out.
Terrifying waves of spiritual power continued to pulse from the direction of the Main Peak, accompanied by that skyrocketing peak-stage Transformation Realm aura.
"Is that... the Main Peak?!"
"What a... what a terrifying aura! Who is it?!"
"Look at the sky!"
Countless disciples looked toward the Main Peak in absolute terror.
The originally clear sky, now centered on the Main Peak, saw clouds for a hundred miles stirred by that terrifying pressure and spiritual power, forming a gargantuan vortex.
Lightning flashed and thunder roared within the center of the vortex; the sky turned dark.
What was even more heart-stopping was that fine, black cracks had actually appeared in the sky at the edges of the vortex.
"Is the sky... going to break?"
....
Inside the ruins of the Main Hall.
Ning Xian had arrived at some point.
Using her sword intent to crack open space, she grabbed Fang Xuan, prepared to leave first.
At that moment, Old Ancestor Dry Bone's gaze finally shifted slowly, landing on Fang Xuan and Ning Xian.
His gaze paused slightly on Ning Xian, but he didn't pay much attention, finally fixing on Fang Xuan—specifically on the black sword he still gripped tightly.
"A little trick of spatial laws?"
Old Ancestor Dry Bone gave a raspy chuckle. "Playing with space in front of me? Ridiculous."
He didn't even move a finger.
The space around Fang Xuan and Ning Xian instantly solidified.
Old Ancestor Dry Bone seemed to have lost his last bit of patience, or perhaps he simply disdained speaking further with two juniors.
He raised his withered finger, which looked as though only bone remained, and pointed toward Fang Xuan and Ning Xian. He channeled his full spiritual power and made a light stroke.
A grey-white sword qi quietly emerged.
A full-strength strike from a peak-stage Transformation Realm expert; no one in the entire Southern Wilderness would dare claim they could block it easily.
This sword qi was not as grand as Lu Qingsong's previous attacks; it even looked somewhat dull.
But the moment it appeared, the hair on Fang Xuan’s entire body stood on end.
Wherever it passed, space was silently annihilated, leaving behind a pitch-black trail of nothingness.
Without a second thought, Ning Xian forcibly burned what little remained of her origin to stand in front of him.
Even though she knew she might not be able to block this sword and might have her soul extinguished...
A blood-stained hand moved even faster than her, grabbing her wrist.
Ning Xian turned back in shock.
What she saw was Fang Xuan’s face, mostly covered in blood and dust, making it almost impossible to see his original features.
His messy hair hung down, obscuring his eyes.
But through the gaps in his hair, Ning Xian saw a pair of eyes filled with a faint smile.
"Senior Sister," Fang Xuan’s voice was incredibly raspy.
"As promised... this time, I’m taking you away."
Before his voice even faded, he suddenly yanked Ning Xian behind him.
At the same time, the dragon scale he had been holding in his left palm was shoved into her hand.
The moment the dragon scale touched Ning Xian’s palm, it automatically activated.
A barrier shimmering with a faint golden draconic phantasm instantly enveloped her.
At the exact moment the barrier formed—
Fang Xuan’s broken body completely shielded Ning Xian, taking the deathly sword qi head-on!
....
"Boom—!!!!!"
This time, it was a truly world-shaking roar.
Centered on Fang Xuan, spiritual energy so terrifying it was indescribable exploded outward.
The aftershocks of the sword qi surged outward madly.
Bearing the brunt of it was what remained of the Qingyun Sect Main Peak Hall.
"Rumble—!!!"
Under the stunned gazes of countless Qingyun Sect disciples and elders.
That Main Peak Hall, which symbolized the supreme authority of the Qingyun Sect and had stood majestically for thousands of years, along with the upper portion of the mountain beneath it...
It was as if an invisible giant blade had cleanly... sliced it off from the mountain!
Dust and smoke billowed into the sky, and debris rained down like a storm.
The entire Qingyun Sect, from the remaining supreme elders down to the most ordinary outer disciple, all froze in place.
....
An unknown amount of time passed.
The dust and smoke on the Main Peak ruins began to dissipate slightly.
A figure slowly emerged from the pervasive haze.
It was Fang Xuan.
He was still standing.
Though his posture was staggering, he barely managed to support his swaying body.
His injuries were horrific.
The wound on his chest, where the deathly sword qi had struck him head-on, had nearly split him diagonally. It was deep enough to see bone, and one could even see his heart pulsing slightly inside.
Blood flowed from every part of his body like a stream, dyeing him into a complete blood-man.
Messy hair matted with blood clung to his face, covering most of his features.
Yet, he just stood there.
Then, under the gaze of countless stunned and horrified eyes—
He slowly raised his head.
Beneath the messy hair matted with blood, a corner of his mouth seemed to curl up.
System... if you had told me earlier that this M-physique could lock my health, I would have admitted to being a masochist long ago.
That sword qi hitting me... felt way too good.
....
Immediately following that, an indescribable sword intent quietly began to permeate outward from him.
It was faint at first, like a candle in the wind.
But in the next moment—
"Buzz—!!!"
The black sword he had always held in his left hand suddenly erupted with an unprecedented hum.
On the blade, the pitch-black sword astral that had been restrained and silent suddenly exploded, soaring straight into the clouds.
The moment this startling sword intent rose—
The massive black rift in the sky seemed to tremble.
Even the high and mighty Old Ancestor Dry Bone, who looked down like a god, showed a visible reaction for the first time.
The eternal indifference on his face transformed into shock and suspicion.
"What... what kind of sword intent is this?!"
Fang Xuan didn't know himself.
He only relied on instinct and obsession to grip the hilt of the sword with a death grip.
Then, facing this world and facing that high-and-mighty peak-stage Transformation Realm expert.
Slash!
He simply pressed the pitch-black sword intent, which felt as though it could crush an eternity, toward Old Ancestor Dry Bone!
Centered on the shattered mountaintop where Fang Xuan stood, the remaining parts of the Qingyun Sect Main Peak began to crumble and sink inch by inch.
Above the sky, the massive black rift also came under the suppression of this tyrannical and domineering sword intent.
Like a shattered mirror, countless cracks suddenly spread from its edges.
Within the Qingyun Sect, countless disciples witnessing this scene felt their legs go weak. They collapsed to the ground, murmuring in a daze:
"The sky... it really is breaking..."
Rate on N.U.
