Chapter 200: Battle Against Linghu

Jiuyou glanced at the Corpse Puppet behind him, finding it increasingly familiar the longer he looked. He searched his memory and realized it was one of the four stone statues from the corridor.

If he remembered correctly, this was Jiang Buyan, the Daoyang Sect's Supreme Great Elder from two generations ago. To think he had been refined into a Corpse Puppet—and judging by its condition, it had likely been that way for quite some time.

"This Corpse Puppet is at least three thousand years old, yet it still maintains the combat prowess of the Middle Nascent Soul Stage. It seems you've fed it well over the years, Senior Brother." Jiuyou's gaze swept between the Corpse Puppet and Linghu Shou, finally stopping on the five-colored halo of light. "If Perfected Jinli and our past predecessors knew you had entered the Demonic Path and refined the Supreme Great Elder of two generations ago into a Corpse Puppet, they would roll over in their graves."

Linghu Shou let out an unhurried, cold laugh. He paced back and forth a few times, his tone carrying the calm acceptance of someone who had made peace with his choices long ago. "Do you think they didn't know? What a pity their hearts weren't ruthless enough. Having already reached that point, they still wanted to put on the airs of a Righteous Path Supreme Great Elder. Since they were unwilling, I will gladly take the risk... and become just as cold and devoid of emotion as the Five Elements Heaven and Earth Ring behind me."

He tilted his head, his gaze falling on the five-colored halo as his voice deepened. "Everything I do is for the sect. Even if I'm exposed, the outside world will only say that Linghu Shou alone fell into the Demonic Path, and that Zhou Chengshan led people to clean house. The sect's ten-thousand-year reputation will remain perfectly intact."

His tone shifted, and his gaze suddenly locked onto Jiuyou. "But before that—" He laughed in self-deprecation. "I have to admit, you put on a great act. You fooled everyone, myself included. I even genuinely considered choosing you. I truly misjudged you."

The smile slowly faded from his face, revealing a layer of cold hardness beneath. "Since you made it here, you never genuinely intended to join the Daoyang Sect. What is your goal? Let me guess—is it the Five Elements Heaven and Earth Ring?"

Jiuyou did not answer.

"No matter what you came for," Linghu Shou said calmly, his gaze impossibly cold, "since you stepped in here with killing intent, don't even think about leaving alive."

The instant his voice fell, a heavy, oppressive aura erupted from his body. The pressure of the Late Nascent Soul Stage Pinnacle rolled out without reservation, filling the underground space. It felt like a heavy door slowly swinging shut behind them, never to open again.

Before Linghu Shou could even make a move, Jiuyou sprang into action.

He spun around as six Ember Moon Swords whipped into a sudden rotation around him. With a rapid expansion and contraction of sword light, they sliced the Corpse Puppet behind him cleanly in half at the waist. The blades let out a dull thud as they bit into rotting flesh and brittle bone, like an axe sinking into decayed wood. Using the momentum, Jiuyou twisted his body and shot backward.

He raised his fingertips slightly, and over twenty Ember Moon Swords materialized from the void. Their tips leveled out in unison before whistling straight toward Linghu Shou.

Linghu Shou raised a withered hand, conjuring a golden barrier out of thin air before his palm. The twenty-plus swords slammed into it with a series of muffled thuds, as if crashing against a mountain of iron. The blades were deflected, but the barrier didn't so much as ripple.

Linghu Shou's lips twitched, a flash of coldness flickering across his face. He raised his hand and drew a line through the empty air, and the dome of the secret chamber suddenly flared with golden light. It was not a dazzling brilliance, but a heavy, oppressive glow pressing down on them, much like a massive door slowly swinging shut.

Jiuyou's eyelids twitched as the Sword Intent surged through his meridians. He could sense the aura emanating from the golden light; it was powerful enough to make even a Nascent Soul Late Stage cultivator feel dread. Just as he had suspected, a formation was buried here.

The golden light rapidly condensed against the ceiling, transforming into a giant golden sword over ten zhang long. Screaming through the air, it cleaved straight down at his head. The sheer force of the strike was comparable to the full-powered blow of a Middle Nascent Soul Stage cultivator.

Jiuyou didn't dare take it head-on. He darted to the side, slipping just past the edge of the blade. The giant sword smashed into the stone floor, kicking up a shower of sparks. Before he could even steady his footing, the golden light on the ceiling shifted again, condensing into sabers, spears, halberds, axes, and hammers. Dozens of weapons formed in rapid succession, raining down on him like a torrential downpour.

Jiuyou's mind raced. Sixty-three Ember Moon Swords shot out simultaneously, spinning rapidly around him until their sword light merged into a solid barrier. He transformed into a wandering golden dragon, weaving and dodging through the dense barrage of attacks. Wherever the dragon passed, the rain of conjured weapons was shredded by the sword light. Shrapnel scattered in all directions, slamming into the surrounding stone walls and exploding into chaotic showers of light.

The entire mountain trembled. Loose stones cascaded from the ceiling, kicking up fine dust as they struck the floor, only to be immediately swept away by the violent shockwaves of spiritual energy.

The restrictions were still operating, as if the entire mountain were helping Linghu Shou close his hand, slowly tightening its grip into a crushing fist.

Jiuyou spotted a gap and suddenly accelerated. The golden dragon transformed into a loosed arrow, slamming viciously into the golden barrier three zhang in front of Linghu Shou. With a deafening boom, the barrier shuddered violently twice, rippling heavily, but it did not shatter.

Jiuyou was forced back several steps by the sheer force of the rebound, his chest feeling slightly numb.

He looked up at the barrier, then at the massive five-colored halo behind Linghu Shou. The Five Elements Heaven and Earth Ring was slowly turning, continuously pouring rich ambient qi into the golden barrier like a bottomless well.

Several thoughts raced through his mind. With that Heaven-grade Spiritual Treasure backing him, the opponent's defenses would likely never weaken. His retreat was blocked, and Linghu Shou had no intention of letting him leave alive. Dragging the fight out would only get him slowly ground to dust.

'End this quickly.' He chewed over the thought in his mind, then cast aside all other distractions as his gaze steadied. He no longer hesitated.

"Senior Brother Linghu, what kind of skill is hiding inside that tortoise shell? Come out and fight if you have the guts," he called out, injecting a deliberate hint of contempt into his voice.

Linghu Shou didn't answer, nor did his expression so much as shift, as if the petty provocation wasn't worth wasting his breath.

Jiuyou didn't waste any more breath. The sixty-three Ember Moon Swords realigned in a formation at his side. They constantly shifted shape, taking the form of fierce tigers, then phoenixes, followed by wolves, snakes, lions, and leopards. They charged back and forth within the array, violently clashing against the weapons conjured by the restrictions and setting off endless explosions of light.

Standing behind the barrier, Linghu Shou slowly furrowed his brows. His hand remained pressed against the golden shield, channeling magic power to keep the formation running, but the restrictions were failing to crush his opponent as swiftly as he had expected.

His opponent's methods were endless, leaving almost no obvious openings in either advance or retreat. Furthermore, the Ember Moon Swords formed an array that seamlessly combined offense and defense. It made Linghu Shou's layered attacks feel as if they were striking a boulder encased in a rushing river—most of the force was dispersed upon impact, and what little remained was too weak to deal any actual damage.

What unsettled him even more was that the Five Elements Heaven and Earth Ring hadn't fully recognized him as its master. He had studied this Heaven-grade Spiritual Treasure for nearly a thousand years, yet he had never been able to bind it with a drop of blood like an ordinary magical treasure. He could only rely on the spiritual energy of the surrounding earth veins to forcibly drive a fraction of its power. If the battle dragged on and the spiritual treasure's operation slipped, he would be the one put on the defensive.

'Damn it,' he cursed inwardly. 'It's been a thousand years, so why won't this Heaven-grade Spiritual Treasure acknowledge me? Just what exactly is missing from the Ancient Records?'

No one could answer him.

Within the underground cavern, the golden light continued to surge. Sword light and restrictions flared and faded in rapid succession, producing an endless chain of deafening collisions.

The figures of the two men flickered in and out of the blinding spiritual light like beasts trapped in a cage, neither able to land a killing bite on the other's throat. The pungent scent of scorched air hung thick in the cavern.