Chapter 220 - 185: Just Passing Through to Grab Some Benefits

Chapter 220: Chapter 185: Just Passing Through to Grab Some Benefits

Primordial Heaven.

Two beams of sword light clashed against each other.

BOOM~!

Thunder boomed as golden lightning enveloped half the sky.

"First Tribulation, the Celestial Thunder Tribulation!"

Ling Xuzi emerged from within the golden lightning. A sweep of his sword light, carrying an infinite Sword Momentum, forced Dugu Yunfeng back.

Retreating slightly, Dugu Yunfeng had already formed a Sword Array behind him. A condensed Sword Gang shot out from its center.

Dark golden Spirit Patterns shone in Ling Xuzi’s eyes.

"Fourth Tribulation, the Fate Tribulation!"

He peered into the future, saw fate, and glimpsed the thread that bound it all, foreseeing the scene most likely to occur in the next instant.

With a slight shift of his body, he moved preemptively, evading the Sword Gang’s assault.

At the same time, he reversed his blade and thrust it into the void, releasing an endless torrent of mortal dust.

"Third Tribulation, the Red Dust Tribulation!"

In that instant, countless distracting thoughts flooded Dugu Yunfeng’s mind. Joy, anger, sorrow, bliss, the flow of time—it was as if he had experienced a hundred lifetimes in a flash.

Having endured the suffering of the mortal world, an endless sense of decay welled up in his heart. His Sword Intent lost its edge, and he even seemed to age visibly.

"Sword Heart Slash!"

Dugu Yunfeng’s Divine Thought transformed into a streak of Sword Aura, sweeping down from his Sword Heart to wipe away the distracting thoughts and cleanse it of dust.

The trials of the mortal world only served to make his sword sharper.

The Sword Sea churned as a new Sword Array formed. With a raise of Dugu Yunfeng’s hand, a hundred million beams of sword light shot forth.

Ling Xuzi stood his ground, wreathed in Sword Gang. He rotated the hilt of his sword, his sharp Sword Intent blocking the infinite sword light.

"Sixth Tribulation, the Sharp Weapon Tribulation!"

The sheer sharpness of the attack nearly tore through the void, easily annihilating the countless beams of sword light.

At the same time, the body of the sword reflected an image, invoking Dugu Yunfeng’s deepest fear.

"Second Tribulation, the Heart Demon Tribulation!"

Dugu Yunfeng felt as if he were seeing the Loose Cultivator who had once defeated him, but just as quickly, he sliced that distracting thought away.

That Loose Cultivator was long dead, a mere pile of dust. He had absolute confidence in himself.

Besides, he had accepted his defeat.

’So what if I lost? It was nothing more than a minor setback. With more tempering, my sword will only grow sharper.’

A crimson flame surged and burned on Ling Xuzi’s sword.

It was Karmic Fire.

"Fifth Tribulation, the Karma Tribulation!"

This was Karmic Fire that burned the Divine Soul. The weaker one’s will, and the more one believed their own actions to be evil, the greater the damage this fire would inflict upon their Divine Soul.

BOOM~!

With a swing of his sword, the Karmic Fire nearly ignited half of the Spirit Swords.

Yet Dugu Yunfeng seemed to feel nothing at all.

Karmic Fire could only invade one’s heart and burn the Divine Soul if one knowingly did wrong.

Unfortunately for his opponent, Dugu Yunfeng had never once thought he was wrong, nor did he believe the Celestial Dao Alliance was wrong.

In his eyes, there was no right or wrong, only the unbending Sword Dao.

He had made his choice, and he would simply see it through.

In this, he and Ling Xuzi were the same.

’Our stances are different, and the Sword Daos we’ve chosen are different. How could there be any right or wrong?’

None of Ling Xuzi’s Sword Skills that targeted the mind had been effective.

He couldn’t help but sigh in admiration. His senior brother truly was a genius of the Sword Dao; his Sword Heart was utterly flawless.

Across from him, Dugu Yunfeng was also deeply shocked.

The Ling Xuzi of the past would have been defeated more than ten times over by his attacks by now. But now, not only had Ling Xuzi held on, he even seemed to have strength to spare.

’He’s changed. He’s no longer the little junior brother who needed my protection, the one with no mind of his own.’

’Still, it would have been better if he’d never developed such independence and opinions.’

’Position determines everything. He may have come from a humble background, but he’s a member of the Celestial Dao Alliance now. To beg for mercy for those ants... how ridiculous.’

Ling Xuzi sensed that arrogance, that contempt and disdain for everything. He smiled.

"Senior Brother, you really haven’t changed at all."

The response to Ling Xuzi was another attack.

BOOM~!

A thousand-zhang-long Sword Gang slashed down, splitting open a fissure in the land of Primordial Heaven. Ling Xuzi evaded the attack, raised his Seven Tribulation Sword, and charged at Dugu Yunfeng with his own condensed, razor-sharp Sword Gang.

This battle could no longer be decided with words.

Only the swords in their hands could determine the outcome.

....

No one noticed.

That while the two exalted cultivators were fighting so fiercely, a figure had quietly arrived in Primordial Heaven.

Zhang Ji didn’t dare to probe with his Spirit. He simply shrank his body, concealed his presence, and carefully spied on the Celestial Will Hall with his naked eye.

Above the grand hall stood Nangong Zhiqing, Mo Ye, and Zhuge Mingyuan.

Zhang Ji’s eyes narrowed slightly.

’With those three here, it won’t be easy for me to sneak in and get the Celestial Intent Seal.’

After some thought, he came up with a plan.

’A swift and decisive battle.’

The strength of these three couldn’t compare to Ling Xuzi or Dugu Yunfeng.

Nangong Zhiqing, in particular, was only at an ordinary Divinity Transformation level without her Shennong Cauldron.

’If I can take her out with a sneak attack, I can suppress the other two without much effort.’

’It’ll definitely be easier than fighting Linghu Yao and his Sword Bone.’

’I might not be able to one-punch them like kids, but I can definitely finish this quickly.’

With a plan in mind, Zhang Ji quietly vanished from his spot.

He used the shrinking ability of the Ship of Hope and was now as small as a speck of dust.

Before the Celestial Will Hall.

Nangong Zhiqing and the other two were watching the battle.

"Ling Xuzi has gotten so much stronger!" Mo Ye exclaimed.

"He was always a genius of the Sword Dao. Otherwise, the Celestial Sword Pavilion wouldn’t have made an exception to recruit him as a disciple," said Nangong Zhiqing.

In the past, she and Ling Xuzi had a complicated relationship.

Compared to Dugu Yunfeng, who had stood at the peak from the very beginning, she preferred Ling Xuzi, the Sword Dao genius who had struggled his way up from the bottom.

The two had almost become Dao companions.

But fate is fickle. They never took that final step, each choosing their own destiny, no longer fixated on romantic love.

"Who will win?" Mo Ye asked Zhuge Mingyuan.

He really wasn’t as certain about this as Zhuge Mingyuan might be. After all, Zhuge Mingyuan was a product of technology and was better at things like data analysis.

"In terms of the amount of Spiritual Power, Dugu Yunfeng undoubtedly has the upper hand," said Zhuge Mingyuan.

In a pure contest of cultivation level, Dugu Yunfeng was certainly a cut above Ling Xuzi. However, in a real battle, a higher cultivation level didn’t guarantee victory.

The three continued to observe the unprecedented battle, unaware that danger was already upon them.

Suddenly, Zhuge Mingyuan reacted.

He looked toward the void, a hint of confusion in his eyes.

For some reason, his vision was detecting anomalous data in the spatial fluctuations there.

He was about to shout a warning, but it was too late.

A streak of lightning tore through the void. Zhang Ji, who had been building up power for some time, thrust his palm toward Nangong Zhiqing.

KRRRACKLE~!

BOOM~!

The lightning stretched for dozens of li. Zhang Ji’s palm shattered the protective treasure robes and Spiritual Artifacts on Nangong Zhiqing’s body before landing directly on her.

Without any suspense, Zhang Ji’s strike instantly pulverized more than half her body.

VMMMM~!

The Shennong Cauldron hummed, bursting with green light as it moved to protect its master.

However, Zhang Ji simply had the Ship of Hope swallow it whole.

Inside the Ship of Hope, the Dunjia Array Box landed directly on the Shennong Cauldron, and Taiyi-Zero suppressed its Artifact Spirit on the spot.

"Nangong..."

Mo Ye was dumbfounded.

’Where did this person suddenly come from?’

Zhuge Mingyuan, however, didn’t freeze. In an instant, Spirit Patterns flickered around his body as he cast thousands of Spirit Skills, securely protecting Nangong Zhiqing’s mangled remains.

The pile of shredded flesh was actually regenerating at a rapid pace.

At the Divinity Transformation Stage, one could divide their consciousness into thousands of parts. Every cell could possess Divine Thought. If one cultivated a special Secret Skill...

...then rebirth from a single drop of blood was not impossible.

Their life force was far more tenacious than that of an ordinary cultivator.

"Damn, she’s still not dead."

Zhang Ji was a little disappointed.

’The conceptual fluctuations of Solitary Supremacy are too obvious. Otherwise, if I had used it, that one blow would have definitely killed her.’

’I would have blasted her into a blooming lotus on the spot. Rebirth from flesh and blood? In her dreams!’

Zhang Ji didn’t bother with a finishing blow. Instead, he turned and threw a punch at Zhuge Mingyuan.

Even while casting Spirit Skills to protect Nangong Zhiqing, Zhuge Mingyuan had anticipated that Zhang Ji might suddenly attack him, so he wasn’t flustered.

Streams of spiritual light emerged from his body, transforming into Spiritual Artifacts to defend himself.

Zhang Ji’s fists were quite powerful; he shattered the Tier Five Spiritual Artifacts one by one with each punch.

But there were simply too many of them, and his assault was bogged down.

At this moment, Mo Ye finally reacted, summoning a jet-black sword that flew toward Zhang Ji.

SHWIIING~!

Zhang Ji raised his hand and shot out a burst of Spiral Gang Qi from his fingers. The two attacks collided in the void, erupting with immense power.

RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE~!

"No Spiritual Power fluctuations... an Extradomain Celestial Demon? So you’ve been pulling the strings all along!"

Mo Ye felt like he had figured it all out.

Whether it was Ling Xuzi’s betrayal or the series of events instigated by the Ascetic Order, Zhang Ji had been the one behind it all.

"Don’t fucking blame everything on me. I’m just passing by and decided to pick up a little something for myself."

Zhang Ji was rendered speechless by Mo Ye’s look of sudden realization and offered a rare rebuttal.

The black sword circled around Mo Ye. He exchanged a look with Zhuge Mingyuan, and they both attacked Zhang Ji at once.

That sword was rather extraordinary; Zhang Ji’s Gang Qi finger-strike hadn’t managed to damage it. Meanwhile, Zhuge Mingyuan’s Profound Origin Quantum Array Body was collecting data on Zhang Ji while casting Spirit Skills in an attempt to restrain him.

Around Zhang Ji, countless Spiritual Energy Nets wove together, layer upon layer, trying to trap him within.

Seeking a swift conclusion, Zhang Ji unleashed his full power. Wreathed in the power of the Five Elements, he condensed his Gang Qi and struck out with a Solitary Supremacy palm.

Under the force of that single palm, the immense power destroyed the Spiritual Energy Net, causing countless Spiritual Power particles to disintegrate. The force of his palm then continued onward, crashing into the jet-black sword.

This time, it did not escape unscathed.

In an instant, Zhang Ji’s Spiritual Force Field and Primordial Qi began to disintegrate and restructure it.

On its surface, innumerable material particles were breaking apart, being worn away.

Mo Ye was startled. This was a peak Tier Five Spiritual Artifact. Back then, even Xiang Zhe hadn’t been able to damage his sword. Zhang Ji’s palm strike was simply too terrifying.

He hastily formed a hand seal to recall the sword while a mirror rapidly expanded in the air, enveloping Zhang Ji within it.

In an instant, Zhang Ji found his surroundings had changed.

He saw his parents, his friends from before he transmigrated, the girl he had liked in his youth, and even Gu Ming, Kratos, and Li Long...

"Dumbass!"

Feeling mocked and insulted, Zhang Ji brought his palms together and thrust them forward forcefully.

A Divine Dragon Wave mixed with the Five Elements blasted out, destroying everything in its path.

ROAR~!! BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM~!

Parents, friends—Zhang Ji blasted them all to smithereens.

The mirror also cracked before shattering in the air.

The Divine Dragon Wave slammed into Mo Ye, punching a hole straight through his chest. He was crippled on the spot, his body plummeting to the ground.

Zhang Ji wheeled the Divine Dragon Wave around to attack Zhuge Mingyuan, only to find he had already grabbed the mangled and weakened Nangong Zhiqing and fled far away.

Dugu Yunfeng and Ling Xuzi, still fighting in the sky, had already noticed what was happening down below. Zhang Ji couldn’t be bothered with them; the top priority was to get his hands on the Celestial Intent Seal.

Without a second thought, he charged directly toward the Celestial Will Hall.

The outside of the hall was protected by a grand Array, but Zhang Ji had a cheat for breaking arrays.

Taiyi-Zero was as familiar with this Array as it could possibly be. Having broken it once before, doing so again was a walk in the park.

In a flash, Zhang Ji burst into the grand hall.

The hall was vast and empty, surrounded by twelve massive pillars covered in dense Spirit Patterns.

At the very center, a fist-sized, square jade seal floated in the air.

"The Celestial Intent Seal!"

A look of delight appeared in Zhang Ji’s eyes as he reached out for it.