Chapter 76 - 74: Invincible Stance, Dugu Hongyun Makes a Move

Chapter 76: Chapter 74: Invincible Stance, Dugu Hongyun Makes a Move

After speaking, the direct descendants of the Lin family began executing the Tracking Technique with the tacit approval of the peerless monster from the Celestial Sword Sect.

They slowly closed their eyes, forcing a drop of essence blood out from between their brows. The drops of blood levitated into the air, coalescing into an incredibly ancient bloodline sigil.

BOOM!

Instantly, the crimson sigil shuddered violently, erupting with a mysterious power. As this power rippled outward, the group rapidly formed hand seals.

It didn’t take long for a trace of invisible aura to be extracted from the mountain forest. The ancient bloodline sigil, as if infused with life, immediately morphed into the faint phantom of a blood hound, sniffing the air continuously in the woods.

"Go!" At a certain moment, when the blood hound raised its eyes, they shouted in unison.

Acting as a tracking beast, the phantom hound actually tore through the air in a specific direction.

"It’s up ahead!"

"Chase after it!"

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

Seeing the blood hound move, the peerless monster of the Celestial Sword Sect and the Lin family members instantly soared into the air to follow. Evidently, this group of Lin family pursuers had discovered the corpses of Lin Chen and the others a few hours prior, realizing just how terrifying that youth truly was.

"We must kill this man, or our Lin family will face disaster in the future," the sole peerless monster of the Lin family declared.

Jiang Hao had now become a sworn enemy of the Lin family. Even though he wasn’t a direct descendant of the Qin family, his relationship with them had reached an incredibly profound level. Once that youth rose to power, he would inevitably side with the Qin family. Since the Lin family and the Qin family were mortal enemies, the terrifying consequences were unimaginable.

"Is that the Blood Contract Tracking Technique of the Lin Race from the Celestial City Earth Realm? Rumor has it that this Secret Technique can only be cultivated by descendants of the same bloodline. It’s incredibly overbearing; even if outsiders obtain it, it’s useless to them."

"Who cares whose Secret Technique it is? As long as we can find Jiang Hao, it’s fine. If we kill him, the Celestial Sword Sect’s reward will be ours."

Countless Cultivators were boiling with excitement over the Celestial Sword Sect’s deadly bounty, and they all joined the pursuit one after another. However, most of these people formed groups consisting of peerless geniuses and peerless monsters, choosing to act as teams.

More Cultivators merely wanted to watch the show. No matter how tempting the Celestial Sword Sect’s reward was, one needed to be alive to claim it. After all, that white-clad youth was a peerless monster. Such a terrifying existence was far beyond the reach of countless Cultivators, forcing them to halt in their tracks and refrain from joining the army of pursuers. Yet, they were more than happy to tag along and watch the spectacle unfold.

Even so, the number of Cultivator teams participating in the hunt continued to swell. In less than fifteen minutes, a massive, overwhelming crowd had gathered.

"Qin Fan?"

As countless figures gave chase, Qin Xiangyuan and her group coincidentally arrived at the scene. However, no one was paying attention to their squad anymore. Even the Lin family members had run off to track Jiang Hao, instantly turning the team of geniuses from Qin City into nobodies.

Before anyone could react, the next moment—

BOOM!

Dozens of miles away, another sky-piercing Sword Qi tore through the firmament with terrifying might.

"Kill him!"

"No!"

"How is he so strong?!"

"AHH!"

The instant the Sword Qi lit up, several figures were obliterated in the blink of an eye, causing the expressions of the vanguard pursuers to change drastically.

Meanwhile, Jiang Hao, who had just swung his sword to slaughter a few Little Kalamis, was staring dead-set at the phantom remnant of the blood hound. The only thing here capable of rendering Gu Qingyan’s "Concealment Art" ineffective was that bloodline hound conjured from the Secret Technique, or rather, the direct bloodline descendants of the Lin family.

Jiang Hao swept his gaze over the sky full of enemies, the cold glint in his eyes growing increasingly intense.

"Come! Come at me, all of you! Since you want to kill me, let’s have a massacre! Either you die, or I perish.

"But remember this—if any faction participating in today’s hunt fails to kill me, I will definitely pay a personal visit to your doorsteps in the future!"

BOOM!

Having said his piece, Jiang Hao no longer cared who was who. At this moment, anyone who approached within thirty feet was an enemy.

However, facing Jiang Hao’s warning, quite a few peerless geniuses and a handful of peerless monsters merely sneered.

"What an arrogant boast! A dying man dares to put himself on our level? Do you truly believe you are invincible?"

"Hahaha! Why should Cultivators of our generation fear death? Kid, we are participating today, and we will be waiting for you in the future!"

"Enough nonsense. Kill him!"

As murderous intent surged through the crowd, an earth-shattering battle instantly erupted across the mountain range. Sword Qi stretching hundreds of feet tore through the void, exuding terrifying power.

Jiang Hao didn’t dare stay in one spot. Even though he had already stepped into the Spirit Transformation Realm, two fists were no match for four hands. His main strategy was to fight while retreating. But even so, the terrifying, soul-trembling shockwaves of the slaughter left the countless closely following Cultivators absolutely dumbfounded.

"What a freakish Spirit Transformation Realm! A peerless monster! This guy has to be a peerless monster. There’s no way the martial soul he awakened is only a Ninth-Grade Celestial Tier Martial Soul!"

"Such sharp Sword Qi. His Sword Dao is also practically at the level of a peerless monster! And... he... he’s a Body Cultivator?"

"Body Refining Twenty-Fourth Heaven?! Good heavens, how is that possible?!"

Not long after the terrifying bloodbath commenced, many Cultivators noticed these frightening details, standing jaw-dropped with eyes full of disbelief.

Meanwhile, aboard the Celestial Sword Sect’s ark.

Ye Xiaotian and the other favored sons and daughters of heaven from the Xingyue City Earth Realm were rooted to the spot like wooden statues as they watched the scene unfold. Hearing those analytical remarks, in particular, struck them like a bolt from the blue.

"He... he’s also a Body Cultivator?" Wang Jiang stared at the apocalyptic battlefield in the mountain range, simply unable to believe his eyes.

A Sword Cultivator peerless monster, a Body Cultivator peerless monster, and even his martial soul didn’t seem to be merely Ninth-Grade Celestial Tier—it had at least entered the monster tier. Coupled with his talent in the Alchemy Dao, he was a freakish existence. Didn’t that mean that the youth in white was a fusion of four distinct types of peerless monsters?!

"Jiang Hao?" Ye Xiaotian also looked at the figure besieged by countless peerless geniuses and softly called out the name he couldn’t be more familiar with.

He could never have imagined that the useless fool who once briefly resided with the Ye family would one day grow to such heights, actually drawing countless figures—people even Ye Xiaotian himself could only look up to—to join forces and hunt him down. If the Ye family elders and members saw this scene, Ye Xiaotian couldn’t even fathom the kind of shock it would cause them. However, it was only a matter of time before the news of what happened here reached the Xingyue City Earth Realm.

As time passed, the grand hunt continued to expand, drawing in an increasing number of late-arriving favored sons and daughters of heaven from various factions. Yet, as the minutes ticked by, more and more people found themselves deeply astounded.

At this moment, his once pristine white attire was now heavily stained with blood, yet he unleashed a terrifying combat strength that shocked everyone present.

"Heavenly Spirit 72 Swords!"

Under the siege of countless experts, Jiang Hao continuously executed the "Heavenly Spirit 72 Swords." With every strike of his sword, two or three peerless geniuses fell. At this moment, the sword in his hand seemed to have transformed into a genius-harvesting machine, carving a path of slaughter through the mountain range.

"Heavens, what kind of monster is this? The martial skill he cultivates is just the most ordinary Sword Technique imaginable. How can it possess such terrifying power?!"

"This is madness! Pure madness! What exactly am I looking at? Slaughtering peerless geniuses like butchering dogs?!"

The fall of more and more peerless geniuses deeply shook everyone to their cores. What was even more astonishing was that, even after several hours had passed, the figure remained completely unharmed. This sight utterly dumbfounded the overwhelming sea of Cultivators.

"Could he be a peerless monster from the first tier?"

"Jiang Hao? Jiang Hao?"

For a time, the Qingfeng Sword slaughtered until panic gripped the hearts of everyone under heaven, spreading endless terror throughout the night.

Until a certain moment. The massive horde of pursuing peerless geniuses seemed to snap awake. They slowly came to a halt, staring blankly at the battlefield ahead, thoughts of retreat sprouting in their minds.

"He’s too strong! What the hell kind of monster is this?!"

"Impossible! This is impossible!"

Group after group of peerless genius squads forcefully stopped in their tracks, raging storms of shock surging in their eyes. However, there were still many fearless peerless geniuses surging forward in waves, led by the peerless monsters of their respective factions, eager to claim the Celestial Sword Sect’s bounty.

That was, until the eruption of *that* sword strike.

"Sky—Piercer!!!"

BOOM!

He sheathed his sword and stood tall, striking out with a single finger. In an instant, a terrifying Sword Intent pierced through the night sky, transforming into hundreds of feet of invisible Sword Intent that spanned heaven and earth.

RUMBLE!

A deafening explosion rocked this part of the world. Many peerless geniuses, along with endless towering ancient trees, instantly shattered, pulverized into a bloody mist by the sheer force of the Sword Intent. Not only that, but the sword formed by the Sword Intent didn’t stop. It was as if a Celestial Sword had descended from the heavens, crashing heavily into the primeval mountain range and slamming into the earth.

The earth shook and the mountains swayed as everything collapsed. Within the boundless primeval forest, a shockingly divine sword trench abruptly appeared. The trench was tens of meters wide and hundreds of meters long. Like a natural chasm, it cleaved the earth and the forest in two.

Countless favored sons and daughters of heaven watched this earth-shattering scene, all of them struck as if by lightning, gasping in cold air.

"Is that... Sword Intent?"

"Why does this strike feel somewhat familiar?"

"Sky Piercer? Could it be the Heaven-Severing Sword Intent created by that person?"

"Such terrifying proficiency in the Sword Dao! Heavens!"

This sword strike not only dumbfounded the countless following spectators but also directly intimidated the pursuers into breathing heavily.

While Ye Xiaotian, the others, and the various factions were engulfed in boundless shock, the people aboard the Celestial Sword Sect’s ark could no longer sit still. Immediately, several more figures tore through the air. All of them were Cultivators at the Spirit Transformation Realm.

At this moment on the Celestial Sword Sect’s ark, nearly all of the dozen or so most terrifying figures had made their move. Only one person remained, still resting with their eyes closed. However, in this split second, even this last remaining terrifying figure on the ark slowly opened his eyes, staring fixedly at the battlefield within the Endless Mountain Range.

By now, Jiang Hao’s eyes were entirely red with bloodlust. Even several ordinary peerless geniuses at the Spirit Transformation Realm had been slain by his Qingfeng Sword. Yet, this moment merely marked the true beginning of the fall of Spirit Transformation Realm experts.

Amidst the endless killing intent, the peerless geniuses below the Spirit Transformation Realm had long lost even the confidence to launch sneak attacks. One by one, they retreated far away to watch, their mouths dry.

It had to be said that the peerless monsters of the Celestial Sword Sect were truly terrifying. The addition of these dozen or so figures instantly stabilized the previously one-sided situation. But the more this happened, the more the crowd was shocked to unprecedented heights.

Facing ten opponents alone—what kind of magnificent bearing was this?!

No, he was fighting against more than a dozen alone, and all of them were mid-to-upper-tier peerless monsters of the second echelon.

"An invincible bearing! I actually see an invincible bearing in this person. Heavens!"

"Jiang Hao—this name is destined to resound throughout the entire Eastern Domain. No, it will resound throughout the entire Sword Dynasty!"

BOOM!

While countless Cultivators were practically petrified, the Sword Qi in that part of the world was shredding the cosmos, turning the sky dark and the earth dim with the intensity of the battle. This scene was far too shocking. Many who recognized the figure were astonished to the extreme, their expressions slack.

However, at a certain moment, many eyes subconsciously turned toward that figure on the Celestial Sword Sect’s ark. Even now, that figure remained as unmoving as a mountain.

At present, Jiang Hao and Mo Yan’s group were nearly evenly matched. This person might just be the final straw that breaks the camel’s back. Yet, the other party still seemed to have no intention of making a move.

That was until a certain moment when Jiang Hao finally found an opening to close the distance with the figures from the Lin family, reducing them to ashes with a single sword strike.

"Hmph. A bunch of useless trash."

Finally, the figure moved. The space around him seemed to twist, and a terrifying aura swept across the mountains and rivers, causing countless peaks to seemingly tremble. The instant that aura was released, the expressions of countless Cultivators drastically changed.

"Spirit Transformation First Stage?!"