Chapter 678: One Against Two

He had expected this, but not such brazen decisiveness.

Xu Yunfan’s expression quickly turned serene. He pushed his Divine Sky Dao Fruit to its limits as Purple Gold Thunder Light flowed over his body like tangible armor. The Destruction Dao Rhyme forced back the surrounding Chaos Profound Light by several dozen feet.

His gaze grew heavy as it swept over the imposing Red Sun True Monarch before landing on True Monarch Tong Xuan, whose aura was even more obscure and unfathomable. A sudden smile broke across his calm face.

“Red Sun True Monarch, I thought you alone coveted my Dao Fruit. I never expected you to convince True Monarch Tong Xuan to join you.

It seems the Pure Yang Fire of your Light Leaving Flame Burning Red Sun Dao Fruit is quite the temptation for this Sword Monarch and his Yin Attribute Dao Fruit.”

Red Sun True Monarch frowned. Seeing Xu Yunfan’s fearless demeanor, he couldn’t imagine what other tricks the man could possibly have up his sleeve.

A True Monarch who had just entered the Golden Core Realm might be considered top-tier in the Taihua Spirit Ruins Realm, but among peers at the Golden Core level, Red Sun True Monarch felt he couldn’t make any significant waves.

“You guessed that I was going to ambush you?”

The corner of Xu Yunfan’s mouth quirked up, and a battle lust ignited in his Purple Gold Thunder Eyes.

‘Ever since I entered the Golden Core Realm, I’ve been wanting to see just how powerful I’ve become.’

Now that Red Sun True Monarch had appeared, his wish was granted. Even with True Monarch Tong Xuan at his side, Xu Yunfan was not afraid. ‘If I can’t win, I can at least escape.’

“You and I are mortal enemies in a Dao struggle; our conflict is irreconcilable. I have just entered the Golden Core Realm and my foundation is not yet stable. To you, my Divine Sky Dao Fruit is like a Magnetic Stone.

The moment I stepped out of the Primordial Sect and into the Boundary Sea was the perfect opportunity for you to strike.

This was an open gambit. What was there to guess?”

He paused, his voice suddenly turning sharp as the Divine Sky Thunderbolt rumbled.

“So what if I guessed? Red Sun! Tongxuan! Today, in this Boundary Sea, our Dao struggle will be decided by life and death! You want my Dao Fruit? Then let’s see whose is sharper—your swords, or my Divine Sky’s thunder!”

Before his words had even faded, Xu Yunfan had already activated his Divine Sky Golden Core. The Purple Gold Thunder Light erupted like an enraged dragon from the sea, surging proactively toward Red Sun True Monarch, who seemed capable of burning the heavens and boiling the seas.

Chaotic Turbulence roiled in the Boundary Sea as two immense beams of sword light tore through the Profound Light.

On the left, flames that could incinerate the heavens blazed around Li Guang Ranyan Red Sun True Monarch. On the right, the Sword Spirit of Phecda Star Pivot Sword Soul Profound True Monarch sliced through the void.

Xu Yunfan’s Purple Gold Thunder Light flared violently. His Divine Sky Dao Body directly withstood the dual pressures, while his Destruction Dao Rhyme forced back the Chaotic Qi Flow.

“I guessed you two would team up, but I didn’t expect you to be in such a hurry.”

Xu Yunfan said coldly, his Purple Gold Thunder Eyes locked on Red Sun.

“After thirty years of languishing on Red Sun Peak, you couldn’t wait any longer?”

Lava seemed to surge within Red Sun True Monarch’s pupils.

“Xu Yunfan! Enough with the sharp tongue! Today, I will seize your Dao Fruit and refine my Red Sun Sword Intent!”

CLANG! The Burning Silence Sword shot from its sheath. A crimson sword rainbow, carrying the power to burn the heavens and boil the seas, slashed down, vaporizing and annihilating the Chaos Profound Light in its path.

True Monarch Tong Xuan remained silent, lightly tracing a line in the air with a Sword Pointing gesture.

Humming, the Formless Sword Spirit coalesced into nine Profound Ice Giant Blades, sealing off all of Xu Yunfan’s escape routes.

The Supreme Yin Sword Intent and Red Sun’s blazing flames merged in a bizarre fashion as the deadly cage suddenly contracted.

“Well met!”

Xu Yunfan let out a long cry and pressed his palms forward through the air.

His Divine Sky Golden Core in his Dantian trembled violently. Ninety-nine thunder dragons burst from beneath his Daoist robes, forming a ring-shaped Thunder Prison that exploded outward.

BOOM!

The Thunderfire Sword Spirit clashed head-on.

The Red Sun Sword Rainbow was torn to shreds by the Purple Gold Thunder Dragon, and Tongxuan’s Profound Ice Sword Blades also developed cracks under the force of the Destruction Dao Rhyme.

Instead of retreating, Xu Yunfan advanced. His body transformed into a bolt of lightning, and he appeared before Red Sun, thrusting his fingers forward like a sword straight at the space between his brows.

The bolt of thunder condensed at his fingertip was as fine as a strand of hair, yet it resonated with the Chaos Thunderbolt deep within the Boundary Sea.

“You’re courting death!”

A mix of shock and fury washed over Red Sun. He brought his Burning Silence Sword back to parry, his Blazing Sword Intent solidifying into a Molten Rock Giant Shield.

TZZZZT!

The thread of thunder pierced the shield’s surface, and the molten rock melted away like snow and ice.

Red Sun retreated a hundred li in an instant, the sleeve of his Daoist robe charred black and disintegrating.

True Monarch Tong Xuan’s sword-like eyebrows knitted together. His nine Sword Spirits merged into one, transforming into a colossal, shadowy sword that slashed down from above.

Phecda Void Breaking Sword Intent!

Without even turning his head, Xu Yunfan flicked his left sleeve.

The All Heaven Star Spirit Banner swelled in the wind. On its deep, dark surface, a river of stars reversed its flow, and its three hundred and sixty-five Main Stars unleashed Kui Water Yin Thunder.

A massive Yin Thunder Net entangled the giant void-breaking sword. The Star Power wore away at its Dao Rhyme, furiously canceling out the Supreme Yin Sword Spirit and locking the blade firmly in mid-air.

“Lin!”

The True Word escaped Xu Yunfan’s lips.

All humanity faded from his eyes, leaving only a clarity as pure as eternal, profound ice.

In this Supreme Forgetting Emotions state, the lines of Pure Yang fire circulating in the Red Sun Dao Fruit, the Yin-attribute Dao Patterns at the core of the Profound Sword Spirit, the flowing trajectories of the Boundary Sea’s Profound Light…all of it transformed into a network of analyzable threads.

Red Sun True Monarch’s pupils contracted sharply.

“The Linn Character Technique?! You’ve actually cultivated the Wansheng Sword Sect’s most guarded secret art to such a level?!”

He exchanged a look with Tongxuan, and both saw the utter shock in the other’s eyes.

‘This man has only just entered the Golden Core Realm, yet he already wields a True Monarch Level killing move and has tapped this deeply into his Divine Sky Dao Fruit.’

‘His thunder thread breaking the molten shield just now was clearly because he perceived a minute lag in the circulation of my Red Sun Dao Flame.’

“This man has already reached the Perfection level of the Golden Core Early Stage!”

True Monarch Tong Xuan’s telepathic message was like the ringing of a sword, his ice-cold voice trembling for the first time.

Thirty years!

To reach the threshold of the Middle Stage in a mere thirty years… such progress was comparable only to the legendary World Honored One Tathagata from the Puchen Pure Land.

‘This man must not be allowed to live.’

The two of them shared a perfect, unspoken understanding.

In that instant, their killing intent surged.

Red Sun pointed his Burning Silence Sword to the sky, while the Profound Sword Spirit returned to the abyss.

Two beams of sword light—one crimson, one dark—shot up from the depths of the Boundary Sea. Red Sun’s sword light split into thousands of fiery meteors, while the Profound Sword Spirit condensed into a swirling vortex of the Nine Netherworld’s ice prison.

Light Leaving World Burning Sword Formation!

Star-Pivot Void Sword Prison!

Extreme Yang and Extreme Yin. The powers of incineration and Returning Ruins twisted space-time, forming a destructive grindstone a million li wide that bore down on Xu Yunfan.

“Star Spirit Banner, retract!”

Xu Yunfan commanded indifferently.

The All Heaven Star Spirit Banner whipped about wildly, its surface transforming into a black hole that devoured all things.

The three hundred and sixty-five Main Stars detached from the banner, forming the All Heaven Star Formation to clash directly with the Sword Array.

RUMBLE!

The fiery meteors plunged into the river of stars and were annihilated. The ice prison vortex was washed away and disintegrated by the torrent of Star Power.

The Spirit Treasure Level Star Banner trembled violently. The stars on its surface flickered as if about to shatter, yet it forcefully swallowed the combined sword attack!

Red Sun True Monarch was speechless.

“A Lifebound Spiritual Treasure?! You actually succeeded in refining one!”

The All Heaven Star Formation could only be supported by a Spiritual Treasure. The might of this banner had already surpassed the realm of top-tier Magical Treasures.

Xu Yunfan’s fingertips brushed over a crack on the banner’s pole. As thunder light flowed over it, the fissure sealed itself.

“Red Sun, you’ve coveted my Dao Fruit for thirty years, yet you were unaware that my Artifact Refining Mastery is unrivaled in all of Taihua?”

‘A thousand optimized simulations on the Attribute Panel, plus thirty years of tempering on Divine Sky Mountain, finally forged this banner.’

The three figures crisscrossed and collided within the chaos.

Red Sun’s Burning Silence Sword summoned a tsunami of molten rock. The Profound Sword Spirit transformed into formless threads that sliced through space. Xu Yunfan used the Linn Character Technique to predict and evade, while his Divine Sky Thunder Dragon struck at the weak points in the connection between the two’s Dao Fruits.

Purple Gold Thunder Light, Crimson Flowing Fire, and Profound Ice Sword Marks tore the Boundary Sea to shreds.

PUFF!

A Sword Spirit pierced through Xu Yunfan’s shoulder blade, and Profound Ice Dao Patterns began to erode his Thunder Body.

SCHRRRIP!

A thunder dragon ripped a chunk of charred flesh from Red Sun’s left arm, causing his Pure Yang Dao Flame to dim.

True Monarch Tong Xuan grunted and fell back, his Protective Sword Spirit having been struck by the Star Banner, causing cracks to spread across it.

“What a pity.”

Purple-gold blood stained the sleeves of Xu Yunfan’s robes. In his Linn Character State, he felt neither joy nor sorrow.

‘If there were a chance to kill Red Sun one-on-one, I could seize his Dao Fruit right now to complete my Solitary Yang.’

However, the Profound Sword Spirit was chillingly cunning, constantly guarding Red Sun’s vital points.

Red Sun True Monarch used his Burning Silence Sword to support himself in the void. His magma-like blood incinerated the moment it dripped.

At that moment, Red Sun True Monarch felt a mixture of shock, rage, and relief. ‘Thank goodness I wasn’t arrogant enough to come alone. If I hadn’t brought True Monarch Tong Xuan with me, I would have been the one to die here in the Boundary Sea.’

Xu Yunfan gave Red Sun True Monarch one last deep look, then turned and sped away toward Aitira.

Seeing this, Red Sun True Monarch and True Monarch Tong Xuan naturally wouldn’t let him go. If they allowed Xu Yunfan a moment to catch his breath, they would never be able to eat or sleep in peace again.

After all, he had held his own against a Sword Cultivator, even fighting one against two without being at a disadvantage. It was utterly astounding.

‘If we don’t kill this man, we won’t even dare to sleep.’

“After him!”

Red Sun’s roar pierced through the thunder barrier behind him.

“Xu Yunfan! Even if you flee to the very ends of Reincarnation, I will still hunt you down and sever your Dao Fruit!”

The Burning Silence Sword burned away the chaos as two murderous rainbows of light locked onto the trail of thunder and vanished into the barrier of the Aitira Realm.

(Just one chapter for today. Writing fight scenes is a bit of a headache.)