Chapter 86: Southern Heavenly Gate and Ascension

Chapter 86: Chapter 86: Southern Heavenly Gate and Ascension

A storm was brewing on Dao Yi Mountain.

The Daoists on the mountain, however, were completely oblivious. They were still immersed in the joy of their Sect Leader recently stepping into the realm of First-Grade Great Innate.

Chen Sha himself, however, was behind the Southern Heavenly Gate, fighting the final trial against Dugu Qiubai.

Behind the Southern Heavenly Gate. In the Cosmic Light Fragments, within the Xiangyang Valley.

SCREECH!

A terrifying eagle’s cry, sounding like a dragon or phoenix, seemed capable of shattering the sky. The sound vibrated the eardrums of myriad beasts within the Valley of Death, startling beasts, giant snakes, and fierce tigers into running wildly in all directions.

This was a terrifying giant eagle, its feathers as black as pitch, with a wingspan of fully twenty feet!

It crouched on a protruding boulder on a cliff in the Valley of Death, its sharp and intimidating gaze firmly fixed on the two people standing facing each other within the valley.

One of them had a majestic build. Grizzled hair cascaded down his back. Dressed in simple linen clothes, he stood at the bottom of the valley with his hands resting behind his back. He looked to be in his fifties or sixties, yet there was no trace of old age about him. Instead, he seemed to have merged naturally with the mountains and rivers of the Valley of Death, becoming a sword in Human Form!

The Sword Demon, Dugu Qiubai!

Standing opposite him was a young Daoist wearing a loose Daoist Robe. Although he looked only a third of Dugu Qiubai’s age, he revealed a terrifying aura that did not lose out to the Sword Demon.

Chen Sha smiled and said, "I am the Daoist Chen Sha, here to experience the invincible Swordsmanship of the generation’s Sword Demon."

Wisdom flashed in Dugu Qiubai’s weathered eyes. With his hands behind his back, he slowly said, "You are not from the Central Plains."

Chen Sha remained composed and asked, "How did the Sword Demon see that I am not from the Central Plains?"

The old man calmly said, "I have roamed the Jianghu for over forty years, killing all my enemies and defeating all heroes. My long sword is sharp, yet there is no one in the world who can match me. If an Innate Expert like you were from the Central Plains, how could I not know you?"

Chen Sha chuckled softly. "There is no need to delve into my origins. The Sword Demon only needs to know that I am here to fight you. I wonder if Dugu Qiubai, who is invincible under heaven, still has the strength to draw his sword at his current age?"

The old man kept his hands behind his back and slowly said, "I have not used a sword for ten years."

Chen Sha smiled faintly. "A generation’s Sword Demon, Dugu Qiubai, no longer uses a sword? Then it seems the Sword Demon himself has become a sword!"

An intense sword light suddenly flashed in the old man’s eyes. He re-examined Chen Sha and said, "At my current age, I myself am the strongest sword in this Mortal Realm!"

Chen Sha laughed heartily. "Please!"

As soon as the words fell, he took a large step, stomping on the ground. The century of Great Yellow Court Power within his body fully erupted. With just a light stomp, the earth of the Valley of Death trembled!

RUMBLE!

Dust, sand, and stones flowed upwards like a reverse waterfall. As Chen Sha’s figure flashed, he pulled out a tornado-like air current. He instantly broke the sound barrier and charged toward Dugu Qiubai with a terrifying howling sound!

BUZZ!

Facing Chen Sha’s sudden explosive attack, Dugu Qiubai stood in place with his hands behind his back. His entire being was the strongest sword in the Mortal Realm. He slowly extended a finger and thrust it forward!

WHOOSH!

Under this finger, Chen Sha keenly felt that the space of heaven and earth seemed to be torn apart.

He wondered, "Is this the strength of Dugu Qiubai, who is about to undergo Ascension?"

The terrifying Qi Power of the two collided in the air, causing the Xiangyang Valley to suddenly lose its voice.

SWISH! SWISH SWISH!

With just a light point of his finger, Dugu Qiubai generated one vigorous streak of Sword Qi after another around himself. He indeed had no need to wear a sword. A body of Innate Sword Qi flowed naturally, endlessly covering his entire body. With every movement, he had Ten Thousand Swords Body Protection. Thousands of streams of Sword Qi roared out like ocean waves at a moment’s notice.

Every sword strike aimed at Chen Sha was executed at will, devoid of any fixed moves. Yet, they were like the creations of heaven, flawless and perfect, reaching an unbelievably exquisite Realm!

However, as the Sword Qi slashed in front of Chen Sha, it couldn’t even break through his Protective Qi Shield.

"Your Excellency has such profound Inner Strength!" A strange look appeared in the Sword Demon’s weathered eyes.

Chen Sha’s Power was too massive.

A Great Innate with a century of Power, purely in terms of Power, completely crushed Dugu Qiubai. A trace of emotion also surfaced deep in Dugu Qiubai’s eyes. He seemed unable to understand how someone of Chen Sha’s age could possess over a century of Power. With such a profound Inner Power foundation, even a casual strike had the might of a landslide or tsunami!

In a flash, Chen Sha shattered wave after wave of Sword Qi with his fists and blasted in front of Dugu Qiubai.

CLANG!

Fist and finger collided, unexpectedly emitting the terrifying metallic ringing of clashing swords and sabers.

The two clashed in close combat, and in the blink of an eye...

CLANG CLANG CLANG!

Every part of Dugu Qiubai’s body could be used as a sword, whether it was his fingers, sleeves, hair, or even his aura... They collided madly!

In previous Chapters, Chen Sha had already obtained Dugu Qiubai’s Dugu Nine Swords. However, what Dugu Qiubai was displaying now was Swordsmanship that could no longer be described as the Dugu Nine Swords.

The Dugu Nine Swords was a supreme Martial Arts that reached the pinnacle of subtlety. It could unleash immense power without relying on Inner Power, elevating the concept of moves to a level where technique approached the Dao. Even someone without Inner Power could instantly step into the first-rate tier upon mastering it.

But Dugu Qiubai’s current Swordsmanship had long transcended the scope of a Sword Technique. Instead, he was freely wielding Sword Qi using a body full of surging Sword Intent. When he had no sword in hand and his Martial Arts had no fixed moves, this was the most powerful Dugu Qiubai.

He was attacking with a lifetime of Sword Intent, scattering Sword Qi with unmatched elegance and endless arrogant aloofness. Chen Sha felt as if he could see the brilliant life of the Sword Demon Dugu Qiubai—looking down on the world and disdaining all heroes—within the opponent’s Sword Qi.

He thought, "It’s a pity. The Sword Demon’s Realm is indeed high, but the hardest thing to escape in Martial Arts is the reality: what can be done when one’s power is inferior to another’s?..."

Chen Sha had absolute confidence in passing this final trial when he came to challenge it. His confidence lay in his century of Innate Power, which was entirely sufficient to wear Dugu Qiubai down to death...

This was a Cosmic Light Fragment. As long as he could pass the trial, what did it matter if the victory was honorable or not? Furthermore, suppressing someone with overwhelming power was fundamentally the grand path of a king. How could it be dishonorable?

The physical stamina and Qi Power of an Innate Expert already far exceeded that of a normal person. Thus, under the watchful eyes of the Divine Eagle in the Valley of Death, the battle between Chen Sha and Dugu Qiubai lasted for fully five days and nights...

A hint of impatience and sympathy appeared in the Divine Eagle’s eyes. It was an extremely spiritual creature with intelligence already akin to a human’s. Having watched this great battle for days, it had long noticed that starting from the seventh day, the Innate Power within Dugu Qiubai’s body was showing signs of being unable to hold on.

But it couldn’t go down to help. It wasn’t that it didn’t want to, but rather that it couldn’t.

Having fought until the tenth day, although Dugu Qiubai’s Qi Power was waning and his full head of hair was rapidly turning white, a look of elation that had not appeared for half his life surged in his eyes.

Only the Divine Eagle knew how lonely the invincible Dugu Qiubai was. His long sword was sharp in vain, and all heroes were helpless. He was already Solitary; it was even harder for him to Seek Defeat.

What kind of isolation and loneliness was this? The agony of standing at the mountain’s peak with no one able to challenge him forced Dugu Qiubai to bury his swords deep in the valley and build a tomb for himself. However lonely Dugu Qiubai had been over the past few decades, that was how elated he felt fighting now!

Even if he was throwing out streak after streak of Sword Qi at the cost of burning his life away, Dugu Qiubai didn’t have any reservations! Therefore, a bizarre scene emerged. Although Dugu Qiubai’s physical stamina and Qi Power seemed increasingly unable to hold out, his Sword Intent grew stronger and stronger until it completely filled the Xiangyang Valley.

Chen Sha, possessing a century of Power, was still in excellent condition. At this moment, he faintly sensed something and realized, "Dugu Qiubai... he’s about to undergo Ascension!"

As soon as this thought flashed through Chen Sha’s mind...

BOOM!

In the distance, Dugu Qiubai’s hair turned entirely white. His life aura was almost completely exhausted at this moment as he slowly extended a finger and thrust a sword strike!

After this strike was thrust, a beam of light suddenly illuminated the Xiangyang Valley from the firmament above. Boundless Golden Light sprinkled down upon the Mortal Realm.

At this time, the scene that fell into Chen Sha’s eyes was...

A Sword of Life that tore through heaven and earth. And a faintly discernible portal in the sky above Dugu Qiubai’s head. The portal was towering and majestic, gilded and indigo, coiled with various auspicious beasts like dragons, phoenixes, and Qilin.

Most crucially... upon those magnificent, resplendent doors, there were impressively three large words:

Southern! Heavenly! Gate!

After this door appeared above Dugu Qiubai’s head, his body—having just thrust out the final sword strike—slowly floated up from the ground... It seemed he was about to ascend behind the Southern Heavenly Gate.

At the same time, the sword strike in front of Chen Sha also arrived.

Even though Chen Sha instantly propped up the True Qi throughout his entire body and threw his strongest punch to collide with the Sword Qi, his arm was still instantly torn apart by this sword... and his body was pierced through!

Clutching his chest, Chen Sha frantically retreated eight paces. However, his Power was simply too profound. Even though he was struck by the sword that Dugu Qiubai unleashed with his life, he didn’t die on the spot.

At the same time, Chen Sha heard a sigh:

"The ancient legends were true after all. When human power reaches a certain level, one can forcefully open the Celestial Gate, attain the Broken Void, and join the Immortal Rank..."

It was Dugu Qiubai, who was slowly being sucked upward by the Southern Heavenly Gate. His eyes were muddy, and a deathly aura surfaced all over his body. "I unleashed this sword strike with my life. Although I failed to kill you, I opened the Ascension Celestial Gate. What a pity... I no longer have the strength to undergo Ascension..."

As soon as the words fell, Dugu Qiubai’s head drooped in mid-air, his vitality completely severed. And the Southern Heavenly Gate in the sky above seemed to sense that the Ascender was dead. It stopped emitting its attractive force and slowly disappeared behind the clouds.

Chen Sha clutched his chest, still immersed in the shock of actually seeing the projection of the Southern Heavenly Gate from within his own body inside the Cosmic Light Fragments. He then watched as Dugu Qiubai’s vitality was severed and the Southern Heavenly Gate projection inside this Cosmic Light Fragment dissipated.

Dugu Qiubai exhausted his strength and died, while Chen Sha was still alive. Obviously, he had successfully cleared the trial.

"Congratulations to the Sect Leader for successfully clearing Dugu Qiubai’s final Chapter, ’No Sword’.

"The items dropped in this scenario are: one portion of Dugu Qiubai’s Sword Dao Insights, one Pusique Snake King’s Gallbladder, ten Ordinary Pusique Snake Gallbladders, and one Cosmic Light Fragment."