Chapter 470 - 439: Until Death, Not a Single Step on Celestial Beam Mountain

Chapter 470: Chapter 439: Until Death, Not a Single Step on Celestial Beam Mountain

The night was silent...

As Lu Wanli pressed a hand to his waist, the thousand-foot-tall, majestic phantom was suddenly drawn into his body. But at the same time, his Qi Mechanism, far from diminishing, actually swelled.

Two figures—one in the heavens, one on the earth—faced off against each other.

The oppressive atmosphere could be felt for hundreds of miles.

"This is a fight to the death!"

Seeing this, the spectating Cultivators were all stunned. They had followed the powerful auras here, not expecting to find the long-missing Valley Master Chen, let alone Lu Wanli, whose status was even greater.

And in such a tense standoff, no less.

Although Lu Wanli’s earlier close-quarters palm strike had sent him reeling, no one believed the Vice Alliance Leader was weaker than Valley Master Chen. This, of course, included Sun Ye and Zhao Ming, who had followed along.

"This Valley Master Chen really has some tricks up his sleeve!"

"Yeah, to think he sent Alliance Leader Lu reeling with a single blow... Still, does Alliance Leader Lu really need to get serious to deal with him? He’s actually preparing to draw his saber!"

But before their murmurs of doubt could fade, the next scene made it perfectly clear why Lu Wanli was so deadly serious.

SCHIIING—

As Lu Wanli’s eyes narrowed, he suddenly raised a hand and drew his blade. A flash of light, as dazzling as lightning, tore across the night sky. The crowd saw only a single step forward.

Chen Che stood atop the mountain, hands clasped behind his back, looking down upon his opponent.

"Hah!"

As that step landed, Lu Wanli was already before Chen Che, the Qi Mei Demon Saber in his hand slashing down from above.

SWOOSH!

It was like a bolt of lightning stretching from a hundred miles away, all the way to the foot of Celestial Beam Mountain.

The pitch-black night seemed to be torn asunder by that single slash, a testament to its incredible speed. The spectating Cultivators couldn’t even track his movements with their naked eyes; they only felt their hearts seize in terror.

’If it were them, they would have been cleaved in two by Lu Wanli in that single instant.’

But Chen Che, standing on Celestial Beam Mountain, did not retreat a single step. Instead, he simply raised a finger, and a sword light of equal brilliance flashed forth. Innumerable Flying Swords converged into a torrent of steel, pouring down to meet Lu Wanli’s unstoppable slash head-on.

CLANG!

The sound was like the tolling of a great temple bell.

The next instant, a deafening explosion erupted on Celestial Beam Mountain, sparks flashing as brilliantly as shooting stars.

RUMBLE—

Lu Wanli, now in mid-air, faltered as he was knocked back once more. But with the agility of a dragon, he twisted sharply, circling behind Chen Che and unleashing a fierce horizontal slash. This attack was even more ferocious and swift than the last.

It looked as if he meant to slice Celestial Beam Mountain itself in half.

After the horizontal slash, the attack transformed into a dragging cut, the blade’s edge moving with a deceptive speed—seeming both fast and slow, like a dull knife sawing through flesh—threatening to tear space itself apart. Immediately after, the blade’s light shattered, enveloping the entire mountain peak in its destructive aura.

However, the fact that Lu Wanli had to launch several consecutive slashes meant that he had yet to land a single hit. Otherwise, one would have been enough.

Chen Che remained where he stood, innumerable Flying Swords spinning around him like a tempest, creating a brilliant display of flowing light. It was as if a water-like barrier had risen over the peak of Celestial Beam Mountain. The situation looked perilous, yet this defense managed to block Lu Wanli’s attacks with perfect timing, every single time.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

In an instant, the world resounded with a deafening roar. Xiao Chan had long since led Li Cang and the other Jinyun Valley disciples away from the peak. But no one paid them any mind now. All eyes were fixed on Chen Che and Lu Wanli.

To the onlookers, it looked like a crimson light relentlessly assaulting a flowing river of Sword Auras.

It was no surprise to anyone that Lu Wanli possessed such power. But for Chen Che to also command his Swordsmanship with such effortless grace—as if the blades were extensions of his own limbs—was something none of the spectating Cultivators had anticipated.

’His strength is absurd. Even Yu Zhen might not have been his match in a direct confrontation. What was Yu Zhen thinking, picking a fight with him?’

Lu Wanli’s heart tightened as well.

’Even though I’d already overestimated him, I never imagined his abilities were this profound! I came here, proud as a conquering tiger, to kill Chen Che. But in the end, I can’t even fight my way up Celestial Beam Mountain. It’s a complete joke.’

At this thought, he gripped the Mad Saber with both hands, and the blade began to glow intensely.

Lu Wanli possessed no other Magical Artifacts—this saber was his one and only. But that didn’t mean he lacked techniques.

A dazzling radiance swirled from the blade, generating a viscous, pulling force. As the saber’s light swept over them, the thousands of Flying Swords spinning around Chen Che were suddenly brushed aside, their formation broken.

It was like a ripple being parted on the surface of a placid lake.

CLATTER—

In an instant, he had used the edge of his blade to carve a path through the waterfall-like screen of Flying Swords. Then, his potent saber qi blasted the remaining Flying Swords apart. They clattered to the ground like a sudden downpour, embedding themselves heavily in the earth.

"Hm?" Chen Che murmured in surprise.

But by then, Lu Wanli had already twisted his body, breaking through the defense of the Flying Swords. At the same time, he slashed with his battle saber, the friction with the air igniting it in a sheet of dazzling flames. Then, he thrust it forward.

RUMBLE—

Amidst the tremendous roar, a streak of flame and saber light shot through the air, crossing from outside Celestial Beam Mountain to within it in a flash, arriving right before Chen Che.

At the same time, a torrent of True Essence gushed forth, wrapping around his body in layers. The slash was like a suddenly appearing Fire Dragon that streaked across the sky in an instant, splitting the night in two!

"The Fire Spirit Blade!"

Zhao Ming’s pupils contracted. Before he could cry out, a collective gasp came from the distance.

He glanced up. He saw that the members of the Hu Clan, who were supposed to be traveling in the Mortal World, had somehow rushed to the battlefield and were now watching the world-shaking scene unfold. The previous cry had come from the Hu Family’s old ancestor, Hu Anyu.

In fact, besides them, more figures could be faintly seen arriving in the distant sky and on faraway mountaintops, all watching this scene, dumbfounded.

’Is this the end?’

This thought surfaced in the mind of everyone present.

Even the corners of Lu Wanli’s mouth couldn’t help but curve into a smirk.

"Get down!"

Chen Che’s eyes narrowed. He decisively waved a hand, tossing something out. With a low shout of, "Go!" a gilt White Jade Gourd, tied with a silver rope, flew out and shot toward the Fire Dragon.

But the Gourd was tiny. Before such a monumental attack, it looked like a praying mantis raising its arms to stop a landslide.

Everyone thought it would be instantly and effortlessly crushed. But the result was the exact opposite. The moment the heaven-devouring flames touched the Gourd, they instantly burst apart.

The innumerable flames scattered like a tide crashing against a reef.

Then.

The saber’s edge struck the Gourd!

CLANG!

The impact was world-shaking.

"How is this possible?"

Lu Wanli cried out in alarm, feeling a terrifyingly immense force instantly wash over him, flooding every inch of his body.

THUD!

To the crowd’s utter disbelief, the gilt White Jade Gourd forcefully knocked aside Lu Wanli’s Heavy Saber and smashed into his chest. Lu Wanli was sent flying backward even faster than he had charged in, crashing violently to the ground.

Zhao Ming looked as if his eyes would pop out of their sockets. The surrounding Cultivators were all completely dumbfounded.

Only Xiao Chan, hands clasped behind his back, smiled faintly. "I knew all along this would be the result."

"Pwah!"

Amidst the dust, Lu Wanli spat out a mouthful of blood, using his saber to prop himself up. His chest was caved in, and blood oozed from all over his body, a result of the Gourd’s immense kinetic force.

He looked up in astonishment at the figure on the mountain, who seemed not to have moved an inch. After a moment, he let out a bitter laugh. "Valley Master Chen, your methods are truly impressive. I already regret coming for you..."

"Oh?"

Chen Che raised an eyebrow, slowly shaking his head.

"A pity there’s no medicine for regret in this world. Since you’ve come, you can stay here for good!"

’He’s a veteran Golden Core Cultivator with an extraordinary network and background. He came here aggressively, filled with killing intent. Since reconciliation is impossible, it’s better to cut the weeds and pull out the roots to prevent future trouble.’

With that said, he lightly raised his right hand, and a slight breeze stirred.

SWISH, SWISH, SWISH—

The Flying Swords that had been blasted away rose into the air as one, as if answering the call of a Sword Immortal. With a wave of Chen Che’s bare hand, the countless blades flew into the sky like swallows returning to their nest, rapidly converging behind him.

The Flying Swords spun, forming a ring that coalesced into the shape of a great sun.

"Fellow Daoist Lu, it’s time for you to be on your way!"

With a wave of his hand, the air itself seemed to detonate. The scorching sun of swords plummeted from the heavens, streaking across the firmament as it shot directly toward Lu Wanli!

"Good! Good! Good!"

Seeing this sword descend, Lu Wanli threw his head back and laughed maniacally. His long hair stood on end like steel needles, turning snow-white in the blink of an eye. His once-straight posture became stooped, but his aura, far from diminishing, surged to new heights.

"What is this?" Xiao Chan narrowed his eyes.

Lu Wanli actually knew a technique to sacrifice his own life force!

’And judging by his proficiency and his even more imposing aura, it’s likely he was the one who taught this Cultivation Technique to Yu Zhen.’

BOOM!

His aura instantly returned to its peak. At the same time, it surpassed its previous limits, the leap in power as clear as taking a step up a staircase. It seemed he had directly reached the level of the Golden Core Eighth Layer...

Lu Wanli knew that ordinary methods were useless against Chen Che. He had no choice but to use his final resort: the Nine Elements Sacrifice Technique.

Just as Xiao Chan had guessed, this technique was indeed passed down from Lu Wanli to Yu Zhen. It used one’s own life force as a sacrifice to drastically increase one’s power. How long the boost lasted depended entirely on how much life force the user had remaining.

BOOM—

The instant the Nine Elements Sacrifice Technique was activated to its absolute limit, the True Essence phantom he had previously withdrawn materialized behind him once more. It had wide sleeves, hair like a lion’s mane, and a blurred face, but its presence was even more imposing than before.

If his previous charge was like a tiger descending a mountain, this was a Fierce Beast unleashed from its cage.

He raised his head, watching the whistling sun of swords descend, and clenched his fist. The battle saber in his hand flared with light, and a new, larger blade forged from immense True Essence extended from it. In that moment, he slashed it outward.

"Heaven-Cleaving Saber!"

In that instant, it was the only thing anyone could see—a slash of ultimate ferocity. This slash connected heaven and earth. It was the final slash of Lu Wanli’s life, and also his strongest.

Before the horrified eyes of countless onlookers, it slammed unflinchingly into the descending sun of swords.

BOOM—

It was a truly cataclysmic blow.

A dazzling Spiritual Light erupted, and for a moment, it was the only thing that existed between heaven and earth. A hurricane blasted out from the point of impact.

WHOOSH—

Those with low Cultivation were like duckweed in a great wave, sent flying by the hurricane on the spot.

A deafening roar was all anyone could hear. It felt as if a century had passed before the sound finally died down... Everyone quickly looked toward the epicenter, desperate to see who had won.

There, amidst the fading Spiritual Light, Lu Wanli stood between heaven and earth, his battle saber in hand.

All around him were scattered and broken Flying Swords.

"He blocked it?"

Seeing this, everyone’s eyes went wide.

"He won!"

A triumphant look appeared in Zhao Ming’s eyes. ’Now that he’s blocked that attack, it’s time for the counter!’

However.

That sliver of triumph had only just appeared before it vanished completely.

Lu Wanli tried to blink. But this simple action seemed to take a monumental effort. With a faint CRACK, a fissure appeared on his face.

In an instant, the crack spread over his entire body, like fractured porcelain...

Then, before everyone’s shocked gazes, Lu Wanli—along with the massive phantom behind him—dissipated like a dream or a phantom bubble, turning to motes of light that vanished into the air, fading into nothingness.

To the very end, he had never managed to set a single foot on Celestial Beam Mountain.