Chapter 2458 - 2458: Heavenly Thunder Strikes Above

The scabbard of the Minghong Knife and the millions-strong Long-toothed Rat Swarm are the Wanyan Family's key trump cards. With these two things, the Wanyan Family can guarantee absolute invincibility even within the Unity of Heaven and Man Realm. As long as there are no masters who transcend this realm, they have nothing to worry about.

In the present world, it is estimated that only the Knife Saint, the figure who has lived for three or four hundred years, has the power to transcend the Unity of Heaven and Man Realm. It's impossible for anyone else to possess this strength. So, for the Wanyan Family, these two trump cards alone are enough to dominate the world, let alone annihilate the Sword Saint Sect!

"These two things are indeed remarkable, but if you want to eradicate my Sword Saint Sect, these two alone are not enough!" the Knife Saint said, casting a glance at the swarm of Long-toothed Rats behind him, "Also, I'll say it again, this army of Long-toothed Rats is useless. If you encounter their natural enemy, your Wanyan Family's three or four hundred years of hard work will go to waste. Therefore, I advise you to be cautious about flaunting these little mice, lest they be wiped out in one sweep!"

Since their appearance, the Long-toothed Rat Swarm has been invincible, unrivaled. Only masters beyond peerless mastery have managed to avoid the swarm. As a matter of fact, those masters only manage to break through the encirclement, but it doesn't mean they can slay such a vast number of Long-toothed Rats. Essentially, the Long-toothed Rat Swarm has no rivals, and no one in the world can resist them—they are the Wanyan Family's fundamental reliance.

The Knife Saint often speaks of the natural enemies of the Long-toothed Rats, which irritates Wanyan Hongfeng. To him, the Knife Saint is merely trying to frighten him. With such large numbers, what natural enemies could there be? The Long-toothed Rat Swarm can even kill Peak Masters, and masters beyond peerless mastery can't eradicate them. What the Knife Saint says about exterminating the swarm in a single sweep is simply impossible. What natural enemies could be stronger than masters beyond peerless mastery?

"Regardless of any potential natural enemies, I absolutely won't spare your Sword Saint Sect!" Wanyan Hongfeng said in a deep voice, "Those who follow me will prosper, those who oppose me will perish. Henceforth, the world will bow to the supremacy of our Wanyan Family!"

"Arrogant!" the Knife Saint said coldly with a smile, raising the Dragon-breaking Knife in his hand, pointing it at Wanyan Hongfeng, "The Wanyan Family may have thousands of years of accumulation, but you haven't even entered the Heaven Earth Man Three Gates. What qualifications do you have to talk about the world with me? Hmph, you don't even know where the Heaven and Earth are yet dare talk about the world. The Wanyan Family will ultimately become nothing but a laughingstock in the pages of history!"

Wanyan Hongfeng was enraged by the Knife Saint's words and pointed his finger at Wanyan Hongfeng, shouting angrily, "I won't argue with you. You'll know soon enough whether I'm arrogant or not!"

"Then I'll be waiting!" the Knife Saint laughed loudly, suddenly raising the Dragon-breaking Knife in his hand and fiercely striking its handle. The Dragon-breaking Knife flew out like an arrow off the bowstring, crashing into the Sword Saint Sect behind him, piercing through its buildings, and burrowing into the mountain behind.

"What are you doing?" Wanyan Hongfeng exclaimed in surprise. What did the Knife Saint mean by suddenly tossing away the Dragon-breaking Knife?

After the Knife Saint threw the Dragon-breaking Knife, his skin quickly aged visibly, as if he had lost strength, soon transforming into an old man with white hair, devoid of the imposing presence he had earlier.

Wanyan Hongfeng didn't understand the Knife Saint's situation; if Ye Qing were here, he would certainly recognize it. Ninety percent of the Knife Saint's power was hidden within the Dragon-breaking Knife; only holding the Dragon-breaking Knife could he be considered a complete Knife Saint. Without it, he was left with only ten percent of his power, insufficient to sustain his body, hence the rapid aging.

Of course, if the Sword Saint Sect members were here, they'd surely shout out in surprise. Just now, the Knife Saint declared that the one who held the Dragon-breaking Knife henceforth would become the Sect Leader, wielding all authority over the Sword Saint Sect. And moments ago, the Knife Saint had thrown away his Dragon-breaking Knife. Thus, whoever claimed the Dragon-breaking Knife would become the Sect Leader, controlling the Sword Saint Sect completely.

At this point, Wanyan Hongfeng also recalled the Knife Saint's earlier words. Seeing the Dragon-breaking Knife thrown away, he immediately became anxious, desperate to snatch it up. This way, he could control the Sword Saint Sect. After all, the Knife Saint had issued a command that the Sword Saint Sect members would only recognize the Dragon-breaking Knife, not any individual.

But with the current circumstances, he couldn't bypass the Knife Saint and snatch the Dragon-breaking Knife. Moreover, Heavenly Retribution was about to descend, so he didn't dare to act recklessly, fearing that he might inadvertently attract Heavenly Retribution.

As he hesitated, a deafening thunder resonated from the dark clouds in the sky. With the echo of this thunder, the divine corpse seemed to regain its senses, spreading its wings and soaring up, holding the scabbard of the Minghong Knife, its aura climbing again as if poised to confront the stormy clouds.

At this moment, the aura of the divine corpse left the Knife Saint shocked. He glanced at the divine corpse, then at Wanyan Hongfeng, and said in a deep voice, "What's going on? Isn't he a Three-winged God? Why is his aura so strong?"

"How should I know!" Wanyan Hongfeng retorted irritably, this unexpected change had indeed caught him off guard, leaving him momentarily unsure of what to do.

The deity corpse confronted the thundercloud, and finally, another rumble of thunder sounded from within. Following that, a cluster of lightning slowly gathered within the thundercloud, and everyone could almost clearly see that the lightning had formed into a shape of a thunderball. The thunderball didn't seem large, but everyone knew that the power contained within it was absolutely terrifying, far beyond their capability to resist.

As the thunderball formed, suddenly, a bolt of lightning shot out from it, slicing through the air and directly striking the deity corpse. The lightning appeared so suddenly that before the people below could react, the deity corpse had already been hit.

Wanyan Hongfeng took a deep breath, his heart lodging in his throat. This deity corpse was cultivated by generations of the Wanyan Family at the cost of their lives, and it was their key to controlling the world. If the deity corpse was truly destroyed by this divine punishment, then the Wanyan Family's plan would collapse!

The lightning strike quickly dissipated. At this moment, an astonishing scene unfolded. The deity corpse struck by lightning wasn't shattered into dust, but instead spread its wings and flew in the air. Although its body was somewhat scorched, it still stood erect. The deity corpse had endured a lightning strike and wasn't destroyed!

"This... this..." Wanyan Hongfeng widened his eyes. He had seen divine punishment kill people with his own eyes. Even a master of the Unity of Heaven and Man realm would be blasted to the extent that not even a bone fragment would remain. But now, what on earth was happening? Could this three-winged deity actually withstand divine punishment? If that were truly the case, then the power of the divine punishment wasn't that great, which made him much less anxious about his previous fears.

The Knife Saint also furrowed his brow. He had some understanding of the power of divine punishment. Honestly, seeing a bolt of heavenly thunder fail to shatter the deity corpse, he was very curious. Because the power of divine punishment was undoubtedly far beyond that of a three-winged deity. But why hadn't this strike destroyed the three-winged deity?

After a moment of silence, the Knife Saint suddenly turned his head, looked at Wanyan Hongfeng, and spoke in a deep voice: "Are you certain this is a three-winged deity?"

"Can't you see his wings?" Wanyan Hongfeng shouted loudly: "He only has three pairs of wings; what else could he be but a three-winged deity?"

The Knife Saint had long observed that the deity corpse indeed had only three pairs of wings. However, the power displayed by this deity corpse wasn't as simple as that of a three-winged deity.

"Could it be that other wings were knocked off, leaving it looking like a three-winged deity, but its strength far exceeds that of a three-winged deity?" the Knife Saint asked in a deep voice.

Wanyan Hongfeng's heart stirred; this was indeed possible. Yet, despite his astonishment, he didn't heed the Knife Saint's words, for what concerned him now was whether this three-winged deity could withstand the divine punishment. As long as the three-winged deity could endure the divine punishment, then the Wanyan Family's plan could proceed more smoothly.

Seeing Wanyan Hongfeng remain silent, the Knife Saint knew what was on his mind, and felt a bit annoyed. He pointed to the deity corpse in the sky and said in a solemn voice: "Wanyan Hongfeng, you must be careful. If this is a fake three-winged deity, surpassing the power of a three-winged deity, and you use the methods for dealing with a three-winged deity, you'll never be able to control him. At any moment, he might break free of control, and then you'll have unleashed a beast, probably leaving no one in your Wanyan Family alive!"

The Knife Saint's words caused Wanyan Hongfeng to feel somewhat panicked; in truth, he wasn't sure either. He had always thought this was a three-winged deity, but now, the strength displayed by this three-winged deity didn't resemble a three-winged deity at all!

While the two were speaking, the thunderball in the thundercloud again struck out with two bolts of lightning, both hitting the deity corpse. Three consecutive bolts of lightning finally severely injured the deity corpse, with its skeletal structure visibly beginning to break.

This situation allowed both the Knife Saint and Wanyan Hongfeng to breathe a sigh of relief; if divine punishment could take care of this deity corpse, there was nothing to be feared.

The Knife Saint glanced at Wanyan Hongfeng and said in a deep voice: "This deity corpse might be a four-winged deity. Your Wanyan Family was too careless in nurturing such a powerful four-winged deity; are you really looking for death?"

Being scolded by the Knife Saint at this time, Wanyan Hongfeng was left speechless. Although he didn't know how terrifying a four-winged deity could be, seeing the strength of a three-winged deity gave him a vague idea that it was a power the Wanyan Family certainly couldn't provoke!