Chapter 568 - 243: Yuxiao Falls, the Divine Sword Awakens

"Youngster, how dare you come close and challenge me in a sword duel? What advantage do you think you hold?"

Watching Chen Ping, surrounded by intense thunder light, executing the Seven Stars of Yin and Yang Sword Performance, charging towards him with a rumble, Venerable Yuxiao flashed a trace of malice between his brows and said with a cold smile.

He was confident of surpassing his opponent in sword technique.

As for cultivation, he could see that this young man, who managed to unify the Southern Region in less than a year, was only at the Divine Martial Initial Realm, at most the Third Level Cultivation.

And himself, he had already broken through to the Fourth Layer Cultivation of the Divine Martial Second Realm thirty years ago. His True Essence was thick and condensed, and compared to when he first ascended, his power on achieving the Fourth Layer made his attack and defense at least three times stronger.

Moreover, during the two hundred years since founding his sect, Venerable Yuxiao had not squandered his time.

Though limited by the lack of resources in this place, his cultivation grew slowly.

However, he didn’t lag in techniques of self-preservation.

Such as swordsmanship, spells, and various talisman and spell arrays — he had dabbled in them all.

If fighting from a distance, capturing Chen Ping might require more effort.

But in close combat, with his Mid-Stage Fourth Layer Cultivation against an Early-Stage Third Cultivation, it was a sure win.

Seeing the black and white light slash towards him, Venerable Yuxiao’s sword erupted with a burst of thunder light, he didn’t evade, instead, he swung his sword in a reverse stroke, wielding majestic power, colliding with Chen Ping’s sword in a fierce impact.

The Thunder Sword technique valued speed above all.

Venerable Yuxiao had thoroughly immersed himself in this Cloud Thunder Swordsmanship.

The Breaking Sword interception was executed with precision, showing not a hint of strain.

Bang...

With a loud explosion,

Venerable Yuxiao’s previously serene and immortal-like demeanor suddenly changed, his visage twisted as if hit by lightning.

His wrist jerked heavily backward, as his sword trembled three times, dispersing force and easing it down, his upper body uncontrollably tilted back, retreating swiftly.

He heard a soft chuckle beside his ear.

"In terms of swordsmanship, I’m quite adept as well."

Venerable Yuxiao’s attack was expected to be effortlessly effective, but found his formidable Cloud Thunder Sword Momentum against an unbeatable force, like striking a mountain of steel.

No, even a mountain of steel he could cleave apart with one strike.

The opponent’s sword seemed to transcend human strength, the surging, peculiar force was indescribable.

If not for his sword being a spiritual artifact, with innate resilience, the previous blow might have already broken the sword and injured him.

Yet, even so,

after one clash, he felt his right wrist and arm go numb,

and the True Essence circulating his body subtly fluctuated, running somewhat erratically.

"Even the Stinging Dragon Scripture couldn’t produce such great force."

Yuxiao’s heart was filled with doubt, his gaze turned more serious.

For the first time, he regarded this Divine Martial Initial Realm youngster as an equal opponent.

"Very well, I don’t know what means you used to amplify your strength to this level, but sheer force cannot be sustained. I refuse to believe every strike of yours carries such power."

After retreating with one blow, Venerable Yuxiao transformed into thunder light, amidst the rumblings, his jade-colored sword in hand, at times turned into clouds, at times transformed into raging thunder descending from the heavens, man and sword as one, harnessing the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Mechanism...

Within dozens of yards, he moved swiftly, each sword aiming directly at Chen Ping’s vital points.

This time, he intended to use exquisite swordsmanship to strike where the defense was weak and directly kill the opponent.

"If you aim to exhaust me, Yuxiao, you’re certainly overthinking it."

Chen Ping shook his head.

With seven stars shining brightly around him, they transformed into the Seven Stars Dipper Sword Array.

An array executed with a single sword, enveloping all directions, struck out with the weight of collapsing mountains and seas, turning a ten-yard radius around him into nothingness, a vacuum explosion.

The Primordial Sword moved in great arcs, channeling all his strength while wielding it, a force of a hundred and twenty thousand pounds concentrated on the heavy sword, and with a mere swing, the gust could shatter steel and break iron.

And the Seven-Star Sword was one of the heritages of the Celestial Star Sect, renowned for its grandeur and intricacy.

Chen Ping combined these two sword techniques, and the emerging Sword Momentum was like overturning seas and rivers...

Within a ten-yard radius, even a speck of dust or a trace of Vitality would be torn into nothingness.

In this Primordial Sword Domain, Venerable Yuxiao’s otherwise exquisite Cloud Thunder Swordsmanship became utterly powerless.

After launching seventeen or eighteen strikes without even touching Chen Ping’s garment, he found himself numb from the Sword Intent reverberations, his muscles and bones aching, cold sweat trickling down his forehead.

He had thought he would never sweat again.

"What kind of monster is this? Cross-realm reversals, growing stronger and fiercer with every battle, wielding such bizarre power as if it were nothing."

Venerable Yuxiao inwardly lamented.

He couldn’t fathom how in a direct clash of swords, his meticulously gathered True Essence was seemingly disadvantaged, the opponent not yet exhausted, while his True Essence would drain excessively if this continued.

"This approach cannot continue."

After another solid clash resulting in him being knocked back by Chen Ping’s Primordial Seven-Star Sword, with blood faintly trickling from his mouth, Venerable Yuxiao ceased advancing.

Instead, he gritted his teeth, leapt into the air, stood hovering, his palm sliding across the sword’s edge, causing a spray of blood light...

"Celestial Punishment."

He raised his sword towards the sky.

Divine Sense sketched strange runes in his mind, as he recited an Imperial Decree incantation.

Simultaneously, his complexion faintly turned purple, his aura suddenly weakening by three degrees.

The potent True Essence of his Divine Martial Fourth Realm cascaded as if through a sluice gate, sharply plunging.

Just as Chen Ping moved to pursue, he suddenly halted, the Coiling Dragon spiraling around him rapidly contracting, transforming into Dragon Armor runes covering his body.