Chapter 101 - 69: Slashing Apart 100,000 Layers of Clouds

Chapter 101: Chapter 69: Slashing Apart 100,000 Layers of Clouds

An ordinary Golden Core Cultivator’s technique could be wiped away with a casual wave, posing no real threat. But Xuzhuang was quite confident in his own Divine Techniques. Besides, he wasn’t the only one lying in wait for the perfect opportunity.

’In that case, it’s time to make a move.’ Xuzhuang’s gaze swept across a certain spot in the hall. He smiled faintly, a plan already formed in his mind, and sent a voice transmission to Zhong Shenxiu.

Just as the Four-armed Demon’s boundless lightning was about to strike, Zhong Shenxiu forced himself to steady his mind. ’It seems I can’t hold out for the perfect moment any longer,’ he thought. ’I have to act now.’

His Spell changed instantly. The flickering purple light above him contracted sharply, its aura completely withdrawn. Just as it was about to erupt, a secret voice transmission suddenly entered Zhong Shenxiu’s ear: "..."

Upon hearing the message, the purple light above Zhong Shenxiu flickered and contracted for two more instants. He made his decision. Ignoring the Four-armed Demon, he pointed from a distance toward Wei Lingyun!

At the same time, the Four-armed Demon raised its arms, ready to unleash a boundless torrent of Yin Thunder. But suddenly, Xuzhuang’s figure appeared behind Zhong Shenxiu, floating gracefully in mid-air. With one hand, he lightly tapped a single finger to the spot between his brows. The three-headed, six-armed Venerable Elephant Jade Pendant in his palm quivered slightly, and a beam of jade light shot out, striking the Four-armed Demon.

The Four-armed Demon’s body went rigid. The Yin Thunder in its palms backlashed violently, setting off a chain of rolling explosions.

Meanwhile, Zhong Shenxiu’s attack bypassed the demon. He pointed at Wei Lingyun from afar, and the purple light above him erupted with dazzling brilliance!

BOOM! A continuous roar of explosions filled the grand hall. Thousands of bolts of Purple Sky Divine Thunder erupted, blasting through the countless Youyun and raining down upon Wei Lingyun.

This sudden turn of events caught Wei Lingyun by surprise, but it wasn’t enough to be considered a successful sneak attack.

Zhong Shenxiu’s Divine Technique was undeniably powerful, but Wei Lingyun had ways to counter it. His mind, however, was occupied by another concern.

After a moment’s thought, Wei Lingyun flicked his sleeve and produced a shield. Its surface was emblazoned with a pained human face, contorted in an expression that was half-cry, half-laugh. With a surge of Magical Power, the Human-faced Shield flew forward to intercept the attack.

The Human-faced Shield’s expression was already one of pained, twisted laughter, but upon seeing the sky filled with descending Purple Sky Divine Thunder, its features changed to pure resistance. Hot tears streamed from its eyes and a silent scream escaped its mouth. Alas, under Wei Lingyun’s control, it had no choice but to fly up and block the onslaught.

The sky above flashed with purple light as thunderbolts cracked ceaselessly. The Human-faced Shield desperately protected the space over Wei Lingyun, its silent howls unending. Finally, it closed its eyes in despair, its aura gradually weakening as it endured countless strikes from the Purple Sky Divine Thunder.

Seeing Wei Lingyun block the Purple Sky Divine Thunder, Xuzhuang was not alarmed but pleased. ’A perfect opportunity,’ he thought.

As it turned out, Xuzhuang’s earlier voice transmission to Zhong Shenxiu had been to coordinate their attack: Xuzhuang would block the Four-armed Demon, allowing Zhong Shenxiu to use his Purple Sky Divine Thunder to force Wei Lingyun into revealing his defensive measures.

And only after Zhong Shenxiu had forced out Wei Lingyun’s defensive measures would Xuzhuang unleash his own killing blow.

Xuzhuang’s fingertip suddenly lifted from between his brows. The Innate Primordial Dissociation Divine Light shot out like a bolt of lightning, instantly piercing the Youyun and aiming straight for Wei Lingyun’s head.

Wei Lingyun’s eyes darted. Although everyone present was a Golden Core Cultivator, he had considered no one a threat aside from Zhong Shenxiu. Even when Xuzhuang had immobilized his demonic general for a moment, it hadn’t made him feel the least bit wary. But the moment Xuzhuang’s divine light appeared, his powerful Spiritual Sense screamed in alarm.

’I can’t block that technique head-on.’ Wei Lingyun’s gaze swept his surroundings. The roiling purple lightning was clearly meant to block his escape. His mind raced, and he quickly devised a countermeasure. But if he did this, the other matter he was concerned about would have to be abandoned.

At a moment of life and death, however, there are no perfect choices. Wei Lingyun had no time to hesitate. His body trembled, and a streak of black light shot up from some unknown point and emerged from the crown of his head. A pair of pitch-black hands parted the clouds, and a jet-black infant leaped out! It rode the roiling Youyun, shielding its infant form as it flew off to escape. It left behind the physical body, which was instantly pierced through the skull by the Innate Primordial Dissociation Divine Light, leaving a vacant, chaotic hole between its brows.

Wei Lingyun had actually abandoned his physical body and sent his Nascent Soul out to escape! Xuzhuang had anticipated that he would have a countermeasure, but he never expected it would be this.

’Has he truly run out of tricks?’ Xuzhuang narrowed his eyes. ’Is the time finally ripe?’

The moment seemed to stretch into an eternity for Xuzhuang. Then, in an instant, a figure and a flash of sword light materialized from the void, breaking free from their formless, substanceless state. The figure had flowing white hair and was forming a Sword Technique with their hand. The sword pellet at their fingertip was suddenly drawn into a thread as fine as a hair. It flashed and appeared instantly before Wei Lingyun’s Nascent Soul.

It was Yue Junlan! As expected, she was here!

It turned out that Yue Junlan had been using a Supreme Profound Skill to transform herself into a formless, substanceless state, hiding within the void. It was only when she followed the others into the grand hall and shifted her position that Xuzhuang—who was also proficient in the Tai Su Sword Qi of form and formlessness—discovered her presence. And everything Xuzhuang had done since was precisely to create the perfect killing opportunity for her!

Yue Junlan’s Swordsmanship had reached the ultimate limits of substance. The speed of her sword light far surpassed the Thunder Sound Realm. In a single flash, it sliced Wei Lingyun’s Nascent Soul in two—only for it to dissipate into a puff of black smoke!

Wei Lingyun’s body—the one with a hole pierced through its head by Xuzhuang’s Innate Primordial Dissociation Divine Light—suddenly let out a piercing shriek. Its muscles bulged grotesquely, bone spurs burst from its joints, and in an instant, it transformed into a ferocious Bone Demon and leaped into the air.

It turned out that the person Wei Lingyun had been cautiously guarding against was not Xuzhuang, but Yue Junlan—the one who hadn’t revealed herself for a single moment, yet whose presence made his Spiritual Sense feel as if there were spikes on his back!

The Nascent Soul that Wei Lingyun had sent to escape was merely a clone! And his physical body wasn’t a human body at all; he had long since refined it into a demonic form. No wonder he had dared to take a direct hit from Xuzhuang’s Innate Primordial Dissociation Divine Light and still survive.

Wei Lingyun shrieked, leaped up, and, enveloped in a fierce gale, charged ferociously toward Yue Junlan.

Though her strike had failed, Yue Junlan wasn’t overly vexed. Her move had forced Wei Lingyun to reveal his final trump card. Now that they could all join forces, they had no fear of fighting this demon. Thus, seeing the demon charge at her, Yue Junlan did not linger. She transformed into a white rainbow and rode her Sword Qi away, instantly leaving the fray.

Seeing this, Xuzhuang immediately channeled his Magical Power, preparing his Innate Tai Su Qi Grand Capture. He was ready to strike the demon head-on the moment it gave chase. But Wei Lingyun gave a strange smile, abruptly changed direction, and charged toward the spot where Tan Chong and Yue Junyang were fighting!

The demon obviously knew the tide had turned. Its pursuit was just a feint; a classic misdirection. In an instant, it was upon Tan Chong and Yue Junyang!

As Wei Lingyun charged viciously, Tan Chong’s expression changed drastically. He immediately activated his Protecting Dao Skill, and a majestic radiance erupted from his body. Yue Junyang, daring not to leave anything to chance, instantly activated his Qi Zhen Gang Yuan Talisman to protect himself.

Just as Wei Lingyun was about to strike, he saw the two raise powerful defensive techniques. Behind him, Zhong Shenxiu had already pointed gracefully. The purple light above him swiveled, and another dozen bolts of Purple Sky Divine Thunder shot down.

Wei Lingyun’s head was ringing. An endless frustration welled up inside him. ’My Divine Techniques are clearly the strongest,’ he raged internally, ’so why am I being thwarted at every turn?’ The resentment drove him to the brink of madness. He let out a bizarre, crazed shriek, changed direction again, ignored Si Xuan and the others, and grabbed Tantai Jing. Riding a fierce wind, he shot straight for the tribute platform.

Xuzhuang’s brow twitched. At first, he felt a sense of foreboding. The demon, realizing it couldn’t win the fight, had turned its attention back to the golden seal on the tribute platform. If they didn’t stop and kill it quickly, more complications would arise. But in the next instant, a wave of joy washed over him. He saw that as the demon flew into its strange rage and turned away, the round, vacant hole in the back of its skull was exposed. He immediately understood!

It turned out the demon had, after all, greatly overestimated the toughness of its demonic body, and far, far underestimated the power of Xuzhuang’s Innate Primordial Dissociation Divine Light!

The head is the nexus of all yang, and the brain is the seat of the spirit. While Wei Lingyun used a Blinding Method to trick Yue Junlan into attacking his decoy, he had taken a direct hit from the Tai Su Divine Light. The blow had already damaged his Primordial Spirit, which was the reason for his loss of control.

It all happened in a flash. Wei Lingyun, now a fierce gale, threw Tantai Jing toward the tribute platform and let out another howl. Tantai Jing’s brow twitched violently. Not daring to hesitate for even a second, he rushed forward and reached for the golden seal. Suddenly, a voice cried out, "Fellow Daoist Zhong!"

Tantai Jing already had the golden seal in his hand. He whipped his head around to see Zhong Shenxiu shrouded in a rising mist. An unimaginable amount of Golden Core energy and Magical Power was converging within him. He pointed at Wei Lingyun from afar and shouted one word: "Halt!"

Wei Lingyun froze instantly, feeling his body was completely beyond his control. In that moment, it wasn’t a countermeasure that rose in his heart, but boundless panic. And that brief instant was enough to sever his last thread of hope.

At some point, Xuzhuang’s long hair had come unbound and was now flowing freely as he floated in the air. He formed a Sword Technique with a single hand and pointed. The Great Destruction Geng Gold Sword shot out and slashed through the air!

A blinding, platinum sword light with an aura that could pierce the heavens shot skyward. In a single flash, it streaked through Wei Lingyun’s demonic body. Its momentum unabated, it soared for thousands of miles, tearing through the grand hall, slicing open a hundred thousand layers of clouds, and revealing a patch of clear blue sky!