Chapter 171 - 102: Divine Techniques Subdue a Nascent Soul, Riding a Flood Dragon to the Horizon

Chapter 171: Chapter 102: Divine Techniques Subdue a Nascent Soul, Riding a Flood Dragon to the Horizon

Although Xuzhuang’s deception had infuriated Qiu Song, he hadn’t lost his wits.

When Xuzhuang unleashed the formless, colorless divine light, Qiu Song was suspicious but dared not ignore it. Thoughts raced through his mind. After a quick calculation of the distance between them, he gave a sudden shout and sent the Six Orifice Cloud Pearl flying up from his head to intercept it.

Before Qiu Song’s very eyes, the Six Orifice Cloud Pearl met the Innate Primordial Dissociation Divine Light. But there was no thunderous collision, no flash of light or sound. He only saw a tiny hole abruptly open in the pearl. An instant later, a jolt shot through his consciousness—he had lost his connection to the Magical Artifact.

A Perfect Magical Artifact, destroyed so effortlessly. Qiu Song’s face went pale with horror. He knew at once that Xuzhuang had unleashed a fatal technique. He glanced at his hand, where the runes were on the verge of lighting up completely. Not daring to delay a second longer, he thrust his palm forward and roared, "Go!"

A flash came from Qiu Song’s palm. A small arrow, condensed from cloud qi, flew out from among the runes and shot forward explosively!

This Cloud-Chasing Arrow was a secret art of the Moyun Sect. It could store up Magical Power to increase its might. More frighteningly, it could lock onto an enemy’s aura from a thousand zhang away. Once targeted by this arrow, escape was impossible.

That was why Qiu Song had been constantly accumulating Magical Power and desperately trying to close the distance with Xuzhuang. It was all for this moment. Although he hadn’t charged the technique to its absolute peak, he was confident it would be more than enough to break through Xuzhuang’s art, lock onto him, and deal a devastating blow.

But in the next moment, a look of utter disbelief filled Qiu Song’s eyes. The instant his Cloud-Chasing Arrow—an arrow containing nearly half of his Magical Power—touched the Innate Primordial Dissociation Divine Light, the result was worse than an egg being smashed against a stone. The arrow simply disintegrated. It didn’t even leave behind a puff of smoke before turning into formless, substanceless nothing.

All of this took longer to describe than it did to happen. In just a few breaths, the Innate Primordial Dissociation Divine Light had torn through both Qiu Song’s Magical Artifact and his Cloud-Chasing Arrow to arrive before his forehead. Terror flooded his eyes in that final moment. Qiu Song bellowed, "No!"

The next instant, the Dissociation Divine Light streaked past without mercy. As Qiu Song twisted his body in a desperate attempt to escape, it sliced a thin line from his left neck down to his right hip. All the flesh, blood, and bone along that path were unmade, their very substance dissolved by the light.

Qiu Song’s severed torso shuddered and fell apart. As the pieces tumbled down, lifted by the high-altitude winds, a streak of white light shot out from within, fleeing at top speed.

The battle, though it took time to describe, had lasted less than half an hour. The victor was already clear.

Though the two had fought high in the sky, they were still within sight of the countless cultivators in the area. The outcome sent shockwaves through the crowd.

Aboard the Flying Painting Boat, the wine cup in the hand of the cultivator with the surname Gu trembled. During their earlier chat, he had seemed the most confident in Xuzhuang, but now he was the most stunned of all. He muttered to himself, "A Golden Core Cultivator overpowering a Nascent Soul Venerable... To think it could actually happen."

"Half an hour... it didn’t even take that long," a nearby Daoist murmured. "Is a Top-grade Golden Core really so powerful? That’s impossible!"

Everyone present was, at minimum, the master of a prefecture. Their influence might not compare to the great sects of the sixteen provinces, but they were all at least Golden Core Cultivators. How could they fail to see how terrifying Xuzhuang’s Divine Techniques were? That dreadful lightning art alone could probably obliterate an ordinary cultivator, body and soul, in just a few moments.

Chao Wanzhan had been observing with rapt attention from the very beginning of the fight. Only now did he lean back gently into his chair and exhale. "Impressive," he praised in an enigmatic tone. "Truly impressive."

Someone beside him had been about to offer Chao Wanzhan some praise, but the words died in his throat. With a wry smile, he downed a cup of strong liquor and sighed inwardly, ’What an incredible figure this Dao Miaozhi is. Trying to compare Chao Wanzhan to him would probably just make Chao Wanzhan angry.’

Not far from them, the Sect Leader of the Moyun Sect stood as if his soul had been shocked out of his body by the outcome. He saw Qiu Song’s Nascent Soul get captured by Xuzhuang and his figure twitched, but for a long moment, he didn’t move a single step.

Not until a streak of light flew over, revealing a young cultivator with a terrified expression, did the scene change. The young man cupped his hands and asked, "Sect Leader, what... what should we do now?"

The Fangmian Taoist let out a long breath and said gravely, "Hegui, you are the future of our sect. You cannot be put in danger. Return to the sect at once. I will go with the others to rescue the Venerable."

...

High in the air, Xuzhuang had anticipated the white light fleeing from Qiu Song’s remains. With a flick of two fingers, sixty-four beams of sword light shot out, crisscrossing through the sky. They trailed long, iridescent streamers, weaving what looked like a massive, shimmering net as they closed in on the white light.

The white light froze, revealing a plump, tender-looking infant with porcelain-white skin. Qiu Song’s voice immediately rang out, desperately begging, "Fellow Daoist, spare me!"

Xuzhuang smiled faintly. He halted his Sword Technique, and the sky full of iridescent lights shot toward Qiu Song’s Nascent Soul in unison. Sword Qi pulsed from all sides, the tips of the blades nearly touching the Nascent Soul itself, scaring him out of his wits. Thankfully, they all hovered to a stop at the last second.

Qiu Song’s infant-like form was frozen stiff, not daring to move in the slightest, but he was quick to seize the opportunity. "Thank you for sparing my life, Fellow Daoist! Thank you for sparing my life!" he cried repeatedly.

Xuzhuang drifted down to hover above Qiu Song’s Nascent Soul. "I never said I was letting the Venerable go," he said casually.

Instead of being alarmed, Qiu Song was delighted. ’If Xuzhuang wanted to kill me, he wouldn’t have let me live this long.’ He calmed down considerably and cupped his hands. "Fellow Daoist, our two sects have no feud that must end in death. In our few clashes, it has always been my Moyun Sect that has come out worse for wear. Why must we fight to the bitter end? If you grant me my life today, I swear upon it that the Moyun Sect will never oppose the True Form Temple again."

Xuzhuang said coolly, "It seems the Venerable thinks I, Dao Miaozhi, am merciful." He then made a motion as if to form a seal. Terror seized Qiu Song, who immediately cried out, "Fellow Daoist, wait! Please, wait! Name your conditions! Whatever they are, the Moyun Sect wouldn’t dare refuse!"

Xuzhuang sneered. ’Qiu Song is a smart one, right enough.’ Xuzhuang hadn’t planned on killing him, but not for any sentimental reason. It was because of the upcoming Celestial Waterfall Dharma Assembly. Even if he killed Qiu Song, the True Form Temple couldn’t simply absorb Canglan Province. It was far better to leverage Qiu Song’s importance to the Moyun Sect and make some strategic plays.

As for whether the Moyun Sect would retaliate, he couldn’t care less. He had already destroyed Qiu Song’s physical body. And while a Nascent Soul Cultivator could find a new vessel to inhabit, they would forever lose the chance to advance their cultivation.

Even if Qiu Song’s body were still intact, with his potential for advancement untouched, Xuzhuang still wouldn’t have cared.

Xuzhuang already had a plan and couldn’t be bothered to trade veiled words with Qiu Song. He stated his terms directly: "I can spare the Venerable’s life. However, the ransom my True Form Temple previously demanded must now be paid in double by the Moyun Sect."

Qiu Song said hastily, "That is only natural. After I return, I will immediately dispatch someone to pay the ransom. We will also include a gift as an apology."

Xuzhuang remained noncommittal and continued on his own, "Furthermore, the Moyun Sect must seal its mountain until the Celestial Waterfall Dharma Assembly."

"What?!" At these words, the color drained from Qiu Song’s face. Sealing the mountain for nearly fifty years would have little effect on Nascent Soul and Golden Core Cultivators, but in fifty years’ time, the Moyun Sect would have an entire generation of new disciples missing.

Xuzhuang’s goal was perfectly clear. For the next fifty years, every promising young cultivator and all the cultivation resources in Canglan Province would be swept up by the True Form Temple.

Qiu Song wanted to refuse, but the sight of Xuzhuang’s indifferent expression and the shimmering Sword Qi sent a chill through his heart. If Xuzhuang had been determined to kill him, that would be one thing. Death would be the end of it. But Xuzhuang had deliberately left him a sliver of hope.

Fifty years from now, if Qiu Song could lead the Moyun Sect through the Celestial Waterfall Dharma Assembly, the sect would still have a chance to survive... but if he were to die here and now, the Moyun Sect would immediately be plunged into a precarious state.

Qiu Song’s expression shifted several times before he finally let out a heavy sigh. "The terms you’ve proposed, Fellow Daoist... I can accept them on behalf of the Moyun Sect."

Xuzhuang’s gaze swept past him to see the Moyun Sect’s Sect Leader flying up with a group of followers. He suddenly smiled. "Good. But while I trust your word, Fellow Daoist, shouldn’t you make a gesture to show your sincerity?"

"Yes, that is only reasonable," Qiu Song said, crestfallen. He then channeled his power, projecting his voice for a hundred li. "I was defeated by this Fellow Daoist today, and I have had a sudden awakening! The Moyun Sect has abused its power and committed wicked deeds, which the righteous path cannot tolerate. That is why we have met this fate. The Moyun Sect shall seal its mountain for forty-nine years to show its repentance."

His declaration caused an immediate uproar. The faces of the Moyun Sect members all changed, and they rushed forward even faster.

Qiu Song looked visibly drained. He cupped his hands and said, "Fellow Daoist, I have announced the Moyun Sect’s sealing to all. As for the ransom payment, how about we wait for my disciples to bring a Magic Contract for you and I to sign?"

"I trust your word, Fellow Daoist. A Magic Contract won’t be necessary. Your sect can come and ransom your people directly in the future." With that, Xuzhuang touched the Vermilion Gourd at his waist. The sixty-four beams of sword light stirred and surged back into the gourd. He then let out a hearty laugh and called out, "I will take my leave!"

He leaped into the air and rode the wind. Not far away, a Cyan-Scaled Jiao Dragon suddenly burst from the clouds, caught Xuzhuang on its back, and flew off toward the horizon.