Chapter 227 - 130: Taiyi Flying Rainbow, Reverting to the Primordial Beginning (2)

Chapter 227: Chapter 130: Taiyi Flying Rainbow, Reverting to the Primordial Beginning (2)

"This is the transformation between form and formlessness!"

The next instant, the sword’s light flared, slashing past Chu River and shattering his Protective Spirit Light in a flash. However, it didn’t press the attack, instead spiraling up into the air. Before Chu River could rejoice, a voice called out from within the light, "Again!"

"Insolent cur, you go too far!" Chu River’s expression changed drastically. He roared, and his Magical Power surged. Instantly, yellow smoke filled the air, twisting and coiling. In one breath, he conjured more than ten Yellow Smoke God-Binding Ropes. Each was over a thousand zhang long, weaving and winding into itself. Segment by segment, piece by piece, they connected in all directions, and in an instant, they had woven a web like a spider’s nest.

Once this net was formed, Xuzhuang was surrounded on all sides by the God-Binding Ropes, seemingly with no way to advance or retreat. Yet he showed no alarm. Instead, he continued his declaration, shouting, "This is the transformation between the material and the immaterial!"

The next moment, the sword’s light suddenly moved. The God-Binding Ropes were not cut, nor did Chu River’s perception detect anything touching them. His technique was completely intact, yet the sword light had passed through the heavy nets like a phantom, and in an instant, it descended from the sky to strike.

"The transformation between the corporeal and incorporeal? What kind of Divine Swordsmanship is this?" Chu River trembled. Not daring to stay where he was, he moved, intending to use an escape technique. But now, the God-Binding Rope net had become an obstacle, blocking his path.

Of course, this was Chu River’s own technique; he could dispel it with a single thought. However, Xuzhuang’s Sword Escape was incredibly fast. In the one-hundredth of a second it took to dismiss the technique, the sword had already slashed at him with the speed of a thunderclap that leaves no time to cover one’s ears, striking him across the back.

A Great Success Nascent Soul resembles a Primordial Spirit in form, but it is ultimately very different, lacking the miraculous ability to disperse and reform at will. Xuzhuang’s strike did not leave a physical wound on Chu River; instead, it tore his vital energy, grievously damaging his very foundation. Chu River instantly cried out in agony and plummeted downward.

At this moment, it would have been easy to press his advantage and slay Chu River. Instead, Xuzhuang recalled his sword light, revealed his form in mid-air, and stood there with one hand on the gourd at his waist. A rainbow light circled him, its sword-edge flaring and retracting endlessly.

Below, since Xuzhuang did not pursue, Chu River managed to endure the pain of his damaged foundation, suppressing his injuries and stabilizing his escape light. But Xuzhuang didn’t even spare him a glance. As if talking to himself, he asked, "How was my Swordsmanship?"

The rainbow light around him trembled slightly, and as it flared, it seemed to emit a low hum. A feeling of joy and anticipation emanated from it.

The Taiyi Rainbow Sword. He had possessed this Magical Treasure Flying Sword for a very, very long time. But ever since he obtained it, his Swordsmanship had gradually devolved from his most relied-upon trump card into a mere support tool.

’His Swordsmanship did indeed seem to have fallen a step behind. It wasn’t that I haven’t thought about it, but compared to the ever-accelerating progress of my cultivation and Daoist techniques, what does it matter? I’ve never been a pure Sword Cultivator, after all.’

But the Taiyi Rainbow Sword was different from Xuzhuang. It was a Magical Treasure Flying Sword brimming with spirituality, incomparably sharp, and born for Swordsmanship and slaughter. How could it tolerate being relegated to a mere tool for restraint and support? This was also why Xuzhuang had never truly earned the Taiyi Rainbow Sword’s approval.

This changed when Xuzhuang decided to fight on behalf of the Dragon Image Sect and the True Form Temple, splitting off the Dharma body known as Zhong Shenxiu.

To avoid exposing the connection between Zhong Shenxiu and Dao Miaozhi, Xuzhuang prepared to rely solely on his Swordsmanship in battle. And because of this, during his focused and pure training in Swordsmanship, he was surprised to discover the Taiyi Rainbow Sword’s delight.

’The next stance... I’ve never successfully executed it before,’ Xuzhuang asked in his heart. ’Lend me your strength.’

The Taiyi Rainbow Sword circled Xuzhuang once. At that moment, Xuzhuang seemed to feel the one level of treasure restriction within the sword that he had never managed to refine—communicating with his Magical Power.

Until this moment, all of Xuzhuang’s words and all his Swordsmanship had not been for Chu River’s ears, nor to mock him. It had all been for the Taiyi Rainbow Sword. And the sword’s spirit, as expected, had responded. A smile finally appeared on Xuzhuang’s face.

Magical Treasures were indeed completely different from Magical Artifacts. Whether or not a Magical Treasure that had birthed its own Spiritual Sense was in harmony with its master could make a world of difference in the power it displayed.

If in the past, Xuzhuang had used his Magical Power to force the Taiyi Rainbow Sword’s restrictions into action, and the sword had obeyed like a dead fish, now his Magical Power communicated naturally with it. With a single thought from him, the Taiyi Rainbow Sword moved in concert. Man and sword, one in heart and mind, collaborating to execute the Swordsmanship—it was a beauty that could not be described in words.

"Chu River." Xuzhuang stood in the air, speaking from on high. "If you can take this next move, I will consider it your victory."

From the moment Xuzhuang’s strike broke through Chu River’s Nascent Soul body to his declaration, only a few breaths of time had passed. Chu River had just stabilized his injuries and was hesitating whether to concede defeat. Hearing these words, he was stunned and asked subconsciously, "Really?"

"What?" After all, Xuzhuang was fighting for the Dragon Image Sect. As soon as he said this, the faces of the Dragon Image Sect Elders all changed. One of the more impetuous ones had already half-risen to his feet, asking, "Sect Master?"

Yang Bijie knitted his brows, looked up, and replied faintly, "Sit down."

In the sky, Xuzhuang stood with his hands behind his back and replied, "This Master never makes false claims to deceive others."

Chu River’s expression changed several times. Xuzhuang’s words were, of course, a great temptation. But for that very reason, how could he not know that this next move was sure to be a matter of life and death? In the end, however, Chu River steeled his resolve. "Fine! This Master accepts!"

"Excellent!" Xuzhuang laughed long and loud. He raised a hand to his chest, formed a sword finger, and declared, "Watch closely. This is—Primordial Reversal!"

The next moment, the Taiyi Rainbow Sword shot out, drifting lightly down for a slash.

Chu River’s expression tightened. Not daring to be careless, he let out a deep shout and released the Divine Technique that had been brewing within the Gangyun. The yellow smoke, like clouds and brocade, like sunset glows and gossamer, rose up in layer after layer, attempting to envelop the descending sword.

This was Chu River’s ultimate life-saving Divine Technique. Each layer of gossamer required a vast amount of Magical Power to form. Its most miraculous aspect was not its ability to forcefully resist an attack, but to envelop and abrade.

No matter what kind of Magical Artifact or Daoist technique struck these layers of gossamer, it would have to exhaust all the Magical Power within them before it could break through. This multi-layered arrangement maximized the advantage of his Great Success Nascent Soul’s vast Magical Power.

And yet, this very technique, in the instant the Taiyi Rainbow Sword slashed through it, was split in two. With a POOF, it transformed into turbid Chaos Primordial Qi, losing the form of a technique and slipping from Chu River’s control.

Chu River’s face changed in horror, but he had no time to react, nor any way to respond. The Taiyi Rainbow Sword had already slashed through the many layers of yellow gossamer and streaked past him, from the crown of his head to his abdomen.

The next moment, Chu River’s Nascent Soul body exploded, its form and substance annihilated, transforming into Chaos Primordial Qi just as his technique had.

Primordial Reversal—a Supreme Swordsmanship from the "Tai Su Sword Qi of Form and Formlessness, Substance and Substancelessness." It could only be practiced after one had cultivated the transformations of form and the transformations of substance to an extremely profound level. It was said to annihilate form and extinguish substance, to slay all things without exception, and possessed the terrifying power to return all creation to chaos.

This was no exaggeration. Every single word was precisely as it was recorded in the "Tai Su Sword Qi of Form and Formlessness, Substance and Substancelessness." And the boundless chaos that Master Yuanhua had once cleaved open in the cosmos with his Tai Su Void Sword remained fresh in Xuzhuang’s memory.

Of course, it was still too early for Xuzhuang to have reached such a level. In fact, it was only with the help of the Taiyi Rainbow Sword that he had managed to truly execute ’Primordial Reversal’ for the first time. But even so, slaying a mere Chu River was no difficult task.

However, the amount of Magical Power consumed by ’Primordial Reversal’ was also unimaginable for an ordinary person.

The Tai Su Sword Qi of Form and Formlessness, Substance and Substancelessness, a Supreme Swordsmanship that plays with the transformations of form and substance, already consumed more Magical Power than ordinary Swordsmanship. And that was without mentioning the power needed to annihilate the form and substance of a Great Success Nascent Soul Cultivator’s technique, plus the cost of driving a Magical Treasure Flying Sword to its limits in a full-powered, unrestrained strike...

In truth, Xuzhuang’s victory over Chu River had not come easily. In terms of consumption alone, he had used up a third of this Dharma body’s power. Yet Xuzhuang showed not the slightest concern. He calmly recalled the Taiyi Rainbow Sword, letting it cruise beside him as his gaze fell naturally upon the Jade Platform of the Divine Flow Sect.

"Fellow Daoist He, if you please."