Chapter 616 Ripping Out the Heart

“It worked!”

The Mysterious Saber Technique cut into the purple-bearded middle-aged man’s body, and Zhaang Ye couldn’t help but rejoice inwardly. When he used his full power to unleash the Cloud-Breaking Slash, even a True Dao Eighth-Layer Expert would be left with a sliver of life at best if they took it head-on.

Though this purple-bearded man’s combat prowess was unfathomable, there was no way he would emerge unscathed after taking a solid hit from the Cloud-Breaking Slash!

Just as Zhaang Ye was secretly celebrating, layer upon layer of a strange power suddenly erupted from the purple-bearded man’s body. This peculiar energy vibrated like lightning, surging toward the Mysterious Blade Tip in waves. Zhaang Ye’s Mysterious Blade Tip, having only penetrated three inches, could advance no further!

‘This is bad! The Sword Monarch’s remnant soul is as formidable as they say, to be able to neutralize my Cloud-Breaking Slash with such a clever force!’ Zhaang Ye was utterly astonished when he sensed the purple-bearded man’s technique.

When Zhaang Ye had executed the Cloud-Breaking Slash, its speed reached a terrifying level; in just one-hundred-thousandth of the blink of an eye, the Blade Tip could slice a man in two. Yet this purple-bearded man had managed to neutralize Zhaang Ye’s Saber Technique with a clever counterforce within that same one-hundred-thousandth of a blink. Such a feat was truly heaven-shaking and ghost-wailing!

The purple-bearded man’s gaze fell upon Zhaang Ye, his icy eyes filled with a trace of contempt. He was the remnant soul of the Sword Monarch, master of countless Saber Techniques, a veteran of innumerable battles who had slain endless powerful foes.

Zhaang Ye creating the Cloud-Breaking Slash on his own was a remarkable achievement. But in the eyes of the purple-bearded man, Zhaang Ye was still a tiny ant, utterly unworthy of his attention.

Zhaang Ye ignored the purple-bearded man’s cold, contemptuous gaze. The power in his body erupted, and his Celestial River Righteous Qi surged out like the ocean tide, pouring into the Mysterious Blade Tip.

The Mysterious Blade Tip flared with brilliant light as Sword Gang burst forth!

Cloud-Breaking Slash!

After his attack was neutralized by the purple-bearded man, Zhaang Ye didn’t even consider retreating. Instead, he once again executed the Cloud-Breaking Slash, risking his life in a desperate, all-out offensive!

The purple-bearded man’s body trembled slightly. He never imagined Zhaang Ye would be able to execute the Cloud-Breaking Slash a second time!

Without Tai Sui and Fire Spirit tying him down, the purple-bearded man could have easily neutralized Zhaang Ye’s attack, even if it were ten times stronger. But as it was, seventy percent of his power was occupied dealing with Tai Sui’s explosive attacks, and another twenty-plus percent was used to counter Fire Spirit’s Soul Attack. In total, he had less than ten percent of his power left to deal with Zhaang Ye!

The purple-bearded man was the remnant soul of the Sword Monarch, possessing an incredibly formidable combat sense. He could unleash ten parts of power from a single part of strength. But he was on the defensive now. How could a mere ten percent of his power withstand Zhaang Ye’s desperate strike?!

BOOM!

A powerful force erupted from within the purple-bearded man, forcibly knocking Zhaang Ye back. Zhaang Ye retreated ten zhang, spitting out mouthfuls of blood in mid-air. The Meridians throughout his body were severely damaged.

After blasting Zhaang Ye back, the purple-bearded man’s expression changed slightly as two withered, yellow leaves suddenly floated off his body. As the leaves drifted away, his aura instantly weakened by a full twenty percent!

Seeing the two leaves, Tai Sui and Fire Spirit grew excited and shouted in unison, “Nice one!”

A flash of fury crossed the purple-bearded man’s face. His body was formed from the Purple-Blue Spirit Wood. By cutting off two of its leaves, Zhaang Ye had severely wounded him.

Although he was just the Sword Monarch’s remnant soul, he still had his pride. How could he accept being wounded by a junior like Zhaang Ye? How could he swallow this indignity?

ROAR! ROAR!

The purple-bearded man let out two massive roars, and the sound coalesced into two short Flying Blades.

The Flying Blades cut through the void, shooting toward Tai Sui and Fire Spirit. The two blades appeared slow and weak, but in reality, they were incomparably fast—as fast as thought itself!

GAK! GAK!

Tai Sui and Fire Spirit had no time to dodge and were struck by the Flying Blades. The blades seemed to contain a peculiar power. After being hit, the two spirits let out a blood-curdling scream in unison as their auras rapidly weakened.

After taking a hit from a Flying Blade, a black hole appeared on Tai Sui’s massive body. A terrifying power was disintegrating it from within, preventing the wound from healing.

Tai Sui roared in terror within Zhaang Ye’s mind, “Spiritual Power! This force destroying my body is definitely Spiritual Power! Master, we have to go all out, or we’re all going to die here!”

Hearing the words “Spiritual Power,” Zhaang Ye’s heart sank.

In the Barbaric World, power has different tiers.

The power cultivated by Martial Arts Experts is ordinary True Qi. The power cultivated by True Dao Experts is Innate True Essence. And Spirit Dao experts cultivate Spiritual Power.

Spiritual Power is a force condensed from the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, and it is far more profound and potent than Innate True Qi. When Innate True Essence encounters Spiritual Power, it collapses on contact, completely unable to resist!

Zhaang Ye was secretly horrified. He thought, ‘This purple-bearded man is an incarnation of a Purple-Blue Spirit Wood. This plant has a mere five leaves and looks like it’s on its last breath, about to die at any moment. I can’t believe it still contains Spiritual Power. This is terrifying!’

Fire Spirit sensed Zhaang Ye’s thoughts and said calmly, “All Spirit Wood Incarnations can emit Spiritual Power; there’s nothing strange about it. But don’t worry, Master. The Purple-Blue Spirit Wood’s life force isn’t flourishing, so its incarnation isn’t that strong. Although he can use Spiritual Power, his reserves are very limited. We don’t need to panic at all!”

Reassured by Fire Spirit’s reminder, Tai Sui and Zhaang Ye quickly calmed down.

The conversation between Tai Sui, Fire Spirit, and Zhaang Ye took place entirely in their minds. It seems long when written out, but it all happened in an instant. And while they communicated, the battle raged on.

After launching the Spiritual Power attack, the purple-bearded man’s aura weakened by another twenty percent. Clearly, while his Spiritual Power attacks were formidable, they came at a cost.

Tai Sui and Fire Spirit had been struck by the Flying Blades, and their power was greatly diminished, but so was the purple-bearded man’s. Under these circumstances, Tai Sui and Fire Spirit were still able to suppress the purple-bearded man and restrict his movements. Even with his strength, he couldn’t break free from the two spirits right away.

Seizing the opportunity, Zhaang Ye unleashed the Cloud-Breaking Slash for the third time.

The purple-bearded man’s movements were firmly restricted by Tai Sui and Fire Spirit, leaving him unable to budge. Faced with Zhaang Ye’s incoming attack, he had no way to dodge!

The Mysterious Blade Tip crossed the ten-zhang distance, about to strike the purple-bearded man. Just then, a glint flashed in the man’s eyes, and a sliver of strange power shot out, blasting toward Zhaang Ye!

Spiritual Power!

The purple-bearded man was launching his second Spiritual Power attack!

This strand of Spiritual Power was tiny, like a thin thread. But Spiritual Power was Spiritual Power, and for a True Dao Expert, every single wisp of it was fatal!

“Watch out!”

Tai Sui and Fire Spirit both sensed the fluctuation of Spiritual Power. The two spirits roared a warning in Zhaang Ye’s mind simultaneously, their hearts filled with terror.

No one could have expected that the purple-bearded man still had a trace of Spiritual Power reserved, waiting for the right moment to unleash a Thunderous Strike. He had chosen to attack just as Zhaang Ye was moving at high speed—it was utterly impossible to dodge!

BANG!

The Spiritual Power slammed squarely into the streak of blue light that was Zhaang Ye, creating a massive sound. Amid the deafening noise, Zhaang Ye’s figure suddenly appeared, spitting blood as he was thrown a hundred zhang away.

WHOOSH!

Zhaang Ye flipped in mid-air and landed on the ground.

“Hm? How is this possible?” The purple-bearded man’s eyes flickered, filled with utter astonishment. Zhaang Ye’s Cultivation was only at the True Dao Fifth Layer, yet he had actually survived a Spiritual Power attack. This was simply unbelievable!

“Hm? Excellent!” Tai Sui and Fire Spirit cheered at the same time. That Zhaang Ye had managed to survive the Spiritual Power attack was far beyond their expectations, leaving them both shocked and delighted.

Zhaang Ye stood on the ground, the skin on the arm holding the Mysterious Blade Tip cracking inch by inch, dripping with blood. He stared at the purple-bearded man, his face deathly pale, a flicker of terror in his eyes.

It is difficult to change direction when moving at high speed. The purple-bearded man’s last strike had been timed for that exact moment, catching Zhaang Ye completely off guard.

Fortunately, after entering the Sword Monarch Hall, both Zhaang Ye’s strength and Spiritual Sense had increased significantly. He had swiftly detected the Spiritual Power, and his body erupted with unparalleled strength, allowing him to shift the Blade Tip in that split second.

The Mysterious Blade Tip moved just enough to block the Spiritual Power, and Zhaang Ye narrowly escaped death. Even so, his arm was still blasted apart inch by inch by the terrifying Spiritual Power. The Meridians in his arm were shattered, and even the Meridians in the rest of his body suffered severe damage.

Having escaped death’s door, Zhaang Ye let out a long laugh. He completely ignored the injuries to his arm and body as his figure suddenly became illusory and he attacked once more!

The Cloud-Breaking Slash, unleashed for the fourth time!

Zhaang Ye knew in his heart that although he was grievously injured, the purple-bearded man couldn’t have come out unscathed after using a Spiritual Power attack while suppressed by Tai Sui and Fire Spirit. Therefore, Zhaang Ye paid no mind to his own injuries, nor did he worry about another Spiritual Power attack. Without a sound, he launched his fourth assault!

Zhaang Ye attacked again and again, fearlessly defying death, and even the purple-bearded man’s expression couldn’t help but change. Just now, he had ignored the suppression from Tai Sui and Fire Spirit to launch his Spiritual Power attack, and his strength had weakened once more. He was now having trouble even dealing with Tai Sui and Fire Spirit. At this moment, Zhaang Ye attacked again. Despite his vast Divine Powers, he couldn’t help but feel a headache coming on.

But the purple-bearded man was the Sword Monarch’s remnant soul, after all. Even with his movements firmly restricted by Tai Sui and Fire Spirit, he still possessed endless techniques.

As Zhaang Ye’s Cloud-Breaking Slash arrived, a small golden shield suddenly appeared before the purple-bearded man. The small shield spun rapidly, and an incredibly dense power blocked Zhaang Ye’s attack.

TING!

This small shield was actually a high-grade True Artifact. When Zhaang Ye’s slash landed on it, layers of golden light rippled across the shield’s surface. His tyrannical and sharp strike had actually been blocked!

“I can’t even kill him under these circumstances! I refuse to believe it!”

Zhaang Ye was furious. He suddenly slammed his shoulder into the small shield, the power within his body surging like an ocean tide, crashing down upon it with full force.

BOOM!

Zhaang Ye had actually managed to knock the small shield aside with brute force!

With a flick of his palm, Zhaang Ye sent the Mysterious Blade Tip flying from his hand, shooting toward the purple-bearded man’s forehead. As the purple-bearded man tilted his head slightly to dodge the Mysterious Blade Tip, Zhaang Ye took a large step forward and thrust his hand straight into the man’s chest.

PUFF!

Before the purple-bearded man’s disbelieving eyes, Zhaang Ye ripped out a pale green heart.