Chapter 500 - Where is the Red Dust?

The moment the Buddha’s projection shattered, the old monk froze, and his complexion turned deathly pale in an instant. Within the inner layer, Pi Luo’s expression turned icy cold. He shifted as he took a step forward, arriving before the old monk. As he descended, the earth shook and the mountains quaked.

The two former venerables dropped to their knees, bowing fervently without end. “Glory to our god!”

Pi Luo didn’t even look at them as his eyes swept across and landed on the old monk. Even though he hadn’t deliberately used his divine might, it still shook the old monk, and a trickle of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

Pi Luo asked slowly, “Where did you come from?”

As if he hadn’t heard, the old monk chanted as his hands clasped together once more, “Amitabha.”

The ten-thousand-zhang Buddha projection coalesced again, and Buddhist chants filled the air. The Buddha’s aura was serene and harmonious, yet it only stoked the fury in Pi Luo’s heart even more. He casually shattered the projection once more.

The old monk swayed and let out a soft sigh, ignoring Pi Luo. He gently sat down cross-legged, silently chanting, and his aura rapidly faded into stillness.

Pi Luo’s gaze was icy cold. “You’re just a mayfly trying to topple a tree! How funny!”

He was about to strike again and annihilate the old monk when a sudden change occurred. The red sky trembled violently. Faintly, an extremely bright white dot of light appeared in the sky veil.

A ten-thousand-zhang sword intent, unrivaled and vast beyond measure, descended. As it swept through, even this world trembled. The rain that had been drifting without end completely dissipated. It seemed that aside from this sword intent, the world could no longer accommodate anything else.

The ten-thousand-zhang sword intent then landed before Pi Luo, transforming into two figures. One was the translucent yet handsome and elegant Yun Jiansheng, while the other was the ragged and solemn Gu Han. The two former venerables didn’t even have time to cry out before the sword intent reduced them into clouds of blood mist.

The moment he saw the old monk, Gu Han’s heart sank heavily. “Master, what happened to you?!”

The old monk was at peace. “Benefactor, may I ask, how is Wu Xin?”

Gu Han was silent for a moment, then answered truthfully, “I don’t know. He’s most probably dead.”

Even though the Immortal Emperor’s will hadn’t deliberately targeted Wu Xin, Gu Han didn’t think Wu Xin could have survived under those circumstances.

The old monk chanted and looked at Yun Jiansheng, “Amitabha. I’ll leave the rest to you.”

Yun Jiansheng let out a soft sigh. “Friend, go well.”

The old monk nodded. He raised his arm slightly and pointed to the west. “Western Desert, God-Slaying—”

Just then, his arm gently fell, and the aura about him faded into stillness.

Grief welled up in Gu Han’s heart. “Master!”

To him, the old monk wasn’t only a respected elder, but also someone who had shown him immense kindness. As Gu Han saw him pass into stillness, he felt deeply unsettled. With utmost respect, he performed a grand bow before the old monk’s corpse.

The devastation of the Profound Pill Camp, Yun Jiansheng's fate, and even the old monk's death had all been caused by the divine clan. Gu Han’s hatred for these divine clans ran to the very bone.

Pi Luo said gravely, “Who are you?!”

The Yun Jiansheng before him felt dangerous, far surpassing the two emissaries.

“The Profound Heaven Sword Chief, Yun Jiansheng!”

Though his voice wasn’t loud, it transformed into a sword intent so abundant and powerful that it shot into the heavens. As it burst apart, boundless clouds and rain converged, transforming it into thousands of massive swords. They trembled for a while before descending.

In the blink of an eye, the massive swords had landed along the edge of the Central Continent. Yun Jiansheng had established an extraordinary sword formation spanning the entire continent, confining the nearly endless, ever-spreading divine flames within its borders.

The divine flames surged, crashing repeatedly against the row of massive swords, only to be repelled each time. Soundlessly, the sword intent purged all the divine servants within the sword formation.

***

At the edge of the Central Continent, almost no one had made it. Most had perished in the divine flames. The more the remaining survivors fled, the more desperate they became. As if possessed of a will of their own, the divine flames fed on the life force of living beings, growing more formidable the faster they spread.

At first, those at the Saint realm could avoid being devoured, but now, even those at the Feather Transformation realm found it extremely difficult to escape. The divine flames’ sweep forced them to spread to the other four domains.

Just then, a vast sword intent descended from the sky, blotting out the heavens. Under the interweaving of clouds and rain, it transformed into massive swords, sealing the divine flames completely before they could spread further. They killed the divine servants one by one.

The divine flames stopped less than a hundred zhang from a cultivator standing at the edge of the continent. He stared at the churning flames, then slumped to the ground from fright and exhaustion. If those massive swords had fallen just half a breath later, his fate would have been evident.

The others, who had narrowly escaped, all felt as if they had survived a catastrophe. Their expressions varied, and no one knew exactly what they were feeling. Logically, they should be happy, but no one knew how many of their sectmates, family, and friends had perished.

Only a select few who had been fortunate enough to witness the great battle a thousand years ago could vaguely recognize those massive swords.

Could it be him?

***

At the border between the Central Continent and the Southern Border, the president of the Tian Yun Merchant Association appeared certain. “It’s him! It’s definitely him! Aside from him, no one has such powerful sword intent!”

He glanced at the ghost-face jade token again. Seeing the lack of response, he felt like crying, though no tears would come out. It’s over! I seem to have screwed over those two emissaries... They won’t come after me later, will they?

***

At the border between the Central Continent and the Northern Domain, the demon clan guardian glanced at his clan members. Only a mere dozen or so survived.

He sighed dejectedly. “If it’s him, maybe he can preserve this continent’s last bit of peace and preserve our clan’s last hope!”

***

Only Yan Qianjue and his group knew exactly to whom the sword intent belonged.

Everyone inwardly asked, Will he succeed?

After all, though Yun Jiansheng was strong, he had rarely appeared over the past thousand years. Coupled with the rumors that he was dying, no one could judge whether he could truly contend with this divine clan member.

Fatty stared at the extraordinary sword formation with bloodshot eyes. “He definitely can! Old Man can definitely kill him!”

***

Within the sword formation, upon hearing Yun Jiansheng’s name, Pi Luo no longer glanced at the massive swords. The third eye on his forehead opened once more, landing below. “So it’s you? A remnant of the Profound Heaven?”

Wherever his gaze fell, everything turned to dust, yet Yun Jiansheng wasn’t affected in the slightest. Although his form was somewhat translucent, his eyes were deep as the sea, and the occasional glint that flashed through them shone like stars. He knew that this divine clan member was not the one from the God-Slaying Formation, and was far stronger than the latter.

He calmly raised his arm. “Where is the Red Dust?”

***

Within the forbidden zone, as if sensing the call, the wooden staff that had been standing quietly on the ground trembled violently. With a soft sound, the staff shattered into pieces. A sword light of dazzling brilliance let out a clear ring, then shot into the sky. Like a rainbow, the sword light broke through all obstacles, arriving beside Yun Jiansheng in no time.

The soaring sword intent forced Pi Luo back half a step. He couldn’t help but narrow his vertical eye.

Only now did Gu Han see the true form of this sword. Forged from unknown materials, the sword body was pure white, without the slightest flaw. A hazy, clear light shrouded the blade, making it appear even sharper and more peerless. Within the hazy clear light, two words were faintly carved into the sword body.

Red Dust.

Yet, only half of what should have been a perfect sword remained. The sword was like the man, and the man was like jade. Even if jade shattered, its whiteness would remain unchanged. Even if the sword broke, its intent could never be destroyed.