169: Chapter 169 The Immortal-Slaying Sword

He slowly raised both hands.

His left hand was pure white as snow, and his right hand was pitch black as night.

The pure white Sword Qi contained endless vitality; it was the tender shoot born in spring, the hope breaking through the soil, the rhythm of all things reviving.

The pitch-black Spiritual Qi, however, carried the deathly silence of destruction; it was the cold winter of all things withering, the finality of stars falling, the stillness of everything returning to nothingness.

Life and death, light and dark, two opposing forces swirled, intertwined, and collided in his palms, like two Yin and Yang fish chasing each other, finally—

Turning into a grey sword Aura.

This sword Aura was silent, lacking earth-shattering Aura, lacking Soul-capturing sharpness.

It just floated quietly in front of Xuanyuan Zhanxian, grey and hazy, like a cloud of mist at the beginning of Chaos.

Yet, this inconspicuous sword Aura caused fine cracks to appear in the surrounding space—black, spiderweb-like fissures spreading and expanding in the air, as if even this land, which had carried millions of years of slaughter, could not bear the weight of this forbidden power.

"Slash!"

Xuanyuan Zhanxian shouted in a low voice.

The grey sword Aura flashed out instantly.

Fast.

So fast it exceeded the limits of visual capture, so fast that even Divine Sense could not react in time. It was like a grey bolt of lightning, or a wisp of light smoke drifting from the depths of the underworld, silent yet unstoppable.

The golden-armored skeleton felt a fatal threat.

The golden Soul fire in its empty eye sockets jumped violently—it was the first time in a million years it had felt fear.

It did not retreat.

It poured all the golden Soul fire from its eye sockets into the broken sword. That was the root of its existence for a million years, the total power that had sustained it until today.

The remaining blade erupted with dazzling golden light, scorching like the sun in the sky, illuminating the entire blood-red plain.

It gripped the sword with both hands, using all its remaining strength, and slashed with all its might toward that grey sword Aura—

This strike condensed its million-year obsession.

This strike burned its final existence.

This strike was its final trace left in the world.

There was no earth-shattering collision.

No deafening roar.

There was not even a sound.

The grey sword Aura, like tearing thin paper, easily penetrated the golden Sword Qi that was as bright as the sun—as if it were not some peerless sword technique, but just a piece of yellow paper lifted by the wind.

It penetrated the broken sword.

It penetrated the broken sword that had accompanied it on campaigns and killed countless enemies.

It penetrated the chest of the golden-armored skeleton.

It left a smooth, mirror-like, neatly edged hole in its chest.

The golden-armored skeleton's movements froze.

It slowly lowered its head, looking at the hole in its chest. The golden Soul fire in the hole dimmed rapidly, like a candle flame blown out by the wind, extinguishing bit by bit.

It slowly raised its head to look at Xuanyuan Zhanxian.

In its hollow eye sockets, a trace of relief actually appeared.

Not resentment.

Not unwillingness.

It was relief.

The relief of having waited for a million years and finally waiting for the person who should be waited for.

Its tattered lips curled slightly upward, making an expression resembling a smile—this smile was very faint, so faint it was almost imperceptible, yet it carried a heartbreaking tenderness.

"Finally... waited for you..."

The hoarse voice dissipated with the wind, like a wisp of blue smoke drifting on the blood-red plain.

The golden-armored skeleton collapsed with a crash.

Its bones turned into golden dust the moment they hit the ground, fluttering and scattering on the blood-red plain like a golden rain.

And that broken sword—

Broke free from the shackles of dust, slowly flew in front of Xuanyuan Zhanxian, and floated quietly.

The cracks on the sword were still there, shocking to the eye, but it no longer radiated a terrifying sharpness.

Instead, there was a trace of warm spiritual light, soft as moonlight, warm as the spring sun, like a child who had completed a million-year watch and finally found a home.

On the Martial Arts Arena in front of the mirror.

Silence like an abyss.

Tens of thousands of people, silent as a cicada.

Everyone was deeply shocked by the battle that had just exceeded their imagination—whether it was Chu Zhanxiao's violent, thunderous dragon-transformation combat, every punch carrying the power to collapse mountains and split the earth.

Or Jian Tanghuang's elegant, immortal-like sword light raining down, every strike so precise it was breathtaking; or Xuanyuan Zhanxian's grey sword Aura that tore through space, that forbidden power, that earth-shattering blow—

All were deeply branded into the depths of everyone's Divine Soul, carved into their marrow, unforgettable for a lifetime.

And when everyone's eyes fell on the score in the corner of the mirror—

They were collectively speechless.

The Great Xia Dynasty's score was soaring crazily.

The red number started from one hundred twenty-three, skyrocketing at a speed invisible to the naked eye—two hundred, three hundred, four hundred, five hundred... the numbers jumped too fast, fast enough to almost connect into a red line.

Six hundred, seven hundred, eight hundred, nine hundred...

Finally, it settled at nine hundred and ten.

It had more than octupled!

After the deathly silence.

The Martial Arts Arena erupted with cheers like a landslide and tsunami.

Some were roaring, some were laughing wildly, some were frantically clapping the armrests of their seats, some were so excited that their eyes were filled with hot tears.

The cheers were deafening, rushing up to the clouds, as if to overturn this world.

And inside the mirror.

The sand and dust on the blood-red plain gradually subsided.

Those remaining weapons completely lost the support of power and became a pile of real scrap iron—rusty, lifeless, without a trace of spiritual light.

And those skeleton groups—

Still stood in the distance.

They watched the three people vigilantly, the faint blue Soul fire in their hollow eye sockets jumping slightly, as if hesitating, as if fearing.

They dared not approach, dared not cross the line by even half a step, just standing far away, like a silent black forest.

The visions of the blood-red plain in the mirror were never limited.

On the other side of the Eternal Graveyard.

The Prodigies of the major Dynasties were trapped in the same purgatory.

Blade light and the sound of bone breaking intertwined in the wilderness, the roars of Cultivators and the howls of skeletons rose and fell, blood and bone fragments splashed, so tragic that one could not bear to look.

In every floating mirror, it was a tragic collision of flesh and bone, a life-and-death struggle.

Only here, with Xuanyuan Zhanxian and the others, was there a moment of respite due to the destruction of the golden-armored skeleton.

But this calm—

Was like the silence before a storm.

So oppressive that it made one's heart tremble, so oppressive that it made one unable to breathe.

Jian Tanghuang's gaze never left the floating golden broken sword from beginning to end.

She stared at it, stared at the shocking cracks on its body, stared at the warm spiritual light it emitted—the light was gentle, yet it inexplicably made her feel a palpitation.

She slowly raised her hand.

Her fair fingertips touched the sword body lightly—

Boom!!!

An ancient, heart-palpitating, violent Aura surged crazily into her Sea of Consciousness along her fingertips!

This Aura was too strong, so strong that her Sea of Consciousness was trembling violently, so strong that her consciousness was dazed for that instant.

Countless broken images exploded before her eyes, like a shattered mirror, every fragment reflecting a thrilling scene—

Under a night sky where the galaxy was collapsing, a golden sword light pierced the heavens and earth—

A long sword, golden all over, pierced through a weird black figure.

A black figure exuded a despairing dark Aura, as if it could devour all light, yet it disintegrated inch by inch under the golden sword light.

The blood of the Immortal Emperor on the sword dripped along the sword patterns, and every drop that fell to the ground turned into a sky full of blood rain, dyeing the entire earth red.

Immediately after—

The long sword collapsed with a roar that shook the universe.

This sound was too loud, as if it could shatter stars, as if it could tear through time and space.

Countless fragments cut through the darkness like meteors, dragging long golden tails, scattering toward the Myriad Heavens and Worlds—

Every piece carried the vicious Qi enough to burn stars.

Every piece carried the eternal resentment that would never dissipate.

"This is..."

Jian Tanghuang's voice carried uncontrollable trembling, her lips even turning slightly white.

Her fingertips turned pale from shock, her hand gripping the hilt tightened subconsciously, her knuckles turning blue.

"A fragment of the zhuxian sword!"

She turned her head abruptly to look at Xuanyuan Zhanxian, her eyes full of complex emotions—worry, vigilance, shock, and an indescribable fear.

"I have seen its diagram in the <Ancient Sword Canon> of the Yaochi Forbidden Ground!"

Her voice was hurried, as if she was afraid of not being able to finish.

"Legend has it that this sword was born in the primordial era when Chaos first opened. It is the first sword in the world and has drunk the blood of countless Immortal Emperors—those Immortal Emperors, each of whom once dominated the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, each of whom was invincible in an era."

"In the last battle of the ancient war between gods and demons, it shattered because it could not withstand the backlash of the Laws of Heaven and Earth, and the fragments scattered across the worlds—"

She took a deep breath, trying to calm her voice, but found she couldn't.

"Every fragment hides earth-destroying power and is entangled with eternal resentment."

Her gaze stared fixedly at Xuanyuan Zhanxian's eyes, saying word by word:

"The classics also wrote—the zhuxian sword never recognizes a master. The so-called 'recognition' is never a gift, but a curse."

Her voice got lower and lower, but heavier and heavier, every word like a giant boulder pressing on everyone's heart.

"Those who obtain fragments of this sword will surely be drawn into a vortex of Karma that has lasted for eternity. One will be entangled by a sea of blood and hatred for a lifetime, and will not be able to break free until death."

The wind blew from afar, blowing up the loose hair at her temples.

She didn't pay attention.

"Senior Brother."

Her voice suddenly became very light, as if whispering.

"I'm afraid we didn't just break into an ordinary ancient battlefield."

She looked up at the boundless blood-red wilderness in the distance, at the silent mountains of weapons, at the broken tombstones half-buried in the blood-stained soil.

"But stepped into a trap that far exceeds everyone's imagination."

She turned her head and looked into Xuanyuan Zhanxian's eyes.

"This trap was set a million years ago."

Xuanyuan Zhanxian did not speak.

He just reached out and grabbed the golden broken sword.

The moment his palm touched the sword body—

The broken sword suddenly let out a deafening hum!

This humming sound was low, thick, and carried the roar of a million years of vicissitudes—not a crisp sword sound, not a pleasant light ring, but a roar that had been suppressed for a million years and finally found a vent!

Golden light rippled from the sword, circle after circle, spreading in all directions.

Wherever the golden light passed, rolling black mist steamed up from the grey, bloody soil. That black mist was as thick as ink, carrying the breath of death that had decayed for eternity.

The broken tombstones half-buried in the soil shook, and the blurry ancient characters on the tombstone faces began to glow—a dark blue light, as if countless wronged Souls were telling of a million years of resentment and unwillingness, as if they were accusing, as if they were crying.

The sword hum suddenly rose!

Like a dragon roaring in the Nine Heavens, like a phoenix crying in the Nine Heavens!

Instantly resounding through the entire Eternal Graveyard!

The skeletons fighting in the distance subconsciously stopped their movements. Their hands holding bone blades froze in mid-air, their hollow eye sockets turned in unison toward the direction the sound came from, the faint blue Soul fire jumping violently, as if they felt some kind of call from the depths of their Souls.

The next second—

Roars erupted from all directions!

That was the roar of millions of skeletons!

That was the resentment that had been sleeping for a million years awakening!

That was the hatred ignited by the breath of the zhuxian sword erupting!

The sound was so loud that the entire blood-red plain was trembling, so loud that the dark red clouds in the sky were shaken away, so loud that the Prodigies fighting in the distance had to cover their ears, their faces turning pale.

The skeleton army that had been fighting with the various Prodigies suddenly paused in their movements.

The faint blue Soul fire in their hollow eye sockets suddenly lit up—blindingly bright, eerily bright, as if pulled by invisible threads, all the skeletons' gazes were accurately locked in the same direction.

Xuanyuan Zhanxian.

And the golden zhuxian broken sword in his hand emitting golden light.

The skeletons closest to them were already restless.

They let out roars—the roars were hoarse, low, as if squeezed from the depths of their throats, every syllable soaked in a million years of hatred.

Then—

They moved.

Charging crazily at the three.

The speed was astonishing, far exceeding any previous impact. Their bones made clicking friction sounds during high-speed movement, as if they were about to fall apart at any time, but not a single skeleton stopped.

The faint blue Soul fire in their eye sockets burned with unprecedented intensity, and even a trace of eerie crimson appeared in the depths of the flame—that was the madness carved into the marrow, the hatred for the zhuxian sword deep into the Soul, the obsession to tear the enemy apart even if their Souls flew away and spirits scattered, even if they were turned into ashes.

"Not good!"

Jian Tanghuang's pupils shrank, and she shouted, her green-edged sword instantly slashing out a cold, sharp light.

The sword light swept out like a white practice, cold and bone-piercing, fast as lightning.

The few skeletons at the very front didn't even have time to swing their bone blades before they were slashed into fragments by the sword light—amidst the flying bone chips, the faint blue Soul fire didn't even have time to flicker before it was completely extinguished, like a candle flame blown out by the wind.

But more skeletons followed.

They were fearless of death, rushing forward to fill the gap, like waves hitting a reef—one wave after another, one stronger than the next, never stopping, never retreating.

The dense shadows of bones squirmed under the blood-red sky, covering the sky and the sun, making one's scalp numb.

Some skeletons even stepped on the bones of their companions to advance, their bone blades still hanging with flesh and blood from previous fights, but they didn't care at all, only knowing to charge in the direction of the three.

"Run! If we keep wasting time, we will all be exhausted to death by these skeletons!"

Jian Tanghuang shouted urgently while waving her sword to block. Fine beads of sweat had seeped from her forehead, and her breathing had become rapid.

She could clearly feel that more skeletons were gathering in the distance—strands of deathly silence pressed like thick dark clouds, making the circulation of Spiritual Qi in her body sluggish, as if an invisible hand was choking her throat.

Seeing this, Xuanyuan Zhanxian did not hesitate at all.

He suddenly let go, throwing the zhuxian broken sword hard in the opposite direction of the skeleton tide.

The golden broken sword drew a parabola in the air, carrying a faint golden light, drawing a beautiful arc under the dim blood-red sky, falling toward the blood-stained soil in the distance.

Subsequently, he grabbed Jian Tanghuang's wrist backhanded—the hand was very tight, so tight that Jian Tanghuang could feel the temperature of his palm. He shouted sharply at Chu Zhanxiao:

"Keep up! Don't look back!"

The three immediately galloped in the opposite direction of the skeleton tide, their clothes fluttering in the strong wind, the dead bones under their feet being crushed with a click.

Behind them, the roar of the skeletons was like a death-invoking drum beat, chasing relentlessly, getting closer and louder.

Xuanyuan Zhanxian had originally thought—

The breath of the zhuxian sword fragment would attract the skeletons' attention, making them give up the pursuit and turn to besiege the broken sword instead.

But he was wrong.

Wrong, outrageously so.