90: Zhou Tian Gui Xu

"Zhou Tian Guixu sword!"

The magnificent sword qi, carrying the power of ten thousand stars and the true intent of extinction, tore through the thick shadows enveloping the academy like the first ray of light at the dawn of creation!

"Silent Shadow—Life Burial Sword!"

Elder Shadowsword, who had condensed his lifelong cultivation into a massive grayish-black sword, represented extreme death and shadows, as if he intended to drag all life into eternal silence!

Two attacks of completely opposite natures, yet both containing the terrifying aura of "the end," collided violently under the gaze of countless horrified eyes!

There was no earth-shattering explosion as expected, nor was there a rampage of energy shockwaves.

At the center of the collision, space seemed to be ruthlessly kneaded and twisted by an invisible giant hand, forming an irregular depression! Time itself seemed to have frozen there!

Immediately after, a more bizarre and fundamental phenomenon of annihilation occurred!

The moment the grayish-black Silent Shadow giant sword touched the Zhou Tian Guixu sword qi, the Laws of death and shadow upon it seemed to have met their nemesis, beginning to crumble and dissolve inch by inch! It wasn't destroyed by violence, but rather its "Concept" of existence was fundamentally "negated," "overwritten," and "assimilated" by the sword qi that contained the Concept of the birth and death of stars and the return of all things to the void!

The Zhou Tian Guixu sword qi was like a massive, ever-evolving Guixu vortex, forcibly pulling and decomposing Elder Shadowsword's extremely condensed Silent Shadow Sword Intent, eventually swallowing and annihilating it, turning it into a part of its own growth!

As one side waxed and the other waned, the light of the Zhou Tian Guixu sword qi grew increasingly brilliant, and its size actually expanded by a full circle, descending toward Elder Shadowsword himself with a magnificent momentum that crushed everything in its path!

"Impossible! What kind of Sword Intent is this?! It can actually devour my Silent Shadow Law?!" Elder Shadowsword let out an unbelievable shriek. His hunched figure trembled violently under the lock of the sword qi, and horror and fear finally appeared in his eyes, which had always been as still as stagnant water!

He frantically pushed his majestic Protective Aura of the Peak Earth Fiend Realm, shadows churning around him as he tried to condense a second layer of defense, or even attempted to tear through space to escape!

However, before Ye Chen, who had channeled the power of the Zhou Tian Star Sword Formation, and before this supreme strike that fused ten thousand years of sword dao accumulation with the true intent of Guixu, all struggles were futile!

The Zhou Tian Guixu sword qi rolled over like the wheel of fate, mercilessly!

"No—!!!"

Amidst Elder Shadowsword's desperate roar, his hunched figure, along with the Shadow Domain surrounding him, was completely submerged by the magnificent sword qi!

There was no blood, no shredded flesh.

As the light of the sword qi slowly dissipated, the airspace where Elder Shadowsword had been was now empty. Only a few fragments of pure shadow and death Law that had not yet completely vanished drifted like fireflies, before being thoroughly purified and absorbed by the Guixu Sword Intent.

Elder Shadowsword, who ranked high among the Seventy-Two Earth Fiend Envoys of the Dark Hall and was notorious for his cruelty, had thus... been completely annihilated in both body and soul!

A deathly silence fell over heaven and earth.

Whether it was Yun Canghai, Liu Qingfeng, and the others on the Star Gazing Platform, or the countless Disciples looking up from within the academy, everyone held their breath, gazing in disbelief at the young figure standing in the air with his sword.

One strike! Just one strike!

Ye Chen, who had just entered the Earth Fiend Realm, had actually used the power of the Zhou Tian Star Sword Formation to slay Elder Shadowsword, who was at the Peak of the Earth Fiend Realm?! This was simply a myth!

After a brief silence, earth-shaking cheers erupted from all parts of the academy like a tsunami! The joy of surviving a desperate situation, combined with the awe and worship of Ye Chen's terrifying strength, resonated through the clouds!

"Senior Brother Ye is mighty!"

"Heaven blesses our Tianfeng Academy!"

Yun Canghai and Liu Qingfeng exchanged a look, both seeing endless shock and relief in each other's eyes. They knew that after this battle, Ye Chen's name would no longer be limited to Tianfeng Academy; it would surely shake the entire Liuyun City and even broader territories! And his resonance with the Zhou Tian Star Sword Formation meant that as long as he was within the academy's range, Ye Chen possessed the terrifying strength to contend with or even slay those at the Peak of the Earth Fiend Realm! This was undoubtedly a powerful trump card!

Ye Chen slowly descended from the air and returned to the Star Gazing Platform. His face was slightly pale; that previous strike had almost drained the earth fiend gang core he had just condensed and had also cost him a great deal of mental energy. But his eyes grew increasingly bright and determined.

The guixu sword gave a satisfied tremble, feeding back a wisp of pure Shadow Origin and sword dao insights, which came from Elder Shadowsword. Ye Chen could feel that his understanding of Laws such as "shadow" and "death" had deepened by another degree. The Guixu Sword Intent also seemed to have become more "enriched" because of this.

"Well done!" Yun Canghai heavily patted Ye Chen's shoulder, his eyes full of excitement. "This battle is enough to deter those with ill intentions and demonstrate the prestige of our academy!"

Liu Qingfeng also said with emotion, "I never thought you could achieve such a deep resonance with the Zhou Tian Star Sword Formation! This way, as long as the Formation is not broken, the academy will be as solid as a rock!"

Ye Chen shook his head slightly, his expression not relaxing: "Principal, Elder Liu, please do not be careless. Although Elder Shadowsword is dead, the Dark Hall will never let this go. Since they sent an expert of this level, it means their main force is already approaching. Those small Demon-Summoning Altars must be dealt with as quickly as possible!"

Reminded by Ye Chen, everyone snapped out of the joy of victory, and their expressions became solemn again.

"You are right," Yun Canghai said in a low voice. "Elder Shadowsword's arrival this time might have been a probe in itself, or to distract our attention and buy time for the construction of those altars!"

He immediately ordered: "Elder Liu, take the elites of the Law Enforcement Hall and the Formation Hall immediately. Divide into three teams, carry the Formation-Breaking Talismans, and head to the three altar locations we have scouted. Be sure to destroy them before they are activated! I will stay and guard the academy to prevent the Dark Hall from making a feint in the east while attacking in the west!"

"Yes!" Liu Qingfeng took the order and, without delay, immediately turned to gather his men.

"Ye Chen," Yun Canghai looked at Ye Chen again, "you consumed too much just now. Meditate and recover here first. I have a premonition that a bigger storm is yet to come. You need to maintain your Peak state."

Ye Chen nodded; he also needed time to digest the gains from the previous battle and stabilize his Earth Fiend Realm cultivation. He sat cross-legged, took a Medicinal Pill, and began to circulate his Cultivation Technique.

However, just as his mind sank into his body to guide the medicinal power's flow, another change occurred!

Within his Dantian, the earth fiend gang core he had recently condensed suddenly began to tremble violently without any warning! It wasn't due to energy instability, but as if it were being... strongly attracted and resonated with!

At the same time, the guixu sword in his hand also emitted an unprecedented hum, carrying a hint of urgency and longing! On the sword's body, the starlight and Chaos air currents intertwined and flowed, pointing in a clear direction—the canyon where the myriad laws furnace was located in the academy's back mountain!

"What's going on?" Ye Chen snapped his eyes open and looked in that direction, his heart filled with suspicion. Had something else gone wrong with the Furnace core? Or... Yun Canghai also noticed Ye Chen's abnormality and the movement of the guixu sword, and asked with a frown: "Ye Chen, what's wrong?"

Ye Chen stood up, his eyes fixed on the direction of the back mountain, and said in a low voice: "Principal, Guixu and my gang core seem to be sensing something... coming from the direction of the Furnace. That thing is attracting us!"

Yun Canghai's expression changed slightly: "The Furnace core just went on a rampage and is extremely unstable right now! Could there be some secret hidden inside that we don't know about?"

The two of them looked at each other, both seeing the solemnity and determination in the other's eyes.

"We must go and check it out!" Ye Chen said decisively. This instinctive attraction and longing were incredibly strong; he felt that the thing was vital to him and the guixu sword! Perhaps it concerned whether he could increase his strength faster to deal with the upcoming crisis!

Yun Canghai pondered for a moment and nodded heavily: "Alright! I will go with you! If it is truly an Opportunity, I will help you take it! If it is a disaster, we will work together to suppress it!"

The two no longer hesitated, turning into two streaks of light and heading straight for the back mountain canyon again!

Not long after they left the Star Gazing Platform, in the clouds hundreds of miles outside the academy, several dark figures with even more terrifying auras, surrounded by dense blood-red baleful qi and the aura of death, slowly emerged. The leader looked up toward Tianfeng Academy, licked his lips with a crimson tongue, and let out a raspy laugh:

"That trash Shadowsword really failed... however, his death has bought us enough time. The 'Blood Soul Altar' is complete. It is time... to welcome the descent of 'Moon-Erosion Demon Venerable's' will into this world!"

"Pass down the order: all altars are to be activated simultaneously!"